May 18, 2008
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Henry
Recent comments by this user
How to Be An Economist
Economists are like weathermen. Explaining what has happened, like pro sports announcers, in hindsight with the economics lingo makes them a breed. Take Alan Greenspan, please! posted 05/14/2008 at 10:33:29
Obama Is Best for Israel -- What's Complicated Here?
Funny why the countries of Kosovo or Taiwan do not stimulate such evokative stances in America. Why is it that Israel is the child of the American taxpayer? Israel has cheated with the land rights of others and by implication the US is detested. When children do not play "fair", what is the parent expected to do? Favor their favorite child to the neglect of the other children? posted 05/14/2008 at 08:43:43
NBA Playoffs: A Model To Solve Nation's Immigration Woes?
I have always wondered how Lithuania and Serbia-Croatia were such stellar places for basketball players. You are right about competition and respect of teammates and loyalty to teams. It unites us from the micro levels to the macro levels. (Wait until Japan wins the "World Series")
You miss a part, however. How about Kareem Abdul Jabar? And for that matter Hakim Alaijawon, the Vaslav Najinsky of basketball. These people are Muslims and proud to be so. posted 05/13/2008 at 21:20:20
You miss a part, however. How about Kareem Abdul Jabar? And for that matter Hakim Alaijawon, the Vaslav Najinsky of basketball. These people are Muslims and proud to be so. posted 05/13/2008 at 21:20:20
Does Success Breed Failure? The Rule of Government Neglect
A significant slice of the current problem (subprime crisis) had to do with speculative loans used to flip properties and make nice profits. There are easy solutions to this: make speculation in single family loans illegal or tax the gains on such transactions at 72%, or require downpayments to be 33%. The range of options is immense and the sooner implemented, the better.
We've been here before, we'll be here again. The more things change...the more they remain the same. posted 05/13/2008 at 17:41:59
We've been here before, we'll be here again. The more things change...the more they remain the same. posted 05/13/2008 at 17:41:59
Let's "Bomb" Myanmar -- with Rice
You know, I thought of this in the 70s watching piles of excess grain in America rot while the world seemed wrought with the poverty pangs of hunger. Our Air Force is continuosly flying for "flight hours" that essentially make the mortgage payments of pilots, why not put these boys up to something productive? It could have worked in the 70s, it can work in the 00s. I think that good deeds are rewarded, even if only making you feel better about yourself. posted 05/09/2008 at 16:40:20
Workin' On The Food Chain Gang
You'd do yourself well to take a trip across the midwest and even on to Montana and Wyomig to speak with family farmers and ranchers who are the remaining generations of the original homesteaders. These are people who know legions more than you about nature and the enviroment and I dare say, might care a lot more about it than you. Why do they use petro chem based fertilizers, post emergent insecticides & weed killers, and round up ready seeds produced by Monsanto? There is a reason I think you are missing. posted 05/09/2008 at 11:30:49
What if the Lifeguard Can't Swim?
Fannie and Freddie are not chartered as "life-guards". Maybe they too have been in the funny-money business, at least at the margins. But there are some very tenable reasons why they may not be reporting a profit. In 1992 many many many homes were worth less than the amount(s) of the mortgage that encumbered them. We have been through this before.
But think about this: Freddie and Fannie most likely have many variable rate loans, e.g. tied to the 1 Yr U.S.Treasury + 250 basis points. This would mean that the revenue stream for these loans is now 4.5%. Many to most of their (Freddie) obligations have nominal interest rates of 5.0%. Ergo a negative margin. With the carry trade effect of lowering U.S. Treasury Notes, there are many a bank with a "crippled" revenue stream at this point. When rates turn around...and they will, you will see the revenue component increase by 300 basis points and that will go a long way towards solving the problem for the institution. (of course that will kill a lot of borrowers) posted 05/08/2008 at 17:25:32
But think about this: Freddie and Fannie most likely have many variable rate loans, e.g. tied to the 1 Yr U.S.Treasury + 250 basis points. This would mean that the revenue stream for these loans is now 4.5%. Many to most of their (Freddie) obligations have nominal interest rates of 5.0%. Ergo a negative margin. With the carry trade effect of lowering U.S. Treasury Notes, there are many a bank with a "crippled" revenue stream at this point. When rates turn around...and they will, you will see the revenue component increase by 300 basis points and that will go a long way towards solving the problem for the institution. (of course that will kill a lot of borrowers) posted 05/08/2008 at 17:25:32
Amy Goodman is Wrong About Food Price Inflation
Max,
You state that you live in France. I understand that there is no "market" in Europe for grains etc. And that, indeed, the Agruculture Ministers of the respective member countries meet each October to decide the prices for commodities covered in the CAP (common agricultural policy) and that tarriff barriers are established to protect the small scale European producer.
Can you find out the current European prices for corn(maize) and wheat ? It would be very interesting considering the attractions of the price-gravity and the dislocations that are most likely occurring. Here you have a pretty clearly defined difference between the market (America) and state control (Europe). posted 05/12/2008 at 10:41:25
You state that you live in France. I understand that there is no "market" in Europe for grains etc. And that, indeed, the Agruculture Ministers of the respective member countries meet each October to decide the prices for commodities covered in the CAP (common agricultural policy) and that tarriff barriers are established to protect the small scale European producer.
Can you find out the current European prices for corn(maize) and wheat ? It would be very interesting considering the attractions of the price-gravity and the dislocations that are most likely occurring. Here you have a pretty clearly defined difference between the market (America) and state control (Europe). posted 05/12/2008 at 10:41:25
Most likely the best and brightest of his time. posted 05/12/2008 at 10:16:23
I agree with you. But think about right now and the complications that Bernanke is confronting. If he raises rates to the European levels, the mark-to-market or "model" for the holders of subprime mortgage securities may cause more Bear Sterns technical insolvency issues. The investment bankers have him by the balls. (He cannot be happy about this, it is an affront to everything he has taught as a professor). So Ben is keeping rates low because the FED is the "boy" of investment banks. The investment bankers are the mobsters that run the country at this point. They have no patriotism, they have only self interest. I remember that goof-ball Don Regan of Merrill Lynch and the first savings and loans crisis. These guys are all unpatriotic bastards! posted 05/12/2008 at 10:14:57
Max,
A lefty economist is Keynesian (John Maynard Keynes) and a right wing economist is Friedman/ Laffer. The lefty believes that the economy can be guided (like a big spaceship) with levers like government spending and interest rate levels. The right wing economists are referred to as "monetarist" (in Friedman fashion) and "tax minimalist" (in the Laffer fashion) and believe that the "invisible hand" of the free market is all that is necessary for the economy and that government interference is a waste of tax payer money. A lefty believes in Section 8 housing and Medicaid. The right believes that the marketplace would accomodate the homeless and the medically needy in a way referred to as "market efficiency" ( which in reality means homeless or dead)
So on the left are the Keynesians and on the right you have your Monetarists. The former believe the government is the big deal, the latter believe the government is the problem. And... then you have the FED. A big "problem" for the so called monetarists. posted 05/12/2008 at 08:48:58
A lefty economist is Keynesian (John Maynard Keynes) and a right wing economist is Friedman/ Laffer. The lefty believes that the economy can be guided (like a big spaceship) with levers like government spending and interest rate levels. The right wing economists are referred to as "monetarist" (in Friedman fashion) and "tax minimalist" (in the Laffer fashion) and believe that the "invisible hand" of the free market is all that is necessary for the economy and that government interference is a waste of tax payer money. A lefty believes in Section 8 housing and Medicaid. The right believes that the marketplace would accomodate the homeless and the medically needy in a way referred to as "market efficiency" ( which in reality means homeless or dead)
So on the left are the Keynesians and on the right you have your Monetarists. The former believe the government is the big deal, the latter believe the government is the problem. And... then you have the FED. A big "problem" for the so called monetarists. posted 05/12/2008 at 08:48:58
Excuse my windiness, but let me give you this example: My Great Grandparents homesteaded Iowa 1860. 160 acres free for the maintenance and production. My Great Grandmother dies 1868. My GrtGrnfather sells the farmstead and moves on to the Red River Valley of North Dakota where he homesteads again, a new 160 acres. When he sold the "equity or net worth" out of the place in Iowa he got the market value of his net worth in cash. $320 in cash represented the "capital" he then moved on with to homestead in North Dakota. (144,000 homesteads in Iowa). Now compare this to the Mexican state of Chihuahua at the same time. Five land owners for the whole state with all of the people as tenants owing shares to farm the land of the landlord. Then think a little for a 160 year period of time and visualize the poverty of Mexico compared to the "wealth" of America. My Great Grandfather had the mobility of capital (in the form of cash) to move on and "capitalize" or invest in the continued accumulation of wealth. It is all about private ownership of land. (that was initially stolen from indians and givern free to homesteaders) I'll note for you that Merrill is paying 13.5% for preferred shares taken by Dubai, but the essence of equity financing is that it is free, zilch, zero, nyet, nada. This statement you make about "capital" costing too much is mostly meaningless propaganda. posted 05/11/2008 at 14:37:12
"here's the funny thing about speculation; without it, there would be no losers, and if there no losers the overall price of capital would be beyond the reach of all except the feadal lord class."
Not true Max. I, for one, am remodeling the bathrooms adding value to the house. Employing people... workers and producers. I am not speculating, I am, however, adding value. What the home eventually sells for will depend on general interest rates, the neighborhood etc. The point, this is not "speculation" it is investment.
