Neo-liberals are trying hard to take all avenues for labor and justice from the democratic party. They sell themselves as working for the people with education and health reforms....they are fighting for the environment with Monsanto and the XL Pipeline and fracking the heck out of the US. Institutionalizing wealth inequity with tax policy that protects the rich and ignore massive fraud? Not progressive. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THIRD WAY CORPORATE DEMOCRATS TO CO-OPT THE PARTY OF THE PEOPLE. THEY ARE REAGAN LIBERALS.....REPUBLICANS FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!!
Below you see how policy that was sold to us as good for the people is now obviously turning to profit.
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!
RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES NEXT ELECTIONS AND NOT FOR DNC!!
Below you see how the casino and gambling issue in Maryland moved from a progressive stance in which O'Malley campaigned against gambling as it was bad for families and the economy and we elected him on that pledge his first term. Six years later and he has handed Maryland to the casino industry on a silver platter and all of that 'education funding' they promise as to why it is good.......dwindling to almost nothing as the casino percentage of profits grow. Why the flip on gambling? O'Malley's run for national office has him doing pay to play for Harry Reid and his Vegas donors. Keep in mind that the public was originally sold on gambling as 60% of profits would come to the Education fund. Now, the biggest money makers...table games and roulette.....down to 20% for Education Fund.
Do you see how they define 'moral turpitude? Fraud and Breach of Contract is OK. Most of Baltimore's underserved citizens with records wanting employment for whom this bill pretends to be written.......DOES NOT APPLY. BANKERS AND FRAUDSTERS....THESE POLS SAY BRING IT ON!!!!
GET CORPORATE POLS OUT OF OFFICE!!!! RUN LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES NEXT ELECTIONS!!!!
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Below you see how the casino and gambling issue in Maryland moved from a progressive stance in which O'Malley campaigned against gambling as it was bad for families and the economy and we elected him on that pledge his first term. Six years later and he has handed Maryland to the casino industry on a silver platter and all of that 'education funding' they promise as to why it is good.......dwindling to almost nothing as the casino percentage of profits grow. Why the flip on gambling? O'Malley's run for national office has him doing pay to play for Harry Reid and his Vegas donors. Keep in mind that the public was originally sold on gambling as 60% of profits would come to the Education fund. Now, the biggest money makers...table games and roulette.....down to 20% for Education Fund.
Do you see how they define 'moral turpitude? Fraud and Breach of Contract is OK. Most of Baltimore's underserved citizens with records wanting employment for whom this bill pretends to be written.......DOES NOT APPLY.
BANKERS AND FRAUDSTERS....THESE POLS SAY BRING IT ON!!!!
Bill would allow Maryland casinos to keep losses from promo bets Pyles, Alexander. The Daily Record [Baltimore, Md] 14 Mar 2013.
Del. Frank S. Turner, a Howard County Democrat who until this year chaired the House's subcommittee that deals with gambling issues, defended the change by noting that lawmakers created a problem gambling fund managed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
Del. Frank S. Turner, a Howard County Democrat who until this year chaired the House's subcommittee that deals with gambling issues, defended the change by noting that lawmakers created a problem gambling fund managed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation.
Broad policy changes aren't being made to Maryland's fast-growing casino industry during this session of the General Assembly, with leaders proclaiming the issue resolved thanks to a special session in August.
Still, lawmakers have been introducing stacks of bills -- several of which are steaming toward approval -- that some say constitute notable tweaks to gambling regulations.
The bills with the most momentum would relax the state's restrictions on casino employment, expand gambling into Montgomery County veterans halls, and effectively lower the tax rate on table games, such as blackjack and roulette, which began operating just last week.
House Bill 1155 doesn't lower the 20 percent tax on table game proceeds, per se. But it does allow casinos to keep 100 percent of a player's losses if the initial bet was made with promotional money from the casino -- free play used to lure potential gamblers to the tables.
That effectively lowers the potential amount of casino money that would go to the Education Trust Fund. But state fiscal analysts say that if the promotional money lures gamblers that would not have otherwise come to the casino, there should not be a net decrease in expected revenue. The state already allows free slots play to go untaxed, so long as the free play revenue does not amount to more than 20 percent of overall revenue.
But the bill is problematic for another reason, said Del. Luiz R. S. Simmons, D-Montgomery.
"As part of our fierce race to the bottom ... we have never given much emphasis for the addiction we are promoting," Simmons said.
Del. Frank S. Turner, a Howard County Democrat who until this year chaired the House's subcommittee that deals with gambling issues, defended the change by noting that lawmakers created a problem gambling fund managed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. The fund last year gave a three-year, $5 million grant to the University of Maryland School of Medicine to create the Center on Problem Gambling.
Analysts project that casino revenue will rise to more than $740 million during the next fiscal year, and to nearly $2 billion by fiscal 2018.
Despite some objections, the House passed H.B. 1155, 98-34, on Thursday, just moments after giving final approval to H.B. 1053, which would lower the bar that had been set to prevent people who committed a crime of "moral turpitude" -- including fraud and breach of trust -- from obtaining a job at the casino. Baltimore officials asked the legislature to relax the law to make more city residents eligible for jobs at Caesars Horseshoe Casino, expected to open on Russell Street in 2014.
