The Ominous Signs Keep Coming

Hello Bloggers - I've been saying it for a while, and I will continue to say it - the DOLLAR IS IN TROUBLE! Bloomberg is reporting this morning that the world’s biggest currency-trading firms say "the dollar’s appeal as a haven amid the financial crisis all but evaporated."

Come on people, do you need me to hit you over the head with a frying pan? If you want to grow your money over the next ten years, diversify your savings now or you will be stuck in cheap dollar investments. Think about it this way, people overseas invested in US/dollar investments because it was safe. Now it's not, got it? The dollar is one more victim of the nightmare that is George Bush.

"The U.S. currency slid to a 13-year low against the yen today and had its biggest one-day decline versus the euro after the Federal Reserve reduced its target interest rate yesterday to a range of zero to 0.25 percent, the lowest among the world’s biggest economies."

“Prospects ahead appear particularly ominous for the world’s reserve currency once global economic stability starts to build up.” The Fed’s debt purchases will cause the dollar to weaken to $1.4860 per euro, analysts led by Robert Sinche, New York-based head of global currency strategy at Bank of America Corp., wrote in a report yesterday."

Wow, it's happening even earlier than I thought. People are pulling their money out of the US faster now, and it will only get worse. I knew the dollar would collapse, but I thought people would wait until after the crisis calmed down a bit more. Oh well, at least the Republicans will have a harder time making the upcoming depression look like a problem for the Democrats. The earlier it hits the better I guess.

I don't know about my fellow Americans, but I'm looking at international investments, especially nations with strong natural resource holdings. It makes sense to look to nations/currencies that will BENEFIT FROM THE US SPENDING but NOT SPEND THEMSELVES.

Canadian-dollar investments/natural resource bonds look good to me. I'm also looking at Eurobonds. You can always come back home when things calm down. I'm only suggesting we don't get trapped. I'm looking north and overseas for my financial safety.

George Bush left so many problems, and according to most experts the only way to get out of the hole is to spend, so no matter what happens the dollar will suffer.

As always, I would like to thank my Republican friends again for electing MORONS who got us into this mess. Your HORRIBLE JUDGEMENT has led us to this crisis. I think you should all be BANNED FROM VOTING until we can repair the damage you've caused.

The signs keep coming people.

Thursday's Financial Rant #1 - Michael

Political News: Chris Dodd Bailout Plan Has Merit

Good Morning Bloggers - It's early, but for now I'm supporting Senator Christopher Dodd's (D) plan over the not-so-great track record of Bush and Paulson. Politico posted a decent review earlier, and there have been many critiques online and elsewhere since that really impressed me today. I wish you guys would give your opinion. It's important to the nation.

Dodd bill more aggressive than Treasury plan
"Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is taking [a] much more aggressive approach to the Treasury bailout plan, demanding foreclosure assistance, limits on executive compensation and profit sharing for taxpayers if the Treasury begins to make money back on the bad debt it plans to purchase."

"Dodd's legislation, obtained this morning by Politico, has just started to circulate among Senate legislative directors. His plan addresses many of the concerns raised by Democrats and Republicans who are concerned about handing over $700 billion blank check to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson."

"While the Treasury would receive much of the authority that it wants to buy up distressed assets, Dodd's add-ons have many of the populist ideas that will appeal to skeptical Democrats. His plan is also broader than the one unveiled by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D), so there will be significant negotiations in the days ahead between the House and Senate if Congress is to pass a bill by the end of the week."

"Among the major provisions Dodd is adding:

• Authority for bankruptcy judges to restructure mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure. This was considered a poison pill in a housing bill that passed Congress earlier this summer, but it has gained much more currency now that Washington wants to bail out Wall Street.
• A provision that would require the Treasury to take a 65 percent portion of 20 percent any profits it makes from the newly purchased assets and put it into the federal government's HOPE program, an affordable housing program.
• An oversight board that not only includes the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the SEC, but congressionally appointed, non-governmental officials.
• Limits on executive compensation. This is a major stumbling point for Paulson in his negotiations with Congress, but cracking down on Wall Street executive salaries will be a major selling point for lawmakers. Dodd and Frank have put in place what's known as a "claw back" provision aimed at revoking compensation that executives received based on fraudulent claims.
• An independent inspector general to investigate the Treasury asset program, appointed by the president."

At first glance I think it sounds more aggressive and sensible than Paulson's plan, which requires us to trust people and institutions that have already proven to be incompetent. The most important consideration is that Goldman Sachs Group - formerly run by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson - and Morgan Stanley, stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of his proposed, unregulated $700 billion bailout.

