Sarah for President?

So the halls of government are rampant with rumors of Sarah Palin being a leading contender for the GOP nomination in 2012. Palin may well be the new face of the Republican Party.

If that's the case, the GOP will need to send Palin back to school and learn about the country she lives in. She'll also need English and grammar lessons as she can't even structure a sentence that makes any sense. Does the GOP seriously believe that Palin has the qualifications or even the potential of developing the qualifications to become a serious contender for 2012?

Also, you'll need to teach her some decorum. If she's supposed to represent the modern American working woman you can't have her winking at people. She comes off as a clown and looks totally ridiculous! How embarrassing for all us independent women out here. She may be charismatic, and maybe even street-smart, but she's no intellect. I don't think anyone like that should be running a country of multi-cultural, multi- religious and multi-racial background.

I can see it now: Sarah Palin for President and Joe the Plumber for vice president.

1% of Nothing is....

Maybe this rate cut should be applied to those already-existing auto, credit and home mortgage loans. And I guess the fact that banks have no money to lend explains why I am still receiving 2 or 3 credit card promotions a week. Maybe we should all start using cash instead of credit. Then we wouldn't have to worry about interest rates.

Oh, and we're going to lend money to hard-hit countries? What about lending money to the hard-hit people here at home?

Maybe we should just take them all out back, shoot the entire lot of them and start over.

Pardoning Senator Stevens....

Caribou Barbie better be careful. While she's down here having fun, folks back in Alaska are looking into the possibility that the same people who got the contract to build the sports center in Wasilla may have done more than just a little work on her house before getting that contract. Of course, for someone who can go around accusing Obama of being a "socialist," when all of Alaska's mineral wealth is considered "jointly owned" by its citizens, making it the only actual socialist state in the union, duplicity is not a problem.

Stevens was convicted of felonies and not only is he not locked up but he is allowed to keep his job as a senator? Seems to me that a smart man would have issued a statement saying that he was withdrawing from the campaign for re-election given before the trial even started.

And wasn’t McCain hanging out with Stevens just over a week ago?

Does Anyone have a Band-Aid?

So the Dow closed up almost 900 points today. Big whoop. It's all just window dressing. It's just the people with enough money buying up the stocks that took a nose dive yesterday. Anything that hits bottom can be snapped up and bought for a profit if you have the money. I wish I were one of those people that had the money honey. So what's going to happen tomorrow or Thursday when these same people dump the stock and the market takes a kamikaze dive and falters to below 300?

This is all a quick, temporary fix for our economy. We're still in a recession and we're going to be in a recession for at least another year, if not more.

Is it too late for a closed door policy like Japan had after WWII?

Baby You Can't Drive My Car....

GM and Chrysler are still mulling over the possibility of a merger which would keep some of their operations intact and save some jobs. The merger of General Motors and Chrysler will not eliminate their problems.

And what about their employees who will suffer the most from the mismanagement of these two mega-giants? After the gas shortages of the 1970s all three automakers should have began taking steps to prevent the current crisis from happening. But their greed got in the way and now it may be too late; they, and we ,may never fully recover from their inactions. Now the Big 3 are begging Congress for money. It's a shame because it seems to be all about greed. It was never about becoming fuel efficient and looking for alternate energy sources. Times have changed guys. You are barely surviving and there is no one to blame but yourself and your top management who seem to be able to only keep up their business when things are good. And who suffers? The people on the manufacturing lines..working-class America.

The big 3 are too big. All 3 of them should go through bankruptcy to fix one of their most significant problems - hourly labor costs. U.S. auto workers are paid $30 higher than their USA-based Japanese competitors. Then downsizing of all the Big 3 is should take place. Fewer vehicles would be built which means fewer autoworkers would be needed. It would be devastating to the workers for one company to suddenly close their doors. But, it would also be wrong to continue the current situation through an expensive bailout which seems would only postpone the inevitable. Maybe a plan could be devised for a more gradual reduction of workers. Those workers will need help finding other employment and the federal funds which are being used to bail out these companies should be given to the workers who will lose their jobs for puroposes of retraining or relocation, if necessary. This should be done for all workers in all business sectors who are affected by the current economic crisis, not just those in the auto industry.

But federal funds should not go directly to the companies which have been mismanaged for years and would surely waste any bailout.

