My morning commute is fairly short and fairly regimented. One of the habits that has been refined to an automatic behavior is my radio listening.
I start with SC-ETV radio until the local programing starts at about 749, then I move over to B-106 (Pop music, local traffic, quick news, weather) until I get to work just before 8am.
Today during their 'humor' portion of the morning news they started talking about the economic recovery act and just how much a trillion dollars is. They mentioned the twelve zeros, the lay 100 dollar bills side by side and circle the earth 30+ time, the number of years a trillion seconds is (30,000+) and other fun facts.
The one they didn't mention in their subtle efforts to discredit the bailout.
A trillion dollars is about how much we have spent on the US military, every year for the last for years (including the war effort costs).
I wonder how and why they missed that 'fun fact'?
Tags
Economics, Iraq
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Monday, October 27, 2008
Another Day Of Economic Instability
Globally the markets are still sliding and the futures in the US look very negative. There is talk of another emergency rate cut in an effort to slow the crash. With any luck we will get a respectable bounce for a little while to at least soften the blows.
In any event, it looks like we will get another week of enjoying the wonders of deregulation.
Tags
Economics
In any event, it looks like we will get another week of enjoying the wonders of deregulation.
Tags
Economics
Friday, October 24, 2008
Your Friday Reading Selections
BadTux quickly debunks the right wing myth that the economic collapse is the fault of the poor.
Vote fraud and Acorn are looked at at Dispatches from the Culture Wars.
From Informed Comment, a look at McCain Feingold and how Sarah Palin's $150,000 shopping spree broke that law.
And a look at the current economic situation and it's effect on education can be found in Millard Filmore's Bathtub.
Tags
Economics, Election 2008, Palin, Vote
Vote fraud and Acorn are looked at at Dispatches from the Culture Wars.
From Informed Comment, a look at McCain Feingold and how Sarah Palin's $150,000 shopping spree broke that law.
And a look at the current economic situation and it's effect on education can be found in Millard Filmore's Bathtub.
Tags
Economics, Election 2008, Palin, Vote
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
More Evidence; McCain Lies
Some recent history.
Just as we were seeing the initial public manifestation of our current economic meltdown John bravely declared that all is well. About 36-48 hours later he, in a obvious panic, declared he was suspending his campaign.
Only he never actually suspended anything.
Traditionally when a campaign is suspended the candidate stops making public appearance, call his surrogates in from media appearance, cancel interviews, and stop advertising. Well we have already seen that McCain continued to make public appearances, continued to do interviews, his talking heads were all over the news networks and we now have confirmation that his adds continued to be played.
More evidence, if you actually needed any, that John is a liar of monumental scale.
Tags
Economics, Election 2008, McCain
Just as we were seeing the initial public manifestation of our current economic meltdown John bravely declared that all is well. About 36-48 hours later he, in a obvious panic, declared he was suspending his campaign.
Only he never actually suspended anything.
Traditionally when a campaign is suspended the candidate stops making public appearance, call his surrogates in from media appearance, cancel interviews, and stop advertising. Well we have already seen that McCain continued to make public appearances, continued to do interviews, his talking heads were all over the news networks and we now have confirmation that his adds continued to be played.
On September 24, his campaign aired 2,447 ads and on Sept. 25, it aired 1,304 ads. From September 26-28, McCain aired 302, 670, and 852 ads respectively. On September 29, the campaign returned to previous advertising levels, airing 2,687 ads.
More evidence, if you actually needed any, that John is a liar of monumental scale.
Tags
Economics, Election 2008, McCain
Talk About Detached From Reality
You have bankrupted your business, the Federal government has to bail you out to the tune of $85,000,000,000.00 so what do you do?
Send your top executives to an exclusive spa for an all expenses paid vacation.
Granted, it was arranged prior to the bailout, and in the big scheme of things it is not a huge cost, but you would think that all the bright minds at this firm might see how this trip might make the firm look a little less than responsible.
Tags
AIG, Corruption, Economics
Send your top executives to an exclusive spa for an all expenses paid vacation.
Less than a week after the federal government had to bail out American International Group Inc., the company sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort, lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown said Tuesday.
The tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees at the coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles even as the company tapped into an $85 billion loan from the government it needed to stave off bankruptcy.
Granted, it was arranged prior to the bailout, and in the big scheme of things it is not a huge cost, but you would think that all the bright minds at this firm might see how this trip might make the firm look a little less than responsible.
Tags
AIG, Corruption, Economics
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
The Economic Crash Is Really Easily Understood
A lot of people lost a lot of money.
And the last two words are the key - ALL GONE -
When the housing bubble burst, it erased a lot of the assumed value that was backing these various types of paper, and that is all gone.
Tags
Economics
Spending the day watching CNBC, it's really quite stunning that they're unable to grapple with the real problem underlying all of this instead of the consequences of that problem. There's been a tremendous evaporation of housing wealth as a consequence of the bursting of the housing bubble. Lots of banks made bad loans and that money isn't coming back. Dealing with home foreclosures is time consuming and expensive and a lot of houses are underwater. Other people lost money insuring mortgages. Still more people lost money buying up those mortgages. Still more people lost money lending to people to buy up more mortgages. Even more people lost money insuring those loans. Etc.
All of this babble about liquidity and short selling and blah blah blah just obfuscates all of this. A big reason that there is a liquidity problem is that... people lost a lot of money. All gone!
And the last two words are the key - ALL GONE -
When the housing bubble burst, it erased a lot of the assumed value that was backing these various types of paper, and that is all gone.
Tags
Economics
Monday, October 06, 2008
Wall Street - 1 Hour Down almost 500
I knew we were in for a early hit this morning (Japan and Europe were sharply down) but expected a quicker bounce back.
Now down 533, ouch!
Tags
Economics
Now down 533, ouch!
Tags
Economics
Friday, October 03, 2008
So, What Did Go Wrong On Wall St.
How did out economy end up so screwed up.
Some of the dimmer bulbs on the right have tried to argue that is was a mid 90s change in mortgage law to make home mortgages more accessible to the underclasses. After a little research it was clear that this was absurd. First off, a great number of loans in these programs are over ten years old, and most of the mortgage failures were 5 or less years old. Second of all, there was never enough money in this market for it to greatly impact the system.
While it makes a great attack point for the right, like so many attack points from the right it is based on prejudice, racism and lies.
My view it is a number of factors were involved, that, in the end, come back to a failure in over-sight and regulation.
And this article makes it clear that my instinct was dead on.
It was the removal of restrictions, the lack of over-sight that created this mess, and the only real way to fix it is to put regkations back in place at once and then get back on the job with enforcement.
We have had to learn a lesson that will cost us into the trillions of dollars, lets hope our leadership is smart enough to learn it.
Tags
Economics, Regulation, Republicans
Some of the dimmer bulbs on the right have tried to argue that is was a mid 90s change in mortgage law to make home mortgages more accessible to the underclasses. After a little research it was clear that this was absurd. First off, a great number of loans in these programs are over ten years old, and most of the mortgage failures were 5 or less years old. Second of all, there was never enough money in this market for it to greatly impact the system.
While it makes a great attack point for the right, like so many attack points from the right it is based on prejudice, racism and lies.
My view it is a number of factors were involved, that, in the end, come back to a failure in over-sight and regulation.
And this article makes it clear that my instinct was dead on.
Many events in Washington, on Wall Street and elsewhere around the country have led to what has been called the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s. But decisions made at a brief meeting on April 28, 2004, explain why the problems could spin out of control.
...
On that bright spring afternoon, the five members of the Securities and Exchange Commission met in a basement hearing room to consider an urgent plea by the big investment banks.
They wanted an exemption for their brokerage units from an old regulation that limited the amount of debt they could take on.
...
The five investment banks led the charge, including Goldman Sachs, which was headed by Henry M. Paulson Jr. Two years later, he left to become Treasury secretary.
A lone dissenter — a software consultant and expert on risk management — weighed in from Indiana with a two-page letter to warn the commission that the move was a grave mistake. He never heard back from Washington.
...
