On Courage and Truth (March 17, 2008)

Posted in Society on March 17, 2008 by e-commentary.org

Ernest Hemingway’s description of “courage” as “grace under pressure” is popularly invoked, although he provides a more accurate definition of “poise.”  Courage is a decision to do something that needs to be done or to say something that needs to be said even if it is not likely to be successful or well-received.  Political courage is a decision to do something or say something that is in the greater interest even if it is not in the individual’s interest.  No one seeks to pursue something that is not in one’s interest and is likely to fail.  But courage happens.

Find the Truth and it shall set you free, they say.  Not really.  Find the Truth and you may be imprisoned.  The Truth often terrifies.  Most people do not lead lives of quiet desperation, but they do go to the grave with the song still in them.  They lead lives of quiet delusion and refuse to sing or shout out the Truth before they go to the grave.  Getting through the day is not easy.  Overlooking or disregarding the Truth is the path of least resistance.

[With a nod to Montaigne’s essais.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Ne sois pas decourage

No se desanime

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Peace In Palestine? (March 10, 2008)

Posted in Middle East on March 10, 2008 by e-commentary.org

Peace in Palestine is impossible.  Both the Palestinians and the Israelis have compelling moral, historical and legal claims to the same land.  Neither is yielding its position.  Neither has any reason to yield its position.

Pick a time in the past and select a country or region.  The Jews seem always to have been shunned, beaten, harassed, oppressed, dispossessed, ostracized, stigmatized, denigrated, disregarded and treated unkindly.  Those experiences shape one’s world view.

The government-sponsored, institutional, corporate, mechanized, franchised torturing and killing machine in business in Germany and other occupied countries between the middle 1930s and 1945 was unprecedented in its scope, duration and depravity.  Those experiences dominate one’s world view.  (Those horrors are being and will be replicated on this planet).

The logic of existence in the Middle East today is so desperately human.  The Palestinians proclaim:  “I kill, therefore I am.”  The Israelis proclaim:  “I kill, therefore I am.”  No one in the Middle East does more than kill and subsist.  Everyone is spiritually dead.  If they looked in a mirror, they would not see a reflection.

The Palestinians are engaging in techniques and tactics first pioneered by the American colonists in their battles against the British.  If the United States provided them F-22s, they would be able to fight on a level playing field.

The Wall is a monument to failure, a bill board advertising hopelessness.

The Jewish Lobby in America (American Israel Public Affairs Committee, et al.) is powerful and is equaled only by the influence of AARP (American Association for Retired People) and the NRA (National Rifle Association).

The single greatest source of resentment in America that often leads to a distrust of Semitism is the widely understood perception that no on can criticize the Jewish Lobby publicly without being pilloried and crucified.

Jimmy Carter committed the Sin of Truth.  He discusses the Apartheid in Palestine and is condemned and excoriated.  Few have the courage to support him.

Note the religions of the members of the foreign policy elite.  There are not enough Unitarians, Buddhists, Quakers and Shakers among the movers and shakers.  (Richard “Tricky Dick” Nixon was born a Quaker and followed some of its precepts at times in his life.  The most prominent example is admittedly not very convincing.)  Pacifists are activists in their communities, but they are not heard nationally.

The money that Americans have been borrowing from the Chinese and others and transferring to unfriendly regimes to acquire oil will be used to acquire media outlets in America in the future.  A foreign government, a “Sovereign Wealth Fund,” will offer real money for a publication such as the Wall Street Journal.  The next Rupert Murdoch with 5 billion in his pocket will sit across the table from someone who can bid 10, 15, 20 billion, whatever it takes.  When media control changes, perceptions in America will change.  Not necessarily for the better.  An imbalance of information and influence in the other direction is dangerous.  Equipoise is not likely.

Life is often portrayed as a battle between David and Goliath.  Life is usually a battle between David and David, one underdog battling another underdog.  Two underdogs are at war in the Middle East.

The current most powerful nation, the Goliath, is a super power slipping into second world status (measured by: infant mortality rates; percentage of the population in prison; percentage of the population which is not counted as unemployed because they are not even looking for work; spiritual and economic deficits, etc.)  With the rise of Asia and other Middle East nations, the United States may not be in a position to protect Israel in the intermediate run.

The killing will go on until the inevitable tectonic shifts of power in this century play out with uncertain consequences.

Bumper sticker of the week:

There are no unwounded civilians

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Forgiving American Debt? (March 3, 2008)

Posted in Debt/Deficits, Depression on March 3, 2008 by e-commentary.org

America will never repay its foreign Debt.

When you borrow ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), you lose sleep worrying about repaying it.  When you borrow ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00), your banker loses sleep worrying about you repaying it.  When you borrow almost ten Trillion dollars ($10,000,000,000,000.00), your banker should never get a restful night’s sleep.

