thinkthenleap

Glass House

2010-02-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

It is easy to focus on what is not working. The mistakes, the miscalculations and the unacceptable compromises of his first year in office. We should be blatantly critical of policies that did not work, promises that were not kept and mistakes that continue to get swept under the rug. But rather than bickering, we should work to find solutions at some level, if we are going to criticize at every level. Even among disastrous carnage, miracles can be found. Haiti is giving us examples of this, every day. Health care "reform" is not happening in one swelled swoop, but when the bill passes, parts of the health care system will be reformed, some of it is being improved and hopefully a policy or two will emerge from this effort that reveals itself to be profound in the years and decades to come.

The financial crisis, fraud, enabled greed and regulatory irresponsibility is the biggest socio/economic problem we have faced in this country. We made some adjustments to stop the bleeding but government clearly did not complete the surgery to repair the damage. We didn’t even change the dressing on the wound so we could aid in our own recovery, not even in a small way. That is inexcusable. It’s the most perplexing thing I have witnessed as an American adult. I never expected the villains to be punished, I hardly expected them to be revealed but I did expect them to get a pat on the derrier and told “You got away with this once. Continue to enjoy your wealth, keep the riches you stole from the American people but don't expect to step back in the ring and begin stealing again in the same flagrant and pillaging way”. The lack of new significant regulation on 1/24/2010, is unconscionable to me. More than one year after the bail out of AIG and others, 1000’s of foreclosures, millions of jobs lost. I am dumbfounded. It has left me with a chronic distrust in the American system of commerce leading to individual or community prosperity. I distrust government. I distrust capitalism. I am convinced that if you have achieved financial wealth you have stolen it. There is no win-win. I hate and will resist that definition of my character, until the day I die. I likely, will die poor.

Americans want to prosper; some of us are even willing to work for it. We want to be positive, but we tend to hover on the negativity, the scandal, the failure. I guess it is a human survival trait to place blame, as the first natural recourse to anything that goes wrong. To divert the attention away from ourselves, allows us to face our mistakes less often. By placing blame we give ourselves a sense, usually false, that none of this is our fault. Many of us are far less at fault than others, for sure, but we do have a responsibility to live within our means and be self reliant. We also should want to treat our fellow Americans with respect. We should not want to ruin and defeat each other. I am not suggesting that Obama gather us around and take us through a self realization exercise, but I did expect, I do expect him to lead with a more forceful, singularly focused and transparent hand. I do expect him to call a spade a spade, and I expect our president to be someone with whom you don't mess !

I disagree with Krugman that he should continue to point people to the past as the place to lay blame, although politically that is the right move to make, it does little to propel forward momentum.

I expect Obama to pick a problem and make it less of a problem. He doesn’t need to fix Health Care 100%; he just needs to set a path toward managing it - better. His administration needs to properly set expectations among the American people, while the democratic process sets a new direction. A fresh foundation with a goal to stabilize and correct. I expect him to stand up in front of us and remind us how we got here, explain where we are, and then deliver a course of action accompanied by pros and cons, that has a reasonable chance to succeed. Unfortunately, people want a complete fix. An eradication of the dysfunction, but they want it without understanding what it would take to achieve it, and they want it only if the solution allows them to go on living in the same irresponsible way. That's two faced. Its shallow and it is amateurish. All of this leads to a sense of failure and frustration. When all we need is a little win, to give us the confidence to tackle the next problem.

The biggest miscalculation, I believe, of the Obama team to date, is their distraction, even for a millisecond, from job creation. This problem needs 24/7 focus and abounding creativity. Health care, house loans, business loans, wars in faraway lands, are insignificant and irrelevant to me if, I am starving and have no hope of eating. Everything stems from unemployment and the perpetuating sense of hopelessness. Rather than financial bail outs of institutions, couldn’t the government have paid for solar panels for every home in America, and employed the unemployed to install them. Instead of bailing out GM, couldn’t the government have paid for the reconfiguration of automobile factories to factories capable of producing different goods, and force the American corporations like Nike to move a % of their production facilities to America, subsidizing the wages and putting Americans back to work, making American products. In 1967, 68% of products consumed by Americans, were produced in America. Today that number is 5%. Export and import ratios should be proportionately balanced, based on financial principals, not political agendas. With some of the bail-out funds, couldn't the government have subsidized the overcrowded public schools to build more classrooms, employ more teachers, buy more books/musical instruments, computers - and teach kids? Instead of using financial contributions from the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industries to guarantee favorable legislation couldn’t the government put those contributions toward funding better health care policies, fair access, then train and employ Americans to provide it.

I guess not...I guess I'm crazy...I want to understand, I recognize that these issues are extremely complex. I am willing to do the work to understand, but frankly, at this point, I don't know who I would trust to teach me ... If that is not a case for self reliance, I don't know what is....

Imagine ...

2009-07-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Warning … This will not be as profound as John Lennon’s melodic journey, but it may be worthy enough to encourage us to clear the cob webs, vigorously sigh, and think about “our” democracy, “our” capitalism, “our” American style of strength as survivors and innovators. Although some of us may have privately faced seemingly insurmountable challenges in our personal lives, as Americans, we have not faced, before, the combined challenges we are currently staring down. If you add up the articles in a single day on “individual issues”, about which we are concerned enough to write, it would be frightening .. Perhaps paralyzing. I suggest you don’t do this. I have done it. There is no productive reason to share the number. Less productive, to express the profound stakes at risk. We all know, what we’ve got goin’ on. Surface generalities are all, most of us can handle. Trust me. I include myself in gravitating to this veil of umbrella level knowledge. All of us sharing in our concern, our hope, but for the most part, offering no real solutions.

But … relative to the financial crisis that ensues, allow me to dip my toe, briefly. If for no other reason than to exercise my right as a fortunate American, to free speech, free thought, and free press.

Imagine your government fulfilling a different role, than the one we have cobbled together out of desperation, fear, political rhetoric and good intentions. Imagine your government becoming a facilitator Vs a participant. Aiding Vs directing. Balancing Vs pushing. Watching to prevent catastrophe Vs over regulating to thwart innovation. Imagine your government standing up on the 8th count fully conscious, clear headed, driven, angry - not only willing to stay in the fight, but solely determined to win the fight. Imagine your government, standing up, suddenly, while listening to the count, 9 then 10, with a full acknowledgment of our opponent, along with a thorough and cunning understanding of our own vulnerability.

The only way to defeat the opponent is to transform our vulnerability into strength through perseverance. Use the anger we have toward our opponent, to fuel our transformation and eradicate our vulnerability. In essence, concentrate on strengthening our weakness, until it disappears - rendering our opponent, defeated and inconsequential.

The opponent is the greed driven American financial markets, failing to “self regulate” and act responsibly. The resulting vulnerability is delusion and unemployment : The number of unemployed, in May 2009 increased by 787,000. Bringing the total to 14.5 million, an unemployment rate of 9.4%. Since the beginning of the recession in December, 2007 - the number of unemployed persons has risen by 7.0 million and the rate of unemployment has grown by 4.5 percentage points.

This is staggering.

Unemployment is the problem, people. TARP, PPIP, government influence on salaries/bonuses, government management of private enterprise, and buyouts that are forced by our government to avoid failure, consumer panic and market melt down - has not and will not solve the problem. These tools may not have created the current and rising jobless rate, but they do absolutely nothing to stem its growth.

Paulsen did not want the financial collapse to occur entirely on his watch, so he prolonged the inevitable failure, until he left his post. Paulsen gave us TARP. Bernanke will escape the negative legacy as well. He will either be re-appointed by Obama, which will give him the opportunity in terms of time, alone, to be the guy in the room when the problem was finally solved, or he will be replaced, before the crucial fall actually occurs. He supports TARP. Bernanke has been generally non creative in his thinking about financial reform and undisciplined in his guidance on financial behavior. Timothy Geithner and Sheila Bair need to “do something” in their current roles as Treasury Secretary and FDIC Chairman. They give us PPIP (Public-Private Investment Program). PPIP is designed to fortify private investors’ willingness to buy toxic assets due to robust government guarantees against loss, to mitigate risk. Turns out private investors do not want to deal with the government, nor can they figure out how to ever pull an asset out of the over flowing hat of bad loans, default swaps and failed derivatives.

PPIP is failing. Private investors are not buying these assets. The toxic assets continue to be debilitating liabilities.

Toxic Asset. This is such an obvious oxymoron. We can’t even call them what they are … worthless.

In order to win, we need to first understand why we are loosing. Credit needs to flow, consumers’ need to feel confident enough to pursue prosperity. When we believe we can succeed, we will spend, take risks, grow capital, and move swiftly with forward momentum instead of stopping in the midst of stagnated fear.

We need jobs ! Without work we can’t feed our family. We can’t see a doctor. We can’t buy a car, and we can’t pay our mortgage. Get it. Without a job, we have no confidence. We have no forward momentum. We stop. Businesses fail because no one is coming through the door.

What would we do differently now, if we could emerge unembarrassed and unscathed by what we have done in the past. Rather than let TARP funds continue to sit in the safe at banks … I suggest the following :

1. Pull back TARP and PPIP funds from the financial institutions. Any government issued $ that have not, to date, been used to fund loans … should be pulled back.
2. Create an American Restoration Fund, for citizens and growth businesses. Place TARP $ in this fund.
3. To the banks, issue a directive/regulation/law – call it what you will, as long as it is enforceable … For every .5 % point reduction in the unemployment rate, banks must activate X % in new loans to consumers and businesses.
4. To the consumers, use TARP funds to bridge income more generously. Retrain the displaced worker in new fields, giving them relevant and marketable skills for current jobs in growing business categories.
5. Rather than enable government to be an active participant in the growth or failure of private enterprise, use government only to create an environment that facilitates growth, steward fair, prudent and lawful financial principals and productively assist the citizen base.

If TARP funds are redirected this way, we will begin to turn the corner. The current financial problem seems to be that, the balance sheets of banks are still heavily weighted to a loss. All of the taxpayer aid has not shifted the asset/liability weight on the balance sheet to a reasonable level. The liability of bad loans continues to negatively skew the health of the bank. If banks are forced to make more loans, concurrent to the reduction in unemployment, then over time, the liabilities of the past will become a smaller % of the overall loan activity, which will then reclassify the bank as “solvent” or able to pass the proverbial “stress test”. Government is encouraged to focus its resources in creating jobs. If they are successful in doing that, then banks will have to respond by supporting businesses and consumers with approved and fair credit. Risk will be balanced at the appropriate level .. More jobs, less defaults, more responsible spending, higher numbers of profitable businesses. Force banks to do what they know how to do, responsibly.

6. Let private enterprise innovate, take risks, succeed, grow.
7. Create opportunity and stability for citizens.
8. Keep the government out of private enterprise. Give it back to the people.

Imagine …

Failure is Contagious...Wash your hands, Clear your mind, Start over

2009-03-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

I appreciate as much as anyone else all of the rage associated with bonus payments paid to Sr. management within taxpayer subsidized companies. AIG is providing us with the current outrage. Each and every financial institution and auto manufacturer that has received TARP funding, has dispersed bonus payments after taking the funds. I have a record. It is true. The outrage is warranted and should have been anticipated by all of these companies who used to only have to answer to their board and shareholders, but now have a slightly larger, aggravated, wounded and unwilling group to address.

Rewarding far reaching failure is distasteful, and if you stay with me on this you’ll see that it is material to our correction and our recovery.

Some of the people who work for these “bailed out” firms who have received bonuses are not responsible for their company’s failure let alone the failure of our financial system, but unfortunately for them, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They should not expect bonuses at the expense of the taxpayer. They should be thankful to retain their jobs, and work toward doing them better.

One of the reasons why we are so outraged, beyond the obvious, is that in all of our national efforts to stem further financial decline, to correct and to avoid collapse, none of these public forums or gov’t appointed financial “fix it” people have addressed our resentment. The grief, worry, and resentment felt by the American people has generally been dealt with privately. AIG Bonuses opened the curtains a little, but I fear the windows of our private frustrations are about to burst open and shatter. Yes, we have heard Obama say that he understands our frustration and anger. He warns us that we will not make significant progress if our governance is strictly reactive and guided by our anger Vs proactive and guided by our drive to succeed and rebuild. His words are comprehensible. You can hardly argue with their logic and correctness, but they just are not all that instructive or reassuring.

It would have helped me tremendously if someone within a failed financial institution, “voluntarily” stood up at the public pulpit, acknowledged the widespread pain, and owned up to the failure. I would have listened to Liddy if he had bought 60 minutes of airtime to address the public. All I needed to hear in layman’s terms was this:

1. This is the business model of AIG
2. This is how we add value to our customer base
3. This is how we make money
4. This is how many businesses/consumers we touch
5. This is our size - $ value and market penetration

That should take 15 minutes…no debate or discussion warranted, simple statements of fact regarding their business.

The next 45 minutes would be more painful, but instructive and potentially calming to the general public. In the next 45 minutes he could have broadly chronicled the failure to help us understand :

1. What happened
2. How it happened
3. How to fix it. At lease how to attempt to fix it
4. How to adjust business practices, regulation, oversight, markets - so that it can never happen again

Don’t role your eyes. This financial collapse is widespread and complex but it can be traced. In his statements, I would not have expected Liddy to chronicle every detail, I am just interested in the predominant infractions that allowed the house of cards to be built, and subsequently to fall. I don’t even need him to shoulder all of the blame, I just needed him to acknowledge the risk, miscalculation and resulting massive failure .

And I will say this. I would rather have heard this explanation from a private citizen, active and scholarly regarded in the business world, than from a career government official. Through all of this, I have come to believe that George Soros is right, and has been all along, Alan Greenspan is naive and probably complicit, and Henry Paulson is a greedy, narcissistic thief.

Obviously there is plenty of blame to go around. Government contributed to this mess, so it should be leaned on to help clean it up. The problem is that the only support government has access to, is taxpayer support….and this financial mess has destroyed governments’ tax base…. All of this we know, too well…what I didn’t understand fully before this week is that there are 3 primary financial instruments and/or structures that are largely credited with our global financial demise:

CDS – Credit Default Swaps
Hedge Funds & the practice of shorting as an investment tool
Sub prime mortgages

All of these are 1. Largely unregulated, 2. Risky 3. Propelled through loss vs gain.

You are probably ahead of me on this, but I have just recently sifted though all of the divergent and widespread financial carnage to arrive at this, the core of the problem. Profoundly interesting to me is that each of these financial principals relies on failure of companies, industries, and/or markets to be profitable. We have been betting on failure. We have engaged ourselves in predicting failure and have been rewarded for failure. Not unlike the bonus activity that has so enraged us.

This is dangerous when you consider that the stock market, the cornerstone of wealth accumulation in a capitalistic society is based on the future prosperity and profits of public companies. Prosperity we can all take part in and gain from as we participate in the stock market, buying and selling shares of public companies. If we, as a majority, place bets on failure of companies, and get rewarded financially when they fail, we are creating a self fulfilling prophecy. When we short a company, we effectively loan that company money at what we believe to be an inflated share value….when the value falls to its appropriate market value, the company has to payback the difference to those that shorted it . This propels failure. Credit Default Swaps, a big business for AIG require that buyer and seller “swap” degrees of failure. If they fail less than the buyer predicts, they make money. If they fail more than predicted, money is lost. Companies that have Credit default values on their books have to maintain a certain amount of cash to back them up. If they unload some of the credit default holdings, via “CDS”, they can operate with less cash….

Are you with me here….

Everything is risky, we ignored a reasonable risk ratio, took on too much debt, miscalculated. Money was lost. The loss started to spiral, cash reserves were depleted….and here we are….Comforting isn’t it !

Surprisingly, it is somewhat comforting for me, to merely understand the journey to the fall. If we don’t understand or acknowledge how we fail, we are doomed to failure. We have got to face it, analyze it, get angry at it , and then fix it….Obama is on point in his forward, corrective persistence. His team needs to keep their heads down, their minds open and do their diligent best to fix this mess. You as an individual need to do the work to face it, try to understand it and find a way to be productive while you are uncertain and fearful.

Remember the crash has already happened. Now we are looking for some level of reassurance that this mess can actually be fixed before we all go broke. Part of our resentment is rooted in our disbelief in how it could get this bad, part of it is appropriately directed to our disgust in the greed, and the rest represents our fear. If we are honest with ourselves…and here I will speak strictly for myself, I am scared…I am hopeful but I am also afraid.

Afraid, yes. Desperate, no. I will figure out how to survive and prosper. My financial situation may change drastically, but my perspective on prosperity will stretch beyond the narrow boundary of financial security to a broad landscape of interrelationships, depth of character and just plain pleasure derived from a number of different sources, many of which will be free.

War

2009-03-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=his_uniform_my_responsibility

Regardless of your view on any war, regardless of the side you demonstratively or passively take ... the story in the above link is profound. Not only in its sobriety but in its inescapable truth.

There are millions of families, throughout the world who are at war. Suffering. There are millions who are watching, learning and developing opinions and beliefs from the side lines. Millions more don't care. To send your son or daughter into war must be gut-wrenchingly difficult. The feeling of despair and hope mingle inside you. You have got to find and cling to the hope, otherwise the despair will kill you. Yes many of these millions are fighting with conviction. But the depth and strength of your belief system, relative to war, varies. Each has an individual tolerance. Entering a war zone is a brutal and cruel passage.

In time of war, the psychology of victory is worth understanding. If you think about war, merely as a conflict it becomes a comprehensive and multidimensional term. Conflicts vary in terms of scale and importance, as does the significance of a victory. Winning is obviously preferred and in many cases worth pursuit. However, taking the time at a "less emotional and critical" stage of a conflict to define the "win" is often neglected. Here is where we as a worldly people and a collection of nations, make a grave mistake when the conflict escalates into war. The kind of conflict that takes human lives gratuitously and violently. We make this mistake continually. In many modern and current wars the win is undefined, ambiguous and therefore out of reach. Perhaps the soldiers carry with them into the battlefield everyday, a clear vision of victory, but it is probably not the same as the overarching political vision, for which they are supposed to be fighting. Their victory on a day to day basis is to stay alive. Politically the vision of victory is often unclear, but the need to fight, as we search for the win is tolerated, accepted even.

