Recent comments

  • As it would work as well, and for small enough money to pay for it, if it was enacted next January or February (when Congress evaluates the current bailout and figures out if they want to spend the final $350 billion) and still save money.

    Reply to: Alternative Bail Out Plans   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • might want to check your math

    Reply to: Alternative Bail Out Plans   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Had a similar article: Is the Federal Reserve Engaged in Economic Warfare?

    They liken the bailout to the infamous German Operation Bernhard from WWII- where millions of counterfiet British Pounds were printed in an attempt to ruin the British economy and cause massive inflation.

     

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • can't let those middle class people have too much wealth and power, what do you want - functioning democratic institutions?

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • That is a common misconception that mfg is simply blue collar manual labor. The fact of the matter is the one guy putting in one bolt kind of assembly jobs have been gone for decades.

    Todays mfg jobs require computer skills, abilities to set up and maintain automated equipment, program robots, knowledge and experience with specialty materials, processes and so on - very "high tech" yet these are precisely the types of jobs being outsourced by the droves. ironically, many of the jobs that remain are simple manual assemly type jobs that are not easily automated as well as products that could be easily damaged ot too costly to transport

    The knowledge base if you will is evaporating as people retire, or seek relatively more stable employment in other businesses

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I heard of another very similar plan. Every man & woman over the age of 18 (voting age) would receive approximately $400,000. This money would be taxed (back to the government.) These recipients would then be mandated to pay off their mortgage and credit card debt (giving liquidity back to the banks.) Plan would only cost 70 Billion rather than the proposed 700 Billion. If the government chose to do some other shoring up of the banking institutions, there's plenty of money left over and those of us who haven't contributed to the banking debacle would actually have some money in our pocket.

    Reply to: Alternative Bail Out Plans   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I truly believe we have an economic pilfering of the US middle class, although I do not believe Google is a benevolent corporate entity....for the structure itself means power for power. Just look at their behavior in China.

    So, I don't think this is organized, conscious intent but the law, policies as well as the corporate structure and so on make multinationals more like predators because that is simply their nature.

    We need strong legal changes in defining the corporate governance structure itself.

    What I worry about is they have been so intent on destroying the US manufacturing base....that the advanced skills, know how is now lost. They paint manufacturing as a bunch of unskilled blue collars but that is hardly the case, it takes years to perfect advanced manufacturing techniques and many of these jobs are highly trained, skilled. If we don't use it...we lose it.

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • ...giant industrial and infrastructure projects are not sitting there ready to provide thousands of jobs and good pay right here in America.

    Google 'The Solar Grand Plan' to see just one. One which has the additional benefit of eliminating our need for oil as an energy resource. Yet, just today a post on a political blog took aim at ABC for refusing to run an ad attacking Big Oil for preventing such projects from becoming reality.

    Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Finance these are the real terrorists fo today. Does anyone out there think for an instant that Osama could engineer the loss of several Trillion dollars as Big Finance has?

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I admire this guy because it's true, the renters will get evicted when the landlord misses payment and that just isn't right. It's also fairly stupid to kick out income generating renters while the property is going into foreclosure but there appears to be a whole lot of that...

    this whole thing is a whole lotta of that, signing people up for $300k homes by hook or by crook.

    Reply to: Cook County's Robin Hood moment?   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Yet would anyone even contemplate jump starting the economy by jump starting production as our Manufacturing series and many others note? Hello all ye partisans out there, Americans need stable, high paying jobs and careers to pay for houses

    That is really the root of the matter when you get right down to it.

    People around my neck of the woods (industrial midwest)  aren't loosing their homes so much to subprime or irresponsible borrowing, they are losing their jobs, seeing their income reduced or have had some catastrophic event - such as a major medical cost, many more are forced to move to find work - worst of all worlds likely taking a pay cut AND taking a loss selling their home.

    How can anyone with a straight face continue to spout the lie that somehow outsourcing and downsizing is a good thing?   That is today's business "leaders" seem to know how to do - boost short term profit by chopping, cutting, closing, downsizing and offshoring.   Where is the building, creating, inventing that made us such a productive people - pre "free" trade era?

