H.R. 1068, the Let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street's Bailout Act.
Wall Street Transaction Tax Proposed by Democrats Ryan J. Donmoyer
Dec. 3, 2009 (Bloomberg) -- A group of congressional Democrats proposed taxing large transactions in stocks and derivatives, an idea that has received a cool reception from the Obama administration. [...]
.25 Percent for Stocks
The measure would be based on legislation DeFazio proposed in the House that would apply a tax of 0.25 percent or 25 basis points to stock transactions in excess of $100,000, and a levy of 0.02 percent or 2 basis points on derivatives including futures, options, swaps and credit default swaps.
Harkin and DeFazio said the proposed new levy is backed by more than 200 economists, the AFL-CIO labor union federation and business leaders including Warren Buffett and Vanguard Group Inc. founder John C. Bogle, now president of Bogle Financial Markets Research.
On the top of the Republican hate list either just over or just under Barack Obama is Nancy Pelosi. Being from the vilified city of San Francisco, it seems every self-righteous wingnut in the world loves to hate Nancy. While I do not always agree with her, this unending attack and vilification from the right has actually whipped up a little sympathy for our Speaker of the House, I just wish she would quit playing footsies with these folks and fight them with all the resources at our disposal.
You see CEOs of these Industries making millions of dollars a year -- indeed many of them a million dollars a month -- for their 'Leadership' in withholding benefits, to people in NEED of Health.
With Healthcare Reform not getting done before the August recess Nancy Pelosi is setting the tone for the battle to win hearts and minds in the coming month-long debate. In the process of laying out the battle plan she is displaying a fighting spirit that helped sink George W. Bush's attempt at privitization of Social Security. An idea that has since proven if enacted millions of Seniors would have lost their livelihoods in the economic collapse.
In May a chorus of Republicans inside and outside Congress made hay out of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claim that the Central Intelligence Agency had not revealed its waterboarding policy during a 2002 briefing.
(an update on those GOPer tactics... - promoted by poligirl)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in Iowa Saturday for a major fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (minimum donation $2,500). She also tacked on a public event to discuss stimulus spending on education in Iowa.
The occasion gave us a glimpse of cutting-edge Republican strategery.
After the jump I've posted the full text of the letter, along with the list of those who signed. Here is an excerpt:
We believe trade agreements must meet basic standards protecting labor rights, environmental standards, food safety regulations, financial regulations, and taxation transparency. We are disturbed by Panama's tax haven status and the use of this tax haven by U.S. financial institutions like AIG and Citibank. The U.S. is currently contemplating stricter financial regulations to protect our economy, but the Panama FTA will likely weaken any such effort. We believe the Panama FTA should be renegotiated in order to address these outstanding issues.
President Obama campaigned effectively on changing the trade model and his message resonated with the American people. We believe the Panama FTA falls far short of that commitment and it is not in the best interests of the American worker, our economy, or our country. We share your commitment to fighting for working families and believe you can be an effective advocate for our cause.
The House members who signed the letter mostly belong to the Populist Caucus, House Trade Working Group, and/or the Progressive Caucus. One Republican signed: Walter Jones (NC-03).
We'll see whether the White House is willing to deviate significantly from the NAFTA model in this agreement. Whatever the final outcome, I am glad to see a large House contingent taking a stand for fair trade.
(a case for protectionism... - promoted by poligirl)
A flap was raised with European countries over a "buy American" clause in the Stimulus Bill. Since that bill will become law, it is being revisited. Now, it actually appears that American workers may at least benefit from some American policies. As she should, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended that in Europe.
Nancy Pelosi carries much blame for the breakdown in passing the bailout but NOT because of her "I'm holding my nose while voting" speech trying to herd Democrats to vote yes. Rather, it's the failure of BOTH Republican and Democratic House leadership to impeach Bush and Cheney for violating the Constitution, and replace them with trustworthy heads of state who govern for the good of all citizens!
Jim Boehner is blaming the nonpassage of the latest bailout bill on Nancy Pelosi. Why is he blaming her when she delivered a greater number of agreed-upon votes than he did?
Desperate times call for desperate measures--and the Republicans who initiated and lead on the deregulation contributing to this mess--are clearly desperate. Lately, Republican leaders and candidates have been lying and thrashing out at random, hoping that the public is inattentive. They hope that if they throw out enough charges that something will stick.
Here is the link to the Guardian site which provided the data: LINK TO TRANSCRIPT. The full speech is quoted below, as a Congressional Record item should be freely quotable. Read and judge for yourself if Boehner is trying to nail jelly to a tree.