Under current law, a person convicted of such a crime at any point would be ineligible to work at a Maryland casino. Under H.B. 1053, which passed 94-40 in the House on Thursday, the person couldn't have such a conviction in the previous seven years. Del. Eric Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the House finance resources subcommittee, said current law was overly restrictive. Luedtke said a man who testified in favor of the bill said that he would be ineligible for a casino job because he stole four hub caps in the 1960s.
But House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, a Lower Shore Republican, said more thought ought to be given to relaxing restrictions in such a major way.
"That is a very large change, and something we should take very seriously," Haddaway-Riccio said before the House overwhelmingly approved the bill.
The Senate has already passed Senate Bill 282, a mirror image of the H.B. 1053. Both bills are expected to receive approval from the opposite chambers.
House Bill 546, which received preliminary approval in the House on Thursday, adds veterans organizations in Montgomery County, such as an American Legion post, to a list of those in other jurisdictions that are allowed to operate up to five electronic bingo machines -- to many observers, the equivalent of a slot machine.
Most other counties received that authorization as part of legislature's hastily passed gambling expansion legislation, which was approved in August. But Montgomery lawmakers in the House asked their county to be left out until they first discussed the issue with members of the County Council. Now, the locally backed bill is poised for passage, potentially expanding gambling into the state's last resistant county.
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HERE IS MORAL TURPITUDE!!!!!!
THE LIBOR FRAUD AS WITH THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE FRAUD MOVED TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FRAUD TO THE TOP AND AS WITH THE SUBPRIME LOAN FRAUD WE ARE SEEING ALL OF THE FRAUD AND DAMAGE FALL TO SOME HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. BELOW YOU HEAR WHAT THE COURTS OF THE 1% ARE SAYING......HURTING THE BANKS IS HURTING PUBLIC INTEREST. REALLY?????
We cannot allow these bank trials to remain in NY and Delaware where there is nothing but conflict of interest for goodness sake. Can't understand these complex financial instruments? THEN MAKE THEM ILLEGAL!!!!
“The broad public interests behind the statutes invoked here, such as integrity of the markets and competition, are being addressed by ongoing governmental enforcement,” she said.
Banks Win Dismissal of Substantial Portion of Libor Suits
By David Glovin - Mar 30, 2013 12:01 AM ET Bloomberg Finanancial
Banks including Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc (BARC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) won dismissal of antitrust claims in lawsuits alleging they rigged the London interbank offered rate.
More than two dozen interrelated lawsuits are before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York alleging the banks conspired to depress Libor by understating their borrowing costs, thereby lowering their interest expenses on products tied to the rates. Potential damages were estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
Buchwald yesterday issued a 161-page ruling dismissing antitrust allegations against the banks while allowing some commodities-manipulations claims to proceed to a trial.
“We recognize that it might be unexpected that we are dismissing a substantial portion of plaintiffs’ claims, given that several of the defendants here have already paid penalties to government regulatory agencies reaching into the billions of dollars,” Buchwald wrote. “There are many requirements that private plaintiffs must satisfy but which government agencies need not.”
Libor is a key metric for setting interest rates for trillions of dollars in financial instruments. It fixes the rates under which banks lend money to one another for as little as a day and as long as a year. Rates for 10 different currencies including the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen and British pound are computed daily after canvassing banks that comprise membership panels for each type of money.
Global Probes Global authorities have been investigating claims that more than a dozen banks altered submissions used to set benchmarks such as Libor to profit from bets on interest-rate derivatives or make the lenders’ finances appear healthier.
Barclays agreed to pay 290 million pounds ($441 million) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc paid $612 million to U.S. and U.K. regulators to resolve claims. UBS AG (UBSN) agreed to pay 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.47 billion).
Other defendants in the civil lawsuits include Credit Suisse Group, HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc. (C) and RBS.
Buchwald dismissed the antitrust claims because the plaintiffs didn’t allege enough facts to show that they were harmed by the alleged misconduct. The judge dismissed some commodities-manipulation claims because they centered on transactions that were too long ago. Other such claims may proceed, she said.
‘Public Purposes’ Explaining her decision to dismiss the claims after the regulatory settlements, Buchwald said private cases must be “examined closely” to ensure plaintiffs are “properly entitled to recover and that the suit is, in fact, serving the public purposes.”
“The broad public interests behind the statutes invoked here, such as integrity of the markets and competition, are being addressed by ongoing governmental enforcement,” she said.
Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Charlotte-based Bank of America, and Kristin Lemkau, a spokeswoman for New York-based JPMorgan, declined to comment on the ruling.
The plaintiffs include Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW), the independent brokerage, and bondholders. Michael Hausfeld, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, didn’t immediately return an e-mail yesterday seeking comment on the decision.
The consolidated case is In re Libor-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, 11-MD-02262, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: David Glovin in Manhattan federal court at dglovin@bloomberg.net.
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WHAT THIS MEANS IS THE MARKET IS JUST AS READY TO COLLAPSE AS IT WAS IN 2007......ONLY NOW IT IS OUR PUBLIC ASSETS THEY ARE AFTER......JUST AS IN EUROPE WITH THE SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS!!!
