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Change... Stimulus... Bailout... Pirates?
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Pirates in $3000 Armani Suites armed with degrees have sacked The Treasury, Wall Street and Washington DC.
(To further Maddravers post... I decided to start my own thread as well)
Lets talk change:
1. Mr. Obama’s idea of bringing change to Washington was to hire a bunch of Clinton’s old cohorts to run the government…. Including Hillary Clinton. This is complete BS as the proverbial wool has been thrown over the eyes of nearly 60% of voters are bamboozled again by a “Politician”. Let’s not forget that fact. Bush bamboozled the fiscal conservatives and Mr. Obama is no different. Please Note: that the “Anything is better than Bush” rhetoric is rear-view mirror observation and asserting it makes about as much sense as trying to attach the fallen apple to the tree. Politics as usual.
2. We are in this situation because the Federal Government forced banks to make loans to unqualified people, who had no way of repaying the loans. Not only did the banks make these loans, many bankers (not all) preyed on would-be home buyers by offering what amounts to “sign n buy” with no money down, adjustable loans… These ”bankers” (or for a lack of a better term “snake oil salesmen”) use the excuse “Well, no one held a gun to their head when they signed their home loan”. Due diligence and general business ethics are required, and they should have known better (Wait…. They DID know better, yet decided to do it anyway). Greed
3. These mortgages were broken up into AAA investment grade CDOs and sold off many times over. A CDO is such a complex instrument, that the bankers compiling and marketing them had very little idea how they work (why should they care… they are able to profit with NO RISK). Alan Greenspan (Former Fed Chief) admitted that CDOs were soooo complex, that he himself did not understand them completely. These instruments are given a AAA rating from the rating houses (who should be investigated) and sold to investors as “safe” long term investments (ie: cities, towns, hedge funds, countries). There was virtually no regulation as this paper was sold and re-sold by the crooks…. I mean bankers and Wall St professionals. Greed
4. Bailout Bill: I wrote Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in September warning her of the problem with the Bailout bill.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 7:05:01 PM
Letter to Kay Bailey Hutchison (Sen. TX)
Senator Hutchison, I appreciate your leadership and representation. I have read your press release from Sep 26th.
In regards to the “Bailout” being shoved down the American citizenry’s throat, keep in mind the power of our vote and the ramifications of rash action in the face of panic. A misstep at this point in history could set a bad precedence for future financial events. We need to look at who wins in the current scenario. Is it the taxpayer? I think not. Paulson and crew unloading a large number of bad loans onto the taxpayer and telling us that it will work out in the end is non-sense as is his threat of a depression. The financial sector and markets need to fall and consolidate naturally. It will hurt, but it must happen. My only analogy is the passing of a kidney stone or having a tumor removed. It is not easy and it’s painful. I think the Federal Government can step in to help out where needed most. Throwing money at this problem is the equivalent of having a poorly disciplined child manage your family’s budget. This whole problem comes from poor money management.
"...the borrower is a slave to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7)
Treasury Secretary Paulson should be investigated immediately. I follow the markets very closely and his links to the banking sector (particularly Goldman Sachs) raise a red flag.
Thank you for your time and consideration
I received a reply from the Senator’s office essentially telling me that Section 8 of the bill had been removed. This was the section that Paulson had suggested be added to the bill… of course it has to do with oversight. Needless to say, I don’t fall for the old smoke and mirrors ploy very well and understand that oversight of the nearly one TRILLION ($1,000,000,000,000.00) is a complex task…. And one too big for the idiots with degrees in Washington to manage. Plus, Congress does not care about oversight, unless you forget to pay your taxes ;)
After the lame reply, I sent another letter to the Senator on October 14th:
Oct. 14, 2009
Senator Hutchison,
Thank you for your response to my message regarding the “Bailout”. I appreciate your concern with oversight. I’m happy to hear that the average Texan will save $520 on our Federal Income Tax. And I hope to see more work go into dealing with the “flawed” AMT.
In regards to the Bailout and future decisions made in Washington, I would like to point out that much of the focus has been made on the lenders, instead of the actual homeowners in default (some have it at 5 million). The message to Americans from Washington DC is still muddy. The media only make the picture more opaque. Our representatives should be taking the message to the public on the radio and addressing the state on television.
Concern: In regards to oversight of The Secretary of the Treasury, I am glad that Section 8 was removed from the final bill. The mere fact that Paulson pushed for these sweeping powers is suspect. Americans are concerned.
Finally, the massive injection of money into the global markets accompanied by a global rate cut or 50 basis points will boost the markets in the short term but it will not cure the systemic disease of credit and debt. Saving, investing and spending wisely are an individual’s choice. (Matthew 25 13-30.
