Congressional Credit Card Reform a ‘Charade,’ Consumer Advocate Says

LOS ANGELES, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The credit card legislation passed yesterday by the United States Senate won’t protect consumers against outrageous interest rates or other egregious practices and represents an astounding victory for the banking and credit card industry, a consumer advocate said today.

Harvey Rosenfield, head of the California-based Consumer Education Foundation, noted that under the Senate bill:

* There is no cap on credit card interest rates. In recent months, companies have raised interest rates for some consumers — even those with good credit — to over 30%.
* Companies can raise interest rates on future purchases at any time. The bill only prevents companies from increasing interest rates on previous purchases.
* Credit card companies can unilaterally changes the terms of the credit card contract.
* Companies can still use fine print “arbitration” clauses to prevent consumers from suing them in court.

“This is not ‘reform,’ it’s a charade,” said Rosenfield. “After what American consumers have gone through, they deserve real relief. After all, the banking industry would not exist today were it not for a trillion dollar taxpayer bailout that allows banks to borrow our money from the US Treasury at a fraction of a percentage point and then turn around and loan it to us at twenty to fifty times that rate.”

“The credit card industry’s attempt to portray this as a defeat is just posturing designed to protect its political allies in Washington. As usual, no one in that city seems to be looking out for the interests of the people of our country.”

The Consumer Education Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. In March, it co-published a two hundred page report on the causes of the financial debacle: “Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America.” The report can be downloaded at WallStreetWatch.org.

SOURCE Consumer Education Foundation

Overstock.com Announces Winner of April $10,000 Family Bailout Sweepstakes

Plans to Continue Monthly Sweepstakes Through December 2009

SALT LAKE CITY, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) announced today that Donna Wensch of Chicago, Illinois has won the April 2009 $10,000 Family Bailout Sweepstakes. Overstock.com will pay the $10,000 directly to one or more of Wensch’s qualified creditors.

Wensch is a cancer survivor who has been debilitated by long term effects of chemotherapy, making it difficult for her to stand for long periods of time. She was a small business owner, but gave that up after she fell ill. Wensch plans to use $7,000 of the $10,000 to pay back a family that helped her with her medical bills.

Approximately 250,000 people entered the March sweepstakes. Wensch was selected as the winner according to contest rules. No purchase is necessary for eligibility. To enter go to www.overstock.com/familybailout. Additionally, shoppers will have the choice to opt-in to the contest when purchasing items through Overstock.com.

“We are glad that we can help out Ms. Wensch,” said Patrick Byrne, CEO and Chairman of Overstock.com. “She is certainly deserving and we hope this $10,000 will give her some much needed relief.”

In January of this year Overstock.com created the Family Bailout plan in order to give Overstock.com visitors the chance to pay off their mortgage, credit cards, or other large debts.

“I’ll finally be able to repay those who generously supported me during my tough times,” said Wensch. “Thank you, Overstock.com!”

About Overstock.com

Overstock.com, Inc. is an online retailer offering brand-name merchandise at discount prices. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System and can be found online at http://www.overstock.com. Overstock.com regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on its website under the heading “Investor Relations.”

Overstock.com(R) is a registered trademark of Overstock.com, Inc.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding how the prize will be used, the number of months that the company will run this or similar sweepstakes, and the types of debts on which future winners may use sweepstakes proceeds. Our Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2008, our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or any amendments thereto, and our other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections, estimates or forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Overstock.com, Inc.

SEIU Launches New ‘Keep America Working’ Hotline and Website to Support Workers and Small Business Owners as Big Banks Push to Liquidate

Worker “Sit Ins” Grow as Nearly 1,000 Hartmarx Workers Vote This Week to “Sit In” to Save Their Jobs From Liquidation by Wells Fargo

WASHINGTON, May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) launched a toll-free hotline and Web site — Keep America Working — to support small business owners and workers facing job loss because of frozen credit and liquidation at the hands of bailed out banks. The new hotline number is 877-286-1Job and will be open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT, and the new website is www.keepworkinghotline.org.

As we’ve seen just this week, nearly 1,000 workers at two Hart Schaffner & Marx (Hartmarx) factories voted to “sit in” to save their jobs from liquidation by bailout recipient Wells Fargo. In response to the growing “sit in” phenomenon, SEIU created this hotline and Web site to provide a voice for workers and small businesses similarly trapped by the reckless lending of bailout recipient banks.

