The nation is enormously pleased and excited about the appointments President-elect Obama has made, the depth of his attention to the matter of this nation’s economy and the swiftness and intellectual seriousness he’s applying to resolve the matter. It’s a great first start.
Jobs must now and always be the focus. That was the major imperative FDR intuitively and immediately understood. President-elect Obama, being the keen student of history that he is, knows that during the thirties, FDR created public works projects that lead to jobs that lead to people getting back to work, that lead to the country feeling good about itself again, that restored confidence to individual Americans and restored America’s collective confidence in America. All people who sincerely wanted to work had to do then was get up early enough to be among the first in line. Employers recognized and believed it was their civic responsibility to hire all who wanted to work. They believed they were helping rebuild America.
Today the media talks about jobs and unemployment in cold, faceless statistics. Federally funded, so-called job development agencies are perpetuating that mind set. No one is on the side of the integrity of the American worker anymore, or is our government so completely removed from the hopes and dreams and aspirations of the “REAL” average American worker?
The “REAL” average American worker has graduated from high school and has landed a job within ten miles of his home town, quickly married and immediately started a family. They seem always to have two children: a girl and a boy. They’re not shopping the market for the right “career fit.” They’re content with living where they live, how they live, and with what they’re living for: their families, their homes and their communities. And the occasional pizza delivery.
The “REAL” average American family are people who sacrifice and live within their means. They’re proud of what they do, proud they are able to support their families. They fervently need to be able to rely on the stability of their jobs, because this is the rock-solid foundation for everything they are and all that they do. All other ground is sinking sand.Once the job is in place, heads-of-households begin to plan for their futures and the immediate future of their children. Notice I said immediate, not long-term future of their children.
The “REAL” average American family is not necessarily socking away money for college for their children. They believe, if this a desire their children have, it is their responsibility as parents to provide a secure, stable, nurturing home for their children to be able to excel throughout their public school career. Based on that record of excellence, the “REAL” average American family expect their children to get into college on scholarship, work, avail themselves to available student aid, work, do well in college, work, graduate, then work to pay off those student loans. Notice the importance of the expectation of work. Their children are grateful for the occasional care package they receive from their parents or the occasional money gift and their love, support and encouragement. The children then pass these expectations and values on to their children. The foundation of it all is their parent’s ability to get and sustain their jobs.
We seem to have forgotten how “REAL” average Americans feel about working. They don’t care about having a “career trajectory.” They just want to work. They just want to keep their jobs. They like living near their parents. They want to stay connected to their siblings. They want to pay their bills. They prefer to stick with those same co-workers. They want to establish and maintain their friendships. They love to talk about how long they’ve known this one or that one or how long they’ve been affiliated with their church, how close they are to their parents, or how long they’ve held that job. Listen to the “REAL” average American and see what I say is true.
The “REAL” average American does not need glamour. They want consistency and stability. They want to earn a paycheck so they can support their families and their communities and live where they’ve always lived all their lives. They’re not whining about healthcare or spinning tales of woe about healthcare. They use nearby Urgent Care facilities, not emergency rooms.
Today people are scared. They’re eating eggs and Raaman noodles for dinner every night, and the worst thing about it all: When they lose their jobs, it’s next to impossible to land another job. Here is the real crisis of confidence, President Obama. It’s not because there are no jobs out there to be had, because there are. It’s because there are far too many people, companies and agencies who have the power to hire but instead choose to serve their own self interests. They are the ones who are really benefitting by turning the application process into a mean, protracted ordeal because it’s in their self interest-- It's their job. It's what they do. See how busy they are doing their job.
They’re objective is not to fill positions especially. They’re working to proliferate a process, reducing otherwise good people-- devoted parents, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, into a tidy heap of 8 1/2 by 11 tucked inside manila files. It’s about paper, not people!
During the Depression, one person took your name and address, sized you up, and then pointed you toward where you were going to work (remember Russell Crowe’s Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man)? Millions of people went to work that way and continued to make this country great. The Empire State building in New York City was erected during the Great Depression! Today, you need a Vice-President of Human Resources, a Director of Human Resources, a HR Manager, several HR supervisors, and all of their HR administrative assistants. And let’s not forget the Receptionist who everyone knows is the chief screener.
You spend hours filling out one online application and you will still be expected to be packing a hard copy of your resume when you come to the interview. As you stand on the outside longingly looking in, it hits you-- all these people at these various companies have jobs because you don’t. If this went on in the ‘30’s and ‘40’s, we would never have put people back to work and grown the economy as steadily as FDR did.
