You know, I am all for the Second Amendment, but what the hell is this? According to basically every major news outlet, people are going to health care town hall meetings brandishing 9mm handguns and, as of late, AR-15 assault rifles.
I really don’t get the correlation between health care and second amendment rights, unless they are talking about how Obama’s Public Option plan will cover gun shot wounds.
I am not really surprised, however seeing how heated these rallies and town halls are getting, is this really a good idea? I find it hard not to imagine a worse case scenario where different groups of protestors clash in a hail of gunfire started by those in the crowd with high power assault rifles.
Oddly enough, the Secret Service seems cool with it? Here’s a interview with a Secret Service spokesman from CNN:
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan acknowledged the incidents in New Hampshire and Arizona, but said he was not aware of any other recent events where protesters attended with open weapons. He said there was no indication that anyone had organized the incidents.
Asked whether the individuals carrying weapons jeopardized the safety of the president, Donovan said, “Of course not.”
The individuals would never have gotten in close proximity to the president, regardless of any state laws on openly carrying weapons, he said. A venue is considered a federal site when the Secret Service is protecting the president and weapons are not allowed on a federal site, he added.
A lot of people are forgetting that the problem is not that he is open wielding and firearm near the president. The Secret Service obviously has Obama so locked down that they are cool as cucumbers.
Local police forces in the area are in a unique position here as well. These protestors are obviously protected by the law, and confiscating, detaining, or arresting these individuals would only add fuel to the fire. However they still have to consider the safety of the crowd.
The problem here is that people are walking around with these things in high traffic areas no doubt steeped in heated political debate. Frankly, I don’t trust people enough to be responsible and, most importantly, calm. This is trouble waiting to happen.
According to CNN.com, the Senate today voted to no longer fund the F-22 fighter program, effectively capping the amount of fighters to be built at 187 planes. Here is an excerpt:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate voted Tuesday to block expansion of one of the country’s most controversial and expensive defense programs, the F-22 fighter jet program.
The vote gave the White House and Pentagon a key victory over congressional supporters of the F-22, many of whom represent states and districts where jobs are tied to the production of the jet.
The vote, which stripped $1.75 billion for an additional seven F-22s from the fiscal year 2010 budget, was a reversal of an earlier Senate committee decision to include money for the program. The change came in a response to strong pressure from President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and several key senators who argued that the additional planes are not needed or wanted by the military.
The 58-40 vote, which did not break down along typical partisan lines, was the culmination of a classic confrontation between the president and Congress over who is the best judge of the country’s military needs.
The reason a lot of senators are a big fan of this aircraft are twofold. First, the aircraft keeps a lot of people employed as it relies on parts and labor from 44 states, which keeps constituency pockets filled, and senators and local reps happy.
The second reason they give is that the aircraft will serve as a defense not so much for our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq but against more challenging enemies that could pose a threat in the future, such as China or Russia…or Britain. Seriously you never know.
Look, at this time spending cash on defense may look like, as President Obama said, “an inexcusable waste of money”. However, I think this specific program is vital not only for the reasons listed above but also because this aircraft contributes to this country’s image.
The F-22 keeps America safe and employed, and in the end isn’t that a good thing?
During times of economic difficulty it isn’t unnatural for companies to tighten the belt. Lay off workers, cut salaries, reduce work weeks, there are many options for ailing companies. Recently I have been reading (and hearing) stories of companies who continue to perform very well, but are still making drastic cuts in overtime, salaries, and bonuses.
I spoke to someone the other day who was talking about how their employer was cutting all overtime and bonuses while the company continued to post excellent numbers. The overall sentiment at her office was that the owners had lost portions of personal money and are simply reacting to it by improving profits at the cost of their employee benefits.
I have always been a believer in the idea that “if you take care of your employees, they will take care of you”. During and after the 2008 presidential elections, small and medium business owners were constantly discussed as one of the most important groups of people in America.
However, small business owners have a tremendous amount of freedom when it comes to how they handle their businesses. Most of the time, that’s a good thing. Considering a good amount of successful small business owners provide their employees good health care, bonuses and incentives. On the other hand, that could be a bad thing.
Back when I entertained the idea of being a business major my financial accounting professor stressed the importance of a business owners obligation to keep their personal finances separate from their business’.
I am sure Neitzche would scold me for my “slave moralist” view, or Limbaugh would call me a socialist, but I think my point is reasonable. Whether you like it or not, a business may legally belong to one person, but in a way it belongs to everyone who works for it. These people feed and support themselves and their families with what they earn there. All the accomplishments and accolades are earned as a whole.
In times like these most people tend to huddle together. Some would rather see a 10% cut in salaries rather than watching a few esteemed co-workers walk away. Greed was what got us in to this mess in the first place, and people realize that.
We can’t afford to see hard working employees get cut due to the misfortunes of a few. If you lost money because of a few investments that went south, that is unfortunate. But don’t make your employees feel it as well.
Looks like AIG is up to it’s usual tricks again. This time paying out large bonuses to executives with bailout money. Here is a quick excerpt from CNN Money:
Anger over $165 million in bonuses doled out to American International Group senior employees reached a fevered pitch on Monday, prompting the Obama administration to vow to recoup the money and a New York prosecutor to subpoena the firm for recipients’ names.
President Obama said Monday that he has asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to use the government’s role as a majority owner of the troubled insurance company and “every legal avenue” to stop the bonuses.
“It’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses,” Obama said.
So AIG doles out $165 million of OUR money and now what? AIG has been a black hole for tax dollars since the bailout began. Too much money in, not enough transparency, and not enough accountability. While these guys are paying out bonuses, the company itself is continuing to hemorrhage money and no one can seem to close the wound.
Barack Obama needs to come down hard on this. This is the type of corporate bullshit that cannot be tolerated during these times. AIG states that these are existing contracts that they must honor in order to stave off legal battles and maintain their reputation, however we all know that too is bullshit. GM union workers were forced to renegotiate their contracts during this time, and frankly AIG shouldn’t be any different.
Sadly, we are majority shareholders AIG and President Obama and Tim Geithner are our representatives on the board so to speak. Find these bonuses, stop them from happening again and make sure that this money is returned back to the company.
UPDATE: In between my moments of sleep this morning, CNN reported that most of the people who given the bonuses left the company shortly there after. People infuriate me sometimes.
The GOP had their response ready to go last night after Barack Obama’s address to congress. Sarah Palin had a great speech…wait what? Bobby Jindal? GOP has had a fit of genius and decided to go with a viable, credible candidate to be the face of their party. Good job GOP…good job.
Today the market reacted to Tim Geithner’s New Bank Rescue plan…by dropping 382 points (or 4.6%).
Geithner outlined the plan today. CNN Money did a great job summing it all up so I’ll post an excerpt:
Testing the health of big banks to weather an even deeper economic downturn. Geithner said the Treasury will “stress-test” the biggest banks and provide capital to those that need it, as the nation sinks deeper into its worst recession in decades.
He said the stress test will apply to institutions with more than $100 billion in assets – a list that comprises 13 banks, from giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) to Cleveland’s KeyCorp (KEY, Fortune 500), according to a report from analysts at the Stanford Group in Washington.
Analysts say big U.S. banks could use at least $1 trillion in new capital as job losses mount and more borrowers default on mortgage, auto and credit card loans. But Geithner said the administration won’t ask Congress now for more money – raising the question of how much capital it actually expects to provide.
Making credit more available to consumers and businesses. The Treasury will provide $100 billion in seed money to expand the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, in which investors in bonds backed by credit card and other loans can swap those bonds for Treasury securities, enabling them to get additional financing.
The move – which could create as much as $1 trillion in financing for consumers and businesses – shows the government is eager to bolster the capital markets, which provided a large percentage of funding for consumer loans before the bond markets seized up in late 2007.
Creating a private-public partnership to take toxic assets off banks’ balance sheets. Policymakers believe clearing bank balance sheets of badly deteriorated loans and securities is a prerequisite for restoring the normal flow of credit into the economy. Geithner said the plan will aim initially to use public financing to create as much as $500 billion in private sector buying capacity, with the prospect of an expansion to $1 trillion down the road.
Observers say drawing private capital back into the market is a key objective of any workable plan.
“Because the new program is designed to bring private sector equity contributions to make large-scale asset purchases, it not only minimizes public capital and maximizes private capital,” the Treasury Department said in a fact sheet about the plan. “It allows private sector buyers to determine the price for current troubled and previously illiquid assets.”
It remains to be seen, however, how the administration can break the stalemate between banks that are holding troubled assets at one price and investors who would buy only at a lower one.
Addressing the housing crisis. The Fed and Treasury will commit $50 billion to reduce mortgage payments and establish loan modification guidelines. Firms that receive federal aid will have to commit to participate in foreclosure mitigation plans, the Treasury Department said.
