Recent comments

  • globalized rehaul of the financial structure is obviously in both administration's game plans and I agree, Volcker is the one who rallied in the Reagan "supply side" era and did harsh rate hikes which threw the country into recession, did stop the inflation. Carter was forced to nominate him to the Fed because of poliitical pressures and the economy was really bad. These cats seem to think there is no easy slide down on anything. I don't see any evidence to that prescription.

    Although Greenspan has been cited often as one of the main causes of this mess by keeping interest rates way too low for way too long...

    I'd rather have Volcker than Greenspan involved!

    Overhauling the entire regulatory structure as we just saw can royally screw the economy...

    I read through this report though and to me it's fairly good but I am highly suspect of this "twin peaks" structure versus going towards the institutional one.

    Reply to: Volcker Stands on Twin Peaks - New Report on Market Regulation   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Given my livelihood is and has been manufacturing my entire adult life - I can say there are few (none really) parallels to the dramatic drop offs of manufacturing activities we have seen in '01 and currently. part of my job is analysing our market. Sure the cycles come and go, but none this deep and long. We said back in 2001 that it was though someone had "shut off the spigot". The old timers could not remember anything like it - even through the repeated mfg recessions of the Reagan years or the slow downs of the 70's. We are at that point again, and I think it will be even worse this time. Businesses used the cover of the downturn to ramp up layoffs, closures and outsourcing, and I think we are in store for even more of that in the coming months. After '01 1/3 of our past customer base evaporated - either closed up or offshored, and the rest were hanging on - barely.

    Reply to: Manufacturing Tuesday: From bad numbers to bad chips   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • ...in charge. He was totally freaked out about inflation. Of course the Upper Tenth, an 1890s and early 1900s name for those who were in the top .1 of 1% in wealth...time to bring that sucker back I do believe, views inflation with utter horror as it is not good for their massive piles of non-productive wealth.

    Wasn't to hot for us little people either but that's another story...

    Will give this Twin Peaks idea a read. Frankly the first thing we gotta try an stop is the Pelosi Democrats enabling Boosh and his 'Wreckers', see Russian Revolution from doing anything more to 'fix' things.

    As any thinking organism would expect...

    They have no idea what they are doing.

    Reply to: Volcker Stands on Twin Peaks - New Report on Market Regulation   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • nothing on trade and any mention at all of the horrific statistics or the trade deficit is met from McCain as protectionist (what BULLSHIT! What about a massive trade deficit can't this guy get through his brain????) and then on the Obama camp, well, it's about as bad! Oh, Americans need more training and education which is precisely the same B.S. that Bill Clinton said through Robert Rubins while they crafted the great exodus of middle class wealth and prosperity out of this country.

    Really disgusts me!

    Thanks for doing this series. It's awesome and despite the desire of our government to continue with their ill conceived global labor arbitrage agenda....completely ignoring the US is seriously losing and now will hit back the world financial players as well....

    Did you see tradeform.org (middle column)? They are putting together a broad, bi-partisan coalition of groups to get something done on trade as well as boost up manufacturing, AG, other sections....(whoever is reading this...ya know the type of jobs that can make a house payment!).

    Reply to: Manufacturing Tuesday: From bad numbers to bad chips   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Although there is clearly a right wing Populist movement going on and there is some overlap. I think trade is the biggest. I mean it's pretty damn obvious through the trade deficit this is not plain working for America so anyone paying attention to actual results wants modifications to those corporate written agreements.

    Now, the libertarians want the term Populist too but my attitude is I don't think so....especially now that "free unregulated markets" and it's results are being seen. I don't think most people want that.

    I take Populist to mean this is what the majority want.

    But I have seen the term Progressive so abused, even corporate lobbyists try to use the term...

    but there are/were a core group of true Progressives before all of this happened, Bernie Sanders was chair, Peter DeFazio is in that group....

    and now that lobbyists couldn't redefine the term Populist...they are trying to smear it as Protectionist.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I'm not so sure about you equating progressives and populists. Quite often, progress is NOT popular. Look at this whole free trade mess for instance: it's basically a fiscally liberal progressive bid to steal standard of living from the first world and give it to the third world. Not populism at all- but very progressive indeed.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Wyden is one of my senators, and while yes, he's often in the pocket of big business, you've got to remember he owes his seat to Portland Environmentalists- the people who would really like to see this money going to plant more trees rather than shore up Wall Street.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • FCI