Up Up and Away

It now seems that everyone, except the people who are losing their jobs, homes, savings and everything else they've worked for, are being bailed out. Hard to believe that we're supposed to trust that the people doing the bailout will do the right thing, after all they were the people who got us in this mess in the first place. At least some "bail out" money should be allotted to help the people who are literally without any resources due to the financial crises.

When does it end? Nationalizing financial institutions and pushing for bank mergers that will give us less choices and possibly lead to monopolies - is this good? Forcing banks to take money, our money, they don't want or need, bailing out insurance companies, bailing out the auto industry - what's next?

So I guess the letter I received from MetLife informing me that my life and disability insurance policies and were safe is no longer a true statement?

How Do you Spell Relief?

If ever a 300 point loss on Wall Street could be a good thing, it was today. The day hadn't even officially started, but the Dow tumbled so low that the emergency mechanism at the NYSE was triggered, halting trading for a time. World markets also closed down on widespread fears that we are in a global recession.

So what's the answer to this chaotic market and volatile economy? Do we close the markets for a "holiday" as one economist suggests? Or do we cut the interest rate again?

How the Mighty Have Fallen (but still landing on cushions)

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, testifying in front of the House Committee of Government Oversight today, admitted he was wrong to think that "free markets could regulate themselves without government oversight," and acknowledged that the current financial crisis had exposed "a flaw" in his view of how the world and markets function.

Forget that he was the great “visionary” who had the “gift.” In his role as Federal Reserve chairman, Greenspan was a major force in the deregulation of debt, reduction of prime rates and sub-prime mortgages. His financial expertise will now be seen as one of the main causes of the economic mess we are currently in.

Well I’ll be Gomer…Old Al screwed up. But what does he care. He’s not the Federal Reserve chairman anymore. It’s Ben problem now. He’s sorry about the gigantic economic crisis he helped to create? Whoopee. What is he going to do about it? NOTHING! He made his millions and will now live comfortably off the interest while the rest of us schmucks shuffle off to work every day and try, try to pay our bills and put food on our tables.

And we can’t really even place all the blame on him (and the others like him). When are we going to realize that, while we followed Greenspan’s, and the other experts, advice, believing they had more insight into the financial market we so strongly (and greedily) wanted to be a part of, we can only blame ourselves for borrowing above our means.

As for the stock market – how low can it go? Can’t wait to see the closing bell.

Put Your Hand In the Hand that....Feeds the Rich!

The Washington Post published an article about mismanagement at the Small Business Administration. It seems that the SBA/federal government awarded $5 Billion worth of contracts to large business which were incorrectly designated as small businesses in their database. Oops!

And on top of that, $1.2 Billion in work was awarded to international corporations such as British Aerospace, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman and their subsidiaries; all of which employee thousands of workers.

So tell me, how does one mistake Dell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, et al. for small businesses?

You can't really blame the peons that work for the SBA; they're just doing as ordered. But someone needs to be held accountable for these errors. Maybe Jenkins and the other administrators over at the SBA should go back to school and take basic mathematics and algebra courses. Or maybe they should all be given abacuses.

If it Walks Like a Duck and Talks Like a Duck...

So McCain is finally trying to distance himself from Bush. A little bit too late don't you think there Johnny boy?

In the latest round of "I'm not George Bush" McCain emphasizes that in 2000 he voted against Bush's proposed tax cuts, denouncing it as "a giveaway to the rich." Did you give the money back that you made from that John, or did you buy yet another house?

During the last presidential debate McCain told Obama that If he wanted to run against George Bush, he should have done so, four years ago. How many times have you run for president McCain? Maybe you should have thought about distancing yourself from Bush four years ago instead of four days ago!

Oh and according to McCain - "The last eight years haven't worked very well, have they?" Duh - what a rocket scientist. Just another reason not to vote Republican, and not to vote for McCain. McCain supported almost everything Bush did, which makes him just as responsible for the last eight years as Bush. Just another desperate attempt to win his last election, his last chance.

How about we call him “McSame” (sorry, can’t take credit for this – read it somewhere else).

I approve this blog.

