#Financial District NY

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Lower Broadway, with the Woolworth Building in the distance, 1924.

Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images/Fine Art America

[istandonsnowpiles]

Old Drink

Have a pretzel after a long day doing capitalism

[visit-new-york]

Financial District, Manhattan

[evergreencarpark]

July 20, 2023 (2 of 2)

[vintagelasvegas]

Dunes Hotel & Casino '55-'93

Dunes, 1955. Kodachrome photo from Charles Phoenix.

Timeline of the Dunes

’53-54: First announced as Hotel Araby (RJ 11/1/53), then became known as Vegas Plaza, and Hotel Deauville (RJ 1/20/54, 4/23/54). Named the Dunes by the time of groundbreaking, 6/22/54 (RJ).

’55: May 23, original owners Robert Rice, Al Gottesman, Joseph Sullivan, Alexander Barad and Jason Tarsey open the $4 million Dunes Hotel-Casino with 200 rooms on an 85-acre site. Architect J Replogle, designer R. Dorr Jr. Signs and Sultan figure by YESCO (RJ 5/23/55).

’55: Aug., Dunes leased by Sands partners and reopened in Sep. Subsequent financial difficulties cause the casino to be closed, 1/56.

’56: Bill Miller, Major A. Riddle, and Robert Rice are licensed to reopen the casino in May. In Nov., the license is changed to add M&R Investment Co. on the license as the company that operates the Dunes.

’57: Jan., Minsky’s Follies opens the first topless show at a Strip resort.

’59: Convention Hall addition.

’61: Olympic Wing addition.

’62: Riddle sells 15 percent of the stock to M&R Investment Corp., whose stockholders now include Charles Rich, Sidney Wyman and George Duckworth. Tower groundbreaking, 10/21/62.

’64: May, Sultan figure moved to golf course. In Oct-Nov, the 180-ft sign is installed in Oct., and switched on 11/12/64.

’65: Jun, opening of Dome of the Sea and the 24-story tower. Dunes Golf Course opened.

’69: Continental Connector Corp., a publicly traded company, buys the Dunes in a $59M stock transfer in May. In Dec, the SEC charges that CCC defrauded stockholders in the proxy statement it issued offering to buy the Dunes. CCC settles the SEC complaint in ’76. At this time, bankers E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack are principals in M&R and CCC.

’74: In Sep., Gaming Control Board files a complaint against the Dunes for catering and "comping" alleged Kansas City mob chief Nick Civella, one of 11 members of the Black Book, Nevada's List of Excluded Persons. The Dunes ultimately was fined $10,000.

’75: In Feb., Morris Shenker buys an interest in M&R through his IJK Nevada Inc. Later in the year, Dunes owners Shenker and Riddle are asked about allegations that reputed mobster Anthony Spilotro had "set up shop" at the Dunes. Spilotro reportedly was spending up to 14 hours a day in the poker room and appeared to be using it as an office.

’76: In Jun., Shenker sues the Teamsters Union for $140M for backing out of a loan commitment, which was to be used to add another 1,000 rooms. In Oct., Dept of Labor intervenes, saying the loan was prohibited. In ’80, Shenker's breach of contract lawsuit is tossed out of court by U.S. District Judge Roger Foley.

’79: South tower opened in summer. Shenker announces the Dunes will construct a $65M hotel-casino in Atlantic City. FBI affidavits are unsealed claiming that two confidential informants "both advised that the Kansas City organized crime group headed by Nick Civella has a concealed interest fronted by Shenker at the Dunes." Shenker denies the allegations.

’80: In Jan., alleged members of the NY Columbo family are discovered staying for free at the Dunes. Gaming Control Board Chairman Richard Bunker says the "comping" did not violate the law or gaming regulations. Later, four of the group, including Joseph Columbo Jr., are indicted on charges of obtaining money under false pretenses in an airline ticket reimbursement scam. The indictment is dismissed by District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski and in ’84 was reinstated by the NV Supreme Court.

