It is time to comment on the state of the nations budgetary affairs. They are pathetic and only getting worse by the minute. Take the Gang of Six for example. A lousy name which means they have already been placed in the discredit category so no matter what the plan is they came up with, it has already been written off by those who wish to eliminate them as a possible contender for solutions.
And that is all right by me. The gang of six plan is really weak. It does not go far enough. Not nearly enough. To talk of cutting 4 Trillion dollars sounds austere but over a 10 year period it is really just more political ramblings designed to give them bragging rights back home, never meaning to be taken seriously. Even if it was honestly considered by anyone, you would notice that it is very vague in application merely pushing political hot topic buttons but doing very little in the way of reforming a very broken system that is on the verge of an implosion.
No one in Washington D.C. is taking the role of a true leader. No one dares stick their neck out and speak the truth and then take action based on truth. Everyone knows that the first person to present any kind of definable plan is the first one to get slaughtered because know the others have a target with which to aim their slings and arrows. Failure by consensuses is a far safer path for the average politician. And sadly we don’t even have average politicians anymore. They are all sub par.
Congress has never been known to ‘win the day’ on their own. They need someone to take charge, providing direction and purpose while providing the salesmanship necessary to placate the American public into non-confrontational acceptance of their new deal. Presidents have traditionally carried that burden or assumed that role. Don’t look for that this time around. This is one lesson that Obama didn’t quite learn from the Clintons and he is paying the price.
I don’t think he will pay the price nearly to the degree he deserves. There are still far too many people that are blindly in love with whatever they think he is. I hope they don’t wake up too late to realize the party is over and they have wasted the whole evening waiting for a prince charming who will never arrive.
As for the debt problem, reality says to me that we have it every bit as bad as Greece, and some of the others, we are just living in denial big time. The deadline will come and go and very little will be noticed by most. The real damage is yet to come as a last minute knee jerk reaction deal will be made that will allow the politicians to take a photo op, slap each other on the back and proclaim victory for our side (which ever that might be). Then the slide down hill will continue until the next masqueraded crisis rears its ugly head causing us all to take anxiety pills will our leaders forestall the inevitable. And all the while we are in our day of reckoning now and most don’t even recognize it.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Showing posts with label socialist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label socialist. Show all posts
19 July 2011
18 March 2009
Are their any grownups in Washington DC?
I am upset, disappointed, frustrated, infuriated, and all types of angry over what has happened in this country by our government and its people as it pertains to the economy.
I know I am not the only one.
The absurdity is overwhelming. I could not conceive of this as a reality scenario in even the most horrific Stephen King novel. I am completely dumbfounded and in a state of shock to think that there is even a remote possibility that the things I have seen and heard lately concerning our government and the economy are somehow based on anything approaching real life let alone the mind of a very imaginative fiction writer. How could any of this be real?
Hypocrisy is running rampant in Washington DC. The blame game is in full swing and no one but the other guy is to blame for the current mess we are in. I am amazed at the way Congress and the President are showing their disgust at employees of AIG receiving their agreed upon and contracted for bonuses totaling $165,000,000+ yet no one is saying much about the rest of the $2,000,000,000,000 of tax payer dollars that has been spent or promised for their solution to the economic downturn. (If you don’t understand the magnitude of those numbers and the actual difference between them, you are not alone, Congress does not either.)
They are now talking about taking legal action to ‘reclaim’ the bonuses if they can’t get them back voluntarily through shame or guilt. They are even talking about writing legislation to create new tax laws specifically aimed at taking back these peoples pay checks. Honestly, who is more guilty of a criminal act and gross negligence?
I am not defending the employees for their action as employees, their performances or whether they met the terms of their bonuses or not. I am not focusing on the management at AIG who felt it was necessary to make such agreements to obtain and retain the kind of employees they deemed fit for the positions they had. I am talking about our government’s actions to help. They stepped in and threw money at the problem without understanding the problem or asking questions or checking facts. They gave the money without any strings attached, (though that is hard to believe as anytime the money gives out anything there are strings attached). And now because a business that was labeled ‘too big to fail’ tries to continue to run business the way it always has (which is partly why it is in the shape it is) and we are supposed to be outraged and focus our attention on the employees because they got paid to do what they are paid to do? I don’t think so.
If Congress had let AIG fail, as businesses are supposed to be allowed to do when things don’t work out, the house of cards could have fallen, the damage would have been assessed and the remaining goods sold to valid companies at fire sale prices if need be, but then life and business goes on. AIG under bankruptcy law would have been able to renegotiate with court approval such things as employee agreements, pensions, and creditors payback. Congress could have let any of this happen and actually could have directed regulators to help facilitate the process in an orderly fashion but instead they chose to take the knee jerk reaction that threw money at the problem in the misguided notion that they had to do something. Hence they nationalized the bank (which is scandalous in any situation) without really taking anything over. They became the very noisy and boisterous silent partner. Unfortunately they did it using our tax payer money.
Though all of this is really sad and pathetic and Congress should voluntarily shut down and close shop from shame and embarrassment, the really scary thing that worries me the most is the way they are going after a target (the employees) with a vengeance that is unwarranted. If anything, Congress is every bit as culpable as the employees they are attacking and more so because this is only the tip of the giant iceberg they have created to take down the Titanic we fondly refer to as the USA.
My wish is that they would work at least as hard to renege the bailout/stimulus package they put in place, reclaim our hard earned tax dollars, both present and future, and cut their drag on my economy. Go ahead President Obama, cancel all the lousy financial actions Congress and you have passed in the past 6 months with the same vigor that you are trying to wipe out any actions taken by the previous administration. If you did that, I really would begin to have ‘hope’ again as that is a real ‘change’ I could believe in. Until then….
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I know I am not the only one.
The absurdity is overwhelming. I could not conceive of this as a reality scenario in even the most horrific Stephen King novel. I am completely dumbfounded and in a state of shock to think that there is even a remote possibility that the things I have seen and heard lately concerning our government and the economy are somehow based on anything approaching real life let alone the mind of a very imaginative fiction writer. How could any of this be real?
Hypocrisy is running rampant in Washington DC. The blame game is in full swing and no one but the other guy is to blame for the current mess we are in. I am amazed at the way Congress and the President are showing their disgust at employees of AIG receiving their agreed upon and contracted for bonuses totaling $165,000,000+ yet no one is saying much about the rest of the $2,000,000,000,000 of tax payer dollars that has been spent or promised for their solution to the economic downturn. (If you don’t understand the magnitude of those numbers and the actual difference between them, you are not alone, Congress does not either.)
They are now talking about taking legal action to ‘reclaim’ the bonuses if they can’t get them back voluntarily through shame or guilt. They are even talking about writing legislation to create new tax laws specifically aimed at taking back these peoples pay checks. Honestly, who is more guilty of a criminal act and gross negligence?
I am not defending the employees for their action as employees, their performances or whether they met the terms of their bonuses or not. I am not focusing on the management at AIG who felt it was necessary to make such agreements to obtain and retain the kind of employees they deemed fit for the positions they had. I am talking about our government’s actions to help. They stepped in and threw money at the problem without understanding the problem or asking questions or checking facts. They gave the money without any strings attached, (though that is hard to believe as anytime the money gives out anything there are strings attached). And now because a business that was labeled ‘too big to fail’ tries to continue to run business the way it always has (which is partly why it is in the shape it is) and we are supposed to be outraged and focus our attention on the employees because they got paid to do what they are paid to do? I don’t think so.
If Congress had let AIG fail, as businesses are supposed to be allowed to do when things don’t work out, the house of cards could have fallen, the damage would have been assessed and the remaining goods sold to valid companies at fire sale prices if need be, but then life and business goes on. AIG under bankruptcy law would have been able to renegotiate with court approval such things as employee agreements, pensions, and creditors payback. Congress could have let any of this happen and actually could have directed regulators to help facilitate the process in an orderly fashion but instead they chose to take the knee jerk reaction that threw money at the problem in the misguided notion that they had to do something. Hence they nationalized the bank (which is scandalous in any situation) without really taking anything over. They became the very noisy and boisterous silent partner. Unfortunately they did it using our tax payer money.
Though all of this is really sad and pathetic and Congress should voluntarily shut down and close shop from shame and embarrassment, the really scary thing that worries me the most is the way they are going after a target (the employees) with a vengeance that is unwarranted. If anything, Congress is every bit as culpable as the employees they are attacking and more so because this is only the tip of the giant iceberg they have created to take down the Titanic we fondly refer to as the USA.
My wish is that they would work at least as hard to renege the bailout/stimulus package they put in place, reclaim our hard earned tax dollars, both present and future, and cut their drag on my economy. Go ahead President Obama, cancel all the lousy financial actions Congress and you have passed in the past 6 months with the same vigor that you are trying to wipe out any actions taken by the previous administration. If you did that, I really would begin to have ‘hope’ again as that is a real ‘change’ I could believe in. Until then….
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
22 February 2009
Witness the birth of the new Great Depression Part 3.
In fact, that is just what happened. Everyone started leveraging everything and because everyone was doing it, it seemed to make it all right. We piled on debt to pay for everything to be able to live for today and it was all o.k. because once all our cards and accounts reached their max we could just consolidate everything into one big newly refinanced loan by tapping into the freshly created inflation generated equity that the investment in our homes had just produced out of thin air. Pretty neat eh?
This worked so well that we got used to it and came to expect that it would work every time. Jobs were consist enough that we could count on the income to always be there and so we went ahead and obligated ourselves to make consistent payments that matched those consistent paychecks. Most Americans had it worked out so well that everything that came in was exactly the same as everything that went out. It was a smooth running machine, until one day when the price of gas went up. Now instead of it costing $20 to fill the tank it cost $40 and you don’t have the other $20 in your pocket. Something has to go but everything you have is already spoken for. Witness the pin that popped the bubble.
So stupid people make stupid decisions, this is nothing new. It has happened before and it will happen again. The key point to take from all this is that we don’t make the innocent pay the price for the ignorance of others. That is where the second comparison has come into play. The knee-jerk reactions that followed the bad choices of others as happened following the first great depression should not be replayed this time around. Obama and Congress are launching on the biggest mistake in this nation’s history and it is not without forewarning. The “stimulus package” will seal the fate of this nation as a full blown socialist state with little hope of return. There are far too many critics that have been far too quiet concerning this matter. It is not because they have not spoken in the past or in the present, but the current mass media markets have decided not to listen. Make no mistake about it, voices are being suppressed. The America of our forefathers is in jeopardy of being no more, and for the sake of being politically correct we will squelch the voices of wisdom. We will label them crackpots or worse.
There are of course differences between now and then. FDR waited several years and I imagine went through quite a bit of debate before implementing the new deal. Obama and his congress have rushed the current new deal through in a matter of days. This surprises me especially when you compare it to the regular congressional budget that usually is past after the new fiscal year has begun, and sometimes months after. Why this rush? Banks closings are up but not anywhere near the level of the Great Depression. Unemployment is up, but also not anywhere near what it was in the Great Depression. 7.5% vs. 25+% do the math.
The economy was a hot button item during the election timeframe and usually is during campaigning. The Democrats and their media talked up how bad things were when in reality things were not really bad at all. This is not to say that there were not some bad areas and some people experiencing bad times. That has always been the case in our nation’s history. There are boom and bust cycles going on all over all the time, nothing new. But like so many political campaigns, you can’t convince others to vote for you unless you can convince them that the other guys are doing worse than you would. Standard fare, I mean I many times have you heard that the last few years under the Bush administration were the worst years ever in recorded history. Kind of sounds like the same thing Bush said about Clinton and Clinton said about the Bush before that. My question is why do we continue to believe it when the truth says otherwise, or at least is somewhere in between?
