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Entries tagged as ‘economy’

Buy The Farm?

May 26, 2010 · 13 Comments

Quote of the Day:

“Ohhh, Moma. Could this really be the end?” –Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again

The Oilpocalypse is upon us. War rages in Afghanistan. Terrorism and piracy fester and threaten. Hurricane season is coming. Europe’s economy is imploding. Again. And the market is gonna crash again, I just know it. TB read this dire warning yesterday on Marketwatch.com from Paul Farrell, titled Crash is Dead Ahead–Sell. Get Liquid, Now. Paul Farrell is an alarmist. He has been for a long time. Like, right before the last big crash. Farrell has harsh words for Bush and the Republicans for “driving us into the ditch” and even harsher words for Obama and the Democrats for digging it deeper by passing half-measures and refusing to bust up the banks. It’s hard to argue with either of those conclusions.

But on a lighter note, he quotes Barton Biggs, adviser to the multi-millionaire set from his book “Wealth, War and Wisdom.” In the book Biggs advises to buy a farm and “prepare for the breakdown of civilization.” Continuing, “Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food…It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson.” Hmmm. I was getting alarmed until that Swiss Family Robinson part. Sounds like fun.

Our family already has a farm where we can retreat–a tree farm, but still–and so long as out of date canned goods won’t kill you, my pantry is ready on that count. Let’s see, I have a couple of bottles of two-buck chuck–need to hit a Trader Joe’s and buy another case. Clothes, we’re good. But seed, fertilizer….capable of growing food? Uh-oh. When we sober up after polishing off the vino and vienna sausages, there could be a problem. I’m afraid I couldn’t grow a bean if my life depended on it; I sure hope the Little Scamp has a green thumb. We have plenty of deer, a few turkeys and a nearby river with all sorts of probably-edible creatures, but I don’t have a gun and wouldn’t know what to do with one. We’ll also need hammer and nails and some lumber to make a killer treehouse….man, this is getting ugly fast. Plus there’s no cable out there and the cell coverage is terrible. Oh, moma, I ain’t cut out to be a farmer at all. At least all of y’all down on the Gulf Coast will be able to subsist on fish–oh, wait, check that.

Wouldn’t it be easier to just bust up the damn banks?

Categories: Humor · current events
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PhilosoBuffett

July 15, 2009 · 15 Comments

Quote of the Day:

1. If it’s too good to be true it usually is.

2. Always look at how much the other guy is making when he’s trying to sell you something.

3. Stay away from leverage.

–Warren Buffett, financial rules to live by

Late in 2008, after the bubbles burst, when the “blood was running in the streets”, Warren Buffett made a series of investments. One of the largest was a 10 BILLION DOLLAR (insert pinky into side of mouth as you read that) purchase of Goldman Sachs stock and warrants. 5B went to preferred stock with a 10% dividend and 5B went to the right to purchase 43 million shares of stock at 115 a share. Not long after that, Goldman shares sunk from 125 to 50 and the deal looked pretty bad and Buffett was excoriated by the financial media and blogosphere. But, and you may have heard this in the last day or two, since then Goldman has been printing money. Buffett, who kept loads of cash on the sideline for years leading up to the crash of 2008 before deploying that cash in its wake, now (some are speculating) stands to cash in the 10% dividend, exercise his rights on the warrants and become the majority shareholder in Goldman Sachs.

I don’t know if any of you have read the recent Rolling Stone article on Goldman Sachs and its influence over our economy and over both political parties. You should and I’ll give you another chance here. (Bubble Machine)

The prospect of Buffett taking over this company is one I relish. If he does, we may see our best opportunity for “real change.” Because Buffett believes in an estate tax to keep the super wealthy class from becoming an old world style ruling aristocracy. Buffett believes in making money with real assets, and not novelty vehicles invented in Wall Street boardrooms.  He believes in a more fair system of income taxation–raising taxes on the wealthy–noting that in 2006 he paid only 19.1% tax on his income while his employees paid 33%. Just this week I heard him crack that the wealthy who say they will have to reduce their charitable contributions in the wake of a tax increase probably haven’t given more than 12 bucks in their lifetime anyway. He is against the government buying toxic assets of Wall Street banks and instead would support a financial rescue plan that would prevent the institutions responsible for our economic collapse from profiting. “I just think that Wall Street owes the American people one at this point”, he said just this week on Good Morning America. He thinks the first round of stimulus spending was insufficient. He is against the cap and trade bill championed by Democrats and Goldman Sachs because he thinks it is the wrong way to attack global warming. He thinks banks and insurance companies, both of which he is heavily invested in, deserve and need more and new regulations and government oversight. He thinks we were lucky to elect Barack Obama in this time of crisis. All of this, and he is possibly the greatest capitalist in the world.

