CFPB is a government agency created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. It was established as an independent agency, like the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, but the agency’s status is under review by the US Court of Appeals.
As Director Richard Cordray stepped down, he appointed Leandra English as deputy director, which made her the acting director upon his departure.
Cordray, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011, is a lawyer and was a Democrat politician before becoming the first-ever head of CFPB.
As he left, Cordray wanted to ensure his policies at the agency would be perpetuated.
But President Trump immediately named White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney acting director.
Mick Mulvaney
“The President looks forward to seeing Director Mulvaney take a common sense approach to leading the CFPB’s dedicated staff, an approach that will empower consumers to make their own financial decisions and facilitate investment in our communities,” the White House said in a Friday night news release.
“Director Mulvaney will serve as Acting Director until a permanent director is nominated and confirmed,” the White House wrote.
Politico says the Dodd-Frank Act, “explicitly says the consumer bureau’s deputy director shall ‘serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director,’ giving the edge to English.”
Cordray’s power move was an attempt to prevent the president from appointing his successor, which raises a constitutional question:
Is a functionary of a government agency in a democracy empowered to name his or her own successor?
And it raises another question:
Is this part of the swamp that Trump said he was going to drain?
The joint development agreement signed by Gov. Bill Walker and Alaska Gasline Development Corporation President Keith Meyer with various Chinese entities to develop Alaska’s natural gas was released last week. Without the cover page and the Chinese translation, it’s about four pages long and is nearly identical to the one the Walker Administration signed with KOGAS (Korea) earlier this year.
The “agreement” is essentially an agreement to continue discussions. It contains no binding commitments nor pledges of financing.
As Indivisible and MoveOn.org saturate Alaska’s airwaves with #killthebill messages warning of dire consequences if the Senate’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passes, a look at the actual impact on Alaskan taxpayers shows they’ll keep more of their income in most tax brackets.
Here’s how the Not One Penny movement describes the tax reform bill:
As President Trump and congressional Republicans push their plans to give massive tax breaks to the rich, progressive groups and grassroots organizations are mobilizing across the country to demand that elected officials provide not one penny in tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations.
The last thing working-class Americans need is a tax code that further rigs the system in favor of corporations or gives another leg up to the top one percent. + Trump’s so called ‘tax reform’ plan uses the same trickle-down economics that has left working families and small businesses behind as corporate profits skyrocket and wages stagnate. + We should call these efforts what they are: a scheme that will pad the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of working families.
In fact, the Senate tax bill does not increase taxes on Americans at any income level.
The average Alaska individual filer makes over $33,000 a year, and according to calculations from the Tax Foundation, they will see a 3 percent decrease in their IRS tax bill, should the legislation be signed into law.
The median income for joint filers in Alaska is over $73,000, and they, too, will see their tax bills cut by 3 percent.
OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE TAX REFORM BILL
The child tax credit increases from $1,000 under current law to $2,000, which is more than the original proposal of $1,650.
The Obamacare individual mandate penalty would be eliminated, meaning there will be no penalty for not purchasing health insurance.
Graduate tuition waivers are restored. Under current law, students who get a tuition waiver must declare that as income.
Pass-Through Income: The proposal expands the number of businesses in service industries that claim a special 17.4 percent deduction. Most service industries are disallowed the deduction, but there is an exception for smaller businesses by which they can claim the deduction regardless of industry classification. The new limit would be $500,000 for married filers and $250,000 for individuals, increased from $150,000 and $75,000 respectively in the introduced bill. The Chairman’s Mark makes the bill’s W-2 provisions more generous, and expands it to include sole proprietors. This provision has been opposed by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. — his family business would be affected.
Net Operating Losses: Starting in 2024, net operating loss carry-forwards would be limited to 80 percent of taxable income, down from 90 percent.
Research and Experimental Expenditures: These expenditures would need to be amortized instead of deducted, starting in 2026.
Business Tax Trigger: The proposal has a federal tax trigger so that if federal revenues from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2026, exceed $27.487 trillion by more than $900 billion, several business tax increases would not take effect for the 2026 tax year.
Reduced Alcohol Excise Taxes: The proposal lowers excise taxes rate on alcoholic beverages.
Clearly, neither the House nor Senate versions of the tax bill represent radical departures from current law. Rather, they make U.S. companies more competitive internationally, improve the tax treatment of many small businesses, and deliver modest reductions in marginal tax rates across the individual income spectrum.
