One test of whether we are witnessing the end of America is how many more times Americans put up with congressional show trials of individual business people and their employees, slandering and vilifying them for their actions and motives. And for how long will they tolerate a President who berates business and corporations as dens of crime and malfeasance? If the majority of Americans come to accept the caricatures of business as true, then America is closer to the end of its life as a global leader, as a champion of markets and individualism.
But America is at risk in other ways, especially in the technical business of setting and executing policy. The presidency of Barack Obama has set out on a course that has no precedent in U.S. history.
[...]
Reform of health care, environmental policy, education, energy, banking, regulation — every nook and cranny of the U.S. economy has been put on alert for major change. Expansion of government spending, plunging the U.S. into unprecedented deficits, is without parallel. In economic policy, through regulation and control of energy output, financial services and monetary expansion, the U.S. government has embarked on a fundamental reshaping of America. It is designed, in short, to bring on the end of America.
[...]
For the rest of the world, however, the worry is that America is at risk of becoming the fountainhead of a new inflationary outburst. The U.S. dollar is now in decline, gold is moving sharply higher, and new global currency turmoil is on the horizon.
As if this weren’t bad enough, did you forget now that oil prices are back down that the reasons for the rise last year are still there? And soon to get far worse? Aggghhhhh!
“Run away! Run away!”
I don’t know how any sane person could look at what’s going on within the Pharmaceutical, Tobacco, Oil and Financial companies in this country and come away thinking that everything is kosher. Pharmaceutical companies are responsible for their own testing and they produce drugs that cause strokes and heart attacks. Big surprise. Tobacco companies hide links to cancer. Oil companies collude with wall street on price speculation. Financial institutions manipulate the market. These are all things that hurt individuals. But we’re just supposed to be all right with it because getting in the way of Big Companies and Pure Capitalism is communism and socialism. Yeah right.
The President berates the very people needed to fix our economy…what if those who would make the new TARP plan, unveiled by Geitner, don’t want their names publicized in Congress, by the mayor of New York?
What if they don’t want mobs at their homes threatening their families…
Who then will step up to buy troubled assets?
While the mobs rail at derivative traders…and cause them to hide…who will work at AIG…make our 165 Billion dollar investment, a success?
Massive incompetence…the clowns running in the White House and Congress (both houses) are the poster children of it.
If the public doesn’t wake up and turn on them, rather than Business people we need to fix the mess politicians got us into, it is the end of America…
Third World poverty will be ours…and fairness dictates, Obama and crew will distribute it fairly to all of us…except themselves…
The National Post is Canada’s answer to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post combined. While they do have some good writers, the general slant is anything left of Attila the Hun is obviously bad.
Major industry, especially the health and large banking sectors, have truly earned their disrespect.
Congressional show trial’s? Ya right, People are pissed and rightly so. We, the People want answers and it seems all we are getting is bullshit. They want our money but they want it on their terms with no responsibility to those who paid for it.
Not every CEO is a modern day version of a Robber Baron. In fact, I would think just a handful are. But they are tarnishing all CEOs and the entire financial industry by their poor examples.
#2, Alphie.
The President berates the very people needed to fix our economy…what if those who would make the new TARP plan, unveiled by Geitner, don’t want their names publicized in Congress,
Why direct your anger at the guy fixing the problem instead of those who created it? Why shouldn’t they have their names known?
The “Octo-mum” has broken no laws yet is harassed day and night. Why don’t you direct some of your anger towards those that harass her, and her children, along with the tabloid papers and TV shows that are exploiting her?
These people are NOT the only ones capable of fixing the mess they made. Because if they were, that would have so many laws broken they wouldn’t see daylight again. I do understand the New York Attorney General and Connecticut Attorney General are investigating AIG for illegalities.
Who then will step up to buy troubled assets?
Those that see value for the money. No one will buy anything if it costs more than it is worth or there is no profit in it. If it looks good, there will be someone that will buy it.
Massive incompetence…the clowns running in the White House and Congress (both houses) are the poster children of it.
Yup. The Republicans screwed the economy and the Democrats are fixing it. As has happened so many times in the past. And every time the Democrats fix the economy, the right wing nuts claim they are incompetent.
The funny thing is that the right wing nuts can not point to anything other than broad accusations to show the Democrats are incompetent. They love to boldly scream how this is Pelosi, Dodd and Frank’s fault when they haven’t passed any legislation that removed the oversight of these giants. They have not been complicit in not reviewing how the companies were run.
