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Health Care Debt

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Years ago when Tenant, Columbia and others were building out their networks, they purchased thousands of local community hospitals. They were viewed as undervalued assets. These large health conglomerates issued bonds to finance their acquisitions, and the first thing they'd do upon purchasing a small community hospital would be to sell the land it was on to one of their REITs. The community hospital then would begin paying rent to the REIT, and that in turn ultimately financed the acquisition. Community hospitals were effectively refinanced and mortgaged, instead of being free and clear of debt burden. No longer did the community hospital operate as an entity standing on fully paid for land. Historically, before the massive reconsolidation by Wall Street, Community Hospitals paid no rent. Why is this important?

House of Cards

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During the Clinton years much was said about "bridging the digital divide." On Charlie Rose recently Leo Apotheker, CEO of German software giant SAP referred to enterprise-wide computer networks as a "nervous system." In listening I drifted back to the time just before the event of 9-11. What if government computers (at C.I.A., F.B.I., etc.) had all been able to "talk" and share/analyze/intelligate aggretized data? What if there had been an interchangeability and exchangeability? Aren't these largely the kind of "hi-tech" public works projects we need in today's economy?

Sunday Morning Comics - Get a Calculator Edition

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Sponsored by Empty Pocketbooks - The corporal punishment economic educational masters degree program...it's deductible!
Cup O' Joe

 

Good Morning! Rise and Shine! Get that Cup O' Joe...
break out the O.J....hang out with the pooch...time to check out the Funnies!

 

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GM Hummer Division to be Sold to Chinese Defense Contractor?

GM is talks with a Chinese firm to sell off its Humvee division with financing from a private equity firm.

A Chinese company is said to be in advanced talks with General motors over the $100million (£69.4million) takeover of Hummer - the fuel-thirsty, four-wheel-drive vehicle modelled on the US military's Humvee.

News of the unnamed bidder's interest came days after it emerged that another big Western carmaker, Volvo, may be sold to the Chinese.

Ford is in talks to sell Volvo to Chinese tycoon Li Shufu's Geely carmaking business. insiders say a private-equity firm is also involved in the proposed Hummer deal but would not reveal its identity.

The buyer is likely Dongfeng Motor Company, a Chinese defense contractor.

The Wall Street Criminal Syndicate

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"Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth."
- Sir Josiah Stamp, 1927

It was a news story that didn't get much traction. Yet it is a reflection of all that is wrong with the world of finance today.

The United Nations' crime and drug watchdog has indications that money made in illicit drug trade has been used to keep banks afloat in the global financial crisis, its head was quoted as saying on Sunday.
...

President Obama Stimulus Package will not do that much

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President Obama's stimulus plan will not work. He is focused on the big picture while ignoring the small ones the make our economy work. Only local value added economies work. Economies based primarily on making money on money rather than making things do not and are burning out. President Obama does not even mention the history of Free Trade failures. Free Trade and Globalization means centralization. This means all the good and bad are centralized. All the bad that was controllable in de-centralized ways are now out of control.

The cause of our economic crisis is primarily about Free Trade that moved our production of the things we use and eat to other parts of the planet. The crisis is about cheaper imports meaning cheaper wages, underemployment and unemployment.

The Greedy B*st*ards Can't Help Themselves

A great article today
"How the Banks are Worsening the Foreclosure Crises"

The banks cannot help themselves and unfortunately Congress is listening to the banking lobby. Every "new idea" to turn around this economy seems to start out with good intentions and then the banks get involved. Despite the best efforts of some ... the greed is too great.

[..]on Apr. 18, 2007, behind closed doors in an ornate hearing room in the marble-faced Dirksen Senate Office Building. Dodd told them they needed to get out in front of the foreclosure fiasco by adjusting loan terms so borrowers would continue to make some payments, rather than stopping altogether.

We Need a Revolution..... A Labor Rights Revolution

Help is on the way. Or so we've been told.

The stimulus legislation also extends the social safety net for those who are already unemployed by extending and improving unemployment benefits.

Under the terms of the deal, laid-off workers are eligible for as much as 33 weeks of extended unemployment benefits, including a $25 increase in weekly benefits.

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