Buck Naked Politics

Chris on Beneficiary Designations

posted by Chris |  As you go through the various stages of life, it is important to periodically update your beneficiaries on your life insurance, annuities, IRA’s and other qualified retirement plans.

We have all heard stories of the ex-spouse receiving the current spouse’s benefits upon the death of person who DID NOT change their beneficiary designation.  Did you know that utilizing your beneficiary provisions for philanthropic donations ( while a great idea ) can cause your other natural person(s) beneficiaries to lose their ability to stretch their payments from an IRA or qualified plan?

Good News Roundup

by Deb Cupples |   This is an older story but a good one.  A female toddler named Oluchi Nwaubani  fell into a swimming pool earlier this year and survived after 18 minutes under water.  At the hospital, Oluchi was put on a respirator.  Believing that she would never recover, doctors discussed turning off the machine.  Three days later, Oluchi started breathing on her own.  Doctors said that she would never pass urine normally, because her kidneys had failed.  Reportedly, Oluchi has since been urinating normally....  See the rest of the story at Good News Blog.

The New York Times reports:

"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Thursday announced its biggest education donation in a decade, $290 million, in support of three school districts and five charter groups working to transform how teachers are evaluated and how they get tenure."

Hat tip to the Good News Network (GNN).

MSNBC reports:

"However, a team of engineers plans to investigate whether algae commercially grown in the ocean on specialized platforms could reduce the high costs of biofuel production, potentially bringing our energy economy one step closer to shifting from fossil fuels to renewable resources."

Hat tip to  HappyNews.com.

Revitalizing American Industry

posted by Bill: I highly recommend Bob Herbert's column today as he tours through downtown Detroit, or what's left of it, with an economist from the Motor City. It's time we all started thinking about how America is becoming less like the capital of the world and more like Detroit all the time.

Herbert's piece ends on this note:

"We need a revitalized industrial policy, including the creation of whole new industries, if American families are to prosper in the coming decades. If there is any sense of urgency about this in the hearts and minds of our corporate and government leaders, I’ve missed it."

Finally, a Bank Official Says Executive Compensation Must Be Controlled

 by Deb Cupples | Yesterday, the Financial Times reported:

"Germany’s new finance minister has echoed Chinese warnings about the growing threat of fresh global asset price bubbles, fueled by low US interest rates and a weak dollar.

"Wolfgang Schäuble’s comments highlight official concern in Europe that the risk of further financial market turbulence has been exacerbated by the exceptional steps taken by central banks and governments to combat the crisis."

I can't say that I fully understand the details of that statement, but I do understand this other one:

"Separately, Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, issued his strongest warning yet that banks must control pay and bonuses.

"Striking a noticeably stiffer tone, Mr Trichet told the Frankfurt conference: 'Profits earned should be used, as a priority, to build capital and reserves, rather than be paid out as dividends or excessive compensation.'”

Yes!  And I'll take it a step further and apply it to large, non-bank companies:

More Jobs

posted by Bill: Hey, maybe I'm being too tough about the need for a jobs program, incentives, and more. Maybe people out of work just aren't looking hard enough.

According to McClatchy, Mickey D's is hiring...at Guantamamo Bay. All you need is some restaurant management experience, a valid passport, a willingness to relocate to Cuba (er, or the 45 square miles you'll be living and working in on the island nation), and a love of grease.

Link here for more application info...

(A hat tip to Allen McDuffee for this catch.)

Bill cross-posts at Bill's Big Diamond.

Job One

by Bill Kavanagh:  Healthcare reform, climate change legislation, education reform, even changes in war strategy will all fall short of creating a lasting political program if Americans don’t have jobs. We have a crippling level of under/unemployment, which many believe actually tops 20% today (higher than the 17+ percent reported by the feds), even while the government tells us the recession is now over. Still more Americans fear losing their jobs, or struggle with reduced pay and reduced expectations. This reality is the primary area the Obama Administration must grapple with— and soon.

Next month, the White House will convene a Jobs Summit, bringing together economists, academics, labor leaders, businesspeople, and non-profit groups to discuss putting Americans back to work. While the date of the summit has yet to be announced, a bigger unknown is whether the President will put the government’s money and energy squarely behind the effort; whether he realizes how basic creating jobs is to his success in dealing with every other problem he faces.

Human Light Emissions and Water on the Moon

by Deb Cupples |  I came across two science-related pieces recently.  The first, from Live Science, begins:

"The human body literally glows, emitting a visible light in extremely small quantities at levels that rise and fall with the day, scientists now reveal."