So why, is there not a congressional mandate to define the win, before declaring war. We can't demand this of other nations, but America represents freedom, prosperity and civility. We should be leading with intellect, power and compassion, not aggravated and wounded emotions. If we wage war with the intention to win something, or eradicate something, we should be damn clear on what that something is. We should at the very least be able to recognize the win, if and when we accomplish it.

Some may fail to see the pragmatism of this kind of approach. Its importance gets lost on people, because they are angry or afraid. It seems unrealistic and naive, certainly unnatural, to think that there should or could be any other reaction but to fight, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Facilitating freedom and democracy was enough of a reason for Americans to die in Vietnam. Retaliation for a brutal and surprise attack on American soil on 9/11/2001 of course must involve more human combat, waging of war, defending our freedom. In this situation we leaped to attack, without completely understanding who our enemy was, or where they lived. We acted on our first, highly emotional and aggravated reaction. Something you should never do when making a profound decision of any kind.

In the modern case of 9/11, would we have put ourselves into considerably more danger, if we demanded a more thorough understanding of the attack, the attackers and the strategy to defend, before we waged war? Could we have launched a "better" defense of our national security and freedoms if we had clearly identified "the win" for America? If we had done that, might "the win" have been expressed as "creating an in-penetratable boundary of sovereign nations, enabling us to protect our freedoms and our people from irrational, unpredictable attacks" Could we have accomplished this with the deployment of advanced technology to facilitate satellite protections, while funding deeper intelligence strategies to help us understand and reveal radical threats to our way of life. Could our "win" have been expressed as an internal victory. One in which America retains its greatness and might by virtue of protecting ourselves, while understanding others, instead of an external show of power that was erratic, inhumane, unproductive and ultimately senseless. What did we gain by acting irrationally? I believe that if we had just identified the win, even if we never had accomplished it, we would be in a far better and more peaceful place today, than we were on 9/11/2001.

This may feel like an oversimplification, but I submit that if the Israelis were strictly focused on their "win" to create a safe and sovereign nation for themselves, they might be more successful in attaining it. In fact many Arab nations want the same thing. Their willingness, all of them, to go to war, continually, with each other has caused a severe distraction from achieving their goals. The fight is getting in the way of their dream. The war is making safety impossible. the war is destroying their nation, both its land and its people. It is dividing their own communities. The "win" if remembered seems so out of reach that the fight has become desperate, rendering the win meaningless. That is profoundly sad. Mostly because it could be different.

History will usually teach us the value or waste of war. History will recount the battles, the territorial situations, the principles for which people were fighting, the freedoms they were defending. I wonder, if the soldiers on the field realize what history teaches us about them. The impact of the outcome. The victory, the loss is clearly defined in history. Wars are necessary, sometimes inevitable, even "good" but it is extremely uncomfortable for me to realize these virtues only after the brutal decades of suffering. As an American, I am eternally grateful for the outcome of World War II. Indebted to the leadership, soldiers, and families participating in that war. Their suffering led to my fortune. We owe the victims and heroes in current conflicts around the world a clear picture of "the win", while they are fighting for it. We should be ashamed of ourselves if we rely entirely on history to define it.

Individuals and nations are accountable. Your character is defined by what you do today. i would encourage all of us to think about how our actions impact the people around us. Be selfish in your endeavor, but compassionate in your methods, and humanitarian in your actions. Identify the win, collectively. Coexist peacefully. Pursue the dream not the fight.

A message for the GOP

2009-03-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

Given the current temperature of the GOP, and public perception pointing to Rush Limbaugh as the leading voice, even scarier, the most influential voice of the Republican party … I just have to say this.

“You people need to calm yourselves down”!
To fuel the fire, Michael Steele called Limbaugh a mere "entertainer" who is sometimes "incendiary" and "ugly," I felt relief, The new leader of the RNC, got it right… comments for which Steele later apologized. But only fleetingly…

I do understand that you are reeling from an inarguable KO, and a complete breakdown of communication and connection with the American people, but to rally toward a guy like Rush, makes me think that you are suffering from some kind of depilatory mental disease. Bush was painful, yes, but was he and his group of cronies so despicable to drive you to a state of denial about the tremendous harm, destruction, and embarrassment he caused this country on a local, global and personal level ? The answer for me is an unequivocal yes. He is despicable. He was dishonest. He was destructive. Evil, even. But he is not, nor was he ever my guy. For me to deny he did this is ignorant, for you, the Republican party, to deny he did this is ignorant and self destructive.

Come on GOP….we democrats want to win fair and square, and we are fit to fight…we are poised to win, and to keep on winning. But the last thing we want is a forfeit…

Rush is hoping for failure. He is gaining enthusiasm among all of you, to support failure. News flash … you have failed and you brought the whole country down with you. Don’t advocate failure moving forward just because you feel somewhat comfortable in it now. Even though I am a democrat, trust me on this one … it is no good to perpetuate failure. It will be hard, perhaps impossible for this country to prosper while we are failing.

Your strategy is transparent. GOP will dissect Obama’s stimulus and corrective packages to highlight all of the failures as they occur. And there will be failures. You will attack the concepts, the theories and the plan to stimulate recovery of our dire financial state. You will focus on the flawed executions of the “stimulus” and “bail out” programs. You will equate “regulation” to nationalization or even socialism. You will point to the short term struggle as negative with no regard for the resulting long term corrections. You will accuse the democrats of instituting “bad government” while advocating for “bad people and destructive decisions within government”

If you insist on looking backward, gravitating exclusively to “free market” and “deregulation” you will be increasingly alone. Because, before the stimulus packages can visibly impact the market in a positive way, many more members of the GOP will be crossing the line, undercover, asking for government assistance. Republicans have lost their jobs, too, and if you are still working, your bonus was probably not as gratuitous as it was last year. If you are going to file for unemployment, at least do it in the open and admit that without this kind of government assistance you would be SOL. Admit that deregulation was a stimulus of a different kind, one that led to our financial melt down, and that the new, positive and necessary stimulus package, while paying you, should also reinstate some level of regulatory guidelines on businesses to act ethically, legally and prudently. Admit that deregulating lead to predatory lending, debt swapping and over weight risk ratios, within our financial institutions. Admit that deregulation did not discriminate between democrats or republicans, it allowed businesses to play a high risk, non partisan game with your money. You are less rich than you were before. Admit therefore, that deregulation failed.

C’mon republicans…Admit this.

Admit that regulation is needed. Admit that it is appropriate. Admit, even that it is good.

I am confused when I detect fear associated with regulation. This fear is real, but unfounded. It therefore needs to be addressed and taken seriously.
Lawful regulation of private sector business is synonymous to lawful regulation of communities – counties – cities – states – countries. In America, we do not live in lawless communities. We willingly abide by laws and rules of coexistence. We acknowledge and respect human rights. We do not steal, inflict harm, or swindle. Those that commit these crimes, face correction and attempted rehabilitation. Lawless communities conjure up images of Iraq, Israel, Darfur, Pakistan. Chaos, brutality, unworthy and misguided leadership emerge in lawless communities. Communities can thrive in a regulated environment that supports creativity and innovation while demanding fair treatment of its constituency. Why shouldn't public and private sector industries thrive this way as well? The answer is that they have and they will. GOP, thinkthenleap….regulation will work !

In case you have forgotten, as it may have been a long time…It is much more gratifying to win when you play a fair game. It feels completely different and much more profound than stealing a win because you were willing to cheat.

Obama's Housing Plan .. Some things to think about ..

2009-02-21T22:16:00.000-08:00

http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=rescuing_americas_homeowners

The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan represents a solid step or two in the right direction, but it stops short of providing a majority solution in the short term and produces no real solution for the long term. Additionally I think the objective of the plan is too narrow. It is necessary, essential even, to stop the bleeding and stabilize the current chaotic atmosphere, but the financial instruments and aid, need to be administered around a new "declined" base line of real estate values. There is no mention of this in the HASP. Home values and interest rates need to be addressed in this correction. If we merely adjust interest rates to bring monthly payments down, that helps the homeowner more than it does the bank, which is a good thing, but unless the inflated principal is adjusted downward, it does potentially nothing as a long term solution that will enable home owners to regain equity or pay off their mortgage over time. Unless a mortgage can be retired at some point that is reasonable for the homeowner, and profitable for the bank, we will have a circular, recurring problem.

It is reasonable to regulate % of income devoted to mortgage payment. This should be a no brainer and nonnegotiable. Deregulation disjointed these two factors. This contributed significantly to the current housing crisis. Obama's plan to force the banks to restructure loans to represent 38% of income, and then subsidize to 31% of income is a solid idea. An additional incentive to the banks on loans that do not require that subsidy would go along way to stabilizing loan risk ratios. It will be difficult and expensive to do this in the current climate due to the large number of loans that exceed these payment to income perimeters. Three factors are going to bog this down: overexposed original loans, increased loss of income and decreased home valuations. Nonetheless this should be done, across the board. It is a good use of taxpayer moneys. This correction has long term benefits and will facilitate stable mortgages in the long run.

Also...and this could be really positive, if banks were regulated to write mortgages at no more than 31% of annual income, there would be a host of home builders who would find a way to build affordable housing for low, middle and high income HH's. In the current system, home builders can inflate the value of all the homes they build and be successful in selling them, because banks could and would approve the sale of expensive homes with high mortgages to low and middle income HH's. Builders will only build product they can sell. If this income to loan ratio is enforced, home builders will find a way to build homes to accommodate a wide range of income levels.

I like the concept of refining bankruptcy law to allow judges to adjust mortgages. I would imagine that the largest debt an individual carries is a mortgage..and if they are facing bankruptcy, the ability to refine that debt should in many cases mitigate the need for a bankruptcy filing...all very positive. Banks will want to keep this power out of the courts, so the mere adjustment in the law should make the banking system, relative to mortgages, work much more efficiently while making the bank/customer partnership more consumer friendly. The down side to this, in our current climate, is that this adjustment, may cause a run on bankruptcy filings...which is obviously not good.

Dean Baker's idea on "renting" over a 10 year period does not solve the problem in my opinion. Yes, it keeps people in their homes, but it postpones the inevitability of a default....potentially. Several blogs back I floated a concept of "rent to own"...which would allow an "at risk" homeowner to stay in their home after the mortgage and principal had been modified to accommodate current home value and income. This would be negotiated with the mortgage holder. Monthly payment would include both interest and principal, so at no time is the homeowner forced into an interest only payment scenario. In exchange for these modifications, the consumer would accumulate a small secondary debt on the mortgage that if paid at specific points throughout the life of the loan, would move them into a pure home ownership status, Vs a rent to own status. Perhaps a requirement to make 13 payments per year Vs 12, for 5 years, to regain pure ownership status. This solution, I think, is a way to keep a person in their home, gives them an avenue to actually "own" their home as they eventually retire the loan, and repays the bank some of their loss through the additional payment plan.

Generally speaking....although long winded, my humble opinion on this mortgage problem is that the solution should be heavily but responsibly weighted to the consumer while mitigating the loss to the bank. This is accomplished by enforcing responsible lending regulation, with an income to payment ceiling, and reducing the profit margins banks make on mortgages today. This will bring interest rates down and keep them reasonable. It will also go a long way in balancing risk ratios for mortgage holders. Principal home values must be corrected, so people can eventually pay off their homes. For a long while, banks enjoyed huge profit margins and revenue gains on the inflated home market, they will now need to adjust to lower principal home values, and act just like every other responsible business as it adjusts to cost of goods and market shifts. If they act constructively, and are appropriately, but not over regulated, banks will continue to make solid and consistent margins on mortgages. It is significantly less expensive to adjust a mortgage payment, and maintain it, than it is to loose a mortgage entirely, and carry the loss.

Obama's plan protects the banks first while suggesting solid and pragmatic aid to the consumer. But neither Dean Baker nor the HASP puts forth a foundation to help current homeowners pay off a mortgage. The ideas merely suggest ways to avoid neglect and/or abandonment of a mortgage. We have absolutely no solution at all if the solution does not facilitate a 60 year old person, who carries a mortgage to retire it. Without that, taxpayers will be paying for senior living facilities, which will drain our tax base further. Not to mention the drain on dignity and increase of stress a 60 year old is forced to deal with, as he/she struggles to make a house payment after 35-40 years of tirelessly working to care for his/her family and keep a roof over their heads. Government programs need to specifically address the needs of citizens, regardless of age, before they pander to the private institutions who are supposed to serve us, but often rob us...

Finally, the HASP still does nothing for the "Responsible, never missed a mortgage payment no matter how hard the struggle" citizen. It seems more than obvious to me that if meaningful, monetary incentives were created to reward the consumer with the "excellent credit rating" we would have less default and a lot less resentment. More importantly we would feel less like a "chump". Something feels dangerously wrong to me as I sit here month after month, paying my bills, on time, wondering if in the long run I would be better off defaulting on my mortgage. Personally I would struggle with that decision, and ultimately not be able to ignore my responsibilities, but I am fairly convinced, given the tone of the stimulus, and bail out philosophies, that I will, once again, be in the group that missed the wave of wealth creation, because I didn't participate in or understand the fictitious principles of debt swapping....

DoNotLetBoundariesBindUs

2009-02-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

Recently at the "Energy and Resources Institute climate conference in New Delhi, Tom Friedman heard ..“Hey, Mr. Friedman,” “would you like to take a little spin around New Delhi in our car?”

Oh, I say, I’ve heard that line before. Ah, they say, but you haven’t seen this car before. It’s a plug-in electric car that is also powered by rooftop solar panels — and the two young women, recent Yale grads, had just driven it all over India in a “climate caravan” to highlight the solutions to global warming being developed by Indian companies, communities, campuses and innovators, as well as to inspire others to take action._____________________________________________________________________________________

Regardless of how you feel about Friedman, be keenly aware of protectionism. We will gravitate to it in times like these, but it is the last thing we need to do. Consider this ... per the above situation.. we have educated these "non-Americans" and anxiously sent them back to their homeland to develop technologies in emerging markets that we will someday be forced to buy. We need to understand inclusion...from a business perspective. If a valuable market emerges, regardless of who uncovers it, we need to harness it. America needs to once again create a business environment that supports innovation. If a Dubai born scholar discovers the path to a scalable solar automobile business, then we need to create and open the conditions in America to produce those automobiles. The "invented here" bias needs to be universal and inclusive. In times like these, even if it feels counter intuitive, we must protect capitalism. America must be the "go to" place to develop new markets, new technologies, new - scalable businesses...we need to found them and we need to grow them...It is dangerous and narrow to dwarf or stagnate competition. Especially if we do it to protect the American worker. this in the long run will make us weaker, not stronger. We cannot lead if we do not innovate. And when I say innovate, I mean anyone who innovates on American soil regardless of their place of origin. The only requirement is that peace prevail.

Radio Head

2009-02-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

I am listening to banjo music now, on Sirius/XM, The "70's on 7" Channel....I like this channel...very much. But the combined business entity of Sirius/XM announced today, that bankruptcy will be unavoidable...Sirius VS XM ...After a time of brutal but capitalistic market rivalry, they recently bought each other in some kind of complex, fictitious value "deal thing". It did not work out so well. Too many $ spent for too few 'buyers". Not unlike the GM, Chrysler predicament. I think XM bought Sirius, after the FTC effectively said "go ahead" we are tired of the monopoly fight" :)

XM has OPRAH and Sirius has STERN. So all audience segments are covered...EXCEPT ... well ... NOT. I will listen to both ends of the spectrum for free, but not for $12/month. They are seeking a bankruptcy filing...typical, right? I guess there is solace in the fact that they are not waiting online, asking for TARP funds ... Yet. Perhaps that is to come.. I mean really, what would we do? How could we survive ... without paid "Muzac" in our elevators?

What is perplexing to me, is that they fought, hard, to combine. Now they have found that the combination will economically fail...Did they not run business model scenarios prior to their run for air waves domination?

A little bit sour tonight ... I am, I am. Should I allow myself to go through these phases ?

I love that the free market prospers .. due to consumer demand? I would hope that both Sirius and XM could profitably survive. They each have the appropriate and scalable cornerstone when it comes to marketing, programming and audience segments. Problem is, they overpaid for their talent. Does Howard Stern really need a $509M/ ten year contract to luxuriously survive? That is 5% of what we are paying to feed, shelter and protect our US troops in Iraq each month. I know that this sum of money is paid out over 10 years...but in the event of bankruptcy, Sirius owes Stern this with or without 10 years of service. Many people around the world, (approximately 12 million) listen to Howard Stern ... which is fine, but is that price tag reasonable to distribute his voice - globally? There is real value for MANY consumer in "boob" chatter. I begrudge no one. But $509,000,000 ? Oprah's deal is significantly larger. Both sums of money are unconscionable. ESPECIALLY on a subscriber base minus advertising base revenue model. Stern is funny ... occasionally ... and Oprah is inspirational ...
but neither are they funny enough or inspirational enough to balance that P & L ...

I think that the CEO's and the CFO's are smart ... of course, right? But then you have to ask yourself, how can this happen. I hate to say it, but my guess is that TMZ is the 24/7 loop in their office, as opposed to the 24/7 loop from MSNBC, CNN, FOX, APR/NPR Public Radio, FNN, CSPAN ... Conservative, Centrist, Liberal. I don't care. But at least try to inform yourself on things that matter, VS entertain yourself on things that don't. They are smart because they understand the system which will offer bankruptcy, as a way to resolve and organize losses, with little consequence to management, talent or the general public...the only people it hurts, potentially are the shareholders. That is the risk upon which capitalism is built. It is appropriate. Only recently have you been able to be bailed out by taxpayers when your business fails.