I don’t mean to say I agree with Buffett on every point. But I like the way he approaches issues. Case in point–Buffett supports caps on lawsuit awards in malpractice cases. I completely disagree. However, in supporting his opinion, Buffett acknowledges his uncertainty of the position if he were a victim and notes that in the grand scheme the limits are virtually meaningless as a cost driver in our health care cost crisis (1/2 of 1 percent). Though I disagree with his conclusion, I respect the fact that his reasons opposed to mine are not based on false propaganda and buzz words, and that he can see both sides of the issue.

Will Buffett’s views on social and economic justice change Goldman Sachs’ steering on the direction of our economy? I don’t know. But if he becomes the controlling force behind the institution that is the alleged controlling force of our national economy and the direction of our national economic policy, I will be watching carefully for “real change.”

A couple of links on PhilosoBuffettism, recent and straight from the Oracle himself, that go beyond what I’ve mentioned, if you are interested:

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/06/warren_buffett_not_off_the_bot.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8039651&page=1

Categories: People · Politics · current events
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The Quiet Coup

May 7, 2009 · 4 Comments

Quote of the Day:      ”Behind the ostensible government lies an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.”     –Teddy Roosevelt

If you are interested in the state of our economy and how we are to fix it you owe it to yourself to read “The Quiet Coup” written by Simon Johnson, one of the men charged with rescuing the economies of other nations in the past decade as chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and now a professor at MIT. The article was published by “the Atlantic” and is linked here (link).

Or you can rely on my synopsis. First, as always, I wanted to know “the Atlantic’s” bias. I assumed it was a liberal magazine and it may well be. I’ve never read anything else from it. But according to my research-i-pedia the publisher is a self described “open minded neo-con.” If neo-con he is, he proved himself open minded by putting this important work by an economist experienced in the area of saving national economies into the public domain. Speaking of the economist, I have already told you his previous job title. In connection with his work for the IMF, he speaks of working with Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and Indonesia among others. He was called upon by these nations to implement procedures to save their banking systems and thus their economies at large. In the first paragraph he captures my attention by describing the IMF and himself as the last entity/person a country will turn to when there is no other recourse because they know he give them the good advice that they do not want to hear. It’s much like what lawyers do on a smaller scale each day with our own clients.

Johnson is very clear about which political party deserves the blame for the economic crisis we are in–both of them. As one reads the article, it is easy to pick out phrases or sentences that will appeal to one side of the typical political debate in America. For the right winger looking to justify his outlook there is “Almost always, countries in crisis need to learn to live within their means after a period of excess.” Classic conservative theory there–spend less than you take in. Don’t overextend. The lefty may latch onto “these countries are in a desperate economic situation for one simple reason—the powerful elites within them overreached in good times and took too many risks.” TB’s disdain for and blame laid on the powerful elites is well documented and I can tell you after reading the article the first time this is the sentence that stood out most. But when you get past pithy arguments and examine facts you are forced to accept that conservative politicians do spend more than they take in and do not live within their means and at the same time liberal politicians are corrupted by the powerful elites in the same way conservatives are. Without rewriting the article, suffice it to say that Johnson posits a compelling case that President Obama’s economic team is from the same corporate lineage, subject to the same influence and making the same mistakes that President Bush’s team did. Put another way, they are all either bought off by or under the control of the financial industry. These modern day robber barons are at the root of every visible dying tree that we regular folks like to point to as the “real” cause of the crisis. Here’s an excerpt that I found telling:

Top investment bankers and government officials like to lay the blame for the current crisis on the lowering of U.S. interest rates after the dotcom bust or, even better—in a “buck stops somewhere else” sort of way—on the flow of savings out of China. Some on the right like to complain about Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or even about longer-standing efforts to promote broader homeownership. And, of course, it is axiomatic to everyone that the regulators responsible for “safety and soundness” were fast asleep at the wheel.

But these various policies—lightweight regulation, cheap money, the unwritten Chinese-American economic alliance, the promotion of homeownership—had something in common. Even though some are traditionally associated with Democrats and some with Republicans, they all benefited the financial sector.

And one more excerpt:

From 1973 to 1985, the financial sector never earned more than 16 percent of domestic corporate profits. In 1986, that figure reached 19 percent. In the 1990s, it oscillated between 21 percent and 30 percent, higher than it had ever been in the postwar period. This decade, it reached 41 percent. Pay rose just as dramatically. From 1948 to 1982, average compensation in the financial sector ranged between 99 percent and 108 percent of the average for all domestic private industries. From 1983, it shot upward, reaching 181 percent in 2007.