    The best and most lasting stimulous is to get people working in good paying jobs again  - that means investing in R&D and infrastructure and giving  our ailing US manufacturing base a big boost.     What these "free" traders are either conciously ignoring, lying about or outright ignorant of is the impact a healthy manufacturing base has on wealth creation, prosperity sharing, tax revenue, as well as being our technology and innovation generating engine. 

     Why is it the rapidly growing economies of the world like china and india are doing it by building their infrastructure and manufacturing base?  while we let ours languish and crumble?

    As Alexander Hamilton once said (paraphrasing here as my Bartlett's isn't handy)  - A healthy manufacturing base is vital to a nation's economic health and national security  - these words are more true today than ever.

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Not only is the IMF predicting the worse "recession" since the 1930's...but they are also predicting famine is Africa and areas in Central Asia.

    global growth projections

    Reply to: Globalization and Contagion   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I like it because this is one major horror show. Works for me! When in doubt...Gallows humor!

    Seriously, you can see I'm using more and more "far out" analogies and that's because this entire thing is absolutely insane at this point.

    Although a modified HOLC, there are many economists recommending that and it worked in the 30's and made a profit so I'm just not going to play party politics with that idea.

    So, the entire political scene right now I find to be Twilight Zone as well.

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • is more like Night of the Living Dead....or shall I say Night of the Living Debt? Oh that was just bad.

    Reply to: Plan 9 From Outer Space is Plan B   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Are the agribusinesses entirely without ethics? Are they stupider than Fannie Mae? How many suicides will it take to ship the food?

    Reply to: Grain piles up in ports   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • although I believe they have boosted up the evolutionary scale there a tad.

    Reply to: "The Ascension of Ben"   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • With another trip to the resort.

    Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., castigated by the White House, Congress and Barack Obama for hosting a $440,000 conference days after an $85 billion federal bailout, plans to hold another gathering for brokers next week.

    The event, at the Ritz-Carlton in California's Half Moon Bay, aims to ``motivate and educate'' about 150 independent agents who sell AIG coverage to high-end clients, said spokesman Nicholas Ashooh.

    I believe the term you are thinking of is "hubris".

    Reply to: AIG gets another $38 Billion of taxpayer money   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Here is the best discussion I have found, and here is a long term inflation adjusted chart (log scale) not including dividends:

    Reply to: S&P 500 10 year return is NEGATIVE   16 years 3 weeks ago
  • Has a quick facts (pdf) on McCain vs. Obama vs. us on tax cuts.

    Reply to: Volcker Stands on Twin Peaks - New Report on Market Regulation   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Bonddad had said in a recent article that there is no question that no matter who ends up being president they will have to raise taxes, ala "read my lips"

    Why don't these guys just come clean? conventional swisdom would suggest that democratic tax increases mmight be a little fairer and progressive, but who really knows?

    That is what they should be talking about - what their increased tax plans really are -who benefits and who doesn't

    Reply to: Volcker Stands on Twin Peaks - New Report on Market Regulation   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I wrote about this earlier Foxes in the Hen House, complete with sarcastic photo.

    Then he put in some 5 yr. MBA in charge...
    positively horrific...

    and everywhere it's like Goldman Sachs and to a lesser extent, Citigroup are simply running the government.

    All of this seems to go sliding by.

    I don't have any faith it would be any different under Obama because 1. He pushed this absurdity bail out hard
    and 2. his top economic advisers are Robert Rubin clones..
    once again the Goldman Sachs gang and seemingly...Citigroup.

    McCain? Meg Whitman? Well, ok, so one would transfer power from Goldman Sachs to ....Dot Con Mongols?

    What I was very surprised about is McCain and the queen of outsourcing Karly Fiorina were on TV last night peddling the refinance of distressed mortgages for reduced principle and lower fixed rates. That's a really good idea.

    Of course TATA, the master outsourcing/insourcing group just got even more, a $2B dollar contract from Citigoup to offshore outsource and insource (they use H-1B and L-1 guest worker Visas to displace, undercut US workers) even more jobs.

    Reply to: Wall Street Banks bailout will be managed by Wall Street Banks   16 years 3 weeks ago
    EPer:

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