bernie52

Financial Reform: Keep Dreaming

The philosophical basis of liberalism is to protect personal liberty by preventing the concentration of wealth and power by using societal power nearly always (now) governmental. The original citizens of the United States had an uneducated faith in such a system and went along with the leadership of our educated founding fathers. After 230 years our SYSTEM is amazingly stable. And stability is the end state goal of any system. So the question is HOW can the revolution start? Michael Moore's docu-movies always pose that question in some way.
I am too lazy to be a revolutionary. Geez! I not only read financial blogs I am actually responding. The SYSTEM really knows how to dissipate threatening energy with venting systems.
OOPS I am late for my morning medications...

60 Minutes: On Speculators and Commodities

From the several comments that I have read about last Sunday's CBS report on the commodity market price of oil, I would say that the report was very effective. Eight minutes of reporting is just time to open the can of worms. If there was some way to eliminate speculation from the price paid for oil, what would that be? COST plus 10 percent?
The major inference of the report that if you could only get all the money with no intention to use oil in some value added process to just get out of the game that is a subject for economics 312 which we will never see on network TV, cable TV, even CSPAN. A version might be available on Cal U public TV.

Second Mortgages: Why Absolve Consumers for Stupidity?

We all get stupid when a FREE bucket of wealth is offered us. Stupid CEOs seeing bonuses. Stupid Financial Analysts seeking friendly business. Stupid Investment Bankers creating wealth stories. Stupid consumers coveting the asset, ingnoring the debt. And on and on.
As to why we have such a weak foundation to battle the glittery perception of FREE goes to the worship of materialism that dominates our current western philosophy. I am reminded of Warren Buffet who in amassing great wealth has always shunned the worship of materialism. Mr. Buffet uses his talents and intellect to win the financial game on honest terms that do not distort the place of his accomplishments in the story of humankind on this lonely planet.