When the word “overreaching” is used, it can lose its meaning without context. That second excerpt is the context in which the accusation of Wall Street’s “overreaching” can be understood. The article contends that above all else our economy has been left in the hands of an ultra-powerful oligarchy who have no agenda save their own enrichment, and that their actions, whether done under the auspices of Democratic or Republican initiatives are the cause of our current predicament.

In his conclusion, Johnson browbeats the Obama administration for lacking the political courage to do what is necessary to end the current crisis and open the way for true recovery in the future. Republicans will enjoy this part. But what he says must be done will turn that pleasure on its head–nationalize the banks, a truly left wing idea. Only temporarily though. Once the lending markets recover the banks should be sold back to private entities and then the final step must be taken. There must be no more institution that is too big to fail. They have to be broken up. If genius is defined as the measure of how much someone agrees with you, then I can confer that status on Johnson for his description of this: “The Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus evokes FDR, but what we need to imitate here is Teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting.” Eric Cantor, Haley, Jeb? Are you listening? Barack, Joe, Geithner? Dare we hope?

If I’ve done a poor job inspiring you to read this on your own, let me add that the alternatives to breaking the oligarchy, according to Johnson are more than a little frightening. If you think the state of things is just a slightly increased, but normal downturn, the article argues forcefully that you are wrong and that the worst may be yet to come. Is it right? I can’t answer that. But going back to my day job and the way I think in it, if I were trying a case where the issue of what is to become of our economy was before a jury, the first thing I would do would be to hire the most knowledgeable and experienced expert I could find and get his opinions. This Johnson guy looks like one of the experts I’d be likely to call.

Categories: Politics · current events
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SECESSION!

April 22, 2009 · 5 Comments

Conversation/Legend of the Day:

Southern Belle (with parasol twirling, at the outset of the Civil War)–General Beauregard, do you think we can whup them yankees?

General Beauregard (resplendent in grey Confederate finery)– Honey child, don’t you worry your pretty little head. We can whup them yankees with corn stalks.

–Four years later–

General Beauregard (walking down the same street in patched uniform, hatless and worn out boots)

Southern Belle (sans parasol, in faded, tattered dress)  General Beauregard! I thought you said we could whup them yankees with cornstalks!

General Beauregard  Yes ma’am I did. But them sons of bitches wouldn’t fight with cornstalks.

–as told by William Ferris, though I’ve heard this story told in several different ways; if I were telling it, I’d have to add a “blank stare” from the Southern Belle at the end

TB has been interested in history from my youngest days. My earliest memories of my Grandmother involve sitting in her dimly lit ramshackle house at night, watching the lightning bugs outside the window and listening to her tell stories of her childhood and repeating the stories she recalled from her own Grandmother. Some of those tales involved the Civil War and of the yankees who marched through and skirmished in Phoenix, Mississippi, as part of the Vicksburg campaign. Since that time I have always been fascinated with the story of the Civil War, and proud of the Quixotic effort of my ancestors and the South as a whole. I still am in many ways. But from the beginning there has been the nagging problem. For all the arguments in favor of the Confederate position,the nuance in causes of the war, for all the abuses one can find in the Union’s treatment of the South, the war boiled down to slavery and on that point the South was wrong. And incredibly freakin stupid. The Civil War was the second dumbest thing this country ever engaged in; the first being coming into existence with legalized slavery in the first place.

As I walked among so many American dead last week at Arlington, former home of Robert E. Lee and now the eternal home of thousands of Union soldiers, I considered silently the legacy of that war and of the incongruity of so many like me who consider ourselves American patriots yet still honor the soldiers and generals of the South more than we can ever bring ourselves to do for the North. I’ll never find a soft spot in my heart for Sherman or even Grant though Lee and Jackson I will always admire. Of course, I’m wrong. I know that in my mind if not my heart. Sherman and Grant fought for the right cause. Lee and Jackson fought not only for the “lost cause” but for a cause that was never righteous.

I have come to understand that the issue of slavery, if looked at in economic terms only can be peeled back an additional layer and viewed as an issue of cheap labor. Our country since the day the last Redcoat departed has been embroiled in turmoil over the appropriate ratio of capital to labor costs. After the Civil War this issue manifested itself in the rise of the unions, the civil rights/Jim Crow era and up to the present day battles over minimum wage and immigration. While the war permanantly settled the moral question of slavery it did nothing to resolve the underlying issue of labor costs. The legacy of this tension is what drives all politics in all places. Trickle down economics vs bottom up economics is simply another way of describing the problem. 

My thoughts on all this were no coincidence. The balance between labor and capital has tilted toward capital for many years with a strong majority favoring that status. But over the last few years, public opinion has begun to shift. The pendulum is near its fulcrum and the possibility that labor is going to gain an advantage over capital has caused political rhetoric to reach levels of hostility not seen in this country in many years. Little did I know as I walked among the dead that down in Texas and on Glenn Beck’s television show the unthinkable word “secession” was reentering our political discourse.

