The Loud Minority Blog

What, Exactly Do They Produce?

Chris Walsh — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:43:17 -0800

One of the things that really makes me laugh hysterically, to the point of slapping my knee, then leaning back and falling out of my chair, is the relentless whining that corporate America does when they hear that the public is criticizing their extreme sense of entitlement to wealth. So, we're stuck with this sentiment that it's so unfair to criticize those that have supposedly worked so very hard to attain their entitled positions, and have earned their wealth because they are the only ones in society that effectively "produce" (1). The comedy stems from the mere absurdity of how people who confess to huge success, remain victims of the criticisms of society, as if society looks at corporate America and literally says that being successful is bad, but corporate America is avoiding the point being made. Being successful is not bad at all, but the method by which that success was attained, if corrupt or damaging to the public good and even the markets, does in fact make it bad, especially when success is directly linked to the ability to persuasively furnish things for the market, and literally be a "very productive" member of society.So, what I have to ask you, corporate America, is, in a time of crumbling economies, markets that tread barely above deep recession levels, a large number of unemployed, the lack of new and innovative industry, discontented mobs in the streets chanting down Wall Street, large financial institutions receiving taxpayer funded bail outs, the government rescue of the American auto…

Horizontal Governance: The Evolution of the Social Mind

Chris Walsh — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:18:14 -0800

So now that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement seems to have fallen off the major media radar, most of its non-participating supporters are now left to wonder, not only where did it go, but what now? It is very important for OWS to send a clearer message, about what change it wants to implement. If this message is not soon delivered, the movement will deteriorate, and be forever discounted as a senseless complaint.The first thing that I noticed, as the OWS movement peaked, was a lot of the organizers were talking about it having a horizontal structure. For those, who don't understand what that is, or those who believe that a leaderless horizontal political system is just another phrase describing socialism, or in right-wing perspective, a communist takeover, the horizontal hierarchy finds its strengths in being leaderless. It enables every voice to rise to the top of all decision-making procedures. Unlike any of the aforementioned labels, horizontal-ism is a facilitator of efficient information, for the purpose that leaders could make more effective decisions when drawing up policies, that directly effect society, but with a focus on the needs of the individual.So, why a horizontal, leaderless decision-making process? When asked, what was the funniest thing that he witnessed during the OWS protests in New York City, Dr. Arthur Chen of Oakland, California, responded with an action by protestors that wasn't as funny as it was purposeful. He noted that the effect of our generation's sense of inclusiveness, while watching the protestors take part in a…

The Global Citizenship? Why Not?

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:29:19 -0800

There exists, an untapped concept: the concept of declaring our global independence. Having read many accounts of a flattening world, or a shrinking one (the internet and the technology provided to us, that enables us to communicate/interact more effectively over great distances), and observed the habits of some larger institutions within our society that carry out their business on a global scale, I have failed to find any avenue by which the individual has gained the rights or the capacity of freedom to live under laws unbound by national borders. Today, we have the ability to communicate and share information by way of technology, but we are restricted by compartmentalized international state laws, to move about the globe, participate in global business as individuals, and are not even provided civil rights on a global level.The concept of global citizenship is so insignificant to the policy makers and the populace. It remains, that a national sentiment, or pride is the foremost ingredient of our individual character. If this type of citizenship is such a minor consideration, then why the sudden shift of momentum in popular protests in the Middle East? The European people in Spain and Greece have also taken measures to challenge their own governments, that have taken austerity measures to the point of becoming an oppressive character, like that of tyrants. Foreign policy in the U.S. constantly is chasing down global disruptions, and patching holes in international relations. Why, do conservatives in the U.S. instantly latch on to the sentiment that government is oppressive,…

Lessons in the Real Politic

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:32:29 -0800

When I was in college, I majored in both Classic Civilization and Early American Literature, and contrary to popular belief, that Liberal Arts education was the most valuable knowledge experience anyone could ever receive. Of course, it's not as practical or glorified as let's say pre-Med or getting a business degree, but from a critical thinking standpoint, the lessons I have learned from history as well as the philosophical truths spilled out by some of the world's greatest writers has offered up the best understanding of how the world works. The perspective we gain from having a critical viewpoint of the functions of society can only be gained from this type of education, of which is limited, when you look at the more prized elements of conventional education. What does a business-minded professional know about the needs of society compared to its desires? How can a doctor guide the principles of the "greater good", rather than being concerned about an individual's well-being? Even though these professions have intents to improve society, often times they are so trivial in focus, that they cannot endure the scope of sustaining humanity.Anyone who has gained a liberal arts education, especially one geared towards history or literature, is the person who is most capable of having a universal viewpoint of human nature. It is the type of education that would best be suited for policy making, as the lessons taught in these areas, as well as the ability to sharply critique or interpret the elements of stories, the single process…

Don't Make the Public Private!

