It is highly likely that distant historians will look
back at
these troubled times as a "golden age", the one before a potential
storm of calamities descended on our nations. As the "not if but when"
clock ticks away we can see (if we choose to look) a potential slew of
coming assaults near the horizon. Many have seen various anxiety
provoking reports which have been shunted off into our subconscious.
Too many day-to-day worries to deal with. But the prepared won't be as
shocked if one or more of the following occur:
(1) We are all aware that nuclear war was averted because the few
nations that had the capability also had control of their atomic
weapons. We are also aware that the number of nuclear weapon making
countries is expanding and includes at least one rogue state with more
to come. We know that terrorists want at least one nuclear bomb to use
and that North Korea et. al. will want the sales income as long as it
can't be traced back to them. We also know that world organizations
won't act together to forestall such a transaction or use. Then there
are the "loose" nukes that are unaccounted for....
If and when such a bomb goes off the damage won't be confined to the
specific location. It will send shock waves around the world. There
will be the fallout plume to consider. Financial markets will oscillate
around the globe and that insecurity will cause a market contraction.
Retaliation will be expected but the perps may be hard to identify. One
detonation would likely lead to a military response which could quickly
draw in other nations. Urban residents might think they will be next
and panics would ensue. The cost to relieve and rebuild would be
humongous and much of the advanced world is in precarious financial
shape. Billions of people would be emotionally afflicted.
(2)But there is another type of warfare that is growing in
likelihood--cyber warfare. As Richard E. Clark and Robert K. Knake
point out in Cyber War,
the U.S. is most vulnerable to attack by hackers, acting alone or for a
government or terrorist organization. Our private sector has
consistently resisted regulation that would require their electronic
systems to "harden" against attack. The authors contend that we quickly
need to install a deep packet inspection system for Tier 1 ISP's and
isolate electric power and grid communication systems detached from the
Internet. Hear all the popular uproar for even these basic precautions?
However, until we get serious about protecting ourselves from cyber
attack we may not even have a viable military threat to counter foreign
or even domestic demands. It is even less likely that we will be able
to trace the attack source and counter it effectively without drawing
in innocent bystanders, who will want revenge. You can see where this
might all go. The darkness and chaos may come sooner than anyone
thinks.
(3)Scientists can't predict when but they are sure a major
earthquake(s) will hit the U.S. west coast this century. The loss of
lives and damage will affect the whole country. This won't be some
villages in Chile. This won't be some Gulf oil spill. This will dwarf
those disasters combined. Fortunately, this assault will be limited in
scope. But it might pile on to some other hit.
(4)Such as a meteor strike. These are very rare occurrences these days
but as time marches on the odds increase. Anything sizable striking
earth could end life as we know it.
(5)But let's put that one aside for now. Much more likely are 2 man
made calamities.
We are warming the planet. Weather systems are becoming increasingly
unstable. Summers will get hotter and torrential rains and flooding
will be more frequent. Sea levels are rising which will force
populations away from coasts in massive numbers. Where will they go?
Drinkable water sources are drying up and will force people away from
America's Southwest. This is a slow moving disaster and there would be
time to avert the worst damage if we in America had an efficaciously
functioning government and an informed, cohesive citizenry. We have
neither and no positive change is in sight.
(6)And relatedly; as it warms and populations increase it becomes
evermore likely that some form of plague(s) breaks out. Air and water
borne chemical pollutants are likely to combine with overcrowding and
inadequate sanitation to reduce immune systems which will be unable to
cope with an air (or water) transmitted, delayed symptomatic
disease(s). Global air travel could spread this mutation pandemicly,
well before any antidotes or relief can be discovered and generated.
(7)Finally, but not necessarily exhaustively, financial collapse could
be related to any of these misfortunes, or it could occur by itself.
America has been in an untenable situation for some time. We have
covered up our maldistribution of income and wealth with financial
bubbles and middle class borrowing until there is nothing left but a
dangerous debt load and the prospect of depression up ahead. Big
business controls the government and acts in its own short term
interest, not in the interest of the country or the world. This has
been touched on in previous editorials. Suffice to reiterate here,
until we take from those who have too much to refortify our middle
class, any assaults will be compounded by our misplaced financial
priorities.
