It is official. The tea party has begun in full force. Tax revolts are officially beginning in a neighborhood near you. The things that I have been talking about for the past 5 weeks are becoming apparent to everyone now - even the administration. Trust me you, Team Obama is not terribly happy about what is happening either. I am working on a post in coming days about Russia which is a tremendously important topic. But as I research this topic thoroughly, I want to make mention of how someone brought to my attention the tax revolts that are taking place NOW.
Firstly, you would not be on this blog if we were not on the same wavelength. You want to feel a little pressure, a little push? Why don't you start with this 5:00 video from Rick Santelli. If it does not get you fired up, I don't know what will!
If you are like me, you are thinking about the straw that broke the camel's back right now. Was it the impending doom, the stock market crash, or was it deciding we were going to spend trillions of dollars on earmark ridden, "imperfect" legislation going to "infrastructure" projects? The accountability starts now and you know what? It starts with the man on the top.
Reteaparty.com is one of the organizing sites, although there appears to be an amalgamation of these sites. I am currently suggesting that it is a good idea to participate in peacable social discourse. We are not happy, nor are we impressed with the waves of money being thrown at problems that in the past were dealt with through business.
To draw a parallel, neither is the CEO of Wells Fargo, Richard Kovacevich, who is trying to figure out how to give back the TARP money because of the 'asinine' strings attached to it as bloomberg.com is currently reporting.
Sure, TARP helped bail out some bad banks. But the outlying consequences have already begun taking place. The government has no idea what to do with the fallout, as demonstrated by their dealing with the bailout recipient bonus issue. Did you guys really think big time corporate executives work for companies out of the goodness of their hearts? Of course they had contracts in place that make them get paid bonuses. Why are they acting so surprised? You bail out a bank and then expect its execs to fall on their own sword? You must be joking. If we would have let them fail, these same execs that are taking bonuses would have been forced out!!!
The discourse of the White House is pretty dismal - they seem to think that nothing good at all comes out of Wall Street. While I am certainly cognizant that there was some very funky business regarding CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations) credit default swaps and of course, hedge funds. I am also cognizant that the SEC has been neutered for much of the last decade. While Bernanke figures out what to do with mark to market regulations, (which may indeed help) we should remember that overall the Financial Services industry is NOT made up of a bunch of crooks.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Devil in the Details
In our newest screenplay, Fast Times at White House High, we are quickly finding out what the agenda really is. The question that begs to be asked is how much will we spend? How far will the interventionist policies encroach? How much money can we sink into a failing company?
Nancy Pelosi is preaching the beginning of a new round of stimulus spending, ostensibly saying, 'get your pens ready, there is more government to create.'
Our stock markets are reacting to the realities, namely, huge deficit spending, encroaching entitlement programs (remember the boomers and Social Security) and the general defilement of Capitalism.
The conservative right is getting accused of not seeking to solve the problem. Look at the White House's recent ploy. Rahm Emanuel took aim at Limbaugh and foisted him as the posterboy of negative conservatism and those who do not believe in the Obama juggernaut. While the ploy may have arguably failed, we must not forget the underlying idea was to promulgate the destruction of conservative agenda in all forms.
The Right simply has been rendered impotent. Tax cuts are laughed at by Congressional Democrats. Stopping governmental spending is being argued against with circular rhetoric. "We didn't start this mess, so don't get mad at us for trying to fix it.'
My question is, are you really fixing it or are you are beating it with a ball bat? When we see this video of Timothy Geithner in February, saying how government was going to differentiate between the 'good and the bad banks', the question that was never asked- was should we be doing that at all?
While we could debate all day on what qualifies as wise use of government money, is this not a question that entirely misses the crux of the problem.
Daily Precedence
The precedence is being set every moment of every day. AIG reported losing $61.9 billion in the fourth quarter last year. It was the largest quarterly loss in corporate history (reported by Reuters UK, 3.02). Meanwhile, unprecedented governmental actions are being taken. They could indeed cause inflation or they could serve to enrich the oligarchy at the top once again. So why, for instance, is the Wall Street Journal reporting today that over 50 percent of economists give the Obama administration a failing grade for the economy so far?
To grasp that, we might look at the Banking crisis for the moment - what should we have done? We might look at economist Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Economics Laureate in 2001). Stiglitz's prescription is to let the banks go into bankruptcy.
When banks go bankrupt, they continue business, they reorganize, equity holders lose all, bondholders lose some. The result is desirable though, the ones who made the decisions before failure will most likely lose their jobs. Things change in a capitalistic way, things rearrange. Under normal circumstances, corporations would pick up the pieces. In this environment, Stiglitz does not think that will work and says that government money must be utilized after the reorganized banks reconstitute. I have my own reservations about this.
Fact is, either way, we are already beyond doing what Stiglitz prescribes. More importantly though, at its base, this is not just a numbers crisis, it is also a paradigm argument. It is political. It is polemical. Where government goes and where it stops is what this argument, the banking crisis, the economy, and everything within the crisis is all about. Few are really bringing that point up anymore either out of fear or lack of understanding. I for one, argue that the precedence is destructive.