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:35:14 -0800

Of late, it seems as if political leaders are making public investment and its value in infrastructure extremely insignificant. As news continues to pour in about the privatization of Social Security, more legislation is built up to prevent single-payer health care, and now our elected officials aim to sell off our infrastructure as if it were not the public's in the first place (1). It is important to recognize that private procurement of public infrastructure or services is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is detrimental to the quality, effectiveness, and financial efficiency of these things, when there is a tremendous gap in economic laws that passively allow private owners to take advantage of the public, utilizing the same legal avenues by which they dodge taxes, ignore accountability, and just plain rip off the American taxpayers (11).Wired magazine in February 2011 published an article entitled, The Village of Shadows, about a small Romanian city that was host to numerous technology-based con-artists. A particular shady character named Chita was mainly responsible for generating a large network of fraudulent businesses, in order to scheme people out of money. Chita was using a legitimate business to serve as a shell for fraudulent activities such as phishing attacks. Romanian authorities were quick to catch up with the scheme of his business, because he was purchasing big money items, without a justifiable source of income, and when the authorities (government officials) wanted to see his business records, Chita had none (2).No records? How does one operate an effective an…

No More Tea Time for Newport Beach

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:37:42 -0800

One of the biggest frustrations that American taxpayers have with government is its inability to ensure that the wealthy are paying their fair share of taxes. By wealthy, I specifically mean, the corporate element of society. In past articles I've argued against the right of corporations to be legally defined as a "person", and in doing so, it was an attempt to help readers understand that being defined as a corporate "person" is only a legal avenue by which the plutocracy in America can get away with having to pay its expected rate of taxes like every other tax paying "person" in the United States. The argument is against the rich in America, because it is this same group of individuals who have griped about government placing too much pressure on them to pay forth reasonable taxes. Yet, there are so many tax laws in place that permit this class to piece by piece remove themselves from the enforcement of having to share in the responsibility of sustaining society's infrastructure. So, according to the tax laws, in the U.S., the poorer classes are mainly upholding the burden of economic national stability, while the rich, and those with more financial capacity try to shed their responsibilities to American society, all for the sake of financial self-preservation.Before I move any further along with my argument, I would like to discuss the concept behind the formation of today's Tea Party. Even if most individuals think that the Tea Party is not made up of wholly wealthy elements, it…

Taxes Can Sustain Us, but Never Will the Machines of Profit

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:38:28 -0800

Maybe the toughest and best solution for a public bailout is possibly removing any and all public services. Not permanently, but take away public services long enough for taxpayers to learn how to appreciate and understand where and how their tax dollars are spent to keep the society in which they live stable, secure, and apart from living in squalor and third world status. In the United States, many voters/taxpayers are mislead into thinking that taxes are too much, harm the individual's ability to do business and profit from it, provides extreme power to government, and only provides services to those who, unlike them, are not a contributing part of society. These premises are completely unfounded, and lack the reasoning that would wholly explain why taxes even exist at all.I have always held to the saying, "one has to spend money, to make money", sometime more than you earn, and this statement has so many truths that can stand up to our current financial dilemma, in that the money needs to come from somewhere, and if those that possess it fail to reintroduce it into society, then that is the point at which the economic machine grinds to a halt. It's a cycle, and as the saying imparts, the economy needs a consistent cycling of money in order to sustain itself. Businesses do it everyday, yet those who favor business spending associate that type of revenue as a benefit to profit only. Those same members of society, though view public spending in a negative manner,…

