Mr. Obama, enough press conferences

President Barack Obama is officially more overexposed than the Geico Gekko.

Whenever he speaks, the stock market suffers. The market has had a nice rebound, and I really wish he would just leave well enough alone. He again spoke to the nation last night.

He praised himself for saving jobs of certain people. How does he know that somebody did not lose their job because of anything he did?

He spoke about the “equivalent” of a new tax cut. Would it kill him to give me an actual tax cut? Yeah, I know, 95% of people, blah blah blah. Not gonna happen.

He wants to make sure that we do not return to the cycle of bubble and bust. Of course we will. Speculation has existed since the beginning of time. He wants to make sure we do not face an economic crisis 10 or 20 years from now.

Will somebody please at least admit that Barack Obama cannot defeat the business cycle? We will have good and bad times in the future.

As for the rest, there were some basic themes.

1) Nothing is his fault. It was like that when he got here. His predecessor was 100% at fault.

2) We are all in this together, except when it suits him to blame the other side and absolve himself.

3) We should not demonize investors trying to make profits. What the heck does he think a corporation is?

One troublesome aspect of Obama press conferences is that he chooses in advance who gets to ask questions. He started out with Jennifer Loven of AP, a partisan hack and liberal activist married to another liberal activist. She and her husband did everything they could to deliver the AP for John Kerry in 2004.

She basically, in the form of an AIG question, asked why we should trust him. This allowed him to answer why we should.

President Obama pointed out that unlike banks, which were regulated by FDIC, AIG as an insurance company had no regulatory oversight. He is right in the sense that there is no federal insurance commissioner. Insurance is regulated at the state level.

MSNBC naturally was allowed to ask a question. The president was asked what sacrifices were expected of the public. Shockingly enough, he replied that the public has sacrificed enough. These were astonishingly ridiculous questions, even for liberal shills. The president also offered platitudes about how we have to make tough choices, and that we cannot ignore the long term. He also reminded people that AIG contracts were put in place before he took over. Nothing is his responsibility in this era of shared responsibility.

When ABC asked if him if he would promise to veto any budget that did not include cap and trade and a middle class tax cut, naturally the president bobbed and weaved. apparently he feels that the middle class already received their tax cut. I never got mine. He shifted to health care, energy, and education. These things have nothing to do with the question, but the president answers questions the way he wants to answer them.

When CBS asked him about increasing the debt 9.3 trillion in the coming 10 years, he passed the buck without stating he was passing the buck. He inherited the problem. Yet he is going to drive down the deficit in half in the next five years. Only after that does it absolutely explode.

He claims that the CBO forecasts 2.2% growth, while he assumed 2.6%. He claims that without fixing health care, energy and education, there will be no growth at all. Perhaps he does not know that spending does not equal growth. He claimed that the GOP had no alternative budget. The minority has proposed ideas. The Pelosiraptor rejects them. The president then blathered on about cutting out wasteful spending, and going through the budget line by line. Does he know he already won the election?

A reporter from Univision asked if he was taking Mexico seriously. SHockingly enough, of course he is. I know this because he intoned this in a serious voice.

When Stars and Srtipes asked him if he was going to find savings in the defense budget and money allocated for veterans, Mr. Obama explained that of course everybody would agree that savings could be found in procurement. John McCain agrees with him.

In fact, several times he mentioned that every credible person agreed with him.

Ed Henry of CNN finally offered something valuable from a reporter standpoint. He pointed out that Obama did nothing on AIG, and has blamed Bush. Will Obama leave a mess for his successor to blame him for?

Mr. Obama claimed that his job was “hard.” He then used a false straw man by claiming that the alternative was to stand pat and do nothing. He did state that he held a fiscal responsibility summit, as if that meant something. He trule does believe that words equal deeds. He does not want Chinese and Indian kids to surpass American kids, as if anybody in America does. He ducked the AIG aspect of the question.

Major Garrett of Fox News brought up the fact that the Chinese were worried about the dollar and Europe was worried about our spending.The President then claimed that we need to increase job growth, but that the dollar is strong and that investors see the strongest economy and political stability in the world here. When President Bush and Senator McCain said the same thing, Obama pilloried them. Yet did he praise President Bush for the strong economy he inherited? This man is a pretzel, yet unties himself because he is not challenged.

When asked if he regretted trying to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, he said no. He then offered a stinging and completely false justification of his absolutely dreadful proposal to raise taxes on charitable giving by lowering the deduction.