Common sense suggests caution. I hope you share your thoughts. I already wrote my congressman and both Senators requesting caution and oversight. Because it's important to our nation and future generations, I hope you do the same. Simply Google the legislators name and you'll find them. I must admit, I'm extremely worried.

Tuesday's Political News #1 - Michael

Political Rant: Bush's and the Republican's Outrageous Waste!

Good Morning Bloggers - I know I seem pretty negative sometimes pointing out all the horrible waste and injustice, but since the corporate media is not responsible in that area I believe it's a role that bloggers must play.

So, in the area of waste, I would like to point out the wonderful article posted by Think Progress this morning that lists just a few of the large financial screw-ups of the Bush Administration and the Republicans. Do you really want to vote for McCain and risk another eight years of this nightmare?

A Small Snapshot of the Bush Administration's Legacy of WASTE! according to a few Reputable Sources

- $700 billion minimum - Yesterday, President Bush announced his $700 billion plan to buy out troubled financial institutions. As proposed Bush's plan places no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress. Incredibly, Bush and Paulson propose outsourcing much of the work to their Wall Street buddies. It needs to be adjusted to protect against Bush and his gang of thieves.

-$142 million wasted on reconstruction projects that were either terminated or canceled. [Special Inspector General for Iraq, 07-28-08]

-“Significant” amount of U.S. funds for Iraq funneled to Sunni and Shiite militias. [GAO Comptroller, 03-11-08]

-$180 million payed to construction company Bechtel for projects it never finished. [Federal audit, 07-25-07]

-$5.1 billion in expenses for Iraq reconstruction charged without documentation. [Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction report, 03-19-07]

-$10 billion in spending on Iraq reconstruction was wasteful or poorly tracked. [GAO, 02-15-07]

-Halliburton overcharged the government $100 million for one day’s work in 2004. [Project on Government Oversight, 10-08-04]

KATRINA

-Millions wasted on four no-bid contracts, including paying $20 million for an unusable camp for evacuees. [Homeland Security Department Inspector General, 09-10-08]

-$2.4 billion in contracts doled out by FEMA that guaranteed profits for big companies. [Center for Public Integrity investigation, 06-25-07]

-An estimated $2 billion in fraud and waste — nearly 11 percent of the $19 billion spent by FEMA on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as of mid-June. [New York Times tally, 06-27-06]

-“Widespread” waste and mismanagement on millions for Katrina recovery, including at least $3 million for 4,000 beds that were never used. [GAO, 03-16-06]

DEFENSE CONTRACTS

-A $50 million Air Force contract awarded to a company with close ties to senior Air Force officers, in a process “fraught with improper influence, irregular procedures, glaring conflicts of interest.” [Project on Government Oversight, 04-18-08]

-$1.7 billion in excessive fees and waste paid by the Pentagon to the Interior Department to manage federal lands. [Defense Department and Interior Department Inspectors General audit, 12-25-06]

-$1 trillion unaccounted for by the Pentagon, including 56 airplanes, 32 tanks, and 36 Javelin missile command launch-units. [GAO, 05-18-03]

(To read their article, visit http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/21/bush-legacy-taxpayer-funds/)

So, for all you Republicans who like to claim that Democrats tax and spend, and mostly spend, then I challenge you to provide a list of government waste that can out do the one provided here. Can you? I doubt it. It is clear that George Bush and his Republican supporters have wasted billions and possibly trillions on projects that in the end hurt the American people.

I can't believe it when I read that list - and to think it's only a small percentage of the waste. If Democrats had done damage even close to this I suspect the Republicans would have found a way to destroy the party or ignited a civil war. It's inexcusable incompetence. It's beyond corruption - it's stupidity and negligence to the point of immorality.

I suggest that you Republicans who are continuing to support your party take a long hard look at the damages, and rethink your absurd loyalty. Just ask yourself, why should you trust your Republican leadership? I wouldn't trust my Democratic ones if they had done the same. You need to see them for who they are: incompetent, immoral, corrupt, deceitful, thieves.

Monday's Political Rant # 1 - Michael

Political Rant: The Greatest Theft in the History of the US - Possibly the World

Good Morning Bloggers - The Bush Administration's - Paulson's - proposal that will slam into Congress next week demanding that Americans pump roughly $1 trillion into the US financial industry is nothing short of the greatest theft in the history of the US - and possibly the world.

I know that many of you are going to tell me that it's unavoidable, and that we have to spend the money to avoid a depression. Fine, but that doesn't change the fact that taxpayers are being asked to assume hundreds of billions in banking and other debt, which only occurred because of the way the Republicans destroyed the firewalls between different financial sectors, causing banks and small lenders to loan money willy-nilly, conning borrowers, and ultimately making billions reselling the paper for incredible profits.

