The death of capitalism

So I was on my way to work this morning, still trying to be a productive member of society and provide for my family and especially grateful to still have a job. I was pondering a bit about Geithner yesterday and the governments new power grab for more regulations. Then my thoughts wandered to the many recent calls that capitalism is dead and then of course I began to ponder the beauty of capitalism. Well then naturally the only place for my thoughts to go was to one of my favorite Monty Python scenes. I'll let you watch and decide if I'm right about this. The parallels are absolutely scary and would be funny if the situation wasn't so serious. Put capitalism in the place of the soon to be dead man on his shoulders. I'll let you decide who the other characters represent. Enjoy.

A standing ovation

My hat goes off to Mr. DeSantis and his recent resignation letter printed in the New York Times of all places. My best wishes to you and your future Mr. DeSantis and thank you for providing a perfect example of what is wrong with this whole situation. In an earlier post I mentioned that AIG should have been chewed up and spit back out by the bankruptcy courts and this is the perfect example why. Just look at Lehman Brothers. Nobody mentions how the profitable portions are still profitable and still functioning within the financial sector under new names. Pull your heads out. These massive organizations need to fail if we are going to see any end to this mess anytime soon. It is all about our government taking more control then they already have and using AIG as a smokescreen to take our attention away from themselves and their own corruption.

All we need are more Regulations....Duh!

I always deeply appreciate knowledge and perspective. It’s hard to really find the true perspective available and when more perspective comes it is like a ray of light bringing a little better understanding. In this case it is the same old story and reiteration of how the government is incapable of regulating or running anything effectively or efficiently. The government regulates something, they mess it up and can’t do it correctly and so the obvious answer is that if they only had more power and more regulations then they can fix everything. Good thing Giethner is in charge and will know what to do with the additional powers. Hmmmm, when has the government ever controlled anything, ever, without making it worse? I have been trying to think of something and I am coming up blank. If I’m wrong just let me know. I’m always open to more perspective.

Alaska....pay up!

So I am wondering about this volcano that is erupting in Alaska and how it could affect the state financially under the upcoming cap and trade system. So since all of this carbon is now being spewed into the atmosphere within their state would the state have to purchase carbon credits to cover it. hmmmmm the taxing possibilities are endless aren't they?

Money Management 101

I am trying to understand, I really am. I'm trying to figure out how our elected officials can miss such simple aspects of money management and the consequences of mismanagement. Maybe a required mandatory Money Management for Idiots class would help.....maybe. Let me give you an example of what I am thinking about. Let's think hypothetically that I am having a hard time financially, I'm not making ends meet, my household is struggling, and I need to help the cash flow. So instead of getting a second job, instead of cutting spending I decide to charge up my credit card. Oops didn't quite work, now all I have is a maxed out credit card, so I get a second credit card and max it out too. Then a third and a fourth until suddenly I don't qualify anymore and I can't get anymore credit cards. Then I do something really crazy. I begin making my own credit cards to pay off my other credit cards and continue spending. I can make as many credit cards as I want until suddenly the fraud is exposed and it all comes crashing down.

Stupid right? Exactly, but what I am talking about is the announcement from the Fed yesterday to set aside one trillion dollars to buy treasury notes. Let me tell you how I am interpreting this announcement. No one is willing to buy our debt and so we are selling it to ourselves. The Treasury is printing money, giving it to the Fed who is in turn using that money to buy debt from the Treasury to then stimulate the economy. DOESN'T ANYONE SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS!!!!!! There is no way to support this long term. This is a last resort type move and if it doesn't work we are in serious, serious trouble economically! We are paying off our credit cards with other credit cards and hoping nothing goes wrong and then we create our own credit cards because no one will give us credit and we think it will end up working out. We haven't fixed the fundamental problem!!!!!! It is pretty much a cliche now but the phrase "you cannot fix a problem created by overspending with more spending" is so simplistically true I can only assume that corruption is the reason our government is going down the road it is going. Boy are we in trouble.