He claimed that if people were truly charitable, the deduction would not matter. Commens like that are why he occasionally disgusts me. This man will not get off of his moral high horse. When asked what he thought about charities claiming that giving will lessen, he simply stated that the charities were wrong. Either this man knows everything, or he is a gasbag.

Ebony Magazine asked him what he thought about 1 out of every 50 children being homeless. No evidence of this statistic was cited. Presidet Obama bravely pointed out that no child should be hungry, and that homeless children in America was not acceptable. He then shifted to homeless veterans. He is against veterans being homeless.

Ann Compton of ABC Radio wasted time by asking him if he felt he was still being judged by his race. He correctly pointed out that people were worried about the economy, and that the glow of a black man being elected ended about one day after the last inaugural ball.

The Washington Times wanted to know if he had any ethical concerns about embryonic stem cell research. This allowed him to state that of course he thinks issues through.  He is against human cloning.  Yet he claimed that he was only in favor of using embryos about to be destroyed. No, that was the Bush position. He is in favor of destroying perfectly healthy embryos. If science offers solutions that avoid controversy, great. He is not interested in ideological rigidity., except that he is. He respects different opinions in terms of listening to people, but that is not the same as altering his position.

A French reporter acted like a French reporter by asking an anti-Semitic question about how the Israeli-Palestinian issue could possibly be resolved with Bibi Netanyahu and Avi Lieberman in the Israeli government.

The president lamented that it will “not be easier.” He stated that the status quo was unsustainable. He left out that Hamas are terrorists.

He then praised George Mitchell and actually compared the peace in Northern Ireland to the situation in the Middle East, as if there was any basis for comparison.

He again reminded us that he inherited knotty problems. He then went on a tangent about economics, and insisted he was right about Timothy Geithner. He defended his video to Iran, and considered it progress despite their rejectionist response. In liberal minds, symbolism actually is a victory regardless of any benefit.

He is confident we are moving in the right direction, and that in four years we will be better off.

If we are not, he will just hold a press conference and blame his predecessor, all the while telling us things are fabulous anyway because of him. He will not cite specifics, nor be asked any.

eric

21 Responses to “Mr. Obama, enough press conferences”

  1. hauk says:

    I got laid off last week. Which is fine with me- more time to record. But really, I’m just not feeling the hope and change.

    I was never a big fan of George W Bush. Yeah, he did a lot of good things, and a few questionable/debatable things, and a few bad things. But really- I’m not feeling any difference between Bush and Obama.

    BTW Eric- April 4th, my band is at the Steel Pit in Tujunga, with 3 trad Metal bands- free show. My own particular take on the trickle down theory- people go to bars, drink beer, and money trickles back into the economy in the form of tips to hot waitresses.

    Good times!

  2. Welcome to the club, Hauk. Businesses are failing, millions are unemployed, underemployed, jobless, and yet somehow the cons ask things like “Yet did he praise President Bush for the strong economy he inherited?”. “Strong economy.” Amazing. Conservatives are people who live in their own little universes and to #$!! with everybody else.

    JMJ

  3. Toma says:

    Eric,

    The clueless kid is a clueless kid, and that will not change. He is a useful prop. He job is to look pretty, sound pretty, and be black. He does not know how to govern, lead or follow. If it is not on the teleprompter he is lost. We should not focus on Obama, he knows nothing, decides nothing, proposes nothing. Those standing behind him are the doers and the dangers. They care nothing for Obama only that he won. They care nothing for you or me, control is their priority at any and all cost. The proof in what they are doing and what they say they are going to do.

    God help us.

    Toma

  4. thepoliticaltipster says:

    Sorry to hear that Hauk – I was let go by my economic consultancy firm at the end of February – though at least it has enabled me to nearly finish my PhD thesis and try my hand at freelance journalism – from one overextended industry (finance) to another!

    However, economic should start growing again by the autumn (Q3) – though it might not return to trend growth by 2011, as the stimulus and quantitative easing should kick in. The big problem is how the deficit is going to be paid for and the long term effects of all these unecessary bailouts (the Fed Reserve could have simply “printed money” by underfunding the deficit without buying toxic assets). At best we will have created a large amount of moral risk (on both sides of the Atlantic).

    However, it looks like the Obama administration seems intent on turning Fannie Mae and AIG back into serious players rather than winding them up. At worst we could end up with a continental system dominated by quasi-goverment run institutions, while global regulators manage to squelch any remaining entrepreneurship.

