Most people misunderstand Gordon Gekko’s line in the film Wall Street when he said “Greed is good.” The slick, suspendered Gekko made it seem like an evil statement, but Friendman points out that humans don’t reward virtue, they do things for self-interest.
As a young Economics student in the late 70s and early 80s, my interest and belief in the theories of Dr. Friedman were met with scorn by my Keynesian professors.
Well, they were wrong, and their resurgence by the Obama regime will doom millions of us to economic misery, and eventually will sentence millions (if not billions) humans to death by the next World War that is inevitable as our bubble world economy bursts.
Sadly, Donohue hasn’t begun to see misery in the world, yet.
Christopher Dodd is the worst kind of leader we could possibly have. What kind of chump takes a “sweetheart deal” from Countryside when he oversees that industry’s regulation (or lack thereof)? I know, I know, that’s the whole POINT of getting elected to Congress, to feed at the trough of graft. I get that. But, jeesh, Chris. Be a little more shamed, would you?
Now, he’s calling for the resignation of the head of GM as a condition of bailout.
Okay. Dodd and Obama say things like Obama did on TV today:
“The big three U.S. automakers have made repeated strategic mistakes,†Obama said. “They have not managed that industry the way they should have.†Any financial aid must be “conditioned on them making significant adjustments.â€
Is he kidding? What business has he or Dodd ever run that he can make statements like that? Where did these geniuses, almost all of them in Congress there because they couldn’t make the kind of living they can get stealing from the taxpayers, relying on their business acumen or hard work in the private sector, get their business savvy?
What business do they have telling anybody anything? Wasn’t Dodd part of the oversight of the financial industry (hence, the kickbacks and sweetheart mortgages he got) that is melting down? Wasn’t he talking about how healthy it was when there were those ringing alarms about Fannie and Freddie, only to be beaten down and called idiots for their opinions that we were heading for disaster?
Christopher Dodd is a failed regulator, and should be given no oversight of anything more important than a mop, but I’m sure he’d screw that up as well.
The question is no longer “if?” But rather “when?” and “how bad?”
Answers: 2009, and very bad.
We’ve got lots of data about what happens when economies slide into recession, but fortunately, little experience with what it’s like to enter a depression. My view is, we’re about to collect some data and add to our experience level.
Despite our lack of first-hand experience with depressions, one thing is clear – the beginning of an economic event like this can be like a snowball rolling down a hill, picking up energy and mass as it goes. That snowball is bearing down on us right now. Believe it.
Here are some important cues:
The volatility of the market. Been watching the DOW lately?
Shipping slowdowns – The less stuff coming into “Consumerland” (the U.S.), the less stuff that will be sold, with all sorts of negative results like layoffs, lower sales tax collections (resulting in state and city budgetary shortfalls, resulting in layoffs, and on and on. Stories here, here and here. In short, the Port of Long Beach is showing a 15.8% decline in inbound containers September to September, and a 10.8% slowing so far in 2008.
The amazing lack of visible results of the $750 Billion bailout Bernanke and Paulson engineered. The problem sucked all that money up in a hurry, didn’t it? Now, there’s talk of another bill.
Unprecedented demand for Gold, despite the horrible performance of the paper version of the metal, as well as the mining stocks. Try to buy gold coins or bullion. You can’t. Yet the price of the metal is languishing
So, it’s more important than ever to protect yourself and your family. I’m writing a FREE report about how to start the process of doing just that. Click HERE to get it.
I think the outpouring of angry comment from the constituents of the 435 House members, all of whom are up for reelection in November, will convince a big enough number of them that if they want to keep their jobs (for whatever that will be worth in the post-crash United States), they will vote against the bailout.
The American people are angry. They have a right to be. They’ve been manipulated, lied to, drugged with cheap credit, cheap mass media “entertainment” rich with endless hours of inane reality TV, ridiculously expensive popular culture retail fluff and the American Panto of loundmouthed talking head news/debate shows. They’re waking up from the American Dream, which is starting to look like a night’s restless sleep brought on by a huge malt liquor bender, their head hurts and they’re pissed.
Con Artists like Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd and the like are still trying to shove this pork-infested rescue of their rich patrons, getting progressively more strident in their swearing the bailout is necessary to keep the U.S. from plunging into a depression.
