The ties that bind

What unites Byron Williams (the man who loaded up his truck with guns in order to shoot up a non-profit organization) with the Pentagon shooter, the Holocaust Museum gunman, the pilot who flew his plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas, and the Pittsburgh cop-killer?

Right-wing ideology that's what.

No you can't

I'm all for getting illegal immigrants out of the country, and I'm doubly for getting criminal-minded illegal immigrants out. My support stops with measures that are cruel or treats law-abiding citizens as criminals.

So, I oppose the Arizona law for being hard on citizens, not because it is hard on immigrants. Those people are here illegally, eroding wages, and should be deported. I'm also in favor of jailing the businesses that hire them.

Unlike the folks at Huffington Post, I cotton to this new federal approach which screens fingerprints collected as people are arrested. You can read about it here:

Extra-criminal behavior

Why should we welcome someone that is here illegally and has been arrested on top of it? What's in it for us?

Obama's poll numbers explained

Despite frantic Tea Party exhalations, objective measures say that the Obama administration is tougher on illegal immigration than George W. Bush. For instance...

"The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency expects to deport about 400,000 people this fiscal year, nearly 10 percent above the Bush administration's 2008 total and 25 percent more than were deported in 2007."


Source

While the Tea Party continues to disparage president Obama anyway, he is engaging himself in activities which annoy his base.

Do democrats in Washington spend all their time cooking up schemes that are self-defeating?

Too Big to Fail

Robert Monks discusses the effectiveness of the new financial regulations with respect to "Too Big to Fail".



Once again president Obama seems to think he can sell a weak bill that is primarily a concession as "sweeping" reform. Once again he uncle tom'd his base without a spirited defense of their values.

Quick Krugman

"The only problem Republicans ever had with George W. Bush was his low approval rating."

- Paul Krugman -

Source

Say it plain

Sometimes, if you say a thing plainly it is easier to understand. In Afghanistan we hear the following from the Pentagon:

If we are not successful in Afghanistan it means we need more troops.
If we are successful it means we need to stay indefinitely.

Is it patriotic to defend America to the point it can no longer pay for schools?

Is the Fed playing Obama for a sucker?

The more I see experienced economists like Robert Reich (i.e. here), and Paul Krugman (i.e. here), raising alarm bells over the economy in conjunction with inaction by "The Fed", the more I find myself wondering if "The Fed" is deliberately putting the brakes on the economy.

Why would that be?

Perhaps president Obama is less in-league with Wall Street than I imagine and more easily duped than I imagine.

Maybe, even now, he believes the old Canard about rising tides lifting all boats?

If this is the case Obama might regret continually snubbing his base and courting the imaginary middle. By the time he turns around he may find himself alone.

Wondering...

What banks seem to be doing at the moment is taking advantage of low interest rates set by the fed to buy Treasury bonds. So, they get money for next-to-nothing and a safe return on their investment.

But, I've been wondering, could we be setting up a Treasury bond bubble?

Should taxpayer money be used to enrich a finance industry that doesn't lend?

It's a good gig, but how can it last?

Obama's poll numbers explained

"71% say that they don't care what economists were saying, that we're still in a recession"

Source

Obama's poll numbers explained

When Wall Street wants money it gets bipartisan support, lightning quick action, and no constraints.

When those unemployed as a result of Wall Street's actions want assistance, Blue Dogs have tin ears.

Obama's poll numbers explained

When the GOP is in the majority, they get their way. When the GOP is in the minority, they get their way.

Little Cat Feet

Both the democratic and republican parties have abandoned their historical agendas in order to promote corporate interests. Historically the usurpation of government by corporate power is known as Fascism, and it looks a lot like the BP spill.

One mitigating factor of corporate power is populist power, or more properly, democratic power. When the right of the People to rule is not a word on a page, or a blog, but a reality, then there is pushback against abuses of corporate power.

Instead we get treated to sad sycophantic displays of politicians apologizing to BP for being asked to take responsibility for its actions.

Instead we get a president that claims to respect the rule of law clutching undemocratic powers to his chest.

Instead we get bailouts for bank-robbers, rather than jail sentences.

