POLITICS

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CNBC

"Fed’s Waller says the economy is ‘ready to rip’ but policy should stay put"


Jeff Cox @JEFF.COX.7528 @JEFFCOXCNBCCOM

PUBLISHED FRI, APR 16 2021

KEY POINTS

* Fed Governor Christopher Waller told CNBC on Friday that the economy “is ready to rip.”

* However, he said there’s still “no reason to be pulling the plug” on the heavy levels of policy support the central bank is providing.

* Waller said he also expects inflationary pressures to be temporary, though he forecasts 2021 to run at 2.5%, well above the Fed’s 2% target.


Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday he sees the U.S. economy as set to take off, though not at a fast enough pace that the central bank should start tightening policy.

“I think the economy is ready to rip,” Waller told CNBC’s Steve Liesman during a “Squawk on the Street” interview.

“There’s still more to do on that, but I think everyone’s getting a lot more comfortable with having the virus under control and we’re starting to see it in the form of economic activity.”

Those comments came amid a decidedly upward move in economic data.

In March alone, nonfarm payrolls jumped by 916,000, retail sales saw a 9.8% stimulus-fueled boom, and multiple manufacturing gauges reached their highest levels in years.

There are further indications that job growth continued into April, with jobless claims last week tumbling to 576,000, easily the lowest level since the early days of the coronavirs pandemic.

Coupled all that with a vaccination pace in excess of the 3 million a day, and it adds up to a strong outlook, Waller said.

“We can get the virus pretty much under control."

"We get 70% of the population vaccinated, then all the fundamentals are there for good, strong growth that we left back in January, February of 2020,” he said.

“We’ve still got room to catch up to where we were."

"We’re making up for lost ground.”

‘No reason to be pulling the plug’

The economy officially entered recession in February 2020, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which makes the official call on contractions and expansions.

While the U.S. is poised for another quarter of strong growth, gross domestic product is still running a bit below where it was before the Covid-19 onset.

That’s part of the reason Waller concurs with his fellow central bankers in seeing the need to keep policy loose.

The Fed is currently holding short-term borrowing rates near zero while it purchases at least $120 billion of bonds each month.

In a major policy shift last year, the Fed pledged that it will not raise rates until it sees full and inclusive employment, and is willing to tolerate inflation a bit above the traditional 2% target until it gets there.

Fed officials have expressed concern about the uneven nature of the recovery, particularly regarding those at the lower end of the income spectrum.


“We’ve got to make that up first,” Waller said.

“Other parts of the economy seem to have really come back."

"We still have relatively high unemployment rates, particularly for minorities, and so we’ve still got a long way to go."

"There’s no reason to be pulling the plug on our support till we’re really through this.”

Waller added that he thinks inflationary pressures that have begun to show up are likely temporary, a view widely held at the Fed.

The consumer price index rose 2.6% in March from a year ago.

Waller said he expects the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge based on personal consumption expenditures could run around 2.5% for 2021.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/16/feds-wa ... y-put.html
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Re: POLITICS

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REUTERS

"U.S. Treasury eyes corporate tax system as way to tackle climate change"


By Reuters Staff

APRIL 16, 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with environmental groups on Friday to discuss ways to leverage the corporate tax system to help address climate change, Treasury said in a statement.

Yellen discussed the importance of “using all the tools at our disposal, including the tax code, to drive toward net-zero emissions,” the statement said.

She noted that President Joe Biden’s proposed tax changes would begin to modernize how the United States treats the fossil fuel industry by removing subsidies that date back to the early 1900s, the statement said.

Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tre ... SL1N2M927F
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Re: POLITICS

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REUTERS

"'How can a democracy function if we can't talk to one another?' U.S. justices ask"


Lawrence Hurley

April 14, 2021

Two U.S. Supreme Court justices from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum are calling on Americans to learn to talk civilly to each other or risk lasting damage to the nation's democratic system.

Speaking in a pre-recorded discussion released on Wednesday, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch both bemoaned the current state of public discourse, which they said was abetted by the spread of disinformation on social media.


The United States in the past year has endured a contentious presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election, an attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob and police incidents that triggered protests against racial injustice.

"We have a ... very heated debate going on."

"And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can turn into an awful thing, into something that destroys the fabric of our community, if we don't learn to talk to each other," Sotomayor said.