It also doesn't change the fact that we're printing money so fast that our inflation rate will skyrocket, and probably next year, after Obama becomes president. It will be just in time for you Republicans to blame the entire mess on us. It just isn't fair. You screw everything up and will probably get away with blaming us. It's MADNESS! I wish you would all wake up tomorrow with a bloody conscience. HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELVES! You're screwing your own children, grand-children and great-grand-children. You're all nuts! You take, take, take, and when you destroy the system, you want to be bailed out - and then want more. You cannot be trusted running government.

I know many of you Republicans blame the borrowers. It's convenient, isn't it? You claim the borrowers lied their way into their loans - supposedly having no intention of paying them back. I think that's your way of coping with your own party's outrageous screw-up - no, THEFT! You can't blame people for wanting a better life! The Bush Administration, the SEC, the Treasury, and the Fed should have all be watching for this! Government and its institutions are supposed to make sure this doesn't happen - by law - and they dropped the $1 trillion pound ball!

If John McCain is elected and these policies are allowed to continue, then the proposed bailout will be paid for by the American worker and more bailouts may be required in the future because the greed and "casino culture" as McCain describes will be allowed to continue. There are so many thieves in this scenario that I don't have enough time to describe them all, so I will simply say that I believe the Republican Party and the Bush Administration should now be considered the most successful thieves in the history of our nation, and possibly in the history of mankind.

Btw, if you try and argue that FDR spent a lot of money to pull the nation out of depression, my response is that the money was spent on the American worker to create jobs and build infrastructure that serves us today. The trillion dollar bailout being discussed today bares no resemblance. It's simply stealing money from hard working people and giving it to large international institutions that will continue to steal from us.

I warn you, unless we elect Barack Obama and the laws are changed to repair the damage, this will go on, and on, and on. You will keep letting the fox into the proverbial chicken coop. We are screwed, and unless we all act now, we will be even more screwed!

Friday's Political Rant #1 - Michael

Political Rant: Tar and Feather George Bush, Phil Gramm, and McCain if He Wins

Hello Bloggers - The Dallas Morning News is reporting today that Phil Gramm, the author of the credit crisis along with the Republican Congress and Bill Clinton in 1999, could be a serious problem for John McCain. I think the article is a wonderfully succinct timeline of what led us to this disaster. Break out the tar and feathers people!

Excerpts: John McCain's Phil Gramm problem
"In the late 1990s, former Texas Senator and economics prof engineered financial reform. He led the effort to break down the barriers between traditional banking and investment banking. In a pure economics sense, he was right. Economies of scale, economic growth and wider markets were the byproducts. But deregulation was viewed as king and regulatory oversight became a curse word. Anyone who mentioned the need for balanced regulation was shouted down as a backer of Big Brother/ Big Government. Therein lies McCain's problem."

"Not that long ago, Gramm said the economy was sound and Americans were whiners. Now McCain -- on the day Wall Street implodes and stocks crash -- says the nation's economic fundamentals are sound. I think not."

"The late 1990s and early 2000s gave rise to the era of the Bush Administration's first Securities and Exchange Commissioner, Harvey Pitt, whose claim to infamy was his attempt to allow Corporate America police itself. He also was slow to acknowledge the depth of corporate accounting scandals, and saw no perceived conflict in conducting private meetings with former accounting clients under SEC investigation. And over the years, the SEC -- before and after Pitt -- has been budget compromised, weighed down by too many companies and not enough staff. The pushback to those abuses? Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002."

"I think it is telling that the SEC has not been a major player, that the Federal Reserve and Treasury are carrying the burden during this financial crisis. I will be interested in seeing how McCain plans to balance the free market with oversight without re-erecting some barriers or giving regulators more authority to proactively address pending financial threats to the economy."

(Read the whole article at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/john-mccains-ph.html)

I posted this article because there are many debates going on about what caused the credit crisis and this week's collapse - this was a good explanation. The culprit is the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that deregulated the industry. The bill was passed with the overwhelming support of Republicans along with a few Blue Dog Democrats and Bill Clinton - NAFTA too, thank you Bill. Clinton and the "Dogs" claimed to support more accessible credit for the middle class, and that's what many Repubicans are now blaming everything on today. They are wrong. The law has many rules in place to guard against the disasters of the past eight years. The blame should rest purely with the Bush Administration, Phil Gramm and his Enron wife, the SEC and Harvey Pitt, and the Treasury. Of course, Alan Greenspan deserves a large chunk of it. If you wish to debate, please be sure to read the actual laws first. In the meantime, get me the tar and feathers!

Tuesday's Political Rant #3 - Michael