A debt is an obligation owed by one party (the debtor) to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.

A debt is created when a creditor agrees to lend a sum of assets to a debtor. Debt is usually granted with expected repayment; in modern society, in most cases, of the original sum plus interest.

In finance, debt is a means of using anticipated future purchasing power in the present before it has actually been earned. Some companies and corporations use debt as a part of their overall corporate finance strategy.

Etymology

The word comes from the French ''dette'' and ultimately Latin ''debere'' (to owe), from ''de habere'' (to have). The letter ''b'' in the word ''debt'' was reintroduced in the 17th century, possibly by Samuel Johnson in his Dictionary of 1755 – several other words that had existed without a ''b'' had them reinserted at around that time.

Payment

Before a debt can be made, both the debtor and the creditor must agree on the manner in which the debt will be repaid, known as the standard of deferred payment. This payment is usually denominated as a sum of money in units of currency, but can sometimes be denominated in terms of goods or services. Payment can be made in increments over a period of time, or all at once at the end of the loan agreement.

Types of debt

A company uses various kinds of debt to finance its operations. The various types of debt can generally be categorized into: 1) secured and unsecured debt, 2) private and public debt, 3) syndicated and bilateral debt, and 4) other types of debt that display one or more of the characteristics noted above.

A debt obligation is considered secured, if creditors have recourse to the assets of the company on a proprietary basis or otherwise ahead of general claims against the company. Unsecured debt comprises financial obligations, where creditors do not have recourse to the assets of the borrower to satisfy their claims.

Private debt comprises bank-loan type obligations, whether senior or mezzanine. Public debt is a general definition covering all financial instruments that are freely tradeable on a public exchange or over the counter, with few if any restrictions.

A basic loan or "term loan" is the simplest form of debt. It consists of an agreement to lend a fixed amount of money, called the , for a fixed period of time, with this amount to be repaid by a certain date. In commercial loans interest, calculated as a percentage of the principal sum per year, will also have to be paid by that date, or may be paid periodically in the interval, such as annually or monthly. Such loans are also colloquially called bullet loans, particularly if there is only a single payment at the end – the "bullet" – without a "stream" of interest payments during the "life" of the loan. There are many conventions on how interest is calculated – see day count convention for some – while a standard convention is the annual percentage rate (APR), widely used and required by regulation in the United States and United Kingdom, though there are different forms of APR.

In some loans, the amount actually loaned to the debtor is less than the principal sum to be repaid; the additional principal has the same economic effect as a higher interest rate (see point), and is sometimes referred to as a banker's dozen, a play on "baker's dozen" – owe twelve (a dozen), receive a loan of eleven (a banker's dozen). Note that the effective interest rate is not equal to the discount: if one borrows $10 and must repay $11, then this is ($11–$10)/$10 = 10% interest; however, if one borrows $9 and must repay $10, then this is ($10–$9)/$9 = 11 1/9 % interest.

Rather than the entire principal amount of the loan being due at the end of the loan, the principal may be slowly repaid or "amortized" over the course of the loan – see amortizing loan. This is particularly common in mortgages and in the minimum payment on credit cards.

A syndicated loan is a loan that is granted to companies that wish to borrow more money than any single lender is prepared to risk in a single loan, usually many millions of dollars. In such a case, a syndicate of banks can each agree to put forward a portion of the principal sum. Loan syndication is a risk management tool that allows the lead banks underwriting the debt to reduce their risk and free up lending capacity.

A bond is a debt security issued by certain institutions such as companies and governments. A bond entitles the holder to repayment of the principal sum, plus interest. Bonds are issued to investors in a marketplace when an institution wishes to borrow money. Bonds have a fixed lifetime, usually a number of years; with long-term bonds, lasting over 30 years, being less common. At the end of the bond's life the money should be repaid in full. Interest may be added to the end payment, or can be paid in regular installments (known as coupons) during the life of the bond. Bonds may be traded in the bond markets, and are widely used as relatively safe investments in comparison to equity.

Debt syndication

A syndicated loan is one that is provided by a group of lenders, and is structured, arranged, and administered by one or several commercial banks or investment banks known as arrangers.

