Calm Down, Wingnuts--No One Is Going to Confiscate Your Hardly Won Gains

Leave it to the people who write about how difficult it is for the mega-rich in this country to get through each day to find fault with a mega-rich Senator who realizes that the economic health of this country is actually tied to how fair our system is for everyone:

"Why Democrats Scare Me to Death"

Drama queen hysterics are hardly necessary. If those of us who proudly call ourselves Democrats scare you to death, you should put on a fedora and go live in Switzerland.

VARNEY: If this kind of help goes through, then a poor and moderate income people will indeed get help with their home heating. They'll get help with rent. They'll get help with their healthcare. They'll get help with their food through food stamps. I mean, if you put it altogether, are you comfortable with the kind of redistribution and the level of income transfer that will represent? are you comfortable with that?

SEN. KERRY: No, and I'm equally uncomfortable with the income transfer that's taken place in the last 15 years in America to the wealthiest people in the country, myself among them. It's simply not fair. It's not the way that it's traditionally worked in America and we've seen, you know in the 1980's top 1% of income earn earns in America took home 8 or 9% of America's income. in the '90s the top 1% went up to about 16% of America's income and now the top 1% takes home about 22% of America's income. so, there's been an enormous redistribution of wealth from average Americans to the wealthiest people in the country. And they just can't make it. They can't pay their tuitions, they can't pay their healthcare costs, they can't pay for gasoline tank. You've got people who can't even pay to fill up a full gasoline tank today because their credit cards get cut off. So, what we need to do is obviously, make our economy work more effectively for everybody and that means you're going to get back to a system where when you work hard your wages can go up and you can actually live off the wage you earn.

Sounds to me like Kerry is just making it clear that a system that redistributes wealth upwards is just as unhealthy as a system that would redistribute wealth downward. What we have right now is a form of the robber baron economy of the late 1800s--and if we made more crap in this country it might actually be worse because they would be able to control prices on manufactured goods. The wags say that the Republicans are leading us all back to serfdom; I think they're trying to turn this country into Mexico.

Karl Rove wanted one dominant political party; the policies he enacted created an enormous income gap that squeezed the middle class and allowed the mega-rich to increase their holdings. Bankruptcy reform made it harder for the people on the bottom to reorganize their debt and stay afloat, driving more and more people into what was intended to be a large single underclass. In Mexico, you're either mega-rich or just like everyone else, and you either have your gated compound and segregated area from the poor or you don't. Political and economic reform is long overdue in Mexico, and if it happens, look for a drastic reduction in so-called illegal immigration.

All John Kerry is saying is that the current trend destroys our middle class and all the wingnuts want to do is apologize for Karl Rove's insane economic theories. Now that the American people have had a healthy dose of being soaked, they're going to reject, en masse, the insanity of Republican economic theory. The people at the top were moving their wealth overseas anyway--witness the UBS bank scandal that is going to engulf quite a few patriotic mega-rich people who likely broke the law and avoided US taxes. Arguing that raising taxes will cause them to take their money overseas is a joke--they already have. We must cut entitlements and spending and live within our means. And, we have to stop the handouts to the mega-rich.

--WS

McCain Throws Gramm Under His Bus, Backs Up, And Runs Over Him Again

When John McCain throws his real BFF Phil Gramm under the bus, it's news:

Republican John McCain distanced himself from an economic adviser who dubbed the United States "a nation of whiners" in a "mental recession" as Democrat Barack Obama turned the remarks against his rival.

"I strongly disagree" with Phil Gramm's remarks, McCain told reporters in Belleville, Mich. "Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me."

The Republican presidential hopeful said a person who just lost a job "isn't suffering from a mental recession."

"America is in great difficulty. And we are experiencing enormous economic challenges as well as others," McCain said, seeking to stem the fallout of Gramm's comments.

Gramm, a former Texas senator who is a vice chairman of the Swiss bank UBS, made the remarks in an interview with The Washington Times. Gramm has a doctorate in economics.

