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Dear ,
I recently had to take a twenty percent cut in pay to keep my primary job, yes I work two jobs to get by, something a lot of us are doing today. I had to do this to help the company I work for get through these hard economic times. It was not a choice I wanted to make but it is better than no job at all.
I propose that the President and all the members of Congress take a cut in pay to help the Country close the budget gap. A fifteen percent cut would save millions.
I am asking that you take this suggestion to the Congressional floor. It would be a popular move with the voters and show that the elected officials of our Government are willing to do their part as individuals to cut costs. Not just talk about it.
Sincerely
William A. Harmon
Sandwich Ma.
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Right On Bill. What you need is a bigger voice to get this challenge heard by Congress and the President.Call or e-mail El Rushbo and see if he can help you get a national movement going. If you could get him on board ,it could bombard Congress with Millions of voters calling and writing and watching and remembering come election day.
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That was next on my list of placesa to send this.
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What a colossal waste of time, sir.
Did you note the close of the stock market today? That "giant sucking sound" is trillions of dollars of American wealth disappearing. And the trend has accelerated dramatically since Obama's election. More than half the corporate "wealth" represented by the purchase of equity in American industry by investors, including anyone with a 401K or any retirement savings has disappeared, and the rest will soon follow. Take all of the money every elected government official has made the last 20 years, refund every penny, and it comes no where close to paying off the debt. Your Social Security has been mortgaged many times over. The current government is desperate to raise capital any way it can, as soon as it can.
The American economy is collapsing. The current administration doesn't care -- one must conclude, in fact, that they want this to happen. Don't you understand that the Socialist revolution has occurred? The banks and major American industries are being nationalized. America's wealth is being confiscated, both by tax policy and political policy. It is a done deal. Do you know that the Chinese Communists tax businesses and capital gains far less than the USA? Did you know that the debt service on the interest on America's deficits will soon exceed the GDP? Our paper dollars will soon be worthless, The government is printing dollars as fast as they can, and no one is buying America's debt. America, dear friends, is bankrupt. Your investments, unless they are hard assets (gold, precious metals, guns, bullets) or unless they have been moved off shore and invested in some other currency than the US dollar, stand a very good chance of being worthless within the next few months. Almost all of us are going to take a big pay cut, and guess what? It won't make any difference.
Have a nice day.
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I don't agree. This is the type of stuff I am tired of hearing. It is this doomsday attitude that is killing this country.
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No, sir. It is Obama and liberal Democrats with a Socialist agenda that are killing the country. And the worst is yet to come. Have a nice day there on Cape Cod. The rest of the country is tanking. By the way, thanks so much for giving us Barney Frank and the other criminals that brought down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Barney is a real peace of work. Bet you voted for him, too. And you may be tired of hearing it. Good. You are going to hear a whole lot more of it.
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Those banks killed themselves by lending money to people who never should of had it in the first place. Speculators driving up the price of fuel didn't help either. Ceo's of failing companis making millions and walking away is criminal.
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edited: name calling is not allowed. Please keep all conversations civil and polite. Bill
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Gee thanks. Nice coming from a moderator.I guess we will have to agree to disagree.
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Welcome.
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Yes this may be a huge waste of time as one of our members pointed out. I really don't care. I am just a working guy trying to survive. If it makes me feel better to write and send this stuff to the government so be it. We may be going down the tubes and I hope to hell not but I will have to wait and see.
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Bill:
The banks didn't do this to themselves. The Community Development Act was the primary culprit. And GM, Chrysler and Caterpillar didn't do this to themselves. The labor unions brought them down. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bundled worthless loans as "derivatives" which seemed to be backed by the US government and taxpayers and then dumped them on banks and financial institutions. And as for the bail out, the banks and financial institutions not given the option to decline the bail out money -- some were forced to take the bailout funds (ref: Well's Fargo). The very top of your list of corporate banking crooks, the one who made the most profit, "bonuses" for making more subprime loans was Franklin Raines. He, by the way, after making hundreds of millions at Fannie Mae (or was it Freddie Mac?), now serves on Obama's cabinet.
The way all this goes is that government regulates private enterprise to the point that private enterprise can no longer function in a free market economy, precipitating a "crisis". The the government steps in with more regulations in order to save us from the very crisis government created. If you think Corporate America and speculators were the culprits here, then you are sadly misinformed. What the banks did was required by law, else they risked federal prosecution for not making a certain percentage of such sub-prime loans. And speculation is not illegal. But you should ask yourself why, a month before the election, gasoline mysteriously shot up to $4 a gallon serving as the catalyst to precipitate much of this? Who benefited?
Yes, CEO's make millions and wall away -- and you may consider that criminal. But it was millions the corporations earned and paid taxes on, in most cases. But politicians are walking away with far more of America's wealth -- squandering it in financially ruinous social policy and welfare entitlements. They get rich, get re-elected, and in most cases, retire on the tax payer's backs without ever having to answer for the consequences of those policies which in many cases become manifest many years later (for example, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton with their Community Development Act).
