Social Security Turns 80... Its Days May Be Numbered

By Lowell Ponte

Today Social Security and its related benefit programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are running short of money – and are in real trouble. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is expected to run out of money in 2016.  President Obama's administration relaxed its qualifications, and SSDI beneficiaries increased by 50 percent, to more than 10 million. This is almost as many as have full-time jobs in all of manufacturing. Social Security was supposed to keep Americans safe from old age poverty – but Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are rapidly running out of money.  Its rising taxes on younger workers might soon drive them into poverty and leave millions unable to retire. [more...]

Greece - €86 Billion Euro Later

By Michelle Seiler-Tucker

After 17 hours of negotiation, Greece accepted a bailout plan to the tune of €86 billion euro. The settlement set forth by Greece's three creditors, "the troika," is harsh, but it needs to be. European Commission, IMF, and ECB officials are wary of Greece's commitment to repaying debt, and structured a deal which left very little room for Greece to wiggle out. If Greece avoids its required payments, or deviates from the settlement, near-automatic spending cuts will be activated. Greek parliament votes on the settlement this week - the three creditor institutions will then formalize and institute the plans. Here are the key points to the settlement package: Greece must simplify its tax code and expand its VAT. To mitigate the negative effects of widely increasing taxes, €35 billion euro from the EU will become available for economic stimulus. [more...]

Trade Agreements Must Address Currency Manipulation

By Stephani Scruggs

As the United States Senate prepares to call a vote on granting President Obama Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority to finalize the Trans Pacific Trade Agreement, (TPP), the Coalition for a Strong America submitted a strong warning to Congress that currency manipulation must be addressed in any trade agreement: "The Obama Administration's refusal to address currency manipulation is stunning, considering most of the TPP partners are IMF currency manipulation violators.  If TPP does not address currency manipulation, there is simply no way TPP can honestly be called a free trade agreement" said Michael Bowen, the organization's National Co-Chair and Reagan Committee inductee. The Coalition letter will be circulated to Members of Congress this week as Congressional leadership attempts to bring Fast Track Trade Authority to a vote. [more...]

Did Greece Vote "NO" on its Future?

By Lowell Ponte

Have the Greeks just manipulated democracy to commit suicide - or to kill the Euro currency, destroy a united Europe, and undermine America's economy as well? On Sunday, July 5, Greeks voted "no" by roughly 61 percent in a national referendum to, as the New York Times put it, "reject bailout terms in rebuff to European leaders." In fact, European leaders had said that their offer to rescue a Greece drowning in debt would automatically end at midnight on June 30 if Greece failed to make a required debt payment. The ruling radical leftist Syriza Party called for this strange vote on a European bailout offer that had already been withdrawn five days earlier. By voting "no," Greeks could have been voting either "yes" or "no" to accept a conditional European bailout. And to further tilt the outcome, Syriza violated the traditional ballot order in yes-no votes by making its preferred "no" the first, not customary second, box to check on Sunday's ballot. [more...]

Cash-strapped Chicago Desperately Seeks Revenue by Taxing the Cloud

By James Hirsen

The Windy City has done the Beatles' "Taxman" lyrics one better by going after streaming concerns, which happen to include Netflix, Spotify, Xbox Live and Apple Music, among others. As brick-and-mortar retail outlets are on the decline and costs of online services are on the rise, cash-strapped municipalities burdened with upside down financial statements have been eyeing the Internet for some relief. Chicago appears to have taken the lead with its virtual raising of the price of cloud services via a new tax assessment. Since the city is facing a massive budget shortfall, largely due to pension payment obligations, the financially troubled city in an expansion of its "amusement tax" is imposing a nine percent tax on any activity that involves "watching electronically delivered television shows, movies or videos" (Netflix), "listening to electronically delivered music" (Spotify, Apple Music), or "participating in games, online or otherwise" (Xbox Live). [more...]

The Greek Time Bomb

By Michelle Seiler-Tucker

Saturday, Greek officials walked away from debt negotiations and announced a referendum vote for July, 5th on the proposed debt repayment plan. In the interim week, Athens imposed strict capital controls. Today, Greece is due to pay the IMF 1.6 billion euro; however, default here seems likely. The Greek appear to be divided on accepting the EU's bailout plan: with it will come a salvaged economy, albeit with increased taxes and cuts to their much-loved pensions; but without it, Greece could be forced off the euro, and possibly out of the EU itself. Monday, with news of shuttered Greek banks, markets across the world opened in the red. Investors in U.S. markets were only slightly cooled by Greek worry, with the Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 all opening about .7 percent down. European indices faced losses greater than the U.S., (2-3 percent declines) but overall, no major economic turmoil.  In this time of economic worry, investors are moving away from volatile equity markets and parking assets in stable U.S., UK, and German bonds, all of which have seen an increase in price, and inversely proportional drop in interest rates. [more...]

The Truth about Fast Track TPA

By Stephani Scruggs

Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is a piece of legislation that transfers Constitutional negotiation powers from Congress to the President who may use this power to negotiate any international trade agreement with any partner he chooses over the next few years (including Iran and Cuba) and to negotiate the agreements in any way the President sees fit.  Under TPA, Congress agrees to give up in advance the ability to change any existing or future trade agreement, even before Congress has actually read the agreements.  Instead, TPA requests the President consider 150 'negotiating objectives' on which Congress would like the President to 'make progress.'  The President is not required to actually accomplish any of these objectives and may ignore those requests at will.  In fact, the 2015 TPA bill makes clear that failure to achieve or make progress on any of the negotiating objectives shall not be cause for Congress to revoke trade authority from the President. Worst of all, by giving up its ability to amend or change any related laws and regulations, the President and the World Trade Organization decide to impose on the U.S.; Congress is also transferring its law-making powers to world courts. [more...]