Today is the 235th anniversary of America's independence.
The United States of America was unique in the world when it set up a Republic vs all the other kingdoms that existed then. It was to gain it's independence from Great Britain, the greatest power at the time.
And while other revolutions were to come about, the United States of America was to create a Constitution that is still in effect, while other countries tried to set up a democracy, they quickly fell into tyranny.
God Bless the USA.
The 2008 Financial Crisis: Who’s to blame?
The louder they talked about the disadvantaged, the more money they made. And the more the financial system tottered.
Who were THEY? Most explanations of the financial calamity have been indecipherable to people not fluent in the language of “credit default swaps” and “collateralized debt obligations.” THE CALAMITY HAS LACKED HUMAN FACES. NO MORE.
Put on asbestos mittens and PICK UP “RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT,” THE SCALDING NEW BOOK BY GRETCHEN MORGENSON, A NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST, AND JOSHUA ROSNER, A HOUSING FINANCE EXPERT. They will introduce you to James A. Johnson, an emblem of the administrative state that liberals admire.
The book’s subtitle could be: “Cry ‘Compassion’ and Let Slip the Dogs of Cupidity.” Or: “How James Johnson and Others (Mostly Democrats) Made the Great Recession.” The book is another CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT GOVERNMENT’S TERRIFYING SELF-CONFIDENCE. It is, the authors say, “a story of what happens when Washington decides, in its infinite wisdom, that ….
….UNDER JOHNSON, AN IMPORTANT DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVE, FANNIE MAE BECAME, Morgenson and Rosner say, “THE LARGEST AND MOST POWERFUL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION IN THE WORLD.” Its power derived from the unstated certainty that the government would be ultimately liable for Fannie’s obligations. This assumption and other perquisites were subsidies to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac worth an estimated $7 billion a year. They retained about a third of this.
Morgenson and Rosner report THAT IN 1998, WHEN FANNIE MAE’S LENDING HIT $1 TRILLION, ITS TOP OFFICIALS BEGAN MANIPULATING THE COMPANY’S RESULTS TO GENERATE BONUSES FOR THEMSELVES. That year Johnson’s $1.9 million bonus brought his compensation to $21 million. In nine years, Johnson received $100 million….
.…“RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT” IS A STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY WASHINGTON, WHERE SHOWING “COMPASSION” WITH OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY PAYS OFF IN THE CURRENCY OF POLITICAL POWER, AND CURRENCY. Although Johnson left Fannie Mae years before his handiwork helped produce the 2008 bonfire of wealth, he may be more responsible for the debacle and its still-mounting devastations — of families, endowments, etc. — than any other individual. If so, he may be more culpable for the peacetime destruction of more wealth than any individual in history.
Morgenson and Rosner report. You decide.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/burning-down-the- house/2011/06/30/AGeRSGuH_story.html
The founding fathers were at odds about the trusting the federal government. This financial crisis goes to show use that Jeffereson was probably right in his mistrust of the government.
A tale of two shutdowns
Minnesota’s government shutdown has made national news, in part because it foreshadows, in some respects, the battle that will play out in Washington over the next month on the debt ceiling. WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN MINNESOTA IS CLEARCUT: OUR REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE PASSED A BUDGET FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, CONSISTING OF NINE SPENDING BILLS. OUR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR, MARK DAYTON, DIDN’T THINK THE LEGISLATURE SPENT ENOUGH MONEY, SO HE VETOED THEM. As a result of Dayton’s vetoes, state agencies ran out of funding as of July 1 and, with the exception of certain critical functions, the state’s government shut down.
DAYTON’S CLAIM THAT THE LEGISLATURE DIDN’T WANT TO SPEND ENOUGH MONEY WILL RESONATE ONLY ON THE FAR LEFT, given that the nine bills appropriated MORE MONEY THAN MINNESOTA HAS EVER SPENT IN ANY TWO YEAR PERIOD. But put that fact to one side: it is simply indisputable that the legislature appropriated funds for parks, roads, schools, drivers’ license bureaus, etc. If those agencies have shut down, it is solely because of Governor Dayton’s vetoes. In this context, for the Democrats to claim that Republicans somehow shut down the state’s government is ludicrous.
This is not the first time Minnesota has experienced a government shutdown. In 2005, during Tim Pawlenty’s first term as governor, there was a partial shutdown that lasted for nine days. It is instructive to compare the events that led to the shutdowns of 2005 and 2011.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/07/a-tale-of-two-shutdowns.php
This is compared to the shutdown when Pawlenty was governor. No veto then, but rather a failure of the Democrat Senate and the Republican House to agree on a budget with the Democrats finally walking out on the talks. This is likely to happen in the congress as long as the Democrats think the Republicans will be blamed. This isn’t 1995.
No comments:
Post a Comment