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While I've lurked and posted comments forever, I haven't often posted diaries - most of what I want to write about is well written before I get a chance.
Hopefully, though, a couple of people found this useful :)
The Road - a meandering state of blog.
by aerojad on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:06:39 AM PDT
is all numbers in computers and the trash being printed today is going to be worth more as toilet paper it looks like soon.
"I will sink federalism into an abyss from which there shall be no resurrection..." Thomas Jefferson
by tony the American Mutt on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:14:45 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Toward the end of the Weimar Republic, burning money was cheaper than buying firewood.
The lone and level sands stretch far away. -Shelley
by justme on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:56:32 AM PDT
The Charts closely resemble George Bush's Approval Ratings....
Causality? One would hope that with the election of a Democratic President... disaster may be averted. Chart Comparisons would make for a very interesting political advertisement versus John "Economic Master" McCain
John McCain: Crash Test Dummy
by kubla000 on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:02:02 AM PDT
no matter who takes the office we will still be trillions in debt, hated by most of the world and there will still be that 26% of morons who think dumbaya has not been a total disaster.
by tony the American Mutt on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:03:55 AM PDT
who still think that McCain is the best man for the Preznitcy.
Now that's scary.
by corvo on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:07:06 AM PDT
so deluded, so dangerous
by tony the American Mutt on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:26:44 AM PDT
stupid is what stupid does. Gump was a lot smarter than supporters of mcsame
Orwell meet George the 43rd
by FreeTradeIsYourEpitaph on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:09:12 AM PDT
still believe in trickle-down Reaganomics? While the economy collapses around them, I'm sure you can still find morons who insist that tax cuts for the rich are brilliant economic policy. Please, could we let the grownups not living in unicorn pixie gumdrop land be in charge of the economy now?
by Leap Year on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:02:35 PM PDT
Rubin Says Financial Markets Have Entered `Uncharted Waters' By Matthew Benjamin March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said financial markets are in ``uncharted waters'' and the government may need to take ``substantial additional action'' to help homeowners. ``We are in somewhat uncharted waters,'' Rubin, chairman of Citigroup Inc.'s executive committee, said in a speech in Washington. ``The outlook for credit markets and the economy is uncertain'' and he called for ``substantial additional action in the mortgage area.''
Rubin Says Financial Markets Have Entered `Uncharted Waters'
By Matthew Benjamin
March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said financial markets are in ``uncharted waters'' and the government may need to take ``substantial additional action'' to help homeowners.
``We are in somewhat uncharted waters,'' Rubin, chairman of Citigroup Inc.'s executive committee, said in a speech in Washington. ``The outlook for credit markets and the economy is uncertain'' and he called for ``substantial additional action in the mortgage area.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
And this from the guy who arm twisted Clinton in 1999 to sign the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that the GOP congress served up to deregulate the banks.
These water were not uncharted... if anything it is dejavu because they were seen in 1929 and the substantial action he calls for has nothing to do with "helping home owners" it has to do with bailing out his sorry ass bank and his reputation and rewarding his stupidity and greed.
This act was put in place after the crash of 29 because banks being involved in savings and securities was one of the primary cause of the Depression. Banks were seen as having an inherent conflict of interest and assuming too much risk with their depositors funds. It was to be a "firewall."
One month after he got Clinton to sign it, he raised eyebrows by resigning and joining Citigroup to cash in. Citigroup is of course teetering on the brink of failure as well.
Oh... there is plenty of bipartisan blame to go around. Bush used an 1863 law and had the OCC sue the state of NY to invalidate their "predatory lending laws" and their restrictions on banks. The AGs of the states took note and didn't enforce their versions of NY's legislation.
Bush used the flood of "cheap subprime mortgages" that ensued in his 2003 campaign... "more people own houses than ever before"... "we're the ownership society... you have the haves and the have mores" were the slogans.
As we saw in the Savings and Loan scandals of the late 80s and early 90s, deregulation was the cause and we see it again in the subprime disaster. Uncle Sugar is once again bailing out our "financial wizzards of Wall Street" with tax payer dollars, but this time the problem is of such magnitude... it may not be able to stop it.