The second piece, from the New York Times, begins:

"There is water on the Moon, scientists stated unequivocally on Friday.

“Indeed yes, we found water,” Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator for NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, said in a news conference. “And we didn’t find just a little bit. We found a significant amount.”

Interesting, isn't it?

Ex-Congressman Sentenced to 13 Years

It was June 2007 that the U.S. House passed a resolution (373-26 votes) to investigate Rep. William Jefferson (DLA), who was indicted on corruption charges.  Today, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported:

"Former Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced Friday to serve 13 years in prison for what the lead prosecutor described as "the most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress."

"While the sentence by federal Judge T.S. Ellis III fell well short of the 27 to 33 years recommended by the government, it is by the far the stiffest jail term ever imposed on a member or former member of Congress for crimes committed while in office.

"Jefferson, 62, was found guilty Aug. 6 on 11 charges, including soliciting bribes, depriving citizens of honest service, money laundering and using his office as a racketeering enterprise."

"Justice" ain't quick, is it?

Florida Yogi Helps Veterans

by Deb Cupples | On Veterans Day, I cannot help thinking of the thousands of Americans who have returned home from foreign soil suffering injuries.  When I think of wounded veterans, I cannot help thinking of the Exalted Warrior Foundation, founded by Annie Okerin -- a fantastic yoga instructor and proprietor of Yogani Studios in South Tampa, Florida. 

For some years now, Yogani has been offering free yoga classes to veterans outside the hospital, in partnership with the Exalted Warrior Foundation.  Here's a bit about Okerlin's work with Veterans:

"The Exalted Warrior Foundation facilitates a yoga instruction program that is designed for wounded soldiers in military and veteran hospital facilities.

"Faced with the demands of both a physical and emotional recovery, yoga allows newly disabled veterans to reconnect both with themselves and their loved ones. Soldiers with amputations, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries have benefited greatly since the program began.

"The gentle movements of a yoga practice support the restoration of the body-mind connection. Practice varies from subtle breath work, accompanied with gentle stretching postures, for beginners to intense exertions, as the patients’ comfort with these healing techniques increases. Through practice, the soldier will begin to release the 'issues from the tissues....' "

There have been a lot of write-ups about Okerlin's work with vets and some news coverage (see videos at EWF home page).   If you'd like to donate to this non-profit foundation, click here.

Since 2006, Okerlin and staff have also been traveling to Walter Reed Army Medical Center  to work with severely wounded veterans, including amputees.  Okerlin's team has also started working in veterans' hospitals in Tampa and Brooklyn.

Another site worth checking out is Yoga for Vets, which has a list of yoga studios nationwide that offer at least four free classes to vets.

Muddying the Health Care Bill Could Be a Win-Win (for Some Politicians)

by Deb Cupples |  Apparently, most Americans want the freedom to choose to pay less for health insurance through a publicoption (as opposed to being forced to pay skyrocketing premiums to private insurance companies).  A poll released in July by the Employee Benefit Research Institute indicates that "between 68 percent and 88 percent of Americans either strongly or somewhat support health reform ideas such as national health plans, a public plan option...."

Over the summer, some media outlets, pollsters and interest groups tried to create the impression that most Americans didn't want the freedom to choose to pay less for health insurance.  Some outfits even fudged their polling data by changing survey questions yet comparing new polling results to older polling results based on surveys in which questions were phrased differently.

Whatever data-manipulation may or may not have occurred, an ABC-Washington Post poll released in late October indicates that 57% of Americans favor a public-insurance option  [likely because a public option would be cheaper for us ordinary folks.]

Given that a majority of Americans seem to support a public option, congressional Democrats likely feel pressure to at least appear to support a public option. 

At the same time, many Dem politicians (along with their Republican siblings) also feel pressure from the insurance industry (and other health-related industries) to make sure that a truly effective public option doesn't get passed by Congress.

Talk about a "rock and a hard place" -- the horns of a dilemma.

More Troops to be Sent to Afghanistan? Maybe.

by Deb Cupples |  In a special report on Afghanistan, CBS News indicated that President Obama is planning to send about 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, which would mean that about 100,000 troops would be in that country by the end of President Obama's first term.

That was earlier yesterday.  Later yesterday, a CBS editor posted a note, stating:

"Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources."

This is sort of like watching Forrest Gump play ping-pong.  I guess we'll see what happens.

