Bloomberg Dismisses Talk Of Fairness In Campaign Finance

Mayor Bloomberg, with all of his billions and propensity to spend many millions on his campaign, was quick to belittle those that dare question his take on campaign finance. In this year's race, his opponents will all be limited to how much they can spend because they are enrolled in the weak public finance program that we have now. Bloomberg on the other hand will be spending an estimated $80 million or more, akin to $100 per NYC voter. When reporters asked him to comment, he showed his more abrasive side to respond.

From The Gothamist:

When the issue was first posed to him at yesterday's press conference, he snapped back, "I think it’s one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. I can’t quite understand it, so we will come back to you later." When asked why he would need to spend what some are projecting to hover around $80 million to get his message across after seven years as mayor, he responded, "Sometimes—I know you will be shocked by this—sometimes some reporters don’t accurately describe what we have done, or what we will do, so we have to find another venue."

The mayor has a reputation for being generous when it comes to staff bonuses during election season. A policy adviser from the mayor's first successful bid tells the Times he was "shocked" when he discovered $25,000 in his bank account after Bloomberg's victory for what he saw as just a limited role on the campaign. And on top of all-expense paid stays at Four Seasons-level hotels while traveling overseas, the mayor's inner circle of aides have seen hundreds of thousands in bonus money after his victories. While Bloomberg insisted that "there is no campaign at the moment," he has already hired ten high-priced strategists—mostly Democrats, some with past ties to his potential rivals.

A campaign manager for one of those contenders looking to challenger Bloomberg, City Controller Bill Thompson, told Politicker NY, "It is the height of insensitivity to the economic challenges New Yorkers are facing for the mayor to be spending $100 million on a reelection while lecturing them on belt tightening and the need for austerity."

Austerity is one of the many things that Bloomberg lacks. Being in touch with the needs of the average resident is another. So the Mayor will spend tens of millions to tell us why the gentrification and denigration of what was New York City is so good for us. Meanwhile, as most of us suffer through this recession (and quite possibly soon to be depression), the city becomes more and more expensive, driving out the middle class from a metropolis that is desperately trying to retain its diversity and vibrancy in spite of the Mayor.

Obama's Weekly Address: Congress Must Meet America's Challenge

The House has passed a decent bill. The Senate has agreed on a less than spectacular bill. Now before they come together to make amendments to the final version for Obama to sign, the President reminds legislators that this isn't a Democratic problem, nor a Republican one.

Same Old BS At Deutsche Bank Site

We would have hoped that after the deaths of two firefighters at the demolition site, things would have changed. The unnecessary passing of those men were caused by negligence of the most severe order. Investigations ensued, the papers screamed for justice, blogs screamed for justice and the relatives of the firefighters most certainly let their feelings be known. We were promised that attitudes would be changed and that those in charge would make sure that it would be different from now on.

Well, they lied:

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Outrage at the Deutsche Bank building after workers sever a standpipe, again.

Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer calls for an investigation. Although, he's not sure who should conduct the investigation since police and fire departments were supposed to provide oversight.

"I call it an outrage because part of what we have really worked to do, to make sure that when trouble hits the building, there is an immediate warning to the workers within the building and to the residents throughout the community," said Stringer.

The Daily News reports workers ripping out drywall on the second floor of the cursed tower across from Ground Zero apparently fractured the pipe, investigators said last night.

We really have no idea who can be held accountable now, especially after repeated failures to ensure competent oversight. The pipe had been disabled in the morning, with alarms going off to make sure people knew. Yet the call to leave the building did not happen until several hours later. Seven hours where if anything went wrong, the chance for tragedy skyrocketed. This place was supposed to be ultra-secure but apparently, it isn't.

Do They Think That This Stimulus Is Just A Game?

I've given up hope for Republicans to come to the table and honestly help broker a package that can put America back to work. I've also been wary of conservative Democrats around this whole thing too, but now it seems a few of them really don't care much either. Take for instance Senator Bayh, who was too busy to go to a meeting he said included important discussions on the bill. And then you have people like Senator Ben Nelson, who defines the term "DINO."

From Greg Sargent:

Total Reductions: $80 billion

Eliminations:

Head Start, Education for the Disadvantaged, School improvement, Child Nutrition, Firefighters, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Prisons, COPS Hiring, Violence Against Women, NASA, NSF, Western Area Power Administration, CDC, Food Stamps

*****************************

Reductions:

Public Transit $3.4 billion, School Construction $60 billion

*****************************

Increases:

Defense operations and procurement, STAG Grants, Brownfields, Additional transportation funding

*****************************

Nelson spokesperson Clay Westrope confirms the authenticity of the memo, adding that the figures obviously could change. But this is currently the general direction.

Instead of working with his party, he opts to go the "bipartisan" route, meaning that women, children, firefighters, mass transit and the poor will suffer at the behest of the Defense industry. Sounds like more of the same from the last eight years to me. The last thing we need is to make the Defense industry any more bloated than it already is. In fact, if our government really wanted to solve problems here at home, they would start cutting that $527 billion dollar budget (not including war expenses) and give it to programs that help the people.

