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Rick Plant:
GOP lawmakers inadvertently exposed their fake populism at recent House hearing

Some analyses of Trumpism and Republican populism have claimed to detect a strain of anti-corporate sentiment. It is true that today’s right-wingers are willing to criticize big tech companies for supposedly treating them unfairly, but most of the time the GOP continues to serve the interests of big business.

That was clear during an important hearing just held by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, commercial and administrative law. Subcommittee chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.), vice-chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), other Democratic members and the witnesses all raised serious questions about the current regulatory system, focusing on issues such as disclosure and social equity.

The Republicans, on the other hand, did their best to change the subject or spoke in favor of less rather than more oversight. Ranking member Ken Buck (R-Colo.) used his opening remarks to attack “executive overreach” and praise the Trump Administration’s wholesale attack on regulation.

Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) spent his time attacking what he claimed was a plan by the Justice Department to treat parents critical of school boards as domestic terrorists. One of the witnesses, NAACP climate justice director Jacqueline Patterson, was asked by Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) whether she was a revolutionary. She was also chastised for a facetious tweet about vaccines. The comments of GOP members on regulation were mainly limited to attacks on “woke bureaucrats.”

Despite these antics, there was a serious exchange between the Democrats and the witnesses on the failures of the current regulatory system. These issues are also addressed in the Stop Corporate Capture Act introduced by Rep. Jayapal. The legislation would create more transparency in rulemaking, reduce corporate influence over the process and create a framework for considering social equity. It would fine companies that lie about the impact of public interest rules. It would also create a Public Advocate to provide for more robust public participation.

It turns the usual discussion on its head. Rejecting the idea of executive overreach, the bill correctly diagnoses the problem as a situation of what one might call regulatory anemia. Agencies are not aggressive enough in tackling serious problems relating to the environment, the workplace and the marketplace. The parties meant to be targeted instead are playing an outsized role in creating the rules. Hence the reference in the bill’s title to regulatory capture.

Jayapal’s proposal is what one might call a populist approach to reforming the regulatory system—one that is not likely to receive support from corporate lobbyists. When they are not simply kicking up dust, Republicans, by contrast, are doing the bidding of big business by continuing the Trump Administration’s drumbeat against regulation.

This is one of those areas in which the conventional labels of U.S. politics continue to baffle me. Why are those working to benefit giant corporations called populists, while those who are seeking to rein in that power are called elitists?

https://www.rawstory.com/gop-lawmakers-inadvertently-exposed-their-fake-populism-at-recent-house-hearing/

Joe Elliott:

--- Quote from: Rick Plant on November 05, 2021, 10:59:17 PM ---President Biden is moving the country forward and is cleaning up the Trump economic disaster that devastated America.

ADP: Employers Added 571,000 Jobs in October, Beating Expectations:
Large companies in the services sector powered the strong monthly performance.

November 3, 2021

Employers added 571,000 jobs in October, above expectations, according to a monthly survey released Wednesday by private payroll firm ADP.

Gains were strongest among large companies, with increases of 342,000, and heavily concentrated in the services sector of the economy, with 458,000 new hires. The leisure and hospitality industry added 185,000 jobs.

Economists had been looking for 400,000 jobs to be created following September's increase of 568,000.

"The labor market showed renewed momentum last month, with a jump from the third quarter average of 385,000 monthly jobs added, marking nearly 5 million job gains this year," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "Service sector providers led the increase and the goods sector gains were broad based, reporting the strongest reading of the year. Large companies fueled the stronger recovery in October, marking the second straight month of impressive growth."

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, which helps ADP prepare the report, said, "The job market is revving back up as the Delta-wave of the pandemic winds down. Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.

The report comes two days before the Labor Department issues the monthly jobs numbers for October, with economists expecting close to 400,000 new jobs added in the month following September's disappointing 194,000 reading.

The labor market has been recovering, albeit unevenly, from the effects of the coronavirus which saw 22 million Americans lose their jobs in April of last year. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has fallen to 4.8%.

But companies say they find it difficult to find workers and are having to pay higher wages and offer flexible schedules to attract jobseekers. Nonetheless, companies continue to post jobs and say they expect robust hiring ahead.