Am I optimistic? Not really. These banks are basically walking zombies. They are poorly capitalized and illiquid. Further more, the amount of money in this plan seems to be bit inadequate, given the fact that yes, we are talking about a large group of banks, not just one or two. However [which I will detail in another post] it does have a few strengths, but I think Geithner really didn’t go in to very much detail, so I am not going to outwardly condemn this plan either.
Let me know what you guys think. Will it work? Will it not? Leave a comment.
My worst fears have come to fruition. According to a Politico.com article yesterday, Samuel Joe “The DouchebagPlumber” Wurzelbacher was invited to give his “input” at the Conservative Working Group meeting on capitol hill. This is usually organized and attended by congressional aides…who are dumb enough to apparently like Joe The Plumber.
My God people…
Is this it? Is this what the GOP considers an valuable opinion? Is this who they want the face of their party to be? Joe The Plumber is like Sarah Palin except he’s not a governor. Republicans of the world, if you enjoy being the minority in the government, if you enjoy having a democrat in office, keep listening to pompous, self-important like Joe the Plumber, who lack understanding and ability to progress.
The Republican Party is a sinking ship, and they look to a [unlicensed] plumber for input on a stimulus package. That speaks volumes on the mental state of the GOP.
It was today that Denny’s made good on their Super Bowl promise, to give out free Grand Slam breakfasts from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lines headed all the way out to the parking lot at over 1500 Denny’s locations showed just how poor America truly is. According to CNN:
“Some patrons were still wearing their pajamas and slippers, and strangers were crowding together into booths, CNN affiliate KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah, reported.”
You see that? You see what a free meal can do? It can bring strangers together, and for one moment ignore the fact that the entire country is going to shit around them. Just sit down, eat some pancakes that are remarkable uniform in both look and taste and ignore all the politics, all the depressing news and strife and just be people.
I for one think that this is something Denny’s should be proud of. Let’s face it, no one is giving anything away like this for a while. And no doubt, this type of thing helps people out. Today a friend of mine was sitting in a booth at Denny’s enjoying a free grand slam with a single dad and his son and a philosophy professor.
“You couldn’t beat it. I mean it was a beautiful, beautiful breakfast. It was fit for a queen or a king,” diner Annah Shoffner told CNN affiliate WNCN-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina.
I definitely think that we will see more example like this as time passes, and as things continue to get worse. Much like the stories of hope during the depression, I think this is a story of hope fitting to our time. My hats off to Denny’s and their CEO Nelson Marchioli. Today Denny’s has set it self apart from all the IHOPs, Waffle Houses, and Perkins, my hats off to them for doing something great at a time where people need it the most.
With the recent announcement that Apple will withdraw from MacWorld Expo after this year, and the fact that Senior VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller will be giving the final keynote instead of Steve Jobs, all signs are pointing to something I have thought to be true for a long time, that Apple’s fearless leader is not doing so well.
According to Gizmodo, a [very credible] source is claiming that Apple is withholding the real reason for their withdrawal from the MacWorld Expo. Originally they cited that they prefer to do in house product releases, such as the “Let’s Rock!” event or the Macbook/Macbook Pro announcement held at Cupertino, because they didn’t need the event anymore. According to the source
Steve’s health is rapidly declining. Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring.
This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why MacWorld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [MacWorld] is the cover designed by the worldwide “loyalty”
Normally I don’t comment on rumors too much, especially when it’s in regards to Apple, who is better at misinformation than the CIA. But this time around I am more inclined to believe this. Frankly with Steve’s fading physical appearance and sudden weight-loss, the writing has been on the wall for a long time.
Some feel that this is Apple deliberately misinforming the public and in particular the investors. Steve has been very clear that his health is his business and no one else’s. Frankly, shortly after his bout with pancreatic cancer, for which he underwent the Whipple procedure to attempt to correct, I knew that this would be the eventual outcome. Steve’s health has been the center of debate amongst the community for some time now, and frankly the doubt amongst loyalists and investors is evidence enough that there is something going on behind Apple’s iron curtain.
Does this spell doom for the company that Steve Jobs built? I don’t think so. Steve Jobs may be the fearless leader of Apple, but in the end, Apple has become more than just Steve Jobs. I know that if/when the time comes that Steve will no longer be able to serve as Apple’s CEO, Apple has someone in mind who will continue to push the envelope, continue to drive Apple in the way Steve has done (and that man I hope is Tim Cook).
What makes this so troubling is not regards to the future of Apple, because that is secure, but in regards to the man himself. I always get excited for keynotes because I know something awesome (or mildly cool) will be released. And in the four years or so that I have been following Apple, I have grown a sort of admiration and respect for Steve Jobs. It’ll be sad to see him go, and it will be even sadder to see him really go, but I am not worried that Apple’s mojo will go with him.
My hommage to the Esquire’s “Things I’ve Learned…” issue.
“Things I’ve Learned…”
Jorge Valens, 22, Blogger
Spending above your means doesn’t get you anywhere. Sure, the eight bedroom house and the Ferrari are great, but you really can’t enjoy them if you are too worried about trying to pay for them. It will all come in time, with hard work, dedication, and patience.
The idea that money doesn’t buy you happiness is a lie. Money CAN buy you happiness, be it temporary. The thing about money is that it’s finite. You can run out of it, it can be destroyed, or you could wake up one morning, turn on CNBC and find that it’s all gone. I find the people that are most happy are the ones who’s riches aren’t tangible. Faith in God, friendships, family, love are the true measures of a man’s wealth and success. In the end a man can have everything yet nothing, while another can have nothing yet everything.
Friends are great. But friends who disagree with you are even better.
Father/Son relationshipsare nice to have, but aren’t really necessary if you have one kick ass mom.
Failure can be a good thing. I have always learned more from failing at one thing, than succeeding at ten things. If you do it long enough, you stop fearing it and start embracing it, all the while telling yourself “Well thank God that didn’t go on much longer.” Cut your loses and get back up on that horse.
The word help was never really in my vocabulary until two or three weeks ago. It was more of a pride issue than anything else. I wanted to prove that I could do it all on my own. In reality it takes a bigger man to ask for help, than it does to do it all on your own. Asking for help or guidance is something everyone needs to do, and would save you a lot of time and worry in the end.
Laziness is an illness. The cure is maturity, productivity, and dropping the power cord for your Xbox in a bank safe deposit box.
Netflix is the greatest thing since cheese.
I am addicted to my Blackberry. It’s too late to give it up, and it’s too late to save me. Wait I just got an email…
You can lead a horse you water. You can sit there pointing at the water, watching the horse die of thirst. If it doesn’t want to drink, it’s not going to happen.
Don’t settle…ever.
The phrase “live without regrets” is bullshit. Regrets will always teach you a valuable lesson. So live with a few regrets, they’ll make you better.
Be bold and daring. Taking a chance is the closest thing to sky diving without having to, um, jump out of a plane.
Wanting someone that doesn’t want you sucks. Being on both sides of this equation, I can safely say that. But that doesn’t mean things can’t change, for better or worse.
Advice is a great thing to get. But in the end, the only people that know best is you and God. Take it all with a grain of salt and do what you think is best for you. If it doesn’t work out, well you’ll have a nice regret to make sure you don’t do it again.
After trading in my Audi A4 for a Honda Accord, I can safely say that a Honda Accord isn’t actually half bad.
Congress has basically abandoned any chance of bailing out rescuing GM and Chrysler, who are both teetering on the brink of full on bankruptcy. This after Republican party members have, yet again, decided to vote down a plan to ensure that 1.2 million people don’t lose their jobs, and that our economy will continue to spiral downward towards it’s ultimate end. I can’t help but feel a little deja vous, like if some how we have gone through this before.
Republicans axed this proposition because they feel that the plan agreed upon by the Democrats and The White House won’t work.
The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said: “We have had before us this whole question of the viability of the American automobile manufacturers. None of us want to see them go down, but very few of us had anything to do with the dilemma that they have created for themselves.”
Mr. McConnell added: “The administration negotiated in good faith with the Democratic majority a proposal that was simply unacceptable to the vast majority of our side because we thought it frankly wouldn’t work.” [NY Times]
Overall the Republicans feel that GM and Chrysler (Ford can stand on it’s own…for now) are victims to the high wages and benefits of the UAW, and feel like they should be paid according to what the japanese automakers pay their workers in their U.S. factories. I read somewhere that it would be something like a $3 dollar difference, where UAW works make on average about $29 per hour as opposed to $26. This would save about $800 million dollars a year on top of eliminating lucrative benefits, pensions, and severance packages.
Where I would agree, that yes, UAW do make a bit more than others, we can’t deny the fact that these people are still employees. They still have families they need to support, mortgages they need to pay, and kids they need to put through college. I cannot stress enough of what a bankrupt Chrysler or GM would do to our economy on life support. A sudden loss of 1.2 million jobs would hit this economy very hard. Not to mention businesses that provide these companies with capital goods would also suffer greatly and in some cases even go bankrupt themselves.
