A Cash Feeding Frenzy
(CFN-February 14, 2009) - Even the previous Bush administration felt the need to rush and spend billions of taxpayer’s dollars in its attempt to save the country and it’s economy. We have seen the same rush strategy with the Obama administration as well.
Who really thinks that we are doing the right thing and that this is really going to fix our economic problems? There is one thing for sure, the holes in these “rush and get it done” proposals lack much forethought and are sure to reveal plenty of holes after the smoke clears.
To give one example: We have asked CommonFolk from across the country if they think that any company receiving taxpayer funding should be able to contribute to any elected officials campaign before repaying every cent they have receive from the taxpayers. How can one think that these bailed out companies should be allowed to contribute any monies to any politician before repaying these loans.
Let us examine this.
The Obama administration along with help from members of Congress puts billions of dollars into the hands of corporate America. Money, which CFN thinks will never make it to Main Street. These monies flow out of the front door, through the pockets of corporate America and into the hands of elected officials.
CFN believes that we are creating one of the biggest "cash feeding frenzies" ever to grip this country! CFN believes that Political Action Committees (PACs) are going to raise record-breaking amounts of dollars that are far more than we have ever seen before in the years to come. Moreover, these dollars may be tied to the funding taxpayers provided to corporate America.
CFN question's the audacity of those in this country that find pleasure in beating up on the bankers for paying out billions in bonuses for poor performance, while allowing the same bankers to contribute to politician’s campaigns. Should bankers be allowed to contribute monies to politicians who are the ones that bear the biggest brunt of responsibility for allowing this economic disaster to snowball in the first place?
Do I smell campaign finance reform or not? Who is talking about that? Who is going to even mention such a topic on the eve of the biggest frenzy for cash in the history of this country? CFN believes that a good portion of these dollars will be stashed waiting to find it's way into the PAC of some of the biggest power brokers in the country; our locally elected politicians. Are CommonFolk the only group of people in America that see and understand that this is a terrible wrong? Where are our representatives?
Are CommonFolk to believe that there will be no benefit to those politicians that have spent hours and days on top of days crafting legislation to get these billions of dollars into the hands of America’s corporations?
CommonFolk asks all Americans to express this concern to your lawmakers and ask that they place restrictions on companies receiving TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) and other bailout funding from contributing any monies to any elected officials until such time they have paid every penny back to tax payers. And further more make it illegal for any elected politician to lawfully accept any dollars from any company that have received any TARP or bailout funding. This would undoubtedly prevent politicians from receiving “bonuses” during the most difficult time for American since the Great Depression.**
40 Years later...and Still No Pension
No clear answers on how to include sanitation workers into City's Pension
(CFN-Memphis TN 7-2008) - The most recent developments in the Memphis sanitation workers plight seems to be the unknown cost or procedure for including new or existing sanitation workers into the city of Memphis' pension plan and getting the city's administration to engage in these talks along with other pressing health and safety issues within the Public Works department.
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