Sunday, December 28, 2014

Cong. Paul Cook [CA-08] keeps his Military & Assembly pensions whole while his constituents get theirs cut!

"The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insures these pensions, says that some 10 percent of multiemployer plans — covering about 1.5 million people — are in such financial trouble that they are likely to become insolvent. The PBGC estimated that its fund insuring multiemployer plans will likely run out of money in eight to 10 years unless changes are made.
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Some lawmakers argued that these distressed plans need the ability to cut retirees’ benefits so pensions can survive longer.
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AARP and other consumer advocates argue that these pensions aren’t in immediate danger of insolvency so there is no need to rush this drastic measure without considering alternatives, such as scaling back on optional benefits in a plan or providing the PBGC with greater funds and the authority to intervene earlier. Advocates also worry that this move by lawmakers might someday open the door to similar pension cuts in other plans".

source: http://blog.aarp.org/2014/12/16/those-pension-cuts-and-what-you-need-to-know/ via @aarp
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So why the cuts--its about stock dividends. When reserves can be cut, that chunk of cash goes into the company's "income" improving "performance" and dividend values.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Corporate Welfare and Subsidized Pollution Activity....Need to Stop it--Great Salon article recapping the tragedy

7 leading candidates for corporate rip-off of the year: Pharmaceutical companies are jacking up drug prices, while Wal-Mart is paying its employees with your money & the Koch Brothers store polluting materials upwind from homes&schools source: http://www.salon.com/2014/11/28/7_leading_candidates_for_corporate_rip_off_of_the_ year_partner/ ?source=newsletter

More Evidence that Col. Paul Cook -R (CA-08) Lied to Get Votes....the Job Bills he voted for and bragged about in his campaign literature are as bogus as he is destructive of our environment

(1) Jobs Bills That Don't Create Jobs: What Republican Control Could Mean

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/republican-jobs-bills_n_6227190.html

(2) None Of The 40 Jobs Bills That John Boehner Claims House Republicans Passed Create Jobs
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http://www.politicususa.com/2014/09/08/40-jobs-bills-john-boehner-claims-house-republicans-passed-create-jobs.html
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(3) Economists See Limited Gains in GOP Plan

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/us/politics/economists-see-holes-in-a-republican-wish-list.html?_r=0

(4) Boehner’s ‘Bipartisan’ Bunk

http://www.factcheck.org/2014/11/boehners-bipartisan-bunk/