So the Democrats have convinced us all that the economy was falling apart and only they could make it work again. They said it so long that we and they started to believe it. Is this the case of a self fulfilling prophecy? Pretty soon people started making decisions based on this doomsday prophecy, confidence in the system was shaken and those decisions triggered other decisions which started us down the path of an economic slowdown.
If we can raise this slowdown to the level of a crisis, then we can implement all kinds of legislation without any questions or obstacles. What better way can you think of to get your policies in place before anyone has time to think twice? It has to be done now because it will be too late tomorrow, and beside we have to do something…don’t we? The knee-jerk caught a lame duck president with a first financial bailout and followed on to the new president with the stimulus package.
This isn’t the first real estate driven crisis, remember the 1980’s and the savings and loan problem. Remember how it wasn’t solved with a massive spending bill but a revamp of the banking industry that combined savings and loan institutions with bank bringing them under the FDIC insurance for depositor safety and then orderly liquidated bad real estate deals through the use of open market pricing? Why are we subsidizing the bad institutions this time and trying to keep them in business when we should be helping them liquidate in an orderly fashion? The FDIC could play the role of insurer as it is chartered to do and protect depositors money up to the agreed upon amounts, sell off the assets of the defunct business at market prices to willing participants and we could all get on with the business at hand.
Instead we are putting the patient on life-support, one that only prolongs the misery and the pain. Japan went through a period of denial with its real estate boom of the 80’s and they are still paying the price. Instead of clearing the books they finagled them through adjustable accounting. We are doing the same. Where oh where has wisdom gone in our elected officials?
And where has our wisdom gone? This article has taken a lot of thought and effort to write. As I have watched the proceedings take place in the news and the actions taken by our elected elite, I am both in awe and wonder. I am totally dumbfounded by what is taking place. It just doesn’t seem possible that this is actually happening in real life, and maybe when I get up tomorrow I can find that I just read it wrong. That was several days ago and I am still seeing the same thing, it is really happening. I can’t stop it, I am not an insider so I can’t profit from it, and I shudder to think what it will take to reverse it now that it is in place.
When reason fails with man, and the world begins to tumble, I guess the only thing left is the thing we have had all along. Turn to God. Pray and know that God lives. As the world tosses and turns and changes with the winds and tides; know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therein lays our strength, our guide, and our salvation. Ours need not be a fleeting moment in time if we are willing to look to our Father in Heaven with eternal eyes. My prayer for us all, leaders and citizen alike is that we have the wisdom and the courage to make the right choices and to stand for what is right.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here if you want to see the new Great Depression Part 1 or to go to Part 2.
This worked so well that we got used to it and came to expect that it would work every time. Jobs were consist enough that we could count on the income to always be there and so we went ahead and obligated ourselves to make consistent payments that matched those consistent paychecks. Most Americans had it worked out so well that everything that came in was exactly the same as everything that went out. It was a smooth running machine, until one day when the price of gas went up. Now instead of it costing $20 to fill the tank it cost $40 and you don’t have the other $20 in your pocket. Something has to go but everything you have is already spoken for. Witness the pin that popped the bubble.
So stupid people make stupid decisions, this is nothing new. It has happened before and it will happen again. The key point to take from all this is that we don’t make the innocent pay the price for the ignorance of others. That is where the second comparison has come into play. The knee-jerk reactions that followed the bad choices of others as happened following the first great depression should not be replayed this time around. Obama and Congress are launching on the biggest mistake in this nation’s history and it is not without forewarning. The “stimulus package” will seal the fate of this nation as a full blown socialist state with little hope of return. There are far too many critics that have been far too quiet concerning this matter. It is not because they have not spoken in the past or in the present, but the current mass media markets have decided not to listen. Make no mistake about it, voices are being suppressed. The America of our forefathers is in jeopardy of being no more, and for the sake of being politically correct we will squelch the voices of wisdom. We will label them crackpots or worse.
There are of course differences between now and then. FDR waited several years and I imagine went through quite a bit of debate before implementing the new deal. Obama and his congress have rushed the current new deal through in a matter of days. This surprises me especially when you compare it to the regular congressional budget that usually is past after the new fiscal year has begun, and sometimes months after. Why this rush? Banks closings are up but not anywhere near the level of the Great Depression. Unemployment is up, but also not anywhere near what it was in the Great Depression. 7.5% vs. 25+% do the math.
The economy was a hot button item during the election timeframe and usually is during campaigning. The Democrats and their media talked up how bad things were when in reality things were not really bad at all. This is not to say that there were not some bad areas and some people experiencing bad times. That has always been the case in our nation’s history. There are boom and bust cycles going on all over all the time, nothing new. But like so many political campaigns, you can’t convince others to vote for you unless you can convince them that the other guys are doing worse than you would. Standard fare, I mean I many times have you heard that the last few years under the Bush administration were the worst years ever in recorded history. Kind of sounds like the same thing Bush said about Clinton and Clinton said about the Bush before that. My question is why do we continue to believe it when the truth says otherwise, or at least is somewhere in between?
So the Democrats have convinced us all that the economy was falling apart and only they could make it work again. They said it so long that we and they started to believe it. Is this the case of a self fulfilling prophecy? Pretty soon people started making decisions based on this doomsday prophecy, confidence in the system was shaken and those decisions triggered other decisions which started us down the path of an economic slowdown.
If we can raise this slowdown to the level of a crisis, then we can implement all kinds of legislation without any questions or obstacles. What better way can you think of to get your policies in place before anyone has time to think twice? It has to be done now because it will be too late tomorrow, and beside we have to do something…don’t we? The knee-jerk caught a lame duck president with a first financial bailout and followed on to the new president with the stimulus package.
This isn’t the first real estate driven crisis, remember the 1980’s and the savings and loan problem. Remember how it wasn’t solved with a massive spending bill but a revamp of the banking industry that combined savings and loan institutions with bank bringing them under the FDIC insurance for depositor safety and then orderly liquidated bad real estate deals through the use of open market pricing? Why are we subsidizing the bad institutions this time and trying to keep them in business when we should be helping them liquidate in an orderly fashion? The FDIC could play the role of insurer as it is chartered to do and protect depositors money up to the agreed upon amounts, sell off the assets of the defunct business at market prices to willing participants and we could all get on with the business at hand.
Instead we are putting the patient on life-support, one that only prolongs the misery and the pain. Japan went through a period of denial with its real estate boom of the 80’s and they are still paying the price. Instead of clearing the books they finagled them through adjustable accounting. We are doing the same. Where oh where has wisdom gone in our elected officials?
And where has our wisdom gone? This article has taken a lot of thought and effort to write. As I have watched the proceedings take place in the news and the actions taken by our elected elite, I am both in awe and wonder. I am totally dumbfounded by what is taking place. It just doesn’t seem possible that this is actually happening in real life, and maybe when I get up tomorrow I can find that I just read it wrong. That was several days ago and I am still seeing the same thing, it is really happening. I can’t stop it, I am not an insider so I can’t profit from it, and I shudder to think what it will take to reverse it now that it is in place.
When reason fails with man, and the world begins to tumble, I guess the only thing left is the thing we have had all along. Turn to God. Pray and know that God lives. As the world tosses and turns and changes with the winds and tides; know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therein lays our strength, our guide, and our salvation. Ours need not be a fleeting moment in time if we are willing to look to our Father in Heaven with eternal eyes. My prayer for us all, leaders and citizen alike is that we have the wisdom and the courage to make the right choices and to stand for what is right.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here if you want to see the new Great Depression Part 1 or to go to Part 2.
Witness the birth of the new Great Depression Part 2.
So what did you want the government to do, nothing? Yes, as a matter of fact, that would have been the best course of action for it to take. If we really believe in free markets (a freedom principle) and the economics of supply and demand, then the role of government is too help protect consumers from fraud (a criminal act with criminal intent) and monopolies (manipulation of markets to gain control and prevent freedom within the market), and such acts for fairness sake, but not to dictate which businesses we can have and how we should run them or who we can and can’t deal with. It is when governments try to intervene on the belief that they can best determine how to ‘create’ fairness that we all lose.
This is called social engineering and it has never worked well if it has ever worked at all. In any instance I can think of, it comes down to taking away from one to give to another. It is providing subsidies for a favored group at the expense of a less favored group, and it is always the party in power that is making the decision of which group to favor. This is not equality this is theft, and it is the worst injustice of all. Two wrongs do not make a right. Just because your group or cause may be winning the ‘equality equation’ one minute is no guarantee that it will the next. Welcome to the roots of Socialism and Communism. Ayn Rand, F.A. Hayek, George Orwell, and many others have tried to warn and persuade against these evils.
So if the government would have done nothing, the market would have worked itself out and life would have gotten back to normal a lot sooner than it did. Remember the words about supply and demand. Basic economics says that when a seller and a buyer have the same price in mind, a transaction takes place. If there is a difference in the desired price each is willing to accept then no transaction takes place…that is until they come to an agreed price. Of course, if a seller’s price is less than what a buyer is willing to pay or if a buyer’s price is higher than the seller is expecting a transaction will also occur with a happier than expected outcome for one of the participants.
If prices rise too far, buyers quit buying or buy less than they normally would until either their situation changes or prices fall back to a level they are willing to accept. This is where the true power of the market and more importantly the people’s power lie…as consumers. If a consumer decides that the price is too high she can just turn away, and with the markets that America has developed, they can look elsewhere. We as consumers have the power of alternatives and options, another great benefit from having free markets…choice.
So what happens in a bankruptcy? The prices fall to clear inventory. How far the prices fall is determined by the market and the need to move that inventory to meet the demands of the defunct business. Again the market place determines a fair price by matching the seller with the buyer at a price both can live with. In the case of stocks, the price will fall to some level where a buyer will believe that he can find value in the purchase. Look at the recent Circuit City bankruptcy as an example. They have invited in the liquidators who will sale all remaining inventory (and then some) at liquidation prices. First they will move all prices back up to full retail and then start marking off a certain percentage to make the sale. A few weeks pass and they will raise the percentage off to sell a little more. A few more weeks and a few more percentages, until most all the inventory has been sold off by having a willing buyer and a willing seller at an agreed upon price. The good stuff will go first at the highest prices and the lesser stuff will go as their fair price is eventually reached. It is natural, and it is how real markets work.
So what can we compare this to today? There are two common elements that exist today that were common back then. First is an overinflated market full of speculators and hype that has easy access to excessive credit for an overleveraged play. If anybody could not see the comparison to Real Estate investing then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote because you just aren’t paying enough attention to the world around you.
Real estate has been a huge hit sense someone went to the trouble of trying to convince everyone that they should have some. A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, and home ownership, the American dream, who could ask for anything more?
Real estate promised equity and wealth, and a place of status. It was incentivized and subsidized by tax breaks and government programs. Best of all you could finance 80%, then 90%, then 100% with no money down. They even had loans that would give you 120% of the homes “value”. At the pinnacle of it all you could even find loans where you never had to pay back the principle, just pay the interest and everything would be fine. After all the prices were going up and up and up and they aren’t building any more land you know.
Everywhere you turned there was a class or a course on how to buy real estate with no money down, or how to flip a home, or buy a foreclosure, or become a landlord. Real estate gurus came and went as fast as you could change the channel on the late night infomercials. All you had to do was take a look around and you could see someone that had made a mint in real estate, why even the Governor of California made his millions in real estate so why shouldn’t we.