  5. Micky 2 says:

    “The big problem is how the deficit is going to be paid for and the long term effects of all these unecessary bailouts ”

    I suspect Obama will break yet a few more promises and tax everyone across the board.
    These bailouts, most of em I believe are not acts of any conscious attempts to help anyone other than the man get re-elected.
    Fortunately theres going to be a ton of scandals attached to this massive give away unearthed in the next couple years and no amount of bribery, payoffs or selective stimulus will help him

  6. Dav Lev says:

    Okay, so now Obama has confirmed, at least to many of us who really
    saw thorough his brilliant campaigns for both his Democratic nomination
    as well as the Presidency, what do we do about 4 years of this four flusher?

    For those that don’t know the definition of four flusher, and don’t play
    cards, look it up in Webster’s.

    No, Bernie Madoff is not the biggest fraud in this nation’s history, Barack
    Obama is. He pales Madoff in comparison.

    Madoff stole billions (yet to be determined) from charities, foundations,
    gullible people who bought into his likeable personality. He seemed
    like a mensch., personable, one of the guys. Sound familar?

    Obama has stolen trillions to date, with more to come, from a much wider
    assortment of gullible people., with this promises, outrageous nuances, when he
    first campaigned, and outrageous now.

    He fooled his screaming crowd of followers..the guy who would bring
    the world of dictators together in friendship and love, with US.

    But what gets me the most is his phony smile..his showing of his big teeth. Maybe
    his large ears hasn’t really heard from the rest of US, he’s bad for
    America.

    I cannot think of one promise he made during the campaign which he has
    kept or intends to keep. Can you? Health care for everyone?
    42 million people w/o insurance costing 240 million for the rest of us.
    Like how long can we carry these people..whether through clinics we pay for, at hospitals that are going under, or through an increase on the wealth. Do the math. These people are increasing at over 3% year.
    Maybe they need the birth control info or just a sense of responsibility
    beaten into them?

    Where is the stimulus money? Where is the rest of the TARP money?
    Why havn’t those banks that received the initial 350 billion loaned out
    the money…why still on their books? What are they doing with it?

    Where are the 400 and 1,000 dollar checks that were supposed to be
    sent to “Middle income” America. Where? Where? Where?

    I filled out my tax return..I still have not gotten any IRS letter which
    tells me I can get that credit. Has anyone?

    Mr. Obama said we will (basically) end our trade policy with our neighbors
    Canada and Mexico. Remember? Have we changed anything? Was this
    a good idea to begin with? When we needed people to buy stocks and
    bonds, issued by those investment banks and the two Fs, why was it
    good then, but now with their equities almost down to zero, are they
    somehow bad people?

    Mr. Obama said he would raise the taxes (which is really not just going
    back to the tax rates folks) on those earning over 250,000. Has he?
    And, besides, is this a good idea? Who will invest in new enterprises?
    Who will risk buying stock? What will happen to people’s retirement plans?

    You do the math. The Federal rate is already 35%. Add the State of California, or NY or most other statres, and you get another 8 to 9%.
    That’s 43%, out of their earnings to Uncle Samuel. With proper ES
    payments, they will get about 57%. Do the math.

    But let’s not forget that the sales tax (in Californa) is going up 1%, along
    with DMV fees, cigarette taxes. You purchase an item that has sales
    tax, and you pay over 8%. Add social security taxes (which may also
    increase for those earning over 110,000) and increased Federal gasoline taxes..and do the math.

    If Obama has his way, the mortgage deduction will also increase,
    effectively increasing your taxes (assuming you earn over 250,000).

    Now, his Democratic Congress wants a bill of attainder…imposing a
    tax on a specific group of people. What next? Who is next?
    I am a whilte male..over 45..will I be hit with a special surtax..
    Will Jews be taxed additional amounts? Will Mormons be taxed?
    Will Protestants..or Catholics be taxed next. Hows about supporters
    of Israel?

    Where will this end?

    Obama’s blaming the Republicans for all our ills that he inherited.
    Is he kidding? Who controlled Congress from 2006 to 2008, when
    the bubble broke? Who pushed millions of people into buying homes
    they could ill afford, they, and the banks, appreciating that nothing
    comes free in this life?

    Didn’t we all read about the Fannies….about the scandals prior
    to the bubble burst? I did.

    Mr. Obama is adding more money to no child left behind, while
    the experts say it isn’t about the funding..it’s about this entire
    concept to educate our youth. Wha ever happened to the basics,
    reading, writing, and so on? Who cares about linear algebra
    or John Stuart Mill, at the high school level?