So far this bailout has been one big, toxic mess. Companies like AIG, who is about as transparent as a brick wall when it comes to how it’s using it’s bailout funds, are perfect examples. But this time around, we are not bailing out banks, we are bailing out institutions that form part of the backbone of this economy. Managerial irresponsibility is not a good enough reason to let these companies go bankrupt. The cost of bankrupt GM or Chrysler (or both) would far exceed whatever amount Congress was considering. Do they need to restructure and make products that are innovative and meet demand? Yes. Do they need to renegotiate lower contracts, or eliminate unionization all together and structure themselves similar to Japanese automakers in the US? Sure. But they need the money NOW so that next year there will be a company left to restructure.
You know, I never really understood this debate on whether or not Global Warming is true. I mean, lets assume for a second everyone believed that global warming was cause by man. Would radically changing our habits as a global community to achieve sustainable development, to find ways to advance ourselves and live without harming the environment be so bad? People who argue against the idea of global warming seem to be arguing against solar & wind energy, clean air acts, electric vehicles and the such.
I personally believe that global warming is real, especially when I see chunks of the arctic circle float away. But at the same time, if global warming didn’t exist, and this was all indeed cyclical, then what negative outcome can occur from going green? I would guess that not only would it create jobs, but also push the envelope in terms of technological development. I don’t know about you, but if there is even the smallest chance that global warming was cause by man, wouldn’t we want to do what we could to stop it? Leave a comment let me know how you feel.
In the closing days of the Bush Administration, George Bush now being the lamest and the most duck-like he could be, one begins to reminisce on his time spent in the White House. There is no doubt in my mind, no matter how hard he tries, no matter how many writers he commissions to write a book, he will go down in history as one of the worst, most ineffective presidents in US history. He will not be forgotten. In the eight years as president, George W. Bush’s administration has been littered with scandals, deregulation, grammatical mishaps, and war.
Back in 2000, George W. Bush “beat” Al Gore in an arguably close, controversial election which came down to the wire (and the Supreme Court). Seeing that most of the nation considered that a “stolen election”, Bush already started off a little badly. Frankly if Al Gore was half as cool then as he is now (I chose to overlook the fact his ranch uses more electricity than Kennedy Space Center), history would have been different but hey, that’s just me. Between 2000 and 2001, Bush was known for his obvious and often comical grammatical gaffes, which really didn’t help the rumor going around that he was, well…a moron. People didn’t know the “guy they’d want to have a beer with” and more over didn’t really know what to expect. Then came September 11, 2001, the darkest day this nation has ever seen.
Al Qaeda strikes the US in a jaw dropping attack to the mainland that cost thousands of lives, billions in damage, two iconic buildings and an outer wing of every ones favorite geometric shape. Bush was now in a position to rise above and become a great leader…and that’s what he did for a bit. President Bush saw the highest approval numbers in his career. Soon after he was so bold as to declare war on the idea of terrorism and create a new chapter in US foreign policy book, the Bush Doctrine (if you don’t know what that is, ask Sarah Palin, she’ll tell you). First target, Afghanistan, the home base of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The administration’s failure to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden seem to find it’s way out of the spotlight. Soon however, Bush switched focus to…Iraq?
Arguably the most controversial occupation of a sovereign nation the Bush Administration sponsored, the Iraq War proved to be a bit more than America wanted to chew. I am sure everyone would have been for the Iraq War if we were pulling nukes and chemical warheads in droves from Saddam Huessein’s posh Bagdhad palace (even more so if they were golden warheads to match his toilet) but alas, that wasn’t the case. The Iraq War will go down as the biggest lie the Bush Administration dropped on the American people. Primarily because the war was founded on intelligence Dick Cheney scribbled on a cocktail napkin one night when he was bored. Soon after he prematurely declared “mission accomplished” by pompously landing on an aircraft carrier in full flight gear, Iraq turned from an occupation to a policing action. One that cost the lives of our troops (4,209 to be exact) and billions upon billions of dollars to fund.
While the government continued to spend, spend, spend in Iraq, not only by increasing troops but by handing out contracts to Bush Administration BFF Haliburton, Afghanistan became the forgotten war. Troop reallocations crippled forces in Afghanistan. Recent studies show that the Taliban now control 72 percent of Afghanistan, up from 54 percent last year. Our entrance in to Iraq also gave Al-Qaeda another front in the jihad against the United States, where it lurks in the shadows, attacking U.S. troops and interests with IED’s and ambush attacks. Now keep in mind, Iraq’s link to Al-Qaeda came only after coalition forces occupied Iraq. Intelligence reports of Al-Qaeda links to Saddam Hussein were also exaggerated, as Bin Laden had branded Hussein an “infidel” and asked his followers to support the Iraqi people and NOT their government.
But the most notable Bush Administration blunder didn’t happen on some foreign battlefield, but here at home. The catastrophic failure of the U.S. Government to act in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was, in my opinion, the final nail in the Bush Administration’s coffin. Leaving people for three days in a giant stadium with no food, no water, no support what-so-ever is frankly…unacceptable. Our National Guard was streched thin due to deployments in Iraq, and FEMA was caught with it’s pants down. Warnings of the possible disaster a category five hurricane could create in New Orleans fell on deaf ears, and the governments lack of preparedness caused U.S. citizens to suffer. The thing I noticed at the time is that whenever people debate issues, whether its the Iraq War, or the Bush Doctrine, there are always two sides, two parties one for one against. During the aftermath of the Katrina, there was one side, a thoroughly saddened and disappointed one.
Of course, our current economic crisis can’t help but have Bush Administration fingerprints either. Inheriting a budget surplus from the Clinton years, George W. Bush quickly turned it in to a budget deficit. Shortly after 9/11, Bush urged the American people to “spend, spend, spend” their way out of the recession. It was this moment in our nation’s history that began the downward spiral of our economy and the beginning of the credit crunch. Also the ever increasing cost of the two wars weighed heavily on the budget, to the point where shortly after the bailout passed, an extra space had to be added to the debt clock. Also the administrations over all disdain for regulation led to these massive amounts of bad mortgages, and over all irresponsibility in the economy.
Sadly these aren’t the only follies of the Bush Administration. There’s that whole CIA leak thing, all the secret contracts with Halliburton and various other oil companies, and…you know, Dick Cheney shot a dude. But I don’t want this to get too long. Point is George W. Bush was a president. He we elected to the highest seat of power this nation has, and served in it for 8 years, TWO terms, so give that man the credit that is due. Watch Oliver Stone’s “W” and even the most militant Bush hating, Prius driving, tree hugging pacifist will at the very least understand the guy. His rise from a coke snorting Yale frat boy to President of the United States of America is mind blowing. But along with that credit, tack on some criticism & blame.
As always a great commentary by Jon Stewart. This time around it’s about the Auto Industry bailout and how congress is dragging it’s feet when, and turning a blind eye to the massive repercussions of a bankrupt auto industry.
“Now Congress, I think I know what this whole thing is about. You gave the financial industry $700 billion but you may not give the car industry $35 billion because you don’t really know what the finance industry does, do you?…See here’s the problem. The auto industry has a product that is tangible and easy to complain about. I should know, my first car – this is true – was an AMC Gremlin…It’s a car that existed so that Pinto drivers would have something to **** on…but it got me from here to there and while I was doing it, it preserved my virginity along the way. That’s the thing about cars. Even the crappy ones are useful. But you won’t bail out the people who make cars. You’ll only bail out the people who make car loans. Not even car loans! The people you bailed out make derivitive paper transfers speculating on the future value of enormous groupings of said loans to China. Fine! Detroit’s business model is bad. We know they lose $2,000 for every car they sell. Wall Street lost $7 trillion without selling anything! At least when Detroit loses money we get cars. So give them the money! And by the way, if you see my Gremlin, tell her I ended up getting laid when I got a Mustang.” – Jon Stewart
He is absolutely spot on. These companies, as poorly managed as they are, are VITAL to this nations economy. We may grill the CEOs for flying private jets and gas guzzlers all we want. In the end, we need swift action, we need regulation, and we need to stop this showboating and demand restructuring and give them this money.
Our nation is currently suffering the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression (sorry, I know it’s a tired line). While we all are looking for someone to blame, some one to take the brunt of our angry lectures, and eventually someone to give our tax dollars too, we are over looking one major party involved. Us. We are partly to blame for this mess too. The second the ball dropped in 2000, we have entered a new era in America, an era where our greatest wants and desires could be fulfilled as easily as swiping a piece of plastic, or signing on the dotted line.
A lot of people think that one of the main influences of this major spending movement in the US is George W. Bush’s fault. Where I am quick to assign blame to President Bush on a lot of things, I am going to let him slide on this one…barely. Sure, after 9/11, President Bush stood atop the fiery ashes and declared to America to spend their way out of the recession was probably not the wisest thing to say. Especially considering how eager we are to buy stuff. But at the same, it’s up to us to show a little restraint. When Bush was asking us to spend he wasn’t asking us to go buy a lavish house with a mortgage we can’t afford or to max our credit cards now was he?