The dollar will almost certainly suffer from run away inflation (I've seen it before under Carter), except this time, the deficits are so deep, I fear the hole is dug so deep we won't get back out. And when the debt service on the interest from the deficit exceeds the GDP and passes the point of any hope that American taxpayers can make good on our government's spending, then the dollar must (and will) fail, and an new national (or international) currency will emerge. Economic war has been declared on America and on free market capitalism. And you may not want to hear it. You may not think it possible. But if you don't, then you have a very short view of history. Have you seen much stimulus yet from the $1.2 trillion already thrown at the problem? Watch what the DJIA does every time Obama opens his mouth. America's corporate wealth is being vilified and destroyed in the name of economic class warfare, and we will all, unfortunately, pay the price.
So yes, in short, if you blame Corporate America and private banking and financial institutions -- in short, blame "Wall Street" for this mess, then in my opinion, that is a manifestation of idiocy and is the stuff socialist revolutions thrive on.
Pardon me if I speak bluntly. I believe it is long past time to have been doing so. If you are educated (and living in Cape Cod, I suspect you are) then you should read some Frederich Hayek (The Constitution of Liberty, The Road to Serfdom, The Fatal Conceit) and Thomas Sowell's new book (Applied Economics - Thinking Beyond Stage 1).
Have a nice day.
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Thanks for the info. You may have a small misconception about where I live. I am just a working man trying to keep food on the table for my family. No College degree just some work ethic and common sense. Unfortunately economics is not my stong point. Yes we do have some rich people here. With houses like yours. I saw it in your shooting bench pictures. Nice job by the way and thank you for shopping at Lowe's They are my second job.But most of here are just middle class and lower. Me I don't know what class I am seems to change from day to day. I unfortunately are like the rest of America along for the ride and it is going to suck. But for now I amuse myself with things like e mailing the government.
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billharmon2 - 3/6/2009 12:33 AM Thanks for the info. You may have a small misconception about where I live. I am just a working man trying to keep food on the table for my family. No College degree just some work ethic and common sense. Unfortunately economics is not my stong point. Yes we do have some rich people here. With houses like yours. I saw it in your shooting bench pictures. Nice job by the way and thank you for shopping at Lowe's They are my second job.But most of here are just middle class and lower. Me I don't know what class I am seems to change from day to day. I unfortunately are like the rest of America along for the ride and it is going to suck. But for now I amuse myself with things like e mailing the government.
Bill, my friend, the problem is that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and their respective banking committees decided that subprime lending was a good idea because it put more people in homes. The problem was that they also decided that it was good to encourage Fannie and Freddie to make loans to people who could not make a down payment, and even to people who had no job.
So, Freddie and Fannie, who paid Barney and Chris big bucks in the form of campaign finance contributions AND home loans, did exactly that. They made bad loans to high risk people who would not be able to pay it back BECAUSE they could bundle those loans into "mortgage backed securitites" and sell them to companies like AIG, BoFA, etc... etc... So Fanny and Freddie liked being told to make risky loans because they could make more money that way and pass the risk on to other banks... AND THEN the people on Wall Street who are responsible for actually rating the quality of a security decided to sell out as well and they rated these risky securities higher than they should have... again because money talks in a greedy world.
The end result is that people ALL OVER THE WORLD bought these bad "mortgage backed securities" and now people ALL OVER THE WORLD are realizing that the American banking system LIED to them.
Thanks Barney and Chris, you lied to us, we lied to them, now we are universally hated AND in a financial mess that I expect Barney, and Chris will decide to investigate with all their might. Why isn't that comforting?
But it gets better, Barack has decided that bailing out these bad loans is the right thing to do. Mind you it was Bush who decided to do that first, AND THEN DID NOT DO IT. Sadly, bailing out these bad mortgages is not the right thing to do. Never making them was the right thing to do, but WE the people did not stand up and give notice to congress when we had the chance, and sadly it is men like you who will suffer.
Bill, we will all suffer. Our government is corrupt. There is not a hill of beans of difference between Republicans and Democrats, they are all crooked, corrupted, thieving, lying bastards. There are 8500 ear marks in the new budget. Forty percent of them are Republican. There are no honest men in congress.
WHY CANT WE GET SOME TERM LIMITS ON THESE BASTARDS?
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TCups - 3/6/2009 12:14 AM Bill: So yes, in short, if you blame Corporate America and private banking and financial institutions -- in short, blame "Wall Street" for this mess, then in my opinion, that is a manifestation of idiocy and is the stuff socialist revolutions thrive on.