’82: Aug., the $17M Oasis Casino opens, doubling the existing casino space at the resort. Design by Farris Alexander Congdon Architects. New 2-floor casino includes Xanadunes electronic gaming area, and Video-Video arcade space (RJ 8/13/82, 8/20/82).

’82: Dec., Stuart and Clifford Perlman agree to buy the Dunes for $185M. The brothers loan Shenker $4M and $2.9M of that sum is used to pay overdue federal payroll taxes and avoid the seizure of assets by the IRS. Shenker denies the resort is on the verge of bankruptcy. Docs filed with the SEC indicate the property is in default on a number of loans and a number of creditors threaten foreclosure action.

’83: The Perlmans assume management of the Dunes in Apr., and operate it for four months before the sale collapses in Aug.

’83: Oct., a foreclosure sale of the Dunes' golf course and some other property is averted when problems are worked out with the trustees of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Int’l Union and the trustees of the Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Trust, which are owed $1.5M for non-payment of union benefits.

’83: Dec., a federal jury in Las Vegas decides that Shenker owes $34M to the So. Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Fund for defaulting on loans in ’73-’75 to two of Shenker's land companies, Sierra Charter Corp. and IJK Nevada.

’84: Feb., Shenker files for personal bankruptcy in Missouri to protect his assets from the $34M judgment. The IRS claims that the 78-year-old Shenker owes $66M in unpaid taxes stretching back 20 years. Shenker's bankruptcy filing claimed assets of $82M and liabilities of $197M, the largest debt ever recorded in the St. Louis bankruptcy court.

’84: Mar., Valley Bank of Nevada heads a consortium to lend the Dunes $68.6M as part of a debt restructuring plan.

’84: May, John Anderson buys a controlling interest in the Dunes with his JBA Investments Inc. Anderson signs a $25M note to pay the Perlmans for the $35M they invested in the resort. Shenker's 26 percent interest remains under the control of the bankruptcy court.

’84: Jun., the FBI alleges that Shenker approved $600,000 in kickbacks to alleged Milwaukee crime boss Frank Balistrieri in connection with loans from the Teamsters Union to Allen Glick, who later bought four Las Vegas resorts before being forced out of gaming by Nevada officials. Shenker denies the kickback allegations. No charges are filed.

’85: Feb., Dunes is cited for failing to retrofit the property to meet fire safety standards. About $2.2M is spent on retrofitting during the first half of the year.

’85: May, former Gaming Control Board Chairman Richard Bunker leaves his position as corporate treasurer of Circus Circus Ent. to become president of the Dunes.

’85: Aug., Jack Bona buys out the Dunes' 49 percent interest in its Atlantic City property in a $21M sale. The next day, Bona places the property in a Ch. 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court.

’85: Sept. 27, Dunes defaults on the $68.6M bank loan and Valley Bank moves ahead with the legal steps required for a foreclosure sale Dec. 23.

’85: Oct. 24, Federal marshals begin seizing cash from the Dunes casino cage to pay a $2.7M judgment obtained by trustees of the Culinary and Bartenders unions. They accept a $200,000 check and leave the cash in the cage.

’85: Nov. 1, Marshals return to collect the remaining $17M owed to the unions but are halted by a last-minute restraining order.

’85: Nov. 6, Dunes' operating company. M&R Investment, files for reorganization under Chapter 11.

’87: Masao Nangaku buys the Dunes for $157M.

’92: Nov., Dunes bought by Mirage Inc. for $75M.

’93: Jan. 26, closed. North tower and sign demolished 10/27/93.

‘94: Jul. 20, South tower demolished.

A major source for the timeline is Jane Ann Morrison. Judge Approves Payday for Dunes Employees. Review-Journal, 11/7/85.