I think we as a nation definitely lost it in the past couple of years when it comes to money. Everyone wants the American dream, but nobody wants to work for it, hence the credit card. We as a country have this notion that we can spend our way out of bad times, but when it’s on credit, and it’s something you can’t even afford to begin with, well, you aren’t helping anyone.
Cars, clothes, houses, it’s what everybody wants. We live in a world where, unfortunately success isn’t measured by the type of person you are, but by how much money you have in the bank. People want to achieve this brand of “success” the easiest way possible. When all is said an done, money is finite. It’s something you can’t line your casket with when you dies and take with you. Money isn’t a sure thing, you work your whole life to have it but you can lose it in an instant. And finally, it is something that can’t buy you everything. A man can easily have everything, yet nothing.
In times like these, where times are tough and money is short, we tend to appreciate the things, and the people we have more. At a time when someone can be rich in the morning, and flat broke in the afternoon, we have to start investing in things that don’t necessarily require money. Exercising and taking care of our bodies, spending time with our family and friends, and enjoying what we do have, rather than lusting after what we don’t.
Wow, he finally did it. Jerry Yang has finally decided to step down as CEO of Yahoo. Maybe it’s because he couldn’t take the stress anymore. I am sure his working environment wasn’t very plesant anymore. His employees who probably had a nice chunk of Yahoo in their 401Ks certainly can’t be pleased.
They probably don’t talk to him. They probably laugh at him when he is not looking, and when he asks “What are you laughing at?” they reply with more laughter. He sits in his office to find his stapler in Jell-O, then turns on the TV to find that he is the highest ranking member of the Mad Money Wall of Shame. Here is his official statement, courtesy of Kara Swisher over at All Things Digital (one of my favorite sites):
To: all yahoos
Fr: Jerry
Subject: update
yahoos -
i wanted to address all of you on the news we’ve just announced. the board of directors and I have agreed to initiate a succession process for the ceo role of yahoo!. roy bostock, our chairman of the board, is leading the effort to identify and assess potential candidates for consideration by the full board. the board will be evaluating and considering both internal and external candidates and has retained heidrick and struggles to help in this effort.
i will be participating in the search for my successor, and i will continue as ceo until the board selects a new ceo. once a successor is named, i will return to my previous role as chief yahoo and continue to serve as a director on the board.
last june, i accepted the board’s request that i assume the ceo role to restructure and reposition the company as a whole in order to more effectively meet the fast-changing needs of both users and partners. since taking on the ceo role, i have had an ongoing dialogue with the board about succession timing. thanks in large measure to your tireless efforts, we have created a more open, competitive yahoo! and we believe the time is now right to transition to a new ceo who can take the company to the next level.
despite the external environment we face, the fact remains that yahoo! is now a significantly different company that is stronger in many ways than it was just 18 months ago. this only makes it all the more essential that we manage this opportunity to leverage the progress up to this point as effectively as possible. i strongly believe that having transformed our platform and better aligned costs and revenues, we have a unique window for the right ceo to take ownership over the next wave of mission-critical decisions facing the company.
all of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple. i will always do what I think is right for this great company. while this step will be an adjustment for all of us, i know it’s the right one. i look forward to updating you on this process as soon as the board has developments to share, and will continue to do everything i can to make yahoo! fulfill its full potential.
thank you,
jerry
Jerry, I know you are a nice guy and all, and believe me it’s nothing personal. I hope you take your awesome severance package and find something you enjoy to do. Peace Out Jerry.
I am sitting here today, browsing the NY Times, reading article after article about the auto industry each with it’s own opinion. Some are for saving it, some for allowing it to fall. But I just can’t seem to pick a side on this. It’s rough…
On one hand we have three massive companies, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. These companies have been poorly operated for a VERY long time now. They have been in bed with the oil companies for so long, producing products that don’t meet demand, that are harmful for the environment, and extremely dependant on foreign oil. Look, I go blue in the face saying how awesome that new Dodge Challenger is, but I sure as hell wouldn’t buy one. Especially not at a time when gas prices can go from $2.20 to $4.60 on a whim. The big three have always regarded green vehicles as something of an afterthought. Sure the Chevy Volt is very nice, but at this point, it’s too little too late.
The government has already bailed out these companies over and over again. Providing that very low interest loans and orders for government vehicles. Even this this cash flow, these companies have not restructured, have not focused on research for new technologies, and have not analyzed their manufacturing habits. All this while the workers continue to take wage cuts while CEOs continue to make their lucrative salaries. At what point can we say “enough is enough, you are on your own.”
On the other hand, the collapse of any (or all) of the big three would hit the economy harder, or as hard as the collapse of “too big to fall” Lehman Brothers. Experts believe that if the government had bailed out Lehman Brothers that DOW would be above 10,000. But that’s neither here not there. A collapse of any of these companies would result in a catastrophic economic situation. Close to 1.2 million hard working employees would lose their jobs, in towns where those are the only types of jobs available. Local economies revolving around factories would suffer as well. The government would have to pay out anyway, guaranteeing pension plans and such.
So where as most articles out there are screaming for a bailout, or screaming for a downfall, mine is different. I am screaming for a sound, informed, decision. If it is best for this country to let these fixtures of our nation, these historical companies that have been the backbone of our economy for so long fall then so be it. If it is better to rescue them, despite their errors, and despite their problems, then sign the check and mail it out Monday morning.
No. Should we give it to them despite that? Sure, why the hell not. This bailout, as slippery of a slope as it is, is very much a necessary evil at this point. Where the housing and banking crisis had guilty parties on both sides, the auto industry has only itself to blame.
GM, Chrysler, and Ford have been plagued by many problems. These companies have been managed extremely poorly. They have held to this notion of the “invincibility” of the American auto industry for so long, completely ignoring the writing on the wall. This wasn’t a sudden event, there was nothing catching them by surprise here. This was poor planning, poor management, and poor spending at it’s most apparent.
Another problem is the American auto industry’s failure to realize the fairly obvious environmental movement, and the sudden rise in oil prices. The “Big Three” rode the profitable wave of demand for large, gas guzzling SUV’s for way too long. I think some one did see this coming, but was hog tied and gagged so as to not spoil the fun. When you dedicate your production to a product that runs counter to demand, and is dependent on the price of oil, then you are eventually going to have a problem.
Finally I think the American auto industry has been a bit half assed in the design and development department. Having recently been car shopping (and settling on a 2009 Honda Accord Coupe), I think American cars have this very simplistic design that doesn’t appeal to too many people. I do think they are trying to change that, especially with new, eco-friendly vehicles like the Chevy Volt, and the sheer bad asses of the Cadillac CTS-V and the Dodge Challenger. But it might be too little, too late.
In the end, the “Big Three” car makers are guilty of supreme negligence and poor business sense. However, letting these companies fall would be even more negligent on the part of the U.S. Government. These companies are the manufacturing back bone of this nation. A collapse of any of these could deal a major blow to the economy. Give them their $25 Billion, but make sure it comes with a swift kick in the ass and a couple of new CEOs.
My God, what a dreadful place. I went shopping around today for a new office chair. Considering my dream chair was a bit out of my price range, I decided to check out the brand new IKEA store in Sunrise, FL. At first you are taken aback by the whole grand experience that is the IKEA store, until you walk in. You are first greeted by an abraisive IKEA employee, directing you to the sole, upward moving escalator.
“Do not take your shopping carts to the second floor. No pets allowed inside the store. Please be mindful of your children. Please use your IKEA store guides.”
She repeated this over and over as she shook her head at a woman, who obnoxiously walked around with her teacup chihuahua. As you ascend the escalator you enter the IKEA showroom. A twisted maze, where people are herded like cattle down a one way path. As you mindlessly walk these paths surrounded by plain, simplistic, assemble yourself furniture. Never have I seen so much particle board and formica in my life. Every single product in the store has some strange, foreign sounding name like gungrout and farflen, heavy on the consonants and umlauts.
I just wanted one office chair. After speaking to three completely useless, completely impersonal sales people, and discovering that IKEA only has ONE type of office chair I decided I wanted to leave. But that is easier said than done. Winding in and out of maze of madness, I quickly find out that you are literally forced to walk the whole way around the store to find the exit…merely 50 feet away from the entrance. That is a long way around.
If you ever see me inside an IKEA store again, it’s because the zombie invasion has finally occurred, and the IKEA store is the last place of refuge for the uninfected. It’s has mastered an impersonal approach to peddling poorly crafted home furnishing that you are forced to assemble yourself. It’s like a double slap in the face. “Here is your poorly made, highly priced furniture. Oh BTW, you have to put it together yourself.” What a home furnishing megastore with a cult following couldn’t provide me, Office Depot could. Peace Out.