You know, there is a wonderful book, "The Mystery of Capital" by DeSoto. In this book he states that 5/6ths of humanity on this globe posses the assets they need but lack the process to represent their property and create capital. My point to you is this: Most people know what the function of money is (they do not understand how it is created) and throw the word capital around as though it were universally understood. When most people speak of capital in the USA they mean money or net worth. They have no clue as to what capital is and the effect of the mobility of capital compared to Black Africa, India, Asia, and the former east block countries. Put them onto the creation of capital and the world steps up. posted 05/11/2008 at 13:45:43
Not true Max. I, for one, am remodeling the bathrooms adding value to the house. Employing people... workers and producers. I am not speculating, I am, however, adding value. What the home eventually sells for will depend on general interest rates, the neighborhood etc. The point, this is not "speculation" it is investment.
You know, there is a wonderful book, "The Mystery of Capital" by DeSoto. In this book he states that 5/6ths of humanity on this globe posses the assets they need but lack the process to represent their property and create capital. My point to you is this: Most people know what the function of money is (they do not understand how it is created) and throw the word capital around as though it were universally understood. When most people speak of capital in the USA they mean money or net worth. They have no clue as to what capital is and the effect of the mobility of capital compared to Black Africa, India, Asia, and the former east block countries. Put them onto the creation of capital and the world steps up. posted 05/11/2008 at 13:45:43
Max,
"It ought to be illegal.
. . .
Speculation is a practice that nobody should be able to do with other people's money"
So says Joe.
George Soros "took" billions from shorting the Pound and the Baht! He did that legally. The Hedgies manipulate the markets "taking" billions, possibly trillions of other peoples' money. This needs to stop. Money needs to be "earned" not taken or "extorted" from others. It is shameful.
Look at the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches. They practice "disinvestment" from Israeli firms in protest of the State of Israel vis-a-vis their brothers, the Palestinians, but they do not extort by short sales. It is disgusting and unethical per se(naked shorts to manipulate value). Joe is right. And you should think about this. The SEC needs to regulate aggressively and limit the range of speculative tools and the degree to which they can be exercised. posted 05/11/2008 at 11:51:17
"It ought to be illegal.
. . .
Speculation is a practice that nobody should be able to do with other people's money"
So says Joe.
George Soros "took" billions from shorting the Pound and the Baht! He did that legally. The Hedgies manipulate the markets "taking" billions, possibly trillions of other peoples' money. This needs to stop. Money needs to be "earned" not taken or "extorted" from others. It is shameful.
Look at the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches. They practice "disinvestment" from Israeli firms in protest of the State of Israel vis-a-vis their brothers, the Palestinians, but they do not extort by short sales. It is disgusting and unethical per se(naked shorts to manipulate value). Joe is right. And you should think about this. The SEC needs to regulate aggressively and limit the range of speculative tools and the degree to which they can be exercised. posted 05/11/2008 at 11:51:17
OK. We do not agree. The federal system is not entirely broken. The problem is that the finances of the country have been taken over by the Investment Banks (Goldman Merrill etc) and the FED really takes "orders" from them. And they, just like the pharmaceuticls, are in the game for self aggrandizement and profit, mega profit. And this is no way to run the monetary system or the health care system for that matter. posted 05/09/2008 at 10:21:01
There is no doubt about monopoly for the likes of OPEC and Microsoft. However, the FED happens to be the state of the art in the history of time. Al Greenspan made the calculated error of irrational exuberance trying to make up for prior failures to big George Bush. But that is history. The FED is the prototype being sought after by the developing world. You Max, do not seem to appreciate this. Let me make this simple definition for you: A bank is an entitiy that makes loans and creates deposits. Deposits are money and are created by banks each and everytime they advance proceeds for a loan. When you factor in the reserve requirements you view the "multiplyer effect" that we learn about in finance. You say that "markets could find interest rates if given a chance". It sounds like you've spent a little too much time in Disney Land. Money is serious complicated business. After all, you know, money is only an abstraction. Hardly anyone knows what it is. And don't get me started on capital. posted 05/09/2008 at 08:19:58
Here's a link that explains a segment of the domestice price increase. Our domestic supply decreases as the dollar falls and it can be imported by Asian countries.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1208490908300500.xml&coll=7 posted 05/08/2008 at 19:38:17
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1208490908300500.xml&coll=7 posted 05/08/2008 at 19:38:17
Ahh, Max. But we have nothing close to the soviet communist era! You say there is no free price discovery for money. That is true, but it is not a shortcoming, indeed, it is a necessity. Think of a republican hiway system with no traffic lights or rules of the road. (scoundrels are over the place)
Remember back in the 1800 when local banks issue "bank notes" as the funding issuance at the booking for loans? The problem was that this money had no univerality as legal tender. It is a necessity to have the Fed run the clearing system and "target" the fed funds rate for the governance of liquidity in the system and also for the floor above which competition exists for loan rates. Remember when a bank funds a loan it creates a deposit. Deposits are money, they spend like money, and when that loan is repaid, it extinguishes the same amount of money it once created. This is in the hands of the banker and the applicant. This separates us from the soviet system completely.
We've come through a reckless easy money period and now the abuses must be atoned for. We are still experimenting with money. posted 05/08/2008 at 11:46:14
Remember back in the 1800 when local banks issue "bank notes" as the funding issuance at the booking for loans? The problem was that this money had no univerality as legal tender. It is a necessity to have the Fed run the clearing system and "target" the fed funds rate for the governance of liquidity in the system and also for the floor above which competition exists for loan rates. Remember when a bank funds a loan it creates a deposit. Deposits are money, they spend like money, and when that loan is repaid, it extinguishes the same amount of money it once created. This is in the hands of the banker and the applicant. This separates us from the soviet system completely.
We've come through a reckless easy money period and now the abuses must be atoned for. We are still experimenting with money. posted 05/08/2008 at 11:46:14
It might be a good idea to look at the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) of the European Union. There is no market in Europe for corn wheat oats etc. The Ministers of Agriculture set annual prices for farmers in the Union. These prices, looking back, have far surpassed (sometimes tripling U.S. market prices) world prices, yet any export to Europe must be assessed a tax which when added to the exported commodity neutralizes the gain or the difference of the prospective sale. This keeps a lot of small farmers in Europe. It is a way of life. However, the rest of the world is screwed.
The Reagans, the Bushes, and the Clintons have done nothing about this unfair trade with Eurpoe even though we spent 100s of billions protecting them from the red bear! (what a miserable joke we are)
The point is one similar to oil. Why should world commodities be denominated in dollars? Why not Yen, Euro, Rouble? The free market (you know, the one we hear so much about) requires a meeting in the market place of competing currencies to trade their respective commodities. Yen, Euro, Ruble, Baht, Real, Kroner, Rupee etc. Yet the hegemony of the USA requires commoditiy prices denominated in U.S/. dollars. This skews the value of the dollar because the demand is greater than it would otherwise be. A free world would debunk the monopoly of the dollar. And I for one... think it's coming. posted 05/08/2008 at 09:44:30
The Reagans, the Bushes, and the Clintons have done nothing about this unfair trade with Eurpoe even though we spent 100s of billions protecting them from the red bear! (what a miserable joke we are)
The point is one similar to oil. Why should world commodities be denominated in dollars? Why not Yen, Euro, Rouble? The free market (you know, the one we hear so much about) requires a meeting in the market place of competing currencies to trade their respective commodities. Yen, Euro, Ruble, Baht, Real, Kroner, Rupee etc. Yet the hegemony of the USA requires commoditiy prices denominated in U.S/. dollars. This skews the value of the dollar because the demand is greater than it would otherwise be. A free world would debunk the monopoly of the dollar. And I for one... think it's coming. posted 05/08/2008 at 09:44:30
There is a notion in economics that: The historical real interest rate in a functioning capatilist economy "needs" to be 6.0%. (real rate is Prime minus inflation) This is the resolution to the problem that you identify.
When "easy" Al Greenspan had the Fed Funds rate at 1.0%, Prime was at 4.0% (or thereabouts). Subtract inflation from that 4.0% and you get a borrowing at 0.0% or below (depending on your definition of inflation). Add to that the fact that interest rates for deposits will hover at 3 to 4 hundred basis points below Prime and you notice there is no incentive to save. We have been through a strange flight with Capt Alan Greenspan in charge of the flight. Funny money at nearly ad infinitum, Wall Street speculators thrilled, and republican politicians stating that "supply - side" economics is the salvation of human kind.
If it is true, and the "real" rate of interest should be 6.0%, then you are looking at PRIME of 9.0% today in order that the market forces make the enlightened moves of the invisible hand as described by Adam Smith. Alan Greenspan is certainly well educated enough to know the lightening involved in a Fed Funds rate of 1.0%.
Now, imagine the housing debacle with rates for mortgages at 9.0% and feel some sympathy for uncle Ben. (We are still experimenting with money... there is no solution, free market or otherwise) posted 05/08/2008 at 08:04:24
When "easy" Al Greenspan had the Fed Funds rate at 1.0%, Prime was at 4.0% (or thereabouts). Subtract inflation from that 4.0% and you get a borrowing at 0.0% or below (depending on your definition of inflation). Add to that the fact that interest rates for deposits will hover at 3 to 4 hundred basis points below Prime and you notice there is no incentive to save. We have been through a strange flight with Capt Alan Greenspan in charge of the flight. Funny money at nearly ad infinitum, Wall Street speculators thrilled, and republican politicians stating that "supply - side" economics is the salvation of human kind.
