Obama Stimulus Plan

Your News: Al Sharpton Speaks with Boyce Watkins

Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse university will be appearing with Rev. Al Sharpton on “Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton” from 2 – 3 pm EST on Tuesday 8/18/09.  They will discuss Obama’s educational plans, Michael Vick and Healthcare reform.   Dr. watkins and Rev. Sharpton have appeared together on several other shows, including “Keep Hope Alive with Rev. Jesse Jackson”, “The Wendy Williams Experience”, “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” and more.

News: Dr Boyce Watkins explains the meaning of “consumer confidence”

Beyonce has a song about how she loves men with "big egos." This might imply that she likes men with confidence. Confidence matters a great deal in terms of male/female attraction, but believe it or not, it actually impacts our economy. Every month, the University of Michigan measures consumer confidence, to determine if Americans are willing to spend money and how they feel about their current and future economic security.

But you might ask, "Why would I care about confidence, since it’s only psychological and imaginary?" Good question. Actually, confidence is a psychological phenomenon which leads to very real impacts on our choices and behavior. A confident man who asks out every girl he meets will probably have more mating opportunities than a good looking guy who doesn’t open his mouth. A confident consumer is someone who feels good about his/her economic situation and therefore decides to spend money, which is always good for the economy. Confident companies make investments and hire new employees, but insecure companies put projects on hold and don’t hire anyone. Confident banks make loans, but nervous banks hold onto their capital, thus slowing down economic growth for the nation.

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Barack Obama Might Be Losing His Cool

AFP – US President Barack Obama has called on Congress to pass his health care reform, arguing that the stability …

Finally, we’re starting to see him sweat.

President Barack Obama made his personal icy cool the trademark of his campaign, the tenor of his White House and the hallmark of an early run of successes at home and abroad. But as the glamour wears off and a long, frustrating summer wears on, he is being forced to improvise — stooping to respond to political foes and adjusting his tactics and demeanor for the trench warfare of a legislative agenda.

The root of the change is one that faces every president: Economic and international realities that resist political charm. Iran and North Korea have shown no interest in the president’s outstretched hand. The economy has delivered a double-whammy, with rising unemployment stirring voters’ concerns while sluggish growth deprives the government of tax revenues Obama would like to spend on new programs.
Health care reform, which once appeared flush with momentum from earlier congressional victories, is now on a slog through no less than five committees, which include Democrats who either aren’t sold on Obama’s expansive vision or can’t figure out how to convince voters to pay for it.

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Your Black Health: What’s Wrong with Health Care?

Despite spending more money than any other country on health care, the United States does not lead the world in life expectancy, a long-known fact that some experts say could raise more questions in the health-care reform debate.

A study found that better-educated doctors increase the growth rate of life expectancy.

The United States ranks 50th out of 224 nations in life expectancy, with an average life span of 78.1 years, according to 2009 estimates from the CIA World Factbook.

Some argue part of the problem stems from the privatized nature of the U.S. health care system, whose reform is being vigorously debated on Capitol Hill.

"What we are able to find in the industrialized world is that life expectancy will be influenced in a beneficial manner to the extent that health care expenditure is publicly financed," said Harvey Brenner, professor of public health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center and Johns Hopkins University. "The higher the government expenditure on health care, the lower will be the mortality rate."

In countries where individuals pay for their own care, people often don’t get treatment until their symptoms have become serious, Brenner said. There is also less emphasis on preventative care in those countries, he said.

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Black Money: President Obama Signs a new Credit Card Bill

U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law on Friday sweeping reforms that restrict credit card interest rates and fees, marking a victory for Democrats trying to help recession-weary consumers and a setback for banks seeking to retain sorely-needed revenues.

The law is expected to hurt profits of major card issuers such asCitigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co andCapital One Financial Corp. Banks say the changes may cut the flow of credit to consumers because it will make it more difficult for issuers to set rates based on the risk their customers pose.

"With this bill we are putting in place some common sense reforms designed to protect consumers," Obama said at a signing ceremony at the White House.

"We’re not going to be giving people a free pass and we expect consumers to live within their means and pay what they owe. But we also expect financial institutions to act with the same sense of responsibility that the American people aspire to in their own lives," he said.

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News: Barack Obama Accused of Breaking Promise to Farmers

As a senator, Barack Obama led the charge last year to pass a bill allowing black farmers to seek new discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department. Now he is president, and his administration so far is acting like it wants the potentially budget-busting lawsuits to go away.

AP

The change isn’t sitting well with black farmers who thought they’d get a friendlier reception from Obama after years of resistance from President George W. Bush.

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Credit Card Companies Get Harsh Words from the President

Ramping up his campaign to crack down on credit cards, President Obama met Thursday with more than a dozen executives of card-issuing companies to press his case for new consumer protections.

Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and others met with executives of leading financial institutions like Visa (V, Fortune 500), American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), Mastercard (MA, Fortune 500), Capital One (COF, Fortune 500), and several big banks like Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500).

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Unemployed? Obama Offers Additional Help

For millions of jobless people dependent on unemployment benefits, the wait for help may be getting shorter.

After computer system crashes and overwhelmed phone lines at state unemployment offices inundated with record claims, federal funds are starting to ease the jam, says Richard Hobbie of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. The $500 million from the economic stimulus package President Obama signed Feb. 17 began flowing into state coffers in mid-March.

The aid is separate from the package’s $7 billion for enhanced employment benefits, which some Republican governors, including those of South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Alaska and Mississippi, have rejected because they say it would lead to higher business taxes when the federal funds end. The administrative funds are meant to improve claims processing and help the jobless find work.

"Now it’s a matter of getting the money and spending it on the right things," Hobbie says. He predicts those filing for unemployment benefits "will see more reliable and faster service and more help at finding a new job."

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Black News: African Americans Still at Odds Over Obama

Jeff Johnson knows how to make his audiences squirm. The young, black radio and TV political commentator waits for the discussion to turn to the topic being talked about ceaselessly, incessantly, ad nauseam: the meaning of the barrier-breaking election of Barack Obama.
Then, in his laid-back style, he says, "The real issue for me is that history is not enough." That’s when the mood becomes tense.
"Black folks, in particular, get irritated," says Johnson, who travels the lecture circuit, hosts a half-hour show on Black Entertainment Television and has a weekly spot for social criticism on a radio program popular with black listeners. Get past "Obama the personality" and see "Obama the president," he says. "Otherwise all you’re being is a political-celebrity groupie instead of a citizen. . . . It starts with acknowledging he’s my president, and not my homie."
As the nation’s first black president settles into the office, a division is deepening between two groups of African Americans: those who want to continue to praise Obama and his historic ascendancy, and those who want to examine him more critically now that the election is over.

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Black Breaking News: Pres. Obama Arrives in Iraq

President Obama made an unannounced visit to Iraq Tuesday.

President Obama stopped in Iraq on Tuesday, after visiting Turkey where he addressed parliament Monday.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, met Obama shortly after Air Force One landed in Baghdad about 4:42 p.m. local time (9:42 a.m. ET).

Obama chose to visit Iraq rather than Afghanistan because of its proximity to Turkey, which Obama just visited, said Robert Gibbs, the president’s spokesman.

In addition, Obama wanted to discuss Iraq’s political situation with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, Gibbs said.

Mostly, however, the stop is about Obama visiting troops, he said.

Obama will meet with Odierno and with members of the U.S. military in Iraq. He will participate in the awarding of 10 medals of valor, Gibbs said.

"Our men and women who are in harm’s way, either in Iraq or Afghanistan, deserve our utmost respect and appreciation," Gibbs reportedly told reporters traveling on Air Force One.

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