Maybe it's because of the Ron Paul book I'm reading, but any concept that this country is 100% based upon "capitalism" is pure fiction.
This ever so brief rant is based upon news tonight that the Federal Reserve* will bail out insurance giant AIG (with an $85 billion loan) and take an 80% stake in the company. (I have no idea what went wrong with the company, but I suspect that AIG had a ton of cash laying around over the last two years and decided to invest in bundles of mortgages that didn't turn out to be worth squat. We've seen this movie before.)
Here's our world as we know it: You can work your arse off and get taxed at an astronomical rate. Those taxes are simply used to redistribute the wealth primarily, not through welfare or "liberal programs", but through government jobs and purchases that probably don't need to exist at all. (And this includes the billions spent on the stupid Iraq war, and needless federal intervention like the Department of Education or the Federal Communications Commission.) And, at a frightening rate, bailouts.
If GM goes under, your tax dollars will be there. If TimeWarner goes under, you could expect the same. It goes on and on and on.
And, on a related note, I just looked up at the TV and saw President Bush during his PR trip to Galveston today. "I know some are concerned about whether or not the government will reimburse you for your stay [away from your home]," he said. "And the answer is 'yes'. We have a plan for the next thirty days." Then Fox 4's Heather Hays tells me, "The President also announced the fed [sic] will pick up the bill for all debris removal for a two week period starting on Saturday."
Where's my checkbook? I need to help the federal government help those people that decided to build next to an ocean.
And, I might add, this is under a Republican Administration. There's not a dimes worth of difference between the two parties.
I would call for a revolution, but I fear secret government wiretaps.
_______
*And don't give me this crap that the Federal Reserve isn't, in the end, the equivalent of the U.S. Government. Same goes for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
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9.16.2008
I Don't Know This Country Any More
Maybe it's because of the Ron Paul book I'm reading, but any concept that this country is 100% based upon "capitalism" is pure fiction.
This ever so brief rant is based upon news tonight that the Federal Reserve* will bail out insurance giant AIG (with an $85 billion loan) and take an 80% stake in the company. (I have no idea what went wrong with the company, but I suspect that AIG had a ton of cash laying around over the last two years and decided to invest in bundles of mortgages that didn't turn out to be worth squat. We've seen this movie before.)
Here's our world as we know it: You can work your arse off and get taxed at an astronomical rate. Those taxes are simply used to redistribute the wealth primarily, not through welfare or "liberal programs", but through government jobs and purchases that probably don't need to exist at all. (And this includes the billions spent on the stupid Iraq war, and needless federal intervention like the Department of Education or the Federal Communications Commission.) And, at a frightening rate, bailouts.
If GM goes under, your tax dollars will be there. If TimeWarner goes under, you could expect the same. It goes on and on and on.
And, on a related note, I just looked up at the TV and saw President Bush during his PR trip to Galveston today. "I know some are concerned about whether or not the government will reimburse you for your stay [away from your home]," he said. "And the answer is 'yes'. We have a plan for the next thirty days." Then Fox 4's Heather Hays tells me, "The President also announced the fed [sic] will pick up the bill for all debris removal for a two week period starting on Saturday."
Where's my checkbook? I need to help the federal government help those people that decided to build next to an ocean.
And, I might add, this is under a Republican Administration. There's not a dimes worth of difference between the two parties.
I would call for a revolution, but I fear secret government wiretaps.
_______
*And don't give me this crap that the Federal Reserve isn't, in the end, the equivalent of the U.S. Government. Same goes for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
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40 comments:
Looks like taking Social Security private and investing it in the stock market was the way to go after all....
Our tax dollars aren't enough, but the trillions of dollars in debt from loans from the Chinese and others will be there.
No, you've definitely got it right in regards to Fanny & Freddie...it's all the same damned purse. Keep all of those $100,000 balances spread out from bank to bank -- secure ones, that is....as bad as it sounds, the U.S. is overdue for another Depression. They're cyclical. Depressingly so....
Welcome Barry...
To the realization of the joys of being a WASP Middle-Class Male in America.
That aching on your shoulder is the financial burden for every other living being in our country upon us.
I am glad to see the [sic] work it's way back into play.
I lived in Mexico for 15 years. During this time I heard repeatedly that Mexicans were good people who were simply being given the shaft by bad government. I always looked around and thought that if you have bad government, it's because you are bad people. After all, it's not like your government comes from somewhere else, but rather they are simply people who you elected or allowed to run your affairs for you.