I get it. We all have a business to run. Perspectives from almost every vantage point seem to be somewhat out of whack these days... For now, I will consider it creativity ...

The America I Miss

2009-02-08T17:19:00.001-08:00

America:
Is the Entire Bailout Strategy Flawed? Let's Rethink This Before It's Too Late

By Joseph Stiglitz, CNN. Posted February 2, 2009.

"The financial sector is supposed to allocate capital and manage risk, and it did neither well. Our economy is paying the price for these failures -- to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Many of the problems that afflict the financial sector are more pervasive. General Motors and GE both got into the finance business, and both showed that banks had no monopoly on bad risk management

Eventually, America's economy will recover. Eventually, our financial sector will be functioning -- and profitable -- once again, though hopefully, it will focus its attention more on doing what it is supposed to do. When things turn around, we can once again privatize the now-failed banks, and the returns we get can help write down the massive increase in the national debt that has been brought upon us by our financial markets.

We are moving in unchartered waters. No one can be sure what will work. But long-standing economic principles can help guide us. Incentives matter. The long-run fiscal position of the U.S. matters. And it is important to restart prudent lending as fast as possible."
__________________________________________________________________________________
So what do we do? I am not an economist, so I really don't know, but my instincts lead toward this ...

There is value in stepping back to reflect on how things should be. There is value in resurrecting a basic level of character, honesty and inclusion. Economic principles should find their way into, and perhaps be the cornerstone of our solutions. We can think creatively to augment these principles, to make them relevant to modern market conditions, but it is time to stop ignoring them, as the Bush administration did to accommodate the loop holes necessary to create gratuitous and harmful wealth.

What can we accomplish if we start over? Forgive the manipulation. Forgive the hypocrisy. Forgive the greed. Start over. Assess what we have, determine what we need. Think creatively and succeed globally.

This is rhetoric, I know .. we need sound strategies and practical tactics.

A personal situation may shed light on what is wrong, and perhaps an even brighter light on how far we need to go to fix the financial mess ... or at least "repair the track" to solvency.

3.6 million people have lost their jobs in the last 6 months. I am one of them. Aside from the initial feelings of panic and anger, a sense of uselessness sets in. Worse than feeling betrayed, you start to wonder if the betrayal was justified. No quantitative reason is given for your dismissal .. in my case I was quantifiably a top performer .. so you come to the conclusion that your dismissal is subjective. You show up, you do your job, you go above and beyond, you produce ... but somehow you fail. Then you begin to wonder, how it can be so easy for a corporation to suddenly pull your livelihood out from under you. The "At Will Employment" clause in your contract is "how" it is done at a legal level but that doesn't address the more critical, personal level. So now we have 3.6 million people who are suffering from artificially low self esteem, wondering how they will dig out of the hole, how they will remain in their homes, how they will continue to provide for their children, and we as a government are focused on keeping failed businesses afloat, rewarding that failure, and asking our citizens why they are not spending more or applying for credit.

Why is this not obviously wrong? Why is this not obviously ignorant? Why is this not obviously complicit? People (republicans, mostly) are running scared and causing panic over the concept of nationalization. To them, smarter governance and appropriate oversight is dangerous? Corporations should be left to self regulate, because, as we all know, they have proven their ability to do so. Not only do corporations lack this skill, they lack the desire. There is no financial incentive to regulate. It has become difficult, if not impossible to gain a competitive advantage, without stealing it..and stealing is what we have been doing. The working theories of capitalism have been abandoned. Greed has taken over. Capitalism is not broken, the American dream is. Double standards exist, in fact they prevail. Shouldn't all forms of stealing be illegal? I'd rather see Bernard Madoff be forced to use his genius to create broad scale, monetarily based wealth for underprivileged families, as his sentence, rather than throwing him in a white collar detention facility to play cards until he dies. To be frank you can't deny the financial genius of these "bad" people, so rather than tar and feather them, while they continue to live among the riches they have stolen, lets use them, like they have used us. Force them to live in an average middle class American neighborhood, and create wealth for their neighbors, while they sit on their porch as a mere spectator.

This of course will never happen, but it gives me a reason to smile to think about what might be, if we could think out of the box, and focus strictly on moving forward.

The stimulus package, should be massive and focus on Jobs, Housing, GDP stability and Credit. All of the money, and I mean ALL OF IT should be allocated to these four market movers . Incentives should be paid to employers who hire from the unemployment insurance pool. Convergence on jobs, job seekers and skill sets should be optimized so that finding an appropriate job is not impossible. Employers who fire should be required to fund outplacement services for everyone they let go. The cycle of job transition needs to be shortened and less humiliating. There are ways to do this, now, through technology. It is just not getting done. The answer is not Monster.com or "the Ladders" these are repositories for resumes. They give the job seeker a false sense of security that they are actively connecting with employers, but in fact the odds of consummating that connection are very low. If the government would pay incentives to these Internet job boards for actually placing people in new jobs, I guarantee you they would match employers with job seekers much more effectively.

In addition to aggressively supporting the worker, Unions need to work harder to acknowledge corporate grievances and put to rest the misplaced fear of unionization. If they could intelligently move as a group beyond the conflict and realign with both sides of the business environment, Unions could have a profoundly positive impact on our financial recovery. I wish I had a union to protect me from being wrongfully fired, but my employer is effective in banning unions, and the union has been ineffective in reaching a compromise to enable access to a majority of workers in America. This can be changed, too. Unions provide a very valuable service to both employers and employees. Their current approach is flawed, but it is fixable.

Home mortgages need to be reassessed to current market value. To avoid foreclosure, banks should be forced to renegotiate loans to share the risk and keep people in their homes. Interest rates should come down universally. Banks should be forced to balance their risk ratios. Profit margins on loans should be regulated, to stay within ranges. Banks like every other business should grow based on the size and stability of their profitable customer base. Credit swapping and bad debt packaging should not lead to success and leadership in the banking industry. This has nothing to do with consumer demand, in fact it critically detracts from it. Lets get back to basic and transparent business principles in the financial industry...they work.

GDP will be constricted as we move forward. We have been producing more than we need. Worse, we have been producing more than we want. Business models,whether they are basic or complex, revolve in some way around supply and demand. For awhile, we have over produced to an inflated demand. The bubble has burst. We need to go back to the baseline and produce to accommodate real demand, not an inflated forecast of it.

Finally with regard to the remaining TARP funds. I better see that the words "oversight", "accountability" and "taxpayer relief" have replaced the words, "avoid failure", "encourage lending" and "protect shareholders". If we don't see these policies written into the conditions for funding, I would hope to see public protesting, but I fear we will see public rioting...

Government is supposed to function as a facilitator. To protect its citizen base and preserve freedom. We are ready to stand with our new administration. We want to be actively involved in the solution. It is time to abandon the old sinking ship, jump overboard and swim. We will find life boats along the way. We will not arrive at the shore unscathed, but we will arrive. We will bring with us the knowledge of how to navigate through rough waters and we will regain our leadership by sharing that knowledge with the world. That is the America I know. That is the America, I miss.

Halleluah !

2009-01-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

Date: Friday, January 23, 2009, 12:06 PM

THE PERSISTENT MAN

On this cold sunny day an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he'd been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the U.S. Marine standing guard and said, 'I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.'

The Marine looked at the man and said, 'Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.'

The old man said 'Okay' and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, 'I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.'

The Marine again told the man, 'Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.'

The man thanked him and, again, just walked away.

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same U.S. Marine saying 'I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.'

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, 'Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I've told you already that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don't you understand?'

The old man looked at the Marine and said, 'Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.'

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, 'See you tomorrow.'

Author : Unknown

Change revealed ... Hope renewed

2009-01-20T17:51:00.000-08:00

I was drawn to Barack Obama through his words, his intellect and his compassion. He inspired us with two words really : hope and change. We are desperate for both. Interesting to consider, that these concepts of hope and change are as broad as they are narrow. Each citizen has a unique idea of what hope and change mean to them. Each can internalize these broad concepts to make them personal. Obama reached out to us as a mass citizen base with a very personal promise. A broad concept with a narrow vision. He embraced all of it and in doing so, acknowledged each one of us. That is why we elected him. He represents our personal hope and private yearning for change...

His inaugural address, gracefully advanced us from a euphoric idea to a measurable goal. Hope will be tactile and change will be visible. Barack Obama defined our greatness as a nation, encouraging us to find confidence in our historic strength. He leads us, now to a pragmatic energy. In order to deliver on the promise of hope and change, we - as American citizens as well as our government, must now define change, visualize hope, work for it and fight for it. We can no longer just want it.

Some have criticized his speech today, saying it was not "lofty" therefore less inspiring. I disagree. I celebrate its pragmatism. I am ready to realize the hope and create the change :

"For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people on which this nation relies."

I am proud to hear Obama honor the ordinary citizen as the great American, crediting him with the greatness of our country :

"Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

I applaud his willingness to publicly face our shortcomings, our failures, our mistakes :

"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works."

For there is no shame in making a mistake there is only shame in denying it. If we want to affect change, we have to truly see the present, understand the shortfall, creatively solve the problem and rebuild.

I acknowledge the challenge and struggle before us, and I am comforted by the unity to face it :

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work or remaking America."

Great accomplishments are rarely achieved in solitude. We must get back to actively helping each other. We must agree on the goal, transcend the differences and unite to achieve. We need to harness the boundless talent and creativity in this country and abroad. We need to celebrate it and deploy it.

Today, on behalf of America, Barack Obama addressed the world :

"America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity; we are ready to lead once more."

Obama will first focus us to simplify our thinking, neutralize our perspective and anchor our respect for basic human rights as we approach solutions for global conflict, suffering and prosperity. History is relevant only for its lessons. It, in and of itself is not a reason to hate or kill. Obama reminded those who fight first to :

"know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."

War will likely continue, somewhere on the planet, as we move through this stage of enlightenment, compassion and change but what I heard today, is that America will first diligently try to reason before we activate bloodshed in the name of freedom : "We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

The power and might of American ideals was renewed today:

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

Our willingness to go to war has fueled a divisive ambiguity of our goals and aspirations as a world leader who proclaims peaceful democracy and a protector of freedom. It has weakened us as a nation and as a leader. In an attempt to protect our own boundaries we have invaded others. We have become occupiers not facilitators, robbing communities of their sovereign dignity and for the first time bringing about a question of how important these American ideals really are. Our actions have made the world wonder if there is a crack in the armor. We are vulnerable. Today, I heard a renewed commitment to eradicate that vulnerability and once again make known the character of our nation. We reclaimed our singular and unwavering focus to protect freedom and support democracy.

"Our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please"

The humility of these words makes them profound and powerful. Obama reminds us that we have a responsibility to demonstrate the greatness of our country through the greatness of our acts. We must be generous with our ideals through our respect for the ideals of others. We must strive to understand differences while we work to peacefully incorporate them. If and when we develop a sense of entitlement, due to our power, we will immediately be diminished. Our unity will disappear, our trust will fade and our confusion will divide. Power is earned but it is fragile.

I was encouraged and in fact excited to envision the "world" as a common place for all of us. A place that we inhabit together. A place that embraces human and geographic potential. A place that celebrates differences and works together to create opportunity rather than conflict. A world where boundaries are used to create and nurture peaceful communities, not destroy them :

"as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

The only thing greater than the hope of a common, distinctly beautiful humanity is the realization of it. America the Humanitarian is more important to me than America the Beautiful. But if we can accomplish this, we will have accomplished both...

Cowards

2009-01-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from: 'We Are Very Violent': Israeli War Crimes Mount

By Jonathan Cook, AlterNet. Posted January 10, 2009.

Amnesty International accused Israeli soldiers of using Palestinian civilians as human shields -- a charge Israel has repeatedly levelled against Hamas.

A further petition has been launched by eight Israeli human rights groups, demanding that Israel's Supreme Court ban the army from targeting ambulances and medical personnel.

The petition cites a large number of cases in which Israel has fired on ambulances, arguing that as a result medics have been unable to treat the wounded or transport them to hospital

Four children were found close to starvation alongside 15 bodies, including those of their mothers. Many other civilians were found dead in the area, and others are believed still to be in hiding. Israeli tanks were stationed nearby the destroyed buildings and continued their brutal attack during the whole period.

Al Haq, a Palestinian legal rights group, warned that 80 per cent of the more than 750 Palestinians killed in the fighting so far have been civilians. According to figures cited by the World Health Organisation, at least 40 per cent have been children. Another 3,000 Gazans have been wounded. Israeli casualties are in the low double digits.

______________________________________
Cowards of the worst most violent kind...is that how Israeli Jews want to be remembered? Is that the legacy they are seeking? There is no justification for this conflict. None. It is time to replace anger with ambivalence if not compassion. It is time to replace failure with a plan for success. It is time to stop thriving in the pain of the past and start living in the hope of the present and the promise of a peaceful future.

Easy to express. Impossible to legislate. I agree with Naomi Klein, that our contribution to ending this conflict should be first to cut off all financial aid, (currently $3billion to Israel from the U.S.). Allow only highly regulated humanitarian aid. Ban imports from the entire region. Heavily sanction. Then, after a time of isolation - engage in conversation. Powerful conversation that refuses to succumb to emotional accusations or prior atrocities. It must be rigidly focused on territory definitions, independent states, peaceful coexistence and collaboration. A negotiation that is focused on similarities Vs differences. Committed to identifying and acknowledging common desires and universal rights of the conflicting parties. When negotiations veer from these goals, we stand up and walk out.

My intent is not to over simplify this situation, by suggesting that there is only one way to solve it. But it is often useful to break conflicts down to bite sized pieces so that they feel less insurmountable. It helps to set priorities and identify potential compromises. Generally it brings clarity,to a complex, multi tiered entity. But it requires commitment and patience. There are many Israeli Jews, in the region that are passionately committed to a resolution. They could masterfully guide this process, along with fellow scholars and diplomats, equally committed and passionate, in Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, U.S., Europe...All are neighbors, wanting a better, peaceful and prosperous life. More important, there are people in these regions who are capable of laying a foundation to materially improve conditions in a peaceful environment. The point,is that it is not just those looking in from the outside, that see the futility of these conflicts. The brutal dismissal of human rights for a chronically unworthy cause...there are thousands within the war zone that see this, as well. They are vocal. But their ability to organize effectively and forcefully is not yet as strong as the military might. Our "highly regulated" humanitarian aid should find these organizations and funnel money to them.

This is a time for "tough love". Although not always successful, this practice usually associated with addicts and their personal nucleus is highly effective and always instructive. The concept of tough love is to be unwavering in your support, only as long as the addict shows a personal commitment to change his/her behavior. And the process of change is sincere, measurable and permanent. It requires the surrounding influences to stop enabling. The terms of the deal are non-negotiable. Both sides have to do their part, aggressively and deliberately. When this fails old behaviors return, destruction ensues and recovery is lost. When it works, the nucleus strengthens, significantly, the addict actively recovers and behavior changes. Life starts to work again. Positive things begin to happen. Recovery is perpetuated.

This process, though obvious, is gut wrenchingly hard. In the Middle East there are a host of things that the people in each region must face. It is not a simple addiction, it is a cross generational journey that must be stopped, crushed and redirected. It is admitting that the suffering and killing is futile, the aftermath is gratuitously devastating and the victory is meaningless. There must be a way to open the hearts and minds of these fighters. They must be able to forgive themselves as well as their aggressors. They must restore their individual honor and believe that they deserve a better life. The burden of shame needs to be destroyed, a feeling of pride must be restored. These aspirations are psychological rather than tactical, they are felt in the heart Vs on the fist. But if you look at all of the significant progress people have made historically in their communities around the world, you will learn that shear will, perseverance and mutual respect for human beings delivered the victory. The achievements have been permanent, unambiguous and inarguable.

We are enabling this conflict, as we denounce it. That makes us complicit in its outcome. Shame on us. We are aiding and abetting, not supporting. This region needs to feel isolated and forced to choose extinction or resolution. We as outsiders cannot manufacture their desires. If they are left alone they will have to dig deep to discover how they want to survive. They will have to choose an enduring path to growth, acceptance and prosperity or a short delusional and painful path to self destruction. It is really not much different than the choice of an addict. He knows that his current way of life is no life at all. At some point he faces his fears, discards his shame and works toward a better life or he dies, never knowing who he really was or what he could have become.

Force yourself to look around you

2009-01-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

It is hard not to feel overwhelmed and underwater when you read global press on global issues...all of which impact us. Some at the level of touching us in our everyday lives. Top of mind for me is the financial crises, as they have gotten personal for me, on multiple levels. One of the sources of frustration I feel, aside from suddenly not knowing my financial path is, the time and attention I am having to pay to that aspect of my life. Not only is it boring, it is distracting me from what I really care about - civilly. managing my tiny financial unit should not be as complicated as it has become. The capitalistic aspiration in America, I thought, was to work, support your family, contribute to your community, mentor and then after paying your dues for 35-40 years, have the ability to give back on your terms...I thought wrong. Although this "financial crisis" has been building momentum for several years, when it hits home, it feels sudden. Which makes us panic, unproductively until we can accept and muster up enough strength to carry on in the new scene. We are still in the panic stage. Those of us who can function in stressful situations, will be creative in the rebuilding phase and come out ok on the other side. Those of us that fold under stress will need help to regain our footing.

The message, regardless of how you react, is to be compassionate. Recognize the collective hardship and as you are solving your problems think too about how you can solve one problem for some one else. If we don't help each other we will be much weaker and thus slower to recover.

Healing is better than fighting ...

