World Politics

[redtreviso]

No. TARP came with rules. Still have rules even to banks who never took a penny.

Go back to sleep.

No.. Gramm–Leach–Bliley lets banks just play amongst themselves, invent their own securities and do anything they want at the fed discount window. Why bother with the actual economy?..That's that little people's problem.

 

[Anonymous]

No.. Gramm–Leach–Bliley lets banks just play amongst themselves, invent their own securities and do anything they want at the fed discount window. Why bother with the actual economy?..That's that little people's problem.

If Krugman says so it must be true....

The blind leading the blind has now a new definition.

 

[rhubroma]

So before the banks were lending lots of money to people at great risk, who then en mass defaulted on their loans, which caused Wall Street to blow up, after which the federal government nationalized the private banks' debt and now the banks are no longer allowed to lend money or else the regulators will be all over them, can still make profit on other financial endeavors however, though all the while the average guy who could really use a little cash to invest in a small business enterprise has no access to this from the private banks who can now only look after themselves, while big business is buffered from undesired market competition from a myriad of small entrepreneurs while it cuts personnel to ensure that the executive board still gets their handsome year end bonuses and to be able to show the financial market it has made great returns while keeping costs down.

Did I get that right?

 

[redtreviso]

So before the banks were lending lots of money to people at great risk, who then en mass defaulted on their loans, which caused Wall Street to blow up, after which the federal government nationalized the private banks' debt and now the banks are no longer allowed to lend money or else the regulators will be all over them, can still make profit on other financial endeavors however, though all the while the average guy who could really use a little cash to invest in a small business enterprise has no access to this from the private banks who can now only look after themselves, while big business is buffered from undesired market competition from a myriad of small entrepreneurs while it cuts personnel to ensure that the executive board still gets their handsome year end bonuses and to be able to show the financial market it has made great returns while keeping costs down.

Did I get that right?

That sounds right..and 8:30am Pacific Time is not really too early to pop a top..

 

[redtreviso]

""CG: Correct. Name a Supreme Court decision you disagree with?

Tex: (Silence)

CG: Correct. Name a hero of yours and why.

Tex: Thomas Jefferson is my hero because he wrote the Declaration of Independence to warn the British not to take away our guns, and he loves the Bible so much that he cut it into pieces and created his own version of it to better understand it.""

http://texshelters.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/tex-shelters-takes-his-republican-entrance-exam-to-run-for-president/

 

[rhubroma]

That sounds right..and 8:30am Pacific Time is not really too early to pop a top..

Which is why I detest The Economist.

 

[Anonymous]

So before the banks were lending lots of money to people at great risk, who then en mass defaulted on their loans, which caused Wall Street to blow up, after which the federal government nationalized the private banks' debt and now the banks are no longer allowed to lend money or else the regulators will be all over them, can still make profit on other financial endeavors however, though all the while the average guy who could really use a little cash to invest in a small business enterprise has no access to this from the private banks who can now only look after themselves, while big business is buffered from undesired market competition from a myriad of small entrepreneurs while it cuts personnel to ensure that the executive board still gets their handsome year end bonuses and to be able to show the financial market it has made great returns while keeping costs down.

Did I get that right?

Nailed it.

The home mortgage scandal(s) has basically crushed small time lending. Small business in essence has very little access to capital except their own. It makes for slow growth... no surprise there.

I think Alpe has been floating his ideas of SBA mirco-loans.... in the tens of thousands to low hundreds of thousands of dollars for small enterprise. A good idea although I don't know why the regulatory rules could not be relaxed for this type of lending to open it up to other banking entities besides just the SBA.

 

[redtreviso]

Scott meets Newt

""Companies with fewer than 50 employees may offer little legal protection for employees requiring medical leave. Carl Sorabella of Natick, Mass., learned that the hard way.

After Sorabella, an accountant, told his employer his wife had lung cancer and would need a modified schedule to deal with it, he received a termination letter the following week.

"This is not an unprecedented situation," David Frank, a legal analyst with Lawyers Weekly, told ABC affiliate WCVB.

Frank said the termination is likely legal in part because laws protect firms that employ fewer than 50 people. Sorabella said his former company had about 20 employees.
""


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/massachusetts-man-fired-revealing-wife-cancer/story?id=13845661

 

[redtreviso]

Nailed it.

