Who do you think is going to come out the winner in this one?
Wall Street roared back from the doldrums today with a near 500 point gain of the DOW post Timothy Geithner unveiling the latest, and greatest, banking bailout plan. Too bad businesses don't pass down gains to consumers.
I don't see consumer spending, wage growth, or job gains returning anytime soon.
Stocks probably touched their low while the market hovered around 6,500 earlier this year. Have Joe and Jane Doe touched bottom yet?
I doubt it. Everyone will have to pay for the many years of loose credit and over spending. We won't get a bailout.
That I can guarantee you.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Globalist
I had the unique experience to attend two lectures by world renknowned journalists, Thomas L. Friedman and Fareed Zakaria, yesterday in Portland.
There was a common theme to their respective perspectives.
That is that we are in a new age that is defined by globalism and that the United States of America is no longer the only game in town. Try telling that to your average American who believes in manifest destiny and "This land is your land ... from sea to shining sea."
The rules have changed. All markets are global. It is not relevant whether we want to recognize this our not, but we will fall behind as a nation if we fail to do so.
We need to recognize the challenge before this and get serious about electing politicians who will pursue progressive policy moving forward. There is no more time left to squander the future. The world is "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and we are in "The Post American World."
There was a common theme to their respective perspectives.
That is that we are in a new age that is defined by globalism and that the United States of America is no longer the only game in town. Try telling that to your average American who believes in manifest destiny and "This land is your land ... from sea to shining sea."
The rules have changed. All markets are global. It is not relevant whether we want to recognize this our not, but we will fall behind as a nation if we fail to do so.
We need to recognize the challenge before this and get serious about electing politicians who will pursue progressive policy moving forward. There is no more time left to squander the future. The world is "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and we are in "The Post American World."
Sunday, March 1, 2009
At What Cost
As President Obama seeks to bring fiscal responsibility back to the White House, one is left wondering the future our nation will have.
The pols of recent past sacraficed the future to satisfy the demands of lobbyists. They mortgaged the nation's long term security at the whim of their own present day interests. We, the people, are left holding the bill.
Everything is in question. The economy, education, geopolitics, health care, energy policy, social security, national infrastructure, and on, and on, and on.
There are many to blame.
Partisan politics has blocked most attempts to pass tangible legislation over the past three decades. The American public has been too interested in our own selfish wants and needs at the sacrafice to the common good. Real leaders, to often, have been nowhere to be found.
America was caught flat footed after the fall of communism and the Soviet empire only to lose respect among many of our global bretheren in responding to WMDs in Iraq post 9/11. The health care system is bloated beyond repair. The education of our children continues to lag behind our competitors. Bridges fall down, roads stretch to nowhere as mass transit lays idle in the 21st century and only now do we get serious about global warming and our energy future.
Enough is enough. It is time to get real.
The pols of recent past sacraficed the future to satisfy the demands of lobbyists. They mortgaged the nation's long term security at the whim of their own present day interests. We, the people, are left holding the bill.
Everything is in question. The economy, education, geopolitics, health care, energy policy, social security, national infrastructure, and on, and on, and on.
There are many to blame.
Partisan politics has blocked most attempts to pass tangible legislation over the past three decades. The American public has been too interested in our own selfish wants and needs at the sacrafice to the common good. Real leaders, to often, have been nowhere to be found.
America was caught flat footed after the fall of communism and the Soviet empire only to lose respect among many of our global bretheren in responding to WMDs in Iraq post 9/11. The health care system is bloated beyond repair. The education of our children continues to lag behind our competitors. Bridges fall down, roads stretch to nowhere as mass transit lays idle in the 21st century and only now do we get serious about global warming and our energy future.
Enough is enough. It is time to get real.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Financial Follies
Every day is a new day, except in the financial crisis where the news keeps getting worse, the problem continues to spread, and the culprits are many and not the few.
It is obvious that many, if not the majority, of national banks are insolvent. The only question is when this will be recognized by the government. The charade is coming to an end.
There was no tangible regulation. Underwriting standards were nonexistent. Cost of capital was too cheap. Highly leveraged institutions became the norm. Borrowers were happy to use their home as an ATM.
"Everybody plays the fool sometime; There's no exception to the rule." - Aaron Neville
Yet, the average citizen is still in the dark about financial affairs. It is really a surprise that businessmen would choose the "free lunch"?
"There's a sucker born every minute." - PT Barnum
It is obvious that many, if not the majority, of national banks are insolvent. The only question is when this will be recognized by the government. The charade is coming to an end.
There was no tangible regulation. Underwriting standards were nonexistent. Cost of capital was too cheap. Highly leveraged institutions became the norm. Borrowers were happy to use their home as an ATM.
"Everybody plays the fool sometime; There's no exception to the rule." - Aaron Neville
Yet, the average citizen is still in the dark about financial affairs. It is really a surprise that businessmen would choose the "free lunch"?