President-elect Obama, if you’re still with me here, there are two rather simple ways you and your crack team can facilitate job growth within the first six months of your presidency. What you have to do is:
1. Appeal to companies desire to prove to Americans just how committed to America they truly are.
They must relax (or better yet, eliminate altogether) the arduous application process that is demoralizing the spirit of all those who can, are willing and able, and who simply want to work, not write a book.People who don’t work steadily are people who can’t pay bills, keep up with a mortgage, maintain an expensive hobby or hunt moose. People who don’t work stay home and find other, inexpensive, “creative” ways to cope, mechanisms that may not be the most physically, emotionally or spiritually helpful.
2. Appeal to companies to suspend the practice of using staffing agencies to fill positions with contract or temporary workers to whom they don’t provide healthcare benefits. People will work without benefits in exchange for permanent employment status.
I guarantee these two simple appeals will get real people back to work!
For years, this quote “Actors are cattle” was attributed to Alfred Hitchcock, the famous director of Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window. During a televised awards ceremony, (which I watched, by the way), Mr. Hitchcock clarified the misquote saying “I never said actors are cattle. I said actors should be treated like cattle.”
Everyone’s out doing themselves publicly decrying outsourcing and jobs being shipped overseas. This little talked about, horrid, hateful, practice of using valuable human resources (people) as temporary/contract workers has kept families living in fear and on the edge and for years! People are being treated like cattle. There should be some outcry about that!
Companies need to post “HELP WANTED” signs, announce the number of jobs they’re needing to fill, and then have their HR personnel walk the line. If every company in the nation did this, every person in this nation who truly wants to work will work.
Maybe CEO’s and COO’s can demonstrate their altruism and their commitment to America by donating the disposable portion of their salaries and bonuses (the part their using to buy yachts, and maintain multiple homes and cars and their expensive memberships in country clubs) toward the newly hired who waited on that line. They need to demonstrate that spirit of self-sacrifice that once was once a moral descriptor of American. Just long enough to see America though this crisis and until she gets back on her feet.
The Great Depression lasted 14 long, hard years, but throughout, Americans came to the real aid of other Americans, not by donating millions of dollars to some charity, or think-tank consortiums, or adopting foreign children, but by providing work to those who simply wanted to work.
President Obama, we don’t need a stimulus check. We know how to stimulate ourselves. President Obama, Real Americans want jobs, not stimulus checks!
That’s all. Thanks for listening.
We are now hearing in the press about more possible governmental funds going to Detroit auto manufacturers as part of the proposed economic stimulus package. I suppose the first question to ask is, do you agree that this should be done? If we are to be a truly Capitalist system, shouldn't we just let these car companies fail just like millions of smaller businesses who could not manage their profits properly?
If we let these three companies fail, are we then willing to let millions of our fellow taxpayers suffer? Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm mentioned that about 1 in 10 jobs in America could be affected by the Detroit Auto industry:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6212137&page=1
Would the fallout by letting these industries fail be catastrophic to our economy, or will it not be as bad as we may think? Should the government step aside and let them first merge into maybe one larger US auto company, and then reconsider whether to bail them out?
If we instead bail out the Detroit auto industry, how would we ensure that these bailout funds are going to be used properly? Should this continue to be a straight bailout, and give this as a blank check to these three auto companies to disburse? Or should we maybe consider that the government own shares of these companies, much like they are doing with AIG, so that these auto companies can buy them out when they get their sales back years down the road? Or is there even a better strategy to consider?
Please include any related hyperlinks to back up your comments as much as possible. Take care.
Larry Ceciliolarry_cecilio@yahoo.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, November 3, 2008S – Millions of Americans are not only upside down on their mortgages, they’re also upside down on credit card debt, car loans, student loans and other debt, and have no way to create any more buying power. So, if consumers can’t borrow to buy, how on earth do the Washington gurus who engineered the $700 billion bailout think freeing up the credit markets will have any meaningful impact on the economy?
Auto sales in October were down by 45% for General Motors, down by 30% for Ford, and down by 23% for Toyota.
Circuit City announced today that it is closing 20% of its stores nationwide, costing more jobs and reducing sales tax revenues.
The Institute of Supply Management reported today that its manufacturing index fell to 38.9, the lowest reading since September, 1982 when the United States was in the depths of a recession.
Why all the bad news? Because consumers can’t tap credit cards and they sure as heck can’t rely on home equity any longer, now can they?
If consumers – homeowners plus nearly 100 million renters – are buried under mountains of debt, how do Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, et al, expect them to take advantage of the freer credit supposedly created by the $700 billion bailout and spend the economy out of recession?