Normally I would say something like “my dog Ben could run Yahoo better than Jerry Yang”. That would be a facetious comment with no real merit. Folks, not this time. My dog could LITERALLY run Yahoo better than Jerry Yang. Check out what he said today…
“To this day, I have to say that the best thing for Microsoft to do is to buy Yahoo. I don’t think that is a bad idea at all – at the right price, whatever the price is, we are willing to sell the company. We were ready to negotiate, we wanted to negotiate a deal, and we felt that we weren’t that far apart. But at the end of the day, they withdrew and they since have been very clear about not wanting to buy the company.”
What?! So you turn down a fantastic offer from Microsoft, an offer you you thought to be lacking, and now you want it? Hindsight is indeed 20/20. Jerry Yang has a duty to his stockholders, and turning down this deal betrayed their trust. Now your stock is tanking, your stockholders are in a vituperative rage, and your company is slowly sinking in the wake of the Google mothership. Carl Ichan must be stress eating a half pint of B&J’s Cherry Garcia right now. Jerry Yang shouldn’t just be fired. He should be run out of town, with a mob of towns folk chasing him with pitchforks and torches.
Being a technologically adept person, I believe that technology, no matter the field, is what drives us. It constantly pushes the envelope, and it allows us to evolve. Nothing makes me happier than to see a President who feels the same way. Junauzu.com gathered a bunch of Obama quotes on technology and how he will use it to drive this nation forward.
The historic U.S. Presidential election has come to an end with Barack Obama emerging victorious against John McCain. Obama will become the forty-fourth President of the United States and the first African-American to be elected for the highest office.
Some of my tech savvy readers are probably wondering how will Obama utilize technology to help improve the U.S. and world economy. That is why I’m going to share to you some of Barack Obama’s tech related quotes to learn more about his plans. I also included links to the quotes’ sources. Enjoy!
“To restore America’s competitiveness, we must recruit a new generation of science and technology leaders by investing in diversity.” SOURCE
“Together, we could open up government and invite citizens in, while connecting all of America to 21st century broadband. We could use technology to help achieve universal health care, to reach for a clean energy future, and to ensure that young Americans can compete — and win — in the global economy…” SOURCE
“I will recruit new teachers and make new investments in rural schools, we’ll connect all of America to 21st century technology and telecommunications.” SOURCE
“We are a land of moon shots and miracles of science and technology that have touched the lives of millions across the planet.” SOURCE
“As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.” SOURCE
“Ensuring that the US continues to lead the world in science and technology will be a central priority for my administration.” SOURCE
“I’ll change the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology.” SOURCE
“We will fire government managers who aren’t getting results, we will cut funding for programs that are wasting your money, we will use technology and lessons from the private sector to improve efficiency across every level of government.” SOURCE
Obama said the nation needs to invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and clean coal technology “so the use of coal does not degrade our environment. We can do that if we are investing in the technology, the research and the development.” SOURCE
“We must adapt and make tradeoffs among systems originally designed for the Cold War and those required for current and future challenges. We need greater investment in advanced technology ranging from the revolutionary, like unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare capabilities, to systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air refueling aircraft–which may not be glamorous to politicians, but are the backbone of our future ability to extend global power.” SOURCE
Obama said if elected his government would “harness technology to confront the biggest challenges that America faces”. SOURCE
Pointing to President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon, Mr. Obama said: “I will set big goals for this country as president – some so large that the technology to reach them does not yet exist.” SOURCE
Kick ass. He is doing what I did with my mom when I bought her a Mac, dragging this nation kicking and screaming in to the 21st century.
First of all, the debate tonight was a very interesting one. I do believe Barack Obama won this debate, however I give him this victory with a few caveats. Barack Obama was almost, a bit TOO mellow tonight. He had a few opportunities to come after John McCain on a few subjects. That being said, John McCain was on a major offensive tonight, especially at the beginning. However, I think John McCain did not succeed in staging his much needed and much anticipated “last stand”. In the first thirty minutes of the debate, John McCain did take the debate and was on the right track. As the debate went on, Obama maintained his cool while McCain lost his. McCain’s temprament and body language spoke volumes for him. it definitely showed McCain was angry and annoyed. With all the sighing and the expressions it was obvious. Despite that, it was definitely McCain’s best debate, definitely Obama’s worst debate. But in the end, on his worst debate, I think Barack Obama came out with a win based on the issues, based on his temperament, and based on staying germane to what’s important. But it was a close win none the less.
Like I have done before I want to touch on a few topics and discuss key moments in the overall debate. So lets jump in.
First of all I want to address what I thought was a very important part of the debate. John McCain, up until the point where he was discussing campaigning and the personal attacks in the campaigns. At this point is where, in my opinion, John McCain started to slip. I think he dragged this John Lewis incident on and on, almost as if he wanted Barack Obama to apologize on his behalf. People don’t want to hear about hurt feelings and partisan rambling. That being said, John McCain did go there as he promised he would. What Lewis said was not the issue. The issue is with what McCain said to Obama in regards to that.
Every time there’s been an out-of-bounds remark made by a Republican, no matter where they are, I have repudiated them. I hope that Sen. Obama will repudiate those remarks that were made by Congressman John Lewis, very unfair and totally inappropriate.
I was a bit appauled by this. John McCain’s supporters are shouting for Obama’s death, accusing the man of being a terrorist, and he wants Barack Obama to repudiate a negative statement against him and Sarah Palin? Barack Obama definitely kept his cool in this situation, something I can’t really say about myself. I’ve addressed this issue already, however I do want to emphasis one more point John McCain said in response to Barack Obama bringing these death threat remarks. John McCain treats this as an isolated incident and I whole heartedly disagree. It is obvious that this a larger problem that John McCain, but mainly Sarah Palin, refuse to address. If McCain wants repudiation for a single man’s comments, then he must give Obama the same in return. Either way this was a positive and negative aspect of the debate. Positive because it needed to be addressed face to face by both candidates, and negative because, frankly we are all sick of it.
In regards to the Economy, I definitely think it was a very “John McCain” dominated area. Coming right off the block, Sen. McCain had Obama on the defensive. John McCain definitely over shadowed Obama on this part of the debate. Obama did make the usual points he makes, but here I think is where John McCain’s offense paid off. This part here resounded with me the most:
The fact is that businesses in America today are paying the second highest tax rate of anywhere in the world. Our tax rate for business in America is 35 percent. Ireland, it’s 11 percent.
Where are companies going to go where they can create jobs and where they can do best in business?
We need to cut the business tax rate in America. We need to encourage business.
I do agree with this. I do think this would create some jobs now. But again, it’s times like these where tax cuts aren’t going to work. If the government is not taking in, we cannot pay out. My economics professor spoke about how during times of recession, the government has to observe a “contractionary” (He may have made that word up, bare with me) policy so to speak. This is where the government takes in more, and spends less. Cutting taxes is great, but they need to be precision cuts to the right people. I do think that Barack Obama keeps avoiding specifically what he plans to cut.
On health care, it’s a different story. I think Barack Obama was spot on when it came to his plan to alleviate the health care woes in this country. Not only did he reinforce his own policy changes, but I think he countered John McCain very well.
He says he’s going to give you all a $5,000 tax credit. That sounds pretty good. And you can go out and buy your own insurance.
Here’s the problem — that for about 20 million people, you may find yourselves no longer having employer-based health insurance. This is because younger people might be able to get health insurance for $5,000, young and healthy folks.
Older folks, let’s healthy folks, what’s going to end up happening is that you’re going to be the only ones left in your employer-based system, your employers won’t be able to afford it.
I wish I could fit a little more but I don’t want this blog to get too long.
This debate was a very close one. I think John McCain did bring his A game but at the same time, a mellowed out Barack held his on the the issues. To call a winner in this debate is going to come down to a personal preference. That’s how close it is. Some will call it for Obama, others will call it for McCain based soley on their alleigiance to the candidate. I, again gave it Obama for the simple reason that I agree with him the most. Most people will assign the winner in the same way I think. Either way, it was the better of the three debates no doubt, and definitely a valiant effort by John McCain. Will it be enough to get him a lead in the polls? I doubt it. But with 3 weeks left, anything can still happen. Peace Out!
So we ran out of space on the debt clock. We had to replace the “$” with a “1″. According to Gizmodo (my favorite tech blog) a plan has been put in place to replace it with a sign that can accommodate a number “well in to the quadrillions.” That’s $1,000,000,000,000,000 in numeric notation. I think this jeopardizes the standing and security of this nation in the global community. How can we continue to be a force in this world with a massive, unmanageable debt. Eight Years ago we had a budget surplus, now that is not the case. The two leading threats to this nation are not enemy governments or terrorist organizations, they are economical and environmental issues, economical being the most important. This is definitely an issue both candidates need to address and make it a focal point in their campaigns.
This story is courtesy of the New York Times. A pretty shocking story at that:
Apparently, for the past month GM and Chrysler (owned by the Cerberus Capital Group) have been discussing a possible merger. Seeing as though both companies are clinging to the straws that their respective stocks are worth, it makes sense…sort of. Sources close to the talks say that a deal is “50-50″ Here is an excerpt from the article…
A merger would be a historic event, with two of the most iconic names in American industry coming together to survive in an increasingly difficult environment. Both have roots dating back decades in Detroit and, with Ford, long dominated the auto industry — until Japanese and other foreign car makers began making inroads into the American market.
