14
POPSCalming your thoughts through mindfulness "We want to move into a place where the outside world will do whatever it's going to do without us going through the roller coaster of emotions," Rogers says. "We want to maintain this more alive, vigilant, present way of being that is somewhat independent of how things are going."
3
POPSBash the Bailout: Government is Not the Answer
......banking crisis, they make things worse. This is a long paper, but see p. 4 in particular. 10. One of the oldest forms of government intervention in the financial markets has been deposit insurance. Yet globally it destabilizes capitalism, impedes innovation and makes a bad regulatory regime worse. British economist Andrew Lilico explains how. 11. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron puts it bluntly: “The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place.” 12. Government has been becoming more intrusive when it comes to lending over the years. John Berlau looks at how they want to fingerprint anyone originating a home loan. The bailout bill is now law, but it does little or nothing to solve the problems government created. As long as they persist, the financial markets will be at serious risk. In the end, we may need to bailout the bailout.
4
POPSPrevent bailouts? Prohibit campaign contributions We must advance to a system where elections are publicly funded and private donations are prohibited. Both of our candidates are connected by money to the banking industry. The industry's influence toward killing regulation far exceeds the public's influence in preserving it. Separating money from politics - as other nations have long done - is the only way home.
1
POPSThe Bailout, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Fed and Monetary Policy The Cato Institute has been following the crisis in financial markets since the very beginning. From the sub prime crisis to Fannie and Freddie to the $700 billion bailout, the recent financial events have given our analysts and experts plenty to talk and write about. We decided to pull together the op-eds, podcasts, reports, and publications from our scholars on this issue, so all these resources can exist in one place. We hope it’s a useful tool for your research. "The Bush Legacy: Deflation or Inflation?," "The Greenback and Commodity Prices," "Milton Friedman: Float or Fix?," "Washington Is Quietly Repudiating Its Debts," "The Greenback and Commodity Prices," "Polluted Markets," "The Fed Plays With Fire," "Greenspan's Bubbles," "Keep Complaining about the Economy, "Asset Bubbles and Their Consequences," more op-eds, podcasts, reports, and publications at link: http://www.cato.org/special/financial_crisis/
0
POPS"Maverick" McCain Supports Pork-Stuffed Bailout Bill McCain just contradicted his entire "reform" message. He had opportunity to lead the way, against Big Interest. But instead he supported it, under the plea of "necessity" of course. There was a radio talk show that did an excellent job on this today, but it was new to me and I could not find it on the web. The former republican (a conservative or libertarian host), complete with soundbites, ripped McCain to shreds, called him "an idiot". He could have won the election (and saved Main Street) by voting against it, and proved that he is against pork bills, against Big Interests, and a "maverick" for "reform", but did not! (If anyone knows the radio talk show and heard it, please post it in a comment. It was the best commentary on this anywhere).
4
POPSCoercion and Freedom if you were to ask, say, the average senior citizen whether Social Security, Medicare and prescription drug subsidies should be continued, he would probably answer yes. The same would be true if you asked a college professor whether higher education should continue to be subsidized, or a farmer or a dairyman whether their products should be subsidized, or a manufacturer whether there should be tariffs and quotas on foreign products that compete with his product. The problem with congressmen producing favors and privileges to all interest groups is that it creates what none of us wants: massive control, numerous dictates and micromanagement of our lives.
5
POPSWhat makes these millionaires worthy of a bailout? More from the article: "I've been hearing from Republicans all my life about the virtue of capitalism and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps -- but it turns out the bootstraps have to come from the government and the government also does the pulling up? How is that capitalism?" I want to know why the government turned its back while the American auto industry was loosing its shirt to foreign automakers? And why didn't the government step in to stop our industries from moving overseas and leaving nothing but minimum wage jobs behind? These corporate welfare recipients who took advantage of a federal government that allowed an unregulated wholesale ripoff of their fellow Americans deserve to loose everything they own. American ingenuity will get us through this, but it will be a lot easier to do so without Bush and his gang digging the hole deeper while we are digging our way out.
6
POPSAnyone Remember the Cost of The Wars? Estimates of the true long-term costs of the President's war of choice, including payments of health care and veterans benefits into the distant future, soar into the budgetary stratosphere. They range from the Congressional Budget Office's $1-2 trillion to an estimate by economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes of up to $4-5 trillion. So we're talking somewhere between one-and-a-half and seven bailouts-worth of taxpayer dollars flowing into the morass of disaster, corruption, and carnage in Iraq. As Chalmers Johnson, author most recently of Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, the final volume of his Blowback Trilogy, has pointed out for years, the Pentagon, the military-industrial complex, and America's wars are in the process of bankrupting us.
4
POPSBanks love bailout, hate credit card curbs "A Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights would level the playing field by protecting consumers from questionable late feesand sudden rate hikes, and requiring clear disclosure of terms and conditions. That doesn't seem too much to ask of an industry that has no problem asking taxpayers to cover its bad bets. Enjoy the bailout, boys. This isn't over yet.
2
POPSIT’S THE DERIVATIVES, STUPID! I do not normally yell, but IT’S THE DERIVATIVES, STUPID! I felt like clipping the whole article (it isn't very long, but longer than ClipNotes allows). It does a good job explaining what is going on and sets forth a possible solution. "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education." —Thomas Jefferson "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." ~ Thomas Jefferson "A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to Farce, or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." ~ James Madison
0
POPS150 Top Economists Say "Hold Off" on Bailout The economists say: "not urgent right now" and "will create more problems", and "expressed alarm at the haste of lawmakers and the Bush administration to pass legislation". Alot different than what Bush stated Wed night in his "Financial WMD speech" isn't it? Read the advise of these experts who warn: ``The situation may get urgent, but it's not urgent right now. Right now it's a financial sector problem.'' Apparently this helped to slam on the brakes Thursday: Today Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, said he has ``five pages of the leading economists in America that wrote to me and the leadership saying the Paulson plan is a bad plan. It will not solve problems. It will create more problems.'' Not hearing that on the news are we? Ask yourself why the MSM does not quote these credible experts instead of parroting the propaganda of Bush's (Fed) speech that the entire economy will collapse without a deal now.
