I think if you asked just about anyone this year if we were in a recession they would have responded “yes.” Of course it just can’t officially be a recession until The National Bureau of Economic Research says it is.
The “R” Word: It’s Finally “Official”
December 2, 2008 4 Comments
What Caused the Economic Collapse?
October 14, 2008 2 Comments
Even as we fight to recover, there is a lot of blamestorming* going around in Washington right now as to who was responsible for the economic downturn. The Democrats of course blame the Republicans and vice-versa.*(ok, not a real word, but I like it). [Read more...]
SSSHHHH You will Scare the House…I Mean Fish
October 3, 2008 2 Comments
The Senate may have proved to be so great at fishing this week I think we should move them to ESPN or at least the Outdoor Network.
The House is debating the economic bailout today and they are optimistic they will pass the $700 billion bailout (oh yea, and the other $110 billion in pork additives to buy their votes). Did I say that?
Come on; let’s just go over the facts.
1. The Bailout gets shot down in the House. They don’t like it; they think it is a bad way to help. It falls 13 votes short of passing.
2. Senate decides to take a shot. They add some pork to help sway those that didn’t vote for the bailout. Is this not bribery? “Hey, I know you think the bailout is a bad idea, but what if I throw in some stuff – completely unrelated – that you want?”
3. House Approves the Bailout, the President signs it.
Now the House all of a sudden “feels good” about the bailout?
Rep. John Boehner, the House Leader, said “Is it perfect? No. But its clearly better than it was a week ago,” “I’m optimistic about today.”
Keep the Godfather Caffeinated! Donate to the Diet Pepsi Fund.Extra Bailout “Pork” is Really Going to Cost Us!
October 2, 2008 2 Comments
Mmmmm Pork. No not the kind you may find next to eggs during your morning meal. I am talking about the pork “sweeteners” the Senate added to the bailout plan in hopes that the House members will bite.
This is beyond sad and I can’t say I have seen a better example of a messed up government. Take a bad situation (the economy) and make it worse by throwing on a bunch of personal @#$! to get the bailout approved.
Sure they call it adding “incentives” to have the House push the Bailout through – it just looks like a load of you-know-what to me.
So what gems will we get on top of the $700 Billion Bailout if the House approves it?
Pork Additive #1 – Provisions to keep movie and television production in the U.S. It allows production companies to deduct the cost of “producing” the movies from their taxes.
How Much? – It will cost taxpayers about $478 million over 10 years
Pork Addictive #2 – Allow plaintiffs who won damages from the Exxon Mobile spill to average their awards over three years (as oppose to treating it as single year income).
How Much? – It will cost the taxpayers about $49 Million.
Pork Additive #3 – Allow a seven-year recovery cost for people who build motorsports racetracks.
How Much? – It will cost the taxpayers $100 Million.
Pork Addictive #4 – Allow citizens who do not pay state income tax also deduct what they pay in sales tax.
How Much? – It will cost the taxpayers about $3.3 Billion
Ok, there is too much to list and I am getting depressed. In all there is about $110 Billion Dollars in pork additives that will put even more stress on a bad situation.
I think throwing this stuff in is borderline extortion – the “hey, we are not going to help the American economy unless I get some stuff for me” needs to stop. Spending is out of control.
Stop thinking in terms of Left and Right and start thinking in terms of Right and Wrong!
What do you think about this? Feel free to comment!
Keep the Godfather Caffeinated! Donate to the Diet Pepsi Fund.The New Government Bailout Passes Step One…Here it is…
October 1, 2008 2 Comments
Want to see the new Bailout Bill including some $110 Billion in extra added pork thrown in by the Senate?
You get 451 pages of our government in action. Click Here to see the actual Bailout…
Now back to the House…
Keep the Godfather Caffeinated! Donate to the Diet Pepsi Fund.$700 Billion Dollar Bailout: Take Two…
October 1, 2008 6 Comments
It failed in the House on Monday so today the Senate plans to try and rescue the $700 billion dollar bailout. Why don’t you try and rescue Scott Baio’s career while you are at it – it just isn’t gonna happen.
The bailout is getting messier by the minute. The Senate thinks by throwing in a few “sweeteners” the Republicans and Democrats who were against the plan will now throw all in.
So what $@&! is getting thrown in?
Increase the FDIC insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000. Forgive me if I don’t bother scouring documents to verify this…but I am going to guess that most people don’t have $10,000 cash in the bank let alone over the current $100,000 FDIC insurance level. So who would that help…wait a minute…maybe some fat cat lobbyists or political officials worried about the economy?!
Additionally in the “sweeteners” is relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax and Renewable Energy Incentives.
Here is my favorite part…
Also included? The “Mental Health Parity” provision, which would require health insurance companies to cover mental illness. Yea, I guess some high level executives are a little depressed right now.
The vote won’t happen until “Sundown” in observance of Rash Hashanah – I have to say, I hope this is the second knockout of the week. It needs to be done right…and without all this other crud thrown in.
Update: Well, it passed. Want to see it before it goes back to the House? And you have got to check out the “Pork Additives!”
Keep the Godfather Caffeinated! Donate to the Diet Pepsi Fund.Bailout Fails First Go Around…
September 30, 2008 2 Comments
Despite President Bush’s requests and John McCain’s last-minute-cancel-the-debate-get-on-a-plane-save-the-world-speech, the bailout package was rejected yesterday (sending the stock market down 777 points).
Was it close? Not really. The vote was 228-205 after marathon talks from the Bush administration. Matter of fact, only 65 Republicans followed Bush and McCain and voted for it (so much for influence).
As they pour back to the drawing board today I expect the stock market to go up for awhile. Optimism always seems to follow these types of things. I think today is the Jewish New Year so don’t expect anything to happen for a couple days as the Congress and Senate pass this one back and forth like a hot potato.
In the end I think the hold on approval is a good move. No matter what happens we are in uncharted territory and need to make some careful decisions here (ie: not decisions made latenight over the weekend whilst full of Mountain Dew and Pizza Rolls).
Keep the Godfather Caffeinated! Donate to the Diet Pepsi Fund.
I suppose this is where you look for some witty insights to my mind. A "bio" of sorts. Here is the deal... I ride motorcycles, smoke cigars, golf, kayak, fly, race my car through the mountains, write (a lot), and travel extensively. I am almost old enough not to care what other people think about me...almost. ~ Godfather
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