Watching this financial saga unfold has been awesome, but not in the way a surfer would use it. Maybe I should say shocking.
Whatever it is, surprising is not part of it. As I've mentioned before I have a VERY close friend at Merrill who works in SP Mortgages, and has for a few years as a trader. He told me in 2006 that in all likelihood the government would have to pickup Freddie and Fannie. Why wasn't anything done about? Well, I'm sure things were doing as they attempted to unravel their enormous positions, but it was too little too late. Apparently, it wasn't as bad as Lehman, who doubled down against the market, assuming they would ultimately come up on the right side of things. They, of course, doubled down at a time when they
thought the market had bottomed. Now they've bottomed.
It's not fun for me to watch, and I'm not breaking out violins as I'm sure many of you are not, but I do feel bad for my other close friend who is now out at Lehman. Yes, he's wealthier than you'll ever be, I'm sure, but still, it doesn't make it good to see.
They'll both have jobs, and money, for a long time. Now the question turns to the taxpayers, and just how much of it they're going to pickup in the long run. I can't even begin to speculate because I am no expert in that field. Even the experts in the field have no idea, or at least don't want to admit the idea. So lets just say A LOT.
What's really bothering me about all of this is the sense of emergency that has come from the leaders trying to control it. President Bush, Secretary Paulson, John McCain, and so many others. It's an emergency, but yet the White House Press Sec, and others say, "the United States economy will overcome this...fundamentals are strong..." and a host of other shit. So if that's the case, and it probably is, the emergency is for what?
I'm not suggesting alarms should not be sounding because things are going to pieces on so many levels. But I question the emergency now in the face of so many more glaring emergencies, and a debate over who is going to solve them going forward: McCain and Obama.
Here this out.
When President Bush came into office he signed a "No Child Left Behind" bill and it was to be funded with $28 Billion. Then the Congress gave it $20 Billion. That's quite a shorting. The education system in this country is a failure, for the most part, considering how easy it would be to really fix it. Yet, in a day, in one day, a corporation can receive from the Federal Government over $70 Billion. That's right, one corporation, in one day, can receive $70 Billion, but the public education system in America has to fight for $20 Billion. And it fails. Yet there doesn't seem to be some sense of EMERGENCY. In fact, it's largely a collective sigh.
Rest assured, Senator McCain was for the bill. And rest assured, McCain has been clueless in the face of this crisis too. He didn't think it necessary to help the littler people stay in their homes. He didn't think it necessary to create more laws and regulations to fix this problem when it began. In fact, Congress as a whole has been abysmal when addressing the mortgage debt crisis in America. Just abysmal. But also rest assured, Republicans have been more abysmal. EMEREGENCY! Need $70 Billion! YOU GOT IT.
Now we start to look at other aspects of crisis in America. Health Care. Just last week a nonpartisan group from 4 respected colleges in this country discussed the health plans of the candidates in the journal
"Health Affairs." I didn't read it all, but the parts I've read, quite interesting.
Let me try to sum this up. McCain's plan is "market based", which obviously, the markets are working so well in America. But that's it, market based. It's market based because the companies in the marketplace support John McCain more because he can make them more money. Obama makes them less. But Obama will strive not to fuck you. Unfortunately, you can't run commercials and affect policy.
McCain's policy is simply this. He wants to tax the money withheld by your employer, for those in employee sponsored plans, so every two weeks when you get your stub, you'll see more money taken away. On the back end, McCain would give that money back to you in the form of a $2,500 individual tax credit to help you pay for care. The thing is, he's trying to force individuals into the open marketplace to buy health insurance, and out of the company plan, because obviously, this costs employers money, and business, especially big ones, will support McCain, as will the private insurers. Once in this market, as an individual, your options will become more expensive, and the coverages offered will not compare with what you have now. Once alone, without a group to broker costs, you will be on the shit end of the stick.
Of course McCain believes this because MARKETS WORK! That's what Republicans believe, as an ethos, they work! Like right now, as taxpayers are bailing out Bear Stearns and AIG, markets work! Yeah, sure, in theory markets work, but people don't work. And people fuck people in order to gain for themselves, in the market. That's why the subprime market looks the way it does. Yeah, markets work, but many mortgage brokers are about 1 or 2 clicks up the chain from crack dealers. It worked alright.
Then what will happen, as echoed so nicely in Bob Herbert's piece yesterday, the only people who will remain in the employee sponsored plans are people who have real health problems, and have high bills. At which point, it will be such a losing proposition for businesses to offer health care, they no longer will. The older, less healthy, will be shit out of luck, and the younger will be left to fend for themselves against INSURANCE SALESPEOPLE, looking to bring you in. And if you think for a second they'll be offering you super deals, just ask the people who signed up for an adjustable rate mortgage. It WON'T BE MUCH DIFFERENT! Afterall, AIG is an insurance company! When there's money to be made, they'll make it, and you'll suffer. But they'll take the money they've made, the corporations, and they'll feed the machine so people like John McCain can remain in office.
The business of America is business. And as businesses grows, and the people up top retain most of the wealth, the people on the bottom will get fucked more and more. Keep voting for clowns like McCain, and what you'll get is a repeat of what's playing out today in a different market, rest assured.
Some how "fundamentals are strong" and the "US Economy has grown" over the last 2 years. Yet people are losing their homes, their jobs, and wages have stagnated. Why is that? Someone's making money. Yeah, someone is, the tops of the tops. Check the numbers. Supporters of McCain, mostly, I'm sure. Somehow we're on "solid" footing.
Really?
You should think about what it is you're voting for, and what direction this country is going. All of these things aren't coincidences.
Somehow a failing education system is boring, and the money isn't there. I suspect someone like Obama will put this country's priorities first. The peoples' priorities. I suspect McCain will continue to not do that. I'm sure he and his wife aren't canceling any upcoming vacations to one of their many homes either.
(not editing).