As Krugman notes in his column today: "Betting the Bank" Excerpt: "Indeed, early returns from the credit markets have been disappointing. Indicators of financial stress like the "TED spread" (don’t ask) are a little better than they were before the Fed’s announcement — but not much, and things have by no means returned to normal. What if this initiative fails? I’m sure that Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues are frantically considering other actions that they can take, but there’s only so much the Fed — whose resources are limited, and whose mandate doesn’t extend to rescuing the whole financial system — can do when faced with what looks increasingly like one of history’s great financial crises. The next steps will be up to the politicians. I used to think that the major issues facing the next president would be how to get out of Iraq and what to do about health care. At this point, however, I suspect that the biggest problem for the next administration will be figuring out which parts of the financial system to bail out, how to pay the cleanup bills and how to explain what it’s doing to an angry public."
As Krugman notes in his column today:
"Betting the Bank" Excerpt:
"Indeed, early returns from the credit markets have been disappointing. Indicators of financial stress like the "TED spread" (don’t ask) are a little better than they were before the Fed’s announcement — but not much, and things have by no means returned to normal.
What if this initiative fails? I’m sure that Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues are frantically considering other actions that they can take, but there’s only so much the Fed — whose resources are limited, and whose mandate doesn’t extend to rescuing the whole financial system — can do when faced with what looks increasingly like one of history’s great financial crises.
The next steps will be up to the politicians.
I used to think that the major issues facing the next president would be how to get out of Iraq and what to do about health care. At this point, however, I suspect that the biggest problem for the next administration will be figuring out which parts of the financial system to bail out, how to pay the cleanup bills and how to explain what it’s doing to an angry public."
http://www.nytimes.com/...
by Flint on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:50:36 AM PDT
never thought I would live through a time like 1929 but we are there NOW. the news thismorning that Bear Stearns, for all real intents and purposes, FAILED today is about as scarey as it gets....especially for our disappearing middle class.
I doubt we will ever see another blatant GREAT DEPRESSION but we will live through extremely HARD TIME for a while and its worrisome that there may well (probably are) OTHER financial institutions that are in the same position as BEAR STEARNS and we dont know it yet...
I have asked this in Bonddad's latest diary and I will ask this here also... what other banks and financial institutions may be ready to wave the WHITE FLAG and need to be artificially saved from FAILURE???
OIL UBER ALLES says "MORE WARS" McCain
by KnotIookin on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:37:31 PM PDT
Rubin is squealing and its no accident... the CFO of Citigroup said 10 days ago that "if the market had one more serious downturn we will have to file for bankruptcy."
That was a direct message to Bernanke to intervene or else!
So Citigroup is at the top of the list and Washington Mutual Savings and Loan, the nations largest S&L, is number two.
B of A is the largest subprime holder due to their purchase of Country Wide in January of 2007. Pretty much all to the national banks have brokerage divisions that put them in jeopardy to one degree or another.
This was a global feeding frenzy on the part of all of the national banks worldwide.
Last month England nationalized its largest mortgage bank for $59 billion dollars after they had their first bank run in 100 years.
by Flint on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 01:42:25 PM PDT
It's the diseased PNAC scion of Poppy's New World Order.
Russ Feingold: cooler than Batman.
by yojimbo on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:05:40 PM PDT
What happens to all those 401ks if an institution like Citigroup goes down?
by Leap Year on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:06:10 PM PDT
is expected to be the next shoe to drop.
-5.00 -4.46
by ilex on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 03:13:27 PM PDT
cashed in his Citibank shares while the cashin' was still good (not).
by Leap Year on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:03:47 PM PDT
Considering how quickly the prosperity was ground into dirt by the misguided tax cuts, i think this is a core democratic argument moving forward, one the Republican's won't be able to shy away from. The tax cuts have done nothing but destroy the economy. Regularly when canvasing the neighborhood in houston I'd have voters ask me what Dem's will do about Gas Prices... I have a very simple explanation that works wonders in a driveway and which should work wonders in a debate. It cuts to the heart of the entire matter:
1- High Gas Prices are a result of the Dollar Collapse and Inflation 2- Oil, traded in Dollar, is more expensive for us, as the dollar is worth less 3- The dollar is worth less because the US Debt is doubling 4- The US Debt is Doubling because of Bush's Tax cuts and Bush's Wars 5- A Democrat would Reinstitute PayGo, making Congress raise funds for new programs, eliminating the growth of the Debt overnight 6- A Democrat would end the war in Iraq, cutting Spending by $10B+ Per Month 7- A Democrat would roll back some taxes to pay down the debt 8- Once the debt growth stops, the dollar will reverse it's course and oil/inflation will Stop then Retrace
This is a simple arguement with which I convinced at least a dozen Republicans to give the Dem's some consideration in the Fall and it's one every Democrat running should make all the way to the Capital.
by kubla000 on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:12:29 AM PDT
by Lujane on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:29:31 AM PDT
Of Fricken Course!!! It's the argument I developed in the driveways of Republicans canvassing for my campaign and it's an arguement even staunch supporters can't deny...