Shame on Nelson for supporting tripe like this.

Contrary To The LA Times Assertion, We Will Not Continue To Torture*

The LA Times made big headlines on Sunday when they proclaimed that the Obama Administration would continue the practice of extraordinary rendition. Perhaps though, they may have wanted to go beyond their unnamed source and talk to Leon Panetta, who will head the CIA and oversee the Agency's practices. At least Sen. Dianne Feinstein had the wherewithall to ask that pertinent question at his confirmation hearing.



Update: I put the asterisk up there, because apparently Leon Panetta got ahead of himself, and retracted his statement you see above.

Unemployment Numbers Released Today Minimize The Problem By Half

The headlines this morning, even on the Huffington Post screamed about unemployment jumping 0.4% to 7.6%. These numbers haven't been seen in thirty-five years, but it is far from the reality of the actual problem we face. Unemployment in this country is a serious problem that continues to get worse, but that single digit number so many people see on their newsreaders is far from accurate. It is only one data point among five others that the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses to gauge unemployment. Their most comprehensive number, the U6, is actually at 13.9% and not even that gets the clearest snapshot of what is going on.

From DailyKos:

But even the U6 figure undercounts, according to other observers, including John Williams, who runs the subscription-only electronic newsletter Shadowstats.com. Williams hasn't yet posted his January calculations, but last month he put the jobless rate at 16.5 percent -- more than double the official rate. His figures include unemployed workers who have been left out of the overall count since "discouraged workers" were dropped during the administration of Lyndon Johnson and other downward adjustments were made in 1994. Those changes mean the official rate can't be fairly compared with the official rate in the 1980s, much less the 1930s.

Last month, Williams told Reuters: "I expect that unemployment in the current downturn, which will be particularly deep and protracted, eventually will rival, if not top, the 25 percent seen in the Great Depression."

According to increases reported at the BLS, Williams' number could be at or above 17%. A much more ominous report than 7.6 percent. The traditional media is trying to coat the story with the thickest amount of sugar as they can. While the media networks must address the seriousness of the problem, no one wants to make comparisons to the Great Depression. However, the American people are feeling the effects of this downturn, no matter what official number is touted.

What it all means is that we need a real, solid stimulus bill to be signed by President Obama as soon as possible. What a shame that Republicans and some conservative Democrats are being allowed to dilute the bill, when what it really needs is to be strengthened.

Not Just A Millionaire's Tax, A Progressive Tax For NY

I can not write about this enough, we need a change in our tax system, both here in New York and in the country. The income gap and the asset gap in our society has been widening at an alarming pace and consequently, things have gotten bad for the many at the behest of a wealthy few. Also, because of the economic mismanagement we've seen, the large majority of us are expected to bear the burden. As the apologists for the upper class say, we don't want them to leave, so we can't tax them anymore.

Now as any half-decent American historian can tell you, taxes for the rich used to be a lot higher. Yet they stayed where they were and...surprise, surprise, they did pretty well in spite of those taxes we in 2009 would deem astronomical. Bit by bit over time though, rates have fallen to where they are now, so that Republicans cry bloody murder when Democrats suggest the top tax bracket be restored to 39%.

Here in New York we face a budget crisis much like everyone else, where either we cut services, raises myriad taxes or take out loans. Well we can't do the loans for very long so for the better part of a few decades, the programs to aid the poor and middle class have been slashed by a thousands cuts. Recently, over the protests of the Governor, progressive groups and some in the Legislature have proposed a millionaire's tax, so that we raise a nice chunk of quick cash to decrease the deficit. Yet that does not go far enough and as the news shows today, a few State Senators are starting to get that there is a bigger picture to consider.

From PressConnects:

"This is an opportunity for us to develop a fairer tax system in New York," said Senate Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx. "Any plan should include putting more money back into the pockets of the middle class."

Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, said it's unclear whether a tax cut would be feasible in the face of the state's $13 billion budget deficit.

But, he said, "In addition to the fact that we're looking to raise revenue to deal with the deficit, there are a lot of us who view the state tax system as out of whack and would like to restore some progressivity as part of this process as well."

A progressive policy formula is the only thing that will save us. Cutting programs and raising taxes on the middle class has not worked for us and will not work today or in the future. Yet we need more than the support of just Senators Klein and Schneiderman, we also need the Assembly to be on board.

Silver acknowledged this week that the state's tax code needs to be changed permanently. Currently, the top state personal income tax rate is 6.85 percent: for a family earning $40,000 a year or for a person earning $4 million a year.

"It is unfair that people who make $50,000 are paying the same tax rate as people who are making $50 million a year," Silver said.

But Silver warned that such changes should be a "long-range goal" and not necessarily part of the discussions to close the next year's budget gap.