If it is true, and the "real" rate of interest should be 6.0%, then you are looking at PRIME of 9.0% today in order that the market forces make the enlightened moves of the invisible hand as described by Adam Smith. Alan Greenspan is certainly well educated enough to know the lightening involved in a Fed Funds rate of 1.0%.
Now, imagine the housing debacle with rates for mortgages at 9.0% and feel some sympathy for uncle Ben. (We are still experimenting with money... there is no solution, free market or otherwise) posted 05/08/2008 at 08:04:24
Are Ex-Presidents Above the Law?
"Equal application of the law" you say. Really? What planet have you been living on?
If you are really looking for criminals, Al, wouldn't little Geo and his cabal of AIPAC supported thugs be the proper place to start? posted 05/06/2008 at 16:55:38
If you are really looking for criminals, Al, wouldn't little Geo and his cabal of AIPAC supported thugs be the proper place to start? posted 05/06/2008 at 16:55:38
Bush Bushwacks Burma
Does Chevron have anything to do with the desparation of the Bushwa cabal in Burma? posted 05/05/2008 at 23:43:05
Workers at Bottom of Food Chain Illustrate Growing Economic Disparity
It is the old dilemma in economics. If you take "something" without earning it, then there has to be someone who has "earned" it, but does not get the benefit. It is very corrupt, but the art of the paper gain is now the pride and allure of the emerging generation. There is money that is "earned" and properly represents income in a competing marketplace. But ask yourself this: How does the money you take "shorting" a stock that is falling constitute income? Anything earned? Who has the inside making these things happen? posted 05/05/2008 at 19:44:42
America Sank the World, but America's New President Will Save It
It's the old Smith Barney ad: We make money the old fashioned way, we "pick the pockets" of the working class and the government is in on it! posted 05/05/2008 at 17:48:08
For your information, the hedge fund managers do not hedge (a hedge is an expense to protect a position), they speculate. Big difference. It gets criminal when they operate on inside information or when they are large enough to manipulate price movements. posted 05/05/2008 at 14:52:13
Why an Economic Turn for the Better? It's Government, Stupid.
Even Uncle Miltey understood that a baseball game cannot be played unless there is a set of rules that applies to the home team as well as the visitors. He further understood that there needed to be an umpire for the game. He also understood that there needed to be someone to prevent the use of steroids by players for the enhancement of value for the Steinbrenner. The excess of subprime secruities has been a perversion. This perversion broke the rules of the game at every step of the game. This does not refute Milton Friedman's arguments. It does refute the republican voo-doo brand of baseball with no rules and baseball with not umpires and baseball on steroids. Republicans somehow fail to recognize that boys left to themselves will come up with the things that boys usually come up with. Take 10 martini Tom Delay, Bill phone-sex O'Reilley, and Rush "the fix" Limbo. You know the good old boys of the right.
You should embrace Milton Friedman for his contributions. (One that comes to mind is floating exchange rates...it's stellar compared to government fixed rates.... know of any cheating going on in this area???) posted 05/02/2008 at 13:24:25
You should embrace Milton Friedman for his contributions. (One that comes to mind is floating exchange rates...it's stellar compared to government fixed rates.... know of any cheating going on in this area???) posted 05/02/2008 at 13:24:25
Yes He Will. Because Yes, We Can.
Obama is clearly the man. However, I cannot understand why he (and his wife) tolerates all this USA brand of Britneyization for the mass media to sell advertising. It is sickening.
I think there is a greater good from this human being for the world. He should tell America and it's vast aray of marketing stooges (and hypocrits) to shove it. Then he migrates to Kenya to run for office in his "homeland" bringing a uniter to a divided country that can further the efforts native government in that part of the world. Sound a little crazy? There's no changing corporate lobbyist America. Barak will only be ground into the gears...and they'll laugh. Kenya. Now there is a venue for impact for the world. And Barak is the person who can. Think about it a little. Africa is in need and there are all sorts of talented African Americans who should be giving to their homeland. I am not talking about money... as you know, money only corrupts. 000000 posted 05/02/2008 at 09:42:59
I think there is a greater good from this human being for the world. He should tell America and it's vast aray of marketing stooges (and hypocrits) to shove it. Then he migrates to Kenya to run for office in his "homeland" bringing a uniter to a divided country that can further the efforts native government in that part of the world. Sound a little crazy? There's no changing corporate lobbyist America. Barak will only be ground into the gears...and they'll laugh. Kenya. Now there is a venue for impact for the world. And Barak is the person who can. Think about it a little. Africa is in need and there are all sorts of talented African Americans who should be giving to their homeland. I am not talking about money... as you know, money only corrupts. 000000 posted 05/02/2008 at 09:42:59
A Child Of Woodstock and a Regular Guy
Tom,
I think if we were to give the state of Texas back to Mexico, we'd be much better off. posted 05/02/2008 at 14:45:16
I think if we were to give the state of Texas back to Mexico, we'd be much better off. posted 05/02/2008 at 14:45:16
GDP Grew Last Quarter? Only If You Believe In Santa Claus
You might ponder about all the product put forth by the sum total of all the prostitutes in New York City and imagine sum total dollar value expended for procurement. Then think about ( at $5000 per hour) all of the gross national "product" that is not even being counted, not to mention taxed! You know the way boys are, we may actually be doing better than the numbers indicate. posted 05/01/2008 at 14:29:30
The CEO Presidency
How many times did the Txs Rangers baseball team win the World Series under the leadership of managing member Little George Bush? None. Maybe George Steinbrenner of the New York Yanks would have been better, eh? Except he's a convicted felon from back in the Nixon era. Oh well... posted 05/01/2008 at 10:06:30
What Did Orvin Finsaas Know And When Did He Know It?
Nothing really unique about your grandfather. It is customary for land in the west to be conveyed while holding on to the mineral estate. I think it really was a standard part of documentation like deeds and mortgages. There is the real estate and then there is the mineral estate. Then of course there are water rights. Which of these is separated on conveyance really gets to be part of custom.
How many homes in Texas, for example, are sitting on real estate that has been divorced from its mineral estate? Most I'd say. posted 05/01/2008 at 09:32:17
How many homes in Texas, for example, are sitting on real estate that has been divorced from its mineral estate? Most I'd say. posted 05/01/2008 at 09:32:17
Shameful Days: Why Won't The Media Pursue the Pentagon Propaganda Scandal?
The MSM is a subsidiary of the industrial complex. This is not too complicated. TASS, Pravda and all of that congealed into military industrial press. posted 04/30/2008 at 18:36:05
Chalabi, RAND and the Iraq War
I have always wondered how Chalabi was immune from extradition to Jordan for crimes convicted. What sort of principles do these boys in the Bushwa administration have? Kenny Boy, a convicted criminal, advising Dead-eye Dick on energy policy, Chalabi providing information that would lead to his gain in Iraq, and then there's the whole list of domesticos from Jack Abramov to I Scooter Libby. (I'm beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Laura doesn't have some library books out with due dates expired) posted 04/30/2008 at 18:28:24
Will the Fed's Rollercoaster Ride Save the Dollar?
There was this Englishman who took vacation to Taihiti in 1936. While there he paid for everything with checks drawn on his bank in England. He goes back to England, waits for the checks he had written to clear his bank account. However the checks are never "presented" to his bank for payment. He spends all the money on investments in England.
In 1966 he retires and takes a vacation to Taihiti. This time he has AmExpress travelers checks. He dines out one night, pays with a travelers check and his change has amongst it a Check stamped "Payable to Bearer" that he had written some 30 years earlier!
The question: Who paid for his vacation in 1936? The one that had checks never "presented" for payment.
This is, of course, the USA. We've been traveling for free for quite awhile. The bill will be presented in a crash or over a prolonged period of time. But all our checks will come home for payment and our account will have to bear the brunt. So... the Fed, will the Fed save the dollar? What do you think? Remember the Lira? posted 04/30/2008 at 16:22:23
In 1966 he retires and takes a vacation to Taihiti. This time he has AmExpress travelers checks. He dines out one night, pays with a travelers check and his change has amongst it a Check stamped "Payable to Bearer" that he had written some 30 years earlier!
The question: Who paid for his vacation in 1936? The one that had checks never "presented" for payment.
This is, of course, the USA. We've been traveling for free for quite awhile. The bill will be presented in a crash or over a prolonged period of time. But all our checks will come home for payment and our account will have to bear the brunt. So... the Fed, will the Fed save the dollar? What do you think? Remember the Lira? posted 04/30/2008 at 16:22:23
I'm Mad At Everybody - Except My Dogs
"The two men who supervised the attach that instigated the war"
You might do some serious research into that statement you make. Iraq was on the drawing table long before Little Geo was elected. It was going to happen one way or another. How about Darfur... whaddaya think about that then? posted 04/30/2008 at 15:36:28
You might do some serious research into that statement you make. Iraq was on the drawing table long before Little Geo was elected. It was going to happen one way or another. How about Darfur... whaddaya think about that then? posted 04/30/2008 at 15:36:28
Debate: Do Pets Make Us Happier?
Just imagine if Condi Rice had to manage 5 cats (who do not like each other) on a day to day basis. Think this might give her a little insight to Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran? You know cats are wonderful, but they'll drain a lot out of you. They shred the carpet, scratch the furniture, and pee on everything. (you know I just thought we'd have and election and institute "freedom", but it just didn't quite work out according to the textbooks I read) posted 04/30/2008 at 13:54:25
Bush on the Economy: Too Bitter, Too Late
There is an uncanny parallel between the Bush and his father George H.W. That is the recession downturns that plague(d) each of their exists from office. George H.W. had the savings and loan crisis and the failure of the FSLIC fund prompting a government bailout by the disciples of "market discipline". The same for little George and the bailout of Bear Sterns.
