Month: November 2009

Info Ink Book Review

Before I begin I need to say that this is an unsolicited book review.  I was given this book as a gift and after reading it I thought it would be a good idea for Info Ink to do a review in the interest of education.  Too many Americans do not know enough about economics to have a good grasp on what it is all about.

American Economic History:  A People’s History–2010 Edition by Richard E. Carmichael.

First of all a little about the author–

Dr. Carmichael is on the faculty of Gardner-Webb University, he has been on the faculty of John Hopkins and Lenoir-Rhyne College; he has been employed Bank of California, Bank of America, Manufacturers Hanover Corp.  He also work in the SBA and the US Bankruptcy Court.  All in all a good solid base in economics for the book that I am reviewing.

American Economic History is well written and easily understood by both seasoned economists and lay people, novices if you will.  Dr. Carmichael gives the reader insight into various instances in American economic history from the early days of the colonies to today and the problems in between.  He also gives the reader insights into the classical economic thought from the Greeks to Keynes.

All in all an excellent book that teaches as well as informs…the reader will have a good grasp on history,  international relations and economics giving the reader all the tools they would need to carry on an informed conversation.

I would recommend this book to everyone that craves knowledge of American economic history and those that are looking for answers to the economic situation the country finds itself in today.  A good base for people to form a knowledgeable opinion on the economic life of the country.

How About A Bit Of Irony?

There are times when the analysis of politics or the economy has its good days….today is one of those days……

The GOP and other conservs have tried to turn the health debate into a debate on abortion, but does that accomplish?  And then is the oops factor….(will explain later)

To pass the bill in the House they let an amendment by Rep, Stupak of Michigan to be included:

Stupak’s amendment, which passed as part of the landmark bill and is credited with bringing along several anti-abortion Democrats (including U.S. Rep Dale Kildee, D-Flint), will make it more difficult for poor women to obtain abortions. The amendment in effect prevents insurance companies from participating in the bill’s insurance exchanges — where many low-income families and small businesses will go for their policies — unless they exclude abortion coverage from any policy that might be purchased by someone who qualifies for a federal subsidy.It went further than a compromise already written into the health care legislation that would have segregated federal funds in the exchange to comply with existing laws that prohibit federal funding of discretionary pregnancy terminations.

Stupak has always been anti-abortion. But the stand he took on the health care bill does little more than exacerbate the gap in availability for women seeking abortions. It’s cruel and arbitrary, but not even a real stand against abortion, just a move that panders to the most rabid anti-abortion forces.

After the Stupak amendment was added the GOP weighed in:

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has offered his support to a Democratic congressman from Michigan backing an abortion-related amendment to a House version of a health care bill.

I for one love it when there is a bit of irony in anything political and the GOP has peed in their chili.

The Republican National Committee’s health insurance plan covers elective abortions for its employees, an option Republicans strongly oppose in health overhaul legislation that Democrats are trying to push through Congress.Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele learned of the policy’s abortion coverage Thursday through a news report and immediately instructed staff to inform the insurance carrier that the RNC wanted to opt out of elective abortion coverage.

The GOP platform traditionally includes strong anti-abortion language. All House Republicans, except one, voted for an amendment imposing restrictions of coverage for abortions in the health care bill that passed the House last Saturday. Inclusion of the abortion restrictions prompted an angry backlash from liberal House Democrats, and some are now threatening to vote against a final bill if the curbs stay in.

The memo said the RNC received a phone call from a reporter on Wednesday asking whether the RNC’s health care policy, through Cigna, covered elective abortions for employees. On Thursday, Politico.com published a report citing two sales agents for Cigna who said the RNC’s policy covered elective abortion.

The Cigna employees said the RNC didn’t choose to opt out of abortion coverage when given the opportunity, Politico.com reported.

God!  I love this stuff!

Now Politico is reporting that the GOP is opting out of the abortion clause of their policy.  My question now is would they have acting if Politico had not done their job and pointed this out?