It is unfair, he's right. Though waiting to change the system and calling it a long-term goal is dead wrong. In these times, we need to change the system and quick fixes, even if they are well intentioned is simply not enough. Albany is starting to listen, but we need to put more pressure on them so that Shelly Silver and even Governor Paterson understands that the system as we know it is broken. It must be changed.

Olbermann Tells Cheney To Leave America

Dick Cheney has done enough damage to our country, so his latest interview was highly unwelcome. Cheney's priority, as Olbermann said was to serve Cheney and not our country, so scram, you deluded war-mongering crook.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

McCain's Attempt To Stay Relevant In Senate Fails

It is hard to be in the minority, no matter what legislative body you are in. When you are a recently failed Presidential candidate and your party was soundly rejected at the ballot box and continuing in public opinion polls, things get even worse. If John McCain and the Republicans actually wanted to help the American people, they'd have tried to work with Democrats on the Majority's bill. However, led by McCain of all people, going it alone resulted in where many Senate bills go, to the trash heap.

From The Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — The Senate has killed an alternative economic stimulus plan by Sen. John McCain that would have cut income and payroll taxes but spent far less than President Obama's plan.

The party-line 57-40 vote against McCain's $421 billion plan came Thursday as a group of moderate Democrats and Republicans struggled to cut up to $100 billion from Obama's version.

McCain's plan would have cut the bottom two income tax brackets and lowered corporate income taxes. It also would have extended unemployment benefits and provide money to repair and replace military equipment worn out in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of course it wasn't surprising that this bill met a quick demise. It was never in the cards for a Republican sponsored stimulus to get any kind of recognition. I understand they want to be the party of opposition but pulling crap like this smells more like obstructionism than anything else.

Thompson Scolds Bloomberg For Being Against Temp PIT Increase

Shared responsibility shouldn't just be for the state, it must happen on the local and federal level as well. While the Senate is busy mudding the intent of Obama's stimulus plan, we here in New York City have to take care of business in our own backyard. Hardly any other city in America has as much income disparity than NYC does, and in these tough times, leaning on those that are well off so that the last amongst us do not have to suffer anymore than they have to is good thing, from a moral and economic standpoint. However, our billionaire Mayor does not want to increase taxes for the very rich. Well, Mayoral candidate and City Comptroller Bill Thompson had some words for him about that.

From Thompson's website:

"Mayor Bloomberg's budget plan is as out-of-touch as it gets," Thompson wrote. "He plans to fix our budget crisis by raising sales taxes - burdening families and small businesses struggling to make ends meet."

"I stand with President Barack Obama and his call for shared responsibility. That's why I've proposed an increase in the city's personal income tax that focuses on taxpayers whose income exceeds $500,000 annually. As our economy recovers, this increase could sunset and return to current levels."

"While his extravagant campaign signals its willingness to spend $100 million to win a third term, Mayor Bloomberg is demanding to balance the budget on the backs of working people. Stand with me to ensure this doesn't happen."

Bloomberg is and has been seriously out of touch with the needs of New Yorkers. Now I can't say for sure that Thompson is the best candidate for Mayor at this time, he is definitely leaps and bounds ahead of Bloomberg. Mayor Mike doesn't want to increase income taxes and prefers to cut services and jobs, exactly the opposite of what our city needs. And with those tens of millions he'll spend on his campaign, he'll be spouting (last two paragraphs) tired, old and discredited right wing talking points about how increased income taxes will drive away the rich.

New York, like what we did for the Presidential race last year by demanding change, we need to do the same here at home, and change the priorities of our city's government so that we actually decrease the gap between the rich and the poor.

Obama Reminds GOP They Lost In November

The GOP has been acting just a little too big for their britches in the Senate, forgetting how the American people took in a lot of length on their particular brand of cloth. Yet McConnell and his forty troopers (along with a couple conservative Dems) are determined to continue the failed ideas of the past. Well, President Obama had a thing or two to tell them today:

Thoughts And Prayers For Justice Ginsburg

On a sad note today, the news is coming out that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was having surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in her pancreas. She was at Sloan-Kettering Hospital here in New York for the procedure, known as one of the best institutions in the world to fight cancer. She is certainly in good hands, but the news is anything but.

From NPR:

Ginsburg's pancreatic cancer was discovered early, in the course of a routine annual screening, but medical literature says even in this circumstance, a patient's five-year survival chances range from 10 to 30 percent.[...]

The five-year survival rate is 5 percent, with most patients living less than a year. Doctors say this poor survival rate is due in significant part to the fact that cancers of the pancreas are discovered late, when the cancer is very advanced.

Because Ginsburg previously underwent radiation treatment after her colon surgery, she likely will not be able to have radiation treatment a second time. Chemotherapy has not proved to be curative for pancreatic cancer.

She is one tough lady, as anyone who has seen her in action can attest to but the prognosis for her case is obviously grim. It is great that doctors caught it early though, so the situation isn't a worst-case scenario. Still, I'll have her in my prayers and I hope everyone else out there does as well (and if not prayers, then simply thoughts).