2008-12-31T21:50:00.000-08:00

If you take the time to read or listen beyond the primary U.S. press, you will gain a perspective of both sides of the Hamas/Israeli conflict. This deeper research is necessary to gain a broad and neutral understanding of the Middle East conflicts, because the U.S. press leans exclusively to the U.S. political position, which currently supports Israel. Perspective from the other side of the conflict is largely ignored, sometimes inaccurate and always incomplete.

It is important sometimes to bring to light something that is hard to face. When there is a conflict of any kind, but especially a conflict as grave as war, we tend to take sides. It is natural to align yourself with or against a belief or a position. Relative to the Middle East, the overwhelming alignment of Americans is with the Israeli's. The intent of this piece is not to dispute that or attempt to change your alignment, it is merely to give a voice to the other side. Each side of the conflict is made up of equally passionate convictions and equally valuable human life. It is important that we acknowledge and respect the entire conflict,and its aspirations.

What you will discover, as you dig deeper, is that Israel, in this particular conflict, is the bad guy. You will learn from Wallace Shawn in his article "Israel in Gaza: Irrationality"
[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090112/shawn] that there is a large consensus among Israeli and American Jews of modern times, who harbor and in fact nurture the pain of the Holocaust to justify virtually all of their military actions, and unlawful occupations. Israel is guilty of war crimes. Many of them. The recent air strikes on the Gaza Strip, although retaliatory, represent severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Convention.
[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090112/falk?rel=rightsideaccordian]

Shawn insightfully and compassionately gives us this : "Jews, historically, have been irrationally feared, hated and killed. Given that background, it's not surprising that the irrationality which surrounded them for so long, the fire of irrationality in which they were almost extinguished, has jumped across and taken hold of the soul of many Jews and indeed dominates the thinking of today's Israeli leaders and their American supporters". "The logical consequences of this view of the world is that in the face of such massive and eternal opposition, Jews are morally justified in taking any measures they can think of to protect themselves."

For many of us, Jews and gentiles, the Holocaust is the most vivid of brutal human atrocities. Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide...has and is happening in regions around the world. Many of the brutal images we see today, are seen through a memory of the Holocaust. There is nothing more painful to acknowledge. Its emotional and physical destruction is enduring and should never be diminished or forgotten. But the Holocaust or any similarly vile human tragedy, should never be used to carry on or justify further destruction. To do so is weak and irrational. Worse, it is cruel. My intent is not to blanketly or exclusively condemn Israel for the bloodshed in the Middle East. Two sides are obviously always engaged in a conflict. Each side having been both the aggressor and the defender...Arabs and Israeli's share blame. Each has committed war crimes, to be sure. But in each conflict, it is worth considering the prevailing motives to fight, definitions of success and recognition as well as cost of victory.

The reality in the conflict, between Palestine and Israel is that the Palestinians have been brutally victimized by the Israeli's for a long long time. They are fighting over dirt, and the right to live in, and peacefully occupy an independent state. Although threatened, Israel has this, Palestine wants it and Israel keeps infringing upon and constricting the Palestinian territory. In doing so, people are dying. It is ironic that the Israeli's in this conflict, are inflicting the very same pain and suffering they have endured, and are compelled to overcome. They are compassionate people, If the Israeli Jews stopped long enough to feel this pain again, and committed themselves to healing vs seeking perpetual revenge than the brutal attacks might stop, at least long enough to question the motive and weigh the value of a tragic outcome Vs a peaceful outcome.

Jews feel threatened, compelled to defend their rights .. for many this is a way of life. They know nothing else, so they gravitate to their suffering. They seem comfortable there. What happened to the Jews is grossly indescribable, unthinkable, horrible .. but dwelling on the hate gives it more power. Using it to justify modern acts of aggression, gives it purpose. Allowing it to influence your mind, gives it presence. Admittedly, it is easy for me to say, let it go... But letting it go is the only way to defeat hatred, once and for all.

Is it useful to think and question without creating a solution ?

2008-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

With the news this morning that GM - perhaps the most poorly managed of the big three auto manufacturers - is being allowed, in fact, encouraged to double dip into the tax payers pocket, with an additional "endowment" of $6B to help GMAC increase lending, I rolled my eyes. Apparently we have not yet learned "one" lesson from the sub prime mortgage bazaar. The idea as stated by Paulsen and team, is to make lending more accessible, and flexible, so that GM can finance more cars. I am floored. So in addition to defaults on mortgages, we will create a flurry of defaults on car loans. Good move..

I am growing weary of the financial crises, and switching to Israel.

Can anyone, please, help me understand why virtually all of the regions surrounding Israel want to brutally destroy it? Remove it, completely. I read a great piece by Benny Morris today in the NYT, which explains why Israel feels threatened. I learned, finally - that much of the Arab and Islamic nations do not and likely will not ever accept "the existence of Israel."

Although it goes back much further - centuries in fact, Morris explained the conflict in 1967, in which Israel retaliated against Egypt, Syria and Jordan, who isolated Israel and moved in several troops, armored and infantry divisions to Israel's border on the West bank. Arab nations, at that time, publicly declared a commitment to the destruction of Israel. Iran (to the East), known to have nuclear weapons, continues to make public threats to Israel, with a promise to destroy it. The Lebanese (to the North)- specifically the Hezbollah organization is closely tied to Iran and Syria, has a common aggression to destroy Israel. And the current conflict from the Islamist Hamas movement on the Gaza Strip (to the south) - arbitrarily launched rockets into Israel to mark the end of the weak, and tenuous 6 month peace treaty.

I know too, of the recurring conflicts between Palestine and Israel. The blame for these conflicts seems to be leaning more convincingly toward Israel. Within Israel itself, the Arab citizen base is embracing Palestinian "national aims". And the demography of the Israeli state is changing. More Arab-Israeli families are emerging, than are Israeli Jewish families. So, the conflicts soon will be internal as well as external.

Do the Israeli Jews deserve all of this hatred? I can't imagine that any human being, with even the slightest sensitivity could honestly answer that question with a "yes". No matter what your belief structure, at some point don't we all have an obligation to figure out how to co-exist? I was raised a Catholic. I married a Jew. I have a dear friend who was born in Germany. You can forgive mistakes from the past, or at least not hold hatred in modern times, to atrocities that happened in ancient times. We don't have to agree. We don't have to govern alike. We can argue. We can fight, and we should defend freedom. But at some point, we need to commit to resolution and stop short of killing massively. Throughout history, each race, faction, religious sect, secular sect, has fought and killed over something. In some situations, a case can be made for the sacrifice. But when violent conflicts go on for centuries, with no real momentum to resolution, should we not stop, at least long enough to question?

So violent, senseless,chaos continues in the Middle East...Are these people literally fighting over dirt, or are there deeply rooted religious issues that are driving this violence? They are not fighting for freedom, because if it was freedom they were after, they would stop killing, and let people worship and live as they please. Is the fictitious God of the Palestinians, Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Iranians, Islamists all that different from the fictitious God of the Jews in Israel?

This is one of the reasons why religion is so distasteful to me. How do people justify killing, in the name of "A God"...! How can "religion" be so powerful a force that it literally takes over a person's intellect with an emotional belief structure that is strong enough to make them "kill"? This is amazing to me.. and profoundly sad.

Aside from religion, I wonder what would happen if we started to distribute maps, without lines or boundaries. Just continents, countries, states and city names? Maybe it would help people visualize unity and come to realize that war is completely irrational, destructive and so painfully wasteful. Maybe a map without boundaries would help people cross the line without realizing they are in enemy territory, and allow them to acknowledge the peaceful feeling they have in their hearts, as they look at that child, or man, or woman on the "other side" that looks and feels just like they do .. If you take away the boundaries, the confusion might lead to compassion..Perhaps that is the religion they have all been seeking for centuries...

Ok - now I am pontificating... but I've got to say, as hard as I try, I just don't get it, which makes me want to ignore it. And that is dangerous, because people are suffering. People are dying.

Diversity of a different color ..

2008-12-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

Failure is not bad .. if we don't repeat our mistakes

2008-12-18T21:54:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else have an image like this one in their mind when it comes to the bail out ? No this does not represent the employees of failed companies, waiting in the unemployment line, it doesn't take much of an imagination to envision that. This represents the CEO's of failed companies standing on line at the White House, waiting for their chance to make a case for a bail out check. If banks can get government capital, backed by taxpayer funds for as little as 5% annually, why shouldn't the automakers, retailers, media groups, real estate conglomerates, CPG manufacturers, etc, etc, etc, hope to get the same level of assistance. This is a damn good deal. 5% ! wow...capital has not been this inexpensive in decades.... especially when you consider that the funds will be awarded with little to no conditions attached to them.

Relief in the form of a bail out, similar to what 12 primary financial institutions have received to date, has stalled for the automakers. Their timing is off, much as it has been in their business models.

I have been consistent in my view of the bail out(s). I am against them, philosophically. They are politically motivated, more than they are genuinely corrective. The TARP funds have been misappropriated from the very first $. Our panic to save livelihoods is not inappropriate, but our solution has been chronically misguided. The lessons here: 1. Do not expect comprehensive understanding of economic impact, if your advisories are narrow in their expertise, and powerful enough to push through a self serving agenda. 2. Do not distribute financial aid to secure a vote unless that aid will actually help the voter.

Our financial markets are in dire straits due almost entirely to deregulation enabled by government. The SEC has been rendered powerless by its own forceful compliance and support of deregulation. It has willingly given up its responsibility of oversight...made abundantly clear by the recent Madoff ponzi scheme, which went unrecognized or deliberately overlooked for at least a decade. We have serious problems within our financial institutions that have burled their way deep down into the very basic SOP's of healthy business principals. Simple concepts such as weighted risk thresholds to protect solvency have been completely ignored. So yes, we need to plug the hole in the dam, stop the bleeding, and fix. REALLY FIX! To date we have not appropriated assistance with the intent to fix. We have only thrown out a champagne filled life boat, to the crew on the sinking ship, and left the passengers on that ship to fend for themselves.

Should we really do this for the auto manufacturers as well? To what end? If anything, lets try the reverse this time. I suggest we use relief funds to send Cadillacs and Chevy Tahoe's to the autoworkers and transport them to their next job, in a new vibrant industry, like sourcing, harvesting and deploying alternative energy sources. Use relief funds to pay them competitive wages, in new industries that America needs to prosper and become more self sufficient. This time, let's leave the CEO's in the dust of their mismanagement, narrow mindedness, failed and stagnant business models, facing backward.

Don't get me wrong. Government needs to help..significantly and abundantly. But the aid should be focused on the workforce as well as supporting vital new growth. If we don't focus our borrowed financial might in this direction, it will be increasingly difficult for America to lead globally.

It is important to recognize that products, services and entire industries can become obsolete over time. Markets change. Innovation advances and creates new power for the consumer. America is great because it allows markets to change, prosper and fail. If we continue to support failing industries, we will do it at the expense of innovation. This is not to say that the automobile is obsolete. Far from it. But we may not need 3 major domestic auto manufacturers. Perhaps two or even one with the most vibrant, nimble and efficient production will be more than adequate to serve consumer demand. I don't know the answer to this question. I don't know how many cars need to be competitively produced annually to serve consumer demand at a profitable rate, but bankruptcy and forced reorganization will clarify, at least some of these issues. I don't know why people are frozen, in fear of bankruptcy filings. Many industries, most notably the airlines, have used bankruptcy to successfully adjust business models to current and future markets. What is so wrong with this? It is a great option. If the government concentrates on workforce aid, financial relief can be allocated and adjusted based on bankruptcy discovery and manufacturing adjustments. It can be used to keep displaced employees in their homes, and moderately spending until their new job is ready for them. You know all of the able bodied railroad workers found new jobs. GM autoworkers will find new jobs, too. The government needs to generously bridge them, while we are funding new industries. Think of it as a transition plan, not a perpetual loss of jobs.

It is scary, but it is necessary. We have got to stop thinking like wimps. Instead we need to stand tall. Take the hit. Commit to helping each other and move forward with strength, bravery and conviction. We can't really regain power as a people or a nation, if we are protecting the forts that don't matter anymore. We have to build new forts that are invaluable and thus worth our proactive support and aggressive protection moving forward.

It's important to be right, if you're telling me something I don't know...

2008-12-09T18:39:00.001-08:00

I am discovering, today, that the traditional media I have been relying on to deliver unbiased, correct record of the national and international news, are often unreliable. Everyone makes mistakes, corrections are printed, but I am increasingly getting the feeling that the bias of the reporter, impacts his/her commitment to accuracy.

The "unbiased" part I discovered long ago. I strongly disagree with the notion that media should be allowed to lean toward a particular philosophy or political party in its reporting. I'd rather they just report. But the "incorrect" part is disillusioning to say the least. The last time I felt like this, was during the Enron collapse and deceit. Up to that point I was fairly active in the market, and although I was not naive to think that corporations would self govern at an ethical level, I thought that our inability to look inside every corporation to confirm ethical business practices would be mitigated by spreading my savings among multiple corporations...playing the odds structured for me in my 401K plan.....

But then, Enron happened. I believe wholeheartedly in capitalism, but I don't trust corporate America. So I invest and save on my terms, which will render potentially less financial gain in the the long run, but it may also keep me solvent. At the very least, it is less stressful than participating blindly on the recommendations of the money managers who supposedly pontificate in the media with complete neutrality and objectivity. These guys recommend stocks according to what will serve their personal investment portfolio.. for a long time I hoped that this veiled bias was just not happening, but on several occasions, I was brutally enlightened.

Beyond financial news, not being able to trust the mainstream news media, i.e. NYT and Washington Post...two of the most respected newspapers in the country, is really disheartening to me. Each has been inaccurate on several occasions during the financial meltdown of 2008. How do people and organizations get away with continually botching up their entire business model ? How do they survive at this level of mediocrity? As a mid level manager in corporate America, I am "never" allowed to botch up my business model...I Can't miss my projections. If I want to keep my job, I can't merely perform at an average level. I can't make mistakes, often. I certainly can't steal, lie or misrepresent the facts.

News organizations and journalists, have a worthwhile purpose in merely reporting the news, accurately, as it happens. There is no public mandate to report with a bias or opinion, although there is an obvious consumer appetite to hear the news and a view of the news, from our journalists. I wonder why we need to have our opinions guided by the journalist. Shouldn't we be able to form our opinions ourselves, once we are given the facts, unadorned ?

What I am referring to, specifically, is the recent, chronic and almost universal misrepresentation of the UAW - and its inflated wages and inflexible policies that are being blamed for the the failure of the auto industry. Are you kidding me? Aside from this being completely inaccurate and accusatory....why does the media feel a need to blame the work force? Are corporations, even those that are failing, so powerful in this country that they control the media by feeding it information that is self serving and misleading to protect their stock price? Is the media so complicit, and irresponsible, that they will report news in a way that is compliant with its advertisers? What is that? It is almost as vile as disregarding and violating the brilliance of separation between church and state. The media is anti union. It has been for a long time. Aside from this being strange and random, should the news organizations be anti or pro anything? I know journalists are human, with valuable view points, but there are plenty of public forums in which view points are expressed and debated. Should there not be a sacred place in media where we simply report? The highest standard being accuracy, neutrality and comprehensive perspective. I can draw my own conclusions, thank you. If I want help, I will turn to the opinion page.

Also disturbing, don't you think, is that the media is anti union...that is to say anti worker. Let's bring one simple fact to the forefront regarding unions. They were created out of a need to protect workers' rights. If corporations had demonstrated an ability and/or willingness to do this on their own, we wouldn't need unions...So explain the logic that supports the demonizing of unions, while blindly supporting corporate management. If nothing more, unions should be praised for creating a system of check and balance in corporate America. This is of utmost importance to all of us in American government, why should it be non-existent in American capitalism?

Through this discovery....it is important to realize that you are responsible for yourself... at every level. You can be as broadly or narrowly informed as you choose to be. But if you are not going to reach beyond your morning paper, or evening news don't be the first to claim victim of circumstance. We have to protect ourselves, and the best way to do that is to be widely and deeply informed about the things that are important to us.

Feed your brain. Life is much more interesting, when your brain is hungry, even when your body is tired, and your spirit broken.

Go on...Get out and picket

2008-12-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

A couple of things to talk about ...

Justice_________________________________
Today was a bad day for OJ Simpson! Sentenced to a minimum of 9 years for armed robbery, but mostly for stupidity, arrogance and deceit. This guy is vile. But I must say it is refreshing to see justice wind its way through the maze of evil mastery .. and actually prevail. Yes it was the lesser of two evils, 13 years later, that it latched onto - but justice grasped and held the prior evasion of truth by the neck, and did not let it go... This is redemption, and proof that what goes around comes around.... Ah ... consequence for an illegal, unkind, violent, act.... Yes ! Finally !

Activism_________________________________
In his article entitled "Is There Truth in Obama's Advertising", Chomsky explores the apathy lurking in the profound, historical election of a "left - to - center" black man....prevailing first in a primary against a female candidate. Both running for president...and the black left guy ultimately defeating, mightily, the white right guy. His piece published in www.alternet.org points to the lasting affect of the civil rights movements of the 60's. Lauding them as being passionate enough to bring about real, long term change relative to civil liberties. In the 60's the 20 somethings were fighting for the unwavering recognition of equality among gender and race. We were fighting for the freedom of peaceful individuality and coexistence. We hated war, aggressively apposed it and loudly questioned our participation in it. It was a great time in America. We tested the limits of free speech. Our activism was focused, heart felt, correct and effective. We suffered in our attempt to bring about change. And we were successful in our endeavor.

