If a Socialist Stood Up For the Tea Party, Would They Be Shot?

You might think I'm getting lazy with the YouTube reposts, but this one is good. It raises all the points about how Republicans have failed in the past 20 years. It ignores that Democrats have participated in that failure. Bill Clinton and Robert Reich loosened the Depression-era controls on Wall Street and toxic assets were the result. It is during the Obama Administration that most people were illegally foreclosed on. This administration is really good a rhetoric, but let themselves get rolled by Wall Street. Where are the prosecutions? The newly-impoverished bankers? The news stories on their great fall? Nowhere.

I am not a Republican by any means. I am also not a Socialist. But there are many Socialists who agree with some of the basic idea of the Tea Party. Would both sides be able to get over themselves enough to get those things done?

But getting a few of the Tea Party people into the halls of power might be a good thing. The Tea Party seems to be angry at the Wall Street bailout. So am I. The Tea Party is against health care reform. Too late, it already happened. And no politician on Earth is going to tell a mother her child should be denied health insurance coverage and die. Once you pass something like that, it is here to stay. The Tea Party adherents also fear the religion of Islam and consider it the enemy. And? They aren't going to be able to outlaw the religion or do anything of the kind.

I have great hopes for the Tea Party. I hope they metaphorically hold the feet of Wall Street to the fire. I hope they hold to their beliefs that America does not need to be engaged in a war in Iraq and most of the time, doesn't need to be engaged in a war at all.

We're Looking for Someone to Kill

This whole financial mess has really brought out the bloodthirstiness of the American public. Does anybody remember when Ronald Reagan said that millionaires shouldn't be taxed so much and everybody agreed because they thought they might be millionaires one day?

It has to be occurring to at least some of those investment bankers and Wall Street types that their lives are in danger as well as their bonuses. In fact, a public set down and a few public humiliations would do a lot towards the security of the former Masters of the Universe. Who would imagine that it would all end so badly, so quickly?

And don't underestimate the willingness of the U.S. Congress to really get mean and claw back bonuses for the last decade. Anything to keep from being blamed is the motto of every American politician these days.

The good news is that people are only killing their defenseless family members at this time. What kind of twisted pride would lead a person to think their kids are better off dead than poor? Sorry. I can't get over that one.

Planting Peanuts

So your soil is sandy and awful. Plant peanuts! They have pretty yellow flowers and no one will know to dig up the roots and get the food. At least in Columbia Heights there are problems with people stealing vegetables from gardens. I saw a tomato thief at work at 10th and Monroe Sts, NW last Fall. He actually had the nerve to bring a colander with him to hold the stolen tomatoes. I still wish I had gotten his picture on my phone.

So your losing your home or can't get a job. There's always some kind of peanut you can plant.

We are renting out rooms in our house, planting a garden, taking on odd jobs in dog care. We already sold most of our antiques a few years ago. I don't miss them at all. If we had to, we could get rid of the car because we live in DC.

What scares me most are the people who would rather see their children dead than living with someone else. Please reconsider. At least whoever gets them will care enough not to kill them. If worst comes to worst, send them to me. caxsmith@aol.com


gardening, therapy, economy, Economic Collapse, wall street, DC, Columbia Heights, killing your family, help, debt, recovery

J.P Morgan CEO Whines Like a Baby

"JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said it’s “unfair” for politicians to criticize Wall Street pay without differentiating compensation based on performance." as quoted in Bloomberg.com today.

But it is OK for assembly line workers to have their compensation affected irrespective of performance - right? And if management decisions cause a company to tank, then it is the unions that need to adjust their compensation agreements - right? Not the management. Never the management.

The long-term security of pensions doesn't mean a thing if the management bonuses and private jets are at stake because it's not about the financial burdens at all. It's about who bears the financial burden.

NEWSFLASH: The days of wine and roses are over for corporate management. And aren't those deer-in-the-headlight looks just plain fun?


