The San Francisco Chronicle's Sean Olender (what's in a name?) published an article on Sunday April 9th at SFGate, the California newspaper's online home, that pretty much summarises my Obama irritations in easy-to-understand-terms. Here's an excerpt:
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The administration and the banks keep talking about a credit crisis, but there isn't one. Banks are lending. If you want a mortgage and can afford to pay it back, you can borrow at low rates today. You can finance a car at low rates for seven years. But most Americans don't want more debt because it is a debilitating path to poverty. The average American family already pays 14 percent of annual income in interest to banks.
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To fix this fake crisis, there are fake discussions about what the government must do. The endlessly recycled plan to buy "troubled" assets isn't to get banks lending again, because they haven't stopped lending. The plan seeks for taxpayers to buy worthless assets at high prices to absorb rich investors' losses. That's it. It keeps coming back as a different plan, but with that same goal. There is no goal beyond that one goal: keep rich people from taking losses.
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Obama and his economic gurus all chant, "Credit is the lifeblood of the economy," but they don't mean credit. They mean debt. Imagine the president saying, "Debt is the lifeblood of our economy. We desperately need to get more American families deeper in debt." That's what he means, and that's what these bailouts hope to do.
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It's time the President understood that we all understand, that he is screwing us even as he talks about climate change, stem cell research and a nuclear free future. All good stuff, but if we are economic serfs at home none of that means anything at all to us.
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The administration and the banks keep talking about a credit crisis, but there isn't one. Banks are lending. If you want a mortgage and can afford to pay it back, you can borrow at low rates today. You can finance a car at low rates for seven years. But most Americans don't want more debt because it is a debilitating path to poverty. The average American family already pays 14 percent of annual income in interest to banks.
.
To fix this fake crisis, there are fake discussions about what the government must do. The endlessly recycled plan to buy "troubled" assets isn't to get banks lending again, because they haven't stopped lending. The plan seeks for taxpayers to buy worthless assets at high prices to absorb rich investors' losses. That's it. It keeps coming back as a different plan, but with that same goal. There is no goal beyond that one goal: keep rich people from taking losses.
.
Obama and his economic gurus all chant, "Credit is the lifeblood of the economy," but they don't mean credit. They mean debt. Imagine the president saying, "Debt is the lifeblood of our economy. We desperately need to get more American families deeper in debt." That's what he means, and that's what these bailouts hope to do.
.
It's time the President understood that we all understand, that he is screwing us even as he talks about climate change, stem cell research and a nuclear free future. All good stuff, but if we are economic serfs at home none of that means anything at all to us.
5 comments:
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The banks are still lending because they believe that the "troubled assets" on their books will be covered by the administration--tax payer.
Do you really want to see what would happen if the banks completely stopped lending?
The fact that banks are still lending is evidence that the bailout is preventing the worst case scenario from happening.
Dear Conch:
I don't believe that this bail-out is preventing much of anything. The first application of TARP was just about pissed away, without so much as a signature to determine where it went ot who got it.
The second application of TARP was only marginially better. This time the car manufacturers have to kiss their own asses to get a hearing. But no one is deposing the banksters with similar requests for resignations or subpoenas. And as more and more information comes out about AIG, it becomes apparent that the place was run like a hot dogs stand, with help from Chris Dodd and others of his ilk who took huge campaign contributions from these bums.
Americans are now doing something they haven't done in years. They're saving. They will buy stuff as they can afford it. This advice is far too late for hundreds of thousands of retirees, all successful and hard working, who trusted their life savings to the bottom-feeders like AIG, Maddof, and Stanford.
Now their houses are worth less than half, their next eggs are gone, and they're compete with 25-year-old kids for non-existent jobs.
Where is their stimulus?
The fastest way to stimulate consumer confidence is through increased employment. President Obama's stimulis package promises this, but through an increase in government employment. Does this mean he will eliminate those government when the economy improves? Not likely. And a government employed lamprey is had to get rid of once they get a toe-hold.
The arena that employs the greatest number of people in the US is small business. Small businesses are being driven to the brink of extinction. They are getting a measley $1 billion in stimulus funds (maybe) dispered in a miserly way.
Obama promised us more transparency. Well the guy couldn't get any more transparent than a jellyfish. And the economy isn't the only important issue. He is more adamant to strip you of your constitutional ruights than the Republicans were. (And I thought they were fascists.)
It took me seven years to hate the Republicans. I was a strong Obama supporter... It has taken me less than three months to hate the Democrats. It would be curious to see what the current administration would be like if Barack Obama decided to stop carrying President Pelosi's dry cleaning.
I applauded Bartak Obama's statement that there would be transcripts of conversations between elected officials and lobbyists made public. I guess he didn't mean Chris Dodd, anyone in the DHS, or the entire Obama administration.
And why would anyone leave a politically-oriented statement, and sign it "Anonymous?" Either you believe in something or you don't.
Fondest regards,
Jack Riepe
Twised Roads
Stay out of my pocket for taxes, buy my goods and services b/c they fit your need and are of quality, I also now work for myself, and it is not in my interest to pay interest any more, paying off all debt ASAP.
I moved last year and sold my home. I'll be buying again this summer and plan on putting down 30% and borrowing the rest. Debt is not always bad. I will even say that my student loans, which I've been paying on for 15 years, are not an example of bad debt either. Without those loans,I would not have the highly refined literacy sensibility that allows me to enjoy this blog.
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