No Accident Obama Chooses Words Carefully on Occupy Wall Street

The last thing President Obama and the Democrats want to do is politicize the Occupy Wall Street movement that is spreading to cities around the country, as was demonstrated by his cautious words about the growing protest movement at today's White House press conference.

The once-rapid recruitment of the Tea Party was stunted when it was revealed the movement had been co-opted by the GOP and conservative bank-rollers, like the Koch brothers. The Democrats do not want to make the same mistake with the Pavlovian protests against what the demonstrators say is corporate greed.

The media, though schizophrenic in its coverage, has tattooed the "astroturf" label on the forehead of the Tea Party, while the Occupy Wall Street movement so far remains a grassroots uprising in eyes of the press, which, for better or worse, likes to highlight the anarchist element at its core.

Here is Obama's answer to two questions on the subject by Jackie Calmes of The New York Times:

Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  As you travel the country, you also take credit for tightening regulations on Wall Street through the Dodd-Frank law, and about your efforts to combat income inequality.  There’s this movement -- Occupy Wall Street -- which has spread from Wall Street to other cities.  They clearly don’t think that you or Republicans have done enough, that you’re in fact part of the problem.

     Are you following this movement, and what would you say to its -- people that are attracted to it?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Obviously I’ve heard of it.  I’ve seen it on television.  I think it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel -- that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country, all across Main Street, and yet you’re still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this problem in the first place.

     So, yes, I think people are frustrated, and the protestors are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works.  Now, keep in mind I have said before and I will continue to repeat, we have to have a strong, effective financial sector in order for us to grow.  And I used up a lot of political capital, and I’ve got the dings and bruises to prove it, in order to make sure that we prevented a financial meltdown, and that banks stayed afloat.  And that was the right thing to do, because had we seen a financial collapse then the damage to the American economy would have been even worse. 

But what I’ve also said is that for us to have a healthy financial system, that requires that banks and other financial institutions compete on the basis of the best service and the best products and the best price, and it can’t be competing on the basis of hidden fees, deceptive practices, or derivative cocktails that nobody understands and that expose the entire economy to enormous risks.  That’s what Dodd-Frank was designed to do.  It was designed to make sure that we didn’t have the necessity of taxpayer bailouts; that we said, you know what?  We’re going to be able to control these situations so that if these guys get into trouble, we can isolate them, quarantine them, and let them fail.  It says that we’re going to have a consumer watchdog on the job, all the time, who’s going to make sure that they are dealing with customers in a fair way, and we’re eliminating hidden fees on credit cards, and mortgage brokers are going to have to -- actually have to be straight with people about what they’re purchasing. 

And what we’ve seen over the last year is not only did the financial sector -- with the Republican Party in Congress -- fight us every inch of the way, but now you’ve got these same folks suggesting that we should roll back all those reforms and go back to the way it was before the crisis.  Today, my understanding is we’re going to have a hearing on Richard Cordray, who is my nominee to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  He would be America’s chief consumer watchdog when it comes to financial products.  This is a guy who is well regarded in his home state of Ohio, has been the treasurer of Ohio, the attorney general of Ohio.  Republicans and Democrats in Ohio all say that he is a serious person who looks out for consumers.  He has a good reputation.  And Republicans have threatened not to confirm him not because of anything he’s done, but because they want to roll back the whole notion of having a consumer watchdog. 

You’ve got Republican presidential candidates whose main economic policy proposals is, we’ll get rid of the financial reforms that are designed to prevent the abuses that got us into this mess in the first place.  That does not make sense to the American people.  They are frustrated by it.  And they will continue to be frustrated by it until they get a sense that everybody is playing by the same set of rules, and that you’re rewarded for responsibility and doing the right thing as opposed to gaining the system. 

So I’m going to be fighting every inch of the way here in Washington to make sure that we have a consumer watchdog that is preventing abusive practices by the financial sector. 

I will be hugely supportive of banks and financial institutions that are doing the right thing by their customers.  We need them to be lending.  We need them to be lending more to small businesses.  We need them to help do what traditionally banks and financial services are supposed to be doing, which is providing business and families resources to make productive investments that will actually build the economy.  But until the American people see that happening, yes, they are going to continue to express frustrations about what they see as two sets of rules.

Q    Do you think Occupy Wall Street has the potential to be a tea party movement in 2012?

THE PRESIDENT:  What I think is that the American people understand that not everybody has been following the rules; that Wall Street is an example of that; that folks who are working hard every single day, getting up, going to the job, loyal to their companies, that that used to be the essence of the American Dream.  That’s how you got ahead -- the old-fashioned way.  And these days, a lot of folks who are doing the right thing aren’t rewarded, and a lot of folks who aren’t doing the right thing are rewarded.

