Look at all these ex-Goldman employees appointed to office over the last 20 years. All but one are Democratic appointees.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Oh the Bitter Irony
Democrats like to wail about Goldman Sachs' influence over the government, yet they are the prime offenders when it comes to opening the door for these blood-sucking vampire squid to help drain the financial life out of our country.
Look at all these ex-Goldman employees appointed to office over the last 20 years. All but one are Democratic appointees.
Look at all these ex-Goldman employees appointed to office over the last 20 years. All but one are Democratic appointees.
John Corzine: I Stand Corrected
So last week, I gave this clown the benifit of the doubt. My mistake. I really have to stop doing that.
Today Reuters reports that transcripts from the compliance department at MF Global clearly show that he was aware that customer funds were being used in a suspect fashion.
End of story, he's a crook and a perjurer.
Today Reuters reports that transcripts from the compliance department at MF Global clearly show that he was aware that customer funds were being used in a suspect fashion.
End of story, he's a crook and a perjurer.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Fact Check
Continuing with my theme of incompetence today ...
While discussing the upcoming expiration of the 2% payroll tax cut the White House released the following statement...
So, I sit here pondering this statement and I can't help but wonder.
Was someone trying to deceive us? And I am sure it worked on the weak minded 99%
Was someone flat out lying to us?
Was someone just plain incompetent?
On the high side, at least the spelling and grammar were correct, but then again Microsoft Word is pretty good at correcting those kinds of things. Its shame it doesn't work on the truth.
Because any of these circumstances should disqualify someone from working for the President of the United States or most other employers. Can someone perhaps offer an alternate reason why millions of soft minded Americans were sent these untruths?
While discussing the upcoming expiration of the 2% payroll tax cut the White House released the following statement...
It's simple. If lawmakers don't vote to extend the payroll tax cut, taxes for 160 million Americans will go up on January 1st.A couple of things stood out. First off, 160 million American workers is a BS number that somebody pulled out of thin air, because the BLS only claims about 140 million American workers currently employed. So, certainly there aren't 160 million middle class workers out there. $1500 is the maximum benefit from this break, so there is no chance the average American worker who makes $50,000 is receiving $1500. The number is less than $1000.
President Obama just left the press briefing room at the White House where he called on Congress to extend the tax cut, pay for it responsibly, and expand it so middle class families get a $1,500 break next year.
He told Congress to put country before party and stop wasting time.
Every day, folks are fighting to make ends meet and businesses are working to keep their doors open. The longer Congress waits to extend the payroll tax cut, the more uncertainty it creates for ordinary Americans. So we've put a clock on every page of the White House website, counting down the days, hours, and minutes until taxes for the middle class increase. In the briefing room, where the President just spoke, that same clock is ticking down as well.
And to make sure you have the information you need to know exactly what this means for your family, we've put together a calculator to show how much of your money hangs in the balance.
This calculator illustrates for you what nearly every independent economist has said: letting this tax cut expire will be a blow to the economy. We can’t let that happen. Now is the time to make a real difference in the lives of the people who sent us here.
Check it out and pass it along:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/taxcut
Thanks,
David Plouffe
Senior Advisor to the President
So, I sit here pondering this statement and I can't help but wonder.
Was someone trying to deceive us? And I am sure it worked on the weak minded 99%
Was someone flat out lying to us?
Was someone just plain incompetent?
On the high side, at least the spelling and grammar were correct, but then again Microsoft Word is pretty good at correcting those kinds of things. Its shame it doesn't work on the truth.
Because any of these circumstances should disqualify someone from working for the President of the United States or most other employers. Can someone perhaps offer an alternate reason why millions of soft minded Americans were sent these untruths?
John Corzine: I Buy Your Story
So today, John Corzine broke his silence and stated that he was shocked that multiple hundreds of millions of dollars were missing. And you know what, I buy it. Its a believeable story.
What I find unbelievable, and quite frankly negligent is this; Why was this ultra experienced senior executive running his firm with such weak compliance and monitoring of trading and accounting? Especially with the history of such scandals over the last decade or so. Remember Barings Bank and Nick Leeson or Jérôme Kerviel and Société Générale. These are repeated failures of compliance and monitoring which have resulted in multiple billions of dollars lost because nobody was watching the till.
In short, I don't necessarily think John Corzine is a crook, but rather an incompotent CEO. At least until proved otherwise.
What I find unbelievable, and quite frankly negligent is this; Why was this ultra experienced senior executive running his firm with such weak compliance and monitoring of trading and accounting? Especially with the history of such scandals over the last decade or so. Remember Barings Bank and Nick Leeson or Jérôme Kerviel and Société Générale. These are repeated failures of compliance and monitoring which have resulted in multiple billions of dollars lost because nobody was watching the till.
In short, I don't necessarily think John Corzine is a crook, but rather an incompotent CEO. At least until proved otherwise.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Adam Carolla is Spot on WRT OWS
Warning : The language is not safe for work, so please exercise some judgement as to where you play this video and for whom you play this video.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Watching Democracy Fail in Greece
So, the title of this posting might be a little misleading, but what we are watching unfold in Greece, the birth place of democracy, is both amazing and sad.