So enjoy it while you can; it could be worse.
August 18, 2010
JBM
Cyber War
Richard A. Clark & Robert K. Knake
2010
Well, here's something else to worry about. Clark and
Knake make
a convincing case that America is most vulnerable to cyber attack, not
only from a country that wants to weaken us without being distinctly
identified but by criminal hackers or some terrorist organization. In a
nutshell, we have way too much computer code accessibility in the
civilian sector and hackers could shut down our power grids, bolix our
aircraft, disrupt train routing, cripple hospital organization and/or
blow up chemical plants and so on. Imagine what any extended blackout
would do to the residents of an afflicted region. Imagine no air
conditioning or pumped water in the South during a heat wave.
"Logic bombs" have probably been already planted in key positions,
ready to go off for any number of reasons. "Trap doors" for access to
computer codes in the future lie in wait. Even our military hardware
could be screwed up and reduced in capability. And an attack could
easily provoke an unspecifically targeted response which could escalate
quickly into a major conventional, multinational war--with nuclear
weapons. This is dangerous stuff.
No other country is more dependent on open Internet communication for
its vital functions. Long overdue regulation to "harden" against
penetration has been successfully resisted by corporations who don't
want to spend the money for security. Our congressmen take their bribes
and comply, even though their inaction weakens our national defense.
Given that such defense and trackdown of cyber worriers and criminals
is so difficult and the cyber "arms" race (offensive and defensive) so
intense, it is not difficult to understand why so much secrecy is
involved. And given that relatively little military buildup is
necessary to hurt any adversary, even developing nations can render a
superpower impotent. Unless a respectable defensive system is in place
we have to be cautious with our foreign policy even if that is
detrimental.
The authors list 5 aspects of any cyber conflict: it is real, it can be
instantaneous, it is global, it skips the battlefield and it has
already begun. They go on to assert that we are disorganized, with too
many agencies rather than one Cyber Defense Administration directed
directly by the president. After all, if we are going to plant logic
bombs, which is considered a hostile act but perhaps a necessary aspect
of defense, the top man should be responsible.
The 1st 3 goals should be "deep packet inspection of Tier 1 ISPs,
disconnecting power grid operations from the Internet with only special
access and DoD security upgrades. Some of this will cause concern about
legitimate accessibility and maintaining privacy. Those objections may
have to be compromised.
The authors go through a hypothetical war game with China, a likely
enemy who is already involved in intellectual property espionage, and
they discuss some international cooperation agreement possibilities to
hold countries accountable for their hackers and provide expertise in
proper attribution, defense and repair work.
This book is loaded with information which will be new to many and it
is a subject we should all be aware of. Clark and Knake deserve our
gratitude for this work. Incidently, the PBS News Hour did a 3
part segment (11-13/8) on cyber assault.
August 18, 2010
JBM
As America's problems continue to get worse, even our
mid-term
elections become vitally important in the face of runaway partisan
conflict. And the centerpiece issue for this November's campaigning and
outcomes (barring some unforseen disaster) will be our high
unemployment numbers and their relationship to the national deficits
and debt. So let's clarify for those paying insufficient attention.
Unemployment figures aren't
coming down anytime soon.
Ignore the Obama administration's optimism. The numbers are now
structural in nature, an outcome of globalization and subversive
political and counterproductive economic policies over the last
decades.
When capital and transport can move around the globe quickly and
cheaply due to technological advances, businesses will travel to where
they can minimize labor costs thereby maximizing profits. There will
continue to be a gravitational pull towards leveling wages between
relatively backward and advanced nations. Dictatorships, and those
countries with mercantile policies in the developing world, will keep
the wages of their workers artifically low in order to maximize
exports. The American government will not be able to force these
nations to raise their workers wages. [We could close our borders to
imports (or institute tariffs) but that would spark retaliation and
drive up prices, if we could get Americans to make those products at
all.] So our wages will be dragged down towards or below poverty or we
will export those jobs, except where we have a technology lead or where
they are proximity dependent. Patches, such as the Earned Income Tax
Credit and tax writoffs for hiring will only desguise the overall
decline from the halcyon days after WW II when we controlled world
manufacturing and services.