And even if it wasn’t to make us rich by becoming the next Donald Trump we could at least be better off. We have always been told that owning your own home was a good and smart investment. Look at the equity your building. You have ownership of something and they can’t take that away from you. Why pay someone else when you can be paying yourself? (That is good advice when applied in a practical matter).
So the equity you built is caused by inflation and not by an increase in value, and owning your own home allows you to put holes in the walls where you want to and repaint any color you so choose without checking with a landlord first, and owning your own home means you can do with it whatever you want to as long as what you want to do is consistent with existing zoning laws and property covenants and building permits, and owning your home means no one can take that away from you unless you have a mortgage and miss a payment or run up against hard times and can’t pay your property taxes, but hey it is your home.
In the past, you could only borrow an amount that would have your monthly payment no greater than 25% of one wage earners income and that was probably take home pay at that. Recently it seems that you could qualify to finance an amount that would take 80% of your take home pay. (The remaining amount could pay for cable and you could feed yourself with food stamps).
Click here to see the new Great Depression Part 3 or here to go to Part 1.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
This is called social engineering and it has never worked well if it has ever worked at all. In any instance I can think of, it comes down to taking away from one to give to another. It is providing subsidies for a favored group at the expense of a less favored group, and it is always the party in power that is making the decision of which group to favor. This is not equality this is theft, and it is the worst injustice of all. Two wrongs do not make a right. Just because your group or cause may be winning the ‘equality equation’ one minute is no guarantee that it will the next. Welcome to the roots of Socialism and Communism. Ayn Rand, F.A. Hayek, George Orwell, and many others have tried to warn and persuade against these evils.
So if the government would have done nothing, the market would have worked itself out and life would have gotten back to normal a lot sooner than it did. Remember the words about supply and demand. Basic economics says that when a seller and a buyer have the same price in mind, a transaction takes place. If there is a difference in the desired price each is willing to accept then no transaction takes place…that is until they come to an agreed price. Of course, if a seller’s price is less than what a buyer is willing to pay or if a buyer’s price is higher than the seller is expecting a transaction will also occur with a happier than expected outcome for one of the participants.
If prices rise too far, buyers quit buying or buy less than they normally would until either their situation changes or prices fall back to a level they are willing to accept. This is where the true power of the market and more importantly the people’s power lie…as consumers. If a consumer decides that the price is too high she can just turn away, and with the markets that America has developed, they can look elsewhere. We as consumers have the power of alternatives and options, another great benefit from having free markets…choice.
So what happens in a bankruptcy? The prices fall to clear inventory. How far the prices fall is determined by the market and the need to move that inventory to meet the demands of the defunct business. Again the market place determines a fair price by matching the seller with the buyer at a price both can live with. In the case of stocks, the price will fall to some level where a buyer will believe that he can find value in the purchase. Look at the recent Circuit City bankruptcy as an example. They have invited in the liquidators who will sale all remaining inventory (and then some) at liquidation prices. First they will move all prices back up to full retail and then start marking off a certain percentage to make the sale. A few weeks pass and they will raise the percentage off to sell a little more. A few more weeks and a few more percentages, until most all the inventory has been sold off by having a willing buyer and a willing seller at an agreed upon price. The good stuff will go first at the highest prices and the lesser stuff will go as their fair price is eventually reached. It is natural, and it is how real markets work.
So what can we compare this to today? There are two common elements that exist today that were common back then. First is an overinflated market full of speculators and hype that has easy access to excessive credit for an overleveraged play. If anybody could not see the comparison to Real Estate investing then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote because you just aren’t paying enough attention to the world around you.
Real estate has been a huge hit sense someone went to the trouble of trying to convince everyone that they should have some. A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, and home ownership, the American dream, who could ask for anything more?
Real estate promised equity and wealth, and a place of status. It was incentivized and subsidized by tax breaks and government programs. Best of all you could finance 80%, then 90%, then 100% with no money down. They even had loans that would give you 120% of the homes “value”. At the pinnacle of it all you could even find loans where you never had to pay back the principle, just pay the interest and everything would be fine. After all the prices were going up and up and up and they aren’t building any more land you know.
Everywhere you turned there was a class or a course on how to buy real estate with no money down, or how to flip a home, or buy a foreclosure, or become a landlord. Real estate gurus came and went as fast as you could change the channel on the late night infomercials. All you had to do was take a look around and you could see someone that had made a mint in real estate, why even the Governor of California made his millions in real estate so why shouldn’t we.
And even if it wasn’t to make us rich by becoming the next Donald Trump we could at least be better off. We have always been told that owning your own home was a good and smart investment. Look at the equity your building. You have ownership of something and they can’t take that away from you. Why pay someone else when you can be paying yourself? (That is good advice when applied in a practical matter).
So the equity you built is caused by inflation and not by an increase in value, and owning your own home allows you to put holes in the walls where you want to and repaint any color you so choose without checking with a landlord first, and owning your own home means you can do with it whatever you want to as long as what you want to do is consistent with existing zoning laws and property covenants and building permits, and owning your home means no one can take that away from you unless you have a mortgage and miss a payment or run up against hard times and can’t pay your property taxes, but hey it is your home.
In the past, you could only borrow an amount that would have your monthly payment no greater than 25% of one wage earners income and that was probably take home pay at that. Recently it seems that you could qualify to finance an amount that would take 80% of your take home pay. (The remaining amount could pay for cable and you could feed yourself with food stamps).
Click here to see the new Great Depression Part 3 or here to go to Part 1.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Witness the birth of the new Great Depression Part 1.
There are certain stages in our nation’s history that we thought would never be repeated. In fact they should never be repeated. Those that have not learned the lessons from the past are doomed to repeat them. We have learned these lessons, or at the very least should have. For those that have not learned them, there are others that have if we will but listen. Sometimes it becomes a matter of knowing who to listen to. In this world of spin and revisionist historians, it is easy to become confused. Here then is my contribution to the economic world of wonder we are facing.
The current financial crisis we are facing has often been compared to the Great Depression. There may be some similarities and that is disturbing as this need never have happened, but with the passage of the “stimulus bill” it most certainly will turn into another great depression.
First a quick word about the economy and economic cycles. Booms and Busts. They have been with us since the beginning of commerce and will continue to be a major part of any world that consists of trade. The market psychology that comes with it is also nothing new. People get overly exuberant and overly pessimistic at the worst times and that drives the demand side of the supply vs. demand equation to unrealistic levels. Once it gets too far one way or the other, it usually returns to a more normal state but at a pace that catches most people unprepared. When this is done on a large scale it is called a bubble. It is called a bubble because prices grow rapidly and, much like a bubble, from the insertion of air…much of it hot. When a bubble can take no more air yet more is introduced, the bubble pops and everything comes tumbling back to normal waiting for someone to stick their ring in a can of solution, blow real hard and start to create the next new bubble.
We have all experienced bubbles before and sometimes not even realized it. The recent increase and then decrease in the price of oil and gasoline is a great example. The tech stock market that took dot.coms to the stratosphere and then tanked in 2000 is another. The bubble that is getting us today is housing. In order to put this into perspective and compare it to the Great Depression, let us go back to that time and see what was happening.
Most will say that the stock market crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression while others are looking at other factors such as the governments reactions (actions taken after the fact) as the major cause of the Great Depression. From what I have seen and read, I tend to fall in the later camp.
The stock market crash of 1929 had several factors that came into play but one of the key elements was that fact that you could buy stocks on margin. In other words, you could use debt, or borrow 90% of the price of a stock to purchase it. This is known as using leverage in the investing world. It works great as long as prices are going up. It can kill you when prices go down. Here is how it works.
You buy $100 dollars in stock but you only have to come up with $10 and your broker came up with the other $90. The price of your stock goes to $110 and you sell it. You pay back the broker his $90 plus some interest for borrowing his money, say $1. That leaves you with the remaining $9 as profit and since you only put up $10 of your own money you just made a 90% return on your investment. Pretty sweet deal and way better than the piddley amount you would earn in interest from the bank.
The boom market in stocks that started in the mid 1920’s was making many people very rich, and just like the gold rush it attracted many newcomers, some that knew what they were doing and many that didn’t. It seemed that anybody could invest and make big money, and many did. And when you saw your neighbor making easy money it was natural for you to want to do the same. Pretty soon everyone was trying to jump on the band wagon and make their fortune. Eventually, prices rose to a point that was ridiculous and unsustainable and they started to decline.
When prices decline, those that have leveraged are the ones that are hurt. When the $100 stock goes to $90, and you bought it on margin, you still owe your broker $90. If you sell the stock now and pay off the broker, (and don’t forget you owe him $91 to cover the cost of borrowing) you are left with nothing. Well you don’t want that to happen so you hold on thinking this is a temporary down turn and prices will be heading up again very soon. After all you made this investment to become rich like your neighbor, and everybody is doing it. Pretty soon however the price is $80 and your broker gives you a call and says he needs some money to cover the shortfall. You don’t have any money because you spent your last $10 buying this stock that was going to make you rich. The broker sells your stock and you owe him the difference.
As the broker sells your stock it puts more pressure on the prices and they continue to go down creating a spiral effect. Individuals have to pull money from the bank to pay off their debts. If the stock they bought is used as collateral for other purchases and the value of that collateral declines the other loans are in danger of going into default. As the defaults start in one area they can quickly expand, moving from one area to another by hitting one account and then another. As people scrambled to cover their newly acquired debt and save their personal finances from collapsing, it began to impact other people and business portfolios. They in turn had to struggle to save their finances from collapsing. One person’s pain began to be felt by all.
Now remember that this was nothing new and in reality it was quite common for markets to experience booms and bust. In fact, some areas of some markets have had greater price movements both up and down. Investors have made their millions and lost everything on many occasions and in many different markets even before there was a stock market. You can find books that will describe other markets such as the great tulip market of the 1600’s that went through these outlandish pricing periods. In fact there have been many markets in our lifetime that have experienced extreme boom and bust conditions. Our awareness of them is only brought about by our personal participation or the participation of someone we know. The really big ones are only well known because they impacted a large percentage of the population. Where was the media when you lost all that money on your cabbage patch doll and beanie baby collection?
As a result of the magnitude of the stock market price decline, the impacts spilled out into all aspects of the economy from banks to business to government. The madness of men and markets drove a typical price correction into a recession of large magnitude and that should have been the end of it but then it turned into a depression as a result of the actions taken by the government to correct the problem.
Now before you get me wrong, note that they did do some things right. The margin rates were cut so that investors were no longer able to buy stocks with 10% down. The current rate is 50% which some might think is still high but 2 for 1 is a lot less than 10 for 1. They also strengthened the banking system and regulations for oversight and increased the use of insurance for depositors to restore faith in the banking system.
Unfortunately, the Great Depression also allowed the government to introduce the New Deal. This was one of those giant knee-jerk reactions from government to fix the wrongs of man. What it did was introduce many of the Socialist policies and programs that we face today. It also launched a large “stimulus” package that tried to spend our way back to prosperity. Many would say that it extended the length of the depression many years past its natural length. I would have to agree. Much of the spending went into make work projects where efficiencies and effectiveness were not considered let alone any outcomes beyond the creation of jobs as the objective. We also created the world’s largest legal Ponzi scheme ever known to man…Social Security.
This government driven economy is the very idea we used to find so abhorrent in communist nations and would speak openly against. We used to think that nationalizing any industry was something that only happened in backward third world countries and if anyone even suggested such a thing people would start looking for a hanging rope. Laissez faire has oft been the slogan of a free nation.