The event - focusing on how a lack of civics education can harm national security - was co-hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank and the National Security Institute at George Mason University's law school.

Sotomayor, appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama, said she was heartened by the high turnout in last year's election but lamented that "at the same time we see some of the cracks in our system."

Gorsuch, appointed by Trump, said people could learn from the court, where the justices tout their ability to remain cordial despite their differences.

"How can a democracy function if we can't talk to one another and if we can't disagree kindly, with respect for one another's differences and different points of view?" Gorsuch asked.

Gorsuch noted that some surveys have shown that only a third of Americans think living in a democracy is important.

"It's no surprise that a lot of the false information spread on social media is deliberately spread by our enemies to sow disagreement internally in the country," Gorsuch said.

"If we allow them to destroy our sense of 'we the people' - our sense of community, our sense of our shared liberties that we love and treasure - that's hard to come back from."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/how-ca ... 021-04-14/
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Re: POLITICS

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POLITICO

"Democrats to introduce legislation to expand Supreme Court - The measure would increase the court's size to 13."


By MARIANNE LEVINE

04/14/2021 09:01 PM EDT

House and Senate Democrats will introduce legislation Thursday to expand the number of Supreme Court justices to 13 from nine, drawing more attention to the debate surrounding court reform.

The bill, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), is the first legislation in recent years designed to add seats to the high court, and its introduction comes as progressive organizations are pushing for court expansion, after watching Senate Republicans fill three Supreme Court vacancies in four years under President Donald Trump.


Brian Fallon, executive director of the liberal group Demand Justice, said the bill represents a “new era where Democrats finally stop conceding the Supreme Court to Republicans."

He added that the task for progressives now “is to build a grassroots movement that puts pressure on every Democrat in Congress to support this legislation because it is the only way to restore balance to the Court and protect our democracy.”

President Joe Biden, however, has said he is “not a fan” of the idea, also known as “court packing.”

Instead, the White House announced last week the creation of a bipartisan commission to study reforms to the Supreme Court and produce a report.

The high court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.

While advocates have been pushing for the addition of seats to the Supreme Court, the bill won’t see much movement in the evenly split Senate, with all Republicans and several moderate Democrats opposed to court expansion.

The legislation is all but guaranteed to prompt attacks from Republicans, who during the 2020 elections warned that Democrats would expand the courts if they took control of Washington.

Justice Stephen Breyer, who outside groups are urging to retire before the 2022 midterms, recently cautioned against court packing for fear that doing so would only undermine public confidence in the institution.

The issue, nevertheless, served as a litmus test during the 2020 Democratic primary for progressives.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Pete Buttigieg suggested they were open to the idea.

But others, including Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), did not back it.

The number of seats on the high court has fluctuated in American history, from as few as five to as many as 10.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/1 ... urt-481640
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Re: POLITICS

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CNBC

"CDC says fewer than 6,000 Americans have contracted Covid after being fully vaccinated"


Rich Mendez @RICHMENDEZCNBC

PUBLISHED MON, APR 19 2021

KEY POINTS

* U.S. health officials have confirmed fewer than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in fully vaccinated Americans, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.

* That represents just 0.007% of the 84 million Americans with full protection against the virus.

* The CDC chief acknowledged that the number could be an underestimate.


U.S. health officials have confirmed fewer than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in fully vaccinated Americans, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday.

That represents just 0.007% of the 84 million Americans with full protection against the virus.

Despite the breakthrough infections, none of the patients has died or gotten severely ill, indicating the vaccines are working as intended, she said.

“With any vaccine, we expect such rare cases, but so far out of more than 84 million people who were fully vaccinated, we have only received reports of less than 6,000 breakthrough cases,” Walensky told reporters at a press briefing.

Breakthrough cases occur when someone contracts the virus more than 14 days after their second shot, she said.

The CDC chief acknowledged that the number could be an underestimate.

“Although this number is from 43 states and territories and likely an underestimate, it still makes a really important point, these vaccines are working."

"Of the nearly 6,000 cases, approximately 30% had no symptoms at all,” Walensky said.


Half of all American adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Of those age 65 and older, 81% have received one dose or more and about two-thirds are fully vaccinated.

