The Barack Obama Presidency: 100 Days And Counting

by: robert.harding

Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 20:21:00 PM EDT

Today marks the 100th day of President Barack Obama's first term in office. There are many reviews of the Obama administration's first 100 days in office, including Jonathan Alter's take and the Brennan Center's report card on transparency in the new White House.

You can make your own judgments of the first 100 days, but let's take a look at the numbers from a New York perspective.

Four of the major pieces that Obama has pushed for are the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The two tax credits listed above were included in the ARRA, also referred to as the stimulus package.

How did those four items impact New York? According to a state-by-state spreadsheet that breaks down how many people benefited from the SCHIP expansion, the ARRA and the tax credits, New Yorkers were assisted in a big way.

The spreadsheet shows that due to the expansion of SCHIP, 267,000 more children are covered that weren't covered before. The expansion of SCHIP was something that the 110th Congress did pass, but President George W. Bush stood in the way (along with fellow Republicans) and prevented the expansion from taking place. Thanks to a stronger majority in both houses of Congress and President Obama, SCHIP expansion is reality.

The Making Work Pay Tax Credit provides a refundable tax credit up to $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples. The impact of this tax credit on New York was huge. Approximately 6,760,000 New Yorkers will be recipients of the Making Work Pay Tax Credit.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit is a provision that President Obama proposed on the campaign trail that helped Americans pay for post-secondary education. The provision allows for a $4,000 partially refundable tax credit to help individuals pay for attendance at a public college or university. For those attending community colleges, it would make community college virtually free. In return, the student must complete 100 hours of community service with a government unit, hospital or non-profit organization. Nearly 295,000 New Yorkers will be recipients of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (formerly known as the Hope Credit). And while the provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was only temporary, President Obama's budget called for making the provision permanent.

And has been repeated over the last few months, 215,000 jobs would be created or saved in New York through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

There are plenty of others who will look at President Obama's first 100 days from a national perspective. I chose to look at it from a New York perspective. Are we better off now than we were under President Bush? There is no doubt about it. We have made great progress over the last three months and will continue to head in the right direction under Obama's leadership. While we have a long road head, Obama has proven over the last few months that he is willing to tackle the tough challenges, not run from them. That is an admirable trait and that is why he has been nothing but successful in his first 100 days as President of the United States.

Congressman Maffei Speaks On Madoff Ponzi Scheme Hearings

by: robert.harding

Wed Feb 04, 2009 at 14:58:44 PM EST

Congressman Dan Maffei is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. He asked a question to Harry Markopolos, who is a registered Certified Financial Advisor and Certified Fraud Examiner.

Today Congressman Dan Maffei (NY-25), member of Financial Services Committee, questioned Mr. Harry Markopolos, registered Certified Financial Advisor and Certified Fraud Examiner, at a hearing on the alleged $50 billion investment fraud engineered by Mr. Bernard L. Madoff. Mr. Markopolos took questions on a variety of topics, including who should be held responsible, how the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to identify the Madoff scheme as illegal, how to prevent this in the future and what investors should do to protect their investments.

As it has been reported, some local unions in Central and Upstate New York are facing pension funds that nearly bankrupt due to investment in Madoff's fund.

Congressman Maffei asked Mr. Markopolis, "[Since many of our local unions had made investment through financial advisers] do you think responsible brokers should have known something was wrong," and "Given that SEC dropped the ball on regulating the Madoff fund, do you think the federal government has responsibility to assist victims?"

Mr. Markopolos answered that brokers were lured to Madoff by the very small fee he took and the consistent, high returns for their investors. He demurred on if the federal government owes compensation to victims but did say, "I will leave that to Congress, but if the federal government had acted responsibly this would not be a problem."

The SEC was criticized today by Markopolos who said that even though he alerted the SEC of this Ponzi scheme, the SEC wouldn't touch it.

"I gift wrapped and delivered the largest Ponzi scheme in history to them and some how they couldn't be bothered to conduct a thorough and proper investigation because they were too busy on matters of higher priority," Markopolos told the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

It is amazing how big of a role the government has played in the demise of our economy. Between this Ponzi scheme, the subprime mortgage crisis and many other things, the government has helped this recession along quite nicely.  

The Differences Between TARP And The Economic Stimulus Package

by: robert.harding

Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 13:42:58 PM EST

Some people have taken liberties with both, lumping TARP in with the economic stimulus package and saying that they oppose the economic stimulus package because of TARP. However, TARP was not meant to stimulate anything. TARP's goal was to buy up $700 billion worth of troubled assets. In the House, TARP passed with a 263-171 vote. Of the 263 representatives that supported TARP, 91 were Republicans. And those 91 Republicans included some of the same loud-mouthed Republicans who are dismissing the economic stimulus package. Republicans John Boehner, Eric Cantor, among others.

