Sunday, January 25, 2009
Stock Market - Las Vegas
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Save America, Buy American
It has been a while since I saw something Made in the U.S.A. and quite frankly, I miss it, and I'm tired of the alternative.
I'm tired of the mega corporations taking profits from small town USA into billionaires pockets. Sorry Megastores, you know who you are. Everytime you guys open a store, a bunch of small businesses will dissapear soon in the neighborhood. Quit trying to give that "neighborhood friendly" face. You do not benefit America, you're pocketing our money, buying everything abroad, and destroying our way of life.
Same goes to the "Depot" that employes a dozen people, and leave hundreds without biz. Yes, those family-owned businesses that had to shut down because you sell everything AND the kitchen sink, those businesses stimulated local economy.
This is what most people don't realize. Any of those large corporations take our local money to their out-of-state bank accounts. They employ few people locally, so they can't really say they are helping the local economy.
Small businesses, family owned, employ far more people. Yes, they may not have everything on a single location, but that's what free market is all about, finding what is needed and providing it. But the huge difference is that small biz, locally owned, spends LOCALLY. Their profits stay in town, that money ends up circulating in our local economy.
So how about we bring back Made in U.S.A.? How about we tell those huge corporations to take a hike, and urge our law makers to pass laws that will not allow companies to grow so big that they hurt the local economy?
Sure, there are companies such as utilities that benefit from large scale, and that makes sense, but anything that has to do with retail, should be gone.
Let's bring back our manufacturing power. I'm willing to pay more, if I know that the extra dollars end up in American worker's pockets, in our roads, in our schools.
Where is MY JOB?
Here is another huge finger pointing: those companies outsourcing who have cut US jobs to increase their profits have contributed, in a very big part, to turning the American people into poverty. SHAME ON YOU.
So maybe the answer is not so much creating NEW jobs, but getting our jobs BACK. I find it funny how there are the so called minuteman protecting the Mexican border from those who come to pick tomatoes, but say nothing to those large companies that fired middle and upper management jobs, professional and technical people who were making a comfortable living, just to give the same jobs abroad for a fraction of the money.
And it is not just that the government will stop receiving taxes from those workers, but the actual people, their families, will NOT be spending the money here in the US. Everyone talks about a slowdown in the spending. Well, if you have no job, how are you going to spend money? If your $70k/year job was shipped to Asia, how are you going to spend the money?
Perhaps it is time to stop being so naive and tell those companies that shipping jobs abroad threatens national security.
Everything from back office and call centers to management, even interpretation of xRays have been shipped out. There are very few factories left in the U.S. We have lost our capacity to manufacture, the expertise is not here anymore.
And the gap keeps growing. Soon the American people will not be able to afford many things because we are all getting poorer as time goes by. What we once knew as the world's leading economy will come down crashing and we will lose the respect of the financial community.
Bring the jobs back. Take away any tax credit and benefits to companies that layoff US workers just to hire abroad. Put taxes and tariffs to those products and services so they will not be so attractive anymore for employers to go hire abroad.
Sure, this is very unpopular, but the truth is that if we keep going at this pace, the US will have a financial breakdown, and we can swallow our American pride because we let it happen.
Those who have free trade agreements, well, they are the lucky ones, but we should not continue to export jobs. They should make it as hard to export a job, as it is to bring someone with an HB1 visa to work in the U.S.
So dont' worry about the mexicans picking tomatoes, worry about the guy with a Masters or a PhD who can't get a job because someone else, thousands of miles, has taken his position.
The Three Car Makers - Sure, let's BUY THEM.
Here's how that game should be played:
The car makers get their money, in exchange for company stock. That stock is distributed to taxpayers (whose money, after all, is the one bailing them out), proportionate to the amount each person has paid in taxes in the last 2 years (suddenly it makes sense to pay taxes, we can get a bonus uh?) Each taxpayer will hold the stock for 10 years, but will receive dividends.
Now, car makers get their money, and the American people get something they never had before: a good reason to buy American cars. After all, we all want to see those dividend checks in our mailbox dont' we?
Sure, current stockholders will scream, but their alternative is less pretty: the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. I wonder if they want to go that way.'
