Will Pete Peterson’s Half a Billion Bucks Buy a New Recession?

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/22-1


Pete G. Peterson has thus far committed about $500 million of his fortune to the campaign on deficits. (File photo)

The “sequester” – mindless, across-the-board spending cuts designed purposefully to be abhorrent to both political parties – now seems likely to go into effect on March 1. If not reversed, we will see the degrading of all government services from food inspection to airport controls, as mass furloughs – 20-30 day forced absences without pay – shudder agencies.

The sequester cuts added to spending cuts and tax increases already scheduled will slow growth and cost jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office and most economic analysis. Government austerity has already contributed to the worst recovery in post-World War II history. In Europe, austerity has driven the economies back into recession, with the countries enforcing the harshest cuts suffering the most.

Why would the U.S. repeat this folly, despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund and Federal Reserve officials? Every calamity has many authors – Obama’s premature turn to deficit reduction in 2009, the Tea Party zealots, a hapless and clueless Republican congressional leadership and more.

Pete Peterson’s Mighty Wurlitzer

One major contribution comes from the money and monomania of Pete Peterson, a Wall Street billionaire who has committed about half a billion bucks rousing hysteria about deficits and debt. On Thursday, The Nation magazine and the Center for Media and Democracy are releasing an expose of Peterson and his latest front, the Fix the Debt coalition, with a new resource detailing the background at the center’s SourceWatch.org.

[hedda_foil]

1. Incredible new info. Tons of background research like who's behind Simpson and Bowles

New America Foundation Funded by Peterson and a Raft of Fix the Debt Firms

NAF, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), reported $16.8 million in revenue on its last publicly available federal tax filing in 2010.[8] It is not certain how or if it will disclose the $60 million being raised for Fix the Debt. In October of 2012, three months after its launch, Fix the Debt newly incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in Delaware.[9]

NAF is also funded by many of the top Fortune 500 companies that would benefit from the tax breaks being pushed by Fix the Debt. For instance, Microsoft's Bill Gates gave more than $1 million to NAF in 2011 through his foundation, as did Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, who now chairs NAF's board.[10] According to a 2012 report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), Microsoft would be one of the big winners if the United States switched to a territorial tax system of the type advocated by Fix the Debt, shaving some $19 billion off the taxes it pays to fund the United States government.[11]

Many NAF donors are also on Fix the Debt's CEO Council, including: Aetna, BlackRock, Google, Humana, UnitedHealth Group, United Parcel Service, Wal-Mart, and Merck.[10] NAF board member Steve Rattner is on the steering committee of Fix the Debt, as are CRFB board members Erskine Bowles, lobbyists Vic Fazio and Jim Nussle, and Alan Simpson.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Fix_the_Debt%27s_Partner_Groups

[xchrom]

2. +1

[marmar]

3. k/r

[ProfessionalLeftist]

4. More on Pete Peterson and the "Fix the Debt" gang - Pete Peterson Pyramid

From PRWatch and The Nation, who also helped expose ALEC....here is their rundown on Pete Peterson:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Portal:Fix_the_Debt

[hedda_foil]

5. Wow! Thanks very much.

[socialist_n_TN]

9. Yeah, that's pretty awesome. I especially liked that bottom one......

The one marked "American Public".

[newfie11]

6. We are screwed!

Unless your a millionaire or billionaire

[tk2kewl]

7. dooosh extraordinaire!

fuck him

[freshwest]

8. Recesssions are so profitable they're engineered as often as possible.

The great fortunes of today were made during those periods, it's like the motherlode of profit taking we accept everyday. We have to find a better way to run things outside this practice or millions will suffer and demagogues and theocrats will rule us. Which is the best way of accumulating wealth for centuries.