Gramm had basically said that Americans were "whiners" and since that gaffe, he's been trying to backtrack and say that he was talking about the leaders, not the people. This comes on the heels of McCain saying that Social Security is a "disgrace." There HAS to be a media mancrush the likes of which we have never seen before--that's the only way to explain two wrenching, out of control gaffes of major importance happening so close to one another, one from the candidate and one from a friend like Gramm. I mean, how do you get away with having Gramm on your campaign in the first place? Gramm was instrumental in the recent mortgage meltdown and has worked as a lobbyist for a foreign-owned bank.


Remember, it was McCain who was once the surrogate for Gramm, when Gramm electrified this nation and came within several thousand delegates of being the Republican nominee for President. (I kid--Gramm was within 1,800 delegates or so at one point, probably.)

Senator Obama twists the knife, and we appreciate that kind of thing:

In Virginia, Obama seized on the comments as he tried to paint McCain as out of touch: "America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy."

He drew cheers and laughter with that comment referencing television psychologist "Dr. Phil" McGraw - and boos and hisses when he read Gramm's quotes to his audience. He contrasted them with rising gas and food prices, home foreclosures and job layoffs.

"It's not just a figment of your imagination," Obama said at a town-hall event focused on helping women advance economically. "Let's be clear. This economic downturn is not in your head."

Shades of the first President Bush in 1991, I would say. McCain is out of touch, out of his element, and lost when it comes to economics. And he's getting advice from people like Gramm who have failed, miserably, at electoral politics.

Common Sense Ideas from 'Burban Mom

Dry your clothes on what we used to call a "clothes line."

Now that you've switched your energy supplier to a renewable source, let's get started on some energy saving changes. Otherwise, you might end up with a higher bill than usual. Yes, the winds of change do cost a bit more, but by changing some wasteful habits at home, you'll actually see a significant reduction in your monthly bill.

I started rack and line drying my clothes this past spring and was amazed by how much money I saved on the electric bill. It really shouldn't come as much surprise, though, considering that a dryer is one of the most energy-sucking appliances in the home. My particular model uses about 3 kWh per load to dry. Multiply that by approximately 20 loads per month (or more) and you're looking at over a $6.00 savings for one simple change.

I'm old enough to remember hanging out clothes to dry, young enough to wonder why I stopped.

--WS

Next We'll See People Selling Apples in the Street

I can believe it. I think it's sad, but I believe it.

Grave robbing has become an above-ground affair.

Gone are the days when enterprising thieves would dig up an old grave and pillage for gold teeth and rings. Today, it's mostly the bronze markers and flower vases that draw their attention.

Rising scrap metal prices, coupled with the lagging economy, have triggered a string of cemetery thefts both locally and across the nation.

"I can't think of anything lower," said David Evans, general manager for Valhalla Gardens of Memory in Belleville. "Nothing's worse than stealing from the dead."

But grave robbers beware: The authorities are getting wise. States are passing laws and police are cracking down.

In March, the Madison County Sheriff's Department arrested three people for stealing 40 vases from two Metro East cemeteries. The owner of a Granite City scrap recycling center turned them in.

What I don't think people understand is this--in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, for example, every single piece of metal that isn't welded down has been hauled to the massive scrap metal recycling plants. There is one on the Southwest side of Baltimore, in one of the poorest neighborhoods, and the flow of trucks in and out of it all day chokes the city and causes congestion as the metal scrap junkmen in their beat-up vehicles haul metal into the center all day long. The junkmen scour abandoned homes, open lots, construction sites--virtually any place where they might find something made out of metal.

If it's made out of metal, someone is going to break it off, peel it off, cut it off or unbolt it and take it to the recycling center. And it doesn't matter if it's indoors or outdoors--they're going to haul it to the center and recycle it for almost next to nothing.

It's a massive transfer of material wealth--items that can cost thousands to replace, like copper pipes or iron grates or material found in a cemetery--is being converted into dollars for a fraction of their original cost or their replacement cost.

All in the name of staying afloat in today's economy. Don't tell me we're not going to see hard times for a while--$4 a gallon gas is wiping people out left and right.

