The Bush Administration’s proposed $700 billion Wall Street Bail Out proposal is a collosal mistake for the US economy and the American people no matter what restrictions and limitations Congress is able to impose on a power-hungry Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
This “rescue plan” forces taxpayers to reward destructive and negligent business practices and does not address the ruptures in the foundation of the US financial system: deregulation of banks and financial firms, the overturn of the Glass-Steagal Act and a pronounced crony corporate business model which espouses a lack of transparency, limited share-holder input, misleading sales tactics and irresponsible lending.
If Congress actually cared “protecting the taxpayer” then lawmakers would attack the root of the current problem: declining home values and criminal mortgage rates.
Why not use $700 billion dollars to help homeowners keep their homes by purchasing foreclosed homes and offering affordable and reasonable mortgages? It could be a program similar to the Federal Student Loan program which gives millions of Americans the opportunity to pursue a higher education at affordable rates. It doesn’t take a MBA or PHD in economics to figure this out.
A healthy Main Street leads to a healthy Wall Street, but not necessarily the other way around.
This hilarious video is a parody of this video:
http://gawker.com/385730/anderson-cooper-the-most-trusted-name-in-bears?autoplay=true
Financial blowhards are tar-and-feathering the Rockefellers for suggesting that ExxonMobil start thinking outside the box. The founding family (of ExxonMobil’s predecessor Standard Oil) wants the oil behemoth to increase its accountability to shareholders, streamline corporate governance, be more transparent and most importantly: cast its focus on the future — a greener future.
Wall Streeters lose themselves when looking at ExxonMobil’s numbers. The company makes more money than the GDP of 2/3’s of the world’s economies. And these corporate lapdogs are lashing out at the Rockefellers for daring to suggest that ExxonMobil change course in any way. They’re thinking: “The company is raking in the cash - why change anything?”
But Wall Street is blinded by the dollar sign, naturally.
The Rockefellers are not.
The oil-rich family is thinking about ExxonMobil’s future returns, not current. Because they understand that this is the key to real and lasting wealth.
Oil is 20th Century. And we are living in the 21st.
The Rockefellers want ExxonMobil, along with streamlining its operations, to start investing in green technology. We should be celebrating this visionary leadership. The Rockefellers see all too clearly that oil is a losing game. The times may be fat now, but wait till the oil dries up, or simply becomes too expensive to harvest and refine for your average consumer to purchase as we have become accostomed.
Right-wing corporate lobbyists have called the Rockefellers out-of-touch veggie-heads for suggesting an investment in green tech. This accusation is laughable.
Here, Wall Street is blinded by the word “green”, foolishly equating the word with money-pit.
Again, the Rockefellers are not so blinded.
They understand that future is in green technology. So, the family is wondering why ExxonMobil shouldn’t position itself to lead the way. It seems like a no-brainer.
At the end of the day, green tech and green energy is going to march us into the 22nd Century - not oil. And the Rockefellers are thinking to themselves: “We might as well make a buck.”
Everyone should be waking up to Thomas Friedman’s column in the New York Times today. He puts it plain and clear why McCain-Clinton’s ponzi-scheme “gas tax break” is a ruinous plan for an already nose-diving “energy policy”.
“If you are going to use tax policy to shape energy strategy then you want to raise taxes on the things you want to discourage — gasoline consumption and gas-guzzling cars — and you want to lower taxes on the things you want to encourage — new, renewable energy technologies. We are doing just the opposite.” - Thomas Friedman
Americans should be outraged by their elected officials squabbling over energy policy in Washington. Has the oil industry paid everyone off??? Otherwise Congress’ actions and inaction simply make no sense at all.
The National Review’s Deroy Murdock laid out a comprehensive plan to get the economy back on track today. Hopefully somebody in Washington is reading his column. Preferably someone at the White House, the Treasury Department and/or the Federal Reserve. But don’t hold your breath while Bush is in office.
Among other things, Murdock argues for incentives to stimulate the economy rather than hand-outs, baby-sitting and outright pandering. He is right on the money, arguing that incentives will foster invention and innovation and self-reliance rather than a knee-jerk open hand to Washington when the going gets rough.
The US is a nation built on invention, innovation and definitely self-reliance. And that is what our economy needs right now.
We do, however, need to keep a safety net for those who fall. Not a French or Dutch-style safety net, but a safety net all the same.