U.S. health officials are launching a massive campaign to persuade more Americans to take the vaccine.

An increasing number of people has become skeptical after the CDC and Food and Drug Administration asked states to temporarily halt distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccines last week after cases of a rare, but potentially deadly, blood-clotting disorder were reported to the CDC.


Some of former President Donald Trump’s supporters also are strongly opposed to taking the vaccine, which worries U.S. health officials hoping enough people will get immunized so the country can obtain herd immunity to the virus.

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has previously said 75% to 85% of the U.S. population need to be inoculated to create an “umbrella” of immunity that prevents the virus from spreading.

“It’s very disturbing that on the basis of political persuasion people are not wanting to get vaccinated,” Fauci said Monday on “CBS This Morning.”

“I find that really extraordinary because those are the ones who are saying you’re encroaching on our liberties by asking us to wear masks and do kinds of restrictions that are public health issues."

"The easiest way to get out of that is to get vaccinated.”

The U.S. is reporting 723 Covid deaths per day, according to a seven-day average based on data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

All 50 U.S. states, at Biden’s urging, opened vaccine appointments to people age 16 and older by Monday.

—CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/19/cdc-say ... icans.html
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Re: POLITICS

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REUTERS

"Exclusive-New York's Infinity Q winds down hedge fund as valuation issues spread"


By Lawrence Delevingne

APRIL 19, 2021

BOSTON (Reuters) - New York investment firm Infinity Q Capital Management LLC is liquidating its hedge fund as the fallout from a U.S. regulatory probe into its valuation practices spreads, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The hedge fund wind-down, first reported by Reuters, may expand the Wall Street firm’s client losses and spark further questions over who is to blame for the valuation problems first surfaced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Infinity Q, which is backed by private equity billionaire David Bonderman, said in January that it managed $3 billion in assets.

It was forced to liquidate its mutual funds after the SEC found that chief investment officer James Velissaris made potentially unreasonable adjustments to a pricing model used to value fund investments, according to an SEC February notice here.

The valuation issues also extend to the company’s main hedge fund, Infinity Q Volatility Alpha Fund LP, which is now being liquidated too, according to the source.


That fund managed $760 million as of March 31, according to a regulatory filing here, but the cash value post liquidation was unclear.

Its investors include the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and the Texas Municipal Retirement System, according to public disclosures.

Meanwhile, the unwinding of the mutual fund Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund has so far showed cash of around $1.25 billion as of March 25, nearly $500 million less than on Feb. 18, according to a regulatory filing here.

That makes it one of the largest valuation cases in the SEC's history.

Velissaris’s attorney Sean Hecker said in a statement that the change in value reflected the mutual fund’s forced liquidation and that his client had not misused the pricing tool.

“Any inquiry will determine James used these tools and others when determining appropriate valuations as part of his efforts to act in the best interests of investors,” Hecker said.

A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment.

Representatives for the above hedge fund investors did not provide comment.

While the SEC’s February notice only flagged Velissaris’s actions, attorneys said the case resurfaced longstanding questions over whether independent parties tasked with watching over funds’ governance do enough to independently confirm portfolio pricing.

“It’s really surprising that this was able to happen,” said Paul Hastings attorney Vadim Avdeychik, adding complex securities should incur extra scrutiny from fund board directors and auditors.

“I think the SEC will definitely analyze the facts here and determine if there is an example to be made.”

GATEKEEPERS QUESTIONS

Infinity Q ran alternative strategies using complex derivatives.

Velissaris told Institutional Investor here in June that his portfolios gained in early 2020 even as other volatility funds dropped sharply.

The flagship fund posted a 6.27% gain in 2020, nearly double the Morningstar Multialternative benchmark.

“As funds stretch for yield in more esoteric investments, the SEC is likely to make sure traditional valuation gatekeepers are keeping watch,” said Michael Birnbaum, a former SEC attorney with Morrison & Foerster LLP.

An investor class action lawsuit filed by New York-based Rosen Law Firm alleges Infinity Q’s mutual fund trustees made false or misleading claims about the portfolio’s value due to knowledge or “reckless disregard” of the mispricing.

Infinity Q is also analyzing potential legal claims against its service providers, its liquidators said on April 8, without naming them.

