The apocalypse is upon us! Everybody panic! Or not. Just kidding! Lets just create panic in the little guy on Monday so we can reap large profits on Tuesday. Whew, that was easy money. Thanks Congress!
Try to make sense of the last two days. I dare you. I'm not afraid to admit that I am completely lost. Is it necessary to help out the credit markets? I still think yes. But I am not as sure as yesterday.
I am more sure today of one thing though, these buffoons in Washington need to be taught a serious lesson. I have said it before and I will say it again, we need to get rid of every last one of them and it needs to start in November.
The more interviews and press conferences I watch of these poor excuses for human beings the more I am sure they have stopped being useful to any of us. In fact, I am now of the mind set that any voter who pulls a ballot for an incumbent needs to have his or her right to vote revoked and have their head checked.
Why would we vote for an incumbent? How have they served us so far? Have they not completely failed us and stewards of this great nation? We gave them our trust and they took that faith and have destroyed it. They are all corrupted by the system.
I know the system must change too, but changing the components is a good first start. Its harder for special interest to get their hooks in to a chaotic system.
Yesterday I asked for the finger pointing to begin. I chose the wrong words, let the finger pointing continue. You see that is all they are good for, covering their asses and assigning blame. Here is a news flash folks, they are BOTH to blame.
Listen to the white noise and you will hear 535 congressional members lying to the American people. Do you know how I know they are lying to us? Because they are talking! These wastes of space are incapable of telling us the truth, and to tell you the truth, I am sick of it.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Politics as usual.
Was anybody shocked by the fact the bailout package was not passed? This is not a popular piece of legislation. Politicians do not want to vote for bill that could possibly cost them their jobs. These people are not leaders, they are chickens and I think its time to turn the chickens over to Frank Perdue for processing.
Let the finger pointing begin. Oh yeah, and let the holiday recess begin. Congress will not be back in session until Thursday and the Dow is down 700+ points. They worked hard over the weekend after all.
Do you need a clearer argument to unseat the people in power in Washington? There are no leaders among them. This bailout is a tragedy. We should not have to bailout Wall Street, however it is imperative for us to do so. Credit markets need to be opened, and they will not be, at least in the short term, without something being done.
Think about this, unless you work for a well capitalized, cash rich company, your employer may not have access to enough short term cash to make payroll. Does that make this problem close enough to home? Something needs to be done!
I cannot begin to express my anger that we are here. I am even more angry that I cannot see any other way to fix the situation we are in without crippling our economy.
Even worse, I now find myself agreeing with Jack Cafferty from CNN, he just called for the unseating of every incumbent in Washington. The train is leaving the tracks ladies and gentlemen.
God Help America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Let the finger pointing begin. Oh yeah, and let the holiday recess begin. Congress will not be back in session until Thursday and the Dow is down 700+ points. They worked hard over the weekend after all.
Do you need a clearer argument to unseat the people in power in Washington? There are no leaders among them. This bailout is a tragedy. We should not have to bailout Wall Street, however it is imperative for us to do so. Credit markets need to be opened, and they will not be, at least in the short term, without something being done.
Think about this, unless you work for a well capitalized, cash rich company, your employer may not have access to enough short term cash to make payroll. Does that make this problem close enough to home? Something needs to be done!
I cannot begin to express my anger that we are here. I am even more angry that I cannot see any other way to fix the situation we are in without crippling our economy.
Even worse, I now find myself agreeing with Jack Cafferty from CNN, he just called for the unseating of every incumbent in Washington. The train is leaving the tracks ladies and gentlemen.
God Help America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Friday, September 26, 2008
If I hear one more time...
that Barak Obama is going to lower the taxes for 95% of Americans, I am going to lose my mind.
I was having a conversation with a friend a few weeks back and he pointed out this statistic is mathematically impossible. The only way you could give a tax cut to 95% of taxpayers is if at least 95% of the population is currently paying taxes. It is estimated 40% of tax payers don't pay any federal income tax at all. (Before anyone gets on me, I realize we all pay Social Security and Medicare tax.)
How then, can you give a tax break to 95% of Americans if only 60% of Americans pay federal income tax to begin with? It must be the new math they are teaching in our schools. When I learned basic math, I was told you cannot have a number less than zero. What then is Barak Obama talking about?
My fear is that he is talking about the expansion of welfare payments and income redistribution thru the IRS. Did you know it is possible to get a larger refund than you paid in withholding? Depending on your deductions this is possible.