Obama and AIG

I’m glad Obama has taken a stand and taken responsibility. This is not the first time in his short time as President that he has taken responsibility and apologized. I understand why he is doing it. How many times was Bush criticized for his unapologetic, I never make a mistake demeanor? The cynical side of me realizes that this is just all politics as usual; he is saying the buck stops here because he thinks it will help him. It’s not about integrity or about anything else. If it was about integrity he would admit he knew about the bonuses before he claims he knew or at the very least that his administration knew.

It definitely seems like business as usual when Dodd claims he didn’t write the provision guaranteeing the bonuses then he admits that he did in fact write the provision but it was under pressure from the administration. At that point there is nothing Obama can do other then call Dodd a liar which is admit responsibility. Whether he knew of it or not his administration is responsible for AIG receiving their legal and contractual bonuses. So when the President says he is responsible for fixing the mess he is only partly right because congress has a role as well. When he states outright that he didn’t create the AIG mess, he is lying through his teeth. It is unfortunate that so soon into his own presidency that he can no longer say we inherited this mess. So is this the first mess of his presidency? Probably not, but I frankly have become annoyed with the constant whining about what a horrible situation he inherited. It was not a secret the problems were going on. If you didn’t think you could handle them Mr. President then you should have dropped out of the race. The American people want a President who doesn’t whine and who takes care of business. Hopefully this event will stop the whining because I think the more this administration tries to blame the other side for the mess the more people will become annoyed because of the obvious participation of both parties and both sides. Nobody’s hands are clean so shut up and quit whining and fix it. By the way, everything that has been done so far to fix it will only make it worse long term. Pull your heads out and actually start real solutions with real long term results. Let’s start with something simple, raising taxes during an economic recession no matter who you are raising them on is in an educated term “stupid”.

The 9/12 Project

Here is the answer to the much anticipated "We Surround Them" movement inspired by Glenn Beck. The website is self explanatory and you should definately check it out. www.the912project.com

And "don't forget to share"

My thoughts on AIG

I have been wondering the last couple of days what it is exactly about the AIG scenario that is really just getting under my skin. It’s not that I disagree and think that the executives at AIG deserve their bonuses. Call me crazy but I don’t think failure should be rewarded and Hello! AIG! You failed! You had to take bailout money to stay afloat. You are one big organizational failure. Why in the heck are you paying the executives who put you there and why in the heck have they not been fired already?

I finally realized today what is really driving me crazy though as I heard Harry Reid’s indignation at how dare AIG pay bonuses and President Obama declare that every legal means will be used take those bonuses back. Hypocrisy. Everyone is guilty of it to some extent or another and I am no exception but our elected government officials are shoveling the stuff by the truck full. Disregard the fact that the bonuses were not a surprise. Language was put into the most recent bailout stating contracts before a certain date would be honored which included those executives who are to receive these bonuses. It was not a mystery, many of these politicians are on AIG’s payroll by the way of campaign contributions. The sudden indignation of our elected officials is sickening in how fake it is. A few months ago it was important enough to secure these bonuses for these executives to actually make it law. To actually write legislation requiring that they receive their money according to their contract. And now suddenly when it looks bad the champions of the people stand up for us and say HOW DARE THEY! AIG YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. TAKE YOUR BOW AND SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE HEAD ALREADY! (Oh wait sorry, the guy who told them to kill themselves was only joking, and I don’t think he specified shooting in the head; guess I got a little carried away, my apologies, I was only joking) These same government officials who are spending my great great grandkids money without restraint. Who are so concerned about their pet projects and bringing home the bacon to their individual districts that they rape the American people in their lust for power. These same officials who took their pay raise despite the overwhelming failure of their fiscal policies and oversight.