“There is a lot of uncertainty at the plant,” said Ruby Sims, a 32-year veteran of the Hart Schaffner & Marx factory in Des Plaines, IL. “All of us are worried about the future. We want Wells Fargo to do the right thing and keep this great company going.”

Up until now, there has been no system in place to hold banks accountable for their lending practices, despite the fact that they have received more than $410 billion in taxpayer bailout funds in an effort to restore lending and get the economy moving. The Keep America Working hotline and Web site will help shed light on the shortsighted practices of big banks who have failed to live up to their responsibilities to taxpayers and are now pushing for company and worker liquidation. The hotline will also connect workers and small business owners with resources to take action and save their jobs.

“Representative Hare and I are working with our colleagues on a letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner to enlist his help in getting Wells Fargo to do the right thing and keep Hartmarx open, save 4,000 jobs and send a clear signal to other banks to do the right thing when they face similar situations,” said Representative Schakowsky. “The whole idea of taxpayer help for the banks was to make sure we were not losing these good jobs, these good union jobs, for people like Ruby and families throughout my district.”

In addition to the hotline, SEIU is dedicating a team to help workers and small business owners take action in their communities and connect them with community activists, neighbors, elected officials and others to raise awareness of the implications of taxpayer bailout banks’ decisions on local employment and economic well-being.

“Wells Fargo has an obligation to do all it can to save Hartmarx and preserve jobs; that is why they received the federal bailout money. It really is pretty simple, they should be a part of the solution – not causing further problems in our economy,” said Tom Balanoff, president of the SEIU Illinois State Council.

Big banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo received hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout funds so they could remain solvent and start lending again to get the economy moving. Instead, they’re freezing loans and putting small businesses in danger of closing. As the unemployment rate soars to over 8.9 percent, workers and businesses need a voice to hold bailout recipient banks accountable for irresponsible financing practices.

“Big banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo need to stop trampling on hardworking Americans and small business owners,” said SEIU President Andy Stern. “Liquidating small businesses is a far cry from putting the economy back on track. It’s time big banks make good on their promise to restore lending and become partners, not adversaries.”

Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, is a union representing more than 150,000 workers in the US and Canada who work in the laundry, food service, hospitality, gaming, apparel, textiles manufacturing and distribution industries. Workers United is a new union with a history of more than 100 years, and includes members from many predecessor unions, including the ILGWU, ACTWU, UNITE and UNITE HERE unions.

SEIU – With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers–not just corporations and CEOs–benefit from today’s global economy.

SOURCE Service Employees International Union

Sen. Max Baucus: Answer 10 Questions About Mandatory Purchase of Health Insurance Including Why the Public Was Excluded From Today’s Committee Meeting

WASHINGTON, May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Senate Finance Committee, in closed-door health care discussions today, must answer ten questions about how its plan to require all Americans to show proof of insurance or face tax penalties will provide affordable health care, said Consumer Watchdog.

Questions listed below. Download Consumer Watchdog’s letter to Senator Baucus here: http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org/resources/BaucusClosedMeeting.pdf

In a letter to Senator Baucus sent today, Consumer Watchdog wrote:

“Americans should not be locked out of any discussion about health care reform, particularly one that will consider whether everyone should be required to buy health insurance policies without any limits on what insurers can charge. Mandatory purchases of private insurance policies without offering a public alternative to the private market is nothing other than a bailout for HMOs — whose greed, waste and indifference to our health have created the current mess.

“There’s no mention of cost-cutting in the Senate Finance Committee’s ‘policy options’ document being discussed in today’s closed meeting — no regulation of HMO premiums, no limits on how much consumers will have to pay out of their own pocket in co-pays or deductibles.”

Earlier this week, the Senate Finance Committee circulated a “policy options” white paper to be discussed in today’s meeting, which excludes members of the media and public. The senate finance document makes the president’s promised “public option” to the private insurance market optional, and does not include cost controls.

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has received more campaign contributions from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries than any other current Democratic member of the House or Senate; the third highest contributions of any member of Congress.