Setting aside the economic illiteracy of the “Not One Penny” movement, both versions hold the promise of accelerating economic growth and rising incomes. We are hopeful that Sen. Murkowski will not be swayed by the recent barrage of left-wing advertising and pressure tactics.
AUTHOR OF MICHAEL JACKSON BIO DEFENDED THE POP STAR
Alaska Public Media had to scramble to fill the 11 pm to midnight slot in its television programming after talk show host Charlie Rose came under a shadow cast by women in his production company who said he sexually harassed them. The allegations were reported on Monday. Rose was fired from PBS shortly thereafter.
The new anchor for that time slot in Alaska’s public television offerings is Tavis Smiley. He’s a well-known public broadcasting talk show host and author of a biography of Michael Jackson, “Before You Judge Me.”
Ironically, he has judged Jackson innocentof the child molestation charges that haunted the pop star in his final years.
In 2003, police raided Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, as part of an investigation into child molestation charged. Jackson was acquitted in that case, but after he died in 2009, a collection of child pornography emerged, and some of it was sourced to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department. The collection included images of children’s faces digitally placed on adult bodies, as well as materials investigators said is typically used to de-sensitize young children and groom them for future abuse.
In an interview with Jenny McCarthy in 2016, Smiley said, “All of us have some effed up parts of who we are. I don’t believe in throwing any human being away, because none of us are human and divine, we’re just human. Thirdly, for his fans, they didn’t trust the DA, Tom Sneddon, who was on a vendetta against Michael. They didn’t trust Sneddon and his investigators then, and these are the same police, seven years later, who we are told this information comes from.”
“My point is this: Whatever you thought about Michael Jackson seven years ago, you still feel the same way. If you think he did it, you’re mind ain’t changed, and if you think he didn’t do it, your mind ain’t changed. So it just appears to me that Michael couldn’t live in peace, he sure didn’t die in peace, and apparently he ain’t gonna be able to rest in peace. It’s going to be this way for time eternal, so was I surprised? Not at all.”
On another show, “Tell Me Everything,” with host John Fugelsang, Smiley said he doesn’t think Jackson abused children.
“I have to believe that he didn’t, and that’s the key phrase. For me, I have to believe that he didn’t.” – Tavis Smiley
For the author and friend of Michael Jackson, “have to believe” may be the key phrase. But the case against Jackson continues even in 2017.
The first accuser of Jackson, Jordan Chandler, settled with the Jackson estate for $20 million and is blocked from speaking publicly about what happened. But both of Chandler’s parents said they had found Jackson in bed with their young son.
Chandler, however, has allegedly left the United States to avoid being embroiled in a case brought by Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck against the Jackson estate.
The Wade Robson v JacksonEstate lawsuit is set for March 5, 2018, in Los Angeles.
In that complaint, Robson, now a celebrity choreographer, claims that “MJJ PRODUCTIONS and MJJ VENTURES were held out to the public to be businesses dedicated to creating and distributing multimedia entertainment by MICHAEL JACKSON, however, in fact, they actually served dual purposes. The thinly-veiled, covert second purpose of these businesses was to operate as a child sexual abuse operation, specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims.”
Now that Thanksgiving’s “main event” dinner is past, it’s time we ask the question: Are we obliged to believe all women who make allegations of sexual harassment? Go!
Alaskans watching television over the Thanksgiving holiday may have seen an ad targeting Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and encouraging Alaskans to call and write the senator and encourage her to vote against the GOP tax bill.
“Call her and tell her not to lose her way,” the ad says.
The ad, “Not One Penny” is the product of liberal groups associated with MoveOn.org and the similarly fashioned Indivisible organization, and it’s modeled after an ad that targeted Maine Sen. Susan Collins. The group’s campaign is expanding to include eight Republican senators seen key to the vote that may be taken in the Senate next week on a tax overhaul bill.
Murkowski, a moderate Republican, has not indicated how she will vote on the overhaul of the tax code, but she penned an opinion column last week saying she favored doing away with Obamacare’s individual mandate, which requires all Americans to have health insurance, even if it means they have to pay over $10,000 a year for it, as many Alaskans do. The elimination of the mandate is a provision in the tax reform bill.
Earlier this year, the same liberal groups ran similar ads targeting several Republican House members, including ads that were Spanish only, targeting the congressional districts of Reps. Martha McSally of Arizona and Will Hurd of Texas.