Non Fund Base

Letter of Credit:

The LC can also be the source of payment for a transaction, meaning that redeeming the letter of credit will pay an exporter. Letters of credit are used primarily in international trade transactions of significant value, for deals between a supplier in one country and a customer in another. They are also used in the land development process to ensure that approved public facilities (streets, sidewalks, stormwater ponds, etc.) will be built. The parties to a letter of credit are usually a beneficiary who is to receive the money, the issuing bank of whom the applicant is a client, and the advising bank of whom the beneficiary is a client. Almost all letters of credit are irrevocable, i.e., cannot be amended or canceled without prior agreement of the beneficiary, the issuing bank and the confirming bank, if any. In executing a transaction, letters of credit incorporate functions common to giros and Traveler's cheques. Typically, the documents a beneficiary has to present in order to receive payment include a commercial invoice, bill of lading, and a document proving the shipment was insured against loss or damage in transit. However, the list and form of documents is open to imagination and negotiation and might contain requirements to present documents issued by a neutral third party evidencing the quality of the goods shipped, or their place of origin.

Accounting debt

In national accounting, debts are added according to those who are indebted. Household debt is the debt held by households. "National" or Public debt is the debt held by the various governmental institutions (federal government, states, cities ...). Business debt is the debt held by businesses. Financial debt is the debt held by the financial sector (from one financial institution to another). Total debt is the sum of all those debts, excluding financial debt to prevent double accounting. These various types of debt can be computed in debt/GDP ratios. Those ratios help to assess the speed of variations in the indebtness and the size of the debt due. For example, the USA has a high consumer debt and a low public debt, while in eastern European countries the opposite tends to be true .

There are differences in the accounting of debt for private and public agents. If a private agent promises to pay something later, it has a debt, and this debt is enforceable by public agents. If a public body passes a law stating that it'll pay something later (a kind of promise), it keeps the right to change the law later (and not to pay). This is why, for instance, the money governments promised to pay for retirements does not show up in the public debt assessment, whereas the money private companies promised to pay for retirements do.

Securitization

Securitization occurs when a company groups together assets or receivables and sells them in units to the market through a trust. Any asset with a cashflow can be securitized. The cash flows from these receivables are used to pay the holders of these units. Companies often do this in order to remove these assets from their balance sheets and monetize an asset. Although these assets are "removed" from the balance sheet and are supposed to be the responsibility of the trust, that does not end the company's involvement. Often the company maintains a special interest in the trust which is called an "interest only strip" or "first loss piece". Any payments from the trust must be made to regular investors in precedence to this interest. This protects investors from a degree of risk, making the securitization more attractive. The aforementioned brings into question whether the assets are truly off-balance-sheet given the company's exposure to losses on this interest.

Debt, inflation and the exchange rate

As noted below, debt is normally denominated in a particular monetary currency, and so changes in the valuation of that currency can change the effective size of the debt. This can happen due to inflation or deflation, so it can happen even though the borrower and the lender are using the same currency. Thus it is important to agree on standards of deferred payment in advance, so that a degree of fluctuation will also be agreed as acceptable. It is for instance common to agree to "US dollar denominated" debt.

The form of debt involved in banking accounts for a large proportion of the money in most industrialised nations (see money, broad money, and demand deposits for a discussion of this). There is therefore a relationship between inflation, deflation, the money supply, and debt. The store of value represented by the entire economy of the industrialized nation, and the state's ability to levy tax on it, acts to the foreign holder of debt as a guarantee of repayment, since industrial goods are in high demand in many places worldwide.

Inflation indexed debt

Borrowing and repayment arrangements linked to inflation-indexed units of account are possible and are used in some countries. For example, the US government issues two types of inflation-indexed bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) and I-bonds. These are one of the safest forms of investment available, since the only major source of risk – that of inflation – is eliminated. A number of other governments issue similar bonds, and some did so for many years before the US government.

In countries with consistently high inflation, ordinary borrowings at banks may also be inflation indexed.

Debt ratings, risk and cancellation

Risk free interest rate

Lendings to stable financial entities such as large companies or governments are often termed "risk free" or "low risk" and made at a so-called "risk-free interest rate". This is because the debt and interest are highly unlikely to be defaulted. A good example of such risk-free interest is a US Treasury security - it yields the minimum return available in economics, but investors have the comfort of the (almost) certain expectation that the US Treasury will not default on its debt instruments. A risk-free rate is also commonly used in setting floating interest rates, which are usually calculated as the risk-free interest rate plus a bonus to the creditor based on the creditworthiness of the debtor (in other words, the risk of him or her defaulting and the creditor losing the debt). In reality, no lending is truly risk free, but borrowers at the "risk free" rate are considered the least likely to default.