If the public doesn’t wake up and turn on them, rather than Business people we need to fix the mess politicians got us into, it is the end of America…
The politicians didn’t write all the bad paper. The politicians didn’t mislead Congress on how well the economy was doing. The politicians didn’t shut off the money supply to businesses. It was fucking Wall Street you flaming hemorrhoid!!! It was the “Captains of Finance” that got us into this mess and it will be the politicians that get us out.
#3,
I think the question is… Are they worth the money they are getting paid? Is it possible that the work that one guy does is worth 10s of millions of dollars a year to the company??
I can see a salary and performance bonus of a million dollars a year, but they guys who make 30 million in salary and bonus??? um, I think not. Nothing those guys are doing is worth what they are getting paid. That money belongs with the investors.
I think a better compensation plan for these guys is to “loan” them company stocks at market price and then make them responsible for the care of those stocks as long as they are an officer of the company. Then when the executive leaves, he is only responsible to refund the company their intial investment in him, or the stock. Then the officers would get a more rational salary of say…. a million a year in stock and option, because all payroll beyond a million dollars a year is taxes at a 100% tax rate. But any money they make under investment tax rules, is only subject to more reasonable investor tax policy.
You know when the people at your local rotary club are complaining about the compensation plans of executives at fortune 1000 companies, you know for a FACT that there is a problem.
Most Americans have never lived in a large failed country — so they just can’t believe that the “Reagan Revolution” might have ended America as we know it.
But unless we bring back the traditional liberal values that made America great, we won’t break this death spiral that the conservatives send us in. At some point, it will be too late. I might be too late already.
America has been transitioning from nation-state to market-state since Reagan, and it is going to take a lot to turn it around if it is even possible.
The Corporatocracy is like an Imperialist state. No concern for the people at all, only concern is to keep itself in power.
If America falls it will not be because of invasion or esxternal terrorist threats, it will more likely be for far more interesting reasons:
http://jeffvail.net/thenewmap.pdf
Corporations cannot have the all-consuming power that people here are talking about without an all-consuming powerful government to back them. For every AIG that is being attacked by the government, there are thousands of corporations receiving welfare and regulatory support from that very same congress and president.
Return the US to its constitutional origins, enforce a few basic rules to prevent monopolies and dishonesty in corporate behavior and the economy will be much healthier.
#8, Ivor Littleone
For every AIG that is being attacked by the government, there are thousands of corporations receiving welfare and regulatory support from that very same congress and president.
First, AIG is not being attacked. They are being held to account. BIG difference.
Second, NO other corporation is being given $180 BILLION of our taxpayer dollars.
Return the US to its constitutional origins,
How has America been “unconstitutional”?
>First, AIG is not being attacked. They are being held to account. BIG difference.
You don’t think the grandstanding is costing AIG business?
To make things worse, this is a business in which the government has a share. So they are costing themselves money.
Rather than show trials, a better phrase might be two minute hate.
#4, Mr Fusion said
“Yup. The Republicans screwed the economy and the Democrats are fixing it. As has happened so many times in the past. And every time the Democrats fix the economy, the right wing nuts claim they are incompetent.
The funny thing is that the right wing nuts can not point to anything other than broad accusations to show the Democrats are incompetent.”
Let’s leave out the $1 T buyback of gov’t securities when no one has any idea of the needed amount. This is a recipe for inflationary disaster. Since fiscal policy is a no-no, this being a Democratic show, the only thing to stop a deflation (which is where we are) is to cause inflation. Then the banks can raise interest rates to stop the inflation, which should totally destroy the economy.
We have a recovery plan that puts a minority of the funding in plans that truly help the economy and a majority in old fashioned pork barrel politics.
The financial bailout plan has no oversight whatsoever (resulting in huge bonuses paid to people who helped bring about the crisis in the first place).
Add a total turnaround on Afghanistan (send more troops so we can negotiate from strength?). Does anyone recall this concept? Does 1968 ring a bell? Yes, Tricky Dick tried this!
Let’s tax energy producers because we don’t like their product (coal). Along with this, let’s push for plug in hybrid vehicles, that will use more electricity which requires energy to produce and a revamped grid to provide it. Of course this makes us more vulnerable to power outages brought about by solar storms, terrorism and plain incompetence.
Least, but far from last, the vetting process used by our illustrious President, resulting in several high profile appointments who didn’t pay their taxes, including the Treasury Secretary designate,for God’s sake!