Click here to continue to the new Great Depression Pt. 2. or Part 3.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
The current financial crisis we are facing has often been compared to the Great Depression. There may be some similarities and that is disturbing as this need never have happened, but with the passage of the “stimulus bill” it most certainly will turn into another great depression.
First a quick word about the economy and economic cycles. Booms and Busts. They have been with us since the beginning of commerce and will continue to be a major part of any world that consists of trade. The market psychology that comes with it is also nothing new. People get overly exuberant and overly pessimistic at the worst times and that drives the demand side of the supply vs. demand equation to unrealistic levels. Once it gets too far one way or the other, it usually returns to a more normal state but at a pace that catches most people unprepared. When this is done on a large scale it is called a bubble. It is called a bubble because prices grow rapidly and, much like a bubble, from the insertion of air…much of it hot. When a bubble can take no more air yet more is introduced, the bubble pops and everything comes tumbling back to normal waiting for someone to stick their ring in a can of solution, blow real hard and start to create the next new bubble.
We have all experienced bubbles before and sometimes not even realized it. The recent increase and then decrease in the price of oil and gasoline is a great example. The tech stock market that took dot.coms to the stratosphere and then tanked in 2000 is another. The bubble that is getting us today is housing. In order to put this into perspective and compare it to the Great Depression, let us go back to that time and see what was happening.
Most will say that the stock market crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression while others are looking at other factors such as the governments reactions (actions taken after the fact) as the major cause of the Great Depression. From what I have seen and read, I tend to fall in the later camp.
The stock market crash of 1929 had several factors that came into play but one of the key elements was that fact that you could buy stocks on margin. In other words, you could use debt, or borrow 90% of the price of a stock to purchase it. This is known as using leverage in the investing world. It works great as long as prices are going up. It can kill you when prices go down. Here is how it works.
You buy $100 dollars in stock but you only have to come up with $10 and your broker came up with the other $90. The price of your stock goes to $110 and you sell it. You pay back the broker his $90 plus some interest for borrowing his money, say $1. That leaves you with the remaining $9 as profit and since you only put up $10 of your own money you just made a 90% return on your investment. Pretty sweet deal and way better than the piddley amount you would earn in interest from the bank.
The boom market in stocks that started in the mid 1920’s was making many people very rich, and just like the gold rush it attracted many newcomers, some that knew what they were doing and many that didn’t. It seemed that anybody could invest and make big money, and many did. And when you saw your neighbor making easy money it was natural for you to want to do the same. Pretty soon everyone was trying to jump on the band wagon and make their fortune. Eventually, prices rose to a point that was ridiculous and unsustainable and they started to decline.
When prices decline, those that have leveraged are the ones that are hurt. When the $100 stock goes to $90, and you bought it on margin, you still owe your broker $90. If you sell the stock now and pay off the broker, (and don’t forget you owe him $91 to cover the cost of borrowing) you are left with nothing. Well you don’t want that to happen so you hold on thinking this is a temporary down turn and prices will be heading up again very soon. After all you made this investment to become rich like your neighbor, and everybody is doing it. Pretty soon however the price is $80 and your broker gives you a call and says he needs some money to cover the shortfall. You don’t have any money because you spent your last $10 buying this stock that was going to make you rich. The broker sells your stock and you owe him the difference.
As the broker sells your stock it puts more pressure on the prices and they continue to go down creating a spiral effect. Individuals have to pull money from the bank to pay off their debts. If the stock they bought is used as collateral for other purchases and the value of that collateral declines the other loans are in danger of going into default. As the defaults start in one area they can quickly expand, moving from one area to another by hitting one account and then another. As people scrambled to cover their newly acquired debt and save their personal finances from collapsing, it began to impact other people and business portfolios. They in turn had to struggle to save their finances from collapsing. One person’s pain began to be felt by all.
Now remember that this was nothing new and in reality it was quite common for markets to experience booms and bust. In fact, some areas of some markets have had greater price movements both up and down. Investors have made their millions and lost everything on many occasions and in many different markets even before there was a stock market. You can find books that will describe other markets such as the great tulip market of the 1600’s that went through these outlandish pricing periods. In fact there have been many markets in our lifetime that have experienced extreme boom and bust conditions. Our awareness of them is only brought about by our personal participation or the participation of someone we know. The really big ones are only well known because they impacted a large percentage of the population. Where was the media when you lost all that money on your cabbage patch doll and beanie baby collection?
As a result of the magnitude of the stock market price decline, the impacts spilled out into all aspects of the economy from banks to business to government. The madness of men and markets drove a typical price correction into a recession of large magnitude and that should have been the end of it but then it turned into a depression as a result of the actions taken by the government to correct the problem.
Now before you get me wrong, note that they did do some things right. The margin rates were cut so that investors were no longer able to buy stocks with 10% down. The current rate is 50% which some might think is still high but 2 for 1 is a lot less than 10 for 1. They also strengthened the banking system and regulations for oversight and increased the use of insurance for depositors to restore faith in the banking system.
Unfortunately, the Great Depression also allowed the government to introduce the New Deal. This was one of those giant knee-jerk reactions from government to fix the wrongs of man. What it did was introduce many of the Socialist policies and programs that we face today. It also launched a large “stimulus” package that tried to spend our way back to prosperity. Many would say that it extended the length of the depression many years past its natural length. I would have to agree. Much of the spending went into make work projects where efficiencies and effectiveness were not considered let alone any outcomes beyond the creation of jobs as the objective. We also created the world’s largest legal Ponzi scheme ever known to man…Social Security.
This government driven economy is the very idea we used to find so abhorrent in communist nations and would speak openly against. We used to think that nationalizing any industry was something that only happened in backward third world countries and if anyone even suggested such a thing people would start looking for a hanging rope. Laissez faire has oft been the slogan of a free nation.
Click here to continue to the new Great Depression Pt. 2. or Part 3.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
31 October 2008
Politicians promise scary Halloween
I have been hearing a lot of very scary things this Halloween. I understand there is an election going on where the very fabric of our Society is at stake. It appears that there is an attack on the core values that made America great, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (Property).
I also understand that we are down to two finalist, (were there really ever going to be any more than two?) and both our out to destroy your way of life. Our job is comparing too what degree of destruction we are willing to accept.
This nation struggled throughout its lifetime to obtain and maintain the values that have stood the test of time as being preferable to anything else the world had to offer. But, at this point in its history, all of those past efforts are threatened to become null and void by the results of one election.
The reason it is different this time, is that those that oppose American values have stacked the cards in their favor. Whichever candidate gets the nod this time is a move in their direction. They win, we lose. And whichever candidate wins, they will take it as a mandate for them to continue to pursue and implement their Socialist policies and agendas.
And of the two remaining candidates that are essentially running unopposed, by far the worst offender to grace the stage has to be Barrack Hussein Obama. Where McCain is an old hand Democrat and has worked hard to one up the traditional Democratic party by pandering to its traditional campaign plans, Obama has raised the gamut completely past that stage to full on socialism.
(Lest ye think otherwise, I have been warning of and calling the traditional Democratic party socialist for far longer than the recent use by host and pundits on the airwaves.) The warning extends now to this fact. The next step beyond Socialism comes when it is no longer able to be enforced by persuasions political correctness but needs to be enforced by force and that is usually representative of Communism, and Dictatorships.
So do I really think we are on the verge of destruction? Actually I am not sure. I do find it hard to believe that this nation has spent so much time and energy to defend and promote these two candidates and in particular Obama as he appears to be the furthest removed from traditional American values. Obama seems poised to ruin the fabric of democracy from the first day in office whereas McCain might take an extra week to get there. It really scares me that a seeming majority of America's citizens would actually embrace what these two are proposing. Once we have gone over the half way point is there hope of bringing things back?
Actually there is hope. I have talked to quite a few Americans that still believe in America, what it stood for and what it stands for. They still have America's core values at their core. They do not want to give up and will not give up. They are just struggling to know what action to take to try and help ensure that those American values are not threatened. They want to put their voice with others and be heard. They want to have something to vote for, but once again they have a contest of choosing what to vote against. If you have to vote against then by all means vote against, but be sure that you make your vote against the absolute worst possible scenario, then work like mad to make sure that next time really will be different, and work like mad to preserve real American values.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I also understand that we are down to two finalist, (were there really ever going to be any more than two?) and both our out to destroy your way of life. Our job is comparing too what degree of destruction we are willing to accept.
This nation struggled throughout its lifetime to obtain and maintain the values that have stood the test of time as being preferable to anything else the world had to offer. But, at this point in its history, all of those past efforts are threatened to become null and void by the results of one election.
The reason it is different this time, is that those that oppose American values have stacked the cards in their favor. Whichever candidate gets the nod this time is a move in their direction. They win, we lose. And whichever candidate wins, they will take it as a mandate for them to continue to pursue and implement their Socialist policies and agendas.
And of the two remaining candidates that are essentially running unopposed, by far the worst offender to grace the stage has to be Barrack Hussein Obama. Where McCain is an old hand Democrat and has worked hard to one up the traditional Democratic party by pandering to its traditional campaign plans, Obama has raised the gamut completely past that stage to full on socialism.
(Lest ye think otherwise, I have been warning of and calling the traditional Democratic party socialist for far longer than the recent use by host and pundits on the airwaves.) The warning extends now to this fact. The next step beyond Socialism comes when it is no longer able to be enforced by persuasions political correctness but needs to be enforced by force and that is usually representative of Communism, and Dictatorships.
So do I really think we are on the verge of destruction? Actually I am not sure. I do find it hard to believe that this nation has spent so much time and energy to defend and promote these two candidates and in particular Obama as he appears to be the furthest removed from traditional American values. Obama seems poised to ruin the fabric of democracy from the first day in office whereas McCain might take an extra week to get there. It really scares me that a seeming majority of America's citizens would actually embrace what these two are proposing. Once we have gone over the half way point is there hope of bringing things back?
Actually there is hope. I have talked to quite a few Americans that still believe in America, what it stood for and what it stands for. They still have America's core values at their core. They do not want to give up and will not give up. They are just struggling to know what action to take to try and help ensure that those American values are not threatened. They want to put their voice with others and be heard. They want to have something to vote for, but once again they have a contest of choosing what to vote against. If you have to vote against then by all means vote against, but be sure that you make your vote against the absolute worst possible scenario, then work like mad to make sure that next time really will be different, and work like mad to preserve real American values.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
25 October 2008
Heads they win, Tails we lose
I am sorry to report that it is turning out to be just that kind of presidential race yet again this year. The two most likely candidates as spoken for by the media have once again reduced this race to finding reasons why not to vote for the other guy (as well as providing plenty of reasons not to vote for themselves). And once again, we the people have no viable options.
A word of warning to many of you that live in these United States of America, besides the obvious fact that our founding fathers would be turning over in their graves if they knew what we have allowed our nation to become by having an election of socialist and none other, but this nation has not wholly learned how to be a good winner or a good loser.
That worries me some. Events in our not so distant past have shown us that many of our citizens are not the most civilized at demonstrations of celebrations or disappointments. I think that we will once again see claims of an illegal election (as we did in 2004) no matter what the outcome. They are already planning for it. Riots are expected to break out in several major cities. Heck, this even happens when the local team wins a national sports competition, why not a national political competition.
That is sad when you think about it because we are already losing so much in this election year; the last thing we need to lose is our dignity. As there are a lot of people who are upset with the way things are going, they will be looking for any excuse to act out on those frustrations. I hope that any incidents like that will be small and insignificant.