Bailed Out Bankers To Be Hauled Before Congress, Bailed Out Banks Super Bowl Party, Bailout, Bailout Bandits, Banking Crisis, Banks, Barney Frank, Barney Frank Leg Pissing, Barney Frank, Pissing, Barny Frank, Politics News

Jerry Troop's Bailout Plan - Best One Yet

TRILLION DOLLAR MAINSTREET BAILOUT PLAN* ($1,000,000,000,000,)
*actual cost to taxpayers, $60,000,000,000, sixty billion, (cost of Iraq war for X days)


The basic Idea is simple, make Fed Guaranteed short-term loans of $10,000 available to individuals. (about a hundred million of them)

> The rate is 10% per annum and the first year's interest is waived on any money repaid within 1 year.
> Ideally, these loans are intended to be repaid within 1 year and the money used to increase income, decrease expenses, energy usage, or other waste so that there is a lasting net gain after loan is repaid.
>Loans are written with repayment plan of $1000/month beginning payments 1 year from initiation of loan. 2 years interest are included as payments. Payment schedule will be rewritten for new balance on money not repaid after 1 year.


>>>>>>>>>>>Loans will be issued in stages over a 4 year period.<<<<<<<<

STAGE ONE, taxpayers with excellant credit.
This amounts to a gift to America's most solid citizens.
People with AAA credit, whose taxes are paid will be offered, without having to ask , a sort of a "Revolving charge card". The understanding being that the first year's interest on all charges is gratis, IF the bal. is paid in one year. These people could easily get loans at moderate rates, but are smart enough not to. They will spend the money wisely and pay it back before interest begins. I want to see these loans out by Xmas.

STAGE TWO --- PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO APPLY.
Their applications will include the questions "What do you want to do with the money?" and "How will you repay it?"
Loans will be granted based on Quality of application. Applicants denied will be referred to stage 3.


STAGE THREE ---
APPLICANTS MUST COMPLETE TRAINING PRIOR TO APPROVAL

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE WEAK FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS.
SBA and such offer business and personal financial mgt. courses.
Graduation is a prerequisate for approval for this level of participant.


STAGE FOUR----- Applicants who don't qualify for stage 3
These are the habitual poor.
To lend them $10k would likely do them more harm than good.
They would qualify for $1000 initial loans, knowing full well they are likely to need "second chance" loans as soon as the first loan payments become due. Those payments would be due beginning in one month."Third chance" and "fourth chance" loans would also be available. If they prove themselves responsible by making their payments on time, completing required courses, and submitting an acceptable financial plan, they may qualify for full $10,000 loan.


FAQ

#1 WHO'S GONNA PAY FOR THIS?
The loan principle ($250,000,000,000. Each dollar will be lent 4 times over 4 years), will be raised by selling T-bills paying 6%+-.
The interest will be paid out of the taxpayers general fund. Please note that this will NOT raise your taxes, other than the usual result of increased income. Yet treasury will increase because of a higher GNP.

#2 WHAT IF I CANNOT REPAY?
Like a student loan, this loan will not be eradicated by bankruptcy. They continue to accumulate interest until the borrower dies. Delinquent borrowers will be contacted by people very experienced in helping people help themselves. And those same people want that money back in the program to help other people. The interest paid will more than cover the debt written off.

Fucked Over By Wall Street Once Again

The U.S. automakers have had their request for a bailout denied. Why? Because when the U.S. Congress gave bailout money to the bankers of Wall Street, it was misused by giving dividends and bonuses out instead of preventing foreclosures.

So now a real industry, one that actually produces something, has to come up with a plan that Congress approves prior to getting any money.

And I assure you that far more people will be hurt by the U.S. auto industry failing than any other industry in America.

Kill Moodys! Kill Standard & Poors

So these dorks still want to rate bonds? After the shit they pulled? In capitalism, you have the freedom to fail. Congrats!

Let's Blame Black People!!

"Weapons of Mass Deception" are the lies about how the housing crisis is the fault the poor minorities who got loans they couldn't afford. But let's be real: the mortgage companies didn't want to give up their racist practices and are trying to punish the regulators with shifting the blame now, when the real blame lies with them.