If a candidate were to forcefully argue it, it'd win points bigtime.
by kubla000 on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:59:47 AM PDT
by justme on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:01:50 AM PDT
The realities of global oil supply and demand mean we are never going to have "cheap" gas again, at least not as Americans picture it.
Bring the WAR home
by EthrDemon on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:04:52 AM PDT
in China when they abandon the dollar and convert useless dollars to real money.
by FreeTradeIsYourEpitaph on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:10:44 AM PDT
but they're still going to have to deal with tight supply and shortages, 'ere long. demand alone does not make oil production levels rise on its own.
surf putah, your friendly neighborhood central valley samizdat
by wu ming on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:43:55 AM PDT
its not tight supply and shortages, its the 'smart' (aka evil) money pulling out of non-credible financial instruments such as CDO's and the multitude of other junk out there and heading for the hills in commodities driving prices up along with dollar devaluation.
Though I am certain we will hear constantly..its shortages due to the 'globalized economy' and global warming killing crops...its all only partially true (i.e. 20%)...just enough to make everyone believe it.
by FreeTradeIsYourEpitaph on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:21:22 PM PDT
this is not juts a matter of speculation, the third world is already coping with shortages and related blackouts.
by wu ming on Sat Mar 15, 2008 at 08:57:46 AM PDT
Energy price, which ties closely to middle east political stability is about to change yet again.
Israel raises the ante against Iran
http://www.atimes.com/...
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is on a speaking tour in the United States, putting her considerable personal charm in the service of a shrewd salesmanship - of a US war on Iran.
Although considered a dove by Israeli standards, Livni is now on a historic mission that has begun with a pre-travel warmer in the form of a highly publicized telephone call to the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, assuring him that there is
direct linkage "between Iran and the terror groups".
Coinciding with the ominous news that US CENTCOM chief Admiral William Fallon has resigned - or been sacked - for his opposition to a war with Iran, Livni hopes to harvest a blowing wind of war against another Middle Eastern country that dares to challenge Israel's regional hegemony. It is a familiar story with a recent precedent in Iraq and a script for action, requiring high-pitched public diplomacy with the help of a vast network of sympathetic media pundits, that Israel has fully mastered.
by opedn on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:01:10 PM PDT
position in their intelligence service yet, then they still can't be trusted.
Doesn't John McCain look tired?
by SciVo on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:42:09 PM PDT
New addition...
#. A Dem would pursue a policy of "energy independence" and institute a nation program of renewable energy sources to reduce demand for oil. Reduced demand will lower prices and the US is the biggest consumer of foreign oil.
The Dem candidates have both proposed green technology assistance plans.
Hillary just proposed rolling back the incentives given to the oil companies and using the revenues to fund this effort. Obama should do the same.
by Flint on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:33:35 PM PDT
The US Debt is Doubling because of Bush's Tax cuts and Bush's Wars
The tax cuts have increased revenue, it's the spending that has killed us (which includes the war)
You get no argument from me on any of the other points.
by Purple Hazer on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:54:04 PM PDT
We're recouping 20% or so in taxes for every tax dollar we spend and we'd be collecting more if we hadn't cut the rates.
By the logic of "tax cuts increase revenue", the government would never have had any money until Reagan was president.
A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
by Webster on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 01:27:17 PM PDT
Bonddad laid this out quite well in his diary:
News Flash: Tax Cuts DON'T Pay for Themselves Excerpt: Bush cut taxes twice (not once) in the early 2000s. Notice that after the first tax cut revenues dropped. But then tax revenues spiked -- so they must work! Actually, no. Remember this is a year over year chart. That means the spikes in the later 2000s are being compared to the dropping revenue is the early 2000s. In other words -- the tax cuts didn't pay for themselves (again). The chart is very clear. Kennedy's cuts worked. Reagan's didn't. Bush II's didn't Can we stop this crap now?
News Flash: Tax Cuts DON'T Pay for Themselves
Excerpt:
Bush cut taxes twice (not once) in the early 2000s. Notice that after the first tax cut revenues dropped. But then tax revenues spiked -- so they must work! Actually, no. Remember this is a year over year chart. That means the spikes in the later 2000s are being compared to the dropping revenue is the early 2000s. In other words -- the tax cuts didn't pay for themselves (again).