And that’s going to express itself politically in 2012 and beyond until people feel like once again we’re getting back to some old-fashioned American values in which, if you’re a banker, then you are making your money by making prudent loans to businesses and individuals to build plants and equipment and hire workers that are creating goods and products that are building the economy and benefitting everybody.

Nowhere in his answers is there a definitive endorsement for the Occupy Wall Street movement, or even the politician's routine stock response that demonstrations are a traditional form of expressing American democracy. Instead, Obama highlighted his own agenda on questions that he was definitely prepped for before going into his press conference.

It sounds a lot like the President is walking a fine line, but it is more like he is doing cartwheels in a crosswalk, much to the delight of the protesters skeptical of Washington and politically savvy Democrats who are aware of the anti-Wall Street movement's room to grow.

Comparisons with the Tea Party aside, that movement has failed to win the support of mainstream middle class Americans hurt by the banking and finance industry's shenanigans, while the opportunity remains for the fledgling Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Huge Increase in Workers' Health Costs Amounts to Pay Cut for Many

Workers already facing fewer pay raises are now up against a new reality: Their bosses are forcing them to pay more for their premiums and deductibles than ever before, an annual health care survey released today revealed.

Workers premiums increased much faster than their wages and general inflation, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust 2011 Employer Health Benefits Survey.

Since 2001, family premiums jumped by 113%, compared with 34% for workers’ wages and 27% for inflation, the daunting data indicated.

So in reality the increasing cost of worker-financed health care plans is actually a pay cut for many employees -- just the latest indication that the American middle class is under assault by an outdated economic system skewed in favor of the wealthiest Americans.

Annual premiums for worker-sponsored family health coverage increased to $15,073 this year, a 9% increase from last year, the survey showed. On average, workers pay $4,129 and employers pay $10,944 toward those annual premiums.

"This year’s 9% increase in premiums is especially painful for workers and employers struggling through a weak recovery," said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman.

Perhaps the only good news is that unemployed recent college graduates and other young people up to the age 26 are getting covered thankt to the health care reforms sponsored by President Obama.

"The law is helping millions of young adults to obtain health coverage. In the past, many of these young adults would have lost coverage when they left home or graduated college," said the study's lead author Gary Claxton, a Kaiser vice president and co-executive director of the Kaiser Initiative on Health Reform and Private Insurance.

The survey was conducted between January and May of 2011 and included 3,184 randomly selected, non-federal public and private firms with three or more employees.

Lefties Like What Obama is Saying as Poll Shows Americans Favor Jobs Plan

President Obama is armed and ready to take on the Tea Party-led GOP now that he is seeing support for financing his jobs plan with spending cuts and restoring the tax rates to 1990s level for the richest Americans.

A new Gallup poll out today shows significant majorities of Americans favor Obama paying for his latest jobs plan by taxing the wealthy and wiping out tax breaks for some corporations.

There is even more evidence of good news for Obama, including word from some of his allies who say the push-back rhetoric from Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner is an indication that the GOP is feeling the President's sting. Boehner and others on the right spent much of today whining that Obama is waging class warfare.

Now the fractured ranks of the Democratic left is liking what it is hearing from Obama so far regarding his newly announced $3.2 trillion deficit reduction plan that includes taxing the richest Americans at the same rate as middle class taxpayers.

And that is a big deal, because if Obama can shore up the disheartened ranks of his progressive supporters early on in the 2012 presidential election season it will give him ample opportunity to battle for the moderate independent voters who will be the deciding factor in next year's balloting.

"His problem isn't me or Move On so much as it is all the people who voted for him in '08 who may vote for him again. They probably won't vote for the Republican. But they're not going to go out and bring 10 people to the polls with them. They're not going to be excited about voting again. And that's where it could really hurt him," said lefty filmmaker and commentator Michael Moore.

"So, this thing that happened today is very exciting, and to have him just repeat over and over again, I will refuse to let these Bush tax cuts for the rich continue, I will refuse to rebuild this country on the backs of the poor and the middle class, that is music to my ears. We should have heard this from day one. I'll take it on day 900 if that's when I get it," Moore told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow last night.

One of the most vocal and angry constituencies within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has been the gay and lesbian community. Many Gay Democrats felt the White House was just giving lip service when it came to it's support for abolishing the military's don't ask, don't tell.

"A lot of us were so ticked off at him for dragging his feet," said John Aravosis, a progressive opinion leader known for his political instincts and sometimes bombastic approach to driving home a point. 

