For months, economic Pollyannas have looked beyond the dismal headlines and promised a quick recovery in the second half. They're dead wrong.
Comment: why so many jobs listed? 3.7 million right now.. www.CareerSitesCompany.com
Comment: The Bush Depression
In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide the largest morgage bank in the world,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. Also, Fanny and Freddy Mae which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States.
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt.If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash and we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He either didn't care or didn't realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit.Bush created a national debt larger then the first 42 presidents combined
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why isnt obama 25 points ahead
The chairman of McCains campaign recently said that people don't vote on issues they vote on a personality composite. Which means he is trying to sell you personality instead of results.
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
31 states are voting now, dont wait
Elect Obama Biden 2008
Check out this video of sarah palins interview before you vote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4i
Comment:
Let's not forget that Warren Buffet, who is doing so much to bolster America's economy right now, is planning to vote for Barack Obama. Mr. Buffet says that Obama's economic plan is good for all Americans and has also said that John McCain's economic policies would further bankrupt our country.
If you vote for McCain, you are voting for more of the same pandering to corporations that ship jobs overseas, wreak havoc on the economy.
Vote for a strong economy that is regulated by fair principals. Vote for Obama.
Comment: n a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide the largest morgage bank in the world,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. Also, Fanny and Freddy Mae which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States.
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt.If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash and we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He either didn't care or didn't realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
The chairman of McCains campaign recently said that people don't vote on issues they vote on a personality composite. Which means he is trying to sell you personality instead of results.
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Hold them accountable NOW!
Elect Obama Biden 2008
Check out this video of sarah palins interview it will blow you away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
Comment: This is How to Fix the Economy plain and simple:
1. Re-Establish Regulation on Financial Institutions.
2. Place Restrictions on their executive management.
3. Raise the amount of FDIC Insurance retirement funds.
4. Force Banks to Pay us back First with Interest.
5. Fix the Taxation System.
The way I look at it, raising the FDIC amount helps give people (who make investment decisions based on emotions) a feeling of security. A good deal of the middle class around 50 years old have retirement accounts that are 250k or more.
see http://howtofixtheeconomy.blogspot.com/
Comment: In 2005, for the first time in history, a serious Fannie and Freddie reform bill, S. 190, was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The bill gave a regulator power to crack down, and would have required the companies to eliminate their investments in risky assets. If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different. But the bill didn't become law, for a simple reason: Democrats opposed it on a party-line vote in the committee, signaling that this would be a partisan issue. Republicans, tied in knots by the tight Democratic opposition, couldn't even get the Senate to vote on the matter.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0
In support of S 190, also known as the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, John McCain said: "For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay."
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=109-s20060525-16
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 would have Amended the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to establish: (1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.
Most importantly with regard to the CDS situation, S. 190 set forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting. Adoption of these regulatory provisions would have undoubtably affected the way CDSs were dealt with in "private" enterprises.
The bill would have also amended the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation., and transfered the functions of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks to such Corporation. If this had been in place three years ago, this whole situation might have been averted.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-190&tab=summary
Comment: These "agencies have brought staffers out of retirement." That really burns me. I went back to school after my disabled child reached an age and caregiving level where I could get a higher education. I am a single mother certified to teach in three areas with a Master's Degree. I live in Florida and cannot get a job. I have to live close to a major medical facility because of my daughter's diagnoses. I am in debt thousands and thousands of dollars of student loans, that I have every intention of repaying...if I can get a job! We are barely making ends meet. 1500 teachers in Miami-Dade County have lost their jobs....many close to retirement. And these jobs are not being replaced. I don't know a lot about Wall Street, but on my street things are looking rather dismal. Where are our priorities? Thanks for letting me blow off some steam....
Comment: In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide the largest morgage bank in the world,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. Also, Fanny and Freddy Mae which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States.
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt.If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash and we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He either didn't care or didn't realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
The chairman of McCains campaign recently said that people don't vote on issues they vote on a personality composite. Which means he is trying to sell you personality instead of results.
He believes people will vote against their own interests.
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Hold them accountable NOW! while it will still help.
Elect Obama Biden 2008
Comment: I don't think the whole economy is going to implode. Awful...........without a doubt.
Appocalyptic....probably not.
Time to reinstate regulations and controls for the essentials like energy, healthcare, financial markets and other industries that cannot be trusted to pure, human greed as evidenced by recent events.
Make CEO pay even remotely comprehensible to the Avg. worker's, reign in bonuses for CEO's taking risks a crack head wouldn't take and restore some faith in America.
The degredation has gone on long enough, now. The Repubs have already shown what they can do. Anyone impressed?
Comment:
Our debts levels has exceeded tolerable limits. More money must be printed. There is no way to finance Mr. Paulson's proposal by selling bonds because they are worthless(TOXIC). Why would foreignors by our (TOXIC) assets? The only resolution is $200 bill w/ Big Ben' s face.
Looking forward, the rescue package appears doom to fail because households are fully leveraged.
But unlike the government, households cannot print money. Our economy has become so liberalized that people cannot demand higher wages to meet inflation.
In addition, the real estate scandal has effectively wiped the upper middle class. This, along with the inability to demand higher wages, will ultimately trickle down to the majority in the middle class. As this happens the governmen't debt burden will increase even more due to lower income tax revenues.
Sooner or later, the middle class will begin liquidating assets in order to meet living expenses and financial obligations. You know the rest. Zimbabwe here we come.
Comment: When this recession is over will this be another jobless recovery? In the 2001 recession, companies used the opportunity to outsource and offshore everything. While GDP picked up, jobs did not which is why it was called a jobless recovery. There is no reason to think that this recovery will be any different. The high priced consulting firms are still telling corporate America to outsource and offshore everything. We may look back at the current state of the job market as the golden years. In the future it would not surprise me if unemployment exceeded 10% and one third of the workforce was forced into part-time or contractor status. Then even the upper middle class will complain about being hollowed out.
Comment: The cycle of depression has always impacted the human race. We learn nothing from history. Good luck to those who face impoverishment. It sucks from the bottom up. For all it's brilliance goes along with the height of folly. Just because a new label is placed on the Office Door does not mean any real change takes place. Tighten your belt because it is going to get much worse.