Bernanke, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, said Friday that “The boom in subprime mortgage lending was only part of a much broader credit boom characterized by under pricing of risk, excessive leverage, and the creation of complex and opaque financial instruments that proved fragile under stress. The unwinding of these developments is the source of the severe financial strain and tight credit that now damp economic growth.”
Translation into plain English: The Wall Street bailout won’t be enough to turn the economy around because subprime mortgage lending is only part of the problem.
Consumers need a restructuring of a variety of types of debt, including car loans, credit card debt, mortgages, student loans, and other debt.
Why?
Because trillions of dollars of current debt prevents consumers from purchasing future trillions in products and services.
So, how do we restructure consumer debt?
We turn it into a profit center for the federal government by purchasing all forms of consumer debt at a discount and restructuring that debt to be paid over extended periods of time, plus a fair rate of interest.
Let’s say that a consumer owes $25,000.00 in credit card debt, $10,000.00 in student loans, and has a $15,000.00 car loan. The total debt of $50,000.00 would be purchased from creditors by the federal government for $40,000.00 and would be secured by tangible property (in this case, the car would be released to the consumer upon receipt of a cash payment or cumulative monthly payments equal to its appraised value). The debt would be paid back by mandatory withholding of monthly payments of $421.93 from the consumer’s paycheck income and/or business income and tax refunds for a period of fifteen years at 6%. This example would generate a gross profit for the taxpayers of $35,947.40.
If a homeowner owed $300,000.00 on a mortgage, $25,000.00 in credit card debt, $10,000.00 in student loans, and had a $15,000.00 car loan, the total debt of $350,000.00 would be purchased from creditors by the federal government for $315,000.00 and would be secured by tangible property (in this case, title to the home and the car, either or which would be released to the consumer upon receipt of a cash payment or cumulative monthly payments equal to the appraised value of either item). The debt would be paid by mandatory withholding of monthly payments of $2098.43 from the consumer’s paycheck income and/or business income and tax refunds for a period of thirty years at 6%. This example would generate a gross profit for taxpayers of $439,434.80. If the home is sold prior to repayment of the loan, the federal government would be entitled to half of the profit but would not sustain a loss.
Consumers, irrespective of current credit rating, would qualify provided they can prove the ability to make monthly payments, agree to attain a minimum 700 FICO score within 24 months, maintain all appropriate forms of insurance on collateral, and file state and federal tax returns, subject to annual audit, on time. There would be no prepayment penalties.
Consumers who serve the nation would be credited with a portion of the monthly payment, dependent upon service rendered. For example, those who serve in the armed forces could receive 75% credit of monthly payments for their period of service, without limitation. Others who teach in inner city schools or practice medicine in rural communities could receive 50% credit of monthly payments for their period of service, without limitation. If then, a homeowner served in the military or taught in inner city schools or served in another approved vocation for thirty years, he or she would able to retire, debt-free, with a paid-for home, and with a substantial retirement income. Done right, we could create a generation of financially secure retirees in this country by 2038.
This approach strengthens the economy in a number of ways:
1. Billions of dollars in buying power are freed up for consumers
2. Consumers who take advantage of the program will manage future credit wisely
3. Banks and other financial institutions are relieved of potentially devastating losses and exorbitant collection costs
4. Small, medium, and large businesses – including service, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, and retailers – benefit from immediate, managed consumer purchasing power
5. Credit markets are stabilized and become predictable and profitable
6. Taxpayers become shareholders in the U.S. economy because they accumulate profits that can be used to lower taxes, offset government spending, and pay down the national debt
Because a consumer bailout is politically distasteful, it would take courageous, thoughtful, intelligent leadership and cooperation on the part of government, business, and consumer groups to fashion a viable program . . . but the risk of not creating a meaningful way to unburden the primary source of economic driving power in this country – the everyday, average consumer – may be fatal for the nation’s economy.
So, it’s time to make a decision . . . which way do you want to go America . . . up or down?
If you have questions, comments, or concerns, Email me at ltdassociates@msn.com (goes right to my desk) and since I personally answer every Email, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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I get what McCain is saying about the economy.
Make no mistake about it. When McCain talks about government 'benefits,' his prayer goes something like this: "God bless me, mine, mines, what's mine, us four and no more."
And he doesn't have to say it direct. Look at the Republican's record. And if you forget the Republicans and look at John McCain's record alone--it speaks for itself. He couldn't even get rich my himself, so he had to cheat on his wife to get that. Lucky Cindy. She didn't even need him in her life and she'll end up paying him alimony if she gets tired of it and leaves and if he gets tired of her and calls it.