If big incidents arise, and cities create riots and havoc it could spill over into our ever day lives. This is one week when you want to have all your shopping done ahead of time. You might even want to have enough food on hand to last a couple of weeks just in case things really fall to pieces. I am not saying that they will, but the possibility is out there for some locations to have disrupted services. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
And it shouldn’t. There is no valid reason for things to get too bad. I know this election has stirred up emotions in people on all sides and to an extent not seen in many years. Here will be the real test of our character.
Whatever the outcome of this election the coming years will demand more attention on or parts. Attention to what the legislative, executive and judicial branches actions will be going forward. Will they think they have a mandate from the people and try to implement policies that go against what has made this country great? You bet they will, that is how our government has worked for many years. That is also why it is of the upmost importance to take a more active role in voice our opinions on issues and letting our elective officials know of our thoughts concerning upcoming legislation. If there is one thing that will sway the actions of a politician, it is the voice of the people as expressed through polls, phone, and mail.
Politicians may not agree with your position on the issues, but they tend to quickly give up their own positions if it is countered by more than one voice from their constituency. If they think they are only hearing a lone voice in the wilderness though, you can forget that you even made a sound.
An example of this was the initial $700 million dollar bailout package. The House waited until the last minute to make its vote, waiting to see how the votes would be placed to see if their vote would make a difference and then voted how best they thought the folks back home would value their action. They will always try to play both sides of an issue if they think they can get away with it. They knew that people would be watching this one though so they weren’t about to stick their necks on the line. They had to go back home and try to get reelected. Now they can go back home and tell one group of voters that they voted against the bailout of corporate greed and they can also tell another group of voters that they voted for the bailout to save the economy and keep Americans working, and in their minds, technically they did.
I often wonder how politicians can live with themselves or even get much sleep at night. Somehow they have convinced themselves that they are right no matter what it is they do. I don’t think their conscience works they way mine does. I tend to think that some politicians have lost their consciences a long time ago. That is why we need to step in and remind them that we haven’t lost ours. It is still a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and that means we have a responsibility that goes beyond one single Election Day. In the memory of our founding fathers, may we continue to make this ‘One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.’
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
A word of warning to many of you that live in these United States of America, besides the obvious fact that our founding fathers would be turning over in their graves if they knew what we have allowed our nation to become by having an election of socialist and none other, but this nation has not wholly learned how to be a good winner or a good loser.
That worries me some. Events in our not so distant past have shown us that many of our citizens are not the most civilized at demonstrations of celebrations or disappointments. I think that we will once again see claims of an illegal election (as we did in 2004) no matter what the outcome. They are already planning for it. Riots are expected to break out in several major cities. Heck, this even happens when the local team wins a national sports competition, why not a national political competition.
That is sad when you think about it because we are already losing so much in this election year; the last thing we need to lose is our dignity. As there are a lot of people who are upset with the way things are going, they will be looking for any excuse to act out on those frustrations. I hope that any incidents like that will be small and insignificant.
If big incidents arise, and cities create riots and havoc it could spill over into our ever day lives. This is one week when you want to have all your shopping done ahead of time. You might even want to have enough food on hand to last a couple of weeks just in case things really fall to pieces. I am not saying that they will, but the possibility is out there for some locations to have disrupted services. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
And it shouldn’t. There is no valid reason for things to get too bad. I know this election has stirred up emotions in people on all sides and to an extent not seen in many years. Here will be the real test of our character.
Whatever the outcome of this election the coming years will demand more attention on or parts. Attention to what the legislative, executive and judicial branches actions will be going forward. Will they think they have a mandate from the people and try to implement policies that go against what has made this country great? You bet they will, that is how our government has worked for many years. That is also why it is of the upmost importance to take a more active role in voice our opinions on issues and letting our elective officials know of our thoughts concerning upcoming legislation. If there is one thing that will sway the actions of a politician, it is the voice of the people as expressed through polls, phone, and mail.
Politicians may not agree with your position on the issues, but they tend to quickly give up their own positions if it is countered by more than one voice from their constituency. If they think they are only hearing a lone voice in the wilderness though, you can forget that you even made a sound.
An example of this was the initial $700 million dollar bailout package. The House waited until the last minute to make its vote, waiting to see how the votes would be placed to see if their vote would make a difference and then voted how best they thought the folks back home would value their action. They will always try to play both sides of an issue if they think they can get away with it. They knew that people would be watching this one though so they weren’t about to stick their necks on the line. They had to go back home and try to get reelected. Now they can go back home and tell one group of voters that they voted against the bailout of corporate greed and they can also tell another group of voters that they voted for the bailout to save the economy and keep Americans working, and in their minds, technically they did.
I often wonder how politicians can live with themselves or even get much sleep at night. Somehow they have convinced themselves that they are right no matter what it is they do. I don’t think their conscience works they way mine does. I tend to think that some politicians have lost their consciences a long time ago. That is why we need to step in and remind them that we haven’t lost ours. It is still a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and that means we have a responsibility that goes beyond one single Election Day. In the memory of our founding fathers, may we continue to make this ‘One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.’
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
23 September 2008
Stop Congress from acting
We are faced with the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, or so they say. If Wall Street collapses Main Street will also, or so they say. If the government doesn’t step in and buy up all the bad mortgages then millions will lose their homes, or so they say.
The headlines and the talking heads have been heaping up a whole light of gloom and doom lately and in the wake we the American people and more especially the tax payer are headed for disaster. We can ill afford the plans being offered and the actions about to be taken. You cannot continue to cover up a mistake with a bigger mistake and hope no one will notice.
Let me present a simple little story to try to make a point. A local furniture store opens for business with the hope of making a profit by selling its wares to the local community. In the process they stock inventory that they hope will appeal to the local population. Some of it does and some of it doesn’t. Some of it is priced where the average person can afford it and some of it is priced way beyond the reach of the local community. Those things that appeal sell quickly while those that don’t sell are marked down to a price where they will sell. The business learns what the market wants, adjusts its inventory and repeats the process having found a formula that creates a long lasting relationship with the customer in the community.
Another furniture store opens for business and does a good job for awhile but management doesn’t understand the needs of the community. They stock inventory that suits their own desires and ideals and for awhile they see some sales but they begin to taper off. The furniture is just too expensive for what it is and the local economy can’t afford to splurge on these items even if they wanted the styles this store has to offer. As sales continue to fall, they finally reach a point where they can no longer stay in business. The last month the store has signs hung in the window that read ‘Going out of business Sale’ as they try to reduce their stock and payback their creditors. The final days see the owners taking any price on the remaining inventory in an effort to clear the books. The bargain hunters and shoppers find items finally at a price they can live with and clear out the remaining inventory of the store.
Meanwhile the successful store sees a slowdown in its sales temporarily as the ‘going out of business sales’ have taken away some of their shoppers. This only lasts for a little while though, as the successful business continues to provide their community with the right mix of product and price.
This is how business has worked in this country and around the world for years. That is what capitalism is about. Freedom to enter the market and exit the market as the market dictates. If you do things right you are rewarded, but if you do not get things right, you correct your methods or you go out of business. It works on a small scale and it works on a large scale.
If the government decided that the second furniture store should stay in business and decided to loan them enough money to pay their salaries and utilities and they stepped in and bought at full retail all the furniture they couldn’t sell, they could keep this company in business but only for as long as they were willing to pay for their salaries, utilities and buy their crappy inventory. If the company continued to operate the same way as they began it would take continued infusions to let them continue to exist.
Also, how fair is this to the first company? They also wish to remain in business but they have a plan that works and they have been successful in implementing that plan. They do not need the assistance or handout of government nor do they seek one. Is it fair for them to have to pay taxes that are transferred to their competitor just because he is not able to meet the needs of his customer? Is it fair to penalize the first company and reward the second? Is this the government’s role?
If we truly believe that America is great and want it to continue to be great, then we trust in those things that made it great. Freedom is one of them, Capitalism another. This is not a matter of scale, but rather of core values.
If the financial institutions have bad paper on their books then let them mark them down to true value and take the hit to the income statement. If they no longer want to own them, let them take them to the market place and get whatever price another is willing to pay. There is generally a market for everything; you just won’t necessarily like the price. If after selling off your bad inventory and you still find yourself in business then congratulations you are still alive and kicking. If after selling off your bad inventory and you don’t have sufficient cash flow to survive, then close shop, learn your lessons and start again.
Learning the lessons is not an easy thing to do. Some never learn. Some give up and never try again. Some try again but end up doing the same thing they did the first time. Some actually see what they did wrong; make adjustments and move on to bigger and better things. There must be consequences both for when we fail and when we succeed. This is America at its finest.
So what is wrong here, or should I say what are some of the things that are wrong here because there are many and that means there is not a simple single fix that will take care of everything.
As much as there is a cry against deregulation, that is not the problem. There is still more than enough regulation to choke a horse it just needs to be applied, consistently and equally to one and all, no favoritism. This runs throughout the financial world and many aspects of our economy.
The housing problem is a very large issue and one that has been compounded by previous bad responses. It is a market bubble with many providing the hot air to blow it up. Stemming from the last mortgage bail out of savings and loans with the RTC, the continued tax subsidizations that Congress passes to promote debt, and the tax laws that encourage and advantage those that speculate in real estate, it is no wonder that the bubble has ballooned to a point of explosion. If we continue with these proposed fixes then we are just slapping a band aid on the balloon and trying to force more air into the bubble.
All balloons can only hold so much air. There is only one way to find out how much it will hold, and after you find out, it will never hold that amount again. Then you are left looking for a new balloon.
Instead of all this governmental intervention to circumvent the markets, let’s make a way for the market to take over and work the way it was meant to. Let stability return to the market place naturally. Let the rules work naturally as they always seem to do no matter how much governments try to change them.
We will get through this. I just don’t want it to be harder than it has to be.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
The headlines and the talking heads have been heaping up a whole light of gloom and doom lately and in the wake we the American people and more especially the tax payer are headed for disaster. We can ill afford the plans being offered and the actions about to be taken. You cannot continue to cover up a mistake with a bigger mistake and hope no one will notice.
Let me present a simple little story to try to make a point. A local furniture store opens for business with the hope of making a profit by selling its wares to the local community. In the process they stock inventory that they hope will appeal to the local population. Some of it does and some of it doesn’t. Some of it is priced where the average person can afford it and some of it is priced way beyond the reach of the local community. Those things that appeal sell quickly while those that don’t sell are marked down to a price where they will sell. The business learns what the market wants, adjusts its inventory and repeats the process having found a formula that creates a long lasting relationship with the customer in the community.
Another furniture store opens for business and does a good job for awhile but management doesn’t understand the needs of the community. They stock inventory that suits their own desires and ideals and for awhile they see some sales but they begin to taper off. The furniture is just too expensive for what it is and the local economy can’t afford to splurge on these items even if they wanted the styles this store has to offer. As sales continue to fall, they finally reach a point where they can no longer stay in business. The last month the store has signs hung in the window that read ‘Going out of business Sale’ as they try to reduce their stock and payback their creditors. The final days see the owners taking any price on the remaining inventory in an effort to clear the books. The bargain hunters and shoppers find items finally at a price they can live with and clear out the remaining inventory of the store.
Meanwhile the successful store sees a slowdown in its sales temporarily as the ‘going out of business sales’ have taken away some of their shoppers. This only lasts for a little while though, as the successful business continues to provide their community with the right mix of product and price.
