Bigthink - Idea Comments Feed

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:07:36 +0100

When Clinton was president the dollar and the Euro and the British Pound were close to equal. Then along came the hummer and Monica. All those that were not getting any were up in arms about Clinton's sex life which in my opinion has nothing to do with us. Then along came George W. Bush and his affair with a woman who mysteriously died by "apparent suicide" (I think she was murdered) who barely made it to the media owned by Bush's first cousin. Gee I wonder why?@!!! Then came 9/11, the lies, and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq that had nothing to do with it... all impeachable offenses that violate the Geneva Convention. Now not only is stolen oil $4.50 and climbing at the pumps, but the dollar is let's call it two dollars to one British Pound and it is a dollar and sixty cents to one Euro. Yes I am very concerned the US Dollar will soon be worthless like many third world countries, but not too many people here pay attention to that or make a stink about it. No, they would rather focus in on someone who is doing the nasty with someone they are not married to and who is not and "saved." They look the other way with the damage to the economy and the crimes against humanity all because their leader says he imagines he is "born again." That stupidity is what the powerful and greedy of this world are banking on.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:56:26 +0100

And the question consumers should be asking is whose fault is it truly that the economy is like it is? I agree with Obama's comment today that the financial sector is not regulated. There should be some rules for lending money so as not to take advantage of the consumer. Is is right to be paying $750 in interest on a $800 mortgage payment each month? Paying $50 a month, can the house really get paid off in thirty years? NO. Yes, the consumer gets to stay in a nice house for thirty years, but the loan company pulls in usually 250% of the homes value. Is it right to be paying more in interest on a home than it is worth? This is what companies like Wells Fargo are able to charge and get away with it. The late charge on a mortgage loan from them is a percentage. That percentage has added up to $300 for one week. Is that fair? Second time late in 15 months. I understand sub-prime and I understand fees must be charged, but I do not understand the unethical amount of these fees and charges. If a risky borrower has trouble paying their regular mortgage payment, how do high-fees and charges give them incentive to pay on time? I personally think "cash-back" is always an incentive to pay ontime. Ten, fifty, or a hundred dollars for paying ontime and before. There should be a generalized pattern of loan programs applicable to all consumers from all lenders. Something should change in the credit rating program. I HAD bad credit, but I have been paying my bills ontime for over six years now. I cannot afford to pay past debt off, so shouldnt there be a rating system for how Im paying now? Checking the past five years, I feel, is sufficient. Everyone's situation is different.
I do not understand why Republicans do not feel responsible for helping consumers. They are the reason why this happened. Non-regulation of this sector has spun out of control and it has finally come to a head. Not every consumer can afford to have a lawyer on hand for every financial transaction that transpires. For any for that matter. Lawyers are expensive. Only those with alot of money dont worry about things like that and "monthly expenses." They spend freely. The little man has to work to survive and count nickels the whole way. Its a shame that those monthly expenses are so high. Why is Comcast able to charge for television service that should be free? People should be able to get major network and local channels for free if nothing else. Thats how it used to be. Why do the basics to sustain life cost so much now? With all the trillions that go in and out of the governement, it seems, some things and people are getting short changed. Who is the government really working for? Whose side is Bush on, that he'll allow Bear Stearns to get bailed out and has bailed out the airlines before and banks, but not homeowners when they clearly have been taken advantage of? And who is the stimulus package for? Its not for the poorest folk, the people that need it the most. It darn sure cant help homeowners that are losing their homes. It cant help at the pumps. Who's it for, to make Bush able to sleep at night? I hope the democrats make a change soon, because the country has already lost most of its factory jobs, Clinton will clear out the health care jobs if she gets elected. They'll be nothing else left for anyone to do but rob and steal.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:12:26 +0100