Comment: With a Weak Economy, We Need Smarter Policies
The old tricks aren???t working any more. The government???s tools for a weak economy have been to lower interest rates, borrow and spend, or have a war. Now, interest rates are so low that you can???t earn enough on your savings to keep up with inflation, the government owes $31,666 for every man, woman and child in America, and we have two of the longest running wars in U.S. history. We need something new, something smarter.
Let???s stop collecting taxes in ways that hurt us. We need two simple changes to our existing system.
Start with capital gains. Right now, people who earn more money in a year than you could dream of making in your lifetime pay only a 15% tax on most of that income, which is less than the Social Security and Medicare taxes that any middle class wage earner pays on their income. With patience and good planning, they pay no tax at all on their gains. Why do we have such a strange system? Economists will cite two reasons.
First, if we tax these earnings from wealth as heavily as we tax earnings from work, then the wealthy will tend to spend more of their money instead of investing it. But the government just went deeper into debt sending out billions of dollars in checks to try to get people to spend money. So why are we bribing the wealthy to NOT spend money?
Second, because people can avoid having taxable gains by simply not selling their stock, having a normal tax rate on gains will tend to keep dollars from flowing to the best investments, which is bad for the economy. But what if instead we got corporations to pay out all of their earnings as dividends and then have to ask people to reinvest the cash? That would be a much more effective way to make money flow where it should.
Now consider corporate tax. Under our system, if a U.S. corporation earns $1.00 in Switzerland and keeps the cash out of the U.S., it keeps $1.00. If it earns the same $1.00 in the U.S., it must give $0.35 to the tax man. So where do you suppose companies will put their most valuable activities? That kind of incentive is what has been killing U.S. jobs and keeping down U.S. wages. There is less demand for U.S. workers because this is a bad place to invest, so employees can???t demand as much pay.
What is the simple solution? Give corporations a deduction for paying dividends, and make up the lost tax revenue by getting rid of the capital gain benefits on the individual side and raising taxes a bit on people earning over $500,000 a year. On average, the over $500,000 group would still pay total federal and state income tax of only 37.6%. Cash would flow and jobs would grow. Wouldn???t that be smarter?
Comment: We are seeing the death of the old economy and waking up to the new economy as written in the book "$500 Startup" (you can only find it on the book's website www.500DollarStartup.com). Much to the dismay and disbelief of farmers when we had a changing of hands when we went from an agrarian society to an industrial society, there is pain with change. We are now going from an industrial society to a global society. Power, money and jobs are no longer held as a strong hold in America but now everywhere. That said we can not be surprised that other countries are enjoying prosperity when we are sending our dollars out of the country and not spending them here. Even our dependence on foreign oil is ridiculous. We are at the mercy of our oil lords. Americans need to have American made energy that doesn't pollute. The problem with our current solar, wind, thermal, biofuel is that we are still slaves to corporations and its expensive or it won't come on line for years to provide the energy we need. An immediate solution is biomass gasifiers that every person could have at home providing all the electricity they need to power their home, job site or car. I found out that with recycled parts and "trash" like coffee grinds, yard waste, corn husks, grass, wood scraps etc.... and a weekend you can have clean energy. I found out how iat the gasification social network at www.VictoryGasworks.com
Comment: Seventy five years of FDR socialistic money policies have caught up with our spend your way into wealth.system. There is no backing for the dollar. No GNP can be shown as there is no wealth in the U.S.A.
All our resources have been squandered to the rest of the world. Carter gave the Panama Canal away, Johnston robbed the S.S. trust fund after FDR made the dollar worth 59 cents. Name 1 right thing the demos have done to help the United States of America
Comment: test
Comment: Stop hiring Americans, LAYOFF Americans, Offshore all the jobs, and sell your products to countries you have offshored to. Move your corporate headquarters offshore, and leave us alone. We are ready to start over without you. Shame on HR and CIO's in the U.S. I think it's time for you to leave this country, or retire with all the greasy cash you've gotten. We really don't want you here. We are not as asleep as you think we are.
Comment: Good.......American's need to taught a lesson in ecomonics. But then again, the US Congress will probably bail you out for your stupidity. What's next......rewarding murders for thinning out the population?
Comment: What I want to know is just what these "economists" are smoking,
This economy is in for a long long decline and will not recover anytime soon.
We are a cunsumer driven economy, the one thing the trickle down economics has ignored and to a large extent destroyed is the middle class IE: the consumers.
You cannot send the jobs overseas and tell an unemployed steelworker if he wants to stay in the middle class go back to school and get a law degree.
This war against the middle class driven by greed has been going on for some 40 years with the effort to kill the one thing that raised skilled labor to the middle class the labor unions, all only a shadow of what they once were.
Housing construction is now done largely by illegals or what remains of the housing industry.
Bush, Gramm, Fiorina all tell us the economy is great, and I'm sure it is in thier small circle of friends but for the rest of America it's not so great. Except Houston of course where the economy is better than great.
We see smaller municipalities suffering because of the dependance on sales tax, which of course is dependant on consumers,
This economy has a long way to fall yet due to the incredible shortsighted economic policies initiated by Reagan and now shoved down our throuts by Bush.
When we get a bottom up economy restarted as has been suggested by OBama the economy in due course will recover but not before.
Comment: For Daniel Gross: In reviewing your article "Smacking Fannie Mae" (2004) it would seem that you owe Ayn Rand's acolyte, Alan Greenspan, an apology. Maybe if people like you had not negated his conerns we wouldn't be in this mess right now. One thing Rand's followers explicitly understand is that GSE's are doomed to fail. Thanks to people like yourself, politicians and lobbyists we have a really big problem on our hands.
Comment: Us economic looks bleak ahead,this why americans must realise their American Dreams slipping away day by day since depression days.The troubles of mortgage finance giants are pushing up home loan rates to their higest levels in five years.While the us inflation is up since 17 years.the average interest rate.
