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September 27, 2009

Here is a wrap-up on the G20 Summit.

On the ground: more »

The Big G20 Demonstration

September 25, 2009

The big "Bail Out The People" demonstration marched through Pittsburgh. There were somewhere between 3-5,000 people. They were peaceful. There was a contingent of anarchists, wearing masks of various types, shouting with raised fists which needless to say made the police really nervous.

I have several photos for you.

Limiting Banker Pay, Plus: Get The Money From Where The Money Went

September 25, 2009

Note - I was working on this post when I saw the news – if accurate – that Obama’s advisor on financial firm compensation Kenneth Feinberg is not going to cap pay or reveal any names. more »

Enforcing the Rule of Trade Law on Illegal Paper Imports

By Leo Gerard

September 25, 2009

My union, the United Steelworkers (USW), and three paper manufacturers will have free traders and editorial boards across the nation sputtering, spitting and name calling again this week.

Obama "Pay Czar" Contradicts G20 Claims

September 25, 2009

This story just hit the news: "Pay czar" will not cap compensation, reveal names. (Apologies for using the idiotic Glenn Beck term "Czar" to describe an adviser to the President, but Reuters felt it was appropriate to use Glenn Beck's framing, so I have to in order to report on it.) more »

G-20 Promises: What They Mean

By Eric Lotke

September 25, 2009

The G-20 Summit is wrapping up today. We can compare its performance to promises made in advance. Leaders discussed financial markets, of course, but they also made promises about jobs and work. Some highlights: more »

Deutsche Bank: Absence of US Clean Energy Policy Will Send Global Capital Elsewhere

From solveclimate.com

September 24th, 2009

solveclimate.com — Deutsche Bank last week released a research note of curious interest just ahead of this busy week of international climate meetings and upcoming Senate action on federal climate law. Called Creating Jobs and Growth: The German Green Experience, it reviewed the policy architecture responsible for Germany's rise as a global clean tech leader over the last decade.

The plot line goes like this: Thanks especially to a mechanism called a "feed-in tariff," Germany has been able to create 300,000 new jobs since 2000 in a booming renewable energy sector, with renewable energy supply more than doubling, jumping from 6.3 percent of total electricity supply in 2000 to 14 percent in 2007. The people of the European nation of 82 million also saw only modest electricity price rises.

Spain's Answer to Unemployment: Go Greener

From washingtonpost.com

September 24th, 2009

washingtonpost.com — As world leaders converge in Pittsburgh for a major economic summit this week, one of the biggest questions they face is this: How do you begin to replace the millions of jobs destroyed by the Great Recession, now that the worst of the crisis has potentially passed?

Here on the sun-drenched and windy Iberian Peninsula, Spain thinks it has an answer: create new jobs and save the Earth at the same time.

Green jobs have become a mantra for many governments, including that of the United States. But few nations are better positioned -- or motivated -- to fuse the fight against recession and global warming than Spain. The country is already a leader in renewable fuels through $30 billion in public support and has been cited by the Obama administration as a model for the creation of a green economy. Spain generates about 24.5 percent of its electricity through renewable sources, compared with about 7 percent in the United States.

G-20 Thursday – CAN The World Govern Itself?

September 24, 2009

A while back I read a blog post by Kim Cranston, of Transparent Democracy, Humanity's Greatest Challenge and Its Solution. That post stuck with me. Kim wrote,

Climate change is not humanity's greatest challenge… more »

What Is Suspicious About China's Under-valued Currency?

By Dean Baker

From prospect.org

September 24th, 2009

prospect.org — In an editorial condemning the temporary tariffs on Chinese tires, the NYT comments that China: "maintains its currency at suspiciously low values against the dollar, artificially cheapening the cost of its exports to the United States." What is "suspicious" in this story?

China maintains a managed exchange rate which is far below market levels. As a result of keeping down the value of its currency, its exports to the United States are far cheaper than what they would be if the Chinese government did not intervene to keep down the value of its currency.