--WS

Well, duh...

Shockingly, when people have less money and when things cost more, and when wages have failed to keep up, they steal...

One morning last month, the manager of a Stop & Shop in Methuen, Mass., noticed a man, along with his young daughter, leave the store without paying for several bags of shrimp. When police arrived, they found something else on him, too: 20 cans of baby formula.

Call it a sign of the times. Steadily and alarmingly, shoplifting seems to be rising at many retail chains, and experts are pointing at a prime cause: the sputtering economy.

"Wages aren't keeping up with inflation, especially the price of food and energy," says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. "It just leaves less money for everything else, and that breeds a lot of temptation."

Retail and law enforcement experts agree that they've seen an increase in store theft during the current slowdown — and not only from customers.

"It's clear that both employee theft and shoplifting are up," says Richard Hollinger, professor of criminology at the University of Florida who compiles the annual National Retail Security Survey. "The most recent rise is being driven by the economy. A lot of people are on the financial edge."

I wouldn't say "a lot of people" because that makes it an idea no one can comprehend. I would say that "there's a good chance the people you see every day are suffering in ways you probably couldn't have imagined two or three years ago."

Of course, the solution is pretty simple: summary executions or life sentences for offenders, right? The only candidate who spoke about class and poverty on a regular basis was John Edwards, and he might as well have been talking about the price of tea in China for all the good it did for him to make this an issue.

--WS

Everyone Can Stay At Alphonso's Place

Homeless? Alphonso Jackson will let you crash on his couch. Disgruntled regulator? Hey, it's all good. Have a free portrait of Jackson to put on your wall. Left holding the bill? Too bad, sucker. You should have left town when Alphonso left town. After all, this happened on his watch:

In 2004, as regulators warned that subprime lenders were saddling borrowers with mortgages they could not afford, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development helped fuel more of that risky lending.

Eager to put more low-income and minority families into their own homes, the agency required that two government-chartered mortgage finance firms purchase far more "affordable" loans made to these borrowers. HUD stuck with an outdated policy that allowed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to count billions of dollars they invested in subprime loans as a public good that would foster affordable housing.

Housing experts and some congressional leaders now view those decisions as mistakes that contributed to an escalation of subprime lending that is roiling the U.S. economy.

The agency neglected to examine whether borrowers could make the payments on the loans that Freddie and Fannie classified as affordable. From 2004 to 2006, the two purchased $434 billion in securities backed by subprime loans, creating a market for more such lending. Subprime loans are targeted toward borrowers with poor credit, and they generally carry higher interest rates than conventional loans.

Today, 3 million to 4 million families are expected to lose their homes to foreclosure because they cannot afford their high-interest subprime loans. Lower-income and minority home buyers -- those who were supposed to benefit from HUD's actions -- are falling into default at a rate at least three times that of other borrowers.

As these people lose their homes, the ripple effect through the economy will carry well into the next administration--and we need to remember that. Jackson is gone, but his "service" to this country will live on.

--WS

This is What A Failed Bank Looks Like

During the Depression, banks failed in rapid succession when the panic hit. So the government created the FDIC--you know the drill. When the FDIC shows up and shuts down a failed bank, it should be shocking news. In the new economy, it really isn't unexpected, even when it's a small town bank:

Federal regulators today [May 30, 2008] shut down a small Minnesota bank called First Integrity, saying unsafe practices had weakened its financial condition.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed as receiver of First Integrity National Association of Staples, which had $54.7 million in assets and $50.3 million in deposits as of March 31.

The FDIC said all the bank's deposits will be assumed by First International Bank and Trust of Watford City, N.D. Its two offices will reopen Saturday as branches of First International. Depositors of First Integrity will continue to have full access to their deposits, the agency said.

It was the fourth failure this year of an FDIC-insured bank — following two small Missouri institutions, Hume Bank and Douglass National Bank, and ANB Financial National Association of Bentonville, Ark., which had about $2.1 billion in assets.

So this shouldn't have been all that jarring of a shock, right?

