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So broke we're when it comes to universal health care, we're broke when it comes to a jobs bill, but squandering3 TRILLION DOLLARS on a failed war, no problemo you betcha.
"You can't spend $3 trillion -- yes, $3 trillion -- on a failed war abroad and not feel the pain at home.
But money spent paying Nepalese workers in Iraq (or even Iraqi ones) doesn't stimulate the U.S. economy the way that money spent at home would -- and it certainly doesn't provide the basis for long-term growth the way investments in research, education or infrastructure would."
"The amount of money pushed into politics already makes a mockery of the 'one person, one vote' contract implicit in a democratic system.
I do not really like the Huff Post... but I agree that voting is essentially a waste of time. (I am not saying one should not vote, but I live in NYC and my Republican vote is basically meaningless).
Why not vote with your $$$$. Try and only spend your money on items and stores that back your beliefs? Easier said than done I know..... but why can't personal choice drive this change instead of more Gov't regulation? No matter what politician is elected.... they are still a politician. Whether they come from the Right or the Left they are still part of the system and they will scr*w you. In short: If you are PRO Main St.... SHOP THERE !! (The mall is not Main St., J Crew and The Gap are essentially "Wall St").
I do not really like the Huff Post... but I agree that voting is essentially a waste of time. (I am not saying one should not vote, but I live in NYC and my Republican vote is basically meaningless).
Why not vote with your $$$$. Try and only spend your money on items and stores that back your beliefs? Easier said than done I know..... but why can't personal choice drive this change instead of more Gov't regulation? No matter what politician is elected.... they are still a politician. Whether they come from the Right or the Left they are still part of the system and they will scr*w you. In short: If you are PRO Main St.... SHOP THERE !! (The mall is not Main St., J Crew and The Gap are essentially "Wall St").
Walmart, Home Depot and many others have decimated mom and pop shops.
We are now ruled by oligopolies.
Did you know before Reagan (who still had more sense than the lunatic fringe that now sully the name of conservatism), the GOP were THE party of trust busters?
"When demand for their products leveled off in the middle of last year, the companies could have stopped cutting jobs or even hired people back. But they didn't -- payrolls have continued declining.
Instead companies squeezed more work out of remaining employees, accounting for a 3.8 percent boost in worker productivity in 2009, the best in seven years. Which raises the question: Why couldn't companies have achieved those gains back when the economy was in better shape? The answer to that may lie on the other side of the equation -- employees.
Workers were in a panic of their own in 2009. Fearful of losing their jobs, people seem to have become more willing to stretch themselves to the limit to get more done in any given hour of work. And they have been tolerant of furloughs and cutbacks in hours, which in better times would drive them to find a new employer. This has given companies the leeway to cut back without the fear of losing valuable employees for good."
Workers were in a panic of their own in 2009. Fearful of losing their jobs, people seem to have become more willing to stretch themselves to the limit to get more done in any given hour of work. And they have been tolerant of furloughs and cutbacks in hours, which in better times would drive them to find a new employer. This has given companies the leeway to cut back without the fear of losing valuable employees for good."
Hmmmm, sounds like someone I know, oh wait that's me! Yeah, the company I work for has done this exact thing. We work lots of hours, take on a bigger work load, yet no raises, no end of year bonuses. But don't be mistaken, the higher ups definitely got their end of year compensation. They did buy us new carpet, some tacky decor and motivational posters though
"The nation’s 10 largest public pension funds have paid private equity firms more than $17 billion in fees since 2000, according to a new analysis conducted for The New York Times, as the funds flocked to these so-called alternative investments in hopes of reaping market-beating returns.
But few big public funds ended up collecting the 20 to 30 percent returns that private equity managers often held out to attract pension money, a review of the funds’ performance shows."
I'll tell ya, politics these days beats anything on the boob tube.
"Much of that lobbying has centered on Senator Blanche Lincoln, the Arkansas Democrat who is the committee’s chairwoman and who last week introduced the bill that would prevent banks from trading derivatives directly.
The daughter of a sixth-generation rice farmer, she has found herself navigating a dangerous channel between Wall Street firms, which raised $60,000 at two fund-raisers for her re-election campaign so far this year, and her constituents, many of whom want a crackdown on the speculation that led to the financial crisis.
The committee will be the main arena for the derivatives fight for reasons dating to an era when farming was more important to the nation’s economy than finance.
Wall Street bankers were stunned by the most aggressive portion of Ms. Lincoln’s bill, one that is opposed even by the Obama administration. That proposal would essentially ban banks from being dealers in swaps or other derivatives by taking away their access to federal deposit insurance and their ability to borrow from the Federal Reserve if they kept those businesses."
On this issue Ms. Lincoln must receive as much support as possible.
If we want to reverse the slide into a 3rd world banana republic we have to once again make manufacturing, agriculture and technology and NOT FINANCE, the basis for our economy.
The fat cats are gambling away the existence of a middle class.
"The blaring Goldman Sachs headlines of the last few days have given the public a crash course in synthetic C.D.O.’s. Many more people now know that synthetic C.D.O.’s are a simple wager.
One side bets the value will rise, and the other side bets it will fall. It is no different than betting on the New York Yankees vs. the Oakland Athletics, except that if a sports bet goes bad, American taxpayers don’t pay the bookie.
“The pushback on regulating derivatives is quite amazing,” said David Paul, president of the Fiscal Strategies Group, an advisory firm specializing in municipal and project finance. “It’s all just become a casino. They argue there is social utility — but you know intuitively this is wrong.”
Congratulations, America, our future now rests in the hands of gambling addicts.
You may now go back to your idolization of Glen Beck, Paris Hilton and Sarah Palin.
"Washington first cuts taxes on the well-to-do, then offsets the revenue loss by raising taxes on the working class and tells folks it is saving their money for future retirement. But Washington spends the money on other stuff, so when workers need it for their retirement, they are told, Sorry, we can't afford it."
"The next day, Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson convenes a fiscal summit through his Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
Peterson is a former CEO of the now-defunct Lehman Brothers and former chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He underwrites the foundation with his own funds -- and his agenda is no secret.
He sees the coming retirement of baby boomers as a threat to the economy and the federal budget. He wants aggressive cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits, as well as the creation of a commission that would have legal authority to create a plan to reduce the deficit and then simply present it to Congress for an up or down vote -- no debates, no amendments.
So -- taxpayers have bailed out Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion-plus, but Pete Peterson is worried about the deficit. And, he thinks the real problem is Social Security. That despite the fact that Social Security has a $2.5 trillion surplus, which is enough to pay benefits for 25 years or more."
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