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No Confirmation Hearings for Bailout Czar
As if oversight and screening were not needed during this tumultuous financial bailout, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has no plans of scheduling hearings in the confirmation of Neel Kashkari - a former Goldman Sachs employee with only 6-years of experience under his belt. As if oversight and screening were not needed during this tumultuous financial bailout, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.... more
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Reality check : The 56 trillion hole !
That’s 480,000 $ per American household ! The brits don’t even use the word trillion for it is in fact a thousand billion ! David Walker (fmr. Comptroller General, US) lays it down in all it’s ugliness with Bill Maher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NM5Q5VDpnA
"I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan but our own fiscal irresponsibility," - David Walker
First they stole 2 elections… the first by perverting the supreme court…nothing happened…Then 9-11 & a war based on a 1000 lies… nothing happened… they proceeded to shred the constitution, kidnapped imprisoned & tortured the world over, spied on all of us & fired the best US attorneys… nothing happened…conducted a thinly veiled ethic cleansing during Katrina…nada…now they are taking us to the cleaners…
Is there a limit to the damage this executive branch can inflict to the USA ?
It seems not !
Fear & Greed Corp reigns under the guise of Mindfuck Inc.
Get a third job ! Sell a vital organ ! Move in a card box by the river, but stop your whining buba ! You are but a victim of your own imagination, you suffer from a severe case of "mental recession"... Now get over it !
* WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH * That’s 480,000 $ per American household ! The brits don’t even use the word trillion for it is in fact a thousand billion ! David Walk... more -
National Debt Clock Has Run Out Of Digits
In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing figure.
As a short-term fix, the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock near Times Square has been switched to a figure — the "1" in $10 trillion. It's marking the federal government's current debt at about $10.2 trillion... In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing figure. ... more -
National debt clock too small!
Oh man, they have to make a whole new one now with two extra digit spaces. scary stuff!
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'Free markets' depend on state intervention
Leo Panitch: US state plays role of defending global financial system, it had to act in this crisis.
After President Bush signed the controversial bailout bill into law, Senior Editor Paul Jay talked with Leo Panitch to get his analysis of the situation. Leo said it is irresponsible to suggest that the government should have let these banks fail, ultimately advocating for the full nationalization of the troubled banks. Leo then explains the significance of the US treasury bill as the base upon which everything else in the global financial system is valued, as well as explaining the US government's role as the guarantor of the t-bill's value. Finally, Leo criticizes the dominant paradigm that states and markets are separate and opposing forces in the modern capitalist system.
Leo Panitch is the Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy and a Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science at York University in Toronto. Panitch is also the author of "Global Capitalism and American Empire" and his most recent release "American Empire and the Political Economy of International Finance".
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89382669_the_financial_crisis_...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89386959_the_financial_crisis_... Leo Panitch: US state plays role of defending global financial system, it had to act in this crisis. ... more -
Rep Marcy Kaptur blasts the establishment over Wall Street corruption!!
This video is truly inspiring! Cut with scenes from "the Network" this outburst carries with it the message that every lawmaker should be shouting right now in the name of the people they represent, "You've raped us long enough! It's time to pay for your sins and for the American people to prevent this from ever happening again!! We will not let you get away with it!"
Marcy Kaptur has won my heart by telling it how it is! That's some straight-talk that John McCain would never dare attempt. This video is truly inspiring! Cut with scenes from "the Network" this outburst carries with it the message that every lawma... more -
Is Soaring Debt The Lesser Of Two Evils?
(CBS/AP) The economy could suffer a massive hangover from the government's efforts to rescue the financial system in the form of a soaring debt burden. But the alternatives look infinitely worse.
The $700 billion the administration is seeking from Congress as the upper bounds of what it will need to take a mountain of bad loans off the books of financial firms is certainly an eye-popping figure.
To get the funds to buy up the bad mortgage loans that have threatened to bring the financial system to its knees, the government will have to borrow. And that borrowing will come at a time when the federal budget deficit is already soaring.
The deficit for this budget year, which ends on Sept. 30, is expected to rise to $407 billion, a figure that is more than double the $161.5 billion imbalance for 2007, reflecting what the economic slowdown and this year's $168 billion economic stimulus program are already doing to the government's books.
The Bush administration is estimating that the deficit for the budget year that begins Oct. 1, which will cover the new president's first year in office, will hit $482 billion, a record in dollar terms.
And that forecast doesn't include the $200 billion the administration committed to spending two weeks ago when it took over the nation's two biggest mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
And it doesn't have any of the $700 billion the administration is seeking to soak up the bad mortgage-backed securities that have been at the heart of the severe credit crisis the country has been struggling with since August 2007.
The legislation Congress passed this summer that gave the authority to rescue Fannie and Freddie boosted the limit on the national debt by $800 billion to $10.6 trillion.
The legislation the administration is now seeking to authorize the financial system bailout, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press, would boost that debt limit to $11.3 trillion, up another $700 billion.
It is the rapidly rising debt that is cause for concern. The government is already spending more than $400 billion a year just to pay interest on the national debt. The higher that debt goes, the higher the government's borrowing costs and the less it has to spend on other programs.
Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are both running for president, making campaign promises about what new programs they will implement once in office, promises that could be severely constrained by the costs of a financial bailout.
The escalating borrowing also means that the government is competing with the private sector for loans, driving up interest rates. And then there is the matter of the country's large trade imbalances which mean the United States has to borrow $2 billion a day from foreigners.
Will foreigners still want to lend as much to the United States if there are concerns that all the borrowing could weaken the dollar's value against other currencies.
