|
Archives - March 2009 |
|
Archives |
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - 7:10pm President in London Unlike the last deadbeat in the White House, folks in Europe are actually looking forward to President Obama's visit. I have no doubt he will do our country proud at the G-20 summit.
Monday, March 30, 2009 - 10:25pm Owned By Unions Why exactly are we giving any money to the auto industry? I understand the argument to give funds to the banking sector as it is the lifeblood of any economy, but the same is not true for other industries. For example, why aren't we bailing out the newspaper industry? The news business is suffering just as much as the automobile sector. They employ hundreds of thousands of employees across the country. Where is the outrage when these Americans get laid off? Where is their government bailout? The difference is unions. The Democrats are bought and paid for by the UAW, the AFL-CIO, and other powerful labor unions across the nation. That is the only reason why the administration is helping GM and Chrysler. President Obama does not have the stones to stand against unions. It's going to be a long four years if he continues to bend over backwards for these thugs. Sunday, March 29, 2009 - 10:35pm Not Another Handout The Obama administration is giving GM and Chrysler more money to restructure their pathetic firms. General Motors will get enough aid to survive 60 days and Chrysler will get $6 billion.
President Obama is making yet another mistake. Sunday, March 29, 2009 - 5:30pm It's About Time! General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner has finally stepped down, despite endlessly saying he wouldn't leave. Wagoner succeeded only in driving GM into the ground, yet he still walked away with tens of millions of dollars. I assume President Obama had a hand in forcing this schmuk out the door. After all, the company wouldn't even exist without government "loans". Friday, March 27, 2009 - 9:49pm Seven States Over 10% The unemployment rate has surpassed 10% in seven different states. The February figures show that Michigan (12%), South Carolina (11%), Oregon (10.8%), North Carolina (10.7%), California (10.5%), Rhode Island (10.5%), and Nevada (10.1%) all hit double digits. Unfortunately, the jobless rate is forecast to rise for at least the next six months. We could easily see a 15% jobless rate in some of these states before the end of the summer. Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 8:39pm A Must Read Jake DeSantis, an AIG executive in the Financial Products unit, submitted his resignation letter to the CEO today. It was published in the NY Times op-ed section. It tells quite a different story than the fable we're led to believe by politicos.
My outrage in this whole AIG situation is directed solely at the Cuomo and Blumenthal. These moronic politicians know full well that if they releases the names of AIG bonus recipients to the public, these people will receive death threats not only to themselves, but also to their children. Yet, Cuomo and Blumenthal doesn't care about such things. They only cares about raising their national profile. Where is the outrage from the mainstream media for well-known politicians who shake down American citizens? These employees now live in fear for their families' lives. Where is the media's desire to get at the truth? Nowhere, that's where. Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 9:19pm Obama Press Conference It's so nice to have a President who can answer questions from the press corps in complete sentences. What a refreshing change. That being said, I'm not liking Obama's answers on the budget. This President tells us he doesn't want large deficits, yet he is submitting a budget that significantly jacks it up. As of today, our national debt to GDP ratio is 78%. If President Obama's budget passes in its current form and the Gross Domestic Product declines as expected in the coming quarters, our national debt will approach 100% of GDP by year-end. That is a terrifying figure and would put the United States among the most levered nations in the world. The speed at which the U.S. government is printing money and increasing the debt level is a major problem. These actions will eventually lead to inflation. To be sure, a modest level of price increases is normal and economically sound. However, if inflation moves significantly higher, it is very difficult to bring it back down to reasonable levels. Congress and President Obama are playing with fire with their spending habits. They best thing they can do right now sit back, take a deep breath, and put down the checkbook. Monday, March 23, 2009 - 9:09pm Couldn't Have Said it Better President Barack Obama went after the one of the most evil people on Earth on 60 Minutes last night. It's a tragedy that this monster Cheney is allowed to roam freely.
Sunday, March 22, 2009 - 10:55pm The Toxic Asset Plan Another plan, another $1 trillion down the drain. Pretty soon the government is going run out of money. They have to stop printing $$$ eventually, right? I'm betting Washington won't stop spending until inflation shows up. By the way, inflation is a lagging indicator, which means if the government is still spending willy-nilly when prices start rising, they'll never be able to control it. Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 9:00pm Protestors Visit AIG Exec Homes A bus tour in Connecticut is taking activists to see the houses of AIG executives. However, the bus that went out today allegedly had more reporters on it than actual protestors. Hmmm, do you think the mainstream media is trying to exploit this story just a little bit?