Realistic fears of health costs, lack of health insurance and the looming threat of losing one’s home are all things that stifle invention, innovation and self-reliance. Because these real aspects of American life are debilitating to a great many of us. When you don’t believe your government, your country, gives a damn about your life and isn’t looking out for your welfare, then you psychologically start to erode your own sense of self and ambition. And this is the prevailing mood of the country.
A safety net of universal health care is necessary. And it is a long time coming. Universal health care, working hand-in-hand with tax incentives, would foster confidence, creativity, ambition and would lead to innovation and invention. Not to mention: self-reliance.
Think about how much money we throw away on health insurance, health costs and doctor/hospital visits each year. Think about how the fear of these costs keeps us frozen in our tracks! The money we spend on health care alone could spur a new wave of innovation and invention - if only we didn’t have to worry about health costs.
One can dream …
Unfortunately, Murdock backs McCain - believing that McCain is good for his word and will veto any bill laden with pork. Plu-eeze. If McCain gets in the White House, he isn’t going to “recall” saying any such thing.
But, that is besides the point. On fixing the economy, Deroy Murdock needs to be heard.
Wall Street’s army of old-white-guys-in-suits seems to be living in a different world than the rest of us. If you watch financial news or read financial newspapers, those hedge fund kingpins and stock speculators are trying to get the message out that the bad days are over and that the good days are right around the corner. They’re trying to tell us that recession fears are a bunch of hog-wash.
The irony is that they are spinning this bull at the same time Warren Buffett, arguably the most successful investor of all time, is saying the exact opposite. Buffett believes that not only are we already in a recession, but we should expect things to get worse.
“… My general feeling is that the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think,” says Buffett.
Maybe Buffett is so level headed and insightful because he doesn’t allow himself to be blinded by his billions and instead lives a humble life devoted to his family in Omaha, NE.
But, it doesn’t take an MBA to see the direction our economy has turned. Gas and food prices are rising and resources are becoming more scarce, the value of our homes is declining, friends and family are losing their homes and jobs and defaulting on debts, incomes are stagnating and inflation is raging: the situation ain’t good.
So, why the common sense-defying, Buffett-denying, sunny forecast from Wall Street?
They may indeed be too blinded by their billions to see what is happening on the street.
But, more likely they are so panicked by the numbers they’re seeing that they are rushing to plug the dike the best way they know how: drumming up business. Who can blame them? They believe the best way to stave off this recession is to buy-buy-buy. But, they know it’s a bear market.
So next time you see a Wall Street insider on television telling you the forecast calls for sunshine, look outside and see the storm clouds gathering. The forecast calls for rain.
I’ve been really concerned about Wright from the beginning. He was a hard pill for me to swallow. He makes me think twice about Obama.
And this is mostly because my father is a Methodist minister, I grew up around and attended many black churches, and my family even traveled to Israel with our African-American Bishop. Not one of the black preachers or churches I had contact with or attended as a youth preached Black Liberation Theology, no pulpit expressed anti-American notions or radical conspiracy theories. And most don’t! Wright is a fringe preacher. An extreme fringe.
(But, not on the South Side of Chicago.) … (And I didn’t grow up on the South Side of Chicago.)
And I know what it means to be a member of a church and sit Sunday after Sunday through sermon after sermon. I know that if you don’t agree with the sermon or the preacher then you move on and try the church next door (or try to get the preacher moved or fired). That is simply how it works.
And if you feel a certain connection to the congregation, but not to the preacher, then you continue on with the congregation and put distance between yourself and the preacher. This is just how it works.
(But, Obama is a politician first.)
However, after watching Wright on television yesterday and over the weekend on Bill Moyers, I have to say that he ain’t so bad.
This isn’t to say that he isn’t overly-suspicious of government and the democratic process. He is. You could even argue that he is hostile to democracy. But, his is a dissent which has been dissented since the formation of our country. And does not every man have a right to his opinion and to speak his mind? Of course.
But, the argument goes: “Do we want a man hostile to democracy counseling the future president of our nation?” Probably not.
But, if you actually take the time to listen to an entire sermon or speech or have Wright express his views in full, the anti-democracy quips are taken out of context. Not way out of context, but out of context all the same. Wright is merely trying to make a point with a couple too many ill-thought metaphors.
