old thepete.com blog
moral compass online since 1998
State and federal officials are starting broad investigations into shortcomings in the oversight of upstart virtual currencies like bitcoin.
JPMorgan Chase is pulling out its checkbook to help mend frayed relationships with the government.
The hefty payouts started on Tuesday when JPMorgan struck a $410 million settlement with the nation’s top energy regulator, which had accused the bank of devising “manipulative schemes” to transform “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers.” The agreement was a record fine for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, whose most recent settlement with a big bank totaled only $1.6 million.
The bank’s new approach comes down, at least in part, to dollars and cents. While the settlements are expensive, they pale in comparison to the sort of legal bills that come with long — and embarrassing — legal battles.
The conciliatory tack also reflects a growing recognition among bank executives that JPMorgan was swiftly losing credibility in Washington. At least eight federal agencies are investigating the bank, and some regulators have portrayed JPMorgan as something of a bully.
Here's a serious ironyfail. The above-capped article comes from the NYT earlier this month (here: www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/us/politics/high-gas-prices-gi... ) and with a title like "Rising Gas Prices Give G.O.P. Issue to Attack Obama" how could I resist blogging about it? I mean, really, Republicans? Gas prices are too high for you? Perhaps you should just STFU and support alternative energy? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's a cutting from the above article and refers to a "closed-door" meeting held by GOPers:
"“This debate is a debate we want to have,” Mr. Boehner told his conference on Wednesday, according to a Republican aide who was present. “It was reported this week that we’ll soon see $4-a-gallon gas prices. Maybe higher. Certainly, this summer will see the highest gas prices in years. Your constituents saw those reports, and they’ll be talking about it.”"
Oh really, John? You want to have this debate? Well, not with me, buddy. Because the basic laws of supply and demand tell us that if you want to lower price you either raise supply or reduce demand. The latter could have been done DECADES ago if only Republicans hadn't been such douchebags when it comes to protecting their pals in the oil biz. But hang on, there's more--here's another cutting from the article:
"“They want higher energy prices. They want to push their radical agenda on the public,” Rick Santorum said at a campaign event last week, accusing Democrats of pushing alternatives to oil. “We need a president who is on the side of affordable energy.”
Newt Gingrich wrote on Twitter on Friday that “gasoline prices are unacceptable. We can do better!” He urged his supporters to sign a petition on his Web site calling for a return to $2.50-a-gallon gas. “Drill here. Drill now. Pay less,” the petition says.
And talking points from the Republican National Committee that go out to conservative commentators every Friday often include rising gas prices among the “Top Line Messaging” for the week. A recent “Pundit Prep” document cited the national debt, unemployment and the price of gas as the three best ways to define the “Obama economy.”"
Gosh, it is a shame car-drivers are forced to pay these high prices for gasoline! Too bad there aren't other ways to fuel your car, like some sort of, oh I don't know, ALTERNATIVE kind of ENERGY that could be used.
I'm so SICK of looking at politicians shrug their way through explaining why things are so messed up, as though they could never have seen these problems coming or done anything at all to avoid them. Whether it was 911, the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war or the economy, NO ONE apologizes for any of it and everyone claims they couldn't have seen it coming, despite anyone with eyes, basic math skills and a history book could have predicted all of it.
The fact of the matter is that our leaders in Washington, Democrat and Republican alike, are fucking ROCK STUPID and choose to follow their lust for cash and power around rather than their morals or feelings of responsibility for their fellow American citizen.
Seriously, Republicans, do you realize how unbelievably MORONIC you look complaining about high gas prices??? When Clinton was in office, gas wasn't much more expensive than $1/gal. 911, two Republican wars in the Middle East and a decade+ of inflation and YES, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE HIGHER GAS PRICES, YOU UTTER DOUCHES!
We seriously need to instate a Hypocrisy Police in the US. This shit is getting too crazy for words.
...And one day we must ask the question, Why are there forty million poor people in America? And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. And I'm simply saying that more and more, we've got to begin to ask questions about the whole society...