I think its a good idea.

In fact, I think if Texas doesn’t secede, the United States ought to kick them out. Actually, how about this? For ten years we have a national bet. Texas and all the states politically aligned with them–part of the old Confederacy and Arizona I guess–are to operate as a separate, self governing country. The New CSA can write its own constitution, elect its own leaders and determine its own economic future, and if they like what they’ve become after a decade, they can formally become their own country without a shot being fired. Meanwhile, the remaining United States can continue operating under the system developed over the last two and a half centuries.

The New CSA should be given a pro-rata share of the USA’s military to give it security. Other than that, each region will keep what it already has. This gives rise to what surely will be the first major issue over which the southern nation will have to grapple–how to pay for their military. The former red-staters will see new political parties develop, one against all taxes and one in favor of just enough taxes to maintain the greatest military in the world. F-22′s ain’t cheap after all. The good news is there will be no other government intrusion into the lives of ordinary citizens. No more substandard, forced public schooling, no more interstate highway upkeep, no more socialized agriculture or mail. Everything will be privatized. Perhaps the military can even be privatized, thus eliminating completely the need for public funds. Of course, the politicians will still need to be paid, but they can simply serve on corporate boards for pay. Better yet, the South could simply make it official and anoint the CEO’s of their largest companies as a head of state by committee.

All guns would be legalized in the South and if you wanted to buy a tank to protect your house, by God you could buy a tank. The torture “debate” would be settled conclusively and the need for implementers of torture would create a new growth industry. Torture could quickly be expanded to include all criminal suspects in addition to neighborhood kids in areas with a high incidence of TP’ing. The pro-business laissez faire government non-existent government would undoubtedly attract corporate investment from all over the world and create literally millions of new jobs. These jobs would pay around .50 a day, or whatever the competing wages of Malaysia happen to be on any given day. The fair, internationally competitive wages would serve to solve the immigration problem from Mexico and South America; well that along with the neighborhood tanks and torture techniques thriving in the New CSA. 

The religionists would no longer be plagued by the problem of prayer in public schools, there being no public schools. And the evangelicals could outlaw all the crazy religions that are unable to know the truth as they do. The Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews would be expelled, though the question over how to deal with the Catholics would be a little trickier. The problem of tort reform would be settled once and for all by simply banning lawsuits altogether. Gay marriage? Ha!

Pure conservatism, rugged individualism, America as it should’ve been–that’s the New CSA. As for ole TB, being a student of history I will rely upon the example of Robert E. Lee who struggled with whether to keep his oath and serve the United States or whether to cast his lot with his beloved home state of Virginia. History shows that Lee chose poorly. I’ll be hitting the Oregon Trail. It’ll be a story I can tell my grandchildren all about.

Bonus Quote of the Day:

 Does the individual have any rights anymore? Does the state have any right any more? And I know, because I’ve heard it, from all of the conservative, uh, you know, uh, historians…and scholars, and everything else. But you can’t convince me that the founding fathers wouldn’t allow you to secede. The Constitution is not a suicide pact. And if a state says, I don’t want to go there, because that’s suicide, they have a right to back out. They have a right. People have a right to not commit economic suicide…I sign into this Union, and I can never get out, no matter what the government does? I can never get out? Well that leaves only one other option. That doesn’t seem like a good option.     –Glenn Beck, Fox News

Categories: History · Humor · Politics · current events
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Times Are Tough; Be Prepared

March 30, 2009 · 6 Comments

Quote of the Day:      ”When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em “Certainly I can!” Then get busy and find out how to do it.”     –Teddy Roosevelt

One of the risks of having a blog of observation, instigation and conversation is that some day in the invisible future somebody I might ask to give me a job might run a little internet search and find this little corner of the universal web and might not care for Philosobaen, Radicalbaen, or even pickinbaen. It’s never been easy for TB to get a job and with the economy shedding jobs like Paula Abdul sheds brain cells, it occurs that it might be tough for a lot of folks to get hired and that I might use this little forum to provide you with a few tips for your next interview, along with an illustration of a true interview transcript from TB’s past.

In your interview, here are some Do’s and Don’ts:

  • When asked where you see yourself in the company, DO say “in your job eventually.” DON’T add “cause you don’t do jack!”
  • When asked what your hobbies are, DO say, “I like to read.” DON’T follow that up with, “Say….you ever check out Travellinbaen?”
  • They will usually ask you about your salary requirements. DO say, “I need my pay to be comparable to the prevailing wages in the area for this job.” DON’T add “but even that’s not enough to buy enough weed AND booze  to get me through the week so really, you’re gettin a bargain.”
  • If they want to know how you heard about the opening, DO say “your wife mentioned it to me through a mutual acquaintance.” DON’T say that “by the way she’s got a nice ass. Really, I like ‘em big like that. So does my buddy. That’s why he became a gigolo.”
  • And if they want to know if you have experience in front of a crowd, DO say “I sang a little at this club when I was in college.” Leave it at that. DON’T say, “I call it the Proud Larry’s story…..”