The average rate for very big,so called 'Jumbo Loans' which cannot be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was 7.8%,the highest since December 2000.
Loan rates are rising because of concerns in the financial markets about the future of Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac,which own the guarantee nearly half of the nation's US$12 Trillion mortgage markets to foreign bond investor.
The Washington can only try to stablise the Market by adding the cost is being passed on to comsumers via mortagage markets when,the the time US have the highest inflation ,unemployments,when personel income become flactuate.The rate hike is the greatest concern to home owners,whose mortgages required them to pay only the interest on thier lons for the few years.If such borrowers are unable to refinance into lower-cost loans,many of them will face the propects of having to pay both interest and principle at higher,adjustable rates.
Let's me show you example for borrowers with a US$400,000 loan,such a jump could send their monthly payments to US$2,338 from US$1,417 that estimate the mortage payment .Im wondering how on earth the americans going to face this reality of future.
US economy not going to be looks bleak "IF" the Confidence level with foreign fund manager is sinking day to day by removing out billion Fund out from US soil.
Only Obama policy looks much more brighter future for US to bring the confidence back in America compares to any John McCain policy.
Comment: For those of you who think that not everything can be sent overseas like the Superbowl and everything else, then think again! The Miss Teen USA Pageant 2008 (owned by Americans Trump and NBC/Universal (GE Corp) is sending out young ladies to the Bahamas this year. Why? Well, because most likely, it's cheaper for them to hold the pageant outside the USA! Budweiser has been sold to a foreign company, Levis Jeans are made in Asia, and our American flags are not even made here in the States. So, if American corporations can make more money by doing everything overseas, why not a pageant too?! Even if you're not a pageant fan, but what do you think holding the Miss Teen "USA" pageant out of country says to our young people who watch it? Ya, we say it's "Made the USA" but if it's cheaper to do something out of the country and will make you a buck, go for it! Do it overseas! Superbowl... it's next to be outsourced.
Comment: The Republicans are fiscally conservative?!! Are you f**ing kiddin me? Bush inherited a budget surplus and turned it into the nations highest deficit and a record $10 trillion in debt. And did this money go to underprivileged Americans? No it all went to the Saudis, Iraqis, Russians and Chinese.
According to JohnMcCain and his economic advisors, the economic problems are in 'our imagination' . Today a lady in Massachussetts just committed suicide because of these imaginary economic problems. These things only used to happen in third world countries and shows where America is going.
I cannot believe 40% of Americans still want to vote for McCain. Sometimes I wish they really get their wish and have another stupid Republican in the office then even God wont be able to save this country.
Comment: If you drive an import, drink imported beer or drink imported wine please do not complain when you lose your job and see your retirement fund go to near nothing. You have scorned the American worker and the ax is going to fall.
The ax is going to fall on this generation; welcome to the next Great Depression.
Comment: Too many Americans don't support the American working man. If you drive an import and drink imported beer and wine please don't complain when you lose your job and your retirement fund goes to near nothing.
Comment: Seems to me that the Bush administration is using any means necessary to prevent the economy from tanking during his watch, no matter the consequences. Let the ax fall on the next administration.
Comment: Interesting system of Capitalist that when things go wrong they get bailed out by the masses
Comment: "What goes up, must come down!" Your an idiot if you thought the "boom" times were going to last forever. The ecomony has always gone through ups and downs, it's Econ 101(for you people who went to college). Be more frugal then the typical American "pig" and you'll come out ahead when the economy picks back up in a couple years. This is good thing, it's going to cut away the dead-flesh on our economy and bring things into balance. The Ying and the Yang.
P.S. If your waiting for the federal government to fix your problems......please just disappear, and don't reproduce, you'll only be creating more idiots.
Comment: Well, lower the bar enough to let incompetents into the financial market and this is what happens.
Of course in our democracy the incompetent vote counts just the same as the most informed.
Is it any wonder we have a sub-prime leadership crisis on our hands?
Comment: So true! It's almost like it's ok to be "dumbass" in America.
Comment: why do people bander about the term "communism" when they have no idea the meaning of the term let alone the fact that there has never been a communist state on dictatorships calling themselves communist.
Comment: oh ya rah rah capitalism, all is well and good if your apart of the super elite and screw everyone else
Comment: now what am i missing that it's a bad thing that people are not wasting as much money on things they don't need! isn't this a good sign.
Comment: The interesting thing about Gramms comments and is typical of Carly Fiorina, certainly GW and the majority of the GOP is it shows just how out of touch they are with Americans, All have said the ecomomy is just fine and growing.
I'm sure that is true in their small circle of friends, but for the other 98% of American it's not so fine.But McCain has made it clear he will continue Bush's version of trickledown economics now called "supply side economics, where the corporations are viewed as the supplier. Problem with this of course is the corporations are actually nothing but brokers of foreign made goods....China is the supplier and it's working very well for them.
Comment: Nins,why don't you go ahead and move to China so you can celebrate your communist values...
Comment: Make myday commi how are you i love people like you very much I am wall Street Guy I have Politics guys in my pocket and people like you let me get away with making millions and then leaving you all with the tab Yeah if this is Capilaism who needs those commies
Comment: Nins, why don't you just go ahead and move to China since you are already a communist.
Comment: We are already socialists when we bail out the incompetent and very greedy Wall Street crowd, want to be truly Capitalist let them go under maybe a true superior race of financial experts will emerge rather than all these idiots that are protected like children or special ethnic classes.
Comment: Unlike past yyears Americans simply don't have the available cash to spend! Joe Public isn't going to buy a big screen TV if he can't pay the gas to drive to the store! These times are not like 2001 we are not going to buy our way out of this one.
Comment: Know why McCain wants to distance himself from former Senator Phil Gramm? It is not just because of Gramm's recent obnoxious remarks calling Americans "a nation of whiners" and that unemployed Americans are in "a mental recession." In fact, those remarks were so obnoxious that I wonder if they were engineered just to provide McCain an excuse for publicly distancing himself from Gramm. This issue is a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.
