Political donation

[Idaho]

Following the actions of Senators Specter, Snow and Collins I have sent the following messages to them. Feel free to copy if you wish.

Senator Spector,
Watching you for the last few years and more recently in the matter of the Democrat lead so called Stimulus bill has inspired me to act. I have never before donated money to a political campaign but am now motivated to do so. I would appreciate it if you could tell me who your opponent will be in the Pennsylvania primary election so that I can donate to his campaign. I also intend to actively solicit funds from conservatives in Idaho to ensure your defeat.
You sir are an embarrasment to the Republican Party. I suggest that you either switch party affiliation to Democrat or resign from the Senate because that is the only honorable thing for you to do. You sir, are no Republican.



It probably went straight into his junk email folder because I'm not from Pennsylvania but it made me feel better.

BTW, do any of these people have primary opponents yet? I know that we may only be able to get one from Maine this time around but we can be patient.

[Cajunrider]

Very good note Idaho. I feel the same. Spector has been pulling those sneaky stunts for some time now. I hope he was able to read it before one of his interns deleted it.

[glwilson]

+1

This time around; next time around; Americans need to pay attention to the next elections across the nation.

Most do not realize that very few of our Washington politicians have ever held a "job" outside of "politics". In other words... they are career politicians... and have no experience in the "real-world" -- period.

That should be an alarming fact to anyone in this country.

We have just been sold "down the road" in Obama's "stimulus plan". This plan is 1,100 pages long... and no one could possibly have read the details enough to have made a vote on it -- but they did.

The "supporters" of the plan continually use the same sound bytes -- "shovel-ready"; "infra-structure-spending" trying to give the perception that it is a "ready-fix". The truth is... there is approximately only $50 billion of the nearly 800 billion that is earmarked to "infrastructure-spending"!

So I say to the supporters... quit hanging your hat on the "infra-structure spending" rhetoric -- it is bullsh*t -- and I am too smart to swallow bullsh*t!

Even if the entire plan (800 billion) is spent on infra-structure-spending; the problem is that such projects have a finite life-span -- then the projects are DONE... then what do you do with all of those people when there is no longer any work for them? Are we going to export our expert infra-structure construction labor-pool to other countries? Come on... these jobs have a finite life and will end when the Fed program money ends -- ultimately leaving these individuals in a dire situation someday down the road. This plan falls short of its own intention on that point alone.

Obama's "plan" also spends only a small percentage of the money in 2009. Most of the plan requires logistical planning requiring much more time than what a "stimulus-plan" requires.

This is not a stimulus plan - this is a hi-jacking of American's money by the Federal Government. This plan is a Federal Budget agenda in "drag" that has been rail-roaded through legislature -- LOADED with "PORK AU-JUS".

Obama was just in my "birth-town" -- Peoria, Illinois -- at Caterpillar. He said the CEO of Cat would begin to rehire layoffs when the stimulus plan was voted-in. This fact was refuted by the CEO in the press... he didn't say that... and in fact... he said layoffs would continue for some time before any hiring would ever begin. In other words folks... we are being "sold down the river" by such rhetorical dialog by our President.

And how about "Hope over Fear"? Sounds like Obama is using "Fear over Hope" in his speeches around the country. Obama is trying his best to scare the public into believing that his plan needs to be voted-in or else we will go into a economic environment from which we may not recover from (nearly his exact words). Again... political rhetoric.

I have gone on record to state that this economy was headed to a severe condition; and thus far I have not been wrong. I am confident I will not be wrong in my next prediction... that Obama's plan will fail miserably; and will have long-standing consequences far beyond what its supporters would ever have imagined.

When the "plan" begins to fail; we will see our economy dip even further into a recession -- a near depression state. The government will at that time be forced to take more action of spending money to support the infra-structure of the U.S. economy (and I don't mean bridge-building infra-structure).

The $800 billion will look like a small amount if the U.S. economy gets to the point I am describing. You could see around $3 trillion plus needed to be spent. This amount will cripple the U.S. economy for nearly a decade -- resulting in a stagnant economy over that period of time.

This "plan" has officially screwed America -- period.

[ridemslow]

Idaho, Your right on the money. GL...great post there too. ::) No doubt about it... we are screwed, anyone get kissed? ???