Consumer Watchdog posed the following 10 questions to Senator Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee, and members of Congress about the affordability of the mandatory purchase of insurance policies:

1. Senate rules appear to only allow committees to meet in closed session under very limited circumstances, including discussions concerning national defense and protection of trade secrets, none of which appear to apply to today’s meeting. What Senate rule justifies today’s closed-door committee meeting?
2. Why have you offered such deference to the top lobbyists of the insurance industry, which bears a large share of the responsibility for the current health care crisis, while locking consumers and consumer advocates out of the debate?
3. The only guaranteed provision in the “policy options” report is that every American would have to file proof of an insurance policy with their tax returns on April 15, 2013 or face tax penalties. How does threatening Americans with tax penalties lead to affordable health care?
4. If there are no limits on how much an insurance company can charge for the coverage that Americans will be required to buy, how can you promise that it will be affordable?
5. Your policy options do not adequately protect Americans against low-benefit, junk insurance that fails to provide access to necessary benefits and does not limit out-of-pocket expenses (co-pays and deductibles) when patients get sick. How does “owning” an insurance policy under these circumstances equal being able to get health care?
6. There are documented cases of insured people facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills. Without a cap on out-of-pocket expenses, how can you prevent this?
7. Your report says that, with few exceptions, hefty tax penalties will be levied against Americans that don’t either purchase coverage or get it through their job. Is it true that only Christian Scientists would avoid tax penalties without having to prove their income?
8. One of the options that the committee is considering is to not require any employers to chip in for health insurance. Why isn’t the committee considering an option where Americans would not be forced to buy coverage?
9. Your plan focuses on “wellness” services. But if patients face a $5000 deductible how will they pay for treatment for severe obesity, diabetes prevention, or even effective smoking cessation?
10. Your plan does not clearly protect state laws providing access to necessary health care services like a California woman’s right to visit an OB-GYN, a New Jersey child’s access to a Hepatitis B inoculation, a Tennessee patient’s coverage for diabetes treatment, and other benefits including screenings for cervical and prostate cancers. Will states be allowed to require additional health benefits beyond those required under federal rules, or will federal rules pre-empt more expansive state benefits?

** Read Consumer Watchdog’s letter to President Obama and Sens. Kennedy and Baucus warning them not to agree to agree to the health insurers’ plan to gut state health care laws. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=27228

** Read Consumer Watchdog’s letter to U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) urging that he continue to protect patients consistent with the principles he has articulated during his 40 year career. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=26398

** Read Consumer Watchdog’s analysis of health insurer and drug company contributions to members of Congress. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=25468

** Read about a recent national poll that found that 65% of voters support giving every American of any age the option of joining Medicare; 60% are willing to pay more in payroll deductions for this option. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=24826

** Read about a national poll that found, by contrast, that only 16% of U.S. voters support, and 53% oppose, the insurance industries’ plan of requiring every American to provide proof of private health insurance or face tax penalties or other fines. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=24110

Consumer Watchdog is a non-profit and non-partisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, D.C. and Santa Monica, California. For more information, visit us on the web at: http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog

Lilly Chairman & CEO Lechleiter Says Innovation Is Vital-But-Missing Plank in Health Reform Debate

Eli Lilly and Company logo. (PRNewsFoto)

INDIANAPOLIS, IN UNITED STATES

Chamber of Commerce Speech Tackles Policy Issues, from Personalized Medicine to Biosimilars

WASHINGTON, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — In remarks before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today, John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) said that federal policymakers’ attention to access, quality and costs in health reform should also include a focus on innovation – or the results could include “unintended side-effects.” Innovation, he said, helped boost the average American’s life expectancy from 47 to 78 years, a rise of 66 percent over the past century and “unprecedented in human history.” In his keynote speech before a group of business, government and health care representatives, Lechleiter identified specific policy proposals and their implications for patients and for developing breakthrough treatments and cures.

“Encouraging innovation needs to be the purpose of U.S. health care reform, not its victim,” Lechleiter said. “It’s innovation that explains why we are the healthiest, longest-lived and wealthiest human beings ever to occupy the planet.”

But, he asserted, if heath care reform does not encourage innovation, “then the important goals of expanding access, improving quality and controlling costs will prove illusory.”

He cited a Columbia University study that analyzed data from 52 countries and showed that, controlling for other factors, the availability of new medicines alone accounted for 40 percent of the increase in life expectancy during the 1980s and 1990s. He said the medical advances of the past century that made life-expectancy and quality-of-life gains possible included the invention of:

* Antibiotics to cure infections
* Vaccines that have nearly eradicated several conditions, such as polio
* Effective treatments for a growing number of cancers, and
* Medications that have lessened the toll of a number of dreaded diseases, such that they are now considered chronic, manageable conditions.