To understand this trend a little better, you might wish to read a new article by Jim Hightower:

Reclaim populism

Chicago

Chicago-style economics promotes class warfare in such a way that adherents feel virtuous about plundering. It seems to have finally succeeded to the point where "consumers" (citizens) have lost their "confidence" (money).

It is obvious that increasing "confidence" means putting money in "consumers" pockets, or else finding different "consumers". Because of this, I expect America's next great export to China shall be Chicago-style economics.

America shall become another day older and deeper in debt.

Quick hit

Wall Street and the other biggest global banks, meanwhile, are making piles of money betting against government debt all over the world.

Source

When simple remedies to America's problems evade implementation, then you know America is circling the drain. Is it too much to ask for legislators to stop pulling on the handle?

State of Corporate Governance

Somehow I doubt a bill that starts out tepid and gets watered-down from there will provide anything like the response necessary to prevent, or even delay, the next crash. I sez that Glass Steagall warded off bubbles for decades, and I think it ought to be a good place to start reigning in bankster power. Another place to learn a lesson might be Canada's economy, which survived the bubble well.

Robert A. G. Monks (longtime shareholder activist, Corporate Governance sage, and Reagan appointee), thinks the model of self regulating business is a failure and he calls the Dodd/Frank efforts to inject accountability "pathetic".



I still think that the best purpose of corporate governance is to protect profit for investors from management, since I believe the tycoon-types are morally insane (the modern term is psychopathic personality). It did not escape my notice, for instance, that Mr. Monks in the above video said...

"The failure was largely attributable to the unaccountability of the Chief Executive Officers who ran companies for their own benefit, and for the benefit of other top officials, without any conscience about the public consequence or the long-term consequence of their actions."

I think that many CEOs are, in point of fact, morally insane. This means they are literally incapable of acting from conscience. This means their conscience and their desires are one and the same thing. This means that everything justifies satisfying a desire.

Proper governance ties CEO wealth to corporate success so that society can follow a psychopath to economic prosperity. It is a gamble whose risk should now be evident to all, namely that the morally insane are hoarders when it comes to Power, and experts at corruption.

CEOs need to be made to believe again that their Power does not come at our expense, but at our profit.

McChrystal out

I wasn't sure president Obama would can McChrystal even though he richly deserved it. It looks like General Petraeus is going to step in. Here is the announcement:

Quick link

Here is a link to the Rolling Stone article on Gen. Stanley McChrystal that is currently sweeping other conversation off the face of the news planet:

The Runaway General

This guy sounds a lot like Donald Rumsfeld to me, that is, someone whose arrogance is not tutored by their ineffectiveness. His next order should be his last, and the sooner it is delivered the better.

Clearly he is unfit for his command-post if he thinks bashing allies is something you do in front of reporters.

Quick Hit

 

Paul Krugman sez, “52 senators voted against extending aid to the unemployed despite the highest rate of long-term joblessness since the 1930s.”

Source

I’ve lost a lot of respect for Nobel prizes since president Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize sans accomplishments, but I have noticed Paul Krugman (and Keynesians) are often right about macro-economics.

I think it is too bad congressional leaders are looking towards Alan “What bubble?” Greenspan, when the evidence everywhere backs up Paul Krugman (job creation is too slow, consumer spending is down, home construction is down, etc.).

I guess I will have to take comfort in the fact that the CEO-types that created the mess are reasonably  comfortable at our expense.

Robert A.G. Monks discusses Financial Reform legislation

Robert Monks discusses the financial reform legislation now before Congress in this clip below. He seems to feel now was the moment for nationalizing corporate governance laws, and that the moment is being lost. What we have now, in his words, "is a race to the bottom".





My favorite line from the clip is, "I have to say that if the answer is the SEC you've asked the wrong question."

Quick Hit

According to the work of a group of government and independent scientists under the direction of Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the amount of oil now being unleashed into the Gulf is between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day

Source

There are 55 gallons of oil in a barrel, which means between 1,925,000 and 3,300,000 gallons of oil are spilling into the Gulf of Mexico daily.

This oil is going to continue to come ashore, day after day, well after the leak is plugged. Soon it should make its way around Florida and up the eastern seaboard.

President Obama seems to think a speech will impress the nation, when what is needed is action. Specifically, he needs to place BP into temporary receivership, seize their US assets, and put America first.

If he didn't want the job he should have stayed in Chicago.