Thanks for reading- C
Nancy Pelosi is preaching the beginning of a new round of stimulus spending, ostensibly saying, 'get your pens ready, there is more government to create.'
Our stock markets are reacting to the realities, namely, huge deficit spending, encroaching entitlement programs (remember the boomers and Social Security) and the general defilement of Capitalism.
The conservative right is getting accused of not seeking to solve the problem. Look at the White House's recent ploy. Rahm Emanuel took aim at Limbaugh and foisted him as the posterboy of negative conservatism and those who do not believe in the Obama juggernaut. While the ploy may have arguably failed, we must not forget the underlying idea was to promulgate the destruction of conservative agenda in all forms.
The Right simply has been rendered impotent. Tax cuts are laughed at by Congressional Democrats. Stopping governmental spending is being argued against with circular rhetoric. "We didn't start this mess, so don't get mad at us for trying to fix it.'
My question is, are you really fixing it or are you are beating it with a ball bat? When we see this video of Timothy Geithner in February, saying how government was going to differentiate between the 'good and the bad banks', the question that was never asked- was should we be doing that at all?
While we could debate all day on what qualifies as wise use of government money, is this not a question that entirely misses the crux of the problem.
Daily Precedence
The precedence is being set every moment of every day. AIG reported losing $61.9 billion in the fourth quarter last year. It was the largest quarterly loss in corporate history (reported by Reuters UK, 3.02). Meanwhile, unprecedented governmental actions are being taken. They could indeed cause inflation or they could serve to enrich the oligarchy at the top once again. So why, for instance, is the Wall Street Journal reporting today that over 50 percent of economists give the Obama administration a failing grade for the economy so far?
To grasp that, we might look at the Banking crisis for the moment - what should we have done? We might look at economist Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Economics Laureate in 2001). Stiglitz's prescription is to let the banks go into bankruptcy.
When banks go bankrupt, they continue business, they reorganize, equity holders lose all, bondholders lose some. The result is desirable though, the ones who made the decisions before failure will most likely lose their jobs. Things change in a capitalistic way, things rearrange. Under normal circumstances, corporations would pick up the pieces. In this environment, Stiglitz does not think that will work and says that government money must be utilized after the reorganized banks reconstitute. I have my own reservations about this.
Fact is, either way, we are already beyond doing what Stiglitz prescribes. More importantly though, at its base, this is not just a numbers crisis, it is also a paradigm argument. It is political. It is polemical. Where government goes and where it stops is what this argument, the banking crisis, the economy, and everything within the crisis is all about. Few are really bringing that point up anymore either out of fear or lack of understanding. I for one, argue that the precedence is destructive.
Thanks for reading- C
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Ob(ama)fuscation
I want to step off the soap box for a minute. I want to take a look and see if there is anything so far, that I agree with for Obama's first several weeks in his administration. Anything at all? I keep looking and finding more and more evidence that what is happening is a trainwreck unfolding before our very eyes. One that happens not with the screech of air brakes in the beginning, but with an increase in speed. Ron Paul, a candidate I personally did not vote for in the Primaries, and whom I am a little leery about, mainly because he is from Texas (sorry Texas), has been absolutely spot on recently, tearing impetuous MSNBC demobrats and fellow congress members a new one with regularity. Something about watching a 70 year old man whip four 40 somethings on Morning Coffee just brings a smile to my face. His point - we are going to destroy the dollar. Second point - deal with the root of the problem not the symptom. I.e. deal with the monetary policy.
Ken Stern, CEO of Fisher Investments who manages 2 Billion in assets, had a similar message on a Bloomberg.com interview, "stop talking at Wall Street and start listening to it," referring to Obama.
Look, these are tough, succinct, real messages, and guess what? These folks mean business. They mean, you are not doing the right thing President Obama.
These are incredibly bright people saying, "look President Obama, you have been fed a line of bull and now, you are going the wrong direction. So change course, NOW." No one as far as Obama Administration is concerned is heeding any advice outside of his circle. Emanuel is out pointing fingers at Limbaugh for some befuddled, and admit it, misguided reason. Secretary of State Clinton is gaffing her way around the globe botching names and sleighting Europe's proud history. Geithner, is slow to pick the rest of his staff, continuing the incredible doldrum that Obama appointees and the slew of would-be appointees have created. Meanwhile, the entire world waits in balance. Day by day, hour by hour... Where are we headed? DJIA 5000, 2000? This is not a limbo contest.
So back to the original question, is there anything at all that I agree with so far? I guess there is one thing. I sure have a lot of cannon fodder everytime I look at the front page. This is not a time for cutesy journalism though. The voices of reason need to start being heard loud and clear. The bubble unfolded with nearly a decade of questionable lending practices and MBAs going buckwild with designer investments. It is going to take more than 5 weeks to fix for sure. Don't make it worse by walking in the opposite direction.
Ken Stern, CEO of Fisher Investments who manages 2 Billion in assets, had a similar message on a Bloomberg.com interview, "stop talking at Wall Street and start listening to it," referring to Obama.