The home mortgage scandal(s) has basically crushed small time lending. Small business in essence has very little access to capital except their own. It makes for slow growth... no surprise there.

I think Alpe has been floating his ideas of SBA mirco-loans.... in the tens of thousands to low hundreds of thousands of dollars for small enterprise. A good idea although I don't know why the regulatory rules could not be relaxed for this type of lending to open it up to other banking entities besides just the SBA.

sarcasm
1579, from L.L. sarcasmos, from Gk. sarkasmos "a sneer, jest, taunt, mockery," from sarkazein "to speak bitterly, sneer," lit. "to strip off the flesh," from sarx (gen. sarkos ) "flesh," prop. "piece of meat," from PIE base *twerk- "to cut" (cf. Avestan thwares "to cut"). Sarcastic is from 1695.

 

[Bala Verde]

Nailed it.

The home mortgage scandal(s) has basically crushed small time lending. Small business in essence has very little access to capital except their own. It makes for slow growth... no surprise there.

I think Alpe has been floating his ideas of SBA mirco-loans.... in the tens of thousands to low hundreds of thousands of dollars for small enterprise. A good idea although I don't know why the regulatory rules could not be relaxed for this type of lending to open it up to other banking entities besides just the SBA.

I am wondering if there are actually more economic programs the 'developed world' can adopt from overseas development programs in the 'developing world'. Micro-credit schemes, which appear to be similar in nature to SBA micro loans - have been used fairly successfully there.

 

[Bala Verde]

So before the banks were lending lots of money to people at great risk, who then en mass defaulted on their loans, which caused Wall Street to blow up, after which the federal government nationalized the private banks' debt and now the banks are no longer allowed to lend money or else the regulators will be all over them, can still make profit on other financial endeavors however, though all the while the average guy who could really use a little cash to invest in a small business enterprise has no access to this from the private banks who can now only look after themselves, while big business is buffered from undesired market competition from a myriad of small entrepreneurs while it cuts personnel to ensure that the executive board still gets their handsome year end bonuses and to be able to show the financial market it has made great returns while keeping costs down.

Did I get that right?

Read "the big short". It's well written, humorous at times as well as extremely scary.

 

[rhubroma]

I am wondering if there are actually more economic programs the 'developed world' can adopt from overseas development programs in the 'developing world'. Micro-credit schemes, which appear to be similar in nature to SBA micro loans - have been used fairly successfully there.

Not in the so called developed world. And the noose is tightening.

 

[Bala Verde]

Not in the so called developed world. And the noose is tightening.

can you clarify? (I just don't understand the comment.)

 

[Bala Verde]

Which is why I detest The Economist.

I am very ambivalent. In the US it's an excellent source to follow international news, but, since it's a "classical liberal" - in European parlance - newspaper I don't often find myself in agreement with their business section. On the other hand, and especially in relation to U.S. politics, it's a fairly pragmatic, as opposed to ideological(lly driven) magazine. In addition, it's often also moderately socially progressive, or socially libertarian if you will, supporting limits to state interference in social issues. Both US parties can learn something from their reports.

 

[redtreviso]

""Bachmann often says she has "raised" 23 foster children. That may be a bit of a stretch. According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Bachmann's license, which she had for 7 1/2 years, allowed her to care for up to three children at a time. According to Kris Harvieux, a former senior social worker in the foster-care system in Bachmann's county, some placements were almost certainly short term. "Some of them you have for a week. Some of them you have for three years, some you have for six months," says Harvieux, who also served as a foster parent herself. "She makes it sound like she got them at birth and raised them to adulthood, but that's not true."""

servant labor pool?

 

[rhubroma]

can you clarify? (I just don't understand the comment.)

Everything is set. I don't know how to clarify it for you any better than that.

 

[rhubroma]

I am very ambivalent. In the US it's an excellent source to follow international news, but, since it's a "classical liberal" - in European parlance - newspaper I don't often find myself in agreement with their business section. On the other hand, and especially in relation to U.S. politics, it's a fairly pragmatic, as opposed to ideological(lly driven) magazine. In addition, it's often also moderately socially progressive, or socially libertarian if you will, supporting limits to state interference in social issues. Both US parties can learn something from their reports.