Well, now it appears our very own country is heading down the toilet at beak-neck speed. How did this happen? We used to be so great. Our government has done this to us! Well people, look in the mirror. Your government is simply a reflection of who you have become. If it's all going bad, it's because you have gone bad as a society. The work ethic that used to drive this once great nation evaporated in the face of mindless entertainment (can you spell TV?). A common sense of purpose went the way of self gratification at the cost of your neighbor's sense of right and wrong. Pride in quality products at a fair price folded as Walmart offered you cheap crap from China and you fell all over yourself to consume, and continue to do so even knowing the innnate stupidity that entails.
Yes, your government screwed the pooch on this, and most of you bet the farm in the form of paper money with the absurd illusion that the easy life was somehow a worthwhile goal. It was not. You lose. Pay the piper.
I, for one, always thought it was a dumb idea to continually look for an easy life while my government took care of everything for me. I have no stocks, 401K, IRA, pension plan. None of that. I do, however, have a respectable arsenal, a stockpile of garden seeds, a working knowledge of food production, and a healthy body capable of survival under any circumstance. Most of you have your government to blame.
Barry says, "but through government jobs and purchases that probably don't need to exist at all."
Help me out here, I looked forever but, couldn't run an old comparison down it went something like this.
During Lincolns administration 70% of the population lived on farms and the Deparment of Agriculture had a hundred (or ?)employees. Today less than 1% of the population is engaged in any type of agriculture and Department of Agriculture has over 10,000 (?)employees.
Anybody remember how that actually went?
Their main reason for existence anyway was to disseminate information to improve crop production and soil conservation.
Hmm, if there were only some tool that distilled the sum of mans knowledge into a readily available, searchable database?
I'm sorry your head is exploding.
I agree Barry. I have never understood all the bailouts all the time. How many times have we bailed American Airlines out? And yet we see Southwest Airlines run efficiently and responsibly and stay in the black even in tough times.
If my business went under, legitimately or from poor management, the government wouldn't come in and help bail me out. If a tornado came through and wiped out my house, the government wouldn't come and build me a new house and put me up in a motel.
I have previously posted information about Obama and Kerry being at the top of the list in amount of gifts (campaign funds) from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Now, here is part of a speech given by McCain in an attempt to pass the 2005 legislation to pull the reins in on these two housing financial giants who had been buying support from Congress.
McCain speaks in 2006: "I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole."
He said it and now it happened. Did McCain not say that the economy would be damaged? The Democrats killed the legislation. Stop blaming the Republicans.
Mr. Mike Honcho---i do not like you. Simply for the fact that your picture is of a nascar driver (i hate nascar) and i hate the word honcho.
Speaking of burden for us middle class guys....have y'all driven through Boyd lately?
This may just wake up Wordkyle.
Can't wait to hear his response..........yawn......let me get me some popcorn, a Dr. Pepper and get comfortable......it will be a long boring read
Welcome to the world of reality Barry. Sucks doesn't it? My only question - what took you so long?
Alright, let's place bets. I believe that because the Reps hate unions and the libs at the NYT hate gas guzzlers that we will NOT bail out any of the car companies. GM or Ford will be going bankrupt this year.
Barry, the AIG thing gets worse...google AIG, Hank Greenburg and Spitzer. The problem with bailing out AIG is that we have no idea what liabilities are still out there. Anyway, I think we bailed out AIG because the Euro govts leaned on us, big time, to get it done.
Wake up people, as 12:16 stated, McCain "hit the nail on the head".
Two problems: CEO's make entirely too much money, succeed or fail, win or lose, they still make millions. The "Golden Parachute" thing.
Big companies getting the "bailouts" are big donors in Washington. It's why McCain attempted to put a stop to it.
The meek shall inherit the earth.
But the wealthy will retain the mineral rights!
I would like to personaly thank all the greedy people,for making the US poor mans land:
Wal-mart for taking american mfg to china and paying our people minimum wage while making china richer.
Mfg companies who moved their facilities to mexico and forgot about American workers.
Illegals for overunning our system,schools,healthcare,social security..your greedy government forces you out of your own land!
Forcing the poor to pay for your greed will be a heavy price to pay
when it comes to your last thoughts,and standing before GOD!
i agree with you barry.
its time to change congress and the senate and the president.
The Democrats blocked putting a halt to unsound lending practices. The Republicans tried to stop it through legislation but were stopped by a Democrat Congress who were bought and paid for by Fannie Mae. Obama was their highest paid (bribed?) agent.