And now, the promised transcript, exactly as it happened almost exactly eleven years ago:

Larry–Good morning TB. Thanks for dropping by.

TB–Well, I had court in town this morning and it was convenient. I’m really interested in your opening and I think I’m just what you’re looking for.

Larry–Great. Well, let’s get started. Do you have a resume I can look at?

TB–Uhhh. No. I didn’t even know I’d be coming by to talk to you until I got a call from JBE yesterday.

Larry–Oh, sure. No problem. Tell me about your law school career. How were your grades?

TB–(seeing the writing on the wall–I ain’t getting this job)–I had a 2.46. People say I should round it up to 2.5 but I kind of like to be more specific.

Larry–Ummm. Ok. Well, how about extracurricular activities? Law Journal? Moot Court? Legal fraternity?

TB-Nope, none of that.

Larry–Well, how’d you do in undergrad?

TB–3.24

Larry–That’s pretty good. What did you study?

TB–History

Larry–Oh. (pause) How about extracurricular activities in undergrad? Were you in a frat?

TB–Nope, GDI. But l I did play a lot of intramurals. Mainly I just drank a lot of beer and chased girls. Pretty much the same thing I did in law school.

Larry–High School? 

TB–Mostly B’s. I played baseball a couple of years.

Larry–Were you in Beta Club? Key Club? AP classes?

TB–Nope. Wait, I think I got inducted to Key Club in 12th grade, but I never went to a meeting or anything. I’m in the yearbook picture so I guess that’s close enough.

Larry–(at a loss for words)<blank stare>

TB–<blank stare>(letting the silence hang uncomfortably for a few moments; then,)–Look, here’s the deal. If you want someone with good grades, a lot of college activities, frat connections and that sort of thing, I’m not your guy. But if you want someone who knows how to try a case, has two years of experience going to court nearly every day, can step in and cross examine a witness on day one and will work cheaper than anyone else you’re going to interview, I’m your man.

Maybe you’re damn dubious about whether it happened this way, but it did. And for some reason I got the job.

_________

A little lagniappe–here’s Elizabeth Cook, my favorite XM 12 DJ who I have a bit of a crush on (Larry I bet you like her too) singing “Times Are Tough in Rock and Roll.” The lyrics are pretty bland and the accent is borderline offensive, but the overall tune has a hypnotic effect on TB and I kind of dig it. MD, don’t click. It will make your head explode.

Categories: Humor · Life · Lists
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Is Mississippi the Nation’s Unlikely Bellwether State?

February 19, 2009 · 18 Comments

Quoted of the Day:    

Herbert Hoover

“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”

“It is just as important that business keep out of government as that government keep out of business.”

“Wisdom oft times comes of knowing what to do next.”

If you’ve been around the blog awhile, you know TB’s brain travels to weird places when I’m on the road. Today, somewhere around Pelahatchie, I was listening to a radio program debate the pros and cons of the Obama mortgage rescue plan. Other than philosophical purists against any governmental intervention, most of the opposition seemed to center around people who didn’t want others to be “bailed out” for their reckless or unwise decisions while responsible people are left with nothing but increased future tax bills. Its really an unassailable position, though I take the parallel view that preventing foreclosures will help property values for everyone, thus timely bill payers like me will benefit indirectly. But mainly, my mind ignored the debate at hand and moved on to bailouts in general, spurred in that direction when the moderator mentioned Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s posturing about not wanting the money from the stimulus plan. I was thankful for my friends and family that he did not take that position when the Feds bailed out property owners on the coast after Katrina. 

As I reflected on Barbour’s talking points, it dawned on me that Mississippi and our Katrina bailout really set the stage for all we are seeing now. After all, federal money came in to fill the insurance void saving insurers from a public backlash that could have changed the laws affecting their business practices in Mississippi and beyond and more obviously saving Mississippi’s coastal economy from collapse by injecting massive amounts of cash into the hands of most homeowners. It was similar in many ways to the current mortgage bailout proposal that will reward a small cohort of citizens and a specific industry, this time banking and finance. I remember back then my anger at radio hosts and callers who thought the problems of these people were of their own making by choosing to live on the coast and having inadequate insurance and that nobody else in the country was getting anything out of the deal. Each subsequent bailout has been a little different in the details, but has followed the same basic model and given rise to the same basic and widespread and legitimate complaints.