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE AND RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE!!!
Stock Market Investment Risk Remains at Historic Extreme Global Economic Intersection
Our computer models analyze a large basket of fundamental, technical, internal and sentiment data in order to calculate our Secular Trend Score (STS) and our Cyclical Trend Score (CTS). The historical data used by our models extend back to the market crash in 1929 and have enabled our STS to correctly identify every secular inflection point and our CTS to correctly identify more than 90% of all cyclical inflection points during the last 84 years. Additionally, when analyzed together, these data identify extremes in the risk/reward profile of the stock market from an investment perspective. In early February, stock market investment risk increased to the highest 1 percentile of all historical observations, joining a select group of seven time periods. The additional short-term gains of the past month have increased investment risk even further, creating one of the five worst risk/reward profiles since 1929.
It must be noted that this particular measurement of investment risk is not a top call or an indication that a severe market decline is imminent. Overbought rallies such as this one can remain overbought for a long time as speculative momentum carries prices to higher and higher extremes. What the current investment risk/reward profile tells us is that a severe market decline will almost certainly occur after the current cyclical bull market terminates. At a current duration of 48 months, the bull market is long overdue for termination and it is highly likely that the next cyclical top will form sometime during the next six months. Additionally, the speculative nature of the advance during the last ten months indicates that the final blow-off phase of the rally is likely in progress, so a long-term reversal could occur at any time.
It is important to understand the difference between investing and trading. In order to properly evaluate the investment merit of a particular asset class or vehicle, a minimum time frame of ten years is required. By our measures, which are based on the historically reliable valuation model, the S&P 500 index is currently priced to produce a total annual return of 3.2% during the next decade. This is extremely poor projected performance, especially when you consider that the current yield on the 10-year Treasury note is 2.05%. Of course, given that stocks remain mired in a secular bear market that began in 2000, there will continue to be violent, extreme price swings in both directions. Those moves will continue to provide excellent trading opportunities, but the next true investment opportunity likely remains several years away. Now remains a time for extreme caution from an investment perspective and we remain fully defensive.
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First, when you say democrats you are referring to Third Way corporate democrats who work for wealth and profits....not people. The democratic base....80% of the party are the progressives and are left silent because Third Way keeps openly lying during campaigns to get elected. Since Americans are not used to third world tactics in elections we assume a campaign pledge will be honored. Third Way come from the elite schools where lying, cheating, and stealing are promoted as a way to win and that is why the democratic base is duped. We still operate on integrity and honor. The good news is that the democratic base understands the Third Way position in the party and will work to take back the majority and leadership. Then, progressivity in the tax code will return. We have tens of trillions of dollars in corporate fraud to bring back and getting it from these estates will be the key. It will take re-engaging International Criminal Courts to bring it back.....but our children and grandchildren will be sitting pretty with our retirements and theirs!!
Democrats support for progressivity wanes
By Jeremy Scott, editor of Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes. - 03/28/13 11:15 AM ET
A recent viral video on YouTube depicting the state of income inequality in the U.S., shows that 1 percent of Americans have 40 percent of the nation’s wealth and the bottom 80 percent have 7 percent of it.
Traditionally, Democrats have been willing to use the tax code to address income inequality and have long portrayed themselves as champions of progressivity as a way to narrow income disparities. Among the most progressive federal taxes is the estate tax, which taxes inherited wealth.
But the most progressive tax is also one of the most unpopular. Thanks to Republican-led efforts to characterize it as the “death tax” – that is, a tax on death as opposed to one that falls on the estate of the deceased – the estate tax is almost universally reviled in Congress and by the voters. Reflecting that reality, the Democrat-controlled Senate voted 80 to 19 late last week to kill the tax (provided lawmakers find the revenue to offset the cost).Though the amendment was nonbinding, the vote is an important symbol of the muddled state of the Democratic Party and the extent to which Republicans’ have succeeded in demonizing nearly every tax.
The effort to abolish the estate tax isn’t new. Republicans have whittled away at it over the years, with the complicity of conservative Democrats, who voted to raise the exemption level from $675,000 early in the Bush era to $5.25 million today – a move that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which attracted broad Democratic support and President Obama’s signature, made permanent. Moreover, the top tax rate on the value of the estate that exceeds the exemption level, which was 55 percent in 2001, is now 40 percent.
The permanent estate tax also features portability, meaning that married couples who file their taxes jointly can effectively double the exemption, keeping a shared estate worth up to $10.5 million tax-free. Thanks to the changes, the estate tax is projected to raise $370 billion less than it would have if Clinton-era rates and exemptions were still in place. That’s a two-thirds reduction in federal revenue.
Nor does the Democrats’ move away from progressivity end with the estate tax.
Quite the contrary, Democrats also voted last week to eliminate a tax of their own creation – the medical device excise tax, an important component of health reform that’s designed to raise the revenue needed to offset the costs of expanded health insurance coverage.
Moreover, in negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” at year-end, the “sequestration” budget cuts that took effect in March, and hopes for larger budget deals, Obama and his Democratic party seem increasingly willing to undermine the progressivity of the code.
