Buck Naked Politics

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.