    FCI

    This graph if from Seeking Alpha and is saying this private index FCI:

    Citi Financial Conditions Index (FCI), a proprietary index that is a composite of a number of financial measures. The index is a weighted average of six variables, including option-adjusted corporate credit spreads, equity values, the money stock, the trade-weighted dollar, mortgage rates and energy prices. It is stated in terms of standard deviations from a mean value

    They are saying the pullback from consumers will cause a recession. This country is so whacked....moving to push the American people as nothing but shoppers and not strongly pushing to revamp a production economy and do something about bad trade deals, admit they are not working...is apparently the thing these ideologues will never consider.

    Reply to: The American consumer capitulates   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • Lehman Brothers executives arranged all of their golden parachutes while begging the Fed for a bail out.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • While I doubt they will get that the middle class is the economy, you would think that by now they realize they have already squeezed every damn dime from them and there simply is no more.

    Great post New Deal, sums the situation up perfectly.

    Reply to: The American consumer capitulates   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • He has quite a number of corporate votes, very surprised that he voted no actually, truly impressed.
    Probably select a few key votes in addition, like the bankruptcy bill. Probably Byron Dorgan should be on the list, he's done a couple of things that are strange but for the most part is assuredly one of the best Senators there.
    Bernie Sanders I'll assume is a given. It's tough because on one vote you may have a good record...on another...eek.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I did add Barry Welsh and Jeff Merkley.

    What about the other Oregon Senator - Ron Wyden - he voted against the bailout.

    The 3 core issues I am focusing in on are trade, immigration, corporate welfare (bail out).

    http://proletariat.wordpress.com/

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • I hope you get an account on EP and keep us updated.

    I'm thrilled someone is going to differentiate within the Democratic party on who are the real Progressives (Populists) versus who is simply borrowing the label.

    That's a great idea to create a page on who is who.

    I think Jeff Merkley is looking very good to be added to this list and I know Barry Welsh, running against Pence (IN-6th) is a Populist.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • The biggest emperor with no clothes is Obama. On the first vote 12 members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted NO, after intense pressure from Obama all 12 voted YES on round 2.

    I created an ActBlue page called Economic Populists. They include the "good Dems" who voted against this unconstitutional, corporate money grab.

    http://www.actblue.com/page/economicpopulists

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
  • Everyone knew the bailout wouldn't work, even the crooked politicians who decided to send every household an $18,000 tax bill even though economists told them it would not work.

    Today's sell of is only a prelude to the real crash of over 20% that will come in the next week or so. Why? Just look at the history of the Great Crash of 29 and the crash of 87. Right now were only experience sell-offs before the real crash happens.

    See my blog post here
    http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2008/10/dow-crashes-below-10000-another-20-stock-market-crash-looms-ahead.html

    Reply to: Stock Markets Goin' down, down, down.....   16 years 4 weeks ago
  • ....looks like all that tax cutting has worked great.

    For some...

    Maybe Bush & his posse of wreckers really have destroyed the nation.

    And Nancy Pelosi can kiss her Armani suited seat in Congress good-fukin-bye. Her apporoval rating yesterday was 32% and that's before folks really understand what she has NOT done to try and work out this crisis.

    Lotta folks with no clothes on in Congress at this minute.

    Reply to: Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture   16 years 4 weeks ago
    EPer:
  • What I just do not understand is why Gold would drop and other metals. I can understand oil and so on due to a global recession and thus the demand will be way down...

    Gold is way up today and that's more what I expect...
    people to pour into safe haven but just yesterday the dollar was way up and gold was going down...

    The claim being the same as oil, less demand...

    I would expect people are panicking, looking for save haven at this point.

    Reply to: $2.93 gas this morning   16 years 1 month ago
    EPer:
  • eh

    both of you I'm really now so sure, the DOW is already down 550 right now, Russia 20%....

    assuredly there will be the dead cat bounce but....

    Reply to: House Passes Paulson's Wall Street Bail Out   16 years 1 month ago
    EPer:
  • although if the dollar tanks I don't quite get this..
    but they believe this due to a global slowdown

    Reply to: $2.93 gas this morning   16 years 1 month ago
    EPer:
  • May as well bag some lemmings while you can, eh?

    Reply to: House Passes Paulson's Wall Street Bail Out   16 years 1 month ago

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