Just when I thought our gov't might actually do something right for once (by allowing things to happen as they should, without interference), they went and messed it all up.
Here is a thought question: Are we not in this mess due to people getting loans when the outlook on them being paid back wasn't very good?
So the obvious solution is for the gov't to loan struggling companies, like the big 3, $17,000,000,000+ even though the outlook on receiving that money back isn't very good. Who came up with these stellar ideas?
Nothing like throwing money around that we don't have. No wonder our country is in a financial mess, our citizens manage their money just slightly better than our government.
On a side note: It has been hard to tell that we are in a recession, it took me a few weeks to find a certain gift at Best Buy, and then I just had to order it online. One time a salesman told me people had been lining up since 6am to buy this product. Wow, people are really hurting when they are lining up for hours to buy $400+ gifts at best buy. They sold out before mid-day on the same day they received their shipment (BTW, I do understand some areas are hurting more than others. This is just a general observation of things overall. This product is pretty hard to find no matter where you are).
Well, the bread and soup lines in Nebraska are pretty bad. I waited 15 minutes before I could even order at Panera yesterday, and it's been like that every day.
AMEN to that brother - the recession is all a media thing, they need something to talk about. I have NEVER seen the Christmas traffic this bad, people are buying stuff like crazy!
Not to distract from all the humor, but there really are specific locations, in the mid-north east, that are having major problems. I do not think the intent here is to marginalize these people, but merely to recognize that the problem is not as wide spread as the media portrays it. In fact, many of the major problems are centered in these regions as well as CA. Other areas are now feeling the effects from the problems that started in those areas. The mortgage crises is something widespread because people all over the country who shouldn't have had loans were getting them. Interestingly enough, although this plan was put in place to help the poor, it eventually hurt them majorly, and hurt the lenders were in some ways forced to give such loans to unqualified individuals. This has hurt a very specific segment of society (the poor, and the financial industry). As always a chain reaction results (it didn't help that real estate was a bubble ready to explode when all of this started).
I understand your reaction to the auto thing but Sean is in the industry and would probally lose his job if it didn't go through of course he still may but that is because of the location and the company how it is run and he didn't think they should of got the bail out either but if they did one why not the other that effects more people.
Sorry y'all are in that situation. Like I said in an earlier post, I believe the gov't regulations have been a killer for that business. I wish they could restructure somehow and tell the gov't they can get in the car business if they want certain kinds of cars to be made. The unions are a whole other matter. The problem I have is giving them loans won't solve the problem. The same issues will come back, and soon. They even know, because they have already discussed coming back for more money after the new year. It would probably workout a lot better for most people if they filed and restructured. That is why they have that system in place.
Yeah, not sure what the "orderly" thing is all about. Bankruptcy is by nature somewhat chaotic, but that is how the real world works for 99.99% of people and businesses. I guess it has to do with them being able to restructure quickly, who knows. My last response to Ethan's comment, but it fits Roberts as well (He posted while I was writing).
The dow went up by 350 points after the fed announcement. I Sold at the end of the day out of most my positions. Mainly because I feel like we are about to drop again soon, and this rally produced a nice cushion. Where will the fed go from here? I think when people realize the problem isn't fixed and the rates cannot be lowered again, we will test the lows again in the market.
What do we really need? Not this rate cut, but a corporate tax cut, to free up funds for these struggling companies. If we lowered their taxes below 30% maybe they could keep employees on, and still be profitable. There are many other good reasons, in terms of the entire market, but I don't want to go into all that. I think the gov't is doing a horrible job, and effectively turning our country to socialism. Bad move.
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- The same "representatives" who caused the economic mess are now supposed to be the arbiters of justice. what a joke. They should be the ones in the hot seat, no one should be answering to any of them.
- Senate seats (Obama's) are being sold to the highest bidder. But who is really surprised by this? What I don't understand here is why Obama lied about him or his staff having contact with the Governor, when it appears the contact his people did have was to tell him they weren't going to give him anything. It seems Obama's staff did the right thing in their contact with the Gov. Maybe I missed something, but is this not what the transcripts show? So why did he (and his staff) lie about it? I thought the new administration was going to bring transparency to Washington? Not a good start, even though they really haven't even started yet, technically. When people lie when it doesn't matter, what does that say about when it does matter? (regarding the lying. Someone lied. There is no doubt. Either Obama or his staff, and basically it seems both did now, since the staff later came back and had to say they were "mistaken," of course the transcripts proved that to be false. So it seems Obama was the one who was "mistaken" not Axelrod, who initially told the truth.)
- A Car Czar is going to run the car business, when it is the gov't regulations, and the unions that have caused so many problems for the big 3 in the first place. Good thing I like foreign made cars better anyway, because this is a recipe for disaster in the American car business. Toyota and Honda are smiling at our "solutions" waiting to completely take over the car business in our country.
- This is not necessarily political, but Madoff made off with $50 billion in a wall st scam. But at least he made the rich poorer, which seems to be what many think is the plan for success in our country :-)
It looks Congress is joining the UAW in doing its part to help the South Rise Again. Of course it won't be long til the powers that be decide that Right to Work laws in the South aren't fair and force 10,000's of people to Unionize against their will thus brining more economic problems...er justice to the South.
By the way, for those liberals concerned about the poor, isn't convoluted to have non-union auto workers making $17/hour in the South bail out unionized workers in the North who are making $45/hour! Oh, that's right, liberals aren't concerned about the poor; just unions who can broker power in their favor.
i think giving the seat to the highest bidder is pretty efficient. i mean, congressional seats seem to go to whichever candidate spends the most anyway.
Great point Matt! It would really save a lot of time and money, if we did things that way. The best part is we wouldn't have to see all the ridiculous TV ads and cheesy campaign slogans. Maybe the Illinois Gov (name to hard to remember how to spell) is really on to something here. I actually feel bad for the big 3 execs. The media portrays this whole thing as if it is all their fault, when it reality, if the gov't would leave them alone, and stop telling them how to run their business they probably would be fine, even with the unions (as much of a drag and a econ waste as they are). The big 3 might be destroyed, but at least Washington saved the Earth from the ever present threat of global warming!!! OH wait, they have delayed the impending death and destruction by a few years now, due to this inconvenient cold snap (that some how still proves they are right).