Perhaps the media has brought each citizen to a different philosophical position than this country has historically had. But because of the widespread availability of information that philosophical position can have a wealth of foundation regardless if it 'Me First' or 'For the Good of the Country'. But what I think the media has brought to the individual is information about how well the Corporation views its responsibility within the American economy. Recent examples include a couple of the major contractors to the Pentagon who take care of a lot of the daily tasks of everyday living in Iraq and here I am thinking about Halliburton and Kellog, Brown and Root. Now last week the newspapers state the Iraq war now runs $12B per month. Now what percentage of that cost goes to the contractors. Last year Halliburton re-headquartered out of Houston to Dubai and Kellog, Brown and Root reheadquartered to the Cayman Islands. And that old 'Coming to America' lawsuit taught me about the difference between gross and net profit and the situation that Hollywood is banking out of the Cayman Islands. So if individuals see that corporations whom derive a great deal of income out of doing business on these shores are 'headquartered' elsewhere in the world in order to take advantage of 'taxable situations' where does the individual in this country think he should position himself? I am old-fashioned, I do save and make my children do so. But have you considered what is left after you get your passbook savings statement and then have to add it to your 1040 declaration?

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:16:44 +0100

Dude almost everone is really worried about the economy and its getting alot worse than it is now. the markets are dropping and they are not going to recover anytime sooner. the people that are mostly getting hurt are the real estate and the banks

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:47:59 +0100

Never trust a rich man, never, never, never.
The Bible had it right on that one. Bound for what a faithful Christian would call Hell, they must suck up riches at any and all costs, including their integrity and moral conscience. Of course, anyone who learned at the feet of such a master of attaining wealth on the backs of the poor working slobs, (I'm one), would praise his teachings. I guess learning to view hard working people as losers helps. They are, in their minds, better than us (slobs), right?
Yeah, right. Orchestrating a whole country to make the poor pay the rich and powerful's way thru life Tax Free, what a great man!!
The kicker of all this is, knowing all of these back door truths about any and all of these rich folk's ways isn't going to help us one iota, to become any better off, economically. The system is now so twisted into a Rich is only for the rich, all of us tax providers are permanently screwed. War is financed by us and the national debt to foreign countries. (Nice). Galling. Makes a revolution seem almost mandatory.
I say viva la revolution!!!!
We don't even know who we really should vote for anymore, everyone is such a liar and backstabber. No one person can fix all of this evil. Besides, all of the politicians are in on it!!!

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:33:32 +0100

A Crusader in Clover
Pete Peterson, Enemy of Social Security, Counts Journalists as Friends

By John L. Hess

Where does the man find the time to earn all that money? You can%u2019t turn on the tube but there%u2019s Peter G. Peterson, telling some awestruck talking head that Social Security and Medicare are gobbling up our kiddies%u2019 porridge. Or he%u2019s writing it on your favorite op-ed page, or in magazines, or relaying the message through a thousand media converts. Or he%u2019s presiding over the Council on Foreign Relations or the Concord Coalition, or gracing the society page in a dinner jacket, at all the really important social functions, sometimes as host. Or you can find him more informally at Sunday brunch in the Hamptons, with such useful tablemates as Diane Sawyer, Mort Zuckerman, Leslie Stahl, Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters and so on.

Vanity Fair (8/93) called on the great crusader at his spectacular beachside retreat in 1993 for an admiring profile. It said the interview was interrupted by telephone calls arranging the appointment of Leslie Gelb (ex-New York Times) as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, and of James Hoge (ex-New York Daily News) as editor of the organization%u2019s journal. Peterson made another call inviting former Sen. Warren Rudman (R.-N.H.) to join the board of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health-policy appendage of the great health supply company Johnson & Johnson (of which Peterson%u2019s third wife is a director).

Peterson told Vanity Fair he was writing about health policy at that very moment, for his second book, Facing Up: How to Rescue the American Economy From Crushing Debt and Restore the American Dream. That would be the chapter that said: %u201CThe issue isn%u2019t whether these new [universal health] benefits would be nice to have. They would. The issue is whether we can afford it. We can%u2019t.%u201D

That%u2019s our boy. His remark lends piquancy to his wife%u2019s explanation that her husband needed his $2.5 million, $1,500-an-hour helicopter to safeguard his health.