You don't have to go any farther back than Ronald Reagan to see what they mean as opposed to what they say. What do they do for the average everyday common man who works making them rich? Nothing. They're not talking TO us, they're talking DOWN to us and out loud to each other in "code."
"Spreading the wealth": Code for -- THEY want to take the money our minions earn for us and actually give them a share of it.
"Obama pals around with terrorists" or "Obama's a Muslim/Muslim sympathizer" or "Obama's an Ay-rab": Code for -- There ain't no way in hell we're letting a n-word run this government.
"Joe the Plumber": Code for -- by "small" business, we mean those who make at least $5m a year, net profit; and can do their employees the humane favor of at least paying them minimum wage.
"Trickle down economy": Code for "p- on you" if you can't get where I am in life with or without the needed resources. We're the kings and queens of the jungle and you were just meant to be nothing from the day you were born. Stay there.
I could call out more, but you get the idea. It's been their M.O. from Day One.
Then along comes Obama, who, even if he loses this election, is set for life. It shouldn't even matter to him if he wins or not because he and his wife and daughters will be humming along in Cash City while the rest of us are stuck with the wrong choice--once again. It's not going to hurt Obama personally if McCain wins. He's set.
But Obama tends to get real passionate in his speeches about finding a way to make sure that those who actually work for the money that McCain and his type profit off of with no labor expended on their own part get a piece of their own action. And why does he even have to do this at all? Because THEY won't.
Yet, they wouldn't have that wealth if all their underpaid grunges without decent health bene's walked out and formed their own business conglomerates and told them they're on their own. The workers could put Budweiser (if Cindy still owned it, that is) out of business within 24 hours and then stare at them and say, "Who's on the beach now?"
If Obama is looking to "spread the wealth," he only feels that people who work for a living should not be halfway between homelessness and living in overpriced suburbia thanks to people like McCain and his corporate and small business wealthy buddies--Masters of the Universe, they think they are. Obama feels that if we get up and go to a job every day, that we shouldn't have to decide between paying bills and eating, then get shot down for having bad credit when both become expedient at the same time; that we shouldn't be without health and life insurance; or without an opportunity to get a decent education for ourselves and/or our children, those of us who have them. They've pitted this poor man against poor man, white on black, hyphenated American against everybody game for too long and it's time that we the people of the United States of America end it once and for all. This is what they do while we fight amongst ourselves over skin color, money, who looks better than who, which one of us can attract a millionaire, ethnicity, who dresses better than who, who has the bigger and nicer house, whose school is better than who's, et al ad nauseum -- crap that doesn't matter a hill of beans to McCain and their type.
They instigate race and class wars to conquer and divide people over bu**sh** to get them what they want, but they're the same ones who will stare at you like you're a Plutonian Martian and go "Joe Who?" when they see you in the same room with them. If they can keep you worrying about the fact of whether you're more likely to get better pay and opportunities to advance if you're white as opposed to the dungeon low-pay dead end jobs they give college educated black folk, then they've got everybody right where they want them. I mean, if I were inclined to actually enjoy being held down and viciously rectally ravished against my will, I'd vote Republican, too. Fortunately for me, the political anal thing, as hosted by a bunch of low classed first-rate elitist pricks, doesn't work for me.
Capitalism has not done this country a bit of good except for a select few who are welcome to 'the Club'--new money, old money, ... as long as they make "at least" $5m a year [and are men who have white skin] they can buy a chair in the GOB Club. Anyone else who makes that much can go join their own club.
I have to say, though; I give my boss credit for honesty. He doesn't hide beneath fluffed out words when explaining what the Republicans really mean. He just comes right out and says things like he could give a crap less about anyone other than himself and his family and his Golden Retriever.
And he also says that he would be happy to throw dented rusted cans of food and old outdated meat and milk at poor people who don't work (like me) if the government would just get out of his pocket. (As if his tax write-offs and shelters that bring him to nearly zero tax liability compared to what he actually pays in taxes isn't enough.) AND, he says, as far as he and his are concerned, Obama just wants to take THEIR money and redistribute it to people (like me, the poor fat lazy welfare recipient type) who sit on their lazy butts and don't work.
I can be in the same office with this despicable asinine jerk that I work for, and he'll say things like, "He [Obama] can redistribute it all he wants...in a couple of years, we'll have it all back."
In a room full of white men, with me present he says it, and they all, like, just crack up laughing. Like I'm so ignorant, I don't know what they're saying and they could care less if I do know. Nasty and superficial and arrogant, all of them. Turds of a feather...