Once again we have a perfect example of how the government cannot run anything without messing it up. It is the government who is now running AIG and it is the government who is to blame for AIG executives having contracts that guarantee them bonuses despite the absolute failure of their management. Just think about the implications for a moment. The moment AIG took bailout funds the government controlled them. Don’t believe me all you have to do is look at the current example. AIG cannot do anything without the government’s permission. Every action, every decision is scrutinized and as soon as one misstep is made the hammer falls and the wrath of the people comes down. The same goes for any other company that has taken bail out funds. Just look at all of those companies sending their management to Vegas. Oh wait, their not sending them to Vegas because that would be irresponsible right President Obama? It’s a good thing you stopped those evil companies from going to Vegas. Everybody knows the Vegas economy is just fine and the last thing they need is more visitors. All of those union workers who voted for you sure do appreciate how much embarrassment you saved them at having to host those evil companies who would have spent millions of dollars. We want to stimulate the economy but not the Vegas economy right? Thankfully we have been reassured that this control will not last. They only want to step in, save the day, and then they will step back and allow the companies to continue on their merry way. I am so relieved.

And now they have the perfect scapegoats for their failure, those evil AIG executives who dare to take their contractual bonuses on the tax payer’s dime.

Here is what I have to say about it. AIG keep your bonuses, your contracts are valid and if the government tries to take them away then take it to the courts. Let this issue of contract law and the government’s right to void or not void a contract go through the court system. And for the sake of the American people I hope you rake them over the coals, chew them up and spit them out. Because the day our government can go in and pick and choose which legally binding contract is valid or not valid based on what gets them re-elected will be a scary day for not just our economic system but our country and our rights as citizens. Oh and by the way AIG executives, you all should have been fired in the first place. This never should have been an issue and you should have been chewed up and spit back out by the bankruptcy courts and divided up between companies that are not as big of a loser as you are. Too big to fail… what a joke.

Cap and Trade

I was listening to NPR today specifically "Living on Earth" and I was just lucky enough to catch a good portion of a discussion on Cap and Trade. Here is the link to the whole discussion.

I'll admit that I enjoy NPR. I really like to make sure I am well rounded in regard to what I listen to and NPR allows me to catch the left's slant on things. Of course this discussion was all about how great cap and trade would be. How it would raise all sorts of money and help the government bridge the gap in the deficit. That all sounds great right? Until you factor in that cap and trade in the U.S. would do little to nothing to reduce CO2 emissions on a global scale (that is if you think limiting emissions is important to stop the myth of man made global warming but that is a topic for another post on another day)

In reality this will be all about the money and nothing about what it would need to be. Energy costs will skyrocket which of course is exactly what we need in an economic downturn. Obama will be able to fulfill his campaign promise to bankrupt coal and so the jobs lost are necessary in order to save our planet. Oh wait, it won't save our planet it will line the pockets of politicians and their friends at the expense of and ruin of our country. That's change to believe in for sure.

In the end the infuriating part is that despite the overwhelming evidence that man made global warming does not exist, idiotic and destructive policies such as this continue to be implemented. The arrogance of our society to think that we can actually stop global warming and cooling periods that have been occuring naturally since the earth came into existence by trying to limit CO2 emissions. The idea is blatantly absurd and infuriating in the scam that is being perpetrated.

Glenn Beck's "We Surround Them"

I don't have any time to comment but I know that tomorrow I'm going to be watching this

I hope you will be too.

Getting my feet wet

So I have been delaying posting on here for a while now. I have about a dozen articles saved in “my favorites” but I have kept on waiting for the perfect topic or the perfect idea. I have since realized that the perfect commentary will not just happen out of nowhere especially since this is my first one. I did however find this commentary by CNN’s Jack Cafferty to be entertaining and laughable all at the same time.

For the entire article click here

And so as Cafferty put it “Where to start?"


"Bobby Jindal: "I'm certainly not nearly as good of a speaker as Obama." Good OF a speaker? How about not as good at eighth-grade grammar either. It's embarrassing.
Sarah Palin? Billing the taxpayers for her kids to travel to official events the children weren't even invited to? She finally agreed to pay back the state for that money she took.
Her per diem charges to the state in the amount of $17,000 while she was living at home instead of in the governor's mansion? She has now agreed to pay the taxes owed on that money. Another tawdry grab at a few dollars that didn't belong to her.”