However, if the real value of a currency changes during the term of the debt, the purchasing power of the money repaid may vary considerably from that which was expected at the commencement of the loan. So from a practical investment point of view, there is still considerable risk attached to "risk free" or "low risk" lendings. The real value of the money may have changed due to inflation, or, in the case of a foreign investment, due to exchange rate fluctuations.

The Bank for International Settlements is an organisation of central banks that sets rules to define how much capital banks have to hold against the loans they give out.

Ratings and creditworthiness

Specific bond debts owed by both governments and private corporations is rated by rating agencies, such as Moody's, Fitch Ratings Inc., A. M. Best and Standard & Poor's. The government or company itself will also be given its own separate rating. These agencies assess the ability of the debtor to honor his obligations and accordingly give him or her a credit rating. Moody's uses the letters ''Aaa Aa A Baa Ba B Caa Ca C'', where ratings ''Aa-Caa'' are qualified by numbers 1-3. Munich Re, for example, currently is rated ''Aa3'' (). S&P and other rating agencies have slightly different systems using capital letters and +/- qualifiers.

A change in ratings can strongly affect a company, since its cost of refinancing depends on its creditworthiness. Bonds below Baa/BBB (Moody's/S&P) are considered junk- or high risk bonds. Their high risk of default (approximately 1.6% for Ba) is compensated by higher interest payments. Bad Debt is a loan that can not (partially or fully) be repaid by the debtor. The debtor is said to default on his debt. These types of debt are frequently repackaged and sold below face value. Buying junk bonds is seen as a risky but potentially profitable form of investment.

Cancellation

Short of bankruptcy, it is rare that debts are wholly or partially relinquished. Traditions in some cultures demand that this be done on a regular (often annual) basis, in order to prevent systemic inequities between groups in society, or anyone becoming a specialist in holding debt and coercing repayment – see debt relief. An example is the Biblical Jubilee year, described in the Book of Leviticus.

Under English law, when the creditor is deceived into relinquishing the debt, this is a crime: see Theft Act 1978.

International Third World debt has reached the scale that many economists are convinced that debt cancellation is the only way to restore global equity in relations with the developing nations.

Effects of debt

Debt allows people and organizations to do things that they would otherwise not be able, or allowed, to do. Commonly, people in industrialised nations use it to purchase houses, cars and many other things too expensive to buy with cash on hand. Companies also use debt in many ways to leverage the investment made in their assets, "leveraging" the return on their equity. This leverage, the proportion of debt to equity, is considered important in determining the riskiness of an investment; the more debt per equity, the riskier. For both companies and individuals, this increased risk can lead to poor results, as the cost of servicing the debt can grow beyond the ability to pay due to either external events (income loss) or internal difficulties (poor management of resources).

Excesses in debt accumulation have been blamed for exacerbating economic problems. For example, prior to the beginning of the Great Depression debt/GDP ratio was very high. Economic agents were heavily indebted. This excess of debt, equivalent to excessive expectations on future returns, accompanied asset bubbles on the stock markets. When expectations corrected, deflation and a credit crunch followed. Deflation effectively made debt more expensive and, as Fisher explained, this reinforced deflation again, because, in order to reduce their debt level, economic agents reduced their consumption and investment. The reduction in demand reduced business activity and caused further unemployment. In a more direct sense, more bankruptcies also occurred due both to increased debt cost caused by deflation and the reduced demand.

It is possible for some organizations to enter into alternative types of borrowing and repayment arrangements which will not result in bankruptcy. For example, companies can sometimes convert debt that they owe into equity in themselves. In this case, the creditor hopes to regain something equivalent to the debt and interest in the form of dividends and capital gains of the borrower. The "repayments" are therefore proportional to what the borrower earns and so can not in themselves cause bankruptcy. Once debt is converted in this way, it is no longer known as debt.

Arguments against debt

Some argue against debt as an instrument and institution, on a personal, family, social, corporate and governmental level. Islam forbids lending with interest even today, while the Catholic Church allowed it from 1822 onwards, and the Torah states that all debts should be erased every 7 years and every 50 years (in the Jubilee year, as described in the Book of Leviticus).