That was his way of saying that us stupid low class working types (that they have already decided are nothing but a bunch of p-change welfare hogs) can't handle money anyway, so he's not worried about Obama getting elected because we're so "adept" at money management that we'll give it all back to them in no time. Oh, how I thirst to prove him wrong; just like he was wrong when he said Obama would never get this far in the election. He still says there's no way in H377 Obama is going to win, regardless of the fact that the polls say otherwise.
What's sad is that he is specifically referring to "poor blacks," whether they work or not -- and so far, he's right on that. There's only one way to prove him wrong, but miracles are few and far between. I could teach black folk, or any other folk who were interested, how to form conglomerates that will put those jerks out of business, but it will take a unifying spirit that Americanization has taught us not to have.
I can teach folk how to make their money work for them instead of working for their money; I watch them do it and I have their game down pat, but I get no takers on that no matter what I do. And I can't do it by myself. Alone, I have exactly what Mr. "I don't give a shyt about anyone else" wants me to have--nothing. But he's no different than anyone else I've worked for in 36 years, so there's really no place else for me to go.
That doesn't mean there's no hope whatsoever; it simply means that it will take an outright miracle, Obama or no Obama. That's something Obama can't do for "poor" black folk, rich black folk who throw money away on worthless junk, or anyone else of ANY race for that matter.
But what Obama can do is pull out right now and say "You're on your own," take his cheese and his residual cream off the top and run like Wall Street. If Martin Luther King Jr. had done it, they'd have left him alone and we'd still be riding on the backs of buses and coming in through the back door and looking at the "we don't serve Negroes" signs.
I realize that black folk have gotten so arrogant and stuck their noses so far in their own stink that they think King was not needed and that change would have come about on its own whether he was in that fight or not, [something some black Republican who hates black people likely told them, like a Clarence Thomas type]; but Obama can, indeed, fade to black and forget all of this. Easy.
See, without Obama, change will come about on its own. He is not needed, either, to hear some tell it. But Obama has seen the way 'they' work, and he knows what they do and why they do it, and he knows that nothing will change unless someone sticks their neck out and forces the hand that bites us all. And in a few decades, no matter what he accomplishes in office, someone will say "We didn't need him. It would have happened on its own." That alone would be enough to make me quit and not care.
He is only working to make sure that people, all races and ethnicities of people, who actually work for a living can get something out of it, something their own bosses don't want them to have: Equitable pay, decent benefits, quality control. However, they do give us cake and cheap wine for those million-dollar months in sales from time to time. "Why, we just wanted to say thank you by letting you have cake." I wish I could show some folk how to have cake and eat it, too -- I know how; but no one pays attention and I certainly can't do it alone.
Side Note: No grassroots candidacy has ever toppled the prime real estate upper class government elitesman in the history of this nation that I know of. If there has been a grassroots winner of the office of president, I stand corrected, but I haven't heard of it.
Here's to the Winds of Change. May ye olde force be wid ye.
If we buy bad debt, it means that there’s one step with no multiplier effect. Really, it’ll mean smaller writedowns for the banks, so they may go all conservative and not lend at all, so their books look even better. If we give it directly to the small businesses, it’s got a multiplier immediately, since it’s going into the banks as actual deposits, that then get spent on equipment, buildings, supplies and so on. Cuts out the fat cats altogether, gets liquidity back in the market, indirectly helps the banks, and is guaranteed to create millions of jobs.
Write to your Congressional delegation. Write to Senator Obama and anyone in Congress you think will back this progressive and sure to be effective plan, rather than the bailout.
When I was growing up, I was told there are only two things that are certain in life: Death and Taxes. I'm going to add a third: Change. Somehow, a change has got to come and business as usual in the political arena simply isn't working any more. That said, here is my official:
Armchair Unprofessional Critique and Analysis of last night's debates
Again, as I said before, they didn't get much settled last night that they haven't talked about before.
Obama's Strong PointsHe's got his playbook all together and in check when it comes to this nation's economy. He is very good at handling money, as we have seen from his campaign strategies and budgeting; and he understands what everyday average people go through, all as a result of his work as a community organizer. Very earthy, grassroots, and all about the people.
He kept his ear to the ground and knows what everyone who supports him wants, needs, and expects of him, but sadly enough, for his entire first term in office, should he win, he's going to be so busy and bogged down with cleaning up the Republican craptank that he may not have time to start working on what he wants for America until it's time to be re-elected. In the meantime, he's going to get angry people who will swear that he hasn't lived up to his promises only because the Repugs are making sure that if he does win, he won't have time to move forward.