    He wants our children to compete better (and win) with China and India.
    Why? What is the point of all this? Does he really think that
    a generation which wastes time watching ( or playing ) during “March
    madness” is competitive?

    So what, a few thousand basketball players can throw a ball into a hoop.
    Who really cares. If USC lost..so! If UCLA lost, so? What difference
    does it make to anyone? In one week, will anyone remember any of
    this? And what about the Olympic’s. When an 8 gold medal winner
    stuns the world with his illegal pot smoking…doesn’t that say something
    about our youth? Oh I know, he has repented.

    We all know that the NBA is a business….just better ball handlers who
    are a head taller than most of us, can dunk the ball with ease. So what?
    Who cares? I don’t. Do you?

    Just watch Jimmy Kimmel any night, and the delight of his young
    audiences listening to some outrageosly bad band, playing too loud,
    with a lead singer who is shouting, off key, more than singing..And these
    people are to be competitive?

    Foreign policy, oh my gosh, Obama didn’t expect Iran to stop enriching uranium or supporting the killing of our troops in Iraq, he says.

    Tell that to another GI killed in Iraq, or just killed in Afghanistan or
    missing half his body..with tubes out of his head.

    The head mullah has already demanded we vacate Iraq, Iran and the M.E. and abandon Israel to Hamas and Hezbollah. before they talk.
    To rub salt, they want an apology from US for our actions, since prior to the Shah.

    Yet he knows damn well that Hamas and Hezbollah are running the Strip and Lebanon, and Iran continues to VIOLATE 3 UNSC resolutions.

    Unfortuntely what it will take to wake us all up to the reality of
    this new gov’t, a gov’t of CHANGE, is for Tel Aviv to be nuked,
    and/or New York City, simultaneously.

    Obama forgot one salient aspect of the conflict..surrogate terrorist groups
    in the US, armed with Iranian nuke componants..ready, able and willing
    to take out one of our cities..leaving no signature..or giving same to
    a group of Hamas types..in Jerusalem.

    Are we going in the wrong direction..you betchu, as my candidate
    for VP kept saying. But now it’s too late, at least until 2010.
    That’s why I am devoting my entire life to protecting my
    government’s interests and the interests of my brethren.
    That’s why I personally own a gun. Do you?

    If someone doesn’t like it, as the Jack in the Box commercial
    says. “Do something about it”.

  7. Toma says:

    AMEN, Dav Lev.

    If you can find ammo better stock up. My regular suppliers keep sold out.
    What does that tell you?

    Toma

  8. Boy, to see you cons froth at the mouth is to truly see the utter humiltaion you project onto everyone around you for the complete and total failure that was the conservatism you see deeply believed in.

    “Nothing is his fault. It was like that when he got here. His predecessor was 100% at fault.”

    This was sarcasm, of course, but it’s the latest con game in action – blame Obama! This is the latest sleazefest coming from the likes of the Wall Street Infernal, Feux News, Lou Slobbs, Jim “Baer Stearns is fine” Kramer, and the rest of the rabble rousers. Blame Obama! yes folks, the man’s been in office for all of 2 months and it’s all his fault! Some point out the market dives when Obama speaks – they conveniently forget that it’s been sinking like a stone since September and most analysts believe it’s not nearly hit it’s rightly valued bottom. Of course it sinks! They know that for every stress test they fail, more banks are going down! Obama is simply shedding light on overvalued scams. All of the financial problems we have todays manifested or originated under Bush’s watch, but somehow it’s Obama’s fault. Amazing. And to make matters wiorse, you guys offer NOTHING WHATSOEVER in alternative.

    The next sleazefest? Obama’s breaking his promises!!!! Mind you, again, he’s only been in office for the months, and he’s not the Emperor, he’s the president, but NOOOOOO, ‘EE’S BRIKKIN’ ‘IS PROMERSES!!! He’s already gotten the first stimulus through (promise), ended the insipid ban on embryonic stem cell research funding (promise), rescinded a multitude of Bush’s executive orders (promise), offered his budget (promise), begun the opening of secret torture memos (promise), announced the closing of GITMO (promise), signed SCHIP and the Ledbetter bill (promise), and on and on and on – but NOOOOOO, ‘EE’S BRIKKIN’ ‘IS PROMERSES!!! And the ultimate irony – there isn’t a single promise of his any of you cons would even want him to keep! You should be applauding any promises he breaks, you goofballs!

