This week, America's sports pages took on a much darker tone as the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse trial got underway and Lance Armstrong was hit with yet another round of doping allegations. Meanwhile, Jamie Dimon's Senate visit left both Democratic and Republican senators looking foolish. On the Democratic side, an ill-prepared Jeff Merkley told Dimon he wouldn't have a job if the government hadn't bailed out his bank with TARP funds -- a claim Dimon swatted away as "factually wrong." On the GOP side, Senators Jim DeMint and Bob Corker used the opportunity to rail against ineffective regulation they've dedicated themselves to making ineffective. Jon Stewart summed up the political jujitsu perfectly: "It must be fun to be a Republican senator... you get the fun of breaking shit and the joy of complaining that the shit you just broke doesn't work." It all made you long for Elizabeth Warren as Dimon's cross-examiner.
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It's a case that exposes Systemic Child Sexual Abuse something that shouldn't be tucked away into the dark crevices of a newspaper. It should be out front to be used a a teaching tool, to let predators and their facilitators know that your time is coming.
Hiding it in the sports pages does an injustice to every victim of child sex assault.
A DEFICIT NEUTRAL JOB CREATION PLAN. Caution: Political courage required!
It can be done by putting money into hands of retiring baby boomers. Consumers account for 70% of our economic activity or GDP. You just simply change how Social Security checks are paid. Let boomers have partial distributions of their Social Security principal in the amount of $20,000.00 or $40,000.00 dollars, and issue them a monthly check on the remainder of their principal. Look, let’s say it takes $313,000.00 dollars in principal at 6.9% interest to send me a monthly Social Security check of $1800.00 dollars. So, I say to Social Security, I would like to have some of my money up front, say $40,000.00 dollars. Now pay me a monthly check on the remainder, which is in this instance $273,000.00 dollars, which amounts to a monthly check of $1569.00 dollars. That makes this plan (the Davis Plan) deficit neutral. It’s their money! Presenting the option of taking a partial distribution of your retirement principal is common practice in the private sector. Yet, the largest payer of pensions, the Social Security Trust Fund, does not do this at a time when it will benefit our economy the most.
http://anamecon.blogspot.com/
Milton Friedman: "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits," is Wrong.
I would have paid good money to watch that!
Rather than complaining about the 1%, who are always going to do what 1% folks do, average working folks would be best to just get their shekels out of the market completely and keep it somewhere safe and secure. Your life's savings are your life's savings. Why give it to people like Dimon and expect his friends in government to protect it?
Without our money Dimon et al would then be left playing with the money of their friends in the 1%. You wanna lose $2-$4 billion? OK then. At least it won't be my money.
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Sorta reminds me of THIS quote...
"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgr@ss on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then get elected and PROVE it."
-- P.J. O'ROURKE
The Consumer Protect Agency is another over reach of government, in my opinion. I think it is necessary but like most all of Obama’s efforts; it was and is being implemented poorly without regard to value. So far approximately 50,000 people have filed complaints that had merit. The recovery was around $170 per complaint. Let’s be generous and say $50 Million Dollars. The cost of the agency? $60 Billion.
Come to your own conclusions, rationalizations and justifications on what that means of course. But just like Health Care (I cannot call it Affordable); we could have just passed a pre-existing clause once single payer was out of the question and be done with it.
But Noo, as John Belushi would say. So the Insurance companies have increased premiums (rate of growth tripling under Obama) institutionalizing their profits, plus $1.8 Trillion in debt and counting for a system, already providing health care (not insurance) to everyone. No value in those details.
We could get rid of traffic laws and save money but what would it cost the taxpayer in deaths and accidents?
Not hope. Not Change. Not hey you Mr. Man, we built those roads so you can make money. Just pure business as usual Washington. Lawyer Style.
Putting this atrocious Republican policy into perspective and context- President Obama (Democrat) had just inherited from the previous Republican administration the greatest American economic crisis since the Great Depression, with the American economy teetering on potential economic collapse. The unemployment rate was 8.3 % when the President took office and peaked to 10.2% shortly thereafter due to economic lag. America was hemorrhaging around 700,000 jobs a MONTH. The stock market had plummeted from around 13,500 in mid 2008 to around 6,500 when President Obama took office in early 2009. The US GDP was at (negative) -2.6%. Foundational US corporations, banks, financial institutions, etc. were teetering on the edge of a downward, unrecoverable economic spiral. Tens of millions of Americans were losing homes, jobs, $ Trillions of former personal financial assets, 401K’s, life savings…
In the midst of this extremely critical time, needing Republicans to come together in unity with Democrats on behalf of “the people” and nation, they decided to make their #1 priority to obstruct the President and make sure he was a one term President.
That policy by Republicans at that critical time with the nation and its people teetering on total economic collapse was IMO in the realm of treason.
Therefore, why would any sane voter consider putting these same Republicans back into power in 2012?
It would be O.K. with me if conservative leaders drove the bus over the cliff with only conservatives on board but that isn't the case at all.
Thanks for the post - fanned and faved
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"For a working man or woman to vote Republican this year is the same as a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."
-- Walter Mondale