Is this a joke Mr. Cafferty. Are you seriously trying to point out which parties participants look more stupid? This is a complete dead end and is completely pointless. I could name several tax evaders who are friends of our dear President if you really want to go down that route. But the broader more important aspect of this is that all Mr. Cafferty has done is prove he can’t look beyond the farce that our politicians set up for the American people to banter about which party is right or wrong. While we all sit here arguing about Sarah Palin’s per diem issues and Timothy Gietner’s inability to use Turbo Tax our government officials continue to rob our country blind and laugh at us the entire time their doing it.

But let’s continue shall we…..

Cafferty.......

“Michael Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, down on his knees apologizing to the helium-filled poster boy of the conservative right? Pathetic.
If the Republicans are ever to emerge from the long dark night they have created for themselves it will have to be without pandering to the right wing nuts that comprise Rush Limbaugh's radio audience. Didn't they learn anything in the last election?”

Now I’ll be the first to admit Rush Limbaugh is not my favorite radio show host but he is exactly that, a radio show host. When an individual listens to his show there is no question who he is and what he represents. There is no pretending to be some unbiased news commentator he clearly presents himself as a conservative talk show host. “helium filled poster boy of the conservative right?” You might be right Mr. Cafferty but to categorize the millions of people who listen to him as “right wing nuts” only demonstrates your own intolerance and ignorance. There are reasons why conservative talk radio is successful and liberal talk radio is not.

Cafferty continues...

“All of which is to say the GOP is blowing it big time. They were handed a golden opportunity to redeem themselves with the election of Barack Obama -- a chance to line up and in unison condemn the evil their party put in the White House the previous eight years.
The country had had a bellyful of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the rest of the messengers of darkness in Washington who had sold out the principles of the Republican Party in favor of huge deficits, a doubling of the national debt, and a growing intrusion of the federal government into people's private lives.
But instead of getting on board the change train and recognizing the incredible amount of damage their people had done to the country, Republicans go blithely along as though nothing has happened. They're busy obstructing Obama's programs and criticizing the Democrats' spending plans that are aimed at trying to bring the country out of a horrible recession.
I hate to break it to them, but a lot has happened. And they're not going to like any of it.”

Let me see if I understand that last part correctly. Republicans were supposed to line up behind President Obama as an opportunity for redemption? Redemption from what? As Mr. Cafferty clearly points out the Bush administration sold out on their principles which is true. Now the Republican Party is supposed to follow their lead and sell out their principles by blindly following “the change train”? Thankfully there are still politicians in Washington willing to stand up when things are not going as they should be. That is our democratic systems Mr. Cafferty, debating and standing up for issues that are believed to be wrong for whatever reason and from whatever side. To suggest otherwise in my opinion is completely un-American. Mr. Cafferty is right on one thing though, a lot has happened and there is very little to like about it.

And now the grand finale

“And while all this is going on, the GOP ran a straw poll on who the party's nominee should be for president in 2012. Ready?
Mitt Romney finished first followed by Bobby Jindal, Ron Paul and Sarah Palin.
The Republican Party is marching double-time down the road to irrelevance and they don't even know it.”

Here is a news flash for you Mr. Cafferty. In case you have missed the last couple of years of economic news our economy is in the toilet. Actually let me re-phrase that, the toilet has been flushed and the economy is now in the septic tank. Of all of the candidates in the last presidential election the one candidate who was best equipped to handle economic issues was and is Mitt Romney. In my personal opinion if the economic issues had occurred earlier in the campaign we would have had a different Republican nominee and probably a different President. The economy was McCain’s downfall and unfortunately the Republican party is seeing the mistake too late. I can probably with some surety make one more statement also; Romney, at the very least, would have been able to handle Turbo Tax.