The people of Greece are faced with a true rock and a hard place dilemma, choosing between challenging cuts and the uncertainly that will come with a likely default on their sovereign debt. The amazing thing is that their prime minister, George Papandreou is poised to give the people a true democratic say in their future. I find it admirable to see democracy at work. To be honest, with a BA in political science I find this fascinating, exciting and I find myself just a little jealous. Jealous because the people of the United States have long since lost their hand on the tiller. The cold, scientific, calculating side of my mind that holds a BS in computer science finds that prospect to be terrifying, because the Greek people are likely to make the "wrong" decision. And by wrong decision, I mean choosing not to accept the austerity measures which will mean true hardships for the common man, but perhaps all classes of Greeks on a more equal basis. I am not going to get in to the fine grained details, because I know that all across the EU and the rest of the world, most people have tougher and perhaps lower or different standards of living compared to Greek entitlements. But I also know that everything is relative, sauce for the goose is not necessarily sauce for the gander.
The scientific side of my mind compels me to ask why the people of Greece would make the "wrong" choice. I find it very simple to understand why Greeks are making the choices they are making. They are not failing at democracy. Democracy has failed them, and failed them miserably, in much the same way as it has failed people all around the western world. Their elected leaders stopped listening to them a long time ago and so have ours. So as my liberal arts side battles my logical, Vulcan side, I find myself, giving in to the "wrong" decision.
Make no mistake, I am not a Democrat, I never have been. I've always leaned to the right. The contrary son at the Passover Seder who forged his own path of mostly right leaning, but highly pragmatic views. I have voted for Democrats like Jim Moran (D VA-8) and Jim Webb (D VA), but today I can't bring myself to vote them for a littany of reasons. I would urge everyone who reads this posting to consider, regardless of your political leanings to vote against every single incumbent later this month and next year, because there are few if any sitting politicians who are listening to the people they represent. I feel that they are all too busy trying to get reelected rather than fulfilling their responsibilities to their constituencies. It is unfortunate the oath of office for the President, Senate and House of Representatives says nothing about doing the will the of the people they were elected by. Perhaps it should. So, I urge you to put your hand back on the tiller, tell the temporary residents of Washington that they should represent the voters not the donors. Remind the future generations of Washington politicians that true power derives from a mandate from the masses, not the checkbook of special interest.
The people of Greece are faced with a true rock and a hard place dilemma, choosing between challenging cuts and the uncertainly that will come with a likely default on their sovereign debt. The amazing thing is that their prime minister, George Papandreou is poised to give the people a true democratic say in their future. I find it admirable to see democracy at work. To be honest, with a BA in political science I find this fascinating, exciting and I find myself just a little jealous. Jealous because the people of the United States have long since lost their hand on the tiller. The cold, scientific, calculating side of my mind that holds a BS in computer science finds that prospect to be terrifying, because the Greek people are likely to make the "wrong" decision. And by wrong decision, I mean choosing not to accept the austerity measures which will mean true hardships for the common man, but perhaps all classes of Greeks on a more equal basis. I am not going to get in to the fine grained details, because I know that all across the EU and the rest of the world, most people have tougher and perhaps lower or different standards of living compared to Greek entitlements. But I also know that everything is relative, sauce for the goose is not necessarily sauce for the gander.
The scientific side of my mind compels me to ask why the people of Greece would make the "wrong" choice. I find it very simple to understand why Greeks are making the choices they are making. They are not failing at democracy. Democracy has failed them, and failed them miserably, in much the same way as it has failed people all around the western world. Their elected leaders stopped listening to them a long time ago and so have ours. So as my liberal arts side battles my logical, Vulcan side, I find myself, giving in to the "wrong" decision.
Make no mistake, I am not a Democrat, I never have been. I've always leaned to the right. The contrary son at the Passover Seder who forged his own path of mostly right leaning, but highly pragmatic views. I have voted for Democrats like Jim Moran (D VA-8) and Jim Webb (D VA), but today I can't bring myself to vote them for a littany of reasons. I would urge everyone who reads this posting to consider, regardless of your political leanings to vote against every single incumbent later this month and next year, because there are few if any sitting politicians who are listening to the people they represent. I feel that they are all too busy trying to get reelected rather than fulfilling their responsibilities to their constituencies. It is unfortunate the oath of office for the President, Senate and House of Representatives says nothing about doing the will the of the people they were elected by. Perhaps it should. So, I urge you to put your hand back on the tiller, tell the temporary residents of Washington that they should represent the voters not the donors. Remind the future generations of Washington politicians that true power derives from a mandate from the masses, not the checkbook of special interest.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Kick the Can
I really don't have the fuel for this, so I'll keep it short. The lastest plan to prop up the housing market help get obama reelected just toss another couple hundred million freshly printed dollars on the fire.
As I have said over and over, anything that prevents real price discovery just ups the cost and pushes out the point at which we'll see real recovery.
FAIL.
Just keep foresaking tomorrow for today.
As I have said over and over, anything that prevents real price discovery just ups the cost and pushes out the point at which we'll see real recovery.
FAIL.
Just keep foresaking tomorrow for today.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Fear the 99%
No, not the 99% who are currently up against it, when it comes to wealth and power.
No, I am talking about the 99% who parrot back every little theme, idea or misconception fed to them by CNN and Fox. Yes it cuts both ways, we are besieged by morons on both sides of the aisle.
It’s this 99% who brought us the last moron, the current moron and likely the next moron. Having watched some of the Republican debates, I can only expect that we'll get four more years of the current delegator in chief who through one bad economic policy after another will take us to the brink of a true imbecile like Palin, Bachmann or Huckabee. Every 4 years the choices get worse and worse, but I think the bottom is flying up to meet us.