Bailouts aren’t the first important political storm that saw its genesis in Mississippi. The Republican Revolution of 1994 was presaged by Kirk Fordice’s election as Mississippi’s first post Reconstruction Republican governor in 1993. In 1999, the race for Governor between Mike Parker and Ronnie Musgrove was thrown to the Mississippi House of Representatives after the popular vote ended in a virtual tie. Then in 2000, we saw Bush v. Gore and hanging chads in Florida.  And in 2007, Democratic Congressman Travis Childers won a race to fill the seat of Republican revolutionary Roger Wicker in a district that votes heavily Republican in national races, an early indicator of the Democratic wave that occured in 2008.

All of that is interesting, but this last one is a bit disconcerting. In 1927, Mississippi was struck by a great flood that remains the worst natural disaster to hit this country. Among the many lasting consequences of that flood, it contributed to and preceded the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Katrina, the storm that topped Camille struck in 2005, preceded the stock market crash in 2008. Mississippi, partly as a result of Katrina experienced an increase in foreclosure activity beginning in 2006, beating the rest of the nation to the punch by one year. And both the Bush and Obama administrations have been telling us we are on the brink of another era of Depression.

So is all this just coincidence or is there underlying data to tie all these events together, proving my observational but undocumented and otherwise unsupported thesis? I don’t know, but as I get older I believe less and less in coincidences.

ed. note–If you’ve never read “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America” I recommend it highly. Among many consequences of the flood, the author provides evidence of how the storm and its aftermath helped lead to banking collapses, particularly in New Orleans, and was a major factor in the coming Depression.

Categories: History · Mississippi · Politics · current events
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The Job Market–I Gotta Get a Good One

January 23, 2009 · 15 Comments

Quote of the Day     “All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.”     –Aristotle

Times are tough. Big corporations and hometown shops are losing money and shedding workers at an alarming pace. Keeping up with the latest bleak news is enough to get you down. But there are a few stories floating around right now that serve to remind us all that a guy/girl can still make a go of it in this crazy old world. The job TB would like pays a hundred grand and requires relocation. I’m down with that. It requires keeping a daily blog, which would be a little more than I’m used to, but I think I could do it. Here’s the hard part–you have to snorkle, beachcomb, bar hop and generally live the life of Riley in a beach bungalow in Australia. That really is the hard part unfortunately, because hundreds of thousands of applicants are expected, and there is only a single lonely opening. TB thinks the Obama stimulus plan ought to include a billion or so to create identical jobs at various U.S. travel destinations. That would mean ten thousand really kick ass jobs. (It would only be fair for TB to get the first one, having thought of this awesome idea before anyone else.)

I have also been following the online auction (as a spectator only) of a young co-ed with a bold entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to provide a unique service to the person who hires her. She only plans to work a short while, calling in to question her dedication to the job. But for anywhere between a few seconds up to as many as 4-6 hours (according to the fine print disclaimers I see occasionally on commercials on the tube) the top bidder will have the privilege of deflowering this young business girl, I mean up and comer, I mean future reality TV star. The last bid I saw was for over 3 million. Now that’s what I call a stimulus plan, I mean a lot of money.

Assuming Congress blocks my proposed earmark on the spending bill, I guess I ought to be thinking about the services I could auction off.  Feel free to go ahead and bid on any of these, or add your own items to sell. Here’s what I’ve got so far, based on my diverse talents:

  • I will sit in your home and play XBox and surf the internet and work on my blog. I’ll need you to leave me some money for beer and pizza on the counter each day.
  • Have you ever seen that Seinfeld episode where Kramer sells all his personal stories? I can do that. Plus, I’ll dish all the dirt I have on MD, Smily and Sweet.
  • Has a coffee table book on the great beer joints and barbecue shacks of the South been written and distributed yet? Wanna do it? Need an expert?
  • I’m an excellent driver.
  • I’m old, fat and slow, and I never could shoot worth a damn. I’ll come over to your house, or meet you at your gym or church and you can beat the hell out of me in hoops. If the bid gets high enough I’ll get Sweet to meet me in your front yard and we’ll all race. A little bit higher and I’ll throw as many curveballs as I can before my shoulder flies away from the rest of my body (one). And you can put it all on video. Come to think of it, has the business girl thought of all the revenue she could generate with a DVD? Maybe she needs a pimp, I mean an agent.

Bonus Quote of the Day:     “It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”     –Muhammad Ali

Categories: Humor · Life · Lists
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Are You Feelin It Yet?

December 16, 2008 · 15 Comments

Quote of the Day     “Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.”     –Warren Buffett

They say the economy is tanking. For sure the stock market is, uh, tunk. I’m sanguine about the market’s prospects over the next twenty years, so I don’t let it bother me too much right now that my entire invested life savings would have been better allocated at 85% to a shoe box and 15% to even more wine, woman and song than I blew so much cash on in the first place. But I am getting more and more uneasy about the state of things to come.

