Research

Today, The Marietta Times Reports That FirstEnergy Corp. Will Close Three Power Plants Because Of Costly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regulations, Affecting 105 Jobs. “The Willow Island Power Station in Pleasants County is one of three aging coal-fired power plants in West Virginia that will be shut down later this year, FirstEnergy Corp. announced Wednesday. Its subsidiary Monongahela Power will be retiring Willow island, the Albright Power Station in Preston County and the Rivesville Power Station in Marion County by Sept. 1. The company said 105 employees will be affected. The decision was based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which were recently finalized, and other environmental regulations.” (Brett Dunlap, “FirstEnergy Closing Power Plant,” Marietta Times, 2/9/12)

NOTE: Weeks Ago, EPA Regulations Led FirstEnergy To Announce It Was Shutting Down Plants In Ohio, Pennsylvania, And Maryland, Threatening 529 Jobs. “In ... more

This Morning, Obama Campaign Tells Politico That Klein “The Minute He Became A Lobbyist … Stopped Raising Money For The Campaign.”

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/02/ron-klein-out-the-minute-he-started-lobbying-obama-113863.html

The Obama campaign says that Ron Klein, former Democratic congressman from Florida, turned Obama stalwart, turned lobbyist, is out as a bundler after registering as a lobbyist for Spirit Airlines in early January. “The minute he became a lobbyist, he stopped raising money for the campaign,” a senior Obama for America official tells POLITICO. “He’s no longer associated with the campaign.” … The official said Klein raised all of the cash prior to Dec. 31, 2011, meaning he never raised money as a lobbyist — and also meaning they don't have to return the estimated $200,000 to $500,000 he raked in.

This Afternoon, Klein Tells NBC That’s Not The Case And Says He Hasn’t Heard From Anyone In The Obama Campaign.

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In today’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney revealed that Obama has “no opinion” on whether the Senate should pass a budget. It has been over 1,000 days since the Senate Democrats passed a budget. Obama will release his FY2013 budget next week (late, again), which is expected to repackage his failed deficit proposal from last fall.

ABC News’ Jake Tapper: “The White House has no opinion about whether or not the Senate should pass a budget? The president’s going to introduce one. The Fed chair says not having one is bad for growth. But the White House has no opinion about whether – ” 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney: “I have no opinion — the White House has no opinion on Chairman Bernanke’s assessment of how the Senate ought to do its business.” (White House Press Briefing, 2/8/12) 

Next Week Obama Will Release His Budget, Which Is Just A Rehash Of His Previous Failed Policies

NOW, AGAIN: Obama’s FY2013 Is Essentially The Same Framework He Proposed In ... more

Obama Promised His Plan Would “Bring Down Premiums By $2,500 For The Typical Family.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Of Senator Barack Obama At Campaign Event, Raleigh, NC, 6/9/08)

But  A Thomson Reuters Report Finds That Health Care Costs “Increased 4 Percent In The Third Quarter Of 2011.” “The cost of health care increased 4 percent in the third quarter of 2011 from the previous year, at least for people with employer-sponsored health insurance. The news come from the Thomson Reuters Healthcare Spending Index for Private Insurers, and also shows a .9 percent increase over the second quarter of 2011.” (Amy Gillentine, “Health Insurance Increased 4 Percent In Third Quarter 2011,” The Colorado Spring Business Journal, 2/6/12)

• Gary Pickens – Chief Research Officer At Thomson Reuters Center For Health Care Analytics: Across The Country Health Insurance Costs Are Continuing To Increase. “Insurance costs are still on the rise... While there has been a light slow down due to the pace of ... more
  
  

In the wake of the Solyndra scandal, another green energy program Obama invested in has announced more layoffs.

Obama: “Some Technologies Don’t Pan Out; Some Companies Fail.  But I Will Not Walk Away From The Promise Of Clean Energy.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks In The State Of The Union Address, 1/24/12)

Fisker, Which Received More Than A Half Billion In Loan Guarantees, Announced It Is Laying Off Staff After Failing To Meet Early Manufacturing And Efficiency Goals

Fisker Automotive Has Announced It Is Laying Off Staff To Try To Reserve Enough Capital In Order To Qualify For More Taxpayer Funds From The DOE. “In another setback for President Obama's clean energy loan programs, the recipient of more than a half-billion dollars in federal loans is laying off workers at their Delaware and California operations. Delaware’s News Journal reports that Fisker Automotive, a California-based electric car start-up company, is laying off an undisclosed number of staff to try to reserve ... more

Today, President Obama’s FY2013 is officially late, again, as the White House shirks its legal obligation to submit a budget by the first Monday in February. Last night, The Wall Street Journal reported that we won’t be missing much as the president intends to repackage his failed deficit proposal from last fall as his FY2013 budget. That proposal included a $1.5 trillion tax hike that many Democrats rejected and failed to outline a plan for containing the nation’s budget-busting entitlement programs.

