Free Republic

Burdened by credit card debt? It may not be your fault. Sen. Barack Obama says in many cases, the credit card companies are to blame for "pushing" financially strapped Americans "over the edge." The banking industry disagrees. In a speech in Chicago Wednesday, Obama outlined his plan to "build an economy that works for all Americans." He spoke mostly about personal credit card debt, which he views as a problem with a government solution. Obama says the sour economy is forcing Americans to put more and more of their debt onto credit cards. (The American Banking Association on its Web...

There has been a lot of talk in the news recently about the Federal Reserve and the actions it has taken over the past few months. Many media pundits have been bending over backwards to praise the Fed for supposedly restoring stability to the market. This interpretation of the Fed's actions couldn't be further from the truth. The current market crisis began because of Federal Reserve monetary policy during the early 2000s in which the Fed lowered the interest rate to a below-market rate. The artificially low rates led to overinvestment in housing and other malinvestments. When the first indications...

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) - Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said the economy is beginning to slide into recession and that it's time for the United States to reduce its dependence on foreign lenders. Speaking to a raucous group of supporters on Tuesday in this heavily Hispanic farming town on the central coast, the New York senator tried to energize this key Democratic constituency before the state's Feb. 5 primary. With red-shirted United Farm Worker union members behind her, Clinton gave a downbeat assessment of the economy and said she would bring fiscal responsibility back to the White House. ''We know...

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 102, which represents the deputies of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, plans to fight Sheriff Chuck Jenkins' moonlighting policy in court. Set to take effect Sunday, the policy prohibits the county's roughly 175 deputies from wearing their sheriff's office uniforms or having their patrol vehicles with them while doing secondary security jobs, practices that have been permitted for more than a dozen years. The decision to take legal action occurred Thursday night during a special meeting in Middletown called by FOP President William Folden to discuss the new policy. "After full deliberations, a motion was...

Charity Navigator is a free, independent charity evaluator, working to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of more than 2500 of America's largest charities. Factors considered are: ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY (Fundraising Efficiency, Fundraising Expenses, Program Expenses, Administration Expenses) and ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY (Primary Revenue Growth, Program Expenses Growth, Working Capital Ratio) For example, some United Way agencies rate much higher (4 stars) than others (2 stars). Lower-rated charities spend more donation money on administration, while higher-rated ones spend less.

National Grange Legislative Action Alert 2003A special update of timely issues for e-mail subscribers to"View from the Hill" 2/26/2003 Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Minnesota Should Stay Open! Under the 15% Funding Cut of the budget of the Minnesota Historical Society in the MN Governor Tim Pawlenty’s Proposed FY 2004-2005 Budget, Oliver H. Kelley Farm Will be Closed on June 30, 2003. Since 1962 The National Grange Has Worked with the Minnesota Historical Society to Develop and Maintain the Kelley Farm as an Educational Living History Farm that Celebrates Grange Heritage. Please Contact the Members of the MN House of...