    And then our host, who I thought was Jewish, says this : “He is in favor of destroying perfectly healthy embryos.” Did you lose your Talmud? Or are you actually willing to cast aside your Judaism to cull favor with the lowbrowed Christian righties?

    Now these rightwing screwballs are talking about amassing guns! Is that really the crowd you want to associate with?

    JMJ

  9. Toma says:

    Actually the market started down in May when oil was $120 bbl. But the big drop occured in October when it became apparent that Obama and Soros would get the White House. That is when every one started bailing out. October the 6th was the big drop in the Dow -1874 in one day. That is every one but me. I let my dumb-a$$ broker talk me out of bailing. There is no correlation with oil price it was $65 bbl and falling in October.

    I’m in the oil and gas exploration business but I have not worked since Jan. 4th. No one is investing these days and probably won’t. Gee I wonder why?

    Toma

  10. Micky 2 says:

    “Boy, to see you cons froth at the mouth is to truly see the utter humiltaion you project onto everyone around you for the complete and total failure that was the conservatism you see deeply believed in.”

    No, not frothing, just getting tired of telling everyone “I told ya so”

    You talk about us in such coplete terms as “complete” and “utter” and “total”
    When if anything is completely , total and utter is your saying that in the sense thats its just not true.
    You may not care for some of the achievements in the Bush presidency but even still, it was not a total and complete failure by any stretch of the imagination.
    It just goes to show the lunacy that resides whithin.
    Like I’ve said before, I dont care for the lefts ideology or any of its leaders but I would never be so disengenuous and just plain nuys enough to say that liberalism or any of the past dem presidents were “complete” or “total” failures.
    Hell, I’m sure if I tried I could even find a few things that Carter did right.

    “Some point out the market dives when Obama speaks – they conveniently forget that it’s been sinking like a stone since September and most analysts believe it’s not nearly hit it’s rightly valued bottom.”

    Wake up and look at the timing, its not just a result of past influences, its everytime he opens his yap or signs something the market freaks.

    “All of the financial problems we have todays manifested or originated under Bush’s watch, but somehow it’s Obama’s fault. Amazing. And to make matters worse, you guys offer NOTHING WHATSOEVER in alternative. ”

    Bull, manifestation has a point of origin. In this case it began with Carter, Clinton and the dems inability to work with them when the CRA was reaching the full fruition of its potential.
    You asked me how a program that was created 30 years ago could effect todays economy. Sure, people were buying houses they couldnt afford 30 years ago but you have to remember that Clinton came along and made that program even more accessable to even less qualified clients and then Frank, Dodd, Pelosi and the rest of those morons stepped in and made it even easier while at the same time Bush and McCain were trying to tell everyone that this monster is about ready to blow.
    Sure, their were other components that added to this but the main one was the amount of mortgages that were going into foreclosure that screwed up all the banks that screwed up everything else like dominos.

    “The next sleazefest? Obama’s breaking his promises!!!! Mind you, again, he’s only been in office for the months,”

    Yea, you’d think he could wait a little longer.

    “He’s already gotten the first stimulus through (promise), ended the insipid ban on embryonic stem cell research funding (promise), rescinded a multitude of Bush’s executive orders (promise), offered his budget (promise), begun the opening of secret torture memos (promise), announced the closing of GITMO (promise), signed SCHIP and the Ledbetter bill (promise), and on and on and on – but NOOOOOO, ‘EE’S BRIKKIN’ ‘IS PROMERSES!!! And the ultimate irony – there isn’t a single promise of his any of you cons would even want him to keep! You should be applauding any promises he breaks, you goofballs! ”

    Nice try, but thats not the point.
    It goes to character.
    If I were a dem I’d be pi$$ed about renditions, wire taps, bombing Pakistan and the shifting wirhdrawal timetables for Iraq.
    And then theres the chacter on the left that just bends over and takes it because they dont want to draw attention to the fact that they got screwed for making the wrong choice.
    They just dont want to admit the got beat.

    “Now these rightwing screwballs are talking about amassing guns! Is that really the crowd you want to associate with?”

    Yea, damn right !
    When the CIC starts saying he wants a civilian force that trumps the military, sends out volunteers to establish a data base, to move the census into the WH and screw up the 2nd amendment so bad its almost impossible to own a gun but not before running everyoone broke and needy you betchera$$ this convict here will even take the risk of owning a gun for the first time in his life.