But there is euphoria today in the gay community, which has heaped millions of dollars into the Obama campaign along with their support on election day: Don't ask, don't tell is off the books and gay and lesbian Americans can now serve openly in the armed forces.

"It became real as of midnight last night, and it is true that we would not have won without a President pushing for it," said Aravosis, who is an openly gay blogger with a significant following on his AmericaBlog platform.

So Obama is finally having good week, but there remains a skepticism among some supporters that when it gets down to the 11th hour he will blink and give Republicans what they want, without a fight.  

"People are more excited, but a lot of people are waiting to see if he follows through," Aravosis observed. "I have a lot of trouble believing everyone at this point is just going to say, 'Oh, ok we're going to come back now.'"

So Far, No Movement on Looming Debt Crisis

Updated at 5:45 p.m. EDT

President Obama said today he wants "to do something big" to tackle the deficit and debt problem, not just agree to a quick fix like the stunt-like approach GOP. Sen John Cornyn pitched with his proposal to only do a "mini deal" for now.

"Now, I've heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term but then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit," Obama said during an appearance in the White House briefing room.

"I don't share that view. I don't think the American people here sent us here to avoid tough problems. That's, in fact, what drives them nuts about Washington, when both parties simply take the path of least resistance, and I don't want to do that here. I believe that right now we've got a unique opportunity to do something big, to tackle our deficit in a way that forces our government to live within its means, that puts our economy on a stronger footing for the future and still allows us to invest in that future," Obama added.

Obama invited the leaders of Congress back to White House Thursday for another debt limit negotiation, saying lawmakers need to check their agendas at the door.

"Even as we continue discussions today and tomorrow, I have asked leaders of both parties and both houses of Congress to come here to the White House on Thursday, so we can build on the work that's already been done and drive towards a final agreement," Obama said. "It's my hope that everybody's going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we'll all leave our political rhetoric at the door, and that we're going to do what's best for our economy and do what's best for our people."

Obama repeated his vision of "a balanced approach" that includes cutting "spending in domestic programs, in defense programs, in entitlement programs," as well as "spending in the tax code, spending on certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest of Americans."

"This will require both parties to get out of our comfort zones, and both parties to agree on real compromise," Obama said. "I'm ready to do that. I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that. And what I know is that we need to come together over the next two weeks to reach a deal that reduces the deficit and upholds the full faith and credit of the United States government and the credit of the American people."

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There was some talk over the weekend of a potential mini-deal on the looming debt crisis, but the White House says that is all it was: Talk. President Obama, as of now, wants a full deal and does not want a Band-Aid approach, rejecting the idea floated by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.).

So the U.S. Senate is in session today with the hope of resolving the debt crisis ahead of a hard Aug. 2 deadline. Obama has set his own deadline of July 22 to allow the review of the final dead, once it is reached.

The federal debt stands at $14.3 trillion.

The GOP leadership also will have to sell any deal that includes new revenue to its rank and file members, especially the Tea Party faction which has taken up the cause of protecting the rich from tax increases and corporations from having to give up their tax loopholes.

At Obama's urging, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called the Senate into session, foregoing its usual Fourth of July holiday break.

If Republicans and Democrats do not raise the federal debt limit it would put the federal government in the position of defaulting on some of its bills and that would likely send the financial markets into a tailspin. There are fears that it could trigger another economic crisis on par with what we saw in 2008 at the end of the Bush administration.

Republicans want about $2 trillion in budget cuts, while Obama is looking for somewhere in the vicinity of $400 billion in tax loopholes wiped off the slate. For the first time, the White House reportedly has signaled that it would consider cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, if Republicans will bend on their refusal to allow the elimination of the corporate tax loopholes.

Obama has proposed eliminating tax breaks for the hugely profitable oil and gas industry, hedge fund managers and owners of corporate jets.

The debt fund debate comes as The New York Times reports that median pay for top executives at 200 large companies last year was $10.8 million. Those salaries work out to a 23% gain for the CEOs over 2009 levels, as compared to only a .5% hike in pay for rank and file workers. Given inflation, workers on the bottom rung actually lost money.

Philippe P. Dauman, the chief executive of Viacom, stands atop the list with an $84.5 million salary last year, after inking new long-term deal that includes one-time stock awards, the Times reported.

Looming Financial Crisis: Greek Tragedy at Home & Abroad

The White House still thinks a compromise can be worked out over raising the debt ceiling.

“We believe there is the opportunity here for a substantial compromise on a significant deficit reduction agreement that is done in a way that is balanced, allows the economy to continue to grow and create jobs even as we get our fiscal house in order," White House spokesman Jay Carney said today.