Let me put this plainly to you. There are "taxpayers" who have $7000 withheld thruout the tax year and then get $8000, or probably more, back from the IRS. Is that tax policy or social welfare? Not only are these folks not paying their share, they are a burden on the system.
Now I realize there is a need for basic social services and welfare. US citizens deserve a helping hand when they are in need. However, as I have discussed before, there needs to be limits to these programs and there needs to be value delivered by the recipients of these programs.
The problem here is that our "leaders" have been allowed to bastardize the tax system to provide subsidies. This practice needs to stop and Obama wants to expand it! How else would he give a "cut" to the 40% of the population who pay nothing to begin with?
I need a drink. This debate is driving me crazy.
God help us all, and God bless America,
EG
erik@exchngeyourgovernment.com
I was having a conversation with a friend a few weeks back and he pointed out this statistic is mathematically impossible. The only way you could give a tax cut to 95% of taxpayers is if at least 95% of the population is currently paying taxes. It is estimated 40% of tax payers don't pay any federal income tax at all. (Before anyone gets on me, I realize we all pay Social Security and Medicare tax.)
How then, can you give a tax break to 95% of Americans if only 60% of Americans pay federal income tax to begin with? It must be the new math they are teaching in our schools. When I learned basic math, I was told you cannot have a number less than zero. What then is Barak Obama talking about?
My fear is that he is talking about the expansion of welfare payments and income redistribution thru the IRS. Did you know it is possible to get a larger refund than you paid in withholding? Depending on your deductions this is possible.
Let me put this plainly to you. There are "taxpayers" who have $7000 withheld thruout the tax year and then get $8000, or probably more, back from the IRS. Is that tax policy or social welfare? Not only are these folks not paying their share, they are a burden on the system.
Now I realize there is a need for basic social services and welfare. US citizens deserve a helping hand when they are in need. However, as I have discussed before, there needs to be limits to these programs and there needs to be value delivered by the recipients of these programs.
The problem here is that our "leaders" have been allowed to bastardize the tax system to provide subsidies. This practice needs to stop and Obama wants to expand it! How else would he give a "cut" to the 40% of the population who pay nothing to begin with?
I need a drink. This debate is driving me crazy.
God help us all, and God bless America,
EG
erik@exchngeyourgovernment.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Buffett buys into Goldman...
Makes sense to me. I was having conversations with friends a couple weeks ago after reading an interview with Warren Buffett where he said the worst was yet to come. We agreed that the turn around will begin when Buffett starts investing.
Well, he was right, the worst was right around the corner. Is this the end? Will we begin to see the market turn around? Probably, but at what cost? I would have much rather seen the investment banks go under, cut the cord and move on. Sure there would be pain, but in the end we would not me mortgaging our future on a high interest credit card held by the Bank of China.
This bailout, were being told, is necessary. Why? Do these investment banks and insurance companies we are saving produce anything? It's all paper transactions. They only produce paper transactions, and those can be replaced.
Sure, people will get hurt. Rich people, middle class, and the poor. But, and I am no economist, I feel that letting them fail is the better long term solution. It would show consequence to poor judgement and investment.
What then are we bailing them out? Simply put, I believe this is a less painful solution for the politicians who let this happen on their watch, so that is why they are heading down this dangerous path.
Does Congress want you to know how badly they messed this thing up? Of course not. Does the White House want you to know they knew this was going to happen, yet did nothing to avoid it? Of course not.
I find it laughable that the Democrat led Congress is blaming the Bush Administration completely for this failure. Did they have something to do with it? Yes, however, since the average tenure of a member of the House, at the beginning of the 110th Congress, was over 10 years and just short of 13 years for Senators, I think they have had more to do with the creation of the issues at hand. (Plus, Bush is out in January, where will they be?)
Please, I beg you, join me in voting out and and all incumbents in November. It may not solve our issues, but it will be a good first step.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Well, he was right, the worst was right around the corner. Is this the end? Will we begin to see the market turn around? Probably, but at what cost? I would have much rather seen the investment banks go under, cut the cord and move on. Sure there would be pain, but in the end we would not me mortgaging our future on a high interest credit card held by the Bank of China.
This bailout, were being told, is necessary. Why? Do these investment banks and insurance companies we are saving produce anything? It's all paper transactions. They only produce paper transactions, and those can be replaced.
Sure, people will get hurt. Rich people, middle class, and the poor. But, and I am no economist, I feel that letting them fail is the better long term solution. It would show consequence to poor judgement and investment.
