The Old TARP Bait and Switch

Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Bush Administration has once again pulled the old "bait and switch" on the American people.

A couple of months ago, this administration was talking about the troubled assets on the bank balance sheets. They wanted to create a market for those assets by purchasing them. One last time, they resorted to fear mongering by telling the public of serious consequences if we didnt do anything. They said this was critical. Congress gave them what they wanted to the tune of $700 billion dollars.

Then, they figured out what everyone already knew. There was no way to figure out what the assets were worth b/c the market for them was broken in the first place. So, paying market price wasnt going to work b/c it would put the banks out of business. And this is what they were trying to avoid. When they finally realized this they decided to change the plan and provide the banks w/capital at overpriced valuations.

Then last week Paulson changed the plan completely to now focus on consumer assets. What this really means is more free money for the automakers. More artificially easy financing for US consumers so they can buy US autos from companies that really should fail. For all of you who are against the bailout, you should be ticked about this. For all of you who supported the bailout b/c it was needed to save the financial system, you should be ticked b/c the automakers could very well get another freebie via TARP w no strings attached.

Watch out. This is not what most people thought the TARP was going to be.

Help Me Name This Blog!

(This Flickr photo can be found here.)

Help me come up w a cool name for this blog!

Apparently the current name of this blog has confused some people. When I started this site, I had thought about the name for just a few minutes before I named it. I wanted it to be catchy, easy to remember, etc. but apparently it has also confused some people.

I am looking for suggestions on the name. Dont be shy! Leave a comment!

Cheers!

Fall in North Carolina

This is a photo from Flickr.

This is a really nice photo I found on Flickr of the mountains in western NC. It's a great time of year down here. The weather cools off nicely and the leaves are almost finished turning colors. Makes you feel rewarded for suffering through the summer.

Thoughts on Obama Victory

(I found this awesome pic of Barack Obama on the Flickr website at the following location.)

Let me take a few moments to reflect on Barack Obama winning the Presidential election yesterday.

I agree with everyone that this is a great moment in American history. It really is. Prior to this year, I honestly never really thought we would see a black President in my lifetime but I am so happy to live to see this day. Just to be fair, I should say that I did vote for Hillary in the primary and I did hold out to the end of her campaign to support throw my support behind Barack. I had my doubts about him. Until more recently, I never really saw the Obama movement in full force. Then the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger. In St. Louis 100,000 people came to see him. In Berlin (Germany), 250,000 people! Last night, over 250,000 people came to see him deliver his victory speech in Chicago. Awesome. Just awesome.

To be honest, I feel like I underestimated the idea of an Obama Movement. I never really considered it a movement until I saw the crowds. They adore this man. They see him as a symbol of all the things that America can become. Last night, I realized it when someone on the news started talking about how this was the first time since the Civil Rights Movement that young people got together and tried to create change in the country. This time however, they didn't try to create change outside the system, they did from inside the system. They used the democratic process against the establishment. What a beautiful thing. Perhaps this is all fantasy and nothing will ever happen, but let me believe it for now because it feels great. Part of me feels good b/c finally we get what was taken from us 8 yrs ago when we were robbed in 2000. We will never get these past 8 yrs back but maybe we will be able to fix what went wrong.

Finally, I am now ready to openly admit that during the past several weeks as election day was coming closer, I too started feeling like I was getting swept away by the Obama Movement. I will call it a movement because its just as much about the idea he is selling as it is about him. That's the beauty of the whole thing. It's an idea. The more I think about it, the more overwhelmed I become.

But in the next breath, let us be real about one thing - he has a lot of work to do. I hope he is up to the task.

I thought Biden won the VP debate; Palin did OK

(Note: This is a note from last night.) Just finished watching the VP debate. I thought Biden won if you can actually declare a winner of these things. He has a definite advantage in that he has spent decades in Congress so he's more knowledgable about everyone's voting decisions over the years. Palin on the other hand doesnt have this experience and mastery of detail and that came through. Regardless, I thought she handled the situation pretty well and still managed to attack Biden effectively at times.