Back to a Democratic Minority- led by Barney Frank

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Friday January 16, 2009 · 10:08 AM PST

2009/01/16 · 10:08

George Santayana famously said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." It is clear that the Democratic party and especially Barney Frank have never heard of the saying or if they have they have forgotten the past. Does anybody remember "welfare queens" and how successfully the Republicans were able to use that to run against Democrats. Well here is my forecast that will be rolled out again except this time it will be "foreclosure queens"- the group of bankers and borrowers (although the Republican will only focus on the borrowers)feeding at like pigs at the taxpayer trough.

keepingitstraight

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Saturday January 10, 2009 · 11:19 AM PST

2009/01/10 · 11:19

Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric so succinctly said "This economic crisis doesn’t represent a cycle. It represents a reset, It’s an emotional, social, economic reset." He is quite right. The economy is collapsing because of its internal contradictions; rising asset prices and increased spending despite lower wages (even though the economy was more prosperous) all supported by reckless lending.

Obama himself described the current crisis as "an Economic crisis unlike any in our life time". During the campaign he described the vote as the "final verdict of a failed economic policy". Given the magnitude of the crisis is the offering up of a plan that was presented two years before it happened the "emotional, social and economic reset" or is it just slapping a coat of paint on failed economic model.

If we are at one of key moments in history here is a quick question- what part of Obama's stimulus program requires a PHD in economics to develop? Put another way is any of this not found in an economics 101 text book?

keepingitstraight

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Tuesday December 23, 2008 · 1:09 PM PST

2008/12/23 · 13:09

Having eviscerated the fourth amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure and most of the fifth amendments protection of due process one has to wonder why the very last line of the fifth amendment "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation" being treated so reverentially.

keepingitstraight

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Thursday December 11, 2008 · 6:26 PM PST

2008/12/11 · 18:26

No this is not some back hand way of paying Paulson a compliment. They are not magicians in the complimentary sense, but they have taken the art of distraction used by magicians to a new height. By getting everybody to focus on the TARP and its "bailout of Wall Street" they have successfully distracted everybody from what might be charitably described as a "give away to fat cats" although others might prefer the term "swindle"

keepingitstraight

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Wednesday December 10, 2008 · 2:13 PM PST

2008/12/10 · 14:13

All the talk about trying to prevent foreclosures highlights the inability of policy makers to distinguish between "means" and "ends". Foreclosure is the means by which properties get transferred from those who can't afford them to those who can.

There is a societal interest in avoiding Foreclosed properties sitting around in certain areas. Our efforts should directed to that "end". Preventing foreclosures is one way to avoid foreclosed properties but it is unfocused and highly diffused- likely to cause as much damage as good, raises a whole host of questions of fairness and moral hazard. Instead we should be working on making the process that moves homes from those who can't afford them to those who can quicker and easier.

keepingitstraight

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Thursday December 04, 2008 · 10:10 AM PST

2008/12/04 · 10:10

Reading many of the comments on Kos it appears that those who arguing against a bailout are characterized as being anti-union. That the only pro-union position is to support a bailout. I beg to disagree. I think that the government providing Debtor in Possession financing following a Chapter 11 filing is in fact the most pro union position.

keepingitstraight

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Tuesday December 02, 2008 · 11:56 AM PST

2008/12/02 · 11:56

nor for that matter has anybody else about our current economic crisis. Until that happens things will get much much worse.

The bottom line is that for the last 8 years the United States has been living in a "fools paradise" - a society in which consumption continued to grow despite falling wages, made possible through an orgy debt creation supported by an unsustainable asset bubble. This is not a world that can be recreated -at least not for 80 years (the last time we went through a national delusion)

However, until policy makers are prepared to accept this unpleasant truth no workable policy will be established. It is easy to see why a Republican administration would be reluctant to admit to this unpleasant truth. It would be a complete repudiation of the 8 years of Republican administration and pretty much everything that they stand for. However, why an incoming Democratic administration is unwilling to confront reality is less understandable.

keepingitstraight

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Wednesday November 26, 2008 · 6:16 AM PST

2008/11/26 · 06:16

As someone who donated to the campaign (both in the primary and general) made phone calls for Obama and canvassed out of state I am deeply concerned that the Citicorp bail out reflects the extension of the Kleptocracy of the Bush years rather than the "change we want to believe in". I look forward to hearing from the incoming Obama administration whether
a) the Citicorp bail out reflect the views of the soon to be Obama administration
b) and if so why it was not a lousy deal for the tax payers.

Note this is not a discussion about whether Citicorp should have been bailed out; for the purpose of this diary I am prepared to stipulate that a bailout was necessary. I am questioning whether it was the interests of taxpayers that was paramount or that of investors in Citicorp particularly one very large Saudi investor.

keepingitstraight

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Wednesday November 19, 2008 · 11:46 AM PST

2008/11/19 · 11:46

"During a hearing Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., asked the three auto chiefs seated at the witness table before him to raise their hands if they had come to Washington on commercial airliners. No hands went up. Then he asked if any planned to sell their corporate jets. Again, no hands went up".

http://www.nytimes.com/...

keepingitstraight

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Monday November 10, 2008 · 7:47 AM PST

2008/11/10 · 07:47

A recent Bloomberg article regarding its Freedom of Information application with regard to the assets accepted by the Federal Reserve
http://www.bloomberg.com/...

quoted Frank as saying
" the Fed shouldn't reveal the assets it holds or how it values them because of ``delicacy with respect to pricing.'' He said such disclosure would ``give people clues to what your pricing is and what they might be able to sell us and what your estimates are.'' He wouldn't say why he thought that information would be problematic.

I guess politicians are just allergic to the truth.

keepingitstraight

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Monday September 29, 2008 · 3:11 PM PDT

2008/09/29 · 15:11

In the brokering the deal that ended up selling Wachovia to Citibank the FDIC essentially did what Congress just voted down.

keepingitstraight

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Friday September 26, 2008 · 8:43 AM PDT

2008/09/26 · 08:43

Well there you have it - Right wing Republicans true to form haven't found a problem that cutting taxes on the wealthy is not an answer. But lets skip that for the moment and focus on the basic idea of their plan - Financial institutions should be "buying insurance"

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Back to a Democratic Minority- led by Barney Frank

Obama Stimulus- breath taking in its timidity

Why is property the only sacred part of the Constitution?

What do Magicians and the Paulson crew have in common?

why are we trying to prevent foreclosures?

why denying the automakers a bailout is good for the unions

Obama promised to tell us the truth- so far he hasn't

Change we can believe in or Kleptocracy Part II?

How many of you flew commercial- question to auto execs.

I thought Barney Frank got it - I was wrong

FDIC to Congress - screw you!!

Reublican Plan is an even bigger stick it to tax payers than the Paulson Plan