Credit Scoring? Are you kidding!!!

Banks are changing all the credit rules even with each other. They are raising the rates consumers pay on credit cards and lowering the borrowing limits where they can. All this from the liars, and cheats who just got billions of our dollars for a bailout. What does this all mean? Please read on.

So, let me see how this works. Taxpayers give the bankers more money because their Harvard MBA didn't teach them about risk and they can't manage their business properly. Then bankers limit the very people who gave them the money (taxpayers) the ability to obtain credit at a decent rate or dollar amount because their scores have gone in the toilet because of what banks have done to their lines of credit. However, we still use the same credit scoring models because it would be too expensive to do anything else even though the game is now rigged. We should put credit scores on banks, not on consumers. Then consumers will know who to borrow from and who to do business with.

It used to be a lot better system when a family went down to the local Savings and Loan and got a mortgage loan from the person they went to high school with. But then the Wall street banking types came in and screwed that up too (google Keating Five). Now, with all of our sophistication and Ivy League MBA's rigging the game we have no idea who we are dealing with. We just know they aren't quite sure where the money is we gave them. Wonder what they would say if a consumer came into their bank and said the same. I am telling you these people are financial terrorists and should be treated as such.

Liars, and Thieves, and Bears, Oh My.

So when we talk about the street setting prices and how analysts give thumbs up or down on companies performance are these the same thieves that leveraged money at a
40 to 1 rate? If that is true then these same thieves are still setting the boundaries and have the power to make or break companies simply on what they think. Why in the world would anyone listen to them!!! Also, where is the incentive to be prudent in the near term with money. The feds will bail liars, and thieves out no matter how corrupt and/or stupid and/or greedy they are.

I also think we should prosecute some of these folks (Madoff and such) for treason. Have they not put the country at risk? There must be punishment here or at least some sort of harsh deterrent so this doesn't happen again. Accountability, Accountability, and more Accountability. These people are economic terrorists and should be treated as such. They knew what they were doing, knew the risks and lied through their teeth. Mark Haines is right, bury your money in the backyard

Conspiracy Theorist Alert!!!

It was not all that long ago that our federal government wanted us to invest some of our social security money into the stock market. I have not heard any more on this idea in a while, have you? You don't think that they wanted us to do that because they saw the current crisis coming and thought if they could get tax dollars in the system by offering/mandating these types of accounts that the crisis could be averted do you?

On another note it is interesting that our government will give hundreds of billions to Wall Street firms with absolutely no idea what things are worth but want to grandstand with the auto industry for what amounts to me loaning you a quarter. Trillions given, that's right given, the banking folks who caused the whole crisis with incredibly risky instruments, and a pittance for the once mighty auto industry. Working guy takes it you know where again.

Arrogance at the Top - Part 2

The auto execs had the nerve to come in to Congress with their hands out without even a semblance of a plan. Nothing!!!! Can anyone who has ever floated an idea let alone a plan asking for company assets ever gone to management without a well thought out business plan? No answer required.

The auto execs felt all they had to do was ask and they shall receive because that is all they know. They say something and it happens, like magic. No hard work required. No research, no solid, logical plan. I need 12 billion just deposit it in my account. I am the CEO of ......... and should not be questioned.

If these are our finest captains of industry we might as well just shut down the economy because with this type of leadership, or lack thereof, chances of a recovery are slim at best. I guess they are getting a mulligan though. Would you give them one?

Arrognace at the Top

Yesterday we got to see the three Captains of the U.S. auto industry in action. We got to see the guys who have all but destroyed the American car building industry ask for money. We got to see the guys who all have binding contractual agreements that no matter what happens on their watch they still get at least 15 million. We got to see the guys that spent $20,000 to come in on their private corporate jet when they could have done it for $500 on a commercial airline.

I have seen corporate greed in my thirty plus years in business. I find no one who thinks they are more entitled than corporate execs. They get everything in the world given to them while they are the only ones who can afford to pay for it. They feel they are entitled.

Our workers are more productive than ever. Can we say that about our execs? I think not because they just don't get it. They live in fantasy land and we encourage their behaviors on rubber stamping Corporate Boards and in our halls of Congress.