I came across this a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share with all of you, because I think it’s a good read about what we're experiencing right now.
While I might loathe much of the interests of Occupy Wall St crowed, I do respect the fact that they are likely our best agent for change, at the moment, although I think that they are going about it in the completely wrong way. Let’s face it, if you point a figurative gun at someone's head because of their alleged greed, they aren't going to change their ways. Instead they are going to try and grab as much as they can before the rules of the game change. Instead, what the OWS crowd should be doing, is taking their protest, their efforts and their time to the real seat of power, Capitol Hill. Go March around the Capitol, down K St or past the White House. Make the decision makers see you in person rather than for 30 seconds on CNN. Go March on the ritzy row houses behind the Capitol or in Bethesda MD, Potomac MD or McLean VA where the real power brokers live.
If you're going to go to the effort, at least make it count.
No, I am talking about the 99% who parrot back every little theme, idea or misconception fed to them by CNN and Fox. Yes it cuts both ways, we are besieged by morons on both sides of the aisle.
It’s this 99% who brought us the last moron, the current moron and likely the next moron. Having watched some of the Republican debates, I can only expect that we'll get four more years of the current delegator in chief who through one bad economic policy after another will take us to the brink of a true imbecile like Palin, Bachmann or Huckabee. Every 4 years the choices get worse and worse, but I think the bottom is flying up to meet us.
I came across this a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share with all of you, because I think it’s a good read about what we're experiencing right now.
While I might loathe much of the interests of Occupy Wall St crowed, I do respect the fact that they are likely our best agent for change, at the moment, although I think that they are going about it in the completely wrong way. Let’s face it, if you point a figurative gun at someone's head because of their alleged greed, they aren't going to change their ways. Instead they are going to try and grab as much as they can before the rules of the game change. Instead, what the OWS crowd should be doing, is taking their protest, their efforts and their time to the real seat of power, Capitol Hill. Go March around the Capitol, down K St or past the White House. Make the decision makers see you in person rather than for 30 seconds on CNN. Go March on the ritzy row houses behind the Capitol or in Bethesda MD, Potomac MD or McLean VA where the real power brokers live.
If you're going to go to the effort, at least make it count.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Global Central Bank Bailout = QE 2.5
So here it is, QE 2.5 without a lot of fanfare. Heck the mainstream media is barely covering it, because of course it would look bad for their boy who continues to punish savers and prudent Americans who live within their means in order to bailout the stupid home debtors and greedy bankers who are still taking massive bonuses on profits secured with near 0% loans from the Fed Funds Window.
This isn’t even the QE3 that I am predicting for early next summer in order to prop up the markets and provide Potemkin Village for the uninformed electorate who don’t even know that their tax dollars continue to be used against them in order to get a man reelected who still hasn’t organized anything bigger than midnight basketball. 2.5 years in, our Delegator in Chief continues to campaign for his job while prudent Americans and China's currency reserve continue to take it in the back pocket.
Just watch gold, oil and other hard commodities, they will be all going up as the dollar is devalued along with the Euro, Pound and Yen.
This isn’t even the QE3 that I am predicting for early next summer in order to prop up the markets and provide Potemkin Village for the uninformed electorate who don’t even know that their tax dollars continue to be used against them in order to get a man reelected who still hasn’t organized anything bigger than midnight basketball. 2.5 years in, our Delegator in Chief continues to campaign for his job while prudent Americans and China's currency reserve continue to take it in the back pocket.
Just watch gold, oil and other hard commodities, they will be all going up as the dollar is devalued along with the Euro, Pound and Yen.
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Party Is Over
I was typing this up as a post on another blog and I figured I would post it here too.
Every further dime spent on propping up housing is probably a dollar down the drain tomorrow. The thing which I think escapes most analysts of the situation is that there isn't a single asset for sale today that isn't over priced. Real price discovery needs to occur across the board. A massive deleveraging, on an unimaginable and very painful scale must occur before our economy can function with any semblance of normal. The Irish are finally looking at their bankers to take some losses. That needs to happen here in the US and Europe as well. US Debt holders around the world are going to have to take in the back pocket too. We're paying China something like $340 billion a year in interest, and that number is probably also low considering how much debt we've floated in the last 2 years.
Its time to face the music. You can't just put it on the rich to pick up the tab. 100% of the top 2-3% of earner's income is a drop in the ocean. The rich are going to have to pay a lot more. The middle class is going to have to pay more, the poor are going to have to get by with fewer entitlements. The military is going to have to get better at stretching a dollar, the Federal government is going to have to cut a gigantic portion of it workforece and expenses. From my experience as a contractor, you could cut 1/3 of the Federal government's staff and still have plenty of waste to go around. The loopholes that allow businesses to pay little to no tax are going to have to be closed.
Every further dime spent on propping up housing is probably a dollar down the drain tomorrow. The thing which I think escapes most analysts of the situation is that there isn't a single asset for sale today that isn't over priced. Real price discovery needs to occur across the board. A massive deleveraging, on an unimaginable and very painful scale must occur before our economy can function with any semblance of normal. The Irish are finally looking at their bankers to take some losses. That needs to happen here in the US and Europe as well. US Debt holders around the world are going to have to take in the back pocket too. We're paying China something like $340 billion a year in interest, and that number is probably also low considering how much debt we've floated in the last 2 years.
