mikebrah

When Recession Becomes the Norm, What Happens to Stocks?

To further this point a little bit, I would like to add that the author spends most of the article bemoaning the fact that corporate interests control America, especially the military-industrial complex and that our debt levels are unserviceable. He then follows that by praising Ronald Reagan for ending the troubles of the 70s. But the Reagan administration is where this very trend began. He ramped deficit spending, and exploded the defense budget. He kicked it into high gear on a path that was unsustainable. The fact the author criticizes all the current symptoms of a problem yet praises the biggest architect of said problem destroys credibility IMHO.

MM

On Sep 28 11:04 AM Brad Denny wrote:

> Somewhere along the line, Jason said that his post was going to be
> about economics, not politics. Insofar as he stuck to economics,
> I would give his post high marks for insight and connecting the dots,
> but then he had to go on and sing the praises of that half witted
> movie actor Ronald Reagan as president while trashing Barack Obama
> on the basis that Obama is a "Sunday morning celebrity."
>
> Good grief. Ronald Reagan was a Saturday night shoot em up hoot
> owl who couldn't remember the difference between reality and the
> films he had acted in. The last time I checked, no human being was
> perfect, but Obama's record so far in dealing with the problems bequeathed
> to him by the previous 30 years of maladministration in Washington
> has been superb. I would hate to think of where we would be with
> Reagan as president.

Funding a Rally Extension

Thanks for the article, and you have a new follower.

MM

Criticize the Fed and Die

Fed:Economics as Vatican:Religion

Dissension results in excommunication
Both operate in secrecy
Unquestioned authority in relative field
Any/all indecencies are quieted and/or ignored
Virtually unlimited resources
Dominate the political arena
Devoted to maintaining status quo
Highly refined propaganda machines

So many more that I am probably missing....

MM

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

Extremely well said, Jack.

MM

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

Careful with the name calling. Those that yell the loudest tend to know the least. I'll also ignore your ill-wishes for my future. As for the scant substance in your comment, please re-read Mr. Ed's post.

MM

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

dshark,

Thanks for your response. But I am struggling to see where our views differ and why you initially called me ignorant?

I find your situation completely unacceptable. Nothing in my previous statements suggested otherwise. I was ridiculing the notion of more, more, more, and free, free, free. I think our current system is completely broken and in need of drastic overhaul.

Did you misinterpret me, did I misspeak, or have I misunderstood your position in some way?

Another poster mentioned the over-prescription syndrome that is so prevalent today. I completely agree with this as it seems anyone over the age of 40 is on AT LEAST blood pressure and/or cholesterol medicine. Not that there is anything categorically wrong about taking a pill, but the notion that entire subsections of the population are taking certain pills every day seems inappropriate. It seems the notion of diet and exercise lost the same fight as saving vs. borrowing--inconvenient.

So I am in total agreement that the system needs drastic overhaul to the tune of massive shrinking in both scope and cost. We are not talking about someone getting shot and not being treated. Or someone getting a gash and not getting stitches. Or a broken arm not getting a cast. We are talking about chronically sick, usually elderly people receiving a disproportionate chunk of the treatments at a very high cost to the still-productive, such as yourself. We are talking about Big Business getting together with Big Government and dicking over people such as yourself. Like the banks, size and collusion are our enemies.

Further intrusion is not the solution, IMO.

MM

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

Please elaborate as your comment was entirely worthless.

MM


On Sep 06 12:52 PM dshark wrote:

> I am glad you stated your age, it goes along with your ignorance!
>
>
> SHARK

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

Just for the record, I am a healthy, young, 26 year old living with a family member making $36k/year (base) with substantial and continuously increasing savings.

Would it be cool to live alone in an awesome apartment or an awesome house, drive an awesome car, wear awesome clothes, do awesome things and just be generally all-around awesome? Sure...and someday I will. When I can afford it. Right now is not that time.

Like any magnificent skyscraper, an individual is only as good as their foundation. Figuratively and literally we are watching the cheaply built structures of our society crumple. I only hope the lesson learned will be to build better foundations and not something perverse along the lines of, "if only we had a little more duct tape"

MM

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

This is going to sound harsh but you need to hear it.

I can only assume your mom is living with you or a relative right? Right? You're not suggesting that YOUR sick, old, blind mother is my responsibility right?

So with that in mind, what does a blind, sickly 83 year old lady living with her son WITH medicare need more than $2k/month for? I am confused. Up until the last twenty years or so it was EXPECTED that the elderly would be taken care of by their progeny. In fact, that was basically the function of a family--to take care of one another. And it will be again soon as the debt-bubble continues to implode. Reality will set in and the notion of kicking parents to the curb, shirking individual responsibility under the pretense that society should pick up the slack, will end.

