I had to do a double take this morning when I got back from class and saw the DOW at 6,876. Seriously!!! It hasn't been that low, the news tells me, since 1997, and that's probably when it hit that mark to begin with.
Does anyone else remember that wondrous day when the DOW hit 14,000? Ahhh, good times. There was champaign on Wall Street and parties on business shows. I'm pretty sure there was confetti too.
There are none of those things now. People's entire lives have been turned upside down as the market has plummeted. Their retirements are gone, their 401k is more like a 104k, and people who invested everything they had in hopes of making it big now have nothing.
And every time President Obama gets on the television during trading hours, you can watch the DOW fall as he speaks. Try it next time he speaks. This isn't some idea that us republicans have invented, it is a fact. Thank goodness his address to the nation was at 9 PM, or the DOW may have hit 0.
But look back to when this market slide started. It was around last October, when it was pretty certain that Obama would be the next president. On this realization, the markets fell, and haven't stopped. The markets are dead scared of his economic policies, and this continued sell-off shows it.
And it is also because the administration doesn't understand the market. They think that pushing money into government to stabilize it will quell Wall and Broad, but it does the opposite. They don't want the government to come in and bail out companies, CEOs, irresponsible lenders/lendees, or the government itself. They want the government out, taxes down, and not to raise the dividend tax.
I don't think anyone in the Obama administration has taken Econ 101, or else they would see that what they are doing is causing the market crash, not the other way around. The doom and gloom rhetoric of Obama isn't helping either. No one wants to hear that things are horrible and are going to get worse. They want to hear "things are bad, but we are going to fix them."
Maybe a little positivity would go a long way to fix the uncontrolled slide of the markets. Or a few Conservative economic tactics.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
It's On
My frustration with the Obama administration and the democrat controlled congress has now turned to anger.
Furious, extreme anger.
Today the Senate passed a version of the fairness doctrine. It uses backdoor FCC regulations in order to enforce a balance of ideas on radio. It isn't a conspiracy that allows conservatives to dominate talk radio.
It's the free market.
Air America, a liberal talk radio network, was launched several years ago. You know what happened?
It went bankrupt. Because no one wanted to listen.
Radio stations are in it to make money. And conservative talk radio makes money. Rush Limbaugh rakes in millions in ad revenue. That's why so many stations cary him, and why he is on for three hours every day.
But the liberals in congress want to force their views on America. It apparently isn't enough that they control broadcast and print journalism. They need radio too.
Then there is the continued line of porkulous bills.
This president has spent $36 BILLION a day since he was in office.
His spending bill has upwards of $3 TRILLION in new spending.
And yet, he stood in front of the nation Tuesday night (depriving me of new episodes of 'Scrubs', I might ad) and told me and the rest of America that we need to get out of debt and criticized the Bush administration for allowing the national debt to rise.
And he turns right around and proposes a multi-trillion dollar budget, $860 BILLION stimulus package, and the congress today passed a $490-ish BILLION spending package with 8,600 EARMARKS!
Oh, and guess what. President Obama and Vice-President Biden HAVE MULTIPLE EARMARKS IN THE BILL!
I seem to recall Obama saying something about not signing any legislation with earmarks and pork during the campaign...and yet he is PROPOSING earmarks in a bill?
Never mind the complete disregard for economic ideals. Where are we going to get all of this money? China won't loan us any money, because they know we're not good for it. Europe is dealing with its own economic issues, so they don't have any money to give us.
So, that means we are going to have to print it. Every dime.
And what does the mass printing of money do?
It devalues all of the money.
Which leads to inflation.
And the inflation that is going to come upon my generation and the generation after me looks to be the likes of which no one has seen since post-World War 1 Germany.
Remember those pictures in your history books of people taking wheelbarrows to the grocery store?
Yeah, that is what I am talking about. That kind of inflation.
What frustrates me even more is the complete lack of respect in this administration. In his speech Obama didn't try to hide his Bush-bashing. And the democrats didn't either, hooting and hollering when Obama said that they needed to take care of "the massive debt we inherited." That debt was huge way before Bush got into office, and looks to be even larger when Obama leaves in 4 years.
