Obama on Fiscal Responsibility

[bjorn_skurj]

Why, oh why, will they just not legalize weed so they can tax the hell out of it? I have my theories on why this will never happen, but it is getting kind of absurd now.

[futureage1]

This is what should have people up in arms...

 

Financial Terrorism and You

 

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/financial-t...m-and-you-32944

 

 

At least there are still a few people in Washington who still represent people and not banks.

 

 

Sanders Resolution Calls For End To Fed Secrecy

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/s...s_n_181895.html

 

 

 

"The Federal Reserve System has doled out more than $2 trillion in an effort to stave off the financial crisis, pouring money into "hundreds and hundreds" of banks, according to Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.

 

Which banks? On what terms? At what rates? Don't ask the Fed."

 

 

 

There's more than 60 trillion worth of toxic assets in the market right now. World GDP annually is only 60 trillion. Geithner's plan to bail out the banks is not enough. The US doesn't have enough money to buy all the toxic debt.

 

Banks are holding on to those "assets" (derivative debt). They don't want to sell the paper at current market value, because that would cause their balance sheets to show huge losses. Geithner's latest plan is to throw another one trillion dollars worth and soak up all the toxic debt. Do the math. It can't work. That's why Obama's in Europe. To convince the G20 to buy up all the toxic assets worldwide. Once a large bank, like Citi, BOA or HSBC fails, others go under. Banks all lend to each other, and own other bank's stock and this creates a domino effect when the larger banks fail. Not to mention that the asset to capital ratio for banks has been way out of control since the deregulation. They are leveraged to the hilt.

 

The worst part is that Citi and BOA are currently using the TARP funds to buy more of these toxic assets! Why? So they can sell them under the Geithner plan to taxpayers and Hedge Funds and make a quick profit. It's just criminal what's happening, and in the end, it's bound to fail.

[futureage1]

And just so we don't forget who Summers is either. Maybe we can start to see the problem of who is heading the response to this "crisis" in this country.

 

Harvard Derivatives Whiz Fired For Emailing Larry Summers About "Frightening" Trades?

 

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/...ice.php?ref=fp3

 

"A former quantitative analyst at Harvard Management Company, the university's once-vaunted endowment manager, tells the Harvard Crimson she was fired for voicing concern to then-university president Larry Summers' chief of staff about the money manager's risky use of derivatives the traders didn't understand."

 

 

There goes the experience argument.

[John Smith]

Where the F were these supposed gatekeepers at l;ast fall when this accountability free bill was pushed through the legislature by the prior adminsitration? Where were they? Also where wee the deficit hawks for the last eight years? Besides telling us over and over that "Reagan proved deficits don't matter" where were they? Why have they kept their heads in the sand until now? Playing politics, that is exactly what these people were doing.

[futureage1]

Where the F were these supposed gatekeepers at l;ast fall when this accountability free bill was pushed through the legislature by the prior adminsitration? Where were they? Also where wee the deficit hawks for the last eight years? Besides telling us over and over that "Reagan proved deficits don't matter" where were they? Why have they kept their heads in the sand until now? Playing politics, that is exactly what these people were doing.

 

There have been quite a few people speaking out about Bush and Congress' spending and illegal wars over the years. It didn't effect the general public in a real sense so it was ignored. Bernie Sanders, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and many others in both parties, all voted against the first bailout, wars etc. The fact of the matter is that it was indeed Bush and the Democratic Congress and Senate who passed that first bailout monstrosity. Now when everyone can see it for what it is, they claim people are just playing politics, who call them on their bullshit. I wish the Republicans would actually just shut up for the time being.

 

The best hope lies with that group of Democrats who is starting to abandon the agenda because they know what it actually is. When people can get their head around the fact that Obama is expanding the Bush policies as far as bailouts,union busting, foreign policy and expanding the power of the executive branch maybe we can start to see some real change. It will do no good to put the Republicans back up there because they will follow the same policies.

 

The system is broken and both parties work for the same corporate masters. Obama is doing you no favors, in fact it's the opposite. It's not a left or right thing. You don't have to be a Republican to see that Obama is going back on every promise and has crippled this country through debt, which you're right was there from Bush but has now gone so far out of control it will literally bankrupt the USA and that was done entirely under Obama. Add up the numbers spent in under his first 100 days. For every $30 Wall St. got from Obama the people got $1. There is a Bush like stat if I ever saw one.

 

I don't understand why people are blindly supporting this nonsense because Obama has a D instead of an R by his name. That's no better than the blind devotion from the Republicans for Bush that lead to all the problems you are complaining about now. It's no better hearing it from the left either and comes off just as uninformed. Our National deficit is now larger than the G.D.P. of the entire country. And now we are supposed to buy up toxic assets that are not worth a damn.

[John Smith]

I know Ron Paul has spoken out and a few others, but my un-statted yet implied question was why these guys were not in the mainstream press with their concerns until now?