They favor lower capital gains tax rates than ordinary income and related capital gains preferences every bit as much as Republicans do. They largely oppose higher taxes on the banking and financial sectors.
In addition, many Democrats, particularly senators, want to reduce the tax burden on U.S.-based corporations, both those who operate only within our borders and those who also operate far beyond. Many Democrats support a so-called repatriation holiday that would let corporations bring their overseas profits to the United States and pay a minimal tax on them, and a territorial tax system that would permanently reduce U.S. taxes on overseas profits.
And – let’s not forget – only 19 Democratic senators voted in favor of keeping the estate tax.
Sen. Mark Warner, the influential Virginia Democrat, would argue that his colleagues support scrapping the estate tax only if they can find other sources of revenue. But what other taxes are as progressive as the estate tax, which targets only the very wealthiest taxpayers (and even then, just their estates)?
Where would this $200 billion in new tax revenue come from? It almost certainly would come from the middle class, or from cuts to tax expenditures that benefit a broader taxpayer base than the estate tax affects.
As the appetite for tax reform grows, perhaps voters should be wary of Democrats’ lip service for progressivity when they seem willing and eager to drop the only truly progressive tax in the code. The need to balance tax cuts with tax increases will surely lead to the kinds of compromise that will make the system as a whole less progressive and less fair.
Scott, an attorney and expert on federal taxation, is the editor of Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes.
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Let's be clear....this immigration reform is the Republican plan and you see who is on the Gang of 8....Durbin and Schumer.....top two of the Senate and both Third Way corporate. So, they will promote a plan that maximizes profits...not protect people. What they are doing is creating a 'guest worker program', the Republican plan. This is what all second world countries have...Bahrain, Saudia Arabia and Third Way's favorite developed world ..... Germany. In Germany where this plan has been in place for several decades the guest workers have never been integrated....never gotten citizenship....and are exploited for cheap labor as always. They are now being forced out of the country as unemployment and nationalism rises. So, there were no net gains for these immigrants.
THAT IS WHAT THIS PLAN DOES TO US IMMIGRANTS. AS THE CBS REPORT STATED ....THERE WILL NEVER BE CITIZENSHIP WITH THESE POLS.
Baltimore already practices this brand of immigration reform. Immigrants are flooding the job market so domestic working class labor have high unemployment and then, these immigrant workers are openly abused and have wages stolen by contractors who hire them. BALTIMORE'S LABOR MARKET IS A MESS BECAUSE OF THIS REFORM. Justice advocates march, shout, testify to abuses and even write complaint after complaint about wage theft and all of that is ignored. IT IS A LOSE-LOSE SITUATION FOR THE IMMIGRANT AND THE LOW-INCOME WORKER. THE WINNER.....CORPORATE PROFIT!!
WE WANT AMNESTY AND CITIZENSHIP FOR THOSE IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE ALREADY PAID THEIR DUES.....THEY DO NOT NEED TO 'WAIT IN LINE'.
By Jill Jackson /
CBS News/ April 1, 2013, 2:28 PM With deal in sight, "Gang of 8" continues immigration talks
Bipartisan senators working on a broad immigration overhaul are nearing agreement on a process for the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States to legalize their status and possibly achieve citizenship. While aides caution that details are still being worked out, and nothing is final until the language is drafted by staff and members sign off, the broad framework for legalization is becoming clear.
A senior congressional aide with knowledge of the details says illegal immigrants wanting a work permit that would legalize their status would first have to come forward, register with the government and pass a criminal background check. While they would pay a processing fee of around $500, it's possible they would not have to pay a fine until they renew their work permit after several years. That fine would be at least $1,000.
Likely after 10 years, the immigrant would be eligible to apply for a green card if they would like. Negotiators are still discussing whether there would be a fine at this stage. If the immigrant receives that green card, they would then be eligible to apply for citizenship.
The senior aide says that those applying for citizenship would have to show they've learned English and United States civics. They would also go to the very back of the line so that people who've applied for citizenship, but never broken the law, get the first opportunity to become citizens.
At each stage, the immigrant would have to show that they've been working continuously while in the United States and pass criminal background checks. They would also need to prove that they've been in the United States for at least a couple years before the law passed to prevent immigrants from trying to enter the country illegally now or after the bill passes.
Talks gained momentum over the weekend when an agreement in principle was reached with labor and business leaders on a new visa program for low-skilled immigrants.
The new visa, known as a "W Visa Program", would allow employers to petition for visas for lower-skilled foreign workers in industries like construction, retail or hospitality. In the future, as many as 200,000 visas could be issued a year, but the number would be determined by a combination of factors including the unemployment rate and the ratio of job openings to job seekers.
The issue was considered one of the last major sticking points though Republicans in the "gang" like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., whose support of the package will be critical to winning over conservatives, publicly said reports of a deal are "premature."
Negotiators are expected to unveil the legislation next week, but it will not be the final package. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to consider the bill and amend it this month. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday that the bill could be on the Senate floor as early as May.
Meanwhile a bipartisan group of eight House members are working on an immigration plan as well. Aides with knowledge of the talks say they expect to unveil their plan in the coming weeks.