Chomsky claims, that it was this activism that led to the victory on 11/4/2008. A long fought battle, that delivered permanent philosophical change in America. We have seen this before....in the abolition of slavery, the defeat of Hitler, the creation of the United Nations and other active and effective human rights initiatives. We are not getting it right 100% of the time, especially if you consider the brutal human rights offenses, hunger and genocide that still exist - but globally, we are philosophically aligned, with respect to human rights. In America, we have organized around the concept of equality, and although we can't force everyone to enthusiastically agree, or believe in their hearts, that a black woman is as important, and as valuable as a white man....we have made it extremely difficult from a policy perspective, to facilitate or legally carry out this level of discrimination.

Chomsky goes on to say that "Changes and progress very rarely are gifts from above. They come out of struggles from below." His point, is that without modern activism, at the street level, we will not really be able to bring about "change we can believe in" the cornerstone of Obama's advertising message. It is clear that Americans want change, what is unclear is how much we are willing to sacrifice to bring it about...permanently and philosophically. The fight in the 60's was deeply routed in emotional issues of pride and respect. The predominant demographics of the protesters, Adults 18-34, generally had no "things" to loose, less to risk...Still in this fight, failure was not an option, as we were fighting for basic human rights.

The fight in 2009 and beyond is about financial solvency. Our ability to maintain the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed...regardless of whether we are borrowing to achieve it or we actually are on the road to owning it. We are fighting to maintain the comfort - in life, for which we have worked. Is that something to rally around? Is that something for which we should passionately fight? Is that something that we will not give up...regardless of the struggle required to regain it? Chomsky urges us to aggressively demand financial stability, from below, in the ranks of the public. To fight for change to ensure our solvency. But he is not sure if this goal is as worthy as those we fought for in the raw, passionate, 60's.

It is interesting to ponder.

All demographics seem to agree that America needs to change direction. Bush has an 82% disapproval rating...he is one of the least popular presidents in history. Certainly a yawner when it comes to inspiration. But I can't help noticing that the "20" somethings in 2008 lack the passion of those of us in the 60's...Perhaps the stakes were higher then. But it feels like the demographic that wants to picket today, is 55 years old. We are the same people that burned our bra's. Relentlessly organized and attended rallies to chant for our right to be unencumbered individuals. Do we want to recreate the energy of the 60's...because it was meaningful then...thus we believe we can make it meaningful now? This is not all bad, but I hope at some point we can transfer our passion to the younger generation. They need to feel that same great sense of accomplishment we felt when women began to get respected professional positions. Black men were not spit upon...constantly, and white men could grow their hair longer while maintaining their intellect. These are gestures...but they were powerful then, and they have prevailed. What is interesting to me, is that we seem to be as passionate at 60 as we were at 20. The difference is that we have "things" to loose now. College to pay for. Mortgages to retire. Health care issues. Our life lessons have made us slightly more risk averse. Yes we will picket, but only after we have paid our bills, and checked our email. This is our reality. Less romantic, more sedate. Rather than completely loose our passion, we need to transfer it to the 20 somethings...because if we don't teach them to stand up for what they believe in, if we don't guide them to having confidence in their convictions, if we don't make them feel passionate to pursue the goal, then we have lost an important battle, with generational consequences...

It is up to us, then to get excited! Speak up. Question. Enthusiastically demand what is rightfully ours .. but ultimately we need to let the young ones move to the front of the line. They can ride this bike... It really is more their journey now, than it is ours...

Is a personal win really a victory ..

2008-12-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

An excerpt from - "The Five Most Wanted Rip-off Artists from Wall Street and Washington"

By: Jim Hightower
http://www.alternet.org/
________________________
Deregulation was nothing more than self serving. Laissez-faire ideology is a crock. It failed. Americans are not being told the blunt truth, which is that the financial mess we're in today is a direct result of the laissez-faire fraud that Wall Street and Washington willfully imposed on our nation. CEOs and banking lobbyists, presidents and treasury secretaries, regulators and lawmakers (of both parties) failed to protect America from money-grubbing bankers, hedge-fund speculators, and other big players.

As we've learned in the past few weeks, there is no "free" market. Indeed, it's quite pricey when it trips and falls over the inevitable outcroppings of greed. That's why strong, vigilant, and aggressive public regulation is essential. Don't be fooled by claims that just throwing money at the hucksters will fix the problem. The only way to make America's financial system trustworthy is to return to the sound fundamentals of public oversight--starting with the bailout itself.
______________________________

If it makes you feel better to point your finger, point it at these five individuals: Alan Greenspan - Federal Reserve Chairman 1987-2006. Chris Cox - SEC Chair 2004. William Donaldson - SEC Chair 2005. Henry Paulson - Secretary of the Treasury 2006 - 2008. Phil Gramm - Head of the Senate Banking Committee 1999.

Although they did not act alone, these 5 vigorously spearheaded the deregulation of financial institutions. 4 of the 5 amassed tremendous wealth as private citizens, working within financial markets prior to accepting posts in the Clinton or Bush administrations. For that I do not begrudge them. But, greed drove their decisions and policies. In public office, they continued to work exclusively for the network of wealthy elite, just as they had done in the private sector. It is difficult to identify any level of "public service" commitment, on their part, during their tenure as public servants.

You know I am really trying to let go of these injustices of the past. But I am so angered by them that they are infecting the otherwise positive and forward looking core of my character. Part of who I am is due to my willingness and ability to trust people. To search for the good, the silver lining, the humor. To tolerate the faults because the virtues are much more powerful. I am paralyzed to a degree, waiting for someone to do the right thing....anyone. I am disillusioned, frightened frankly, that these acts which have caused catastrophic financial suffering will go without consequences. If we accept this form of greed in the face of its deception, how do we really prevent it moving forward? Millions of people have lost their life savings. Money they have earned through hard work, day after day - year after year - is gone. I have never seen war first hand. Clearly that suffering is far more significant. This hardship, however is debilitating in its own right. I long for some level of justice, but I don't really expect to see it. I only hope and strive t0 maintain my private standards, of human character, respect and decency. Ultimately finding the personal fortitude to rise above the disdain I feel for those who comfortably act with regard for no one other than themselves.

They don't have the power to change the person I am. They don't have the power to change the way I connect with or treat other people. They don't have the power to change the standards to which I hold myself accountable...

I guess that is a victory in and of itself.

Long Journey .. Happy Ending

2008-11-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

More than enough is being written about "moving forward" economic policies and strategies. Sifting through the expertise and differing philosophies to arrive at decisions with significant impact on institutions and the American worker is the primary, most critical and imminent job of Obama and his administration. It is daunting.

To me, it feels as though we - using John Mayer's lyrics - "are waiting on the world to change"

Waiting On The World To Change
me and all my friends we're all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and there's no way we ever could
now we see everything that's going wrong with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it
it's not that we don't care,
we just know that the fight ain't fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

When I first heard this song, I didn't like it, because I thought that it was a song about apathy. But I was wrong. The scenario it depicts is closer to a generation waiting actively in the weeds .. until the world is ready for change. Once it presents itself, we aggressively move in to seize the opportunity.

We are now moving in. We will soon be in a position to change America and perhaps in small ways, the world. We are not guaranteed success, but we are in a position to facilitate significant change.

This is profound, because times like these are rare, and are almost always preceded by crises and some degree of suffering. I am sure that many of our astute economists have charted this through history. Krugman surely has a clear vision of this in his head..it would help me if he would draw a graph of it, so that I could visualize it as well. While analyzing crisis and growth in history - worldwide, I would be most interested in the time frames associated with "street level" impact. My instinct is that crises build silently, unnoticed, for a period of time. Once markets are affected, a flurry of change is proposed and perhaps even acted upon, but the systemic change, with long term positive impact - occurs slowly, methodically, and most likely - painfully.

My point is this. People are craving change. Demanding a quick fix. Expecting one or a series of solutions that work, now. We are frantic. We are worried and although we generally can't impact the solution, we sincerely want to participate in it. This is good and economically healthy. But we will be disappointed and frustrated again, if we don't admit to ourselves that the change will not happen to us. We must change individually and collectively. It won't necessarily be fast, easy or painless. Financial healing that leads to prosperity needs to be grounded in a real monetary base, not a maximized credit line.

Its a "way of life" type change, folks. That is what is so hard about it. That is why people are scared.

You know how much we hate to hear our doctor say that, in order to take off those 20 lbs, we have to make some life changes. In order to put your addiction in remission, you have to change how you think, how you process stress, how you live day to day. That is hard to embrace. It has a high rate of failure.

Yes. Deregulation, corporate influence, greed, powerful lobbyists, government for the wealthy - all these were the drug dealers and pushers. We however, stood with our arm outstretched for the fix. We took the line of credit as long as it was offered, and now unfortunately, we're addicted to it.

So buckle in and get ready for the detox. Because, ultimately if we don't stop spending what we don't have we will wither away into an over aided citizen base in a weak economy that is subservient to other markets that were able to show restraint, and prosper long term. I am not of the opinion that this is how America will end this chapter. I firmly believe that as a group, we will make the life changes necessary to turn our family finances, those of our country and our businesses around to a healthy balance of reality and risk. But I caution you to ready yourself for the fight. Instant gratification, quick fix, "bail out" will not find its way into our solution, even though we will be tempted to seek it. As with any addiction, once we get through the detox phase, we will regain our ability to think clearly, fortify, act responsibly, prosper and most importantly, happily survive !

So dig deep. It can be done. The fight is worthy of its outcome. The scars will be transformed into pride and the feeling of accomplishment will be euphoric.

Simplify the solution...

2008-11-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

What we have to recognize, now, as urgently as today, is that our government's sole purpose is to protect and serve the people of America. Not the corporations, not the financial institutions, not the commodities markets, but the people...Our government is elected to serve its constituency. This is lost on everyone in public office, it seems. Paulson and Bernanke are buddying up, having dinner with the powerful lobbyists and corporations, making deals that are not in the best interest of the people of this country. The lack of regulation allows them to act in a private, self serving fashion that protects the powerful and wealthy and literally ignores the majority. It is unfathomable that Paulson refuses to address the foreclosure issue with the $700 billion he has easily extracted from the American taxpayer. It is incomprehensible that he is allowed to hand over cash to financial institutions, that have engaged in risk laden investments and cash laundering, to keep them solvent, without regulation on how to deploy it.

Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, has moved heaven and earth to get Paulson and Bernanke to embrace a massive program to stop the housing foreclosures and take the first step toward ending the chaos. To say that she has had any level of success with these men is an understatement. She has not been able to reach them.

Brooksley Born, the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1996 to 1999, foresaw the calamity of self regulation given to financial institutions, and battled to impose regulation on them. She was stopped by Alan Greenspan, Arthur Levitt and Robert Rubin, the major economic figures in the Clinton administration. She has since left her post, undoubtedly due to frustration. She will be a major figure when the history of this great financial failure is chronicled.

We have sound thinkers in government, but apparently they are not in a position to act, only to advise. And when those that are in a position to act have powerful hands in their pockets, they pander to them.

This stinks and it is inflicting great harm on the working class of America.

On January 21, Obama needs to get angry and take significant action. Not only is this entire financial melt down wrong it is debilitating, and criminal.

I am of the opinion that we should not bail out the auto manufacturers. They have mismanaged their businesses, made grave mistakes and missed entire markets due to their greed and arrogance. Aside from being distasteful this is what bankruptcy filings are for. They force a reorganization with the intent to rebuild successfully. Chapter 11 is not a punishment, it is a gift. Bailing out these companies is a crime. It wont correct, it will perpetuate bad business practices and delay the inevitable failure of the current business model.

My suggestion is that we take the $25 billion earmarked for the automakers and loan it to the employees that will be displaced in the event of a bankruptcy filing. Maintain their rate of pay, for a specific period of time, allowing them to find employment in other growth industries. What is so complicated about this strategy? What is wrong with a simple straight forward solution? 3 million people will loose their jobs, or their dealerships as a result of bankruptcy filings among Ford, GM and Chrysler. Could we use 3 million people to establish wind farms across the country to generate energy. Can we use 3 million people to facilitate clean coal initiatives to make current energy resources environmentally friendly? Could we use 3 million people to harvest solar energy ? Why is this so hard to execute? The employees of GM earning $70/hour* should not be punished for taking the wage, that some feel is inflated due to union contracts. Let's re-deploy these people into a role that is worth $70/hour. Currently they are getting paid to flood the market with product we don't want, let's transform their job into one that is critical to the self sufficiency of our energy supply...then their wage will be considered commensurate.

Come on people! Lets think then leap....vs leaping without any clear thought whatsoever....
___________________________
*Correction : Avg per hour wage of an auto worker is $28.50. Print media (NYT Op Ed columnist) quoted $70/hr wage for unionized auto workers. This proved to be an unreliable source. My bright and dear friend Joe set the record straight ... Thanks Joe.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_a_union_auto_worker_earn

Move away from the disaster please...we need to rescue

2008-11-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

In NYT's (Sunday 11-16-08) editorial piece the failings of Henry Paulson are being considered:

The one approach Mr. Paulson stubbornly refuses to consider is using bailout money to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. His reasoning — that the money is to be used to stabilize the financial system — inexplicably ignores the fact that the instability he is seeking to quell is rooted in the housing bust.
Over the next two months, Mr. Paulson must impose some coherence and clarity on the bailout. Otherwise he will only fan anxieties and mistrust, which will undermine the effectiveness of his good decisions and amplify the fallout of his bad ones.

Honestly, I am not aware of any "good" Paulson decisions. I think his actions leading up to and in the wake of this financial crisis are at best incompetent, certainly unethical, and at worst criminal...This guy needs to be cuffed and hauled away.

I am far from a financial expert. In fact, lately I feel like a financial idiot...to have not acknowledged some of this catastrophe looming...

Regardless I have two primary instincts that I cannot seem to shake.

First : Unless the strategy in this fiasco changes direction to provide "bail outs" for the consumer, I think we should change how we refer to this financial disaster. "Bail Out" and everything associated with it makes me angry. It makes me want to vent, throw up my hands in frustration. At a time when we need to come together to find solutions, "bail out" makes me want to fold my arms, plant my feet and blame. It makes me feel powerless to right the wrong and most importantly it makes me wonder if I will ever be solvent enough to retire. Worse, bail out means that there are no consequences for being wrong and acting irresponsibly perhaps illegally. And that leaves me utterly confused.

My suggestion, then is that we refer to this "Bail Out" as FMRP - Financial Market Recovery Program. Once we rename it, I suggest we re-do it. Scrap what we have - completely. Freeze the funds we "gave" to the banks, and start over...quickly.

Second: No taxpayer money should be distributed without lawful regulation, attached to it. And while we are using some of the funds to right the wrong, we should also deploy funds to reward the credit worthy consumer, whom under the current system, is being penalized by having to pay for the correction, while overly leveraged banks, mismanaged businesses and chronically in default consumers are getting all of the relief. Not only is this unfair, it is stupid.

How do we expect to heal the wound if all we do is cover it with dirt?

Foreclosures should be frozen. Home values should be adjusted to current or median market values. Those facing foreclosure should be moved into some kind of "rent to own" scenario, which would allow them to stay in their homes, adjust the home value and pay rent without default over a period of time, say 5 years - in order to gain back "ownership" of their home. Jobs should be created - lots of them. Funds should be funnelled into new businesses that support critical self sufficiency goals in America, i.e. alternative energy sources. Failing businesses should file bankruptcy, re-define their business model and begin again. Employees forced out of their jobs should receive aggressive assistance, retrained and re-employed in energy and/or infrastructure jobs. Credit worthy consumers should be identified and offered tiered interest rate decreases, as an incentive to stay current on debt over time. A national fixed interest rate on all mortgages should be instituted - I suggest 4%.

Critical to recovery, the government needs to spend to stimulate the economy. The growing national deficit should not hinder government stimulus levels. We must spend aggressively to bring about market correction.

Finally, whatever we do to fix this mess, it better make the citizens of America "feel" confident, empowered and positive. It is unproductive, even dangerous to have 78% of the population feeling angry and poor. Americans have resolve and drive. As our government, you'd better stand with us and walk beside us, because if we feel you are stealing from us, limiting our opportunity, and curtailing our freedom - you sure as heck don't want us coming up on you, from behind ...

Hello transition. Please come in !

2008-11-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

Obama: Mr. President, please explain what the Colombia Free Trade Agreement has to do with a decision to "bail out" the big three auto manufacturers?

Bush: Coffee and cars - people need em every day.

Obama: ug-huh..ok.. let's look at the financial relevance. Currently we export roughly $8.6 billion to Colombia, and import $9.4 billion. (mostly oil, spices,coffee, tea) A fairly even exchange, neutral to the GDP with no to little impact on the American work force. Passing a free trade agreement will likely increase exports, but not to the point of creating jobs. It's most material impact would be to sell off current excess inventory.

Bush: Ya! That's what I'm talkin' about!

Obama: ug-uhh but why use this particular agreement as a leverage for authorizing aid to one of America's largest industries. Help me with that connection. Help me see the logic. Please George, help me see the relevance.

Bush: Can't help you with the logic, Barack. But you'll soon learn that you can only work with what ya got. And this, is all I got..

Obama: OK. well what America will get without aid to the automotive industry is a catastrophic increase in job loss and unemployment costs if one or all three auto makers go down. 3 million jobs will be lost, translating to a significant hit in tax revenue and roughly $154 billion needed to support unemployment benefits and health care. Not to mention the further deterioration in housing and consumer spending. Does that make you nervous?

Bush: Nope. I'm outta here..

Obama: Right. But what about the legacy you'll leave, if the last thing you do in office is force passage of a Free Trade Agreement with a country that is murdering 1,000's of labor union members, brutally enforcing anti-labor, ignoring international standards for working conditions and trafficking drugs to America?