You know, Cary, you're right when you say we were misled by companies like Google and Wikipedia, but that's where your "rightness" ends. Since when is it censorship when the courts have determined a site is doing something illegal? When it's legal to censor, that's when. When a pawn shop is shut down completely for selling stolen goods, that is censorship because surely some of what the pawn shop is selling is certainly not stolen. You say that the news orgs that supported PIPA/SOPA didn't do so on the air because they draw a line between "news" and "editorial"? Seriously? You are now blatantly lying to us. Fox News, CNN and MSNBC all broadcast their opinions daily and we all know it. They kept quiet because they didn't want to become a target of Internet outcry.
[/caption]
QUOTATION OF THE DAY
"To say that I'm enjoying a millionaire's lifestyle - well, I can tell you, I guess a millionaire's income doesn't go very far these days."
ED PASTOR, an Arizona Democrat who is among 250 members of Congress with a net worth of $1 million or more.
C.K. said the $200,000 he has has profited so far is "less than I would have been paid by a large company to simply perform the show and let them sell it to you." But fans would have had to pay about $20 for the video, he estimated, rather than $5.
Also, the D.I.Y. approach allows him to keep the rights to the special, and allows fans more freedom in how they can view it, since the download is not encrypted or regionally restricted.
C.K., the creator and star of the FX show "Louie," says production of the video cost around $170,000, covered largely by the cost of tickets for the two shows he filmed and edited together for the special. Developing his website to sell the special cost about $32,000. Sales of more than 110,000 copies have so far brought in more than $500,000. PayPal charges and other costs left him with "around $200,000 (after taxes $75.58)," he wrote.
SWEET!
From a great WaPo op-ed by indy Senator Bernie Sanders (it’s on Sanders’ site, too):Trust in government is at an all-time low. That’s not because Washington is too heavy-handed with Wall Street. Quite the contrary! The American people are angry and disillusioned because they see our government act boldly to protect Wall Street CEOs but not ordinary Americans. When Wall Street needed a $700 billion bailout, the government was there for them. When working families need an end to excessive oil speculation and real relief at the gas pump, the government has failed to act.
The same Dodd-Frank bill that required commodity regulators to limit speculators included my amendment calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve from Dec. 1, 2007, to July 21, 2010, the period of the financial crisis. What we learned was that the Fed provided $16 trillion in secret, low-interest loans to every major American financial institution and to other central banks, large corporations and wealthy individuals. The audit provision was vigorously opposed by the Federal Reserve chairman. It was right, however, that the veil of secrecy at the Fed was lifted and the American people learned about its actions.
This sums it up. The USG effectively fails to oversee the Fed and giving out loans of $16 trillion seriously fucks with our economy. Think about it: 16 trillion new dollars injected into our economy. It’s a miracle the USD is worth anything at this point. It’s like we’re injecting water into our bloodstream because we think the more liquid is in our veins and arteries the more blood we have. So, when the USG doesn’t bother to audit the Fed like they’re supposed to and when the USG openly bails out big businesses and banks, it makes We, The People, wonder just what the hell government is there for.
“…for the people, by the people,” my ass. More like “for banks and corporations, by the guys who used to run them.”
Read the rest of Sanders’ piece on his website and learn about how oil prices are being artificially hiked by excessive futures speculation.
Bank of America: “A new $5 fee to replace debit cards took effect in September; a rush overnight order costs $20. Previously, both services were free.”
Chase: “In February, Chase introduced a new basic checking account with a $12 monthly fee, up from the previous $6. The fee is waived for customers who make direct deposits that total $500 a month or maintain a minimum balance of $1,500.”
Citibank: “Starting in December, Citi said it will raise the fee on its basic checking account to $10 a month, up from $8. Customers will have to maintain a balance of at least $1,500 or sign up for direct deposit and online bill pay to avoid the fee.”
Wells Fargo: “The bank also plans to test a $3 monthly debit card fee starting Oct. 14. The fee will be applied to checking accounts opened in Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. The fee would be in addition to the fees ranging from $5 to $30 that Wells Fargo already charges.”
It’s a real shame banks have completely lost sight of what they’re core job is: to take our money and loan it to other people with interest. That interest is supposed to be how they make money. They’re not supposed to charge us so they can make money off of our money. It’s that sense of entitlement that the rich always accuse everyone else of having. So blatantly hypocritical.
