Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
By Richard Simon and Melanie Mason
May 22, 2013, 8:47 a.m.
WASHINGTON — A top Internal Revenue Service official invoked the 5th Amendment and declined to testify Wednesday before a House committee investigating the agency’s mishandling of applications by some conservative groups for tax-exempt status.
By Dan Balz,
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
It is never good for an administration when a front-page newspaper article about an ongoing controversy begins as follows: “The White House offered a new account Monday of how and when it learned . . . ” That’s what readers of The Post awoke to on Tuesday. In trying to contain the controversy and protect President Obama, White House officials have only added to questions about what happened.
By Zachary Goldfarb
Published: May 20, 2013 at 11:00 pm
The Treasury Department was informed on three separate occasions that the Internal Revenue Service planned to disclose that it targeted conservative groups for scrutiny, and on one occasion, Treasury expressed concern about the form of the disclosure, a Treasury official said on Monday night.
Elspeth Reeve
May 17, 2013
The IRS official who revealed the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups on Friday did so on purpose — by asking a tax lawyer to ask her about it at American Bar Association tax section’s annual meeting.
By Carol D. Leonnig
Published: May 16, 2013
When the Barack H. Obama Foundation sought tax-exempt status to raise money for good works in Kenya, the Internal Revenue Service provided quick help.
The IRS approved charitable status for the foundation, which was run by President Obama’s brother and named after his father, in about a month’s time. The IRS also agreed to give the group this important financial status retroactively, back to 2009, when it had begun its fundraising.
By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Juliet Eilperin
Published: May 15 E-mail the writers
President Obama on Wednesday demanded and accepted the resignation of the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven T. Miller, as part of a multi-pronged effort to quell controversies that threaten to dominate his second term.
By Karen Tumulty
Published: May 15 E-mail the writer
The most corrosive political scandals are the ones that feed a preexisting story line — which is why the White House could have difficulty putting the current ones behind it any time soon.
By Michael A. Memoli
May 15, 2013, 9:15 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Republican congressional leaders, faced with an array of crises threatening to overwhelm the White House, appear to have singled out the targeting of conservative political groups by the IRS as the most fertile — and politically advantageous — to focus on.
Shane Goldmacher
May 14 2013, 4:39 PM ET
As three separate scandals – the IRS targeting the tea party, the Justice Department’s phone-records grab from the AP, and Benghazi – erupt simultaneously, congressional Republicans are hoping to fold them into a single narrative of an unaccountable and overreaching White House that cannot be trusted.
As Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., put it colorfully during a Fox News appearance, “This sounds like a president somewhat drunk on power.”
By Scott Wilson
May 13, 2013
There was a guiding principle early in President Obama’s first term that in Washington it is always better to be pitching than catching.
The stimulus bill, the bank and auto industry bailouts, Wall Street regulation, health-care legislation, Muslim outreach abroad — the first two years featured Obama as pitcher.
By Juliet Eilperin
Published: May 12, 2013
At various points over the past two years, Internal Revenue Service officials singled out for scrutiny not only groups with “tea party” or “patriot” in their names but also nonprofit groups that criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution, according to documents in an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew agents were targeting tea party groups as early as 2011, according to a draft of an inspector general’s report obtained by The Associated Press that seemingly contradicts public statements by the IRS commissioner.
By Nancy Cook
Updated: May 12, 2013 | 9:05 a.m.
May 10, 2013 | 3:33 p.m.
The Internal Revenue Service’s admission that it inappropriately targeted conservative political groups for special scrutiny during the 2012 presidential election only gives congressional Republicans more ammunition as they try to defund and weaken the agency.
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Published: April 25, 2013
The next battle over the federal debt limit appears to be further away than many expect — and perhaps not until well into autumn.
Posted by Ezra Klein
January 12, 2013 at 3:32 pm
The Treasury Department will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to get around the debt ceiling. If they did, the Federal Reserve would not accept it.
By Rosalind S. Helderman
Published: January 11, 2013
Democratic leaders in the Senate on Friday urged President Obama to consider bypassing Congress to prevent the nation from defaulting on its spending obligations if lawmakers cannot agree to raise the nation’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling next month.
By Jim Puzzanghera
December 26, 2012, 2:22 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The federal government will begin taking special steps this week to continue paying its bills as the nation prepares to hit its debt limit next week, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Wednesday.
Sunday, December 22, 2012 – 11:30 a.m.
The U.S. Treasury has announced it will begin to liquidate its stake in General Motors at a huge loss. A loss so significant it will likely wipe out any profit from the bank bailout.
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The much-debated bailout of Detroit is finally nearing an end after four years — and it looks like the ultimate cost to taxpayers will be between $10 billion and $20 billion.