Historic Vote

posted by Bill: Finally, the historic vote came as healthcare reform passed in the House last night. Rep. Jim McGovern lauded Speaker Pelosi for "threading the needle" in pulling through a 220-215 margin for a truly significant change in American healthcare. Letting the abortion battle play out first seems to have been the necessary prelude to sorting out priorities in the Democratic Caucus and getting the votes needed in the "Yes" column.

As depressing as all our financial news is, this is a ray of sunshine in American political life. It's the first step towards truly important progress in an era when we seem too often to be merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

On to the Senate!

One Way to Poison Health Care Reform

 by Deb Cupples |  I'm just starting to catch up.  Apparently, Rep. Bart Stupak proposed an amendment to the health care reform bill that would essentially prevent many insurance companies from covering abortions -- not that I've ever seen an insurance executive cry over not having to cover something.

The Hill reports:

"House Democratic leaders will allow an up-or-down vote on an amendment blocking any money in its healthcare overhaul from funding abortions, risking the votes of members who support abortion rights."

Good strategy, whoever thought of it!  That's one way to get a bunch of Dems who support personal freedoms to vote against a health-care reform bill.  Booman commented:

"So, it turns out that the price of passing health care reform in the House is selling women down the river."

To some of the people running our nation, public policy seems to be a game -- often a cash-laden game.   I am downright disgusted by the lack of genuine concern for the well being of so many ordinary Americans.  It's no wonder that so many U.S. House members are under ethics probes (for all the good it'll do)

Highest Unemployment Rate in 26 Years

by Deb Cupples |   The New York Times reports that our nation's unemployment rate has risen to 10.2% -- our highest unemployment rate in 26 years.  And here some folks are talking about how well our nation's economy is recovering (mostly the ones who don't want us ordinary investors to lose confidence and ultimately pull our money out of the stock market, which would leave the real players with less cash to swindle).

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that unemployment raised from 9.8% in September to 10.2% in October -- and that 190,000 non-farm jobs were lost.  According to the BLS, 15.7 million people are now unemployed.

Meanwhile, some of the same executives who drove our nation's banks (and economy) into a deep ditch were recently quoted as saying that they expect to get even bigger bonuses than they did last year (the year during which we tax payers started pouring billions of dollars into said banks -- and into said execs' pockets). 

Think of how many jobs could have been saved if said execs would simply stop sucking so much money out of company money pots: money that could, instead, be used to fund jobs that are currently being cut.  The more people who are employed, the more money they spend at businesses, the more people businesses can afford to employ (unless executives funnel the money to themselves), and so on....

Time for a Reverse Mortgage?

posted by Chris |   So many times we have heard the expression “home is where the heart is.”  Lately, television ads have been touting that your home is where some money is.

As retirees start to face a cash crunch during retirement, a creative approach to providing income has surfaced: the reverse mortgage.   A reverse mortgage should be carefully studied, because you are in essence taking an interest-bearing loan that is secured by the equity in your home.   

One knock on reverse mortgages is that they can have a lot of costs associated with the loan.  Be certain to shop around to get the best deal.

I would ask that you check with your CPA, attorney and financial advisor to determine if a reverse mortgage is in your best interest.  And it couldn't hurt to check the links listed after the jump:

CIT Group (Not Citigroup) Files for Bankruptcy Protection

 by Deb Cupples | Bloomberg tells us that that CIT Group has filed for bankruptcy protection, "blaming losses on subprime mortgages and tightening credit markets."  We taxpayers will lose about $2.3 billion because of bailout-funds that CIT got.

As a CIT shareholder (albeit a tiny one, whose share value will go to $0), I'd like to know how much of us shareholders' money flowed into executives' personal pockets instead of being used to pay down debts.  Since I can't find that info, I'll settle for just the top-six execs (which seems to be all that the SEC requires public companies to report).

	2008	2007	2006	3-year total
Jeffrey Peek	$5.4  mil	$9.0  mil	$13.8 mil	$28.2  mil
Joseph Leone	$1.7  mil	$3.3  mil	$5.1  mil	$10.1  mil
Alexander Mason	$2.5 mil	n/a	n/a	$2.5 mil
James Duffy	$2.2 mil	$2.6 mil	$4.66 mil	$9.4 mil
C. Jeffrey Nittle	$2.28 mil	$2.63 mil	$1.4 mil	$6.3  mil
Lawrence Marsiello	$6.2  mil	$3.4  mil	$5.7  mil	$15.3 mil
				$71.8 mil

Data from two tables in CIT's 2009 Proxy Statement (pages 21 and 26).  The data in the two tables is confusing (i.e., seems a bit inconsistent), but I did my best.