I think you need to consider the function of greed in this equation. We know, for example that Fannie and Freddie welcomed deregulation AND enjoyed the encouragement on the part of government to make risky loans. That did not have to be, yet it was. This was because they were greedy for higher profits and so they wanted the government to tell them to make those risky loans and the evidence can be found in the campaign contributions and sweet heart loans they were making to those who were telling them what they wanted to hear. So, yes, Bill is as right as you are, "They did it to themselves." I'll add to that, "with the help they paid for."
We are where we are today because many thousands of Americans decided to take loans they were not qualified to take to get homes they were not prepared to pay for and which they hoped to "flip" in a year or two. We are here today because of the failure of the moral compass of this country, why else would we elect the jack asses we have elected? Why else would we allow them to continue in office?
As a people, we have failed our responsibility to participate in our own government.
When was the last time you called your congress critter? If it has been more than a few days, it has been too long.
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Tommy is right......... Open your eyes folks and look around. It does not take a degree in economics to see what is happening.. We are going into what my folks had to endure. DEPRESSION But we will never recover.
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I am surprised that no one has laid any blame on Greenspan. By keeping rates low and ballooning the money supply greenspan fueled l the problems. A reasonable rate of return could have helped to increase savings and decrease speculation. The biggest problems were generated by loaning money for second mortages to fund the down payment. When I found out that home buyers had no equity in the home, I told my wife this can't last. I said people can just walk away from their mortgages. Municipalities reveled in the free money and made no contingent plans for the possibility of reduced receipts if the housing bubble broke. With respect to earmarks Obama campaigned on the issue of cutting them out. What is even worse about earmarks is the fact that MO senator does not support them so the state gets back nothing from her. Then again she kept losing but running for a higher office the next time and got lucky to be elected a senator. BTW if your area has laws causing excessive testing for lead she authored it. Second hand stores have closed here as a result. Funny thing is that we never let our kids eat their clothes or their bicycles etc. Make nomistake this was a world wide bubble and the problems and solutions are worldwide. For me the honeymoon ended on election day. I had hoped that if he were only half as bad as i expected we could survive. He has exceeded my expectations by far. I could go on an on but the real answer is there is a congressional election in 2010 if we can survive that long. TERM LIMITS EXIST--THEY ARE CALLED THE BALLOT BOX.
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This is from Congressman Franks website.
Claims that the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) forces banks to lend to unqualified minorities and low-income borrowers and is therefore a major cause of the mortgage crisis are contradicted by facts. CRA does not require banks to make loans to risky borrowers, it only encourages them to serve their communities and qualified low-income borrowers, consistent with safety and soundness. In fact, the great percentage of troubled, subprime loans (85%) were made by lenders who are not subject to CRA and who have no federal obligation to make loans to low or moderate-income or minority borrowers. Default rates on loans by CRA lenders are much lower than default rates on subprime loans, and are comparable to prime loans. Studies by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve have shown that CRA has actually increased the volume of responsible lending to low and moderate income borrowers without negatively impacting the safety and soundness of financial institutions
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What would you expect a government study to show?
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Take it for what it is worth but it is fact.
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Worthless.
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Read this and form your own conclusion. I am not saying it is right or wrong or that I support it. But I did ind it interesting.
http://www.house.gov/frank/economiccrisis101108.html
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With all due respect I can only assume that when you post it it reflects who you are and you beliefs. Remembet the old saying "you can't believe what you read in the newpaper?" Well the internet is worse. Of course I am participating in it but it has become more of a self defense issue. Everyone is now an expert with a generally unfounded opinion who if he or she takes the time can find something to support their opinion. However, I suggest most people don't do their homework-internetwork.
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I don't get what you are implying about me. I posted it as information. It does not reflect my views on anything about the economy.
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Bill,
It is *NOT* fact. It is a statement from Barney Frank's web site. It may or may not be true. As we have seen elsewhere, Barney Frank can not be trusted to tell the truth in all cases.
How do you feel about that fact?
Mike
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I am not supporting him. But most of what is said in there can be verified. I posted it simply for informational puposes.
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The Biggest Problems were caused by ...
This is where everyone wants to fill in the blank in their own way. This is MY way.
Greed.
Greed.
Greed.
Anyone who does not get that, will never get to the bottom of this problem.
We had thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people who took a subprime adjustable rate mortage to buy a house they intended to resell in a year or two for profit. We had banks that wanted them to take the loans. We had congressmen who encouraged it because it meant that EVERYONE was entitled to a home. Everyone won, in the short term.
Sure Greenspan was an idiot, but do you remember how many people fell at his feet, kissed his ass and pretended he was the Christ risen? Guess what, that is what some are doing with Obama. Trust me, that is equally stupid.
Greed. This is about GREED. This is about Americans of ALL STRIPES, wanting MORE.
This happened because we thought we could make more money. We thought we could turn a profit.