    Overseas contigency operation.
    Jeez Louise what the hell is going on man ?
    Whats he gonna call it when it reaches our shores again ? HUH ?
    It sure as hell wont be overseas or contingent anymore.

    A bad reaction to the failed policies of the previous administration ?
    Eric keeps saying how intelligent Obama is.
    I disagree, he may be educated, but his warped ideology renders him an idiot

  11. Nice, Toma, join the chorus. Maybe the sleazebags lying thieves on Wall Street were just afraid the jig was up. Ever consider that? But even to the extent that may be true, markets historically perform BETTER when the Dems are in charge, so I think you’re logic is seriously flawed – that, or Wall Street is chock full of morons these days. Personally, I think it’s a little from column A and a little from column B.

    Micky, the only people saying “I told you so” are people like me who saw this coming for years. Unlike most Americans, I actually have a read history book or two in my life and so I saw this train wreck coming for miles. Extended periods of laizzez faire corporatocracy always lead to financial collapse in the end. This recession and everything that comes from it is on your cons hands. All you can do now is lie about it.

    JMJ

  12. Micky 2 says:

    “Micky, the only people saying “I told you so” are people like me who saw this coming for years. Unlike most Americans, I actually have a read history book or two in my life and so I saw this train wreck coming for miles. Extended periods of laizzez faire corporatocracy always lead to financial collapse in the end. This recession and everything that comes from it is on your cons hands. All you can do now is lie about it.”

    Yea Jersey, for someone whos so professed in history you sure dont seem to grasp it very well.
    It suits you fine to only pull the examples out of context that make your point.
    Any fool can cherry pick an instance here and there but everytime we have debate you dont seem to have much history to back your examples and instead just assume everyone should take your word for it.
    Most people who are not history majors are well aware of the fact that what is being done has been tried before and failed.
    All Obama did was put the same turd on a stick and call it ice cream.
    You never said “i told you so”, not that I can remember.
    Any freaking moron can say the economy will fail, just like any fool can say it will resurface again.
    Its how, when, and why that counts.
    A broken clock will be right twice a day so you want a trophy ?
    Our economy has always been better or worse to certain extremes but none as bad as when the new deal was introduced and yet you guys keep saying this is the worse since the great depression when any idiot knows thats a lie.
    Typical, enhance the gloom and doom factor so it actually appears as if you’ve fixed something.
    Odds are according to history if you morons just left eevrything alone it would of fixed itself. Let the failures fail and the successes succeed.
    But hey, never let a good crisis go to waste , right ?

    I dare you to actually go to a few conservative blogs and see just how many of us told you all so for the last year.
    I guarantee you that evidence is there. I’ll bet I can find a ton of comments from cons sayin this would happen if Obama applied his visions of socialism, wealth redistribution, punishing taxation, expanding government, outrageuosly stupid spending.
    Many of us were saying that if he goes after corporate america and Wall street the way he wants to he’ll kill the economy. So far, it looks a lot like that whats happening
    I never saw you say 2 years before Bush left office that all this would happen.
    Matter of fact, you said you’d probably vote for McCain.
    You just like to argue for the sake of being right even at the cost of being a liar.

    911 was Bushs fault ? This economy was his fault ?
    From your perspective you think you saw it coming the way you imagine it to be because 911 and todays economy were most certainly not the fault of GW Bush and you’ve never been able to prove it.

    But oooooh, I’m a student of history !

    Well, I’m a professional chef and I can make pile of dung look like a chocolate mousse if I dress it up well enough, but its still doo doo.

    Your president stinks.

  13. Toma says:

    JMJ,

    I did not join any chorus. Just stating some facts.

    The majority of Wall Street investors are small investors like you and me and Mick. Was our gig up? I guess so.

    But you saw it coming? So did Nostradomus.

    Toma

  14. Micky 2 says:

    Jerseys been known to bust out his crystal ball every so often.

    Sure, its easy to predict a fall when things rise to the levels we saw, its almost inevitable.
    In Obamas case there was no rise to give caution for a fall. There was just his ideas, his resume`or lack of and all that he said during the campaign that gve concern as to how he would of handled this mess.
    Leading up to the election his contempt for capitalism, obvious socialist policies and making the impression for government in your face was enough for any average guy to predict that this recession would be longer than it should of been.
    As far a scandals go, it doesnt matter what side of the aisle it is when you put a few trillion out there for the grabbing you’re gonna see some high crimes in some high places.
    Those trillions have never been this accessible on any other presidents watch.
    Its like he just threw all the sharks in the world the biggest bucket of chum ever and were going to be seeing scam after scam come to surface as this feeding frenzy goes on over the years.
    I predict it, anyone could with confidence.
    This whole thing is a recipe for disaster.
    I’ll be saying “I told you so” at least once a month for the next 4 years.