Traveling under the radar for the most part is another structural
factor. In order to compete, American businesses are becoming evermore
productive (while others hire illegals at below poverty wages). This
means using technology to replace the most costly aspect of that
output; the employee. Robots don't need expensive medical insurance nor
retirement benefits. And they don't need coffee breaks. The recession
has just sharpened the impetus to invest in worker reducing technology
rather than rehire.
And add in the substandard educational system in our country. We not
only don't graduate a quarter of our high school students, we have
virtually no vocational acadamies to produce recognized, up-to-date
technical workers. On top of that, shriviling the course load down to
math and English isn't preparing students for living in the modern
world.
The outcome has been a hollowing out of our middle class which over
borrowed for decades to keep up with relatively declining incomes. Now
that the housing bubble has burst the inevitable scale back in consumer
spending, which has propped up our economy for decades, is under way.
That reduced demand is the primary reason that business isn't
expanding. Forget the Republican intentionally misleading nonsense that
big business is holding on to its money because of enonomic and
regulation "uncertainty". Business doesn't see increased sales in the
near future so why should it expand? But keep in mind that Republicans
are doing virtually all they can to minimize any job expansion that
might occur due to government stimulus, including bank lending to small
business.
Keeping the Bush tax cuts, which are about to expire, is paramount for
the right even though it comprises much (30% according to Fareed
Zakaria) of the deficits and debt they say they want to reduce. Ample
evidence refutes their lies about tax cuts being self financing,
especially compared to targeted jobs bills. It is clear that
Republicans want a soft, cheap labor market for the benefit of business
profits, continuing the upward redistribution of income and wealth that
has transpired since the Reagan presidency.
However, they are right about tax hikes accelerating the downward
spiral towards depression. While other taxes, such as a financial
transaction tax (to reduce speculation) and gasoline tax increases (to
encourage more fuel efficient car sales) would be beneficial, they
would have to be off-set with targeted stimulus outlays to rebuild our
infrastructure, especially in the energy production and transmission,
conservation and transportation fields. Such expenditures, closely
monitored, sans pork, would begin to reshape our economy
constructively. The private sector would benefit enormusly from more
efficient energy, communication, transportation infrastructure and
climate stability. We badly need a better consumption-investment
balance. Tax cuts won't do that.
It should be clear, to anyone paying any attention at all to the
overall picture, that the Republican/Conservative/Tea Partiers are
rabidly detrimantal to out nation's health. Dems are better but not by
nearly enough--but they are better, And maybe they would get even
better if right wing obstruction was removed from congress. Do your
part.
August 5, 2010
JBM
Financial Shock
Mark Zandi
revised 2009
This updated edition concentrates on the housing bubble
and burst
and the financial meltdown near the end of the GW Bush administration.
It touches on our previous recessions and the part banking played in
them. It includes definitions of various financial instruments, gives
details about the sub-prime mortgages and securitization that led to
the loss of trust throughout the lending system and the ultimate
freeze-up of bank lending. The disdain for adequate regulation,
generated by Republican led antigovernment philosophy and policies, is
explained. Several books have been written about our financial mess but
this one notably presents a clear exposition for the general reader.
That is its best quality.
Part of that clarity stems from the chronological layout; how the
housing boom was created (in part by Fed chairman Greenspan's dropping
interest rates too far too long) after the dot com bust and 9/11, how
the complexity of financial instruments in the ignored "shadow" banking
industry escaped regulation and how the overleveraged system began to
unravel. Too much money was made in the boom upsweep to generate
adequate concern.