What is it about these boys, uncanny coincidence or bad bad business ability?
In each case the government regulatory agencies could have stopped practices that were observable, known, and contrary to safe and sound banking practice. They did not. (Danny Wall, the head of the FSLIC for George H.W. was an architect and friend of Jake Garn, he of Garn St Germain infamey. He was not a bank regulator...pointing to the problems of "politcos" placed into positions of responsibility) posted 04/30/2008 at 13:33:18
What is it about these boys, uncanny coincidence or bad bad business ability?
In each case the government regulatory agencies could have stopped practices that were observable, known, and contrary to safe and sound banking practice. They did not. (Danny Wall, the head of the FSLIC for George H.W. was an architect and friend of Jake Garn, he of Garn St Germain infamey. He was not a bank regulator...pointing to the problems of "politcos" placed into positions of responsibility) posted 04/30/2008 at 13:33:18
It's The War, Stupid
The buck stops with Little George. And somehow the press is intimidated from asking him the real questions. The slim Democratic majority has no balls. And the military industrials are cashing in. The permanent bases? The Iraqi Oil agreement? Don't you think Little George should be required to explain the "vision" thing about Iraq? What was it he said about nation building? posted 04/30/2008 at 18:17:19
Five Years Since "Mission Accomplished" Up Next: More of the Same
"Mission Accomplished" and the "Powell Doctrine" need to be hung aroung the necks of republicans so that they can define the position of the USA (and the taxpayer) around the world. For example: The mission in Iraq was exactly what? Nation building? Oil theivery? A peaceful middle east for Israel? Why didn't the "coalition of the willing include Saudi Arabia???
It is long past since the time that our leadership needs to "fess" up. The truth would nice. posted 04/30/2008 at 11:59:02
It is long past since the time that our leadership needs to "fess" up. The truth would nice. posted 04/30/2008 at 11:59:02
The Political Media Freakshow: What Went Wrong?
I think there is one expression for it: "bottom line". And the Media know that Britney-ization of material sells advertising. The invisible hand of the market place has tabloidized the news. Put a little M-O-N-I-C-A in your life. Dirt sells! It's what we are about. posted 04/30/2008 at 12:06:30
Meet Your Democratic Leaders: ChickenSh*t Coward Edition
I think it has everything to do with the persona, the "star" quality of the individual politician. It's really about "me" is what Nancy Pelosi should say (as well as the others). They are all prima dona(s). This is the problem with the popularity contest of politics. It's also the problem with an electorate that needs to be culled, as it will be by the continuing diminution of America as a result of the failure of leadership. It's only going to get worse. America's time in the light is past. posted 04/30/2008 at 10:44:16
Tipping Ought to be Abolished: Let's Just Pay People More Like the Europeans Do
How about these waiters in America, are they provided health care by their employers? (no small issue in the realm of remuneration and "economic" necessity for tipping vis-a-vis the European counterparts) posted 04/30/2008 at 08:41:24
War Profiteers: The Bush Baghdad Bubble
There is a Swedish movie entitled "Cops". The story is of a rural police department that is going to be defunded from govt disbursements due to insufficient crime. The police get together to stage some terrorist activity to support their paychecks. Interesting story this. The movie is a comedy. The real life practice a bit more somber and sorrowful. posted 04/30/2008 at 11:25:53
The New Security
What good was the vaunted U.S. military on 9/11? What good is it today for a repeat?
How about diplomacy? How about respect for the culture of others? Little George wants a "secular" government in Iraq. And... just what business is that of his?
Security you say. Mother Nature is the biggest terrorist. 30,000 die per year on the highway. A child dies ever few seconds from lack of water, food, or some other unnecessary villain. Maybe if you of the glitteratti would stop to define the enemy of humanity you could make some progress? Was the cccp really the enemy that it was painted in propaganda to us? Who will the nxt Pancho Villa be? (there's careers to be weaved and money to be made in that industry) posted 04/30/2008 at 08:32:59
How about diplomacy? How about respect for the culture of others? Little George wants a "secular" government in Iraq. And... just what business is that of his?
Security you say. Mother Nature is the biggest terrorist. 30,000 die per year on the highway. A child dies ever few seconds from lack of water, food, or some other unnecessary villain. Maybe if you of the glitteratti would stop to define the enemy of humanity you could make some progress? Was the cccp really the enemy that it was painted in propaganda to us? Who will the nxt Pancho Villa be? (there's careers to be weaved and money to be made in that industry) posted 04/30/2008 at 08:32:59
The Good Fight
How can you possibly have the time to write a book? On balance I find this shameful. There happens to be a war criminal in charge of this country right now...and you are writing a book? And we all though Daschle was a weeenie! posted 04/30/2008 at 10:35:03
Counting on a Quick Economic Recovery? Read This First
Maybe I'm the one with too much coffee then, I wasn't aware to the facetiousness. posted 04/30/2008 at 13:42:34
I do understand that the numbers come out of the Pravda division of the Ministry of Numbers, but, I also have a brother-in-law who farms 1500 acres in the midwest. His revenues triple on "average" production. His land value doubles. He is a sample of one in a sector that is "cooking" if you will. His revenues triple, his costs remain the same and it is the difference between $300K in revenue to $900K revenue. Recession for him and his ilk?
It's clear that home builders and that industry are screwed, and if their sector were measured, recession and depression assured. posted 04/30/2008 at 13:02:00
It's clear that home builders and that industry are screwed, and if their sector were measured, recession and depression assured. posted 04/30/2008 at 13:02:00
Too much coffee this morning? Did I say smoking? Please, if you'd take note, this was in quotes, it was taken from Yahoo as a piece of information.
You will know, of course, that a recession is two consec quarters of gdp in negative. We have not reached that yet, to my knowlege. (If I am wrong on that point please correct me) posted 04/30/2008 at 10:52:55
You will know, of course, that a recession is two consec quarters of gdp in negative. We have not reached that yet, to my knowlege. (If I am wrong on that point please correct me) posted 04/30/2008 at 10:52:55
Novista,
I think you have made a mistake in stating that the p/e of the DOW is 57. I attach a link that has some information for this, it's more like 15:
http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/index.cfm?event=showavgstats posted 04/30/2008 at 10:13:39
I think you have made a mistake in stating that the p/e of the DOW is 57. I attach a link that has some information for this, it's more like 15:
http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/index.cfm?event=showavgstats posted 04/30/2008 at 10:13:39
04/30/08
"The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that gross domestic product or GDP expanded at a 0.6 percent annual rate in the first quarter, matching the fourth quarter's advance and handily topping a forecast for 0.2 percent growth in an advance poll of economists by Reuters." posted 04/30/2008 at 09:35:33
"The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that gross domestic product or GDP expanded at a 0.6 percent annual rate in the first quarter, matching the fourth quarter's advance and handily topping a forecast for 0.2 percent growth in an advance poll of economists by Reuters." posted 04/30/2008 at 09:35:33
Will the Real Karl Rove Please Stand Up?
My favorite of the new adversaries is the "dictatorship of relativism" posted 04/19/2008 at 13:12:16
"Universal Health Care" Is None Of The Above
Doc,
Why should I pay for everyone's healthcare? When I purchase an American made product, part of the cost of the product is health care premiums of the persons in that (and other) companies. It is like a hidden sales tax, no? Other countries that produce products do not have this hidden health care tax as a component of the price of products sold. Therefore the American worker is forced to run more than 100 yards in the 100 yard dash vis-a-vis his competition. Why should my employer be burdened with my health care? Why should American consumers pay for it... all of it? Most republicans are not bright enough to realize this hidden tax that they are paying, but ... you know how they are.
My point is that we are paying for health care by a tax already. This tax is a social burden, a burden we all bear (assuming we consume). We take up 15% of our GDP in medical. Comparable countries, many with better life stats, take up 9% of their GDPs in medical. Why oh why are we such wasteful spendthrifts??? The numbers suggest we could save $600 billion per year and be just as well off! That is a number that should get your attentiion. posted 04/18/2008 at 14:38:05
Why should I pay for everyone's healthcare? When I purchase an American made product, part of the cost of the product is health care premiums of the persons in that (and other) companies. It is like a hidden sales tax, no? Other countries that produce products do not have this hidden health care tax as a component of the price of products sold. Therefore the American worker is forced to run more than 100 yards in the 100 yard dash vis-a-vis his competition. Why should my employer be burdened with my health care? Why should American consumers pay for it... all of it? Most republicans are not bright enough to realize this hidden tax that they are paying, but ... you know how they are.
My point is that we are paying for health care by a tax already. This tax is a social burden, a burden we all bear (assuming we consume). We take up 15% of our GDP in medical. Comparable countries, many with better life stats, take up 9% of their GDPs in medical. Why oh why are we such wasteful spendthrifts??? The numbers suggest we could save $600 billion per year and be just as well off! That is a number that should get your attentiion. posted 04/18/2008 at 14:38:05
Debates Are Not About Issues.
These debates are nonphysical professional wrestling staged by corporate ghoom-bahs who know what sells. Cheerios anyone? posted 04/18/2008 at 14:50:34
U.S. Dollar Euthanasia While Finns Legislate Days-Off for Shagging
This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al.
Globalization, as pointed out by Samuelson, will required the interest rates to equalize, especially the rates of central banks. Currently the Bank of Japan has rates of 0.5% and the central bank of Brazil has rates of 11.0% (or there abouts). There is a whole lot of market gravity at work here moving change and cancelling the sovereign controls of any separate central bank. (whew) This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al.