Top notch execs would never work without a contract. However, ask them what they think about the rank and file, in service industries for instance, organizing with a contract. They will fight it tooth and nail. You see, contracts which promise riches regardless of performance are only for the execs. We have lost our way.

The Audacity of Hope!

Yesterday, in our presidential election, we elected a man who promises us many things but the biggest promise he made was one of hope. Hope for a better America, hope for a stronger America, and hope for a more tolerant America.

From my vantage point hope is the strongest promise he made. When there are problems in our lives we hope for better times and we hope if necessary a friend will help us. We hope our kids turn out better than OK. We hope our kids have it better than we did. We hope we can retire without too much hardship. We hope our parents don't suffer in their struggles with advancing age. We hope there are no wars. We hope crime does not darken our door or our family. We hope that all of our hard work pays off in a decent retirement. We hope that cruel greed ends in America.

We hope President elect Obama keeps this promise as we need hope in our country now more than ever. He can fail a little on taxes, and on health care, and on other promises maybe fall a little short as well. But he can't fall short on giving us hope because if he fails on that count we may never vote for someone who has the audacity of hope again.

I hope we have elected a true leader. I hope for his success. All Americans should.

VOTE

Today is the day. Finally, no more talking heads, no more phone calls during dinner, no more political junk mail. Remember to vote em out, all of em. We need a new start and we need to send a message that the ways of the past are just that, past. We have the power so go out and do it. Vote for real change and vote independent wherever possible. We need to break the stranglehold of the two party system on our country. No incumbents. Be bold, stay strong.

AIG execs get fiddles

If you want to know the mentality of corporate America and whether or not they are elitist punks just read this. I am telling you to vote the bail out politicians out as they and corporate America are all joined at the hip. Start talking loudly about Nader. That will scare the hell out of both parties.

The following was on Yahoo news:


AIG execs vacationed at resort
after 85-bln-dlr loan: lawmakers 1 hour, 36 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (AFP) - AIG executives escaped to a pricey California beach resort just days after the insurance giant was rescued by an unprecedented 85-billion-dollar US government loan, lawmakers said Tuesday.


"Less than one week after the taxpayers rescued AIG, company executives could be found wining and dining at one of the most exclusive resorts in the nation," Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The US Federal Reserve stepped in to save American International Group from imminent collapse on September 17, with a loan that gave the US government a stake of 79.9 percent in the insurance behemoth in exchange.

"Less than one week later, AIG held a week-long retreat for company executives at the exclusive St. Regis resort in Monarch Beach, California," Waxman said.

Invoices showed that AIG paid the Pacific Ocean getaway resort more than 440,000 dollars, Waxman told the committee on its second day of hearings on the Wall Street economic crisis.

The charges included close to 200,000 dollars for rooms -- which cost up to 1,000 dollars and more -- and over 150,000 for meals and 23,000 in spa charges, he said.

"Well, average Americans are suffering economically. They're losing their jobs, their homes and their health insurance," Waxman said, "We'll ask whether any of this makes sense."

Without the government loan, analysts had argued that an AIG collapse, fueled by problems with complex derivatives known as credit default swaps, could trigger a wave of failures in the global financial system and deepen the credit crunch.

Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland said Americans were upset by the news.

"It is very upsetting, because the American people are giving and say for example gave AIG some 85 billion dollars -- 85 billion dollars to bail them out," Cummings told CNN.

"On the 22nd of September to the 30th, they spent almost 400,000-something at a resort having manicures and playing golf," he added.

"That is the kind of thing that upset my constituents, many of whom are losing their houses and losing money in the 401(k)s (retirement savings plans)," he said.

"They are upset and rightfully so."

Welfare for the Priveledged

The politicians will tell you that they did the rescue bill last week for Main Street and to help the average Joe. They did nothing of the sort. The passed a bill providing welfare for the rich. Everyone will hear how this was for every person in the country but in reality it was a bill for the special interests. Credit markets aren't working because banks won't loan each other money as they are unsure of the others asset quality. Did those things change because of a 700 billion taxpayer bailout. NO they did not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once again our elected boys and girls in Washington have given the electorate ample reason to vote em out, all of them.

The Conflagration Continues

Hearing about the pork in the bailout bill? What is all this stuff about funding for wooden arrows in the bill? Do you think our Senators can help themselves from putting pork even in this bill? Are they serious? Read what is in the bill about wooden arrows (below) and you tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!

