Pacific Progressive

Fast Facts on Arizona's Immigration Crackdown: The New Law's Dangerous Economic, Social, and Legal Consequences

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed today what is now the most punitive and sweeping anti-immigrant state law in the nation. This law’s full effects will not be measurable for months to come, but it is already clear that it will be challenged in court because it denies rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. And until the legal issues are settled, the new law will have a detrimental effect on Arizona’s economy, as well as city and state budgets.

The law essentially legalizes racial profiling

• The law puts communities of color in the crosshairs by requiring state and local government workers to determine if a person is illegally in the United States based on a “reasonable suspicion.”
• Legal experts maintain that the law will result in racial profiling, as it does not prohibit police officers from relying on race or ethnicity in deciding who to investigate. Of course all Arizonans don’t all look alike. Like America, Arizona is a diverse state with multiple generations of U.S. citizens. Three out of every 10 Arizonans are Hispanic, 1 out of 10 is American Indian, and 13 percent are foreign born.

Federal Officials Confirm a Shift In Medicaid Drug Rebates

By Christopher Weaver, KHN Staff Writer

This article was published by Kaiser Health News.

The federal agency that oversees Medicaid confirmed Thursday that some money states receive as rebates from drugmakers will now be redirected to the federal government to help pay for the new health overhaul.

However, federal officials said that states’ losses would be offset by other changes in Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low-income people.

The health law increases the rebates that drugmakers must offer state Medicaid programs from 15.1 percent to 23.1 percent for most brand name drugs, and by smaller amounts for other drugs and generics. In the past, states and Washington shared those savings. But under the new law, Washington will keep all rebates within that 8-percentage-point range.

State officials told Kaiser Health News earlier this week that they have already negotiated many drug discounts that exceed 15.1 percent so they will lose that money under the new federal rules. Some said millions of dollars could be on the line for individual states, but federal officials said they have not estimated the cost to states.

State officials had hoped the federal government would interpret the law in a way that left their discounts untouched. But in a letter Thursday to state Medicaid officials, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explained, "The amount of the savings resulting from the increases in the rebate percentages … will be remitted to the Federal government."

Quenching Our Thirst for Oil: Growing Global Oil Demand Harms US Security and Economy

By Susan Lyon, Rebecca Lefton, Daniel J. Weiss 

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

The national security risks that stem from the United States’ heavy reliance on foreign oil arewell documented. One in five barrels of U.S. oil come from countries that the State Department considers to be “dangerous or unstable.” And the cost of this oil will rise as global demand increases. These high prices benefit all petro-states regardless of whether the United States is buying from them or not. The United States doesn’t buy Iranian oil, for example, but a $1 increase in oil prices provides an additional $1.5 billion to the Iraniangovernment annually.

The International Energy Agency notes that the United States also remains vulnerable to aMiddle East oil disruption: “U.S. dependence on the long-haul Middle East has fallen sharply … [but] since oil is a global market, the relevant measure for that vulnerability is not U.S. dependence, but world dependence on Middle East oil—and that has not shrunk.”

Our allies cannot fill this supply gap. Canada and Mexico are our largest importers. But a majority of Canadian oil comes from tar sands—a dirty crude oil that can cause as much asfive times more greenhouse gas pollution to produce compared to conventional oil. And Mexico’s primary oil sources will be depleted by 2019.

Global oil demand—led by the United States and followed by China, Japan, and India—will dramatically increase over the next two decades. China has made oil deals around the world over the past few years that can deliver a supply of more than 7.8 billion barrels of oil to the country over the next several years. The United States must meanwhile prepare for a coming oil price crunch caused by increasing global demand and slowing global production. The safest, cheapest, and fastest path to energy security is to implement oil savings measures—outlined below—to reduce dependence on foreign oil and protect our pocketbooks.

The Successes and Shortcomings of the Homeowner Affordability Modification Program

This material was published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The Successes and Shortcomings of the Homeowner Affordability Modification Program

April 14, 2010, Testimony of Dean Baker before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity

Hearing on "Recently Announced Revisions to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)"

PDF 

Thank you, Chairwoman Waters, for giving me the opportunity to present my views to the subcommittee on the success of the Homeowner Affordability Modification Program (HAMP) and prospects for the recently proposed modifications to the program. I will begin my comments with a brief discussion of the state of the housing market. An understanding of this market is essential for assessing the merits of any mortgage modification program. Against this backdrop, I will provide an assessment of the extent to which HAMP has succeeded to date and the likely differences that the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) will make for homeowners.