Bush: oh Barack...I am charmed by your energy and naivety. First of all the Colombia Free Trade thing won't be the last thing I do before I leave office. I'm fixin' to win the war in Iraq and find Bin Laden..we'll sniff him out and we'll deliver him.. I've got 60 days...that's more than enough time. And as for the brutal treatment of labor union members in Colombia, let me say this. I'm from Texas, I don't much like labor unions myself..those suckers should be happy they have a below minimum wage job...but how I feel is unimportant. Colombia needs to define its own democracy. Who am I to tell them how to treat their work force. Who am I to give the order to go in to a foreign country, occupy it, kill its citizens and try to force my ideals on their way of life...
Besides, I'm a Texas oil guy. My family has been friends with those Colombian oil/drug war lords for a long time. Loyalty. That means somethin', don't it?

Obama: Yes sir, it does. Loyalty is often associated with honor, commitment and honesty - which is why you're questioning its meaning. Thank you for the tour today, Mr President. My family and I look forward to returning to this fine house, soon.

Faint, Distant Voices

2008-11-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

There sure seems to be a lot of wisdom flowing freely to Obama and his new team regarding fixes for the economy, job creation, recession mitigation, bail out regulation, health care, energy and priority setting.

Interestingly, almost nothing I have read, in the few days after the election, vigorously addresses military strategy. As people loose their jobs and their homes, the war in Iraq, seems almost too much to handle, and thus has fallen a few notches on the "what's important to me" scale. This is unsettling to me, as it uncovers an inward focus vs a broad perspective, but given the real pain and mounting worry people are feeling, I guess it is understandable.

I was equally surprised and disappointed to see very few reports on the reaction of our American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the election, and Obama's victory. I would have liked to hear more from our troops on the front line...Their perspective is pretty important. I would hate to have our military volunteers feel unnoticed or insignificant while they are risking their lives, following orders and potentially not fully understanding their purpose in this "war". Their voices should be heard just as loudly and as clearly as those in Grant Park. While I was watching the election coverage, I did not see one split screen depicting the reaction of Americans in a war zone along side the reaction of Americans in their comfort zone - standing on American soil. It is profoundly important to feel proud and protected as a citizen of America, especially when you are away from your country. These kids, fighting in this ridiculous war, are vessels of American patriotism. We should be checking in with them, while our new commander in chief is being elected.

Its a small but powerful gesture that I think we failed to make.

I hope and urge one of our news organizations to get back to covering this, it needs to be elevated again.

Making our win personal ...

2008-11-07T17:46:00.001-08:00

Still basking in the glow ... Yes. Well. Kind of.

What a great moment in our history... I am very grateful to be a part of the "Obama circle of repair, renewal and compassion". It is invigorating to feel the power of a civil liberty, passionately won.

I was born in 1959.. I "just" missed, but long for, the chaos of the 60's. As the youngest of 7 kids, and really close to 10 cousins..I lived with quite a bit of chaos in my own home, and in their homes. There were so many of us co mingling, that each of our parents- graciously provided "sleeping porches" with a bunch of bunk beds for us and our friends to rest. I vividly remember my brothers (2) ,sisters(4), and cousins/friends (can't keep count) caring about stuff. They, were stubborn, righteous and boisterously - caring about stuff.

What could be more beautiful? Completely un-choreographed, but melodic.

Irish Catholic. Growing up in a quaint little suburb of Chicago, my family (intended and extended) lived a life, day to day, as dysfunctional, well maybe slightly more - than each "behind closed doors dysfunctional life of our neighbors". Jews lived right next door to us. We were friendly with them, openly. What a scandal! Archie Bunker lived a few doors down. He was unhappily our plumber. We gave him a lot of work as we had 9 people cohabiting with 2 bathrooms...one of which was designated for my parents...which meant no entry for us(the 7 kids). So we probably paid his entire mortgage month to month - but then again we dined with the "Jews". So he was conflicted. My "best" friend's father, 3 doors down, was taken away one morning in a police van...for tax evasion... See ya! Unfortunately no hiding for this family...we were in the suburbs, remember...local newspapers ate this up!

Mafia lived on the corner! What a mystery ! The Panteleno's (inflection on the "s"). I was always told to take the wide turn when passing their house. But, while learning to ride my 2 wheeler, the wide turn proved too hard for me to navigate. With my erratic front tire, I ran over one (of 4) of the miniature poodle puppies, out for a walk that day with "Grandma Mafia" I Killed it ! My god ! My father was visibly shaken. Truthfully, he was scared - out of his wits... My oldest sister, she is lovely - entered the convent, then left the convent...Ughh can you imagine the scorn in the parish of St Giles! By this time, (she entered when I was 5, she left when I was 13) I was coming into my own, and caused nothing less than "hell" for my parents. Vociferous complaints about me flipping off (in a very lady like manner), all of the nuns who ridiculed me and my family, led to me being kicked out of the Catholic school. Forcing me into the "public" school! Can you imagine the shame !

All of this and so much more, for which I am eternally grateful. I am sure you can relate.

The point is .. We can prevail and even prosper through "junk".

No one I have met, to date, can claim a better childhood than my own...My family, gave me a safe, crazy, loving space. An appreciation for humor, a passion for fighting for what is right, and a confidence and energy to seek, recognize and embrace the stuff that matters.

I guess that is why I love Barack Obama. He reminds me of those feelings. A safe place in a chaotic neighborhood. My family taught me how to be comfortable in that neighborhood. Obama brought me back to it...

So all of this is good. I will gravitate to the good and not be afraid of the "junk" I have to pass through to get there...

Dear Red States

2008-11-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

I wish I had written this, but I am grateful to have read it.

Enjoy this letter from "NoDecafPlz"

Dear Red States:

If you manage to steal this election too, we've decided we're leaving.
We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California,Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of NewCalifornia.

To sum up briefly:

You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.
We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than that of the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once.

If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico. Peace out --

Fondly,
The Blue States

Toot

2008-11-03T19:26:00.001-08:00

A moment of silence for Toot ...

Long overdue, but significant...

2008-11-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

11/4/08 is a big day!

There are many things significant about this election. Clearly the need for wholesale change in almost every level of government is being demanded by the electorate, regardless of party affiliation. What is most encouraging to me, on the eve of what I believe will be the turning point in America with the election of Barack Obama to President, is that the heart and soul of the American people, although battered, is still strong enough to prevail over greed, injustice, and narrow democracy. Outside of the staggering set backs we are enduring - two wars, financial strain, global ridicule, individual loss, and overwhelming distrust - in this election - we have shown fortitude in something quite remarkable in our history.

A breakdown of racial and sex discrimination.

We are nowhere near overcoming the ignorance that leads to discrimination, but over the next 4 years, as we are forced to listen to the brilliance of a black man, I am hopeful that as a nation we will swiftly move to a color blindness.

It is unfortunate and incomprehensible that we STILL have to consider these factors in 2008, but lets face it .. A black man on the democratic ticket and a women on the republican ticket - is progress. In addition to picking the wrong man, the Republicans picked the wrong woman. But neither gender nor race should enter into the consideration set, at any level, when individuals are electing a civil servant, or for that matter, doing anything at all in everyday life (other than having sex, in which case a gender preference would be an acceptable consideration)- but it does and it has.

Neither ticket in this election has offered a safe place for the bigot. That is a sweet, enduring one two punch for these narrow minded people. On 11/4/08, they have to face their bigotry and choose which of these two; a woman in power or a black man - is less vile to them. They will cast a vote to support one of these inferior human beings - or they will cast no vote. Either way their life is about to be impacted by someone they have, in the past felt comfortable demeaning. This, for me, is a solid and important victory - long overdue, but hugely significant. It puts racism and sexism exactly where it belongs...tearing the dignity out of those ignorant closed minded individuals who feel superior. As it marks a milestone for those who have felt and lived with discrimination for decades.

The republicans grossly underestimated the depth of the American voter. The democrats, not only recognized it, we celebrate it and nurture it, by supporting an individual with leadership who is compassionate, serious, contemplative, bright and inclusive. We looked beyond the color of his skin, in fact, it went unnoticed. More importantly, we have been successful in helping others do the same. That is progress, America.

I am hopeful much more progress is ahead. Cheers !

Financial Banter...

2008-11-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

The G.D.P. revealed today that consumer spending is down. Ya think!

3.1% decline in Q3. Real spending on durable goods (TV's, dishwashers etc) fell at an annual rate of 14%. This, prior, to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in October and its subsequent domino affect.

We have not seen a drop like this since 1980.

Paul Krugman points out in his NYT Opinion column that " To appreciate the significance of these numbers, you need to know that American consumers almost never cut spending." He goes on to point out that, even in the 2001 recession, consumers continued to spend...

Well we were not as fatigued and wounded then. I guess. We are exhausted now...but, in my view, if we are buying less...we are smarter.

ya know we really shouldn't be spending money we don't have...but I am the first to admit..life is no fun living - that way...

In practice, if consumers were to cut back in spending, the Fed would respond by slashing interest rates, which is supposed to help the economy avoid recession and lead to a rise in investment. Well I've got news for you...the Fed is not going to cut interest rates on things that matter.. like home loans, and they are not going to raise interest rates on savings accounts...Generally speaking, free market capitalism demands consumer spending, to thrive. Saving money at the individual CD level, and getting rewarded for it with small rates of interest is a cost of doing business for banks. Think of it as a loss leader in any retail environment .Gee - I have to attract consumers to my credit lines so I can charge them interest on the money I lend them...but since those interest rates are somewhat regulated...limiting my point of difference as a business....I will create a "savings" rate to attract them to my suite of more profitable lending products. Consumers save far less as a percentage of their income (2% annual savings rate on earnings is the current rate) than they are willing to buy on credit.

This works well for the banks. It is not rocket science...

Banks are in the business of contractually binding you to something you think you can accomplish...they sell you - confidence. But - if you or they miscalculate - the banks share none of the risk...It is entirely your fault and your problem. That is not all bad. We as consumers need to be responsible for our personal financial decisions. We need to be able to discern if the confidence that the bank is willing to sell us, is in fact reasonable. We own the mark whether or not we hit it or miss it. Period. Just like you own the shoes, once you wear them, even if they make your feet hurt.

So...contrary to all of the experts, I am celebrating the drop in G.D.P.
At its very least, this measure is honest. At its best, it is corrective. It is not fun...but in my view it is necessary and dare I say, it is good.

People. Until we stop buying what we can't afford...the free market will continue to over produce, over price and perpetuate the dysfunction. I love that car lots are full of cars...because one day soon, the manager is going to say....I gotta move this inventory...he will look at his margin and knock a few points off of it, until he can sell the damn thing....I don't expect him to sell it at a loss, but I don't expect him to skip to the cash register either. I work for my money, just as hard as he works for his. If we are fair, we can all eat.

Am I nuts? Am I stupid? Or am I just enraged? One thing is for sure..I am confused...but I am trying to understand.

What the Fed needs to do now...right now.. is hold off on kicking people out of their homes, and engage in some kind of market value rent to own type of scenario..so those facing foreclosure, can over time, work to preserve their mortgage at a reasonable - not inflated market value. We need to create jobs ! We need to stop importing products from overseas that we can make here...and put to work in these factories, all of the people that have been displaced from factories that have closed because they made too much product they can't sell. We will not solve the reduction in spending problem until we create jobs and price goods at a fair market value. We are doing NONE of this now...

Finally, I will say this. I am very disturbed that the stock market fluctuations are so deeply tied to blind confidence. This is not a new thing. But I have come to realize that "confidence" does not mean the same thing as calculated risk. In today's unregulated and [outright deceitful] environment , confidence means feeling comfortable that the paper I am investing in is immaterial...but I am "confident" that somebody will be hoodwinked into buying it for a higher price than I paid. What is that?

I don't know what that is, honestly. So I will not be investing...sorry Fed. You got us into this mess, I have little confidence that you can get us out of it. I will manage my own little, dwindling financial fiefdom - Thank you ! Mostly by trying to save it, vs risk it in an investment game I don't understand. I will manage it, on my own! Not for power ego or even pride...but for survival...

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

Boo !

He had me at "This is not a liberal America. This is not a conservative America. This is the United States of America."

2008-10-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

There will be a lot of rhetoric and bantering over the next few days about Obama's 30 minute pre presidential state of the union, which aired 6 days before the election. Perfect ! Brilliant ! And by the way, eloquent.

If you are a staunch, even smart Republican you've got to admit that Obama's narration of the American story, the human depiction of our challenges, the importance of understanding and the promise of change - landed a tough punch, in the final round - with exquisite gentle, profound strength.

In my view this is what is so appealing about Barack Obama. He is a man who has the gift of humility, the conviction of his ideals, trust in his intellect and dependence on his character. He "connects" to individuals because he craves perspective. He seems to live outside himself. He listens.. he actively listens.

At a time when anxiety rules the day, at every level, and almost every hour, we need a sense of calm, a reason to hope, and a willingness to believe that the fight is worthy. I am drawn to Obama, not because I think he can do things for me, but because he has made me confident again, that I can do things for myself...even in a country that feels broken.

That is the power of Barack Obama.

Take our money and run ...

2008-10-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

I apologize for returning to this theme ....but this is not a time to sit back silently. As of today I will not be paying any interest on my credit. My house payment will be strictly principal. And when the bank asks me why I have not paid in full this month, I will boisterously explain that until they start fulfilling the terms of their agreement, which is to "Lend" with the bail out funds I just deposited, I will ignore my agreement terms as well - to pay interest on my home loan.

JP Morgan Chase stated on a call to shareholders that they will "save" their $25 billion in bail out funds to shore up cash reserves, or buy other institutions. They enthusiastically acknowledged the new opportunities this cash infusion represents ! They have no intention of lending with it. they have no intention of using these funds to ignite consumer financial activity, or help small businesses with loans. JP Morgan is acting with the majority. The $250 billion just released to the financial institutions in the US is being hoarded. These institutions are standing at the steps of congress, with their hands out, taking the tax payers money and running....

I am done !

I have no credit card debt. I don't have a car loan....so this is the only place I can make an impact....I would strongly suggest you do the same. It is time that we take this into our own hands. Act aggressively, decisively and quickly. Paulson has no one's interest in mind but his own and those of the financial institutions. Congress is not acting quickly enough, and the banks are reaping...again..We need banks...but it is time that they serve their customer base honestly and fairly. Let market economics take over, and soon the banks will realize that if consumers are not willing to shop and buy at their place of business, they will have no business.

Democracy. Do you remember it ?

2008-10-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

I hold a debt of gratitude to my history teachers who gave me a profound appreciation for democracy. I was not especially enthusiastic about history, while I was actively learning it. In fact I felt somewhat put out to have to look back, as I was always frantically looking forward. But my teachers - all of them - were able to break through my irrelevant surface and self absorbed concerns about my future, to embed an understanding of the profound fortune we have as Americans, in democracy. As kids, most of us are not worldly, so there is a danger to take democracy for granted. My teachers guided me to a less selfish and more comprehensive realization in the promise of life as an American. So for that, I am grateful..

What infuriates me most about the Bush Administration is its complete lack of respect for democracy, and its repeated actions to thwart it. It is not unfair or incorrect to say that Bush has undermined America and our ideals, by pushing through a self rewarding, narrow and dangerous agenda. Demonstrating, at least a partial, but conscious, disregard for the fair representation and welfare of the American people. The Bush Administration has been as unethical as any dictatorship. We are not killing our own citizens for political gain, but Bush and his party are manipulating financial markets to benefit the wealthiest and 'governizing' moral ideals to his way of thinking - the far right. How did this happen? How and where did our system of check and balance falter? How did the power of one administration overtake and discard the basic principle of democracy - to protect and represent the majority? How is it that those in power were able to distract us from upholding one of the most basic principles of democracy - the definitive and unambiguous separation between church and state as put forth in our Constitution? How did we allow this solid line to be diminished to a wiggly, faint dotted line between government, religion and morality ?

I don't have the answers to these questions, but they are relevant to think about, as we consider what will bring about change, and how we can facilitate it, with our vote for the next president. More importantly, I fear we will perpetuate a vagueness to democratic values if we do not actively and aggressively address these "non democratic" but prevailing conditions. Now.

To say that the challenges facing the next president are daunting is of course a massive understatement. To expect that we will function well, quickly as a democracy with a new administration is delusional. It will take broad thinking, aggressive actions, unwavering commitment, and time - to gain ground toward becoming, again, a democratic world power that others want to emulate.

Largely due to Bush, his policies and his decisions, the global viewpoint has come to the conclusion that "democratic principles and human rights need not be components of a stable, prosperous future. At recent meetings of the United Nations, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and other leaders of illiberal countries came to the great hall of global humanitarianism sneering at our predicament and hailing the 'end of the American era'." (The New Yorker).

This is as frightening as it gets. Can you imagine living without the power of your voice. Can you imagine living and working in an environment in which you have little control over your livelihood. Where you feel unnoticed. You are so convinced that you will not be heard that you stop speaking out. You might think this is too dramatic. OK. But wouldn't you agree that over the last 8 years, we have been inching closer to apathy or a sense of powerlessness - than ever before, in our life time.

President Bush’s successor will inherit two wars, $10 trillion in debt, global financial instability, the realities of limited resources, decreasing popular will, increasing popular distrust, record low financial prowess of the American family, and the perceived dwindling possibilities of what can be achieved by American power. As we move forward, we should often glance back, so as not to repeat our mistakes. More than anything else we need a leader who can identify pillars of cautious optimism, lead with a sense of calm calculated confidence, act with perspective and demonstrate an unrelenting energy to succeed.

Obama will draw people in. Through collaboration and connection he will create a broad and deep strength that will transform our battered morale into a will to change and a belief that we can, once again, prosper. He will be required to re-ignite the democratic process, enforce its outcome, and stand by it and for it, no matter how gritty it becomes. This is a high bar. It will not be easy, or comfortable.

Its time to live the slogan, join the team, suck it up and "Just Do It".

A look inside..to the ugly

2008-10-27T22:24:00.001-07:00

This is hard to read...but it points to something worth seeing...