Dunes, 1955. This is the original layout of the resort, before the addition of the Convention Hall and Olympic wing. Photo by Ed Screeton. Dunes Hotel Photograph Collection (PH-00281), UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Late '64. The 180-foot sign has recently been completed. Dome of the Sea restaurant and the hotel tower are nearing completion. Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Photographs, UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

[hopusthebrainlessfloof]

I don't care if nobody asked, Imma ramble about Angus Ciprianni anyways (/hj)

(Ik most of my content is Mario, but I NEED YALL TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S NOT MY NEIGHBOR HAS TAKEN OVER MY BNNUY BRAIN AAA)

We don't canonically see the bottom half of the neighbors at all, so by decree of the bunny, Angus uses crutches.

Rarely refers to himself by his first name. Whenever he mentions his name, it's always "Ciprianni". However, calls everyone else by their first name so long as he knows it.

Because of the lack of medical advancement at the time, he has undiagnosed ADHD. Everyone just thinks it's part of who he is and nobody really knows ADHD exists.

Doesn't really fear doppelgangers unless they're outwardly hostile.

Annoys the living FUCK out of Francis and Steven. Will literally wait at the stairs to chat their ear off. He KNOWS it pisses them off. He does it anyways.

He doesn't really understand the consequences of actions. He can understand reasoning (ex If I push this person, they'll be upset), but not the aftermath of it. (ex Because they're upset at me, they don't want to speak to me.) This costs him lots of friendships.

Doesn't have a strong connection with his family. Only really talks to his brother once in a blue moon over the phone.

Sells drugs and makes a fortune off of it. Everyone thinks he takes said drugs because he's so hyperactive, but he doesn't.

Saw someone else headcanon that he's horrible with financial literacy, so guess what?

He hallucinates his nightmare variation (Abducius Morail) pretty often and sees him in his sleep.

Speaking of sleep, he sleeptalks.

Best friends with Elenois and Selenne. They would beat the crap out of anyone that tried to hurt Angus.

Compared to the other young men in his building (Steven, Izaack, Francis, and I suppose Afton), he is super SHORT. Even upright if he didn't use crutches, he would only come to Francis' chin and everyone else's shoulders.

Bisexual but leans heavily towards men.

Due to it being the fifties and all, barely anyone calls him by she/her pronouns, but he doesn't have a preference of pronouns and doesn't strongly associate himself with any specific gender.

Because of his crutches, everyone assumes he's in his thirties or forties, but he's actually younger than Steven.

Moved to this district from Queens NY. He will tell anyone and everyone about Queens regarless of if they asked.

Hates the heat and therefore hates using a stove, will eat dinner at other houses or at a diner at any given chance.

Slight hoarder. His apartment has a lot of junk in it, but he has trouble getting rid of any of it. He know's it's junk, but he feels sentimental value in the junk.

Pretty dramatic. Will dramaticise his unwillingness to do something if anyone tries to make him do something he hates. (Cleaning, cooking, etc)

And uh, yeah, that's all the Angus I have for now <3

[mikerickson]

Lifting my self-imposed embargo because I'm weird and don't like posting on social media when I'm on vacation.

I'm at a point in my life where I can financially justify at least one international vacation a year and figured I'd finally cross off the Great White North from the bucket list. I'd never been and Andrew hadn't been back in a very long time despite having dual citizenship. Anyways, just got back, and a bullet-point breakdown of the highlights is after the cut:

I wish every international flight was under two hours; EWR to YQB was almost comically fast.

Had my first French conversation with the very nice lady at the car rental counter for about ten minutes. She complemented my pronunciation and grammar, and wished me luck on the trip. Every French interaction after this point was a linguistic battle for my life that I lost (Toutes les Québecois parlent trop vite pour moi).

We had some time to kill before the hotel check-in so we went to a mall in the suburbs just so we'd have a food court with some options. Turns out shopping malls are not only alive and well but fucking thriving in Canada. I haven't seen a mall that packed with people outside of December since the nineties.

Quebec City was very dense with old architecture which made it feel very European. It was also apparently built on a fucking cliff with streets at 60 degree inclines, which also felt very European.

