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Mayor: Obama should apologize for Vegas trips quip
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sin City's mayor wants President Barack Obama to apologize for saying companies shouldn't visit Las Vegas on the taxpayer's dime.
Oscar Goodman spoke after a regular scheduled meeting with tourism officials where he expressed concern that federal lawmakers might be discouraging travel to the city.
"What's a better place, as I say, than for them to come here," Goodman told KLAS-TV. "And to change their mind and to go someplace else and to cancel — and at the suggestion of the president of the United States — that's outrageous."
Goodman said Obama's remarks at the town hall meeting were unwarranted.
"That's outrageous, and he owes us an apology," he said. "He owes us a retraction."
The Mayor of Las Vegas is a total idiot if he doesn't realize what Obama meant in his remark!
It is obvious to anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence that Obama doesn't want to see recipients of government bail-out money spending it lavishly on themselves.
That money is intended to be used by the business to get credit flowing between financial institutions, to revive the economy.
It is not meant to be used by employees for trips to Vegas.
If a company can still afford to send it's employees to Vegas, then it shouldn't be asking for a government bail-out in the first place!
I'm no fan of Obama, but in this instance he's absolutely right. I would say, take it a step further and audit these corporate CEO's and their expendures since receiving bailout money and if there are signs of abuse throw them in prison. Of course we need to enforce these concepts across the board to include Congress and the Senate. I don't think we'll ever see a total reform, just a few scapegoats dragged in front of the media to make it look as though Uncle Sugar is doing something to please the masses.
You obviously don't see the big picture, and fully understand how serious this economic crisis is.
Doing nothing at this time will result in an economic catastrophe worse than you could ever imagine.
This economic crisis is like a snowball rolling down a hill, and it will continue to get larger and larger unless it is dealt with now.
To the contrary, I see the big picture. You are the one who is short-sighted. Everybody complaining right now did nothing when homes were appreciating at 20% per year. Where was the outrage then? In the long-term, the market must be allowed to return to equilibrium. As long at the Fed, Uncle Sam, and Congress are mucking around in the free market, we cannot get there. I understand this, and I have more to lose than many, though not near as much as some.
We cannot continue with govt. securities paying 50 points, long-term mortgage rates at 4.5%, savings rates at 1.5%, banks pawning worthless loans off on the taxpayer, and families earning $40K buying $400K homes.
Congress could have passed a law stating that the govt. would not insure, underwrite, or purchase any note less than five years old. By default, banks would have to hold their mortgage paper on their books. This would have done more to correct the market than the entire $900 billion in pork just passed. Banks would have to actually underwrite their loans, and take responsibility for them. They would have to answer to their shareholders. That is accountability.
Govt. insured or govt. underwritten loans are the basis for today's problem. The govt. has no business in the private mortgage business.
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