What then are we bailing them out? Simply put, I believe this is a less painful solution for the politicians who let this happen on their watch, so that is why they are heading down this dangerous path.
Does Congress want you to know how badly they messed this thing up? Of course not. Does the White House want you to know they knew this was going to happen, yet did nothing to avoid it? Of course not.
I find it laughable that the Democrat led Congress is blaming the Bush Administration completely for this failure. Did they have something to do with it? Yes, however, since the average tenure of a member of the House, at the beginning of the 110th Congress, was over 10 years and just short of 13 years for Senators, I think they have had more to do with the creation of the issues at hand. (Plus, Bush is out in January, where will they be?)
Please, I beg you, join me in voting out and and all incumbents in November. It may not solve our issues, but it will be a good first step.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
Where does the time go?
Seriously. I would love an answer. The last week went by so fast that I am not positive it actually happened. Thank God I have the internet to catch me up on things.
I sometimes try to imagine how things would be different if my ability to access information was limited to the daily newspaper and one of the three talking heads from the nightly news cast. How much would I miss? How much harder would it be to catch up?
My father would read all the newspapers from the previous week after we would get back from vacation just so he could keep up. I don't think I would have the time to do that today. Who would?
Anyway, I'll move on. I have read a number of articles assigning blame for our financial crisis to everybody from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton to GW Bush to Barak Obama (Really? He's only been in the Senate for 3 years, how would this be possible.) to the Easter Bunny. A good number of them were well written, however, except in very few cases, they were mostly filled with partisan agendas.
Where have all the journalists gone? Are all of the media members in the tank for someone? How could any sane individual look at our financial crisis and deduce that it all one person or one party's fault?
Our economy is in crisis right now because both parties were too busy pushing the agendas of their party "bases" and not busy enough minding the store. Freddie and Fanny are in trouble because of bad underwriting. Wall St. is in trouble because of lack of government oversight.
Who benefits from poor underwriting? Who benefits from little government oversight over our financial banks? I'll let you answer those for yourself. A little hint though, they are not the same answer.
If these two questions cannot be answered the same way, why then can I find thousands of "news" articles assigning blame to one side or the other? I am disgusted. Some honesty would be nice.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
I sometimes try to imagine how things would be different if my ability to access information was limited to the daily newspaper and one of the three talking heads from the nightly news cast. How much would I miss? How much harder would it be to catch up?
My father would read all the newspapers from the previous week after we would get back from vacation just so he could keep up. I don't think I would have the time to do that today. Who would?
Anyway, I'll move on. I have read a number of articles assigning blame for our financial crisis to everybody from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton to GW Bush to Barak Obama (Really? He's only been in the Senate for 3 years, how would this be possible.) to the Easter Bunny. A good number of them were well written, however, except in very few cases, they were mostly filled with partisan agendas.
Where have all the journalists gone? Are all of the media members in the tank for someone? How could any sane individual look at our financial crisis and deduce that it all one person or one party's fault?
Our economy is in crisis right now because both parties were too busy pushing the agendas of their party "bases" and not busy enough minding the store. Freddie and Fanny are in trouble because of bad underwriting. Wall St. is in trouble because of lack of government oversight.
Who benefits from poor underwriting? Who benefits from little government oversight over our financial banks? I'll let you answer those for yourself. A little hint though, they are not the same answer.
If these two questions cannot be answered the same way, why then can I find thousands of "news" articles assigning blame to one side or the other? I am disgusted. Some honesty would be nice.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Dow off nearly 1000 points in two days...everybody panic!
Just kidding.
Make no mistake about it, this is a problem, and it has been a problem for a long time. Our "leaders" have just chosen to ignore the issue. And now, we all have to pay.
Can someone explain to me why the directors and executives of these companies are not being indited today? How is it possible no laws were broken here? That's a trick question, of course laws were broken, but nobody will be prosecuted. Not under this corrupt bureaucracy, not under these corrupt politicians.
Unless and until our legislators begin to prosecute white collar criminals with crimes, this kind of stuff will continue to happen. Maybe not today, there will be a lot of eyes on Wall Street now, but not to far from now, when we have all forgotten the pain of today, it will happen again. Remember 1987?
The penalties for these kinds of white collar crimes need to be almost usurious in nature to have any effect at all. Say, life in prison in a federal penitentiary with murderers and rapists for people like the CEO of Lehman, Bear Sterns, Enron, etc. How do you think Ken Lay would have fared in the general population? I would have loved to find out. Rot in Hell Ken.