Debt will increase through time if it is not repaid faster than it grows through interest. This effect may be termed usury, while the term "usury" in other contexts refers only to an excessive rate of interest, in excess of a reasonable profit for the risk accepted.

In international legal thought, Odious debt is debt that is incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the interest of the state. Such debts are thus considered by this doctrine to be personal debts of the regime that incurred them and not debts of the state.

In an economy with high interest rates, debt will be more costly to a business than more flexible dividends on equity investment. It may be easier for a struggling business to be financed through equity investment as it may be possible to avoid paying a dividend if times are hard.

At the household level, debts can also have detrimental effects. In particular when households make spending decisions assuming income to remain the same -or increase- for the years to come. When households take-on credits based on this assumption, life events can easily change indebtedness into over-indebtedness. Such life events include unexpected unemployment, relationship break-up, leaving the parental home, business failure, illness or home repairs. Over-indebtedness has severe social consequences, such as, financial hardship, poor health (physical and mental), family stress, stigma, barriers to obtaining employment, exclusion from basic financial services (European Commission, 2009), work accidents and industrial disease, a strain on social relations (Carpentier and Van den Bosch, 2008), absenteeism at work and lack of organisational commitment (Kim et al, 2003), feeling of insecurity, and relational tensions.

Levels and flows

Global debt underwriting grew 4.3% year-over-year to $5.19 trillion during 2004. It is expected to rise in the coming years if the spending habits of millions of people worldwide continue the way they do.

See also

Derivative (finance)

Debt bondage

Debtors' prison

Dissaving

Financial markets

List of finance topics

Odious debt

Revolving account

Saving

Equity

Time value of money

Thomson Financial League Tables

References

Category:Credit * Category:Core issues in ethics Category:Personal financial problems

ar:قرض arc:ܝܙܦܬܐ zh-min-nan:Chè-bū ca:Deute ceb:Utang cs:Dluh de:Schulden eo:Ŝuldo fa:قرض fr:Dette ko:채무 hi:ऋण hr:Dug id:Utang it:Debito kn:ಋಣಭಾರ ht:Dèt la:Aes alienum lb:Schold (Recht) lt:Skola ln:Nyongo nl:Schulden ja:債務 no:Gjeld pl:Dług (ekonomia) pt:Débito ru:Долг sq:Borxhi scn:Detta simple:Debt sk:Dlh fi:Velka sv:Skuld (ekonomi) tl:Utang ta:கடன் th:หนี้สิน tr:Borç uk:Борг vi:Nợ bat-smg:Skuola zh:债务

Name	Eric Cantor
Office	House Majority Leader
Deputy	Kevin McCarthy
Term start	January 3, 2011
Predecessor	Steny Hoyer
Office2	House Minority Whip
Leader2	John Boehner
Term start2	January 3, 2009
Term end2	January 3, 2011
Predecessor2	Roy Blunt
Successor2	Steny Hoyer
Office3	Republican Chief Deputy Whip of the United States House of Representatives
1blankname3	Whip
1namedata3	Roy Blunt
Term start3	January 3, 2003
Term end3	January 3, 2009
Predecessor3	Roy Blunt
Successor3	Kevin McCarthy
State4	Virginia
District4	7th
Term start4	January 3, 2001
Predecessor4	Thomas Bliley
Office5	Member of the Virginia House of Delegatesfrom the 73rd District
Term start5	January 3, 1992
Term end5	January 3, 2001
Predecessor5	Walter Stosch
Successor5	John O'Bannon
Birth date	June 06, 1963
Birth place	Richmond, Virginia, United States
Party	Republican Party
Spouse	Diana Fine
Alma mater	George Washington UniversityWilliam & Mary Law SchoolColumbia University
Profession	AttorneyReal estate executive
Religion	Judaism
Website	House website Majority Leader website }}

Eric Ivan Cantor (; born June 6, 1963) is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011. He previously served as House Minority Whip from 2009 to 2011.

His district includes most of the northern and western sections of Richmond, along with most of Richmond's western suburbs and portions of the Shenandoah Valley. Cantor is the only Jewish Republican currently serving in Congress.

