For everyone who has to pay bills

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s request to increase fuel economy standards to over 40 miles per gallon saying that the new federal fuel economy standards of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 in the energy bill signed today would save more greenhouse gases than California would acting alone (get that: acting alone). Full Story.

But California and the other 16 states waiting EPA approval to increase fuel economy standards would exceed the very limited federal effort. If the feds want to let the other states skate so be it. The EPA Administrator is under the influence of some bad gas in justifying his actions with tortured reasoning.

“The national standard of 35 miles per gallon will deliver significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which is more effective than a state-by-state approach,” EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said. Global warming “is a global problem that requires a national solution.”

Au contraire: a global problem needs a global solution which the Bush team is also trying hard to scuttle.

Toxic vapors are emanating but not from the tail pipe of an automobile. They billow from the White House - or rather the Out House. It appears that we will have to vote the Luddites out of office before any meaningful action can be taken on this urgent and critical issue.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a new e-mail service that alerts for a wide variety of FDA’s Web pages, including food safety protection, medical product approvals and consumer health information. Full Story.

“Being able to directly communicate with consumers, health care professionals and the regulated industry about the safety of our food supply and medical products is critical to FDA’s ongoing commitment to protecting the public health,” said Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs.

“E-mail is the leading use of the Internet, and this service strengthens FDA’s ability to keep its audiences informed quickly and effectively.”

Take a look at this new innovation. Sign up and be alerted!

Prescription drugs can be a costly medical expense, especially for older people and those who are chronically ill.

However, each state has a law that lets pharmacists substitute less expensive generic drugs for many brand-name products.

Depending on your prescription needs, your savings could be significant. Before you talk with your doctor or pharmacist about switching, there are things you need to know about generic drugs and the law. Full Story.

Facebook, a social networking Internet site, has agreed in San Jose federal court to limit the ability of its 58 million members to send text messages to recycled cell phone numbers. A plaintiff sued alleging that explicit comments and other upsetting content were being sent to her cell phone. She further alleged that she was charged 10 cents each time and that Facebook received a share of the fee. Full Story.

The two-month-old case highlighted the problems that can arise as Web sites extend their services to mobile handsets with phone numbers that have been reassigned after another customer’s service ended.

The F.B.I.’s office in Indianapolis, Indiana, is warning the public about an ongoing scam involving jury service.

Individuals identifying themselves as U.S. court employees have been telephonically contacting citizens and advising them that they failed to report for jury duty. These individuals then ask to verify personal information to include names, addresses and Social Security numbers. If the request is refused, citizens are then told that they will be fined and/or arrested.

The judicial system does not contact people telephonically and ask for personal information such as your Social Security number or date of birth. If you receive one of these phone calls, do not provide any personal or confidential information to these individuals. This is an attempt to steal or to use your identity by obtaining your name or Social Security number. It is an attempt to defraud you. Full Story.

Not yet news is the mushrooming investigation into mortgage fraud arising out of the sub-prime housing fiasco.

Fraud perpetrated in obtaining a mortgages may be committed in one or more of the following ways: Property Flipping; Silent Seconds; Nominee Loans/Straw Buyers; Fictitious/Stolen Identity; Inflated Appraisals; Foreclosure Schemes; Equity Skimming; and Air Loans.

Many of the sub-prime mortgage defaults will expose one or more of these elements. Full Story. The data on the web site has not been updated since 2005. However, it demonstrates that the authorities anticipated the avalanche of fraudulent transactions in early 2006.

I wonder whether the federal government has the resources and/or the political will to pursue these cases because much of this fraud was instituted by the very contributors to the political machine that allowed this situation to ripen. Just to go after the little guy would miss the point because none of this mortgage meltdown would have occurred if Wall Street had not been in position to make a financial killing on the sub-prime action.

A college education may be the most important investment in a child’s life and has become one of the most costly, too.

The publicly reported tuition charged by private colleges and universities for the 2007-2008 can reach $50,000 a year. The trends are alarming, too. And while tuition at public universities is generally lower, costs there have been growing even more steeply in recent years as government support has lagged. Full Story.

The Feds are touting a temporary freeze on teaser rate loans which are scheduled to reset soon. Full Story. However, the proposed plan excludes those home loans that piggy-backed a second to cover the missing down payment.

Also excluded are the no-doc loans where evidence of income was not required. Excluding these two categories will leave much of the sub-prime loans in jeopardy.

The home loan industry will agree, in principle, to go along with whatever plan is put forth. But in reality, few re-sets will occur.

What’s really needed is strong federal regulation of the financial sector beginning with credit cards and extending to home mortgages.

Past history including the Savings and Loan industry melt down and now the sub-prime problem demonstrates that without federal oversight, Wall Street will do what ever it takes to make a fast buck.

Under the tentative plan, adjustable interest rates would be frozen for some homeowners facing foreclosure before their loans become fixed at a higher level.

Under such a scenario, the investors who bought mortgage securities tied to these sub-prime loans likely would get lower returns than they had bet on. Full story

Many consumers who already have lost their home to foreclosure are dismayed at the government action now to freeze mortgage rates to avoid massive defaults on home loans. One man interviewed in a Reuter’s story put it this way, “They’re trying to keep the you-know-what from hitting the fan until after the election,” he said. “The rhetoric is ‘We’ve got to help homeowners,’ but the reality is it’s designed to help the fat cats, Wall Street. It’s bailing out the lenders.” Full Story.

Of course, the man is right. This is not about helping the little guy, it’s about protecting those who have already made a fortune on an ill conceived mortgage shell game. The culprits hope to avoid scrutiny from State Attorney Generals looking for potential fraudulent activity.