[Kawhead]

Nacey Pelocey and a few like minded politicians penned that package and thats all the rest of the herd needs to know. Likewise for Hussein Obama. My Senator, Kay Hagan ran on a platform of reducing outrageous government spending. I guess a trillion ain't outrageous to her. She did promise free houses, free medical, free food,and free college. All of that free stuff I don't see the point of college unless they want to do to it what they did to public education.

[markusmaximus]

OK. I get the point. No-one is happy over the the stimulus bill. In truth, I'm not "happy" with it either. But not for the same reasons already expressed. I'm not happy b/c the situation is so bad that we've had to resort to this. Which begs the question... how did we get into this mess anyway?

If government is culpable, it b/c of lack of regulatory oversight of the financial markets. Nearly every economist agrees on this point. This culture of deregulation began in the Reagan era and was taken to new extremes during the Bush admin. The fed also played a role by continually lowering the prime rate, essentially setting up favorable conditions for this mess.

The real criminals are the financiers who targeted sub-prime borrowers. This led to the collapse of the housing market. The dynamics leading to this collapse are complex, but questionable tactics such as credit default swaps happened b/c of lack of government oversight of the financial sector (and don't get me wrong; I also believe borrowers are accountable for buying beyond their means).

So I find it inexplicable that so many of you can blast the stimulus plan without offering a single criticism of predatory lenders who targeted the sub-prime consumers. No-one has criticized corporate executives who continue to dole out huge bonuses and make unreasonable purchases even after taking TARP money. No-one has cautioned that we need more regulatory oversight of financial markets. You talk about politicians not being in touch with the public. How about the top execs? No-one has mentioned the continually widening income gap between top execs and the average worker.

I also find it amusing that you criticize the the stimulus bill for it's 1,100 pages, yet fail to mention that the original $700 billion TARP bill proposed by the Bush admin was all of 4 pages. And the TARP application was was 2 pages! Google it if you don't believe me.

Regarding comments about Obama using fear to push this stimulus plan; there is wide-spread belief that these are the most difficult economic times since the great depression. Unemployment could top 11% I fail to see how he is using fear. The man is being a realist and urging swift action. When the economic crisis broke in the fall 08, all the analysts were saying that we need a central figure, a leader to assuage the initial panic and be a voice for how we will get through this. Where was Bush??? A lame duck president becoming that central figure??? And now that you criticize Obama for becoming that leader is unfathomable.

It's very easy to criticize the plan from your armchair, but no-one here has offered any other strategies to get us through this mess. Nearly every economist agrees this plan probably does not go far enough. The scaled-back plan to win over three Rep votes needed to pass this plan probably does more harm than good. Now the job creation/saving estimates have gone from 4 million to 2.5 million b/c of this compromise. What is the alternative? Do nothing? And what's the cost of doing nothing?

So be fair in your criticisms. Spread the love, so to speak. But one way or another, we are going to pay for this this mess. I would rather try and fail than not try at all and fail.

[gopjohnny]

as a bank director can I point out that govt specifically the Democrats pushed hard for loans to lower income families, blasting anyone who suggested that fannie mae and freddie mac were being reckless with creating the instruments that lead to repackaging of subprime mortgages.

Freddie and Fannie supported by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, goverment officials who wanted people who could not afford a house to buy one, wall street who gladly created and marketed the instruments that financed it, consumers who willingly lied to get loans, greedy investors who flipped houses willy nilly assuming houses would always go up 12 -18 a year.

When regulator went to Congress Chris Dodd and Barny Frank laughed them out of the meetings.

We needed a boost of confience in the banking sector, we could use some targeted investments in aging infrastructure, and we need money back in the hands of people. Perhaps put some money into restructuring bad debts on the banks books to help hold off some foreclosures, but YOUR GRANDKIDS WILL NEVER PAY BACK THIS MONEY.

This one bill is larger t hen the entire federal govt in the 80's

Good Grief, they are insane

[Idaho]

Markus, you are right, this started in the Bush administration and I was not happy about that one either. This is the pinnacle of irresponsibility and is probably unconstitutional but we have lost the ability to stop it on those grounds. Congressional arrogance and irresponsibilty is at an all time high. They are in a group think mode that is going to destroy the global economy. China, our main source of financing, has already cursed us and said that they are no longer going to buy our paper. Reason? It is worthless. The time for finger pointing is over, now we just need to go into defense mode.