Auditor EisnerAmper LLP certified Infinity Q's mutual fund financial statements as recently as Oct. 29, 2020, which it said in a regulatory filing here includes assessing "the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud."

EisnerAmper declined to comment.

None of Infinity Q’s trustees or directors would comment.

While independent third parties have responsibilities for making sure policies are followed, some industry experts said it was a stretch to hold them accountable in cases of deception.

“If someone has malicious intent, they aren’t telling the board."

"Absent significant additional facts, holding directors accountable for that fraud is unreasonable,” said Carolyn McPhillips, president of trade group Mutual Fund Directors Forum.

Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne. Editing by Michelle Price and Steve Orlofsky

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN2C61KD
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Re: POLITICS

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CNBC

"Biden’s recovery plan for families set to cost more than $1 trillion, extend enhanced child tax credit"


Jacob Pramuk @JACOBPRAMUK Ylan Mui @YLANMUI

PUBLISHED TUE, APR 20 2021

KEY POINTS

* The second part of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure and economic recovery plan is expected to cost at least $1 trillion and include $500 billion in tax credits.

* The American Families Plan would extend the strengthened child tax credit through 2025, and is set to expand child care and paid leave.

* Biden and congressional Democrats will face challenges in passing one or both pieces of the recovery plan, which together amount to trillions more in spending.

* Republicans have opposed a corporate tax hike contained in the first piece of the infrastructure plan and will likely resist individual tax increases expected to be in the second part.


President Joe Biden’s next economic recovery package will cost at least $1 trillion and extend the beefed-up child tax credit, a source familiar with the proposal confirmed Tuesday.

Biden is set to follow the first phase of his infrastructure plan, a more than $2 trillion proposal, with a package known as the American Families Plan.

While details are still in flux, the measure is expected to include roughly $1 trillion in new spending and $500 billion in tax credits, according to the source, who declined to be named.


The White House is expected to roll out the plan within days.

Biden’s American Jobs Plan, which congressional Democrats have started to craft, calls to revamp roads, bridges, airports, broadband, utilities, housing and job training.

The second piece is expected to expand child care, paid leave, pre-K education and tax credits for families, while raising taxes on the wealthy.

Those policies are priorities for progressives, who have said they want to address shortcomings in the social safety net exposed by the coronavirus pandemic, which disproportionately affect women in the labor market.


It would extend the strengthened child tax credit — which Democrats’ coronavirus relief bill raised to as much as $3,600 per child per year — through 2025 but not make it permanent, CNBC confirmed.

The Biden administration will likely move to offset the costs by hiking taxes on the wealthiest Americans, and is considering options including raising the top income tax rate to the pre-2017 level of 39.6% and taxing capital gains as ordinary income.

The Washington Post first reported details of the proposal.

In a statement, White House spokesman Michael Gwin said “President Biden has already put forward the first part of his historic plan to invest in the strength of America’s economy and families, and he’ll be outlining the second element of that proposal in the coming days.”

“The details of that package are still being finalized, so speculation as to its final contents is premature at this point,” he said.

After passage of its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan last month, the White House moved on to its next priority in the infrastructure plans.

Democrats face challenges in passing one or both parts of the recovery proposal.

The appetite for more spending among Republicans has shrunk since Biden took office.

While the president has said he wants to strike an infrastructure deal with his GOP counterparts, Republican lawmakers have shown little desire to spend more than $800 billion — about a third of the price tag of Biden’s first proposal.

The GOP has opposed Biden’s push to hike the corporate tax rate to 28% as part of the initial infrastructure plan.

Many Republican lawmakers will likely resist individual tax increases as part of the second phase, as well.

Some Democrats in Congress have floated the idea of working with Republicans to pass a smaller infrastructure bill based around transportation and broadband, then moving to pass child care, paid leave and education provisions on their own through budget reconciliation.

— CNBC’s Thomas Franck contributed to this report.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/biden-f ... redit.html
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REUTERS

"Ahead of Biden's climate summit, lawmakers relaunch 'Green New Deal'"


By Makini Brice

APRIL 20, 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey, on Tuesday reintroduced their “Green New Deal” resolution, their set of aggressive climate goals intended to transform the U.S. economy.

Initially introduced in 2019, the non-binding resolution seeks to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within a decade and transition the economy away from fossil fuels.