But the fate after the unveiling is unclear. The bill could go through the House Judiciary Committee, but members have no guarantee yet from GOP leadership or the chairman of that committee on the way forward.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last month, however, that "there are a lot of issues in here that have to be dealt with" but he thinks the package House lawmakers are crafting "is frankly a pretty responsible solution."
Below you see how policy that was sold to us as good for the people is now obviously turning to profit.
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!
RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES NEXT ELECTIONS AND NOT FOR DNC!!
Below you see how the casino and gambling issue in Maryland moved from a progressive stance in which O'Malley campaigned against gambling as it was bad for families and the economy and we elected him on that pledge his first term. Six years later and he has handed Maryland to the casino industry on a silver platter and all of that 'education funding' they promise as to why it is good.......dwindling to almost nothing as the casino percentage of profits grow. Why the flip on gambling? O'Malley's run for national office has him doing pay to play for Harry Reid and his Vegas donors. Keep in mind that the public was originally sold on gambling as 60% of profits would come to the Education fund. Now, the biggest money makers...table games and roulette.....down to 20% for Education Fund.
Do you see how they define 'moral turpitude? Fraud and Breach of Contract is OK. Most of Baltimore's underserved citizens with records wanting employment for whom this bill pretends to be written.......DOES NOT APPLY. BANKERS AND FRAUDSTERS....THESE POLS SAY BRING IT ON!!!!
GET CORPORATE POLS OUT OF OFFICE!!!! RUN LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES NEXT ELECTIONS!!!!
__________________________________________________
Below you see how the casino and gambling issue in Maryland moved from a progressive stance in which O'Malley campaigned against gambling as it was bad for families and the economy and we elected him on that pledge his first term. Six years later and he has handed Maryland to the casino industry on a silver platter and all of that 'education funding' they promise as to why it is good.......dwindling to almost nothing as the casino percentage of profits grow. Why the flip on gambling? O'Malley's run for national office has him doing pay to play for Harry Reid and his Vegas donors. Keep in mind that the public was originally sold on gambling as 60% of profits would come to the Education fund. Now, the biggest money makers...table games and roulette.....down to 20% for Education Fund.
Do you see how they define 'moral turpitude? Fraud and Breach of Contract is OK. Most of Baltimore's underserved citizens with records wanting employment for whom this bill pretends to be written.......DOES NOT APPLY.
BANKERS AND FRAUDSTERS....THESE POLS SAY BRING IT ON!!!!
Bill would allow Maryland casinos to keep losses from promo bets Pyles, Alexander. The Daily Record [Baltimore, Md] 14 Mar 2013.
Del. Frank S. Turner, a Howard County Democrat who until this year chaired the House's subcommittee that deals with gambling issues, defended the change by noting that lawmakers created a problem gambling fund managed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
Del. Frank S. Turner, a Howard County Democrat who until this year chaired the House's subcommittee that deals with gambling issues, defended the change by noting that lawmakers created a problem gambling fund managed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation.
Broad policy changes aren't being made to Maryland's fast-growing casino industry during this session of the General Assembly, with leaders proclaiming the issue resolved thanks to a special session in August.
Still, lawmakers have been introducing stacks of bills -- several of which are steaming toward approval -- that some say constitute notable tweaks to gambling regulations.
The bills with the most momentum would relax the state's restrictions on casino employment, expand gambling into Montgomery County veterans halls, and effectively lower the tax rate on table games, such as blackjack and roulette, which began operating just last week.
House Bill 1155 doesn't lower the 20 percent tax on table game proceeds, per se. But it does allow casinos to keep 100 percent of a player's losses if the initial bet was made with promotional money from the casino -- free play used to lure potential gamblers to the tables.
That effectively lowers the potential amount of casino money that would go to the Education Trust Fund. But state fiscal analysts say that if the promotional money lures gamblers that would not have otherwise come to the casino, there should not be a net decrease in expected revenue. The state already allows free slots play to go untaxed, so long as the free play revenue does not amount to more than 20 percent of overall revenue.
But the bill is problematic for another reason, said Del. Luiz R. S. Simmons, D-Montgomery.
"As part of our fierce race to the bottom ... we have never given much emphasis for the addiction we are promoting," Simmons said.
Del. Frank S. Turner, a Howard County Democrat who until this year chaired the House's subcommittee that deals with gambling issues, defended the change by noting that lawmakers created a problem gambling fund managed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. The fund last year gave a three-year, $5 million grant to the University of Maryland School of Medicine to create the Center on Problem Gambling.
Analysts project that casino revenue will rise to more than $740 million during the next fiscal year, and to nearly $2 billion by fiscal 2018.
Despite some objections, the House passed H.B. 1155, 98-34, on Thursday, just moments after giving final approval to H.B. 1053, which would lower the bar that had been set to prevent people who committed a crime of "moral turpitude" -- including fraud and breach of trust -- from obtaining a job at the casino. Baltimore officials asked the legislature to relax the law to make more city residents eligible for jobs at Caesars Horseshoe Casino, expected to open on Russell Street in 2014.