The question is not whether this kind of health care is nice. It is. The question is whether he can afford it. He can.

While he is reticent about his income, Vanity Fair put his take-home in 1992 at $7 million, not an excessive sum for an investment banker of his rank. His partner Stephen Schwartzman, who is regarded in the financial press as the sparkplug of their firm, the Blackstone Group, said that year that investors in its venture fund should expect returns of 25 to 30 percent during the 1990s%u2014again, not unreasonable, since the Dow Jones average rose more than 26 percent last year.

Such rates of return are, again, piquant, because Peterson has described the indexation of Social Security, which lately has raised benefits by roughly 3 percent a year, as %u201Cone of the greatest fiscal tragedies of American history.%u201D Piquant? Wait. Peterson was at President Nixon%u2019s side as his economic adviser and secretary of commerce when that %u201Ctragedy%u201D was enacted in 1972. (Conservatives thought making the cost-of-living adjustment automatic would deter Congress from voting more generous benefits.)

Peterson denounces the %u201Cmad, drunken bash%u201D of the Reagan years. That would be the time when the top income-tax rate was cut from 70 percent to 28 percent, military spending went sky-high, and trillions were made (and lost) on savings and loans and takeovers financed by junk bonds. He was himself, of course, making out like a bandit, hustling for his share of the action, and contributing his bit to Republican campaign funds. He also led a chorus of corporate executives who keened about the exploding federal deficit. His contribution was a key series of articles in the New York Review of Books in 1982 (12/2/82, 12/16/82) that prepared the intellectual climate for the 1983 Social Security %u201Crescue,%u201D which raised payroll taxes and lowered benefits.

The series purported to prove with mathematical certainty that the entitlements of the elderly were snatching food from babies and driving the nation toward bankruptcy. George Will called it %u201Cthe most important journalism of 1982.%u201D (Washington Post, 12/19/82). Its charts persuaded such liberals as Tom Wicker and Anthony Lewis. Leslie Stahl of ABC said Peterson %u201Creally began to educate me.%u201D (She has since repaid the favor with appearances by her mentor on 60 Minutes.)

All the journalists he met seemed impressed by his expertise, and by his generosity in offering to surrender his own entitlements. It does not seem to have occurred to any of his interviewers that a rise of 1 percentage point in his income tax rate would cost him perhaps twice as much as his Social Security and Medicare benefits combined. Nor have any observed how policies he has supported have transferred the tax burden from the wealthy to the wage earner. Indeed, in Facing Up, Peterson remarks with pleased surprise that nobody had clamored for a cut in the Social Security payroll tax to match cuts in benefits.

If opinion-makers consider Peterson an expert on finance, experts on finance tend to consider him more of an opinion-maker. Ken Auletta%u2019s book Greed and Glory, about the near collapse of Lehman Brothers in the 1980%u2019s, describes Peterson as, in the eyes of his partners, an arrogant bungler dying to make killings in leveraged buyouts, an obsessed reactionary, a name-dropping snob, and, all told, so much a pill that his partners paid him $18 million to get rid of him.

Now to return to the question with which we began: How does Peterson find the time to make all that money? It would seem to be the new-fashioned way of tapping the gusher of wealth flowing from the economy. Peterson took his severance pay to Schwartzman and formed the Blackstone Group, which played the arbitrage game, bought up failing companies, shopped the savings-and-loan auctions, and made money.

A towboat operated by one of their subsidiaries and piloted by a man who had flunked his licensing exam seven out of eight times hit a railroad bridge and caused 47 deaths. Another Blackstone company drilled a hole in the Chicago River and caused that city%u2019s costliest disaster since the Great Fire. A major partner resigned last October under the cloud of an ugly scandal alleging fraud.