“For so long, our movement toward a sustainable future has been divided with really just this false notion that we have to choose between our planet and our economy."

"And we decided to come together in sweeping legislation that not only rejects that notion, but creates a plan for 20 million union jobs in the United States of America” in several sectors, Ocasio-Cortez said at a news conference.

It was not immediately clear whether the plan would receive a significantly warmer reception from President Joe Biden’s administration than it did from the administration of former President Donald Trump, which did not believe action on climate change was necessary.

Biden, who is hosting an online climate summit this week and announced in January that the United States would rejoin the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change, has promised to put the country on track to net-zero emissions by 2050 - a much later deadline than the Green New Deal’s.

Asked if the lawmakers wanted to go beyond what Biden has proposed, Markey said: “Yes."

"We believe that this is the moment that requires us to act big, think big, have a program that matches the magnitude of the problem that we’re confronted with.”

Markey and Ocasio-Cortez highlighted successes achieved since the release of the resolution, including General Motors’ announcement that it would sell all of its new cars, SUVs and light pick-up trucks with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035 and the House of Representatives’ vote to allow the construction of more public housing.

The plan has received backing from 103 House lawmakers, Ocasio-Cortez said, including first-term congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri, a vocal supporter.

Republicans and Trump slammed the Green New Deal when it was first introduced, claiming adopting its goals would force Americans to cease traveling and not be able to eat meat.

“The green new disaster is back,” Republican Senator John Barrasso said in a statement on Monday, ahead of the relaunch.

“Free market innovation is the best way to protect our air, water and communities – not heavy-handed government regulation or taxation.”

The plan calls for 100 percent of power demand to be met from zero-emission energy sources like wind and solar, modernizing transportation infrastructure, cutting carbon emissions from the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, making buildings and homes more energy efficient and increasing land preservation.

It also aims to create an economic safety net for communities affected by climate change and the shift away from fossil fuel use, including through guarantees of healthcare, jobs and job training.

The plan’s name references President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s, which sought to help Americans ailing from the Great Depression with huge government-led infrastructure projects.

Separately, Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, on Monday introduced their Green New Deal for Public Housing Act.

The bill would modernize the country’s 950,000 housing units to make buildings more energy efficient.

It would also require jobs created under the initiative to meet certain labor standards and allow for the creation of more public housing units.


It was not immediately clear how likely the bill is to pass in either congressional chamber.

Reporting by Makini Brice; additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Dan Grebler

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN2C72EO
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REUTERS

"Exclusive: Fed will limit any overshoot of inflation target, Powell says"


By Ann Saphir

APRIL 20, 2021

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy is going to temporarily see “a little higher” inflation this year as the recovery strengthens and supply constraints push up prices in some sectors, but the Federal Reserve is committed to limiting any overshoot, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in an April 8 letter to Senator Rick Scott.

“We do not seek inflation that substantially exceeds 2 percent, nor do we seek inflation above 2 percent for a prolonged period,” Powell said in a five-page response to a March 24 letter in which the Florida Republican raised concerns about rising inflation and the U.S. central bank’s bond-buying program.


Those modifiers - “substantially” exceeding 2% inflation or above that level for a “prolonged” period - help to more sharply define the upper bounds of the Fed’s comfort zone as prices rise.

“I would emphasize, though, that we are fully committed to both legs of our dual mandate - maximum employment and stable prices,” Powell said.

The Fed slashed its benchmark overnight interest rate to near zero last March after the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, and has promised to leave borrowing costs unchanged until the economy reaches full employment, and inflation hits 2% and is on track to “moderately” exceed that level for some time.

The central bank is also buying $120 billion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities each month to keep interest rates at a level that supports hiring and spending, and has promised to keep doing so until it sees “substantial further progress” toward full employment and the 2% flexible inflation target.

Most Fed policymakers don’t expect to reach those targets for another couple of years.

“Our future policy actions will be based on actual progress toward our objectives,” Powell told Scott, underscoring a point the Fed chief has made frequently in recent months - that the central bank won’t raise rates based on forecasts, as it did six years ago.

Many analysts now view the 2015 rate-hike push as a policy error that unnecessarily put the brakes on the recovery from the financial crisis less than a decade earlier.

