Obama vows to keep health care promises
President Obama on health care
President Obama said Monday he stands by his pledge not to raise taxes on families making $250,000 or less and lashed out at “Washington thinking” and negative chatter questioning the fate of his health care plan while he was traveling abroad.
“During the campaign, I promised health care reform that would control costs, expand coverage and ensure choice, and I promised that Americans making $250,000 a year or less would not pay more in taxes. These are promises that we’re keeping as reform moves forward,” Mr. Obama said in the Rose Garden ceremony before naming Alabama family physician Dr. Regina Benjamin as his choice for surgeon general.
The White House had been dodging questions on whether Mr. Obama would be able to keep the $250,000 tax pledge from the campaign trail and still pay for the sweeping, expensive health care plan he’s seeking.
The remarks came as Democratic lawmakers were to reveal a new plan to pay for health care — taxing those earning more than $350,000 per year by an additional 1 percent and imposing a higher rate on people earning $500,000 to $1 million.
Mr. Obama challenged those in Washington he said are “scared” to change the health care status quo: “You know, the muscles in this town to bring about big changes are a little atrophied, but we’re whipping folks back into shape.”
Thumping his finger hard on the podium for emphasis, Mr. Obama warned “naysayers” who oppose his health care plan: “Don’t bet against us.” He also said the country is “closer than we have ever been” on passing health reform, even as House and Senate leaders have said they won’t meet his August deadline for drafting bills that could be ready for vote shortly after the August recess.
“So I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone. We are going to get this done. Inaction is not an option,” he said.
The message was the same he’s been pushing all summer, but Mr. Obama struck a stern tone that has been mostly absent since he took office.
“If we step back from this challenge right now, we will leave our children a legacy of debt, a future of crushing costs that bankrupt our families, our businesses and, because we will have done nothing to bring down the costs of Medicare and Medicaid, will crush our government,” he said.
Big 3’s heaviest debt load now falls on Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor vehicles
GM ready for market rivalry
Ford Motor Co. has benefited for months from the woes of its bailed-out Detroit brother General Motors Corp., but GM’s emergence from bankruptcy – freed from its heaviest debts – now puts debt-laden Ford at a disadvantage.
GM used the bankruptcy process and its federal bailout to shed more than $40 billion of past debts and other obligations, and now can operate more nimbly and profitably in the most competitive auto sales market in a generation.
But Ford still faces the steep cost of servicing its $32 billion of debt – nearly twice as much as GM’s and three times as much as Chrysler Group LLC’s – since GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy. Moreover, Ford was not able to use bankruptcy to shed other burdens, such as a bloated dealer network and idle manufacturing plants, as its rivals did.
The companies now must compete in a market that has shrunk by more than a third from sales levels that prevailed a year ago. But GM estimates that it can now make a profit with annual U.S. auto sales of about 10 million, down from 16 million in 2007, while Ford would need to have higher sales on average to foot its higher debt costs and make a profit.
“Ford got bupkis for its financial virtue” by going deeply into debt to avoid a government bailout, said Antony Currie, an analyst at Breakingviews.com. Ford’s strategy helped it for a while to gain market share over its rivals, attracting buyers who are repelled by the government’s involvement with the other Detroit automakers.
But in the post-bankruptcy world, Ford now is saddled with obligations GM and Chrysler no longer have to bear, he said.
Geithner Hints at High Bar In Letting Banks Repay Aid
By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said yesterday that the “ultimate test” for determining which banks can repay government bailout money is whether the entire financial system is capable of offering enough credit to revive the economy.
Geithner’s remarks indicate that regulators will require banks to meet high standards to get out from under the government’s thumb. Industry and federal officials are bracing for a showdown over this issue beginning Friday when the chief financial officers of 19 of the nation’s major banks will be summoned to the Federal Reserve and told the results of the government’s “stress tests.”
This federal initiative is examining whether the firms have enough capital to continue lending if the economy significantly worsens. Senior administration officials say the tests may show that some banks need to raise more money or take additional government aid.
