Crisis in Libya: Al Franken Gets It

Did you watch the President's speech on Monday night? Reviews are mixed, naturally, depending on the agenda of the reviewer. Here's a quick sampling before moving beyond the pundits to talk about Senator Franken's pragmatic action.

@thenation
The Nation

Obama tries, without success, to explain an undeclared war. By John Nichols. http://bit.ly/fxeZq0

From the other end of the spectrum:

@NewsHour
NewsHour


Pres. Obama accomplished three main goals to three distinct audiences at his speech on #Libya http://ow.ly/4oHYO

Even people who felt Gadhafi was presiding over a beastly, cruel, and violent repression of Libyan citizens are rightly concerned about the cost, particularly given how the two major U.S. military operations in the last decade added to the deficit. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) is set to introduce a bill to assure that military operations, such as the undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, don’t get a free pass to float a check - that military spending won't add to our national debt.

Senator Franken has expressed concerns about the potential cost of military operations in Libya, saying, "You know, so far the administration said we can pay for it in the regular military budget but at a certain point, that may not be the case." Franken continues to be a forceful presence in the Senate, focusing on productive work rather than simply posturing for the press.

The debate will continue about what we should have done about the slaughter of civilians, and what the role of the U.S. government and diplomacy should be outside our borders. With so much of our budget already dedicated to the military I'm glad somebody has the courage to face reality and confront the hard choices we face instead of passing the cost-burden along. Thank you, Senator Franken.

Thomas Hayes is a New Media Advisor, Political Consultant, Journalist, Entrepreneur, and former Congressional Campaign Manager; he believes in "follow the money" when following politics, and continues his 12-step recovery from the years spent as a Programmer/Database Administrator by carrying his camera nearly everywhere and writing on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

You can follow Tom as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

World Bank Chief Economist: World Faces "Worst Recession Since The Great Depression"

World Bank Chief Economist: World Faces "Worst Recession Since The Great Depression": “Global oil demand will collapse next year and commodities will not return to the highs they reached this summer in the foreseeable future, two authoritative reports said on Tuesday as they forecast a long and painful worldwide recession.

The stark conclusions came as the World Bank's chief economist predicted that the world faced "the worst recession since the Great Depression".

The US energy department said global oil demand will fall this year and next, marking the first two consecutive years' decline in 30 years.

"The increasing likelihood of a prolonged global economic downturn continues to dominate market perceptions, putting downward pressure on oil prices," it said, forecasting that demand would drop 50,000 barrels a day this year and a hefty 450,000 b/d in 2009. US oil demand will drop next year to the lowest level in 11 years.”

While Obama Offers Solution To Preditory Credit Cards, Clinton Has Flip Flopped On Issue

Today, in Iowa, Senator Barack Obama offered a solution to the growing problem of credit card debt:

Obama called for new restrictions on "predatory" credit card companies he says deceive consumers into piling up massive debt they have little hope of repaying.

"The truth is, our middle-class families are not going to be secure so long as they can't get out of debt," Obama said Monday, sharpening the populist rhetoric of his presidential campaign. "If we're serious about stopping Americans from falling deeper in debt, we've got to crack down on predatory credit card companies that are pushing them over the edge."

Obama pointed to studies showing that consumers have an average personal debt of more than $8,000, a load driven higher by credit cards. He said soaring credit card debt could turn into a crisis as big as the one in the subprime mortgage industry.

"The larger risk is that what's happening in the housing market could lead to a slowdown in the entire economy," he said.

While Obama takes the issue head on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has a history of flip-flopping on the matter. Take what Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren said on Frontline regarding how Clinton first had President Bill Clinton reject, then turned around and as Senator supported the same banruptcy legislation that would have forced credit card companies to change their policies...

And Sen. [Hillary] Clinton?

Sen. Clinton, when she was first lady, [was] responsible for stopping the proposed bankruptcy legislation. The White House had been quietly supporting it, and it was First Lady Clinton who talked with her husband and persuaded him that the bankruptcy bill was hard on women, hard on families, hard on older Americans, and was a bad idea in general. And the last act that President Clinton took with Congress was to veto the bankruptcy bill. Mrs. Clinton took credit for that in her autobiography, and by golly, she deserves it. She stood up --


And today?

Sen. Clinton, when she was elected, the financial services industry brought this bill back. And so one of the very first bills that came up after Sen. Clinton had taken office was the bankruptcy bill. Oh, [there were] a couple of cosmetic changes to it, ... but it was the same bill that had been there at that point already for four years. And Sen. Clinton voted in favor of the bill.


Better bill?

No.


Why?

The financial services industry is a big industry in New York, and it's powerful on Capitol Hill. It's a story of how much influence this industry group wields in Washington that ... they can bring to heel a senator who obviously cares, who obviously gets it, but who also obviously really feels the pressure in having to stand up to an industry like that.

So it's clear the credit card lobby "got to" Senator Clinton, making it doubtful Americans will see any real advance or relief in this area if she's elected President.