Check out that logo again:



Yep--for what it's worth, a small town bank that SURVIVED the Great Depression just failed.

--WS

When Satire Hits Close to the Truth

This is a piece of satire from The Onion, but it does raise a pretty serious issue:

A report on growing disparities in the concentration of U.S. aluminum-can wealth, released Tuesday by the Department of Commerce, revealed that 66 percent of the nation's recyclable assets are now held by the poorest 1 percent of the population.

According to the sobering report, the disproportionate distribution of soda-can wealth is greater than ever before, and has become one of the worst instances of economic inequality in the nation's history. Data showed that over-salvaging of cans by a small and elite group of can-horders has created a steadily growing and possibly unbridgeable gap between the rich and the mega-poor.

"Although our nation's upper middle class actually consumes the most beverages, a staggering percentage of these cans wind up in the hands of a very few," said economist Cynthia Pierce, who worked as a consultant on the three-year, $14 million government study. "It's a troubling trend. And as a tiny fraction of the population continues to maintain its stranglehold on redeemable can wealth, it's a trend that shows no sign of slowing."

According to Pierce, the study points to a distinct economic advantage for the most can-affluent—those who possess the resources necessary to collect, transport, separate, and accumulate more and more cans than the rest of the population.

The new economic reality for people is this: recycling things they scavenge is keeping a lot of people alive right now. Homes are being stripped of materials if they are abandoned on under construction. Copper pipes are being stolen at an alarming rate.

One "Free Republic" reader noticed that, in San Francisco, residents are seeing their recycling areas raided by people who are desperate. In areas where people can drop off their recycling, the materials are quickly taken by people to recycling centers. [you don't need to click the link to go read how nasty the freepers are about desperate people in desperate times, but that's up to the reader.]

Recycling bottles and cans is a fairly prominent environmental issue--various groups lobby the states to affect the policies in place and try to improve the process.

Anecdotally, it has been noticed in several areas that people are walking along the road more, that vehicles are stalling in rush hour traffic more often and this could be due to the increasing price of gas. Bicycle sales have risen and more and more people are living in their cars. Economic troubles have driven many people underground.

Do rising fuel and food prices mean better health?

Cuba’s economic crisis in the 1990s had a silver lining, scientists are reporting: a decrease in the rates of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke.

And no wonder. Average calorie consumption dropped more than a third, to 1,863 calories a day in 2002 from 2,899 in 1989. Cubans also exercised more, giving up cars for walking and bicycling.

Using national vital statistics and other sources, the researchers gathered data on energy intake, body weight and physical activity in Cuba from 1980 to 2005. In Cienfuegos, a large city on the southern coast, obesity rates decreased to less than 7 percent in 1995 from more than 14 percent in 1991. As more food became available, obesity increased to about 12 percent again by 2002.

Nationwide, coronary heart disease mortality declined 35 percent from 1997 to 2002. Diabetes mortality was down to less than 10 per 100,000 in 2003 from 19 per 100,000 in 1988. The death rate from all causes declined to 4.7 per thousand in 2002 from 5.9 per thousand in 1982.

“No one is recommending an economic crisis as a health measure,” said Dr. Manuel Franco of the department of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins. “What we are saying is that changes at the population level designed to reduce caloric intake and increase physical activity might be best suited to prevent obesity and its related conditions.”

The way things are going in this country, look for us to see similar effects. Many more Americans are getting more exercise and eating less just trying to survive.

America Slides Further and Further Towards a Depression

Now, I don't know if we're heading for a major recession, a long downturn, or even a Depression, but this will probably convince you that the subject needs some serious thought:



[h/t to Bob Cesca via Crooks and Liars]

Is this happening where you live? Have you seen examples of this?

I live south of Baltimore--and if you're a fan of The Wire, I can assure you, I've driven through those areas and there are, indeed, a lot of homeless people in Baltimore. Those neighborhoods really look like that, and a lot worse. That wasn't cinematography. That was cinema verite`.

Heckuva Job, Bernancke--Time to Distract Everyone!