These things happen. Peterson is a busy man. Journalists may be forgiven for not connecting him with these misfortunes, or even knowing about them. What is not forgivable is their swallowing his ideological book, line and sinker.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:49:27 +0100

I have to comment one more time. I've recently read both your books but I can't buy your rationale.
The American economy is consumer oriented and driven by cheap credit. Thats it. The availability of cheap credit has been the driving force of this economy for well over 20 years. Albeit, the money is just created out of thin air.
The other argument about savings is patently absurd. 401K/Mutual Funds have about $7 trillion invested in them. How much money would be in the "Social Security" trust fund had it not been raided. Had it never been raided, the compounded intrest would be enough to pay the so called entitlement. Its insulting to insinuate that the citezen is to blame for this mess.
The theft of the American taxpayers retirement savings is the biggest swindle in the world.
You wouldnt have to worry about the younger generation, had your generation done its job.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:59:29 +0100

Pete Peterson is a true pariot. Ive read his book "Running on Empty" and ive come to the conclusion he is one of the few insiders in both the businessworld as well as our eco-political collaborating government. He has been warning our citizens about this policy on borrowing since the Nixon administration and has been ignored by major figures like Dick Cheney and Nixon when hes advised them on whats best for the american people. If more people spoke like Peterson with his stature and intelligence our country would no longer be a berocracy.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:27:02 +0100

Talk about passing the buck. Nice "con" Pete. Try to blame the average Joe for the economic problems of the US Govt. HA HA.
Former secretary of commerce blames the consumer. Ha, what a joke. Didnt you head the fiat currency institution known as The Federal Reserve. I cant beleive a banker would complain about the carrot and stick approach to consumer lending. Blame the average guy for not saving? How bout 15% off the top to Social Security. Isnt that "forced govt. savings". In the 25-30 years that you have been in the revolving door of govt service/wall street, the US has gone from the largest lender to the largest debtor. This is your tenure Pete. Your Legacy. Thanks alot.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:35:40 +0100

Yes, America's economy certainly worries me but in a very diff manner. I am worried about the quality of management personnel and expertise that the entire American establishment is turning to now a days. I mean, I am astonished how the Indian academic and market structure which, till the late 80s, was considered to turn out 'below par' technical expertise in each field, is suddenly elevated to this 'super status' without any significant changes in its operations and policy struc. And pl forget this humbug about liberalisation and focus on knowledge industries. A quick on the ground trip to India will immediately prove my point.
Also take note of certain comments from the 'super manager' Indra Nooyi that her co, Pepsico, has nothing to disturb it as a consequence of the subprime crisis, because it is in a diff industry !!! I ask you.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:42:21 +0100

This is creative destruction and it is planned. Just like Enron only now it is a country. SHAME ON YOU.

We know that.

www.thesanitycheck.com
www.investigatethesec.com

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:40:47 +0100

I am very concerned about the economy. My biggest concern is that the government is devistating our economy on purpose so that the most powerful people can buy up the bussiness, and property as happened during the great depression.

During the great depression many loans were handed out margin loans that could be called in at every time. These loans enabled people to borrow money to invest in the stock market, they only had to have ten percent of the money that they were borrowing. J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller and other bankers then committed the greatest robbery of all time. They called in all these margin loans at the same time. It devistated the stock market and these bankers were able to buy up stocks at pennies on the dollar.

If you want to find out more about this occurance there are many movies out there. Zeitgiest was my favorite.

A tax cut at a time of war would inevitablly lead to inflation. Lowering interest rates in such in inflationary environment will also lead to inflation. Deficite economy, again inflation.

The United States refused to learn lessons from Japan, and Europe who ran deficit economies that were blamed for 20 year recessions in both countries.

I only hope that our current recession only lasts 20 years.