You see, the problem with our current system of justice is that is is not based on how the crime effects the general public. The former CEO of AIG, Martin J. Sullivan, in concert with his unscrupulous henchmen, has done more damage to this country than any serial killer, yet Jeff Dahmer was sentenced to death. FYI...Sullivan received a $47 million severance package in June for resigning after AIG write of $20 billion in losses. I need that pay plan.
Don't get me wrong, I am not defending serial murder, I am just trying to make folks understand that the true evil in this world largely goes unpunished or at least under punished. Jeff Skillings is currently serving a 24 year sentence in a country club jail. I know that is a long time, however, since he caused the Enron collapse, that seems light to me.
Corruption in our financial markets effect us all. Murderers only effect the immediate and extended circles of their victims. Who deserves the longer sentence?
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Make no mistake about it, this is a problem, and it has been a problem for a long time. Our "leaders" have just chosen to ignore the issue. And now, we all have to pay.
Can someone explain to me why the directors and executives of these companies are not being indited today? How is it possible no laws were broken here? That's a trick question, of course laws were broken, but nobody will be prosecuted. Not under this corrupt bureaucracy, not under these corrupt politicians.
Unless and until our legislators begin to prosecute white collar criminals with crimes, this kind of stuff will continue to happen. Maybe not today, there will be a lot of eyes on Wall Street now, but not to far from now, when we have all forgotten the pain of today, it will happen again. Remember 1987?
The penalties for these kinds of white collar crimes need to be almost usurious in nature to have any effect at all. Say, life in prison in a federal penitentiary with murderers and rapists for people like the CEO of Lehman, Bear Sterns, Enron, etc. How do you think Ken Lay would have fared in the general population? I would have loved to find out. Rot in Hell Ken.
You see, the problem with our current system of justice is that is is not based on how the crime effects the general public. The former CEO of AIG, Martin J. Sullivan, in concert with his unscrupulous henchmen, has done more damage to this country than any serial killer, yet Jeff Dahmer was sentenced to death. FYI...Sullivan received a $47 million severance package in June for resigning after AIG write of $20 billion in losses. I need that pay plan.
Don't get me wrong, I am not defending serial murder, I am just trying to make folks understand that the true evil in this world largely goes unpunished or at least under punished. Jeff Skillings is currently serving a 24 year sentence in a country club jail. I know that is a long time, however, since he caused the Enron collapse, that seems light to me.
Corruption in our financial markets effect us all. Murderers only effect the immediate and extended circles of their victims. Who deserves the longer sentence?
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Monday, September 15, 2008
Good Bye Lehman/Merrill...
It is going to be a bumpy ride today! When American wakes up and sees that Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America and AIG is seeking a $40 billion loan from the fed, I fear the news will be too much to avoid a huge correction in the market.
Is this a surprise to anyone? Didn't we all know this was coming? The failings of the government to provide proper oversight over our financial institutions has gotten us to this point. Thankfully this time the Fed showed the restraint to not bail out Lehman. I was fully expecting another round of corporate socialism once I heard the Korean investors had backed out of the Lehman purchase last week.
Despite the restraint in this instance, what got us here was a failing of our leadership at all levels, across both parties and all three branches of government. This is precisely why we need a wholesale exchange of the folks in power and to get back to basic fundamentals. Oh yeah, and by the way, we need to get rid of the lobbyists who have been allowed to corrupt our system of government.
As yourself this...if Congress has a 9% approval rating and the country is looking for a change, then why will 70%, or more, of incumbents win their elections in November? I believe it has to do with the "not in my backyard" factor.
Too many of us believe our senators or house leaders are doing a fine job and that it is everyone else's congressional delegation who is the problem. What? That is insanity. I beg and plead with the American voter to wake up and realize the problem is "All of the Above."
I am currently researching the stare specific individual approval ratings of the 535 members of Congress and will report my findings prior to the end of the month. What will I find? So far I have yet to find a rating approaching 9%. Interesting? I think so.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Is this a surprise to anyone? Didn't we all know this was coming? The failings of the government to provide proper oversight over our financial institutions has gotten us to this point. Thankfully this time the Fed showed the restraint to not bail out Lehman. I was fully expecting another round of corporate socialism once I heard the Korean investors had backed out of the Lehman purchase last week.