The day will come when one foreign country quietly reduces its purchases of Treasury instruments.  [See the e-ssay dated March 21, 2005 entitled “America The Bankrupt (Jan. 17) Revisited”].  “Sovereign Wealth Funds” created by countries to invest substantial sums of money in an enterprise are moving into the U.S. equities market.  Taking by investment is much easier and more productive that taking by invasion.  Foreign investment can lead to an intertwined and interdependent economy.  [See the e-ssay dated March 13, 2006 entitled “Dubai Port Worlds:  The Ship Storm”].  Are the funds being invested to exploit an economic opportunity or to gain a political advantage?  This issue will make the front pages in the next few years.

America is the Bear Stearns of the world.  America’s failure to repay its debts will also attract some passing attention in the next few years.

Bumper stickers of the week:

Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven those who have been indebted to us.

Too intertwined to fail?

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“American Medicine” Not “Socialized Medicine” (February 25, 2008)

Posted in Health Care, Market Solutions on February 25, 2008 by e-commentary.org

The only thing almost as bad as not having health insurance is having health insurance.  Get injured and try to compel an insurance company to cover a valid claim.  Insurance company representatives are drilled to deny or at most pay in part a claim as standard operating procedure.  Most people accept the answer and go home.  Only those who persist stand a chance of obtaining more complete coverage.

“Sir, you do have a $10,000 deductible policy and then 100% co-pay for expenses after that.  Why are you calling your health insurance company about this medical bill?  And there will not be a premium increase for another three months.”

“Sir, you do not have coverage for an injured rider.  You should have purchased a rider policy to cover a rider.  In fact, you should consider purchasing a riders rider to cover all riders in the vehicle, except those excluded or exempted for other reasons.”

“Sir, you do have ‘theft and fire insurance,” but the theft did not occur while your house was on fire, did it?  No it didn’t.  You should have purchased our ‘theft or fire insurance’ policy.”

“Sir, why didn’t you have a friend use a straight razor and a bottle of whiskey to save on the cost of the surgeon and anesthesiologist?”

“Sir, your secretary noted that you are a member of Congress.  Your spa treatments in Tahiti are fully covered under your plan.”

The insurance market is not working and is impacting American competitiveness.  [See the e-ssay dated October 23, 2006 entitled “Efficient Health Care:  Making American Business More Competitive”].  The solution is simple.  Adopt the “American Medicine” plan not some loathsome “Socialized Medicine” plan.  Health care may be a fundamental right under the Constitution (“life” and “liberty”).  One universal insurance program modeled on the program that currently protects our United States Senators and Representatives in Washington should suffice.  The citizens do not get any greater coverage than our elected officials.  In addition, the citizens should not be provided any less coverage.  The “American Medicine Plan.”

Bumper sticker of the week:

“American Medicine” Not “Socialized Medicine”

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Brown Is The New Black (February 18, 2008)

Posted in Immigration, Race, Society on February 18, 2008 by e-commentary.org

Almost all societies despise or at least resent one or two domestic groups and one or more foreign groups.  In America, the groups to hate and resent included Blacks and also the most recent immigrants to depart the ship (Germans, Irish, Scots, Poles, Italians, Jews, Tongans, etc.).  Look at the celebrated boxers across time (John L. Sullivan, Rocky Marciano, Mohammed Ali, Oscar de la Hoya).  They tend to be drawn from the group that was feared, despised, resented and oppressed at the time.

Polite society is careful about using the “n-word” today, although derivative and derisive words such as “denigrate” (defame; belittle) and “niggardly” (stingy) are still used without reflection.  The quiet unrelenting campaign to imprison Blacks continues with one percent of the population in the pokey.  There are still “Jena 6s” and the resurgence of the Noose as a tool of domestic terrorism.  Today’s KKK members dangle the Noose Knot (not a Sheet Bend Knot or a Carrick Bend Knot) and then assert that they don’t know what it means.  Their admission that they are ignorant is not disputed, yet they knew and know exactly what they are doing.  The calls for “hate crimes” legislation to address the matter collide with First Amendment considerations.  The solution is easy; those who claim that they do not know what the Noose means should be afforded an opportunity to make the statement under oath to someone with a badge; they will hang themselves; prosecuting them for and proving perjury and obstruction of justice is so easy it can be delegated to a summer legal intern.  The Confederate flag has become America’s swastika.  The current scene is not all pretty.  Nonetheless, there is less overt prejudice against Blacks today than in the past.  An African-Saxon is running for President.  America has made and is making progress.

However, Brown has become the new Black.  Many otherwise decent Whites are threatened by Browns far beyond any plausible threat posed by them.  A few well-educated White boys agree to frequent a company that directs callers to touch “1” on the telephone dial to hear the message in English rather than the competing company that directs callers to touch “2” to hear the message in English.  “We are number 1.”  Fear and insecurity are ugly and ever-present and timeless.