This is how business has worked in this country and around the world for years. That is what capitalism is about. Freedom to enter the market and exit the market as the market dictates. If you do things right you are rewarded, but if you do not get things right, you correct your methods or you go out of business. It works on a small scale and it works on a large scale.
If the government decided that the second furniture store should stay in business and decided to loan them enough money to pay their salaries and utilities and they stepped in and bought at full retail all the furniture they couldn’t sell, they could keep this company in business but only for as long as they were willing to pay for their salaries, utilities and buy their crappy inventory. If the company continued to operate the same way as they began it would take continued infusions to let them continue to exist.
Also, how fair is this to the first company? They also wish to remain in business but they have a plan that works and they have been successful in implementing that plan. They do not need the assistance or handout of government nor do they seek one. Is it fair for them to have to pay taxes that are transferred to their competitor just because he is not able to meet the needs of his customer? Is it fair to penalize the first company and reward the second? Is this the government’s role?
If we truly believe that America is great and want it to continue to be great, then we trust in those things that made it great. Freedom is one of them, Capitalism another. This is not a matter of scale, but rather of core values.
If the financial institutions have bad paper on their books then let them mark them down to true value and take the hit to the income statement. If they no longer want to own them, let them take them to the market place and get whatever price another is willing to pay. There is generally a market for everything; you just won’t necessarily like the price. If after selling off your bad inventory and you still find yourself in business then congratulations you are still alive and kicking. If after selling off your bad inventory and you don’t have sufficient cash flow to survive, then close shop, learn your lessons and start again.
Learning the lessons is not an easy thing to do. Some never learn. Some give up and never try again. Some try again but end up doing the same thing they did the first time. Some actually see what they did wrong; make adjustments and move on to bigger and better things. There must be consequences both for when we fail and when we succeed. This is America at its finest.
So what is wrong here, or should I say what are some of the things that are wrong here because there are many and that means there is not a simple single fix that will take care of everything.
As much as there is a cry against deregulation, that is not the problem. There is still more than enough regulation to choke a horse it just needs to be applied, consistently and equally to one and all, no favoritism. This runs throughout the financial world and many aspects of our economy.
The housing problem is a very large issue and one that has been compounded by previous bad responses. It is a market bubble with many providing the hot air to blow it up. Stemming from the last mortgage bail out of savings and loans with the RTC, the continued tax subsidizations that Congress passes to promote debt, and the tax laws that encourage and advantage those that speculate in real estate, it is no wonder that the bubble has ballooned to a point of explosion. If we continue with these proposed fixes then we are just slapping a band aid on the balloon and trying to force more air into the bubble.
All balloons can only hold so much air. There is only one way to find out how much it will hold, and after you find out, it will never hold that amount again. Then you are left looking for a new balloon.
Instead of all this governmental intervention to circumvent the markets, let’s make a way for the market to take over and work the way it was meant to. Let stability return to the market place naturally. Let the rules work naturally as they always seem to do no matter how much governments try to change them.
We will get through this. I just don’t want it to be harder than it has to be.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Energy solutions?
I have seen a couple of commercials lately that have caught my interest but then created disappointment and just a touch of anger. The two I am talking about are the ones espousing T Boone Pickens Plan and the other being the We Can Solve It group.
It seems like every other ad these days has an internet address attached to it for further information and in some cases the only way to find out any information about the company that is doing the advertising. In most cases, probably 98 times in 100 I don’t give the ad a second thought and very seldom if ever actually go to the web site. In fact I am almost anti web page advertising and actively ignore some of the more gimmicky ads like the one that starts you off on some adventure and then wants you to go to their web page to see what happens next. Sorry I haven’t done it yet and don’t intend to. I just don’t manipulate that way.
Curiosity did get the best of me on these two though because they are covering topics that I have had an interest in, or at least I thought I did.
As when American with a pulse knows the price of gasoline has gone up a little bit lately and it has caused some concern. T Boone Pickens, an oil man who has made a fortune from the oil industry is also concerned and has decided to put his money into letting us know of this concern and at the same time offer up a proposal on how to solve this dilemma we now face.
His proposals for the most part are sound with the stated goal of getting America to do some basic things that would significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He suggest converting some of our transportation vehicles such as trucks and buses to run on natural gas which burns more cleanly and is a product that this nation has a rich abundance of.
This approach has a lot of merit but will take a little time and some commitment on people and companies willing to break some new ground. The infrastructure for refueling vehicles with natural gas is not nearly as abundant as it is for gasoline and diesel. As demand goes up so will the facilities. I have a friend right now that is converting to natural gas powered cars and he is loving it. He has to plan his fuel stops but when he fills up it only costs 8 or 9 dollars as compared to the 45 to 50 it has been costing me. He deserves those bragging rights.
The downside is planning a long cross country or even a short trip to grandmothers house will take extra effort to make sure there is fuel available along the way. There are some cars that are dual fuel machines and can run either or but most are single fuel choice. Another setback is the added weight for carrying the heavy high pressure tanks that hold the fuel. This will reduce the performance of the vehicle and I am including handling as part of that.
Another key ingredient to the plan is to really start harvesting one of the energy sources that America has an abundance of, namely the wind. We have all seen the pictures of big wind turbines and some of us have actually seen them in action. They can be quite impressive. Some of the wind farms are immense and make quite an impact by its presence. I have seen wind farms in the hills of California to the high Wyoming valleys. I have seen giant windmills on the hilltops of Greece from 35,000 feet wondering what they would look like at ground level if they where that easily seen from that height. I have seen large single windmills set within city limits and on military installations supplying energy to their communities. I have also seen small single units and testing units churning away producing energy. Each time a see a modern era windmill silently working away I am impressed.
I have often driven through the back country of America, for lack of a better term, and have past often old and forgotten windmills that used to serve the ultimate off the grid user, the ranchers and farmers of the west. These old windmills had one important function, bring the water from the well to the surface to water crops, livestock, and family.
There is so much potential for wind and I hope that it begins to be realized. If interest grows then technology advancements will also grow and increased efficiencies will be injected into the equation making the cost benefit analysis of wind a great alternative energy source. The one thing missing in most all of these arguments is a true comparison of costs.
I think that the cost issue may account for the lack of mentioning of photovoltaic or solar cell technology. Again though, as interest grows technology advances and possibilities increase.
More information about the Pickens Plan can be found at:
http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php
The other advertisement that has had a lot of airplay lately is a group of people taking about the current problems we are having with the high cost of oil but ends with the collective resolve that we can solve it by demanding action.
Before I go any further let me tell you up front what it took a very little digging to find out. This web site is a front for Al Gore and his politics. It is totally centered on his vision of the environment and his environmental manifesto. Just know that going in. I for one was greatly disappointed by this fact.
The commercial has great power in that it alludes to the people of this land banding together as individuals and making changes within their own lives and actions they can take that will lead to a ground swell change. The kind of changes made for individuals by individuals. Changes that come from ideas that are freely shared, and expanded upon by individuals, with the common goal of freeing ourselves from the oil crisis.
What you get is a call to become a political activist and demand Al Gore’s environmentalist programs be turned into Congressional mandates. He has already conned more than 1.5 million into signing up. This means he can weld some influence in Washington which is easily pushed over by such silliness. Do all of those that signed up on the web site really understand that they are giving their voice to the personal fancy of one man?
There are the solutions already mentioned but without any detail nor again any cost benefit analysis which is to be expected of a long term politician. It is easy to say we should enhance energy efficiency and adopt the use of renewable energy; it is a whole other ball game when you actually infuse it with a real plan of action. And that is where Al Gore fails. He wants to set the goal that sets the agenda and he wants others to figure out how to met his goal and then he can take credit for it while he calls it innovative leadership.
Al Gore’s web site can be found at:
http://www.wecansolveit.org
My biggest gripe for both of these movements and especially Al Gore’s is that they both call for government action. Both want government intervention to force and fund full implementation of their plans. That funding would come from taxpayer dollars and changes would be mandated is where these plans break down. If they are viable worthwhile goals, both economically and environmentally, (which I think they are), they should be able to be implemented directly without the need for government mandates, infusions, or interventions.
Of the two plans at least Pickens is putting some of his plan into real action by starting wind farms to harness and produce a real change. I can assure you that he will only do this as long as it is economically viable and that is the other reason for him to seek government subsidization, but a better way would be to continue to seek ways that would make it profitable on its own.
The last energy crunch of the 70’s created a surge in wind generators and solar cells that were heavily subsidized with tax breaks. Because the cost break even points were artificial, true cost benefits were not needed. The quality of the products that were rushed to market to fill the new tax subsidized industry were subpar and new technologies were not needed because existing or old tech would meet the rules for tax write off purposes. When the wind generators broke they sat there broke because it was not worth putting any money in to fix them.
I don’t want to see us head down that path again. We can’t afford to waste time and energy on more knee jerk reactions that continually shift the problem. We need real solutions from real people for real people, not government solutions for the masses. If the government would kindly leave some money in my pocket rather than continually confiscate it for ill conceived plans, then maybe I as a consumer could create an influence through my actions and choices that would make a real difference. Maybe I could afford to support by investing in a wind farm of my own, or at least buying a solar system for my house. One that put money back into my pockets because of savings and sell back would make it all the more sweet. That is where you start and that is how you make it work.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
It seems like every other ad these days has an internet address attached to it for further information and in some cases the only way to find out any information about the company that is doing the advertising. In most cases, probably 98 times in 100 I don’t give the ad a second thought and very seldom if ever actually go to the web site. In fact I am almost anti web page advertising and actively ignore some of the more gimmicky ads like the one that starts you off on some adventure and then wants you to go to their web page to see what happens next. Sorry I haven’t done it yet and don’t intend to. I just don’t manipulate that way.
Curiosity did get the best of me on these two though because they are covering topics that I have had an interest in, or at least I thought I did.
As when American with a pulse knows the price of gasoline has gone up a little bit lately and it has caused some concern. T Boone Pickens, an oil man who has made a fortune from the oil industry is also concerned and has decided to put his money into letting us know of this concern and at the same time offer up a proposal on how to solve this dilemma we now face.
His proposals for the most part are sound with the stated goal of getting America to do some basic things that would significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He suggest converting some of our transportation vehicles such as trucks and buses to run on natural gas which burns more cleanly and is a product that this nation has a rich abundance of.
This approach has a lot of merit but will take a little time and some commitment on people and companies willing to break some new ground. The infrastructure for refueling vehicles with natural gas is not nearly as abundant as it is for gasoline and diesel. As demand goes up so will the facilities. I have a friend right now that is converting to natural gas powered cars and he is loving it. He has to plan his fuel stops but when he fills up it only costs 8 or 9 dollars as compared to the 45 to 50 it has been costing me. He deserves those bragging rights.
The downside is planning a long cross country or even a short trip to grandmothers house will take extra effort to make sure there is fuel available along the way. There are some cars that are dual fuel machines and can run either or but most are single fuel choice. Another setback is the added weight for carrying the heavy high pressure tanks that hold the fuel. This will reduce the performance of the vehicle and I am including handling as part of that.
Another key ingredient to the plan is to really start harvesting one of the energy sources that America has an abundance of, namely the wind. We have all seen the pictures of big wind turbines and some of us have actually seen them in action. They can be quite impressive. Some of the wind farms are immense and make quite an impact by its presence. I have seen wind farms in the hills of California to the high Wyoming valleys. I have seen giant windmills on the hilltops of Greece from 35,000 feet wondering what they would look like at ground level if they where that easily seen from that height. I have seen large single windmills set within city limits and on military installations supplying energy to their communities. I have also seen small single units and testing units churning away producing energy. Each time a see a modern era windmill silently working away I am impressed.