Am I the only one who believes showing angry people where these guys live is a really bad idea? I just see this situation ending very badly. The media will definitely cover the story of a crazed lunatic burning down the house or harming the residents, but they will take zero responsibility for stoking public outrage in the first place. Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 9:02pm Insane 90% Tax Increase What in the world are the Democrats doing??? The House just passed a bill to tax bonuses of every firm receiving $5 billion in TARP funds at a ludicrous 90%! By my count, that means employees at eight firms will have their bonuses stolen by our government.
Congress argues that this tax increase only effects Wall Street and AIG executives. They are lying! Washington is pillaging thousands of people from around the country. Employees from the firms listed above work in every state in America. There is a reason you don't let politicians meddle in the private sector. They don't know what the hell they're doing. The President must not sign this bill. Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 9:37pm Don't Release the Names! There is talk about whether to release the names of the individuals at Merrill Lynch and AIG who have received exhorbitant bonuses. As angry as we all are at these folks, releasing their names would be an enormous mistake Three AIG executives have already received multiple death threats after their names were made public. It will get exponentially worse if all the names are released. Unfortunately, Barney Frank (D-MA), one of the dumbest politicians on earth, is pushing for subpoenas to get the names out there. This must be stopped! Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 10:05pm Choose Your Words Carefully Rather than blame themselves for handing over hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars with no oversight, Washington politicians are feigning outrage at the bonuses being paid out to AIG. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) even suggested that AIG employees should kill themselves.
In addition, our government officials must be very careful not to unnecessarily fuel an already angry public toward this company. They could put the lives of these individuals and others at great risk. That is not an exaggeration. It doesn't take much for someone to go postal these days. Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 6:35pm Happy St. Patrick's Day! According to the Corrigan Brothers, there's no one as Irish as Barack Obama.
Sunday, March 15, 2009 - 9:45pm Bernanke Sees Recovery Ahead The Federal Reserve Chairman went on "60 Minutes" tonight to discuss the global financial crisis. He believes the U.S. recession will end this year and that the economy will recover early in 2010. The Fed Chairman's optimism and other recent positive comments from Timothy Geithner and President Obama are a welcome change from a month ago when they all spewed negativity. Consumer confidence is the main driver in the American economy and we need our leaders to reassure the public that we will improve, whether they believe it or not. Friday, March 13, 2009 - 9:15pm CNBC Under Attack You may have heard that CNBC television host Jim Cramer went on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. Stewart used the interview as a platform to go off on Cramer and the entire premise of CNBC.
Now I must disclose that I am an investment professional. I love The Daily Show and I can't stand Cramer's program. Jim Cramer is just a hack day-trader, nothing more. However, the reality is that Jon Stewart has no idea what he's talking about. Stewart pins all the blame for this housing and banking crisis on Wall Street and seems to believe that the deadbeat homeowner who signed the mortgage contract and bought a house they couldn't afford had no fault. Here's another problem. Jon Stewart and all these other clowns only tuned into CNBC once they lost half their money in the market. They don't understand that the channel caters to short-term investors, not long. Stewart and his angry constituents are looking for someone to blame for their plummeting net worth. They mistakenly believe that everyone on Wall Street and CNBC saw this coming and was culpable. Jon Stewart is giving Wall Street way, way too much credit. The truth is that even Wall Street professionals didn't know the sky was falling. Yes, investment banks levered themselves at 33-1, but it had became the norm over the years. It wasn't perceived to be overly risky. In fact, European banks had an even higher ratio. These banks were rewarded for using leverage when the market increased, but the reality is that property owner also benefited. What Jon Stewart didn't mention is that homeowners used at least that much leverage on their own mortgage. Any homeowner who bought a property with 3% down or less is using the same ratio. Even 5% down on a house equates to a 20-1 leverage ratio. It's disheartening that Stewart and other liberal blogs I previously respected are attacking CNBC and their on-air personalities. They really ought to learn something about investments and the markets before spouting off about something they know nothing about. Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 7:40pm Over 8,500 Earmarks President Obama is beginning to look nothing like Candidate Obama. The candidate promised to go over the budget "line by line" and eliminate every wasteful program. Washington would change under his leadership, he told us. Things would be different.
I guess Obama the candidate just told us stuff we wanted to hear in order to get elected. Shocking, I know. When push comes to shove, Barack Obama is just like everyone else in Washington - a typical, underhanded politician who says one thing and does another. What a disappointment. Tuesday, March 10, 2009 - 9:59pm Change the Rules For once in my life, I agree with Barney Frank (D-MA). The Chairman of the Financial Services Committee would like to see the uptick rule reinstated very quickly. He also supported a change in the mark-to market accounting rules. Both of these rules are killing the stock market, today notwithstanding. Any change to them is greatly welcomed. Monday, March 9, 2009 - 8:52pm Modern-Day Hooverville A tent city has popped up in Sacramento, California and it is growing rapidly. Homeless people are seeking refuge in these makeshift shanty-towns as foreclosures and unemployment skyrocket. Sacramento has 1,200 people in the tent city and another 50 move here every day.