Its time to face the music. You can't just put it on the rich to pick up the tab. 100% of the top 2-3% of earner's income is a drop in the ocean. The rich are going to have to pay a lot more. The middle class is going to have to pay more, the poor are going to have to get by with fewer entitlements. The military is going to have to get better at stretching a dollar, the Federal government is going to have to cut a gigantic portion of it workforece and expenses. From my experience as a contractor, you could cut 1/3 of the Federal government's staff and still have plenty of waste to go around. The loopholes that allow businesses to pay little to no tax are going to have to be closed.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Whats In This For Me?
The NY Times is running a piece on how low taxes are right now and am just not buying it. The writer is throwing the Republican candidates under the bus, however, from my point of view, its deeper than that.
I don't know who is getting the breaks, but it’s not me and my middle class salary. I feel that I am paying more and more while reaping fewer and fewer benefits. I don't really care to continue picking up the tab so that Goldman Sachs bankers can borrow money at 0% and make 10% on it so that at the end of the year they can take home 6 or 7 figure bonuses. I don't really care to continue to pick up the tab so that my neighbors can keep their overpriced ill financed homes. I don't really care to continue to pick up the tab so that Obama, Bernake and Turbo Tax Timmy can keep their jobs for another 4 years.
What’s in this for me? Selfish? Perhaps. Absurd? Not in the slightest bit.
I don't know who is getting the breaks, but it’s not me and my middle class salary. I feel that I am paying more and more while reaping fewer and fewer benefits. I don't really care to continue picking up the tab so that Goldman Sachs bankers can borrow money at 0% and make 10% on it so that at the end of the year they can take home 6 or 7 figure bonuses. I don't really care to continue to pick up the tab so that my neighbors can keep their overpriced ill financed homes. I don't really care to continue to pick up the tab so that Obama, Bernake and Turbo Tax Timmy can keep their jobs for another 4 years.
What’s in this for me? Selfish? Perhaps. Absurd? Not in the slightest bit.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Investigating Gas Prices ... Huh
Our naked emperor is having the Justice Dept investigate why gas prices are so high.
He's the goddam mother f---ing cluprit. Printing a couple trillion dollars was bound to be inflationary. Common sense for crying out loud. What an epic dickbag. I really wish this pack of carpetbaggers would go back to Chicago already.
Of course he knows he has the media in his back pocket. Nobody is going to ask him a tough question and for sure the American people are as dumb as a stump. Mark my words, in a month or two, they will lay blame on the oil companies and the Republicans who take all their doantions, instead of blaming Keynesian economic theory that failed in less than 2 years. There might have been some failings in Reganomics, but most of that as I see it are a failure regulation which the Whine-o-crats are just as much if not more responsible for relaxing through the Clinton years. Remember all those Youtube clips of Maxine Watters, Barney Frank, Athur Davis and a host of Democratic stooges defending Fannie Mae while grilling regulators who were trying to enforce the law?
Like sheep headed to the slaughter the American people are being sold out by their false messiah.
And then there is this from Market Ticker
Somewhere GWB is sitting in a chair, smoking a cigar, prolly Cuban, sipping expensive scotch watching his legacy get better and better.
Then he looks over at Jimmy Carter and says, "this ain't so bad eh Jimmy-bob, your off the hook as worst President ever".
He's the goddam mother f---ing cluprit. Printing a couple trillion dollars was bound to be inflationary. Common sense for crying out loud. What an epic dickbag. I really wish this pack of carpetbaggers would go back to Chicago already.
Of course he knows he has the media in his back pocket. Nobody is going to ask him a tough question and for sure the American people are as dumb as a stump. Mark my words, in a month or two, they will lay blame on the oil companies and the Republicans who take all their doantions, instead of blaming Keynesian economic theory that failed in less than 2 years. There might have been some failings in Reganomics, but most of that as I see it are a failure regulation which the Whine-o-crats are just as much if not more responsible for relaxing through the Clinton years. Remember all those Youtube clips of Maxine Watters, Barney Frank, Athur Davis and a host of Democratic stooges defending Fannie Mae while grilling regulators who were trying to enforce the law?
Like sheep headed to the slaughter the American people are being sold out by their false messiah.
And then there is this from Market Ticker
Obama Directs Holder To Indict Obama And BernankeROTFLMFAO
This case will require 15 seconds to solve. My evidence is below:
The chart is oil, the white line the dollar.
The dollar has collapsed as Bernanke and Obama have together conspired to demand QE2 to support Obama's insane borrowing and spending in the economy.
There is a near-perfect inverse correlation between these two charts.
Please surrender at the nearest FBI office for your arrest Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Obama.
Case CLOSED.
Somewhere GWB is sitting in a chair, smoking a cigar, prolly Cuban, sipping expensive scotch watching his legacy get better and better.
Then he looks over at Jimmy Carter and says, "this ain't so bad eh Jimmy-bob, your off the hook as worst President ever".
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thomas Jefferson Rolls Over in His Grave
It costs $2 billion dollars to run for President.
The idea of a government of the people, for the people and by the people is dead. Stone cold and long since in the ground. In December 2010, a Democratic House, a Democratic super majority in the Senate and a Democrat in the White House passed and signed the tax cuts that instill the lowest tax rate for the wealthiest 500 earners in this countries since the 1930s.