I got my first mortgage through the ACORN program. I am white, educated, and got no family help for my first home purchase. The ACORN program helped me get that condo and I paid that mortgage in full when I sold it four years later. Let's not blame ACORN.

When I refinanced my house six years later, the interest-only loan was practically shoved down my throat. I still said 'No'. I'm not Econo-Girl for nothing. The mortgage broker assured me "they" won't let the interest rates get too high. In the end, I got a fixed rate thirty year mortgage. But if someone wasn't as informed as me, they would have taken it, thinking it was a no-brainer.

What the free-marketers, bankers, and mortgage lenders hate to admit: they live or die based on the will of the voters. So if we say so, that's it. Jump, boy, jump. Higher.

Don't Sell Stocks!!

You only lose money if you sell stocks. You haven't really lost money unless you sell your stocks. So if you can, don't sell your stocks. Hang in there as long as you can. I know it's scary, but the people who make money, serious money, are not selling or are even buying stocks.

Worst Week Ever From the Worst President Ever

President Bush, who inherited a balanced budget, spent like a drunken sailor for eight years, and here we are. The amount of American debt that the international community has bought is directly related to the amount we had to borrow to pay for President Bush's profligate spending. Now our entire country is indebted to, and dependent on, foreign money to stay afloat. Since when is that conservative?

George Bush's breed of Republican is interested in power for power's sake. The ideology they chant is only meant to gather support for what they want to do.

Certainly no one can say that President Bush's philosophy of less government, and getting government out of the lives of people, has any relationship to his actions.

George Bush likes to blame other people for his problems. Who is getting the blame this time? Is it going to be another "Clinton recession"? That is what President Bush called the recession of 2001. I'm just waiting for the conservative media machine to revisit the phrase.

Capitalism Has Failed

Our capitalist economic system has failed. Recognizing this, and not willing to be the unthinking arm of tragedy, Cook County sheriff Sheriff Thomas J. Dart is no longer evicting people in foreclosed properties in Chicago.

I would like to meet anyone who says our financial system is working. But in a sense, it is. It's just that the outcome of our current capitalist system is politically unpalatable.

Sheriff Thomas J. Dart's refusal to throw people on the street acknowledges a breakdown of our system of economics and its political implications for the banks. The rhythmic chanting about the marketplace that we've been subjected to for years depends on the enforcement of those mores by society at large.

We, as a society, are no longer willing to adhere to the pure marketplace ideology. The inherent unfairness of allowing bankers and others to make up financial instruments and letting others suffer the consequences is not being tolerated.

This being America, the fancy financial whiz kids can expect to be indicted soon. That will be fun to watch.

So now, following Great Britain's lead, the United States is considering an ownership stake in these wayward banks. NOTE: We are officially Socialists when that happens.

Not that I'm against it. Obviously, we can't let these money guys stray too far from the barn. They can't keep out of trouble. For a group of people who pride themselves on thinking, the financial geniuses need a tutorial on how the world works. They'll find out. All is fine in America until you screw up. And you took capitalism with you this time.

The Pope and the Bailout

"Repent!" says the Pope - more or less. Pope Benedict XVI has chastised Western culture for being too oriented towards money and material wealth. He's right, of course.

In the United States, people worship the free market. As if throngs of self-seeking, short-sighted people have the divine in their brokerage accounts and wallets.

Our tendency is to worship the Invisible Hand of the marketplace. Whose hand, by the way? G-d's, of course. And G-d's Invisible Hand is guiding America's success in the world and our natural dominance over others, right?. So if they resist, they are resisting the work of G-d. This logic plays into our Puritan ethos.

There's always been this theme running throughout American discourse on free markets: that G-d works in free market forces. These would be the same free market forces that brought us slavery and prostitution, by the way.

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that the marketplace is a man-made creation, and is no more superior to man than our SUVs are. Let's try to live that way for a while. It would make universal health care and free higher education more of a right and less of a privilege. Hey, we're Socialists now, why not?

