As of June 29, McConnell will not discuss further pandemic relief.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
McConnell has indicated that talks will not resume until after the Senate's two-week Fourth of July recess.
Monday, June 29, 2020
Health insurers successfully lobbied Trump administration to avoid paying for certain COVID-19
https://sirota.substack.com/p/trumps-covid-directive-may-force
Tests required to go back to school or work often must be paid by the family or the employer. The Administration will not allow unemployment insurance for those called back to work and will not impose safety measures on employers. Some states have granted employers immunity.
Charlie Cooper
Maryland's local election directors call for hybrid election
Local election officials have spoken out for the first time and have proposed a detailed plan. They say that there would not be sufficient polling places or election judges to hold a traditional election. Republican elected officials, though, have called for a traditional, in-person election. Gov. Hogan has delayed action beyond the time that election officials requested a decision.
Charlie Cooper
Sunday, June 28, 2020
New book shows how election can be stolen
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-trump-stole-2020-greg-palast/1136935885?ean=9781644210567
Greg Palast is a veteran reporter with a history of exposing schemes to purge, discourage, and refuse to count the votes of registered voters – especially minority voters. His new book comes out on July 14. Disclosure: This book has an anti-Republican slant.
Charlie Cooper
Income and Wealth Inequality Has Devastated American Workers
New York Times editorial: The root cause is the influence of money in politics.
Marty Wulfe
Official U.S. Treasury release on PPP info disclosure
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1041
Official U.S. Treasury release describing categories of data that will be released about larger PPP loans. Names of businesses will not be released nor will data about smaller businesses.
Charlie Cooper
Mitch McConnell doubles down on employer liability protection and controlling national debt
The Senate Majority leader expressed concern that employees not be able to sue employers over working conditions and the federal debt be controlled. The next pandemic relief bill will originate in his office, he avers. Employer protection is “non-negotiable.” No similar urgency is expressed about conditions for workers or lower-income people.
Charlie Cooper
Report of Federal Reserve Municipal Liquidity Facility
https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/mlf-6-15-2020.pdf
As of June 4, the U.S. Treasury had supplied half of the $35 billion it pledged to support this Special Purpose Vehicle that would support the municipal bond market. No Fed funds had been supplied to the SPV. [Does this mean the SPV had acquired no securities]
Charlie Cooper
Report on 4 Federal Reserve Emergency Facilities through May 31, 2020
https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/pdcf-cpff-mmlf-pplf-6-10-2020.pdf#page=2
Primary Dealer Credit Facility, Commercial Paper Facility, Money Market Liquidity Facility, PPP liquidity Facility. Altogether, there is about $100 billion in outstanding loans. The Fed claims that collateral value exceeds the loans. The Money Market Facility has lent $32.5 billion and is backed by $10 billion in U.S. Treasury funding.
Charlie Cooper
Friday, June 26, 2020
Story about neighborhood small business devastation with good statistics on pandemic aid distribution
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/how-the-covid-19-stimulus-has-threatened-your-neighborhood-and-mine
Thanks for this one to Betty Robinson. I would just add that the decision to funnel aid through an inadequate unemployment insurance bureaucracy has also been devastating to workers.
Charlie Cooper
The Federal Reserve is run by millionaires
https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/every-federal-reserve-board-member
Everyone on the Fed Board is a millionaire, but, since the agency’s job is regulate lending markets, borrowers should also be represented. Also, there are various tidbits about U.S. anti-trust enforcement – or lack thereof. Mergers have reduced the number of black-owned banks and removed grocery stores from black communities.
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Establishment Dem SuperPAC aids Hickenlooper after ethics woes
“Reeling from ethics violations for accepting gifts as governor, Hickenlooper appears to be losing ground to former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who is running as a progressive. That prompted Senate Majority PAC to spend nearly $1.5 million on ad buys supporting Hickenlooper over the last two weeks. Let’s Turn Colorado Blue, a recently formed super PAC that will use a loophole to keep its donors secret until after election day on June 30, launched a $1.1 million ad campaign attacking Romanoff over his immigration record."
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
A review of the myriad problems with 50 states setting up various methods of vote by mail
This is a good review of all the obstacles to a fair, secure, and accessible election in November.