Early life, education and career

Cantor, the second of three children, was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Mary Lee (née Hudes), a schoolteacher, and Eddie Cantor, who owned a real estate firm. His paternal family immigrated from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s and his maternal grandfather was born in Romania. His father was the state treasurer for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. Cantor was raised in Conservative Judaism. He graduated from the Collegiate School in 1981. He enrolled at George Washington University (GW) in 1981, and as a freshman he worked as an intern for House Republican Tom Bliley of Virginia and was Bliley's driver in the 1982 campaign. Cantor was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity while at GW and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1985 He earned a Juris Doctor degree from William & Mary Law School in 1988, and received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 1989.

Cantor worked for over a decade with his family's business doing legal work and real estate development.

Virginia House of Delegates

Cantor served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992–January 1, 2001. At various times he was a member of committees on Science and Technology, Corporation Insurance and Banking, General Laws, Courts of Justice, (co-chairman) Claims. Cantor announced on March 14, 2000 that he would seek the seat in the United States House of Representatives that was being vacated by Tom Bliley. Cantor had chaired Bliley's reelection campaigns for the previous six years, and immediately gained the support of Bliley's political organization, as well as Bliley's endorsement later in the primary.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

During his first term, Cantor was Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. He has also served on the House Financial Services Committee and on the House International Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Party leadership

In 2002–only a few weeks after winning a second term–Roy Blunt appointed Cantor Chief Deputy Republican Whip, the highest appointed position in the Republican caucus.

On November 19, 2008, Cantor was unanimously elected Republican Whip for the 111th Congress, after serving as Deputy Whip for six years under Blunt. Blunt had decided not to seek reelection to the post after Republican losses in the previous two elections. Cantor was the first member of either party from Virginia to hold the position of Party Whip. As Whip, Cantor was the second-ranking House Republican, behind Minority Leader John Boehner. He was charged with coordinating the votes and messages of Republican House members. Cantor became the Majority Leader when the 112th Congress took office on January 3, 2011. However, he is still second-in-command to Boehner in the House Republican caucus; by tradition, the Speaker is reckoned as leader of his party.

Cantor is a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Republican National Committee. He is one of the Republican Party's top fundraisers, having raised over $30 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). He is also one of the three founding members of the GOP Young Guns Program. In the fall of 2010, Cantor wrote a ''New York Times'' bestselling book, ''Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders'', with the other two founding members of Young Guns. They describe the vision outlined in the book as "a clear agenda based on common sense for the common good." Cantor said in 2010 that he worked with the Tea Party movement in his district.

Campaign office incident

After the passage of the health care reform bill in March 2010, Cantor reported that somebody had shot a bullet through a window of his campaign office in Richmond, Virginia. A spokesman for the Richmond Police later stated that the bullet was not intentionally fired at Cantor's office, saying that it was instead random gunfire, as there were no signs outside the office identifying the office as being Cantor's. A preliminary investigation indicated that the bullet was fired into the air and hit the office window going down. The bullet landed within a foot of the window. Cantor responded to this by saying that Democratic leaders in the House should stop "dangerously fanning the flames" by blaming Republicans for threats against House Democrats who voted for the health care legislation.

Cantor also reported that he had received threatening e-mails related to the passage of the bill, but he declined to hand over copies of the e-mails, saying that doing so would encourage similar activity.

Political positions

Israel

As of December 2010, Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in the United States Congress. He supports strong United States-Israel relations. He cosponsored legislation to cut off all U.S. taxpayer aid to the Palestinian Authority and another bill calling for an end to taxpayer aid to the Palestinians until they stop unauthorized excavations on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Responding to a claim by the State Department that the United States provides no direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, Cantor claimed that United States sends about US$75 million in aid annually to the Palestinian Authority, which is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. He opposed a Congressionally approved three-year package of US$400 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority in 2000 and has also introduced legislation to end aid to Palestinians.