Mr. Goldschmid, an authority on securities law from Columbia, was a behind-the-scenes adviser in 2002 to Senator Paul S. Sarbanes when he rewrote the nation’s corporate laws after a wave of accounting scandals. “Do we feel secure if there are these drops in capital we really will have investor protection?” Mr. Goldschmid asked. A senior staff member said the commission would hire the best minds, including people with strong quantitative skills to parse the banks’ balance sheets.
...
In loosening the capital rules, which are supposed to provide a buffer in turbulent times, the agency also decided to rely on the firms’ own computer models for determining the riskiness of investments, essentially outsourcing the job of monitoring risk to the banks themselves.
Over the following months and years, each of the firms would take advantage of the looser rules. At Bear Stearns, the leverage ratio — a measurement of how much the firm was borrowing compared to its total assets — rose sharply, to 33 to 1. In other words, for every dollar in equity, it had $33 of debt. The ratios at the other firms also rose significantly.
...
The supervisory program under Mr. Cox, who arrived at the agency a year later, was a low priority. The commission assigned seven people to examine the parent companies — which last year controlled financial empires with combined assets of more than $4 trillion. Since March 2007, the office has not had a director. And as of last month, the office had not completed a single inspection since it was reshuffled by Mr. Cox more than a year and a half ago.
...
Drive to Deregulate
The commission’s decision effectively to outsource its oversight to the firms themselves fit squarely in the broader Washington culture of the last eight years under President Bush.
A similar closeness to industry and laissez-faire philosophy has driven a push for deregulation throughout the government, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency to worker safety and transportation agencies
...
Christopher Cox had been a close ally of business groups in his 17 years as a House member from one of the most conservative districts in Southern California. Mr. Cox had led the effort to rewrite securities laws to make investor lawsuits harder to file. He also fought against accounting rules that would give less favorable treatment to executive stock options.
...
Mr. Cox dismantled a risk management office created by Mr. Donaldson that was assigned to watch for future problems. While other financial regulatory agencies criticized a blueprint by Mr. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, that proposed to reduce their stature — and that of the S.E.C. — Mr. Cox did not challenge the plan,
It was the removal of restrictions, the lack of over-sight that created this mess, and the only real way to fix it is to put regkations back in place at once and then get back on the job with enforcement.
We have had to learn a lesson that will cost us into the trillions of dollars, lets hope our leadership is smart enough to learn it.
Tags
Economics, Regulation, Republicans
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Since We Are Taking A Second Swing
(or third) at getting an emergency bail out in place and we have a couple a days to consider our options, I would like to add my voice to the mix.
I am one of those who is disgusted by the thought of bailing out this industry but I think we have little choice but to take some action. As I told a friend; It is like having a advanced case of gangrene in your leg. You can end up with two very unpleasant options, cut off the leg or die.
So it looks like we have to find a way to cut off the leg, but it doesn't mean we should not try to save as much as we can. So what is the smart way to fix this mess, but save as much as we can?
My first thought is; Why are we giving $700,000,000,000.00 to the same people who screwed up in the first place? Maybe the new bill should address this in some manner. It is possible to let the bad firms fail, but protect the overall credit markets? Keeping bad businesses open and bad business-persons in place is not smart and prior to giving money away this has to be looked at.
My second thought is; Why are we expecting oversight from the same people who let this happen on their watch? Maybe a few new regulators would not be a bad idea. Lets start with the man who's initial thought was: Yall, just give me $700,000,000,000.00 and bugger off, while I decide what to do with it. Anyone who thinks this is a rational reaction to a situation that occurred on his watch is not thinking clearly. This is another example of the Republican style of regulation and oversight biting middle America on the ass, and can not be allowed to continue.
My third thought is; Why are we expecting a better outcome after the bail-out when we have not changed the way the rules of the game are written. How about some real regulation, starting with a return to the rules in place in the mid 90s. Otherwise I think the end result is throwing good money after bad. A business's job it to make money, in any way it can, no matter what. The only boundaries that exist for them are the ones that society forces on them by rules and then enforcing the rules. For the last 30 years we have been removing the rules and over the last 7 years the Bush administration have simply refused to enforce the few rules left in place. This has to change or our efforts will make no long term difference.