Look, these are tough, succinct, real messages, and guess what? These folks mean business. They mean, you are not doing the right thing President Obama.
These are incredibly bright people saying, "look President Obama, you have been fed a line of bull and now, you are going the wrong direction. So change course, NOW." No one as far as Obama Administration is concerned is heeding any advice outside of his circle. Emanuel is out pointing fingers at Limbaugh for some befuddled, and admit it, misguided reason. Secretary of State Clinton is gaffing her way around the globe botching names and sleighting Europe's proud history. Geithner, is slow to pick the rest of his staff, continuing the incredible doldrum that Obama appointees and the slew of would-be appointees have created. Meanwhile, the entire world waits in balance. Day by day, hour by hour... Where are we headed? DJIA 5000, 2000? This is not a limbo contest.
So back to the original question, is there anything at all that I agree with so far? I guess there is one thing. I sure have a lot of cannon fodder everytime I look at the front page. This is not a time for cutesy journalism though. The voices of reason need to start being heard loud and clear. The bubble unfolded with nearly a decade of questionable lending practices and MBAs going buckwild with designer investments. It is going to take more than 5 weeks to fix for sure. Don't make it worse by walking in the opposite direction.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pick your Poison
We have had a rough go in the last few years as conservatives, but now the academic elites with their leftist, socialist leanings are finally getting their way. The same people that made a cottage market out of debasing George W. Bush are now running the entire system. The same people who ran our name into the mud worldwide, are now in the sun and running rampant.
Are we now supposed to give a damn whether Rush Limbaugh is the Republican leader? You have got to be kidding me. He is a talk show host, a personality and a voice. I also have a personality and a voice. I don't have a seat on Congress, so I don't lead anything other than maybe my household - on a good day. Get over yourselves network television, I have turned you off for good! The RNC needs to stop taking the bait - Steele!! http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1155201977/bctid14706770001
Maybe there is a problem that we are not quite honing in on. Maybe in between the guerilla warfare that goes on day by day in the news media, something truly is wrong. Are we all just sniping at each other so much that we are not getting things done properly? Are we the new tower of Babel?
President Obama said in the campaign he was going to seek peaceful relations with openly hostile countries. Yet in practice, so far it seems to be falling flat. He finds out that while he is just getting used to the new seat at the Oval Office, Ayatollah Khamanei, (or Khomeini) is inciting the Muslim world to resist Israel and Iran (Ahmadinejad) is calling for an Anti-zionist front (Breitbart 3-04-09). Russia has scoffed at his "help me with Iran" letter.. Later, President Obama denied the Quid Pro Quo assertion that was made in various news stories in an interview.
We should all say a solemn prayer realizing the great loss of life that has occurred over many years in the Middle East and most recently in Gaza. I am also aware of the delicate chess match we have, and hope that President Obama will be wise in his decisionmaking process of policymaking and diplomacy worldwide. However, we still remain with little chance of diplomatic relations with Iran, or Russia, who supplies them. Iran has a dead set, hardline stance toward Western politics that dichotomizes any discussion with the Western World. While Obama states we need to reboot the relationship, coming from a position of weakness is not appreciated - in Russia or the Middle East. Negotiation to them is synonymous with weakness in Russia.
Thank you for reading-
C
Are we now supposed to give a damn whether Rush Limbaugh is the Republican leader? You have got to be kidding me. He is a talk show host, a personality and a voice. I also have a personality and a voice. I don't have a seat on Congress, so I don't lead anything other than maybe my household - on a good day. Get over yourselves network television, I have turned you off for good! The RNC needs to stop taking the bait - Steele!! http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1155201977/bctid14706770001
Maybe there is a problem that we are not quite honing in on. Maybe in between the guerilla warfare that goes on day by day in the news media, something truly is wrong. Are we all just sniping at each other so much that we are not getting things done properly? Are we the new tower of Babel?
President Obama said in the campaign he was going to seek peaceful relations with openly hostile countries. Yet in practice, so far it seems to be falling flat. He finds out that while he is just getting used to the new seat at the Oval Office, Ayatollah Khamanei, (or Khomeini) is inciting the Muslim world to resist Israel and Iran (Ahmadinejad) is calling for an Anti-zionist front (Breitbart 3-04-09). Russia has scoffed at his "help me with Iran" letter.. Later, President Obama denied the Quid Pro Quo assertion that was made in various news stories in an interview.
We should all say a solemn prayer realizing the great loss of life that has occurred over many years in the Middle East and most recently in Gaza. I am also aware of the delicate chess match we have, and hope that President Obama will be wise in his decisionmaking process of policymaking and diplomacy worldwide. However, we still remain with little chance of diplomatic relations with Iran, or Russia, who supplies them. Iran has a dead set, hardline stance toward Western politics that dichotomizes any discussion with the Western World. While Obama states we need to reboot the relationship, coming from a position of weakness is not appreciated - in Russia or the Middle East. Negotiation to them is synonymous with weakness in Russia.
Thank you for reading-
C
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