They want big business to rule everything, litteraly everything.

 

[Hugh Januss]

They want big business to rule everything, litteraly everything.

Scott has a lifetime subscription.

 

[redtreviso]

Pardon me while a stick an ice pick in my thigh


""To the Editor,

With the announcement by Michele Bachmann that she has officially filed her paperwork to run for POTUS, the total number of GOP candidates has increased to seven. All seven candidates performed well in last night’s CNN Debate, despite the annoying moderator John King. Any one of them would be a significant improvement over President Obama. Every one of them brings something to the table.

Here is my dream team for 2012. Feel free to disagree. Things will no doubt change before Election Day. More candidates will enter the race. Rick Perry seems to be campaigning, as does Sarah Palin. Some candidates will stumble (as Newt, sadly, already has). But if it were totally up to me, there is plenty of room for every one of these leaders. We need them! If only we could convince them to work together.

President – Michele Bachmann (first female Republican nominee for President)

Vice President – Herman Cain (first black Republican nominee for Vice President)

Secretary of Treasury – Ron Paul

Secretary of Commerce – Mitt Romney

Secretary of State – Newt Gingrich

Secretary of Labor – Tim Pawlenty

Attorney General – Rick Santorum

Secretary of Defense – Rick Perry

Secretary of Energy – Sarah Palin

And that’s my dream team. If we could all work together, this group would be pretty amazing. The Democrats would be totally outgunned. Oh, to dream.

Denise McNamara,

Former Republican National

Committeewoman, Texas

Dallas""

 

[patricknd]

Pardon me while a stick an ice pick in my thigh


""To the Editor,

With the announcement by Michele Bachmann that she has officially filed her paperwork to run for POTUS, the total number of GOP candidates has increased to seven. All seven candidates performed well in last night’s CNN Debate, despite the annoying moderator John King. Any one of them would be a significant improvement over President Obama. Every one of them brings something to the table.

Here is my dream team for 2012. Feel free to disagree. Things will no doubt change before Election Day. More candidates will enter the race. Rick Perry seems to be campaigning, as does Sarah Palin. Some candidates will stumble (as Newt, sadly, already has). But if it were totally up to me, there is plenty of room for every one of these leaders. We need them! If only we could convince them to work together.

President – Michele Bachmann (first female Republican nominee for President)

Vice President – Herman Cain (first black Republican nominee for Vice President)

Secretary of Treasury – Ron Paul

Secretary of Commerce – Mitt Romney

Secretary of State – Newt Gingrich

Secretary of Labor – Tim Pawlenty

Attorney General – Rick Santorum

Secretary of Defense – Rick Perry

Secretary of Energy – Sarah Palin

And that’s my dream team. If we could all work together, this group would be pretty amazing. The Democrats would be totally outgunned. Oh, to dream.

Denise McNamara,

Former Republican National

Committeewoman, Texas

Dallas""

are we to guess this isn't your dream ticket?

 

[redtreviso]

are we to guess this isn't your dream ticket?

No and I think Denise McNamara is probably an alcoholic.. or one of those caught out when Reagan closed all the mental institutions.

 

[redtreviso]

RESUME

GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

LAW ENFORCEMENT
I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving while
intoxicated. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license
suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not
available.

MILITARY
I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a
drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas
Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.

COLLEGE
I graduated from Yale University with a low-C average. I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business in
Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil
in Texas. The company went bankrupt right after I sold my stock. I bought
the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using
taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil
industry, including Enron CEO Ken Lay, I was elected governor of Texas.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS
I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making
Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston
replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America. I cut taxes
and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American
history. With help from my Governor-of-Florida-brother, and my father's
appointments to the Supreme Court I became President after losing by over
500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT
I'm the first U.S. President in history to enter office with a criminal
record. I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over a
billion dollars per week. I spent a U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted
the U.S. Treasury. I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in
U.S. history. I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed
in any 12-month period. I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a
12-month period. I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the
history of the U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million
Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.

I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice,
had a Chevron oil tanker named after her. I set the record for most campaign
fund-raising trips by a U.S. President. I am the all-time U.S. and world
record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations. My
largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth
Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud (Enron) in U.S.
History. My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to
assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
I've protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or
prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky
affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate
rip-offs in U.S. history.

