Comments Posted By bsjones
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THE STIMULUS SHOULD GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
Anyone interested in a literate Democrat view on how the Republicans are handling the stimulus bill can look here:
http://robertreich.blogspot.com/
It is not for the weak of heart, but if you value diversity of opinion, or want to challenge your beliefs, check it out.
The title of the piece is:
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 23:35
Why Republicans Won't Support the Stimulus
Sara,
Interesting post. If you are saying it is important to intervene in the economy, but, it is even more important to do so with careful deliberation, then, I agree wholeheartedly.As the Speaker of the House, Nancy Polosi has more control over Federal Legislation than anything directly related to California per se. Like you say, the problems of California have been building over time, but the buck should probably stop with the chief of the Executive Branch of that state. I like to call him the Governator.
We need to demand much from ourselves as citizens and even more from those who represent us during this time of crisis. I for one do not think it is acceptable to hope for Democrat failure so we can capture the Presidency in four years. Instead we should do everything possible to fix our broken down democracy.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 23:00
The economy will recover. The President just needs to stop bad mouthing it.
Afghanistan will improve. The media just needs to stop bad mouthing it.
Border security will improve. The Republicans just need to stop bad mouthing...
Sorry about the mistakes in the other post...
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 14:36
Rick,
The Banks caused the Banks to fail. Unfortunately, everyone I know (that is everyone not in Wall Street banking) are the ones suffering.I do not support saving the banks until the crooks and liars that run them are in the unemployment line or in jail.
I do support unemployment benefit extensions for car salesman.
I do support cram downs for the banks that committed fraud and brought down the global economy in the process.Summary: Many ordinary people are suffering because of the fraud and corruption of a minority of irresponsible Wall Street criminals. The criminals should suffer, not the retired Catipillar worker who lives three doors down from you in Indiana.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 14:15
The economy will recover. The President just needs to stop made mouthing it.
Afghanistan will improve. The media just needs to stop bd mouthing it.
Border security will improve. The Republicans just need to stop bad...
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 14:03
Republicans never fear monger. Never, I say!!
Don't think they ever went quite this far although Cheney came close to saying that electing Democrats would mean another terrorist attack. It was crudely implied.
ed
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 13:59
BLEAK CHOICES FACING GEITHNER IN TRYING TO SAVE THE BANKS
Foobarista,
I followed the link and had a read.The one thing that struck me was this sentence:
"Calling the market stupid is as productive as calling reality stupid, even though you could very well be correct."
I understood that to mean something like: "What's done is done.", "Water under the bridge.", or even, "Let's leave the past in the past.".
QUESTIONS:
Why must we NEVER ask, "What went wrong? Why must we NEVER ask, "Who is responsible?" In other words, why must we NEVER ask for accountability?I think it is because everything that we have been told about how the market works is a lie. What if Wall Street is not composed of our brightest and most productive citizens taking huge risk for huge reward? What if Wall Street is composed of criminals involved in criminal acts that would make Vito Corleone blush.
Sound accurate? How about this.
What if OUR IDEOLOGY is an enabler to the many crime families that live on Wall Street?
Go to hell you say? We don't have an ideology you say. What we have are principles (but you bsjones are too dumb to tell the difference!). No, bs, you are wrong. WE HAVE A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY!!! Reagan's philosophy. "Government IS the problem."
O.K., I get it. We conservatives are never wrong. When government power grows our freedom is diminished. Expanding the scope of government reduces my power to choose etc...
Just remember, the criminal elements in Wall Street want you to believe just that. It serves their interests to have government out of the way. Wall Street does not want any countervailing power to slow them down by asking questions or putting up barriers. They want to do what they want to do, when they want to do it, as often as they want to do it, regardless of the consequences for you and everyone you know. They would prefer you to think, "Where would America be without Wall Street?"
Good question.
Where would we be without Enron?
Where would we be without Bernie Madoff?
Where would we be without World com?
Where would we be without Henry Paulson, Timothy Geitner, Robert Rubin and the genius of Allen Greenspan?(Don't tell me these guys party affiliation. They belong to the party of ME. Don't tell me these crooks are our government. They are the crooks who bought the government from BOTH PARTIES. Sadly, YOUR government was sold for the equivalent of a few freezers full of steak.)
Of course, Wall Street must still have TARP. Just don't ask them to forgo a bonus. They are our most productive citizens. Don't believe me? Ask Neil Cavouto.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 01:46
Rick,
It's not that nobody knows what the MBS's and the CDO's are worth. On the contrary, everybody knows what they are worth. It is just that the people who made them do not like the going price, so they are refusing to sell the junk they made to anyone but the Federal government. Of course the "fire" sale price will eventually be set by the banks not the government.Yes, Virginia, I said EVERYBODY knows what this stuff is worth. Under Capitalism this financial garbage is worth what the market will bear. If nobody buys what is being sold, the price is
lowered. If nobody buys what is being sold, lower the price again. Repeat this process until what is being sold is being purchased. IT IS SO SIMPLE. It is the IRON LAW of supply and demand. It's called market forces, capitalism, the "invisible hand" allocating resources in the most efficient manner possible.The only real question is who will "take the haircut". Will it be the 1% that has 19% of the taxable income. Or will it be the rest of us?
You only get one guess.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 8.02.2009 @ 22:49
SMALL GOVERNMENT, BIG GOVERNMENT, OR CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT?
Manning,
I agree 100%. As citizens and voters we have an entry point to break the cycle of corruption. It is called voting. We can no longer afford to vote for someone to keep our favored party in the majority.Meat in the freezer. Throw them out.
Cold cash in the freezer. Throw therm out.This applies equally to T. Dascle and T. Delay types. THEY ALL HAVE TO GO.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 9.02.2009 @ 13:42
I'm in the process of changing my beliefs.
O.K., Here goes...If the government that governs least governs best, then the government that doesn't govern at all should be Utopia. 'Drown government in a bathtub'. Abolish Energy. Or Education. E.P.A. and Interior have got to go. Right? Abolishing government means more personal freedom. It is simple. It makes sense.
A liberal I was arguing with once said, "Government and Taxes ARE civilization!! Look at places without much of either: Afghanistan, Iraq, and blah, blah,blah..."
He then reminded me of the Monty Python bit, 'What have the Romans ever done for us? They are bleeding us dry.'
"oh yeah..., besides the aqueduct, the sanitation, the public baths, the education, the roads, the public order, the medicine... What have they done?"It's still funny!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSELOCMmw4A
Anyway, at the time I wasn't buying it because government is bad. Reducing government is good. Get government off my back!!! Taxes are bad. I know how to spend my money better than Bill Clinton. If I want an aqueduct, I'll build it myself!!
Well, I am on the road to Damascus. I can now see.
The question isn't government versus no government. (that is ideology.)
The question is government for what.
Do we want regulated capital markets?
Do we want regulated banks?
Do we want public education?
etc...If so, we must fight for effective and efficient regulations and use of resources by the government, not the elimination of it.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 7.02.2009 @ 16:39
