Howard_T

Stop Calling This 'Recovery'

We will see just enough of a change in direction, from negative or flat to positive, in the next 9 - 10 months that some will call it a valid recovery. When that happens, the present administration and its party, abetted by their yapping lapdogs in the main stream media, will proclaim from the rooftops how wonderful they have been in making all of this happen. Alas, enough people might be fooled into re-electing those who are mainly responsible for placing us into the current mess, and causing the long term aggravation of it with their spending policies.

Democrats Headed for a Train Wreck

The CARS (or Cash for Clunkers, if you must) is by most current assessments considered a success. (Let's disregard for the moment the arguments of short-term gains being offset by long-term effects) As good as CARS might have been for sales, I read this morning that roughly half of the 425 dealers in the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association are no longer offering the program. The reason is that they have not yet been reimbursed by the government for the rebates that they have given to their customers. In short, they just don't have the cash to continue. Now imagine you are a health care provider servicing patients under a government health care plan (This is the case right now under Medicare/Medicaid). You provide the services, using your valuable time and some material resources, but have to wait a long time to receive your "pay". How long will it be until providers begin dropping out. This is already the case in Great Britain, where vacancies in health care jobs have risen greatly in the past year. The arrogance of the Obama administration is frightening, but then I suppose I shouldn't worry. Any liberal will tell me that it's all for my own good to save me from myself.

U.S. Market - Is the Bear Mortally Wounded?

Any hunter can tell you that a wounded bear is a very dangerous bear. In the immortal words of Elmer Fudd, "Be vewy, vewy careful...".

Why the Fed's TALF Is Bad for America

TALF is like trying to prop up a weakened structure by using the same building techniques that caused the structure to weaken in the first place. What ought to be done is to let the thing fall down. After the dust has settled, go in and find out exactly what went wrong (already obvious), salvage whatever good pieces remain, then start building all over again, but without making the same mistakes. Sure, there'll be pain, but it will be over a lot sooner than frantically trying to prop up something that's doomed to fail eventually.