If Hell, does indeed freeze over, and this comes to fruition, this would make GM/Chrysler (gulp) the biggest auto manufacturer in the world (yes bigger than Ford), controlling 35% of the U.S. market share. I am pretty shocked. Crazy times man. This is definitely a sign of how bad things are out there. I am sure we haven’t heard the end of this. Peace Out!
I would LOVE to tell you to go ahead and rent Mad Max, in order to prepare for the inevitable future. But I am not going to panic. I am going to stay calm. The DOW has plummeted to about 8222.50 (currently) and every time CNN, or FOX cuts to the floor of Wall Street, you just hear screams. Like if they flooded the place with acid, or Tang without enough water. I read somewhere that the so far the losses add up to $8.3 Trillion.
$8.3 Trillion… that’s a lot of trillion.
I do think this is all in the heads of the investors… at least for now. When fear grips investors, it grips the market. And it’s THAT fear that brings us down. It seems that the Bailout hasn’t done much and consumer confidence is down. Some people are asking the government to step in, guarentee all bank deposits. Some are even going a step futher and saying the Government should even insure loans in between banks. It’s chaos. Though I doubt it will happen this year, I hope we see the bottom too.
Now if you excuse me I am going to log on to my E-TRADE account, listen to Air Supply, and cry. Peace Out.
That one? Are you serious? I doubt John McCain could look any less like an a-hole by referring to his senate colleague as “that one”. I, frankly am suprised that the media hasn’t slammed him even more for this. Honestly, I believe Senator McCain sincerely doesn’t like Senator Obama, but he should at least dial it down a bit.
Despite that, Barack Obama commanded this debate in my opinion. He was on the offensive, always throwing McCain off his game. He definitely said things people wanted to hear, and the town hall format gave him the opportunity to defend against John McCain’s attacks on the fly. He reinforced his health care plan big time and it seemed as the people connected with his more than McCain’s. On Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama again reinforced the flaws and shortfalls of the war, and John McCain’s involvement with it. Here is a great line:
“Well, you know, Sen. McCain, in the last debate and today, again, suggested that I don’t understand. It’s true. There are some things I don’t understand.
I don’t understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, while Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are setting up base camps and safe havens to train terrorists to attack us.” — Sen. Barack Obama
In my opinion this stopped John McCain cold. This was in response to McCain saying that Obama “does not understand our national security challenges.” Obama went on to say:
“We’ve spent, so far, close to $700 billion and if we continue on the path that we’re on, as Sen. McCain is suggesting, it’s going to go well over $1 trillion. We’re spending $10 billion a month in Iraq at a time when the Iraqis have a $79 billion surplus, $79 billion. And we need that $10 billion a month here in the United States to put people back to work, to do all these wonderful things that Sen. McCain suggested we should be doing, but has not yet explained how he would pay for.” — Sen. Barack Obama
Boom. Barack Obama did a great job linking the Iraq and OUR economy monetarily. It really puts in to perspective just how the Iraq War has affected our economy. Obama was also strong on the environment. Though I agree, we should explore more nuclear power options, that should only play a small roll in a larger plan. A plan involving solar, wind, hydro-electric to name a few. This was by far my favorite line with regards to alternative fuels and the environment.
“Sen. McCain and I actually agree on something. He said a while back that the big problem with energy is that for 30 years, politicians in Washington haven’t done anything.
What Sen. McCain doesn’t mention is he’s been there 26 of them. And during that time, he voted 23 times against alternative fuels, 23 times.” — Sen. Barack Obama
Definitely a win for Obama. It was an undisputed win at that. I have no doubt that come tomorrow, boost Barack Obama even more in the polls.
P.S.
I used the CNN Political Ticker’s Transcript of the Debate for this post, visit it here!
First of all, I am glad to see the markets are bouncing back a bit. But I really wanted to communicate my thoughts about the Bill itself and what I think it means for this nation.
A lot of people I know have asked me if I support this bill and what it means for the financial system of this country. And I usually reply with “Well, what do you mean by support?” I believe that this bill is not intended to bailout wall street fat cats and keep the golden parachutes falling. I believe this bill is intended to keep people in their homes, keep student, home, and car loans flowing, and to make sure small-businesses have the credit they need to ensure they maintain their operations and make sure they keep their employees paid, and their product shelves stocked. This bill takes those bad mortgages off the balance sheets, frees up capital, and makes this stuff happen.
On the tail end, this piece of legislature has the propensity to change our financial system forever. This bill is most assuredly going to blur the “free” in free market a bit. The second Government becomes involved in a free market system, it becomes unfree. This bill is a hard, nasty pill for this country to swallow, but it is imperative to the stabilization and survival of this nation’s economy. Bankruptcy for problems like this on the small scale is the final option. However, this is on such a LARGE scale that we have to realize that letting all these institutions, and in the end home and business owner crumble would be a massive hit to our weakened economy. And if we faced a bitter recession, or even a Second Great Depression, it would slam this nation hard. Call this bill Socialist, call it Marxist, or call it what ever you want. In the end, it’s a necessary evil. It is something that must be passed in order to spare more hardship, and to begin healing the economy.
I want to make somethings clear, especially now that I have gotten a chance to cool down from my patriotic, panic driven, stock tumbling meltdown I had this afternoon. When I said that I would not vote Republican, I sincerely meant it. Do the Democrats have some blame in this? Absolutely. I think both sides are to blame in the big picture of this economic crisis. But in regards to today, the Republicans have dropped the ball for no good reason what-so-ever. At a time when President Bush, Democrat, and Republican leadership were UNITED under the idea that this plan is nasty and dirty but EXTREMELY necessary to ensure that people keep their money and stay in there homes. I mean thats the point of this. This Bailout Bill is more of a rescue bill. Rescuing us from a second Great Depression.
I promise you, what has happened today is inexcusable. Politicians in this country have given in to this partisanship hatred. Because thats what it is, it’s hatred. You can see it too, you can see it in their faces, in their eyes. You can see it in John McCain’s face when he was debating Barack Obama the other night. This hatred only causes problems, not solutions. The reason the DOW fell 777 points today is because Republican Party voted with partisanship in mind. Check this video out for a second, and see what I mean:
I think this speaks for itself. So I will move on…
I was writing a blog this morning, preparing to endorse a candidate for President, somthing that I have been putting off for a while, because I think it’s around times like these where politicians show their true colors a bit. Usually closer to election time, candidates have debated a few times, and I can more or less feel them out. Well I am done deciding. I am an Independent voter supporting Barack Obama for President. By no means am I endorsing or registering as a Democrat, I like being an Independent, it gives me leeway to slam both parties. But I strongly believe Barack Obama is the lesser of two evils. I believe that the partisan hate is weak in him, I believe in the man, and I agree with most of his positions on the issues (minus of course his stance on Abortion for reasons of my faith). In a time like this we need to raise taxes to the rich and corporations, we need to enter a “take in more, spend less” mind set when it comes to government funding and spending. So there you have it. Peace Out.
Well, there we go. The House has turned down the Bailout Bill, and the partisan blame game has just begun. I am officially scared, and frankly, I am rarely scared about things like this. We are in for some seriously rough times. Ok, my calm tone will now end, and my angry tone will now take over.
God Damn It. I cannot believe that this did not pass. I CANNOT fathom that these people, these “adults” are in charge of our government. You guys shoot this plan down and then start bickering and pointing fingers. I cannot stress enough how badly we need this bill to pass. This is not even close to the perfect solution but this is a step in the right direction. Our economy is slowly falling, banks, financial institutions that have been around for close to 100 years are crashing all around our feet and all you can do is sit around and bicker.
I love this country so damn much that to see this scares me to the core. It scares me that Congress cannot sit down and say to themselves “Lets cut the crap and do what is best for this nation.” People are losing their money. Companies are cutting jobs and banks are closing doors. The DOW dropped 777.68 points. Congress has let us down. The Democrats yielded 140 Yea, 95 Nay, successfully rallying the majority of their party behind this bill. The Republicans voted 65 Yea, 133 Nay. The Republicans have voted against this because Nancy Pelosi made comments about how Bush destroyed Clinton’s established surplus. See the full article here.
Pelosi said “$700 billion [is a] a staggering number, but only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic policies – policies that were built on budget recklessness … combined with an anything goes economic policy, [that] have taken us to where we are today.”
I want to make this clear. You can’t argue this, there is no doubt, the Republicans have said this themselves. There is no conjecture, there is no speculation or anything to take out of context. The REPUBLICAN PARTY has taken comments made by Nancy Pelosi personally and is punishing this nation for it. They have voted against their own President, their own presidential candidate, and their own party leaders. The reason this bill failed because of Republican House Members.