It seems no one really understands the problem, least of all those tasked with addressing it, and that is what’s most frightening of all. The bailouts to the financial industry and auto industry are prime examples of problems too complex to appreciate. Most “folks” are against these handouts whether they consider themselves progressive or conservative but I’m not sure that they (we) understand the ramifications of the position. In Washington, the Dems and Bush are pushing the current bailout while the Republicans in Congress are opposing. I’m not sure if the Dems’ approach is wise, but as usual, I hear zero alternatives from the right, only opposition. The big problem with taking sides in this debate is that we cannot see the future, but rather must rely on the predictions of those who have lied to us so consistently for so long that we cannot be sure when they speak truly. This goes for both sides in DC. If the fall of the “Big Three” is allowed to happen and really leads to a million job losses, Richard Shelby and Bob Corker and all the Republicans are going to be ruined. But if Bush, Pelosi and Reid bail out the companies (and Obama come January) only to see them fail later or even fail to thrive soon, they will be finished. Part of me wants this bailout to fail just to see who’s right, for if it passes only the Republicans are covered politically while if it fails both parties are. Part of me wants to see it fail because it is another case of the public absorbing the risk for business while never sharing in the rewards. Part of me wants to see it fail because its another load of debt that will eventually be paid off by higher taxes on all of us. But part of me believes the doomsday scenario of massive job losses and the inevitable spreading and deepening of the recession/depression, possibly even to my very doorstep. That part of me leans toward keeping the Big Three afloat.

Of course the auto bailout is just a small part of the overall problem–remember that the financial industry bailout is a trillion vs 15 billion for the Big Three. The auto bailout they are talking about now is just for petty cash in comparison to the one in September. And that money has not been used as promised, to get banks lending to consumers again. If it were, the Big Three would be in less dire straits. The first bailout was based on lies from the Bush administration and incompetence from the leadership in Congress in believing Paulson et al’s lies and failing to legislate with specific mandates. I could go on and on on this subject but it gives me a headache. Basically, its a mess. And I don’t claim to have a firm understanding of all the threads in the web, much less how they interconnect. 

Other than my retirement accounts, I have yet to feel the pinch personally, and I really don’t know anyone who is feeling it yet. I have read that Mississippi’s foreclosure rate is on pace to lead the nation (last no more!), so I guess I’m just insulated for the time being. I do, however, foresee plausible conditions that could really put my family in financial jeopardy. I’m concerned. For that reason I’m saving where I can, putting off big purchases and generally hoarding cash, all the while buying stock on the big drops. Am I approaching it wisely? I honestly don’t know. All I do is stare blankly–at my portfolio once every few days, or at the TV when the news comes on, or at the new million dollar neighborhood construction I see on the way to work every morning. I’m wondering what everyone else is doing, regardless of how they feel about the money being hemorrhaged up in Washington. Vote below on your state of mind and feel free to amplify on your vote in the comments.

Categories: Blank Stares · Money · current events
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GOP = Big Government, Big Spending, Socialists

September 22, 2008 · 34 Comments

Quote of the Day      ”As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for socialism is its adherents.”      –George Orwell

It can’t be plausibly denied any longer. During the Bush administration it started with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This new cabinet level department was a massive increase in the size of government. What have we gotten from it? Record breaking duct tape sales, secret government wiretapping and a botched hurricane rescue and recovery effort. Speaking of Katrina…Because of Republican success in stripping the courts of fair minded judges and replacing them with Chamber of Commerce politicians, and because of Republican laissez-faire regulations toward insurance companies, and because of lax Republican enforcement of antitrust laws, and Republican financed propaganda attacking lawyers, all of which occured over most of the last thirty years and accelerated over the last eight, the insurance companies were allowed to pay only a fraction of the cost of recovery. They denied claims where they could find or manufacture an excuse and when flood insurance was available they allocated most of the damages to that program, financed by the government. The insurance cabal had record profits that year, and throughout the first seven Bush years. Since there was no private entity to absorb the losses that come as the natural risk of obtaining those profits, the Republicans passed a huge homeowner bailout program that sent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fill the gaps left by State Farm and Allstate. It was socialism. 

And now this. Seven Hundred Billion dollars (insert pinky into side of mouth while reading that number). Maybe more. Eliminate regulatory rules and oversight, install political hacks to the positions where minimal oversight could still be done in order to ensure that it was not, ignore predatory lending schemes and destroy the legal recourse that lawyers were using to keep the mortgage companies reined in, and you end up with a mortgage bubble. Bubbles burst. Conservatives are all for bubbles–that’s what happens in what they inaccurately describe as free markets. Years of prosperity followed by years of panic. From 1800 through 1930, there was a “Panic” about once every 18 years, almost always instigated by real estate speculation and during a time when there was very little government oversight of markets. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it. But these days, Socialists insure the investors when the bubble bursts by using their government power to buy up worthless stock and loans. Big government to the rescue–don’t conservatives hate that? Republicans don’t.

