EveryJoe » obama administration

Obama Stands by Small Businesses

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:52:00 +0000

In case any small business owners have had any doubt about the president’s priorities when it comes to the economy, President Obama has stated that small businesses are essential the American economy and has noted the problem that small businesses have nowadays in getting credit.

Image: Zuma Press

Obama’s weekly radio and Internet address gave the President the opportunity to urge America’s banks to step up their lending to creditworthy small businesses, stating that it is the banks’ responsibility to finance the small business engine. He also announced several programs that would spur lending, such as capital injections into community banks that would allow them to lend more freely.

The Small Business Administration has also come into Obama’s sights as a way to spur lending on the part of banks, with the President urging Congress to raise the limits of SBA loans from $2 million to $5 million and as much as $5.5 million for manufacturing. Obama has also called for a conference between regulators, financial leaders, lenders, and entrepreneurs to help solve the problem.

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Fake Press Conference Causes Confusion

Mark Ellis — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:45:27 +0000

In a move that is sure to raise some eyebrows, a group of activist tricksters sent out a fake press release and arranged a phony news conference to announce the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s support of climate-change legislation. In reality, the Chamber of Commerce has remained opposed to such legislation, which led to a relatively brief bout of confusion caused by the fake press conference.

The press conference took place in the National Press Club and the group of pranksters were even able to secure a Chamber of Commerce logo to use on the lectern. However, the prank only lasted several minutes, as the communications director for the real Chamber of Commerce interrupted the press conference and announced that the proceedings were false.

According to the news outlets present, a comedic back-and-forth between the false and real chamber officials took place, each demanding to see each other’s credentials.

The Chamber of Commerce has not supported any climate-change legislations because of worries concerning the depth of such legislation and the amount of regulation that would be involved in enacting the new rules. The chamber also denounced the false press conference, calling it a distraction.

Image: Flickr

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Panel: Obama Won’t Slow Foreclosures

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:25:38 +0000

The Obama administration has begun patting itself on the back for its progress in helping many troubled homeowners to avoid foreclosure due to its various federal programs. However, an oversight panel has released a statement criticizing President Obama’s program, warning that it will actually end up leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to losing their homes to foreclosure.

Image: Zuma Press

The Congressional Oversight Panel, a group created to keep an eye on taxpayer bailout funds, has said the administration’s predictions of how many homeowners the programs will save are vastly overstated. According to the COP, the program would most likely only prevent less than half of the foreclosures than the government actually expects, a figure that the panel says stems from the program’s inability to address the most important issues.

High unemployment rates and deceptive mortgage practices are two of the main factors that President Obama’s program does not do anything to address, according to the COP. Many of the mortgages that fall under this category are too large to be modified by the program, while those that lose their jobs to the weak economy may end up earning less than necessary to qualify for any sort of relief.

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First-Time Home Buyers Enjoy Tax Credit

Mark Ellis — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:57:28 +0000

As part of the Obama administration’s commitment to helping every American find a place to live, the government has been offering what essentially boils down to up to $8,000 of free money. Buyers who close by November 30th are eligible for this tax credit, one that is worth up to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price.

Purchasing a home before Nov. 30 is not the only requirement, though. The home you are buying has to be your first home or the first home you have owned in three years. Single buyers must have a modified adjusted gross income (MADI) of less than $75,000, while married couples must have a MADI less than $150,000.

After purchasing a home, an eligible home buyer should claim the credit on his federal income tax return. The credit offsets any taxes that the home buyer might owe and then gets a check for the difference. Home buyers can amend their 2008 tax returns or claim their credit for this year’s returns.

Image: Flickr

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U.S. Gives Grants to Spanish Energy Company

Mark Ellis — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:58:20 +0000

The Obama administration has set aside more than $500 million for the economic stimulus of renewable energy development projects, and Spanish company Iberdrola SA will receive the largest portion of these funds. Iberdrola SA will receive $236 million to build wind farms throughout Texas, Oregon, and Minnesota, while a Pennsylvania wind project will receive $59 million.

In all, twelve different projects will receive a portion of the funds, with 59 percent of the money going to Iberdrola’s various projects throughout the three states. This money, which comes from a $3 billion fund that the Obama administration set aside for economic recovery, will be given instead of tax credits to Iberdrola and 5,000 other renewable energy facilities.

According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a written statement, the stimulus money will help the manufacturing and development of clean energy sources throughout the country. This will, in turn, allow Obama to get one step closer to achieving his goal of doubling renewable energy sources in three years’ time.

Image: Flickr

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AIG Asks Obama to OK Bonuses

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:52:40 +0000

American International Group Inc., commonly known as AIG, is once again ready to start handing out bonuses. The last time they handed out bonuses, it didn’t go over too well with the American public. In fact, it prompted everything from boycotts to protests.

Prior to handing out bonuses this time, AIG is going to ask permission from Obama’s administration. Specifically, AIG will run their bonuses plan by Kenneth Feinberg — the person in charge of corporate compensation for those companies that have received bailout funding.

Even though AIG isn’t required by law to ask for permission regarding these bonuses since they were earned prior to AIG receiving bailout funding, the company hopes that this show of good faith will end the public outrage before it begins.

In total, AIG has received more than $175 billion dollars in United States federal government bailout funding. In total, it’s estimated that AIG employees earned nearly $500 million in bonuses in 2008.

AIG Protests (Image: Flickr)

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Three Nominated for Treasury

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:17:16 +0000

On Sunday, The White House announced three nominees for senior posts at the Treasury Department. Just days ago, two other contenders withdrew their names claiming concern that the team wasn’t being assembled quickly enough during the financial crisis.

Timothy Geithner - Image: Newscom

Two months into the Obama presidency, only Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is in place in the Treasury.

The three new nominees are:

David Cohen – assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing
Alan Krueger – assistant secretary for economic policy
Kim Wallace – assistant secretary for legislative affairs

“Out of crisis arises opportunity,” President Obama said in a statement.

“With the leadership of these accomplished individuals and our whole economic team, I am absolutely confident that we will turn around this economy and seize this opportunity to secure a more prosperous future.”

Source: Wire Reports

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