TRNS Interview: Activists Target Hershey This Halloween

Human rights and labor rights activists don’t want just any chocolate this Halloween. They want fair trade chocolate.

Dressed in Hazmat suits and Darth Vader costumes, Raise the Bar, Hershey!, a coalition working against child labor in the chocolate industry, sent Hershey headquarters a petition with more than 100,000 signatures today asking for the company to use fair-trade chocolate.

Elizabeth O’Connell, the Fair Trade Campaign Director at Green America, told TRNS that the request is far from unreasonable, explaining that Mars along with the UK branches of Nestle and Cadbury have each taken steps to certify their cocoa as fair trade.

“The fact that these big companies are able to do it makes me think that Hershey can do it soon,” O’Connell said.

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Cain Gains Name Recognition

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain has had a 28 percent spike in name recognition among Republicans since last month, according to a new Gallup poll.

Cain, is now considered a top tier GOP candidate after failing to garner much attention for the bulk of the campaign season, went from 50 percent name recognition in September to 28 percent. In March, only 21 percent of Republicans recognized the former Businessman’s name.

The new poll was conducted Oct. 10 through 23rd among random samples of Republicans and Republican leaning independents.

GOP Hits Obama On Housing Push

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters Tuesday that the White House is going down the wrong path in its response to the foreclosure crisis, noting that the only surefire solution is economic recovery.

“I believe that it’s important if we’re really going to help out housing, we need to get our economy going again, get more people back to work, and create more demand for housing around our country,” Boehner said during a press conference with the Republican leadership Tuesday.

“We’re all concerned about the mortgage problems and the state of housing in America,” Boehner added, noting that the House will review whether Obama can carry out his decision via executive order, as planned. “The administration has tried in the past to pass various plans over the years to alleviate some of the issues which, according to Boehner, none have worked.”

The GOP leadership also took President Obama and Senate Democrats to task for not moving forward with 15 pieces of legislation House Republicans say will help create jobs.

“This country cannot wait for Obama to get off the campaign trail,” House Maority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, poking fun at the White House’s new “We can’t wait” mantra.

One bill that Republicans paid close attention to was the repeal of the withholding tax, which temporarily keeps 3 percent of what the government owes to contractors in order to provide an incentive for completing work and preventing fraud. Boehner argued that it hurts businesses by being needlessly complex.

Boehner closed Tuesday’s conference by urging Obama to “stand up and take a position” within his party over efforts to pass a Chinese currency manipulation bill.

“The President of the United states gets elected to lead the entire country, and the key point here is to lead.  Wheres the leadership?” Boehner said, calling the proposed legislation “dangerous.”

Gov. Barbour's Advice To The President: "Lead"

By Mike Hothi

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R) urged President Obama Tuesday to assume a leadership role when it comes to job creation.

“The President has got to lead. Congress cannot lead. 535 people can’t lead,” Barbour said. “The country needs … leadership that is directed at job creation in the private sector and economic growth. The policies of this administration are all in the opposite direction.” 

Barbour, speaking to the National Press Club, went on to point out that Bill Clinton was able to work with a Republican Congress to reform welfare and Ronald Reagan was able to work with a Democratic Congress for his entire Presidency.

“[Reagan] didn’t whine, go on TV and castigate [Congress]. He lead,” Barbour said.

Barbour’s D.C. appearance was aimed at highlighting a letter Barbour and the  Leadership of the Republican Governors Association sent to the co-chairs of the Super Committee identifying areas where state governments could partner with the federal government to cut costs.

The letter suggests that states should be given more flexibility with federal programs and that it is a bad idea to tax our way out of a spending problem.

“To raise tax rates would be a stupid thing to do. It would hurt the economy. Barack Obama said that. Everybody understands that raising tax rates hurts the economy,” Barbour explained.  

Economist Blasts Perry's Tax Plan

Economist and University of Maryland Business Professor Peter Morici criticized Presidential hopeful Rick Perry’s “Cut, Balance and Grow” plan Tuesday, saying the Texas Governor’s new tax proposal will do little improve the economy.

“The whole purpose of a flat tax is to encourage individuals and corporations to invest more in sound business opportunities, instead of prospecting for tax breaks by buying homes bigger than they need or spending on government hobby horse projects like solar panels,” Morici said in a statement. “However, the Perry plan by giving tax payers the option of filing under the old system will encourage the wealthy and near-wealthy to continue prospecting for loopholes and credits.”

Perry’s plan gives Americans the choice of a flat tax rate of 20 percent or the current income tax rate. In a Wall Street Journal piece Perry argued, “the simple 20 percent flat tax will allow Americans to file their taxes on a postcard, saving up to $483 billion in compliance costs.”

However, Morici noted, 42 percent of Americans pay no income taxes and many who should be are able to take advantage of loopholes to pay significantly less.