These are not detailed solutions, simply a starting place on issues to address prior to giving the folks who paid them self's billions of dollars a year for losing trillions of dollars a year, another $700,000,000,000.00 to play with.
Tags
Bush Administration, Economics, Republicans
I am one of those who is disgusted by the thought of bailing out this industry but I think we have little choice but to take some action. As I told a friend; It is like having a advanced case of gangrene in your leg. You can end up with two very unpleasant options, cut off the leg or die.
So it looks like we have to find a way to cut off the leg, but it doesn't mean we should not try to save as much as we can. So what is the smart way to fix this mess, but save as much as we can?
My first thought is; Why are we giving $700,000,000,000.00 to the same people who screwed up in the first place? Maybe the new bill should address this in some manner. It is possible to let the bad firms fail, but protect the overall credit markets? Keeping bad businesses open and bad business-persons in place is not smart and prior to giving money away this has to be looked at.
My second thought is; Why are we expecting oversight from the same people who let this happen on their watch? Maybe a few new regulators would not be a bad idea. Lets start with the man who's initial thought was: Yall, just give me $700,000,000,000.00 and bugger off, while I decide what to do with it. Anyone who thinks this is a rational reaction to a situation that occurred on his watch is not thinking clearly. This is another example of the Republican style of regulation and oversight biting middle America on the ass, and can not be allowed to continue.
My third thought is; Why are we expecting a better outcome after the bail-out when we have not changed the way the rules of the game are written. How about some real regulation, starting with a return to the rules in place in the mid 90s. Otherwise I think the end result is throwing good money after bad. A business's job it to make money, in any way it can, no matter what. The only boundaries that exist for them are the ones that society forces on them by rules and then enforcing the rules. For the last 30 years we have been removing the rules and over the last 7 years the Bush administration have simply refused to enforce the few rules left in place. This has to change or our efforts will make no long term difference.
These are not detailed solutions, simply a starting place on issues to address prior to giving the folks who paid them self's billions of dollars a year for losing trillions of dollars a year, another $700,000,000,000.00 to play with.
Tags
Bush Administration, Economics, Republicans
Monday, September 29, 2008
To Big To Fail
When AIG was going down the drain the Fed had to step in and throw billions of dollars at them because if AIG failed it could have destroyed the economy in the process. In other words, AIG was to big to fail. The same was said of Fannie May and Freddie Mac. These bailouts have cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars and more is coming.
I do not possess the in depth knowledge to fully understand these failures but the argument that they have to be saved is , in each of these cases, quite defensible. It makes sense that if the collapse of a company would cost the nation more that saving it would it is the wise choice to save it.
But at some point you need to learn the lesson and stop allowing firms get to big to fail.
I mention this in light of the latest forced marriage (No, not the Palin kid) of Citigroup and Wachovia. When you have the largest marrying the largest, do we not risk having a firm grow so large we can not let it fail?
How about just a little regulation and oversight this time around.
Tags
Economics
I do not possess the in depth knowledge to fully understand these failures but the argument that they have to be saved is , in each of these cases, quite defensible. It makes sense that if the collapse of a company would cost the nation more that saving it would it is the wise choice to save it.
But at some point you need to learn the lesson and stop allowing firms get to big to fail.
I mention this in light of the latest forced marriage (No, not the Palin kid) of Citigroup and Wachovia. When you have the largest marrying the largest, do we not risk having a firm grow so large we can not let it fail?
How about just a little regulation and oversight this time around.
Tags
Economics
Wachovia Bites The Dust
For a friend of mine who worked in the home mortgage business this is the trifectia, Wachovia, WaMu and Indymac have now all failed.
I do wonder what that $700,000,000,000.00 is going to buy us.
Tags
Economics
I do wonder what that $700,000,000,000.00 is going to buy us.
Tags
Economics
Friday, September 26, 2008
Another One Bites The Dust
This one hit close to home. I had friends who worked for WaMu when they had operations here.
What amazing sights and wonders the Republican economic model brings us.
Tags
Economics, Republicans
As the debate over a $700 billion bank bailout rages on in Washington, one of the nation's largest banks — Washington Mutual Inc. — has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu on Thursday
.....
