While attention has been paid to the the health effects of those working in and around the Gulf Coast oil spill, a new legal case may begin shedding light on the exposure of those in the region who come in contact with toxins on a more casual basis. A recreational fisherman who lives in Mobile, Ala., has filed suit against 16 companies, including BP, which are involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a statement released by...
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Administration Warned That It Must Do More To Curb China’s Currency Manipulation
Lawmakers and others are warning administration officials that they must do more to ensure a more fairly-valued Chinese currency, or otherwise put American jobs and President Obama’s hopes to grow the U.S. economy in jeopardy. The U.S. Treasury issued a report Thursday designating the Chinese currency as undervalued — but stopped short of designating China as a currency manipulator. China’s undervalued yuan, also called renminbi, artificially depresses the cost of Chinese products and falsely increases the price of American...
Author: Immigrants, Legal And Not, Are Helping The U.S. Economy
Rather than constitute a drag on the floundering U.S. economy, immigrants of all types are providing a critical and needed boost, according to an author and think tank analyst. “Immigrants contribute to competitiveness because they start businesses, pay taxes, and do seasonal agricultural jobs. We need to recognize their contributions to our economic, social, cultural, and culinary lives,” says Darrell West, author of a new book on immigration titled Brain Gain. He notes, for instance, that the co-founders of...
Big Oil Starts Running TV Ads In 10 States Attacking ‘Taxes’ On Petroleum In Energy Bill
The big Washington trade group representing BP and the other major oil companies says it has begun paying for TV ads in 10 states that attack the introduction of “new taxes” on the petroleum industry as part of comprehensive energy legislation. The problem: the energy and climate bill currently before the Senate increases no taxes, and in fact, will save Americans money on their energy bills, according to a spokeswoman for one of the lawmakers who authored the legislation....
Federal Challenge Of Ariz. Immigration Law Won’t End ACLU-Led Lawsuit
A federal challenge of Arizona’s controversial immigration law won’t stop a separate lawsuit against the state statute that critics say amounts to racial profiling. In a brief filed in Arizona court, the Justice Department says Arizona’s S.B. 1070 unconstitutionally interferes with the federal government’s authority to set and enforce immigration policy, explaining that “the Constitution and federal law do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.” A patchwork of state...
Tea Party Groups Blast Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham For Criticism In Times Profile
An organization that says it represents “tea party” groups nationwide is attacking Sen. Lindsey Graham for criticizing them in a recent New York Times article. In a piece profiling him in the Times magazine, Graham complains about the so-called tea party movement, arguing that the movement that’s emerged over the last year or so doesn’t have long to live. “The problem with the Tea Party, I think it’s just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent...
Economist: Job Market ‘Remains Mired in Deep Slump’ As Congress Proves Ineffectual
The federal government’s June unemployment data portrays a labor market that continues to struggle, according to a Washington economist. Moreover, the inability of Congress to improve the situation not only will cause pain for individual Americans, but imperils whatever economic recovery is taking hold, he adds. The Labor Department Friday reported that although the U.S. economy gained a meager 83,000 jobs in the private sector, overall employment declined by 125,000 jobs. The job losses are largely a result of...
House Action On Unemployment Extension Now Leaves It All Up To An Unreliable Senate
House approval of a narrow bill designed to extend unemployment benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans places the burden for final passage squarely on the Senate, where Republicans have stood in the way of a vote on such legislation for weeks. House members voted Thursday to pass H.R. 5618, the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act, on a 270-153 vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi notes that nearly 80 percent of House Republicans voted “no” on the extension, which is...
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