WASHINGTON (Oct. 27) - Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree, shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said Monday.
"Both individuals stated they would dress in all-white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt," the court complaint states. "Both individuals further stated they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt."
The court documents say the two men met about a month ago on the Internet and found common ground in their shared "white power" and "skinhead" philosophy.
The numbers 14 and 88 are symbols in skinhead culture, referring to a 14-word phrase attributed to an imprisoned white supremacist: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children" and to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H. Two "8''s or "H''s stand for "Heil Hitler."
Sheriffs' deputies in Crockett County, Tenn., arrested the two suspects — Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman 18, of Helena-West Helena, Ark.

Are these two individuals any different from the terrorist organizations in other parts of the world with whom we are waging war? They are individuals acting out alone, but they harbor a terrorist state of mind. They cling to a false and diabolical sense of supremacy that insanely justifies their right to kill while preserving voluntary ignorance that drives a willingness to sacrifice their own life, to preserve an unworthy ideal. They know nothing more than to gravitate to brutal violence to feed their desperation and euphoric need for power and control. These two people want to be Hitler. They worship Hitler ! How, after 60 years have we not been able to eliminate this evil connection? What have we done as a nation to address or at least recognize the root cause of terrorism ? Has the bloodshed, death and destruction inflicted through war, eradicated the terrorist state of mind? Hardly.

These two men are crazy. They are undereducated, poor and suffering. Certainly no excuse for their madness, but useful to consider as a direct point of comparison to America's characterization of terrorists in other parts of the world with whom we are fighting and killing. Osama Bin Laden is rich, his collaborators are rich but his army is poor and suffering.

My point is this.

Through covert intelligence and law enforcement, we recognized a threat, found the source of violence, identified individuals orchestrating the attack, followed their actions, arrested them and thwarted their plan to violently destruct and brutally kill innocent people. We did not send troops to Tennessee and Arkansas, to set up military installations, occupy neighborhoods, and kill the "largely unidentifed" enemy to defend our country from dangerous ideals that are only manifested through violence and killing. We did not classify Tennessee and Arkansas as "terrorist regions" jeopardizing the safety of the innocent citizens of these two states for the sake of eradicating evil there. We found the source of evil within the community, sniffed it out and took it out.

Isn't that the way to fortify the safety of an individual or a country? Obviously Al Qaeda is a massive entity, but shouldn't we be surgically dissecting that organization, sniffing it out and taking it out. Person by person, leader by leader - instead of region by region. Like Tennessee and Arkansas, can't we assume that there are people in Afghanistan who are non-violent, who hope for peace and want desperately to live in an area that is not war torn or occupied by a foreign power. Are there not families in Afghanistan, like those in Tennessee and Arkansas that just want to survive, and give their children a safe environment in which to go to school, play and live out their life.

There are a lot of similarities to examine here, in terms of how we stop violence, protect our people and our country. We can be diligent and surgical in our approach. We can even be proactive. But we should not be broad in our assumptions on sources of evil. In this we need to pinpoint precisely, and eradicate carefully. You might say that this approach is too slow, and will never bring and end to the problem of terrorism.

I say, that terrorism is a desperate state of mind, with violent consequences. And if we can't end the desperation, we won't end the terrorism.

In your face, until you vote...

2008-10-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Although I feel confident that the election will go my way on 11/4, I will not jinx it by re-stating what the media is incessantly giving us relative to poll standings... This is not all bad, as there are those that want to be aligned with a "winner" and will possibly vote with no more depth of thought than to safely switch to the winning team ..so as the final tally comes in, they feel like a winner too!

I will say, that I see one small risk as we head to election day. If it impacts, we will face it on election day. Obama has a 47% lead among first time voters, and a 3% lead among the rest of voters (ABC News Poll, Election 2008). We have clearly won the support of America's youth, but it has to translate to a vote. If I were directing the ad campaigns for Obama in the final week, I would create one, targeting this first time voter, to prepare them for the process of voting. I would use :60 to pump them up about the privilege to vote...remind them how exciting it is to be young adults embarking on the best years of their lives, and enthusiastically acknowledge how "sick" it is to participate in democracy. I would prepare them for long lines, hours of waiting, and discourage them from stepping out of the line and leaving the gift of freedom of speech on the curb, just because they are bored, tired and in dire need of a latte...

Kids today - well ok, young adults, are used to and in fact expect a level of instant gratification. They are independent thinkers and a generation of doers, but act mostly on their own terms...They are not majority viewers of news programs nor do they read newspapers with regularity. They watch TV, spend time on the Internet, and text each other. So an emotionally charged TV/Internet spot and a SMS campaign to reinforce patience, and an appreciation of a system larger than themselves, may be a good investment.

Obama needs these votes, and I would hate to see apathy, impatience or restlessness change the momentum at the 11th hour.

Obvious, but possibly worth stating...again and again and again

2008-10-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

Am I the only person who does not understand what constitutes a "win" in Iraq or Afghanistan. Am I alone in my confusion of the meaning of "War on Terrorism"? Isn't terrorism a state of mind ? Haven't wars typically been fought over physical boundaries and/or to reinstate basic human rights and freedom to an oppressed people. Both war and terrorism are despicable. Each is evil, cruel and pointless. Human beings die for this misguided, insanity. But at its very basic level.. how do we eradicate a state of mind through blood shed. Can we ever really kill it?

The Bush Administration has defined 21 objectives in the War on Terrorism: [19] The most disturbing to me:

Win the war of ideals. Whose ideals...human rights should be upheld everywhere but what country has a right to force an ideal on a person, a people, or a nation? Shouldn't ideals be self proclaimed and left alone as long as they are non violent?

Do troops, tanks, guns, bombs and torture change ideals of human beings? Can a deeply rooted, desperate state of mind be positively altered through physical force, brutality or tragic human loss? I think not. War spreads desperation. Then, it kills. Period.

When we are attacked, we will defend our country and our people. Why can't we find the leaders of Al Qaeda? Why can't we take out the bad guys? Go in and get out ! Grossly over simplified, I know, but win the war on ideals...when exactly will that be accomplished? What exactly does that mean? If I am going to send my son into war, I better first know what he is dying for, and I better damn well believe it is more valuable than his life. Personally, I could never reach that belief, and would leave the country before sending him to war - but it should at least be clearly identified for all those families who are willing to sacrifice.

It is severely understated to say that our conflict with "terrorists" is complicated, but I just wonder if we keep fighting and sending human beings into battle fields because we really don't know what else to do. Is that a good enough reason? Today we are engaged in "anti terrorist warfare" in 19 countries. 58,000 - 60,000 kids (over 50% American) are stashed away in hills, deserts, jungles of Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Gaza Strip/West Bank, India, Pakistan, Waziristan, Indonesia, Philippines, Columbia. . They are defending "freedom", but in actuality, they shoot to keep the "terrorist" from getting close to their fort. Over 4000 Americans have lost their lives in Iraq. Did we really change the state of mind of Iraqi's over the last 4 years? Have their ideals been transformed? Over 1,000,000 people have died in this conflict...we took out one really bad guy and some of his organization, and that is good, even worth some level of painful sacrifice, but the jury is out as to whether Iraqi's want democracy enough to fight to preserve it once we withdraw. The jury is out on whether our ideals are in fact their ideals. Afghanistan seems completely uninterested in "American ideals" and the more we fight them , the more they hate us. We take citizens out of the safe environment of their native sovereign nation and drop them into the middle of a destructive state of mind, forcing violence. What the hell does this accomplish. It is sickening. We should be trying to alter this evil state of mind by demonstrating the power of freedom from afar, within our own boundaries. What about spending the $10 billion per month in fortifying the safety of our country, in our country....surely we are smart enough to intercept the enemy intellectually..before they enter our air space... We haven't and won't always succeed, there will be casualties, but actively placing people in the midst of brutality and death to solve a problem we cannot solve is incomprehensible. Worse, to sacrifice human beings for financial gain and lucrative trade agreements is gut wrenchingly disgusting.

We better get our heads out of the blood stained sand and start tending to our own humanitarian ideals - and work to save the world by compassionately showing people, through our example, how to save themselves...

Soros, you game?

2008-10-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.
Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down. Publicly, Lahde claimed that dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. I think they were that and, well distasteful. 10.17.08, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a passionate, erratic rollercoaster account of the life of a hedge fund manager with a conscience.. kind of like Tony of The Soprano's. You don't have to like him after you read this, but you will likely agree with him. (Except about the part on leaving your mark. We should all try to make a positive, lasting contribution to something. When you die, you should deserve to be missed, otherwise you have wasted your life, in a self absorbed cave.)

Andrew's view on everything from greed to economic philosophy.
_______________________________

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding.

Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.
There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list of those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde
_______________________________________________

Capisce ?

Dig Deeper

2008-10-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

The US Hockey Team. 1980 Olympics. Winning the gold...against all odds...

In professional sports, there is very little separation among elite athletes relative to their skill level. What seems to separate the best from the very best, top in their field, record holders, is mental toughness. An inner strength and unrelenting drive that elevates a few to victory. Ben Hogan, Eric Heiden, Lance Armstrong, Wayne Gretszky, Tiger Woods, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Muhamed Ali, Rod Laver, Gayle Sayers, Michael Jordan, the US Hockey Team of the 1980 Olympics.... This represents a small sample of elite athletes. These are individuals that have a god given physical ability which sets them apart from their piers...but they have something else .. something more.. that delivers a victory in the toughest of circumstances.

Mental toughness...the ability to focus, evaluate and perform at the highest level, in a pressured situation, is rare and extremely valuable.

Don't you think that we put ourselves in the best position to win and prosper, as a nation, if our president is an elite thinker and a compassionate activist? Shouldn't the leader of the most powerful democracy in the world be at his peak of mental toughness vs. a leader that has only memories of mental toughness, whose best years may very well be behind him? Don't we put ourselves at risk if we allow mediocrity to enter this office?

To be fair, both Obama and McCain are mentally tough. McCain lived in a hole for 5 years. And went on to achieve notable accomplishments in his life as a civil servant. Regardless of your opinion on his governing policies, he clearly has mental toughness, perseverance and drive...but McCain is wounded and fatigued.

Obama is at the height of his physical and mental training. He is performing on all cylinders. His body is fit and his mind is sharp. He has stamina, clarity, energy and passion. He is confident in his ability, driven to succeed, sincere in his desire to serve his country and focused. Isn't this what we deserve in a leader? Aren't these the most important characteristics of an effective leader? Effective change and material progress require perspective, unwavering desire, commitment and bravery. It is easy to stay the same. It is much harder to venture into uncharted territory to deliver unprecedented victories...We are at a point in our history, again...where we need to change in order to survive. If we want to prosper at unprecedented levels, we need to be smart, strong and proud. We need mental toughness...

Consider how you align on policy with your presidential candidates, but don't let strict policy agreement cast your vote. You owe it to yourself and the well being of your family to consider the character of each of your candidates. Make a judgment on who has the mental dexterity to recognize your needs and the physical dexterity to fight for them. You will never agree with every policy decision your candidate makes once in office. But you deserve to have a president that has the mental toughness to protect our country, demand the highest level of performance, and fight for the greater good of our families. So use your heart and your mind when you vote. The combination is powerful. One without the other is powerless...

Thank you John

2008-10-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

McCain gave us something last night. A better, more exciting drinking game...certainly one that will get us giddy...faster....

"Drink when you hear ... "Maverick"
"Drink when you hear ... "Joe the Plumber"

Hickup ... uhhh excuse me....Geeze this is fun...

Even before the drop in stocks today...

2008-10-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

My smile attached to the progress we made relative to our financial crisis, has flattened, and my eyebrows are curving…. As the details of the "bail out" plan (at least those that have been leaked to the media) are being released, I am becoming – I hate to say – a little more enraged.

Policy in bank lending is “expected” to change .. in return for these bail out funds. Yes there are some significant requirements relative to dividends, executive compensation, preferred/common stock issues - but in the words of John Kanas (former CEO of North Fork Bancorp – sold to Capital One Financial Corp.) “It seems quite explicit that there are no strings attached to this money…It seems like a gift” .

That is a big problem.

Where are the regulations and reform, written into law, that should accompany these funds? It is undeniable, that deregulation over the last 30 years has led to this crisis. We have been in the bottom of the hole before this. After the Depression in the 1930’s and again in the early 1980’s, to address the Savings & Loan Crisis - the government infused cash into the financial systems to shore them up. Our current infusion is unprecedented in terms of its size – which is logical given the size of our economy and its “real” growth. Today's infusion is also unprecedented in terms of its structure – it’s lack of structure. That, is not logical. After the depression, the preferred stock that taxpayers purchased had voting rights and dividends were restricted until the government’s (i.e. taxpayers) stake had been bought out or paid back. The risk to the taxpayers was mitigated and regulation on lending practices was reasonable, prudent and aggressive. This time – the taxpayer stock is nonvoting, dividend restrictions are less onerous, and the infusion’s primary purpose is to re-ignite lending and “encourage” banks to stop engaging in "some" of their risky behavior.

“Encourage”. “Expect”. “Voluntary”. These are Paulson’s words not mine. They scare me. A Lot.

If you don’t see specific regulations relative to risk management including a defined weighted distribution of that risk, required at banks, consider yourself very,very generous. Because without this and a series of other regulations that I am not smart enough to outline - you will indeed have written the banks a really big check…“Confidence” will improve, and it will keep the banks in business in the short run, but do nothing to fix the long term, deeply rooted problem. This, if left in its current form, could - hold on to your wallet - perpetuate the problem. Somewhat cynical, I know, but think about the time it will take for the financial big wigs, to figure out how to use your cash to retire debt that pays a higher yield than what they owe us (5%). This will pad profits, in the short run, but will likely deflate right about the time they are “encouraged” to start paying their debt to taxpayers. Current lack of regulation allows obvious manipulation to lawfully avoid paying the taxpayers one cent. Further, activity like this will not address the overall, systemic, deep problem in our economy. Additionally, it will render us “duped”.

Although materially important, to our personal financial welfare, this conversation is getting boring. When it comes to money..your money, you are an army of one. Protect your family, and your interests. Do what you can to help you feel “less stress” and show up for work. Get comfortable with being on your own, and be proud of what you do everyday.

I am feeling somewhat powerless to affect change, and bring about a solution. What I do know is that my character is defined by what I do today…that is the only thing that guides me. On most days, it is enough. I expect not to stray from this principle – regardless of my financial situation. Rich or poor. Can we say the same about those that have control over our recent $ donation to spare them the consequences of their bad behavior ...

Thank you London

2008-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Gordon Brown advocated a cash infusion ( hundreds of billions) into London banks, guaranteeing their debts, in exchange for partial ownership. "Part Nationalization" of the the financial system ! Major European economies will follow Britain's lead. And the U.S. ? We will follow it too !

Amazing !

Bernanke is believed to have been a long time advocate of this. Paul Krugman is one of "few" real geniuses silently behind it. And today, was a great day for PK, as he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science ! Heartening and reassuring to see good things happening to good people !

Paulson .. was holding us up.

So we have made significant progress as of today. Stocks have climbed at least on this day. Perhaps what is most note worthy is that America, as a world leader, actually sought and listened to "other" expert opinion. On a very public stage we fell, fumbled and failed. Painful. Our government officials could have dug their heels in to the proverbial political sand and said swallow...we know what we are doing...and we will tell you as soon as we know... but surprisingly they made an about face, sought help, changed direction and made significant progress.

Hear hear...collaboration sometimes works...Ahh coming to the table to discuss and negotiate...that sometimes works too....even with few "pre-conditions" in place.

Do you think McCain will recognize this style of progress ? Do you think he will acknowledge what worked today ? I think not...not unless his coaches are clever enough to thank him for thinking of it first, and then explain to him what he did ... so he can share it with the world.

Knock it off - Treat Me with Respect

2008-10-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Conservative author Frank Schaeffer laid a heavy burden on McCain in his "Letter to McCain" as published in The Huffington Post. An excerpt follows:

"John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations. Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever. We will hold you responsible."

I agree.

The tone at the McCain rallies, this week - has been frightening. Campaign and debate experts suggest, that this man appears to be "uncoachable".

University of Kansas debate coach Scott Harris agrees with his colleagues, saying that “the whole maverick renegade image 'McCain' portrays makes him hard if not impossible to coach because he wants to be his own man and do what he wants to do.”

McCain is not acting alone...

Governor Palin does not even think about or anticipate the consequences of her rhetoric, as she points and winks and casually suggests that Barack Obama associates with terrorists. Is she not receiving advice? Or does she ignore the advice as well, because she cannot separate her ignorance from her ego. Palin accepted the candidacy of the Vice Presidency of the United States. Does she actually believe that, in this role, she has no responsibility to prepare for it, or to respect the safety, well being and intellect of her constituency. She is an embarrassment to herself and to the U.S. Worse her ignorance and complete lack of effort to appropriately serve this role is bordering on dangerous.

Regarding seeking and considering advice..

Do we really need 4 more years of an elected official who dictates? McCain like Bush appears to be the only expert in the room. And although he has invited experts to advise and guide, he has and will consistently discount the advice his experts offer, on countless, important, game changing issues. If elected, he will make domestic and global decisions that are self serving, narrow and possibly with complete disregard for the greater good of the American people, our country and our friendly global neighbors. McCain is erratic, driven, stubborn, angry and wounded. He is unfit to lead civilly. He gravitates toward, and is comfortable with conflict.

We have one more debate. Election Day is 24 days away. If the voters are to have their final say, America, McCain and Obama need to get there safely. The McCain campaign has crossed the line between unproductive negative campaigning and inciting rage. Or at the very least not taking effective proactive steps to diffuse the hatred. Each day the mob is louder and grows more animated. This is not trivial. The onus is on the man who says he puts his country first to control the room and calm his crowd.