In May 2008, Cantor said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a "constant sore" but rather "a constant reminder of the greatness of America", and following Barack Obama's election as President in November 2008, Cantor stated that a “stronger U.S.-Israel relationship” remains a top priority for him and that he would be “very outspoken” if Obama "did anything to undermine those ties." Shortly after the 2010 midterm elections, Cantor met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just before Netanyahu was to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to Cantor's office, he "stressed that the new Republican majority will serve as a check on the Administration" and "made clear that the Republican majority understands the special relationship between Israel and the United States." Cantor was criticized for engaging in foreign policy; one basis for the criticism was that in 2007, after Nancy Pelosi met with the President of Syria, Cantor himself had raised the possibility "that her recent diplomatic overtures ran afoul of the Logan Act, which makes it a felony for any American 'without authority of the United States' to communicate with a foreign government to influence that government’s behavior on any disputes with the United States."

Social issues

Cantor opposes public funding of embryonic stem cell research and opposes elective abortion. He is rated 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and 0% by NARAL Pro-Choice America, indicating a pro-life voting record. He is also opposed to same-sex marriage, voting to Constitutionally define marriage as between a male and a female in 2006. In November 2007 he voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also supports making flag burning illegal. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) rated him 19% in 2006, indicating an anti-affirmative action voting record. He is opposed to Gun Control, voting to ban product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers in 2005, and to ban gun registration and trigger-lock laws in the District of Columbia. He has a rating of "A" from the National Rifle Association (NRA). On Nov. 2, 2010, Cantor told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that he would try to trim the federal deficit by reducing welfare.

Economy, budgeting, and trade

Cantor is a supporter of free trade, voting to promote trade with Peru, Chile, Singapore, and Australia. He also voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He voted against raising the minimum wage to US$ 7.25 in 2007. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest federation of trade unions in the United States, rates Cantor 0%, indicating an anti-Union voting record.

In October 2008, Cantor advocated and voted for the TARP program which aided distressed banks.

On September 29, 2009 Cantor blamed Pelosi for what he felt was the failure of the $700 billion economic bailout bill. He noted that 94 Democrats voted against the measure, as well as 133 Republicans. Though supporting the Federal bailout of the nation's largest private banks, he referred to Pelosi's proposal to appoint a Car czar to run the U.S. Automobile Industry Bailout as a "bureaucratic" imposition on private business.

The following February, Cantor led Republicans in the House of Representatives in voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was a prominent spokesman in voicing the many issues he and his fellow Republicans had with the legislation. Cantor voted in favor of a 90% marginal tax rate increase on taxpayer financed bonuses, despite receiving campaign contributions from TARP recipient Citigroup.

In his book ''Young Guns'' , Cantor summarized Keynesian economics with the following opinion, "The idea is that the government can be counted on to spend more wisely than the people."

Other foreign affairs

In an article he wrote for the ''National Review'' in 2007, he condemned Nancy Pelosi's diplomatic visit to Syria, and her subsequent meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, whom he referred to as a "dictator and terror-sponsor"; saying that if "Speaker Pelosi’s diplomatic foray into Syria weren’t so harmful to U.S. interests in the Middle East, it would have been laughable". He went on to further his point:

In one fell swoop, the Speaker legitimized and emboldened a ruthless thug whose unyielding support for terrorism has bogged down our attempts to bring stability and peace to the region at every step of the way. The excursion, condemned by most major newspapers, undoubtedly won Pelosi plaudits from her reflexively anti-Bush liberal base.

Political campaigns

Cantor currently represents Virginia's 7th congressional district, which stretches from the western end of Richmond, through its suburbs, and northward to Page, Rappahannock and Culpeper counties. It also includes the towns of Mechanicsville and Laurel. The district is strongly Republican; it has been in Republican hands since 1981 (it was numbered as the 3rd District prior to 1993).

2000

Cantor was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, filling the seat from which Tom Bliley was retiring. He defeated the Democratic nominee, by nearly 100,000 votes. Cantor had won the closely contested Republican primary over state Senator Stephen Martin by only 263 votes. During his first term, he was one of only two Jewish Republicans in the House of Representatives, the other being Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, who had been the only Jewish Republican since the departure of S. William Green in 1992. Gilman retired in 2002 and Cantor has been the only Jewish Republican since.

2002

In 2002 Cantor was opposed by Democrat Ben L. Jones, former Congressman from Georgia, who had played "Cooter Davenport" in the TV Series The Dukes of Hazard.