I have often driven through the back country of America, for lack of a better term, and have past often old and forgotten windmills that used to serve the ultimate off the grid user, the ranchers and farmers of the west. These old windmills had one important function, bring the water from the well to the surface to water crops, livestock, and family.
There is so much potential for wind and I hope that it begins to be realized. If interest grows then technology advancements will also grow and increased efficiencies will be injected into the equation making the cost benefit analysis of wind a great alternative energy source. The one thing missing in most all of these arguments is a true comparison of costs.
I think that the cost issue may account for the lack of mentioning of photovoltaic or solar cell technology. Again though, as interest grows technology advances and possibilities increase.
More information about the Pickens Plan can be found at:
http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php
The other advertisement that has had a lot of airplay lately is a group of people taking about the current problems we are having with the high cost of oil but ends with the collective resolve that we can solve it by demanding action.
Before I go any further let me tell you up front what it took a very little digging to find out. This web site is a front for Al Gore and his politics. It is totally centered on his vision of the environment and his environmental manifesto. Just know that going in. I for one was greatly disappointed by this fact.
The commercial has great power in that it alludes to the people of this land banding together as individuals and making changes within their own lives and actions they can take that will lead to a ground swell change. The kind of changes made for individuals by individuals. Changes that come from ideas that are freely shared, and expanded upon by individuals, with the common goal of freeing ourselves from the oil crisis.
What you get is a call to become a political activist and demand Al Gore’s environmentalist programs be turned into Congressional mandates. He has already conned more than 1.5 million into signing up. This means he can weld some influence in Washington which is easily pushed over by such silliness. Do all of those that signed up on the web site really understand that they are giving their voice to the personal fancy of one man?
There are the solutions already mentioned but without any detail nor again any cost benefit analysis which is to be expected of a long term politician. It is easy to say we should enhance energy efficiency and adopt the use of renewable energy; it is a whole other ball game when you actually infuse it with a real plan of action. And that is where Al Gore fails. He wants to set the goal that sets the agenda and he wants others to figure out how to met his goal and then he can take credit for it while he calls it innovative leadership.
Al Gore’s web site can be found at:
http://www.wecansolveit.org
My biggest gripe for both of these movements and especially Al Gore’s is that they both call for government action. Both want government intervention to force and fund full implementation of their plans. That funding would come from taxpayer dollars and changes would be mandated is where these plans break down. If they are viable worthwhile goals, both economically and environmentally, (which I think they are), they should be able to be implemented directly without the need for government mandates, infusions, or interventions.
Of the two plans at least Pickens is putting some of his plan into real action by starting wind farms to harness and produce a real change. I can assure you that he will only do this as long as it is economically viable and that is the other reason for him to seek government subsidization, but a better way would be to continue to seek ways that would make it profitable on its own.
The last energy crunch of the 70’s created a surge in wind generators and solar cells that were heavily subsidized with tax breaks. Because the cost break even points were artificial, true cost benefits were not needed. The quality of the products that were rushed to market to fill the new tax subsidized industry were subpar and new technologies were not needed because existing or old tech would meet the rules for tax write off purposes. When the wind generators broke they sat there broke because it was not worth putting any money in to fix them.
I don’t want to see us head down that path again. We can’t afford to waste time and energy on more knee jerk reactions that continually shift the problem. We need real solutions from real people for real people, not government solutions for the masses. If the government would kindly leave some money in my pocket rather than continually confiscate it for ill conceived plans, then maybe I as a consumer could create an influence through my actions and choices that would make a real difference. Maybe I could afford to support by investing in a wind farm of my own, or at least buying a solar system for my house. One that put money back into my pockets because of savings and sell back would make it all the more sweet. That is where you start and that is how you make it work.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
23 August 2008
Biden, really?
Obama chose Joseph Biden to be his running mate? Really? This truly is a socialist ticket from the socialist party.
I can't think of one good thing Biden has ever done but I do know that my memory has him associated with some pretty terrible legislation. Hopefully that will come out but I am sure the media love feast will continue and the kid gloves will be extended to one and all.
No really, is Obama trying to lose the race? I mean I can understand why he wouldn't want to have a Clinton on the ticket (too much baggage for even Charles Atlas to carry), but is the pool of Democratic socialist so thin that this is the best he could come up with?
Perhaps I should stop here because an old phrase is running through my head. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I know I am unable to follow that all the time and when it comes to opinions shouldn't, but what if the rest of the media followed that saying just a little bit more themselves? The local and national news hours might last about three minutes, (and that is after the two minute commercial break).
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I can't think of one good thing Biden has ever done but I do know that my memory has him associated with some pretty terrible legislation. Hopefully that will come out but I am sure the media love feast will continue and the kid gloves will be extended to one and all.
No really, is Obama trying to lose the race? I mean I can understand why he wouldn't want to have a Clinton on the ticket (too much baggage for even Charles Atlas to carry), but is the pool of Democratic socialist so thin that this is the best he could come up with?
Perhaps I should stop here because an old phrase is running through my head. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I know I am unable to follow that all the time and when it comes to opinions shouldn't, but what if the rest of the media followed that saying just a little bit more themselves? The local and national news hours might last about three minutes, (and that is after the two minute commercial break).
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
07 May 2008
Rudy Taft for President
If you took the time to look at the election results from yesterday’s events and you did not focus on the typical stories that inundate us about the Socialist candidates running but rather looked at the actual results and bottom line numbers, you would have noticed on the Republican side of the ticket that McCain running unopposed again only garnered about 75% of the vote. That means that 1 out of every 4 people is choosing someone else even though there is zero chance of that other person being the nominee.
Well it has started to happen like I thought it would. Although I didn’t search long and hard or tune into as many news cast as I normally would, I came across one Oliver Willis who wrote an article on the Huffington Post who made note of just this startling trend. Granted this is not a mainstream site or very widely covered (but with a higher viewership than my own humble pages) it does mean that someone else has noticed this fact. Where will it go from here?
If we are really stuck this term with deciding the lesser of three evils, then we truly are in a world of hurt. Perhaps it is time to bring back Rudy Taft.
Who is Rudy Taft you ask? I don’t know where the idea came from or how it started but back in my junior year in high school a group of students decided to run a campaign for student body election for treasurer for one Rudy Taft. Of course there was no such student so whenever there was a debate or rally the other students would campaign in his place. There were posters and banners and his symbol, a toilet plunger on the end of a cane. The faculty were not amused and even less so when Rudy won by a landslide. Of course those results were never made public. The second place finisher was made treasurer, we didn’t want hurt feelings and high school life went on as normal.
This Presidential campaign is in bad need of a Rudy Taft. If it truly is too late to come up with a really real candidate for this election then a write in campaign is needed to let the political system know that it is broken and needs fixing and we can no longer take it seriously. A write in campaign on a large enough scale could just send that message if anyone is still listening. If Rudy Taft is too hard to remember then use me, Ed Nef, because you can’t get much simpler than that. Or if you do know how to spell pick one of the radio show host such as Glenn Beck or your favorite cartoon character, it doesn’t matter just so long as it is something that people will be able to identify and know that we have had enough. We deserve better. If there is enough interest we could unite our efforts under one banner and one candidate and see just how far we could take this. Who knows, real change may come from our fictional character rather than theirs.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
30 March 2008
Did the Lights go out where you live?
It was Earth Hour last night. Did you miss it? On 30 March 2008 between 8 and 9 pm we were supposed to live without electricity for one hour. What and how did you do?
Since I was in the middle of watching the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” I continued on until the end of the show. By the time I remembered the big event it was 8:40 pm so I figured it was too late to do anything now. I did take a look out the window to see if there was anything noticeable in the neighborhood but from my vantage point it looked pretty much the same. I didn’t notice any mention on the local news, television or radio, either before or after the event. Come to think of it, the only mention I caught on the national news was that Sydney darkened a few places like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera house. Australia was supposed to be first and there for lead the way. I think they thought this would be kind of like the New Years Eve celebration where they could report on the kick off and then give periodic updates as Earth Hour traveled around the globe.
So what was this really supposed to accomplish? Was there an actual goal in mind? Was it to raise awareness, save energy, cut greenhouse gasses, or even grander-- change life habits? Who started this movement, who is promoting it and even more important, why?
Now I am not against this practice if it is done for the right reasons. If it is to better the lives of man through increased awareness and an honest cost benefit analysis shows a true benefit to the participant then I am all for it. If however, it is just another way to mandate the views of a few onto the lives of many or all, then I don’t care what good comes out of it, because it is interfering with the free agency of man, it goes against the design of man. Each and every one of us was given the opportunity to come to this earth and design our own lives. We were given a conscience to let us know the difference between right and wrong and we will be judged by how well we have done making choices in our lives based on our circumstances and using discernment.
This free agency does not mean that we are free from the consequences of our choices and our actions. For the most part, the consequences can and often do help guide and direct our future choices. If we are willing to learn the various lessons life has to offer, the various experiences will bring an increase of knowledge and wisdom. This knowledge and wisdom becomes ours. We own it as individuals. It was not forced on us and it is not a trained habit like you would find in training an animal.
There is a world of difference in this. Two individuals may perform the same act, but one that is compelled is doing it because they have to and gains nothing from the experience, whereas one doing it on their own and for what they through self determination deem to be the right reason will truly be all the better for it.
So when I turn the lights out, it is for my own benefit. I am a conservative by nature but mainly in the cause of financial betterment. When I turn out the light it is to try and control my expenses. I have switched light bulbs to the long lasting compact florescent bulbs that use about a quarter of the energy for the same reason. If a light gets left on accidently it is not as tragic with these bulbs, and if I can find them on sale, all the better. The accountant in me needs to have a cost benefit pay off.
So, if by using less power, there are less greenhouse gasses emitted because less power has to be generated, or the building of another power plant can be delayed for a few more years, then all the better but this for me at the moment is a side benefit, or a bonus for my efforts. For those that feel strongly for the cause of Green and wish to be a conservative with a cleaner planet as their end goal in mind then by all means feel free to do this and you too will find your reward. But when we start to compel others to take or refrain from action, we lose.
It seems that all of the battles fought today, from the battle fields of war, to the battle fields of courtrooms and legislatures, to the battle fields between neighbors, all come from someone trying to impose their will onto the will of another. Instead of trying to meet the needs of others we try to control the needs of others by force. This does not create solutions, only contention. In a world that has the greatest need for harmony, we really should be looking for solutions that will work and benefit all parties involved. Chances are, there will be more than one solution. Don’t just settle for the one that meets your needs and exclude all others. Harmony may be just around the corner.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Since I was in the middle of watching the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” I continued on until the end of the show. By the time I remembered the big event it was 8:40 pm so I figured it was too late to do anything now. I did take a look out the window to see if there was anything noticeable in the neighborhood but from my vantage point it looked pretty much the same. I didn’t notice any mention on the local news, television or radio, either before or after the event. Come to think of it, the only mention I caught on the national news was that Sydney darkened a few places like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera house. Australia was supposed to be first and there for lead the way. I think they thought this would be kind of like the New Years Eve celebration where they could report on the kick off and then give periodic updates as Earth Hour traveled around the globe.
So what was this really supposed to accomplish? Was there an actual goal in mind? Was it to raise awareness, save energy, cut greenhouse gasses, or even grander-- change life habits? Who started this movement, who is promoting it and even more important, why?
