Despite renewed vows to protect Appalachian waterways from the ravages of mountaintop coal mining, the Environmental Protection Agency has recently authorized a number of pending mountaintop permits that will bury dozens of streams in the nation’s oldest mountain range. The move has left mining supporters cheering the federal endorsement of More…
This was predictable. House Democrats yesterday announced that they’ve watered down their climate change bill to satisfy the same polluters considered most responsible for changing climate trends. From The Washington Post:
That first draft called for a 20 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Under the
As the House works toward a deal setting new limits on carbon emissions, nuclear power is getting a boost from a core group of Democrats – the same lawmakers who have received the bulk of the industry’s campaign donations in recent years.
That electric utilities pushing for nuclear expansion More…
It comes as no surprise that the hedge funds in control of Chrysler’s debt are lashing out at President Obama for fingering them yesterday as the primary reason a Chrysler bailout deal fell through. Indeed, The Washington Post has an eye-opening piece this morning about how those secretive More…
With a growing number of college grads finding themselves crushed under the weight of their student loan debt, the Obama administration is considering action that could derail the entire student loan industry. Groups who monitor campaign contributions, though, worry that the strength of the industry could block any shot at More…
Following up on our piece this month about how payday lenders have found a friend in Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) — who’s pushing legislation that caps interest rates on those loans at nearly 400 percent — it comes as little surprise that the pawnshop industry, among the largest sub-sets More…
Since the financial industry bailouts began, Wall Street and Washington have never looked closer. But as the recession deepens and banks grow to resent the stigma associated with taxpayer aid, an unexpected chill is occurring: Bank employees are slamming their checkbooks shut.
Individual executives and workers at the 10 More…
It’s one of the central components of the Democrats’ plans for reforming the finance industry this year, and among the most vital, supporters say, for protecting consumers from abusive lending practices in a tumbledown economy. Yet as Congress advances legislation reining in the most abusive credit card traps, both the More…
The Associated Press reported late Tuesday that recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program bailout money are spending freely on lobbying Congress, while holding onto their government aid — but that’s not the whole story.
The AP noted that seven of the top 10 bailout beneficiaries spent more money on More…
The Obama administration’s push to phase out subsidies for private student loan companies and replace them with more efficient direct lending from the government is causing some serious agita among big banks that fear lost business, as The New York Times reported last week.
But curiously enough, the large More…
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