There is also the minimum wage increase that congress passed a few years ago. It comes into effect this year. What happens when you raise the minimum wage? Employers are forced to cut hours/employees because they can no longer afford to employ as many people at a higher rate. This does what, oh, raise unemployment. And isn't Obama about lowering it?
And what happens when all of his roads and bridges and other public works projects are completed? Those people no longer have jobs either. So they are what, unemployed again. And we are right back where we started.
I have no idea how this administration thinks it is going to cut the national debt in half by 2014. Especially when they continue to throw trillions of dollars out the window. It's time, as Glenn Beck said today, for Americans to stand up for themselves. Their government is failing them in a massive way, and wasting their money and stealing money from their children and grandchildren.
Revolution is necessary in some cases. Not military revolution, but ideological. Only 20% of americans identify themselves as liberal, and our country is being run by the most liberal congress ever. This is not representative of America.
But what do I know. It is very likely that tomorrow my blog will be removed because it isn't "fair."
Furious, extreme anger.
Today the Senate passed a version of the fairness doctrine. It uses backdoor FCC regulations in order to enforce a balance of ideas on radio. It isn't a conspiracy that allows conservatives to dominate talk radio.
It's the free market.
Air America, a liberal talk radio network, was launched several years ago. You know what happened?
It went bankrupt. Because no one wanted to listen.
Radio stations are in it to make money. And conservative talk radio makes money. Rush Limbaugh rakes in millions in ad revenue. That's why so many stations cary him, and why he is on for three hours every day.
But the liberals in congress want to force their views on America. It apparently isn't enough that they control broadcast and print journalism. They need radio too.
Then there is the continued line of porkulous bills.
This president has spent $36 BILLION a day since he was in office.
His spending bill has upwards of $3 TRILLION in new spending.
And yet, he stood in front of the nation Tuesday night (depriving me of new episodes of 'Scrubs', I might ad) and told me and the rest of America that we need to get out of debt and criticized the Bush administration for allowing the national debt to rise.
And he turns right around and proposes a multi-trillion dollar budget, $860 BILLION stimulus package, and the congress today passed a $490-ish BILLION spending package with 8,600 EARMARKS!
Oh, and guess what. President Obama and Vice-President Biden HAVE MULTIPLE EARMARKS IN THE BILL!
I seem to recall Obama saying something about not signing any legislation with earmarks and pork during the campaign...and yet he is PROPOSING earmarks in a bill?
Never mind the complete disregard for economic ideals. Where are we going to get all of this money? China won't loan us any money, because they know we're not good for it. Europe is dealing with its own economic issues, so they don't have any money to give us.
So, that means we are going to have to print it. Every dime.
And what does the mass printing of money do?
It devalues all of the money.
Which leads to inflation.
And the inflation that is going to come upon my generation and the generation after me looks to be the likes of which no one has seen since post-World War 1 Germany.
Remember those pictures in your history books of people taking wheelbarrows to the grocery store?
Yeah, that is what I am talking about. That kind of inflation.
What frustrates me even more is the complete lack of respect in this administration. In his speech Obama didn't try to hide his Bush-bashing. And the democrats didn't either, hooting and hollering when Obama said that they needed to take care of "the massive debt we inherited." That debt was huge way before Bush got into office, and looks to be even larger when Obama leaves in 4 years.
There is also the minimum wage increase that congress passed a few years ago. It comes into effect this year. What happens when you raise the minimum wage? Employers are forced to cut hours/employees because they can no longer afford to employ as many people at a higher rate. This does what, oh, raise unemployment. And isn't Obama about lowering it?
And what happens when all of his roads and bridges and other public works projects are completed? Those people no longer have jobs either. So they are what, unemployed again. And we are right back where we started.