2008 Vice Presidential speculation

In August 2008 news reports surfaced that Cantor was being considered as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate, with McCain's representatives seeking documents from Cantor as part of its vetting process. However, in May 2009, a source who claimed affiliation with the McCain campaign denied those reports, calling them "a complete and total joke", and blaming "Cantor’s PR people" for being responsible for the false reports. Additionally, a book by Washington Post reporters Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson outlining the McCain campaign does not mention Cantor as one of the possible running mates considered by McCain. The idea for Cantor to be McCain's running mate was supported by conservative leader Richard Land.

2008

Cantor won against Democratic nominee Anita Hartke.

2010

Cantor won against Democratic challenger Rick Waugh, and Independent Green Tea Party candidate Floyd C. Bayne. Although he won with 59% of the vote, Cantor received the lowest vote percentage since taking the hill in 2000.

Electoral history

{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="margin:0.5em; font-size:95%;" |+ : Results 2000–2008 !|Year ! !|Democrat !|Votes !|Pct ! !|Republican !|Votes !|Pct ! !|Other !|Party !|Votes !|Pct ! |- |2000 | | | | align="right" |94,935 | |33% | | | | align="right" |192,652 | |67% | |* | | | | | |- |2002 | | | | align="right" |49,854 | |30% | | |Eric Cantor | align="right" |113,658 | |69% | |* | | | | | |- |2004 | | |''(no candidate)'' | align="right" | | | | | |Eric Cantor | align="right" |230,765 | |75% | | |W. Brad Blanton | |Independent | align="right" |74,325 | align="right" |24% | |* |- |2006 | | | | align="right" |88,206 | |34% | | |Eric Cantor | align="right" |163,706 | |64% | | |W. Brad Blanton | |Independent | align="right" |4,213 | align="right" |2% |* |- |2008 | | | | align="right" |138,123 | |37% | | |Eric Cantor | align="right" |233,531 | |63% | | | | | | |- |2010 | | | | align="right" |79,607 | |34% | | |Eric Cantor | align="right" |138,196 | |59% | | |Floyd Bayne | |Independent Green | align="right" |15,164 | align="right" |6% | |*

Personal life

Cantor met his wife, Diana Marcy Fine, on a blind date; they were married in 1989. They have three children: Evan, Jenna, and Michael.

Diana Cantor is a lawyer and certified public accountant. She founded, and from 1996 until 2008 was executive director of, the Virginia College Savings Plan (an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia). She was also chairman of the board of the College Savings Plans Network. Mrs. Cantor is a Managing Director in a division of Emigrant Bank, a subsidiary of New York Private Bank & Trust Corp.

References

External links

Office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor ''official site''

Eric Cantor ''official U.S. House site''

Eric Cantor United States Congressman ''official campaign site''

Allison Hoffman: “The Gentleman From Virginia”. ''Tablet Magazine'', February 8, 2011

Official social media

@GOPLeader ''official Twitter account''

@EricCantor ''official campaign Twitter account''

EricCantor ''official YouTube account''

House Chamber ''official Facebook account''

Eric Cantor ''official campaign Facebook account''

Media appearances

Interview on BlogTalkRadio, August 2, 2008

{{s-ttl| title = Chief Deputy Republican Whip | years = 2003–2009 }} {{s-ttl| title = House Minority Whip | years = 2009–2011 }} {{s-ttl| title = House Majority Leader | years = 2011–present }}

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:American Jews Category:American Orthodox Jews Category:Columbia University alumni Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Category:Majority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Category:Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Category:People from Henrico County, Virginia Category:People from Richmond, Virginia Category:Virginia lawyers Category:Virginia Republicans Category:William & Mary Law School alumni

bcl:Eric Cantor de:Eric Cantor es:Eric Cantor fr:Eric Cantor he:אריק קנטור nl:Eric Cantor pl:Eric Cantor pt:Eric Cantor sh:Eric Cantor sv:Eric Cantor

James Roberts (born February 12, 1963 in Hollis, Queens, New York), better known as Ed Lover, is an African-American rapper, actor, musician, radio personality, and former MTV VJ.

Biography

Roberts is best known for C'MON SON! and being the co-host of the weekday version of MTV's hip hop music specialty program ''Yo! MTV Raps Today'' with partner Andre "Doctor Dré" Brown (The main weekend version was hosted by hip hop pioneer "Fab Five Freddy" Brathwaite). On Yo! MTV Raps Today, Ed created his own dance called the ''Ed Lover Dance'' that became somewhat popular in the 1990s. The Ed Lover Dance was performed to the track "The 900 Number" by DJ Mark the 45 King.