When Gramm was a Senator he was chair of the Committee on Banking, and in that capacity he was able to push through the legislation now known as the "Enron Loophole." This loophole allowed US investment banks to bypass the Federal regulations governing futures trading, and is the reason why the investment banks were able to falsely inflate the prices of oil, wheat, corn and other commodities through massive futures trading, causing your costs of gas, heating oil and food to go through the roof.
Gramm was a member of McCain's campaign team, but now Gramms' name is turning to mud. In addition to the Enron loophole, Gramm pushed through the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act in 1999, which got rid of the laws that seperate banking, insurance and brokerage activities in America. Essentially, this Act did away with all of the good laws written after the Great Depression to protect us from another Wall Street/Banking Industry collapse. That's right, Gramm stripped the system of it's safe guards nine years ago, and guess what? The value of the dollar has nose-dived, Wall Street is highly unstable, and we are in the midst of a recession.
Now you could say that this is not Gramm's fault, that he didn't know what the outcome of his actions would be. However, it turns out that the same investment banks that benefited from the Enron loophole and from the Gramm Act gave more than a million dollars to Gramm's campaign. Uh oh. A Congressional hearing is going to be convened to investigate this. And McCain wants to have noting to do with Gramm, wants us to forget that Gramm has been a key player on McCain's campaign team. Gramm was McCain's campaign CO-CHAIR and LEADING ECONOMIC ADVISER.
With Gramm in the driver's seat as his leading economic adviser, now you know why economists and analysts are saying that McCain's economic policy plans are untenable.
Comment: The decline of the USA started with Reagan, the fall began with GWB. To be fair, Clinton was a BIG part of the downward slide. No partisanship, just the facts. The US is no longer the "greatest country on earth". It is a failed bankrupt society on the verge of fascist totalitarianism.
My advice is get out while you still can.
Comment: Not so fast says's Maher Soliman a Secondary foreclosure auditor and Director for a borrowers victim advocacy group. Prices can fall so far and the vultures begin to do their thing. With tight credit and huge foreclosure numbers, rental demand will swell and put pressure on regional housing. The bottom is where rents in a area start to line-up with with the cost to carry a mortgage. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, tells NEWSWEEK that "home sales and prices in most of the country will improve during the second half of 2008." (Yun is the Little Orphan Annie of forecasters. He's always sure the sun will come out tomorrow.)There are buyers and investors watching this closley. Soliman feels Yun is correct for a number of reasons.
Comment: People fully understand inflation as they are stressed by high gas prices, high utilities, high food cost, layoffs and earth shattering mortgage payments. Many well-educated individuals are in the same position especially baby boomers ages 45-54 according to a report written by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The report, "The Housing Crash and the Retirement Prospects of Late Baby Boomers," extrapolates from data in the Federal Reserve's 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances (the most recent available).
Ida Byrd-Hill, President of Uplift, Inc. a 501(c)3 Idea Incubator has published a book, Breakin' Out of Your Financial Funk!, to help people emotionally deal with the financial panic they are now feeling due to the housing bubble bursting, high gas prices, high utilities, high food cost, earth shattering mortgage payments and layoffs.
Ida Byrd-Hill spent 15 years as a financial advisor and 5 years in Human Resources attempting to educate people to view their financial plan as part of a lifestyle plan and not the plan alone. People are not discussing inflation formally but they are surely discussing high prices that are affecting their purses and wallets.
People are stressed, depressed, and frustrated. People are in a financial funk. In fact, approximately 71 percent state " their financial stress makes it harder for them to do their jobs," according to a poll by Workplace Options and Public Policy Polling. Many are struggling to maintain their jobs.
People need to be eased out of their financial panic into a thinking, dreaming, planning and execution mode. People need to read, Breakin' Out of Your Financial Funk! This book can be purchased at a bulk discount at www.upliftinc.org or singularly at www.Amazon.com. For bulk pricing contact Ida Byrd-Hill at 313-483-2126 or upheavalmedia@upliftinc.org.
Comment: McCain will bring it back!
JOHN McCAIN???S 3R ECONOMIC PLAN 2008
Abbreviated version
Progressive Republican Candidate John McCain comes through for America with his 3R economic plan. In the persona of Theodore Roosevelt, McCain???s plan just makes sense.
1. RETHINK: America must see globally on what America is capable of in our current state of technology, engineering and meet the demands that face the world.
Private Sector framework is in place and current laws allow the 3R to happen. The Progressive attitude of John McCain to get things done by crossing party lines will resurrect America.
2. REFORM: The American people must demand higher quality products and less restricted trade routes for Made in USA components. We will lead the way of MFG again!
The USA will reform its dead manufacturing base
3. REINVENT: America and Americans must reinvent themselves to reach and maintain these standards and by sheer American ingenuity, control the world???s marketplace in the competitive manner, as the USA has always been proud to be #1.
NUTS AND BOLTS of the plan are simple.
Billions of savings equates to millions of lost tax revenue from energy companies. The US needs a separate tax revenue source before we can move away from fossil fuels.
McCain 3R solution.
McCain???s 3R is about technical, closely monitored and rapid hands on training from pros to create new pros. Thousands of currently-job-displaced ???once leaders in the manufacturing arena??? will be asked to train and play instructor rolls in the 3R plan. Paid, of course, as these new leaders will help create a whole new style of prosperous America. A massive restructure providing thousands New American MFG means millions of new jobs for infrastructure alone.
New jobs is the mainstay for Creating a new guard for Social Security.
This is the new place for financial speculators to invest!
McCain???s Progressive nature embodies Theodore Roosevelt more than any US presidential candidate in history since the original Rough Rider blazed the greatest era of growth in America.
We need John McCain to lead our nation with the same type of change.
Comment: fOSFossil fuels work, you might not like it, tough. Are you going to put up a windmill on top of your house, condo or apartment. For the greenies out there a dozen hampsters on a wheel tied to a generator, of
course the animal people would cry foul! Hydrogen requires electricity to start the process, but the people
who cry Hydro! never had a science class in there life. So with these people no nukes, so I'd guess they
want all of us to run around naked because to clothe, shelter feed, and employ ourselves would destroy
the earth, wait they allready say that!