The sample script that the Democrat-linked organization is pushing Alaskans to use in calling Murkowski:
Sample Call Script: Alaska (Senator Murkowski)
Caller: Hello! My name is [NAME] and I live in [PART OF STATE]. I’m calling to let Senator Murkowski know that I strongly oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill has NOT gone through regular order, and it will cause tens of thousands of Alaskans to lose their health insurance coverage and drive up premiums for everyone else.
Staffer: Senator Murkowski is undecided on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. She thinks it is important that we reform our broken, complex tax code so that middle-class families can benefit.
Caller: This tax bill won’t do anything to simplify the tax code, or make it better for middle class families. Health insurance premiums in Alaska will go up by $2,900 if this tax bill passes, and over 18,000 Alaska families will see a tax increase! Senator Murkowski bravely stood up against the Republicans’ ill-advised attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act through a faulty process; she should do it again this time.
Staffer: I’ll pass your thoughts along to the Senator.
Caller: Yes please do, and please take down my contact information so you can let me know what the Senator decides to do.
“Today is a day for his family, his friends and his nation to remember President Nixon’s life in totality. To them, let us say, may the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close. May we heed his call to maintain the will and the wisdom to build on America’s greatest gift — its freedom; to lead a world full of difficulty to the just and lasting peace he dreamed of. “President Bill Clinton, April 27, 1994.
President Clinton’s eulogy of former President Richard Nixon in 1994 was given two decades after Watergate dominated the headlines. Amid a scandal that engulfed his entire administration, Nixon was forced to resign the presidency in a constitutional crisis that consumed the nation for over two years
Win Gruening
In the days prior to Nixon’s funeral, despite severe rain, an estimated 50,000 people waited in lines up to 18 hours to walk past his casket and pay their respects.
The accolades and tributes to the former president stood in stark contrast to the disgrace and controversy surrounding his departure from office in 1974.
The reason for this is a good lesson in how we view history.
Recently, I visited the newly remodeled Nixon Presidential Library and learned more about Nixon’s presidency. The day before, I visited the nearby Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
The presidential library system is a nationwide network of 14 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). As repositories for preserving and making available the papers, records, and historical collections of various presidents, they also include public museums that capture history in a way no textbook ever could.
Currently these libraries represent every past president since Herbert Hoover (there are a dozen or so more featuring earlier presidents administered by private foundations, colleges, or non-profits). Construction of the facilities is privately funded, and operational expenses are paid through endowments, user fees and taxpayer funding.
My visits to these two libraries were informative and inspirational. Both presidents had humble beginnings, yet rose to election to our country’s highest office. Both faced many challenges and crises in their lives but persevered to overcome them.
Despite very consequential accomplishments while in office, the Watergate scandal completely eclipsed Nixon’s achievements.
Domestically, Nixon’s influence was largely responsible for desegregation of Southern schools, creation of the EPA, expanded funding for the arts, as well as declarations of war on cancer, illegal drugs and hunger.
In foreign affairs, Nixon ended the Vietnam War (and the military draft), initiated nuclear arms control agreements with the Soviet Union and, as the first president to visit the People’s Republic of China, was widely praised for his efforts to restore diplomatic relations and bring China out of isolation.
Despite Watergate’s damage to his reputation, Nixon never considered withdrawing from public life. In a Los Angeles Times interview in 1978, his spirit and desire to rehabilitate his legacy was evident when he stated. “A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.”
After his resignation, Nixon retired to his San Clemente home where he wrote his memoirs and a series of best-selling books – almost all dealing with foreign policy. He became a frequent op-ed columnist and guest speaker. He embarked on a series of foreign trips to China, the Mideast, and the Soviet Union and slowly built his reputation as an elder statesman.
Nixon became widely regarded as an expert in foreign policy and his advice was solicited by Presidents Reagan and Clinton. Only twelve short years after his resignation a Gallup Poll ranked Nixon as one of the ten most admired men in the world and Newsweek ran a story on “Nixon’s comeback” with the headline “He’s back”.
President Nixon’s legacy should serve as a reminder that history is more nuanced and complex than any single accomplishment or failure.
Today, demands that we remove statues or ban books for the sake of righting “old wrongs” are misguided. Hiding or misrepresenting history or not considering the context in which it occurred is a disservice to future generations.