Now he talks about how the president is responsible for the economy. Basic civics - the Congress passes or blocks legislation that becomes the laws under which business opperate.
In early 2006 McCain said the executives at Fannie Mae were crooks whereas Obama was bought and paid for by them. There is a "dimes worth of difference" between McCain and Obama.
11:15
"If it's all going bad, it's because you have gone bad as a society. The work ethic that used to drive this once great nation evaporated in the face of mindless entertainment (can you spell TV?). A common sense of purpose went the way of self gratification at the cost of your neighbor's sense of right and wrong. Pride in quality products at a fair price folded as Walmart offered you cheap crap from China and you fell all over yourself to consume, and continue to do so even knowing the innnate stupidity that entails."
Well said! Look at your family and yourself first. How are you living? What are you teaching your children about money and "things?" Do they have everything they want? IPhones, Game this or that, their own computer, TV, and on and on. Do they work for it? or just expect it?
We have raised and continue to raise children with everything handed to them. They grow up and expect someone to continue the trend.
You may not have kids...but I'm sure you have neices, nephews etc. You might want to teach them how to plant a seed, cook, wash, ans save!
Thank you 8:21. I know there is a least one person out there who sees what I believe to be true.
It is ok to use offshore slaves/underpaid workers in China but not in America. We just put our workers on welfare. The unions, who created a huge market base of well paid consumers who bought millions of washing machines and cars and houses, have been sold out by the Republicans and Democrats. My truck was made in Mexico. Everything I buy at Walmart is made in China. My tendancy, as a conservative, is to blame Clinton for NAFTA but we all know that both parties supported the legislation that created NAFTA and destroyed American jobs. We use slave labor from Mexico (millions and millions of them) to build our houses and then complain about unemployment rates.
On with the insurection Barry!
I can't rant anymore now, have to either do some manual labor today or hire an illegal. I choose to work. It will help my muscles.
Question I thought of this morning. What connections doesn't Lehman Brothers have with government folks that AIG does? On Monday Lehmans was looking for investers to bail them out or face bankruptcy and the government said no and Bush even said we can't bail everyone out. This caused a 500 point drop on Wall Street. Fortunately, they got picked up by an English Co. But on Tuesday, AIG is in the same situation and they get an 80 Billion dollar loan from the Feds. Is this selective help from the government. What's the differenc? Somebody help me figure this out.
m-m, AIG is an insurance company, not a brokerage firm like Lehman. Any of AIG's insurance liabilities written to consumers must be paid, even if AIG goes under. And the individual state insurance departments are the ones who pay. Commercial insurance policies would not be paid off, however. AIG wrote a lot of commerical policies that other companies would/could not. (as an example, most companies would not be able to insure Sears Tower after 9/11.) If AIG went under it could completely collapse many insurance markets worldwide. There would be lines of insurance that just disappear.
so you're saying if a Democrat were "in office" then the PR that person would be saying to the Galveston folk would sound like this: " Sorry, we are not helping you guys out at all... the clean up is on your own dime and too bad about your losses. We are the federal government and we don't give a hooey about what you are going through."
That about right, huh?
No....they would say the exact same thing Bush said!
Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac faced the same situation as Lehman Bros. Gov't also told them there would be no "rescue." I happen to think as Barry does that AIG probably made several investments in mortage loans.... therefore, had the gov't bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, then AIG would not have suffered as it did. Kind of like the gov't could have "nipped it in the bud," but didn't. Now we have Lehmans, Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae stock holders losing huge bundles of money as their stocks fell in price tremendously! This is a total mess! Our congress is to blame for all of it! ALL of it! Regulation was removed, NAFTA was supported, etc..etc. What happened to taking care of AMERICA??
please don't mention wal-mart, china, or slave labor without mentioning the clintons at the same time..don't forget that hillary rotten was the attorney for and sat on the board of wmart for many years..they own millions in shares of wmart..please never forget..!
950 GOOD QUESTION....
Why are Banks failing? Why is Goldman Sachs NOT failing? Derivatives.
Commodities Futures Modernization Act 2000 created a "Dark Market" (these unregulated transactions are not transparent-can't be seen by watching stock market numbers). It created a casino on Wall Street.