Took a tour of the Quebec Parliament building (beautiful structure), and apparently they used to be bicameral, but voted to abolish their Senate in the 60's and they were the last Canadian province to do so. What a concept.

It's one thing to know on paper that Canada has about 1/8th of the population of the US, but I was not prepared for just how empty the countryside felt. For someone like me, living in the northeast my whole life, the idea that cities in close proximity to each other not having continuous stretches of suburbs and other smaller cities connecting them was completely foreign.

On the highways I kept thinking I was speeding because I'd look down at the dashboard and see the number "100", but 100 km/h is only like 62 mph, which is nothing.

Similarly, I kept getting sticker shock every time I spent money, and kept having to remind myself that $1 CAD was like $0.73 USD while we were there.

It was really cool to see that the complex for the 1976 Montreal Olympics is still maintained and actively used (we stumbled upon a skateboarding competition and I did not feel cool enough to be in that crowd). Sometimes you hear horror stories about Olympic villages bankrupting cities and falling into disuse afterwards, but that's definitely not the case here.

Montreal is apparently known for their local bagel culture, but their bagels have enormous holes in the middle of them, so you have less cross-sectional area for spreads and they don't really work for sandwiches. My faith in NJ/NY bagel superiority remains intact.

Every city we went to had dedicated bike lane infrastructure and young families with kids, but Montreal definitely had the most of both. Tons of parks, too. Simultaneously felt like a larger and smaller city than I was expecting.

Poutine is okay, but I wasn't prepared for the cheese to squeak when you bite into it. Very odd sensation.

The main Parliament building for the federal government in Ottawa (Centre Block) is stunning, but closed; apparently it's been under renovation since 2019 and isn't expected to be reopened until 2032! In the meantime, we took a tour of where the lower House of Commons is currently meeting. We learned that their electoral districts are routinely re-drafted by a non-partisan committee and that they occasionally add new seats to the legislature to account for changes in population. I had to seethe jealously in silence for the rest of the tour.

Also toured their Supreme Court building (way more Art Deco than I was expecting). We learned that there's currently a vacancy because a Justice recently retired because they're required to step down when they turn 75. I had to seethe jealously in silence for the rest of the tour.

Every single city had automatic/self-serve parking garages where you didn't have to interact with a human (which I was very thankful for), but in Ottawa they have this little jingle that the machine sings at you when you take your ticket, which I found very amusing.

On the drive to Toronto we took a quick detour into the Thousand Islands (yes, like the salad dressing) and visited Boldt Castle, which is technically in New York state. After seeing it in practice, the idea of living on your own private island is more appealing than ever.

Toronto feels like an exercise in what happens when a nation's largest city is allowed to grow without being hemmed in by ridiculous geography. As someone who grew up in NYC, this is another concept foreign to me. The GPS did get very tripped up navigating a particularly gnarly interchange however.

Toured the Ontario Legislative Assembly (yet another beautiful building). At this point we were really good at asking tour guides stuff like, "so if happens, do you guys have a plan?" To which they would reply, "well, no, but let's just hope that never happens!"

I now understand why the Great Lakes are effectively freshwater inland seas; you really cannot see the other shore, and Lake Ontario isn't even the biggest one!

YYC to EWR was under an hour. That's definitely going to spoil me for future trips going forward.

[eretzyisrael]

by Corey Walker

In the hours following Bowman’s loss, left-wing commentators immediately shifted blame toward AIPAC, the foremost pro-Israel lobbying organization in the US, attributing the election results solely to the group’s financial resources. 

Olayemi Olurin, a leftist pundit and fierce critic of Israel, floated the idea that AIPAC engineered a smear campaign against Bowman by inundating voters with misleading campaign ads. 

“It’s not a leftist conspiracy theory that AIPAC quite literally spent more money than ever before to unseat Jamaal Bowman for his stance on Israel,” Olurin posted on X/Twitter. “New Yorkers were drowned in ads smearing Bowman — that coupled with the redistricting of his district cost him the seat.”