So what has eight years of George Bush has done for us in the realm of the economy? After spending almost two trillion dollars on the Iraq war and financial bailouts, your taxes and mine are going up. It doesn’t matter who is elected. That money has to be paid back, or at the very least the debt must be substantially reduced to restore our economic prosperity. So vote Republican if you have some other reason, just don’t tell me it’s because you are conservative, you want lower taxes and you are saving us from socialism. Because the GOP has firmly established that they are a party of bigger government, runaway spending, and socialism.

Finally, enjoy this humorous take on the same subject from Time Magazine.

USA = France

Categories: Money · Politics
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TB’s Guide to Life (in the event of a Second Great Depression)

September 17, 2008 · 19 Comments

Quote of the Day     “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”     Franklin D. Roosevelt

The U.S. Government this week “bailed out” the largest insurance company in the United States, AIG, to save it from bankruptcy. “Bailed out” is another word for “bought.” For the record, government ownership of business or industry is a basic tenet of socialism or social democracy, which sounds better. This act was undertaken by the Republican administration of George Bush. And TB is glad they did it. 

I was listening just now to Senator Byron Dorgan who was called in to an emergency meeting with several congressional leaders of both parties. They were not asked, but were told what was to transpire. They were told the purchase was necessary because the failure of AIG would likely have sent our entire economy into depression and led to the failure of numerous large and small banks. They were told a failed AIG would result in numerous mutual fund collapses as the company is a top ten holding in numerous funds. And they were told a bankrupt AIG would lead to the collapse of several very large industrial companies. Dorgan wouldn’t name them, but I suspect GM and Ford would be among these names. Before I get to the guide, take a moment and consider that we were, and maybe are, on the precipice of a true Depression. I can’t even wrap my mind around the idea–it sounds alarmist and impossible. But so too did warnings of impending terrorist attacks before 9-11 and warnings of catastrophic storm surge before Katrina. 

This post isn’t about blame, though you should not be surprised that I have emphatic opinions on where it lies. No, if we sink into Depression we will care much less about blame than we will about survival and recovery. I’ve put at least ten minutes of thought into these suggestions, so print this post and keep it handy if all hell breaks loose (you’ll not be able to access it online after that, probably).

  1. New career opportunities will abound in the field of hobo-ing. You should find a good stick, a red bandana, a hip flask and a Jed Clampett hat right away so you’ll be ahead of the crowd. Store these where you keep your terrorist attack duct tape. You can use that to tape up the toes of your walking boots.
  2. Start hoarding crackers and sugar packets from restaurants. I don’t know what you will do with these, but anyone who’s grandmother lived through the Great Depression knows it’s important to have lots of crackers and sugar packets saved up.
  3. Buy a jalopy. When you get evicted from your house you are going to need a vehicle suitable for stacking your rocking chair, HDTV, 48 pack Igloo and sack of crackers on top while still keeping enough room for at least 8 people. All the Mexicans are already in California, so instead of west, drive south to look for migrant worker employment. From what I hear on Lou Dobbs, there shouldn’t be many folks left down Mexico way.
  4. Figure out what you have that can be bartered. People are going to be pawning all their good stuff so you should keep your HDTV and Xbox 360 as forms of cash. Let people watch ballgames and play “The Force Unleashed” in exchange for things like beer and crackers to go on your jalopy.
  5. Learn how to make moonshine. 
  6. Go ahead now and start being real nice to the ladies at your local Chinese buffet. And save those fortunes so you can learn a bit of the language.
  7. Work on your sad sack story. Here’s how mine starts out: “Back in ought-eight I was practicing law in courtrooms with running water and ever-thang. Used to wear a two-piece suit ever-day. Folks considered me a real gentleman. I gotta mind to get back in that game if I can ever catch a lucky break. Say mister, you wanna share this sugary cracker with me? I’ll tell ya all about it.”
  8. Find some good recipes for chili, stew, gopher and beans. 
  9. Put lots of Woody Guthrie tunes on your Ipod. 
  10. Re-think your old assumptions about macroeconomics. It’ll make for stimulating conversation as you bounce around the country in your jalopy or as you sit around a freight yard campfire over a plate of beans. It could impress your new South American overseer or your local communist Chinese overlord that you should get a little extra gopher in your stew since you might be worth saving from starvation. And if you do it soon enough, it might even make this list unnecessary.

Categories: Humor · Writing · current events
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