God, I love this stuff!  A good shot of irony is good for the soul……

Is Capitalism Losing Its Luster?

The recent economic down turn in the past year have got people all over the globe asking that same question.  They have seen just how badly the free markets are being manipulated by the “players” and that none of it was for the benefit of the people and the economy…the sole motivation was…GREED!

Recently the BBC took a poll on this subject and the findings could shock some of the people.

A global poll by the British Broadcasting Corporation’s World Service shows widespread disaffection with the capitalist free market, including a significant opposition to capitalism per se.

Conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA, the poll interviewed more than 29,000 people in 27 countries, between June 19 and October 13, 2009. These were in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, Chile, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Spain, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya.

The poll found that more than three in five respondents were opposed to free-market capitalism. Some 89 percent believed that capitalism was not working, with a majority of those questioned in 22 of the countries indicating strong support for government intervention to support greater regulation of business and the market, in favour of a more socially equitable division of wealth.

Almost a quarter of respondents believed that capitalism should be replaced by a “different system.”

Twenty-three percent believed capitalism was “fatally flawed.” An almost equal number of people questioned in France felt that capitalism had failed (43 percent), responding that its inadequacies could be resolved by greater regulation and reforms (47 percent). After France, the highest numbers supporting the replacement of capitalism were in Mexico (38 percent) and Brazil (35 percent). In the 12 countries highlighted on the BBC website, more than 10 percent in each nation supported this position. Those defending the present set-up were a minority in every instance.

This BBC poll found that in the USA  one person in four believes the system is working.

I would have been interesting just what type of economic system did they think would be a better way to go….I am thinking that they, the responders, may not have any idea of which would be better….more like that the current one is NOT doing anything positive for the people or the economy.

Just a thought!

Get It Right Or Shut Up!

Daily Agitator

I spend a lot of time reading and such and I come across stuff that I just cannot let go of for any reason and this letter to Pelosi is one of those BS things that morons do.

I came across a site known as Thoughts Of A Conservative Christian…is there any other kind?….this guy is an attorney…you know those ambulance chasing bottom feeders….well he is chastising Pelosi for being a liberal and her pushing of health reform….he also goes on and says that she and her husband are millionaires….I found that humorous for name one in Washington that is not a millionaire….anywayt he goes on and I quote:

You obviously haven’t read the Constitution recently, if ever, the Federalist Papers, or even David McCullough’s book on John Adams. You ought to take the time while riding around in your government provided luxury executive jet to do just that. You represent Socialistic and even Marxist principals that our founding fathers tried to avoid when setting out the capitalistic republican form of government represented by our Constitution.

This is just sad….for one Marx did not come to the forefront of political and economical thought until around 1848….the country was close to a hundred years old by then….that one paragraph eliminates this person as a learned person…instead lumps him in with the rest of the low IQ voters….

This “christian”  goes in his letter to Pelosi:

I would like to suggest that you return to the city of fruitcakes and nuts and eat your husband’s canned tuna and pineapple produced by illegal immigrants and by workers who have been excluded from the protection that 90% of the legal workers in the United States have.

Not only is this NOT christian-like, but he is spreading hate through the name calling…..is this guy truly an attorney?

I always HATE to see an American with this much hate allowed to spread it….but unlike this idiot I have read the Constitution and he has a legitimate right to speak his mind….Sad that we have these people on the right and in saying that I am reminded of a quote by John Stuart Mill:

Not all conservatives are stupid, but most stupid people are conservative.

Personal Thought On Health Reform

We have all heard the figures being thrown around about the uninsured people in the US…there maybe a difference in the total number, but NO one can argue that the system is sound….well, with the exception of anyone making profit off the existing one…..and I have heard some on the Right saying that there is a need for health reform…..then why is it so abhorrent that there is the possibility for reform?