Bowman appeared on Olurin’s YouTube channel earlier this month to discuss the state of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. During the interview, the congressman compared Israel unfavorably to the United States, claiming that both countries were built upon a foundation of “white supremacy.” He also suggested that the Jewish state was responsible for the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attacks, which resulted in the biggest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Cynthia Nixon, a former New York City mayoral candidate and progressive commentator, accused AIPAC of being operated by “far-right Republicans” and blamed the group for flooding the primary race with millions of dollars in an attempt to remove Bowman from office. Similarly, Bowman has denounced AIPAC as being an alleged tool of “racist” Republicans and allies of former US President Donald Trump. 

“Bowman is the last Congress person of color in a NY district not wholly in NYC. And let’s be clear — the record $20 mill spent against him did not come from Dems in this Dem primary but from anti-abortion, anti-climate justice, anti-worker far-right Republicans. You do the math,” Nixon posted on X/Twitter.

Blaming the Jews is standard operating position. EY

[houseofbrat]

Well, well, well...

Ever since barkjack tweeted about Andrew & the FBI, I did a search for all the news articles about the FBI allegedly "pausing" their investigation about Andrew.

Irish Star (on MSN)

GB News (on MSN)

The Express Tribune

Business Times

Metro (UK)

Sahara Reporters

Daily Mail (UK)

Somehow they are all quoting an EXCLUSIVE to The Mirror.

A source close to the case told the Mirror: “The agents and attorneys who have, for years, worked diligently looking into Andrew’s friendship with Epstein are beyond frustrated. “They’re angry that the probe has been parked. “But the truth be told, no new leads have been discovered for quite some time, and until new evidence is presented that can move the case forward, it has been shelved.” Last night, one of those abused by now dead Epstein when she was a teenager labelled the move, a “systematic cover-up”. The 36-year-old, awarded compensation from the Wall Street financier’s victim’s fund, said: “All of us who have continued to fight for justice knew this day would one day come. “From the very beginning, we have been denied our voices, brushed under the carpet and told to be quiet. The government always says that no one is above the law, but we all know that is untrue. For the past three decades, we have been party to a systematic cover-up, and this is now the final part of that.” [...] “We simply don’t have the resources to keep every case running at full capacity, and right now, it’s the Diddy case consuming the lion’s share of investigative efforts.” Despite the huge public interest in Andrew’s connection to Epstein, the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is not expected to officially announce the investigation’s status per protocol. However, a second source confirmed that the investigation into Duke, 64, has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. “Right now, resources are going elsewhere,” he stated. “The officers and agencies have compiled much of their findings on Prince Andrew from the years of investigations, but the matter remains at an impasse.”

Interesting how this is NOT being reprinted in American outlets.

Not even New York outlets are reprinting this. Not the NY Daily News. Not the NY Post. Not even the "paper of record," aka The New York Times is publishing any version of this. This kind of article is straight-up Page Six's alley, but they haven't done anything with this info.

Interesting how conveniently this EXCLUSIVE was published just a couple of days before Charles left for Australia. It's giving me flashbacks to 2019 when Andrew did the Newsnight interview while Charles was in New Zealand.

Seems more likely this article is now floating around because Andrew wants to head off any royal changes that would affect him when Charles returns from Down Under. Does Andrew really think this EXCLUSIVE is going to change anything?

[3rdeyeblaque]

On April 6th in Hoodoo History: The New York City Slave Revolt of 1712 🔥✊🏾

23 enslaved Afrikans set fire to NYC one year after the slave trade markets officially opened by the East River on Wall Street.

• On the night of April 6th, 1712, 23 Afrikans armed themselves with swords, knives, guns - laced with prayer & faith - and fire against White Slavers in the streets of NYC. They set an outhouse ablaze at the home of Peter Van Tilborough on Maiden Lane, at what was then the northern edge of Manhattan. They then picked off any White Slavers nearby who tried to stop it, from the cover of darkness. 9 Slavers were killed and 6 others were injured by nights end.