Ed and Dré—who hosted the high-rated ''Morning Show with Ed, Lisa, and Dré'' on New York's Hot 97 FM from 1993 to 1998—released only one album, 1994's poorly received ''Back Up Off Me!'' The previous year, they starred as a pair of hapless barbers turned police officers in the New Line Cinema feature film ''Who's the Man?'', which was well-received and is hailed as "the Hip-Hop whodunit".

He was later a radio personality on New York's Hip-Hop Radio Power 105.1 FM, and was recently reprimanded by Oprah Winfrey for his use of the word "bitches," leading to an Oprah show on the subject of disrespect in hip-hop to be broadcast soon. He also appeared on the VH1 program ''100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders'' in 2002. Lover also hosted a show on HBO in 2000-2001 titled ''KO Nation''. Ed is currently the host of the hit TV show ''Hip Hop Hold 'Em'' along with the self-produced web show called ''C'Mon Son!''. He was also the co-host of the morning show on WWPR-FM (Power 105.1) in New York City until he was released from the station on Friday, November 19, 2010. In 2011, Lover became the host of his own show called "Friday Night Flava" on WRKS (Kiss FM) in New York City.

C'mon Son

After 2000, Ed Lover created a series on YouTube titled "C'mon Son," in which he criticizes the errant acts of celebrities.

Pre-MTV History

Before reaching fame on MTV, Ed Lover was part of an eccentric and deliberately enigmatic Hip-Hop collective called ''No Face'' primarily with fellow members, Kevon Shah and Mark "Mark Sexx" Skeete who served as the main producer. No Face first debuted in 1989 on Island Records' Club music imprint, Great Jones with their only known recording for the label, "Hump Music" -- an underground sexually-explicit parody of The Jungle Brothers' 1988 Hip-House classic "I'll House You". No Face would continue recording for another five years, but they only released one album in 1990, ''Wake Your Daughter Up'' on their own No Face label, which was operated as an imprint of the Rush Associated Labels division of Def Jam Recordings.

Though Ed Lover was clearly recognizable throughout parts of the album, his name was not credited on the album and he was not featured on any album or single covers during this period—thus rendering Ed Lover the "No Face" part of the group. ''(Their main logo featured two heads with the word "face" written in graffiti-style' at the bottom of the right face, while the official label logo features three heads with the word "face" in a more proper font.)''

''Wake Your Daughter Up'' spawned two singles -- "Fake Hair Wearin' Bitch", an underground cult classic which sampled The Gap Band's "You Dropped A Bomb On Me" and featured The 2 Live Crew, and "Half", an R&B-styled divorce tale which featured the hardcore female Hip-Hop duo, BWP (Bytches With Problems), who were discovered by and recorded for No Face to a slightly bigger level of success for the label than the group No Face did. For reasons unknown, other than possibly to avoid conflicting with his duties on MTV, Ed Lover had left No Face shortly after their time with RAL. His swan song to the group and to the label was his cameo appearance with partner Doctor Dré in BWP's video for their third single "Wanted" from their one and only album, ''The Bytches'' from 1991.

Filmography

Year	Title
2006	''Hip Hop Hold Em''
2004	''The Bahama Hustle''
2003	The Hustle (2004 film)>The Hustle''
2002	''According To Jim''
2001	''Undisputed''
2000	''The Jamie Foxx Show''
1999	''The Hughleys''
1999	''Double Platinum''
1999	''Battle Dome''
1998	Ride (film)>Ride''
1994	''A Cool Like That Christmas''
1993	''Yuletide in the 'hood''
1993	''Who's the Man?''
1992	Juice (film)>Juice''
1992	''The Cosby Show''

Discography

Album information
	*Released: November 8, 1994	*Chart positions: #91 Top R&B/Hip-Hop, #27 Top Heatseekers	*Last RIAA certification: Gold	*Singles: "Back Up Off Me!", "For the Love of You"

External links

Ed Lover TV

Ed Lover Cmon Son

Category:American actors Category:American rappers Category:American radio personalities Category:African American actors Category:African American rappers Category:African American musicians Category:African American television personalities Category:Boxing commentators Category:VJs (media personalities) Category:Living people Category:People from Queens Category:1963 births