“If progress towards our employment and inflation objectives slows, we will maintain a highly accommodative stance for longer,” Powell wrote in the letter.

“Conversely, if progress turns out to be more rapid, adjustments to the stance of policy would likely occur sooner.”

Scott, while not on the Senate Banking Committee that directly oversees the Fed, has been a vocal critic of Powell.

The senator, seen as a possible contender for the White House in 2024, has warned that the Fed’s low interest rates and bond-buying program will force prices higher, hurting families and businesses.

“The data is clear that inflation is rising, and Chair Powell continues to ignore this growing problem,” Scott’s office told Reuters in an email that provided Powell’s letter.

“Senator Scott remains concerned about the impact inflation will have on low and fixed-income American families, like his growing up."


"He is calling on Chair Powell to wake up to this threat, lay out a clear plan to address rising inflation and protect American families.”

In his response, Powell said that high inflation is unlikely, and that low inflation hurts American businesses and households and constrains the Fed’s ability to offset economic shocks with easy monetary policy.

‘WE HAVE THE TOOLS’

After a decade in which inflation was too low, the Fed is now aiming for inflation moderately above 2%.

“We understand well the lessons of the high inflation experience in the 1960s and 1970s, and the burdens that experience created for all Americans,” Powell said in his letter.

“We do not anticipate inflation pressures of that type, but we have the tools to address such pressures if they do arise.”

Powell also sought to allay the concerns expressed by Scott in his letter last month that the Fed’s bond purchases would unleash “an unprecedented amount of deficit spending and borrowing by Congress.”

Under former President Donald Trump last year and under President Joe Biden this year, Congress has approved an unprecedented $6 trillion in aid to help Americans weather the pandemic.

The relief has been largely funded by government debt.


The central bank’s bond-buying, Powell said, is aimed at keeping financial conditions easy and markets functioning, and is “unrelated to the magnitude of fiscal deficits,” adding that the Fed doesn’t buy bonds directly from the government.

Fed policymakers are expected to stick with the super-easy monetary policy at a meeting next week, even as the economy strengthens and increasing COVID-19 vaccinations make a return to a more normal life in the United States likely in 2021.

Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Dan Burns and Paul Simao

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN2C729X
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Re: POLITICS

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THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR APRIL 18, 2021 AT 5:27 PM

Paul Plante says:

The For the People Act would expand and protect this most fundamental right and bring voting into the 21st century?

HAH!

That is hype and rank BULL**** which reminds me of these lines from “Cincinnatus II” political essay to James Wilson, Esquire, from Cincinnatus on November 8, 1787, where we had as follows concerning political advice being given out by lawyers, to wit:

I come now to the consideration of the trial by jury in civil cases.

And here you have, indeed, made use of your professional knowledge.

But you did not tell the people that your profession was always to advocate one side of a question — to place it in the most favorable, though false, light — to rail where you could not reason — to pervert where you could not refute – and to practice every fallacy on your hearers — to mislead the understanding and pervert judgment.

end quotes

Which brings us to the question of just who in the hell is this Brennan Center for Justice that is telling us that “bold” legislation introduced in the Democrat-controlled House (H.R. 1) and Democrat-controlled Senate (S. 1) would ensure that our democracy works for everyone, when it is very clear that the Democrats who control the House and the Senate are in the game, a zero sum game, for themselves, having written off everyone in America who does not cleave to the RED FLAG of the Democrat party and march to the strains if the Internationale as a “BASKET OF DEPLORABLES” and “DREGS OF SOCIETY?”

Why would we, knowing the long history of the Democrat party with regard to voter intimidation and voter fraud, be stupid enough to think or believe that the power-hungry Democrats of today would want turn a new leaf to “insure” that the people they loathe and hate, which is everybody who is not a Democrat, would have a “democracy” that works for them, when there is yet to be a “democracy” on the face of the earth anywhere that works for “everyone,” and the history of the Democrat party since at least 1834 is to insure that democracy only works for them?

Does this Brennan Center think everybody in America is a brainless idiotic ******* moron to believe any of that HORSE****?

And what about this: “American democracy urgently needs repair.”

Oh, really?

Based on exactly what evidence?

