21 posts tagged “economy”
More Bailout; Geithner, Holder Appointments; Gaza News; W's Legacy; Obama's Inauguration
Citigroup is tanking, BofA gets another bailout, and yet not one single American has received one single dollar for mortgage assistance. Is this taxation without representation? Timothy Geithner: a tax cheat as Treasury Secretary? Eric Holder: Tony’s still troubled by his Marc Rich pardon. There's some movement in the Israel/Gaza conflict--we hope it ends soon. Is it pointless to investigate the Bush administration for alleged high crimes and misdemeanors; would such an investigation portend the end of democracy? And will expectations outweigh the realities facing Obama?
UPDATE on 1/12/2009: Listen to Matt Miller discuss "The Tyranny of Dead Ideas" on Tue., Jan. 13 at 2:30 pm PT at www.KCRW.com/etc/programs/pc (streaming, podcast and on-demand) with LA City Council President Eric Garcetti.
Please get creative: show us what a Panetta Kerfuffle looks like.
Economy/Unemployment; Gaza Burning; Panetta Kerfuffle
We’ve invented a new dessert: the Panetta Kerfuffle, but that comes later in the show. First we collectively decide that Obama’s big speech about the economy may not be big enough. Then the inevitable disagreements over the Israel/Gaza conflict are discussed. No end in sight. And finally: the Panetta Kerfuffle. Take one former Clinton Chief of Staff, throw in the initials CIA, mix together with whining establishment Senators and Congressional Representatives, add a dose of media and questions about Biden’s involvement and – you’ve got the Panetta Kerfuffle.
Just for fun:
Watch Matt Miller on COLBERT REPORT here: http://mattmilleronline.com/index2.php
LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S SHOW:
Paul Krugman, THE OBAMA GAP NY Times 1.9.09.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print
“I don’t believe it’s too late to change course, but it will be if we don’t take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years.”
So declared President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday, explaining why the nation needs an extremely aggressive government response to the economic downturn. He’s right. This is the most dangerous economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it could all too easily turn into a prolonged slump.
But Mr. Obama’s prescription doesn’t live up to his diagnosis.
Today’s must read MSM piece is a brutal Bloomberg column, delineating why the Bailouts have been such a sweet deal for the banks. Despite the gross incompetence and sheer recklessness of Wall Street and the Financial sector, they were handed massive amounts of money with little in the way of returns to the taxpayer, no specific guidance or requirements....
Source:
Paulson Bailout Didn’t Give Taxpayers What Goldman Gave Buffett
Mark Pittman
Bloomberg, Jan. 9 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAvhtiFdLyaQ&
Geithner Preparing Overhaul Of Bailout
Obama Team Broadens Scope to Secure Final $350 Billion for Rescue
By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 9, 2009; A01
Confronted with intense skepticism on Capitol Hill over the $700 billion financial rescue program, Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy F. Geithner and President-elect Barack Obama's economic team are urgently overhauling the embattled initiative and broadening its scope well beyond Wall Street, sources familiar with the discussions said.
ARIANNA MENTIONED http://bailoutsleuth.com/
A wish for the world this holiday season. Peace to all and may our future be hopeful.
MENTIONED ON TODAY'S SHOW
MATT'S BLOG!
mattmilleronline.com
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist
The Madoff Economy
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 19, 2008
The revelation that Bernard Madoff — brilliant investor (or so almost everyone thought), philanthropist, pillar of the community — was a phony has shocked the world, and understandably so. The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend.The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend.
Yet surely I’m not the only person to ask the obvious question: How different, really, is Mr. Madoff’s tale from the story of the investment industry as a whole?
Charles Krauthammer's syndicated column
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/272324
GOP to Detroit-NO! Oy Blagojevich! Obama Nominees
The Senate GOP rejection of the House/Admin deal is top of the news. All believe that W’s “kick the can down the road” policy -- taking the a portion of the banks’ TARP and applying it to the auto bailout -- is inevitable, but Arianna marvels at the double standard that allow the banks to get free money while Detroit and its workers could hang themselves with the attached strings. Illinois governor Blagojevich: what more need we say? Bob takes the opportunity to condemn the media for hoisting this story above the other important news, like Afghanistan and the report condemning Bush admin for use of torture. Arianna says the whole thing’s more fascinating psychologically than politically citing Julius Caesar (the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves), while Tony says Rahm Emanuel and other Obama transition team members seem act as if they have something to worry about. He reminded us that Nixon didn’t know about Watergate but got in trouble when he tried to cover it up. And in the energy arena, is Dr. Steven Chu, noted and respected physicist and Obama’s nominee, a mad scientist? We know he wants to make gas prohibitively expensive—but electricity, too? Is he nuts? Or right? Listen in and weigh in -- or put up a post before the show begins!
MATT MENTIONED THIS COLUMN in the show:
Blagojevich's Behavior Is Common
Douglas E. Schoen, 12.10.08, 04:00 PM ESTTrading favors is de rigueur in politics.