My suggestion: Step 1: Mandatory for High School Graduation in Texas: Basic Personal Finance (Cash Management/Balancing Checkbook/Savings/Interest /Credit Cards/Loans/Giving)
*If children are taught about evolution, sex, and abortion… shouldn’t they be taught how money works and how to manage it properly?
5. Stimulus Plan: Again, we find ourselves in a place where we have not learned from the past (recent past). We find our government borrowing from our children and their children to pay for the “Stimulus Plan”, which amounts to nothing more than another Trillion dollar EXPERIMENT ($1,000,000,000,000.00). Again, I wrote a letter to Senator KBH… Basically, the talk of a Depression has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Couple that will Inflation and a global slowdown. Measures taken by the Fed Gov't amount to artificially fluffing the markets using capital injections and printing money... oh, and borrowing more... running up debt....
Feb 13, 2009
Sen. Hutchison
Please vote against the economic stimulus. I would hope that someone from your office would refer back to your email archives and re-read my messages sent September 30 and October 20. I warned of the dangers of the first “Bailout”. My concern regarding oversight was well warranted in September. After the removal of Section 8 from the final bill, we have seen no oversight. The capital injections and lowering of interest rates have done nothing. I stated in my second letter that they were meaningless. Furthermore, Americans need to be led into saving, not spending.
Repeating the same action and expecting different results is inanity.
Thanks for your time and consideration.
6. I bring to the conversation a point made by a colleague (Phil Davis):
200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson warned us: "If Americans ever allow banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless."
Well, 7,000 families a day are now losing their homes to foreclosures, that’s roughly 21,000 men, women and children each day being forced out of their homes, being stripped of their assets and often their life savings. This isn’t a one-day problem for these people, it can take many years to recover from losing a home, if ever!
http://www.realtytrac.com/foreclosu...sure-rates.html
American taxpayers are essentially slaves to the state. Everyone reading this will be dead long before this debt it paid off. Abandoning free market ideals to save the free market is ludicrous. If we would let things work out naturally in the markets and help homeowners along the way, we would get through this problem much faster. Instead, Pirates in Washington DC have teamed up with the Pirates on Wall Street to sack the United States. Taking not only from those living here, but those who are yet to be born. Take notice how many of the crooks are behind bars....
**For those who read this who are still in college dealing with professors who sell Socialism and Communism as a cure all religion for the new age, take what is said with a good dose of skepticism. Social “scientists” make the claim that humans are predictable like inanimate objects. And models conceived by humans can explain the unexplainable. Coming from an Anthropology/Sociology background, I can tell you that;
A. Humans are imperfect and so are the models, theories, predictions and systems produced by humans.
B. As long as humans have free will, the “unpredictable” will shape history.
C. I used to think the many (not all) Sociology/Anthropology (my major) courses I took in college were waste of time as I read book after book, journals, and diatribe pushing moral/cultural relativism. Now cherish what I learned about myself. That I am a skeptic by nature and practice. And that the fact that universities/professors push this kind of self-refuting non-sense on young people is a crime of the mind, while calling skeptics like myself “Intolerant” is idiotic.**
The funniest thing is that today (President’s Day)… I have to work while the Federal Government and Banks take the day off…. Go figure!!!!
Rant over. |
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| maddraver |
lots of good stuff there man. i will be reading that a couple of times more....
getting people into loans knowing they were going to fail at some point is what it all boils down to.
i was home all day and was able to hear everyones last reason for voting "aye" or "no", senator cornyn had the best common sense out of all of them. good for Texas. in the end it was a done deal, democrats run the show now. |
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| winston |
| quote: |
C. I used to think the many (not all) Sociology/Anthropology (my major) courses I took in college were waste of time as I read book after book, journals, and diatribe pushing moral/cultural relativism. Now cherish what I learned about myself. That I am a skeptic by nature and practice. And that the fact that universities/professors push this kind of self-refuting non-sense on young people is a crime of the mind, while calling skeptics like myself “Intolerant” is idiotic.**
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It's called brainwash. I happen to be business major (i know...), so I deal with theories and formulas, they are all fallible and quite dated tbh (Keynes comes to mind). However I've taken classes on psychology/business ethics/multi-culturalism/theology/etc, and while I enjoy broadening my horizons with various "facts" and opinions on different worldly issues, I still think most of the material is processed, manufactured and branded* like small little pills to ignite liberal (radical) thinking in today's youth. Just to throw something out there, it's interesting that at my school the official bookstore is 'Barnes & Noble' (which have ridiculous prices for new books that you can always find for half or less on amazon or half.com) a franchise, a chain, a profit seeking corporation. Why? Because education in America is a business like any other, it is not in their best interest that you get your education, but that you pay huge amounts of cash to make a better cut and put a 'fancy label' on your resume when job hunting.