    As far as the market historically performing beter with a dem in office goes, thats not entirely true.

    A lot of it is just coincidence. A con or dem president doesnt have dictative powers to influence and completley control the stock market. The market and economy are not dependent on a presidents whims. But when he starts what this guys doing at a time like this it cant help but react.
    And then theres the fact that dems in past history were not always the tax, regulate and spend lunatics we see right now

    Then theres the fact that the markets highest point ever came with a Bush in office so you can look at it a lot of ways but I think it boils down to wall streets confidence in whoevers in office.
    Its plain to see these guys are not too confident with Obama

  15. Dav Lev says:

    There was a tax gap of over 300 billion dollars (in 2004-check the website
    “Tax Gap”).

    What is the tax gap? It’s the amount of taxes the IRS estimates was never paid to the US Treasury, consisting of returns not filed (over 5m) that year, and returns filed with incorrect incomes and expenses shown.
    Also, about 50 billion in taxes shown are NOTpaid with the returns.

    Through the efforts of the IRS, of the 350 plus billion tax gap, about
    50 billion is collected, including 30 billion in delinquent taxes, leaving
    the 300 billion NEVER paid.

    The IRS typically files Notices of Federal Tax liens..either in the County
    of the deadbeat taxpayer’s residence, or (in the case of a corp or ptr)
    also the Sec. of State county. This perfects the IRS lien against
    other creditors..unless they prime (have priority) over the IRS, such
    as accounts receivables financing. A common collection technique
    once the taxes are known, is to levy receivables, bank accounts, etc.

    Why am I saying this? Today, the IRS announced that anyone with
    an offshore bank account or holding, NOT reported, will have most
    of the penalty reduced. (The IRS is requiring banks with these clients
    to report them, as an incentive).

    However, and note this…the interest, penalties and potential for
    prosecution will still apply.

    This is like an amnesty program, wherein if one files a return (not
    filed on time) the penalties are dropped, but NOT any prosecution.

    Okay. so what’s the deal?

    In two major areas of non-compliance, amounting to over 350
    billion dollars year…virtually nothing is being done to stop these
    tax cheats. About 4,500 people are prosecuted each year..for
    tax fraud, and willful failure to file returns, with about 2,500 actually
    being convicted and incarcerated.

    Bernie Madoff, is but one of hundreds of cases yearly, the SEC investigates at any one time. Securities fraud is not the same as
    tax fraud..but they are linked.

    So, again, the government screws up.

    Instead of hiring thousands of investigators and personnel to enforce
    the laws..and investigate for additional tax cheats..it spends
    trillions of dollars to bail-out banks, and other institutions which
    have really robbed the treasury.

    In all the above cases, you and me, the honest taxpayers, are
    picking up the tab.

    While this is all going on…we are now informed that Pakistanis
    are training, financing and in other ways supporting the Taliban
    in Afghanistan..to fight our increased troop levels.

    While this is going on, Iran’s gullible supporters in Washington D.C.
    are living their delusions that maybe we can make good buys out
    of the mullahs and Ahmad.

    Just a lot more government ineptitude. And we are all paying
    for it now, and in the decades to come.

    The real solution:
    1. take back the 350 billion we gave the banks..or take full
    control of them.
    2. give tax credits to anyone buying an American product..like a car
    or battery.
    3. tell Iran to comply with the 3 UNSC resolutions..which were
    approved by China and Russia to stop their enrichment..or
    face massive B1 and B2 bombings of their (minimal) 3 nuke plants.
    Give them a deadline, a timeline..as the Democrats like to say..
    of 48 hours.

    My guess, they will comply.

    Oh, didn’t we all find this fascinating. Hillary Clinton, Sec. of State
    just admonished the US for contributing to the drugf was, drug trade
    and gun running, at the Mexican-US border.

    Yet this same Hillary wants little Israel, to tear down it’s fences..dismantle
    the road blocks, and open up the border with Hamas.

    I mean, if Israel has problems now, can anyone imagine the violence
    and terror if she agrees to Hillary, or is it really Obama?

    Hey guys, if you make drugs legal in the States (buy them at
    your local drug store) you will end all of this and have it controlled
    by physicians, pharmacists, other medical personnel, besides
    putting the gun people out of business.