"...But while what Blagojevich did is undeniably beyond the pale, it is frankly much
more common in the political world than anyone has been willing to
acknowledge." (read the rest at the link above)
Job Losses and Recession; Auto Execs--From Tin
Ear to Tin Cup; Mumbai Terror
*Update on Thurs. 12.11: I've added Matt's latest column, "Memo to Obama" below
*Update on Wed. 12.10 -- Adding the article Bob Scheer talked about to links below (Toyota buys GM). PS: Tony's show yesterday was good!! Listen to it at link at the end of the post in red.
*UPDATE: Tuesday 12.9 at 2:30 Pacific 89.9 FM on air in SoCal/streaming live online, via podcast or on-demand: Tune in to hear Tony Blankley discuss "Whither Conservatism" on our show, The Politics of Culture -- with Al Regnery, publisher of American Spectator mag; Tony Perkins, Pres of the Family Research Council, and nay-sayer, David Frum, who's become a critic of the Sarah Palin wing of the party (former Right on LRC, his new blog launches Jan. 20 NewMajority.com). That's www.kcrw.com (click live tab) or online later at www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/pc.
530,000 jobs lost – in November
alone – as the Auto company execs trade their tin ears and corporate jets for
tin cups and a hybrid car ride to DC begging for a bailout…is it policy making or a morality play?
Bob’s worried about Paul Krugman’s prediction for a double-digit drop in the
economy. Arianna calls the economy a stalled plane that needs a jumpstart -- in
mid-air. Tony – without being too Pollyanna-ish – says it may be the worst month
for job losses but it’s ranked the 41st worst month as a percentage
of total jobs…he disagrees with Bob who says those trillion dollars have been
wasted on the financial industry, and he calls for MASSIVE spending on the part
of government (Bob calls that socialism!). The terror in Mumbai is treated
briefly followed by some rather rushed rants.
LINKS:
Matt mentioned this blog: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/
Bob talked about this column:
Paul Krugman, The New York Times
Conscience of a Liberal
Worries about next year
I’ve been ruminating over economic prospects for next year, and I’m getting scared.
Two points:
1. The economy is falling fast. We’ll see what tomorrow’s employment report says, but we could well be losing jobs at a rate of 450,000 or 500,000 a month.
2. Infrastructure spending will take time to get
going — a new Goldman Sachs report suggests that projects that are
“shovel-ready” are probably only a few tens of billions worth, and that a
larger effort would take much of a year to get going……(read the rest at link above)
Bob also mentioned a provocative piece on TruthDig.com about why Toyota should buy GM:
A Toyota Takeover Could Save GM
By Michael D. Intriligator
Posted on Dec 5, 2008
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081205_a_toyota_takeover_could_save_gm/
...I believe that considering only these two options for an imperiled GM —either bailout by the U.S. government or bankruptcy—omits an important alternative, which I see as the best option: a takeover of GM by Toyota Motor Corp....
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The Future of Capitalism: Which Way Now?
The Future of Capitalism: Which Way Now
Here’s that in-depth philosophical program you’ve been waiting for. Tony is truly over the top in his defense of capitalism; Bob brings up the nearly-verboten name of Karl Marx… Tony quotes Lord Byron…and the fireworks begin. Matt, while defending capitalism, says it’s time to rewrite the social contract, with certain guarantees of security in terms of health care and welfare, so the rest of the economy can do what it’s supposed to.. Bob defends the middle class; Arianna invokes Ayn Rand saying she would disapprove of the Wall Street orgy. Tony and Matt duke it out for awhile, too. It’s a heady show and a hell of a topic. This one’s worth hearing twice and quoting from. We really want to hear from you on this one.
Here's Tony's column:
As President-elect Obama's apparent choice for health and human services secretary and as White House health care czar, it is a fair guess that Tom Daschle's view on health care legislation may be decisive.
So it is worth reading his book "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis," in which the gracious former Senate leader lays out without equivocation both the policy he recommends and the tactics for how to pass it.
**** HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE *****
PLEASE see the "LINKS" post for all links mentioned on today's show.
Economy, Stocks/Auto Bailout/Obama’s Cabinet Picks
As the economy tanks, the panelists
agree with a Paul Krugman column in today’s NYTimes (see links post, next one down), we don’t have 2 months to
wait. Tony wants Obama -- knowing there’s only one president at a time – to take
the lead and signal where he’s going with the economy since W can’t get traction
and the Congress is less than useless. He calls the three testifying auto
company execs nitwits for being so tone deaf …and calls Congress stupid for
saying they’re not going to protect 3 million jobs because these 3 nitwits flew
in on private jets. Obama must act now. Arianna says, get rid of the nitwits
and put a general plan for restructuring in action. They talk about Hillary
Clinton – Bob worries she might be a hawk – and Janet Napolitano – Tony says
she’s not qualified… There’s a lot of action on today’s show. Tony’s rant is a
madrigal – and it’s beautiful! (words in the Links post below this one). And please share your thoughts.
Next week's show is: The Future of Capitalism: Which Way Now? A think piece for the holiday.
I am putting all links mentioned in today's show here, and will post the blog about today's show separately.