Monday, September 3, 2012 – 05:00 p.m.
This week the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is being held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
By Bob Ivry, Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz – Nov 27, 2011 4:01 PM PT
Bloomberg Markets Magazine
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing.
Friday, November 25, 2011 – 11:45 a.m.
U.S. stocks ended lower for the seventh trading session in row on Friday,
While investment analysts cry that “Stocks are cheap.”, “It’s a buying opportunity.”, “I like stocks here.”, and “Investors shouldn’t panic.”, the markets continue to recede.
Even the recent trading range doesn’t look too warm and fuzzy.
By Terence P. Jeffrey
November 16, 2011
Subscribe to Terence P. Jeffrey’s posts
(CNSNews.com) – At the close of business on Tuesday, the debt of the federal government exceeded $15 trillion for the first time–with the largest single owner of the publicly held portion of that debt being the Federal Reserve.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
October 23, 2011 | 2:40 pm
America’s credit rating is likely to take another hit before the end of 2011, threatening renewed market turmoil, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists warn.
October 9, 2011 7:58 pm
By Henny Sender in Hong Kong and Michael MacKenzie in New York
Asian and Middle Eastern central banks and sovereign wealth funds are increasingly anxious about the safety of their investments in the debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , despite the assurances of US government officials.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
September 30, 2011
Reporting from Washington— Federal regulators bent the rules to allow Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. to repay their bailout money early, missing a chance to force them into further bolstering their finances.
Planet Wes
Wesley G. Hughes, Staff Writer
Posted: 08/14/2011 04:46:33 PM PDT
The “experts” keep talking about a double-dip recession.
That’s all wrong. You can’t dip back into something you never got out of.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Neil Irwin
Published: August 14
Barely two years after the financial crisis ended, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke were back at it about a week ago. They were working the weekend phones with their counterparts in Europe, urging them to use overwhelming force to contain the continent’s spreading debt crisis, which was unnerving markets on both sides of the Atlantic.
By Rita Nazareth – Aug 8, 2011 1:08 PM PT
U.S. stocks tumbled, extending the biggest slump for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 2008’s bear market, amid concern that a downgrade of the nation’s credit rating by S&P may worsen an economic slowdown.
Monday, August 8, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the sovereign credit rating of the United States was a long time coming.
Friday, August 5, 2011 – 06:00 p.m.
As expected, rating agency Standard and Poors lowered the soverign credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+ late Friday afternoon.
Thursday, August 4, 2011 – 10:45 a.m.
Reality continues to set in on Wall Street this Thursday morning, with the major stock indices suffering a major pullback that has not only wiped out all of this years gains, but is now starting to erase last years.
By Neil Nisperos Staff Writer
Created: 07/29/2011 10:18:37 PM PDT
The Republican-controlled House approved Speaker John Boehner’s debt limit plan on Friday only to have Senate Democrats scuttle the measure without so much as a debate on its merits.
Boehner’s plan included a requirement for the submission of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.
Apple is sitting on a pile of money that’s bigger than the Treasury’s dwindling balance.
By David Sarno, Los Angeles Times
July 29, 2011, 9:10 p.m.
Apple Inc. may not have more money than God. But it’s got more cash than Uncle Sam.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
July 26, 2011 | 6:00 pm
The strongest sign of worry about the U.S. debt drama may be showing up in the dollar, which is on track for its third straight weekly decline.
On Tuesday July 26, 2011, 3:11 pm EDT
By Pedro da Costa and Andy Bruce
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – The United States will lose its top-notch AAA credit rating from at least one major rating agency, according to a Reuters poll that also found wrangling over the debt ceiling has already damaged the economy.
By James Nash – Jul 25, 2011 9:01 PM PT
Overseers of 10 public pension funds with combined assets topping $1 trillion joined a call for a deal on raising the U.S. debt ceiling, warning that a failure by leaders in Washington would have “devastating” consequences.
By Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau
July 24, 2011, 10:13 p.m.
Reporting from Washington— Congressional leaders missed a self-imposed weekend deadline for reaching a debt agreement that would stave off federal default, leaving Democrats and Republicans aligned behind competing proposals as financial markets watched closely for signs of progress.
Sunday, July 17, 2011 – 06:00 p.m.
If it doesn’t alarm you it should.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is holding $2.6 trillion in U.S. Government-issued bonds and bank-issued mortgage-backed securities on its balance sheet.
Money & Company Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
July 14, 2011 | 6:19 pm
The U.S. got another warning on its credit rating late Thursday, as Standard & Poor’s said there was a “substantial likelihood” it could lower its AAA grade on Treasury debt because of the political battle over the federal debt ceiling and spending cuts.