"Everyone" expected that housing prices would never fall back, at worst
they would level off some day. Until then, mortgages which would reset
interest rates in a couple of years could be refinanced from added
equity in the property. CMO and CDO (Collateralized Debt
Obligations--the general term for packaged loans) were touted by
collusive rating agencies as sound investments when they weren't. As
the "toxic waste", the most risky tranches, often bought up by hedge
funds looking for maximum returns in a cut throat business, piled up,
skittish banks stopped lending even to other banks.
Bush, in a stunning reversal of agenda, proposed, through Treasury
Secretary Paulson, that the taxpayers provide a $700b bailout and since
then we have seen a succession of government infusions into the
financial system, in effect nationalizing parts (think insurer of these
deals, AIG) and even buying up GM which was caught up in the down turn.
With the Federal guarantees thrown in, more than $2t have been pumped
into the economy and there will be much more to come and Zandi believes
that much more should come even while he recognizes that the U.S.
government is putting its financial credibility at risk.
At the end, Zandi offers 10 prescriptions to avoid a replay of this
disaster in the future. Some are a bit technical but they are aimed to
open up, examine and regulate the new world of global finance and
manipulation. Countrywide regulation of foreclosure proceedings bears
directly on housing. Finally, generating financial literacy offers the
most sound solution to market investing. Many didn't even know the
essentials of the mortgages they took out. We all need to be more
knowledgeable about finances.
June 6, 2009
JBM
Observers, looking down the road, could see the
portents of the
Friedan-Steinam led feminist revolution of the 1960's. Women wanted
equality (in all beneficial areas) while retaining the advantages of
sexual attraction and exclusive rights to reproduction. As the cover
story in the July/August issue of The Atlantic magazine
indicates, that time has about come. As author Hanna Rosen describes,
women are dominating society as never before. We have known that in
modern, stable societies women outlive men. Now, in post industrial
societies, education trumps physical attributes and females are not
only doing better in public schools but are approaching 60% of the
college attendees. Better educated women have been moving up the ladder
from secretary to middle management and now to senior management
positions. And with that economic power, increased as male oriented,
union production jobs have been devastated by the recession (and
offshored for decades), women have increasingly become independent,
including when it comes to the children they choose to have. Men are
being marginalized.
The process is working its way up the social strata. America's senior
management and professional class may not be too concerned yet but the
changeover is bubbling up from the working class towards them. That is
when the full perception will be consensually apparent.
This has never happened before on any kind of scale we may soon see.
The human species has not only survived but has thrived until it has
taken over the planet. Through natural selection it has developed
adaptive capabilities to deal with competitors (e.g. hunting instead of
being prey) and environmental changes but one relationship has remained
constant--women have needed men to protect and provide, especially when
they were vulnerable during pregnancy. They sought out the good men and
traded sex for safety and wherewithal. This mutual insufficiency bound
couples, and extended families into tribes, into nations and into the
global world man dominates today. As women become self sufficient,
aside from an occasional boy-toy fling (perhaps for pregnancy purposes)
less desirable males will find it harder and harder to attract a mate,
especially for a term long enough to fulfill his fatherhood role. Two
related dynamics have been continuous: males leave occupations that
women advance to and women still want men they can look up to. They
will find such men increasingly harder to find in the work place.
Women, less violently oriented, have always civilized males, especially
the ones that didn't have much going for them. Heads of households felt
important. They were needed. However, these males will become
increasingly detached, they will be loose cannons. Unable to fill any
positive, admired role in society, they will likely drift into
destructive roles, to instill fear, for power purposes, if nothing
else. Rosen sounds a note of concern over this potentiality.
Katha Pollitt ( The Nation,12/July)
takes on Rosen's contentions, noting that women still earn less than
men, many women still want to be stay at home moms (but can they be as
male jobs pay less?) and males can constructively adjust. That last
point seems iffy at best. We are dealing with subterranean
psychological forces here. And given the coming disruptions due to
technological change and environmental factors, this sea change in
gender roles will like get less rational attention than it deserves as
its indirect consequences might be the greatest of all.