Charlie Cooper
Re: Revealed: police unions spend millions to influence policy in biggest US cities
Here's an short attached summary of recent news items about politicians returning or swearing off police union campaign donations after activists raised the issue in the media.
Joe Adams
On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 7:23 AM Martin Wulfe <mwulfe2020@gmail.com> wrote:
Guardian analysis shows how organizations and officers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago work against reform.
Marty Wulfe
Revealed: police unions spend millions to influence policy in biggest US cities
Guardian analysis shows how organizations and officers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago work against reform.
Marty Wulfe
Monday, June 22, 2020
'This is a war': Republicans ramp up bid to control election maps for next decade
Marty Wulfe
A New York City paramedic on treating coronavirus patients and dealing with trauma - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/21/paramedic-new-york-city-coronavirus/?arc404=true&utm_campaign=wp_evening_edition&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_evening
A revealing ground-level view of inequality in the financial center of our nation. This is the dystopia that pay-to-play politics built.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Poorest seniors shut out of California's new meal program - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-20/senior-meals-program?utm_source=sfmc_100035609&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News+Alert%3a+Poorest+seniors+shut+out+of+California%27s+new+meal+program+-+00000172-d2c4-dd84-a7f2-dfd4&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.latimes.com%2fcalifornia%2fstory%2f2020-06-20%2fsenior-meals-program&utm_id=8720&sfmc_id=643693
Patchwork umbrella lets the rain right in.
Charlie Cooper
Friday, June 19, 2020
Trillions in Stimulus Go Unchecked With Watchdogs Kept Toothless
Some of the oversight bodies are barely functional: A special inspector general was only recently sworn in, a congressional panel still lacks a chairman and staff, and President Donald Trump quickly removed the official who was going to lead a separate accountability committee.
Marty Wulfe
U.S. lets private equity forms have access to workers' 401K accounts
DOL ruling will allow private equity honchos to collect big fees from workers who choose to invest in their funds.
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, June 18, 2020
More on SuperPACs involvement in NYC congressional race
Pro-Israel group goes negative against challenger to Eliot Engel.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
WHITEHOUSE, DOGGETT RELEASE NEW ANALYSIS SHOWING GOP TAX PROVISIONS IN CARES ACT OVERWHELMINGLY BENEFIT MILLION-DOLLAR-PLUS EARNERS
Joint Tax Committee breakdown shows 4 OUT OF 5 tax filers that benefit make $1 million or more; A wealthy few would receive an average windfall of $1.6 MILLION - dwarfing bill’s $1,200 payments for working Americans.
Marty Wulfe
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Charts show results of U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey on effects of pandemic
https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/hhp/#/
Powerful information about the extent of suffering – food insecurity, housing insecurity, loss of income.
Charlie Cooper
Friday, June 12, 2020
Federal Reserve could save the state and local governments if Congress won't
https://prospect.org/coronavirus/unsanitized-federal-reserve-can-end-state-fiscal-crisis/
They could boost and reconfigure the Municipal Lending Facility.
Charlie Cooper
Iowa Senate tries to kill huge vote-by-mail success
https://fortune.com/2020/06/09/vote-by-mail-iowa-senate-bill-presidential-election-trump-biden/
Fake voter fraud used as cover.
Thanks to Tina Coplan for finding this.
Trump Administration Refuses To Disclose Which Businesses Received $500 Billion In Government Bailout
The move will prevent oversight of 4.5 million businesses that took a government Paycheck Protection Program loan. One critic called it “unconscionable, jaw-dropping corruption.”
Marty Wulfe
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Demand for Paycheck Protection Loans has dried up and some businesses are returning the money
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/business/Small-business-loans-ppp.html
$12 billion had been returned and only $9 billion in new loans made in the last 2 weeks of May.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Inequality predicts financial crises says Federal reserve researcher
https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/wp2017-23.pdf
Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco shows still more clearly the link between economic inequality and financial-crisis risk. This paper deploys exhaustive research across decades in 17 countries based on statistical correlations of inequality, productivity, credit growth, and crises. Although productivity has a strong impact on crisis risk, a widening income share for the top one percent is the most predictive antecedent to a crash even when controlling for an array of other possible causes, including the asset-price bubbles that gave the Fed so much pause yet again in its latest financial-stability report.
