econocrash: debt, bank collapses & janitors

US national debt tops debt limit
from cbsnews: The latest calculation of the National Debt as posted by the Treasury Department has - at least numerically - exceeded the statutory Debt Limit approved by Congress last February as part of the Recovery Act stimulus bill. The ceiling was set at $12.104 trillion dollars. The latest posting by Treasury shows the National Debt at nearly $12.135 trillion.


ron paul introduces 'free competition in currency act' &
the growing clout of ron paul - finally*

7 US banks seized, raising year's failure toll to 140
from bloomberg: Seven U.S. banks were seized by regulators, bringing this year’s total of failed lenders to 140 as financial companies are tested by the recession and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. anticipates more shutdowns. Banks with $14.4 billion in total assets were closed yesterday in six U.S. states, the FDIC said in statements on its Web site. The agency is overseeing the dissolution of banks at the fastest pace in 17 years.

time magazine names bernanke 'person of the year'*

uk study: hospital janitors more valuable to society than bankers
from allgov: What a person earns isn’t as important as what they bring to society, according to the New Economics Foundation (NEF). The self-described “think-and-do tank” examined a range of high- and low-paying jobs in British society and concluded that bankers and advertising executives shouldn’t receive the same esteem as janitors or parents. “We found that some of the most highly paid benefit us least, and some of the lowest-paid benefit us most,” wrote the NEF in its report 946kb PDF]. “Although this will not always hold, it does point to a massive flaw in the system and highlights the need for reform.”

irs tells citigroup to keep $38b in tax breaks*