 

BTW I like Ron Paul, I don't always agree with him, but I respect him a hell of a lot more than I do many of the others in congress. When the stampeede for war with Iraq was occuring I tried to pay attention to those of one party who were voting with the other party so to speak. So I looked at democrats in favor of the war and rpeublicans against it. Paul wrote a couple of great dissents that were, I believe, read in congress and attached to the official record.

[futureage1]

Former CEO: Govt. Totally Blew AIG Bailout

 

 

abcnews.go.com/Politics/Business/story?id=7237477&page=1

 

 

"Greenberg who led the insurance giant for nearly four decades, told Congress today that the federal bailout of the insurance giant has "failed" and that American taxpayers cannot expect to get their $180 billion investment back."

 

 

I knew we would never get our money back.

[Winston Legthigh]

Former CEO: Govt. Totally Blew AIG Bailout

 

 

abcnews.go.com/Politics/Business/story?id=7237477&page=1

 

 

"Greenberg who led the insurance giant for nearly four decades, told Congress today that the federal bailout of the insurance giant has "failed" and that American taxpayers cannot expect to get their $180 billion investment back."

 

 

I knew we would never get our money back.

So now you're saying we SHOULD believe CEOs as trustworthy now?

[MattZ]

AIG was bailed out, in large part, to prevent a domino effect. It was very clear, very early on, that this was about more than AIG, and I think most people knew that we'd never see the money again. Which doesn't mean it was wasted. If it prevented a domino effect, it worked in that sense.

 

Doesn't make me happy about it.

[MattZ]

Also, I am sure that everyone is happy to know that Jim Cramer has declared that the depression is over.

 

http://papastraighttalk.blogspot.com/2009/...on-is-over.html

[futureage1]

So now you're saying we SHOULD believe CEOs as trustworthy now?

 

Sorry you completely missed the point. And this CEO is trustworthy since he ran AIG for 4 decades without problems. It is when he left things went downhill. It's very similar to what happened to Wal Mart after Sam Walton died. And if there is any truth to what he said it is that we will never get our money back. I do think it is a stretch to blame it on the Govt. when their poor business practices is what's at fault.

 

And if the bailouts didn't work and the company still fails then it was a complete waste of money. And it sounds like they will still fail.

[bjorn_skurj]

Companies can fail, as long as the economy doesn't totally collapse, is my position.

[ZenLunatic]

AIG was bailed out, in large part, to prevent a domino effect. It was very clear, very early on, that this was about more than AIG, and I think most people knew that we'd never see the money again. Which doesn't mean it was wasted. If it prevented a domino effect, it worked in that sense.

 

Doesn't make me happy about it.

 

 

So if the dollar collapses, then was the money wasted? Just a matter of time.

 

What about the billions we gave the auto industry and now the govt thinks the best method is bankruptcy. Hmm..... Couldnt we have saved all that money if they just let them go into bankruptcy to start with?

 

The govt doesnt know what its doing. Just constantly doing the wrong things.

[Winston Legthigh]

It's very similar to what happened to Wal Mart after Sam Walton died.

I guess I must be missing your point once again...

 

Walmart stock was less than $15/share when Sam Walton died. Today it's over $50. How has it gone downhill?

[futureage1]

I guess I must be missing your point once again...

 

Walmart stock was less than $15/share when Sam Walton died. Today it's over $50. How has it gone downhill?

 

Business practices, bad quality Chinese import products, paying low wages,screwing employees out of benefits. Did you not hear about the woman who had cancer so Wal Mart fired her so they did not have to cover her treatments? That would have never happened when Sam Walton ran the company. Where I live they picket when Wal Mart tries to open a store. The stock price is really beside the point. Look up the history of the company and you may be able to answer your own question.

 

Comparing prices from past decades is not really a good way to compare things. Cigarettes used to be 25 cents a pack now they are considerably more. Does that mean the product is better? Or is that explained away by inflation and taxes? The point is this country needs to get back to fair and good business practices not measuring success soley based on stock prices. That's what lead us to where we are today. Look at Google. It is one of the best companies in the country to work for. They treat their employees really well and their stock is sound and considered a great investment. The same with Wal Mart when Sam Walton ran it before it was ruined by the Wall St. mentality of running a business, which has proven to be unsustainable.

[explodo]

What about the billions we gave the auto industry and now the govt thinks the best method is bankruptcy. Hmm..... Couldnt we have saved all that money if they just let them go into bankruptcy to start with?

Word.

[ikol]

Why, oh why, will they just not legalize weed so they can tax the hell out of it? I have my theories on why this will never happen, but it is getting kind of absurd now.

 

I'm with you on this (except for the taxing the hell out of it).

[futureage1]

Fed Sees No Economic Recovery This Year-

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090409/ts_al...dFrhOgoV_KyBhIF

 

"The Federal Reserve no longer sees signs of recovery this year from a prolonged recession and only weak growth in 2010, minutes of a policy-setting meeting said.