About the crisis, it could have been avoided. People saw it coming, bankers knew that it could happen but people were so blinded by the 'american dream' (consume, consume, consume) that regular folks began to live well beyond their means under a veil of ignorance. Regular folks thought, "Hey, this could never happen in America, we're safe". Everyone failed to read the fine print and so everyone played the spending game (more credit, more spending, massive growth) but It backfired, there was no money around, it was all fictitious; banks were busted way before people started paying attention to what was really going on. In some way this is connected to education in america, in the past people were taught, "worry not about instability (the fed is here to save your ass), the u.s. money is well controlled and monitored, there is no way a depression is at hand". Well, It did and sadly all the liberal lefties that were hiding inside their closet have come out to light and began their never ending trail of 'socialism'. They picked the right man for the job, a guy that would clean the 'bad rep' of corruption that has tainted the democrat party for years. Since his days in Chicago, Obama has stood strongly for 'change', a reformation in the political and financial system in the U.S. Ironically, Obama's campaign has been one of the most expensive, flamboyant and radical presidential race that brought back memories of south america left wing parties. Ironically, South America is becoming a model for America to follow, oh well...the good old days of laissez-faire capitalism is dying, control, regulation and restraint seems to be the way of the future.
http://wealthyreader.com/articles/obama-gives-keynes-his-first-real-world-test/
happy monday |
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| Zeonfiend |
| Lance is a VERY uncommon DJ. :D |
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| AbcGum |
| How would you feel if Texas was denied some of the stimulus money? |
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| Zeonfiend |
| quote: | Originally posted by AbcGum
How would you feel if Texas was denied some of the stimulus money? |
We need it less than everyone else does. We experimented with subprime housing waaaaay back in the '90s and saw the writing on the wall early. It'd be nice to see some infrastructure improvements (and maybe an eradication of the toll roads) but if we don't get to pick how we get to use it, then they can dole it out to Cali where they're feeling the socialist burn.:D |
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| AbcGum |
| quote: | Originally posted by Zeonfiend
We need it less than everyone else does. We experimented with subprime housing waaaaay back in the '90s and saw the writing on the wall early. It'd be nice to see some infrastructure improvements (and maybe an eradication of the toll roads) but if we don't get to pick how we get to use it, then they can dole it out to Cali where they're feeling the socialist burn.:D |
Sounds good. California will appreciate your kindness. |
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| Zeonfiend |
| quote: | Originally posted by AbcGum
Sounds good. California will appreciate your kindness. |
It's not kindness; it's pity in the form of the biggest "I Told You So" in history. California was the richest state in the Union, filled to the brim with the Union's richest people, and they politically balled themselves into bankruptcy because money =/= brains. Any handouts given to them will sear their misbegotten souls that much worse, because they know they need it and they know they have no choice but to accept it, but there's no face-saving way for them to take it so they have to endure the mockery at the same time as they grasp at their salvation. The irony is so, so sweet. :toocool: |
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| digitalbreach |
Texas should just secede from the US..and jump ship
in all seriousness...the bailouts are not helping anyone other than all those banks/CEO's/companies that made bad decisions. In a sense we are rewarding them for getting their hand's caught in the cookie jar. We didn't learn anything from the stimulus Bush tried to pass last year. is just going to get worse...every man for himself.
~db |
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| jesse.brede |
I'm am/was a big Barack supporter. He's logical and got the people on his side but when I went and did my homework on this stimulus and was not impressed. It was rushed and the democrats did not listen to concerns and we are back to the same old Washington game. From where I'm sitting, it really does look like pork and that is simply terrible. We can't afford to throw this money away on useless . I like the spending on schools, energy, retooling factories, etc... but I don't like the handouts to Phillapino WII War Vets and Indian reservations and the rest of the inane in there. If it doesn't somehow create jobs or STIMULATE the economy, it shouldn't be in there.
Here's some real scary to read:
http://www.the7thfire.com/Politics%...al-Reserve.html
This may be some tin foil hat but it makes a lot of sense to me. Basically, our currency and economy is based on nothing so at some point, people are going to wake up and realize that. We can't keep borrowing and expect unlimited growth, the universe doesn't work like that. I hope that we can pull this out of the nose dive and make some real investments in the future. |
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