Wall Street Is Driving Up Heating Bills?

It's likely that no bankers are sneaking into your house like cobbler’s elves to turn up your thermostat.

But Wall Street still could be driving up your heating bills.

Here’s how: Wall Street banks gamble on what they think future energy costs will be. By dominating the market in these “energy futures,” they actually raise the price of energy for you and me. Without competition in these markets, these prices stay artificially high — and so do big bank profits.

Tell the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to stand up for consumers and to end bank domination of energy markets.

Thankfully, a part of the Wall Street reform law that passed last summer is designed to end bank domination of energy markets. Basically, the law gives a federal agency called the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the authority to make these markets more transparent and competitive.

But, of course, the banks have hired lobbyists to fight the agency’s rules every step of the way.

Wall Street bankers are keeping energy prices artificially high by keeping these energy futures markets secret just so they can make even more profits.

Take action now! Go to: Citizen.org Energy Futures Petition

It’s time to shine some sunlight on bank activities that drive up consumer prices. Tell the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to stand up for consumers.

Thanks for all you do,

Rick Claypool
Public Citizen's Online Action Team
action@citizen.org

Visit our Financial Reform page to learn more about Public Citizen's work to hold big banks accountable. To get regular e-alerts about opportunities for activism and other ways to help with Public Citizen's work, sign up for the Public Citizen Action Network.
Contribute | © 2011 Public Citizen | Take Action

Fight Corporate Offshoring of U.S. Jobs - Free Trade = Job Loss

Corporate offshoring of American jobs to low-wage countries has become one of the defining issues of the 2010 elections.

Even The Wall Street Journal—not exactly a cornerstone of the supposed “liberal media”—just published a survey with some revealing results about who and what is to blame for our nation’s poor economy:

86% of Americans believe that offshoring of jobs by U.S. companies contributed to our sluggish economy.
Nearly 7 out of 10 people—an all time high—say that “free trade” agreements with other countries cost us jobs here at home.
Over three-quarters of Americans consider corporate profit-seeking a factor in the downturn.
This is not news to you, or to Public Citizen. Time and time again, we have proven that flawed trade policies and blind corporate greed are eroding the U.S. economy.

Now, our Global Trade Watch team has launched an innovative, interactive website to give you the knowledge to be a more informed voter by seeing the full impact the corporate pursuit of profits has on jobs, the environment and our communities.

Check out Public Citizen’s Trade Data Center.

This powerful new tool is just the latest example of the tremendous amount of research, education and advocacy that Public Citizen does to expose and counteract policies that benefit mega-corporations at the expense of We, the People.

This powerful new tool is just the latest example of the tremendous amount of research, education and advocacy that Public Citizen does to expose and counteract policies that benefit mega-corporations at the expense of We, the People.

Lost jobs. Corporate greed. Of course these are the issues you care about. And Nobody is more committed to reforming the failed trade regime and challenging runaway corporate power than Public Citizen.

With your support, Public Citizen can continue developing resources like the Trade Data Center and fighting for policies that benefit all of us, not just the multinationals.

Onward!
Robert Weissman, President

To get regular e-alerts about opportunities for activism and other ways to help with Public Citizen's work, sign up for the Public Citizen Action Network.

Corporations:Unaccountable,Out of Control,Environmental Terrorists !

From Wall Street to the Gulf of Mexico, the news lately has been full of disasters caused by big corporations. They're out of control. Unaccountable. And they're getting away with it because they've bought so much influence in Washington.

It's time to take on the corporate lobbyists who have a stranglehold on our democracy. So on Monday at noon, thousands of progressives from MoveOn, AFL-CIO, SEIU, Jobs for Justice and National People's Action are going straight to K Street in Washington, DC to let the corporate lobbyists and their friends in Congress know we've had enough.

Since you don't live in the DC area, you probably think you can't be there. But we've rigged up an awesome virtual "march" web page that will allow you to still make your voice heard—right from your desk. You can join the event live from your computer anytime between 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Click here to RSVP:

At the virtual march, you can:

* Check out live video and a live blog from the march site.
* Make sure the march's message reaches Washington by letting your senators know we need to end the domination of corporations in Washington, DC.
* Talk to other virtual marchers and share a photo of yourself with your own rally sign.

