Legislation RSS Feed

Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:57:51 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Effective date of most provisions of the originally introduced version of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act: 3 months after passage

Effective date of most provisions of the version of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act that was signed into law: 9 months to 15 months after passage

Percentage of credit cards from the 12 largest banks that use practices deemed “unfair or deceptive” by the Federal Reserve: 100

Median advertised range of APRs for credit cards issued in December of 2008: 9.99%-15.99%

Median advertised range of APRs for credit cards issued in July of 2009, after the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act’s passage: 12.24%-17.99%

Maximum annual fee instituted by Citigroup in August that is imposed when a cardholder does not spend enough: $90

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act was a major step forward for consumer protections. The legislation ended the most insidious practices employed by credit card companies, protecting consumers from policies that can keep them mired in debt despite their best efforts to dig themselves out. However, the Act delayed implementation of these vital consumer protections for over a year in some cases, allowing card companies to raise interest rates, increase fees, and jack up minimum payments in the meantime. The Pew Safe Credit Cards Project finds that many credit card companies worsened their treatment of consumers in anticipation of the legislation. The Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act would ensure that these unfair and deceptive practices end immediately. Although the bill will not aid consumers whose interest rates and fees have been raised in recent months, the Act will prevent card companies from continuing to intensify the financial strain on households already struggling to make ends meet.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“H.R. 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009 and H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act,” Hearing of the House Financial Services Committee

“Still Waiting: ‘Unfair or Deceptive’ Credit Card Practices Continue as Americans Wait for New Reforms to Take Effect,” from Pew Safe Credit Cards Project

“Modernizing Consumer Protection in the Financial Regulatory System: Strengthening Credit Card Protections,” from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Protecting America’s Workers Act of 2009

hmoroz — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:56:38 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

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Injustice Facts

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Middle Class Position Analysis

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Beyond this Bill

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Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

hmoroz — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:27:18 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of Americans unemployed for six months or more: 5.4 million

Percentage of unemployed workers who cannot find jobs within receiving their first six months of unemployment benefits: 50.7

Number of unemployed workers who will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits by the end of 2009: 1.3 million

Average number of unemployed workers losing their unemployment insurance benefits each day in the absence of an extension of benefits: 7,000

Number of jobless workers for every job opening in the United States at the beginning of the recession: 1.7

Number of jobless workers for every job opening in the United States at present: 6

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. While economists see signs of economic recovery, 15.1 million unemployed Americans still cannot find work. The unemployment rate continues to rise and now stands at 9.8%. Recent extensions of the duration of unemployment benefits have been necessary but insufficient: 400,000 unemployed workers exhausted their benefits at the end of September, a number that will increase to a devastating 1.3 million by the end of the year. Middle-class Americans thrown out of work cannot be allowed to lose their unemployment lifeline at a time when there are six workers for every available job.

The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act would ease the financial pain associated with long-term unemployment. Unemployment benefits provide direct assistance to the current and aspiring middle-class Americans likely to be hardest hit during the economic downturn, people who want to work but have lost their means of support through no fault of their own. With extended benefits, many families can stay in their homes, keep the lights on, and put food on the table. Unlike the House version of the legislation, the bill would protect all workers from running out of benefits while providing additional protection to the most vulnerable in the worst-hit states- places like Michigan.

In addition to the benefit to individual households, unemployment insurance provides significant economic stimulus. The unemployed tend to spend all of their benefits and quickly, providing an important economic jolt. Allowing unemployment benefits to expire for hundreds of thousands of families would undermine the successes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and slow the nation’s economic recovery.

In contrast, extending the tax credit for first-time homebuyers and, particularly, expanding the credit to wealthier households and to current homeowners would do little to stimulate additional economic activity. The credit, included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has primarily benefited households which would have purchased a home even without the tax benefit. This means that the credit is poorly targeted and an inefficient use of government funds at a time of increasing concern about budget deficits. It also continues the federal government’s subsidization of homeownership, which helped cause the housing crisis. The carryback loss provision is a also a poorly targeted provision, receiving a “C” in the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center’s analysis of the stimulative effect of tax measures. Aid to state and local governments, along with legislation that targets aid to those suffering most from the economic downturn, would be a much more efficient use of federal funds.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?” from the Senate Finance Committee

“Unemployment Insurance,” from the National Employment Law Project

“Harsh Labor Market Conditions Justify Extending Unemployment Benefits In Hard-Hit States,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:09:36 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

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Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:05:07 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

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Livable Communities Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:02:56 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

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Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:00:26 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

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Injustice Facts

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Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 - House Version

hmoroz — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:27:49 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of Americans unemployed for six months or more: 5 million

