Sunday, October 31, 2010

Bush Tax Cuts Expiration

Well...Ok they expire. Now what?
Let's take a look at the "kink" in the situation.

The kink is letting the tax break stay for the wealthiest of the wealthly. I mean come on. $200,000. for a single filer or Quarter Million for a family is the minimum amount earned in a year for qualification to be a part of wealthiest of wealthly tax bracket. It is a secure place to be. Excuse me, I was just daydreaming what it would be like to be in that bracket and it is nice. Ok.
There is $60,000,000,000.00 at stake here. For the 2% bracket.
Now who would win by the inaction? I mean the law is the law and this will happen. Treasury would collect.
You know trying to defend a tax that effects just the smallest and best prepared to absorb such a tax is a exercise in crap.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

It's On

The month of April 2010 came in quietly, but now is storming from really big public concerns.
1. Goldman Sachs has been confronted with some ethical failures. Which apparently, are not illegal or even something to be ashamed of.

"I heard nothing today that makes me think anything went wrong," said Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein when asked about transactions that raised hackles among senators.

Then he states later

"What we and other banks, rating agencies and regulators failed to do was sound the alarm that there was too much lending and too much leverage in the system—that credit had become too cheap," Mr. Blankfein testified.

Sound the alarm? Good use of word. Admitting that knowing what was happening is bad, but just disregarding damage being done and act childish and deny any involvement.

Senators Seek, Fail to Get an 'I'm Sorry' wsj 04/27/10

Oh boy, ummm... well I think someone might have slighted the wrong public.

"Too big to fail, but not too big to go to jail," the protesters chanted before the opening gavel.

It is on.

Update 4/29/10

Well, it was announced that the financial reform bill will be allowed on the senate floor for debate.

Told you it was on. Only some politicians got money from Goldman not all of them.

Update
U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages
By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ
Published: September 1, 2011

Well, it took a while to put the case together, but expect to recieve billions back for the misrepresenting the quality of the mortgage security.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Financial Industry Reform

Seattle Times
"Era of low interest rates may be coming to an end"
Originally published April 10, 2010 at 8:35 PM

This is a first article I have seen that starts out like this since the start of the "Great Recession of 2007"
"As prospects for the U.S. economy brighten,...
Now, granted it is the Seattle Times.

I am not going to talk about anythng in the article. It was pretty dry. Interest rates are going up.

What I wanted to point out is that the economy is getting better.

Now, will it go back to the way it was?

No. the US economy has some new rules and regulations been put in place, but the economy will still be a dynamic as it always was. Just not, so hyper dynamic.

Is this a bad thing...Regulation?

No. The unregulated crap that was out there is what caused this recession. The information as to the cause is irrefutable.

We know what went wrong.
1. No real oversight on rogue financial insistutions and/or thier employees.
2. The corruption transcended different sectors of the Financial Industry:
Credit Rating, Auditing and Securities.
The very ones that preformed the critical background checks and certifications as to financial health and outlook.
3. The credit card companies could change the rates at will. No safe guards against these financial companies abusing the consumer by changing rates and how it is paid and penalitized.
4. The stock markets themselves where artifically inflated due to market manipulation in individual sectors.
Oh the list can go on, but what made it the "perfect storm"
All this and more was going on at the same time. It was wild. Financial instruments became so wreaklessly creative. The Stated Income loan was nicknamed the "Liar's Loan".
Think of regulation like our road system. It just gives the vehicles using the system a way to make thier way across safely by providing lights to better see where you are going, speed limits to ensure safe journey and established roadways to get you where you want to go and everyone else.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Health Care

Well, it is here. Universal Health Care.
Glad we got it. You know, I never really thought much about health care. Pre-Existing conditions, exclusions and premiums where never a concern for someone healthy. I guess I took it for granted. I had coverage through work. Me and mine was taken care of...then layoffs begin. I was slated for job elimination. When you are facing not having a job and loss of benefits: life is not so carefree anymore.
Cost associated with health care are high enough with employer contribution, but are prohibitively high on COBRA.
My bi-monthly contribution is $180 or almost $5k a year. that is too much and it has went up every year. $35 in 24 months.
Well, I am hoping in the next 4 years that my costs start going down, but I do realize that I am 43 soon and will be 47 which is almost fiddy and my cost should be going up, but damn it I am frugal. "I needs my money"

I would like to go on some rant just bombing those that oppose this new mandate. Even thou I was not cognitive of the goings on in the Civil Rights Movement. I am noticing some of the same hateful behavior and senseless rhetoric strategies employed to distort and belabour the issue.
There are reports of threats against lawmakers after the health care vote. There is reports of almost a dozen Democratic lawmakers recieving obscene phone calls, some threating.
The mere threat of hindering a lawmaker from doing the duty is a year in prison.

Everyone deserves health care. No dying in the streets.