Under current law, a person convicted of such a crime at any point would be ineligible to work at a Maryland casino. Under H.B. 1053, which passed 94-40 in the House on Thursday, the person couldn't have such a conviction in the previous seven years. Del. Eric Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the House finance resources subcommittee, said current law was overly restrictive. Luedtke said a man who testified in favor of the bill said that he would be ineligible for a casino job because he stole four hub caps in the 1960s.
But House Minority Whip Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, a Lower Shore Republican, said more thought ought to be given to relaxing restrictions in such a major way.
"That is a very large change, and something we should take very seriously," Haddaway-Riccio said before the House overwhelmingly approved the bill.
The Senate has already passed Senate Bill 282, a mirror image of the H.B. 1053. Both bills are expected to receive approval from the opposite chambers.
House Bill 546, which received preliminary approval in the House on Thursday, adds veterans organizations in Montgomery County, such as an American Legion post, to a list of those in other jurisdictions that are allowed to operate up to five electronic bingo machines -- to many observers, the equivalent of a slot machine.
Most other counties received that authorization as part of legislature's hastily passed gambling expansion legislation, which was approved in August. But Montgomery lawmakers in the House asked their county to be left out until they first discussed the issue with members of the County Council. Now, the locally backed bill is poised for passage, potentially expanding gambling into the state's last resistant county.
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HERE IS MORAL TURPITUDE!!!!!!
THE LIBOR FRAUD AS WITH THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE FRAUD MOVED TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FRAUD TO THE TOP AND AS WITH THE SUBPRIME LOAN FRAUD WE ARE SEEING ALL OF THE FRAUD AND DAMAGE FALL TO SOME HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. BELOW YOU HEAR WHAT THE COURTS OF THE 1% ARE SAYING......HURTING THE BANKS IS HURTING PUBLIC INTEREST. REALLY?????
We cannot allow these bank trials to remain in NY and Delaware where there is nothing but conflict of interest for goodness sake. Can't understand these complex financial instruments? THEN MAKE THEM ILLEGAL!!!!
“The broad public interests behind the statutes invoked here, such as integrity of the markets and competition, are being addressed by ongoing governmental enforcement,” she said.
Banks Win Dismissal of Substantial Portion of Libor Suits
By David Glovin - Mar 30, 2013 12:01 AM ET Bloomberg Finanancial
Banks including Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc (BARC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) won dismissal of antitrust claims in lawsuits alleging they rigged the London interbank offered rate.
More than two dozen interrelated lawsuits are before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York alleging the banks conspired to depress Libor by understating their borrowing costs, thereby lowering their interest expenses on products tied to the rates. Potential damages were estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
Buchwald yesterday issued a 161-page ruling dismissing antitrust allegations against the banks while allowing some commodities-manipulations claims to proceed to a trial.
“We recognize that it might be unexpected that we are dismissing a substantial portion of plaintiffs’ claims, given that several of the defendants here have already paid penalties to government regulatory agencies reaching into the billions of dollars,” Buchwald wrote. “There are many requirements that private plaintiffs must satisfy but which government agencies need not.”
Libor is a key metric for setting interest rates for trillions of dollars in financial instruments. It fixes the rates under which banks lend money to one another for as little as a day and as long as a year. Rates for 10 different currencies including the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen and British pound are computed daily after canvassing banks that comprise membership panels for each type of money.
Global Probes Global authorities have been investigating claims that more than a dozen banks altered submissions used to set benchmarks such as Libor to profit from bets on interest-rate derivatives or make the lenders’ finances appear healthier.
Barclays agreed to pay 290 million pounds ($441 million) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc paid $612 million to U.S. and U.K. regulators to resolve claims. UBS AG (UBSN) agreed to pay 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.47 billion).
Other defendants in the civil lawsuits include Credit Suisse Group, HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc. (C) and RBS.
Buchwald dismissed the antitrust claims because the plaintiffs didn’t allege enough facts to show that they were harmed by the alleged misconduct. The judge dismissed some commodities-manipulation claims because they centered on transactions that were too long ago. Other such claims may proceed, she said.
‘Public Purposes’ Explaining her decision to dismiss the claims after the regulatory settlements, Buchwald said private cases must be “examined closely” to ensure plaintiffs are “properly entitled to recover and that the suit is, in fact, serving the public purposes.”
“The broad public interests behind the statutes invoked here, such as integrity of the markets and competition, are being addressed by ongoing governmental enforcement,” she said.
Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Charlotte-based Bank of America, and Kristin Lemkau, a spokeswoman for New York-based JPMorgan, declined to comment on the ruling.
The plaintiffs include Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW), the independent brokerage, and bondholders. Michael Hausfeld, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, didn’t immediately return an e-mail yesterday seeking comment on the decision.
The consolidated case is In re Libor-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, 11-MD-02262, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: David Glovin in Manhattan federal court at dglovin@bloomberg.net.
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WHAT THIS MEANS IS THE MARKET IS JUST AS READY TO COLLAPSE AS IT WAS IN 2007......ONLY NOW IT IS OUR PUBLIC ASSETS THEY ARE AFTER......JUST AS IN EUROPE WITH THE SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS!!!
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE AND RUN AND VOTE FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE!!!