Glwilson, I too saw this coming and last October moved every nickle of my 401K into a money market. Have not lost a penney while my friends have seen 50 to 60 % losses. Only problem now is that the good ole US g'vmnt just screwed me too by devaluing our dollar to the point where my few hun thou will not buy a loaf of bread in the near future. You need to re-adjust your assesment, what is coming is not going to be a near recession, it is going to be a global economic collapse and far worse than the depression of the 30's. I just closed out an eTrade account and when the check arrives I'm going to stock up on dry goods (beans and rice) and canned food.

Hold on to your socks folks.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by Markus Maximus

Which begs the question... how did we get into this mess anyway?


I also find it amusing that you criticize the the stimulus bill for it's 1,100 pages, yet fail to mention that the original $700 billion TARP bill proposed by the Bush admin was all of 4 pages. And the TARP application was was 2 pages! Google it if you don't believe me.

Regarding comments about Obama using fear to push this stimulus plan; there is wide-spread belief that these are the most difficult economic times since the great depression. Unemployment could top 11% I fail to see how he is using fear. The man is being a realist and urging swift action. When the economic crisis broke in the fall 08, all the analysts were saying that we need a central figure, a leader to assuage the initial panic and be a voice for how we will get through this. Where was Bush??? A lame duck president becoming that central figure??? And now that you criticize Obama for becoming that leader is unfathomable.

It's very easy to criticize the plan from your armchair, but no-one here has offered any other strategies to get us through this mess. Nearly every economist agrees this plan probably does not go far enough. The scaled-back plan to win over three Rep votes needed to pass this plan probably does more harm than good. Now the job creation/saving estimates have gone from 4 million to 2.5 million b/c of this compromise. What is the alternative? Do nothing? And what's the cost of doing nothing?

So be fair in your criticisms. Spread the love, so to speak. But one way or another, we are going to pay for this this mess. I would rather try and fail than not try at all and fail.

This mess didn't just start in Reagan's era... this was a series of legislation that led to this; with extremely poor oversight by our government. (Actually Carter would be a good starting point if one wants to know the truth.)

Regarding 1,100 pages... I don't give a d@mn if the bill was two pages or three thousand pages. The point I was making was that it was only presented at midnight the night before -- however a "vote" just had to be done by Friday. That clearly is not enough time to read the 1,100 pages, let alone to digest them. This bill was railroaded down American's throats.

Regarding bullsh*t rhetoric... yes I do criticize Obama. He is lying to Americans... telling them they have to get this bill passed as soon as possible or suffer the worst of consequences. He does not suggest there are other possibly ways to resolve the problem; and in fact refuses to discuss any of the bill's details... he is too busy scaring the "mom and pop's" of the U.S.

A complete bullsh*t approach by any President. (He is from Illinois... and that is exactly how they operate in this state -- railroading taxpayers.)

Regarding offering other ideas?!!!! What... I have offered plenty of alternatives... some of which call for business failure...

Maybe my plan is too painful for some. It certainly goes against a liberal's view... whereby I say leave money in the hands of businesses; and individuals that can generate jobs.

My plan also would NOT have included the entitlement (enabling) handouts that have crippled this country for decades. The current bill is going to lead to permanent entitlement programs that will continue to encourage people to do "nothing for something"... a seriously wrong approach to growth and prosperity -- I don't care what book or person you want to quote.

This bill p!sses me off; and I am not alone!!!! Just know it. The bullsh*t in Washington is going to get thrown back in the face of the Dems at the very next opportunity sensible American voters have the chance to do so. (Sensible voters will not include the millions that receive their free-no-obligation government support checks so they can continue to be non-productive citizens of the U.S. -- something that the "roll-back" of Welfare-reform found in this bill provides.)

[markusmaximus]

Originally Posted by ez money

as a bank director can I point out that govt specifically the Democrats pushed hard for loans to lower income families, blasting anyone who suggested that fannie mae and freddie mac were being reckless with creating the instruments that lead to repackaging of subprime mortgages.

Freddie and Fannie supported by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, government officials who wanted people who could not afford a house to buy one, wall street who gladly created and marketed the instruments that financed it, consumers who willingly lied to get loans, greedy investors who flipped houses willy nilly assuming houses would always go up 12 -18 a year.

When regulator went to Congress Chris Dodd and Barny Frank laughed them out of the meetings.

