Showing posts with label Wall St.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wall St.. Show all posts
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Quote of the day - the crooks on Wall St.
"For the people on Wall Street, it's a case of heads they win, tails they get to flip again." - Brett Arends, "The Next Financial Crisis Will Be Even Worse", SmartMoney, 2011-07-06.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Ideology, compromise, and the big picture
Today was another publication day for me. My letter to the editor of the Star Tribune was published as "Political Discourse: You want compromise? Are you sure about that?"
Ross Douthat also wrote a blog about politicians jockeying for position rather than trying to solve problems: "The Roots of Overheated Rhetoric".
He does take a good look at bigger issues than just who believes what on some "little" issue. However, I take issue with one of his statements: "a protective government ready to save us from our foolishness when the economy goes bad".
Who is this "we" in "our foolishness"? Granted, many of "us" overextended ourselves with inducements from many sellers of this and that; a little reflection could have kept our credit card bills small. On the other hand, credit was extended by "trusted advisors" who few had any reason not to trust. When the mortgage officer at "Neighborhood Bank and Trust" tells us we can afford the mortgage, few of us have the expertise to ask the right questions. And when "Oversize Bank and Trust" of Wall Street tells Neighborhood Bank and Trust that it will buy Neighborhood's mortgages, Neighborhood feels it can and should sell as many mortgages as it possible. The whole problem was out of "our" hands.
Well, maybe not completely. Enough of us believed the rhetoric about "getting the government out of the way", not realizing less government oversight meant less corporate oversight of the long-term effects of its short-term thinking.
Ross Douthat also wrote a blog about politicians jockeying for position rather than trying to solve problems: "The Roots of Overheated Rhetoric".
He does take a good look at bigger issues than just who believes what on some "little" issue. However, I take issue with one of his statements: "a protective government ready to save us from our foolishness when the economy goes bad".
Who is this "we" in "our foolishness"? Granted, many of "us" overextended ourselves with inducements from many sellers of this and that; a little reflection could have kept our credit card bills small. On the other hand, credit was extended by "trusted advisors" who few had any reason not to trust. When the mortgage officer at "Neighborhood Bank and Trust" tells us we can afford the mortgage, few of us have the expertise to ask the right questions. And when "Oversize Bank and Trust" of Wall Street tells Neighborhood Bank and Trust that it will buy Neighborhood's mortgages, Neighborhood feels it can and should sell as many mortgages as it possible. The whole problem was out of "our" hands.
Well, maybe not completely. Enough of us believed the rhetoric about "getting the government out of the way", not realizing less government oversight meant less corporate oversight of the long-term effects of its short-term thinking.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Who on Wall St. is contributing to Obama's campaign?
Several critics have questioned the sources of contributions to Barack Obama's campaign, one of these criticisms being that many contributions are coming from Wall St. firms.
Contributors to political campaigns are required to give the names of their employers and their occupations. Is anybody breaking down these contributions from Wall St. firms into those from executives and those from others, say janitors, clerks, accountants, and brokers. Consider the following:
Contributors to political campaigns are required to give the names of their employers and their occupations. Is anybody breaking down these contributions from Wall St. firms into those from executives and those from others, say janitors, clerks, accountants, and brokers. Consider the following:
More generally, this year's registration tilt is part of a broader shift since 2004 away from Republican affiliation, particularly among younger and Hispanic voters and among college-educated professionals in former GOP strongholds such as New Hampshire, Colorado, and the suburbs of Philadelphia and Northern Virginia.Could it be that many of the donations from Wall St. are from these young professionals? Could it be that the sum of their donations to Obama exceeds that of their executive bosses?
- "Registration gains favor democrats", Washington Post, 2008-10-06
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