Globalization, as pointed out by Samuelson, will required the interest rates to equalize, especially the rates of central banks. Currently the Bank of Japan has rates of 0.5% and the central bank of Brazil has rates of 11.0% (or there abouts). There is a whole lot of market gravity at work here moving change and cancelling the sovereign controls of any separate central bank. (whew) (money is pursueing the highest rates causes the currency values to change) posted 04/19/2008 at 11:55:19
Globalization, as pointed out by Samuelson, will required the interest rates to equalize, especially the rates of central banks. Currently the Bank of Japan has rates of 0.5% and the central bank of Brazil has rates of 11.0% (or there abouts). There is a whole lot of market gravity at work here moving change and cancelling the sovereign controls of any separate central bank. (whew) This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al.
Globalization, as pointed out by Samuelson, will required the interest rates to equalize, especially the rates of central banks. Currently the Bank of Japan has rates of 0.5% and the central bank of Brazil has rates of 11.0% (or there abouts). There is a whole lot of market gravity at work here moving change and cancelling the sovereign controls of any separate central bank. (whew) (money is pursueing the highest rates causes the currency values to change) posted 04/19/2008 at 11:55:19
PART II
This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al.
Globalization, as pointed out by Samuelson, will required the interest rates to equalize, especially the rates of central banks. Currently the Bank of Japan has rates of 0.5% and the central bank of Brazil has rates of 11.0% (or there abouts). There is a whole lot of market gravity at work here moving change and cancelling the sovereign controls of any separate central bank. (whew) posted 04/19/2008 at 10:44:33
This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al.
Globalization, as pointed out by Samuelson, will required the interest rates to equalize, especially the rates of central banks. Currently the Bank of Japan has rates of 0.5% and the central bank of Brazil has rates of 11.0% (or there abouts). There is a whole lot of market gravity at work here moving change and cancelling the sovereign controls of any separate central bank. (whew) posted 04/19/2008 at 10:44:33
PART I
There is that Samuelson theory of "factor price equalization" that does encompass interest rates.
If you look at the central banks of USA, EEU, and Great Brit you see central bank rates of 2.25%, 4.0% and 5.0%. While this rate difference cannot be the sole causation of a low dollar, it does give a window into the gravity of market actions. (Along with this of course are trade deficits at historical record levels)
It looks stupid for Ben to have rates so low. He's no dumbell, is he?
I think that Greenspan and Paulson have Ben painted into a corner. Ben needs to keep rates low due to the millions of subprime loans that have been foreclosed (the repurchase issue) and that are scheduled to reset with respect to rates. Ask yourself: If Ben had central bank rates at 5.0% (like Gr Britain) what would that imply for mortgage rates? The answer is more like 8.0%. And that rate would factor into a larger drop in value of the millions of homes that are collateral for securitized mortgage loans. The loss currently guesstimated at $600 billion could then exceed $1 trillion. That loss would have to be recognized on respective books and would bankrupt just more than Bear Stearns!
This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al. posted 04/19/2008 at 10:43:50
There is that Samuelson theory of "factor price equalization" that does encompass interest rates.
If you look at the central banks of USA, EEU, and Great Brit you see central bank rates of 2.25%, 4.0% and 5.0%. While this rate difference cannot be the sole causation of a low dollar, it does give a window into the gravity of market actions. (Along with this of course are trade deficits at historical record levels)
It looks stupid for Ben to have rates so low. He's no dumbell, is he?
I think that Greenspan and Paulson have Ben painted into a corner. Ben needs to keep rates low due to the millions of subprime loans that have been foreclosed (the repurchase issue) and that are scheduled to reset with respect to rates. Ask yourself: If Ben had central bank rates at 5.0% (like Gr Britain) what would that imply for mortgage rates? The answer is more like 8.0%. And that rate would factor into a larger drop in value of the millions of homes that are collateral for securitized mortgage loans. The loss currently guesstimated at $600 billion could then exceed $1 trillion. That loss would have to be recognized on respective books and would bankrupt just more than Bear Stearns!
This is why I believe that easy Ben follows in the footstps of his predecessor easy Al. posted 04/19/2008 at 10:43:50
Explosive Food Inflation -- The Big Presidential Issue?
Farmers have been going the way of the Edsel for decades. Capitalized farming with trnsgenic seeds and chemical additions have developed a way of life into the touch of midas (large scale driving small farms out).
Government programs address, try to address, the larger supply demand issues to no avail. And the farmer is looked at as a government dolee and the government is looked at as stooges(not that they are not)
Then more demand(in form of ethanol) and farmers now have revenue that makes a smaller scale profitable and the hangers-on are rewared with triplings of price. Wheat from $4 to $12 per bushel.
The Common Agriculture Policy of Europe has provided its small scale farmers with a higher price excluding American product by tarriff. It's an ugly complicated mess out there. And... people are starving. Well... they have always been starving. I've seen mountains of grain in the open left to rot because there was no "demand" for it. Yet people were starving.(1970s) What's new? Ethanol. Well if oil can go from $16 per barrel to $117 per barrel (with Bushwa manipulation) why shouldn't wheat go from $4 to $12? Where's that vaunted invisible hand to deliver the "right" price for us? posted 04/19/2008 at 14:00:33
Government programs address, try to address, the larger supply demand issues to no avail. And the farmer is looked at as a government dolee and the government is looked at as stooges(not that they are not)
Then more demand(in form of ethanol) and farmers now have revenue that makes a smaller scale profitable and the hangers-on are rewared with triplings of price. Wheat from $4 to $12 per bushel.
The Common Agriculture Policy of Europe has provided its small scale farmers with a higher price excluding American product by tarriff. It's an ugly complicated mess out there. And... people are starving. Well... they have always been starving. I've seen mountains of grain in the open left to rot because there was no "demand" for it. Yet people were starving.(1970s) What's new? Ethanol. Well if oil can go from $16 per barrel to $117 per barrel (with Bushwa manipulation) why shouldn't wheat go from $4 to $12? Where's that vaunted invisible hand to deliver the "right" price for us? posted 04/19/2008 at 14:00:33
Kristol, Lieberman, and Will Unmask Obama's Secret Marxist Agenda
Whenever people like Will and the others label someone as "Marxist" there should be a translation for the American public. Instead of the word Marxist (or Marxian to use the Rovian reference) the code word "boogey-man" should be inserted. This because the one libeling the other means to communicate that this is a bad person, a person that does not know his "place" in the status quo of heirarchy. Ask someone, preferably a republican what the dialectic is. Or ask for the definition of capital in Das Kapital. You'll expose on clueless pontificator.
So...why is it that these boys are fearful of Barak? He's Marxist? That is rich. posted 04/17/2008 at 20:43:08
So...why is it that these boys are fearful of Barak? He's Marxist? That is rich. posted 04/17/2008 at 20:43:08
Wall Street Traders Offer "End of the World" Options
Blake,
If you recall, post 911, it was Admiral Poindexter (of Iran Contra infamey) who proposed a Futures Market transaction for terrorism. He actually argued that the market was the place to control the likely act of terrorism and indeed, the "smart" money, like always, would prevail.
Well, Poindexter finally was removed (possibly to the funny farm) but the insanity of it all continues. posted 04/17/2008 at 15:37:49
If you recall, post 911, it was Admiral Poindexter (of Iran Contra infamey) who proposed a Futures Market transaction for terrorism. He actually argued that the market was the place to control the likely act of terrorism and indeed, the "smart" money, like always, would prevail.
Well, Poindexter finally was removed (possibly to the funny farm) but the insanity of it all continues. posted 04/17/2008 at 15:37:49
Merrill Blows Another $9 Billion on Gambling Losses, Firing 4,000 People Not Responsible
Four years worth of work by Merril employees has not been "vaporized" as you say.
Normal credit risk losses for a bank are charged to reserves that are established by charges to the income statement. They are an expense of doing business. Now comes the tsunami of charges and you state that the loss than ensues "vaproizes" the product of four years' labor. Hardly. There are millions of subprime homes out there built by value added (labor etc) that would otherwise not have occured. It was the George Boom if you recall. Stupidity and reckless are not criminal. It is hard to imagine, however, that some of the boys didn't pocket the easy money even though they knew (whaddaya think?).
It's like the farmer who fed his cows all they could eat, (I think this is supply-side economics), thinking this would put weight on faster. The cows all bloated after their windpipes constricted and they died. Darn said the farmer. posted 04/17/2008 at 16:06:47
Normal credit risk losses for a bank are charged to reserves that are established by charges to the income statement. They are an expense of doing business. Now comes the tsunami of charges and you state that the loss than ensues "vaproizes" the product of four years' labor. Hardly. There are millions of subprime homes out there built by value added (labor etc) that would otherwise not have occured. It was the George Boom if you recall. Stupidity and reckless are not criminal. It is hard to imagine, however, that some of the boys didn't pocket the easy money even though they knew (whaddaya think?).
It's like the farmer who fed his cows all they could eat, (I think this is supply-side economics), thinking this would put weight on faster. The cows all bloated after their windpipes constricted and they died. Darn said the farmer. posted 04/17/2008 at 16:06:47
Who Is Hillary Now?
Is there any surprise to anyone that Hillary is Mrs Slick Willie? And I mean that in the nicest way. posted 04/17/2008 at 12:43:49
What Passes For Debate
It does seem, does it not, that if you want to be the baseball slugger of all time that you need to be a creature of steroids? (I've heard that "insider information" is the metaphor for steroids in the financial world) posted 04/17/2008 at 11:54:50
An Open Letter to Senator Lamar Alexander
Robert,
While you are at it, you should also invite Huckabee with his proposal of the "consumption tax" as opposed to the income tax.