If I were Obama, I would open the debate, by stepping out and in front of my podium, look the people in the eye and do that for McCain....I would take this message to the people. I would recognize the anger, understand the fear and re-focus the emotion on productive collaboration. I would raise the playing field to where we as American voters want it to be. Where we deserve it to be. I would encourage each person to listen with their hearts and with their minds. Work to grasp the challenges and vote for the person they can trust to stand beside them, and to stand for them. That is what the office of the presidency is about. No single human being has all of the answers but our leader should be devoted to seeking perspective and making decisions for the greater good and in representation of the fair majority. .. Then, I would suggest that the debate begin and move toward a civil discourse in an environment where the candidates can earn our vote. A tool to help us decide on who is the better person to rebuild the strength of our country, protect it, and best "serve" the hard working and passionate people of America.

Just in case you are still undecided...

2008-10-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

Something new to scare you ...

2008-10-09T18:54:00.001-07:00

Time to change the subject. Well slightly. Still politics, still dysfunction. But no bail out.

I learned today (NYT) that, the Bush administration has cut off birth control aid to Africa. This is preposterous. What reasoning could possibly be given to support this action? Don't even think about using the argument that the US is in a financial crisis and can't afford to send aid to third world countries. I don't know what this costs our country annually, but relative to what we are spending in real cash to buy worthless paper - this international aid - probably equates to $1.50.

What is stunning to me is how you make that decision. Yes clearly our government officials have to make all kinds of difficult choices. We can't come close to accomplishing what is needed. But even in these uninspiring times - Americans along with many other sovereign nations do reveal a glimmer of humanitarianism and compassion.

Bush is so "out to lunch". This goes well beyond lame duck. This is dementia.

The UN fully supports and leads efforts to promote family planning all over the world. Family planning is about choices and responsibility. Without access to act responsibly - people are left to act randomly. Poor, third world countries are craving to act responsibly, feed themselves, support their families and build an infrastructure that would some day allow them to prosper. Birth control helps, enormously. If you can't feed children, you should think twice about having them. The gracious, hard working, women of Africa assuredly get this - and therefore seek and use birth control.

Bush on the other hand - sees cutting off access to birth control as a way to force his narrow, archaic, chauvinistic views on all the world. "No gratuitous sex". "Sex only for procreation". If you follow God's word - you will have sex only, in a sacred marriage, to procreate and bring more little, God fearing children, into the world.

Spooked yet?

I consider myself to be a fair minded person. I love differing points of view. And I love people to be passionate about their points of view. But to force conformity is weak, ignorant and evil. Bush used the power of his office to deny a whole country something they desperately need, merely because, he thought they shouldn't have it.. What kind of convolution, and narcissism is required to do this? I mean does he really think that if he limits access to birth control, people will stop having sex - inside or outside of marriage? What could possibly lead to this level of confidence? This level of disregard for human rights? Can his ignorance be so significant that he actually lets it feed his ego?

What gives him the right to deny anything to anyone?

The irony of his decision, is that it will perpetuate abortion. Last time I checked, even the "Christians" consider abortion to be a far greater sin, than "sex for fun". Thank you Mr. Bush, because of you and your self absorbed global decisions - more abortions will be performed in Africa, most of them dangerously. More children will be conceived and more children will be aborted. Not to mention the mothers. They will die too. Abortions in third world countries are not surgical. They are brutal.

If you read between the lines and look at one distinctive pattern in the Bush administration you will see what I characterize to be nothing short of frightening and dangerous. It started when he walked through the threshold of the White House on January 8, 2000. On that day, I think, he felt "god like". This was his holy house to rule. Separation between church and state could finally be overruled with his heavy hand and resounding voice over the mountain top !

More frightening, at least to me, is that this resonated with Americans. People rally around this man, still. Yes his approval rating is 27%, one of the lowest in history. But don't be deceived. People disapprove of Bush, now, because they feel poor, and in fact are less well off now, then when he stepped into office. But his theology, and evangelism is revered. Admittedly my religious beliefs are not, in any way, representative of the majority - I am almost alone, in my belief, relative to the world's population, when it comes to religion. But that is not the point. Government and religion should not coexist. In fact it is unconstitutional to have them co-exist. Worse, it is despicable to use government to spread religion.

God, I love this country! In China, they block blogs....

There is a roadmap but Paulson has lost it...

2008-10-08T19:06:00.001-07:00

I'm confused.

Will this first of possibly - three bail out plans actually stimulate the credit markets? Even in the short term? We all recognize, that this "Bail Out" is a bandage to stop the bleeding in a capital market that is clearly broken and requires significant, long term fixes. But the enthusiasm rallying around the bail out was that it was necessary to "restore confidence". And without passage of the bill within "days" a catastrophic downturn in the economy would ensue. I am paraphrasing - but is that not what we heard? Today Paulson is back peddling and sidestepping. He is both right and wrong. Typical, in Washington.

He was right: We are continuing to see a significant downturn in our financial markets and the downturn is spreading globally.
He was wrong: The $700 billion check we just wrote, did not restore confidence. It perpetuated fear.

It appears, based on statements made today, that Paulson is continuing to scramble to gain support to infuse even more money into troubled financial markets. More banks "will fail" he warned. He acknowledged that the "flurry of emergency steps had done little to break the cycle of fear and mistrust, and pleaded for patience." Now he is pleading for patience ? If patience is what is needed to correct this mess, we should have left the markets alone, and demonstrated restraint to let them correct themselves. Capital markets do that you know, on their own, when, left alone, and allowed to react and adjust to the realities of consumer economic activity and the pace of trade.

Theories and principles don't have to get elected, they just prove themselves over time.

Is Paulson that egotistical and narcissistic to think that because he figured out how to make himself rich by taking advantage of gratuitous, and overwhelmingly dangerous economic loopholes in the capital market (for which he lobbied aggressively) that he can contradict himself to cover an error in judgment, with potentially grave national consequences, and not have people notice? Pleading for patience? Is he out of his mind? Did he not say, over and over again...there is no time - we must act now !

Is there no sane, reasonable, expert direction available. Is this problem solvable ?

$750 billion represents 5% of our GDP. This, on top of the Bush administration's $550 billion deficit, which will be given to Obama (hopefully), will put us on record with the highest percentage deficit relative to the GDP. In 1983 the deficit hit its peak at 6%. Numbers in the billions and trillions are hard for me to grasp. Percentages, however are much more clear. I am not an economist or financial expert at any level, all I really know is that small things cost more, large things have less value and my paycheck is not keeping up. But I am wondering about this:

If we could increase our GDP, our deficit would be less significant and therefore less threatening. That is a good thing, right? Why don't we provide more significant incentives to increase domestic manufacturing, limiting imports, and creating jobs. This could and should go well beyond energy. I have no idea how many trillions of dollars we spend importing goods and services from other countries but doesn't it stand to reason that if we regulated that activity, even slightly, we could materially change our cash flow in this country. Relatively quickly? I know that importing and exporting breeds healthy competition, resulting in lower consumer prices. But in the wake of this crisis, would it not be smart to fuel all, or at least most of that competition within our borders? We can export all day long, but do I really need to buy $200 worth of t-shirts and underwear for my son, that are made in China. 75% of the clothing in my household, is made and has been shipped from a far away land. This is crazy. I don't want to buy things that kids are forced to make. Overseas labor is cheap. I get it. But the system is wrong on an economic level and in some cases on a moral level. My neighbor, now, needs a second job...and he can sew.

This idea seems obvious, even to me. But what is not obvious, is why it is not being talked about by our candidates, our manufacturers or our "economic guru's" as part of the solution. I know the focus is on lending, but what are we really trading. Shouldn't we be producing something -more things here in the U.S. ?

I hope the next administration opens a US history book, and keeps it open in the oval office to the chapters on FDR economics. Talk about a road map ! The highway has changed slightly, it is much faster and more efficient, but the scenery is pretty much the same. We have fortified the financial health of this nation before. We can do it again. OK - we lost our heads for awhile, because they fell into our wallets which we keep in our back pocket and sit on...so we have some recovering to do. But we can recover.

I've said it before, should I say it again ?

2008-10-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

Although worth watching, I don't feel I learned anything new tonight, regarding policy, records or proposals from either side. The differences in how each candidate will approach health care, taxation, financial stress and security resonated fairly well. But the message was not new.

I am at the point, however, that the cute digging gestures, and outright lies crossing the lips of McCain feel expected. Which is unfortunate, as it reduces my ability to listen fully to his rhetoric. When "complete transparency" into decisions made at the white house is promised, as it was tonight by McCain, I shut down. That "my friend" is ridiculous.

It also is unsettling to hear that I have suddenly become an investor in this bail out plan. It was said that the American taxpayers should be treated like investors. News flash - investors take on risk. They typically have the capacity to loose their investment. Didn't we just loose "a bunch" ? There is no empirical or anecdotal data that points directly and unequivocally to a "win fall" regarding the $700 billion bail out. That jury is out and will be, for quite some time. I guarantee you, the ROI will not exceed a break even point, and that point will be fluid. There are countless ways for the government to mask the pay back. Believe me, we as taxpayers won't ever know what portion of our tax dollar will fund this pay back. And when our taxes are raised do you really think the government will be sending us a bill that is clearly identified as
"Bail Out Remittance"?

Enough about that rage. It will not be quieted anytime soon.

The "zen" question, was an interesting close, but I was not impressed with either answer. Each candidate scuttled around the "What don't you know" portion and somewhat disjointedly moved to a message of gratitude and opportunity. The meat of that question lies in the second part, however "How will you learn it". A response to this question offers a window to a person's character. And a place where I perceive Obama to have missed a stunning opportunity. The greatest gift Obama has as a leader, is his unwavering commitment to and respect for comprehensive perspective. Obama is an idealist, and a pragmatist. He has a keen sense of fairness and a devotion to it. He is intolerant of gratuitous injustice and has a strong character record to support this. Obama should have revealed this tonight. The undecided voter needs a hook, something to cling to, even something to believe in. Taxes, health care, security, energy, global warming - these fall into the column of "Facts I need to know before I vote", but character, connectedness, passion, understanding - these fall into the column of "Things I believe In" A much more powerful and important distinction. Obama has a clear advantage here. He inspires, he embraces and he listens. He needs to show us more of this compassion. I've got the facts, now, I need the touch.

With Eyes Wide Open

2008-10-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

As you watch the debate tonight keep this in mind.

Amidst the massive failure of our financial institutions and shrinkage of the capital markets... no one has gone or is anticipated to go to jail. No laws were broken in this devastating process. Although the SEC is investigating and will likely find misconduct in investor leading, the demise of our economy to its current state, happened lawfully.

Over the course of 30 years, politicians, civil servants, members of the house and senate voted to deregulate and significantly reduce oversight of our financial markets. Lobbyists pushed for deregulation, politicians accommodated and the inner circle grew giddy and greedy. Further distancing themselves from the greater good of the constituency, and their oath of office while pandering to the wealthy few.

There are two men on the stage tonight. One has been outspoken in his concern about the state of the economy, the worsening conditions, and the need for regulation and oversight since he stepped into the arena as a junior senator, and more aggressively in the past 2-3 years. The other has consistently voted for deregulation. He has participated and been complicit in unlawful banking practices, which wiped out entire savings accounts of thousands of people. Although a member of the Keating Five, he emerged unscathed.

Both call for change, and possibly both can affect change moving forward. But it is important to remember that government has had a hand in this crisis, corporations and financial institutions perpetuated the crisis, and the taxpayer is paying for the crisis...

So listen carefully to the facts. Be hopeful for the future, but do not discount the past as "water under the bridge" or insignificant history. History repeats itself because human beings are fundamentally hard to change. So looking at a person's repeated, past behavior, and getting a glimpse into his character should, at the very least provide some level of insight as to what his behavior might be in the future...

This election is important. What we do as a country moving forward is of grave importance, given the unprecedented hole we have found ourselves in today. Yes we have faced financial distress in the past, but correct me if I am wrong, we have not faced it in conjunction with a clear lack of perceived judgement and strength by our global neighbors. For the first time, in my life, America feels dangerously weak.

I will watch to be informed and yes, inspired. But mostly to be involved. It is clear that neither a capitalistic country nor its government can prosper without the guidance of its citizens.

Spread the pirated wealth.

2008-10-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

$497,000,000 This is the combined $ - not paper value - but cash value - of the severance packages of the 12 CEO's who recently fell in the wake of their crumbled house of cards. It is not productive to list the amounts given to each individual, as it may only garner personal vendetta that will move us more toward resentment and negativity, at a time when we need to be thinking constructively on how to organize ourselves for the greater good. It is worth noting, however, that the cumulative $ figure would have been + $22 million - had it not been for the fair judgment or at least constraint of Mr. Willumstud of AIG, who left his package perks on the table....

$497,000,000...hmmmm even if we agreed to pay each of the exiting CEO's $5 million for their failure, admittedly a collective failure involving others beyond themselves, but a failure none the less, what could we constructively do with $437,000,000?

The first check I would write would be to those hard working Americans between the ages of 59 and 65 who were so close to retirement they could taste it. But today are very likely sitting down, hunched over, searching deep inside themselves to pull out another significant dose of energy and enthusiasm to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. Those Americans who may just be too weary after working and contributing to their 401k's for 30 years, to face another 10 years of work, merely to rebuild what they lost last week. Those hard working Americans who, have sent their kids to college, donated to charity and continually thought of others as they went about their day to day business. What can we materially do for these people?

Although it is documented, in gov't records, I don't know how many families had this milestone shattered this week. I don't know what the cumulative "lost" cash value in their retirement accounts represents, but my instinct is that $437 million evenly split among this group could create, at least of glimmer of hope and renewal of spirit. Just for grins, what about forcing those 11 individuals who are sharing $497,000,000, to look this massive group of people in the eye - and offer a solution. My fear is you would see a choreographed shrug, insincere apology, turn and departure. Although I don't know any of these people personally, my guess is that they would do this with little regret or apprehension. I mean they are powerful, bright people. Don't you think they have the ability, if not the capacity, to organize themselves around something that is meaningful, and work together to accomplish it? They have had a few weeks to do this.....voluntarily. I am not holding my breath.

Of course I am not naive enough to think this would ever happen, but what disturbs me, is doing the right thing doesn't even enter into the conversation any more, and we all readily dismiss it as if it is a pipe dream.

What does it feel like? Credit score 690's and above !

2008-10-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

Isn't it frustrating that those of us who have "excellent" credit ratings, and continuously pay all of our bills on time, acting fiscally responsible month after month, year after year, get no kind of relief whatsoever when there is a financial crisis in our capital markets. Keeping in mind that we as individual, credit worthy contributors had absolutely no hand in creating the crisis. Instead we get strained, even further

Has anyone ever thought about the simple concept of rewarding good behavior to generate more good behavior...rather than focusing on the negative, with reactive punishment or "adjustment" that doesn't change long term bad behavior. Think about the impact on credit risk, if we instituted a 2% decrease in your interest rate on a commercial or home loan if you paid on time every month for 10 years...Yes the bank would make less of a margin on your loan over the life of the loan, but more loans would be active and healthy, which lowers the overall risk that the bank/government has to carry, and if amortized over the life of the loan would only result in a marginal loss of margin. Hello - many businesses across a variety of categories, weather profit margin shifts much more drastic than "marginal" in a given quarter....Don't you think the average consumer or business owner would consider this to be a significant financial gain, and thus try hard to achieve it? The only relief a good credit rating receives today is the "ability" to get a loan at an advantageous rate. This is reasonable, but why not continue to recognize that stability with ongoing "financial perks" so that it further perpetuates on time credit payments.

Unfortunately, our financial health is getting dangerously close to collapse, so some kind of a taxpayer sponsored bailout was necessary, but instead of using the $700-$840 billion to write down bad debt, that the fiscally responsible taxpayer will have to pay back, why don't we use it to reduce principals in home loans across the board, so that even those that are paying on time, but likely struggling to some degree, like that small sector of the taxpayer base called "The Middle Class", get some relief? How about that for a concept. The percentage decrease overall would be lower for everyone, but it may fuel spending by the middle class, who have the largest impact on the health of the economy. And it might weed out those "dead beat" borrowers that will never be able to be current on the debt they have acquired. Why should we exclusively aid this segment of the economic base - they will never be able to generate enough positive fiscal activity to impact the economic health of the country, one way or the other.

I am not advocating that we ignore this sector, they deserve assistance, because they have been taken advantage of, by the wealthy corporations who are nothing more than self serving. But if we want to stimulate the economy, we should think about deploying some level of relief to the group that can actually move the market as well as materially assisting those that are working 3 jobs and still can't cover their obligations. At some point doesn't it stand to reason, that you can only push the American worker so far until they give up, and are forced into the welfare system, further straining the taxpayer base.

I mean think about it, the bailout will reward bad fiscal, even predatory behavior that the Bush administration (and those before - generally beginning with Reagan) has allowed wall street to legally conduct, through massive and irresponsible deregulation. And the reward is at the taxpayers expense - entirely...And to throw salt in the wound, the deal on the table will impact executive compensation packages moving forward...only impacting new employment contracts. It requires that all current contracts be honored as written. So - all of those fat cats on wall street that have been revered, and generously compensated, while playing with our money, have no consequence for loosing the game. It is a high stakes game, consequences for loosing should be as significant as the rewards for winning have been. And to further enrage, it is apparent now that wall street has had to cheat, to win. Another example of the elite protecting the elite.

This whole thing makes me sick. I feel like defaulting on my mortgage so that I can get my principal reduced. Seriously, I am sitting in my office working - but asking myself what the heck am I working for. I will never be able to amass enough cash to afford to live, once I am too old to work - so why not spend my time figuring out how I can take advantage of credit issued to me so that I can live on credit for the next 40 years. It seems that growth within our capital markets comes from issuing more credit, fictitiously backed, rather than retiring it. I might as well join that dysfunctional crowd.