Obama

Obama Chief Technology Officer Picks - Does Obama want to promote Outsourcing, H-1B & labor arbitrage of U.S. workers?

Obama's new CTO, or Chief Technology Officer is boiling down to two candidates. Guess what? Both of them are being said to promote offshore outsourcing, wage arbitrage and U.S. worker displacement through the use of guest worker Visas, the most notorious of these being H-1B.

Obama's choice Nears:

They are Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology officer of Silicon Valley networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO), and Vivek Kundra, who holds the same title in the government of Washington, D.C., the sources say.

The two candidates offer President-elect Obama a clear choice of skills. Warrior, who previously was CTO at Motorola (MOT), represents hard-core technology expertise. Kundra, who was named to the D.C. post in 2007, has held similar government positions in the past and has a reputation for using technology to make government more open and inclusive

Bail Out Senate Fight

Well, this will be a key test of our new Senators. There appears to be a Republican lead vow to stop the second $350 Billion of TARP money released.

Obama has vowed to veto this resolution to stop the additional money from being released.

So, that said one question I have is how many newly minted Freshman Democrats will stand by their campaigns and also vote no release?

Under the bailout legislation approved by Congress in October, unless Congress passes a joint resolution rejecting the request within 15 days, Treasury can begin tapping the funds. Obama has vowed he would veto a resolution denying him the funds.

What a political football too. If Congress does the right thing and doesn't allow the other $350 Billion to be given to banks, they hand Obama a very crappy inauguration gift.

Obama wants the other $350 Billion of the TARP

My, my. Now Congress is going to approve handing over yet another $350 Billion dollars, the second half of the original $700 Billion, to have it ready for when Obama is sworn into office.

There are promises of better accounting.

A vote is expected this week.

Is this insane when so many said there are much better and more importantly cheaper ways to assist financial institutions, many written about on this site?

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said Sunday that lawmakers were assured there would be fuller accounting of the money spent on the bailout. Banks and other financial institutions have received billions from the government with few rules, and most won't say where the money has gone.

Obama targets "entitlements" Social Security/Medicare to Reduce $1.2 Trillion Budget Deficit

This is just incredible, just incredible. There is now a record $1.2 trillion dollar budget deficit and what is Obama's response?

Changes in Social Security and Medicare will be central to efforts to bring federal spending in line, President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday, as the Congressional Budget Office projected a $1.2 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year.

“We expect that discussion around entitlements will be a part, a central part” of efforts to curb federal spending, Mr. Obama said at a news conference. By February, he said, “we will have more to say about how we’re going to approach entitlement spending.

The Great Economic Plan is...Tax Cuts?

Where have we heard this before? Wasn't it Bush II who claimed tax cuts stimulate the economy? Yet splashed all over the headlines are more tax cuts.

President-elect Barack Obama, commencing face to face consultations with congressional leaders Monday, is embracing an unexpectedly large tax cut of up to $300 billion. Obama said the country faces an "extraordinary economic challenge." Besides $500 tax cuts for most workers and $1,000 for couples, the Obama proposal includes more than $100 billion for businesses, an Obama transition official said. The total value of the tax cuts would be significantly higher than had been signaled earlier

A grand total of $300 Billion in cuts and the New York Times nails it:

The Hypocrisy of Democrats in Offshore Outsourcing Rhetoric

On Real Clear Politics is the article, Offshoring is One Sure Thing.

Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, vows to create millions of technology jobs that can't be outsourced. Sounds good, particularly in this melting economy.

On the other hand, Richardson supports expanding the H-1B visa program, which had greased the departure of good-paying tech jobs to lower-wage countries. The program lets U.S. companies employ up to 65,000 temporary foreign software designers, engineers and other skilled professionals a year.

VP-Elect Biden to Have a Middle Class Task Force

Vice-President Elect has a new middle class task force

Task force members will include the secretaries of labor, health and human services, education, and commerce, as well as the directors of the National Economic Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council and the head of the Council of Economic Advisers

Here are some past task force efforts of Vice Presidents.

The only one on this list who had any effectiveness was Al Gore.

So my question is why is the VP taking on the economic issues of the middle class instead of the President? This should be first and foremost their top priority.

Obama Chooses Free Traitor Ron Kirk For U.S. Trade Representative

Boy, I'm not impressed. Obama has chosen Ron Kirk as the U.S. trade representative.

As a past supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR), Kirk will face close scrutiny as he assumes the responsibility for delivering on Obama’s pledges to fix existing trade agreements and create a new trade policy that benefits more people

Named DOL Secretary Pushed to Labor Arbitrage U.S. Workers - Congress Rep. Hilda Solis

Ut oh. Obama passed over true middle class advocate, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for yet another Corporate H-1B Guest worker Visa pusher.

Solis cosponsored the STRIVE act, the most notorious labor arbitrage bill targeting American workers, especially those in the Professional (STEM, S&T) career areas.

Joe Biden Picks Jared Bernstein as his Economic Adviser!

This is just awesome news.

Vice President Elect Joe Biden has picked Jared Bernstein to be his economic adviser.

Bernstein is from the Economic Policy Institute a Labor Centric Think Tank.

Of course having Bernstein be Obama's economic adviser would assuredly be better but something is better than nothing!

I honestly don't know what kind of influence he can have being on the VP team but at least he's got his foot through the White House Door and we sorely need Economists who are focused on working America, the middle class.

Finally Bernstein is just plain smart as hell. I've never seen him write or speak economic fiction.

Pages