Tuesday, October 14, 2008

This & That

Just a few random thoughts, loosely connected:
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Now that strong action to enable the rescue of our economy has been taken there will likely be endless debate on the details.
That is healthy, and certainly better than continuing to do nothing and finger pointing.
But, the job is not nearly over! This is just the beginning of the beginning, as the stock market is showing once again.
And, let's not forget what got us into this mess either!
Incompetence and the ideology of so-called 'free markets' that turned out to be not so free.
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One pundit wrote recently that John McCain needs a simple and understandable plan for our economy to rescue his own campaign for President.
My friends -can I use that term?- if McCain had such a plan that stood a chance of working, wouldn't he have mentioned it by now?
Additionally, the same pundit opined that McCain ought to articulate his plan in 15 to 20 seconds!
Absurd as that sounds, this is October and politicians the world over have been known to try such desperate gambits.
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Did anyone else catch the humor inherent in the name of the Treasury official in charge of implementing the rescue plan for restoring the availability of credit in our economy?
His name is Neel Kashkari, a perfectly good name in itself.
But, phonetically it reminds me of 'cash & carry', which implies the old fashioned kind of credit; cash in exchange for goods.
Maybe, that's a good omen?
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I can think of a few folks I'd rather see leave our planet than Tina Fey, don't you?
Think she might run for office one day?
We could do worse, as is being shown repeatedly.
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Now comes the news that our national deficit will set a new record high this year, about $455 Billion.
That's not a good kind of record to be setting, is it?
The old record of only $413 Billion was set in 2004 by the same Bush league administration.
projects for 2009 are in the neighborhood of $700 Billion, a formidable problem for an incoming President that about equals the amount of the bail-out!
Tell me again, why does anyone want to be President?
But, maybe you'd rather listen to Dick Cheney who said 'deficits don't matter!
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Some folks are complaining that the deals being offered to Banks are 'too sweet'.
Think that might be because the Government needs the banks more than vice versa?
Why not listen more to Warren Buffett?
He got a much sweeter deal than the Guvmint, because he demanded it and was willing to walk away!
Think people like Buffett ought to be consulted more frequently for their real business sense?
Personally. I'd trust him more than any current administration ideologue or hack.
But, that's just me...
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Out