The federal reserve is a privately owned bank that prints the money for our coutnry. The owners of the federal reserve is kept a secret. They are a group of the most powerful people in the world. They are also a group that bennifits significantly from war and inflation.

Woodrow Wilson knew that when he signed the federal reserve act he was selling our country to the wolves. I fear that our present situation is the culmination of all of his greatest fears.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:53:16 +0100

I have to say that I respect and admire Mr. Peterson. However, I think that we are all missing the point: the American economy is 66% consumer driven--no ifs ands or buts about it. For our economic to be in full gear there HAS TO BE spending. However, over the past 25 years, educational costs, health care costs, gas prices, etc all have skyrocketed while wages, adjusted for inflation, have remained stagnant. Therefore, so that our economy to remain at full level, with its 66% consumer driven component, EASY credit and NO saving HAD to occur. Until we figure that equation out, borrowing is going to continue to go up, while savings are going to remain in the negative. We can also reconfigure our GDP equation to reduce the spending component, but that would take a heck of a lot of courage from our political establishment and sacrifice from our population.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:11:06 +0100

Mr. Peterson presents some excellent insights to our current society. The "got to have it now" mentality of our society is at the center of our future economic success/failure. I can't help but wonder what it will take to change societies views.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:19:45 +0100

VoiceofAmericanpoverty; you are asking for a free lunch. Unfortunately for many of us there is no such thing as a free lunch. You cannot and should not rely on other people to help you out of a hole.
Besides you are far better off with your $5000 a year than many other poor people in other countries.

Roscorose there is indeed a tax fair to all income levels its called the FairTax. It removes the IRS, all federal income, payroll , corporate, capital gains, gift, and estate taxes, and replaces them with a single flat rate national retail sales tax. Which effectively taxes wealth. (It is supported by Mike Huckabee and Mike Gravel fyi)

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:03:12 +0100

I am utterley sick, middle class 150,000 well guess what "mr middle class" I am living off of all I can at this time which is government assistance, which means all of america's money and guess what I get? $440 dollars a month for me and my 5 yr old son. so how much is that a year? well about 5000 dollars. Anyways I know many people may look down upon someone for admitting that but, i myself have no other options at this time. I do not have family, or savings, no inheritance, or assets of any kind. I am poor begotten by poor, that died poor and left nothing but debt. So I have actually nothing. No fault of my own I graduated highschool at the age of 17 with a 3.75 gpa, not a very good school either mind you. All this time allmost six years now i have been trying and trying to get into college, but unfortunately there is no housing for me so the only way i can even attend is through federal aid and that wont cover living expenses. I can go work part time while i am attending but it still won't be enough I've done the math unless I borrow from a lending source that actually most likely won't except me, because of the previously mentioned debt left to me. So I could work full time and go to school, leaving me with only enough time for homework and sleep. It could work but oops I forgot I have a kid, so when do I get to be a parent? Inbetween naps? I don't think so. I am not actually willing to let my child grow up without guidance. Fortunatley after 6 1/2 years on the hud housing waiting list I will be accepted within about another 1 1/2 years. Hurray!. Maybe I do want instant gratification, but maybe also i deserve it. I am not stupid I am not poor because of intelligence. I do not think that is right, there is nothing right about it. I cannot go to school even though my IQ has been tested at about 133 so thats not genius or anything but maybe I could do something for this world but i must wait until money gets to point b from a. If I myself could pay for all these things I certainly would but when i m done with achieving my goals i will be contributing alot more than i am recieving a mere $440 monthly. Besides the fact that the state has it set up that if a mother and child is on welfare the father must return that money. They are borrowing me money but just from him, this in my mind is not as bad. The only other way is if the father is dead, and do you wan't to take that away from the children of a dead man. In this generation children of dead parents are most commonly war "heroes" The real problem has to do with the fact that people are becoming richer and richer for sport but you have to think of america's money as if it were a pie chart: The more one source gains the less from all other sources. When this pattern continues on the big get bigger and the little pieces of pie get smaller. Is that simple enough? I believe even you mr roscoerose are rich, atleast in my eyes. I allways imagined myself winning the lottery and you know what I imagined? Buying some property and getting all the run down used and free motor homes and trailers i could and make affordable housing for everyone. If I had just 1 million dollars i would do this for everyone. But there are those who have millions, billions of dollars and they don't care, it seems as though they are just trying to achieve the high score at an arcade game of monopoly. It's not a game I've seen children die. I've seen abuse, neglect, poverty and many much worse things sir something needs to be done NOW! Why can't I just win the lottery? why don't good things fall into place? Things don't just "work out" themselves in the end like some tv sitcom. People in america are starving to death right now. People in america are freezing to death at this very moment. Some of them are small children and they are going to die. Maybe you should consider buying a smaller house sir maybe you should think about riding the metro to work. Yeah right as if you ever would. Just think about it while your picking up your latte' in the morning and getting warmed up by your heater, that someone was just found dead because they didn't have a heater, and they didn't have a house to go into. Do not believe that this is some kind of choice. The homeless are dying. people are suffering. I hope you're nice and comfortable. If I ever saw even 60,000 dollars in a year you better bet that I am going to live in a shack but anyone in need around me will be cared for. I promise this.
Thank you