Hooverville has returned. Is the Great Depression repeating itself? Sunday, March 8, 2009 - 5:45pm The Market is A-Political No matter what conservatives say, the stock market is not going down because of President Obama's budget and/or stimulus program. Equity prices are tanking because we're losing 600,000 jobs per month, housing prices continue to decline, and U.S. banks are effectively insolvent without government money. The Obama administration has not been perfect by any means, but to blame the stock market plunge solely on Washington is completely ignorant. The neocons need a better story. Thursday, March 5, 2009 - 10:40pm Michigan Unemployment Surges The unemployment rate in the State of Michigan rose to a staggering 11.6% in the month of January. It is an alarming figure and a solid 4% above the national rate. If this country goes through another depression, it will happen in Michigan first. Thursday, March 5, 2009 - 10:25pm Another Obama Pick Withdraws This time it's Sanjay Gupta, who has removed himself from consideration for Surgeon General. Supposedly he wasn't comfortable with taking a pay cut. Don't you think you would know exactly what the job paid before accepting?!? I guess our government just doesn't pay like the private sector. Maybe Dr. Gupta should go work for Merrill Lynch instead. I hear the bonuses are out of this world. Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - 10:19pm Merrill Thieves Get Subpoenas Seven of the ten executives from Merrill Lynch who pilfered $209 million in bonuses in 2008 have been subpoenaed by the Attorney General of New York. Among the thieves is the firm's top investment banker, Andrea Orcel, who took a staggering $33.8 million.
These awards were all moved up from a payout in early 2009 to December, 2008. This allowed Merrill to funnel money to the employees before the deal with Bank of America officially closed. Unfortunately, I'm sure nothing will happen to these executives. It's like legalized burglary. Tuesday, March 3, 2009 - 6:58pm Weekday Humor David Letterman captures the true essence of the incendiary entertainer, Rush Limbaugh.
Monday, March 2, 2009 - 8:22pm Republican Infighting This time the fight is between RNC Chairman Michael Steele and the well known drug-addict and comedian Rush Limbaugh. Apparently, you're not allowed to criticize the wack-job, radio host or you will be ostracized by other right-wing extremists. (see Ingraham, Laura) Imagine if the Democrats decided that Rosie O'Donnell would be the de-facto leader of their party. They would never win another election. Ok, they'd still win in Massachusetts, but nowhere else. By the same token, the GOP can't be led around by Rush Limbaugh, an extremist in every sense of the word. Republicans need to find the moderate voice of their party and fast. If they don't, they will lose even more seats in 2010. Sunday, March 1, 2009 - 7:15pm AIG Gets Another $30 Billion For those of you counting at home, that's a total of $180 billion handed out to AIG. Let me give you an idea of how much money that is: The federal government spent only $61 billion on education in 2008. Therefore, the cost to bail out one dreadful company is literally triple the amount of money spent on our entire education budget!!! C'mon people, force AIG to file for bankruptcy!!! Sunday, March 1, 2009 - 4:17pm Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work With all the money Citigroup is losing, must they continue to advertise at NASCAR? Is there really anyone out there who is not familiar with the Citigroup name by now? You would think they would try to reduce the size of their company and save. I guess that's too much to ask.
|
|
This
is ridiculous. We need to force these companies into bankruptcy.
The U.S. government is throwing good money after bad and blowing
billions in taxpayer dollars..
There are two things you need to take away from this letter.
First, most of the employees who destroyed AIG are long gone. The
folks remaining are the ones trying to clean up the mess. Second, it is
abundantly clear that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal are threatening these
employees.
Bonuses can be taxed at 90% at all of the following firms: JP
Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial, Goldman
Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and U.S. Bancorp. If this bill passes, you
will see a flood of talented individuals leave all these banks.
Our
leaders need to concentrate on actually fixing the problem in the
banking sector, not jumping up and down when they screw up. This
bonus issue is extremely minor in the whole scheme of things.
Well,
the federal budget came to President Obama's desk yesterday, chock-full
of thousands upon thousands of ridiculous spending earmarks totaling
Of course, Merrill Lynch lost
tens of billions of dollars in 2008. They were forced to sell the
company to Bank of America in order to avoid bankruptcy. Sounds
like a perfect time for massive bonuses, huh?