Our presidential libraries and their associated historical materials provide an important function is this regard. Indeed, one of the most striking and prominent features of the Nixon Museum is the brutally honest and exhaustive portrayal of the Watergate scandal.
Richard Nixon learned and grew after his disgrace – not despite his mistakes and failures, but because of them.
And so can we – not by distorting or erasing history but by learning from it.
We hear about the Christmas spirit, but whoever talks about the Thanksgiving spirit?
Like family, we take Thanksgiving for granted at times. How often do we actually reflect on our blessings and live in simple gratitude for our crazy, complicated lives, and our freedom to pick our own paths.
Must Read Alaska wishes you a day of happy contentment, whether you’re dining with a date or feasting with family. And for those who are ailing, hurting, or lonely, we pray for you to feel sparks of joy that can reignite a sense of wonder, even through the pain. Thanksgiving is for all of us in every condition in which we find ourselves.
Three joy-sparking questions:
In your life, who was the person who had the biggest positive impact on you?
What memory comes to mind that fills you with joy?
If you pray, have any of your prayers been answered this year?
Of course, Must Read Alaska would love to hear your thankful reflections and memories. Jot a note to [email protected] if you have something on your mind today. I love hearing from you. – Suzanne
On Tuesday evening, the “Taxing Nine” on the Anchorage Assembly approved a $521 million operating budget for the coming fiscal year. For the third year in a row, it’s the largest budget in Anchorage history, and it’s $1 million more than Mayor Ethan Berkowitz asked for.
And yet, Berkowitz told KTVA reporter Liz Raines that property taxes are going down, by an average of $300-$400 for the average homeowner.
How does a higher budget and lower taxes work, math-wise?
For one thing, while homeowners will get some property tax relief, a new municipal gasoline tax is going to take money out of their other pocket. Also, businesses don’t get a $125,000 homeowner basic exemption, so their taxes will go up, and they’ll pass the increased costs along to their customers.
In fact, if there was truth in budgeting, the budget would be explained as $531 million. That’s because the Assembly earlier this fall allowed Mayor Ethan Berkowitz to put city land up for collateral and borrow $10 million to pay down pension obligations. The $10 million that would have been spent on those pension obligations has been shifted in the budget. The debt service on that loan, some $6 million, won’t be paid until Berkowitz is long out of office.
This is the third big budget for Berkowitz. Former Mayor Dan Sullivan’s final budget in 2015 was $471.4 million, lower than his 2014 budget of $476.7 million.
To compare, the similarly sized city of Cincinnati, Ohio has an operating budget of $388 million.
Assembly member Amy Demboski voted against the budget, as did Fred Dyson. But the Assembly is majority liberal, and they prevailed, just as they prevailed in voting to borrow the $10 million last month.
“In reality this is a $531 million budget because they are kicking $10 million in pension liabilities, which are typically accounted for in the budget, to 2019,” Demboski said.
“If you don’t want to live within your means what do you do? Pull a Berkowitz: defer payments on debt, increase pay for employees, create a new parks supervisor position at $110,000, fight to protect $900,000 in flowers and beautification projects, and reject the opportunity to privatize snow plowing, which would have saved $2.5 million,” she said.
The budget contains $500,000 to address more of Berkowitz’ homeless programs, and $170,000 to clear homeless camps. Another $50,000 is going to a clean-syringe access program.
Assembly member Felix Rivera, a Democrat who moved to Anchorage in 2010, and won his Assembly seat this year, defended the budget: “This budget really is a reflection of who we are as a city, and who we want to be, and our priorities are pretty clear — public safety No. 1, combating homelessness, and doing everything we can to help the people on the edge, like providing significant property tax relief.”
The 10-cent municipal gasoline tax will go into effect in March.
Americans for Prosperity Alaska released the following statement: “The largest budget ever enacted in Anchorage history, incorporates a 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax that will increase the burden on residents by $11.7 million in the first year.”
AFP-Alaska has been running digital ads urging Anchorage residents to contact the Mayor and Assembly urging them to vote down the proposed 2018 budget.
“In 2015, Mayor Berkowitz tried to weaken the tax cap but was stopped by voters. The following year he suspended the spending cap, allowing for the largest budgets in Anchorage history,” said AFP-Alaska State Director Jeremy Price. “Mayor Berkowitz should be more focused on finding ways for Anchorage residents to keep their money, instead of finding ways to spend it. The pace at which local government continues to spend is alarming and our elected officials should be held accountable.”