I would be very interested in this debate. And no prejudgements. If they can make the case, good for them. posted 04/17/2008 at 11:27:23
While you are at it, you should also invite Huckabee with his proposal of the "consumption tax" as opposed to the income tax.
I would be very interested in this debate. And no prejudgements. If they can make the case, good for them. posted 04/17/2008 at 11:27:23
The Done Deal
I am in full agreement with what you write. It seems that we Americans are like a bunch of children in Disneyland. Mickey Mouse is wonderful and on and on ad naseum.
I believe there is a one-liner to summarize the state of the union and it is this: Where has the gap between uber-rich and the poor gone in the time period of the last administration???
In the world we live, pro athletes have turned into whores who work for Pimps. And this is only one example of what it's all turned into. The media that stages the "show" has bottom line as the purpose. The goals that motivate are no longer the goals you could perceive in the now passe Norman Rockwell America. I know that it will turn out to be mega ugly for Barak as President. The reason is that he does not appear at this point to have the traits of the MIckey Mouse type of whore that qualifies to be President. (and I hope I'm right about that) posted 04/17/2008 at 11:16:51
I believe there is a one-liner to summarize the state of the union and it is this: Where has the gap between uber-rich and the poor gone in the time period of the last administration???
In the world we live, pro athletes have turned into whores who work for Pimps. And this is only one example of what it's all turned into. The media that stages the "show" has bottom line as the purpose. The goals that motivate are no longer the goals you could perceive in the now passe Norman Rockwell America. I know that it will turn out to be mega ugly for Barak as President. The reason is that he does not appear at this point to have the traits of the MIckey Mouse type of whore that qualifies to be President. (and I hope I'm right about that) posted 04/17/2008 at 11:16:51
What If ABC Held a Debate, but Forgot to Show Up?
Let's get serious here, did you know that McCains wife is a known plagerer? This is serious stuff man! posted 04/17/2008 at 07:56:29
An Overview Of the Current US Economy
I think it's true that the American Farmer is doing quite well. (Think of the 80's when 20% of them were expunged) However, the auto workers of Michigan are not doing well and their periphery is doing badly in relative and absolute terms. The point is this: The sum total statistics do not mean anything personal. The train rolls on. When your neighbor loses his house, recession. When you lose your house depression. Now... how about pro sports? Any problem in their sector? Filthy Fat Cats? Any "real" problem in their sector?
Recessions in this country are sector related. The military industrials are doing well, for example.
The victims of this are at the margin and they are compounded in separate sectors. posted 04/17/2008 at 08:19:43
Recessions in this country are sector related. The military industrials are doing well, for example.
The victims of this are at the margin and they are compounded in separate sectors. posted 04/17/2008 at 08:19:43
The 100 Years Defense Makes No Sense
I tend to agree that when McCain stated "up to a 100 years" he was clearly using the hyperbole. You know "til the cows come home" type of assertion with respect to being successful or winning or whatever it is we're going to be. Maybe it will be another "peace with honor" like Vietnam. Whatever, but the idea that he conceives a 100 year occupation from the exaggeration he made in the answer to a question goes a bit far and should be dropped. posted 04/16/2008 at 19:52:45
The Springsteen Effect: Why This "Bitter" Thing Is Boomeranging on Clinton, From One Who Grew Up in the White Working Class
You know...our very business thought is to maximize value for the shareholder. Corporate motivtion has no more interest in community and people than Little George does for soldiers expunged in Iraq or Afgan.
Take Nike for example. Big time sports promoter producing in Vietnam. And producing in Vietnam to maximize shareholder value. All the bright well educated college graduates are well aware that the future belongs to those who "maximize" shareholder value. Corporations make a nice propaganda statement about things like community, but look at Haliburton. It is beyond shameful. Yet, it is the relentless pursuit of the dollar. posted 04/16/2008 at 19:43:45
Take Nike for example. Big time sports promoter producing in Vietnam. And producing in Vietnam to maximize shareholder value. All the bright well educated college graduates are well aware that the future belongs to those who "maximize" shareholder value. Corporations make a nice propaganda statement about things like community, but look at Haliburton. It is beyond shameful. Yet, it is the relentless pursuit of the dollar. posted 04/16/2008 at 19:43:45
The Budget Debate for Grownups
Joe,
I am only a smple of one, but here is what I believe the current problem emantes from:
The real interest rate is the Prime rate minus the inflation rate. The real interest rate over the time of history should be 6.0%. This would permit a real rate of savings of 3.0% (assuming a bank needs a margin of 300 basis points between its loan rate and its rate that is pays out on deposits) Look at what Alan Greenspan (he's smart enough to know this) did, he had fed funds at 1.0%, Prime at 4.0% and the real historical rate at 1.0% (assuming inflation at 3%). This means that the real rate on savings was a negative 2.0% (real rates). There is no economy in the world that survives this. There is no incentive to save and every incentive to borrow. Recipe for speculation. Hard to believe the entire FED this stupid to the lessons of history. I am telling you PRIME should have been 9.0%(implying a real rate of 6%) and none of this stuff we observe would have been happening. (once again the real rate is Prime minus inflation... and it should alasy be 6.0% or thereabouts) posted 04/18/2008 at 18:12:41
I am only a smple of one, but here is what I believe the current problem emantes from:
The real interest rate is the Prime rate minus the inflation rate. The real interest rate over the time of history should be 6.0%. This would permit a real rate of savings of 3.0% (assuming a bank needs a margin of 300 basis points between its loan rate and its rate that is pays out on deposits) Look at what Alan Greenspan (he's smart enough to know this) did, he had fed funds at 1.0%, Prime at 4.0% and the real historical rate at 1.0% (assuming inflation at 3%). This means that the real rate on savings was a negative 2.0% (real rates). There is no economy in the world that survives this. There is no incentive to save and every incentive to borrow. Recipe for speculation. Hard to believe the entire FED this stupid to the lessons of history. I am telling you PRIME should have been 9.0%(implying a real rate of 6%) and none of this stuff we observe would have been happening. (once again the real rate is Prime minus inflation... and it should alasy be 6.0% or thereabouts) posted 04/18/2008 at 18:12:41
Joe,
Let me respond 2 points to you. The first presented in the link that the Central Bank would create money at intervals crediting accounts of local governments, giving them the money to put into circulation by spending, e.g. the construction of a new school, road repairs, salaries. This has an alarming state centralism about it. How is the likes of a Ben Bernanke going to know how much money should be "given" to Multnomah County where I live? This does not have a chance in America, it is contrary to every notion we have or have had. Giving "new" money to local areas and having it circulated by being spent. Joe, this sounds vaguely reminicent of Comm Poland. The second point is growth. If the banks, as stated in the link article, could create no new money and that sight drafts(demnd deposits) were not lendable but off the books, then America would be cooked. How would Boeing have "money" for production if the sum total of loans was a 1 to 1 ratio money the bank had on its asset side of the ledger (not deposits)? Growth just does not pencil out in this scenario. Depending on reserve requirements our system loans 10 times what would be available in that system. Could we "get by" on 1/10th?
I bank at a credit union that uses the fractional reserve system and the only difference is the ownership (compared to private bankers) posted 04/18/2008 at 12:46:24
Let me respond 2 points to you. The first presented in the link that the Central Bank would create money at intervals crediting accounts of local governments, giving them the money to put into circulation by spending, e.g. the construction of a new school, road repairs, salaries. This has an alarming state centralism about it. How is the likes of a Ben Bernanke going to know how much money should be "given" to Multnomah County where I live? This does not have a chance in America, it is contrary to every notion we have or have had. Giving "new" money to local areas and having it circulated by being spent. Joe, this sounds vaguely reminicent of Comm Poland. The second point is growth. If the banks, as stated in the link article, could create no new money and that sight drafts(demnd deposits) were not lendable but off the books, then America would be cooked. How would Boeing have "money" for production if the sum total of loans was a 1 to 1 ratio money the bank had on its asset side of the ledger (not deposits)? Growth just does not pencil out in this scenario. Depending on reserve requirements our system loans 10 times what would be available in that system. Could we "get by" on 1/10th?
I bank at a credit union that uses the fractional reserve system and the only difference is the ownership (compared to private bankers) posted 04/18/2008 at 12:46:24
Joe,
A bank is "a loan making, deposit creating entity". Deposits are money. A bank can make a loan for production or consumption...and it can also make a loan for speculation. A bank is the financial nucleus of the community. It finances economic activity e.g. tractors to farmers etc...
The money supply is elastic (it stretches) in the relationship between the banker and the loan applicants. The growth of America has been the envy of the world. (ask anyone in Poland etc) This growth is the result of private banks creating money (it's an abstraction or an accounting entry your choice) by lending it for economic activity. This is the free enterprise capitalism that has made America stellar. Now, there have been abuses at the margin (subprime crisis) but this is a result of securitization of subprime loans that commercial banks would not even countenance. This is a wall street instituted problem.
If the governmtn were to control the money, or if it were only gold, think of where America would be? If you had to save $200,000 before you bought a home instead of $40,000, just how many homes do you think there would be in this country? Without the banks' ability to create money to finance economic activity there would be no growth. Look you could make all the banks branches of the Fed... but it would wind up being the same thing, but with govt loan officers. A bank is a bank after all. posted 04/17/2008 at 17:28:11
A bank is "a loan making, deposit creating entity". Deposits are money. A bank can make a loan for production or consumption...and it can also make a loan for speculation. A bank is the financial nucleus of the community. It finances economic activity e.g. tractors to farmers etc...