Show me the $$$ - Part Deux

So the feds (Bush, Bernanke, et al.) are discussing the possibility of a second economic stimulus package for us small people. Too little, too late? Sounds like Robin Hood stealing from the rich (who just keep getting richer anyway) and giving to the poor.

While I'm all for getting more money from our government (if indeed the common folk will be getting any money at all; it seems like the second round of stimulus money will be going towards corporations), I can't help but think what this is going to do to the inflation rate. What cost to us - the taxpayers who will actually be paying for these stimulus checks? Are we going to just keep printing money? And, isn't Paulson against this? He recently stated that he believed "the worst of the credit crisis had passed." What crystal ball was he looking into?


And did the first one help - NO! Que cera cera.

Obsolete Economics may not be so obsolete

The global financial crisis that we are experiencing would not have surprised British economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes thought that what is currently occurring in our world today was exactly how unregulated markets would behave.

Keynes's economic theory was formed not only by the roaring 1920s, but by the depressed 1930s. His principles were based on the thoughts that a wounded economy would not simply bounce back but might take years to recover. He believed the economy might, in his own words "remain a long time in a state of underemployment equilibrium," from which it could be rescued only by a massive external shock. As we know now, this proved to be the case. It was not the New Deal that brought the economy back to full employment, but the huge increase in government spending caused by World War II.

Of course Keynes' theory was not without its own problems, when in the 1970's it collapsed due to rising prices and unemployment but little growth in consumer demand. But most Americans thrived from 1950 to 1975. All markets have a period of unstability; its a fact of life.

We all hope thatPaul Krugman is right that the rescue operations taken in the past couple of weeks may be enough to stem the financial crisis. But the wreckage may be with us for a long time to come. Hopefully, it will not take another war to bail us out this time.

Come Together..Or Not

The merger talks between GM and Chrysler/Cerberus are heating up. The only reason the merger would be a good deal would is it would give Cerberus a percentage of GMAC which would give both car companies an infusion of much-needed cash. There are no other reasons to make this deal as these companies completely overlap. GM has a superior product line as opposed to anything Chrysler is making these days. The only line they would continue are minivans and some classic Jeep....that's it. I still think some 3-way consolidation between Nissan/Renault, Chrysler, and GM or Chrysler, GM and Ford would be more feasible. Each could help the other bring more efficient products and technologies to the market. One other thing that GM has to address RIGHT NOW is the "too many models - too many divisions" makeup of the company. That might have been fine and dandy 30-40 years ago, but is a huge drain on their competitiveness right now and they need to pare it down as soon as possible.

Swiss Cheese

So the Fed is lending up to $54 Billion to the Swiss government to help stabilize their banking system.

Why does the American taxpayer have to pay to bailout a Swiss bank? We can't afford to take care of our own people and problems but we can bail out the Swiss? And, if Swiss banks, a country where the banking system was supposedly fairly stable, need the support of the Federal Reserve, I think that the crisis that we are facing will get far worse.

What I really want to know is - will they be paying us back in chocolate?

Play that Funky Music...

You think we can convince him to run for president? He is well educated, well spoken, intelligent, gracious and humble. Plus he knows the ins and outs of our government and is well versed in foreign policy. What more can we ask for? Maybe Hillary as his running mate? And he obviously can dance.

Stupid is as stupid says...

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said he would be opposed to any deal that reduced the job force. If I'm not mistaken, from what I read today GM is closing two more plants. So I guess what he is saying is that he'd rather see both companies go down than accept a merger. Tough choice - 50,000 jobs now with a merger or 400,000 later when both companies go under. I guess Gettelfinger has enough money saved in an off-shore account that he doesn't have to worry about his future.

2008 - The Next Great Depression?

While it is unthinkable that America today could suffer the casualties associated with the Great Depression of 1929 due to the tremendous cash flow in and out of our economy, other indicators prove that we are not far behind. Look at the similarities: (1) seventy-nine years ago the stock market crashed, (2) credit dried up, (3) banks failed, and (4) the Great Depression became a turning point in our country's history. Today the credit crisis is spiraling out of control and the effects of the economic downturn are visible. Scores of people are losing their houses to foreclosure with many of them becoming homeless. The unemployment rate is on an upward swing and inflation is taking its toll not only on poor families but on people from all walks of life and economic positions. I myself have lost thousands of dollars in my 401K - and I diversified my investments!