You are right gopjohnny. Dems did push for housing opportunities for lower income families. And it pisses me off that Dodd and Frank refused to acknowledge Freddie and Fannie were primed for collapse. But I believe their intentions were noble. Affordable housing for all. I do not believe that would have ever advocated pushing mortgages to those who could not afford them. Had there been regulations in place that required lenders to have a certain % of assets to loans as well as insurance on risk assessment, then we would not be in this mess.

[gopjohnny]

the regulations of assets to loans were in place
govt regulations drove up the houseing prices, to an unsustainable level, it was fed by greedy merchants who were willing to provide what they needed to finance it (repackaging of mortgages) and by GREEDY consumers who willingly lied to get loans, EVERYONE wanted those loans made, EVERYONE, to act now like they werent a part of it is sickening.

when the rise in home prices slowed the house of card collapsed, the assets y ou are talking about no longer had the same value as they did before,

What you dont get is that they praised the zero down loans, the interest only loans. My bank refused to do mortgages so we wouldnt be required to do those type loans.

ultimately the blame lies with a culture that thinks you deserve what you cant afford, politicians who are willing to buy votes,

We are going to see a deleveraging of our economy, and there aint a damn thing Obama can do about, but in the short term he is going to buy votes by giving away your grandchildrens inheritance

[markusmaximus]

Originally Posted by glwilson

This mess didn't just start in Reagan's era... this was a series of legislation that led to this; with extremely poor oversight by our government. (Actually Carter would be a good starting point if one wants to know the truth.)

Regarding 1,100 pages... I don't give a d@mn if the bill was two pages or three thousand pages. The point I was making was that it was only presented at midnight the night before -- however a "vote" just had to be done by Friday. That clearly is not enough time to read the 1,100 pages, let alone to digest them. This bill was railroaded down American's throats.

Regarding bullsh*t rhetoric... yes I do criticize Obama. He is lying to Americans... telling them they have to get this bill passed as soon as possible or suffer the worst of consequences. He does not suggest there are other possibly ways to resolve the problem; and in fact refuses to discuss any of the bill's details... he is too busy scaring the "mom and pop's" of the U.S.

A complete bullsh*t approach by any President. (He is from Illinois... and that is exactly how they operate in this state -- railroading taxpayers.)

Regarding offering other ideas?!!!! What... I have offered plenty of alternatives... some of which call for business failure...

Maybe my plan is too painful for some. It certainly goes against a liberal's view... whereby I say leave money in the hands of businesses; and individuals that can generate jobs.

My plan also would NOT have included the entitlement (enabling) handouts that have crippled this country for decades. The current bill is going to lead to permanent entitlement programs that will continue to encourage people to do "nothing for something"... a seriously wrong approach to growth and prosperity -- I don't care what book or person you want to quote.

This bill p!sses me off; and I am not alone!!!! Just know it. The bullsh*t in Washington is going to get thrown back in the face of the Dems at the very next opportunity sensible American voters have the chance to do so. (Sensible voters will not include the millions that receive their free-no-obligation government support checks so they can continue to be non-productive citizens of the U.S. -- something that the "roll-back" of Welfare-reform found in this bill provides.)

This bill has been in development for nearly 3 weeks now. This was not an overnight cram session. And Obama has been very clear in stating this bill alone will not get us through this mess and has promised future efforts to fix the banking system, get the housing industry back on its feet and reform regulatory structures. He is also promised to submit a budget later this month that will "begin to restore the discipline these challenging times demand." He is even setting up a website http://www.recovery.gov/ to track how this money will be spent.

How can you state that Obama is lying? This level of transparency is unprecedented. In his first 3 weeks, he has already admitted his mistake in appointing Daschle and others to cabinet posts. ALREADY HE HAS SHOWN GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY THAN BUSH SHOWED IN 8 YEARS!

Perhaps in the months to come, your fears will be realized. This may be a gigantic failure. And I'll have no problem admitting it. But I for one just cannot support a government that sits back and waits for business and industry to fix this problem while millions of Americans are losing their jobs. Clearly we differ in that view. And as p***ed off as you are over the stimulus bill, I am more-so over the continuing income gap between hard-working middle class American who are losing jobs by the hundred-thousands every month while top executive salaries and bonuses continue to escalate.

BTW, during the 10 minutes it took me to type this, about 15 Americans lost their jobs.