I am SO OUTRAGED that I am almost to tears frankly, something that is very unlike me. The Republican Party has shafted this nation out of stupidity. A REPUBLICAN WILL NEVER GET MY VOTE AGAIN. I am forced to do this because of the ineptitude and unprofessionalism of this party, it is irrefutable! The DOW is down 777 points because of them. If tomorrow morning there are bank runs and economic panics it will be BECAUSE OF THEM. If more banks fall tomorrow, it will be because of the handful of Republicans that let this happen. This is beyond presidential elections, beyond Sarah Palin, and beyond anything else. This is the Republican Party acting contrary to the best interests of this nation because they are offended. Country First? No. Country Last.
Isn’t it nice to see Democrats and Republicans, united together to, in a bipartisan fashion, slam the Bush Administration and Henry Paulson for this $700 Billion Dollar “Bailout”? It’s nice to see the unity. That being said I was watching Mad Money last night (I find Jim Cramer’s soothing presence good to watch before bedtime) and he was making great points. Instead of giving you the same old boring list of points, I am going to spice it up with a YouTube Video:
Check out Jim’s show for more info.
Look, I am not a big fan of pumping $700 Billion of taxpayer money in to the hands of the Bush Administration. However we are between a large rock, and a large hard place. What else can we do? What other options do we have? We are teetering (I’ve never typed that word out before…awesome) on the brink of something VERY scary. What makes this scary is that not only were we blind sided by this, but also we are also in very unchartered territory. People are losing their homes and jobs. Quick, decisive action is necessary.
Interesting article on CNN Money yesterday. At a time when the government is using tax payer money to bailout large institutions, it’s strange we haven’t been hearing from the angry tax payer more. I mean should we just let AIG, and companies like Bear Sterns and Fannie & Freddie fall? I don’t know. As it seems, they did sort of get themselves into this. But at the same time the massive impact of these companies falling on our economy would be…well catastrophic. Love him or hate him, Jim Cramer made a very good point on his show Friday. We don’t know how close we came to a very terrible situation.
Yes, using our tax dollars to bailout companies for bad, risky decisions they chose to make sucks. But in the end, we need to weigh the need. These companies made very poor choices at a time where the market was doing great, and now it has chomped down on their ass. But the impact would be so much greater if they let them fall. It’s definitely a rock and a hard place situation. The $700 Billion bailout plan being pushed through congress seems like a step in the right direction (be it a step in the right direction with tax payer money). However, I agree with Sen. John McCain, this situation requires independent, bipartisan oversight. Secretary Paulson is doing a good job trying to stabilize the market, but thats a lot of money, and the more experts involved the better.
I’ve taken a bit of a break from politics lately. The constant media coverage, the back and forth gets a bit tiring. But after the 500 point drop in our stock market, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the bailout of AIG, Inc. makes me remember an article I read not too long ago about John McCain’s economic advisor, Former Senator Phil Gramm, who is not vice chairman of UBS. He said some pretty interesting stuff back in a July interview with the Washington Post. He described the job loss and economic problems then, which we can assume were the precursor to this and things to come, as “being a mental recession”, and we had become a “nation of whiners”.
Is that still the case Phil? Is it still all in our heads? The nationalization of Freddie and Fanny, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the $85 Billion Bailout of AIG, that is all mental. It’s comments like these that show how out of touch Republicans are with the economy. Take Phil Gramm for example. He is a former Senator, Vice Chairman of UBS, one of a larger Swiss Banks. You think he is in a position to tell us why we shouldn’t be whining? Unemployment is SHOCKINGlY high, the Stock Market rides like The Hulk Roller-coaster at Islands of Adventure, and if that weren’t enough mortgage lenders are crashing down around us and the housing market is flattening out. Phil Gramm doesn’t know what the American people are going through. And when he says things like this, it makes John McCain look like he doesn’t know either. If John McCain wants to win this election, he needs to relate to the average person. Right now, people see him as elitist and out of touch with the common man. And I honestly can’t say thats not true. I think in an economic climate such as this, where the average, middle class consumer is feeling the brunt of the s*** storm that is our economy, the Republicans are already at a handicap. That coupled with the fact that, like a new toy four days after christmas, the intrigue people had for potential vice-president (*gulp*) Sarah Palin has worn out, which is giving the Dems a bit of surge. We are only a month and a half or so away from “The Day” so lets see how this turns out.
Personally, I can’t wait till it’s over. Peace Out.
These are the new round of Microsoft ads from advertising power house Crispin, Porter + Bugosky. Where the first two commercials with Jerry Seinfeld left me kind of scratching my head (it was more of a Seinfeld episode…which I miss so much) these are…awesome. Being an Apple Fanboy I must hate any and all things Microsoft, but I can’t. As a marketing major, I am in awe of CP+B, because every project they work on turns out to be fantastic. This is no exception. I love how Microsoft is attacking the PC stereotype, thats pretty cool.
Wow. This past week will no doubt resound in history as Lehman Brothers, a company that has been around since the 1850, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Also, Merrill Lynch has merged in with Bank of America in a $50 Billion stock deal. At first you sit back and don’t feel really surprised about it. At a time where we have seen Bear Sterns go to JP Morgan (only if the government guaranteed $29 Billion in losses, which they did), and the U.S. Government take over Freddie Mac & Fannie May, this could be seen coming from a mile way, right? Well let it soak in for a bit. Lehman Brothers is one of the central investment firms on Wall Street. In the past six months, Lehman has posted $6.7 Billion loss, and released yet another $4 Billion loss a week earlier. This is evidence that what we are economy is feeling is something MUCH more profound than a recession. People are loosing not only their jobs, but their money too. This no doubt has become the major talking point for presidential candidates, as it should be. People are VERY scared. This has gone beyond affecting how much you spend, but now how much you have. I am not going to make this a partisan issue, because frankly, it’s beyond that. I think whoever wins the election this November has an obligation to the people of this nation to bring stability to the economy. Peace Out.
Since I was younger I was always a Ford guy. My love affair with the Mustang started when I was very young. I watched Bullitt a thousand times cause of it, and have sworn my undying allegiance to Carol Shelby a long time ago. But deep down I had a hidden respect for General Motors too. Sure one could argue that for the most part they sucked at making money. I mean the 70’s and 80’s produced some amazingly mediocre stuff, but I think GM has tried really hard to turn that around. But despite this, GM has churned out a couple of hits. The Chevy Corvette, the Camaro, and the Silverado just to name a few. And I have to give GM credit for reinventing Cadillac completely and transforming them into a suitable competitor for BMW and Benz. Despite that, GM (and for the most part the entire American auto industry) is suffering big time, as 2008 could be without a doubt the worst year in the company’s history. Profits are shockingly down, sales are down 18%, and the stock is tanking. The American automotive industry has finally received a wake up call that was a long time coming.
American cars have gotten a bad rep for being powerful, gas guzzling dragsters. And to an extent yes, that’s true. General Motors and Ford’s bread and butter sales are trucks and work horse vehicles. Ford’s baby was the F-150, which for a good period of time was not only their best seller but the best selling pick-up in it’s class. But like all of the vehicles in it’s class, they are massive gas guzzlers. Fine and dandy for a period where gas is $2.50 a gallon, but for a period where political and economic factors are causing gas prices to shoot to $4 a gallon it’s not. So it comes to no surprise that the big three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) are posting record losses while companies like Toyota and Honda are posting record gains. The American automotive industry had focused all their efforts at selling a vehicle that was appropriate for a time that has come and gone. Now people are desperately trading in their SUV’s and Pick-Ups for Hybrids and Crossovers. Because of this now the industry is in a panic. Suddenly the product they produce is now obsolete, replaced not by new technology, but a new consumer need for efficiency and a high MPG rating.
So now Ford, GM, and Chrysler (who was suffering long before all this) are now cutting costs, closing factories (and companies such as Hummer) and laying off workers left and right. They are refocusing resources (a very costly process) once dedicated to mass producing large engined SUVs and trucks to smaller, more efficient automobiles. But my question is, couldn’t they see this coming? Gas prices have been steadily climbing (mind you not as drastically as recently) for decades now. It seems as though the American auto industry tried to exploit the high demand for these vehicles well beyond reasonable means. Anyone could have seen that eventually, consumer taste would change after gas prices increase, and the search for alternative means of energy would become a priority. All the while GM and Ford continued to produce these type of cars, companies like Toyota and Honda thought ahead. They produce and sold gas efficient vehicles, which left little impact on the environment and were practical. I guess that paid off, considering that Toyota is now the leading car company in the United States, and the American car companies are now cutting programs and posting record losses.
Everyone says that the auto industry is the heart beat of this country’s economy. That whatever they are suffering from, so is the country suffering from. I agree with that one hundred percent. They are suffering because the American people are suffering, trying to gas up their SUVs and diesel trucks. People are sick of paying $100 plus at the gas pump so they are looking to the Japanese and the Germans for relief. And until they adapt, they will continue down the rocky road. Hopefully it’s not too little too late.