How about this INDICTMENT of DEMOCRAT Michael “Ozzie” Myers, Case 2:20-cr-00210-PD Document 1 Filed 07/21/20, which gives us a very clear picture of how it is that the Democrats work to pervert OUR electoral system so that it only benefits them as they seek to impose ONE-PARTY RULE on us, to wit:

OVERT ACTS

In furtherance of this conspiracy, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, along with Domenick J. Demuro and others, committed the following overt acts, among others, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:

1. On or about May 20, 2014, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, added 27 fraudulent ballots during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, on behalf of defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS’ preferred candidates running for election to federal, state, local, and party offices.

2. On or about May 20, 2014, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known to the grand jury, falsely certified the results receipt documenting 118 ballots cast during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, even though only 91 voters physically appeared at the polling station to cast ballots.

3. On or about May 20, 2014, after the polls closed, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known to the grand jury, turned in to the office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners the results receipts from voting Machine #021873 and Machine #021874 documenting 118 ballots cast during the primary election in the 3 9th Ward, 36th Division, even though only 91 voters physically appeared at the polling station to cast ballots.

4. In May of 2015, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS gave Domenick J. Demuro approximately $1000 in cash in exchange for Demuro adding fraudulent votes during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, on behalf of Judicial Candidate #1 running for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

5. In May of 2015, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS gave Domenick J. Demuro approximately $500 in exchange for Demuro adding fraudulent votes during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, on behalf of Judicial Candidate #2 running for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

6. In May of 2015, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS gave Domenick J. Demuro approximately $1000 in exchange for Demuro adding fraudulent votes during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, on behalf of Judicial Candidate #3 running for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

7. On or about May 19, 2015, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS called Domenick J. Demuro immediately prior to the opening of the polls on primary Election Day to discuss their plans to add fraudulent votes.

8. On or about May 19, 2015, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, added 40 fraudulent ballots during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, on behalf of defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS’ client candidates running for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and on behalf of defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS’ preferred candidates for other state and local offices.

9. On or about May 19, 2015, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS called Domenick J. Demuro shortly after the polls closed on primary Election Day to confirm that fraudulent votes had been added to support defendant MYERS’ clients and preferred candidates.

10. On or about May 19, 2015, after the polls closed, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known to the grand jury, turned in to the office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners the results receipts from voting Machine #021873 and Machine #021874 documenting 259 ballots cast during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Divisipn, even though only 219 voters physically appeared at the polling station to cast ballots.

11. On or about April 26, 2016, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS called Domenick J. Demuro soon after the opening of the polls on primary Election Day to discuss their plans to add fraudulent votes.

12. On or about April 26, 2016, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, added 46 fraudulent ballots during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, on behalf of defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS’ preferred candidates running for election to federal, state, and local offices.

13. On or about April 26, 2016, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS called Domenick J. Demuro multiple times shortly after the polls closed on primary Election Day to confirm that fraudulent votes had been added to support defendant MYBRS’ clients and preferred candidates.

14. On or about April 26, 2016, after the polls closed, Domenick J. Demuro, and others known to the grand jury, turned in to the office ofthe Philadelphia City Commissioners the results receipts from voting Machine #021873 and Machine #021874 documenting 266 ballots cast during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, even though only 220 voters physically appeared at the polling station to cast ballots.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 241.

COUNT TWO

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 10 of Count One are incorporated herein by reference.

2. The laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, specifically, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4701, provide that bribery is a violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

3. On or about May 19, 2015, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, aided and abetted by Domenick J. Demuro and others, known and unknown to the grand jury, used a facility in interstate and foreign commerce, namely a cellular telephone, with the intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, and carrying on, of an unlawful activity, that is, bribery in violation of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4701, and thereafter committed and attempted to commit an act of bribery by fraudulently adding votes in a primary election in exchange for money to further such unlawful activity.

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1952(a)(3), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

COUNT THREE

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 10 of Count One are incorporated herein by reference.

2. On or about May 19, 2015, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, aided and abetted by Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly concealed, covered up, falsified, and made false entries in documents and records, specifically, the results receipts from voting Machine #021873 and Machine #021874 documenting 259 ballots cast during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of a matter, and in relation to and contemplation of such matter, which was within the jurisdiction of a department and agency of the United States, specifically, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

COUNT FOUR

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 14 of Count One and Paragraph 2 of Count Two are incorporated herein by reference.