4
POPSRon Paul and Why the Bailout Should Make You Afraid, Very Afraid I keep reading about how the alternative to the bailout would be much worse. I keep hearing this “we are helping main street” narrative from the supporters of the bailout. To me this is hogwash. Ron Paul said it best yesterday on CNN when he said that without the bailout we’d “have a bad year” but with the bailouts it “will be a bad decade”. I’m afraid, very afraid that Ron Paul is right again.
4
POPSCrisis, is a friend of the "State" Crisis is the friend of the State. The politicians are desperate to be seen as "showing leadership," so we're surely in for a new round of government interventions. Watch for the equivalent of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There'll be much posturing about how the new regulations "will keep this from ever happening again," but that's more nonsense because the root problem is not lack of regulation. It's government social engineering of the housing market, which will be unchanged. This is the path to stagnation and poverty. As Nobel Laureate F.A. Hayek taught, markets are too complicated for planners to know enough to plan them. The relevant information, scattered unspoken among billions of market participants, is beyond the bureaucrats' reach. We do need protection from reckless businessmen. But there is only one way to provide that: market discipline. That means: no privileges, and no bailouts.
3
POPSNo bailouts without accountability Sojourners offers an easy link to send a suggested-form email to your Congressperson and Senators asking them 1) not to give a blank check to the Treasury Sec., 2) to be certain taxpayers benefit more than companies, including a measure to help those most at risk of foreclosure, and 3) to maintain careful oversight
1
POPSConservative Senator DeMint R-SC Opposes Wall Street Bailout Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the conservative House Republican Study Committee, questioned the proposed bailout Friday, saying he was “unconvinced that this is the proper remedy for our nation at this time.” Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), another conservative Republican, said in a statement Saturday: “Congress must not hastily embrace a cure that may do more harm to our economy than the disease of bad debt.” "This plan will not only cause our nation to fall off the debt cliff, it could send the value of the dollar into a free-fall as investors around the world question our ability to repay our debts,” said DeMint. “It's also very likely that this plan will extend the cycle of bailouts, encouraging other companies to behave in reckless ways that create the need for even more bailouts, triggering an endless run on our treasury.”
1
POPSThe Real Culprits - Part Three While government arguably has a role in helping low-income folks buy a home, Clinton went overboard by strong-arming lenders with tougher and tougher regulations, which only led to lenders taking on hundreds of billions in subprime bilge. Market failure? Hardly. Once again, this crisis has government's fingerprints all over it.
0
POPSDirty Secret of the Bailout: 32 words no one dare utter This is, deep down in side, what the Corporate-wing of the Republican party is all about: Privatize profits, socialize costs. Because the investment class owns Washington, and they're not about to take it in the ass (I mean, wallet) just because they made stupid, greedy decisions. Work harder, America. You the top 5% are counting on your efforts to keep them in caviar.
3
POPS$700 Billion Bailout Could Fund Private Foreign Banks I'm totally amazed!!! When WE THE PEOPLE need to upgrade our infrastructure --- NO there's no money for that!!! With the new bankruptcy laws if you fall under because of medical, financial, lost wages etc. you really can't get rid of your debt under chapter 7 practically unless you die them I'm sure they will be after your family! But, when the Wall Street takes your money invests it in whatever they want make tons of money, toys, bonuses etc..and it goes south then you the tax payer <> has to bail them out.. If Bush had his way (which McCain voted for) we would be under private social security >> people would be broke right about now.. Funny they want to PRIVATIZE the use of your money, but when it all goes to pot then they want to SOCIALIZE you to repaying the debt.. Got to love this crap!! And still the public is with its thumb up its butt watching reality shows!! DAH < Yankee Stadium - < thats important >> argh!!
3
POPSMcCain shoots from the hip and gets it wrong again This one article alone shows John McCains desperate dependence on advisors. He clearly has no clue what the function of the Federal Reserve is. If he gets elected he will only be a figurehead, a puppet through which his advisers will run the country. Sound familiar? This is the way the country is currently being run. Bush is just a puppet of the true republican powers. Bush and McCain are exactly the same.
1
POPSBailouts Represent Usurped Dictatorial Powers by Bush, Fed, and Treasury Bloomberg warns, read the whole article. Bush, the Fed, the Treasury are seizing power, upon an Economic 9/11, and Congress is being coerced into immediate conformity (not wanting to take the blame for "doing nothing", while the financial companies who caused it escape accountability with free bailout) during an election season (Obama and McCain are quoted). The power is dictatorial and dangerous. It is in fact another Usurpation of power.
9
POPSSocialism in America I'm reluctant to form an opinion on the proposal out of Washington to save us from disaster, as i don't know all the facts and i'm not smart enough to understand all the ramifications. However, i'm very disturbed and frightened by the fact that our government has deemed it necessary to drastically override the free market system and force upon us their solution. My gut tells me that can't end well.
1
POPSPaulson to the rescue...so much for free markets I honestly don't know enough to know whether the federal bailouts we're seeing are good ideas that will help the economy. But i do know enough to know that they are contrary to everything a free, open, capitalist economy stands for. And that freaks me out...because i just can't imagine how bad things must be out there that free market politicians are supporting these types of government intervention.
2
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update