The chart is very clear. Kennedy's cuts worked. Reagan's didn't. Bush II's didn't
Can we stop this crap now?
http://www.dailykos.com/...
by Flint on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 01:32:17 PM PDT
Incorrect. Basically incorrect.
Oil depletion is the root cause of high gas prices. Increasing demand versus stagnant supply. Oil production has not exceeded its all-time high produced in May 2005 (roughly 74.35 mbpm).
Dollar collapse is not helping with gas prices, of course not.
But you simply fail to recognize that high gas prices has its own critical driver -- resource depletion.
The US economy is facing (1) mortgage meltdown, (2) dollar collapse, and (3) resource depletion, simultaneously.
Which is exactly why the economy is not merely "slowing down," -- it is morphing into a new and different form. Into a subsistence (little or no-growth) economy.
And which is also why Republicans favor a war economy of destruction-reconstruction.
To a Democrat, "democracy" means "free elections." To a Republican, "free markets."
by XOVER on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:53:13 PM PDT
It's a triple-play!
All of this serves to make the increasingly expensive oil, and just about everything else, cost even more for us.
So... I guess I'm saying that both xover and kubla are right.
Dump Steny Hoyer
by mataliandy on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 06:06:45 PM PDT
..."(a war could possibly have helped the economy if the weapons were being manufactured here AND if the soldiers were getting paid sufficiently."
Perhaps the stupidest tripe I have ever read on DK!!
Support a Carbon Tax
by wishbone on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 08:32:56 PM PDT
...there are many people who think WWII was the answer to the Great Depression. In some ways it did help the economy, BUT only because the money being spent to build the weapons was spent on manufacturing that took place in this country, the troops were actually paid for their service, and when they returned, the GI bill helped them buy homes and go to college to contribute more to society. This war is pretty much the antithesis of that economically.
In my personal opinion, the depression was actually ended more by banking policy, the New Deal, and trust-busting than by any expenditure on weapons.
There is no circumstance under which I condone war as a profit-making enterprise. Ever. Period.
Sorry if I wasn't clear.
by mataliandy on Sat Mar 15, 2008 at 08:10:18 PM PDT
She said Bush will go down in history as the greatest president ever.
He started laughing..
She told him that I had "Brainwashed" him.
sigh...
I suppose her father was a conservative republican, too..
Wonder if he "brainwashed" her?
They had fangs...they were drinking blood....They had this look in their eyes, totally animal. I think they were young Republicans. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
by wrights on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:01:06 AM PDT
"logic" behind that statement and then have the opportunity to dice and slice it to little itty bitty tiny pieces.
Democracy is a contact sport...
by jsmagid on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:28:43 AM PDT
Plus, God says he is.
We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation and for those it calls enemy.... --ML King "Beyond Vietnam"
by Gooserock on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:33:58 AM PDT
fill her belly when she can't afford food. Cuz God knows Bush won't.
by mmacdDE on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:56:17 AM PDT
My son told her he attacked the wrong country.
He mentioned Afganistan..She changed the subject to Al-Qaida in Irag, he told her there wasn't any until we went there.
I'm proud of him..
by wrights on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:53:09 PM PDT
He said "Democrats support the troops...Republicans support the War.."
Good talking point, picked up here..
by wrights on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:58:20 PM PDT
it's a great feeling, aint it? (my son's getting into a fair share of squabbles at school as well, thanks to our "brainwashing"!)
by Fury on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:38:58 AM PDT
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. Aesop "
by soulsurvivor on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:46:47 AM PDT
And her sister is my sister in law...
And she is the same way..
I
by wrights on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:49:46 PM PDT
Even if democrats were in general very very clever economically...
Could anyone pull us out of this tailspin? They'd have to be some sort of magician, I'd think. This isn't the parents coming home to find the home trashed from partying. Instead, there's a 600ft deep radioactive crater.
And, even if I give democrats credit for generally being better managers, more humane, etc... (which I don't, necessarily) that's a far cry from being a party full of economic ubergeniuses.
We're fucked.
by NoMoreNicksLeft on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 04:31:17 PM PDT
if it's true?
by tony the American Mutt on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:02:18 AM PDT
je crois)
Omne malum nascens facile opprimitur, inveteratum fit plerumque robustius. - Cicero
by Dauphin on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:18:40 AM PDT
that frankly, the Republicans wouldn't mind so much if shit went that far south, just as long as they could pawn off the blame. Desperate people will do almost anything, believe almost anything, and follow almost anyone if they say they'll take care of them.
