Amendment Adopted to Open the Fed’s Books

By , on May 11th, 2010

Maybe we’ll finally see who got the trillions

Under pressure from Jobs with Justice coalitions and their partners like NPA and PICO, the US Senate adopted the Sanders amendment to the banking reform bill (S3217), 96-0, that would bring about an audit of the Federal Reserve.

This is a major step towards accountability, as Fed Head Ben Bernanke has repeatedly refused to tell even members of Congress which financial institutions received trillions of dollars in low or no cost loans from several “special” programs.  Despite being broadly popular with voters (like breaking up the big banks and an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency), Wall Street’s grip on Congress made the audit an uphill battle.  But Sanders agreed to compromise language that limited the audit to a one-time examination of the “special” loan programs.  Similar language is already in the House version of banking reform.

The Senate is continuing to take up other amendments, to strengthen and weaken the reform bill.  Even the New York Times editorialized, “They Have to Do Better” on financial reform.

Let’s keep up the pressure!

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    • May 11th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Economy | Comments are closed

    1000 Rally For Single Payer Healthcare in Vermont

    By , on May 5th, 2010

    Vermont Single-Payer Health Care RallyMONTPELIER – Vermonters from all across the state converged on the statehouse on May 1st in a demonstration to show that Vermont can and should be the first state in the nation to recognize healthcare as a human right and provide it as a public good by implementing a single-payer, universal healthcare system.

    Over a thousand people marched from the Montpelier City Hall down to the capital building accompanied by drums, dancers, puppets, baloons and signs supporting universal healthcare whiloe chanting “hey, hey what do we say? Vermont is ready to lead the way!” The marchers then joined another two hundred participants already at the Statehouse lawn and swarmed up the capitol steps for a festive rally. They were joined by US Sen Bernie Sanders and the rally also featured skits by various regional organizing committees of the “Healthcare Is A Human Right” campaign, musical performances by Vermont artists, and speeches by campaign leaders from all parts of the state.

    Sanders, a longtime advocate of universal care, called it a “moral disgrace” that the U.S. is the only

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    May 5th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Everything Else, Health Care | Comments are closed

    Does Bernanke Know What the Fed is Supposed to Do?

    By , on December 7th, 2009

    As President Obama considers his proposals to respond to the jobless crisis and Wall Street prepares to shower executives with record bonuses, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has put a hold on Ben Bernanke’s re-nomination as Federal Reserve Chairman.

    Bernanke is widely seen as one of the causes of the financial crisis.  In his efforts to keep his job, Bernanke testified that he was committed to the Fed’s “dual mandate, which is growth and inflation.”

    In fact, the Fed has a “dual mandate” to promote full employment and stable prices.

    Bernanke and the rest of the banker crowd seem to have long ago forgotten that full employment (defined as 3% unemployment for persons age 20 and over) is supposed to be a fundamental goal of federal reserve and government policy.

    Corporate bigwigs and Wall Street financiers are selling us the idea of a ‘jobless recovery,’ telling the unemployed to wait while they give themselves record bonuses. They want policy makers to accept high unemployment, low wages and economic insecurity as the new normal.

    For the 1,500+ organizations that make up Jobs with Justice coalitions around the country, it’s long past time to take full employment seriously, beginning

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    December 7th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Economy | Comments are closed