He then observed, “The economic payback from these gains is difficult to overstate. The payback is years of productive work, economic value added, consumer spending and tax dollars paid – which together outweighs the costs of treatment overwhelmingly – even if you resist the idea of putting a number on the intrinsic value of being alive.”

Lechleiter expressed hope for similar future gains, but he pointed to major bellwethers warning that innovation is at risk:

* The pharmaceutical industry, he said, is “in the midst of a wave of defensive consolidations that will leave the world with even fewer entities capable of taking an idea — a discovery — and turning it into a medicine approved for patients.”
* “Half of the smaller biotech firms in the U.S. have less than a year of [operating] cash remaining, and a third are down to their last six months”; and
* Recent FDA new drug approvals have dropped sharply relative to the past 30 years.

Lechleiter rounded out his speech with a closer look at several areas of public policy under which, depending on the path taken in health reform, innovation will be enhanced or curbed.

Prefacing his policy prescriptions, he said: “When it comes to sustaining innovation, the burden remains on us — as it should. We’re not asking for a handout or a bailout. Instead, businesses that live or die by health care innovation in the U.S. ask only that we be allowed to continue doing just that: proving the value of what we’ve developed or failing in the marketplace.”

He urged all stakeholders engaged in health reform to ensure that:

* The value of medicines is evaluated by doctors and patients, who, when properly informed, can choose from the available alternatives a drug that’s medically appropriate and best for the individual patient;
* Innovators get a return on investment that accurately reflects the value of the innovations delivered, thus encouraging investment in new treatments and cures for patients; and
* Innovators retain ownership, for a reasonable period of time, of their intellectual property, to provide the necessary incentives for risk-taking that leads to innovation.

Such an approach to public policy, he contended, would usher in:

* An era of “personalized medicine,” which would tap the insights of the Human Genome Project and replace the usual one-size-fits-all approach;
* Market-based health reforms, including access to insurance for all Americans, supported by public subsidies and tax credits rather than a government-run option;
* Solid comparative effectiveness research that informs on the benefits, risks and costs of various treatment options but that does not trump physician judgment, deny patients access to needed treatments or mandate prices;
* A 14-year data protection period for biologic drugs, which balances the prospect of a return on investment with a clear path to lower-cost copies. The bipartisan “Pathways for Biosimilars Act” in Congress takes this approach.

Lechleiter spoke as part of the Chamber of Commerce’s National Chamber Foundation CEO Leadership Series.

About Lilly

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers – through medicines and information – for some of the world’s most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO )

C-LLY

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company

SEIU to Launch ‘Keep America Working’ Hotline & Website

National Campaign will Support Small Business Owners and Workers Facing Job Loss as Ailing Banks Deny Credit, Push for Company Liquidation

Historic Factory ‘Sit In’ Grows as Hart Schaffner & Marx Workers in Second Factory this Week Vote to ‘Sit In’ to Save their Jobs from Liquidation by Bailout Recipient Wells Fargo…

WASHINGTON, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — This Thursday, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will hold a telephone press conference announcing the creation of a toll-free hotline and website — Keep America Working — to support small business owners and workers facing job loss across the country.

Big banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo received more than $410 billion in taxpayer bailout funds so they could remain solvent and start lending again to get the economy moving. Instead, they’re freezing loans and putting small businesses in danger of closing their doors and putting workers in the unemployment line.

The Keep America Working Hotline represents an opportunity for workers and small business owners to preemptively protect jobs in our communities and hold taxpayer-financed banks accountable for actions that undercut a meaningful economic recovery.

WHEN: Thursday, May 14, 2009, 1:30 pm EDT/12:30 pm CDT

WHERE: Telephone Press Conference, (800) 398-9398, “Workers United/SEIU Keep America Working Call”

WHO: Rep. Jan Schakowsky; Andy Stern, SEIU President; Tom Balanoff, SEIU Illinois State Council President; Ruby Simms, 32-year veteran of the Hart Schaffner & Marx factory in Des Plaines, IL

Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, is a union representing more than 150,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada who work in the laundry, food service, hospitality, gaming, apparel, textiles manufacturing and distribution industries. Workers United is a new union with a history of more than 100 years, and includes members from many predecessor unions, including the ILGWU, ACTWU, UNITE and UNITE HERE unions.