"There's a sucker born every minute." - PT Barnum
Friday, February 13, 2009
A Tale of God's Will
I saw Terence Blanchard perform earlier tonight on the opening night of the Portland Jazz Festival at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
Mr. Blanchard performed tracks from his latest album, "A Tale of God's Will". The music was composed in response to Hurricane Katrina. I became familiar with Mr. Blanchard and his work after viewing Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke". He is a resident of New Orleans.
Powerful.
The man had real presence and his music wove a devastating tale of woe and desperation, a call unheeded.
The government's response to Hurricane Katrina at best horribly inadequate and at worst, pure criminal. You wonder what lies in the souls of men?
There is a famous photograph of George W. Bush observing the aftermath of the hurricane from the friendly confines of an airplane cabin. This was powerful art as well, yet it told a different story. This is a man who fears reality.
Terence Blanchard lived it. It is a part of his soul.
Mr. Blanchard performed tracks from his latest album, "A Tale of God's Will". The music was composed in response to Hurricane Katrina. I became familiar with Mr. Blanchard and his work after viewing Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke". He is a resident of New Orleans.
Powerful.
The man had real presence and his music wove a devastating tale of woe and desperation, a call unheeded.
The government's response to Hurricane Katrina at best horribly inadequate and at worst, pure criminal. You wonder what lies in the souls of men?
There is a famous photograph of George W. Bush observing the aftermath of the hurricane from the friendly confines of an airplane cabin. This was powerful art as well, yet it told a different story. This is a man who fears reality.
Terence Blanchard lived it. It is a part of his soul.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Ideology & Policy
I asked my apartment manager why ideology and policy are separate when charting a political agenda?
It would make sense to craft policy to build the framework in support of an ideology or vision. Partisanship aside, isn't that how succesful non for profit, private, and public entities work? Not in modern politics however, because there must only be pragmatic solutions.
America has consistently short changed itself by adhering to the status quo.
Now we are behind the 8 ball and it will take more than magic to reverse our course. We cannot continue to mortgage the future for the sake of the present. Trickle down economics has led to income inequality. Reliance on foreign oil has crippled our geopolitical agenda. The lobbyists have crippled our health care system.
This isn't about politics anymore. It is about our future and whether our children and grandchildren will have one that is true to the revolutionary spirt of America.
Right now, they will be left holding the bag.
It would make sense to craft policy to build the framework in support of an ideology or vision. Partisanship aside, isn't that how succesful non for profit, private, and public entities work? Not in modern politics however, because there must only be pragmatic solutions.
America has consistently short changed itself by adhering to the status quo.
Now we are behind the 8 ball and it will take more than magic to reverse our course. We cannot continue to mortgage the future for the sake of the present. Trickle down economics has led to income inequality. Reliance on foreign oil has crippled our geopolitical agenda. The lobbyists have crippled our health care system.
This isn't about politics anymore. It is about our future and whether our children and grandchildren will have one that is true to the revolutionary spirt of America.
Right now, they will be left holding the bag.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Gravy
There are moments in life that are frozen in time. The New York Rangers and the Stanley Cup championship season of 1994 is something I will never forget.
Tonight, one of my heroes held back tears as his blueshirt was raised to the top of the blues in Madison Square Garden. Adam Graves was the heart of the team that season. It was the best year of his career and the Ranger's first title since 1940.
Hockey was a big part of the Cross household and the men that lived under the roof of 123 Sycamore Avenue. It is our common bond.
My heart soared tonight.
I couldn't help but remember how I felt growing up playing street hockey in my driveway. The many nights at The Meadowlands watching the Devils and Rangers create a fierce rivalry through the years. The excitement I first felt heading down 33rd between 7th and 8th Avenues. Walking the hallways of the World's Most Famous Arena. Catching the SI Ferry ride home after taking in a weeknight game against the Capitals, Penguins, or Flyers in the middle of the Winter.
Those days and nights will forever be a part of me.
Tonight, one of my heroes held back tears as his blueshirt was raised to the top of the blues in Madison Square Garden. Adam Graves was the heart of the team that season. It was the best year of his career and the Ranger's first title since 1940.
Hockey was a big part of the Cross household and the men that lived under the roof of 123 Sycamore Avenue. It is our common bond.
My heart soared tonight.
I couldn't help but remember how I felt growing up playing street hockey in my driveway. The many nights at The Meadowlands watching the Devils and Rangers create a fierce rivalry through the years. The excitement I first felt heading down 33rd between 7th and 8th Avenues. Walking the hallways of the World's Most Famous Arena. Catching the SI Ferry ride home after taking in a weeknight game against the Capitals, Penguins, or Flyers in the middle of the Winter.
Those days and nights will forever be a part of me.
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