KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Sunday March 27 Housing and Economic stories

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Angry Retirees Converge On Lansing To Protest Budget Plan - (www.businessinsider.com) More than 1,000 demonstrators are rallying in Lansing today to protest Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's budget plan, the AP reports. The rally was largely comprised of retirees angry over the proposed elimination of personal tax breaks that benefit Michigan's seniors. Snyder's budget plan would end the state's income tax exemption for pensions and eliminate the state's Earned Income Tax Credit, which gives low-income residents money for working rather than being on welfare. The increases would generate $1.67 billion in new income tax revenue. Snyder would use this to offset an 86% business tax cut, which he argues will lead to job creation and increased economic competitiveness.

Dem attacks Obama for State spokesman’s firing - (www.rawstory.com) A Democratic congressman is calling out President Barack Obama over the firing of the State Department's top spokesman. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) called the forced resignation of P.J. Crowley "outrageous" and demanded Obama "fix" the situation. "Outrageous -PJ Crowley leaving State Department for saying the truth about treatment of Bradley Manning," Blumenauer tweeted Tuesday. "Obama needs to fix this." Contacted by Raw Story, Blumenauer's press secretary Derek Schlickeisen was hesitant to go into detail. He simply said that the congressman's tweet should speak for itself. Crowley was forced to resign over the weekend after he spoke out in defense of Bradley Manning, the Army private who has been accused of leaking secret State Department cables to WikiLeaks. During at talk at MIT, Crowley had told British television journalist Philippa Thomas and several others that the treatment of Manning was "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid." In a statement, Crowley acknowledged his remarks but did not rescind them. "The exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values," he said. "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation." Manning attorney David Coombs revealed earlier this month that for at least two nights in row, the Army private had been "stripped naked" for as long as seven hours at a time. Manning has been held at the Quantico brig since July under a maximum security regimen, which leaves him in his cell for 23 hours a day, because authorities say his escape would pose a risk to national security.

Tokyo Rice Store Asks Customers Not to Buy as Nuclear Risk Sparks Hoarding - (www.bloomberg.com) Masuhiro Ogura, who runs his own rice store in downtown Tokyo, is telling shoppers not to buy from him until they run out. “If you still have some left, you should wait,” Ogura, 68, told a regular customer yesterday, joining a government appeal to refrain from hoarding amid fears of nuclear radiation leaks from an earthquake-damaged facility 135 miles north of Tokyo. Tokyo residents emptied store shelves of food, water and batteries and filled car tanks with gasoline as workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear facility struggled to avert the risk of a meltdown. Hoarders may make it more difficult to send goods to the millions of people affected by the 7-meter (23- foot) tsunami that engulfed Japan’s northeast coast, according to Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano.

U.S.-Saudi Tensions Intensify With Mideast Turmoil - (www.nytimes.com) Even before Saudi Arabia sent troops into Bahrain on Monday to quell an uprising it fears might spill across its own borders, American officials were increasingly concerned that the kingdom’s stability could ultimately be threatened by regional unrest, succession politics and its resistance to reform. So far, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has successfully stifled public protests with a combination of billions of dollars in new jobs programs and an overwhelming police presence, backed by warnings last week from the foreign minister to “cut any finger that crosses into the kingdom.” Monday’s action, in which more than 2,000 Saudi-led troops from gulf states crossed the narrow causeway into Bahrain, demonstrated that the Saudis were willing to back their threats with firepower. The move created another quandary for the Obama administration, which obliquely criticized the Saudi action without explicitly condemning the kingdom, its most important Arab ally.

House GOP calls emergency meeting to defund NPR - (www.rawstory.com) The House Rules Committee will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to consider legislation to permanently prohibit federal funding of National Public Radio (NPR) after conservative activist James O'Keefe released a video smearing the news organization. The bill, H.R. 1076, was introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), who is leading the effort in the House to eliminate all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the parent organization of NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service. Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) office told Politico that he will bring the bill to the House floor on Thursday. A video created by O'Keefe's "Project Veritas," showed activists Shaughn Adeleye and Simon Templar posing as members of the fictional Muslim Education Action Center (MEAC) and meeting with NPR Foundation President Ron Schiller and NPR Senior Director of Institutional Giving Betsey Liley.