It is important to recognize the central role that the housing bubble has played in the mortgage crisis. While the proliferation of deceptive mortgages and the soaring unemployment rate of the last two years would have created problems for homeowners in any environment, the reason that we face a mortgage crisis, with millions of homeowners facing the loss of their home every year, is that we had a bubble in the housing market that is now in the process of deflating.

Students and Teachers Back to Class in CUSD - Courageous Strike Won Tentative Agreement

Victorious in their struggle to achieve a negotiated settlement, Capistrano teachers and their students will return to their classrooms Tuesday, April 27, ending CUEA’s five-day strike, the first such action by teachers in southern California in almost ten years.

“It is the courage and determination of CUEA members on the picket lines and the thousands of supportive district parents and community members that resulted in the tentative contract agreement with the CUSD Board of Education,” said CUEA President Vicki Soderberg.

Brief details of the tentative agreement are as follows:

• Restoration of salary and furlough days as revenues increase
• Health benefit POS rates based on district 2010 level of contributions instead of imposed 2009 level
• Contract language that improves working conditions that contains more objective surplus transfer language and improvements in leaves
• A three-year agreement with bargaining reopened in the 2011-2012 school year.

 

“The CUEA bargaining team and leadership cannot find words adequate to express their appreciation for CUEA members’ solidarity and support during this difficult time,” said Soderberg. “It is without question that this victory could not have been achieved absent our unity and collective action. When we go back into the classroom together, we can hold our heads high.”

Members of the CUEA Executive Committee will meet at CUEA offices Tuesday afternoon to learn the tentative agreement’s details and to vote on recommending it to the CUEA’s Rep Council that will vote Wednesday on sending it to the CUEA general membership for a possible ratification vote. CUEA members will have the opportunity to participate in informational meetings at times yet to be determined prior to a ratification vote.

Goldman Hires Obama's Ex-White House Counsel to Defend Bank Against Fraud Charges

by Jason Leopold, Truthout report

This article was published by Truthout.

Truthout / CC BY-NC 3.0

Wall Street banking behemoth Goldman Sachs, which was charged with securities fraud last Friday over its role in the subprime mortgage meltdown, has hired President Obama's former White House Counsel Greg Craig to defend the company, according to a report published late Monday by Politico.

Reporters Eamon Javers and Mike Allen, citing an unnamed source, reported that Craig was hired “in recent weeks to help in navigate the halls of power in Washington.”

“Whatever the reason for his hiring, Craig will presumably be a key player in the intricate counterattack Goldman Sachs officials in Washington and Manhattan improvised during the weekend — a plan that took clearer shape Monday as Britain and Germany announced that they might conduct their own investigations of the firm,” Politico reported.

As Truthout reported, Craig was ousted last November after he fell out of favor with some Obama administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, because Craig backed public disclosure on documents and photographs related to the Bush administration’s use of torture against alleged terrorist detainees and his role in pushing the White House to shutter Guantanamo within a year.

La Quinta Family Becomes 1000th Customer to Receive Smart Irrigation Controller from CVWD

Jane and Jimmie Woods of La Quinta love the desert lifestyle but are well aware of how important it is to make every drop of water count in their home and garden. Last week their household became the 1,000th Coachella Valley Water District customer to receive a discounted smart irrigation controller. 

CVWD, in a partnership with desert cities, installs and programs smart irrigation controllers for customers eligible for a smart controller discount. The Woods' eight-station smart irrigation controller will manage the water they need to maintain 5,282 square feet of desert landscaping and meet their monthly water budget. 

"Smart controllers are an easy-to-use tool by anyone who wants to better manage their outdoor water use" said David Koller, CVWD conservation coordinator. "With smart controllers, it is possible for homeowners and businesses to save water and money."

Unlike traditional irrigation controllers, smart controllers use weather data to automatically reduce irrigation times in the fall and winter when temperatures and watering needs are lowest. Some homeowners set the times on their irrigation controllers at the peak of summer and keep those settings for the entire year. This is an inefficient use of water.