Fannie Mae Forgives Loan of Woman Who Shot Herself

The woman was ninety years old. Now you know what's going to happen. People all over America are going to shoot themselves when the sheriff comes to evict them.

What is not being taken into account is the human toll of misery resulting from the credit crisis.

And the American people were lulled into the credit lifestyle to support, falsely, the economy.

Weirdly Cheerful Anchors at CNN Money dot com

Christine Roman smiles and smiles as she chats about the meltdown of my retirement savings. The other one, whatever her name is, does the same thing.

I recognize this trend of having attractive young women reading the news. It's the same sexist thinking that led to the choosing of Sarah Palin. It's the "hey let's get a good-looking chick in there and tell her what to say" idea. "She won't have any ideas of her own. She doesn't need qualifications." And the chirpy Christine Roman is the result.

They can't stop smiling, or in the case of Christine Roman, they can't quite eliminate the laughter in their voice. Not that she's laughing at America. No. She's not up to the task of delivering economic news. Nor understanding it, it seems.

When are we going to get some real reporters on television that aren't misplaced models? Are they really just news readers? They certainly aren't financial reporters.

Britain is Repossessing the U.S.A.

A Message adapted and updated from Mr. John Cleese:

To the Citizens of the United States of America:

In light of the strong possibility you are about to elect an elderly gentleman with a bad temper and a lady who thinks she can run foreign policy because she can see Russia from her house, as President and President-In-Waiting of the USA and thus to risk Life As We Know It for everyone else on the Planet, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas , which she does not fancy). She won't actually be in charge, but she'll greet foreign leaders as necessary and not put her foot in it or vomit on anyone at dinner.

Your new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. He will choose someone who does not have his or her hand in the till and has significant experience in running Big Things. You have not had one of them for almost a decade and trust me, it is a big plus.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. They have given away too much of your money already to rescue incompetent business executives and soon your American Dollars will resemble Zimbabwean Dollars in total worthlessness. There is no free lunch you know. Although we originally let you get away with secession because King George was robbing you blind, recent events demonstrate that your present leaders are doing much worse things and unfortunately you have not noticed.

A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether more than half of you still believe Saddam Hussein was behind 9-11. Information to the contrary will again be provided by the rest of the world and we request you read it this time and refrain from invading the wrong country ever again if you possibly can.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary.

1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise.

Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.

There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. You will relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen.

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. But we have a lot of Bank Holidays you will enjoy instead.

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent.

Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

8. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.
Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

9. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $9/US gallon. Get used to it. Your driving armoured cars to buy groceries is unnecessary, boorish and killing the planet.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

11. We will require that people running things, like your government, are at least moderately competent and not related by blood or bribes to those who benefit from their decisions. We know it makes you more cozy when your leaders know as little as you do, but, honestly, it is short sighted: you need doctors who know more about medicine, pilots who know more about flying and leaders who know more about leading.
12. We respectfully request you give up this notion that Politics is Entertainment, and that very complicated things can only be explained to you in less than fifteen seconds. If you wanted to have a democracy, honestly, you'd really need to have taken the time to understand things a bit more before you voted. And may I suggest the startling notion that politicians don't need to look good to do a good job? And it really is acceptable if they are a bit boring, so long as they do their homework. It's especially important if evidently you have not done yours. Poor old Al Gore. Poor old John Kerry. And by the way, are you happy now you chose a Governor for California based on his teeth?

11. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager.
South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.

12. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie McDowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

13. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.

14. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first in their country. The six out of ten of you who don't own a passport will need to get one first.

15. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

16. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). Although this will raise your taxes, remember that the Neoconservatives will no longer be robbing you blind and so your Dollars will stop shrinking. Didn't you know that inflation and government bailouts of huge companies were really paid for by you? We must do something about your educational system. What on earth is going on over there? Are you oblivious to the crushing debt you are leaving your children? You might as well throttle them now.
17. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; strawberries in season.

God Save the Queen. But at least God won't instruct your President to invade any more wrong countries.

