How exactly can that work? They didn't dissolve the company?

It's pretty clear they are trying to raise their casino derivatives from the dead.

Just today, Alan Blinder wrote an NYT op-ed talking about one of my "themes" which is the minute the public attention has moved elsewhere, basically financial reform is sputtering to death...the lobbyists are killing it, although IMHO, Geithner's "super regulator Fed" killed it in a lot of ways...i.e. the Obama administration is looking in league with the bad guys vs. presenting true reform..

AND it appears the only ones even slightly serious is the House Financial Services Committee (and the SIGTARP inspector and COP, with the FDIC and the FASB being beaten up and pressured).

I've always considered COBRA to be one of those "for show only" programs and should be significantly modified.

i.e. a person is laid off and then they have the "option" to pay the premiums to continue their employer based health insurance.....but....those premiums are usually more than rent and the house payment.

So, unless employers are forced to pay those premiums when laying off workers or, those premiums are scaled to actual income coming in or something...

I honestly don't see the benefit (although I don't know the statistics, I'm writing this comment from general knowledge) since few can afford the original COBRA premiums in the first place.

I don't know who sets those premium amounts but if it's the employers....then clearly it's for show...no way they are paying $2k a month for example in health insurance premiums per an individual, at least from some of the scaled back benefits I've seen.

I'm unsure of the tax credit. I mean if it's gone, do home prices keep dropping to align with actual wages? What a damned if you do, damned if you don't. If prices aligned with wages, that is great for future home owners....but of course decimates the #1 wealth value for those who already own homes. Keep the prices up, new home buyers cannot really afford them because they are overpriced in comparison to wages.

I think the median home price in the CA bay area is still half a million dollars. Even when $150k base salary that is one rough ride and if you lose your job, which is very common in disposable worker Silicon valley...you are completely screwed.

In NYC area, it's like the "busing" system....poor people are bussed in to work for the rich folk...then bussed out to go live elsewhere...
seriously, who could possibly afford even a closet in that entire area even when pulling $150k/yr?

When I went looking for the "best of the lot" for Sunday Morning Comics, I found a slew of really nasty images, youtubes and so on against Obama and this is the reason. The MSM sure doesn't report it but that's the real reason, this continuation of the corporate lobbyist agenda that the tide is turning against Obama/administration.

It's astounding how this is not reported. MSM always zeroes in on crazies, horse race, completely ignoring this lobbyist, bought and paid for legislation.

I also saw another beyond belief disturbing trend. I saw a host of extreme violence, under the category of "comedy" in youtubes. I've never seen so many as I did yesterday.

Every week I basically hunt high and low through hundreds of youtubes, online videos, sift through what I can find online in terms of talks/documentaries and so on to put up those two series FNV, SMC and I was really shocked.

What really bothers me is that, if you look at MSM articles, you'd swear that no one in the U.S. prior to 2009 has ever lost their jobs, had to take pay cuts, or had their hours cut in their lives. For a substantial number of people, they've had to live through these job loss/pay cut cycles since [name the economic downturn of your choice]. People deplete their savings, and spend the "recoveries" paying off debts rather than building up their savings accounts. I don't think the pundits truly understand that many Americans are fed up with stories about how much better off we'll be after each round of creative job destruction. Lower and middle class Americans simply cannot afford any more boom/bust cycles.

passed the house. All it does is give a symbolic vote, nonbiding to shareholders on executive comp.

Believe this or not, even that, supposedly they are going to kill in the Senate.

It's like the Senate is nothing more than a pure corporate lobbyist dream fest. The Senate needs a major flush!

They are "banking" on the public having a short attention span on this.

Notice that? There was outrage over bonuses and then people went back asleep again.

We must have executive compensation restructured and some serious reforms on corporate governance as well.

What do we get? Oh, a "nonbinding" shareholder vote and the financial lobbyists are fighting even that, tooth and nail.

Even worse, the MSM focuses in on horse races and fringe crazies....they never focus or talk about the real outrage in this country and what it is really over...

probably because that would expose the reality there is no "Democratic/Republican" great divide (although there is a divide in solution approaches) but on many issues...like outrageous executive pay, that one crosses philosophies, party lines.

It's obviously a rigged game and it cuts into corporate profits. I forget the percentage but it was amazingly high how much profit is pocketed due to executive compensation ...and that's just went the company is making money...they can run that company into the ground...or better yet...cause a global economic meltdown...and nothing happens to their compensation packages and bonuses for the most part.

FT:

Last year demand across the US food bank network surged 30 per cent. Almost all outlets reported seeing new visitors. “People who used to donate to the food bank are now coming to the food bank – so imagine the shame,” says Shamia Holloway, communications manager at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, which supplies food to the Community Ministry and 700 other local agencies. “A lot of these people came from good jobs.”

People cannot get food stamps because they have $2k in the bank (these days $2k probably won't make 1 mortgage payment in many areas of the country) and so they are using the food bank...

this one describes people driving by in line in their cars to get food.

The Financial Times picked up on the record food stamp recipients.

the Financial Times has learnt that some 40 per cent of the families now on food stamps have “earned income”, up from 25 per cent two years ago

Now this has to be beyond low in terms of income because the poverty levels to qualify for food stamps mean you cannot rent a cardboard box (if single, only if you have kids can you qualify for any sort of shelter as part of welfare).

I'd still like to be able to find the raw data. Looks like FT plain may have called on that old fashioned device the telephone.

the frozen tundra had such a large population. ;)

Honestly DK, I don't care where someone came from, except it probably reflects that national agenda to use people to capture services.