To sit here and listen to the rhetoric of the Democrats calling the Republicans the part of the rich and big business is becomming laughable. At least the Republicans don't pretend to be the party of the people or identify with the common man, because there is no way someone who went to the finest private school in Hawaii, Columbia and Harvard Law could identify with a guy who has a high school diploma and a $25/hour job, regardless of his humble roots.
Neither party give's a damn about the people. And we're all far to domesticated to consider putting it all on the line in a revolution. Instead we'll march along like the sheeple that we are as both parties spend our country into the ground.
The idea of a government of the people, for the people and by the people is dead. Stone cold and long since in the ground. In December 2010, a Democratic House, a Democratic super majority in the Senate and a Democrat in the White House passed and signed the tax cuts that instill the lowest tax rate for the wealthiest 500 earners in this countries since the 1930s.
To sit here and listen to the rhetoric of the Democrats calling the Republicans the part of the rich and big business is becomming laughable. At least the Republicans don't pretend to be the party of the people or identify with the common man, because there is no way someone who went to the finest private school in Hawaii, Columbia and Harvard Law could identify with a guy who has a high school diploma and a $25/hour job, regardless of his humble roots.
Neither party give's a damn about the people. And we're all far to domesticated to consider putting it all on the line in a revolution. Instead we'll march along like the sheeple that we are as both parties spend our country into the ground.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
For the Workers in Wisconsin
Here is a small piece of advice for the protesting workers in Wisconsin and perhaps a suggestion for the governor, if he would care to evaluate this thought I had ...
A smaller pay check is orders of magnitude better than an unemployment check. Especially when the smaller paycheck still comes with a ton of vacation, better retirement benefits than private sector workers enjoy as well as better healthcare insurance than most working people get.
Monday, December 13, 2010
70% Fail the Test of Common Sense
Nearly 7 in 10 people support the compromise between our naked emperor and the guns & religion set across the aisle.
This should be a long posting, but really, I can't get anywhere near 500 words out of this. Could someone anyone explain to me why it’s a good idea to cut taxes and increase spending when deficits are already at an all time high. The gov't spent almost a trillion dollars in the last year on the stimulus and the effect was almost nothing. Certainly nothing tangible came from it. So now, with a similar outlay, close to $900 billion, we are seeing the same unquantifiable promises of jobs and economic growth. In truth, all this bill could do is hasten failure of Social Security and our economy.
The only explanation for this compromise between Congress and our naked emperor is that it’s a ploy to get them reelected. Another borrow from tomorrow plan that will sink us all next week. No intelligent person could think this is a good idea. No intelligent person could possibly vote to reelect any incumbent who votes for this travishamockery.
So, could someone please explain to me, why this is a good idea, because Paul Krugman's song and dance isn't holding water for me.
This should be a long posting, but really, I can't get anywhere near 500 words out of this. Could someone anyone explain to me why it’s a good idea to cut taxes and increase spending when deficits are already at an all time high. The gov't spent almost a trillion dollars in the last year on the stimulus and the effect was almost nothing. Certainly nothing tangible came from it. So now, with a similar outlay, close to $900 billion, we are seeing the same unquantifiable promises of jobs and economic growth. In truth, all this bill could do is hasten failure of Social Security and our economy.
The only explanation for this compromise between Congress and our naked emperor is that it’s a ploy to get them reelected. Another borrow from tomorrow plan that will sink us all next week. No intelligent person could think this is a good idea. No intelligent person could possibly vote to reelect any incumbent who votes for this travishamockery.
So, could someone please explain to me, why this is a good idea, because Paul Krugman's song and dance isn't holding water for me.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Being a Businessman ...
Being a business man in this country is harder than ever. A well educated and former democrat friend described the current anti-business climate like this ...
If your a business making money in America today, your doing it by screwing someone and if your losing money you must be defrauding someone.I couldn't say it any better than that.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Reworked Mortgages Failing? Duh!
I said here over the last 3 years and so have a number of drowned out pundits, but the facts don't lie. Reworking mortgages is not a solution for the problem. According to the AP, More than a third of the 1.24 million borrowers who have enrolled in the $75 billion mortgage modification program have dropped out. That’s at least $25 billion down the drain, and it’s still early in the game, more reworked mortgages will go down the tubes with our tax dollars. Thanks barry, we appreciate your piss poor judgment and largess with our tax dollars.
The pace of borrowers with reworked mortgages dropping out of this program is accelerating at break neck speed. More than 430,000 people have dropped from this program since its inception and more than a third in the last month. You can't blame this on unemployment or under employment. They are factors, but the truth of the matter is that along with a big that has all the trimmings, there is a BMW and SUV in the garage, tons of consumer debt accrued by people filling their grand opus with big screen TVs, stainless steel appliances, designer clothes and other trappings of trying to be a Real Housewife.
The only cure for our real estate disease, if you can call gross stupidity that, is true price discovery. The message is clear, even the most extreme programs cannot salvage the real estate markets. It’s high time to let the markets and the century old mechanisms that are in place to do what they were intended to do.
The pace of borrowers with reworked mortgages dropping out of this program is accelerating at break neck speed. More than 430,000 people have dropped from this program since its inception and more than a third in the last month. You can't blame this on unemployment or under employment. They are factors, but the truth of the matter is that along with a big that has all the trimmings, there is a BMW and SUV in the garage, tons of consumer debt accrued by people filling their grand opus with big screen TVs, stainless steel appliances, designer clothes and other trappings of trying to be a Real Housewife.