Obama Plans To Re-Release His Lackluster Joint Deficit Reduction Committee Proposal As His FY2013

NOW, AGAIN: Obama’s FY2013 Is Essentially The Same Framework He Proposed In September Which Included $1.5 Trillion In New Taxes. “President Barack Obama will release his budget plan next week, calling for $3 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years, including $1.5 trillion in tax increases to fall mostly on the wealthiest Americans. If that sounds familiar, it's because the president ... more

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney Claims The Decline In The Labor Force Is An “Economic Positive” Because It Means Young People Are “Getting More Education.” CARNEY: “Let’s look at some of the facts, which include that a large percentage of that is due to younger people getting more education, which in the end is an economic positive.” (Jay Carney, Press Briefing, Washington, D.C., 2/6/12)

The Labor Force Is Declining Because Millions Of Americans Are Discouraged By The Lack Of Opportunities In The Obama Economy

“Millions Of Americans Wake Up Each Morning Without A Job, Even Though They Desperately Want To Work. It's One Of The Depressing Legacies Of The Financial Crisis And Great Recession.”  (John Ydstie, “The State Of The Long Term Unemployed,” NPR, 12/12/11)

• The Economy Remains In “By Far The Worst Jobs Recovery Since The Great Depression.” “Even with the recent gains, this is also by far the worst jobs recovery since the Great Depression, and the U.S. still has about ... more
  
  

In Tallahassee Today, Vice President Biden Claims The Administration Didn’t Cut Pell Grants. BIDEN: “We took that sixty billion dollars, and we allocated forty billion of it to Pell grants, forty billion to Pell grants. And nearly 600,000 students here in the state of Florida are getting Pell grants, including a quarter of the students here at FSU. So the debate was we should cut Pell grants, we didn’t cut them, we raised them $800 bucks and we increased access.” (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks At Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 2/6/12) 

In His 2011 Budget, Obama Proposed Cutting Pell Grants By $100 Billion 

Obama’s 2011 Budget Proposed To Cut $100 Billion From Pell Grants. “For example, Obama's budget would cut $100 billion from Pell Grants and other higher-education programs through 2021, scaling back a key Obama initiative.” (Lori Montgomery, “Obama Spending Plan Criticized For Avoiding Deficit Commission's Major Proposals,” The Washington Post, 2/14/11)

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Obama Campaign Bluffing On “Expansion Path” Of Winning Arizona To 270 Electoral Votes

Obama Campaign “Has Been Doing A Lot Of Bluffing” On Swing States The President Will Compete To Win, Including “Arguing It Has An Outside Shot At Contesting Arizona.” “President Obama's reelection team has spun multiple pathways to an electoral vote majority, but a glance at his state-by-state approval ratings throughout 2011 suggests the campaign has been doing a lot of bluffing. … The Obama campaign has been arguing it has an outside shot at contesting Arizona, but his approval rating is at 40 percent, with 52 percent disapproving.” (Josh Kraushaar, “Obama Struggling In Battleground States,” National Journal, 1/31/12)

• Obama Campaign Identifies “Expansion Path” Of Winning Arizona To Getting The 270 Electoral Votes He Will Need To Win In November. “During a briefing for reporters at the DNC yesterday, Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina outlined five paths that would get President Obama to ... more
  
  

Disappointed With Obama, Voters Across The Country Are Shifting To The GOP Side

Gallup: “More States Move To GOP In 2011.” (Jeffrey Jones, “More States Move To GOP In 2011,” Gallup, 2/2/12)

“Democrats Have Lost Their Solid Political Party Affiliation Advantage In 18 States Since 2008, While Republicans Have Gained A Solid Advantage In 6 States.” (Jeffrey Jones, “More States Move To GOP In 2011,” Gallup, 2/3/12)

Since 2008, 12 States Have Shifted To Either Solidly Republican Or Leaning Republican. “A total of 17 states were either solidly Republican or leaning Republican in their residents' party affiliation in 2011, up from 10 in 2010 and 5 in 2008.” (Jeffrey Jones, “More States Move To GOP In 2011,” Gallup, 2/3/12)

• While Obama Has Lost 17 Solidly Or Leaning Democrat States. “Meanwhile, 19 states including the District of Columbia showed a solid or leaning Democratic orientation, down from 23 in 2010 and 36 in 2008.” (Jeffrey Jones, “More States Move To GOP In 2011,” Gallup, ... more