The smart irrigation controller discount is a partnership between the Coachella Valley Water District and desert cities. Under the program, CVWD residential customers may be eligible to purchase a smart irrigation controller for a significantly discounted rate of $50 or $100, depending on the number of stations. 

Residential customers with a CVWD installed and programmed smart irrigation controller save an average 26 percent on their water bill!

Oklahoma Senate Passes Five Controversial Abortion Bills

by Grace Huang, Truthout Report

This article was published by Truthout.

Truthout / CC BY-NC 3.0

The Oklahoma Senate passed five abortion bills Monday night, which opponents have said will severely limit a woman's ability to get an abortion and would entail some of the strictest anti-abortion measures in the country.

One of the bills would force a woman to get an ultrasound at least one hour prior to an abortion and be shown the image and given a detailed explanation of it, even if she wishes otherwise. A vaginal probe would be used if it would provide a clearer image of the fetus, which no other state requires; three others do require ultrasounds, but none force the woman to listen to an explanation of it.

State Sen. Anthony Sykes (R-Moore), the bill's sponsor, said the measure was designed to provide women with additional information before having an abortion.

Other pieces of legislation also require clinics that perform abortions to post signs stating it's "against the law for anyone ... to force you to have an abortion," forbid state exchange program insurance from covering abortions and prevent wrongful life and wrongful birth lawsuits.

13: Jake Bernstein and Jessie Eisinger on 'The Magnetar Trade'

by Brent Gardner-Smith, ProPublica

This article was published by ProPublica.

This week on the ProPublica podcast, a conversation with ProPublica reporters Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein and Adam Davidson of NPR’s “Planet Money” about the ProPublica story “The Magnetar Trade.” Listen as Eisinger and Bernstein describe how in the summer of 2009 they started “road testing” a theory brought to them by Davidson and Alex Blumberg of Chicago Public Radio’s “This American Life” about the underpinnings of the 2008 financial meltdown.

The two reporters describe how they put together a database of bankers to contact, how they methodically asked questions of reluctant sources, and how they delved into the complex and arcane world of mortgage-backed securities.  Anyone interested in investigative reporting will enjoy hearing this behind-the-scenes review of how the two reporters worked for more than seven months to understand an amazingly complex situation and then turned it into a highly readable and intriguing story.

They also discuss the collaboration between ProPublica and “This American Life” that lea to a radio program called “Inside Job,” and where the idea to develop a Broadway show tune called “Bet Against the American Dream” came from.

You can read the full ProPublica story here: “The Magnetar Trade.”

You can listen to the This American Life program here: “Inside Job.”

You can watch the video of the production of: “Bet Against the American Dream.”

Other articles related to this podcast:

The Anatomy of the Magnetar Trade

The Timeline of the Magnetar Deals

Your Magnetar Questions, Answered

Magnetar Letters to Investors About Our Story – And Our Response

Download this episode

CUSD Board Continues to Force Strike to Gut School District

The CUSD Board, which is supported by the Education Alliance, wants to gut CUSD's teaching staff by making them take a permanent pay cut and a permanent cut in the number of work days.  The other districts in Orange County have given their teachers temporary paycuts and temporary reductions in workdays. This is what CUSD teachers want, but the CUSD Board, adhering to the Education Alliance goal of killing public education, wants to make the teachers take the permanent cuts.

This strike was entirely avoidable.  After 6 hours of negotiation, the CUSD Board declared an impasse. The Board also refused to meet with teachers to discuss closing the gap on the contract language. This strike was caused by the CUSD Board.

Here is a great video about the strike.

Workplace Democracy: Corporate Style

Have you ever been intimidated and threatened by your employer?   You will be if you try to join a union. This is why we need the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) to give American workers their Constitutional rights at work.  Businesses can engage in a form collective bargaining thru the US Chamber of Commerce, so why can't ordinary working Americans?

Cabot Oil & Gas's Marcellus Drilling to Slow After PA Environment Officials Order Wells Closed

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica

This article was published by ProPublica.

In its 2009 annual report, Cabot Oil and Gas named a field in Texas and another in Dimock, Pa., as its two largest fields of production. But yesterday the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered Cabot to plug at least three of its gas wells in Dimock and pay hefty fines after contaminating local drinking water.