• On the following morning, the Governor of NY ordered two militias to "drive the island" aka capture & kill the rebels. 6 Afrikans took their lives in protest. The rest were burned alive or "broken" at the wheel. This unprecedented event hitting the streets of NYC quickly spurred the NY State Assembly to pass an act that would permit Slavers to punish Afrikans to the extreme measures by "not extending to life or member", thus cementing a new precedent for their cruelty in the North. In addition, Slavers would now be required to pay $200 dollars in security fees to the State & annuity for any freed Afrikans. Despite these stringent laws, NYC would see more slave rebellions in the next two decades; the next being in 1741.

To be of Hoodoo is, and has always been, to fight back. Let this be a reminder, forever to be drilled into our psyches: We been fighting. We been sacrificing. We been spiriting. We been victorious.

Today, 83 Maiden Lane sits in the infamous Financial District of Manhattan & now serves as the headquarters of the AHRC (Association of Help for Retarded Children). But beneath the cloak of modern amenities & reconstructive efforts, the once-scorched Earth still remembers the night of April 6th. This is where we made our stand. This, & the streets along the northern edge of Manhattan, is a place of power.

It is important to remember the when & WHERE of this event (and those that followed) as many to this day falsely believe that the North was somehow the righteous exception to the Eurocentric cruelties of Maafa. The North was not the exception then & is not the exception now. May we:

• Meditate on the cost of true freedom that these Ancestors paid in blood so we wouldn't have to.

• Pour libations for them, especially those of us residing on or near the Financial District, as this is where our Ancestors were bought & sold from the docks on the East River to Wall Street.

• Remember our plight & presence in the Northern states that have lightened their reputation with the mask of progressive thinking.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Looking south down Broad Street, in the heart of the financial district, with the New York Stock Exchange at the right, January 16, 1924.

Photo: Underwood Archives via Fine Art America

[istandonsnowpiles]

Light Show

[visit-new-york]

Financial District, Manhattan, New York, NY, USA

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Edward Helmore at The Guardian:

Former Republican congressman George Santos pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a federal fraud case marking yet another low point for a politician famed for the outlandish lies and fantasies he peddled during his short but high profile political career. “I understand that my actions have betrayed my supporters and constituents,” Santos said in an emotional statement during the hearing. “I am committed to making amends and learning from this experience.” The disgraced ex-congressman faces a two-year mandatory minimum sentence under federal guidelines, but in court US district judge Joanna Seybert estimated a possible sentencing range between six and eight years when he returns to court again on 7 February. Santos, 36, had previously pleaded not guilty to a range of alleged financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses.

The New York Republican entered the plea in a courtroom in Long Island just weeks before his trial was set to begin in early September. The prospect of a plea deal was raised late last week when a surprise court hearing was requested by prosecutors and Santos’s lawyers. Prior to the deal, two Santos campaign aides had already pleaded guilty to related crimes. Santos was once touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban Long Island district in New York state. But his story rapidly unspooled in the glare of public life as reports emerged he had lied about having a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree along with other questions of his biography. Even in the Republican party of Donald Trump, where scandals over truth-telling have become an almost daily event, Santos managed to draw enormously negative attention. Members of his own party turned upon him, demanding he resign. New scandals then emerged about his campaign funds. Santos was first indicted on federal charges in May 2023, but refused to resign from office. Santos was expelled from Congress after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his profit.

Former Rep George Santos (R-NY) pleads guilty to federal counts for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Smith :: Las Vegas Sun

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 29, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 30, 2024

In December 2020, when the pandemic illustrated the extraordinary disadvantage created by the inability of those in low-income households to communicate online with schools and medical professionals, then-president Trump signed into law an emergency program to provide funding to make internet access affordable. In 2021, Congress turned that idea into the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and made it part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). 