When he has to say this:

BREAKING NEWS: Bush says administration is 'on top of the situation' in dealing with the economy

It really means this:

BREAKING NEWS: Sales of medieval weapons and texts on casting out evil spirits soar; barter system approved by temporary Congress; millions of rioting people smited with powerful laser weapons whose existence not previously disclosed.

Soon--very soon--either a whole lot of people will lose their jobs or there will be pronouncements of "I serve at the pleasure of the President" crowding out the bad news.

And isn't it time for someone blonde and beautiful to come along and distract us from all of this icky bad news? Isn't it time for people to start distracting us from the bad news?


You know, whoever advised Heather Mills in her divorce from Paul McCartney could probably do a better job--she asked for a hundred million, was offered fifty million, and now only gets 48.6 million. If we had that kind of crackerjack leadership in this country, we'd only be moderately screwed blue and left by the side of the road.

Nah, I think we're gonna need more distraction than that. For example, instead of paying attention to current events, your typical conservative blogger goes for the cheap stuff to fill up space. Case in point--Ace of Spades gets his love on:

Coffee, Tea, or Me?
—Ace
Ace of Spades Lifestyle (TM), aerial division.

A 21-year-old Harris County woman filed a $200,000 lawsuit against American Airlines alleging employees on a flight to Los Angeles from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport failed to protect her while she slept from another passenger who masturbated to her and ejaculated in her hair, according to a lawsuit she filed last week in Tarrant County.

Destined for a Spring Break visit with family and friends March 19, the woman flew from Houston to DFW Airport and had settled into her seat for the last leg of flight 2074 to Los Angeles about 11 p.m., the suit states. The woman slept most of the flight, but awoke about 20 minutes before landing when the pilot announced the plane was on decent into Los Angeles. When the woman opened her eyes, she saw that an unknown man had moved into the seat next to her and was staring at her as he masturbated, the suit states.

The woman turned toward the window in embarrassment and in an act of nervousness began to run her fingers through her hair where she noticed “a substantial amount of an extremely sticky substance in her hair,” the suit states.

The man was arrested.

Squares. In Europe they don't have these childish American hang-ups about assaulting someone with flying genetic material. When I was in France, for example, I sat next to a pleasant grandmother sleeping on a train. Cute as a button; must have been ninety five years young.

Anyhoo, I left more DNA on her than OJ left at Rockingham, and she just stirred a little and said "Touche."

Hey, if you're gonna go classy and try to distract yourself from these matters, you gotta stick with Ace. Any man who can make a joke about sexually assaulting old women has to be the cream of the crop when it comes to conservative thought. And by cream, I do mean, cream.

The DOW surges in the wake of Spitzer's Fall

Not surprising:

(AP) Wall Street looked to extend its gains Wednesday as investors overseas applauded the move by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to pump more liquidity into distressed financial markets.

The tone in markets around the world was clearly improved after investors sent stocks sharply higher on Tuesday, including a 416-point surge in the Dow Jones industrials, their biggest one-day point gain since 2002. Most Asian and European markets rose more than 1.5 percent on Wednesday.

The Fed said it plans to lend Treasurys in exchange for mortgage-backed securities and other battered debt that all but collapsed in the subprime mortgage crisis. Global financial institutions have written down almost $200 billion due to the credit crisis, and big U.S. investment banks next week are expected to report more losses when they issue first-quarter results.

But, Wall Street's big gains might be short lived given the market's volatility in the past few weeks. And rattled investors might use recent gains to sell and take profits.

We could use a little good economic news. But I suspect this surge has more to do with the fact that Elliot Spitzer isn't going to be around much longer, and Wall Street is celebrating his demise. Getting rid of Spitzer means less intrusion into the inner dealings of the big firms that have been taking a beating lately and less scrutiny from Albany. More than that, it's symbolic to have the guy who went after Dick Grasso go down in flames.

It's pretty clear from what I've seen that Spitzer did this to himself, crazy theories and conspiracy models notwithstanding. The culprit appears to be a single wire transfer of money that he tried to break up into smaller pieces, and the bank contacted the Feds, as required by law.