Comment: Michael Masters of Master Capital Management, LLC (a global investment management company) testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs just a couple of weeks ago. Here are quotes from his testimony:
"Today, Index Speculators are pouring billions of dollars into the commodities futures markets, speculating that commodity prices will increase. In the popular press the explanation given for rising oil prices is the increased demand from China. According to the DOE, China's demand for petroleum has increasde in the last five years from 1.88 billion barrels to 2.8 billion barrels, an increase of 920 billion barrels. Over the same five year period, Index Speculators' demand for petroleum futures has increased by 848 million barrels. THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM INDEX SPECULATORS IS ALMOST EQUAL TO THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM CHINA. Index Speculators have now stockpiled, via the futures market, the equivalent of 1.1 billion barrels of petroleum, effectively adding EIGHT TIMES as much oil to their own stockpile as the US Government has added to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the last five years."
"The Senate has asked the question "Are Institutional Investors contributing to food and energy price inflation?" And my unequivocal answer is "YES." In this testimony I will explain that investment banks are one of, if not the primary, factors affecting commodities prices today. Clearly, there are many factors that contribute to price determination in the commodities markets; I am here to expose a fast-growing yet virtually unnoticed factor, and one that presents a problem that can be expediently corrected through legislative policy action..."
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL. They are supposed to be protecting us form these kinds of abuses, but Bush has allowed loopholes in the CFTC regulations that you can drive a truck through. An oil truck, that is.
Here is a link to the Michael Masters' testimony before the Senate:
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/052008Masters.pdf
And here are two other articles on the subject:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20011.htm
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9138
Comment: Hydrogen fuel cells are the answer to our gasoline crisis, not offshore drilling for more oil. Oil is a dirty industry with a very limited fuel supply remaining on the planet. Hydrogen fuel cells use algae to produce energy, and instead of producing CO2 (like oil and gasoline) they emit water and oxygen, which improve the atmosphere and help clean the air that you breathe. Hydrogen fuel cell cars have already been manufactured and work extremely well. General Motors, Honda and BMW all have hydrogen fuel cell cars IN PRODUCTION, not just in development. In five or ten years, we will all be driving them. Unless of course Newt Gingrich and Geo. W Bush succeed in blocking clean energy technology, and ramming this crazy offshore drilling bill through Congress.
Want to dominate the global economy? THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE NATION THAT CAN SUCCESSFULLY BREAK FREE OF FOSSIL FUEL. That is where your tax dollars should be going -- to strengthen America.
Obama's education plan is unique in the history of America. He wants to train thousands of new scientists and engineers to create the best renewable energy infrastucture on the planet. That way, when the oil runs out, the OPEC countries will be coming to US for their energy needs.
Obama is not just a tax and spend Democrat. His education program isn't about your kids taking more art classes, or getting a free ride through college. It is about investing iN American INDIVIDUALS, to STRENGTHEN the American economy. Why ship jobs overseas when we can create them right here while we break free from our oil dependence. Why pour billions into offshore drilling that will provide less than a decade's worth of oil and gas, when we could put that money into an energy infrastructure that really would free us and is renewable -- it would last forever.
Comment: Dear WillNotVote, lots of people don't know that the largest stockpile of oil IN THE WORLD is owned by the US investment banks, with Merrill Lynch having the biggest share and other banking houses like Morgan Stanley also holding large reserves. They are holding way more oil than the US govenrment has in reserve, and they are withholding their oil from the market, purposely driving up prices and CRUCIFYING the American public. Congress has already started hearings to investigate this heinous crime.
Meanwhile, oil industry insiders (including Geo. W Bush) are pushing to open up offshore drilling in the United States. The are promising us that this will lower oil prices, but I disagree. First of all, the US Geological Survey scientists say that the amount of oil and gas available off shore is so small that in most cases the cost of drilling and building wells is more than the value of the resources. Secondly, guess who is going to foot the bill for the offshore exploration and drilling... you guessed it... THE TAXPAYERS, so even if it did drop the price of gas briefly, you would have already more than paid the difference in another way. Thirdly, most of these costal states depend heavily on beach tourism to keep their economies viable, and tourists don't want to look at offshore wells, smell natural gas, or bathe at a beach which has little globs of oil all over the sand. Fourthly, since the price of oil is being artificially inflated by greedy investment banks on Wall Street, slapping them with a big fine and making them release their supplies would be a lot more sensible than selling off the government's emergency oil reserves. And last of all, the USA needs to invest in CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY rather than throw good money after bad by spending money on drilling more oil wells that will run dry within a decade.
Comment: Thanks for trying to find a bright spot in the economy, but you couldn't find anything more positive than the repossessed boat industry? I live in North Dakota, where the two biggest problems in our economy right now are that we have thousands more jobs than people and we can't build houses fast enough to keep up. High oil and food prices benefit an economy (like ours) that produces oil and food. Please send us people!
Comment: The economy is so bad people cannot think they're just reacting on pulse. I fill my car up with $50.00 worth of gas then I realize I only had $30.00 it use to be thirty.
Comment: "willnotvoteforobama" is citing a false rumor about the "change" quote. He never said it.
The anti-Obama collective will stop at nothing, even the truth, to make him look bad.
The rumor debunking website Snopes.com debunked this rumor months ago.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/change.asp
Comment: "Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 06/15/2008 7:07:02 PM
Comment: Quote of the Day........' My friends, we live in the greatest nation
in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try
to change it.' -- Barack Obama"
Snopes.com is a website devoted to rumors, and it is obvious that this quote was made up by Obama's enemies. The National Review Online originally attributed the quote to John McCain as a JOKE...but someone changed the source to Obama and the stupid anti-Obama cult ran with it without checking their facts, as usual.