Now I am not against this practice if it is done for the right reasons. If it is to better the lives of man through increased awareness and an honest cost benefit analysis shows a true benefit to the participant then I am all for it. If however, it is just another way to mandate the views of a few onto the lives of many or all, then I don’t care what good comes out of it, because it is interfering with the free agency of man, it goes against the design of man. Each and every one of us was given the opportunity to come to this earth and design our own lives. We were given a conscience to let us know the difference between right and wrong and we will be judged by how well we have done making choices in our lives based on our circumstances and using discernment.
This free agency does not mean that we are free from the consequences of our choices and our actions. For the most part, the consequences can and often do help guide and direct our future choices. If we are willing to learn the various lessons life has to offer, the various experiences will bring an increase of knowledge and wisdom. This knowledge and wisdom becomes ours. We own it as individuals. It was not forced on us and it is not a trained habit like you would find in training an animal.
There is a world of difference in this. Two individuals may perform the same act, but one that is compelled is doing it because they have to and gains nothing from the experience, whereas one doing it on their own and for what they through self determination deem to be the right reason will truly be all the better for it.
So when I turn the lights out, it is for my own benefit. I am a conservative by nature but mainly in the cause of financial betterment. When I turn out the light it is to try and control my expenses. I have switched light bulbs to the long lasting compact florescent bulbs that use about a quarter of the energy for the same reason. If a light gets left on accidently it is not as tragic with these bulbs, and if I can find them on sale, all the better. The accountant in me needs to have a cost benefit pay off.
So, if by using less power, there are less greenhouse gasses emitted because less power has to be generated, or the building of another power plant can be delayed for a few more years, then all the better but this for me at the moment is a side benefit, or a bonus for my efforts. For those that feel strongly for the cause of Green and wish to be a conservative with a cleaner planet as their end goal in mind then by all means feel free to do this and you too will find your reward. But when we start to compel others to take or refrain from action, we lose.
It seems that all of the battles fought today, from the battle fields of war, to the battle fields of courtrooms and legislatures, to the battle fields between neighbors, all come from someone trying to impose their will onto the will of another. Instead of trying to meet the needs of others we try to control the needs of others by force. This does not create solutions, only contention. In a world that has the greatest need for harmony, we really should be looking for solutions that will work and benefit all parties involved. Chances are, there will be more than one solution. Don’t just settle for the one that meets your needs and exclude all others. Harmony may be just around the corner.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
31 January 2008
Limbaugh taught me wrong.
Rush Limbaugh did us all a great disservice. Before I name this vast blunder to the English language let me blather on about Rush for just a moment. I was once a fan, listening when I could and even making the journey the great bake sale in Colorado. I enjoyed his frank criticism of the politics of the time and his ability to make sense at a time when so few where even trying to. Does anybody even remember the silliness of the Hightower report?
But somewhere along the way Rush became famous and then his ego was courted and from the sounds of this listener became little more than a mouth piece for the Republican Party. All his attacks were directed at the Clintons and very little criticism was leveled against the Republicans even though they were still making the same kind of bone headed moves that Rush used to thrive on. I got tired of the same old grind and tuned out for some time simply catching a tidbit here and there at lunch time or on a very long road trip. I must admit I did hear him this past week making a point against a Republican though I couldn’t tell you what or who. The fact that he did was enough to catch my attention.
So what was the big Rush faux pas of which I speak? Rush broke the sum total of his us versus them argument into two labels, Liberals and Conservatives. This would have been fine except for two things. First, his agenda broke down over time to be a Republicans versus Democrats discussion and not much more. Second, Rush created a new definition for what a Liberal and a Conservative is and because of his popularity his faulty definitions took hold on the American people.
http://www.wikipedia.com/ has many wonderful articles including much subject matter on just these kinds of definitions. I suggest a surf over there to explore in depth Liberalism, Conservatism as well as many other ism’s to understand why I am so disappointed with Rush’s new dictionary creations. From Wikipedia I will take a portion of the definitions for both.
“Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favor tradition and gradual change, where tradition refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs. The term is derived from the Latin, com servare, to preserve; "to protect from loss or harm". Since different cultures have different established values, conservatives in different cultures have differing goals. Some conservatives seek to preserve the status quo or to reform society slowly, while others seek to return to the values of an earlier time, the status quo ante.”
“Broadly speaking, Liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. Different forms of liberalism may propose very different policies, but they are generally united by their support for a number of principles, including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy, and a transparent system of government. All liberals – as well as some adherents of other political ideologies – support some variant of the form of government known as liberal democracy, with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law.”
The definition given conservatism seems to fit Rush’s position in many ways so maybe his use of it is not so far off though it doesn’t seem to fit across the board for his depiction of the Republican party.
His labeling of Democrats as Liberals is far from valid. He has given the name Liberal a bad conotation using it in a derogative manner but according to the classical definition of Liberalism, the ideals are similar to the definition he associates with that of a conservative. In fact, by the above definition I would consider myself a Liberal though I think I am much too diverse to be limited by a label.
So what label should be used to best describe the Democrats policies and platforms? There is only one that comes to mind time and again and that is Socialism. As I have listened to the political debates of the Democratic party, I can’t help but worry what this country has come to. The founders of this great nation must be tossing and turning too realize that all of their efforts to create a nation based on liberty and freedom and to be protected of the people, for the people, and by the people has spiraled into the political processes we find ourselves today.
To borrow another definition “Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. This control may be either direct—exercised through popular collectives such as workers' councils—or indirect—exercised on behalf of the people by the state. As an economic system, socialism is often characterized by state, worker, or community ownership of the means of production, goals which have been attributed to, and claimed by, a number of political parties and governments throughout history.”
With the exception of state ownership the definition is pretty close. If you consider that control through taxation and legislation provides pretty much the same results as direct ownership, the definition becomes very close indeed.
Listening to the debates, the common theme I hear from Obama, Clinton, McCain, Huckabee and such is ‘Put me in charge and I will take care of all your problems’. It seems like such an easy solution to just turn over all your responsibilities to them and they will take care of all your problems and provide all your solutions. Trouble is, their plans don’t seem very thoroughly thought out and what they have done in the past hasn’t really solved anything let alone provided any confidence that this time will be different.
The real problem is that I am not willing to give in just yet thank you very much. I want to solve my own problems. I want to be my own person and come to my own conclusions. I want to make my own mistakes and my own successes. ‘When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man I put away childish things.’ 1 Corinthians 13:11.
Maybe that is why I am liking Ron Paul. He doesn’t have the solution to all mankinds problems, and he doesn’t always have a good understanding of what the problems entail as evidenced by his answers in the debates. By the way, none of the other candidates do either. What he does have is an understanding of the Constitution as a guiding principle. It is that fundamental principle that tells him that the government is not supposed to be the nurse maid for every passing whim of the people. It defines the role of government in very limited terms beyond which it should not venture. Though he is not as polished in his presentations, his message is still getting through to many people who are looking for the one thing that is missing in this run up to the 2008 presidential election, balance.
He won’t be allowed to make it to the finals but wouldn’t be grand if some of the basic principles this nation was founded upon did. May we not forget the past as we work on building a better tomorrow. A lot of effort was made to give us that opportunity.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
But somewhere along the way Rush became famous and then his ego was courted and from the sounds of this listener became little more than a mouth piece for the Republican Party. All his attacks were directed at the Clintons and very little criticism was leveled against the Republicans even though they were still making the same kind of bone headed moves that Rush used to thrive on. I got tired of the same old grind and tuned out for some time simply catching a tidbit here and there at lunch time or on a very long road trip. I must admit I did hear him this past week making a point against a Republican though I couldn’t tell you what or who. The fact that he did was enough to catch my attention.
So what was the big Rush faux pas of which I speak? Rush broke the sum total of his us versus them argument into two labels, Liberals and Conservatives. This would have been fine except for two things. First, his agenda broke down over time to be a Republicans versus Democrats discussion and not much more. Second, Rush created a new definition for what a Liberal and a Conservative is and because of his popularity his faulty definitions took hold on the American people.
http://www.wikipedia.com/ has many wonderful articles including much subject matter on just these kinds of definitions. I suggest a surf over there to explore in depth Liberalism, Conservatism as well as many other ism’s to understand why I am so disappointed with Rush’s new dictionary creations. From Wikipedia I will take a portion of the definitions for both.
“Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favor tradition and gradual change, where tradition refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs. The term is derived from the Latin, com servare, to preserve; "to protect from loss or harm". Since different cultures have different established values, conservatives in different cultures have differing goals. Some conservatives seek to preserve the status quo or to reform society slowly, while others seek to return to the values of an earlier time, the status quo ante.”
“Broadly speaking, Liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. Different forms of liberalism may propose very different policies, but they are generally united by their support for a number of principles, including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy, and a transparent system of government. All liberals – as well as some adherents of other political ideologies – support some variant of the form of government known as liberal democracy, with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law.”
The definition given conservatism seems to fit Rush’s position in many ways so maybe his use of it is not so far off though it doesn’t seem to fit across the board for his depiction of the Republican party.
His labeling of Democrats as Liberals is far from valid. He has given the name Liberal a bad conotation using it in a derogative manner but according to the classical definition of Liberalism, the ideals are similar to the definition he associates with that of a conservative. In fact, by the above definition I would consider myself a Liberal though I think I am much too diverse to be limited by a label.
So what label should be used to best describe the Democrats policies and platforms? There is only one that comes to mind time and again and that is Socialism. As I have listened to the political debates of the Democratic party, I can’t help but worry what this country has come to. The founders of this great nation must be tossing and turning too realize that all of their efforts to create a nation based on liberty and freedom and to be protected of the people, for the people, and by the people has spiraled into the political processes we find ourselves today.
To borrow another definition “Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. This control may be either direct—exercised through popular collectives such as workers' councils—or indirect—exercised on behalf of the people by the state. As an economic system, socialism is often characterized by state, worker, or community ownership of the means of production, goals which have been attributed to, and claimed by, a number of political parties and governments throughout history.”
With the exception of state ownership the definition is pretty close. If you consider that control through taxation and legislation provides pretty much the same results as direct ownership, the definition becomes very close indeed.
Listening to the debates, the common theme I hear from Obama, Clinton, McCain, Huckabee and such is ‘Put me in charge and I will take care of all your problems’. It seems like such an easy solution to just turn over all your responsibilities to them and they will take care of all your problems and provide all your solutions. Trouble is, their plans don’t seem very thoroughly thought out and what they have done in the past hasn’t really solved anything let alone provided any confidence that this time will be different.
The real problem is that I am not willing to give in just yet thank you very much. I want to solve my own problems. I want to be my own person and come to my own conclusions. I want to make my own mistakes and my own successes. ‘When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man I put away childish things.’ 1 Corinthians 13:11.
Maybe that is why I am liking Ron Paul. He doesn’t have the solution to all mankinds problems, and he doesn’t always have a good understanding of what the problems entail as evidenced by his answers in the debates. By the way, none of the other candidates do either. What he does have is an understanding of the Constitution as a guiding principle. It is that fundamental principle that tells him that the government is not supposed to be the nurse maid for every passing whim of the people. It defines the role of government in very limited terms beyond which it should not venture. Though he is not as polished in his presentations, his message is still getting through to many people who are looking for the one thing that is missing in this run up to the 2008 presidential election, balance.
He won’t be allowed to make it to the finals but wouldn’t be grand if some of the basic principles this nation was founded upon did. May we not forget the past as we work on building a better tomorrow. A lot of effort was made to give us that opportunity.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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