Despite the restraint in this instance, what got us here was a failing of our leadership at all levels, across both parties and all three branches of government. This is precisely why we need a wholesale exchange of the folks in power and to get back to basic fundamentals. Oh yeah, and by the way, we need to get rid of the lobbyists who have been allowed to corrupt our system of government.
As yourself this...if Congress has a 9% approval rating and the country is looking for a change, then why will 70%, or more, of incumbents win their elections in November? I believe it has to do with the "not in my backyard" factor.
Too many of us believe our senators or house leaders are doing a fine job and that it is everyone else's congressional delegation who is the problem. What? That is insanity. I beg and plead with the American voter to wake up and realize the problem is "All of the Above."
I am currently researching the stare specific individual approval ratings of the 535 members of Congress and will report my findings prior to the end of the month. What will I find? So far I have yet to find a rating approaching 9%. Interesting? I think so.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I coun't have said it any better myself...
I have been racking my brain over the past several days, wondering how best to express my feelings about 09.11.2001. Well, I got an e-mail from a friend that sums it up nicely so I figured I would share it. (I have left out the names in the spirit of privacy.)
"Have you forgotten?
Please take 4:10 to watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpoudLoc8sY
A country music fan, I am not. A red white & blue blooded American, I proudly am.
I intended to wax poetic about what this day means to me, but I've decided to keep this relatively brief.
Simply put, as my (poor) wife can attest, not one single solitary day has gone by that I have not reflected on the events of 9-11-01. That day ignited a fire deep within the caverns of my soul........a soul which still aches of sorrow, yet still screams for revenge.
Do not forget what happened. Do not forget who is responsible. Do not allow for this day to be merely a "bad date" on the calendar. Rather, take some time to remember where you were, what you were doing, and EXACTLY how you felt when you saw or heard what took place.
It is the dissipation of that atrociously sickening feeling we recall in the pits of our stomachs which has allowed our nation, our leaders and our disgraceful political parties to become so horrifically divided.
I'm not sure whether I just care more about America than most, or if I'm just much better at holding and harboring intense/eternal grudges towards those who attack my family, my friends and my country. In today's world, I would probably be criticized for both. But guess who doesn't care............
Don't forget."
Like I said, I couldn't say it better myself.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
"Have you forgotten?
Please take 4:10 to watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpoudLoc8sY
A country music fan, I am not. A red white & blue blooded American, I proudly am.
I intended to wax poetic about what this day means to me, but I've decided to keep this relatively brief.
Simply put, as my (poor) wife can attest, not one single solitary day has gone by that I have not reflected on the events of 9-11-01. That day ignited a fire deep within the caverns of my soul........a soul which still aches of sorrow, yet still screams for revenge.
Do not forget what happened. Do not forget who is responsible. Do not allow for this day to be merely a "bad date" on the calendar. Rather, take some time to remember where you were, what you were doing, and EXACTLY how you felt when you saw or heard what took place.
It is the dissipation of that atrociously sickening feeling we recall in the pits of our stomachs which has allowed our nation, our leaders and our disgraceful political parties to become so horrifically divided.
I'm not sure whether I just care more about America than most, or if I'm just much better at holding and harboring intense/eternal grudges towards those who attack my family, my friends and my country. In today's world, I would probably be criticized for both. But guess who doesn't care............
Don't forget."
Like I said, I couldn't say it better myself.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Fannie & Freddie: Obama's Inconvenient Truth
As you may recall from my previous posts, I have a problem with lobbyists. They have corrupted our system of government and have stacked the deck against the middle class in America. If it were up to me, 22,000-37,000 federal lobbyists would be looking for work today. Unfortunately, its not up to me. It's up to the people the lobbyists are hired to spin. Conflict of interest? I'll let you answer this question yourself.
Why do I feel the need to discuss this today? Well, it looks like the champion of "clean," "lobbyist-free" elections was DEEP in the pockets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. How deep, you may wonder?
Let's look at the statistics, shall we? According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, since the 1990 election cycle, Freddie and Fannie's employees and PAC have given $19.5 million to federal candidates and committees. Of these donations, 53% have gone to Republicans and 47% have gone to Democrats. Not surprisingly, Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate banking committee, collected the most from the two companies totaling $133,900.
The eye opening stat to me was that the Messiah collected the second most with donations totaling $122,850! More staggering is the fact that Chris Dodd amassed those donations over a 19 year period while Obama has amassed his war chest in just 5 years! Dodd received just over $7000 a year while Obama has received nearly $25,000 annually since he declared his Senate candidacy. By contrast, McCain has received only $21,300 in total donations since 1989. (Just over $1000 annually.)
