Debtors, Debtors--Everywhere!

You people do realize that the first couple of boat loads of settlers in America were the dregs of the English prison system, right? Most were debtors--those that could not pay their and their families debts and were imprisoned.

I bet you are wondering why I am bringing this up. Why, oh why, Professor? Just to bring to light that the US went from a nation of debtors to a nation in debt. All the "good" indicators of the economy, like consumer confidence is based on credit. People are spending credit not money. It has been said that 6 out of 10 people in the US are in debt. The problem is it WILL NOT get better.

Housing sucks--a debt problem. This will not be fully known until probably '09. Plus a lot of the institution that are buying the US debt are from foreign shores. Meaning we are and will be in debt to other countries.

It will never happen, but I would like to see the debt called in. It would make the Great Depression look like a hiccup.

We Are Owned!

In the 80's Japan began buying up the US and everyone was worried. they got into a prob and sold it back. IMO, that was not a big deal. They were buying up properties and opening factories and such. It all worked out for the better, well at least that is what they have lead us to believe.

And then China came a calling! But instead of buying up properties they bought up debt. They invested heavily in the sub-prime market. They own about $1.5 trillion of American debt. Will they ever call in the debt? That isfor conspiracy theorists.

This week UAE, bought into CitiGroup to the tune of Billions! Are they trying to help the sagging dollar? Are they trying to help avert a recession in the Us and possibly the world? Your guess is as good as anyone's.

But they own Americans! They are the owners of our future. What it, the whole world goes to sh*t? will they ever call in the debt? Only God or Allah or whatever name you assign to the maker, knows. This would make for an excellent novel! Just thinking out loud!

Writers Go On Strike

Why?

The US screenwriters' union has called a strike starting next Monday to demand a fair share in royalty payments from DVDs and new media sales.

About 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America are being asked to cease work and set up picket lines from 0001 local time (0701 GMT).

The UAW has given its members a good f*cking, will the Writers Guild do the same? It is all about the survival of the union, not about what is best for the membership. The US labor movement is dying and the leadership is partially responsible.

It Pays To Be A Capitalist

Have you heard the news about Merill-Lynch? They just reported that they lost $8 billion because of their involvement with the subprime market. Because of their losses, the CEO has resigned. His package is worth $160 million. Yes, you heard it right! he walks away from Merill-Lynch with $160 million. His decisions lost the company $8 billion! And he is rewarded with a huge separation package? Am I the only one that sees a problem there?

Let us look at it this way--say I was a foreman on an assembly line and my decision cost the company $1 million--I would be fired and loss of benefits. Where is equality in that? The worker is screwed for a mistake and a CEO is rewarded. Sorry, that is unacceptable and the sooner the worker realize just how bad he is screwed the sooner he will find a new way.

Economics Of War

I recall back in the day when Kerry was running for President he made a faux pas by saying that the poor kids go to war and rich ones go to college. Remember that? I recall the outrage of the Bush admin and handlers that he would say such a thing and used it heavily during the campaign.

But guess what? He was RIGHT! If you cannot see it then maybe you need to get out more. The bonuses for enlistment are going up and up because they are not getting enough recruits. Economic incentives are the only way that they can meet their recruiting goals. Why is that? First, not many want to die, but when you need money for whatever, the military is like an open bank account.

So with that said, one could also say that economics plays a heavy role in the recruitment of prospects. If Kerry was so damn wrong, why do they keep using cash to entice people to their death? Why are the low to middle class schools more targeted than the schools of the wealthy?

By the way, Kerry was RIGHT and you need to wake up to the facts.

CHUQ

A Six Hour UAW Strike

All I can say is WTF?

What did the Union give up? What did the automaker give up?

So far not much is being said about the contract. Only that the Union will once again take on the VEBA from the auto maker. What did they accomplish in 6 hours?

Chrysler has a glut of vehicles that are unsold. About the only harm the strike could have done was to the new "Caravan" which is made in Canada, but depends on parts from the US. Its debut would have been pushed back and would have cost the company money. I would say that this was a prime motivator, if there was one.

The early reports are that it will be similar to the GM contract, which, IMO, was as worthless as the paper they signed. The worker got screwed yet again and the Chrysler worker can look for a similar screwing.

The strike was gonna effect 45,000+ people and yet CNN lead story was that of a school shooting in Ohio. That was a terrible thing but it would be better if it was handled by a local affiliate, since its impact was on a limited area and the strike covered a considerable larger area.

Sorry, I digress! The Union is doing the automakers a favor, all in the name of the worker. It s not working in the interest of the worker it was about money and profit, not about the conditions of the worker.