The program has enabled 23 million American households to afford high-speed internet. Those benefiting from it are primarily military families, older Americans, and Black, Latino, and Indigenous households. In February, the Brookings Institution cited economics studies that said each dollar invested in the ACP increases the nation’s gross domestic product by $3.89 and that the program has led to increased employment and higher wages. It also cuts the costs of healthcare by replacing some in-person emergency room visits with telehealth.  

Slightly more of the money in the program goes to districts represented by Republicans than to those represented by Democrats, which might explain why 79% of voters want to continue the program: 96% of Democrats, 78% of Independents, and 62% of Republicans.

But the ACP is running out of money. Back in October 2023, President Joe Biden asked Congress to fund it until the end of 2024, and a bipartisan bill that would extend the program has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. Each remains in an appropriation committee. As of today, the House bill has 228 co-sponsors, the Senate bill has 5. 

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said he supports the measure, but House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not commented. Judd Legum pointed out in Popular Information today that the 2025 budget of the far-right Republican Study Committee (RSC) calls for allowing the ACP to expire, saying the RSC “stands against corporate welfare and government handouts that disincentivize prosperity.” More than four fifths of House Republicans belong to the RSC. 

The differences between the parties’ apparent positions on the ACP illustrates the difference in their political ideology. Republicans object to government investment in society and believe market forces should be left to operate without interference in order to promote prosperity. Democrats believe that economic prosperity comes from the hard work of ordinary people and that government investment in society clears the way for those people to succeed. 

Wealth growth for young Americans was stagnant for decades before the pandemic, but it has suddenly experienced a historic rise. In Axios, Emily Peck reported that household wealth for Americans under 40 has risen an astonishing 49% from where it was before the pandemic. Wealth doubled for those born between 1981 and 1996. This increase in household wealth comes in part from rising home prices and more financial assets, as well as less debt, which fell by $5,000 per household. Households of those under 35 have shown a 140% increase in median wealth in the same time period.

Brendan Duke and Christian E. Weller, the authors of the Center for American Progress study from which Peck’s information came, say this wealth growth is not tied to a few super-high earners, but rather reflects broad based improvement. “A simple reason for the strong wealth growth is that younger Americans are experiencing an especially low unemployment rate and especially strong wage growth,” Duke and Weller note, “making it easier for them to accumulate wealth.” 

In honor of National Small Business Week, Vice President Kamala Harris today launched an “economic opportunity tour” in Atlanta, where she highlighted the federal government’s $158 million investment in “The Stitch,” a project to reconnect midtown to downtown Atlanta. This project is an initial attempt to reconnect the communities that were severed by the construction of highways, often cutting minority or poor neighborhoods off from jobs and driving away businesses while saddling the neighborhoods with pollution. 

While some advocates wanted to use the $3.3 billion available from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to take down highways altogether, the administration has shied away from such a dramatic revision and has instead focused on creating new public green spaces, bike paths, access to public transportation, safety features, and so on, to link and improve neighborhoods. More than 40 states so far have received funding under this program. 

The administration says that projects like The Stitch will promote economic growth in neighborhoods that have borne the burden of past infrastructure projects. Today it touted the extraordinary growth of small businesses since Biden and Harris took office, noting that their economic agenda “has driven the first, second and third strongest years of new business application rates on record—and is on pace for the fourth—with Americans filing a record 17.2 million new business applications.” 

Small businesses owned by historically underserved populations “are growing at near-historic rates, with Black business ownership growing at the fastest pace in 30 years and Latino business ownership growing at the fastest pace in more than a decade,” the White House said. The administration has invested in small businesses, working to level the playing field between them and their larger counterparts by making capital and information available, while working to reform the tax code so that corporations pay as much in taxes as small businesses do.  

“Small businesses are the engines of the economy,” the White House said today. “As President Biden says, every time someone starts a new small business, it’s an act of hope and confidence in our economy.” 