President Obama met behind closed doors with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell last night, but there was no give in the impasse over the Republican's refusal to increase revenues through tax hikes by closing tax loopholes.

Obama's often-ignored left-leaning base voters would like to see revenues raised by wiping out tax breaks for the oil industry and companies that send American jobs overseas. 

"They agreed to continue talking. It was a useful meeting and their consultations will continue with the President, with the Vice President, with others on our team, with leaders of Congress and members of the negotiating team in Congress," Carney said.

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the self-styled socialist lawmaker, blasted the President, charging that Obama is going sell out working families, the elderly and poor by caving to the Republicans. Sanders is asking Americans to sign onto a petition he is sending to the White House.

"Mr. President, please listen to the overwhelming majority of the American people who believe that deficit reduction must be about shared sacrifice. The wealthiest Americans and the most profitable corporations in this country must pay their fair share," Sanders wrote in a a letter to Obama posted on his website.

With a little more than a month before the deadline, the U.S. national debt stands at more than $14.3 trillion. Obama will host Senate Democrats tomorrow to plot their strategy moving forward.

Across the ocean all hell is breaking loose over the same issue.

About 20,000 protesters, a handful lobbing molotov cocktails, tried to penetrate a 4,000-man human shield around the Greek parliament in Athens today to protest proposed government cutbacks and top-to-bottom tax hikes.

This Greek tragedy came at the start of a two-day national strike protesting a new round of national austerity reforms. Greece's parliament has a vote scheduled for tomorrow on the $40 billion package.

Greece has a $17 billion interest payment due next week on the a $156 billion bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

If it defaults there are widespread fears that it could trigger a global economic catastrophe on par with the one Wall Street and the banking industry gave the world in the summer of 2008.

Libya or Politics, Selling Oil Reserves Win for Consumers

This is not really a Libya story, though the White House would like it to be.

The surprise move to put on the market 60 million barrels of oil gave the financial markets a boost and will likely help some middle class Americans load up the beach wagon and give their families a vacation after all.

Mostly it left President Obama's political enemies here at home red-faced over the mostly symbolic move -- 60 million barrels would fuel the world for less than a day.

Still, Obama's political detractors know they cannot really attack a program that ultimately is meant to help American consumers. The Democrats would love nothing more than to run ads of Republicans squeaking about how wrong it is to try lower prices at the pumps.

The best the yammerers at Fox could do is bloviate about the need to tap more oil wells, even though U.S. oil fields are more active than they have been in 20 years. So that line of attack is not impressive for the bomb-lobbing reputed house organ of the GOP and Tea Party.

But more importantly, it left OPEC wondering what else the U.S. and the International Energy Agency have up their sleeve to fight back against their price gouging. Iran, which is trying to wrest the de facto seat at the head of the oil cartel away from U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, was out-smarted, at least for a little while. Iran is taking the lead in opposing oil output.

As for the crooked oil marketeers here in the U.S., the Justice Department is looking under every stone for the slimy greed monsters who would stick it to Americans for the sake of profits. Attorney General Eric Holder would love to make an example of a gasoline distributor rip-off artist.

The U.S. and IEA blame the shutdown of Libya's oil production as the biggest reason for flooding the oil markets with the reserves. It will likely be at least a month before Libya's refineries are fired up again and the rebels are able to ship oil.

"We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.

Even if it is a bit of a "dog ate my homework" excuse, it will likely take the heat off the cash-strapped middle class Americans and how can anyone in the U.S. complain about that.

Cash-Flush Oil Industry Laughs At The American Motorist

We knew it would happen in this age of greed and corporate welfare.

Amid the worst gas and diesel prices since the economic crash of 2008 under the Bush administration, the oil industry today is reporting whopping first quarter profits worth 10s of billions of dollars:

-Industry giant Exxon Mobil Corp. enjoyed a whopping 69 percent increase in profits.

-Royal Dutch Shell reported its profits rose 30 percent.

-Occidental Petroleum saw a 46 percent gain in profits.

-ConocoPhillips earnings increased 43 percent.

-And last but not least, the corporation that destroyed the Gulf fishing and tourism industry, BP, reported a 17 percent increase in profits.

As Wall Street and the corporate culture of greed wallow in their gluttony, the price of gas rose for the 35th straight day for the American motorist, coming in at $3.89 for a gallon of regular and $4.14 for a gallon of diesel.

Despite the profits and the soaking American motorists are getting at the gas pump,  the Tea Party-driven GOP House majority (courageously on vacation this week) refuses to budge on wiping out $4 billion in taxpayer-funded giveaways to the oil industry

Welcome to another round of stick it to the working man and woman.