Stock Market Investment Risk Remains at Historic Extreme Global Economic Intersection
Our computer models analyze a large basket of fundamental, technical, internal and sentiment data in order to calculate our Secular Trend Score (STS) and our Cyclical Trend Score (CTS). The historical data used by our models extend back to the market crash in 1929 and have enabled our STS to correctly identify every secular inflection point and our CTS to correctly identify more than 90% of all cyclical inflection points during the last 84 years. Additionally, when analyzed together, these data identify extremes in the risk/reward profile of the stock market from an investment perspective. In early February, stock market investment risk increased to the highest 1 percentile of all historical observations, joining a select group of seven time periods. The additional short-term gains of the past month have increased investment risk even further, creating one of the five worst risk/reward profiles since 1929.
It must be noted that this particular measurement of investment risk is not a top call or an indication that a severe market decline is imminent. Overbought rallies such as this one can remain overbought for a long time as speculative momentum carries prices to higher and higher extremes. What the current investment risk/reward profile tells us is that a severe market decline will almost certainly occur after the current cyclical bull market terminates. At a current duration of 48 months, the bull market is long overdue for termination and it is highly likely that the next cyclical top will form sometime during the next six months. Additionally, the speculative nature of the advance during the last ten months indicates that the final blow-off phase of the rally is likely in progress, so a long-term reversal could occur at any time.
It is important to understand the difference between investing and trading. In order to properly evaluate the investment merit of a particular asset class or vehicle, a minimum time frame of ten years is required. By our measures, which are based on the historically reliable valuation model, the S&P 500 index is currently priced to produce a total annual return of 3.2% during the next decade. This is extremely poor projected performance, especially when you consider that the current yield on the 10-year Treasury note is 2.05%. Of course, given that stocks remain mired in a secular bear market that began in 2000, there will continue to be violent, extreme price swings in both directions. Those moves will continue to provide excellent trading opportunities, but the next true investment opportunity likely remains several years away. Now remains a time for extreme caution from an investment perspective and we remain fully defensive.
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First, when you say democrats you are referring to Third Way corporate democrats who work for wealth and profits....not people. The democratic base....80% of the party are the progressives and are left silent because Third Way keeps openly lying during campaigns to get elected. Since Americans are not used to third world tactics in elections we assume a campaign pledge will be honored. Third Way come from the elite schools where lying, cheating, and stealing are promoted as a way to win and that is why the democratic base is duped. We still operate on integrity and honor. The good news is that the democratic base understands the Third Way position in the party and will work to take back the majority and leadership. Then, progressivity in the tax code will return. We have tens of trillions of dollars in corporate fraud to bring back and getting it from these estates will be the key. It will take re-engaging International Criminal Courts to bring it back.....but our children and grandchildren will be sitting pretty with our retirements and theirs!!
Democrats support for progressivity wanes
By Jeremy Scott, editor of Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes. - 03/28/13 11:15 AM ET
A recent viral video on YouTube depicting the state of income inequality in the U.S., shows that 1 percent of Americans have 40 percent of the nation’s wealth and the bottom 80 percent have 7 percent of it.
Traditionally, Democrats have been willing to use the tax code to address income inequality and have long portrayed themselves as champions of progressivity as a way to narrow income disparities. Among the most progressive federal taxes is the estate tax, which taxes inherited wealth.
But the most progressive tax is also one of the most unpopular. Thanks to Republican-led efforts to characterize it as the “death tax” – that is, a tax on death as opposed to one that falls on the estate of the deceased – the estate tax is almost universally reviled in Congress and by the voters. Reflecting that reality, the Democrat-controlled Senate voted 80 to 19 late last week to kill the tax (provided lawmakers find the revenue to offset the cost).Though the amendment was nonbinding, the vote is an important symbol of the muddled state of the Democratic Party and the extent to which Republicans’ have succeeded in demonizing nearly every tax.
The effort to abolish the estate tax isn’t new. Republicans have whittled away at it over the years, with the complicity of conservative Democrats, who voted to raise the exemption level from $675,000 early in the Bush era to $5.25 million today – a move that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which attracted broad Democratic support and President Obama’s signature, made permanent. Moreover, the top tax rate on the value of the estate that exceeds the exemption level, which was 55 percent in 2001, is now 40 percent.
The permanent estate tax also features portability, meaning that married couples who file their taxes jointly can effectively double the exemption, keeping a shared estate worth up to $10.5 million tax-free. Thanks to the changes, the estate tax is projected to raise $370 billion less than it would have if Clinton-era rates and exemptions were still in place. That’s a two-thirds reduction in federal revenue.
Nor does the Democrats’ move away from progressivity end with the estate tax.
Quite the contrary, Democrats also voted last week to eliminate a tax of their own creation – the medical device excise tax, an important component of health reform that’s designed to raise the revenue needed to offset the costs of expanded health insurance coverage.
Moreover, in negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” at year-end, the “sequestration” budget cuts that took effect in March, and hopes for larger budget deals, Obama and his Democratic party seem increasingly willing to undermine the progressivity of the code.
They favor lower capital gains tax rates than ordinary income and related capital gains preferences every bit as much as Republicans do. They largely oppose higher taxes on the banking and financial sectors.