Percentage of unemployed workers who cannot find jobs within receiving their first six months of unemployment benefits: 50.7

Number of unemployed workers who will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits by the end of 2009: 1.3 million

Percentage of these who will be eligible for the extended benefits provided by the legislation: 81.3

Number of jobless workers for every job opening in the United States at the beginning of the recession: 1.7

Number of jobless workers for every job opening in the United States at present: 6

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. While economists see signs of economic recovery, 14.9 million unemployed Americans still cannot find work. The unemployment rate continues to rise and now stands at 9.7%, keeping middle-class Americans at risk of being thrown out of work as a result of the economic downturn. According to the National Employment Law Project, 5 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or longer and half of the unemployed cannot find jobs within the first six months of receiving unemployment insurance benefits. There are 6 jobless workers for every job opening. Recent extensions of the duration of unemployment benefits have been necessary but insufficient: 400,000 unemployed workers will have exhausted their benefits by the end of September, a number that will increase to a devastating 1.3 million by the end of the year.

The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act would ease the financial pain associated with long-term unemployment. Unemployment benefits provide direct assistance to the current and aspiring middle-class Americans likely to be hardest hit during the economic downturn, people who want to work but have lost their means of support through no fault of their own. The legislation would ensure that the jobless in the worst-hit states – places like Michigan that has an unemployment rate of 15.2 percent – would avoid losing unemployment insurance at a time when finding a job is extremely difficult. The bill would prevent approximately 300,000 unemployed Americans in 27 states from losing their unemployment benefits. Though workers in all states are exhausting their benefits and more comprehensive legislation would assist them all, more than 80 percent of workers who will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year will be eligible for the extended benefit.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?” from the Senate Finance Committee

“Unemployment Insurance,” from the National Employment Law Project

“Harsh Labor Market Conditions Justify Extending Unemployment Benefits In Hard-Hit States,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:05:27 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

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Overview/Summary

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Beyond this Bill

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Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:32:32 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Combined compensation received in 2008 by 11 executives at Citigroup, a primary recipient of financial bailout funds: $77.25 million

Net losses of Citigroup in 2008: $27.7 billion

Factor by which the average CEO pay exceeded that of the American worker in 2007: 344 times

Average value of perks like private jets given to executives in 2008: $336,248

Payment included in an executive compensation package that the heirs of James Bernhard, Chairman and CEO of the Shaw Group, were to receive from the construction giant upon his death: $40 million

Percentage of Shaw shareholders who voted in favor of having a say on executive compensation packages that include such payments to heirs: 66.7%

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Today nearly half of Americans own some stock, with many middle-class families relying on 401(k)s and other investments to finance their retirement security or help their children afford college. Workers with traditional pension plans, including many public employees, also have a stake in the long-term financial performance of companies their pensions are invested in. As a result, the retirement security middle-class Americans work a lifetime to earn can be thrown into jeopardy by lavish CEO pay and retirement packages that reward executives with hundreds of millions of dollars even if they perform poorly, behave unethically, or manipulate pay through a biased compensation committee. As the financial crisis demonstrates, excessive pay can provide incentives for executives to take on excessive risk, endangering both shareholder value and the entire economy.

When executives get sumptuous rewards for inferior or mediocre work, middle-class Americans get shortchanged on the retirement benefits they have earned. Yet there is little shareholders can do to curb the excesses of companies in which they have a vital stake. This bill would introduce an important element of accountability, giving all shareholders “a say on pay” in the form of a nonbinding advisory vote to the Board of Directors. Although the vote is nonbinding, knowing they have option to vote increases shareholders’ scrutiny of executive pay and provides regular shareholder feedback to Boards of Directors. The mechanism of a nonbinding vote on compensation has been used successfully in other countries to put the brakes on questionable compensation plans and tie CEO pay more closely to performance. Some U.S. companies, such as Blockbuster, have also voluntarily adopted a shareholder vote on executive compensation, which they regard as a “best practice” in corporate governance. The improved independence of compensation committees, which can be heavily influenced by management and compensation consultants overly favorable to the interests of executives, and federal oversight of the riskiness of pay schemes will further improve accountability.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Giving Shareholders a ‘Say on Pay’ with Blockbuster Inc. Chairman and CEO James Keyes,” from the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy

“2009 Executive PayWatch,” from the AFL-CIO

“Executive Excess 2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Runaway Pay,” from United for a Fair Economy

Legislation RSS Feed

Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

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Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Protecting America’s Workers Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

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Quotes from Experts

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Beyond this Bill

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Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

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Beyond this Bill

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American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

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Beyond this Bill

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Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

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Quotes from Experts

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Beyond this Bill

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Livable Communities Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

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Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act of 2009