RSVP to join the march online and add your voice here.


Hope to see you there, and thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Amy, Tim, Milan, and the rest of the team

P.S. The virtual march will be posted at this link tomorrow, if you want to bookmark it now!

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

Obama has B_LLS..Takes aim at Wall St. Pay

White House, Senate take aim at Wall St pay
By Susan Cornwell,3 hours ago
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WASHINGTON — The White House pledged action against "irresponsible" bonuses for executives at bailed-out Wall Street companies as a Democratic senator unveiled legislation to limit their compensation to $400,000 a year.

Sen. Claire McCaskill proposed a law on Friday that would prevent executives from making more money than the U.S. president until their companies no longer rely on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

McCaskill, an early endorser of President Barack Obama's candidacy, gave an angry speech on the Senate floor in which she said an average of $2.6 million dollars had been paid in bonuses to executives from the first 116 banks that got money from the TARP rescue plan.

"I am mad," the Democrat from Missouri said. "We have bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer. ... They don't get it!"

At the White House, Obama's spokesman said the president's upcoming plan for financial stability also would address executive compensation and bonuses.

"I think you will see the president and his economic team outline a plan to deal with what he found irresponsible yesterday," Robert Gibbs told reporters. "Stay tuned, because something on that is coming soon." He declined to say more.

Obama on Thursday said recent Wall Street bonuses, given the current situation, were "shameful." His Democratic administration is working on options to stabilize the U.S. banking industry after various experts have said the $700 billion already allocated to TARP will not be enough.

A senior Republican senator, Charles Grassley of Iowa, agreed that Obama should claw back the bonus money.

"The President should use his full power to pull back bonuses for bail-out recipients. That includes past recipients and those going forward," Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said on the Senate floor.

HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS MORE

The Congressional Budget Office chief said this week that U.S. banks will need hundreds of billions of dollars more.

Public outcry has grown over reports of corporate excess by companies getting bailout funds, including Citigroup Inc, which intended to purchase a private jet, and bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch & Co, now owned by Bank of America Corp.

Citigroup later canceled the plane order. Bank of America's Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis ousted former Merrill chief John Thain this month after Merrill awarded large bonuses just days before the merger closed, and following huge losses that led Bank of America to obtain $20 billion of government aid to absorb Merrill.

McCaskill's office said the $400,000 compensation cap she was proposing would apply to all employees of a firm and include salary, bonuses and stock options.

Bob Monks, a shareholder rights advocate and former executive who has written nine books on corporate governance, said McCaskill's proposal reflected the rage in the country felt by people who are "having a terrible time".

"That said, the idea is a genuinely bad one. The government mandating a pay-cap is a genuinely bad idea because it never works," he said.

Obama is also working with the Democratic-majority Congress to pass a stimulus plan of over $800 billion in tax relief and government spending to try to revive the moribund economy.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

McCain's Lies & the Bailout Failure

McCain was on his campaign plane preparing to leave Ohio when the House vote became final. McCain's chief economic adviser, however, issued a statement that blamed Obama.


"This bill failed because Barack Obama and the Democrats put politics ahead of country," McCain senior policy adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin said.


When he reached Iowa, McCain told reporters: "Now is not the time to fix
the blame, it's time to fix the problem."