The Browns are doing the work that others do not want to do.  They put the family into family values.  They are learning the English language despite the unfounded accusations of the nativists to the contrary.  A recent e-mail message denigrating Browns was written in what can only be described as “white trash” English syntax; the authors were not even bright enough to recognize the irony of their own incompetence.  Browns serve this Republic in the military in greater percentages than others.  They are the ones admittedly using more social services.  They will also be the ones most likely to pay off some of the massive Debt accumulated by the Whites.  [See the e-ssay dated March 28, 2005 entitled “Black, White, Brown, Red and Green:  An E-ssayer on Immigration.”]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Fear is Debilitating

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The Economic Surge: Pushing On A Rope (February 11, 2008)

Posted in China, Debt/Deficits, Economics, Taxation on February 11, 2008 by e-commentary.org

The proposed “economic surge” seeks to inject about $150 billion into the economy.  Some note that the $150 billion will be borrowed from China to buy toys and other goods from China.  They give us the dollars and the goods.  They have the goods on us.  And the dollars.  Business as usual.

Some observe that the recent rise in gasoline prices has increased the cost of living for citizens by about $150 billion.  They say that the economic surge will offset that expenditure.  However, the additional payment for gasoline should be seen as a direct payment–foreign aid–to many dangerous political regimes.  The U.S. is directly funding terrorist activities rather than taxing gasoline and both keeping the additional taxes and reducing consumption of oil.  [See the e-ssay dated December 18, 2006 entitled “Pass The ‘Terrorist Tax’”].

Few are saying that the $150 billion dollar economic surge is a tax.  It is a tax.  It is a tax on the kids.  The “Kid Tax” is more important that the “Terrorist Tax.”

The problem with the economic surge is that it is a chimera.  The Federal Reserve action may prevent a panic on Wall Street in the short term, yet it is creating a greater problem on Main Street now and in the intermediate run.  The fundamental problem is not just the number of dollars available for circulation in the economy, it is the individual consumers who are the fuel of the economic engine.  The public, like its government, is spent.  All are in debt up to their tonsils.  More debt, private and public, is not the intermediate run answer.  The lowered interest rates are creating a disincentive for saving when everyone of every political strip states that we should be saving.  The impact of lower interest rates is being felt again by the elderly who are now earning less.  [See the e-ssay dated April 25, 2005 entitled “Our Friend The Fed”].

Bumper sticker of the week:

They matter (Budget Deficits, Personal Deficits, Trade Deficits)

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The Microeconomics of Suburban Subsistence: Three Years Later (February 4, 2008)

Posted in Economics, Housing, Society on February 4, 2008 by e-commentary.org

40 wasn’t a red letter year for them.  They are deeply in the red this year.  [See the e-ssay dated February 7, 2005 entitled “The Microeconomics of Suburban Subsistence” for background].  He can only find part-time work for a company that does not provide any health care or contribute to a pension fund.  Their $175,000 house is now worth $150,000 even with all of the improvements financed with an equity line of credit and sweat.  The City still appraises it at $200,000 because the polis wants its pound of flesh.  The price of a pound of (bovine) flesh has risen about forty percent (40%); the meat may be tainted.  The Fed’s reduction of the Federal Funds Rate has not been passed on or trickled down to them or to prospective buyers of their home.  Interest rates to consumers are “sticky” and “ratcheted.”

The calls start like clockwork, because the callers start with the clock.  He can set his watch by the first call.  At eight o’clock, they start.  They would start earlier except for . . . federal regulation.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal regulation, sets limits on the amount of harassment that can be inflicted by a creditor on a debtor.  And the wake-up calls continue unabated all day, even after the consumer is wide awake.  From 0800 hours until 2100 hours.  Caller id is now a necessity rather than a luxury.  The credit card companies that cooed and wooed him are now cajoling and whining.  The companies devised a Bankruptcy Code that is expensive and burdensome.  The “Hope Now” program does not offer much hope now.  Try it; call the number yourself.  However, Congress now is considering a variety of legislation including a bill that allows the Bankruptcy Courts to adjust the amount owed on a home loan to reflect the current market value of the property.  That approach has some possibility.

Not only is the value of the house down.  Of note, the note for the car is now greater than the retail Blue Book value of the beast.  Each 25 cent rise in the retail price for gasoline lowers the market value of the gas guzzler by about one thousand dollars.  The rational course of action may be to give their car back to the bank and walk away from the house.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Greed isn’t always really good

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State of the Union Address (January 28, 2008)

Posted in Bush on January 28, 2008 by e-commentary.org

My fellow Americans,

I raised the national Debt from 5.7 trillion dollars at the beginning of my reign to more that 9.2 trillion dollars today.

I squandered a $261 billion dollar budget deficit and now propose a deficit that could swell to $250 billion dollars or more once the economic surge is approved.