Any "society" is only a composition of individuals. The idea that we can be socially responsible without any individual accountability is absurd and an excellent illumination to our present mess.

Oh, and your anecdotal widow who tried to game the system and lost is sad, but just another manifestation of my point. No different than the grasshopper who spends all summer frolicking then becomes indignant in the winter when he has no food. She took the cash and ran. Now she wants a re-do. Oops.

Like I said, its harsh but people need to be smacked out of the thoughtless coma from which the entitlement-State has induced them.

MM
On Sep 06 11:07 AM Niner wrote:

>
> What's your income? You don't have the faintest idea what it's like
> to live in poverty. And you blame those that aren't as fortunate
> as you. You think they could do better if only they wanted. That
> is the elitest opinion that you and others have and isn't anything
> close to reality. Shall we discuss my mom. She's 83 and legally
> blind. Dad died 10 years ago and had a decent retirement with medical
> benefits. The company dad worked for filed bankruptcy. The bankruptcy
> judge drop kicked all the retirees pensions and medical benefits
> out the back door. Mom's social security and survivors benefits
> is less than 2000 per month. Yeah she is on medicare. But, if it
> weren't for the union providing her with a medicare supplement she
> would be down another 2-300 bucks. 15 years ago she had 5 bypasses.
> I don't know if that makes a difference on supplement premiums or
> not. Mom was lucky because dad retired at the right time and was
> covered under some special laws. Others I know personally, just
> lost their health care and pensions after 30 or 40 years of hard
> work. One works at the local City park so that he can health care.
>
>
> Shall I tell you about the widow who isn't old enough for medicare.
> She has only a HS education and is over 60 and therefore has limited
> job opportunities. She worked for the school system and carried
> there plan b ins. She felt she could better use the difference in
> prem between A and B to live on. Now that she has some minor health
> problems and the plan A would serve her better, the ins company won't
> let her move up because she has a pre existing condition.
>
> Bottom line is you don't know what the hell you are talking about.
>

Frustrated by criticism over his healthcare initiative, President Obama is considering proposing his own legislation. The Obama bill would include a trigger for the much-debated public option, having it kick in after 3-5 years if private insurers weren't living up to their obligations.

" I hope Obama takes the lead on this, and succeeds. It's shameful how we treat poor people in this country in terms of medical needs. Health-care is a national right if we decide that it should be. It's no different in this way than 'freedom of speech'."

This is an appalling (and completely unsubstantiated) statement. There is nothing about health care in the Constitution, or even any statement that could be abstracted to make such a bogus claim.

The idea that individuals who spend 10+ years studying and training, and incur up to $500k in debt should then have their services extorted by anyone with a boo-boo or a tummy ache is as UNamerican as it gets.

Historically, doctors have always been amongst the highest earners of both income and prestige. Our modern health care is turning them into wards of the State and there is a reason why fewer and fewer ambitious, industrious individuals are entering the medical field. Hmmm...10 years and $500k so that one day I can be the State's bitch? Or 2 years getting an MBA and make 6-8 figures as a Stock Jockey? Tough call.

All those would-be doctors are now misguided souls in the banking, law, or accounting sectors. Both the individual and the society gets what it pays for.

Why Doesn't the Media Take a Truly Independent, Unbiased Look at the Big Banks in the U.S.?

JPM is already back to its 2006 price level. That is crazy.

Money on The Sidelines: 1930 vs 2009 (ZH)

Did Tyler get banned from SA or something? I haven't seen anything by him on this site for awhile. I enjoyed being able to get most of his stuff via SA as it was once less webpage to visit.

MM

Back to School? Where?

Can someone give me a link to anything about Buffet selling his WFC? I haven't been able to find anything, is this legit?

TIA!
MM

Due for a Correction? Market Is Already Priced for Grim Future

Touche, looks like I was a little late!

MM


On Aug 31 10:37 PM User 400260 wrote:

>

Due for a Correction? Market Is Already Priced for Grim Future

On Aug 31 09:23 PM E Nuff Sed wrote:


> I like your thoughts as a economist but your politics need some work.
> It is not consistent. There are many things the government does
> better than the private sector - healthcare, defense, primary education,
> public infrastructure, law and order being the primary examples.


I find this statement to lack credibility considering no living American has ever experienced a time when any of the mentioned items were ever privatized.

I find our public education to be truly atrocious. International rankings confirm this. DC is one of (if not THE) lowest rated school systems in America and yet has one of (if not THE) highest per capita costs of students in America.

Have you ever lived in Chicago? Despite high taxes and ridiculous gas taxes, virtually every highway is a toll-road. And to boot, they are all in terrible condition.

Like I said, no living American has ever actually lived in a world where the items you mention were privatized or open to competition. Please don't be so blatantly close-minded. This country was made great by open-mindedness and competition--not a nanny State.

MM