More than 15 months after natural gas drilling contaminateddrinking water in Dimock, Pa., state officials are ordering the company responsible -- Houston-based Cabot Oil and Gas -- to permanently shut down some of its wells, pay nearly a quarter million dollars in fines, and permanently provide drinking water to 14 affected families.

New March Mortgage Mod Data: Cancellations Jump, Logjam Continues

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica

This article was published by ProPublica.

New data released by the Treasury Department on Wednesday shows that mortgage servicers booted about 68,000 homeowners from the government’s mortgage modification program in March: That’s more than the 61,000 homeowners who began a permanent modification last month. Homeowners are eligible to receive the permanent modification after a trial period that is supposed to last three months.

We reported in February that a jump in disqualifications was expected. That rise is now upon us. Homeowners can be dropped from the program if they can’t keep up with their reduced payments, they don’t provide  needed documents, or the servicers determine that they are ineligible.

Some 367,000 homeowners remain in limbo, stuck in trial periods that have lasted longer than they are supposed to. One silver lining: the current number of permanent modifications, 228,000, is still greater than the number of homeowners who’ve been dropped from the program, 158,000.

You can see our interactive breakdown of the data here. It shows the cancellations at each servicer, as well as which servicers (the biggest banks) are primarily responsible for the continued logjam.

As we’ve reported, delays and confusion on the part of servicers have been a reality for homeowners since the program started a year ago. Treasury has promised to crack down on servicers like JPMorgan Chase that strand homeowners in trials, but the backlog continues. As of last July, Chase had begun 79,000 trials. By the end of March, it had reported final resolutions for only 57,000 (31,000 permanent modifications, the rest canceled). That means 22,000 homeowners still hadn’t gotten an answer after eight months.

Social Movements and Progressivism: Part Three of the Progressive Tradition Series

By John Halpin, Marta Cook

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

Read the full report (pdf)

Download the executive summary (pdf)

Download to mobile devices and e-readers from Scribd

About the Progressive Tradition Series

A rich history of social movements shaped progressive thought throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Historian Sidney Milkis characterizes the accomplishments of the original Progressive Era as “momentous reconstructions of politics,” a description that equally applies to the numerous social movements that aimed to better align America’s political and social order with its ideals of liberty, equality, and opportunity for all.

Progressivism as a reform tradition has always focused its moral energy against societal injustice, corruption, and inequality. Progressivism was built on a vibrant grassroots foundation, from the Social Gospel and labor movements to women’s suffrage and civil rights to environmentalism, antiwar activism, and gay rights. The activists and leaders of these movements believed deeply in the empowerment and equality of the less privileged in society, the primacy of democracy in American life, and the notion that government should safeguard the common good from unchecked individual and commercial greed. They challenged government to eliminate its own legal injustices and also harnessed the force of government as a vital tool for advancing human freedom and establishing the “more perfect union” envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

Think Again: Mainstream Media to Conservatives: 'Thank You, Sir, May I Have Another?'

By Eric Alterman

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

Andrew Breitbart was in the news again this week, and you can be assured that when Breitbart makes news, it's rarely the kind that's actually true. This week, he was purposefully misrepresentingWhite House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina's metaphorical remarks to Senate Democrats in order to make it appear as if the White House was calling on "union thugs" to "punch" out people at health care town halls. He repeated this falsehood both inThe Washington Times and on Glenn Beck's Fox News program.

To be honest, by the standards of Beck, The Washington Times, and even Breitbart, these misrepresentations are no big deal. If you are among the benighted minions who take such sources seriously, well, that's your problem (and to be perfectly honest you're probably not reading this). The problem arises when the rest of the media—those outlets that we assume we can believe—allow Breitbart's brand of hucksterism to infect their own reporting.

This is exactly what happened, of course, regarding ACORN, when Breitbart orchestrated the successful campaign by pseudo-journalists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles to discredit the organization with a series of doctored videos and false testimonies. It's beyond ironic to note, as we have done here previously, that respected members of the mainstream media beat themselves up in public for failing to follow the lead of these hucksters—hucksters who, in O'Keefe's case, have since revealed themselves to engage in criminal behavior to make their points.