I was browsing the CNN home page today in between projects at work and I noticed this rather unsettling, yet understandable story. Turns out rich people are investing and spending much more conservatively than before out economy tanked. Despite a 1.9% growth [Source: About.com] in GDP from last quarter’s .9%. This technically means we are NOT in a recession. Though if you ask my mom we are…cause well, she is not a big fan of the truth. People are still feeling the slowing economy. And by people…I mean all people, the rich included. And though one may not feel bad for them, seeing as us regular folk are living paycheck to paycheck while they live the high life, that shouldn’t be the case. Most of their investments are riding on a shaky and unpredictable market, while the luxuries they have indulged in, such as exotic cars and boats are becoming unsellable due to the fact that gas prices are high. This coupled with a depressing housing market leaves a lot of people with little to no liquidity. The rich are adapting to the changing economy much like we are, by conserving energy, reducing spending and investing, buying and driving hybrid vehicles. Seriously, it’s actually cooler to have a Toyota Prius than a Lamborghini Gallardo (I still think they’re cool). I definitely think that after the elections in November, we will have a little relief. The uncertainty of who will be President usually brings a bit of turmoil to the markets. Gas is also adjusting a bit to demand fears, dropping $4.22 today [Source CNNMoney.com]. So in the end it seems that we are all in this together. Who knows, it may get better or it may get worse before it’s over.
It was a bright, Tuesday morning the day I got paid. I was over hours that pay period, so my checking account was pretty hefty. I quickly woke up that morning and logged on to Bank of America (yep even before I checked my Facebook). So I awe at the unusually high amount and make a few calculations in my head…
“Ok, I told mom I’d pay the DirecTV and the AT&T bill.”
“Ahh man, I gotta set some cash aside to get my mom a birthday present.”
And after all of that I noticed I still had some left over. So I put on my jeans, I jump in the car and head to Best Buy. I am going to buy…something. I don’t know what, but I am at Best Buy. If I don’t leave with something, I have wasted my time. So I stroll in, take a deep breath and appreciate the view. I walk in to the cell phone section…nope sorry already got one. From there I walk straight ahead to the DVD section…nothing here that catches my eye (Iron Man comes out on Blu Ray next month). So I drift over to the video game section and see whats going on.
“Hmmm Soul Caliber IV” I say quietly to myself. “Arena style fighting, weapons, whoa and Yoda from Star Wars is an unlockable character!” It looked promising…but nah.
I look to the distance and I see the glow of the digital camera department in the distance. So I stroll over there and I realize, that I don’t own a digital camera. So I am browsing around and I settle on a nice looking camera that wasn’t too expensive (Nikon S210 for those who are curious). The shockingly attractive best buy camera specialist told me that she only had the pink camera in stock and that I would have to order the black one. So long story short I order my camera and drive back home to wait on my camera. So I get home and I take care of some stuff, go for a jog, come back and decide “Hey let me check up on the reviews of my camera. CNET.com says it looks nice but that’s about it.
Drag man.
But whatever, I am not an avid photographer…I just need something to document my adventures. I will play with it when it gets here, and I’ll be the judge of it. Other websites say it’s good so we’ll see.
Moral of the story: When you are in the impulse buying mood…stay away from Best Buy.
Gas is the blood of this nation. Since the 1970’s, when the average family owning a car or two became common, America has been purchasing and consuming large quantities of fuel. Without it, no one gets to work, no one makes money, no one eats. Whichever way you look at it, this nation is hooked on the black gold, and something needs to be done about it. As of 2:28 pm today, crude oil is trading at $129.29 (with a high of $136.40). I don’t know about you but, gas prices like the ones pictured above makes me want to consider squeezing into a SMART car for the rest of my life (and investing in the Jaws of Life to get out of it).
Recently, President Bush lifted a ban on off shore oil drilling primarily in the continental shelf area. Though his actions are merely symbolic without congressional approval, this has spawned a heated debate on both sides of the isle. Republicans want to begin immediate drilling off the cost of our nation in order to help alleviate gas prices for the consumer. Democrats don’t want to spend the money on drilling off shore, stating that it would take too long for oil drilling off the coast to be productive and the environmental impact would be devastating. Even states are taking sides. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (insert Terminator theme here) has been, and continues to be staunchly against off shore drilling in the state of California. After being briefed by his aides, President Bush is going to have to take it back. Honestly, the Democrats have a point. We would be spending money on something that won’t start paying out till much later down the road and be affecting the environment now. The question shouldn’t be “Where should we start drilling?” But rather, “When should we stop?”.
Some argue that money that would be used to start drilling in the Continental Shelf, or the ANWR province, should be instead used to research and develop alternative methods for energy. Al Gore today called for this nation to switch electricity to renewable resources in 10 years time.
“The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk.” He emphasized that meeting this goal is critical, and needs to be seen as something past the elections. He went on to say, “A political promise to do something 40 years from now is universally ignored because everyone knows that’s meaningless.” and that “Ten years is about the maximum time that we as a nation can hold a steady aim and hit the target.”
Note: Al Gore basically has described the collective attention span of this nation.
While most of the critics say that renewable resources are still years away, it’s a switch we as a nation must take. Our dependence on foreign oil is hazardous to this nation. Oil affects everything we buy, everything we do. The fact that most of our oil comes from other nations (primarily other nations that don’t view us favorably) makes it a huge national security issue as well. The fact of the matter is that drilling off shore or in ANWR will solve nothing except give us a temporary (and according to some experts a VERY temporary) fix. Our nation needs to, in essence, go to rehab. Technology is constantly changing around us, yet we have been depending on gas for decades. Gas is something finite, one day, no one will have gas (see. Mad Max). Renewable resources such as biofuels, wind, hydroelectric, and solar energy are quirky and new yes, but with proper funding and research can become mainstream and vastly alleviate America’s dependence on foreign oil. Even this much will push this nation in to a sort of renaissance of research and development of new energy solutions. The private sector is eager to explore alternatives to fuel. Companies like Tesla, who is known for developing high performance electric cars, is planning different, every day cars powered solely by plug-in electric engines. Toyota, GM, and Honda are all planning plug-in, long range electric vehicles. GM is introducing the Chevy Volt, a fully production ready PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), Toyota has plans to switch the Prius to PHEV as well, and Honda is going the Hydrogen route with it’s FCX Clarity.
I recently got my mom a Macbook Pro. She was very hesitant to use something she didn’t know about, being comfortable with the old, beat up, malfunctioning VAIO she had been using for a while. I basically dragged her into the 21st century by tossing her old laptop and now she can’t live without her Mac. The same thing needs to happen in America. Too many people are comfortable with oil. Whether they are comfortable using it, or comfortable profiting from it, our nation has grown lethargic to change. Everything is evolving around us, except for oil. We need to be dragged kicking and screaming in to the 21st century. It’s time to leave the old ideas that we cling to so much, which are hurting us, and embrace something better.
Welcome to The Jorge Zone! This is my blog, my mental exhaust pipe, slowly filling the atmosphere with my opinions, favorite links, news and the like. This blog is all about the political and social issues we face today. Current events, political & economical happenings, religion & faith, global warming, stuff like ... Continue reading »
You know, I am all for the Second Amendment, but what the hell is this? According to basically every major news outlet, people are going to health care town hall meetings brandishing 9mm handguns and, as of late, AR-15 assault rifles.
I would LOVE to tell you to go ahead and rent Mad Max, in order to prepare for the inevitable future. But I am not going to panic. I am going to stay calm. The DOW has plummeted to about 8222.50 (currently) and every time CNN, or FOX cuts to the floor of Wall Street, you just hear screams. Like if they flooded the place with acid, or Tang without enough water. I read somewhere that the so far the losses add up to $8.3 Trillion. 
First of all, I am glad to see the markets are bouncing back a bit. But I really wanted to communicate my thoughts about the Bill itself and what I think it means for this nation. 
Wow. This past week will no doubt resound in history as Lehman Brothers, a company that has been around since the 1850, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Also, Merrill Lynch has merged in with Bank of America in a $50 Billion stock deal. At first you sit back and don’t feel really surprised about it. At a time where we have seen Bear Sterns go to JP Morgan (only if the government guaranteed $29 Billion in losses, which they did), and the U.S. Government take over Freddie Mac & Fannie May, this could be seen coming from a mile way, right? Well let it soak in for a bit. Lehman Brothers is one of the central investment firms on Wall Street. In the past six months, Lehman has posted $6.7 Billion loss, and released yet another $4 Billion loss a week earlier. This is evidence that what we are economy is feeling is something MUCH more profound than a recession. People are loosing not only their jobs, but their money too. This no doubt has become the major talking point for presidential candidates, as it should be. People are VERY scared. This has gone beyond affecting how much you spend, but now how much you have. I am not going to make this a partisan issue, because frankly, it’s beyond that. I think whoever wins the election this November has an obligation to the people of this nation to bring stability to the economy. Peace Out. 