1. Derivatives - A Bet, in this case, that homeowners can pay their loans.
2. Credit Swaps - similar to insurance. If you lose your bet, you will get your money back (AIG is BIG in this area and because AIG 'insured' so many 'bets' if they fail, all the other banks fail)
3. CDO - loans bundled and sold to investors. Rating companies KNEW they were sub prime and high risk but misrepresented as them anyway.
ALL UNREGULATED.
2007 Top Sub prime lender Countrywide failed. Homeowners could NOT pay their home loans. Bets were lost. Bear Stearns top Dark Market player-failed. (Goldman Sachs did not play in Dark Market) Other banks are now failing.
Worse Financial failure since the Great Depression, says Greenspan and others. All protections put in place after the 1929 collapse have been removed. (Glass-Stegall repealed)
It is very complicated. PLEASE educate yourself before the election!!
It is NOT about abortion, gays, family values, patriotism, religion or hatred of Democrats.
It is about the extremely unimaginable rich getting richer.
It IS about the FAILURE of our Country! If you are a patriot, you owe it to your country to spend time understanding what is happening! Read non-biased sources and THINK. Then vote.
BG.....All you have to do now is bark about affirmative action, unlimited welfare programs, and the like, and you just might make a decent Republican. Welcome to the club of "I'd like to keep the money that I make in my pocket" club.
does anyone remember the old saying "SOUND AS A DOLLAR"..well it ain't a saying anymore folks..bottom line, it's more our fault than anyone else's..we allowed the corruption to consume us all. we have become weaker, not stronger as our forefathers, who fought and died to make us a better, stronger and respected country..because we were honest and forthright in our actions and words..not anymore folks. sad old man.....
sometimes i get the strangest feeling that our leaders know that the world is coming to and end and only they know that all these debts will never really have to be repaid. are we doomed and just don't know it..? or do we....?
"Country First" my A$$.
Thank you 10:08.
And try as we might, I and my wife have only half the income the last 8 years as we had the previous 8.
Where do I sign up for some "bailout"?
Okay...my turn.
1. If some the Gov't won't bail out all unions...not just auto makers, what about telecommunications, power/utilities, police, firemen,teamsters...etc...etc
Unions are what run this country and what got every single one of you away from a $2.00 work week.
2. Since when has it become the responsibility of the government to do all of the "assisting" after a hurricane? I was a teen when Hurricane Carla came through the Gulf Coast in '61. The only "relief" we got was from the Salvation Army and Red Cross. That plus the insurance companies......When did we (the Gov't) become responsible for giving everyone a $3,000.00 credit card or put them up in motels or give them trailers? Yes, I feel sorry for those displaced because of a natural disaster. Does that mean the Gov't needs to come to my home if it's hit by a tornado and destroyed? Do I get a credit card and will they put me up in a motel for months while FEMA builds me a new house or gives me a trailer? My "natural disaster" is just as bad as theirs. When your home and belongings are gone, it doesn't matter if you live on the coast or BFE. They're gone and you're homeless.
Damn right they should bill those morons who stayed behind and then expected and demanded to be rescued. Especially the moron from the Kemah area who stayed on his boat during the storm. Then called 911 for help DURING the peak of the storm. When they were able to finally get there, he refused to leave. Sure motivates the emergency personnel for the next call.....
We have become a society of whimps,asking for a handout being led by unqualified leadership who forgot they are elected to serve the people...not the other way around. We let other countries come here and change our culture....Mexican History Month my crusty butt........
I remember when we used to take care of ourselves instead of expecting the Gov't to do it for us.
9:33 & 10:08 Thank you for your explanations, they have helped me gain a little better understanding. I'm still a little foggy about all this.
Even though AIG is insurance, they took the risk and with risk comes consequences if that risk doesn't pan out. It just seems to me our government is saying 'there are no consequences. We will fix it if you get into trouble'. Where my view is that in a free market society there are failures and successes and if a business, due to mismanagement or higher risks or whatever, ends up failing it needs to fail.
Time to put "Operation Mayhem" in to action.
Sextuple Fake Tyler Durden
Mexican-American, African-American, etc... When the hyphen is used, that means a DIVIDED AMERICAN!! No good! Come here to be AMERICAN. Leave Mexican, African, Russian, behind or else stay in the country that has whatever culture you choose. WE ARE AMERICANS here. Really really chaps my hide when I hear a person hyphenate AMERICA!
4:10.... you're a real nut job
524 what are you..a hyphenate-american..???
5:24, obviously, you are one of those divided Americans to whom I referred. So, where do your loyalties lie? Or do you have any at all?
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