July 20, 2010
JBM
Garbage Land
Elizabeth Royte
2005
and
Good Genes Gone Bad
Pete Myers
The American Prospect
April 2006
Ms. Royte sorts through her Brooklyn N.Y. garbage,
weighs it,
categorizes it and then set out to find its ultimate disposition, and
the stops it makes along the way. She makes the rounds with her "san"
men, tours the various way stations where waste is accumulated,
consolidated and shipped, visits various recycling plants and trudges
around NY's sewer system and drives out to landfills, including the one
in Pennsylvania where her personal garbage is destined to end up. She
talks to various managers of the public and private entities involved
as well as concerned citizens doing what they can to reduce our toxic
effluent.
Almost everything she learns is disheartening if not depressing. It is
prohibitively expensive and complicated to fully recycle the humongous
amount America's municipal solid waste (MSW) (worse than other
countries), but that category amounts to only 2% of all waste Americans
turn out. The rest comes from the waste (industrial, mining and
agricultural) involved in making the products we eventually throw out!
Electronic trash is one of the fastest growing along with virtually
impossible to safely decompose plastics (for example: "...the
production of plastics emits the toxins trichloroethane, acetone,
methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ketone, styrene, toluene, and
...trichloroethane,...sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides, methanol, ethylene
oxide, and volatile organic compounds.". Glass isn't effectively
recycled. Sewage sludge, shipped out to farmlands, is laden with heavy
metals and/or other toxics which are taken up in plants, animals and
us. Burning our garbage spreads a film of toxics on our land and water
and contributes to respiratory diseases.
All of this is eventually going to catch up with us with those closest
to the downstream getting hurt first and worst. The minute poisons will
(arguably already are) produce diseases and genetic abnormalities which
will be hard to decipher and harder to overcome. At the end of the book
Royte walks a polluted beach off Brooklyn's shore and realizes that
beach cleanup campaigns just shift responsibility. In the end producers
must be responsible for the disposal of their products and Americans
need to buy less.
Two faults to find: Aside from a sojourn to San Francisco, this is all
about NYC's problem. What about the rest of the country? More
importantly, there are no maps nor photos to help the reader visualize
and thereby impress. The tale is very personal but some readers will
probably find that beneficial.
The Myers 4 page article ties in nicely as it discusses the gene
hijacking that can take place at almost imperceptible levels when we
are exposed to chemicals. The fetus is particularly vulnerable.
Weakened genes allow for future diseases. Myers cites the Bisphenol A
in our systems which is linked to low sperm count and cancers and
degenerative diseases. This is another of the coming legacies from our
generation. One should always keep this understanding in mind.
1/May/2006
JBM
The decision by LeBron James to play basketball for the
Miami Heat
for the next 5 years has already had negative consequences and will
have more, near and long term, to come. Not only has the city of
Cleveland been hurt, economically and spiritually, but the National
Basketball Association, its fans and even James' reputation is going to
suffer as a result.
To start, the hour long, hubristic announcement extravaganza on ESPN
has been seen by many as the opposite of appropriate humility when
delivering bad news to at least 3 cities who were given reason to
believe that they had a chance of signing him. The owner and fans of
Cleveland were incensed, perhaps overly so, but casual followers of the
game across the nation were left with the impression that he was, after
all, just another mercenary athlete looking out for number one and only
number one.
James' given reason, all along, was his desire to win championships;
the ultimate objective, left unstated, was to solidify his stature as
one of the greatest players of all times. James took less contractual
money than Cleveland offered to chase that rainbow but he had way more
money than he would ever need already. The image damage, one of selfish
aggrandizement rather than loyalty and support for his home region,
will not be recoverable in the minds of many otherwise fans.
And although some seem confident of future championships for the
Heat,
that prospect is by no means assured. The goal was apparently to team
up with stars Dwayne Wayde and Cris Bosh who James feels compatible
with. However, there is only one ball to shoot, one assist to make per
offensive trip and each player will have to defer to the others,
diminishing their exercised abilities. This sacrifice may well cause
frictions not only between them but with other players hired around
them to caddie their talents. The expectations will be sky high and
even meeting them (after all you can't win more than expected
championships) will not be as rewarding or as glorifying as exceeding
expectations which might have happened if James had played with one
star (as Jordan did with Pippin) or with a group of quality role
players such as the Cavaliers had last season. And as of right
now, Miami has no answer to the twin towers of the Lakers and
little money to get one.