Get Ready for the Meltdown

An economy is like a mating ritual. The parties dance around each other and perform rituals. Instead of confidence, we have fear right now. Fear and Desperation are setting in because we have so many issues that aren't being addressed--and a tax rebate is exactly the wrong thing to do when we're watching everything start to come undone. Desperation is so sexy--ask any college girl and she'll tell you that a nervous, shaking, visibly horny young man who can't make up his mind and can't stop fidgeting with his keys always looks better than the guy who doesn't wear a watch and listens intently whenever someone speaks.

This is desperation, in an economy:

Federal Reserve makes emergency rate cut
Key U.S. interest rate slashed by three-quarters of percentage point

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve, confronted with increased fears of a recession, cut a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday in an emergency move.

U.S. stock futures seesawed Tuesday after the Federal Reserve, responding to a growing financial market crisis, slashed interest rates 0.75 percentage point.

Dow Jones industrial futures, down more than 500 points before the Fed move, were fluctuating violently an hour before the start of trading.

The Interest rate cut comes as a panicked, desperate reaction to this bit of reality:

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 5.65 percent — its biggest percentage drop in nearly a decade. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 8.65 percent a day after showing its biggest losses since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.69 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 2.55 percent and, France's CAC-40 fell 1.39 percent.

But don't worry, kids--Sean Hannity has it all squared away:

[Alan] COLMES: That doesn’t seem to be helping the economy very much…because things aren’t going so well.

[Sean] HANNITY: It is, Alan. The economy is phenomenal. Where have you been living?

Do you think a good many of our fellow Americans don't have the slightest clue as to what's going on because they've been going to Hannity and Fox News for their information? Think there's any kind of "cause and effect" here?

UPDATE I - KRUGMAN:

I still keep reading articles asserting that the last two recessions were brief and shallow. Formally, that’s true. But both were followed by prolonged “jobless recoveries” that felt like continuing recessions. Below is the employment-population ratio since 1989, with shading showing the official recessions. In both cases the employment slump went on for a long time after the recession was supposedly over.
There’s every reason to think that the same thing will happen this time. There’s a huge overhang of excess housing inventory; it will probably take several years before housing prices fall to realistic levels; and it’s not at all clear what will fill the gap left by weak housing and consumer spending.
There’s still the question of how deep the slump will be. I can see the case for arguing that it will be nasty. The 1990-91 recession was brought on by a credit crunch, the 2001 recession by overinvestment; this time we’ve got both. I guess we’ll see. In any case, whatever happens will probably last quite a while.

UPDATE II - JIM KUNSTLER:

The United States is so broke, its people at every level from the Federal Reserve on down don't know whether to shit or go blind. The homeowners cringing in the media rooms of their 5000-square-foot personal family resorts don't know how long they can stay put microwaving pepperoni hot pockets with the default clock ticking. The mortgage "servicers" don't know how they will persuade interested parties like, say, the Illinois State Cafeteria Workers' Pension Fund (holder of X-amount of mortgage-backed securities underwritten by, say, Merrill Lynch or Deutsche Bank) to foreclose on properties scattered everywhere from from Key West to Bainbridge Island -- or if there is actually any mechanism known to man that would make it possible to "work out" the sliced-and-diced collateral. The millions of maxed-out credit card holders and the issuers of their plastic are stuck together paddling a leaky tub in a sea of troubles every bit as wide, deep, and polluted as the one the mortgage junkies and their enablers are sinking in. The developers of malls, office parks, and power centers are weeping into their filing cabinets as the harsh daylight of insolvency stops the orgy of "consumption" and the retail tenants pack up their unsellable goodies for the liquidators, and the rent checks stop arriving in the mail, and the notes on this mall and that mall enter the eerie realm of "non-performance." And, of course, there are the genius wonder boyz and Wall Street playerz whose algorithms and turpitudes underwrote the script of this horror show -- for all I know they'll end up laughing into sugary skull drinks on a beach in the Cayman Islands, or doing Chinese fire drills in federal prison (or simply ass-fucked on the granite countertops of their Tribecca aeries by mobs of angry, repossessed, swindled former American dreamers pouring into Manhattan from the tract house dormitories of New Jersey and Long Island).