Now, I understand, in the whole scheme of things, $25,000 is a minimal amount when compared to the HALF BILLION DOLLARS Obama is spending to try to buy the presidency. However it does underscore the fact that with Obama you are not getting good change, you are getting politics as usual. Personally, I'm disappointed.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchngeyourgovernment.com
Why do I feel the need to discuss this today? Well, it looks like the champion of "clean," "lobbyist-free" elections was DEEP in the pockets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. How deep, you may wonder?
Let's look at the statistics, shall we? According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, since the 1990 election cycle, Freddie and Fannie's employees and PAC have given $19.5 million to federal candidates and committees. Of these donations, 53% have gone to Republicans and 47% have gone to Democrats. Not surprisingly, Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate banking committee, collected the most from the two companies totaling $133,900.
The eye opening stat to me was that the Messiah collected the second most with donations totaling $122,850! More staggering is the fact that Chris Dodd amassed those donations over a 19 year period while Obama has amassed his war chest in just 5 years! Dodd received just over $7000 a year while Obama has received nearly $25,000 annually since he declared his Senate candidacy. By contrast, McCain has received only $21,300 in total donations since 1989. (Just over $1000 annually.)
Now, I understand, in the whole scheme of things, $25,000 is a minimal amount when compared to the HALF BILLION DOLLARS Obama is spending to try to buy the presidency. However it does underscore the fact that with Obama you are not getting good change, you are getting politics as usual. Personally, I'm disappointed.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchngeyourgovernment.com
Monday, September 8, 2008
This Freddie/Fannie disaster...
Is why, combined with the Bear Sterns bailout, I have left the Republican Party. Make no mistake about it, this move by Paulson on Sunday does much more for the bond holders on Wall St. and around the world than it does for the American taxpayer.
I am familiar with the counter argument that this move was necessary to keep the mortgage industry from crumbling and causing a panic in the markets. Obviously, a market correction is not fun for anyone, but ultimately these poor investments need to bear losses on someone and I would prefer China or Japan suffer the loss in bond value. The stock holders were crushed by this move. Why not the bond holders?
We are now in a time where Paulson is being praised for a move that once again challenges the free market economy we Americans hold dear. I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but I agree with Jim Rogers statement that this is a communist type move intended to benefit the rich.
Think about it. Who are going to suffer the greatest losses under this plan? The bond holders are now protected by the full faith and credit of the US government. The share holders have lost 97% of their value and all ownership voting rights! This is a bad deal, shortsightedly structured to prop up the market.
I wonder if history will look at this moment in time as the point where the free market stopped, and socialism began. If our leaders in Washington continue to bail out their rich buddies with deals like this, the middle and lower classes will have no choice but to counter act their nefarious plans. Unfortunately, my fear is that the counter punch will be election of leaders like Obama who is hell bent on creating a form of socialism 180 degrees the opposite of the Bush plan. The problem is, us in the middle will still be paying the freight. We will be treading water the same as today, just in a different pool.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
I am familiar with the counter argument that this move was necessary to keep the mortgage industry from crumbling and causing a panic in the markets. Obviously, a market correction is not fun for anyone, but ultimately these poor investments need to bear losses on someone and I would prefer China or Japan suffer the loss in bond value. The stock holders were crushed by this move. Why not the bond holders?
We are now in a time where Paulson is being praised for a move that once again challenges the free market economy we Americans hold dear. I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but I agree with Jim Rogers statement that this is a communist type move intended to benefit the rich.
Think about it. Who are going to suffer the greatest losses under this plan? The bond holders are now protected by the full faith and credit of the US government. The share holders have lost 97% of their value and all ownership voting rights! This is a bad deal, shortsightedly structured to prop up the market.
I wonder if history will look at this moment in time as the point where the free market stopped, and socialism began. If our leaders in Washington continue to bail out their rich buddies with deals like this, the middle and lower classes will have no choice but to counter act their nefarious plans. Unfortunately, my fear is that the counter punch will be election of leaders like Obama who is hell bent on creating a form of socialism 180 degrees the opposite of the Bush plan. The problem is, us in the middle will still be paying the freight. We will be treading water the same as today, just in a different pool.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Friday, September 5, 2008
Going dark...
I'll be out of town in the Berkshires tonight and tomorrow. I'll return on Sunday with my thoughts on McCain's speech and the RNC in general. (Holy cow were there a lot of ugly white people there.)
