Americans think they could do better than Congress at solving the economic crisis, according to a new poll from Rasmussen.
Of the 1,000 U.S. adults surveyed, 67 percent said they have more confidence in their own judgment than in Congress's, while 44 percent saida group of people selected randomly from a phone book would do better than federal lawmakers.
Of those surveyed, 19 percent said they trusted Congress over themselves to deal with the nation's economic problems.
Rasmussen conducted the poll Feb. 8-9. Its margin of error is +/- three percentage points.
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Six members of the New York congressional delegation sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner asking him not to kill a deal giving Citigroup naming rights to the New York Mets new baseball stadium, which is slated to open this April.
The letter comes in response to one from Reps. Tom Poe (R-Texas) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who both asked for the 20-year, $400 million deal naming the stadium "Citi Field" to be killed. A report in the Feb. 3 Wall Street Journal said the company, which has received $45 billion in TARP funds, was considering abandoning the deal, citing anonymous sources.
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Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is seeking Wall Street executives to help him with an upcoming documentary on the financial industry, and he's doing so in a very public way.
Moore posted an open letter on his own website and The Huffington Post this morning looking for financial employees to come forward and talk, imploring Wall Street's denizens "for a moment of courage, to be a hero and help me expose the biggest swindle in American history."
"I am in the middle of shooting my next movie and I am looking for a few brave people who work on Wall Street or in the financial industry to come forward and share with me what they know," Moore wrote. "Based on those who have already contacted me, I believe there are a number of you who know 'the real deal' about the abuses that have been happening."
"If you work for a bank, a brokerage firm or an insurance company -- or if you have seen things or heard things that you believe the American people have a right to know -- please contact me at
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," Moore wrote.
Moore also sent the letter to members of his e-mail distribution list, according to the letter.
Moore's upcoming film will be backed by Paramount Vantage and Overture. Originally announced in May 2008 as a sequel to "Farenheit 9/11," newsbroke in November that Moore's focus had shifted to the economic crisis.
The film won't be Moore's first to deal with the economy: his 1989 documentary "Roger and Me" detailed Moore's attempts to confront then-G.M. CEO Roger Smith about the economic impact of G.M.'s downsizing on Flint, Mich., Moore's home town.
The U.S. economy has lost 3.6 million jobs since the current recession began in Decmber 2007, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The economy lost 598,000 non-farm payroll jobs in January, and unemployment rose from 7.2 percent to 7.6 percent, according to the same report--the largest 13-month job loss total since the Department of Labor began producing its monthly employment reports in 1939.
President Obama issued a statement calling for action from Washington, as the Senate continues to debate a modified version of his economic stimulus package.
"These numbers, and the very real suffering of American workers they represent, reinforce the need for bold fiscal action. If we fail to act, we are likely to lose millions more jobs and the unemployment rate could reach double digits," Obama said. "Prompt, well-designed fiscal policy is necessary to stop the decline and heal the economy. The American people are counting on leadership from Washington to help the economy recover and lay the long-term foundation for long-term economic growth."
President Obama said he "will not tolerate" lavish bonuses and excessive pay to top executives at bailed out firms this morning, upon announcing a $500,000 pay cap for top executives at companies receiving taxpayer bailouts.
"For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste -- it
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President Obama, in his weekly radio/YouTube address to the nation this morning, pledged to work with both parties in the Senate to pass a stimulus package and said his administration is dedicated to alleviating Americans' economic struggles.
Vice President Joe Biden plugged his White House economic task force this morning in an op-ed published in USA Today, seeking to address citizens' concerns about the economy.
Biden was appointed by President Obama in December to lead a task force that includes Cabinet secretaries from various departments, including Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Commerce, as well as the heads of the Office of Management and Budget, the National Economic Council, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Council of Economic Advisors.
In today's piece, Biden assured Americans that his group, officially called the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families, will examine a wide array of ideas to help the American economy.
President-elect Barack Obama will tour a factory in eastern Ohio on Friday to promote his $775 billion economic stimulus proposal, Obama's transition office announced today.
Obama will tour the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Company in New Bedford, Ohio, which manufactures parts used in wind turbines. The president-elect will hold a meeting with workers on the factory floor after touring the plant, the transition office said.
Obama will discuss how his stimulus proposal could help the plant's workers. His transition office said he aims to create nearly 500,000 U.S. jobs by including clean-energy investments in the stimulus package.
It is uncertain exactly how much money Obama's stimulus will devote to alternative energy. The initial plan included $10 billion in tax breaks for alternative energy development, Democratic lawmakers said, according to the LA Times. One senior Democratic senator told the Times that figure has since more than doubled.
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