Seattle-based WaMu, which was founded in 1889, is the largest bank to fail by far in the country's history.
What amazing sights and wonders the Republican economic model brings us.
Tags
Economics, Republicans
Thursday, September 25, 2008
What I Would Like To See In The Bailout
This bailout has to happen, but it doesn't mean we have to be stupid about how we do it. Because of this I have developed a short list of key point that I wold love to see.
1. A return of real oversight of the industry. It makes no sense to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into a system that has already lost trillions of dollars, in part, because of poor regulation.
2. A deliberate process in the crafting the final bill. Quick law, rushed law, is almost always crappy law. Just consider the Patriot Act I and the Iraq Resolution. They were rushed and their flaws quickly became apparent. Take your time and do it right. Since this is a Rush, give a 120 day temporary OK for the expense of maybe 100 billion and do the rest right.
3. We should protect the tax payer, not the businesses. These bailout need to focus on limiting the long term exposure of the tax payer. Just because we are bailing out Wall Street, it doesn't mean we have to make every deal, and save every firm. If the deal is to ugly, skip it. Like medical triage, spend your energy on the good options, and let the hopeless die.
4. Get over the executive compensation issue. Yes, these guys are grossly overpaid, and have run their business and the economy on the rocks, but in the big picture it is a drop in a flood.
5. Accountability, investigate this mess, take your time, and discover what went wrong.
6. Re-regulation needs to start to keep the money flowing. No company can be allowed to get to big to fail. No industry can be allowed to run so free as to threaten our economy. This has to be addressed prior to spending more than the bare minimum to keep the economic wheels turning.
Do this and we will be making progress, much less and we are just help the rich and powerful get richer.
Tags
Economics, Wall St
1. A return of real oversight of the industry. It makes no sense to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into a system that has already lost trillions of dollars, in part, because of poor regulation.
2. A deliberate process in the crafting the final bill. Quick law, rushed law, is almost always crappy law. Just consider the Patriot Act I and the Iraq Resolution. They were rushed and their flaws quickly became apparent. Take your time and do it right. Since this is a Rush, give a 120 day temporary OK for the expense of maybe 100 billion and do the rest right.
3. We should protect the tax payer, not the businesses. These bailout need to focus on limiting the long term exposure of the tax payer. Just because we are bailing out Wall Street, it doesn't mean we have to make every deal, and save every firm. If the deal is to ugly, skip it. Like medical triage, spend your energy on the good options, and let the hopeless die.
4. Get over the executive compensation issue. Yes, these guys are grossly overpaid, and have run their business and the economy on the rocks, but in the big picture it is a drop in a flood.
5. Accountability, investigate this mess, take your time, and discover what went wrong.
6. Re-regulation needs to start to keep the money flowing. No company can be allowed to get to big to fail. No industry can be allowed to run so free as to threaten our economy. This has to be addressed prior to spending more than the bare minimum to keep the economic wheels turning.
Do this and we will be making progress, much less and we are just help the rich and powerful get richer.
Tags
Economics, Wall St
Monday, September 22, 2008
These Are Some Of The People
who are getting 700 Billion is tax payer funded bailouts.
$39,000,000,000.00 in bonuses just last year.
Tags
Economics
In 2007, Wall Street’s five biggest firms — Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley — paid a record $39 billion in bonuses to themselves.
That’s $10 billion more than the $29 billion loan taxpayers are making to J.P. Morgan to save Bear Stearns.
Those 2007 bonuses were paid even though the shareholders in those firms last year collectively lost about $74 billion in stock declines — their worst year since 2002.
$39,000,000,000.00 in bonuses just last year.
Tags
Economics
On Bailouts and Accountability
One of my biggest issues is accountability. I feel that one of the reasons that things have gotten as screwed up as they have is that we tend to not hold our leadership accountable. In simple terms, when a worker screws up he gets punished, often fired; All to often we see that when an executive screws up, he gets rewarded.
This is in no way uncommon where even the worst of executives gets millions in goodies as they are being pushed out the door.
