Rep. Paul Ryan releases a new deficit reduction proposal that claims to cut $5.8T in spending over the next decade and includes major changes to Medicare and Medicaid. These problems won't get fixed because (choose one): A. they're unworkable; or B. politicians and voters don't have the stomach for such deep cuts. [View news story]
Clearly you are incapable of math. You look at the number and forget that a flat tax would eliminate all deductions and actually lead to many people paying MORE in taxes. Not to mention that we need to broaden the tax base, not shrink it. When 50% of the population pays nothing you have a real problem. That disparity is what creates the class warfare because you have half of the population that wants gov't largesse and the other half wants the first half out of their pocket. This is what makes it possible to "buy" votes through political patronage.
80% of the costs of the postal service come from salaries and benefits. Compare that to UPS and FDX which are both less than 48% (or so). Want to make things cheaper? Get rid of unions.
In praise of Jim Cramer: "Watching Jim on 'Mad Money' is sometimes like watching an impending train wreck. Jim’s a little crazy, a little off the deep end, but it’s either the kind of crazy we all see a little of in ourselves, or the kind of crazy we all wish we had." [View news story]
LOL - Cramer is an admitted criminal. I still sit in wonder of how he is not in prison. Make no mention of how much money he's lost people. People who listen to Cramer deserve to lose their money.
"A little inflation would be good for the economy and good for equities," Jeff Miller asserts. Core inflation is close to zero, and Bernanke is handling the money supply just fine. "Understanding inflation is now the single biggest challenge for investors," Miller writes. "There is a lot at stake." [View news story]
We can never go belly up? Think again. If you print ad infinitum just where are you going to get new investment dollars? Where are you doing to get people to buy new debt issues? How are people here going to buy goods from other countries when the prices go up 5x? 20x? You think a BMW is expensive now? What if the Euro/Dollar ratio is 4:1 instead of 1.3:1? That cheap TV from Korea just got really expensive. Corn will go from $7/bushel to 40 or 50. Good luck with beef and chicken prices at that level. That's going to bankrupt everybody. What happens when interest rates go from 3-4% to 8-10%? What happens when interest expense outweighs revenues like what's coming in Japan? You're just going to print your way out of that? Good f***ing luck with that. Currency debasement is bad news and there is no good outcome.
BTW - what's Miller is proposing is no different from Krugman and I will crucify that clown until there's no breath left in my body.
Printing money makes sense, Dean Baker argues; the Fed has the means and the responsibility to America's 15M unemployed to pump cash into the economy and control inflation later. But the Fed's "trillion dollar deficits don't matter" philosophy brings economic ruin ever closer, David Stockman counters. [View news story]
The Keynesians still haven't figured out that liquidity isn't the issue, but too much liquidity will definitely end up being a problem. Also, lower rates aren't going to entice people already up to their necks in debt to add more to the problem. This is the flaw in their thinking. It's as if they opened a textbook and are following the example in the book without allowing for rational, competent thought to enter into the equation. It seems the lessons of history have already been forgotten.
Surprise! A little-noticed amendment in the financial overhaul bill gives federal regulators the power and responsibility to limit the activities or even break up big banks if they pose a “grave risk” to the financial system. "More than a surprise... stunning!" Simon Johnson says. [View news story]
It must be new to him - people in my circles have been talking about it for a few weeks now.
And whoever "thumbs downed" sladd's comment is clueless to the damage this administration is doing.
Ron Paul wasn't too enthralled with Bernanke's press conference, of course, lamenting the failure to admit any blame for problems with the dollar, prices or inflation. The Fed "never admits it’s the inflation of the money supply that’s the problem... Bernanke can triple the money supply, and then he wants to duck the issue that he’s responsible." [View news story]
If we really made anything anymore you might have more credibility. IMO, it's abundantly clear that weak dollar policies are destructive as is the idea that the Fed can 100% control inflation and the manipulations they are manufacturing. This is all a big farce. We need to get back to sound money, balanced budgets, and a low and flat tax system. We pay a mountain of money in taxes when one takes into consideration everything that's is taxed and how much. Why? To feed the beast in Washington because politicians think we are too stupid to make decisions for ourselves.