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:04:08 +0100

could we ever come up with a tax rate that fair to all income levels?
We then would not have to hear every election about how much a republican can cut a tax, or here how much a democrat would raise a tax.
I am middle classes at $150,000(wife & my income) why is this level not mentioned as the real middle class as compared to $65,000 which would not get you far living in Mass. I would love a tax cut but this group never gets mentioned and when is does were consider upper middle class. Is inflation never consider when telling us what class were in?

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:40:22 +0100

First of all, geesh! The guy looks Awesome for his age!... My prespective on Mr. Peterson's questions about different factors in this national shift to "consume" and "get it now" is that media has been a very big factor,(I live near LA and can't stand the industry!) but also the overall change in society's structure.
It's obvious there are less couples and more working adults. I'm a 36yr old, single architect. It's much easier to "spend" as a single person, for one thing, but of all the things our parents teach us,even from a very young age,"look both ways", "stay in school", "don't do drugs", "marry for love", .....how many say, "learn to save"?
It makes me think of the first architect I ever worked for during college as an intern. (He was a drunk, but a good guy) He said, Architecture is not a job or career or profession. It's a discipline. I think our collective 'discipline' needs a little attention.

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:08:40 +0100

Someone commented that this idea is less about the economy and more about consumerism and western culture. I would argue that this speech is more about the roots of economy and the end results of those roots being where they are and of what nature they are. The economy is directly related to the way that we live our lives. It's not even an indirect relation, it's a direct relation.
I think we can even look to a more micro example than the 'family' model presented here. Mr. Peterson says we're 'passing the buck' to our children,' but I'm proposing that we can even look at our own lives. For instance, I can look at my bank account and say, 'well, I have enough to enjoy myself today, but I won't have any money next week.' When I do spend the money on myself that day instead of spreading it out over the next week is that I don't care about my future self. That poor bastard's going to be broke, but my present self will enjoy today. It *is* a philosophical issue. We can never be 100% sure about the future, but we can be 100% sure about the present. Should that lead us to ignore the future in favor of the present? Absolutely not! Also granted, should we forsake the present in hopes of some glorious future? Also no! There has to be a balance, and we have to find that balance individually before there can be any widespread change. I believe this is Mr. Peterson's point.
Thank you Mr. Peterson. Your talk was a very necessary reminder to watch out for our future selves, our future generations, and our future in general.

-Lex

Comment on: Re: Are you worried about America's economy?

Bigthink — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:44:21 +0100

This is less of a comment on the economy than an analysis of American/Western consumer culture. Very interesting and thoughtful. Perhaps part of the answer he is looking for may be found in the collapse of traditional protestantism.