Adapted from John Cleese.

Executive Compensation Under the Bailout Bill

Reclaiming Executive Bonuses

If the executive of a failed financial institution received a bonus based on information later proven to be MATERIALLY INACCURATE, the U.S. Government could go after the bonus money. But not the base salary.

Put another way, if upon valuing a firm's statement of earnings, the federal government decides it is materially inaccurate for 2005 because the value of the mortgage-backed securities was wrong, then the executive bonuses, based on the statement of earnings, can be "recovered."

This bill allows the U.S. Government to go after executive bonus or incentive pay that was based on "materially inaccurate" information. There is no limit on who that applies to. So the executives from two or four years ago who made "materially inaccurate" statements can have their big bonuses taken from them, too, as long as their firm later requires federal rescuing.

So, to get the bonus money back (and not the salary), there would need to be MATERIALLY INACCURATE information from the company, which could be made in a number of ways that Congress has not decided to fully list. And it would not need to be materially inaccurate at the time. It could be "LATER PROVEN TO BE MATERIALLY INACCURATE." The information could be statements of earning, gains, or OTHER CRITERIA. The last item is capitalized because it leaves an open door for interpretation. It could be taken to mean, conceivably, anything a bonus is based on, including media interviews that caused the stock price to move. Yes, it is rather a stretch. But still a possibility.

In short, it is more than I expected in terms of socking it to Wall Street fat cats.

Golden Parachutes

All financial firms that need U.S. Government bailout will not have "golden parachute payments to their executives while the U.S. Government stills holds stock in your firm. The least they could do, I'd say.

See the exact language below.

(B) a provision for the recovery by the financial institution of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive officer based on statements of earnings, gains, or other criteria that are later proven to be materially
inaccurate; and
(C) a prohibition on the financial institution making any golden parachute payment to its senior executive officer during the period that the Secretary holds an equity or debt position in the financial institution.

Implications of Bailout

How are the Republicans going to advocate less regulations from now on?

Never again will the cry of "free, unimpeded markets" be the answer to the lack of health care. The teeth of the Republican "no government" stance have been pulled out and tossed away. Liars. Hypocrites. They never meant it to begin with, and the Wall Street gamble paid off.

We have learned through experience that greed is not good for everyone. And the greedy will not take the hit on the chin when they lose because, well, they're greedy cowards.

Now that America KNOWS that they own Wall Street, it's time to start making demands.

A cap on executive salaries with NO golden parachutes.
Compensation tied to performance.
Hiring graduates from state schools.
Diversity.
All investment bankers must run up and down Wall Street once a year in their underwear while people throw eggs at them.

Hey, I bet we could make them do it, they'd sell their own mothers for money, why not volunteer to get eggs thrown at themselves?

Now That We're a Socialist Country ...

Hooray! We're Socialists now! All this "free market" pretense can be dropped forever. Never will I have to listen to drivel about how the marketplace rules. Never will the argument be made about survival of the fittest, sink or swim.

At least for the next week or two.

So, as Socialists, we should expect certain things:

Free basic health care
Very cheap college
Rich get taxed a lot more than the poor.

Join the Bailout Protest on Saturday!!

NO BANKER LEFT BEHIND !!

FedUpUSA and tickerforum.org members are organizing a protest of the No Banker Left Behind legislation being rammed through Congress.

When: Saturday, Sept. 27 - 9am til 6pm Where: Washington, DC at or near the Capitol steps Who: Everyone who can get there, PLEASE HELP!

Fight the Downturn Yourself

Buy American. Buy local. Cut up credit cards. Plant a garden to grow some of your own food.

If everyone in America decided to only buy American, it would be a large, focused economic power that we really need right now.

FIGHT for energy independence.

Throw eggs at investment bankers. I've been promising a lot lately to my readers, but this last one I think is the kicker. We need to find those greedy bastards and ATTACK!! No deadly force, just a few ruined suits and the sounds of breaking egg shells. If I think for a moment, I could come up with some way the egg throwing could be deeply symbolic. Ah, well.