The only cure for our real estate disease, if you can call gross stupidity that, is true price discovery. The message is clear, even the most extreme programs cannot salvage the real estate markets. It’s high time to let the markets and the century old mechanisms that are in place to do what they were intended to do.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
545 People
I hope everyone reads and remembers this in November.
Link
Link
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.
I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.
No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation's responsibility to determine how he votes.
A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY
Don't you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O'Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.
The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.
O'neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.
REPLACE SCOUNDRELS
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it's because they want them in Lebanon.
There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
A Few Rambling Thoughts
I cruise the news sites of the internet and day after day I am bombarded with headlines I can only call bull shit. Headlines like the "Dow Passing 11,000", "Housing Starts Up", "Unemployment Down".
And I sit here having a tough time buying what the main stream media (MSM) is selling. Perhaps some companies are hiring, perhaps the number of people actually collecting unemployment is decreasing, but from where I sit, my real world view on things, I don't see companies hiring people into good jobs. I watch the job markets in the software and defense contracting business, since that’s what I do. When I look at those markets, I don't see reason for optimism. I see employers whom I would never choose to work for. I call them body shops, the benefits suck, the job security is nil, the work conditions are less than favorable, usually. And I would likely be looking at a 10-15% haircut on the salary if I had to find a new job today.
I can usually find a good deal on something that will fill the need which forced me to go to the store. If you’re finding good deals at the mall, business is bad. Retail stores are in the business of extracting as much cash from your wallet as possible. If times were good, things wouldn't be 30% off, 40% off or even more sometimes. Even laser eye surgery and hair replacement surgery is on sale, so don't be a loser, tap into that last sliver of home equity and ditch your glasses and hair piece.
I go to the gas station, can't live without gas, now can we? Nope. It’s more expensive than it was yesterday, last week, last month or last year. Why? Oil prices aren't going up on the backs of Wall Street gamblers, as the MSM would have us believe. Oil prices are going up, because our dollars buy less on the international markets. Our dollars are worth less because our government is devaluing our currency by printing more and more with reckless abandon. Where do you think the money comes from for homeowner bailouts? How about 2 wars? How about a well intentioned, but totally unaffordable health care plan? Well that one hasn't hit yet, but its going to hit like a brick though a plate glass window. We have to print money because our President and Congress spend like a college freshman with her first credit card.
The money to fund all of that spending sure isn't coming from the 1% of the population that obama promised to make pay, so all us middle class suckers would have a scapegoat to blame for our predicament. It sort of reminds me of a certain post Weimar republic politician. Stirring up the populist angst against a small group who used to wield some influence.
I go to the grocery store and the same bag of food costs more than it did 3 months ago. Why? See the previous paragraph. What however is the fallout? I can tell you that my pay check isn't growing faster than my energy or grocery bill, which is bad news for me and its bad news for you.
I look around and the pot holes from this winter still haven't been repaired. Why? Because our municipal governments are pushing the limits on solvency. California is less solvent than Lehman Brothers was 18 months ago. Talk about too big to fail. Again, this is not good news for all Americans, especially Californians.
The current rally in the NYSE is a farse. I'll call it a suckers rally. Volume is low, far to low to be driving this rally. The Ibanks are walking a thin line as danger lurks from commercial real estate, the financing from the tail end of the real estate boom and the abuses of home equity lines. The Ibanks claim to be putting money aside to cover those losses, I am will to gamble that they haven't put enough away and its likely that some big bank is going to sink like an anvil with billion of tax payer dollars.
The NAR managed to glom onto some statistic about housing sales being up, so it’s all good news there, but not really. Nobody with a half open, objective mind believes the headlines. They couldn't possibly be hoodwinked by the headlines. Our government is doing everything and anything in a vain attempt to prop up housing prices, which in most markets are still vastly over valued with respect to historical norms and personal income. And the means are no longer there to support those prices, like they were 3-4 years ago. There is no more loose credit. There are no more exotic finance options. There is no more home ATMs to fund $100 rounds of golf, $3000 TVs, $45,000 SUVs or $350,000 lakes homes. The party is over. The real value on goods and services are going to have to go back to normal.
Housing has further been falsely proped up by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who are spending uncle Barry's freshly printed monopoly money. That can't last forever.
And it’s not going to get any better. The baby boomers who lit the fuse on this debacle are headed toward retirement. They aren't going to be buying anymore; they are going to be net sellers. And here is the rub. Gen X, Gen Y, the millennials who are supposed to be coming into their own right now are learning a lesson that their grand parents learned during the great depression. Spending habits will never be the same. The money simply doesn't exist. You and I can't print money like our government. We'll never tap into our consumer credit like we did 5 years ago, because of our experiences today. Not to mention Gen X, Gen Y and the millennials don't have the same kinds of resources the boomers had to abuse and they aren't going to inherit the wealth of their boomer parents.
Before the McMansion was the American dream, the real American dream was that your children would live a better life than you. That dream is dead, probably killed by your parents if you’re under 45. A stake driven though its heart by ARMs, credit cards, beach houses, boats and host of other forms of conspicuous consumption.