While we can keep on blaming Wall Street for the current economic problems, we also must take a look at ourselves. We, the people, are as much to blame because we ran up too much debt, thinking that it would never catch up to us, that we would be free and clear. It's time to relearn the lessons our parents and grandparents tried to teach us - never live beyond your means and save for a rainy day.

Oh, and on another note: now that we've decided to nationalize the banks, it should be but a small thing to nationalize health care so that ALL American citizens can afford decent medical care.

Chrysler Motors?

So number 1 and number 3 are in merger talks? Too bad it didn't work out with number 2 GM. It would be ideal for Cerberus (the private equity company that owns Chrysler) and GM to merge because it would make it the largest auto maker in the world and keep it "all in the family" so to speak (keep it American) instead of selling Chrysler to Nissan. But neither company is in a position to do so. First, where is GM going to get the money? Out of the $21 Billion they claimed to have had after their 2nd quarter earnings/losses came out, they've spent $15.5 Billion already. Talk about mismanagement!! Both GM and Chrysler are struggling in this failing market, but then, who isn't? On the bright side, a merger would reduce costs as it would reduce overhead.

Hey, how about combining the operations of all the Big 3 American auto makers? They're all on the verge of a forced bankruptcy and if they merge what little assets they have left, even though it means the termination of countless employees, it may be the only saving grace for the Big 3. Really, what have they got to lose?

The Russains are Coming (among other things)...

Russia's President, Dimitry Medvedev purposed that a new pact be formed which will rival NATO, ostensibly diminishing the world dominance of the United States. He basically blames the current financial crisis as the U.S.'s doing. While NATO guidelines need to be updated, I don't believe giving Russia the power to initiate such a pact is the answer.

Look at Russia's stock market - it's fallen 70% this year. And let's not forget that Russia has been refurbishing and upgrading their nuclear weapons this past year also. Anyone else notice that since the U.S. is having financial problems, all the little wannabes come out from the rocks they've been hiding under?

I believe a new organization wherein all major countries, including Russia and the United States, should be equally involved in setting policies which will ultimately affect the world, but to kick someone when they're down is just not very nice.

Can anyone say Cold War?

What Big Cojones They Have.....

I guess AIG stands for “Ain’t It Grand” because apparently working there, no matter what subdivision of department you’re in, is pretty cushy.

As most Americans, and the world, know by now, AIG executives went on “retreat” less than a week after the government authorized an $85 Million loan to them (once again the United States is a laughing stock).

Apparently the retreat didn't include anyone from the financial services division that nearly drove AIG under, but was for the executives of AIG’s main U.S. Life Insurance subsidiary – practically the only healthy subdivision left at AIG. And granted, the retreat was mostly paid for before the bailout. SO WHAT! Come on, AIG knew it was in trouble last year, AND still decided to go on with the retreat. Spokespeople for AIG are stating that the retreat was a business decision to ensure that current employees wouldn’t leave the company. Come on, where are they going to go? There are no jobs out there! How stupid do you think we are (don’t answer that). I want to know how going on a week-long retreat fixed AIG’s financial problems. I’d like to try that but only if someone else was footing the bill. America, can you lend me a few mill?

This is the typical American way of doing business. Nothing changes if nothing changes. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The corrupt get bonuses, and the little guys (that would be us) end up paying the bill. Perhaps it is time to recoup the expenses from them personally. Make AIG, and ALL executives, accountable to pay back every dime. Make them give back their bonuses and give it to people who've lost their pensions. Rescind their raises and perks. Make them give back their retirement and severance packages. Really, how can they go to sleep at night or look at themselves in the mirror?

I work for a small law firm and when we have a problem we all sit around the table and work it out. We don't go on vacation to solve the problem, sometimes we get a free pizza.

To bad it is against the law to file charges against the government and big businesses for mismanaging our money and our futures.

As Ricky Ricardo would say: “Lucy, you have some splaining to do!”

I'll tumble for ya...

With GM, Ford and Toyota taking a tumble in the stock market; with GM postulating that it may sell its corporate HQ in Detroit to raise much needed cash; with foreign banks now scrambling to borrow money (even Iceland is in loan talks with Russia) I thought you may need some good news - India is about to produce the world's cheapest automobile - the Nano, with a selling price of $2,130 (or 100,000 rupees). The Nano almost makes the Smart car look big!