But even with all these threats, economists said the government has to take decisive action because the alternative of letting the financial system slide into even deeper problems which could jeopardize the routine loans that businesses and consumers need was simply not an option. (CBS/AP) The economy could suffer a massive hangover from the government's efforts to rescue the financial system in the form of ... more -
Bush/McCain economics: national debt soars to $407 billion
The budget deficit will jump by $246 billion to $407 billion this year. The agency attributes the jump to "a substantial increase in spending and a halt in the growth of tax revenues." War in Iraq while giving tax breaks to Corporations and the Wealthy. Why does McCain think the outcome will be any different? The budget deficit will jump by $246 billion to $407 billion this year. The agency attributes the jump to "a substantial increase... more
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The national debt clock
Check out how fast that sucker is running.
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Cash for Clunkers
ECONOMISTS and members of Congress are now on the prowl for new ways to stimulate spending in our dreary economy. Here’s my humble suggestion: “Cash for Clunkers,” the best stimulus idea you’ve never heard of.
This really is a smart idea, and we're in need of programs like this! ECONOMISTS and members of Congress are now on the prowl for new ways to stimulate spending in our dreary economy. Here’s my humble sug... more -
McCain, Obama tax plans to boost U.S. debt
Tax breaks proposed by both presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama would increase the U.S. national debt by trillions of dollars over 10 years, but Obama's plan would hike taxes for the wealthiest Americans, a tax policy group said on Wednesday.
In an analysis of how the candidates' tax proposals would affect federal revenues, the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute said McCain's plans would cut receipts by $3.72 trillion from 2009-2018 compared with current tax law. Obama's plans would cut revenues by $2.73 trillion over the same period.
Including added interest costs, McCain's plan would add $4.5 trillion to the national debt, while Obama's would add $3.3 trillion -- and that's before spending proposals are considered.
END QUOTE Tax breaks proposed by both presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama would increase the U.S. national debt by trillions of d... more -
The US Government is going to collapse. this is a fact.
How do you annoy a liberal? get a job.
How do you annoy a conservative? defend the Constitution.
welcome to bumper sticker politics. where one liners like these two gems are as bright as American critical thinking dares to go.
But how do you annoy everybody? That's simple: Explain the national debt.
The US borrows 1.4 billion dollars every single day.
The United States national debt is almost 10 trillion dollars.
and we're arguing about Reverend Wright? we're arguing about who's wearing a flag pin? we're arguing about Bosnian sniper fire?
The United States government is broke. it's time for a revolution folks. wake up and smell the coffee. take a good hard look at the candidates for President of the US, and realize that they're professional liars. there's no fixing the current system. there never was. it's been doomed since the start. we need a new one.
The US Federal Government will collapse. this is not an opinion, it's an observation.
The 200+ year experiment called The United States of America is in its final chapter. But out of its failure, we can learn important lessons. We can learn things that will help us create a better future society. Lessons like:
• Never let a private company (the Federal Reserve) control the money supply.
• Never let "representative" legislators vote in your place. Insist on a DIRECT Democracy in the next society. (We don't need Senators and Congresspeople, folks. The whole concept is long since outdated, and most Senators and Congresspeople are crooks.)
• Never let a government abandon the gold standard for its currency. If you do, that government will inevitably hyperinflate the currency and leave the people broke.
• Never let corporations run the government. If you do, your government will become a branch of the corporations, and the regulators (like the FDA, USDA, etc.) will become agents of corporate-sponsored terrorism that abandon all ethics and destroy the health and safety of the People.
• Never allow the centralization of power in one branch of government. For example, do not allow the creation of Executive Orders we've seen signed by the President.
• Never allow one man (the President) to commit acts of war. Didn't we learn this after Vietnam?
• Never allow people from industry to take jobs in the government where they become biased, pro-corporate pushers of everything from pharmaceuticals to beef.
• Never allow politicians to censor scientists.
• Never allow the population to be dumbed-down through sub-standard public schools that only raise a generation of obedient workers, not skeptical thinkers.
• Never allow the media to control the population through advertiser-supported propaganda and violent programming.
• Never allow politicians to destroy citizens' rights. When they attempt to do so, march on your capitol (in a non-violent way, of course). Arrest the politicians. Prosecute them for crimes against the People.
• Never allow corporate lobbyists to have access to lawmakers. If you do, you'll end up with a corrupt government that only protects corporations, not the People.
• Never allow your government to operate in secret, with secret prisons, secret wiretapping laws and secret war "evidence" that is never made public. Secrecy breeds corruption. Honest societies do not need to conduct their judicial processes in secret.
• Never allow corporations to play God with the food supply by genetically modifying the crops.
• Never allow corporations to be granted intellectual property ownership over seeds, genes, animals and medicines. If you do, you will one day wake up impoverished, "homeless on the continent your fathers conquered," to quote Jefferson.
• Never allow banks to operate on a fractional reserve system of loans and money creation that's just begging for a series of cascading failures.
There is no way out now other than collapse and rebirth. How do you annoy a liberal? get a job. How do you annoy a conservative? defend the Constitution. ... more -
Al's new slide show
In Al Gore's brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting, and challenges us to act with a sense of "generational mission" -- the kind of feeling that brought forth the civil rights movement -- to set it right. Gore's stirring presentation is followed by a brief Q&A in which he is asked for his verdict on the current political candidates' climate policies and on what role he himself might play in future. In Al Gore's brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be... more
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Plans and Experience
This election, I'm supporting Ron Paul.
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It's a mess in Iraq
My goal is to pick a candidate who will help us get out of Iraq and out of debt.
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The National Debt Has Doubled in the Last 7 Years
The last 7 years have been a big turning point in the economy, we've got from a state of buget accountability to free spending.
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$196 Billion War Bill
President George W. Bush asked Congress on Monday to approve $196 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security programs. Yeah, that'll do it. President George W. Bush asked Congress on Monday to approve $196 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other nation... more
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national debt
