Does the Affordable Care Act create more part-time work? 2 perspectives
One of the objections to the Affordable Care Act is that it will encourages employers to cut employee hours to create more part time work in order to avoid the…
SEC takes harder line against fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission signaled it was taking a harder line on Wall Street’s rampant problem with fraud by extracting its first admission of wrongdoing from Philip Falcone, CEO…
DOJ stands up to corporate greed
In back to back announcements the Department of Justice signaled it was standing up to unrestricted corporate business practices on Wall Street. Yesterday, the DOJ said it would bring criminal…
Despite huge losses banks continue subprime mortgage securities fraud
There is an interesting article in today’s New York Times business blog about the reverberation of subprime mortgage securities that are still being peddled by banks and financial institutions. Below…
Rethinking home loans without regulation means a repeat of crisis
Update: Thursday, August 9. Today Fannie Mae announced a quarterly profit of $10 billion and projected profits for the foreseeable future. When this dividend is paid, Fannie will have repaid…
Economists worry financial lessons from last recession are ignored
There is an interesting article in today’s New York Times by Adam Davidson of NPR’s “Planet Money” that explores both sides of the economic spectrum about whether more or less…
Hidden tax on expensive health care coverage may hurt public workers
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) many states that see the wisdom of compliance are setting up health insurances exchanges, but under a little known provision called the “Cadillac Tax,”…
S&P profits get bounce from inflating the ratings of bank investments
Here is an example of why American democracy and, by extension, the economy is irrational in real terms. Banks and financial institutions such as investment ratings agencies like Standard and…
Obama proposes lower corporate tax rates, but tax reform remains elusive
There is a concerted bipartisan effort to pass tax reform legislation among centrist Democrats and Republicans alike. However, the deep animosity between the radicalized House Republicans and the Obama Administration…
Detroit bankruptcy highlights unfair treatment for America’s workers
Labor leaders from the AFL-CIO called on President Obama and Gov. Rick Snyder to provide financial help to the struggling city of Detroit. The city filed for bankruptcy last week…