Tag: Donald Trump

Barney Frank blames crypto panic for his bank’s collapse. Elizabeth Warren blames Trump.

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/13/barney-frank-signature-bank-collapse-warren-trump-00086765

Excerpt:

From his front-row seat, [Barney Frank] blames Signature’s failure on a panic that began with last year’s cryptocurrency collapse — his bank was one of few that served the industry — compounded by a run triggered by the failure of tech-focused Silicon Valley Bank late last week. Frank disputes that a bipartisan regulatory rollback signed into law by former President Donald Trump in 2018 had anything to do with it, even if it was driven by a desire to ease regulation of mid-size and regional banks like his own.

“I don’t think that had any impact,” Frank said in an interview. “They hadn’t stopped examining banks.”

But Warren, a fellow Massachusetts Democrat who designed landmark consumer safeguards that ended up in Frank’s 2010 banking law, is placing the blame firmly on the Trump-era changes that relaxed oversight of some banks and says Signature is a prime example of the fallout. Warren argues that, had Congress and the Federal Reserve not rolled back stricter oversight, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature would have been better able to withstand financial shocks.

Author(s): ZACHARY WARMBRODT

Publication Date: 13 Mar 2023

Publication Site: Politico

Trump has been receiving presidential pension since January: report

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/554197-trump-has-been-receiving-presidential-pension-since-january-report

Excerpt:

Former President Trump has been receiving a presidential pension since he left office in January, Business Insider reported Tuesday 

A spokesperson for the General Services Administration confirmed to Insider that Trump has been paid $65,000 in presidential pension payments through May 14. 

Former presidents are entitled to receive pensions after their terms under the Former Presidents Act, which Congress passed in 1958 largely in response to former President Truman’s financial troubles after leaving office in 1953.

Author(s): OLAFIMIHAN OSHIN

Publication Date: 18 May 2021

Publication Site: The Hill

The Heroic Congressional Fight to Save the Rich

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-heroic-congressional-fight-to

Graphic:

Excerpt:

However, the SALT cap didn’t so much go after “Democrats” as “affluent Democrats.” It only applied to people who itemize their taxes, which meant the 90% of Americans who take the standard deduction were unaffected. The deduction raised over $70 billion in just the first year, and roughly 56% of that money came just from the top 1% of taxpayers, living in a few states in particular.

The tax nastygram seemed directed at Trump’s hometown delegation. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in April of 2017 complained about the cost of protecting “Trump and his family here in NYC”; the SALT cap affected 19% of Maloney’s constituents in Brooklyn and on the Upper East Side, and taxpayers in that 19% each lost an average of $100,405 in breaks. Chuck Schumer, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, personally took over $58,000 in SALT deductions just in 2016.

Overall, 39 of the 40 districts most affected by the SALT cap were represented by Democrats. Of those, 28 came from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Also affected: Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district, where residents lost an average of $53,471 of write-offs. Trump’s campaign promises to take on “elites” proved phony, except when he was able to effect this targeted partisan strike at the people he knew and hated the most: rich, socially liberal Democrats, especially ones from the tri-state area.

Author(s): Matt Taibbi

Publication Date: 23 April 2021

Publication Site: TK News at substack

Wall Street wants to end Trump-era ESG fund rule for 401(k) plans

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/04/wall-street-wants-to-end-trump-era-esg-fund-rule-for-401k-plans.html

Excerpt:

The Labor Department issued a rule in October, during the Trump administration, that experts say would curb use of ESG funds in 401(k) plans.

Money managers and other stakeholders are pushing the Biden administration to scrap the rule or agree not to enforce it, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Investor demand for ESG funds has grown significantly. 401(k) plans represent a big untapped growth source.

Author(s): Greg Iacurci

Publication Date: 4 March 2021

Publication Site: CNBC

Wall Street Lobbies to Bring More ESG Funds Into 401(k)s

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-lobbies-to-bring-more-esg-funds-into-401-k-s-11614767400?mod=djemwhatsnews

Excerpt:

Money managers are lobbying to scrap a Trump-era rule that makes it difficult for 401(k) plans to invest in socially focused funds.

The Labor Department rule, announced in October, imposed restrictions on what can and can’t be offered as company 401(k) funds. One result is that plans can’t use funds with nonfinancial goals as default investments for employees.

That means 401(k) overseers and managers need to show that environmental, social and governance strategies can boost financial returns—a challenge for the nascent industry. ESG-focused funds are a growing profit center for asset managers.

Lobbyists representing managers, pensions and retirees began making calls to the Biden transition team in the weeks after the rule was announced. Some lobbyists urged the incoming administration to agree not to enforce the rule and place it under review, said people familiar with the matter.

Author(s): Dawn Lim

Publication Date: 2 March 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal

Explainer: Why Trump’s post-presidency perks, like a pension and office, are safe for the rest of his life

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-benefits-explai/explainer-why-trumps-post-presidency-perks-like-a-pension-and-office-are-safe-for-the-rest-of-his-life-idUSKBN29W2DD

Excerpt:

CAN PRESIDENTS BE STRIPPED OF THESE BENEFITS?

Yes, but only if they are removed from office during their presidency, said Brian Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University. Being impeached by the House of Representatives does not impact the benefits.

Many lawmakers and public figures called for Trump’s removal from office during the final days of his presidency, but he avoided this fate, so the benefits are safe.

There is one caveat: the law could always change. Some advocates say the Former Presidents Act is an unnecessary cost, arguing that modern-day presidents have lucrative opportunities and do not need the public’s help after stepping down.

Author(s): Jan Wolfe

Publication Date: 27 January 2021

Publication Site: Reuters

Cuomo aide admits they hid nursing home data so feds wouldn’t find out

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2021/02/11/cuomo-aide-admits-they-hid-nursing-home-data-from-feds/

Excerpt:

Governor Cuomo’s top aide privately apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state’s nursing-home death toll from COVID-19 — telling them “we froze” out of fear the true numbers would “be used against us” by federal prosecutors, The Post has learned.

The stunning admission of a cover-up was made by Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa during a video conference call with state Democratic leaders in which she said the Cuomo administration had rebuffed a legislative request for the tally in August because “right around the same time, [then-President Donald Trump] turns this into a giant political football,” according to an audio recording of the two-hour-plus meeting.

Author(s): Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile and Bruce Golding

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: NY Post

SAG-AFTRA Suspends Annual Dues Hike & Approves New “Influencers” Contract As Factions Continue To Fight Over Health Care & Governance

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://deadline.com/2021/02/sag-aftra-suspends-annual-dues-hike-approves-new-influencers-contract-as-factions-continue-to-fight-over-health-care-governance-1234689267/

Graph:

Excerpt:

In his letter of resignation, Trump wrote: “Who cares! I no longer wish to be associated with your union. As such, this letter is to inform you of my immediate resignation from SAG-AFTRA. You have done nothing for me.” That claim, however, is belied by the fact that he receives nearly $100,000 a year in SAG-AFTRA pensions. According to a financial disclosure report he filed in August, he receives a $90,776 pension for the acting work he performed on SAG-covered shows and an $8,724 pension for his AFTRA-covered work.

Author(s): David Robb

Publication Date: 7 February 2021

Publication Site: Deadline