And I sit here having a tough time buying what the main stream media (MSM) is selling. Perhaps some companies are hiring, perhaps the number of people actually collecting unemployment is decreasing, but from where I sit, my real world view on things, I don't see companies hiring people into good jobs. I watch the job markets in the software and defense contracting business, since that’s what I do. When I look at those markets, I don't see reason for optimism. I see employers whom I would never choose to work for. I call them body shops, the benefits suck, the job security is nil, the work conditions are less than favorable, usually. And I would likely be looking at a 10-15% haircut on the salary if I had to find a new job today.
I can usually find a good deal on something that will fill the need which forced me to go to the store. If you’re finding good deals at the mall, business is bad. Retail stores are in the business of extracting as much cash from your wallet as possible. If times were good, things wouldn't be 30% off, 40% off or even more sometimes. Even laser eye surgery and hair replacement surgery is on sale, so don't be a loser, tap into that last sliver of home equity and ditch your glasses and hair piece.
I go to the gas station, can't live without gas, now can we? Nope. It’s more expensive than it was yesterday, last week, last month or last year. Why? Oil prices aren't going up on the backs of Wall Street gamblers, as the MSM would have us believe. Oil prices are going up, because our dollars buy less on the international markets. Our dollars are worth less because our government is devaluing our currency by printing more and more with reckless abandon. Where do you think the money comes from for homeowner bailouts? How about 2 wars? How about a well intentioned, but totally unaffordable health care plan? Well that one hasn't hit yet, but its going to hit like a brick though a plate glass window. We have to print money because our President and Congress spend like a college freshman with her first credit card.
The money to fund all of that spending sure isn't coming from the 1% of the population that obama promised to make pay, so all us middle class suckers would have a scapegoat to blame for our predicament. It sort of reminds me of a certain post Weimar republic politician. Stirring up the populist angst against a small group who used to wield some influence.
I go to the grocery store and the same bag of food costs more than it did 3 months ago. Why? See the previous paragraph. What however is the fallout? I can tell you that my pay check isn't growing faster than my energy or grocery bill, which is bad news for me and its bad news for you.
I look around and the pot holes from this winter still haven't been repaired. Why? Because our municipal governments are pushing the limits on solvency. California is less solvent than Lehman Brothers was 18 months ago. Talk about too big to fail. Again, this is not good news for all Americans, especially Californians.
The current rally in the NYSE is a farse. I'll call it a suckers rally. Volume is low, far to low to be driving this rally. The Ibanks are walking a thin line as danger lurks from commercial real estate, the financing from the tail end of the real estate boom and the abuses of home equity lines. The Ibanks claim to be putting money aside to cover those losses, I am will to gamble that they haven't put enough away and its likely that some big bank is going to sink like an anvil with billion of tax payer dollars.
The NAR managed to glom onto some statistic about housing sales being up, so it’s all good news there, but not really. Nobody with a half open, objective mind believes the headlines. They couldn't possibly be hoodwinked by the headlines. Our government is doing everything and anything in a vain attempt to prop up housing prices, which in most markets are still vastly over valued with respect to historical norms and personal income. And the means are no longer there to support those prices, like they were 3-4 years ago. There is no more loose credit. There are no more exotic finance options. There is no more home ATMs to fund $100 rounds of golf, $3000 TVs, $45,000 SUVs or $350,000 lakes homes. The party is over. The real value on goods and services are going to have to go back to normal.
Housing has further been falsely proped up by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who are spending uncle Barry's freshly printed monopoly money. That can't last forever.
And it’s not going to get any better. The baby boomers who lit the fuse on this debacle are headed toward retirement. They aren't going to be buying anymore; they are going to be net sellers. And here is the rub. Gen X, Gen Y, the millennials who are supposed to be coming into their own right now are learning a lesson that their grand parents learned during the great depression. Spending habits will never be the same. The money simply doesn't exist. You and I can't print money like our government. We'll never tap into our consumer credit like we did 5 years ago, because of our experiences today. Not to mention Gen X, Gen Y and the millennials don't have the same kinds of resources the boomers had to abuse and they aren't going to inherit the wealth of their boomer parents.
Before the McMansion was the American dream, the real American dream was that your children would live a better life than you. That dream is dead, probably killed by your parents if you’re under 45. A stake driven though its heart by ARMs, credit cards, beach houses, boats and host of other forms of conspicuous consumption.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Dear Israel...
An open letter from our President, to the people of Israel.
Read this story. Absolutly horrible statesmenship on the part of the President. You wouldn't treat the prime minister of Burma like this. Shameful.
Your on your own.
Signed,
Barack Hussein Obama
Read this story. Absolutly horrible statesmenship on the part of the President. You wouldn't treat the prime minister of Burma like this. Shameful.
The Resentment Zone
Some NY Times blogger wrote a piece talking about how people with reworked loans are getting different payments out of the deal, depending on their income and he called the posting The Resentment Zone. What a pile of malarkey. This was my comment on his thread.
How about being a renter, who was priced out of the market because these same fools who are now receiving my tax dollars, directly or indirectly, in order to keep them in their ill financed, over priced homes. In essence this program and others like it are using the renters’ tax dollars against them by artificially preserving absurdly high and unsustainable prices. Write a piece about that. That is resentment! The person who has to pay more because they make more should just count their blessings that they aren't being tossed out in the street, like how the system worked before we elected a socialist President and Congress.
I used to be a pragmatic voter, but that was before my government started punishing me for saving and making good financial decisions. I am sad to have voted for Jim Moran and Jim Webb. I will not be making that mistake when they are next up for election, even if they were running against the likes of David Duke.