Published: Friday, 10 Jun 2011 | 2:58 PM ET
By: Reuters
The flood of Federal Reserve money that has supported Wall Street and the rest of the U.S. economy for two and a half years will shrink to a trickle with the conclusion of the Fed’s bond purchases announced Friday.
Sunday, May 29, 2011 – 09:30 p.m.
The situation for Americans in general isn’t so hot these days, and it’s likely to worsen.
By Peter Schroeder – 05/16/11 08:32 PM ET
The U.S. government officially hit the federal debt limit Monday, prompting the Treasury Department to invoke new measures to prevent a default.
Politics
Monday, May 16, 2011
By DAMIAN PALETTA And CAROL E. LEE
The U.S. government is expected to hit the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling Monday, setting in motion an uncertain, 11-week political scramble to avoid a default.
By Noam N. Levey, Washington Bureau
May 13, 2011, 11:19 a.m.
Caught in the sluggish recovery from the last recession, Social Security and Medicare face an increasingly dismal fiscal future, the federal government reported Friday in its annual review of the two mammoth entitlement programs.
April 18, 2011 4:31 PM
Brooke Edwards
VICTORVILLE • The city owes $82,628 to the Internal Revenue Service, including $14,330 in late fees for a refund that should’ve been made nearly four years ago.
Published: Monday, 18 Apr 2011 | 10:43 AM ET
Standard & Poor’s on Monday downgraded the outlook for the United States to negative, saying it believes there’s a risk U.S. policymakers may not reach agreement on how to address the country’s long-term fiscal pressures.
Extension forms may be scarce
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/18/2011 12:26:13 AM PDT
Tonight at 11:59 is the deadline to file postmarked or electronically send 2010 tax returns or request an extension on them, and accountants have a simple message for procrastinators: Good luck.
On Monday April 11, 2011, 11:36 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The world’s largest bond fund began betting against U.S. government debt last month on the expectation that shaky finances will jolt interest rates higher.
A new deduction for self-employed workers, multiple home buyer credits and an expired break for the jobless are among the vexing issues this tax season.
By Kathy M. Kristof Personal Finance
March 27, 2011
Welcome to tax season — the most dreaded time of year.
It’s not just that preparing a tax return is time-consuming and costly — although it’s clearly both. The Internal Revenue Service estimates that it takes roughly 23 hours and costs about $300, on average, to compile and file a Form 1040.
Tokyo may need to raise money to rebuild after the earthquake, but selling their U.S. Treasury bonds could create problems of its own. The nuclear power shutdown will affect production throughout Japan and boost demand for oil.
By Don Lee and Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times
March 14, 2011, 6:12 p.m.
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles –
Japan’s need to raise huge amounts of money for reconstruction after the disastrous earthquake raises the prospect of higher U.S. costs to finance its own budget deficit and ultimately higher costs to American consumers on financing everything from houses and cars to credit card debt.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
March 8, 2011 | 2:38 pm
The Treasury Department has recovered 70% of the money distributed under the $700-billion bailout fund after American International Group paid back $6.9 billion of the money it owed.
Though few have paid attention, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s conclusions clearly point out the failures by regulators — and the (un)regulated — to rein in excesses that predictably led to ruin.
By Michael Hiltzik
February 6, 2011
The public reaction to major man-made disasters always follows the same life cycle: First come shock and outrage, then demands for investigation and retribution against the guilty, and finally resignation about God’s mysterious ways, fatigue and ennui.
10:44 PM PST on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
By TIFFANY RAY
The Press-Enterprise
Premier Service Bank is under closer scrutiny by the U.S. Treasury Department after missing six dividend payments through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and by regulators, who have ordered the bank to raise capital ratios by the end of the month.
Published: Friday, 21 Jan 2011 | 4:58 PM ET
Concerns that the Federal Reserve could suffer losses on its massive bond holdings may have driven the central bank to adopt a little-noticed accounting change with huge implications: it makes insolvency much less likely.
By James Politi
Published: January 13 2011 22:15 | Last updated: January 13 2011 22:15
It was the most startling of warnings. If the US does not get its finances in order “we will have a European situation on our hands, and possibly worse”, claimed Paul Ryan, the new Republican chairman of the House of Representatives budget committee.
By Tom Raum, Associated Press – January 15, 2011
WASHINGTON – The United States just passed a dubious milestone: Government debt surged to an all-time high, more than $14 trillion.
That means Congress soon will have to lift the legal debt limit to give the nearly maxed-out government an even higher credit limit or dramatically cut spending to stay within the current cap. Either way, a fight is ahead on Capitol Hill, inflamed by the passions of tea party activists and deficit hawks.
January 3, 2011 5:57 PM
Posted by Mark Knoller
The latest posting today of the National Debt shows it has topped $14 trillion for the first time.
