http://www.theittlist.com/ The ITT List is a weblog run by the editors and staff of In These Times magazine. en nezua@themediaconsortium.com 2009-07-02T16:05:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_immigration_wire_white_house_meeting_a_first_step_to_reform/ After postponing twice, President Obama finally met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on June 25 to discuss moving immigration reform legislation forward. The meeting was applauded by activists and advocates for immigration reform, as the issue seemed to have stalled, and the acrimonious tone of the debate has proven deadly. All parties emerged from the meeting with positive feelings about the prospect for progress, as I heard on last Friday's White House debriefing conference call. A confluence of positive factors are contributing to the momentum: Major labor leaders are united for reform, Democrats are leading much of Washington, and… Nezua, Media Consortium 2009-07-02T15:05:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_pulse_all_public_plans_not_created_equal/ Progressives are demanding that Obama's healthcare reform package include a public plan, aka a government-administered health insurance option for all. A good public plan would cover more people while cutting costs and improving care. The key committees in the House drew up a bill with a public option, but the Senate is much less friendly to the idea. The real test of a healthcare reform plan is whether it can pass the Senate, as the House Dems have the votes to pass whatever health reform bill is put before them. But not all public plans are created equal. There's a… Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium 2009-07-01T15:54:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_audit_radical_inequality_fueled_the_wall_street_meltdown/ Now that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner isn't going to impose pay restrictions on bailed out Wall Street executives, it's critical to remember that severe economic inequality was a major factor in the financial meltdown. Our tax code funnels money into the hands of our wealthiest citizens, which means that our financial system protects the interests of the affluent—not the the average citizen. The broad divergence between our core democratic values and the existing U.S. economic structure must become part of the public debate over financial reform. As Les Leopold notes in a roundtable discussion with GritTV's Laura Flanders, much of… Zach Carter, Media Consortium 2009-06-30T14:50:01-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_immigration_wire_reform_stagnates_polarization_grows/ President Obama has often stated that immigration reform cannot be approached in a piecemeal fashion, and that his administration would tackle the issue in 2009. This week, Obama will be meeting with members of Congress to kick off a bi-partisan approach to reform. These meetings don't guarantee any legislative action will take place this year, but are at least an encouraging sign. In the meantime, the deportation industry shows no sign of slowing, hate crimes are rising and hate groups are being main streamed. As a result, the polarization between reform advocates and foes is getting worse. New America Media's… Nezua, Media Consortium 2009-06-26T16:04:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_pulse_public_insurance_option_is_not_optional/ During a press conference yesterday, President Obama voiced support for government-administered health insurance for all who need it (aka the "public option"), as a key component of healthcare reform. Though Obama stopped short of threatening to veto a bill that didn't contain such an option, he said that a public option is needed to enforce market discipline. If the system is going to reform, the health insurance companies can't just keep selling the same bad coverage with bigger public subsidies for their monopolies. Essentially, Obama isn't about to force taxpayers to buy overpriced insurance from private companies. "The public plan,… Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium 2009-06-26T16:01:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/hed_weekly_audit_obamas_regulation_overhaul_comes_up_short/ President Barack Obama rolled out his plan to overhaul financial regulation last week. While much of the Obama plan relies on the same regulators and structures that led to the current meltdown, there is one key exception. The establishment of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency would give ordinary citizens a seat at the financial policy table for the first time and prevent the abuses in credit card and mortgage lending that have wreaked havoc on households all over the country. The new agency is the brainchild of Harvard University Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren. As chair of a key… Zach Carter, Media Consortium 2009-06-26T15:57:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/tomorrow_is_too_late_for_iranian_election_intervention/ Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf – a friend and supporter of Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi – gave a riveting, inspiring speech Wednesday, imploring the European Parliament and the international community not to recognize the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad’s victory. Video of the speech has now been translated into English: According to Makhmalbaf, Moussavi was notified of his victory last week by the Committee of Elections and told to prepare a speech. However, while he was writing his speech “inviting the Iranian people to celebrate his victory,” military chiefs entered his office and told him “this green democratic revolution was not… Andrew Gaines 2009-06-19T14:34:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/why_does_chamber_of_commerce_favor_arbitration_for_workplace_rape_victims_b/ Yesterday, the union movement ramped up its attacks on the Chamber of Commerce over its "two-faced" approach to the Employee Free Choice Act's provision requiring arbitration if a business won't bargain in good faith after a union's been chosen by workers. As the AFL-CIO Now blog observed: The latest Big Business tactic is to attack the provision of the Employee Free Choice Act that guarantees workers who form a union a fair first contractóa vital provision, because more than 50 percent of workers who form a union donít have a contract after one year and more than a third still… Art Levine 2009-06-17T14:13:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_pulse_the_push_for_a_public_plan/ Healthcare reform is back in the news, as Legislators and interest groups spar over the promised public component of Obama's healthcare plan. In very simple terms, this is a fight between groups with a vested interest in expensive healthcare and everyone else. This week, the American Medical Association warned Obama that a public plan could restrict patient choice. But for millions of Americans, getting a choice between healthcare and no healthcare wold represent a 100% increase in their healthcare options. Obama's public plan would also give people the choice of keeping their private health insurance. So, the public plan is… Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium 2009-06-17T13:55:00-06:00 http://www.theittlist.com/site/ittlist/ind/weekly_audit_reining_in_the_subprime_scoundrels/ President Barack Obama is scheduled to unveil his agenda for revamping financial regulation later this week. As the economy struggles though a recession created by the banking industry, it's crucial that Obama and his advisers craft a set of rules ensuring that the financial sector strengthens our economy instead of destroying it. Various government regulatory agencies are sparring over how the final regulatory structure will be divided. But, as Robert Kuttner notes for The American Prospect, the most important aspects of the plan will not be who regulates what, but how stringently they are required to regulate. The Federal Reserve… Zach Carter, Media Consortium 2009-06-16T14:02:00-06:00