Data from HireVue, a firm that provides businesses with virtual interviewing technology, says interviews picked up in October, with tech companies seeing the biggest increase, completing 66.3% more interviews than in September, with retailers completing 64.7% more interviews.

A separate report from ADP found that wage growth, which picked up sharply following the pandemic, is now returning to more normal levels. Wages grew 3.3% during the third quarter overall, but for job switchers the pace was double at 6.6%.

The health of the job market is one of two factors the Federal Reserve Board is considering as it decides when to begin "tapering" its $120-billion-per-month purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The central bank is widely expected to announce later Wednesday that it will cut that amount by $15 billion a month with a goal of ending the pandemic-era program by the middle of next year.

The other factor is inflation and there the news is not as sanguine. Consumer prices have been running about 5% higher year over year in 2021 and there are indications an inflation mindset has begun to set in that could make the Fed's job more difficult going forward.

It also complicates the political situation in Washington as President Joe Biden seeks to pass twin infrastructure bills with a razor-thin margin in Congress, which now seems even more in peril following Tuesday's election results which saw a Republican take the Virginia governor's race and a closer-than-expected contest for governor in the reliably Democrat state of New Jersey.

"An unmorring of inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling and self-perpetuating," economists Joseph LaVorgna and Troy Ludtka of Natixis CIB wrote Tuesday. "University of Michigan 5-year ahead inflation expectations have risen to a 10-year high but are still within their long-term range."

"However, the New York Fed's consumer price series has bounded higher," they added. "Is the U of M series headed for an upside breakout? We think so."

https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2021-11-03/adp-employers-added-571-000-jobs-in-october-beating-expectations


Companies add 571,000 jobs in October thanks to a big boost in hospitality hires, ADP says

Companies added 571,000 jobs for the month, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate.

Leisure and hospitality led the way with 185,000 new positions.

Large businesses were by far the biggest creators, adding 458,000

Private sector job creation popped higher in October thanks to a burst in hiring in the hospitality sector, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.

Companies added 571,000 for the month, beating the 395,000 Dow Jones estimate and just ahead of September’s downwardly revised 523,000. It was the best month for jobs since June.

Leisure and hospitality, a category that includes bars, restaurants, hotels and the like, saw a gain of 185,000 for a sector that remains well below its pre-pandemic employment level. The sector is seen as a proxy for an economic recovery that stalled over the summer due to a rise in the Covid delta variant and a massive clog in supply lines.

“The job market is revving back up as the delta wave of the pandemic winds down,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which aids ADP in compiling the report. “Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.”

Growth in the sector helped fuel an overall 458,000 gain in services jobs.

Professional and business services also contributed 88,000 hires, trade transportation and utilities added 78,000, and education and health services jobs were up 56,000.

On the goods-producing side, which added 113,000 positions, construction was up 54,000 and manufacturing contributed 53,000.

From a size standpoint, businesses with more than 500 employees by far led the way with 342,000 new hires. Businesses with fewer than 50 workers added 115,000 and medium-sized firms increased by 114,000.

The ADP report comes two days before the Labor Department’s more closely watched nonfarm payrolls count, which is projected to show an increase of 450,000, according to Dow Jones.

While ADP can serve as a precursor to the government’s count, the two can differ widely.

In September, ADP’s tally of private payroll creation – initially at 568,000 before being revised lower by 45,000 – was well above the Labor Department’s 317,000. The total nonfarm payrolls count for September was just 194,000, well below estimates and held back by a loss of 123,000 government jobs.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/private-payrolls-up-571000-in-october-on-jump-in-hospitality-hires-topping-395000-estimate-.html

--- End quote ---

All of which is all well and good. But the one reason I intend to vote for Biden in 2024, or whoever the Democratic nominee is, is because I am confidence that the Democratic nominee does not intend to become President for Life. Anything else that President Biden can give us, more jobs, a better economy, save the Ukraine, is gravy. But maintaining America as a democracy, a land where the will of the people means something, and can not be overturned by false claims of stolen elections, is President’s Biden most important job. I wish him every success.

