As John McCain correctly labels Barack Obama's tax plan as socialism, Obama cracks lame jokes in an effort to deflect the well-placed criticism.
" . . . You know, the next thing I know, they're going to, you know, find evidence of my communistic tendencies because I shared my toys when I was in kindergarten, because I split my peanut butter and jelly sandwich with my friend in sixth grade."
Once again Barack Obama shows his misunderstanding of basic economic principles. If you 'split your peanut butter and jelly sandwich' with your friend, little Barry, that would be called charitable giving, something neither you or Joe Biden really participate in despite your wealth and desire to help all the little people. (check out the numbers here and here).
Now, if little Barry decided that he should be in charge of who got the toys and ran around taking Tommy's toys and Lisa's toys and giving them to Spencer and Brian, then we would think you were a communist in Kindergarten.
Funny image...not a funny concept. That's exactly what he's proposing to do by raising the tax on the rich and sending checks to Americans who currently pay no taxes. That's right, he wants to take money from those who 'have' and give to those who 'have not' and currently don't contribute anything to the federal government, when he and Joe Biden give significantly less as a percentage of their income than the average, middle-income household, or than their tax bracket gives. Apparently 'spread the wealth around' means 'force other people to spread their wealth around.'
Ah...little Barry in bell bottoms redistributing toys. I needed a laugh.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
The bailout...a lose-lose solution
So now that Congress has passed the big, porky bailout plan I am left to shake my head at the idiocy of politicians. I am seriously disappointed in McCain as well, because he ought to have said no to this, said 'there is no way that i'm letting a huge enormous pork-filled non-solution steal $700 billion from the American people who still overwhelmingly oppose it' but he didn't. Sigh.
And I am very tired of the irresponsible reporting and finger pointing. There are some very, very simple causes to this problem, which go back for 15 years. Even Saturday Night Live got part of it right this week, for goodness' sake! These are listed in what I feel is order of accountability:
1. Government (both parties) for forcing the banks to broker loans to people who were a credit risk, who actually couldn't afford home ownership. All of this 'everyone deserves to own a home' business is socialist crap, which has in the end SERIOUSLY hurt the financial stability of low-income and minority homeowners who shouldn't have owned a home in the first place, but have now lost them and any creditworthiness for the foreseeable future.
2. Mortgage lenders/Fannie Freddie. They (the private lenders) went, hey, I can finance risky mortgages at high rates, which sounds scary, but isn't any risk to me because Fannie Freddie will buy them from me. And Fannie Freddie went around yelling 'racist! elitist!' when people started pointing to the riskiness of its portfolio, and threw obnoxious amounts of money at democrats, including Obama (which should be illegal anyway, congressionally chartered companies shouldn't be able to contribute funds to politicians or parties, but that's another post...) in order to essentially cover its butt. Oh, yeah, and there's that whole fraudulently accounting thing. WHY ISN'T ANYBODY IN JAIL OVER THIS?!
3. Greedy American homeowners. Not only did people finance themselves beyond the max to own a home, but many of them took out every cent of equity they had in a home to finance an insanely consumeristic lifestyle. Now, I know that the whole mortgage lending thing is confusing, and many people were duped into loans they couldn't afford unknowingly because of unscrupulous lenders/advisors, but there were a lot of people who thought, huh, I can buy a big fat mcmansion because I can. Or even a little, mini Mcmansion that was really beyond their budget (a word many americans don't have in their vocabulary). I am just SO tired of the lack of personal responsibility. Government says 'nothing is your fault, poor oppressed people' and the people take their thumbs out of their mouths long enough to say 'that's right! Not my fault! Now, i'd like another handout, please.' (I know, i'm just a tad irate. At some point there will be another post on personal responsibility, and the moral duty to succor the needy, and exactly how that should be handled).
Now, after saying that i'm all for personal responsibility I will admit that much of the connecting of the dots was done by Glenn Beck (or, most likely, his research team). I got his email newsletter today and said 'thank heavens! I don't have to do the research for this myself, because it's a time-consuming bear.' So here's the link to his email to his family regarding how we got into this mess, with all kinds of links if you want to do further research i.e. don't want to take my or his word for it. http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16171/
Now go balance your budget and tighten your belt. And buy some extra basic baking supplies (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, powdered milk) and canned goods next time you go shopping. I promise, you will not regret it (if you rotate them into your use before they expire!)