 

Despite massive interventions by the Fed and other government bodies to jumpstart the moribund economy and unblock tight credit, policymakers at a March meeting viewed grimmer projections than those made two months earlier."

 

 

Despite efforts to rebound the economy? What the F****?!! Are you kidding me? Are Americans this dense? So why in the F**** have we spent so much trying to bailout the Financial/Banking industry? Is not that the question then? Isn't that what logic begs to be answered? How is it possible that the Fed can come out and say this, and not then admit their plans are not working? And in fact are a complete swindle! They are robbing the country blind, and then come out and admit, the money they are stealing isnt going to be used to jumpstart the economy!

 

My God they are getting away with murder and we are allowing it. Where are the protests in the streets? Where are the protests against Obama and his criminal assault on this country? Why are people so afraid to stand up to Obama? People care more about Obama than the United States of America. Can't Americans see they are stabbing themselves in the back, in order to protect Obama? We are committing suicide in order to support this man. This is the classic pattern of any CULT. Read about Jim Jones, and Guyana massacre this is the same thing Americans. Patti Hearst was a heiress to one of the greatest fortunes of her time. She was brainwashed and held up a bank, she participated in terrorist acts, after being brainwashed by the SLA, this is the same thing.

[futureage1]

The Geithner-Summers Plan is Even Worse Than We Thought

 

Jeffrey Sachs

 

Director of the Earth Institute, Economics Professor, Columbia University

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sach...n_b_183499.html

 

"Two weeks ago, I posted an article showing how the Geithner-Summers banking plan could potentially and unnecessarily transfer hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth from taxpayers to banks. The same basic arithmetic was later described by Joseph Stiglitz in the New York Times (April 1) and by Peyton Young in the Financial Times (April 1). In fact, the situation is even potentially more disastrous than we wrote. Insiders can easily game the system created by Geithner and Summers to cost up to a trillion dollars or more to the taxpayers."

 

Roubini Says Bank Takeovers Deepened Financial Market Crisis

 

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2060108...&refer=home

 

April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bank takeovers worsened the financial crisis by making firms that were already too big even bigger, said Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis.

 

 

[myboyblue]

Fed Sees No Economic Recovery This Year-

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090409/ts_al...dFrhOgoV_KyBhIF

 

"The Federal Reserve no longer sees signs of recovery this year from a prolonged recession and only weak growth in 2010, minutes of a policy-setting meeting said.

 

Despite massive interventions by the Fed and other government bodies to jumpstart the moribund economy and unblock tight credit, policymakers at a March meeting viewed grimmer projections than those made two months earlier."

 

 

Despite efforts to rebound the economy? What the F****?!! Are you kidding me? Are Americans this dense? So why in the F**** have we spent so much trying to bailout the Financial/Banking industry? Is not that the question then? Isn't that what logic begs to be answered? How is it possible that the Fed can come out and say this, and not then admit their plans are not working? And in fact are a complete swindle! They are robbing the country blind, and then come out and admit, the money they are stealing isnt going to be used to jumpstart the economy!

 

My God they are getting away with murder and we are allowing it. Where are the protests in the streets? Where are the protests against Obama and his criminal assault on this country? Why are people so afraid to stand up to Obama? People care more about Obama than the United States of America. Can't Americans see they are stabbing themselves in the back, in order to protect Obama? We are committing suicide in order to support this man. This is the classic pattern of any CULT. Read about Jim Jones, and Guyana massacre this is the same thing Americans. Patti Hearst was a heiress to one of the greatest fortunes of her time. She was brainwashed and held up a bank, she participated in terrorist acts, after being brainwashed by the SLA, this is the same thing.

 

Where was your outrage when Bush was drumming the country into the ground? Did I miss that?

[bjorn_skurj]

Side note: Is Symbionia liberated at this point?

[futureage1]

Where was your outrage when Bush was drumming the country into the ground? Did I miss that?

 

You did miss that. I don't like these policies and I will speak out against them if it's Bush or now Obama carrying them out. And for all the talk about Bush, I guess people are missing how many of his policies Obama is not only continuing but expanding, like the bailouts.

[myboyblue]

You did miss that. I don't like these policies and I will speak out against them if it's Bush or now Obama carrying them out. And for all the talk about Bush, I guess people are missing how many of his policies Obama is not only continuing but expanding, like the bailouts.

oh, ok. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't partisan politics getting in the way of facts. This may be hard for you to believe, but some people tend to toe party lines when it comes to what they do and don't support. I call it 'monkeyism'.

[Sparky speaks]

Good explanation of economic problems......

 

http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2...covery-apr.html

[Good Old Neon]

A pretty damning article from the fingertips of Matt Taibbi (who is, incidentally, just fucking awesome).

 

The Official End of Obama