But not all banks are abusive like this. I switched to an online bank which charges no fees period and, in fact, pays me interest. I’ve made 70¢ since I signed up in April. How much has your checking account made you?
The bank is called Ally. They used to be GMAC but rebranded at some point. They’ve been good to me so far. It’s a huge pain in the ass to deposit money, though. You have to mail a check in or do a wire transfer. I have an account with Square and it still takes a week (or so) to see the money, though Square claims a “next-day payout” on their site. I suppose I could transfer money from my Paypal account, but that would take 3 days still.
One of the nice things about Ally is that they refund all ATM fees. Since they don’t have any ATMs, you’re going to get charged for using other banks’ ATMs but this bank will refund those fees at the end of the month. So, there are alternatives to the BABs (Big Asshole Banks).
The sad thing is that I tried to go to a local bank—as in, a bank that only exists in the city I live in. Sadly, they wouldn’t let me open an account because I didn’t have a state ID at the time. This is a very odd requirement as Washington Mutual, a bank with ATMs all over the country, didn’t seem to mind my California ID when I opened my checking account with them back in 2008. Of course, WaMu got swallowed whole by Chase, whom I left earlier this year because they added fees.
We’re facing a world that is less and less favorable for the individual. But there are choices you can make that can save you money. You just have to hunt for them.
CoalSpeaker recently mentioned that I should keep calming his nerves. To that I replied that I'd do my best but that some things made *my* nerves uncalm (*not really a word). Then, what do I see today but the above article in the NYT. Let's examine a bit of it:Another 2.6 million people slipped into poverty in the United States last year, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, and the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it.
And in new signs of distress among the middle class, median household incomes fell last year to levels last seen in 1997.
“This is truly a lost decade,” Mr. Katz said. “We think of America as a place where every generation is doing better, but we’re looking at a period when the median family is in worse shape than it was in the late 1990s.”
The bureau’s findings were worse than many economists expected, and brought into sharp relief the toll the past decade — including the painful declines of the financial crisis and recession —had taken on Americans at the middle and lower parts of the income ladder. It is also fresh evidence that the disappointing economic recovery has done nothing for the country’s poorest citizens.
Median household income for the bottom tenth of the income spectrum fell by 12 percent from a peak in 1999, while the top 90th percentile dropped by just 1.5 percent.
Overall, median household income adjusted for inflation declined by 2.3 percent in 2010 from the previous year, to $49,445. That was 7 percent less than the peak of $53,252 in 1999.
The recent unemployment numbers have undermined confidence that we might be nearing the bottom of the recession. What we can see on the surface is disconcerting enough, but the inside numbers are just as bad.
The picture attached to this post was taken by fellow-blogger (shindotv.com ) and socnetizen, @ShindoTV. It depicts a screen on an ATM that is warning that Wells Fargo, one of the bigger banks California, won't be accepting IOUs issued by that state's government.
See California is going through massive, MASSIVE economic troubles. The thing that's bugging me is that aside from Shindo's post about California's IOUs being rejected, I haven't come across any other blog posts or news articles covering the fall of the fifth-largest economy in the world.
That IS what's happening and no one really seems to care.
Here's part of the comment I left on ShindoTV.com:
...I think the current economic situation in my former home state should be sending shockwaves through the rest of the country and even the rest of the planet. California is the 5th biggest economy in the world. When the government of the 5th biggest economy of the world can’t afford to pay its employees, this says something bad, not only about the state of California’s economy but of everyone else’s economies, too.
OK, we all know how companies need to make money to survive, but, most of the time, I feel like commercialism has no place in news-gathering. The screencap above (original here) is a perfect example.
There's nothing quite like an advertisement for life insurance right next to a story about someone who got killed.
It all reminds me of the web piece I put together shortly after 911: thepete.com/thespecialpages/disgustingpeople/
Today or eight years ago, money spent on advertising next to coverage of death and destruction seems to be money very poorly spent. In fact, I'd say it's damaging to both the news source and the sponsor to do it this way.