And I am very tired of the irresponsible reporting and finger pointing. There are some very, very simple causes to this problem, which go back for 15 years. Even Saturday Night Live got part of it right this week, for goodness' sake! These are listed in what I feel is order of accountability:
1. Government (both parties) for forcing the banks to broker loans to people who were a credit risk, who actually couldn't afford home ownership. All of this 'everyone deserves to own a home' business is socialist crap, which has in the end SERIOUSLY hurt the financial stability of low-income and minority homeowners who shouldn't have owned a home in the first place, but have now lost them and any creditworthiness for the foreseeable future.
2. Mortgage lenders/Fannie Freddie. They (the private lenders) went, hey, I can finance risky mortgages at high rates, which sounds scary, but isn't any risk to me because Fannie Freddie will buy them from me. And Fannie Freddie went around yelling 'racist! elitist!' when people started pointing to the riskiness of its portfolio, and threw obnoxious amounts of money at democrats, including Obama (which should be illegal anyway, congressionally chartered companies shouldn't be able to contribute funds to politicians or parties, but that's another post...) in order to essentially cover its butt. Oh, yeah, and there's that whole fraudulently accounting thing. WHY ISN'T ANYBODY IN JAIL OVER THIS?!
3. Greedy American homeowners. Not only did people finance themselves beyond the max to own a home, but many of them took out every cent of equity they had in a home to finance an insanely consumeristic lifestyle. Now, I know that the whole mortgage lending thing is confusing, and many people were duped into loans they couldn't afford unknowingly because of unscrupulous lenders/advisors, but there were a lot of people who thought, huh, I can buy a big fat mcmansion because I can. Or even a little, mini Mcmansion that was really beyond their budget (a word many americans don't have in their vocabulary). I am just SO tired of the lack of personal responsibility. Government says 'nothing is your fault, poor oppressed people' and the people take their thumbs out of their mouths long enough to say 'that's right! Not my fault! Now, i'd like another handout, please.' (I know, i'm just a tad irate. At some point there will be another post on personal responsibility, and the moral duty to succor the needy, and exactly how that should be handled).
Now, after saying that i'm all for personal responsibility I will admit that much of the connecting of the dots was done by Glenn Beck (or, most likely, his research team). I got his email newsletter today and said 'thank heavens! I don't have to do the research for this myself, because it's a time-consuming bear.' So here's the link to his email to his family regarding how we got into this mess, with all kinds of links if you want to do further research i.e. don't want to take my or his word for it. http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16171/
Now go balance your budget and tighten your belt. And buy some extra basic baking supplies (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, powdered milk) and canned goods next time you go shopping. I promise, you will not regret it (if you rotate them into your use before they expire!)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Public response to the blog
I was slightly confused the other day as I moderated comments on this blog from a 'Spence.' The only Spence I know is in high school, quite bright, but not with a different writing style quite than the respondant's, and with opposite political views. And then I finally realized...someone random out there I don't know has found this! And is serious enough about public discourse to respond to my posts with reasoned opposition! YAY!!! Because although I obviously hold differing political convictions than this mystery commenter I totally respect him.
I think we'd have a much higher chance of electing conscientious and truly representative representatives, and of accomplishing reasonable policy, if there was less partisan bickering and more reasoned discourse. Not to say that discussion doesn't sometimes get heated, because there are some issues that are deal-breakers, and my views of the rights and responsibilities of government and on issues of personal liberty are deeply held and hence highly emotional, but I'm just tired of people yelling at each other.
[Sidenote: I'm not even going to watch the vice-presidential debate tonight, I already know their policy positions clearly, plus, i'm ticked that the moderator is clearly far from impartial (she has a book deal about Barack's spectacular rise to power set to be published on Inauguration day and it's her economic welfare is tied to Obama winning). If I thought that it would be a case of 2 respectable, truth-telling opponents discussing their policy issues in a challenging but respectful manner, i'd watch, but it's pretty much set to be a vicious attack on Palin. Or a shouting match. Sorry for the sidenote, but my rants run into each other sometimes.]
So I welcome this reader, and thank him for the time he has taken in responding to my posts. I have copied all of his comments into a text document so that I can peruse them all together, and when I have the time to finish researching the sources he cites I will respond to those comments. He made some legitimate points and also said some things with which I blatantly disagree. And yet, look at the amicable repartee.