This doesn't include the million and millions of dollars they earned in options and bonuses based on stock performance, a performance that was often gained by ignoring the long term to gain a few more points by the end of the quarter.
This system of limited to no accountability for those at the top who screwed up the most is about to be taken to new levels.
The US Taxpayer is being asked to give 1 person $700,000,000.00 dollars to make things better and as things appear right now, he can then do what ever he feels like doing with the cash, no questions asked.
it gets better, we get back to no accountability.
As constructed This bailout is not so much a bailout, but a giveaway to both wall street and oversees banks
As to accountability, well for for those who created this mess, I don't see any. The only ones to pay will be the American taxpayer.
Additional Voices
Vvanity Press
Open Left (Salty Language)
Tags
Economics
STAFF at Lehman’s New York office who helped to cause the world’s biggest corporate bankruptcy are to share in a $2.5 billion bonanza.
This is in no way uncommon where even the worst of executives gets millions in goodies as they are being pushed out the door.
This doesn't include the million and millions of dollars they earned in options and bonuses based on stock performance, a performance that was often gained by ignoring the long term to gain a few more points by the end of the quarter.
This system of limited to no accountability for those at the top who screwed up the most is about to be taken to new levels.
The US Taxpayer is being asked to give 1 person $700,000,000.00 dollars to make things better and as things appear right now, he can then do what ever he feels like doing with the cash, no questions asked.
The Treasury Secretary is authorized to give out money to anybody for any reason as long as he states that it is "mortgage-related".
it gets better, we get back to no accountability.
And there is no proposal to take over management and/or ownership of the institutions holding these toxic mortgages in exchange for taking the bad loans off their books, which is the only way to keep them from writing more toxic mortgages. Instead, it's just money thrown at the same bastards who got us into this situation in the first place.
As constructed This bailout is not so much a bailout, but a giveaway to both wall street and oversees banks
As to accountability, well for for those who created this mess, I don't see any. The only ones to pay will be the American taxpayer.
Additional Voices
Vvanity Press
Open Left (Salty Language)
Tags
Economics
Saturday, September 20, 2008
McCain Is At Fault For The Economic Meltdown
He also admits he wants to do what he did to bakning for your medical insurance.
And he also wanted to give the responsibility for safeguarding your Social Security to Lehman Brothers and the rest of the Wall Street gang that we are now having to bail out.
He is a man filled with ideas.
Tags
Economics, Health Care, McCain
Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.
And he also wanted to give the responsibility for safeguarding your Social Security to Lehman Brothers and the rest of the Wall Street gang that we are now having to bail out.
He is a man filled with ideas.
Tags
Economics, Health Care, McCain
Friday, September 19, 2008
Put It On My Tab
Today Bush have announced a bailout for the banks who are sitting on bad debt. Bad debt that started to be created only when theses very same banks had their lobbyist work congress and remove most of the regulations that prevented this type of stupidity. Bad debt that was used to show a quarterly or annual 'profit' and then sold onto other firms so they could show a quarterly or annual 'profit' so their executives could get then multi-million dollar bonuses. Bad debt that had fueled the (false) economic growth that Bush and the Republicans have touted for the last 7 years.
And what is the cost?
Well for the lobbyist, and the banks and the executives who got billions, who knows. heck, it is a safe bet that some of them are already sitting on millions of dollars, and are out of the game, sheltered from any real cost. But for our nation this bailout plan cost at least $1,000,000,000,000.00 (trillion) dollars (one of the lower estimates I have seen). On a personal level, it will cost my family at least $14,000.00. That is about 1/2 of the median family household income for the state of South Carolina.
Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now projected to cost me about $28,000.00 and paying off the the Reagan and Bush debt will cost another $115,000.00 (plus interest for all of this), I figure what the hell, just put it on my tab.
But there is real good news out there. If John McCain is elected, all those folks earning over $250,000.00 are in line to see a sweet tax cut. The rest of us? heck, just put it on the tab.
Tags
Debt, Economics McCain
And what is the cost?