And although some will be attracted to a 3 star lineup, competitive
interest has been sacrificed. Exciting games between several teams with
one or two stars and/or quality roll players will now exclude Miami
which will be expected to easily win over less star studded opponents.
The diminished equality will reduce anticipation, excitement and
attendance as well as additional sales revenues.
The city of Cleveland will be hurt, but as one commentator stated, "At
least he isn't moving to China". Miami will gain income. And fans in
Cleveland will find other places to spend their money locally,
offsetting some of the losses around the arena. And the Cavaliers
owner may build a competitive team to challenge the Heat.
But one has to wonder what America has come to when one athlete can
command so much obsequiousness from civic and business leaders, as well
as attention from the media across the country. Why can't we rebuild
cities like Cleveland and Detroit by making things the world wants? Why
can't our trade policies invigorate rust belt manufacturing? Why is the
spirit of any city so dependent on the teams of players they field?
In our post industrial era we have forgotten what made the US the
leading country in the world. It hasn't been military might. It hasn't
been the entertainment (including sports) industry. It has been
building a better, more secure quality of life for most of its
citizens. It has been pride in a job well done, entrepreneurship, and
camaraderie with those worthy of the respect that comes with honesty,
integrity and sacrifice for the common good. That has been lost to
ignorance, greed, self indulgence, and celebrity. The James decision is
another shinning example of misplaced priorities. Another role model
has fallen.
July 10, 2010
JBM
The Gringo's Hawk
"Jon Maranon"
2001
Ever wonder about Costa Rica? The central American
country that
was a relatively unspoiled tropical paradise? No army, no civil wars,
untamed natural settings and wild species? No over population and cheap
living costs?
The author had an early interest in biology but couldn't take the
formal college classes necessary for professional training and in his
sophomore year opted for field trip credit to the southern Pacific
coast of that country. Having insufficient interest in pursuing regular
courses after that and with little else better to do he used savings
and family help to buy an acreage there and started a herd of cattle on
pasture formed from over cut forrest. Gradually he expanded his
holdings at "Cantarana", west of San Cristobal. Maranon (or whatever
his real name is) describes his elations and sorrows in managing the
wild life, peasants who worked for him and the economies of various
pursuits to break even.
All along he observed the degradation of the natural world there as
neighbors were convinced to try and grow export crops using pesticides
and fertilizers, which didn't work, and the decimation of native plants
and animals, including the hawk he finally shot because it was taking
chickens. A, or the, turning point came when after the loss of a close
friend he became attached to a woman (with 2 kids) who came to work for
him. After a 3 month solo trip around the southern hemisphere which
gave him more perspective, they married and had 3 daughters of their
own. This civilizing process resulted in his purchasing a place in San
Cristobal and becoming even more of an activist on behalf of the life
that was disappearing. Many more relationships developed as his
reputation spread.
Relative to more serious work, there is little "heavy lifting" in this
book. But unlike other autobiographies which leave us with nothing
useful, Maranon's insights from the perspective of the "Indian" or
native being besieged by developers, over population and corrupt,
enriched politicians is instructive. Those with no reverence for the
natural biosphere; those who overfished, who would destroy the reefs,
who kill the animals and cut the trees for quick profit, who litter and
promulgate hazards cultural waste have invaded and brought despair over
the last 30 years. It is little wonder that our natives turned to
alcohol when faced with similar circumstances.
American consumers give little thought to what they are doing to
peoples of the third world. We just want it all, good and cheap.
Maranon gave up bucking nature there and eventually planted native
trees and hardwoods for a small furniture business. The Trans Pacific
highway building project was still stalled at the end of the book and
the seedlings were growing back up around it. But the old days are
gone.