SEIU – With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers — not just corporations and CEOs — benefit from today’s global economy.

SOURCE Service Employees International Union

Charts On Federal Spending, Taxes Make For Wealth of Data to Share

WASHINGTON, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Would President Obama’s budget plan increase deficit spending much more than other modern presidents? How much and how fast would the national debt go up under Obama’s budget? Is it true that amid all the government spending, the defense budget would fall to what it was before the 9/11 attacks?

Taxpayers will find clear answers to these questions about the new administration, along with other tax and budget trends important to ordinary Americans, in the 2009 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts. An updated and expanded edition of the popular online resource from The Heritage Foundation, it includes 37 easy-to-follow information graphics.

New features include an interactive “flash” graphic that dramatically shows that the more Americans earn, the higher their portion of total federal taxes. Click on the image, for instance, to see that the top 10 percent of earners pay 71 percent of the taxes. The bottom 50 percent pay 3 percent.

Visitors to heritage.org/BudgetChartBook, the custom Web site for the Book of Charts, may download, post or e-mail any of the charts and graphs, as well as click on links to related Heritage research and analysis. Visitors can quickly bookmark, embed and share the data they want through Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds and other applications.

“More than ever, interested taxpayers — as well as journalists and members of Congress — will find the Book of Charts the go-to site for details on federal spending and taxes, whether past, present or projected,” says Nicola Moore, assistant director of Heritage’s Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies.

Also new are charts that show:

* Tax rates must be doubled if Congress doesn’t reform Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
* Massive bailouts pale next to trillions of dollars promised, but not funded, under those “Big Three” entitlements.
* “Stimulus” spending by Obama and Congress fattened an already bloated federal budget.

Heritage researchers, analysts and graphic artists annually prepare, revise and update the spending and revenue charts.

Some of this year’s charts provide answers to the questions above: Under the Obama plan, deficit spending would spurt to seven times what it was under President Kennedy over 45 years ago, far outpacing any other president since. Publicly held national debt would more than double in 10 years, to 82.4 percent of economic output (GDP), by far the highest level since World War II. Defense spending under the Obama budget, though, would fall from 4.7 percent of GDP to the pre-9/11 level of 3 percent.

With the Obama administration and a new Congress in control of the purse strings, the 2009 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts is ready to be mined by news reporters, commentators, congressional staff, students of public policy, netroots activists — anyone concerned or curious about the government’s worsening borrow-and-spend addiction.

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with 440,000 individual, foundation and corporate donors. Founded in 1973, it has a staff of 244 and an annual expense budget of more than $60 million.

SOURCE The Heritage Foundation

No Economic Recovery in Sight, Only Inflation

FORT LEE, N.J., May 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Inflation Association yesterday released the following statement to its http://inflation.us members:

“Wall Street would like you to believe that the Dow Jones’ recent 33% rally from March’s low is due to improving economic fundamentals, but it is our belief this rally is due to nothing but inflation.

“Jobs data released on Friday shows that U.S. employers cut 539,000 jobs in April, the fewest since October. However, these numbers were artificially strong due to the U.S. government increasing their payrolls by 72,000, which included the hiring of about 60,000 temporary workers in preparation for the 2010 census.

“Government jobs are non-productive jobs that normally get paid for by taxpayers. However, because the U.S. already has a huge budget deficit with tax revenues likely to decline substantially, these jobs will be paid for through inflation. An increase in government jobs is not a sign that the economy is improving, but only a sign that we are digging our economy into a deeper hole that will ultimately lead to the U.S. dollar collapsing.

“Even Warren Buffett, who is a huge supporter of Obama and has defended his economic policies, said last week that with political leaders showing little inclination to raise taxes, the only way to pay for excess spending will be by inflating the currency and shrinking the value of the dollar.

“The worst of the recession is not behind us. Nominally, anything can happen to the Dow Jones. If the Federal Reserve prints enough money, the Dow Jones could go back to 14,000, but it won’t mean anything if it costs $2,000 to fill your refrigerator with groceries.

“When the Dow Jones fell below 6,500 in March, we were at a point where everybody was afraid to own stocks; but we were telling you that the biggest risk was holding onto U.S. dollars. When you own shares of a stock, at least you own an actual percentage of a company. When you own U.S. dollars, you own a piece of paper that is backed by nothing but faith and confidence that it will always be accepted as money.