I have no idea how this administration thinks it is going to cut the national debt in half by 2014. Especially when they continue to throw trillions of dollars out the window. It's time, as Glenn Beck said today, for Americans to stand up for themselves. Their government is failing them in a massive way, and wasting their money and stealing money from their children and grandchildren.
Revolution is necessary in some cases. Not military revolution, but ideological. Only 20% of americans identify themselves as liberal, and our country is being run by the most liberal congress ever. This is not representative of America.
But what do I know. It is very likely that tomorrow my blog will be removed because it isn't "fair."
"State of the Nation" Thoughts
Last night's speech is being referred to as a "State of the Nation" address, NOT a State of the Union. I thought those were the same thing, but I guess not! I am blogging the speech as it happens, so it might be a little jumbled.
First of all...I never realized how tall the president is. i mean, usually you don't see him around people, so it's hard to judge his height. But dude, he's kind of tall.
First off, I am not a fan of the biblical "day of reckoning" language here. And he is going on about responsibility, yet he is not allowing companies to face up to their responsibilities. A company had sucky policies, it should have to fix itsself, not wait for government to fix it.
And I am still confused about this college credit. Is it $2500 per year for 4 years, or just $2500 for all 4 years?
AHHH...apparently only banks need to be responsible, as Obama says we will save them, but they will be in trouble.
He says we need to have more lending...but we need to make sure we are lending to reliable people. Uncontrolled lending is what got us in this mess.
Ok...I do like his line "The nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."
His budget will focus on education, healthcare, and energy. Didn't he use up his budget card with the stimulus?
I don't think any politician understands the problem with education. College is overpriced. Make it cheaper, don't send me money to pay for it. Also, let's start emphasizing the arts and english. Math and science are so emphasized that there is nothing for those who are not good at those subjects.
Ok, i do like what he said. We should encourage adults to seek higher education. And he says that dropping out of high school is "no longer an option. You are not failing yourself, you are failing your country and America needs and values the talents of all its citizens." However, I really am too lazy to do community service to get more money for college. And he is absolutely correct in saying that parents need to have a more active role in their children's education. If a parent doesn't care, the children won't care. Lead by example.
Ahhh, time for the debt. I don't like debt, this is why I do not use credit cards. And why is everyone cheering about inheriting a deficit? We shouldn't be excited about the failures of the previous administration, we should be saddened by the failures of everyone and be looking for a way to fix it. Everyone is at fault. the deficit has been around and growing since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, and it isn't showing any signs of stopping. But really, does France still expect us to pay them back that money they leant us in the Revolutionary War?
Obama says that definitively, if you make less than $250,000 a year, your taxes will not go up at all. I guess he's changed his mind from previous tax plans proposed during the campaign.
However, he is totally fine spending forever in Afghanistan, but we need to be out of Iraq...yesterday. I don't get it at all. And closing Gitmo is still a horrible idea. Where are we going to put these terrorists? How are we going to prosecute them?
It looks like we are getting to the local anecdote part of the speech, so I will bid you adieu. I am very sleepy :(
First of all...I never realized how tall the president is. i mean, usually you don't see him around people, so it's hard to judge his height. But dude, he's kind of tall.
First off, I am not a fan of the biblical "day of reckoning" language here. And he is going on about responsibility, yet he is not allowing companies to face up to their responsibilities. A company had sucky policies, it should have to fix itsself, not wait for government to fix it.
And I am still confused about this college credit. Is it $2500 per year for 4 years, or just $2500 for all 4 years?
AHHH...apparently only banks need to be responsible, as Obama says we will save them, but they will be in trouble.
He says we need to have more lending...but we need to make sure we are lending to reliable people. Uncontrolled lending is what got us in this mess.
Ok...I do like his line "The nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."
His budget will focus on education, healthcare, and energy. Didn't he use up his budget card with the stimulus?
I don't think any politician understands the problem with education. College is overpriced. Make it cheaper, don't send me money to pay for it. Also, let's start emphasizing the arts and english. Math and science are so emphasized that there is nothing for those who are not good at those subjects.