Think about it: people will see GM, Ford and Chrysler as their own. They will reconsider buying American cars because it will definitely help their own income. And maybe for once we will realize that in this new millennium there is no reason why we could not match quality to that of foreign cars, especially if we all pitch in and buy.
So yes, let's give them the money, and let's ask for something in return. NO MORE FREEBIES to corporations. They didn't share their profits with us in the past, why are we going to share our hard-earned money with them now? Let's become partners and make things the right way.
The Credit Crisis - The Real Solution
Let's point fingers. BANKS. What happened to your lending policies and procedures? What happen to credit qualifications and information verification? Since when does a bank lend money based on speculative market prices vis a vis realistic values? Why thousands of people got loans way beyond their monthly payment means? Yes, let's say it, it is YOUR FAULT for not following your own rules. And now you want the government to give you money so you will not go down?
By the way, this is a quick update, I'm extremely upset at the following news:
AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081221/ap_on_bi_ge/executive_bailoutsWhile Americans are losing their homes, their retirement funds, these CROOKS are taking our money and sustaining their luxury lifestyles. I'd say let's make them responsible for what's going on and enforce SOX, but with a twist. Forfeit all their assets and set an example on how hot to steal taxpayers' money.
I propose an alternative solution:
Let's have the government buy loans at a discount, deep discount, and following these parameters: the more time a homeowner has hold his property, the higher the priority in getting his/her house saved by the program, then individuals who purchased homes recently and live in their homes. Last would be those who purchased properties for investment, although they should take the loss because as in any investment, they took the risk.
This way, the banks will get liquidity, and people would have peace of mind that they will not be railed by greedy bankers who want to have it all.
After all, banks haven't been fined or penalized for their absolutely outrageous lending practices.
Giving money to banks who have been clearly irresponsible on handling their own funds doesn't make sense. They would become liquid AND keep the mortgages. Should they be entitled to the profits of their ill credit practices?
By the way, there is no such thing as "government" money. Last time I checked we lived in a democracy, and the governments' money is really taxpayer's money, our own money.
Why we are in a Depression and why people are in denial
"Though there's little agreement on how to define an economic depression, many economists point to two indicators — a rise in unemployment and a drop in economic output — that are far larger and last far longer than most Americans have seen in their lifetimes.
In a recession, a much less severe downturn that typically lasts a matter of months, "the unemployment rate increases to perhaps 8 or 9 or even 10 percent," said Michael Brandl, senior lecturer in economics and finance at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. "An economic depression, on the other hand, is when the economy contracts year after year after year. The unemployment rate in a depression is closer to 20 or 25 percent."
The U.S. jobless rate is now less than 7 percent."
Let's face it, the government can continue printing money, but sooner or later someone, or some international communities, may challenge what is backing up the U.S. dollar, and we're going to be in big trouble.
In 2009, the government will realize that revenues from taxes are going to be way less than they expected. With thousands of business having tremendous losses, there will be very little to tax. We live in a economy of reaction.
So by the time the press starts talking about depression, we will be already to the neck in a really nasty economic situation. Just look at what happened to the "recession", the government admitted we are in a recession way after everyone realized and felt it in their pockets. Well, same thing will happen again, except there are measures that could be taken to prevent this. Check my other postings for my proposed solutions.
Why am I so pessimistic on this downturn of economy? Well, probably because I have witnessed the disastrous management of government, its late and inadequate response, the absolute irresponsible corporate behavior, and the increasing greed of investors.
There is truly a lack of common sense. So unemployment is at 7%. If the auto industry doesn't deliver (and why would they deliver? a money infusion will only sustain the machinery for so long, if sales aren't there, they will eat up the money and have nothing to show for), we will see a huge jump in unemployment. Assuming 2 million jobs lost, that would take unemployment to a 11-12%, with its domino effect in other industries. So a 20% unemployment is not too far unless something is done.
Large corporations that have outsourced everything they possibly could have killed America. Sure, more profit for them (have you noticed how products and services have not come down in price, but their profits skyrocketed?) but same or higher price for us. However, those Americans that lost their jobs will not be buying and spending. It is like a huge twister that is eating up everything on its path. So for those companies that have outsourced AMERICAN JOBs, thank you, you have greatly contributed to the downfall of our economy.
The Depression is knocking at our door.