Having said that, Obama is about 95 points ahead of McCain on how to take care of home and "his own family." He's not that proverbial daddy who goes off and feeds and houses someone else's kids when his own are starving and laying on the streets. As I said earlier, McCain's only strength is military policy in a nation where most people are calling for an end to that egregious war. I don't think McCain's one and only advantage and strong point over Obama, but certainly not over Joe Biden, is going to be of much help to any of us in the months and years to come. The war is not the only thing in America's dialogue, but it's the only thing McCain knows and knows well.
Obama has avoided tying this war in with the faltering economy, but as an Armchair Politician, I say the two are very much connected. In my household, money that doesn't go to one thing is invariably spent on another.
Obama tried to focus more on HOW money should be spent, and McCain was insistent that "taxes be cut." The funny thing is, as we've said before, taxes can't be cut. Not realistically. A momentary annual tax relief is nothing over the long term, and I heard Obama talking about the long term. McCain was talking about temporary relief. In real time, whatever checks the government writes--be they good checks or checks with nothing more than a rubber stamp that they hope doesn't bounce--the cost of everything is going up, not down. Nobody's getting a cost of living increase to counterbalance these ever-increasing expenses, which are never going to go down.
Therefore, corporate America, (business-class America, that is) which has always double, triple, and quadruple-dipped in the Tax Pot coming from at least 3-4 different directions, are still using that same-o infamous "we want to keep America's workforce strong by being able to give them good jobs." This has tickled the tax pot until it is now doubled over in the strain of laughter. Their stance is, of course, a more philosophically advanced way of saying this country can only exist if we keep having have-nots that we can blame for not having anything; but the message is loud and clear in the end results, not in what they say. We are seeing the end results of that today. National banks are collapsing and all John McCain can talk is war. They've got this "magical elf" message when it comes to keeping the economy strong and Obama can see straight through it and is on top of it.
Obama Weak PointsHis weak points on the economy are really hidden strengths upon which he can capitalize. Obama seems to keep trying to keep military money and homeland pocket change economy separate, but it is highly apparent that the two are eternally intertwined.
The American people have been robbed going in and coming out the door because tax money was spent on a war to help fatten the pockets of the already uber-rich while draining the coffers of everyday working citizens. Those are not two separate budgets, they are one and the same. Now, Wall Street wants a big fat welfare check to compensate for their screw-ups and failures, and to cover for the fact that they made themselves millionaires cheating Main Street.
Obama won't say it directly, though, and considering how out of focus a lot of folks are about nearly everything he says, I can't say I blame him. Therefore, someone has to stand strong and say it for him. This is where he got us to put our hands up and be present and accounted for and standing at the ready to take America back under the control of the people. The last thing Obama needs right now is to not have his hands and arms held up when he's facing opponents who take everything he says to the negative extreme. If we don't help counterbalance the lies, we end up with McCain and Palin; and those two are a recipe for future disaster if I ever saw one.
As Obama's running mate, I hope Biden will have free reign to say everything Obama cannot until he's in that chair in the Oval Office. If so, Biden is going to become the most visible, vital and viable vice president in the history of America.
The majority of the world is made up of "brown" people who will be able to relate to Obama much better--they want to talk to him to see if they can get some sense out of him that they haven't been able to get out of any of this country's previous leaders. Obama is right on "pre-conditions" for peace talks: There shouldn't be any and I wish he would stand stronger on that.
He should hear out everything other nation's leaders have to say, put all the cards on the table, and then put his cards on the table and see if they can work it out from there. Not listening to these people, who are supposedly so 'dangerous' and 'cannot be reasoned with,' is what has caused terrorist strength to increase and rise up in triple the numbers that it was yesterday. These people figure if nobody will listen to them and hear their voices, they will still be heard one way or another. It's common "pre-conditions" and an unwillingness to hear them out that have them setting off bombs all over the place in the first place.
The danger America faces is that if it doesn't listen to these people, (Remember: Palestine-Peace Not Apartheid), things can only get worse. When it comes to foreign policy, America is going to be harder on Obama than the world leaders and heads of state will be...they actually WANT to hear what he has to say from the president's chair and not from the sidelines of senatorial opinion.
If he can win them over, he wins the five cards McCain is left holding, and that's the end of the argument about his "foreign policy" experience, or supposed lack thereof. These people need someone to listen to them without pre-conditions...as Obama has said. Not to give them whatever they want to our own detriment, but to at least hear what they have to say and play it one strategy at a time. They are people, too -- and America has to stop taking that Western Cowboy stance of bullying any and everybody who doesn't think like they do or see things their way. Jimmy Carter did it, and he won them over--until they found something else to fight about. No president is ever going to end that, no matter how much foreign policy experience he has.