By the way, Snopes.com says that rumors about Obama are the second largest topic of false rumors on its website, next to rumors about email greeting cards that spread computer viruses.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/change.asp
Comment: The folks who brought us the economic recession just don???t get it. The future belongs to the economy that can de-carbonize itself - liberate itself completely from the tyranny of fossil fuel. It can be done. Simply look in the June 16 issue, and you???ll find the article ???A Bug to Save the Planet???. According to this article, ???A genome pioneer Craig Venter??? wants to produce a bacteria that can convert carbon dioxide and produce fuel. According to the October, 2007 issue of National Geographic, it???s possible to make fuel from algae. You can get fuel from kelp. You can also make fuel from switch grass, or jatropha (South Africa is doing that already according to the magazine, Jeune Afrique.) None of these fuel would interfere with agriculture. This is were our future lies and converting to non-fossil fuels is the cornerstone of both our national economic future and our national defense. Neither McCain, nor the GOP, all of them shills for the current energy monopoly understand this urgency. Neither do our current ???economic elite.??? This is the reason we need a total regime change - a change we can believe in. That???s the big reason we need to make this election a Democratic sweep. Only then can we ensure the survive of both our nation and the planet.
I might add also that carbon dioxide is only one potentially lethal gas. We need to find ways of reducing the concentration of methane in our atmosphere as well. If you consult the October 2007 issue of National Geogrphaic, you???ll find that currently the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere 380 parts per million. Our carbon count is increasing by 2 percent a year. If we near 450 parts per million we face the extinction of the human race. Bear in mind that I don???t know the states for methane, except it???s a far more lethal threat, and the melting of the Russian permafrost could release an apocalyptic amount of methane into the atmosphere. Does ???wontvotefrorobama??? or any one in the GOP or the so-called ???economic elite??? of this country understand how serious the problem is. We have about 35 years to live. We need to make drastic changes NOW..
Comment: Mwalimu is right. Hydrogen fuel cells are the answer, not offshore drilling for more oil. Oil is a dirty industry with a very limited fuel supply remaining on the planet. Hydrogen fuel cells use algae to produce energy, and instead of producing CO2 (greenhouse gases) they emit water and oxygen, which improve the atmosphere and help clean the air that you breathe.
THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE ECONOMY THAT CAN BREAK FREE FROM FOSSIL FUEL. That is where your tax dollars should be going -- to strengthen America.
Obama's education plan is unique in the history of America. He wants to train thousands of new scientists and engineers to crate the best renewable energy infrastucture on the planet. That way, when the oil runs out, the OPEC countries will be coming to US for their energy needs.
Obama is not just a tax and spend Democrat. His education program isn't about your kids taking more art classes, or getting a free ride through college. It is about investing in American INDIVIDUALS, to STRENGTHEN the American economy.
Comment: Why must people who will not vote obama resort to profanity and grammatical errors? Can't they remember to use question marks? And can't they command a more effective vocabulary? Or, is mastery of the CSWE a sign of elitism???
I'd suggest that willnotvoteobama read a poem by Carl Sandburg (a quitessential American poet.) "Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind". Here's the conclusion
"And the wind shifts
and the dust on the doorsill shifts
and even the writing to the rat footprints
tells us nothing, nothing at all
about the greatest city, the greatest nation
where the strong men listened
and the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was."
The only constant in history is change. The only civilizations that survive are those that are capable of change. Obama understands that. McCain is like Brezhnev of the late great USSR. Come to think of it many communist apologists insisted the USSR was going to last forever and that it was the Greatest Empire that ever existed. Look at what happened. Unless we change, we too will join the great ash heap of history.
Comment: Quote of the Day........' My friends, we live in the greatest nation
in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try
to change it.' -- Barack Obama
W.T.F.WHY CHANGE IT ......... ITS ALREADY THE GREATEST NATION !!!!! DUMB ASS OBAMA !
Comment: What do the comments so far have to do with the article the posters are commenting on? Nothing, that I can see. The economy is going downhill at a very rapid rate. Osama Bin Laden said that his goal is to bankrupt America - and he's doing it the same way Reagan bankrupted Russia - by "forcing" us to keep spending money on a war we can't possibly win. Bin Laden will win unless Americans contact their congressmen and Senators and demand that they stop funding the war and enact legislation to bring our service personnel home from Iraq.
Comment: As a former Republican; I ditched George on 9/12, DeLay before that; and the Straussian Neo-Cons before they were born; and don't even mention the ignornat by choice Fundamental Christians...let then have the misguided, miscreant GOP, what's left of it....and good riddance! Never, ever should any Republican get elected to any political position from Dog Catcher to President...and every one of these idiots should be throw out of the Congress and take Lie-bermann and most of the Democrats with you. This economy is a direct result of the Corporate Facists using Straussian bluster and ignorance to takeover the government and instead of regulating and controlling their greedy excesses; the government is now and enabler and funder of their plunder! I will throw out a carrot and suggest we stop all income taxes on all businesses; in return, we will tax all business income to the business owners as real income; but the charade of "capital gains"; whether distributed or not; make any business or other organization contribution of monies or services illegal; close the so-called 527 loop-holds; make corporations limited life business; not imortal super humans; and finally tax all income greater than 10 million at a rate of 70%. The greedy bounty stolen over the last 25 years by the 1% must be taken back and distributed to Americas millions!
Comment: General Colin Powell, Republican and former Secretary of State, says he is not ruling out voting for Barack Obama. In a speech he gave last week in Vancouver, Washington, General Powell said that while he has served in the administrations of two Republican Presidents, his support for Republican nominee John McCain "is not a foregone conclusion." He also noted that although both he and Barack Obama are black, he would not cast a vote for the Senator based on race alone. "I will vote for the individual who I think brings the best set of tools to the problems of 21st-century America and the 21st-century world, regardless of anything else."
A 35 year veteran of the US Army, General Powell also noted that he would not necessarily support McCain because of his military service.
Don't forget that Rupert Murdoch, the Republican ultra right wing owner of Fox News has publicly come out in support of Barack Obama. Mr. Murdoch has predicted that Senator Obama will win the general election, because he says that McCain is "weak on the economy" and that with McCain as President "the recession would deepen into a depression."
Even dyed in the wool Republicans are voting for Obama. Because he is the right choice. Because he "brings the best set of tools for the problems of 21st-century America."
McCain's mind is still in the cold war era. But the old tactics don't apply anymore, because the world has changed. We need a leader who can cope with those changes, and help us to compete in the globalized economy.