It's how the Nazis were able to come into power in the first place. Germany was a borderline failed state. In such a vacuum, virtually anything goes. There are certainly those who would be fine with the idea of having America fall so that they could build it into their own fantasy idea of a thieves' paradise.
by justme on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:00:41 AM PDT
empire.
So far they're not into mass extermination, only mass collateral killing.
by Gooserock on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:35:29 AM PDT
... collateral deaths. I guess I'm pointing out that there is a range of tick marks even between "mass extermination" and "mass collateral killing", and that Bushism's actions lie somewhere more than the one but less than the other.
Only the slyness of Bushism would bring on a discussion of the banality of the taxonomy of evil.
Two war crimes make 'the right', not 'a right'. Defeat the liar John McCain.
by Yellow Canary on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:06:14 PM PDT
I say to-mah-to.
It isn't quite the completely unregulated and consequenceless happy sparkle pony land they want. Yet. Close, and the DOJ having been successfully converted into nothing more than another political tool is their proudest achievement. Even stacking the courts with judges who will never sentence you pales in comparison to ruining the machinery that would indict you in the first place.
by justme on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 12:12:24 PM PDT
The apparently snowballing consolidation of power is a bit chilling.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
by mmcole on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 01:20:04 PM PDT
by justme on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 07:19:00 PM PDT
In the book Defying Hitler was the part where the author describes, as a young law student, the way the Reich corrupted the judiciary. It was one of their earlier acts - creating a judicial system full of "true believers" who would use the kinds of "logic" - that would ordinarily get a student thrown out of law school - to reach critical legal opinions in support of the Reich's position.
by mataliandy on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 06:19:02 PM PDT
they read. Though I have to say, "Lord of the Flies" and "1984" aren't really the books I'd pick as templates for the reformulation of our society...
by justme on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 07:22:00 PM PDT
by mataliandy on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 06:08:06 PM PDT
...it retains its value.
Rubus Eradicandus Est.
by Randomfactor on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:05:17 AM PDT
from the federal reserve, its really pretty but doesn't have a picture of dumbya on it.
by FreeTradeIsYourEpitaph on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:12:05 AM PDT
http://blip.tv/...
What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is. ~ Dan Quayle
by CParis on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:37:27 AM PDT
by mataliandy on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 06:22:35 PM PDT
"Getting elected is the only true moral imperative that politicians believe in." -- Anon
by zackamac on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:55:16 AM PDT
Did you pick multi-year lows to compute the price gains? Because you did different lengths of time for all the commodities.
I think someone more talented than I could make a great chart showing these commodities from 1-20-2001-today, to show how the Bush years have hurt purchasers of commodities like food, which is most of us. This would also be a great tool for the Obama (or Clinton) campaign to use.
About a month ago, a "guest" on CNBC said the stock market is down 60% since Bush took office, compared to gold ( a truer store of value). The other guests did not like this!
Aluminum: up 76% in 4.5 years * Copper: up 333% in 5 years * Platinum: up 353% in 9 years * Silver: up 272% in 6 years * Gold: up 300% in 7 years
MC=W^3: McCain=W's 3rd term
by sd4david on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:17:57 AM PDT
Since the sharp rallies in those commodities have all began during the same time period of this inflation we're stuck in.
They're all rockets that lifted off at roughly the same time period.
by aerojad on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:25:12 AM PDT
just really, really screwed.
Our health care system needs a revolution, not a makeover.
by ovals49 on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:29:31 AM PDT
the broker meltdown to just Bear Sterns, we are really, really, totally and thoroughly screwed.
The Justice Department is no longer a credible defender of the rule of law or the Constitution.
by Overseas on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:02:18 AM PDT
care of themselves with their fancy golden parachutes. It's Main Street that should concern us: we the people who are constantly bailing out those "poor" Wall Street folk. They've partied enough at our expense, with their expensive suits, their big limos, their Stepford wives, their ecology-busting mansions in the Hamptons or in Connecticut. Let 'em start growing their own food and chopping up their furniture for firewood or, even better, making license plates in Dannemora. They're all parasites.
-7.25/-6.41 Consumerism is the disease that allows the ruling classes to thrive; therefore, not buying is a small but necessary first act of rebellion.
by sravaka on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:10:33 AM PDT
Their retirement money is in the brokerage firms for the most part. There is some insurance, but it is the length of time it might take to get their money out to use that is the problem.
by Overseas on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:19:33 AM PDT