I understand the desire to keep the deficit down….or to keep the insurance profit margins….or to protect the free market….but……doing nothing as some have suggested is not a free market approach….why?  insurance companies are setting fees, services, etc and they have very little competition, if any…..

Think about this…we bailout a numerous amount of banks with NO control…they lost money we gave them money and now they are not it again….answer?…..we needed to get some skin in the bailout…if they took cash then we got 20-30% of their profits and we then could have used that to fund stuff like healthcare…after all they made enough on your money to pay huge bonuses to the boneheads that damn near destroyed the economic system….why not get something for out cash…the banks would not have given free money to ANYONE!

Sorry, that was a double comment or thought health care and banks….oops…my bad!

All I am saying is to those so concerned about the deficit and government spending, there was away to silence their concern but instead we give the guys a free ride to wealth without the consequences of bad judgment……

There is more……the latest polls show that the American people think the public option is a good idea, regardless of what is said by the pundits on the Hill.  We elected these guys and gals to do our bidding but that is not what is happening….take for instance this report by Reuters:

Health insurers, drugmakers and other companies expect U.S. Senate lawmakers to soften the blow from health reform legislation narrowly passed by the House of Representatives that calls for a greater government role in the industry.Pharmaceutical and insurance sector stocks were all in positive territory in line with the overall market on Monday, following the approval of the House bill late Saturday calling for a public insurance option and a government role in drug prices under Medicare.

Let me see, the Senate is where the industry has put their money to defeat health reform and it looks like it was money well spent….

The Fort Hood Saga

Daily Agitator

I was not going to comment on the shootings at Ft. Hood until all the facts were in.  There is speculation flying around the web and the news rooms on why this guy went to this extreme.  We have heard he is a terrorist or that he is just suffering from PTSD or that he was just a whacko…..well so far there is NO definitive explanation…he is alive and alert but NOT talking.

Like I have said…I was not going to comment but things have progressed to the point that I feel compelled to comment….

All the “expert” analysts are saying that the military is going to be doing a review of the situation to see why this guy fell through the cracks and his actions were not more closely monitored.  All involved, including some in the White House,  have said that they want to make sure and promise that something like this will NEVER happen again.

That is a hollow promise…there is NO way they can guarantee that it will not happen again.  There is ABSOLUTELY NO way that they can guarantee that it will NEVER happen again!

But that is okay, we Americans are use to hollow promises….we have been living with them for over 200 years.

“Fear And Loathing” In Washington

(Thanx to Hunter for part of the title)

I have, along with oh so many others, been a critic of the way the GOP is handling their opposition to anything the Dems propose.  These guys and gals may seem like they are insane but it is a method to their madness.

Back in the day I was a pretty active activist….and there are techniques to use when addressing issues….

“Fear and loathing” is a techniques where the activist takes an issue and turns it into something to be afraid of….like same sex marriage or health reform or …..pick one…they all do it…..NOTHING new.

The best way to accomplish this is by finding an issue and putting the opposition of defense….do not give them a chance to go on the offense….if you are watching the health reform debate unfold, then you are witnessing this technique.  It is not so much an ideology battle but rather just simple obstructionism.

If anyone has been watching the debate unfold then they have witnessed the use of props….babies…..throwing copies of the bill….holding the Constitution…..all of this is theatrics nothing about an ideology…nothing about alternatives….nothing offered as a solution….just plain obstructionism.

In case you are not sure what obstructionism is…then I can help……”to be a obstacle….to impede progress….to block or stop…..to hinder….”  so far the conservatives have done well using this tactic.  The Dems control the White House and both Houses of Congress and they still cannot get a bill passed without the wrangling and theater…..I would say that the theatrics are working and that the obstruction put into place by the conservatives is doing its job….slowing and possibly stopping any progress….

The Repubs have been using “fear” forever to push their agenda…the daddy of the GOP, Thomas Jefferson once said,  “A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take away everything you have”.  “Fear”….when you have nothing else……works every time!