20 SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN
21 WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY
22 CHILDREN.
23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b)
24 is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub301
O:\AYO\AYO08C32.xml S.L.C.
1 paragraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (A)
2 the following new subparagraph:
3 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN WOODEN
4 ARROW SHAFTS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not
5 apply to any shaft consisting of all natural
6 wood with no laminations or artificial means of
7 enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold
8 separately or incorporated as part of a finished
9 or unfinished product) of a type used in the
10 manufacture of any arrow which after its as11
sembly—
12 ‘‘(i) measures 5⁄16 of an inch or less in
13 diameter, and
14 ‘‘(ii) is not suitable for use with a bow
15 described in paragraph (1)(A).’’.
16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
17 this section shall apply to shafts first sold after the date
18 of enactment of this Act.


I took the above directly from the bill wording. Can you believe we are wasting time with this crap? There are many more of these types of things in the bill as well. Check this list out.

6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)
Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
American Samoa (Sec. 309)
Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
Railroads (Sec. 316)
Auto Racing Tracks (317)
District of Columbia (Sec. 322)
Wool Research (Sec. 325

Can't make this stuff up. Vote em out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lemming Alert in D.C.

So let me see if I understand this. We have a President with the lowest approval rating in recent history, and we encounter a financial problem. He creates a bailout plan and the Congress tries to move in lock step to it even though they have expressed no confidence in him or his party. His own party balks and nothing happens.

Markets rebound a little the next day, and in true free market fashion when a void is created someone or something creates innovative instruments to fill that void. At least in the short term it looks like the panic was just that and the lemmings in D.C. tried to walk off the cliff. Time will tell here but perhaps with that time we can look at this problem and come up with a basket of options that will be flexible, useful and not further bankrupt the American taxpayer.

What Did I Tell Ya?

Politics as usual in our Capitol. The Republicans got their feelings hurt when Nancy Pelosi stuck her foot in her mouth at the 11th hour and they decided to take their ball and go home. Now we have a Congress who truly fiddles while Rome burns (see previous blog).

I implore you to vote their butts out, all of them. Retake control of our country and send a message that we as citizens won't put up with a Congress that watches as our markets slowly get destroyed because of their incompetence. Anyone that calls themselves a Democrat or a Republican is no longer worthy of our vote. Party is trumping country. It must stop.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

Our beloved government has been meeting all this week to bail us out of the financial crisis, you know the one they allowed to happen. The Congress over the last 25 years has put through ridiculous banking bills without any checks and balances and now the only solution is to print 700 billion in paper. Their performance reminds me a little of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

How in the world can we have all of this so called talent in Washington and no one saw this train coming?

They are the ones who practically created and certainly encouraged investment banks.

They are the ones who said you only need one dollar in reserve for every 40 you are speculating on, up from 12.

They are the ones who determined no oversight was necessary.

They are the ones who didn't learn anything from Enron, Bear Stearns, etc.

They are the ones responsible, and we should boot their butts out in November. All of them.

When you go to the polls in November I urge you to vote for whoever has not been in Washington in our government. They have obviously been fiddling for years now and we can't afford anymore fires. We need to take our country back because the people who are running it are irresponsible, selfish, and have lost sight of what public service means. It is time to clean house!!!!

Lock Em Up

With property values falling it seems to me that revenue for our public schools in Ohio will also be less since funding is based on property values. However, the Ohio Supreme court ruled our funding process unconstitutional years ago and chided the legislature (albeit weakly to fix it).

Well they haven't done anything to fix the system. So, I think it is time for the court to act. The legislature should be held in contempt and given a short but firm deadline to respond to the method of the public school funding. If not then they should all be arrested and held accountable for their lack of action to a court order.

If this were a regualr citizen thumbing their nose at the court you can bet their behinds would be in jail. The time for rhetoric has long long passed. The time has come to act.

A Leader Speaks!

T. Boone Pickens apparently has had enough. He is tired of waiting for our paid leaders to create any energy policy, let alone a sensible one. This 80 year old billionaire oil man is stepping up to the plate with his own money to form a strategy for the future. It appears to be a new and bold approach.

It appears he is suggesting an approach that includes solar, wind, natural gas, etc. Imagine someone trying to use all technologies available and imagined to solve our energy problems. What a concept!!! Are you listening congress?

