Since WAMU went under with a reserve of $45 for every $10,000 loaned, I shudder to think what the ratios of government bailouts are. I suppose with the exclusive right other than counterfeiters to print the Fed’s own money, it probably does not technically apply; on the other hand, the Fed does pretend to "borrow" in order to meet the demands of the bailouts. They keep saying the "taxpayer"—actually China taxpayers—must be protected by so-called assets when...

  According to an article in Newsweek an atheist can be pro life. Oh, really? The inference here is that this is an oddity and that most atheists and secularists are consequently free choice. The truth is that both sides are irrelevant to a woman's right to choose one way or another. A secularist woman is free to choose life or abortion as is a religious woman free to choose either. The woman is not railroaded by conscience or belief but rather the comfort or discomfort of her mind ...

  Just as Bill Clinton went back on his promise to lower middle class tax, Obama, too, will find that such a commitment would be reckless under this economic stress. Instead the equivalent should go directly to states not to meet their budgets but rather to put people to work through stimulus to small businesses and infrastructure needs. As for the wealthy above 250K and to stem the panic of investors he should put in effect a 1% surtax for the 2010 tax form, then let the Bush tax cut ru...

  Which means there still has to be incremental boosts within each tier. Single page tax form. Taxable income should be determined only by dependents and out of pocket medical care above $1,000 and other proven casualties. No other tax preferences except real estate tax on residence but no interest and therefore no AMT. There could, however, be consideration for some rent relief. Earned and unearned income treated as equals. Single or two page form for businesses and cor...

  It may come as a surprise that I am against the earned income tax credit as I believe from newspaper boy of working paper age to part-time dollar store worker should pay at least a token tax when they meet a threshold of $50 per week and thus subject to withholding, plus social security and Medicare. Many would argue that the IRS cost factor of dealing in petty cash would be prohibitive—to an extent true— but the indoctrination of everyone’s having to share in governm...

  W will soon be heading  to the ranch of oblivion and Cheney to his happy hunting wilderness; The trillion dollar shovel will be taken out of the hands of Paulson; The war on terror will be downsized to police action; Bush is handing over a better Iraq than if he had had to hand it over to Kerry four years ago; Wall Street seems to be returning from insanity; Apparently Obama is keeping Gates and listening to Patraeus; Ted Stevens finally put to rest; Hillary w...

    I have no idea what the ideal leverage ratio should be among lenders but it’s reasonable to conjecture that it should not exceed 10:1. For the past twenty years I have been sufficiently fortunate to maintain a zero balance on my credit cards each month. I often wondered why the credit companies are so generous to continue to carry me without charge and tolerate 0% which strikes me as a losing proposition by granting me this grace period—that is, until I began to t...

  At the drop of a hat Citibank gets its second bailout while the Big 3 must sit in the corner of the classroom for not doing their homework. Normally I would attribute this to class warfare except 50,000 white collars are out of luck as the bailout is unrelated to rehiring. Nevertheless, it is still glaring that Paulson favors Wall Street over Main Street as there’s been little movement with the exception of Fanny and Freddie in relation to forestalling home foreclosures, which ar...

Granted the economy is tanking, but that is no reason for Obama to back down on increasing the tax rate on those above 250k income. Nevertheless, to avoid further roiling the market, he should do it in increments of 1% until Bush's increase expires in 2010. It would be ridiculous for a new president to allow himself to be intimidated by Wall Street's thugs and economic pundits. The wealthy need to invest regardless of the rate. And as for capital gains, there's not going to be very muc...

  It’s a good thing that the Democrats did not get saccharine over the auto industry’s tin cup presentation lacking hard core specifics, and instead are requiring that the Big 3 return with realistic restructuring. The foremost embarrassment is the $24 an hour labor discrepancy between the UAW and the union free foreign manufacturers. This is easily solved by the government takeover of the pensions with perhaps some modest adjustments more in line with other company pensions;...

Granted, the Big Three is in dire straits and the temptation is to let them pass on. Still, many horses though weak are worthy to be served—the millions or so grazing in the auto industry fields. What to do with the 10,000 dealerships and their employees, the auto parts stores in every community, the hundreds of thousands on the assembly line? The stock answer too big too fail. Notwithstanding the predilection nationwide to bash unions it is unfair to place all the blame on the UAW for ...

    It's usually wise not to throw good money after bad, but I'm a sucker when it comes to American cars. I was mad at Ford just for dropping the great name Continental in favor of the dull TownCar; I was particularly elated for one year when it returned with the Lincoln Zephyr and then within a year changing it to some crazy "hitech" number. It goes without saying I was livid when the Thunderbird was let go, only to return within a few years a sad replica of the 50s original. I ...

Is Wall Street's post election down trend really attributed to more bad news on unemployment or are they venting a vicious caveat to Obama?

  Let’s face up to fact, despite the current financial crisis, this country is a nation of consumers and to regain its lifestyle must continue to spend. Still, there is such a thing as moderation in pursuit of happiness. Oh, the wealthy must still have their car museums and mansions; the slightly lower scale their spacious homes and semi-private neighborhoods, together with flying first class to vacation lands or more moderate family trips via super SUVs to a resort, ranch or Disne...

  MSNBC which is clearly for Obama is running every ten minutes or so ads on Reverend Wright at his worst sponsored by the Republican party. I suppose in the station’s defense it is honoring free speech, but the bottom line is profit and greed. To McCain’s credit he has steered away from such negatives—much to Palin’s distress—for he is an honorable man, although he has had his own religious issues that could have backfired. Speaking of MSNBC, I wish the ...