Ok, i do like what he said. We should encourage adults to seek higher education. And he says that dropping out of high school is "no longer an option. You are not failing yourself, you are failing your country and America needs and values the talents of all its citizens." However, I really am too lazy to do community service to get more money for college. And he is absolutely correct in saying that parents need to have a more active role in their children's education. If a parent doesn't care, the children won't care. Lead by example.
Ahhh, time for the debt. I don't like debt, this is why I do not use credit cards. And why is everyone cheering about inheriting a deficit? We shouldn't be excited about the failures of the previous administration, we should be saddened by the failures of everyone and be looking for a way to fix it. Everyone is at fault. the deficit has been around and growing since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, and it isn't showing any signs of stopping. But really, does France still expect us to pay them back that money they leant us in the Revolutionary War?
Obama says that definitively, if you make less than $250,000 a year, your taxes will not go up at all. I guess he's changed his mind from previous tax plans proposed during the campaign.
However, he is totally fine spending forever in Afghanistan, but we need to be out of Iraq...yesterday. I don't get it at all. And closing Gitmo is still a horrible idea. Where are we going to put these terrorists? How are we going to prosecute them?
It looks like we are getting to the local anecdote part of the speech, so I will bid you adieu. I am very sleepy :(
And the Soapbox Goes To...
There is one thing that annoys me more than others.
When people win awards and use that to wax poetic about their political beliefs.
Usually, there is no backlash. Sally Field is doing fine after talking about how "if mothers ruled the world there would be no GD wars" at the Emmys last year.
Michael Moore has not faired as well. After using his win for Bowling for Colombine to go on and on about his beliefs. He lost the award for his second film, and has seemingly vanished.
Last night was no exception. When the writer of Milk won for best screenplay, he used the opportunity to talk about gay rights. Sean Penn did the same thing after winning best actor for the same film.
I know that your film is about a gay rights activist, but I don't want to hear about it. You won an award, say thanks and leave. I don't tune into the Oscars to hear about the political beliefs of actors.
if someone went up there and talked about how they support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I would be just as angry.
It's not hard. Grab Oscar. Say thanks. Leave stage.
Nowhere in there do I want political speeches.
Especially from one who goes down and hangs with Hugo Chavez.
When people win awards and use that to wax poetic about their political beliefs.
Usually, there is no backlash. Sally Field is doing fine after talking about how "if mothers ruled the world there would be no GD wars" at the Emmys last year.
Michael Moore has not faired as well. After using his win for Bowling for Colombine to go on and on about his beliefs. He lost the award for his second film, and has seemingly vanished.
Last night was no exception. When the writer of Milk won for best screenplay, he used the opportunity to talk about gay rights. Sean Penn did the same thing after winning best actor for the same film.
I know that your film is about a gay rights activist, but I don't want to hear about it. You won an award, say thanks and leave. I don't tune into the Oscars to hear about the political beliefs of actors.
if someone went up there and talked about how they support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I would be just as angry.
It's not hard. Grab Oscar. Say thanks. Leave stage.
Nowhere in there do I want political speeches.
Especially from one who goes down and hangs with Hugo Chavez.
Are You Afraid of the Economy?
Several times on this blog I have been accused of hypocrisy. I don't believe these accusations are correct, but to each his own.
However, someone else is now a hypocrite...in a HUGE way.
President Obama continuously on the campaign trail denounced the politics of fear he accused the Bush administration of using.
However...he himself is now employing fear to sell this stimulus package.
In his press conference, and his town hall meetings, the president continually speaks of the impending doom that apparently awaits if this package is not passed. Apparently, the Earth will stop spinning and a giant black hole will eat us all if this bill is not passed. At least, that is what the president would have the public believe.
However, this bill will only make things worse. Where will the money come from? No one will lend to us, so we have to print it. And that will cause inflation to skyrocket. I don't know about you, but I'm not strong enough to bring my wheelbarrow of money to buy bread.
Not even that, but there are all sorts of hidden pet projects in the bill, including a measure towards universal health care! I bill call for making all medical records electronic. This is a good thing, as it will allow doctors across the country to receive the files of their patients.