I am convinced that our future is best served by citizens, captains of industry and the like stepping up and demanding to be heard. Our elected leaders are preoccupied with fighting each other and have lost the concept of serving our country. CEO's and the like are only fixed on stockholders returns and if something is good for them then so be it even if it is bad for our country.

So, my hat is off to T. Boone Pickens. It appears a member of The Greatest Generation may not be done having an impact on our country. Perhaps he will begin a movement saving our way of life just one more time.

Can we get serious here?

Obama,McCain and their respective cronies took up most of the political day today on who is the most patriotic. Hello!!!!!!!!!! We have serious problems here folks.

We have a Senate that hasn't done anything worthwhile in years (candidates are both members). We have an economy that is officially in the tank. We are in a two front war. More people can't afford gas, groceries, and essentials everyday. The stimulus package sent out will be gone in less than three months. We don't need band aid solutions here. We need leadership. We need to change our focus to what is good for our country.

I thought for a long time what was good for business was good for America. No more. What is good for America is good for America. If business does things that are bad for America let them die, don't bail them out while citizens struggle to meet ends.

Let's get a grip on reality here fellas and speak to the issues of the day. Call the rest (patriotism issue) what is is, media crap, and dismiss it as such.

The Good Die Young

This blog has been pretty critical of the news media in past blitherings. None of the venom was ever directed at Tim Russert. The reason, he was always fair, honest, and almost always let the facts make the case. I watched Meet The Press regularly as it was always informative, to the point and spinless. Not like the Hannity, Olberman, O'Reilly and friends opinion parade.

I will miss Tim Russert and I know millions share my sentiments. My thoughts go out to the family, and especially to Big Russ.

Of America and lapel pins

If recent forwarded Emails are to be believed along with an affirmation from Snopes, the ABC network has forbade its news people from wearing American flag lapel pins. Their apparent rationale is that the lapel pins could be construed as showing a bias toward the United States and they want to give every indication of fairness. Does anybody out there think this is a good idea or is it just window dressing?

Do you ever watch the evening news? It is so biased that almost everyone has turned it off. The number of viewers of network news has been in a steady decline for years. Do you think it is because of this kind of mindset? Do the current crop of anchors remind you of Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, Chancellor? I don't think so. The news is no longer the news, it is the opinion and philosophy of the network that decides the tenor of the reporting (see Dan Rather).

The last time I looked, ABC stands for the American Broadcasting Company. In terms of the appearance of fairness I think they should strongly consider changing their name. Let's see what could we replace American with that starts with an A?

Yeah, I am smiling too.

Hurry Up and Wait

For those of us who have children we are eminently familiar with the term "hurry up and wait." It now applies to the mess of a primary season. The millions spent to get to the front of the line was much ado about nothing. Rushing the electorate to be the state to nominate just fizzled.

It is going to come down to maybe Indiana and North Carolina and not all those states that rushed to judgement to be the one to nominate. Speed and/or being first is not always a good thing.

Look at all we have learned about the two candidates for the Democrat nomination by going through this discourse. We should wag our fingers at all those politicos who moved given states primaries to try and get to the front of the feeding trough. I am glad they are now in wait mode. Have we learned anything, probably not. Perhaps the rush next time will be to be last. What is it the children's story taught us. Slow and steady wins the race.

Just one more thing our Mother's taught us that if we would just remember them life would be much easier on everyone. Next post will highlight, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all.

The debate, the Ambush and the Why.

For those of us who have seen clips or watched the last debate in Pennsylvania why is no one saying that George S. is still embedded in the Clinton camp. It seemed obvious to me that as an old family friend and former employee the Greek from ABC must have had a debt to repay. He sure settled it the other night. To me it was obvious that it was a predetermined hit on Barack Obama, but no one else is saying so, because the media wouldn't report on one of it own, would they?

It is obvious from when I used to watch George's Sunday show that he is still attached to the Clinton's and certainly to a liberal agenda. Who else would continually have Ms. Vandenhoevel on their program. She is an embarrassment and now so is George.

Our media is becoming the best thing money and/or influence can buy. There are friendships and loyalty and then there is good journalism. At the last debate the journalism was sorely lacking.