The only sector TARP helped was the financial sector. There was no stimulation with TARP. The Treasury Department was handed a blank check (with zero accountability) to buy up troubled assets from banks and other financial institutions. The first $350 billion of that money has already been spent, but no one knows where it went. There were a lot of people in Congress who were nervous about releasing the second half of the $700 billion because of the lack of accountability and oversight.

But the economic stimulus package is different - very different. The package passed the House with a 244-188 vote. Zero Republicans supported the stimulus package. The Republicans are quick to point out that there is money for birth control and other things in this bill, but they aren't quick to mention all of the contents of the package.

The economic stimulus package, which is best summarized here, includes the following:

- $32 billion to update the nation's energy grid
- $16 billion to repair public housing
- $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes
- $10 billion for science facilities, instrumentation and research
- $6 billion to expand broadband internet access
- $30 billion for highway construction
- $31 billion for modernizing and improving infrastructure that lead to energy cost savings
- $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments
- $10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption
- $41 billion for local school districts; $13 billion through Title I funding, $13 billion for IDEA, $14 billion for school modernization and repairs and $1 billion for education technology
- $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts to education programs
- $15.6 billion to increase Pell grants by $500
- $6 billion for higher education modernization

I included the rest of the summary over the fold. But the list above should give you an idea that this economic stimulus package is intended on stimulating the economy and helping average taxpayers and local and state governments fund programs that need funding.

Let me put it into this context. Among the House Republicans, 91 of them (some of whom aren't around anymore) supported giving a blank check to the banks and backed money that would go strictly to banks and financial institutions. But not a single House Republican would support the economic stimulus package that would give money to your local and state governments and go to projects that would help us in our daily lives.

TARP is something completely different. TARP was to help banks and financial institutions that have suffered due to, among other things, the subprime mortgage crisis. The economic stimulus package is different. This is money that will be invested into environmental initiatives, health care, infrastructure and will also fund $275 billion in tax cuts.

Hopefully it is understood that TARP has its own focus and the economic stimulus package has its own focus. They are two very different things with different missions.

Spitzer meets with New York Congressional Delegation; Discusses federal legislative priorities

by: robert.harding

Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 10:13:05 AM EST

From an e-mailed press release:

Governor Eliot Spitzer today presented the New York Congressional Delegation with his list of federal priorities for Federal Fiscal Year 2009, asking the state's representatives in Washington to push for federal legislation to help fuel economic growth and opportunity in New York State. Traveling to Washington just days after President Bush released his federal Budget, the Governor offered a critique of the administration's spending priorities and the devastating impact they will have on New York State. The Governor encouraged Congressional members to fight back against cuts that would wreak havoc on the state's health care and educational systems, homeland security and economic prosperity.

"President Bush has shown, through his misplaced priorities, that we cannot count on the White House for a federal budget that offers real solutions for the serious problems facing our state," said Governor Spitzer. "As we weather this national economic slump, New York needs innovative solutions from Washington to help combat housing shortages, high energy and health care costs, security threats and other serious challenges. The growth of our economy depends in part on this work being accomplished during this Congress and I look forward to working closely with the state's Congressional Delegation on initiatives of critical importance to New Yorkers."

The federal priorities outlined by the Governor today complement his recently released state budget proposals to strategically invest in education, health care, economic revitalization and housing. Each of these priorities furthers Governor Spitzer's goal of making New York the best place in the world to live, work, and raise a family - to make it, once again, the center of economic growth and opportunity.

Gee, I wonder if Tom Reynolds was in the room when Spitzer was talking about President Bush? Or how about Randy Kuhl? Vito Fossella? Any takers?

In any event, Spitzer's priorities are important ones. In his meeting with the delegation, he outlined several key points. Namely:

Health Care: Congress should secure a moratorium preventing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from adopting rules that would dramatically reduce Medicaid funding to New York State and hinder the state's ability to provide quality health care services for our most vulnerable populations.

Education: Congress must fully fund No Child Left Behind, including increased funding for Reading First and 21st Century After-School Programs, while improving teacher quality standards. Congress must strengthen higher education programs and funding provided through the Higher Education Act reauthorization.

Environment: New York needs the passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act which preserves the intent of the federal Clean Water Act to broadly protect the nation's waters. In addition, federal funding for upgrading sewage treatment plants needs to be significantly increased. New York State, like many other states, needs billions of dollars to upgrade sewage treatment plants that discharge into the Long Island Sound and other important water bodies.

Civil Rights: The Americans with Disabilities Act should be improved with the passage of the ADA Restoration Bill, which would bring the language of the act in line with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other civil rights laws.

There were several others. For a full list, come over the flip.