This is a Bush-Texas size whopper lie. Let
me explain.When Senator McCain flew to Washington,
D.C. last week when he said he was suspending his
campaign,he arrived at the hearings,said very
little and then sided with his very conservative
Republican colleagues and demanded LESS
REGULATION OF BUSINESS and TAX BREAKS-EXEMPTION
FOR THOSE COMPANIES WHO BOUGHT FAILED or FAILING
BANKS with SUB-PRIME LOANS. He did not object to
the REpublican style COMMUNIST take over of private
enterprise nor did he worry or care about
rewarding unscrupulous or stupid behavior by Wall
Street executives at CITIZEN'S EXPENSE.He sought
to RELIEVE BIG BUSINESS of IT'S FINANCIAL
OBLIGATIONS and REGULATIONS and NEVER ONCE
OBJECTED TO THIS BILL BECAUSE IT IN NO WAY PROTECTED
the INDIVIDUAL TAX-PAYING CITIZEN. This is NOT
PATRIOTISM -this BEING A LAP-DOG SOLDIER FOR RICH
BANKERS,JUST LIKE THE ONES HE ACCEPTED MONEY FROM
in the SAVINGS and LOAN SCANDAL;ie.Charles Keating.
McCain has MORE EXPERIENCE and HAS NOT LEARNED
from any of it. Dogs would remember better
than he because when they are punished they
remember not to make the same mistake. At least,
my dog did. Secondly,the Democrats were not the
ones to blame for this bill not passing;i.e. the
vote was 133 Republicans OPPOSED,65 in FAVOR and
140 Democrats in FAVOR,95 OPPOSED. So how
can McCain blame the Democrats? ONLY BY LYING.

But the Congressmen/women who opposed got it right.
Government should not rescue,coddle and reward BIG,
UNSCRUPULOUS BUSINESS while MAKING CITIZENS PAY for
IDIOCY. The Republicans should look to the Chinese
Communist government as an example: all those people
involved,who made decisions to put melamine in milk
in CHINA WILL BE SEVERELY PUNISHED,NOT RESCUED AND
EXCUSED like this Administration wants us to do.

I want to congratulate Congressmen Tierney,Lynch
and Delahunt in Massachusetts,Congressmen Courtney
in Conecticut,Congressmen Michaud in Maine,Congressmen
Shea-Porter and Hodes in New Hampshire and Congressmen
Welch in Vermont for opposing the bailout as of yesterday.
They had the same courage and foresight as did Senator
Barack Obama when he opposed the War in Iraq.This
administration has cried wolf every time it has either
gotten into trouble or decided it wants to lie to the
American people. When are our Representatives going to
learn this? All their experience,degrees and money
aren't any good if they DO NOT PROTECT and DEFEND the
CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the
people who elected them.Obviously,the above named
Congressmen have UPHELD THEIR OATH.

Now let me make some constructive suggestions:

1. REINSTATE the GLASS-STEAGALL ACT in its entirety:
"The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and included banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.[citation needed] Some provisions such as Regulation Q, which allowed the Federal Reserve to regulate interest rates in savings accounts, were repealed by the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980. Provisions that prohibit a bank holding company from owning other financial companies were repealed on November 12, 1999, by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which passed in Congress with 55 Republicans voting for and 44 Democrats voting against the bill in the Senate and by a 343-86 vote in the House of Representatives, before being sent to conference committee; the final bipartisan bill (Senate: 90-8-1, House: 362-57-15) was signed by President Bill Clinton."

2. CREATE a RESOLUTION CREDIT CORP. that is FUNDED
and OWNED by AT LEAST 50% FINANCIAL COMPANIES and 50% U.S.
Government with hundreds of SEC Auditors auditing
continuously with no possibility of leaving government
and working for financial companies until 4 years has
elapsed.

3. AUCTIONING OFF of BANKS with SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE
PROBLEMS to the PRIVATE SECTOR,such as Venture
Capitalist,Private Equity firms,foreign banks in NATO
countries.

4.CREATION of CORPORATE BAILOUT FUND by all
CORPORATIONS with SALES over $100 Million per year
through a 1% of GROSS PROFITS BAILOUT TAX that all
could utilize if a case was made for Uncontrollable
External factors.

5.IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of NAFTA and WTO RULES
that OVERRIDE the U.S. CONSTITUTION.

6.CREATION of SENATE-CONGRESS OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE of FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM publicly
recognizing it as a private corporation and
publicly disclosing ownership thereof as well
as Annual PUBLIC AUDITS.

In closing let me remind the reader of the Declaration of Independence
and I quote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. — The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world."