In praise of Jim Cramer: "Watching Jim on 'Mad Money' is sometimes like watching an impending train wreck. Jim’s a little crazy, a little off the deep end, but it’s either the kind of crazy we all see a little of in ourselves, or the kind of crazy we all wish we had." [View news story]
Im amazed that people can thumbs down these comments. There are some really blind and ignorant people here.
Stocks are "incredibly cheap" compared to bonds, Legg Mason's Bill Miller says - in fact, "It's the best time since the early 1980s" to buy stocks. His favorite picks now include: Merck (MRK), Amgen (AMGN), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Intel (INTC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC). [View news story]
Miller is so overrated it's not even funny. His rep came from the biggest bull market in 80 years. What happened when the going go tough? He got killed. He's no different from any other stock pumper who thinks everything goes up all of the time regardless of any underlying factor.
"I can't give tax cuts to the top 2 percent of Americans... and lower the deficit at the same time; I don't have the math," Obama says in CNBC's townhall meeting, noting that a top-earner tax cut would be "irresponsible" and cost $700B. [View news story]
And who builds the cars? They don't build themselves.
And Reagan crushed the Russians in the Cold War. Yes we had debt, but he destroyed a 40year foe that nearly launched nukes at us in the 60's. Reagan's policies lifted us from the death grip of the Jimmy Carter administration and started the economic boom that carried us for 20 years.
IBM (IBM -0.3%) raised $1.5B today at the lowest rate on record (3-years at 1%), a clear signal investors remain confident the economy won't slip back into recession. Despite some weak economic data, strong corporate earnings seem to demonstrate companies are successfully remodeling themselves to a low-growth environment. [View news story]
A clear sign? What a ridiculous assumption. The fact that investors are willing to accept 1% return shows skittishness and fear IMO. If people were confident in a recovery, they'd be buying equities - which they clearly are not.
Jul. ISM Manufacturing Index:55.5 vs. 54.7 consensus and 56.2 prior. Prices index 57.5 vs. 57 prior. Employment 58.6 vs. 57.8. Inventories 50.2 vs. 45.8. New orders 53.5 vs. 58.5. [View news story]
Frankly it was better than expected. I was looking for something around 51 or lower. The fact that it printed better than everyone's expectations should be considered a beat.
The U.S. government says it would immediately issue a new ban on deepwater drilling if it loses an appeal set for today, setting the stage for a fight that could go to the Supreme Court. [View news story]
Someone needs to start beating the impeachment drum. This guy could care less about the rule of law.
Randall Lane claims in his new book that Jim Cramer took ex-baseball player Lenny Dykstra under his wing, "single-handedly [creating] the concept of Dykstra-as-financial genius." Now, Cramer is ensnared in a scandal, as Dykstra allegedly agreed to take $250K of stock in exchange for recommending it to subscribers of a newsletter he wrote for TheStreet.com. [View news story]
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Cramer should be in jail for all the stuff he admitted to in his book.
U.K. business secretary Vince Cable attacks "unfettered capitalism" and unveils plans to review the way companies are governed. “Capitalism takes no prisoners and kills competition where it can,” Cable tells a conference of his Liberal Democrat party. “Markets are often irrational or rigged.” He denies he's "anti-business." [View news story]
Yet another numskull that doesn't realize the globe hasn't seen unfettered capitalism in at least a century. And rigged markets are a sign of markets that are tampered with not of free markets. Once more, we see socialists lying to the masses to skew the conversation into their direction. Disgraceful.