Well for the lobbyist, and the banks and the executives who got billions, who knows. heck, it is a safe bet that some of them are already sitting on millions of dollars, and are out of the game, sheltered from any real cost. But for our nation this bailout plan cost at least $1,000,000,000,000.00 (trillion) dollars (one of the lower estimates I have seen). On a personal level, it will cost my family at least $14,000.00. That is about 1/2 of the median family household income for the state of South Carolina.
Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now projected to cost me about $28,000.00 and paying off the the Reagan and Bush debt will cost another $115,000.00 (plus interest for all of this), I figure what the hell, just put it on my tab.
But there is real good news out there. If John McCain is elected, all those folks earning over $250,000.00 are in line to see a sweet tax cut. The rest of us? heck, just put it on the tab.
Tags
Debt, Economics McCain
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Quick Review Of What I Am Seeing
out in the blogisphere
More that a few people have noted how often McCain and Palin are lying and that they are lying about almost everything. Even our regularly blind media has noticed. Of course this lying includes lying in their advertising when they try to attack Obama's actions. There is humor to be found in this dishonesty, like the discovery that it appears that the McCain/Palin ticket what to protect child molesters.
As would be expected, a big topic is the economic meltdown we are seeing. It is being noted by many that our current situation is a direct result of policies that Republicans have been promoting. You have to remember that the Republicans have been in charge for years and it is the deregulation they pushed that has allowed the meltdown to occur. If fact some have made it very clear that this collapse is a direct result of policies pushed by John McCain's and his lead economic adviser Phil Gramm.
Of course other traditional republican issues are also getting some mention. It appears that Palin supports banning books but not so found of actual oversight. In fact it is clear she is a big fan of abusing power. And it becomes clear that she is a true hard core Reoublican when we see just how quickly she moves to start obstructing investigations, It is a favorite pastime of republicans.
While I still wonder what makes so many Republicans tick, the argument that it is a mental illness is starting to make more sense.
Tags
Economics, Election 2008, McCain, Palin
More that a few people have noted how often McCain and Palin are lying and that they are lying about almost everything. Even our regularly blind media has noticed. Of course this lying includes lying in their advertising when they try to attack Obama's actions. There is humor to be found in this dishonesty, like the discovery that it appears that the McCain/Palin ticket what to protect child molesters.
As would be expected, a big topic is the economic meltdown we are seeing. It is being noted by many that our current situation is a direct result of policies that Republicans have been promoting. You have to remember that the Republicans have been in charge for years and it is the deregulation they pushed that has allowed the meltdown to occur. If fact some have made it very clear that this collapse is a direct result of policies pushed by John McCain's and his lead economic adviser Phil Gramm.
Of course other traditional republican issues are also getting some mention. It appears that Palin supports banning books but not so found of actual oversight. In fact it is clear she is a big fan of abusing power. And it becomes clear that she is a true hard core Reoublican when we see just how quickly she moves to start obstructing investigations, It is a favorite pastime of republicans.
While I still wonder what makes so many Republicans tick, the argument that it is a mental illness is starting to make more sense.
Tags
Economics, Election 2008, McCain, Palin
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Time To Reap What We Have Sewn
For over the last twenty five to thirty years one of the primary screeds of the Republican party is that government was evil, and one of the most heinous things that our government does is regulate business. In all honesty I have to admit that a significant minority of the Democratic party has also taken an anti-governmental regulation position. It has been a basic operating concept of every administration since 1980 and has been supported by a slim majority of Americans.
The result is plain to see. We have mega consolidation in almost every industry. We have gotten to the point that almost all rules regulating businesses are basically written by the business groups themselves. We are rapidly becoming a welfare state for corporations where the job of the citizen is to keep corporations healthy.
We have also gotten to the point where, in many business sectors, the competitors have consolidated to the point where, on a national level, there are only a couple of major players left. For a business this near monopoly is a great situation, for the consumer it has it's advantages and disadvantages, for a society it is a dangerous nightmare.