And then there is President Bush addressing a roomful of small business owners. What is odd to me is why would a small business owner seek advice from a man that ran three oil businesses into the ground?

So the Federal Reserve, in an attempt to jump-start the lending that is the lifeblood of American business, said it will buy up the short-term debt that funds the daily operations of banks and ordinary businesses. It's nice to see the feds can bailout the banks. I wonder what they plan to do about the $2 trillion in pensions that have been lost in the past 15 months?

Remember, it could be worse. During the Great Depression unemployment was at 25%, tent cities cropped up to shelter the homeless and social unrest was prevalent. Boy aren't we lucky?

So, do you think our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves or are they laying deathly still in hopes no one will call them back into service for their country.

Who is John Galt?

Galt is a character in the novel "Atlas Shrugged" who, due to his brilliance and perceptiveness, is pressured to take over the running of the government due to the worsening economy which on the verge of collapse (sound familiar?). Is Paulson our John Galt or is he Wesley Mouch? Did Ayn Rand have ESP to see into our country's future? Will all the intelligent and gifted industrialists and businessmen start disappearing?

What's Going On?

So it seems that the United States is not the only country run by a bumbling committee of fools. Apparently the meltdown of the U.S. economy has leapfrogged across the pond as most European countries are also experiencing severe economic problems due to their own mismanagement woes. The financial meltdown currently in progress in our country has gone global (of course it was only a matter of time). Leaders from Sweden to Greece to Germany and Iceland, as well as other European countries, are meeting to discuss how to save the EU while trying to find buyers for their ailing institutions. While the European Central Bank, which controls most of Europe's cash, has not yet cut rates, most observers believe it's only a matter of time. Lord save us!

Whew x Two (I think!)

So, the vice-presidential debate went off without any major hitches. Both Biden and Palin made some mistakes but not any that could be called "incredible" and, while both of them got some of their facts wrong, overall it was not the bloodbath that many thought it would be. Apparently the 2 days of intense practice down at the Bush ranch helped! Other than the fact that if she said soccer mom or gosh darn one more time (I swear I was going to throw something at my t.v. set), I think Palin made an overall favorable impression is smarter than she is letting on. Of course, if the McCain-Palin ticket wins and something (God forbid) does happen to McCain which would ultimately leave Palin in charge, I can picture her sitting down with some head of state or foreign president calling him "Joe six pack." It'd be quite interesting

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Wells Fargo to Buy Troubled Wachovia for $15.1 Billion
FDIC Says It Intends to Uphold Deal With Citigroup

Is Wells Fargo going to pay off Citibank for a substantial sum? If not, I'm sure Citibank can tie up this deal in court for years which would most likely cost both institutions millions of dollars in litigation fees and costs. Is Wells Fargo so well off that it can take on all of Wachovia's toxic debt on it's own (which caused Wachovia's failure), whereas Citibank, which is a global bank giant can't? The Fed will strike this deal down - it;s a breech of contract; FDIC never reneges.

The Great Debate

Is this the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 all over again? Can a relative unknown upset a seasoned Senator? Even though Lincoln lost the senate race that year, he went on to beat Douglas for the 1860 bid for president, and we all know what happened then! Will it be kismet? Only time will tell. Tune in tomorrow night for the big event!

Paulson the "Profit"

An article posted today in Deal Journal states that Henry Paulson's hedge fund company, Paulson & Co., was one of the best performers in the past year ending in August, making 100.15% and 351% in profits from the two most lucrative funds. Paulson's personal salary? $3.7 BILLION. Though I believe he had to see the current crisis looming in the background from his perch atop Goldman Sachs, from a management point of view, I'm glad he's in the "drivers" seat because if he can generate that much money for himself and his investors I'm sure he can "bailout" our country.

On another note, GM suspended the sales of its stock to employees because apparently their workers have bought all available shares. GM said in a regulatory filing that the suspension "is the result of recent unexpectedly high demand among the plans' participants due to increased employee interest and a lower market price for the common stock." GM is expected to file a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register for additional shares to sell to its employees. .

I guess, and I hope, that GM employees know something the rest of us average Joe's don't know!