Perhaps Lou Dobbs is right?

545 People ……By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank. I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ. If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!


Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper

Weight is now relative to Income.

Delta airlines has just come up with a startling revelation. Weight is relative to income. Coach passengers will now be charged $25.00 for a second bag. First class customers will not. I guess what I never knew is that the extra bags that first class customers check must weigh significantly less than coach fliers. Amazing things you learn on the net.

Kinda like execs getting company cars. The only workers that get them are the ones that can easily afford them. I always thought the mail room folks should get company cars as they are the least likely to afford them and the first cog in the business process. Don't get me wrong, I am not bitter here as I am one of the one's who had a company car. I just thought it was silly. Perhaps the economy would get better if high fliers had to spend some of their money too.

Mo Money for the Bear

Now the latest on Bear Stearns. JP Morgan sweetens the offer by 500% per share. What happened to the necessary bail out by our gov't. Sounds to me like there was no crisis. What a surprise that our government would knee jerk to try and prop up markets in a free(?) market system. I saw a pundit who was lamenting the fact that the Bear Stearns deal is different as the major stockholders (aka execs) were wiped out. My guess is they would have had to learn to live as millionaires as opposed to billionaires. Let all who have sympathy for the greedy please cry out together. What a bunch of dung.

Lions and Tigers and Bear Stearns - Oh My!!

I have been able to witness the actions similar to what happened to Bear Stearns in my working life. Highly educated ivy leaguers and/or actuarial types think that math and pure intelligence overcomes ignoring business fundamentals, smart business decisions, listening to customers, and tapping the experience of people who have been there and end up ruining companies.

They ruin lives, customers lives, all because they look for the quick buck instead of the earned buck. Customers don't count, employees don't count, country doesn't count, nothing counts except return to the shareholders.

And now the Fed comes in and bails out a company like Bear Stearns who did what I describe above. Guess whose tax dollars are now backing up poor corporate decisions based on greed. The next bunch of greedies just got a new safety net, you and me. I say let them fail as an example that doing business based on greed and poor quick buck risky decisions should get you a lot of trouble. That is what free markets do, reward the truly well run companies and banish the others.

To see who we are helping go here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120571021671940207.html?mod=yhoofront

Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?

I hear that the Yankees are renaming Legends Field (their spring training home) George Steinbrenner field. Thanks Hank. Guess the legends thing is getting old. Who cares about Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Berra, Mantle, Jackson, Jeter,................

I also hear the last sporting event in Yankee Stadium will be an outdoor hockey game. Another Hank driven travesty no doubt. I made the pilgrimage to Yankee Stadium last spring to make sure I saw a game in the house that Ruth built before I went to join the Babe. Somehow, someway, somebody should make sure the last game played on that field is a baseball game.

Eliot's Mess

So, I am listening to this psychologist on one of the idiotic 24 hour news(?) channels and he says Mr. Spitzer has an emotional problem. He says men in power only really display two emotions, anger and desire for sex because they can't display any other emotions. What a bunch of hooey.



If the above is true then that means Eliot gets a pass because he can't control himself and really can't be held accountable for knowing right from wrong, at least emotionally. Are you kidding me? They really had this guy on and gave him some credence.

The Economy and other mild ramblings

Let's see if I understand the issues:

1. Ten percent of all homes in this country with mortgages are in default.


2. Millions of boomers lost their pensions (reform act was at least 5 years too late).


3. Millions of jobs have been lost due to NAFTA and greed.


4. U.S. Stock Market is tanking.


5. We attacked Iraq under false pretenses spending trillions.


6. CEO's now make millions after they wreck a company.

Solutions heard so far:

1. Give everyone a rebate on their taxes. Prop up greedy banks and the like where the aroma of fast money over rode the stink of the ridiculously poor business decision.


2. Pension Reform act - see above.


3. Rhetoric from Dems indicate we need to reform this treaty. GOP loves it as free traders.


4. See 1,2,3.


5. No WMD. No we have one party saying we will be there for 100 years and another will start getting out tomorrow. Do we still have troops in Japan, Korea, Germany? Can't we just be honest and realistic for once.


6. Not seen as a problem in our new culture of greed.

It is good to know however that we may soon find out whether or not Roger Clemens shot steroids up his back side. Thank you Congress, I was worried for a while.