Economies of scale that develop when a business becomes a Goliath can offer benefits to the consumer but there are a number of costs. One of these was made crystal clear with the recent bailouts that have been offered to mismanaged businesses. At times an economy and society become so dependant on a company that the risk of it's failure is so great it can not be allowed. This is the reality we now face with Freddie, Fanny and AIG. If we had 20 or 30 companies doing the work of Fanny and Freddie do then if one or two failed it would hurt some, but it would not have cost the whole nation. If we had prevented these companies from becoming so large and in some cases basically the only provides of a services, then we could allow them to fail. However, the push to get government out of business regulation has allowed for consolidation and hyper growth that has created a situation where a business failure is a risk to the nation as a whole. The trouble is, failure is a central tenant of capitalism. We have ignored this truth and the cost for this inaction is now into the hundreds of billions of extra tax exposure for a nation that is already vastly overstretched. And the frightening truth is, there are still a large numbers of firms, in various business areas, that are very very sick.
So, next time you hear about a mega merger or other consolidation and hear about how they hope to get regulatory approval, the next time you hear people complaining about government rules, remember this very expensive lesson and scream at your elected officials to do their jobs.
Unless you like watching corporate offices getting hundreds of millions in bonuses and the having the tax payer bail them out.
Added On
This point is made very clear at Seeing the Forest
Skippy has also noticed what our tax dollars are buying
Tags
Economics, Republicans
The result is plain to see. We have mega consolidation in almost every industry. We have gotten to the point that almost all rules regulating businesses are basically written by the business groups themselves. We are rapidly becoming a welfare state for corporations where the job of the citizen is to keep corporations healthy.
We have also gotten to the point where, in many business sectors, the competitors have consolidated to the point where, on a national level, there are only a couple of major players left. For a business this near monopoly is a great situation, for the consumer it has it's advantages and disadvantages, for a society it is a dangerous nightmare.
Economies of scale that develop when a business becomes a Goliath can offer benefits to the consumer but there are a number of costs. One of these was made crystal clear with the recent bailouts that have been offered to mismanaged businesses. At times an economy and society become so dependant on a company that the risk of it's failure is so great it can not be allowed. This is the reality we now face with Freddie, Fanny and AIG. If we had 20 or 30 companies doing the work of Fanny and Freddie do then if one or two failed it would hurt some, but it would not have cost the whole nation. If we had prevented these companies from becoming so large and in some cases basically the only provides of a services, then we could allow them to fail. However, the push to get government out of business regulation has allowed for consolidation and hyper growth that has created a situation where a business failure is a risk to the nation as a whole. The trouble is, failure is a central tenant of capitalism. We have ignored this truth and the cost for this inaction is now into the hundreds of billions of extra tax exposure for a nation that is already vastly overstretched. And the frightening truth is, there are still a large numbers of firms, in various business areas, that are very very sick.
So, next time you hear about a mega merger or other consolidation and hear about how they hope to get regulatory approval, the next time you hear people complaining about government rules, remember this very expensive lesson and scream at your elected officials to do their jobs.
Unless you like watching corporate offices getting hundreds of millions in bonuses and the having the tax payer bail them out.
Added On
This point is made very clear at Seeing the Forest
Since Reagan almost all of us are getting poorer, while a very few get vastly richer. Wages have largely stagnated since Reagan's election even as GDP and productivity have gone up. Pensions are a thing of the past. Health insurance is becoming a thing of the past as well.
As a result of the Reagan and now Bush tax cuts for the rich the government's debt is just about $10 TRILLION.
Skippy has also noticed what our tax dollars are buying
Tags
Economics, Republicans
To Hell With Accountability
Another mega-corportation is bailed out by US Taxpayers.
Executives get paid 100s of millions of dollars to drive a countless number of companies off the cliff, and then;
The folks who got laid off durring offshoring, those who wages have been declining durring this period of executive excess, well, they get to pay billions and billions to clean op the mess created by the multi-millioniars.
This is one heck of a system we have built, isn't it.
Tags
Economics
the U.S. government agreed Tuesday to provide an $85 billion emergency loan to rescue the huge insurer AIG. The Federal Reserve said
Executives get paid 100s of millions of dollars to drive a countless number of companies off the cliff, and then;
The folks who got laid off durring offshoring, those who wages have been declining durring this period of executive excess, well, they get to pay billions and billions to clean op the mess created by the multi-millioniars.
This is one heck of a system we have built, isn't it.
Tags
Economics
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