Have a great weekend.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Have a great weekend.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I have no words...
To describe how outraged I was when I saw this CNN.com had posted on its from page this morning along with a story about Sarah Palin and her speech last night. Who can defend this obvious act of photographic slander? If a picture means a thousand words, what does this picture say? Sarah Palin is a Nazi, two hundred times? Shame on you CNN. I watched her speech with a friend of mine last night and I have to say I was impressed. Going in to the speech I had my reservations about the small state governor, small town mayor and what qualifications she would bring to the game. After the speech, I was a lot less concerned.
Consider this, since Friday's announcement, she and her family had taken more shots for the liberal left and the media (I know that is redundant) than Sylvester Stalone took in Rocky I & II combined. Yet despite all the scrutiny and attacks on her family and character she stood up there poised to deliver the speech of her life, and boy did she not disappoint. I thought the speech was a home run. For once I felt like a politician was speaking to me, not above me.
At the end of the day, I think that is my biggest issue with our political leaders, they talk to us, the taxpayers, their bosses, like they are somehow superior to us. They think we can't figure out the games they are playing when they refuse to answer a direct question. They think they are smarter and more important than us and that they are not accountable to us.
But last night, at least for one night, I felt like a politician reached out to the American people as if to say "I hear your concerns, and I'm going to do something about it." It was refreshing. I know the cynical left is saying the words were not her own, and that the words held no answers. I get that, this is often the case with convention speeches and campaign promises. But I can't help but think she must have, at a minimum, inspired more than just me with a sense of idealism, at least for a moment. Sure she is imperfect, but is she real? Will she be part of the solution?
I now understand what Matt Damon was talking about during the following conversation in "Good Will Hunting:"
Will: I went on a date last week.
Sean: How'd it go?
Will: It was good.
Sean: Going out again?
Will: I don't know.
Sean: Why not?
Will: Haven't called her.
Sean: Christ, you're an amateur.
Will: I know what I'm doing. Don't worry about me I know what I'm doing. Yeah, but this girls like you know, beautiful. She's smart. She's fun. She's different from most of the girls I've been with.
Sean: So, call her up Romeo.
Will: Why? So I can realize that she's not that smart. That she's fucking boring. This girls like fucking perfect right now. I don't want to ruin that.
Sean: Maybe you're perfect right now. Maybe you don't want to ruin that. But I think that's a super philosophy Will, that way you can go through your entire life without ever having to really know anybody.
I guess, I'll take Robin Williams advice and take the chance to get to know her. Hopefully she is as she seems, an imperfect person, for an imperfect time.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Dividedwefail.org
A friend of mine asked me a simple question today. He asked how many bankruptcies are filed in the US every year? He asked the question because the adds for Dividedwefail.org claim there are 1.85 million filings a year because of medical bills. 1.85 million! That's a big number!
If there are 1.85 million filings from medical expenses alone, surely the total number of filings must be 2.5 to 3 million. Right?
Wrong! I did a quick Google search to get the answer and guess what I found? I found that our friends at Dividedwefail.org are telling us a fib. Guess what the real number is? Try nearly 1 million total filings from July 2007 to June 2008, including business filings. Is there a new rounding rule in math I am unfamiliar with? There must be? AARP wouldn't delibrately lie to us about this 1.85 million number would they?
I think we all know the answer here. It's just lobbyist spin. No, that's not right, it's a bold faced lie. When are we as a nation going to hold advertisers accountable for conning us? I don't care what their intentions are, this type of advertising would get a used car store brought up on charges. Why not do the same to the lobbyists at the AARP?
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
If there are 1.85 million filings from medical expenses alone, surely the total number of filings must be 2.5 to 3 million. Right?
Wrong! I did a quick Google search to get the answer and guess what I found? I found that our friends at Dividedwefail.org are telling us a fib. Guess what the real number is? Try nearly 1 million total filings from July 2007 to June 2008, including business filings. Is there a new rounding rule in math I am unfamiliar with? There must be? AARP wouldn't delibrately lie to us about this 1.85 million number would they?
I think we all know the answer here. It's just lobbyist spin. No, that's not right, it's a bold faced lie. When are we as a nation going to hold advertisers accountable for conning us? I don't care what their intentions are, this type of advertising would get a used car store brought up on charges. Why not do the same to the lobbyists at the AARP?
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I don't quite have the words to explain my disdain for the media.