However, this measure also allows the government to approve medical procedures and disapprove procedures they do not agree with I am not ok with the federal government overriding my doctor when it comes to my medical care.
Maybe this measure will be worked out in committee. Maybe the price tag will go down. I highly doubt it though, and the doom the president says will come if this bill is not passed is sure to come if it does.
However, someone else is now a hypocrite...in a HUGE way.
President Obama continuously on the campaign trail denounced the politics of fear he accused the Bush administration of using.
However...he himself is now employing fear to sell this stimulus package.
In his press conference, and his town hall meetings, the president continually speaks of the impending doom that apparently awaits if this package is not passed. Apparently, the Earth will stop spinning and a giant black hole will eat us all if this bill is not passed. At least, that is what the president would have the public believe.
However, this bill will only make things worse. Where will the money come from? No one will lend to us, so we have to print it. And that will cause inflation to skyrocket. I don't know about you, but I'm not strong enough to bring my wheelbarrow of money to buy bread.
Not even that, but there are all sorts of hidden pet projects in the bill, including a measure towards universal health care! I bill call for making all medical records electronic. This is a good thing, as it will allow doctors across the country to receive the files of their patients.
However, this measure also allows the government to approve medical procedures and disapprove procedures they do not agree with I am not ok with the federal government overriding my doctor when it comes to my medical care.
Maybe this measure will be worked out in committee. Maybe the price tag will go down. I highly doubt it though, and the doom the president says will come if this bill is not passed is sure to come if it does.
I Charge $5 An Hour
Before we get to serious matters, a question: who watches the kids when the Obama's go out?
They went to an opera or something the other night, so I started wonders...are there federal babysitters, or is babysitting part of secret service training? I hope it is the later, for I love the idea of secret service agents playing hide and seek, using their walkie talkies to help each other.
Onto serious matters. President Obama is...on the campaign trail? Did he not get the memo that he doesn't have to do that anymore?
He was in Elkhart, Indiana today. Apparently, Elkhart has the highest unemployment in the country, which is odd when you figure that my home state of Indiana is in a surplus and Governor Mitch Daniels is awesome and stuff.
But when you look at the fact that the town's entire economy revolves around the production of RVs, it isn't as surprising. Only diversified economies can survive a crisis, and Elkhart isn't one of them.
The president also took questions from the audience. One woman asked how he can expect Americans to pay their taxes if his own cabinet appointees can't. President Obama told the crowd to stop booing, and that it was a legitimate question. He again admitted his mistakes.
A man told the president that the stimulus needs to stop going to banks and companies and "straight into my mailbox." The president basically told the man that that isn't really possible.
The president touted a part of the bill I knew nothing about: a $2500 tax credit per college student for families. Now, i am all for free money, especially since my parents have a parent plus loan for me hanging over their heads. However, this doesn't tackle the problem. The problem is not that families need money for college, it is that college is too expensive.
People complain about the high cost of health care, and the high salaries of doctors. However, when you see that these doctors graduate college several hundred thousands of dollars in debt, their high salaries are a little more understandable. If you lower the cost of education, health care costs go down as well!
If college is less expensive, it also allows more people to attend. If we have a larger group of highly educated people, our country can improve greatly. However, you can run into a problem there, as people will demand better work and higher wages. But for the most part, it would improve our country greatly.
I am still not a fan of this stimulus bill, mostly because it has been completely distorted by Nancy Pelosi and her followers. Maybe the president's speech tonight will sway me. I highly doubt it, though, as I am missing an episode of House due to it, and am not happy about it.
They went to an opera or something the other night, so I started wonders...are there federal babysitters, or is babysitting part of secret service training? I hope it is the later, for I love the idea of secret service agents playing hide and seek, using their walkie talkies to help each other.
Onto serious matters. President Obama is...on the campaign trail? Did he not get the memo that he doesn't have to do that anymore?