Rep. Paul Ryan releases a new deficit reduction proposal that claims to cut $5.8T in spending over the next decade and includes major changes to Medicare and Medicaid. These problems won't get fixed because (choose one): A. they're unworkable; or B. politicians and voters don't have the stomach for such deep cuts. [View news story]
The U.S. Postal Service has requested yet another price hike, but Daniel Gross says higher postage rates are actually good for the economy, businesses and consumers. Has he gone postal? [View news story]
In praise of Jim Cramer: "Watching Jim on 'Mad Money' is sometimes like watching an impending train wreck. Jim’s a little crazy, a little off the deep end, but it’s either the kind of crazy we all see a little of in ourselves, or the kind of crazy we all wish we had." [View news story]
"A little inflation would be good for the economy and good for equities," Jeff Miller asserts. Core inflation is close to zero, and Bernanke is handling the money supply just fine. "Understanding inflation is now the single biggest challenge for investors," Miller writes. "There is a lot at stake." [View news story]
BTW - what's Miller is proposing is no different from Krugman and I will crucify that clown until there's no breath left in my body.
Printing money makes sense, Dean Baker argues; the Fed has the means and the responsibility to America's 15M unemployed to pump cash into the economy and control inflation later. But the Fed's "trillion dollar deficits don't matter" philosophy brings economic ruin ever closer, David Stockman counters. [View news story]
Surprise! A little-noticed amendment in the financial overhaul bill gives federal regulators the power and responsibility to limit the activities or even break up big banks if they pose a “grave risk” to the financial system. "More than a surprise... stunning!" Simon Johnson says. [View news story]
And whoever "thumbs downed" sladd's comment is clueless to the damage this administration is doing.
Ron Paul wasn't too enthralled with Bernanke's press conference, of course, lamenting the failure to admit any blame for problems with the dollar, prices or inflation. The Fed "never admits it’s the inflation of the money supply that’s the problem... Bernanke can triple the money supply, and then he wants to duck the issue that he’s responsible." [View news story]
In praise of Jim Cramer: "Watching Jim on 'Mad Money' is sometimes like watching an impending train wreck. Jim’s a little crazy, a little off the deep end, but it’s either the kind of crazy we all see a little of in ourselves, or the kind of crazy we all wish we had." [View news story]
Stocks are "incredibly cheap" compared to bonds, Legg Mason's Bill Miller says - in fact, "It's the best time since the early 1980s" to buy stocks. His favorite picks now include: Merck (MRK), Amgen (AMGN), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Intel (INTC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC). [View news story]
"I can't give tax cuts to the top 2 percent of Americans... and lower the deficit at the same time; I don't have the math," Obama says in CNBC's townhall meeting, noting that a top-earner tax cut would be "irresponsible" and cost $700B. [View news story]
And Reagan crushed the Russians in the Cold War. Yes we had debt, but he destroyed a 40year foe that nearly launched nukes at us in the 60's. Reagan's policies lifted us from the death grip of the Jimmy Carter administration and started the economic boom that carried us for 20 years.
IBM (IBM -0.3%) raised $1.5B today at the lowest rate on record (3-years at 1%), a clear signal investors remain confident the economy won't slip back into recession. Despite some weak economic data, strong corporate earnings seem to demonstrate companies are successfully remodeling themselves to a low-growth environment. [View news story]
Jul. ISM Manufacturing Index: 55.5 vs. 54.7 consensus and 56.2 prior. Prices index 57.5 vs. 57 prior. Employment 58.6 vs. 57.8. Inventories 50.2 vs. 45.8. New orders 53.5 vs. 58.5. [View news story]
The U.S. government says it would immediately issue a new ban on deepwater drilling if it loses an appeal set for today, setting the stage for a fight that could go to the Supreme Court. [View news story]
Randall Lane claims in his new book that Jim Cramer took ex-baseball player Lenny Dykstra under his wing, "single-handedly [creating] the concept of Dykstra-as-financial genius." Now, Cramer is ensnared in a scandal, as Dykstra allegedly agreed to take $250K of stock in exchange for recommending it to subscribers of a newsletter he wrote for TheStreet.com. [View news story]
U.K. business secretary Vince Cable attacks "unfettered capitalism" and unveils plans to review the way companies are governed. “Capitalism takes no prisoners and kills competition where it can,” Cable tells a conference of his Liberal Democrat party. “Markets are often irrational or rigged.” He denies he's "anti-business." [View news story]