I like Volker, but I was holding out hope that Obama would take either Michael Blomberg or Warren Buffet on in some capacity; at least as an advisor.

I believe he speaks to Buffet almost every day, and also has a cordial relationship with Bloomberg (although not as close as Buffet), I am certain he will continue to listen to those two.

Fuck Bloomberg

DC, you're twisting the truth. There was a surplus. There was money in the bank. It may have come from false hopes and dreams, but the dollars were real enough. Quite frankly, the people who invested in dot coms were incredibly stupid. If some grungy kids set up a business in a Soho loft and added .com to the name of it, the money poured in. It didn't matter if they didn't make anything or provide a real service. It didn't matter if they lost money. People still gave them money. They deserved to be fleeced.

However, the taxes that were paid on that money were real enough to cause quite a surplus. And I find it difficult to believe that Enron alone caused a "fake" booming economy. All I know is that unemployment was half of what it is today, there was plenty of money to loan, and the housing market was brisk. And it was far enough back in history NOT to be blamed for the current housing mess.

As for my comments about your taking my words out of context, I had written a rather lengthy post and you took eight words from it to comment on rather than comment on the whole thing.

And you're right. I hope and pray for change, too. This country is in a mess and I fear that it's going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better.

Your point is well taken. However I must point out to you that it's not about all dollars and cents when profits are taken, taxes are paid and surpluses are created on paper. A LARGE percentage, probably a majority of the time, of loans being given, money being spent and surpluses being created are through LINES OF CREDIT....aka paper money, because companies like ENRON COOKED their books to show profits and therefore were extended HUGE amounts of credits by banks and lenders. Huge corporations do not deal in "real" dollars, but instead deal in letters of credit, loans, etc.

And as far as the dot-com businesses that were created by these "kids," yes, many of your averqage people did invest in those companies, but many big money investement firms poured money into them, bought their stocks on MARGIN, and when the truth came out that the dot-com company that they invested in were not really making the monies that they claimed that they were on their books, those big investment firms who poured "paper money" into buying stocks in those companies now had to come up with some REAL money to meet their margin calls! So they sold what they had in stocks, driving the price of those stocks into nowhereland, which in turn caused the average working Joe to lose any little money that he or she may have put into buying stocks for their portfolios and their retirements, which in turn has a ripple affect because now the average Joe cannot afford to go out, go on vacation, etc. And the big investment firms who dumped those stocks because they had to come up with real money for their margin calls wound up getting loans and letters of credit to meet those margin requirements.

You see, it just doesn't happen in a week, or a month. It takes time for these type of ripple effects to develop and over the course of time it eventually affects employment numbers and our federal budget.

Basically it's like the family that gets a credit card and keeps on charging on that card but makes the minimum payments. It's not real money. It's money given on credit. Eventually they are going to fall deeper and deeper into debt to where it gets to a point that it has a trickle down effect and winds up affecting everything and everyone else in that household.


Our economic woes are a combination of what took place with the last TWO administrations and not just because of what took place during the term of one of the administrations.

REAL MONEY??? Are there Americans who actually use real money any more? We are a country built on credit, credit, credit. We have created a generation that has no respect for money or patience to actually save before they buy something.

As investors, we are the same way. Years ago people bought stocks because the company actually made money. Now, they just hop onto the latest trend, whether it's internet or energy or whatever comes next.

I agree 100%!!! You're absolutely right about that!!!!

Absolutely. It is all about instant gratification and not understanding the value of saving up for things instead of pretenting a credit card limit is tantamont to cash. In some societies it is considered shameful to be in debt, but not in ours.
It is amazing the crap people acumulate, and the false "needs" the marketplace has
made. Look at music. First it was Vinyl. Then more and more expensive stereo systems with huge speakers, etc. Then came tapes. Then CD's (which were never supposed to break or skip or stop working) now I Pods. As soon as this stuff comes out people stampede like out of control cattle to buy this crap on credit.

Last week I bought my first flat screen television after my old Sharp color set finally died. I paid $549 for 32 inch set. The same set was about 2 grand a couple of years ago, and I actually had people making fun of me back then for not having an "up to date" television. With that mentality its no wonder we are in this mess. And, Yes, I am saying we can point fingers at Clinton, Bush, Greedy Corporations, Banks, and all the rest, but we also beed to do a gut check and take a look in the mirror.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1642

Looks like the extreme right is going to be bitter for a long time!

At least 8 years.

Why dwell on it? Let's just hope he will be able to turn our country around.

There you go, Miggie. Very positive of you.

Have you been watching those Tony Robbins infomercials again?

I don't even know who Tony Robbins is.

And read this interview on Ziegler (the Mastermind behind HOW OBAMA GOT ELECTED) by the excellent FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver.

Guess who comes off as a dick?

Ann Coulter Silenced by Badly Broken Jaw

"Ann Coulter, the outspoken conservative writer, has been forced to keep her mouth shut after she took a fall last month and sustained injuries that have required that her jaw be wired shut."

That may be the reason she wasn't involved in the campaign.

Maybe Rush Limbaugh will lend her some of his pain killers.

Awwwwwwwww come on now. Honestly, after King George snuck into and went all gangsta in the White House in 2000...whatever. Let's not even talk about how some have been elected.

Nevertheless, he got elected!

So God does have a sense of humor after all...

Good news for Republicans.
GOP's Chambliss wins Ga. Senate runoff

I'm glad. I didn't want the Dems to get 60.

Now we just have to see what happens in Minnesota.

Dear God! Jeb Bush is running for Senate in 2010. The Bushes
are like monsters in a bad movie...they keep coming back!

Bushes against Clintons is like Jason vs. Freddy Kruger

Great comparison.

Kly,

I'll bet you have given some pretty colorful closing arguments.


TIS

If Jeb runs, he'll probably win. He was very popular in Florida.

Much like the Clintons.

I'm just so fucking sick of both of those families.

How about a constitutional emendment saying no Bushes or Clintons can hold public office for 100 years?

How about an amendement saying no bush for Bill Clinton for a hundred years?

That would kill good ol Bill.