Possibly you would like some more specific examples? I will be the first to say George Bush was a disaster but the Democrats were in control of Congress. The President does not spend one cent of the taxpayers money except in the operation of the White House itself. All monies are apprpriated by Congress!
GE took bailout money too, and they own NBC. So are you guys going to complain about Chris Mathews’s new contract? No bonuses for Keith Olbermann, I hope.
Mr. Fission, you are so clueless that any attempt to enlighten you would be a waste of time.
#4, Who then will step up to buy troubled assets?
Those that see value for the money. No one will buy anything if it costs more than it is worth or there is no profit in it. If it looks good, there will be someone that will buy it.
And that I think is the problem. Nobody in their right mind would buy them unless the government promised to take them if they didn’t pay out. That’s part of the mess we’re in now — toxic assets no one wants!
So, the government (taxpayers) will end up owning them and turn them into the largest welfare housing project in history.
Amazing, this crap seems viable to the same people who have so much trouble with climate change. I got an idea. It’s called free thinking, yeah, forget the party line. Look things over and judge for yourself. Yeah, it’s risky, you might have to justify your opinions. And yeah, you get to eat humble pie if you’re wrong. You can’t shirk the responsibility of your opinions to some larger group, and you do run the risk of actually learning something. On second thought forget it. May the cleverest indoctrination win.
#10, Lyin’ Mike,
You don’t think the grandstanding is costing AIG business?
Any business that AIG is losing is because their own actions have hurt the company. It is because the company is being held to account PLUS the $180 Billion in aid they might actually again become a very viable company.
#12, Phil,
Let’s leave out the $1 T buyback of gov’t securities when no one has any idea of the needed amount. This is a recipe for inflationary disaster.
So when Bush and Paulson came running to Congress to ask for the bailout, it was the Democrats fault? When Lehman Brothers went under, Wall Street shit their pants. When the others started to crack, all hell broke loose.
But WAIT !!! The Democrats are fucking up the economy!!!
Since fiscal policy is a no-no, this being a Democratic show, the only thing to stop a deflation (which is where we are) is to cause inflation. Then the banks can raise interest rates to stop the inflation, which should totally destroy the economy.
So the right wing nuts want to destroy the economy? Boss Limpdick was right? That is the biggest reason I am glad the Democrats are in power instead of the fuck it all up Republicans.
Add a total turnaround on Afghanistan (send more troops so we can negotiate from strength?).
The tears of 9/11 have been milked by the right wing nuts for all they are worth. Now they want to get out of Afghanistan instead of getting the murderous son of a bitch that was in charge of the organization that saw almost 3,000 killed that day. Claim fear as the reason to vote Republican then cut and run from the whole reason why.
Effen coward chicken hawks.
Let’s tax energy producers because we don’t like their product (coal).
For eight years we have seen pollution controls come off coal fired plants. We have seen mining disasters because the Bureau of Mines stopped enforcing regulations. We have seen renewable energy held back because of preferences for dirty coal. Yup, tax ‘em.
Along with this, let’s push for plug in hybrid vehicles, that will use more electricity which requires energy to produce and a revamped grid to provide it.
Sounds like someone is in favor of allowing energy companies to rape our wealth and give no return.
Least, but far from last, the vetting process used by our illustrious President, resulting in several high profile appointments who didn’t pay their taxes, including the Treasury Secretary designate,for God’s sake!
Alas, you have found one area. I would much prefer someone who made a mistake with their taxes than someone being arrested in a public washroom, emailing Congressional Pages, stealing elections in Ohio, hid a DUI from the public and didn’t complete his military service, or taking bribes to build bridges (and their homes) or sell armaments.
I will be the first to say George Bush was a disaster but the Democrats were in control of Congress. The President does not spend one cent of the taxpayers money except in the operation of the White House itself.
Tell me that last paragraph is a mistake. Tell us you don’t really mean that. Simply because I don’t feel like giving a lesson on government.
BTW, the President spends way more than 99.9% of all tax dollars. Way effen more. Congress and the Supreme Court spend less than 1%. Way less. But that is why you paint the Democrats with a broad brush instead of presenting actual ideas. Simply because the intelligence of the right wing nuts is around room temperature.
AIG is now partly a government company. So any business lost is business lost by the government.
#13, Lyin’ Mike,
GE took bailout money too, …
Sorry Mike, this looks like another one of your lies. I have spent some time trying to find out how much and it turns out they haven’t taken any TARP funds.