He was in Elkhart, Indiana today. Apparently, Elkhart has the highest unemployment in the country, which is odd when you figure that my home state of Indiana is in a surplus and Governor Mitch Daniels is awesome and stuff.
But when you look at the fact that the town's entire economy revolves around the production of RVs, it isn't as surprising. Only diversified economies can survive a crisis, and Elkhart isn't one of them.
The president also took questions from the audience. One woman asked how he can expect Americans to pay their taxes if his own cabinet appointees can't. President Obama told the crowd to stop booing, and that it was a legitimate question. He again admitted his mistakes.
A man told the president that the stimulus needs to stop going to banks and companies and "straight into my mailbox." The president basically told the man that that isn't really possible.
The president touted a part of the bill I knew nothing about: a $2500 tax credit per college student for families. Now, i am all for free money, especially since my parents have a parent plus loan for me hanging over their heads. However, this doesn't tackle the problem. The problem is not that families need money for college, it is that college is too expensive.
People complain about the high cost of health care, and the high salaries of doctors. However, when you see that these doctors graduate college several hundred thousands of dollars in debt, their high salaries are a little more understandable. If you lower the cost of education, health care costs go down as well!
If college is less expensive, it also allows more people to attend. If we have a larger group of highly educated people, our country can improve greatly. However, you can run into a problem there, as people will demand better work and higher wages. But for the most part, it would improve our country greatly.
I am still not a fan of this stimulus bill, mostly because it has been completely distorted by Nancy Pelosi and her followers. Maybe the president's speech tonight will sway me. I highly doubt it, though, as I am missing an episode of House due to it, and am not happy about it.
Bad Jokes, Bad Bills, Bad Bees
I am writing this Thursday night becasue President Obama has just given a speech in front of a caucus of democrats, and I have a few things to say about it.
For starters, Obama basically yelled for the entire 20-ish minutes. Not very presidential, eh?
He also basically said Republicans needed to just get with it and vote for the package without trying to change it. What happened to the cooperation and working together of earlier this week?
And apparently if this bill isn't law by February 16 all hell is going to break loose and we are all going to die and the stock market will hit zero and the Earth will explode. At least, that's what I'm getting out of this absolute deadline.
Also, it seems the speech was not meant to be televised, as the feed was cut right afterwards, and before the question and answer session. Was this because the White House knew it would be such a strong speech and didn't want to alienate people?
The speech was also filled with many jokes at President Bush's expense and soaring rhetoric that President Obama uses to perfection to distract people from the lack of substance in his speeches.
There is so much stuff in this bill that doesn't belong. I can see the validity of honeybee research and building safe-houses for prostitutes...but it does not belong in this stimulus bill. I hate piggybacking pet projects into bills like this. it slows down the process and prevents help from actually getting to whom it is needed.
The president will be speaking to the public Monday night. Maybe that will be a less-heated appeal for their support of a $920 billion dollar "stimulus package."
For starters, Obama basically yelled for the entire 20-ish minutes. Not very presidential, eh?
He also basically said Republicans needed to just get with it and vote for the package without trying to change it. What happened to the cooperation and working together of earlier this week?
And apparently if this bill isn't law by February 16 all hell is going to break loose and we are all going to die and the stock market will hit zero and the Earth will explode. At least, that's what I'm getting out of this absolute deadline.
Also, it seems the speech was not meant to be televised, as the feed was cut right afterwards, and before the question and answer session. Was this because the White House knew it would be such a strong speech and didn't want to alienate people?
The speech was also filled with many jokes at President Bush's expense and soaring rhetoric that President Obama uses to perfection to distract people from the lack of substance in his speeches.
There is so much stuff in this bill that doesn't belong. I can see the validity of honeybee research and building safe-houses for prostitutes...but it does not belong in this stimulus bill. I hate piggybacking pet projects into bills like this. it slows down the process and prevents help from actually getting to whom it is needed.
The president will be speaking to the public Monday night. Maybe that will be a less-heated appeal for their support of a $920 billion dollar "stimulus package."
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