In nearly every piece of significant legislation that has been passed in the last 15 months, people who made good choices are being forsaken for their neighbors who took every short cut available to them. When I was busy making good grades, my friends were messing around. When I was in college taking tough classes like physics, calculus or symbolic logic my friends were taking psychology, art or theatre. When I was busy saving, my neighbors were filling their ill financed homes with big screen TVs and furniture, all bought with loose credit. I knew the housing market was going to cave in and I didn't buy at late bubble prices, instead I waited for the crash, it came, but government has been busy subverting the free market at nearly every turn. The banks got their bailout. My neighbors got their bailout. Where is mine? I don't actually expect one, but it sure burns to watch BHO, his cronies and Congress drive a stake through the heart of my American dream, all because I made good choices. There is something wrong when stupidity and ignorance are repeatedly being rewarded over prudence and intelligence.
There have been 3 housing bubbles in the last 100 years, prior to our current bubble. In the 70s and 80s, the bubble completely collapsed, with prices returning to historic housing price trend line that essentially parallels inflation and personal income growth. The post WWII bubble did not return to the trend line, because it was fueled by the advent of the 30 year mortgage, which still exists. The current bubble will not behave like this because hyper-loose credit and ultra exotic loans no longer exist. Artificial measures which prop up the market are not going to work. The laws of economics are like the ocean tides. They can be held back for a while, but sooner or later, the tides take over and often very aggressively.
Roughly 30% of this nations home owners, own their house outright with no mortgage. Nearly another 30% own their home with a traditional mortgage that they can afford. Close to a third of this nation rents their home, which leaves less than 10% of the population in over their head with a bad mortgage on a home they cannot afford. A disproportionate amount of money is being spent on a small percentage of the population while forsaking a significantly larger portion of the population.
How about being a renter, who was priced out of the market because these same fools who are now receiving my tax dollars, directly or indirectly, in order to keep them in their ill financed, over priced homes. In essence this program and others like it are using the renters’ tax dollars against them by artificially preserving absurdly high and unsustainable prices. Write a piece about that. That is resentment! The person who has to pay more because they make more should just count their blessings that they aren't being tossed out in the street, like how the system worked before we elected a socialist President and Congress.
I used to be a pragmatic voter, but that was before my government started punishing me for saving and making good financial decisions. I am sad to have voted for Jim Moran and Jim Webb. I will not be making that mistake when they are next up for election, even if they were running against the likes of David Duke.
In nearly every piece of significant legislation that has been passed in the last 15 months, people who made good choices are being forsaken for their neighbors who took every short cut available to them. When I was busy making good grades, my friends were messing around. When I was in college taking tough classes like physics, calculus or symbolic logic my friends were taking psychology, art or theatre. When I was busy saving, my neighbors were filling their ill financed homes with big screen TVs and furniture, all bought with loose credit. I knew the housing market was going to cave in and I didn't buy at late bubble prices, instead I waited for the crash, it came, but government has been busy subverting the free market at nearly every turn. The banks got their bailout. My neighbors got their bailout. Where is mine? I don't actually expect one, but it sure burns to watch BHO, his cronies and Congress drive a stake through the heart of my American dream, all because I made good choices. There is something wrong when stupidity and ignorance are repeatedly being rewarded over prudence and intelligence.
There have been 3 housing bubbles in the last 100 years, prior to our current bubble. In the 70s and 80s, the bubble completely collapsed, with prices returning to historic housing price trend line that essentially parallels inflation and personal income growth. The post WWII bubble did not return to the trend line, because it was fueled by the advent of the 30 year mortgage, which still exists. The current bubble will not behave like this because hyper-loose credit and ultra exotic loans no longer exist. Artificial measures which prop up the market are not going to work. The laws of economics are like the ocean tides. They can be held back for a while, but sooner or later, the tides take over and often very aggressively.
Roughly 30% of this nations home owners, own their house outright with no mortgage. Nearly another 30% own their home with a traditional mortgage that they can afford. Close to a third of this nation rents their home, which leaves less than 10% of the population in over their head with a bad mortgage on a home they cannot afford. A disproportionate amount of money is being spent on a small percentage of the population while forsaking a significantly larger portion of the population.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Black Monday
I sit here utterly disgusted, but I need to stay focused on my job, because I and many people like myself are on the hook to pay for Congress's largess. I'll offer this, from Davy Crockett and his time in the US Congress ...
Source
Source
One day in the House of Representatives, a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:
“Mr. Speaker–I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him.
Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week’s pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks.”
He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.
Later, when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett gave this explanation:
“Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown . It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. In spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made homeless, and, besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done.
“The next summer, when it began to be time to think about the election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up. When riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came to the fence. As he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but, as I thought, rather coldly.
“I began: ‘Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called candidates, and–’
“‘Yes, I know you; you are Colonel Crockett, I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine. I shall not vote for you again.’
“This was a sockdolager . . . I begged him to tell me what was the matter.
“‘Well, Colonel, it is hardly worth-while to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest. . . . But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the more honest he is.’
“‘I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it, for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question.’
“‘No, Colonel, there’s no mistake. Though I live here in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in Georgetown . Is that true?’
“‘Well, my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did.’
“‘It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing to do with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be intrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this county as in Georgetown , neither you nor any other member of Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week’s pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life.
Monday, March 01, 2010
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