[gopjohnny]

the wage gap is being caused by technology, those can participate in the new economy are going to prosper, those who cant wont, no amount of wishing or hoping is going to change it, if you dont have valuable skills that cant be replaced by technology or by unskilled overseas labor your income is at risk.

thats as clear as it was for those who made coach whips at the dawn of the automobile age or the sharecroppers who hoed cotton when the age of tractors came to be. I dont like it but I cant change it neither can Obama

[Cajunrider]

Little Red Hen

Who will help me sow my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did. She planted her crop, and the wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck..

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see.
They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said,
"No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi)

"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)

"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy)

And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then the farmer (Obama) came. He said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said Barack the farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants.
But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle."

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand."

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared...so long as there was free bread that 'the rich' were paying for.

EPILOGUE
Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs.
Hillary got $8 million for hers.

That's $20 million for the memories from two people, who for eight years repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn't remember anything.


IS THIS A GREAT BARNYARD OR WHAT?

[glwilson]

Great post terrebonne!

I have a few more thoughts on this myself only less enjoyable to read than yours.

There are two ways to expand an economy:

1- Expansion via value addition. That is, we need technological improvement to expand. In this way, we improve the purchasing power of the money rather than its quantity.

2- Expansion via credit creation. We increase the quantity of the money to expand. In this way, there will be a temporary appreciation of the assets. We call this appreciation bubble.

In essence, humans first discovered production, then, printed money to exchange the goods and services they produced. This is the case of the option (1) above.

Option (2) is equivalent to printing money, then, producing the goods and services. That is, with credit, we spend the future before it's due. Thus, if credit is used for areas where value addition is low, then bubbles burst and we go into financial crisis.

Excessive leverage (credit) provides ways to gain from otherwise risky investments as prices can be distorted to one's advantage due to the artificially improved loss tolerance. This, in turn, causes wealth concentration to be "on-paper" only; and based on a future appreciation/earnings rather than "current-value" -- which in the long run reduces monetary circulation when credit tightens or runs-out. Declining monetary circulation causes credit risk to increase as it did through most recent credit-bubble -- resulting in the current, deep, credit crisis. More money is owed than there is in the value of the underlying assets for which money was borrowed. A tumbling house of cards -- or ponzi-scheme by any definition.

As a result, the resolution of the current crisis in the short run should have been based on the debt elimination; and stabilization since the equilibrium between the borrowers and the lenders is broken. While I am not happy about the following idea; it needs to be addressed immediately -- and that is to provide a stop-loss on the current toxic-debt held by the U.S. banking system. (A temporary and specific change of the "mark-to-market" regulation would help some also -- and not cost taxpayers an immediate check.)

Another area that needs to be resolved is a program by which foreclosure rates are reduced. Such a program should include language where the home purchaser cannot benefit from any appreciation or profit from the property until the taxpayers are paid back in full first. The same would go for any support offered to the banks.

If our government would have plugged these two holes in the financial system first; other fiscal spending might possibly have been avoided. Housing prices would have been able to stabilize due to a decline in foreclosures; and the banking system would not be required to continually increase their cash balances to offset daily foreclosures (something that is at the very root of this problem).

The whole credit-crisis problem occurred because US didn't finance its growth based on the first option ("value addition") in the first place.

Now, not only is the current administration disregarding the aforementioned fact, but also following the same risky option of #(2) above.

Thus, we will see that the current government's approach will fail for very similar reasons as the system is not adequately structured to pay its debt back.

It disregards the credit risk involved -- the same risk that put us in this current credit-crisis-driven recession. The policy is spending our future wealth and earnings today to pay the "bill" for two-decades of undeserved prosperity in America.

There is a naïve assumption based on the fact that the stimulus will improve the value addition of the system beyond its cost of borrowing. This is absurd enough that the average person on the street knows something is wrong with it.

Borrowing 2 trillion dollars WILL eventually affect interest rates and inflation in time -- maybe not for another 3-5 years from now or longer -- but it will happen. And in the process; the U.S. runs a high risk of having Treasuries' credit-rating among the world's investors (the largest buyers of U.S. debt) lowered below AAA.

These investors will require a higher interest coupon to take on such risk associated with U.S. debt because of the high-probability that the U.S. is not providing any "value addition" in the world's economy -- thus is a credit risk for default.