I, for one, am already depressed! I’m depressed that those who profess to lead our nation don’t feel they’ve stolen enough, that they have to take what’s left before fleeing town themselves. Then again, I think it’s possible that the thieves who have put us (with our distracted and at times unconscious help) in this precarious position may well have thought their gravy train would continue indefinitely. Is it possible their panic is more caused by their sudden realization that the income derived from their stealing may be at an end, too? Could it be they’ve overreached, and are about to kill their own golden goose?
That would sure panic me!
In any event, as painful as it will be, our economy and political system needs an overhaul, a cleaning that will sweep away those we’ve foolishly allowed to lead us. Americans need to really read the Constitution and once again embrace this document. it’s still relevent and will save us.
If we let it.
***Update***
Clearly, I was wrong about the bill failing. I keep this post up because I don’t want to hide the fact that I was wrong in my optimism that the Executive and Legislative branches of our Government would listen to the will of their constituents. They did not. There reportedly hasn’t been a greater outpouring of opposition to legislation they were pushing in the history of our Republic.
They failed us. And should pay for this dereliction of duty with massive electoral change in the November elections. No member of the House, Republican, Democrat or Independent (all of whom are up for reelection, of course) who voted for this atrocious bill should be summarily release from service by being voted out of office. The same for any Senator up for re-election, though I would guess you will find a lower percentage of those, since only a third of the Senate is begging for their continued employment in November. Though I haven’t looked at the numbers, the water for this abomination was probably born by those who had another 2 or 4 years left in their term.
Cowards, crooks, thieves and liars. I am ashamed. It is time for change.
1. Many people don’t believe there really is a dire economic emergency that requires Congress to take action to hold off a “Greater Depression.”
2. Republicans, childishly miffed over being insulted by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who while speaking just before the vote layed all the blame at the feet of the Bush Administration.
Typically, these two reasons are basically made of that substance, bovine-produced, that is often said to be “hitting the fan.”
The huge outpouring of “VOTE NO TO THE BAILOUT BILL” from an angry populace was in fact, a vote of NO CONFIDENCE to our elected leaders, who often fail to remember that they do, in fact, work for US. We were saying “we’re not going to allow the same fools who created this problem attempt to SOLVE this problem, because we’re not confident they know how to do so.”
The vote on Monday was a startling and very welcomed affirmation that we call the shots, and if Congress wants to keep the cushy jobs they live their lives trying to hang on to, they’ll do what we tell them to do, or they’ll be out on their asses.
NO to a bailout. NO to the people who created this crisis (Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, Congress) spending hundreds of billions of our dollars to try and fix this problem.
In NPR’s defense, in a story that followed the one cited above on Morning Edition, a much friendlier friendly version of this opinion surfaced. Though the concept of “no confidence” wasn’t meantioned, I believe that future events will make this very, very clear.
Despite the massive outcry from constituents that demanded their elected officials vote against yesterday’s $700B Wall Street bailout, observers and some marching-in-lockstep lawmakers are saying, to quote Billy Crystal’s character from The Princess Bride, “Miracle Max,” the bill is only “mostly dead.” In other words, there may still be a way for Congress to circumvent the wishes of the American People and pass a bill that gives Wall Street liars and gamblers a “do-over,” paying for their gambling bill and making them whole.
If only I would have had access to that kind of bailout the last time I went to Vegas.
Washington, DC needs to hear this: The American People don’t want to send the message that it’s OK to bail out thieves and gamblers.
Sure, there will be hardship. That’s a consequence of cutting corners and looking to “get something for nothing.” What many on Wall Street are seeking to avoid is not only the harsh reality of paying the bill on a bad investment, but also jail time. And there WILL be jail time. The hardship must come, if we truly want to cleanse our economy of this problem. What those responsible for the fiasco caused by OTC derivatives and toxic debt repackaging really fear is the outrage the hardship will create. Outrage that will inspire investigations, trials and prison time.
We’re at a critical juncture in our history. The American economy has been built on credit, truly huge amounts of credit, and the problem is the American people have stopped seeing the credit they spend as wealth and real money. Las Vegas uses chips as money in casinos, not just because it’s safer or simpler, but because they know the psychology of gambling. A player will find it much easier to put a black chip at risk than a one hundred dollar bill. A blackjack table wouldn’t see nearly as much business if vacation gamblers had to open their wallets and put their hard-earned cash on the table.