Blog mission (at least partially) accomplished.
I think we'd have a much higher chance of electing conscientious and truly representative representatives, and of accomplishing reasonable policy, if there was less partisan bickering and more reasoned discourse. Not to say that discussion doesn't sometimes get heated, because there are some issues that are deal-breakers, and my views of the rights and responsibilities of government and on issues of personal liberty are deeply held and hence highly emotional, but I'm just tired of people yelling at each other.
[Sidenote: I'm not even going to watch the vice-presidential debate tonight, I already know their policy positions clearly, plus, i'm ticked that the moderator is clearly far from impartial (she has a book deal about Barack's spectacular rise to power set to be published on Inauguration day and it's her economic welfare is tied to Obama winning). If I thought that it would be a case of 2 respectable, truth-telling opponents discussing their policy issues in a challenging but respectful manner, i'd watch, but it's pretty much set to be a vicious attack on Palin. Or a shouting match. Sorry for the sidenote, but my rants run into each other sometimes.]
So I welcome this reader, and thank him for the time he has taken in responding to my posts. I have copied all of his comments into a text document so that I can peruse them all together, and when I have the time to finish researching the sources he cites I will respond to those comments. He made some legitimate points and also said some things with which I blatantly disagree. And yet, look at the amicable repartee.
Blog mission (at least partially) accomplished.
The Common Sense Fix courtesy of Dave Ramsey
While I wait on pins and needles to find out whether the House is as stupid as the Senate and will pass the still ridiculously expensive, ineffective, pork-laden new bailout bill I have also been taking action. This is from Dave Ramsey, an amazing financial guru whose program on personal finances have helped *I don't know exactly how many but* lots of people get on the path to financial freedom through reduced debt and increased saving. Thank you, Dave...you read my mind.
Read this, and then follow the instructions below and get the message to your representatives. I spent a good portion of the evening last night trying to get through to the Senators, and couldn't because the web pages were slammed. BTW, thanks Congressman Crapo for voting no, kudos on the integrity, and shame on you Senator Craig (but your credibility was already almost nil) for voting yes. I mean, you're not going to be re-elected regardless of what you do, so man up and represent your constituency.
"Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:
Common Sense Plan.
I. INSURANCE
A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.
B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:
1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.
II. MARK TO MARKET
A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.
III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.
B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess."
Amen, brother. And about the whole helping the rich, it's the rich who employ us! And, frankly, someday I'd like to be rich and have the opportunity to help others more than I currently can (and hire someone to do the laundry...i'll do the cleaning and cooking still, but I'd really like someone else to make an honest living doing my laundry).
"First, read this page (PDF)
Next, copy the info on this page (text file)
Send it to your Senators and representatives by copying and pasting the text in the web form you're sent to.*Note: If their websites are down, that means we're making a difference! Keep refreshing the page until you get through. You can also go through Congress.org, though we don't endorse this site."
Please, guys...we only have a few hours to try to get them to see reason. And if you want to read more about Dave Ramsey's plan, click here for a transcript of his appearance on Glenn Beck.
Read this, and then follow the instructions below and get the message to your representatives. I spent a good portion of the evening last night trying to get through to the Senators, and couldn't because the web pages were slammed. BTW, thanks Congressman Crapo for voting no, kudos on the integrity, and shame on you Senator Craig (but your credibility was already almost nil) for voting yes. I mean, you're not going to be re-elected regardless of what you do, so man up and represent your constituency.
"Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:
Common Sense Plan.
I. INSURANCE
A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.
B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:
1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.
II. MARK TO MARKET
A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.
III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.
B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess."
Amen, brother. And about the whole helping the rich, it's the rich who employ us! And, frankly, someday I'd like to be rich and have the opportunity to help others more than I currently can (and hire someone to do the laundry...i'll do the cleaning and cooking still, but I'd really like someone else to make an honest living doing my laundry).
"First, read this page (PDF)
Next, copy the info on this page (text file)
Send it to your Senators and representatives by copying and pasting the text in the web form you're sent to.*Note: If their websites are down, that means we're making a difference! Keep refreshing the page until you get through. You can also go through Congress.org, though we don't endorse this site."
Please, guys...we only have a few hours to try to get them to see reason. And if you want to read more about Dave Ramsey's plan, click here for a transcript of his appearance on Glenn Beck.
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