Capitalism 2.0
Forget what happened last time the hot shots played loose with derivatives?
"Inside Job"
Refresher Course
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"Politics And Economics: The 101 Courses You Wish You Had"
"Politics And Economics: The 101 Courses You Wish You Had"
"Plutocracy Triumphant"
Cartoon Compendium
http://paxonbothhouses.
"The Rich Aren't Just Grabbing A Bigger Slice Of The Pie. They're Taking It All"
http://paxonbothhouses.
http://paxonbothhouses.
"The Rich Aren't Just Grabbing A Bigger Slice Of The Pie. They're Taking It All"
http://paxonbothhouses.
"The Rich Aren't Just Grabbing A Bigger Slice Of The Pie. They're Taking It All"
http://paxonbothhouses.
"Taibbi: The $9 Billion Whistle Blower At JPMorgan-Chase. Financial Thuggery At The Top"
Liberals are revolting over a revision of Dodd-Frank. The financial reform law forbid banks from trading derivatives with funds protected by federal deposit insurance. The Cromnibus would eliminate that ban for what supporters say are the safer, less complex derivatives, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other liberals don't buy that argument. Lori Montgomery and Sean Sullivan in The Washington Post.
Primary source: The bill. We skimmed it so you don't have to. Ed O'Keefe in The Washington Post.
Another provision allows employers to reduce pensions for current retirees. The change applies to pensions in industries such as trucking and construction where a group of firms share a single pension fund for their employees, which cover about 10 million workers. The AARP is upset, but many union leaders feel that something has to be done or else these funds will go under. Michael Fletcher in The Washington Post.
Less money will be dedicated to Pell grants. Instead, the money will be used to ensure that the contractors who service student loans for the Department of Education can be paid on time -- but the Pell program could be confronting a shortfall of its own in a few years. This provision was advanced by Democrats. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel in The Washington Post.
And school lunches will be allowed to include fewer whole grains and more salt. The changes to the school-lunch program were seen as a rebuke to First Lady Michelle Obama, who has advocated for healthier meals in schools. Republicans have called the standards an overreach, and many kids say they won't eat the lunches their schools now serve. Mary Clare Jalonick for the Associated Press.
On the subject of nutrition, the potato lobby scored a victory. White potatoes, which are notoriously unhealthy for such an innocuous vegetable, have not been included in the nutritional program for Women, Infants and Children. Now they will be (at least for a while -- it appears that the administration will be given the authority to overrule this decision after a review). Fredreka Schouten in USA Today.
The bill looks likely to pass, despite defections in both parties. Democrats are upset about several of the riders just mentioned, while Republicans are upset that the bill does nothing to undermine Obamacare or the president's reprieve from deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants. Mike Lillis and Rebecca Shabad in The Hill.
This kind of legislation could become typical in the new Congress. There are other major deadlines approaching next year, and lawmakers will be able to insist on all kinds of riders as a part of each compromise. "If liberal Democrats vote for this package it shows that conservatives can use must-pass legislation to repeal the regulatory state," one G.O.P. aide said. Peter Schroeder in The Hill.
The campaign-finance provision would "fundamentally alter" how candidates get their money. A tenfold increase in the amount that wealthy donors can give to the political parties would shift the focus of fundraising from individual candidates and outside groups to the central party apparatus. No one seems to be entirely sure who drafted the language. Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger in The Washington Post.
BERNSTEIN: Returning money to the parties is actually a useful reform. Giving the parties more control would increase transparency and accountability, since outside groups often don't have to disclose their donors.Bloomberg.
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