Rick Plant:

--- Quote from: Joe Elliott on December 08, 2021, 04:11:41 AM ---All of which is all well and good. But the one reason I intend to vote for Biden in 2024, or whoever the Democratic nominee is, is because I am confidence that the Democratic nominee does not intend to become President for Life. Anything else that President Biden can give us, more jobs, a better economy, save the Ukraine, is gravy. But maintaining America as a democracy, a land where the will of the people means something, and can not be overturned by false claims of stolen elections, is President’s Biden most important job. I wish him every success.

--- End quote ---

Hi Joe,

I definitely agree with you on that. Preserving our democracy is the main important issue going forward and keeping the radical GOP out of office. We can't allow a party that supports fascism and neo nazi hate groups to be in power. Especially one that won't hold a criminal accountable for his crimes. And a party who has ties to insurrectionists.     

Rick Plant:
Congress reaches agreement to avert calamitous US debt default

US senators struck a deal Tuesday to create a one-time law allowing Democrats to lift the nation's borrowing authority and avert a catastrophic credit default without requiring votes from the opposition Republicans.

The House of Representatives approved the fix in an evening vote and it is expected to be approved by the Senate in the coming days -- allowing lawmakers to avert the crisis with a simple 51-vote majority in the upper chamber.

The Bipartisan Policy Center said last week it expected the United States would no longer be able to meet its debt repayment obligations between December 21 and January 28. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has put the deadline even earlier -- next Wednesday.

"Nobody wants to see the US default on its debts. As Secretary Yellen has warned, a default could eviscerate everything we've done to recover from the Covid crisis," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor of the chamber.

"We don't want to see that, I don't believe we will see that, and I continue to thank all my colleagues for cooperating in good faith to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States."

America spends more money than it collects through taxation, so it borrows money via the issuing of government bonds, seen as among the world's most reliable investments.

Around 80 years ago, lawmakers introduced a limit on how much federal debt could be accrued.

The ceiling has been lifted dozens of times to allow the government to meet its spending commitments -- usually without drama and with the support of both parties -- and stands at around $29 trillion.

Democratic leaders have spent weeks underlining the havoc that a default would have wrought, including the loss of an estimated six million jobs and $15 trillion in household wealth, as well as increased costs for mortgages and other borrowing.

But Republicans in both chambers of Congress initially objected to helping raise the limit this time around, saying they refused to support President Joe Biden's "reckless" taxing and spending plans.

In reality, both parties see raising the borrowing cap as politically toxic, and Republicans hope to weaponize the issue in the 2022 midterm election campaign.

Under the complex, multi-step compromise proposed Tuesday, the Republicans can essentially stand on the sidelines, offering help to create the new law but offering no votes to increase the limit.

Congress would have to specify the exact dollar amount of a new borrowing cap -- likely upwards of $30 trillion.

After the Senate has followed the House in approving the new process, both chambers are expected to pass the extension by simple majority votes ahead of the deadline.

Crucially, Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, is backing the process.

"I think this is in the best interest of the country, by avoiding default," he told reporters when questioned about the convoluted approach.

Agence France-Presse

Rick Plant:
Devin Nunes' resignation reveals a depressing truth about the destruction of democracy



In any time before, leaving Congress to work for Donald Trump would be a huge financial step down in the world, like trading a job as a corporate lawyer for selling handmade Christmas ornaments in the park. Trump is, after all, one of the most spectacularly incompetent businessmen of all time. He is a man who was gifted a real estate empire and a billion dollars by his father and producer Mark Burnett, yet somehow managed not only to burn through all that money but also to go another one billion dollars into debt. Leaving your cush job as a congressman on the verge of chairing a prominent House committee to work for the guy who somehow lost $2 billion seems like a bad bet. But it's a bet that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is taking.

On Monday, the Trump loyalist announced that he's leaving the House to take a job as the CEO of the newly-formed Trump Media & Technology Group, even though, as Jon Skolnik reports for Salon, "Trump's new social media platform is reportedly under investigation by federal regulators." While it's tempting to snicker at Nunes and hope this business venture fails as badly as every other Trump business, the depressing truth is that Nunes is probably right that this is a cash cow. Due to the huge right-wing base that can be endlessly milked for profit, being a fascist stooge these days is like printing money.