Everyone’s talking about a new New Deal, for obvious reasons. In 2008, as in 1932, a long era of Republican political dominance came to an end in the face of an economic and financial crisis that, in voters’ minds, both discredited the G.O.P.’s free-market ideology and undermined its claims of competence. And for those on the progressive side of the political spectrum, these are hopeful times.
There is, however, another and more disturbing parallel between 2008 and 1932 — namely, the emergence of a power vacuum at the height of the crisis. (read the rest at link above)The Insider’s Crusade
Jan. 20, 2009, will be a historic day. Barack Obama (Columbia, Harvard Law) will take the oath of office as his wife, Michelle (Princeton, Harvard Law), looks on proudly. Nearby, his foreign policy advisers will stand beaming, including perhaps Hillary Clinton (Wellesley, Yale Law), Jim Steinberg (Harvard, Yale Law) and Susan Rice (Stanford, Oxford D. Phil.).
The domestic policy team will be there, too, including Jason Furman (Harvard, Harvard Ph.D.), Austan Goolsbee (Yale, M.I.T. Ph.D.), Blair Levin (Yale, Yale Law), Peter Orszag (Princeton, London School of Economics Ph.D.) and, of course, the White House Counsel Greg Craig (Harvard, Yale Law).
This truly will be an administration that looks like America, or at least that slice of America that got double 800s on their SATs. (read the rest at link above)Yes, we allowed the french language to sneak into this week's show -- here's that word, so well pronounced by all:
Dirigisme (from the French) (in English also "dirigism" although per the OED both spellings are used) is an economic term designating an economy where the government exerts strong directive influence.
Tony's rant: (hey it's worth listening today just to hear this!)
- The silver Swan, who living had no Note,
- when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat.
- Leaning her breast upon the reedy shore,
- thus sang her first and last, and sang no more:
- "Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!
- "More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise."
and the song was published in Gibbons' First Set of Madrigals and Motets of 5 parts (1612)
By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 18, 2008; A01
First of two articles
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had a stern message for more than two dozen of the nation's most powerful hedge fund managers gathered in the third-floor conference room near his office.
Paulson told them it was time to begin regulating the opaque realm of hedge funds, reversing his long-held opposition. "You should not be thinking about how to fight it but how to make it work," he recounted telling them at the meeting last month.
They were stunned. One manager recalled muttering as he walked out: "What happened to the Hank Paulson we knew?"
With
his 30-month tenure nearing its end, Paulson is leaving behind a legacy
of federal interventionism that few would have expected from this
former head of the investment giant Goldman Sachs. (read the rest at link above)
Here's Tony's syndicated column this week
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Who's Going on the Presidential Honeymoon?
Tony Blankley's Email | Author Archive | Author Biography
I was thinking about what we traditionally call the postelection "honeymoon," of which President-elect Barack Obama is now in the second week. But what exactly is meant by the metaphor? As a starting point, I looked up the word in my well-worn Oxford English Dictionary: "The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure (Samuel Johnson); originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane; now, usually, the holiday spent together by a newly-married couple, before settling down at home."
First of all, who are the parties on the honeymoon? (read the rest at link above!)
And here's Bob Scheer's TruthDig piece:
Change We Can Bank On
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081118_change_we_can_bank_on/
Posted on Nov 18, 2008
By Robert Scheer
This is not change we can believe in. Not if Robert Rubin or his protégé, Lawrence Summers, get to call the shots on the economy in President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming administration. Both Clinton-era treasury secretaries deserve a great deal of the blame for the radical deregulation of the financial industry that has derailed the world economy. They both should, along with former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan, perform rites of contrition and be kept at a safe distance from the leadership of our nation.
Yet Rubin and Summers are highly visible in the Obama transition team, with Summers widely touted as Obama’s pick for secretary of the treasury. (read the rest at link above)
Robert Scheer is the author of a new book, “The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America.”
Yes, they are ready for their close ups! 500 + in the audience, a great show -- enjoy! And comment, please!
***CONTEST ALERT! TWO CHANCES TO WIN A LEFT, RIGHT & CENTER SUN VISOR! SEND EMAIL TO TALKGIVEAWAY@KCRW.ORG WITH YOUR BEST ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY ELECTORAL VOTES THE CANDIDATES WILL RECEIVE; AND THE PERCENTAGE OF VOTES FOR EACH CANDIDATE. EMAILS MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN MONDAY, NOV. 3 AT MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME.***
Breathe. It’s almost over. Tony (sort of) defends his charge that Obama is a committed Marxist, Arianna calls McCain’s campaign McCarthyite; Bob calls the recovery plan so far "socialism for the rich" and Matt says he hopes that whoever gets elected will step in decisively and put America back on the economic track. Will the banks or the consumers do it? Will there be a new New Deal—a massive rebuilding of jobs and infrastructure? Under Obama, will there be massive government regulation that could stifle a recovery? Will China save us? Guess we’ll know on Tuesday. **DON'T FORGET: LIVE LRC POST-ELECTION POST-MORTEM ONSTAGE ON SUNDAY NOV 9TH -- JOIN US FOR LIVE VIDEO AND AUDIO WEBCAST BEGINNING AT 5:45 pm PACIFIC TIME AT KCRW.COM.**
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