25/November/2002
JBM
President Obama has been in office for about a year and
a half
and it is about time to gear up for the mid-term election campaign so
this would be a good opportunity for a review of his administration,
prefaced by a question and answer sit down. It should go something like
this.....
"Welcome Mr. President. Let's start at the beginning and
review. Why didn't you force the big, failing banks to agree to the
regulations congress won't achieve as the price for the
bailout?.....Well if that wasn't acceptable then why didn't you just
federalize the recalcitrant banks and run them in competition with the
banks that cooperated--on a level playing field?.....Well Mr. President
yes a nationalized bank(s) would have the advantage of assured
collateral and minimal borrowing costs but the banks that are left,
which are now even bigger than the too-big-to-fail banks, have that
advantage over the rest of the banking system now. Is it all right only
if it pertains to the immensely lucrative private sector?.....All right
then, why haven't you come out for reducing the size of the biggest
banks which still threaten the system or for greater regulation of
derivatives and securitization?.....Here's an idea. How about proposing
to modify our income tax code to take back income from the top
"earners", including the Wall Streeters getting outrageous bonuses?"
"As you know, there is a lot of pressure on your administration to cut
back programs to hold deficits in check. And you know that doing so
will induce a double dip recession if not send us spiraling into a
depression. Why can't you bypass the big bank Federal reserve and just
create (not borrow) enough money to keep the slack economy
afloat?.....As long as demand doesn't exceed supply--no inflation.
No?.....There has been talk that your commission is looking at cutting
back Social Security benefits to help out. You do know that SS is not
part of the federal government fiscal problem don't you? That it is a
stand alone insurance program that is in pretty good shape.
Comments?..... Additionally, why hasn't your 4 star winner campaign
rhetoric translated into actual weatherization programs that should
have been well underway last summer? It would have meant hiring
semi-skilled workers, freed up owner and tenant heating money to spend
elsewhere, reduced pollution and energy dependence.....All right, we
know that your stimulus funding has staved off state government job
cutbacks. But where are the electric grid improvements or the high
speed Internet connections you mentioned in your campaign? Whose
standing in the way?.....
"Speaking of standing in the way, why hasn't you Attorney General
indicted and prosecuted those who have violated the law, including your
predecessor and VP? AG Holder testified under oath that waterboarding
is torture, torture is illegal and GW Bush has publicly admitted giving
the order. Why are there 2 standards of justice in your administration?
Why haven't the MMS officials who green lighted anything BP and other
oil companies put in front of them at least been identified and
pilloried?"
"On another topic, Why have you always been soft on the health care
Public Option? Isn't that a reason for public displeasure? Instead of
slowly closing the donut hole, why didn't you insist on reducing drug
costs through Medicare negotiation?.....Well if congress wouldn't pass
any of this legislation doesn't that indicate that you have ignored the
primary issue of our times, i.e. congressional corruption? Isn't that
why you have had to compromise on virtually all the legislation this
country so badly needs?"
"The border situation has gotten so out of hand that Arizona and
perhaps other states are taking action on their own. What is so
difficult about closing the border by any means necessary and going
hard after employers who hire illegals? Mandatory jail time required.
At the same time provide sufficient legal immigrants to do the work.
Congress is dysfunctional and won't solve the problem, why don't you
take action? You can certainly squeeze the most corrupt (usually
Republican) congressmen as long as you are not going to indict them.
And while you're at it, stop giving in to the gun lobby and get
congress to close the gun show loophole at least. Your response?"
"And quickly sir, Why didn't you just take over the Gulf spill costs
and then send the bills to BP since it was dragging its
heals?.....States and localities are incensed that your administration
hasn't made sufficient efforts to stop the spill before it reaches
shore and/or clean up despite your assurances that all that can be done
is being done. Who is wrong here?"
"I'm sorry but we have run out of time before
getting to your foreign policy. Can we sit down again soon?"
As you can see, the mainstream talk show hosts and reporters have
failed us for a long time since they won't ask these kinds of
questions. If Obama won't relate to the likes of Bill Moyers, Wm.