“By the Federal Reserve printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, Americans are beginning to lose their confidence in the U.S. dollar and the chart of the U.S. dollar index has been starting to break down. Soon, everybody will be afraid to own dollars and the longer the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates at 0-0.25%, the greater the chances are that hyperinflation is in our future.

“The only way to determine the true value of the Dow Jones is priced in gold. Today, the Dow Jones is worth 9.35 ounces of gold. In 1980, the last time we had an inflationary crisis like the one we are rapidly approaching, the Dow Jones reached a low of 1 ounce of gold.

“It is impossible to predict how high gold will go. Our guess is gold will probably reach $5,000 per ounce and the Dow Jones will fall to around 5,000 within the next 5 years, but there are many other ways we could forecast the potential value of gold besides the Dow/Gold ratio.

“Gold’s high in 1980 of $850 per ounce would be approximately $2,300 per ounce in today’s dollars. However, in 1980 we were the world’s largest creditor nation. Today, we are the world’s largest debtor nation so surely we believe gold is going a lot higher than $2,300 per ounce.

“Gold started the 1970’s at only $35 per ounce and when it reached $850 in 1980 it equaled a percentage gain during the decade-long bull market of 2,329%. Gold’s low in 2001 was $256 per ounce. If we see gold make the same percentage gain during its current bull market, we will be looking at $6,200 per ounce gold.

“Another way to calculate the potential value of gold: the U.S. currently has $1.56 trillion in M1 money supply, which measures the most liquid forms of money held by the public and includes currency, checking accounts, travelers checks, and other deposits against which checks can be written. If the U.S. decided to make each dollar redeemable by the amount of gold it possesses (286.9 million ounces) it would value gold at $5,437 per ounce.

“NIA believes gold prices must go up. Total bailout commitments by the Federal Reserve and Treasury have now reached $13.4 trillion of which $2.9 trillion has already been spent. Most of this money is being hoarded on the sidelines but soon we believe Americans will rush to spend their dollars all at once. With all of the corruption in stocks and real estate, precious metals will be the only asset class Americans will trust to store their wealth.

“In our opinion, the current bubble in the U.S. treasury market is bigger than the dot-com and real estate bubbles at their peaks combined. When the U.S. dollar starts to crash, we believe the boom in precious metals will be bigger than the dot-com and real estate booms combined; but unlike those booms, gold and silver prices could remain at a permanently high plateau because there won’t be any way to reverse the effects of inflation.”

Please spread the word about NIA and have your friends subscribe for free at http://inflation.us.

About us:

The National Inflation Association is an organization that is dedicated to preparing Americans for hyperinflation. The NIA offers free membership at http://www.inflation.us and provides its members with articles about the economy and inflation, news stories, important charts not shown by the mainstream media; YouTube videos featuring Jim Rogers, Marc Faber, Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and others; and profiles of gold, silver, and agriculture companies that we believe could prosper in an inflationary environment.

Contact: Gerard Adams
1-888-99-NIA US (+1-888-996-4287)
Staff:
Editor@inflation.us

SOURCE National Inflation Association

Chicago-area Factory Making President Obama’s Suits is Threatened with Closure by Bailout Recipient Wells Fargo

Union Workers Rally and Hold Historic “Sit In” Vote to Save their Jobs at Hartmarx Corp.

“Wells Fargo has received $25 billion in taxpayer assistance through TARP. In other words, the workers Wells Fargo may throw out on the street have been subsidizing its operations during these tough economic times. So much for returning the favor.” – Congressman Phil Hare

500 Hartmarx Workers Will Be Joined by SEIU President Andy Stern, Rep. Phil Hare, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias & Other State, National Leaders

CHICAGO, May 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — This Monday, May 11, 500 workers at the Chicago-based apparel firm Hart Schaffner & Marx will hold a rally and historic “sit in” vote to fight for their jobs as major lender and TARP fund recipient Wells Fargo & Co. pushes for a bankruptcy closure of the facility.

Mirroring the struggle of 250 Republic Windows and Doors workers who succeeded at saving their jobs last December, Hartmarx workers, members of the union Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, are receiving growing support from state and national leaders who are slamming Wells Fargo — a $25 billion taxpayer bailout recipient — for shortsightedly refusing to invest in U.S. companies and workers. Illinois Treasurer Giannoulias has vowed “Unless the company remains open, [Wells Fargo] will not be doing business with the state of Illinois any longer.”