The money supply is elastic (it stretches) in the relationship between the banker and the loan applicants. The growth of America has been the envy of the world. (ask anyone in Poland etc) This growth is the result of private banks creating money (it's an abstraction or an accounting entry your choice) by lending it for economic activity. This is the free enterprise capitalism that has made America stellar. Now, there have been abuses at the margin (subprime crisis) but this is a result of securitization of subprime loans that commercial banks would not even countenance. This is a wall street instituted problem.
If the governmtn were to control the money, or if it were only gold, think of where America would be? If you had to save $200,000 before you bought a home instead of $40,000, just how many homes do you think there would be in this country? Without the banks' ability to create money to finance economic activity there would be no growth. Look you could make all the banks branches of the Fed... but it would wind up being the same thing, but with govt loan officers. A bank is a bank after all. posted 04/17/2008 at 17:28:11
WIpatriot,
Tongue-in-cheek irony to expose Republicans.
My great grandfather homesteaded on what was federal land, essentially privatizing it for the better. Now, of course, the buffalo or the Indian did not think that was such a capital idea. But the debate between private and social allocation is relevant. It needs to be a bit more enlightened, for example social health care, single payer system would far surpass the private health care. (Think John McCain will agree with that).
You know, when you compare USA homesteaders to the way Mexico and Latin America settled their respective lands you can vizualize the problems of Latin poverty, i.e. large landholders with majority of peoples landless serfs. Fast forward and you observe this "wonderful" (as I heard a European professor profess in bad english) poverty in Latin America. Think about it a bit. It's a strong point in American history. posted 04/17/2008 at 16:36:56
Tongue-in-cheek irony to expose Republicans.
My great grandfather homesteaded on what was federal land, essentially privatizing it for the better. Now, of course, the buffalo or the Indian did not think that was such a capital idea. But the debate between private and social allocation is relevant. It needs to be a bit more enlightened, for example social health care, single payer system would far surpass the private health care. (Think John McCain will agree with that).
You know, when you compare USA homesteaders to the way Mexico and Latin America settled their respective lands you can vizualize the problems of Latin poverty, i.e. large landholders with majority of peoples landless serfs. Fast forward and you observe this "wonderful" (as I heard a European professor profess in bad english) poverty in Latin America. Think about it a bit. It's a strong point in American history. posted 04/17/2008 at 16:36:56
I do have a solution to a big part of the debt problem: Privatize the military.
Republicans are mostly morons, but they are patriotic (whatever that may mean). They hate socialism (it's a bad word) yet they have no concept of the meaning, the economic meaning of the expression social allocation of goods and services. The military is a social good, it is socialism staring any Republican in the face and exposing him(her) for the dolt he or she is.
The benefit of privatizing the military is this: Republicans love privatization and capitalist allocation of goods and services. Those of us who are antiwar would not have to be stuck with the military conduct of the Rumsfelds or other criminals we now endure.
So Mr McCain, you free capital Republican you, how about privatizing the military??? (You are not a socialist now are you, boy?).
The sale price would be underwritten by Goldman, taxpayers would make out like bandits and future military costs would be born by the free market. This eliminates all future tax payer requirements. The $3 trillion or so for Iraq to be born by the taxpayer disappears!!! (at least in the future)
(the dirty secret: if the filthy rich pay for defense the poorest amongst us benefit equally as well) posted 04/17/2008 at 09:52:12
Republicans are mostly morons, but they are patriotic (whatever that may mean). They hate socialism (it's a bad word) yet they have no concept of the meaning, the economic meaning of the expression social allocation of goods and services. The military is a social good, it is socialism staring any Republican in the face and exposing him(her) for the dolt he or she is.
The benefit of privatizing the military is this: Republicans love privatization and capitalist allocation of goods and services. Those of us who are antiwar would not have to be stuck with the military conduct of the Rumsfelds or other criminals we now endure.
So Mr McCain, you free capital Republican you, how about privatizing the military??? (You are not a socialist now are you, boy?).
The sale price would be underwritten by Goldman, taxpayers would make out like bandits and future military costs would be born by the free market. This eliminates all future tax payer requirements. The $3 trillion or so for Iraq to be born by the taxpayer disappears!!! (at least in the future)
(the dirty secret: if the filthy rich pay for defense the poorest amongst us benefit equally as well) posted 04/17/2008 at 09:52:12
I think there are things that can be done and should be done:
1) Expirey of the Bush tax cuts (there was plenty of invstmnt capital before cuts)
2) Exit Iraq, or stay only on a contract basis at the will of their Government
3) Means test social security
None of these things cannot attain a majority vote. Republicans need to be exposed for the fools they are when it comes to economics. Hoover was not stellar, nor is McCain (or the Harvard MBA for that matter). posted 04/16/2008 at 20:08:39
1) Expirey of the Bush tax cuts (there was plenty of invstmnt capital before cuts)
2) Exit Iraq, or stay only on a contract basis at the will of their Government
3) Means test social security
None of these things cannot attain a majority vote. Republicans need to be exposed for the fools they are when it comes to economics. Hoover was not stellar, nor is McCain (or the Harvard MBA for that matter). posted 04/16/2008 at 20:08:39
Jimmy Carter Speaks for Me
There really is something puzzling about the Bush Cabal. For the life of me, I cannot believe that they are as stupid as they appear to be.
James Earl Carter is a man true to his convictions. He is unique in that respect and it clearly makes him one of the greatest on the planet. posted 04/16/2008 at 11:13:49
James Earl Carter is a man true to his convictions. He is unique in that respect and it clearly makes him one of the greatest on the planet. posted 04/16/2008 at 11:13:49
Why Should We Care About Iraq?
There seems to be this "haze" surrounding the so-stated six permanent bases, U.S. bases to be located in Iraq. Are they still under construction? Will the sovereign nation of Iraq permit those bases, or will they boot us out? Dangerous stuff this. And just what are the purposes for those bases? What are the scheduled pipelines accross the Middle East, and for that matter extending from the former Soviet Republics accross Afganistan and Pakistan? I for one believe that this is what it has all been about. Yet nobody speaks about this angle, (Did anyone ask Patreus about the bases and the pipelines?) posted 04/16/2008 at 09:36:56
My Spiritual Journey: The Pope, His Relevance, And Those Sexual Molestation Cases
As it turns out, the Pope is the current CEO of the largest and oldest existing business in history. Is he relevant? (think of him as Jack Welch of GE) Education is the biggest enemy to this old business. Their net worth, their capital, has the Marxist noted relevence for "return" that is the engine of continuance of growth. Time is closing in on the church. The goods and services they sell are becoming passe and being replaced. We are approaching a time when belief in a supreme being will be looked at as addled and intellectually childish. posted 04/16/2008 at 09:55:50
A Scarcity of Fools
You know, of course, that in Lake Wobegone... all the children are above average. posted 04/17/2008 at 09:37:54
What Shall We Do With Healthcare?
Medicare for all. It is the single payer system that breeds efficiency. The sum total of corporations in this country spend 100s of billions in health care for families. They need not do this. However, those 100s of billions can be extracted (sum neutral) in the form of taxes on profits (of only the profitable) to pay into the single payer health care system. Those uninsured now will be included and the cost "increase" would effectively be at the margin. Not a gigantic a problem as the not christian right believes. The ugliness of cost shifting and treatment by emergency ward would be eliminated. posted 04/15/2008 at 14:01:22
People Have Every Right to Be Bitter
George and his boys, Paulson et al talk about a "strong dollar" yet they seem to be working to weaken the dollar.
George must know that OPEC forces "cartel" prices on the west, yet he does nothing about this, indeed he seems tolerant. If our Texas-Tough Guy is going to "kick" some asss, maybe he should start with Saudi Arabia and OPEC! (those bastards are bandits, yet personal friends of the Bushwa family) posted 04/15/2008 at 10:39:50
George must know that OPEC forces "cartel" prices on the west, yet he does nothing about this, indeed he seems tolerant. If our Texas-Tough Guy is going to "kick" some asss, maybe he should start with Saudi Arabia and OPEC! (those bastards are bandits, yet personal friends of the Bushwa family) posted 04/15/2008 at 10:39:50
John McCain, Flip Flopper
McCain suffers the short man's syndrome. We have no need for this type of person as a leader of anything. posted 04/14/2008 at 17:51:27
Victory in Iraq! Oil Over $100 Barrel and 35 International Oil Companies Vying To Bid On Iraqi Oil Projects
You get what you vote for. Surprised? posted 04/14/2008 at 11:59:08
Empowering Chavez
Is Pinochet more to your liking? posted 04/14/2008 at 11:32:15
Free John McCain's Mind and His Ass Will Follow
The tragedy of McCain is captured in his beach boy performance in front of some VFW club singing "bomb, bomb, bomb... bomb, bomb Iran". War or even the criminal preemptive bombing of civilian populations is not something to make light of, ever. Yet here is John McCain making a joke out of prospective ugliness, the likes of which we still have not seen. This is certainly not presidential. posted 04/15/2008 at 08:14:00
Mississippi Supreme Court Justice: Bush US Attorney Targeted My Wife, Supporters and Friends
I remember the supreme justice Roberts comparing his "Job" to that of an umpire. The notion of umpire (referee) requires political neutrality or even "a" political performance in the job. If I have ever seen two snakes in the grass, it's Haley Barbour and Karl Rove. If republicans had any brains, they'd be ashamed of themselves. posted 04/10/2008 at 12:50:29
Petraeus Plays Defense in Testimony
It has always amazed me that the Bushwa gang wants the federal Iraq as one nation. The very requirement that makes the "reconciliation" so impossible. Yet if the gravitation of the natural Balkanization on ethnic/relitious lines were permitted, there would not be the national reconciliation problem. (think of Serbia and Croatia as "one" country). I have always thought this as a necessity for the "oil" purpose in general that were part of Little George's marching orders from the beginning. You know, like Ron Reagan used to say "there is more than one way to skin a cat".