In addition, many Democrats, particularly senators, want to reduce the tax burden on U.S.-based corporations, both those who operate only within our borders and those who also operate far beyond. Many Democrats support a so-called repatriation holiday that would let corporations bring their overseas profits to the United States and pay a minimal tax on them, and a territorial tax system that would permanently reduce U.S. taxes on overseas profits.
And – let’s not forget – only 19 Democratic senators voted in favor of keeping the estate tax.
Sen. Mark Warner, the influential Virginia Democrat, would argue that his colleagues support scrapping the estate tax only if they can find other sources of revenue. But what other taxes are as progressive as the estate tax, which targets only the very wealthiest taxpayers (and even then, just their estates)?
Where would this $200 billion in new tax revenue come from? It almost certainly would come from the middle class, or from cuts to tax expenditures that benefit a broader taxpayer base than the estate tax affects.
As the appetite for tax reform grows, perhaps voters should be wary of Democrats’ lip service for progressivity when they seem willing and eager to drop the only truly progressive tax in the code. The need to balance tax cuts with tax increases will surely lead to the kinds of compromise that will make the system as a whole less progressive and less fair.
Scott, an attorney and expert on federal taxation, is the editor of Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes.
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Let's be clear....this immigration reform is the Republican plan and you see who is on the Gang of 8....Durbin and Schumer.....top two of the Senate and both Third Way corporate. So, they will promote a plan that maximizes profits...not protect people. What they are doing is creating a 'guest worker program', the Republican plan. This is what all second world countries have...Bahrain, Saudia Arabia and Third Way's favorite developed world ..... Germany. In Germany where this plan has been in place for several decades the guest workers have never been integrated....never gotten citizenship....and are exploited for cheap labor as always. They are now being forced out of the country as unemployment and nationalism rises. So, there were no net gains for these immigrants.
THAT IS WHAT THIS PLAN DOES TO US IMMIGRANTS. AS THE CBS REPORT STATED ....THERE WILL NEVER BE CITIZENSHIP WITH THESE POLS.
Baltimore already practices this brand of immigration reform. Immigrants are flooding the job market so domestic working class labor have high unemployment and then, these immigrant workers are openly abused and have wages stolen by contractors who hire them. BALTIMORE'S LABOR MARKET IS A MESS BECAUSE OF THIS REFORM. Justice advocates march, shout, testify to abuses and even write complaint after complaint about wage theft and all of that is ignored. IT IS A LOSE-LOSE SITUATION FOR THE IMMIGRANT AND THE LOW-INCOME WORKER. THE WINNER.....CORPORATE PROFIT!!
WE WANT AMNESTY AND CITIZENSHIP FOR THOSE IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE ALREADY PAID THEIR DUES.....THEY DO NOT NEED TO 'WAIT IN LINE'.
By Jill Jackson /
CBS News/ April 1, 2013, 2:28 PM With deal in sight, "Gang of 8" continues immigration talks
Bipartisan senators working on a broad immigration overhaul are nearing agreement on a process for the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States to legalize their status and possibly achieve citizenship. While aides caution that details are still being worked out, and nothing is final until the language is drafted by staff and members sign off, the broad framework for legalization is becoming clear.
A senior congressional aide with knowledge of the details says illegal immigrants wanting a work permit that would legalize their status would first have to come forward, register with the government and pass a criminal background check. While they would pay a processing fee of around $500, it's possible they would not have to pay a fine until they renew their work permit after several years. That fine would be at least $1,000.
Likely after 10 years, the immigrant would be eligible to apply for a green card if they would like. Negotiators are still discussing whether there would be a fine at this stage. If the immigrant receives that green card, they would then be eligible to apply for citizenship.
The senior aide says that those applying for citizenship would have to show they've learned English and United States civics. They would also go to the very back of the line so that people who've applied for citizenship, but never broken the law, get the first opportunity to become citizens.
At each stage, the immigrant would have to show that they've been working continuously while in the United States and pass criminal background checks. They would also need to prove that they've been in the United States for at least a couple years before the law passed to prevent immigrants from trying to enter the country illegally now or after the bill passes.
Talks gained momentum over the weekend when an agreement in principle was reached with labor and business leaders on a new visa program for low-skilled immigrants.
The new visa, known as a "W Visa Program", would allow employers to petition for visas for lower-skilled foreign workers in industries like construction, retail or hospitality. In the future, as many as 200,000 visas could be issued a year, but the number would be determined by a combination of factors including the unemployment rate and the ratio of job openings to job seekers.
The issue was considered one of the last major sticking points though Republicans in the "gang" like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., whose support of the package will be critical to winning over conservatives, publicly said reports of a deal are "premature."
Negotiators are expected to unveil the legislation next week, but it will not be the final package. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to consider the bill and amend it this month. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday that the bill could be on the Senate floor as early as May.
Meanwhile a bipartisan group of eight House members are working on an immigration plan as well. Aides with knowledge of the talks say they expect to unveil their plan in the coming weeks.
But the fate after the unveiling is unclear. The bill could go through the House Judiciary Committee, but members have no guarantee yet from GOP leadership or the chairman of that committee on the way forward.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last month, however, that "there are a lot of issues in here that have to be dealt with" but he thinks the package House lawmakers are crafting "is frankly a pretty responsible solution."
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