GREED, pure simple GREED
... and yes Barney Frank and Chris Dodd had their hands in it in a MAJOR way ...
... so did Fannie and Freddie ...
... so did a lot of plain old citizens ...
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Profit isn't the same as greed
Wealth isn't the same as dishonesty
Hard work, thrift, and productivity are good. Accumulation of wealth and human capital are good and can be put to good and noble uses, independent of the government telling us how our wealth must be "redistributed". Independence and wealth -- the pursuit of happiness, if you will -- is the American Dream. It is freedom in action.
Please read Thomas Sowell or Fredrisch Hayek if you wish to come to grips with the basic principles of free market capitalism and its dismal alternatives. If both the means of production and the accumulation of wealth are to be strictly regulated by any government, then the people are enslaved. We have been screwed and our future generations have been sold into financial taxation slavery. The current tax and spend entitlements are heavier chains than ever forged in the furnaces of Hell. But don't worry! Master Obama and the Democratic government will protect us from the excesses of greedy capitalists, and from global climate change, etc.
By the way, has anyone done the arithmetic? I wonder -- for each 1,000 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, how many thousand Americans become unemployed? 8X? 10X? but never mind -- don't worry. Those greedy, rich bastards are getting what they deserve! No more corporate jets. No more resort conferences. No more executive bonuses. And the welfare state will be there to pick up what is left over after the deluge. Who better than Obama and Frank and Pelosi and Reed to decide what is "fair" and appropriate for working, tax-paying Americans?
So fear not, Obama will take care of us! We are entitled to nothing less! Socialism. Idiocy. Reality. We have done this to ourselves. No need to point the finger of blame at any one else. Elections have consequences. Sorry, kids. Enjoy the ride and have a nice day.
God help us, please. Amen.
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Yes we are in trouble. We are stuck with the government we have for now. All the more reason for everyone here to get on the phone, use your computer or just a pen and papaer and let your congressman and the president know how you feel. Don't sit idle do something. Yes some of you may think it is a waste of time but at least you are doing something.
Every E-mail address you need is right here.
http://www.us.gov
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Who iscontrolling your mind?
The sheeple controllers with their'newspeak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four)'driven "Politically correct"propaganda?
What do you suppose could be more dangerous than Nazis?
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Elected"puppet" smoke and mirror performers?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MouUJNG8f2k (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MouUJNG8f2k)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KJCMWcoms (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KJCMWcoms)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0864LqVqKCU (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0864LqVqKCU)
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Those thatthey're commanding?
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http://www.apfn.org/apfn/okc_coverup.htm (http://"http://www.apfn.org/apfn/okc_coverup.htm)
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147&hl=en (http://"http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147&hl=en)
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http://www.serendipity.li/waco.html (http://"http://www.serendipity.li/waco.html)
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Awesome consequences . . .
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3898216904060714451 (http://"http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3898216904060714451)
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4069761537893819675&p (http://"http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4069761537893819675&p) `
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173&ei=kRCuSNXvAoyqiwLzk_W4BA&q=freedom+to+fascism&hl=en (http://"http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173&ei=kRCuSNXvAoyqiwLzk_W4BA&q=freedom+to+fascism&hl=en)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5z9lD4C2Io (http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5z9lD4C2Io)
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The N.I.N.J.A. (http://"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Income_No_Asset) just love that type ofthinking . . .
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Well if you have a better idea of what to do. Let us know.
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Imprison those criminal theiveselite!
{F. Raines, B. Frank, M. Waters, B. Obama, J. Biden ~ etc}
Seize ALL assets and return them to whom they're stolen from!
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Samegoes for theFed reserve,IMF, World Bank criminal theives elite!
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Next up arethe 'market manipulators' as well as the war criminal elite and the 'Enron' style pension robber elites!
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Unless 'we the people' DEMAND justice against these criminal elite economy / sheeplecontrollers, they'll just keep up 'business as usual' until we find ourselves in a 'camp' designed for'terrorist' undesirables . . .
(http://www.amoredallinferno.it/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/dachau-arbeit-macht-frei.jpg)
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or worse . . .
(http://www.apfn.org/APFN/waco3.jpg)
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Well, you might as well just get out your thirty thirty and head for Washington, 3noon.
My father, upon his return from Viet Nam in 1969 said, "The only way we are going to get the crooks out of Washington is to shoot them out."
So dude, I guess he left that to you.
TCups, as for my comments on greed, nobody, least of all myself, believes that wise business practices are a good thing. However when wise business practices yield to corrupt politicians, and equally corrupt business men in the name of profit, then we call that GREED.
There has been a lot of greed in this game.
Evidence, well 9000 ear marks, and half of them from "conservatives". I think that explains things well enough.
There are NO honest men in Washington.
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30-30 oughta work like a charm . . .
(http://www.geocities.com/starlake01/COPZ.jpg)
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