This fight started with Esau and Jacob/Israel (Isaac's sons and Abraham's grandsons) long before America existed. Now that true Israel is scattered about to the four winds and can't be found until Jesus returns, the argument with the "state of Israel" is even worse and more compelling. As European colonizers who have taken over the middle east, America's Old Guard can't help but side with them in order to preserve their own integrity on what they did right here in America.
These "terrorists" are human beings, too, and deserve to be heard out fully and completely. And if an agreement can't be reached aftyer that, well...the idea is to make certain America is sheltered from any more foreign attacks on American soil, regardless of what it takes to get the job done. Anyone who calls themselves a "christian" and doesn't understand that, I question their faith in their God. I vote for voices over bombs any day. They will be heard, one way or the other.
It's only to McCain's advantage to keep painting hungry and desperate human beings as nothing but killers; because it is the same old tactic that was tried on blacks and Indians in America who would commit crimes just to keep from starving to death and having their land ravaged and stolen from them. It's the same old story in a new day, only this time it's not just America, but other countries are involved. They, too, are in danger of being colonized by European forces who still think their manifest destiny is to control the world and force everyone to be what they are or else. Current politics don't allow respect for other people's ways unless America says its okay for them to be who and what they are. THAT is dangerous thinking. Meeting with foreign nationals without pre-conditions is not the danger.
Bottom line: Without marked and time-stamped resolution, America is right on schedule for another terrorist attack that will make the WTC look like someone hit at a gnat with a flyswatter. So far, the Republicans haven't been able to work it out. Obama needs to be given a chance, the chance that world leaders all over would rather see.
The key question last night was: Is America safer now than it was seven years ago? The obvious answer was no, but John McCain said yes. It's a lie.
BUT, he's the same person who said the American economy was strong only weeks before Wall Street started crumbling in front of our very eyes. Then he tried to make a grandstand of possibly not going to the debates last night to help "save" America's economy from itself.
On that same stupid and arrogant note, I would not be surprised to see, in the coming weeks, Obama's discomfort with the "safety factor" in America come to manifestation. He is very uncomfortable with saying the nation is "safer" and McCain picked that weak spot to dig his finger in. Chances are, Obama's right.
America is no safer, and is worse off since the war was started than they were before. Obama should not be forced to tell a lie just to appease McCain's "so what are you saying, that the soldiers and Petraus failed"?
Well, no, sir; they didn't fail. America failed them, as usual.
McCain's a good for one for propped-up talk about supporting soldiers and families when he obviously will be the last one to do so, especially with that trusty old pen he says he will use to veto earmark pork-barrel spending that Palin advocates. (They all did or do, it's just that Palin has spent three times what everyone else has, in one of the least populated states in the nation). It's too bad that she and her friends didn't succeed in seceding BEFORE this election year, because that ain't all McCain is planning on vetoing that he can't, or won't, say for now.
He told Obama not to say "certain things" in public even if he is planning on doing them behind closed doors. To me, that spoke directly to McCain's inability to be honest and forthright; and to the fact that he would still be willing, in a post-Bush America, to lie to get what he wants and achieve his ends. Obama has stood up and said, "I will not lie to America just to have my way. The American people will be told the truth and allowed to judge for themselves."
I have just learned that the legislation being proposed to bail out our broken financial industry and markets includes the following language:
“Sec. 8. Review.Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
This provision is TOTALLY unacceptable, as well as unconstitutional. We are in a financial crisis, it’s true, but that is no reason to add a constitutional crisis. This language would give the Secretary of the Treasury “non-reviewable” authority to favor the very financial hotshots who got us into this mess, while doing nothing to protect the taxpayers and the citizen borrowers who are bearing the personal brunt of this crisis.
The members of the Congress have a Constitutional responsibility to protect the three-branch system from an Executive Branch power grab. Senator Obama will undoubtedly have to agree to enact financial rescue legislation. But he needs to take a strong position against any language that would vest “non-reviewable” authority in the Secretary of the Treasury. Remember how we got the Patriot Act. We bought into the fearmongering that the crisis was too great and their was no time to quibble about language. And so, we sold our rights down the river. Let's not do it again.
Thoughts?!
Power & Other Utilities
Fuel
Food
Insurance
Medical Care
Housing & Banking
Reinstate the tax deduction on consumer interest that was taken away by the Reagan administration & reinstate usury laws.
Increase Jobs for Americans by giving tax breaks to companies that use 100% American Labor. Pay for these tax breaks by levying labor export taxes on companies that out source labor to foreign countries, including those countries included in NAFTA.
Revise NAFTA to allow the free trade of products - Not labor.