But the banks say federal bailout money, which requires firms to restrict executive pay and submit to other limits, now carries a stigma. Several of the firms, such as J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, have been lobbying the government to be released from the bailout and have taken steps to repay the money.
Geithner said his primary responsibility is to consider the well-being of the entire financial system, rather than the health of individual companies. The federal government can reject requests from banks that want to repay the money.
“The critical thing we care about is whether the system, as a whole, is in a position where it has the capacity to support the credit that recovery requires,” he said, making his first appearance before a congressional oversight panel on the government’s financial-rescue program. “That’s the ultimate test.”
Geithner added that he sees signs of “thawing” in the credit markets and that most banks have more capital than they need. Some market analysts said those comments sparked yesterday’s rally in stocks, which had been trading in negative territory before the hearing began. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day 1.6 percent higher, while the Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index, a broader measure, jumped 2.1 percent.
“Currently, the vast majority of banks have more capital than they need to be considered well capitalized by their regulators,” Geithner said in his testimony.
Still, even among the positive signs, there are “significant declines” in commercial lending and some consumer loans, such as credit cards, and the cost of borrowing money remains high, he said.
Highlighting these continuing risks to the financial system, the International Monetary Fund yesterday predicted that U.S. financial institutions could lose $2.7 trillion by the time the global credit crisis ends.
Geithner added that the stress tests are looking at not just the overall level of capital, but the type of capital on banks’ balance sheets. Of particular concern is whether banks have enough “tangible common equity,” a kind of capital that can be raised by selling more stock. These funds are the best cushion for cash-strapped banks in crisis.
In a letter to the oversight panel’s chairwoman, Elizabeth Warren, Geithner said that $109.6 billion remains in bailout funds. The Treasury Department has conservatively estimated that firms will repay another $25 billion in the short term. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs combined have received $35 billion in bailout funds.
Some federal officials have said that the government needs such repayments in order to have enough financial firepower to see the nation through the crisis.
“We would welcome it,” Geithner said of the repayments. “It helps show progress, it helps underscore the basic points that the institutions of our financial system are in very different circumstances.”
But he warned that “the basic objective that’s guiding what we do is to make sure the system is working as a whole.”
Black-Owned Firm Selected As One of the Leading Credit & Debt Professionals of the Eastern United States
Southfield, MI (BlackNews.com) – Choice Credit Group LLC, a leading provider of debt settlement, business credit, and personal credit restoration services, today announced that it has been selected by Goldline Research as one of leading Credit & Debt Professionals of the Eastern United States for 2009. The list of leading Credit & Debt Professionals of the Eastern United States is scheduled to be published in the April 27th issue of Forbes Magazine.
CEO, Lesley Wilson, is thrilled about the announcement of being in such a prestigious magazine. She wants individuals to know that Choice Credit Group is staffed with knowledgeable specialists eager to assist you with your financial needs. Just take the first step and they will do the rest.
“Those selected provide extensive client service that exceeds the industry standard,” said Dana Mahoney, Analyst, Goldline Research. “We believe that they are setting the benchmarks for the industry as a whole.”
Goldline Research conducted its annual evaluation of Credit & Debt Professionals of the Eastern United States from January 2009 to March 2009. During the research process, Goldline Research identified more than 3,300 credit and debt firms in the region.
About Choice Credit Group LLC
Choice Credit Group is a full-service credit organization. Their mission is to help individuals resolve their credit and money issues through providing premier services and education in debt settlement, business credit, and personal credit restoration.
About Goldline Research
Goldline Research (www.goldlineresearch.com) is an independent market research firm that specializes in evaluating professional services providers to help consumers identify and select leading services firms. Goldline Research’s proprietary research process includes market analysis, individual company interviews and, in many industries, interviews with consumers of those services to gain feedback on market conditions and provider service levels. Goldline Research’s lists have been published in leading publications including local, regional and national magazines.
CONTACT:
Choice Credit Group LLC
248-334-1350
www.ChoiceCreditGroup.com