Greider or Keith Olbermann or real, adamant Progressives, then we know
that his "change we can believe in" really translates into "a lot more
Bush."
June 19, 2010
JBM
13 Bankers
Simon Johnson & James Kwak
2010
There have been several books written about the Wall
Street
meltdown of 2008-09 and this one is pretty mainstream. The title refers
to the 13 CEOs of the largest financial institutions who, in 3/09, were
called in to the White House to work together to save the system and
stave off depression. In tracing the history of how we got to that
point, the authors go all the way back to the Jefferson vs. Hamilton,
Andrew Jackson days and their outlooks on big (private or public) banks
who were thought necessary or dangerous to the economy. Inadequate
regulation led to boom and bust cycles up to the trust busting days of
Teddy Roosevelt and on to the 1920s exuberance before the collapse and
Great Depression, out of which new controls on the financial sector
paved the way to 50 years of steady growth. But starting with the
President Reagan years those regulations and controls were stripped
away by the reigning cut government mantra of the Conservatives. As the
Wall Street knows best philosophy took hold of the Washington-NY
corridor, even the Clinton administration joined in and ended the
separation between insured deposit-conventional lending banks and the
proprietary investments and derivative trading of financial houses.
Subsequently, newfangled, fee generating instruments, used to conceal
real value, proliferated.
This free-for-all attitude by finance and government allowed massive
over leveraging as the housing bubble inflated, fed by unduly low
interest rates following 9/11 and securitized mortgages of dubious
quality once sub-prime lending accelerated. Lots of fraud was involved
although few call it that. When the bubble burst lots of insurers of
rotten paper could not pay off counter parties here and in Europe.
Liquidity froze and $700b of US government bailout money was required
(who knows how much more was committed) to gain stabilization. But the
lingering effects can still be seen on main street: high unemployment,
mortgage defaults, underwater properties, empty commercial space,
insufficient lending etc.. Middle class consumption, which fueled the
economy for so long, is slack.
What happened is well known. How to restore prosperity and insure
against future financial debacles is controversial. The current
financial reform plan doesn't go far enough in the author's eyes. The
result of the meltdown has been even greater consolidation of the
banking industry which comes on top of the mergers and acquisitions of
the '90s. Now 6 megabanks have become too bigger to fail. Not only is
congressional action frequently determined by Wall Street bribers who
want full freedom to maximize profits and government to insure loses;
President Obama, surrounded by advisors and officials who were largely
responsible for the collapse in the first place (Robert Rubin, Alan
Greenspan, Bernanke, Summers and Geithner, among others, are named),
has not required that these megabanks be broken down into small parts.
This, according to Johnson and Kwak, is the only way to insure that
another crisis won't soon recur. Regulation can be surmounted or
evaded. Even if not, the megabanks will have the unfair advantage of
lower borrowing costs because the government will insure losses (that
will be the perceptual expectation at least), even of the riskier
investments which prudent, smaller banks can't afford to make. A cap of
4% of GDP for commercial banks and 2% of GDP for investment banks is
proposed. The WTO could crack down on too big banks around the world,
citing implicit government subsidies skewing fair competition. Nuggets
like these make this sensible, 220 page book a good choice.
May 24, 2010
JBM
reaction and response: E-mail JB Masters at: jzkingjz@coosnet.com
The Future of Capitalism by
Lester Thurow
Peoples History of the United States by
Howard Zinn
Rich Media, Poor Democracy by
Robert McChesney
Bowling Alone by Robert
D. Putnam
Primal Scream and other works by
Author Janov PhD.
Who Will Tell the People and Secrets of the
Temple
by William Greider
America: What Went Wrong and
America: Who Really Pays the Taxes by Bartlett
and
Steele
The Overworked American by Juliet Schor
The End of Work by Jeremy
Rifkin
Ingenuity by Thomas
Homer-Dixon
The World Is Flat by
Thomas
Freidman
The Big Con by Jonathan
Chait
Deer Hunting With Jesus by Joe
Bageant
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