I presided over the biggest energy crisis in history, refusing intervention
when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed. I presided over the
highest gasoline prices in U.S. history. I changed U.S. policy to allow
convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts. I appointed more
convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history. I
created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the
history of the United States government.

I've broken more international treaties than any U.S. President. I am the
first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S.
from the Human Rights Commission I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court
of Law. I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoner of war"
detainees and thereby refused to abide by the Geneva Convention. I'm the
first President in history to refuse U.N. election inspectors (during the
2002 U.S. election). I set the record for fewest numbers of press
conferences of any President since the advent of television. I set an
all-time record for most vacation days in any one-year period. After taking
off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure
in my nation's history. I garnered unprecedented sympathy for the U.S. after
the World Trade Center attacks, and less than a year later made the U.S the
most hated country in the world, possibly the largest failure of diplomacy
in world history. I also set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million), shattering the
record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.

I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive
attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against
the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world
community. I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a
cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families-in-wartime.
In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking
Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends. I am the first
President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my
presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security. I am
supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD. I have
so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES
All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's
library, sealed and unavailable for public view. All records of SEC
investigations into my insider-trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed
in secrecy and unavailable for public view. All records or minutes from
meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy
policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review. I am a
member of the Republican Party.

 

[Anonymous]

Scott has a lifetime subscription.

Really HJ?

Wait, HJ, how about this??

Pelosi's wealth grows by 62 percent

Pelosi was worth at least $35.2 million in the 2010 calendar year, according to a financial disclosure report released Wednesday. She reported a minimum of $43.4 million in assets and about $8.2 milion in liabilities.

For 2009, Pelosi reported a minimum net worth of $21.7 million.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/801-economy/166599-pelosis-net-worth-rises-62-percent-


WTF?!?!

Where's the smart ass comment on this HJ???

Or was I supposed to use the I get confused

 

[redtreviso]

Really HJ?

Wait, HJ, how about this??

Pelosi's wealth grows by 62 percent




http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/801-economy/166599-pelosis-net-worth-rises-62-percent-


WTF?!?!

Where's the smart ass comment on this HJ???

Or was I supposed to use the I get confused

Bush and Cheney get more than that just from the COCAINE industry

 

[rhubroma]

Scott has a lifetime subscription.

There has been a recent article in The Economist on "Why Silvio Berlusconi has Screwed an Entire Country," which, in principle, I am in total agreement with, however, when you read the article it unfolds as this typical Anglo-Saxon high minded "we can tell you everything that's wrong with Italy, and what the Italians do wrong, and why nothing functions as it does in Britain, etc."

Just to clarify, the Italians, in so many cases, are the first to make these accusations against themselves (which is proverbial), though what I find so unsupportably arrogant about the Anglo-Saxon mentality expressed in The Economist is that it thinks that everyone should behave and function as it does. One of the criticisms levied upon Italy in the article was that there are too many small family run businesses and that this is stunting the country's economic growth while hurting its competitveness. Also that Italian coffee shops have been serving the same drinks for the "past 50 years" ie. no frappoccinos (I can't even spell it) al là Starbucks!

Well thank God we don't have Starbucks, nor would the Italians ever have them when their coffee is infinitely superior. The journal's economically liberal position, therefore, I can't find to be the right medicine not only for Italy, but the world, and especially in this time of chaotic globalization, for which small scale local enterprise that respects regional diversity and tradition is much more congenial to me rather than the homogenous, plastic world corporate business is fashioning. And this goes for all countries.

In other words perhaps being less competitve, though more genuine and sustainable, might just save us all from the ugly monster that is multi-national corporate business. The type of business logic that allows labor to be increasingly off-shored where the market's cheaper, thereby depressing local production, and the Chinese to flood the consumer market with a sea of cheap rip-offs that everybody buys and that's destroying the high quality manufacturing in countries like Italy.

And by the way in a recent national referendum the Italians voted against turning back to nuclear energy, against the privatization of their public water supply and against a law that would make Berlusconi immune to being put on trial while in office.

There are so many things problematical in Italy (the state bureaucracy, the mafia, clientelism, etc.), but sometimes the Italians get it right.