Haley Barbour Hits A Homerun

Never thought I would hear myself say anything like that…….

If the reader is a regular then they will know that I am not a fan of Haley Barbour he is my governor and I have not had a whole lot of good to say about him and his way of governing….I have criticized him unmercifully at every turn …….I do not think Barbour is stupid only that I did not agree with his governing style in my state…..if nothing else can be said about Barbour it can be said that he is a helluva politician and a knowledgeable politico…..

But now for something completely different (thanx Monty Python)………

The recent purity purges occurring within the GOP is an indication of a dying party trying desperately to find a life giving issue or for that matter, a leader, something that is sadly missing with the party now.

It is the far right versus the middle or the moderates……the purge right now is of the moderates….the far right is saying that there is a litmus test and if they, the moderates, do not pass then they are out…..and to the extent that the Party will work against a moderate in any election they enter into.

And look how so-called moderates of the past are behaving…Pawlenty of Minnesota is on board with the litmus test for a “proper” candidate and then there is the popular governor of Florida Charlie Crist…..he has started back peddling and caving to the far right of the party.  He, Crist, is running for the senate and he is trying hard top appease the far right so that he can win his election without the Party trying to de-rail his effort.  For instance, his stand on the stim plan from Washington he has said:

Crist told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he “didn’t endorse” the stimulus bill and he wouldn’t have voted for it. The Associated Press, however, pointed out that Crist had once told AP that he had “endorsed” it.  Crist was the only major Republican to campaign for the stimulus bill by appearing onstage with Obama in February. He even asked congressional Republicans to vote for it.

He is crawfishing or waffling or whatever you choose to call it….he is NOT a man of principle he is just trying to win an elect at any cost, even to losing his ideals.

And then there is my favorite governor Haley Barbour, for years I have disagreed with damn near everything the man has said or done, but for once I can say that I am proud of his stand on the purges.

Barbour told the Iowa Independent:

Party building is about addition and multiplication, not subtraction and division, Barbour said at a party fundraiser in Des Moines. The GOP must be inclusive, he argued, and that idea extends to even the most divisive political issues. To make his point, Barbour pointed out that he helped pass several anti-abortion bills as governor, eventually garnering his state the reputation as “the safest place in the nation for an unborn child.”  But he said there are good Republicans who don’t agree with him on the issue.

“There are tens of millions of pro-choice Republicans that are just as good Republicans as I am, and we need to support them,” he said, adding: “That’s what party building is about, and don’t think that is giving up your principles.”

All of which prompts conservatives to cry, Haley’s comet is streaking! He’s a strong voice in a leaderless party, and as leading 2012 contenders self-destruct, flirt with fringe theories, and attack one another, there sits Mr. Fix-It, now a successful elected executive, conveniently term-limited in 2011. Even opponents are impressed, or at least they say they are. “He’s an unusual combination of someone who’s really good on policy, really good on politics, and really good on TV,” says Democratic lobbyist Anthony Podesta. “And everybody likes him.”

Once again I am proud of this conservative for his stance…I never said he was stupid.  Also said, during the last election when McCain won the nomination of the GOP that Barbour should be on the short list for vice president.  Why would I say that if I disliked him so?  Slate.com has said it better than I could have:

Barbour is the GOP’s Mr. Fix-It. Sixteen years ago, when the party was in a similar position—booted out of the White House, out of money, and ideologically incoherent—he was elected to run the Republican National Committee, promising strong executive leadership to rebuild the party. In his first two years, he bailed out the nearly bankrupt National Republican Campaign Committee while cajoling, strategizing, fundraising, and bullying fractious Republicans back into the majority. Newt Gingrich was the bullhorn of the 1994 Republican revolution, but Barbour was the guy who paid for the bullhorn.

His experience then as now gives him the inside track to another leadership roll in the GOP…a party that should be all inclusive….I cannot believe I am saying this…the GOP could do worse than nominating Haley Barbour….and they probably WILL!