First, I thank God things in Louisiana were not worse yesterday. I know there was $10 billion in damage, but the human loss was minimal, and we can rebuild. That's what we Americans do, we deal with tragedy and we move forward. That is why I love my country.
The media in this country however, I could do without. This Bristol Palin story needs to go away and it needs to go away now. I don't care what side of the ideological coin you fall on, if you believe using this story to promote your candidates agenda is appropriate, I pray for your cold hearts. The saddest part of this story is that while the right is using it to show how "real" Sarah Palin and her family is, the left is using it to show how poor John McCain's vetting process and judgement is.
Seriously people, we are talking about a 17 year old girl who is going thru one of the most emotionally and physically straining experiences any teenager could go thru and our media is falling over themselves to use this trauma as spin. I don't know how most of them can sleep at night.
The real problem I have with this is because I knew this would be the result the moment I first heard the story. They simply cannot help themselves. What ever happened to reporters with honor. The kind of reporter that would not write a story about something because it was not relevant to the news, it was simply a private matter.
Maybe those times are gone, I have hope they are not, but I suspect they are. But for now I will say a quick prayer for Bristol and her unborn child and hope this story goes away and quick. Maybe one day the media will realize that the end does not justify the means.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
The media in this country however, I could do without. This Bristol Palin story needs to go away and it needs to go away now. I don't care what side of the ideological coin you fall on, if you believe using this story to promote your candidates agenda is appropriate, I pray for your cold hearts. The saddest part of this story is that while the right is using it to show how "real" Sarah Palin and her family is, the left is using it to show how poor John McCain's vetting process and judgement is.
Seriously people, we are talking about a 17 year old girl who is going thru one of the most emotionally and physically straining experiences any teenager could go thru and our media is falling over themselves to use this trauma as spin. I don't know how most of them can sleep at night.
The real problem I have with this is because I knew this would be the result the moment I first heard the story. They simply cannot help themselves. What ever happened to reporters with honor. The kind of reporter that would not write a story about something because it was not relevant to the news, it was simply a private matter.
Maybe those times are gone, I have hope they are not, but I suspect they are. But for now I will say a quick prayer for Bristol and her unborn child and hope this story goes away and quick. Maybe one day the media will realize that the end does not justify the means.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
Monday, September 1, 2008
Shame on you Don Fowler and Michael Moore...
I have to admit, I am not surprised Michael Moore is shameless and heartless enough to try to capitalize on the plight of our brothers and sisters of the Gulf Coast region by taking a cheap shot at Republicans. If you are unaware he was quoted as saying Gustav's arrival during the week of the RNC convention is proof of God and that he favors the Democrats. I am not surprised, but I am still appalled.
What was surprising to me was to then to see Don Fowler, former head of the DNC, reiterating the same point in a youtube video. Are you serious? He has since apologized claiming he was joking, but the statement was still made.
These reckless statements are further proof we need an upheaval in our government. This is politics as usual and is unacceptable. Its not just on the Democrat side either, a couple weeks ago GOP religious leaders prayed for a hurricane like rain storm to hit during Obama's speech last week.
Have we really become so intolerant toward each other that we are beginning to pray for natural disasters to befall each other? I hope and pray these instances are isolated on the fringes of our society, in the extreme left and right. Unfortunately since the extremists run the two power parties in our nation, this is representative of the message being put out on our behalf should we choose to align ourselves with either party.
I am now an un-enrolled voter. I encourage you all to do the same. Though I still consider myself a conservative, it has been amazing to me how liberating it has been to no longer consider myself a member of the Republican party.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
What was surprising to me was to then to see Don Fowler, former head of the DNC, reiterating the same point in a youtube video. Are you serious? He has since apologized claiming he was joking, but the statement was still made.
These reckless statements are further proof we need an upheaval in our government. This is politics as usual and is unacceptable. Its not just on the Democrat side either, a couple weeks ago GOP religious leaders prayed for a hurricane like rain storm to hit during Obama's speech last week.
Have we really become so intolerant toward each other that we are beginning to pray for natural disasters to befall each other? I hope and pray these instances are isolated on the fringes of our society, in the extreme left and right. Unfortunately since the extremists run the two power parties in our nation, this is representative of the message being put out on our behalf should we choose to align ourselves with either party.
I am now an un-enrolled voter. I encourage you all to do the same. Though I still consider myself a conservative, it has been amazing to me how liberating it has been to no longer consider myself a member of the Republican party.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
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