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Boehner urges debt committee overlook tax increases

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House Speaker John Boehner drew a line in the sand on taxes on Thursday, saying that a special debt committee tasked with cutting at least $1.2 trillion from federal deficits shouldn’t consider tax hikes.

“Tax increases, I think, are off the table,” Boehner said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “It’s a very simple equation. Tax increases destroy jobs. And the Joint Committee is a jobs committee. Its mission is to reduce the deficit that is threatening job creation in our country.”

The only things the 12-person super committee should tackle are spending cuts and entitlement reform, he said.

Congress established the super committee when it raised the debt ceiling this summer. It has until Nov. 23 to propose ways to reduce deficits, and Congress must hold an up or down vote by Dec. 23. That panel started meeting last week.

Boehner’s marching orders contrast with a more cordial tone the GOP has taken this past week in reaction to President Obama’s new jobs package.

But his stance warning against new tax hikes reflects the message that GOP leaders have sent this week on the president’s push for a new jobs bill.

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TRIPLE A–AWESOME AMERICAN AUSTERITY: U.S. POSTAL SERVICE WANTS TO END OVERNIGHT DELIVERY

The Postal Service, struggling to cut costs and conserve cash, said on Thursday it wants to end overnight delivery of letters and postcards and will study about 250 processing sites for possible closure.

The agency, which lost more than $3 billion last quarter, has said it must downsize drastically or will be forced to stop delivering mail by the end of next summer. Overseen by Congress and a regulator, it funds its services with postal-related revenue and does not get any taxpayer dollars.

Delivering First Class mail in two to three days instead of one to three days could save about $3 billion by 2015, the agency said. The change would allow it to close facilities, cut back on overnight work and eliminate about 35,000 jobs.

“Our entire network was designed based on a requirement that we maintain the capability to deliver First Class mail the next business day,” said chief operations officer Megan Brennan.

“This has enormous implications for the way we process mail … and it’s why we currently maintain so many mail processing locations,” she said. “Our plan is to rebuild our network based on a two- to three-day standard for First Class mail.”

The Postal Service has struggled to offset falling mail volumes as consumers correspond by email and pay bills online. Personnel costs for its half a million employees are among the factors driving the agency out of business.

In June, the agency stopped making biweekly payments into a retirement fund and, in July, it said it was considering more than 3,600 post offices for potential closure. It also wants to stop Saturday delivery to save cash.

While the agency has some ability to consolidate and cut costs, officials are relying on Congress for serious structural reforms. The Postal Service said Thursday’s proposal would not require congressional approval but it would still need broader changes to get on a path toward financial health.

‘RADICALLY REALIGNING’

The agency will study more than 300 of its 500 processing facilities — about 60 were already under review — and close sites that handle low volumes or could be consolidated with others, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said on Thursday.

The studies will take about three months and include meetings with affected communities. The agency expects to reduce mail processing payrolls by about 20 percent, mostly by not filling jobs when workers retire, Donahoe said.

“It is no exaggeration to say that we are radically realigning the way that we process mail, the way that we deliver mail and the way that we operate our retail network,” he said.

Business mailing group The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service said on Thursday its members backed the plan.

But a spokesman for the National Association of Letter Carriers said “willy-nilly proposed cuts” should not be the solution to the agency’s financial problems.

The plan to close facilities could also face resistance from members of Congress, who have proposed a range of ways to overhaul the agency but are often less amenable when closings and job cuts are proposed in their districts.

There is little consensus on legislation to overhaul the agency, which could include cutting Saturday delivery, allowing the agency to dip into an estimated surplus in a retirement fund or raising its borrowing limit.

The House of Representatives, in its continuing budget resolution this week, included an extension that would give the Postal Service until mid-November to make a $5.5 billion payment for retiree health benefits the agency says it cannot afford.

The White House is working on its own overhaul proposal. The plan is expected to be introduced next week, sources said.

SOURCE 

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Will China Need a Bailout ?

This is a good question, but one that probably does not have to be answered for a long time. Perhaps next year sometime we may be asking this very question.

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China Now Willing to Buy Sovereign Debt

China is willing to buy bonds from nations involved in the sovereign debt crisis, National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang said in an interview with the media in Dalian yesterday.

China is willing to offer assistance, Zhang said without elaborating, adding that Premier Wen Jiabao made similar remarks earlier, according to a transcript distributed on the planning agency’s website yesterday evening. Caijing magazine attended the briefing and published an article earlier.

Wen, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Dalian yesterday, signaled that that developed nations should cut deficits and open markets rather than rely on China to bail out the world economy. China can best contribute to the global economic recovery by ensuring steady growth at home, he said.

“Countries must first put their own houses in order,” Wen said. “Developed countries must take responsible fiscal and monetary policies. What is most important now is to prevent the further spread of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.”

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Greece Gets To Stay in The Union; U.S. Markets Rally on Statement

Today’s meeting produces largely nothing other than quelling fears that Greece would not get kicked out of the union.

Never thought they might get kicked out, but rather default and bow out if anything.

Sarcozy and Merkel issued a joint statement that they were “convinced Greece’s future is in the euro zone.

Putting into place commitments of the (bailout) programme is essential for the Greek economy to return to a path of lasting and balanced growth,”

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Recap on the Euro Crisis

Despite all the talk this morning there are some real concerns. We have a conference call coming up later this morning between France, Germany, and Greece. Hopefully we get some statements. Otherwise here we stand.

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New Euro Zone Plan to Relieve Collateral Issues

The Austrian Finance Minister has give the media some statements regarding a new plan that would ease the “explosiveness” of collateral; something that has stalled talks and proposal agreements all together.

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