Those who don’t want to see Mark to Market accounting rules change, or those who want to see them done away with all together, have been on the offensive trying to convince FASB from making much needed fixes. The Wall Street Journal and other publications have carried a wide-range of stories from how these proposals will harm the Geithner plan to resolve the toxic asset crisis, to the need for FASB to reassert its independence.
Two news stories:
The Politico has hosted a debate over the Employee Free Choice Act the past two days and I encourage everyone to read the openings and rebuttals. Just wanted to call out some lines from the comments submitted by readers:
I oppose EFCA for the simple reason that it would produce a nightmarish process of arm-twisting of "uncooperative" workers by union thugs. (Charles W. Calomiris)
The New York Times today looks at the UAW:
With all due respect to mom and apple pie, there’s nothing more all-American than bowling and the secret ballot. Both converged, in a sense, on Capitol Hill today. Brett Parker, CFO of Strike Holdings LLC, took time out of his busy schedule to come to D.C. to talk to members of Congress about how the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would negatively impact his company and the fundamental unfairness of effectively eliminating the secret ballot.
Over 100 business and community leaders from eight states are being briefed by U.S. Chamber staff and Senator Orrin Hatch about the latest on the Card Check bill. Watch the briefing. Following the briefing, the participants will leave for Capitol Hill to voice opposition to EFCA to their elected officials.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has truly been a case study of what happens when noble goals meet politics and bureaucracy.
While the President is facing a big test in Europe from various international leaders about how to jumpstart the global economy, the "major" takeaways from the G-20 summit could be lesser, arcane diplomatic agreements. While much has been discussed about agreements on international banking regulations and tax-haven sanctions, restarting strategic arms-control-reduction talks and funding the IMF will likely be the headlines when the event wraps tomorrow.
While some may not be especially happy about it, coal is an integral part of America’s electricity mix and will play a significant role in our energy future. Our nation currently receives half of our electricity from coal—making it by far the largest single source of electricity.
As the card check battle rages, l agree with César Chávez:
"Let's have elections, and let the workers decide."
The U.S. relationship with Cuba is about to begin a long-overdue thaw. With Fidel Castro now on the sidelines and his elderly brother likely assuming the leadership for only a brief period, the Obama Administration and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are beginning to show signs that they are willing, gradually, to embrace changes in U.S. policy. And with some luck, that might one day lead to undoing a 50-year old policy that will almost certainly be remembered as one of the least effective in American history.
As representatives from the world’s leading economies gather for the G20 Summit on April 2, it’s worth remembering the last time London hosted a summit with the aim of reviving a slumping global economy and collapsing trade flows. As the BBC reminds us, "In June 1933, delegates from 66 countries gathered in London to try and agree plans to revive the world economy in the midst of the Great Depression."
On Thursday, I had the pleasure to speak at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business Social Enterprise Symposium titled A New Way of Doing Business. About 300 graduate students attended this meeting organized by the Terp Changemaker, a group of U of M students dedicated to building awareness about innovative corporate citizenship strategies.
The fallout from the White House's decision to push Detroit to the brink is rippling across the country. With the automakers at the edge of a cliff, stocks fell off, reaching three week lows.
The message from industry to Congress on setting standards for the safety of medical devices:
As we collectively seek to restore our economy to strong fiscal health, we are especially concerned about efforts to devolve regulatory authority to state tort systems.
I grow old...I grow old...this past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of the partial meltdown in the core of one of the two reactors on Three Mile Island outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In a minute there was time for decisions and revisions which took three decades to reverse. As we measure out our lives in tons of CO2 it appears that the public and the industry, are about ready to move on:
Fresh off posts on single-payer Fabians and the Bay State Bait and Switch; James Gelfand opens the discussion on: "Employer mandates, a staple of Democratic health care reform proposals..." at the National Journal:
The cover of today’s Washington Post looks at the renewed momentum in Washington for reexamining the severe limitations on economic exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba. The article mentions the Chamber’s efforts to loosen the travel restrictions, which Obama is expected to do by the time he goes to the Summit of the Americas in mid-April. Here is our letter to Congress supporting H.R.
The President will spend his week juggling plans to address the domestic auto crisis and global financial meltdown. Things started off with a bang yesterday when administration used the threat of withholding more bailout money to force out GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and offered some harsh medicine for Chrysler. In addition to pushing out Wagoner, the President’s Auto Task Force is in the process of replacing the majority of GM’s directors.