In place of economic growth, Republicans have focused on whipping up supporters by insisting that Democrats are corrupt and are cheating to take over the government. Matt Gertz of Media Matters noted in February that “Fox News host Sean Hannity and his House Republican allies spent 2023 trying to manufacture an impeachable offense against President Joe Biden out of their fact-free obsession with the president’s son, Hunter.” At least 325 segments about Hunter Biden appeared on Hannity’s show in 2023; 220 had at least one false or misleading claim. The most frequent purveyor of that disinformation was Representative James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, who went onto the show 43 times to talk about the president’s son. 

The House impeachment inquiry was really designed to salt right-wing media channels with lies about the president and, in the end, turned up nothing other than witnesses who said President Biden was not involved in his son’s businesses. Then the Republicans’ key witness, Alexander Smirnov, was indicted for lying about the Bidens, and then he turned out to be in contact with Russian spies. 

Comer has been quietly backing away from impeaching the president until today, when he popped back into the spotlight after news broke that Hunter Biden’s lawyer has threatened to sue the Fox News Channel (FNC) for “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light, the unlicensed commercial exploitation of his image, name, and likeness, and the unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of him.” His lawyer’s letter calls out FNC’s promotion of Smirnov’s false allegations. 

Last year, FNC paid almost $800 million to settle defamation claims made by Dominion Voting Systems after FNC hosts pushed the lie that Dominion machines had changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. 

Legal pressure on companies lying for profit has proved successful. Two weeks ago, the far-right media channel One America News Network (OAN) settled a defamation lawsuit with the voting technology company Smartmatic. Today, OAN retracted a false story about former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, apparently made to discredit the testimony of Stormy Daniels about her sexual encounters with Trump. OAN suggested that it was Cohen rather than Trump who had a relationship with Daniels, and that Cohen had extorted Trump over the story.  

“OAN apologizes to Mr. Cohen for any harm the publication may have caused him,” the network wrote in a statement. “To be clear, no evidence suggests that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels were having an affair and no evidence suggests that Mr. Cohen ‘cooked up’ the scheme to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[beardedmrbean]

The Japanese company that owns tire maker Dunlop shuttered a century-old New York factory — and fired 1,500 workers — as it moved manufacturing overseas.

Sumitomo Rubber USA closed down the Dunlop plant located in Tonawanda, near Buffalo, on Nov. 7.

The closure is the latest blow to the western New York area, which, like much of the Rust Belt, has seen its manufacturing sector decimated by companies shifting production overseas in recent decades.

The company said cost controls and investments in the aging facility were not enough to overcome mounting financial losses, according to Cycle News.

“The plant closure is primarily due to overall facility performance within the increasingly competitive international tire market,” Sumitomo said in a statement to the publication.

“This difficult decision follows a multi-year analysis of the company’s financial situation and general market conditions.”

The company said it sought to find a buyer for the facility, which first opened its doors in 1923, but made the decision to shut down the plant when there were no takers.

Local lawmakers blasted the company, which is said to have spent $140 million in modernizing the plant in recent years.

“It appears this decision was made by the Japanese owner’s board without any discussion with local and state officials about the possibility of closure,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told Cycle News.

“At no point did Sumitomo ask for any additional assistance to remain in operation, despite the fact we have always supported their efforts to succeed here in Erie County with tax incentives and assistance through the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.”

US Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY), who represents New York’s 23rd District, which encompasses parts of the Buffalo metro area as well as the southern half of western New York state, said he was “gravely disappointed” by the news.

“I mean, it comes as a shock,” the lawmaker told The Post.

“This is gonna really sting here for our regional economy.”

The Post has sought comment from Sumitomo and Poloncarz.

Dunlop tires are made for passenger cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles. The brand also has sporting goods such as tennis rackets and golf equipment.

The tire brand had been owned by two different companies based on geographic regions. In North America, Europe and Japan, Dunlop tires were manufactured and sold by Ohio-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which acquired the rights as part of a joint venture with Sumitomo.

In 2015, Sumitomo took full control of Dunlop after the parent company ended its joint venture with Goodyear.