Credit cards are the same thing. How often have you made purchases on your credit card (or your debit card for that matter) that you never would have forked over cash for? I’ve done it, and in my advancing years I’ve become pretty conservative. The cliche that we’ve been using our homes as ATMs for the past several years is perfectly accurate. We’ve been spending money we didn’t have, profits we hadn’t realized that banks, mortgage brokers and other financial services entities called “equity.” We’re waking up with a huge financial hangover after many years of binge spending.
Congress is debating how to solve the problem. In truth, they’re debating how best to spin a “solution” to the American people that will make them look clean and faultless in the situation. It’s all politics. What our “leaders” do on Capitol Hill doesn’t, in the long run, mean anything. The problem is well beyond anything they can do to solve it. The vast majority of them don’t even understand it. The only important person inside the Beltway that I can confidently say understands what’s going on is Ron Paul, but he’s been so marginalized by the media, he’s out of sight. That’s a shame of historical enormity, because Dr. Paul gets it. The American people will never realize what our two parties have cost us by spinning Ron Paul into the media wilderness, and I feel sad about that.
There is no solution that Congress and the great mass of Americans will accept, because a true, cleansing solution will be economically painful and will mean a dramatic reduction in our standard of living. There’s no room for that in the “American Dream.” But the American Dream is just that, a dream. It is time to wake up, because the sun is coming up and the new day is starting, even though dark clouds threaten. Many Americans will find waking so disorienting and painful, they’ll try to convince themselves they’re still asleep, and will refuse to face reality. They’ll try hard to maintain their standard of living, but it will be impossible. Faced with an angry populace, our leaders will do whatever they can to keep this false, plastic dream alive. They’ve actually gotten quite good at this over the past couple decades, but they’re having to get more and more dramatic in their “solutions.” It’s getting out of hand, and will escape their control very soon.
At that time, I fear our Government’s only option will be military action to distract the American people from the truth of our economic situation. American forces exchanged fire with Pakistani troops today, and that’s a problem, because they’re supposedly our allies. They’re also a nuclear power. I think what’s happening, is that the Bush administration is pushing really, really hard for some resolution to the bin Laden situation, and telling Pakistan that it’s time to give him up. They don’t want to do that, but George Bush doesn’t want to leave office with bin Laden still free. He wants the image of the man who masterminded 9/11 paraded through the streets of New York in chains to be his lasting legacy. Maybe then, he must figure, will people forget about all the failed policies, corruption and incompetence that marked his administration. But, the Pakistanis won’t go down so easy, especially possessing nukes. It could get very, very ugly, very, very quickly.
Was the 20th Century. Americans wanted to keep the rally alive and make the 21st Century American as well. The “financial tsunami” currently washing over our economy suggests this century won’t belong to us. But who will dominate?
Many believe China. Others say Brazil. Russia, of course, has their own ideas about who should dominate. It’s a tough call. With the blank check bailout Congress is currently debating (and will eventually, whether they want to or not, will pass) a plan that effectively converts us from a Capitalist country to a Communist one. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s essentially true. We are setting up a system in which the government owns and lends. By buying up billions in mortgages, the U.S. Government is converting millions of American homes into public housing.
That’s not the government’s job. But in bailing out Wall Street and buying bad investments from the fools who made them, the government is taking ownership of things it has no business owning. It’s the kind of huge government expansion the founders cautioned against.
First of all, let me state my opinion.
The question is no longer “if?” But rather “when?” and “how bad?”
I think the outpouring of angry comment from the constituents of the 435 House members, all of whom are up for reelection in November, will convince a big enough number of them that if they want to keep their jobs (for whatever that will be worth in the post-crash United States), they will vote against the bailout.
Congress refused to pass a $700B bailout bill on Monday. 
Despite the massive outcry from constituents that demanded their elected officials vote against yesterday’s $700B Wall Street bailout, observers and some marching-in-lockstep lawmakers are saying, to quote Billy Crystal’s character from The Princess Bride, “Miracle Max,” the bill is only “mostly dead.” In other words, there may still be a way for Congress to circumvent the wishes of the American People and pass a bill that gives Wall Street liars and gamblers a “do-over,” paying for their gambling bill and making them whole.
Was the 20th Century. Americans wanted to keep the rally alive and make the 21st Century American as well. The “financial tsunami” currently washing over our economy suggests this century won’t belong to us. But who will dominate?