Republicans for Obama '08
Comment: To willnotvoteobama on your 6/13/08 post:
My heart really BLEEDS for the abused rich people who might have to pay their 7.65% on earnings over $102,000 and pay more in capital gains tax on their unearned income. What a pity...maybe then they might have more of an appreciation for those of us who struggle to stay afloat, but I kind of doubt it.
Comment: In regard to your article, "We Ask:When Will The Pain Go Away?", there were only two people that made any sense. One being, Marissa Mayer of Google because if you are going to get details about how you are going to solve the problems, you are going to have to use the Web to ask questions such as--Should HEDGE FUND DEALERS promoting those EXOTIC DERIVATIVES BE TAXED? Which was talked about in the Basel II meeting in Switzerland in April, 2008. Also another individual to interview more thoroughly would be Mark Zandi of Moody's because when they lowered the bond ratings on the investment banks, the elected officials finally noticed it. Senator Obama wants to TAX THE HEDGE FUND DEALERS and that issue also came up in the House Financial Seervices Committee hearing chaired by Barney Frank where Robert Kuttner testified on October 2, 2007 that there should be some regulations on these questionable DERIVATIVES. The Blue Dog Democrats in the House believe in Pay As You Go and that's something we are going to have to start practicing otherwise, our dollar will go down to virtually nothing. We have to regain our status as a leader in finances rather than a debtor nation which we are fast becoming.
Yours truly, Disgusted Middleclass Taxpayer, LaVern
Comment: Corporate GREED....CEO bonuses...Tax cuts for the rich...I hope Bush & his buddies are happy cuz they sure have done a good job. He's been so acurate in his decision making for our economy much like his Weapons of Mass destruction. Well he can comfortably & securely leave office knowing that one statement he has made is absolutely true....Mission Accomplished...America is Screwed!
Comment: How destructive to the U.S. economy would a Barack Obama presidency be?
An analysis warns: There could be a very rough time ahead.
Beneath Obama's flowery rhetoric lies a dangerous economic plan that will wreak havoc on the American economy.
Obama plans to return to the failed policies of high taxation coupled with an expansion of government spending.
Worse, Obama says he is absolutely committed to almost doubling the capital gains rate ??? something he will easily accomplish with a Democrat Congress.
In the coming months ??? when investors realize that Obama will raise the cap gains rate ??? there could be a stampede of asset sales as investors rush to take their profits now to avoid Obama's doubling of the tax rates next year.
All of these issues and more are explored in Newsmax magazine's special report "Obamanomics ??? the Coming Tax-and-Spend Nightmare," by Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund.
gives Americans the first in-depth look at the Democratic presidential candidate's likely strategies ??? and how they will affect not just the larger economy, but your personal wealth as well.
Indeed, Obama makes no bones about his plans to go on a tax rampage. Not only would he increase the capital-gains tax rate from 15 percent to as much as 28 percent, he wants to allow the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, which effectively raises taxes on Americans by tens of billions of dollars.
He also wants to do away with the $102,000 FICA payroll tax cap, which means anyone making over $102,000 would pay an additional 7 percent in taxes on earned income.
And the loan dividend tax rate George Bush implemented? Under President Obama it will be DOA!
Comment: They know it, if we as Americans can't see it than I fear for our future. This 'Dark Money' that is not transparent and is unregulated is ruling our markets and wiping everyone from myself at the gas pump to the Airline Companies out.
According to Kohut, Barack Obama deserves at least some credit for the show of goodwill (towards the US by the rest of the world). In Japan, he's ahead by 37 percent, and his advantages in France and Spain are even larger: 51 and 73 percent, respectively. In fact, John McCain defeats his Democratic rival in only one country: Jordan. By one point. That said, the resounding foreign support for Obama's bid--in France, 84 percent of those who've been following the U.S. election say they have confidence that Obama would "do the right thing regarding world affairs," compared to 33 percent for McCain--has less to do with his policy proposals than the fact that he's not a Republican. Even in this YouTube age, foreign citizens don't have a lot of information about where U.S. candidates stand on the issues, and many can't even understand English. So while their views may be just as absolute as ours, they're often based on little more than a simple "Bush is a Republican, I don't like Bush, so I don't like McCain" equation.
Comment: I beleave that the lobbyist and congress and all the other deep pocketed politicians in this country have failed our country and only care about all mighty dollar that goes into their own pockets. Kick backs, hush money,bribes etc. You might as well say the Mafia still exsist. The middle class that works all day for their family and struggles day to day to make ends meat has long been beaten down now to the poor class.
Enough is enough. Wake up people! Arent you tired of getting screwed by Bush and all his lies. Our country needs a new reform.Its hard to trust anybody in office today. They just tell you what you want to hear and make promises they never keep. There is a very small procentage of truley good congress men/ women that are still in office. I hope that we get a president that truley can make a difference.and can shake things up.
Comment: I beleave that the lobbyist and congress and all the other deep pocketed politicians in this country have failed our country and only care about all mighty dollar that goes into their own pockets. Kick backs, hush money,bribes etc. You might as well say the Mafia still exsist. The middle class that works all day for their family and struggles day to day to make ends meat has long been beaten down now to the poor class.
Enough is enough. Wake up people! Arent you tired of getting screwed by Bush and all his lies. Our country needs a new reform.Its hard to trust anybody in office today. They just tell you what you want to hear and make promises they never keep. There is a very small procentage of truley good congress men/ women that are still in office. I hope that we get a president that truley can make a difference.and can shake things up.
Comment: I beleave that the lobbyist and congress and all the other deep pocketed politicians in this country have failed our country and only care about all mighty dollar that goes into their own pockets. Kick backs, hush money,bribes etc. You might as well say the Mafia still exsist. The middle class that works all day for their family and struggles day to day to make ends meat has long been beaten down now to the poor class.
Enough is enough. Wake up people! Arent you tired of getting screwed by Bush and all his lies. Our country needs a new reform.Its hard to trust anybody in office today. They just tell you what you want to hear and make promises they never keep. There is a very small procentage of truley good congress men/ women that are still in office. I hope that we get a president that truley can make a difference.and can shake things up.