  16. I’m talking about the investment firms, Toma, not individual little guys. Try to follow the story line here.

    And of course I saw it coming! Everyone with half a brain saw it coming! Alan Greenspan was warning about “exotic” and “predatory” lending years ago! Housing prices have been insane for years! I’d been telling my in-laws to hurry up and sell their house up north for years, but like you, I imagine, they were listening to the LIARS on Wall Street and Feux News and the Wrong Scam Journal, and thought the ridiculous prices were sustainable and realistic. Now they’ve lost about a third of the value of their home just as they’re retiring! Nostradamus was a scam artist, just like those LIARS on Wall Street, and the financial news reporters like the Wall Street Liars Journal. It’s not my fault you missed something as obvious as the nose on your face. It doesn’t make me a genius. It says a heck of a lot more about you than it does me.

    And Micky perfectly makes my point about liars and scam artists – he’s absoluetly right – markets hit ridiculous bubbles when the laizzez faire cons are in charge of oversight. But for sustained, average, stable growth, the market ALWAYS does better when the Dems are the watchdogs. Look it up yourself. It’s common knowledge.

    JMJ

  17. “Hey guys, if you make drugs legal in the States (buy them at
    your local drug store) you will end all of this and have it controlled
    by physicians, pharmacists, other medical personnel, besides
    putting the gun people out of business.”

    California is considering legalizing pot now. It’s in the early stages, but we should all get on board and help the cause. CA assemblyman Tom Ammiano is pushing the legislation. All you Cali guys and gals should get behind him with this initiative. It would make the state a fortune in sales tax revenues, save a fortune in superfluous law enforcement and judicial costs, and create thousands of agro jobs. It’s a win win win – and a no-brainer. It’s time to put an end to the war on marijuana.

    JMJ

  18. Toma says:

    Yes JMJ I have almost a half a brain, and I saw it coming. Why I let my broker talk me out of bailing I have to live with. I know what you are talking about, the big investment firms can and do manipulate the market at will. Every one knows this, but you leaving out the little guy, which is a trait of pols. Big firms are the manipulators but the little guy is the heart of the market. Until the little guy can get back in the market there will be no market. I don’t see the Dems helping the small investor by taxing and spending. Admit it, you and I will not see any relief from anything proposed so far. Our cost of living will go up and our tax burden will go up. This is a fact.

    Toma

  19. Micky 2 says:

    California legalizing pot is a joke.
    Everyone thinks that its just gone be legal, sold at pharmacies and the drug wars will end.
    Their all idiots that are looking at all into the consequences and complication involved in doing this.
    Besides, Califirnia doesnt give a rats a$$ about anyone right to get high, it just needs the money.
    This kind of precedent is scary when state will allow what they normally wouldnt just for rtevenues.
    I’m for legalization, but with the misconceptions people have going into this it will be a disaster of the dont look at the bigger picture and stop pushing under premises that just arent true.
    They’re gonna shove this thru just like Obama did the stimulus with a bunch of false implications and lack of the facts.
    It can be done, but it needs to be done right.

    There isnt going to be no thousands of jobs Jersey.
    Most people will be allowed to grow their own as they are now for medicinal purposes.
    Law enforcement will still be busy on the border and at home with coke, heroin, meth, ecstacy etc…
    The theres the Cartels that arent going take too kindly to the USA moving in on their turf.
    Pharmacies will not dispense drugs for “recreational use” any more than they will sell liquor
    Access to minors must be dealt with, testing for those who are operating in a position where their inibriation could effect the safety of others and on and on and on.
    If Californis goes into this half cocked and full of desperation we’ll see the kind of crap we see happening on the hill between the insurance companies and the banks.
    Too many mistakes will be caught after its too late.
    People will no longer stay at home and smoke or be high at home, they’ll be more likely to go out in public and then you add that percentage of people high on one substance already (booze) and then now you have a percentage high on weed also and BANG ! you’ve got twice as many people in public that are high as there used to be.
    Also theres addiction issues and the costs involved that will more than likely come from taxation on the weed.
    Pot is not “physically” addictive but I’ve dealt with a lot of people who have a hell of a time adjusting without it and will go to some stupid extremes to get it. Not anything like the coke feind at your door at 3 am who wants 2.50 worth of blow but they dipped into funds that should of gone to other things in the families budget.

    I say that they should legalize it but do it right.

  20. Faultlineusa says:

    Over exposure is just what we need from Obama.

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