Wright waxes long and hard about the injustices done to African Americans - trying to make sense of it through sometimes far-fetched conspiracies. But again, he is simply trying to understand the pain and suffering of his congregation. He is not forward thinking, but backward thinking. Mining the past to make sense of the present. And the present state of many African-Americans makes his blood boil. And many times, instead of turning to God, Wright prefers to point the finger.
Wright comes from a specific generation of Black Liberation Theologians. It was a short burst of radical thought in the overall history of the African-American Christian Church in the early 1970s. Wright’s is such a fringe sect at this point that I would argue he is completely irrelevant in the broader context of the African-American church.
But, I’ve buried my lead: Wright is not a bad man. He is a passionate preacher with very specific views and a very distinct world view - which his congregation shares. Wright makes sense in his church in his neighborhood in Chicago. Full stop. And if you don’t live in the South Side of Chicago, and if you aren’t open to Black Liberation Theology then you aren’t going to “get it”.
I would argue that Wright is in no way anti-American. No way. If you listen to his sermons, read his speeches, then it is plain and clear that Wright is fully aware that he has the right to speak his mind and preach his preach because he is American. He cherishes America. He believes in freedom. He believes in justice. And many of his sermons seem angry because he doesn’t think that America is living up to its full potential - that our constitution has been trampled on throughout our history.
Americans should not be concerned that Obama attended his church or had Wright conduct his marriage ceremony or baptize his children.
I think that Obama was simply trying to get to know the people he hoped to represent in the South Side of Chicago. And in the process Obama was introduced to Christianity. That’s the story. It’s plain and it’s simple. And something that Americans should not be afraid of.
Opec says to expect oil to hit $200/barrel. Currently it’s around $120.
Keep in mind that despite the rise at the gas pump everyone around the country has noticed - that price increase does not fully reflect the increase in oil prices. Our gas is heavily subsidized, effectively keeping us addicted to the stuff while the price at the pump is allowed to slowly creep up.
But, these magic tricks at masking the true price of oil are going to go up in smoke as prices for everything else that requires oil skyrockets. Food, cars, trucks, airplanes, goods and building materials. We can’t subsidize everything.
I think it is way past time to start effectively investing in alternative energy sources. And I believe it’s going to take independent entrepreneurs without any assistance from Washington to lead the way.
An addict has to hit rock bottom before he sees the light and changes his proverbial ways. We haven’t come close to hitting rock bottom with oil prices. And we need to admit that we are addicted. Addicted-addicted. So, expect things to get worse.
The Huffington Post is saying that Obama is losing all of his support in the media because of the (current) conventional wisdom that he will lose in the general election.
But, I’ve said it from day one. And it isn’t because he’s black. Being black is one thing he’s got going for him.
It all starts with his relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
You choose what church to attend. You choose to sit through a sermon. You choose who conducts your marriage ceremony. You choose who baptizes your children. And presumably you make these choices as a reflection of who you are as a person, as an extension of your world view. These are the choices Obama has made that are scary to many Americans, black and white and brown alike.
For me it is impossible to think that Obama shares Reverend Wright’s hateful and bitter view of the world. It’s unthinkable. I stand back in complete awe after listening and re-reading Obama’s powerful speech concerning race and America that he delivered in Philadelphia. Our children will have to study that speech some day. It is brilliant. It is forward and inward and rotund. It proves Obama’s penetrating understanding, great respect and unconditional love for America and Americans. It proves that he is the type of leader we so desperately need.
So this begs the question: why the hell was Obama at that church for 20 plus years???
And the answer is clear and simple: to get Obama elected. To build an African-American political base in Chicago’s South Side.
Which paints Obama as a complete fraud. Where he was supposedly representative of a new breed of politician - a real leader of the people. All of this is put in doubt.
Because Americans want their heroes to be perfect and superhuman: flawless. And this Obama is not. Obama is only human. He is flawed. He is not a hero; he is a politician. And he made deals with the devil just as we all have. Obama is just like all of us.
So we become disillusioned and fall back on those abusive relationships to which we’ve grown accustomed: McCain or Clinton. It’s a disgusting cycle of neglect and betrayal - but a cycle we accepted long ago. It’s too much for us to accept Obama’s humanity. We want superhumanity or nothing at all.
The preacher is Obama’s Achilles Heel.