Comment: Why do we even take the time to type on the subject of our once great country? Take a small look at what is going on, It is not Bush that is responsible for our problems. One of the problems is everyone that has investments and they expect big returns that has lead to a very false economy. The work ethichs of USA is down the tubes. Most employees hold their hand out for the weeks pay before even punching the time clock.. Another place one might look at is our so called elected men/women in offices that are in there for a FREE ride while everyone working is doing just that!!! Maybe it is time to have a CHANGE in the offices. OH did I use the new BUZZ word ??? CHANGE Rememeber the next time you vote and whom you are replacing. I could go on but it is a WASTE OF TIME because I am very sure. THE ALL MIGHTY MEDIA WILL SAY SOMETHING TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THIS MESS THEY HAVE PERDICTED. OR SHOULD i SAY THEY STARTED??t
Comment: Why do we even take the time to type on the subject of our once great country? Take a small look at what is going on, It is not Bush that is responsible for our problems. One of the problems is everyone that has investments and they expect big returns that has lead to a very false economy. The work ethichs of USA is down the tubes. Most employees hold their hand out for the weeks pay before even punching the time clock.. Another place one might look at is our so called elected men/women in offices that are in there for a FREE ride while everyone working is doing just that!!! Maybe it is time to have a CHANGE in the offices. OH did I use the new BUZZ word ??? CHANGE Rememeber the next time you vote and whom you are replacing. I could go on but it is a WASTE OF TIME because I am very sure. THE ALL MIGHTY MEDIA WILL SAY SOMETHING TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THIS MESS THEY HAVE PERDICTED. OR SHOULD i SAY THEY STARTED??t
Comment: how can a pain go away if the people put there heads in the sand? the only way is to stop buying from them . we have a well reserve off our east coast,and the alaska pipe line , get real we are not all stupid....the rich get richer{BUSH AND HIS funkes] THE ONLY WAY IS FOR A ALL STATE STRIKE THESE WOULD GIVE THE REALITY TOO THE BIG BOYS IN WASH.....when it cost you a three day work just to get there.. the MONEY THAT WAS GIVEN TOO THE PEOPLE WHOM WERE TO HELP THERE COST. IS A FARSTS IT WAS JUST A WAY TO GET INTO YOUR MONEYS something for nothing is never for nothing.. ask all the veterans about this great goverment that turned its back on the viet nam vets and all the reserves,,
Comment: Yea the banking industry started the mess with their banking insanity. Lend to those with a lot of credit (i.e. Debt) and not to people who don't use credit (opt. to pay as you go). Then all the loans fall through and do these IDIOTS change their ignorant practices "NO" . They continue on business as usual as though the TRAIN WRECH behind them never happened. I would think if there is a large difference in the debt (credit) to income ratio that that would be a RED FLAG, but there I go again trying to apply common sense to the IDIOTS that call themselves BANKERS!!!
Comment: Yea the banks created the housing mess by lending to people with handfulls of credit cards (DEBT) and then continue the same old insane policy. But if you have no credit cards (i.e. debt) they say your credit score is low so we can't lend to you. What a pack of IDIOTS! I would think it would work in the reverse, but maybe that requires common sense.
Comment: The major movie studio I work for as of this year is 95% Hindi/Indian onshore H1-B's My friend and myself were shocked when we went to the Christmas buffet and saw that only a few Americans remained on the IT Staff. It was a sad realization.....I think america still brings in about 100,000 Hindi/Indians a year, because people like Bill Gates seem to love them, plus they buy his products and software...weee, let's make the rich richer!!!
Comment: Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky proclamation of a doomsday cult, apocalypse bible prophecy sect, or conspiracy theory society. Rather, it is the scientific conclusion of the best paid, most widely-respected geologists, physicists, bankers, and investors in the world. These are rational, professional, conservative individuals who are absolutely terrified by a phenomenon known as global "Peak Oil."So am I and happy that I live in SE Asia and not in America now.An oil based economy such as America doesn't need to deplete its entire reserve of oil before it begins to collapse. A shortfall between demand and supply as little as 10 to 15 percent is enough to wholly shatter an oil-dependent economy and reduce its citizenry to absolute poverty.The writing was on the wall,but many were just too blind to accept it. G.W. Bush has a a hisotry of turning everuthing he touches to crap from profit making businesses and now as it seems to an entire nation-America. Glad I now live in Vietnam. I can at least survive here on $500 a month.
Comment: Some of us know how bad off we are in the USA, Poland is looking like a nice place to live in since even they joined the European community and like one of our American Icon Businesses, Anheuser Busch is on the chopping blocks for being sold. Next what our Supre Bowl is played in Tahiti between Jamaica and Honduras.
Comment: The Superbowl held out of the USA? Don't think it'll happen... ha! The Miss Teen USA Pageant 2008, which historically has always been held in the USA, is being held in the Bahamas this year! Ya, not everybody is a pageant fan, but don't you think it's unpatriotic to hold the MIss Teen "USA" outside the United States? I think Trump and NBC Universal (which in turn is also owned by GE Corp) is just teaching the next generation of teenagers, if you want to make a buck, you got to go out of the USA! So, yes, I can see the Super Bowl being held in outside the USA someday. If it makes more money for the corporations, why not? Thanks Bush and Cheney for all the wonderful things you've done for everyday Americans.... you've done a great job these past 8 years.... outsourced our lives to foreign countries. How's that for being patriotic?
Comment: Here's what I don't understand, & it doesn't take a mathematical genius to figure out why Bush's "fix-its" are not working. How can we be expected to make ends meet when the cost of living (gas, food, etc) is increasing at double-digit rates, while the average salary increase of the average US worker is approximately 5% per year, if that??
Comment:
I enjoyed most of the article until I read the supplement by Bill George, page 29. He seems to support only the needs of the largest global companies. What of those workers losing their jobs in the plants? With which funds are they to acquire the ???higher knowledge??? positions. None, I???m sure. I assume he is referring more to our children than the current workforce. Should we just let the middle class slip into oblivion so the country c