2. On or about April 26, 2016, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, aided and abetted by Domenick J. Demuro and others, known and unknown to the grand jury, used a facility in interstate and foreign commerce, namely a cellular telephone, with the intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, and carrying on, of an unlawful activity, that is, bribery in violation of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4701, and thereafter committed and attempted to commit an act of bribery by fraudulently adding votes in a primary election in exchange for money to further such unlawful activity. In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1952(a)(3), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

COUNT FIVE

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 14 of Count One are incorporated herein by reference.

2. On or about April 26, 2016, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, aided and abetted by Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, knowingly concealed, covered up, falsified, and made false entries in documents and records, specifically, the results receipts from voting Machine #021873 and Machine #021874 documenting 266 ballots cast during the primary election in the 39th Ward, 36th Division, with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of a matter, and in relation to and contemplation of such matter, which was within the jurisdiction of a department and agency of the United States, specifically, the DOJ and the FBI.

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

COUNT SIX

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 14 of Count One are incorporated herein by reference.

2. In 2016, the primary election ballot in the 39th Ward, 36th Division contained candidates for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the United States Senate, and Member of the United States House of Representatives.

3. On or about April 26, 2016, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, aided and abetted by Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, voted more than once in a primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting and electing any candidate for the office of Member of the United States House of Representatives.

In violation of Title 52, United States Code, Section 10307(e), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

COUNT SEVEN

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 14 of Count One and Paragraph 2 of Count Six are incorporated herein by reference.

2. On or about April 26, 2016, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, conspired with Domenick J. Demuro, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, to illegally vote more than once in a primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting and electing any candidate for the office of Member of the United States House of Representatives.

In violation of Title 52, United States Code, Section 10307(c), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. 15

COUNT EIGHT

THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:


1. Paragraphs 1 through 9 and 11 through 15 and Overt Acts 1 through 14 of Count One are incorporated herein by reference.

2. From on or about April 12, 2017 through on or about May 8, 2017, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, defendant MICHAEL “OZZIE” MYERS, knowingly engaged in misleading behavior towards another person with the intent to hinder, delay, and prevent the communication to law enforcement officers, that is, agents of the FBI, information relating to the commission and possible commission of a federal offense, and attempted to do so, by among other things:

a. Instructing Domenick J. Demuro not to discuss the “ballot stuffing” over the telephone;

b. Advising Domenick J. Demuro to conceal the receipt of bribes by providing fictitious names to be listed as the payee on checks drawn on the campaign accounts of defendant MYERS’ preferred candidates and unwitting clients by telling Demuro, “I’m gonna get you a couple checks there’s no question about that.”

“If you want to give me a – a different name than Domenick Demuro that’s your business ….”

c. Advising Domenick J. Demuro that defendant MYERS would hand Demuro bribe payments in the form of checks after the deadline for the last campaign finance report prior to the May 2017 primary election because, “you don’t wanna – you don’t wanna be on any [candidate’s campaign finance] report May 7th when the election is May 16th;”

d. Having Domenick J. Demuro sign receipts for bribe payments in the form of cash and instructing Demuro that “if there was ever a question Dom … you know you’d say well I gave the money out Election Day [to get out the vote];”

e. Providing a check to Domenick J. Demuro drawn on the campaign account of defendant MYERS’ client candidate and made payable to Demuro’ s spouse and later falsely characterized on the unwitting candidate’s campaign finance report as supporting a “get out the vote” effort.

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(b)(3) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

end quotes

And with that evidence presented as to how the Democrats actually, in real life, pervert the so-called “democracy” for their benefit, let’s go back to this statement from the Brennan Center for Justice, which bills itself as a nonpartisan law and policy institute striving to uphold the values of democracy, whatever on earth they may be, since democracy itself has no “values” that can be upheld, by anybody, it being nothing more than a concept while standing for equal justice and the rule of law and working to craft and advance reforms that will make American democracy work, for all, to wit:

“(W)e now have a historic opportunity to bring about transformative change.”

end quotes

Yes, they do.

They can fix the system broken over the years by the Democrats to insure that there never will be another Democrat like Democrat Michael “Ozzie” Myers able to pervert our system like he did.

There’s the reform we really need!

http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-344816
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