Charlie Cooper
Payroll Protection Program Flexibility Act is a win for business
More details on how this helps businesses. It looks like the amount going to payroll will be substantially reduced.
Charlie Cooper
Congress passes changes in Paycheck Protection Program
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1026
Businesses will have 24 weeks instead of 8 weeks to spend the money on eligible expenses and receive loan forgiveness. Percentage of funds spent on employee compensation reduced from 75% to 60%. Foregiveness can be expanded to those who spend less than 60% on employees, with restrictions
Charlie Cooper
Fed allows smaller firms to get loans via Main Street Lending Facility
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20200608a.htm
Max loan is also increasing – perhaps a way to help bigger businesses.
Charlie Cooper
Monday, June 8, 2020
NYTimes.com: Hospitals Got Bailouts and Furloughed Thousands While Paying C.E.O.s Millions
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/business/hospitals-bailouts-ceo-pay.html?smid=em-share
Hospitals Got Bailouts and Furloughed Thousands While Paying C.E.O.s Millions Dozens of top recipients of government aid have laid off, furloughed or cut the pay of tens of thousands of employees.
Marty Wulfe
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Supreme Court let's Montana's strong disclosure law stand
https://thefulcrum.us/campaign-finance/montana-campaign-finance-law
Victory for campaign finance reformers.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Native American voting rights at risk
https://thefulcrum.us/voting/native-american-voting-rights-2646153121
Marty Wulfe and Charlie Cooper
ALEC supporting far-right "liberate" groups protesting to "open up the economy"
The groups that argue they have a constitutional right not to wear masks are being funded by a group that helps to make it a crime to protest near an oil pipeline.
Charlie Cooper
Friday, June 5, 2020
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Investors flock to BlackRock funds after they win Federal Reserve contract
https://www.ft.com/content/7091a2a5-7eef-4c78-8331-9fd986925f8a
They have gained an absolutely monstrous advantage over rivals like Vanguard since becoming the manager of Federal Reserve purchases of corporate bonds and ETFs comprised of bonds.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Ass't Treasury Secretary in charge of corporate bailouts has conflict of interest
His family firm – in which he retains an interest – specializes in the exact market that he is bailing out via CARES Act and the Federal Reserve System.
Charlie Cooper
SBA sets aside $10 billion of PPP for Community Development Financial Institutiosn
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1020
“CDFIs work to expand economic opportunity in low-income communities by providing access to financial products and services for local residents and businesses…. As of May 23, 2020, CDFIs have approved more than $7 billion ($3.2 billion in Round 2) in PPP loans. The additional $6.8 billion will ensure that entrepreneurs and small business owners in all communities have easy access to the financial system, and that they receive much-needed capital to maintain their workforces."
Charlie Cooper
Fed intervened in financial system starting in September 2019 and hasn't reported why
“The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, promised months ago to report to the American people on what caused the need for the Fed’s intervention in the repo loan market on September 17 and what necessitated it to remain as the lender of last resort in that market for all these past months. The Fed has failed to release any such report.”
This article also summarized the Fed’s Balance Sheet, which now total $7 trillion.
Charlie Cooper
H: 410-578-8291
M: 410-624-6095
Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) 
“We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Louis Brandeis
Re: New study calls for non-partisan primaries in Baltimore
Wow, Charlie, thank you for sharing this – VERY interesting! Not that I think the parties in Maryland will ever relinquish their power in my lifetime, but this is very helpful.
-- Dona
________________________________________
Dona Sauerburger, COMS
Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the blind
Gambrills, Maryland
dona@sauerburger.org / 301-858-0138
www.sauerburger.org
________________________________________
From: Charlie Cooper
Sent: Tuesday, June 2, 2020 11:23 AM
Subject: New study calls for non-partisan primaries in Baltimore
Congress erred in timing of CARES Act measures
https://prospect.org/coronavirus/unsanitized-cares-act-temporary-relief-state-cuts-bankruptcies/
In April, personal income went up hugely but personal spending went down. In May, we will see a big decline in personal income because aid to households will be cut off and spending will remain low.
Charlie Cooper
Monday, June 1, 2020
IRS lets rich tax cheats slide
Years of cuts to IRS staff have resulted in hundreds of thousands of insances in which wealthy taxpayers didn’t file but were not pursued. In 3 years, more than $40 billion was uncollected.
Charlie Cooper
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