The U.S. Treasury website today reported that as of last Friday, the last day of 2010, the National Debt stood at $14,025,215,218,708.52.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 – 06:45 p.m.
Last Updated: December 15, 2010 – 09:00 a.m.
The term ‘random’ just took on a new meaning when it comes to being a target.
Rancho Cucamonga Developer Jeffrey Burum, the ongoing favorite target of San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, over a 2006 settlement between San Bernardino County and Colonies Partners, L.P., was recently treated to additional scrutiny.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 – 10:40 a.m.
Interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities continued climbing today with the rate on the 10-year treasury bond now hitting 3.13% this morning.
The 10-year treasury instrument remains the benchmark for mortgage loans.
Monday, November 1, 2010 – 11:30 a.m.
President Barack Obama and congressional democrats can place a major portion of the blame for their pending gutting at the polls tomorrow squarely at the feet of the banking industry.
There are several factors in-play here.
Sunday, August 29, 2010 – 12:30 pm
Updated: August 29, 2010 – 08:50 pm
It’s baffling to hear the rhetoric, chatter, and the denials regarding the condition of the state and local economy.
Yes, it’s going to get worse. A situation that’s bad for everyone. Politicians, businesses, and everyday folk. Denial is still in full swing.
By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
More than 42,000 laid-off California homeowners are about to get a break.
Starting Nov. 1, the government will help them make mortgage payments while they look for another job.
John “JP” Pomierski
Cloud over Upland
Mayor’s future is on the line
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/10/2010 07:08:31 AM PDT
UPLAND – Mayor John “JP” Pomierski was elected by Upland voters to save the city from the verge of bankruptcy.
The citizens trusted his abilities as an Upland businessman to lead them to the financial stability the city enjoys now, 10 years later.
But his own business dealings have come under scrutiny by federal investigators. A June 10 raid by FBI and IRS agents on Pomierski’s home, City Hall and two local businesses has left residents questioning the integrity of the mayor who helped pull the city out of its fiscal darkness, and wondering what his future might be.
Raids by the FBI, IRS came as `big surprise’
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/10/2010 07:08:27 AM PDT
UPLAND – A recent raid by FBI and IRS agents at the mayor’s home and City Hall may have some residents wondering who their mayor is.
John “JP” Pomierski has been mayor since 2000. Most of the news coming out of the city has been related to finances and development, but on June 10 the focus changed to Pomierski himself.
The US workforce shrank by 652,000 in June, one of the sharpest contractions ever. The rate of hourly earnings fell 0.1pc. Wages are flirting with deflation.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Published: 9:33PM BST 04 Jul 2010
“The economy is still in the gravitational pull of the Great Recession,” said Robert Reich, former US labour secretary. “All the booster rockets for getting us beyond it are failing.”
“Home sales are down. Retail sales are down. Factory orders in May suffered their biggest tumble since March of last year. So what are we doing about it? Less than nothing,” he said.
On Tuesday June 29, 2010, 9:01 am EDT
For American taxpayers, now on the hook for some $145 billion in housing losses connected to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, that amount could be just the tip of the iceberg.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the losses could balloon to $400 billion. And if housing prices fall further, the cost to the taxpayer could hit as much as $1 trillion.
The administration of President Barack Obama has been continuously stressing that it wants to keep Americans in their homes.
After all, the U.S. Federal Reserve System is giving the money center banks including Wells Fargo, virtually free money so the same banks can turnaround and lend it back to the U.S. Treasury keeping the interest paid by the same Treasury as profit. Isn’t it great? Borrow money from taxpayers at an interest rate of 0.00%-0.25% and then lend it back to taxpayers at a substantially higher interest rate. A practice known as making money on the spread.
Why modify mortgages when you can force the borrowers out of their homes and use taxpayer money to cushion the loss?
Now along comes Wells Fargo Bank.
Today agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service executed search warrants at Upland City Hall and three locations related to Mayor John Pomierski and a business partner.
Sources say Pomierski’s residence, business, and the office of a business partner are also involved in today’s activity.
Agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service are at this time serving search warrants at Upland City Hall and three locations related to Mayor John Pomierski and a business partner.
Sources say Pomierski’s residence, business, and the office of a business partner are also involved in today’s activity.
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: February 1, 2010
WASHINGTON — In a federal budget filled with mind-boggling statistics, two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and American power.
According to the 2011 budget, the projected deficit in the coming year is nearly 11 percent of the country’s entire economic output.
The first is the projected deficit in the coming year, nearly 11 percent of the country’s entire economic output. That is not unprecedented: During the Civil War, World War I and World War II, the United States ran soaring deficits, but usually with the expectation that they would come back down once peace was restored and war spending abated.
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