I lied to you that deficits do not matter.

I watched unemployment rise from 4.2 percent in 2001 to 5.0 percent and rising today from the comfortable of Air Force 1.

I slept comfortably in the White House while the country built a house of cards constructed of houses which then collapsed predictably into the worst financial crises in the last 80 years.

I precluded any regulation at the federal level and preempted any rules by the states to govern lending practices for housing that would have prevented or mitigated this economic catastrophe.

I destroyed the reputation and respect previously accorded the United States of America in the world.

I divided our allies and united our enemies.

I ordered an unprovoked and unnecessary attack against a sovereign nation that did not threaten the security and well-being of the United States.

I changed the justification for the invasion code-named Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) each time one lie proved to be too false and too fraudulent even for you the American people to swallow.

I played fiddle while the military played taps.

I presided during a rise in oil prices from about $23 a barrel on September 11, 2001 to about $100 a barrel.

I watched gas go from about $1.50 a gallon in 2001 to about $3.00 a gallon and higher on my watch.

I hired faux journalists and fooled the real ones.

I undermined the Constitution at every opportunity.

I deceived myself and the public every day.

I decided.

W

Bumper sticker of the week:

qWagmire

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Talk About Housing (January 21, 2008)

Posted in Housing, Perjury, Society on January 21, 2008 by e-commentary.org

“It’s a no-brainer.  You can’t miss.  You don’t need a job and you don’t need any income.  Okay, so you already have two strikes going against you, but they really don’t care.  Just lie and tell them you are unemployed with no income.  Buy and ride it up and then sell.  You don’t even have to paint the place.”

“You have to heat it.”

“You can get one place and flip it and then get another one and flip it.”

“It will flop.  And you must insure it.  In my book, insurance is necessary but not productive.”

“Everyone’s doin’ in.  It can’t fail.”

“And more taxes.  They give you enticing tax breaks to acquire a bigger palace that is then subject to higher taxes.  My digs are already too big.”

“I shared one bathroom with three others and now I have four to myself.  I can shower in three different showers.  One is a steam bath.  Now, that’s livin’.”

“And buy more furniture.”

“I can sleep in one of five bedrooms.  I had to share a room with my brother.”

“Prices will collapse by 2006, 2007 at the latest.”

“No way.  This is America.”

“They take the bait and call in.  They are already hooked.  Operators standing by to assist you.  No one stands by to assist you.  I sold some old lady in Florida, some seventy-something widow, a loan for $44,000 on a property she owned free and clear.  She had enough income to cover her expenses, but I told her she needed more and told her she knew it because she called the number.  She can cover the early payments, and I’ll be gone before she realizes what hit her.”

“Seems sporting.”

“It was her decision.”

”Seems that someone in her seventies doesn’t always make sound decisions.”

“Look, this is America.  The land of the free.  The home of the brave.  Apple pie.  All that stuff.  She is free to make her own decisions.  And anyway, she’s old, she can eat dog food.”

Bumper sticker of the week:

Let Them Eat Dog Food

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The “R” Word; The “D” Word or The “S” Word? (January 14, 2008)

Posted in Conflicts of Interest, Depression, Economics, Perjury, Rating Agencies, Recession on January 14, 2008 by e-commentary.org

“A recession occurs when your neighbor loses his job; a depression occurs when you lose your job.“  A recession is technically defined as two successive quarters of a downturn in the economy.  The traditional definition of a recession is backward looking.  Would you value being told that you were pregnant fifteen months ago?  Policy planning requires a more forward-looking perspective.  If you lose your job, is it a depression?  If you have less earning capacity despite working overtime and pay more for goods and services, is it stagflation?  (See the e-ssay dated August 7, 2006 entitled “The Fed: Deal With ‘Stag’; Deal With ‘Flation’?”).

The credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch suffered from the same grade inflation their employees suffered from in college.  Everyone in college gets As; their parents are spending too much to bestow anything less.  In the real world, the grade inflation is trebled.  The credit rating agencies gave the insurers of bonds the “AAA” ratings.  The insurers of bonds such as Ambac Financial Group and MBIA also suffered from grade inflation.  The insurers of bonds then gave everyone the “AAA” ratings.

The downturns in foreign markets today are a more accurate verdict on the state of and prospects for the American Economy.  In America, risk is not tied to reward whereas foreign investment professionals are more accountable for their performance.  And while the foreign kids were in college, they did not get As just for showing up.

[The recent incident in the Strait of Hormuz:  Gulf of Tonkin II or the USS Cole II?  The statements in English (not translated from a foreign language) from someone expressed a clear present intent to do harm.  The Navy responded in a professional and disciplined way and maintained their course and speed.  Someone can be provocative without provoking a response that is not in the nation’s interest.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

The Mortgage Meltdown continues.

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