For proof, look no further than this new report from the Washington Post, exposing how lucrative it was for Trump lawyer Sidney Powell to spread lies about President Joe Biden "stealing" the 2020 election. In the months after the November election, Powell raised an eye-popping $14 million "from donors inspired by her fight to reverse the outcome of the vote," the Post reports. Unsurprisingly, "questions about where the money was going" have led to "acrimony between Powell and her top lieutenants," as they scuffle over these ill-gotten gains.

Or take the example of former White House advisor Steve Bannon, who seems to be doing just fine, grifting-wise, even though he literally got arrested in 2020 on charges of defrauding donors for his phony "border wall" project. Bannon was pardoned in the hours before Trump was finally forced to leave the White House, but got right back to shaking down gullible MAGAheads for money. As a report by ProPublica published last month shows, Bannon has set up an elaborate scheme to make money off Google Ads, despite the company's policies against funding violently fascist propaganda. Bannon's front page on his website tricks the ad algorithim with "innocuous stock content, such as tips on how to protect your phone in winter weather." Right below, however, is a video player that "routinely portrays participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as patriots and airs false claims about the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic." All funded, inadvertently, by "prominent brands as Land Rover, Volvo, DoorDash, Staples and even Harvard University."

Right-wing politics have always been deeply intertwined with sleazy and even illegal grifting schemes meant to separate elderly racists from their kids' inheritance. Nearly every right-wing figurehead has an email newsletter that directs readers to dish out money for fake cancer cures, gold bug scams, and useless "survivalist" goods. But after the failed January 6 insurrection, there's expanded opportunity for pumping the right-wing base for money, with promises that democracy will be overturned and power restored to a shrinking conservative minority.

To be certain, Trumpists like Powell and Bannon are entirely sincere about their hopes that they can gut electoral systems and install Trump as an illegitimate authoritarian president. But they also recognize how the millions of Americans who share those hopes are only too happy to turn over their retirement accounts for the fascist cause.

Of course, there is no bigger fraudster than Trump himself.

Trump's supposed media company, the one Nunes is joining, is looking very much like an elaborate scam. Trump has raised hundreds of millions of dollars of investor funds, even though, as Matt Levine of Bloomberg writes, there "absolutely no financial or technical or business information" available publicly about the company and almost no sign that the company is "actually building a social network or a streaming platform or anything else." The supposed valuation of the project is $1.6 billion, but that is literally based on nothing but the fact that Trump is attached to it. You know, the guy who took a billion cash and managed to turn it into a billion dollars of debt before running for president.

As Judd Legum of Popular Info reports, the people involved in this scheme seem less interested in building a company than "than fleecing retail traders for a quick buck," by artificially driving up the price of stocks and flipping "these stocks immediately." No wonder the whole shady deal is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Still, Nunes is running towards this scheme and not away, and it's no wonder.

Even if, as it seems likely, the whole thing is a scam, there's no reason to think that it will backfire on the scammers. Trump and most of his buddies haven't paid a single legal penalty for trying to overthrow the U.S. government. Of course, they feel confident that they'll get away with shaking down a bunch of gullible investors who mistakenly think Trump, who couldn't manage his own checking account if he had to do so himself, is somehow going to create a major media company. Yes, some of the low-level fraudsters in Trumpworld do face legal penalties, but Trump's ability to skirt justice seems bulletproof, especially when Attorney General Merrick Garland seems afraid to actually deal with the former president.

On one hand, it's hard not to laugh. Who cares if Trump and his buddies separate MAGA fools from their money? On the other hand, the problem is these frauds aren't merely frauds. They really are financing what is so far an extremely successful effort to lay the groundwork for stealing the 2024 election.

The fascist movement is very real, even if there's a lot of fraud wound into it by leaders hoping to get their beaks wet while they end democracy. Our legal system's inability to deal with the fraud aspect is just a symptom of a larger problem, which is a failure to deal with these arsonists of democracy at all. If that doesn't change, this country will have a lot more to worry about than idiot retirees emptying out their bank accounts for the latest "stop the steal" scam.

https://www.rawstory.com/devin-nunes-resignation-reveals-a-depressing-truth-about-the-destruction-of-democracy/

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