Just Want to Hang My Head in Shame

Hey, here's a little Christmas Cheer for you:

ONTARIO, Calif., Dec 21 (Reuters) - Between railroad tracks and beneath the roar of departing planes sits "tent city," a terminus for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.

The noisy, dusty camp sprang up in July with 20 residents and now numbers 200 people, including several children, growing as this region east of Los Angeles has been hit by the U.S. housing crisis.

The unraveling of the region known as the Inland Empire reads like a 21st century version of "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck's novel about families driven from their lands by the Great Depression.

All I can say is, what the fuck???

I'm sorry I can't be more eloquent than that. I mean, really. What the fuck?!? Will big daddy Bush open up the US Government cheese reserve and allow the local National Guard Armory to be used as a distribution site for the surplus goods?

Some Business News to Make Your Head Swim

The chief business of the American people is business.

Yes, we all know that. I saw a snippet of the excellent program that Robert Wuhl has done for HBO, called Assume the Position, and he went over the whole thing about Calvin Coolidge (who said the above) and his three month stay in South Dakota. I have actually seen the hotel where he spent his time--they had a plaque that detailed his stay at what may or may not have actually been the same hotel. Sorry, Black Hills. I haven't been back since the early 1980s. Are you still an oasis of interesting in a sea of flat plains? All I remember was being able to backpack and drink out of the streams on your hiking trails out there. Yes, I can tell my kids--I once drank out of an actual stream.

Our economy should receive more attention. Best economy of our lifetime? Worst economy? Why don't people pay more attention?

Here's an excellent little piece by a man named Dan Dorfman:

After what Los Angeles money manager Arnold Silver called "a brutal three days," the question is: What now for the market?

A Wall Street superstar this year who runs Balestra Capital Partners, Jim Melcher, says he's "worried about a recession. Not a normal one, but a very bad one. The worst since the 1930s. I expect we'll see clear signs of it in six months with a dramatic slowdown in the gross domestic product."

[snip]

Mr. Melcher, a market bear, had some pretty discouraging words. "What I think is not good for the country, but good for me." he says. His basic advice to the country's roughly 80 million stock players: Run for the hills — the worst is far from over. An investor's stock portfolio now, he believes, should be only about half of what it might normally be.

With the housing market in a state of collapse — and he says he believes it is far from over — Mr. Melcher argues that average homeowners will not be able to withstand the kind of recession he sees, given the added burdens of rising energy and food costs, and continued deterioration in the credit markets.

Noting that consumption is already slowing, Mr. Melcher figures sharply rising unemployment is inevitable. Another of his worries is that central banks around the globe, America's included, are debasing their currencies, which is setting the stage for a new round of higher inflation. Our bear figures the next six to 12 months will be awful for investors as the market goes down "pretty substantially." His frightening outlook calls for an additional 20% to 30% decline from current levels. A drop of that magnitude would put the Dow down in a range of roughly 9,100 to 10,400.

Let's not kid ourselves--there's no question that Pollyanna could find a pony in a pile of horse manure and find something about our economy to praise. Does anyone get that sense of deja vu all over again for 1987? The other day I saw a story about the homeless, and how 1 out of every 4 is a Veteran. Next thing you know, some Evangelical Christian is going to get caught up in a massive scandal involving sex, fraud, money and wine. Oh, never mind.

Is anybody heeding the call? Are the fatcats quietly diversifying themselves while everything gets ready to collapse?

Today is a good day to look at the investments and the strategies my family has in place, and that's what I'm going to do. Not that there's been any neglect, but hey--who sits around thinking about these things on a regular basis? I encourage everyone to do whatever they need to do to make sure that if things go in the tank, they have a plan to rescue their resources and come out looking good. I've got a date with T. Rowe Price, and I'm not bringing flowers.