Imagine Patreus trying to babysit the matrimony between/amongst Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia? Think it would work well? posted 04/10/2008 at 12:18:09
Imagine Patreus trying to babysit the matrimony between/amongst Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia? Think it would work well? posted 04/10/2008 at 12:18:09
Iraq Was Not A Preemptive War
Well, McCain does not appear to be a very bright bulb. What was his performance position in the graduation class at the Naval Academy? Fortunately he has little if any chance of becoming the leader of this country. posted 04/10/2008 at 12:07:18
The Two Central Myths of the Iraq War
I think what we are looking for is a government that is a cross between the Shah of Iran and Pinochet of Chile. Native leaders who accede to the wills of corporate America. It did not work in our sordid past, there is no liklihood that it will work in Iraq, no matter what sort of marketing face they put on it. posted 04/10/2008 at 11:58:07
Inflation Is Getting Worse
Actually Henry rides a bike for most errands. It's liberating. posted 04/10/2008 at 23:00:14
Isn't there some credible thought (you'd think this would imply evidence) that there is $30 worth of manipulated value in the price per barrell of oil? Is this really inflation?
Three years ago I paid $1 for a loaf of bread. Today I purchase that same loaf of bread for $1. Yet the price of wheat has tripled, what's up with that? posted 04/10/2008 at 09:59:27
Three years ago I paid $1 for a loaf of bread. Today I purchase that same loaf of bread for $1. Yet the price of wheat has tripled, what's up with that? posted 04/10/2008 at 09:59:27
Why America Won't Boycott the Olympics
We are not the people who should be passing judgement on anyone. Isolation is not the way forward in relations, look at Syria and or Iran. Absolutism and intolerance breed the opposite of what we are hoping for in this world. This olympics is very very important to the Chinese people. This makes it much bigger than the fraternity of western imperialists. I hope you are not merely a spokesman for the imperialists. Kosovo anyone? Was the racist South part of America? (If I recall, even Karl Marx passed judgement in Das Kap or the Manifesto.... ho ho against people as chattles) posted 04/10/2008 at 09:44:45
What They're Really Fighting for in Tibet
Couldn't help but think of the progress west in America extinguishing the rights of native peoples. Must be progress, eh? posted 04/09/2008 at 20:01:05
Untitled
Now. . . you can feel how the Earl of Sandwich must have felt! posted 04/09/2008 at 16:02:03
Don't Blame Me, I'm A Conservative
It is always good sport to ask a conservative (free market capitalist) exactly how the good or service of military protection is allocated to Americans?? It turns out to be "socially" provided. Indeed it is as social as the Union of Sovyet Socialist Republics provision of military security for Mother Russia (and affiliated republics). It is socialism in action. And of course, they revere the military.
Conservatives are not very bright, nor are they very deep. Santa too is a socialist (they're everywhere) but that is no roadblock for republicans (after all it really is an environmentalist who is conservative). posted 04/09/2008 at 15:15:49
Conservatives are not very bright, nor are they very deep. Santa too is a socialist (they're everywhere) but that is no roadblock for republicans (after all it really is an environmentalist who is conservative). posted 04/09/2008 at 15:15:49
Pelosi's Trade Move: The Good, the Bad and the Potentially Ugly
We trade a lot with Canada. Yet their government provides social health care to its citizens. This permits their manufacturing entities an "unfair trade" factor when competing with USA entities who are forced (USA firms) to pay health care expenses for the vast majority of Americans. Why should the USA baseball team get 3 strikes when the Canadien teams get 4 strikes. It's unfair.
It's the old ad hominem from your grandfather... well life is not fair. posted 04/09/2008 at 13:05:30
It's the old ad hominem from your grandfather... well life is not fair. posted 04/09/2008 at 13:05:30
McCain Seeks "Success" Instead of "Victory" in Iraq
Victory, winning, or success is one thing. They have yet to define the enemy: AQI (aq in Iraq) AQP (Pakistan) AQE (aq in Egypt) AQA (aq in Afganistan). And it all seems to be forgotten about Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, none of whom seem to be "with" us in the War (which was on terrorism). Iraq is an occupation seeking to quell insurgents. This is hardly a war. It is an occupation. How, on earth, can you "win" an occupation?
(I've heard that once we win the war on terrorism, we'll start a new war on bad manners) posted 04/09/2008 at 12:46:52
(I've heard that once we win the war on terrorism, we'll start a new war on bad manners) posted 04/09/2008 at 12:46:52
Congress's Latest Pathetic Housing Bailout Plan
Where is the money going to come from? $2 trillion sounds like a lot. However, when you think about it, the $2 trillion of par value of securitized mortgages has already been "monetized" and it sits as assets on respective entity's books. (UBS for example). The newly develped agency akin to the old RTC lets debt under the aegis of the government (it's safe paper for now anyway) and there is either auction or underwriting to fund the debt. When UBS et al sell their subprime securities, they are flush with cash and they themselves purchase the RTC paper (it's safe). Sounds circuitous, well as I read it's Citi with its sale of $12 billion that is doing precisely this.
The big issue is the transfer of the loss. I read that Bear could have been forced to sell its assets at 11 cents on the dollar which was "death" for them even though their assets had much more intrinsic value than this. This effectively would provide liquidity and remove liquidity at "other" than market prices (which are inordinately low...this is paper with aids!) which would permit the three year period of time to permit the market allocation of losses all to accrue to the central govt and essentially the taxpayer. If the government does this, however, they have to prosecute all the crooks. And we all know there are more than a few. posted 04/09/2008 at 15:40:53
The big issue is the transfer of the loss. I read that Bear could have been forced to sell its assets at 11 cents on the dollar which was "death" for them even though their assets had much more intrinsic value than this. This effectively would provide liquidity and remove liquidity at "other" than market prices (which are inordinately low...this is paper with aids!) which would permit the three year period of time to permit the market allocation of losses all to accrue to the central govt and essentially the taxpayer. If the government does this, however, they have to prosecute all the crooks. And we all know there are more than a few. posted 04/09/2008 at 15:40:53
I am telling you, it stinks, but the most efficient mop-up for this moron's mess that we are in is a Resolution Trust like entity that clears this mess, as did the RTC in a gigantic vacuum cleaner and deals with the components over a three year period. The new RTC would purchase 2 trillion of subprime loans and the securitizations or books on which they reside would be liquidated at 95% (or so) of par value. Then the RTC would book, rate, and market the acquired corpus, under government supervision, to the "free market" (cousins or probably the same people who originated the crap in first place) receiving an approximate $1.4 trillion is sales... for a government loss of $600 billion shared accross the social spectrum, socializing the loss. The benefit of this is that it permits the market arteries to become unclogged, so there would be no market stroke. The losses will impinge on us socially one way or another. (give up the baloney) The issue at present is efficiency. posted 04/09/2008 at 10:44:51
Alan Greenspan: A Bad Offense is a Bad Defense
There was a long long stretch of time where easy Al had the Fed Funds (the base rate, above which competition takes in) rate down to 1.0%. Never in our life times had there been such.
Rates offered by banks to induce savers were thusly low low and even in real terms negative. Why on earth would a person save at real negative rates?
This brings the notion of the real interest rate into focus. It is argued that the historical "real rate of interest" bops and weaves around 6,0% (that is Prime minus the rate of inflation) The real historical rate needs to be at a level that accomodates incentives for savers. There was none.(real rates for savers were negative) And this arguement takes place at the undergrad level of economics. There is no excuse for anyone at the FED to have missed this. History will be their judge. posted 04/09/2008 at 10:34:44
Rates offered by banks to induce savers were thusly low low and even in real terms negative. Why on earth would a person save at real negative rates?
This brings the notion of the real interest rate into focus. It is argued that the historical "real rate of interest" bops and weaves around 6,0% (that is Prime minus the rate of inflation) The real historical rate needs to be at a level that accomodates incentives for savers. There was none.(real rates for savers were negative) And this arguement takes place at the undergrad level of economics. There is no excuse for anyone at the FED to have missed this. History will be their judge. posted 04/09/2008 at 10:34:44
Brain Dead Trade Debate
"Lunacy" you say? Hard to imagine with the gem of the Bushwa family as ceo.
The era of greed needs to be pinched. The first shot needs to be the repeal of beneficial tax reductions. The second needs to be a WTO challenge to PRC currency abuse. The next needs to be banishing corporate lobbying. The next needs to be the repeal of the repeal to Glass Steagall.
The market is a game and the rules of the game need to be established to permit a more equitable distribution of the sum total of efforts. posted 04/09/2008 at 09:30:04
The era of greed needs to be pinched. The first shot needs to be the repeal of beneficial tax reductions. The second needs to be a WTO challenge to PRC currency abuse. The next needs to be banishing corporate lobbying. The next needs to be the repeal of the repeal to Glass Steagall.
The market is a game and the rules of the game need to be established to permit a more equitable distribution of the sum total of efforts. posted 04/09/2008 at 09:30:04
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