Yes, I realize that $71 million is a drop in the bucket, given that the company purportedly has $64 billion in total liabilities, but there are other things to consider. 

First, the $71 million went to only the top-six guys and over only the last three years.  CIT employed around 5,000 people (see 10-k): we don't know how many of those employees and managers received bonuses and other compensation; we don't know what that compensation  totaled.

Prosecutors Argue There's No Constitutional Right to Not Be Framed?

by Deb Cupples | Apparenlty, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on Wednesday, which includes a seemingly bizarre argument by prosecutors.  The Washington Post reports:

"THERE IS NO Freestanding Constitutional 'Right Not To Be Framed.'   So states a brief filed by Iowa prosecutors hoping to persuade the Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit against them for allegedly fabricating evidence that led to the 25-year incarceration of two innocent men. It's a breathtaking proposition that the justices should roundly reject when they hear the case Wednesday.

"According to court documents, the prosecutors took a leading role in 1977 in investigating the murder of a recently retired white police officer at an Iowa automobile dealership where he was working security. The prosecutors allegedly coaxed a witness to offer a version of events that implicated two African American men, Curtis W. McGhee Jr. and Terry J. Harrington; the witness gave several different statements over time and had trouble keeping his facts straight. Prosecutors also allegedly coerced other witnesses to lie and withheld evidence that pointed to a different culprit."

True enough: the U.S. Constitution does not expressly discuss a citizen's right to not be framed for a crime.

However, the Fifth Amendment states that no person shall be "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...."  

Good News Roundup: Nov. 1, 2009

by Deb Cupples |  Last Sunday, I did a good-news roundup to balance out the negativity that accompanies blogging about corruption and politics in general.  I certainly intended to do these roundups more than once a week -- perhaps I'll achieve that next week.  Below are three good-news stories.

The Great News Network reports that scientists at a university in Ireland found that a chemical found in the curry spice turmeric killed esophageal cancer cells under laboratory conditions.  One scientist warned readers not to rush out and start swallowing curry spices by the ton (my translation), because the spices have other elements that may not be so good.  The full story is from Sideways News.

The BBC reports that singer-actor Madonna has broken ground on a project to build a school to serve more than 400 girls in the under-developed African nation of Malawi.  The school is part of many efforts by Madonna's charitable foundation called Raising Malawi.  As well as using her "star power" to help the struggling nation, Madonna is dipping into her own funds to match donations to her foundation.

State Board Being Sued Over a Psychologist Who Ignored Torture

Apparently, an Ohio psychologist is suing Louisiana's State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, trying to force the Board to investigate a Louisiana psychologist (who was also an Army officer), because that psychologist was allegedly complicit in the (likely illegal) torturing of detainees at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.  Truthout reports:

"The state board responsible for licensing - and disciplining - psychologists in Louisiana is 'fighting awfully hard to turn a blind eye to serious allegations of abuse' brought against one of its members, who is being accused of complicity in beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape threats and painful body positions during his service as a senior adviser on interrogations for the US military in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib."

Psychologists are people too.  Like anyone else, some psychologists may have trouble standing up to authority figures.  Some may have trouble saying "no" to co-workers (i.e., standing firm against peer pressure).  And some may simply and secretly get a thrill from watching the sadistic acts of others.

Bank Employees Expect Bigger Bonuses than Last Year

 by Deb Cupples |  Bloomberg reports:

"In Washington and on Main Street, politicians and voters are railing against Wall Street’s multi- million-dollar pay packages. In the financial world, most executives expect their bonuses to match or exceed last year’s, with 1 in 10 predicting their best-ever payout.

"Having shaken off the biggest economic decline since the 1930s, almost three in five traders, analysts and fund managers believe their 2009 bonuses will either increase or won’t change, according to a quarterly poll of Bloomberg customers. Only one in four see a decline. Asians are the most optimistic about pay and Americans and Europeans somewhat less so."

The quest for bonuses seems to be at the roots of most of the malfeasance (or, to put it kindly albeit inaccurately, "incompetence") that led to the crash of our nation's financial system and economy.

Corporations, themselves, don't make decisions (including bad investments).  The human beings who run corporations make the decisions.  Why is it that so many human beings working in financial institutions kept investing in toxic mortgages -- even while being told by risk managers that such investments were not wise?