The Hartmarx workers’ struggle sounds the alarm on what could be a firestorm of job losses and company closures perpetuated by U.S. financial institutions. Ruby Sims who has worked at Hartmarx for 31 years states “I can’t believe that a bank that got some of this [TARP] money would turn around and do us like this.”

In an effort to hold banks that have received over $450 billion in taxpayer bailout funds accountable for mounting costs to U.S. workers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will announce the formation of a toll-free hotline to gather stories of workers hurt by shortsighted banking practices at Wells Fargo and other financial institutions.

Chicago-based Hartmarx, the largest menswear manufacturing company in the nation, filed for bankruptcy protection in January after U.S. banks curtailed its lines of credit. The clothing maker employs 3,500 across the nation, with about 1,000 of its employees located in Rock Island and suburban Des Plaines where suits for President Obama are made.

WHEN:    Monday, May 11th at 10:00 a.m.-Noon CDT; Press Conference at
11:00 a.m. CDT

WHERE:   Hart Schaffner & Marx factory, 1680 E. Touhy in Des Plaines.

**Reporters and camera crews will be allowed to observe an up or
down vote on a “sit in” and interview workers afterwards. No
one will be allowed inside the plant after 10:45 a.m. A rally
will follow.

WHO:     500+ Hartmarx suitmakers, SEIU President Andy Stern, Rep. Phil
Hare, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, other state and
national leaders.

Workers United, an SEIU affiliate, is a union representing more than 150,000 workers in the US and Canada who work in the laundry, food service, hospitality, gaming, apparel, textiles manufacturing and distribution industries. Workers United is a the new incarnation of the former ILGWU, ACTWU, UNITE and UNITE HERE unions.

SEIU – With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers — not just corporations and CEOs — benefit from today’s global economy.

SOURCE Workers United

Opportunities Abound for Disaster Reconstruction Industry Professionals with the NDRExpo’s Conference Line-up

ATLANTA, May 28 /PRNewswire/ — Comprising the National Disaster Reconstruction Expo’s (NDRExpo) conference program are the country’s foremost experts in the disaster reconstruction industry. The keynote speakers and session facilitators represent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), among many other top industry organizations. The NDRExpo launches June 17-18, 2009 at the Morial New Orleans Convention Center.

“Our keynotes not only reflect our industry today, they are creating the industry of tomorrow,” said Jimmy Mouton, president of Imago Trade Shows, the producer of the NDRExpo. “What these speakers have to share is far too important to risk admission fees discouraging those who work to rebuild our communities after catastrophic events from attending, so we are waiving the general session and expo hall registration fees.”

As Director of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office for FEMA, Mr. Tony Russell will educate attendees on the changes in FEMA since Hurricane Katrina. He will also review planned programs and policies, including new primary threats and challenges and how these will affect contractor procurement by state and local authorities in preparation and response.

Mr. Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, serves as the governor’s representative to FEMA and the state’s chief hurricane recovery advisor. Leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history, Rainwater partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape, and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before. His keynote will address these efforts and seek to identify professional opportunities.

Mr. T. Bradley Keith has worked with New Orleans’ Senator Landrieu through her Gulf Coast recovery efforts. He will share insights of the team in securing federal recovery dollars, the changes that have been essential for the State of Louisiana in preparing for and responding to catastrophic events, and the role of the private contractor.

Additional highlights include LtCol. Jerry Sneed, of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and Ms. Jennifer Smither of LLIS.gov. A full conference schedule can be found at www.NDRExpo.com/Conferenceagenda.html.

ABOUT IMAGO PRODUCTIONS, INC.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Imago Productions, Inc. is the parent company of Imago Trade Shows and Imago Management Services. Imago Trade Shows focuses on the launch, growth and management of trade show properties within markets affecting communities and the interests of communal citizens.

ABOUT BNP MEDIA

BNP Media serves industry professionals by delivering useful, timely and accurate information through magazines, websites, conferences and events. BNP writes, produces and publishes more than 60 business-to-business publications. Founded in 1926, BNP Media is a fourth-generation, family-run business headquartered in Troy, Michigan.

MEDIA CONTACT
Jimmy Mouton
Imago Productions, Inc.
T. 770-645-0046
jmouton@imagotradeshows.com

SOURCE Imago Productions, Inc.