For Further Discussion Contact: Alan W. Hinden 702-898-8440
Let's focus on the things that matter....the economy, education, health care. McCain/Palin lies will only resonate with the ignorant and those who would not vote for Obama even if he turned water into wine. I think Charlie Gibson's interview gave us a glimpse of what a lightweight Palin is, and on the View you could see that McCain lacks honesty.
Can McCain go anywhere without his wife or Palin? Let's look at the candidate..McCain. He is more of the same. He will continue to drive this country into a downward spiral with an ever increasing deficit, unemployment, and higher gas prices. He is "no expert on the economy"
Don't focus on the polls. When Ferraro joined the Mondale ticket there was a spike in the polls but it soon faded. Let's get the message out...OBAMA IS CHANGE WE NEED!!!
It sure does seem that President Bush is just, well…sort of fiddling in the midst of the worst economic meltdown since the days of Herbert Hoover. It was only a few short months ago that Mr. Bush appeared shocked when asked about the near-term prospect of $4.00 per gallon gasoline. To be fair, how is a guy supposed to know this stuff if he doesn’t pump his own gas and only watches Fox News? Has anyone told him, yet?
The economic situation seems to get gloomier every day. Yesterday, Dow Chemical, citing escalating energy costs, announced its intentions to raise prices by up to 20% for all products! This is mighty powerful evidence of the devastating impact that the failed energy policy of the Bush Administration is having on the U.S. Economy. And, it’s just one more preceding indicator of the escalating pain for America’s families. Thank you George Bush!
The Associated Press reported yesterday, citing reports from the Agriculture Department and Bureau of Labor Statistics, that “…food prices are increasing faster than they've risen since 1990 [6.1% in April over the prior year]…Many staples are rising even faster, with white bread up 13 percent last year…and peanut butter up 9 percent.” However, the hands-off, let-them-eat-SPAM policy of the Bush Administration seems to be getting some traction: “Spam sales were up 10.6 percent in the 12-week period ending May 3.” Mmmmmmmmmm good! Thank you George Bush!
Senator McCain has already told us that he doesn’t know much about the economy. I guess that’s why he is talking more with President Bush and having secret meetings—crafting a new Energy Policy! No thanks, John. We need a change: CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!
It has just been reported that the Consumer Confidence index declined in April for the fifth-consecutive month: to 57.2 from 62.8, the lowest rating since October1992. WOW! Like father; like son! Bush Presidents certainly know how to do SERIOUS economic damage!
The U.S. Energy Information Administration just reported that the nationwide average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.937 this past week, up 14.6 cents from the week ended May 19, and up 72.8 cents over a year ago—just in time for Holiday and vacation travels. Thank you George Bush! Diesel fuel now costs $1.906/gal. more than last year, increasing the cost of all other goods and services and wreaking widespread havoc on our declining economic health. WOW! Thanks a lot George Bush!
Actually, not all prices have gone up. Recent reports show that our average home prices fell 14.1% in March from a year earlier. Well…Thank you Mr. President! Sadly, however, bankruptcy filings were 38% higher last year than in 2006, despite legislation passed in 2005 by Bush and GOP Congressional leaders to make it more difficult and expensive to file for personal bankruptcy. Thanks to Bush and his cronies, shattering the American Dream of home ownership was made even more painful and traumatic for many Americans. Whadda great bunch of guys!
It’s time for a change. CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!
Reports of the number of homeless people in America are all estimates, but we do know that the numbers are increasing every year. A conservative estimate is that more than 3 million people are homeless in America. Over 1 million are homeless children.
The National Coalition for the Homeless estimates these numbers for a sampling of cities across the U.S.:
New York = 70,000
Los Angeles = 50,000
Chicago = 25,000
Dallas = 4,000-14,000
Miami = 10,000
Phoenix - 6,500
In the estimates of the number of homeless people in America:
30% are families with children
50% are single men
14% are single women
20-30% are employed
40% are veterans
30% are children without families
http://www.homeless-people.info/Homeless_Statistics.html
The 2008 Presidential Campaign and The Economy:
Presidential candidates, political commentators, and the public at large are talking about the economy. The average person today is struggling. It seems that in every sphere of our daily lives our income can not keep pace with our expenses. The steadily rising cost of fuel, healthcare/insurance, education, combined with a war, the mortgage crisis, and unemployment are issues that need immediate attention.
How did the economy get this way?
Answers to the question of how the economy got in such a mess typically don't seem to make sense. The answers, framed, for example, as explanations of economic theory, market trends, trade agreements, and interest rates can cause our eyes to glaze over. The "experts" may sound impressive, or vague and confusing, but when the discussion ends we may not feel any more informed.