Capitalist Chattel Slavery

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:40:19 -0800

How freeing is free market capitalism? It is in most cases offers sovereignty for those directly involved with the markets, and mostly for those who have the most to gain from it. At times, the current economy, and its ideals of capitalism seem too overwhelming to the individual, in that its close relationship with democratic government, seems to take more freedoms away from the individual than it provides, unless, of course, those individuals retain a sum of money to release themselves from a lack of favorable laws to benefit themselves.There are many elements that lie beneath the surface, and those that can afford to manipulate the systems that attempt to make capitalism fair for all, offering a proper market of competition, instead of a system of biased steering of laws, in order to sustain a faulty or corrupt culture of business. In a nation that recognizes businesses as individuals, on the same level as individual persons, the economic imbalance is evidence that in a democracy that favors free markets and capitalist ideals, the dollar grants more advantage to big business, and places the true individual at a significant disadvantage. (Access To Justice In U.S. At Third-World Levels, Says Survey)The credit system under the guise of free markets is also faulty, in failing to provide self-reliant financial gain for the individual. Based on my previous statement, legally empowered business grants credit, as well as maintains or enforces the credit values of individuals. The government has no role in this type of economy. There is no element…

Voter Dissuasion

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:41:03 -0800

The trouble with dissatisfied voters is they never vote. If they never vote, there is an element of effective representation lost on the part of the people. The main argument expressed by opponents to voting is that the system in which they participate will never change regardless of how much their vote truly counts. To make this kind of justification for not voting is absurd, and it is the equivalent of saying the best way to heal the wound is to let it fester and become infected.Young voters, especially, are those so opposed to voting, as if it was their own unique form of snubbing the establishment, but in their lack of presence at the polls, the establishment could wish for nothing better than to have a larger number of voters against it to simply not show up. Consider the 2008 presidential election, where a record number of�minorities�and youth turned out to vote, and the result was creating a significant lead for the Democratic candidate, a gap so large between the winner and loser, that was seen in neither of the two preceding elections, that elected a Republican president. One could argue that it was simply the people being utterly dissatisfied with what the former administration had done to the economy and how it handled conflicts overseas, but there was a significant increase in voters that created a voting lead so large, there was no need for a recount (Blacks, Young Voters Not Poised for High Turnout on Nov. 2 - http://www.gallup.com/poll/142877/blacks-young-voters-not-poised-high-turnout-nov.aspx). In the 2000…

Freedom: Cannot Help Your Self

Chris Walsh — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:43:56 -0800

The pseudo-biblical quote, that is on constant repeat in my head, throughout most of my current days, is "God helps those, who help themselves". This verse apparently is not in the bible, having gone through my entire life until now, thinking that it was a verse brought down by the authors of the bible, and in fact it has been noted by some Christian theologians, that it is an antithesis to actual passages in the Christian bible that go against the premise of the aforementioned quote. The bible's associative verse actually says, "For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat..." It's a mere political cliche!So I set that quote aside for a few minutes and got down to reading a new book I picked up at the library yesterday, titled, Voices of a People's History of the United States by the historian Howard Zinn, and there was a passage in it, that rekindled my thought on the intent of this quote, that actually was coined by Benjamin Franklin, who cited it from Algernon Sydney's article, Discourses Concerning Government. In the history text by Zinn, there is a letter written by a group of slaves in 1777, who write a letter addressed to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, asking that they be allowed to serve the same purpose in life that all other free men serve in a free land as that of America. Consider for a…

Education Evolution

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:51:13 -0700

Today, the New York Times wrote about a new program that is being implemented in a school district in New Jersey, which sounds very progressive, and seems to be a movement that wants to sincerely address the pitfalls of the education bureaucracy that infests the academic halls of the United States. Now, most of you may think, well the problem with having all teachers lead education, and its policies, would be like having too many chiefs, or chefs, whatever the cliche, that this may cause too many conflicts of interest as far as policy guidance, and that students might experience a degradation in quality of education due to inconsistent curricula or digressive learning. This type of thinking lends me to believe that education has been held hostage by administrative policies and procedures that simply do not adjust quickly enough to today's conventions, and often fail to diverge enough, in order to supply a well-rounded, and fully informative education for all students. In other words, present day education policy, places students in a proverbial box, and over time starts eliminating necessary branches of learning. These branches supply adequate knowledge of where a student should or shouldn't apply one's education as to get the proper training for his or her future career.In my career as a student, no matter at which level, whether it was grade school, or college, the teachers who taught best, were not just teachers, but simply facilitators of any if not all knowledge. Is it adequate enough for a student to be provided…

On Natural Selection and Responsibility

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:51:29 -0700

A colleague of mine and I, had an interesting discussion recently. Often times we have a lot to agree or disagree about, concerning a tremendous range of political and economic topics. Usually our discussion began with one of us linking the other to an online article, and today's article dealt mostly with how big banks rigged their products, in order to gain profits over the short term, but the former practice is under investigation, to see whether or not the practice was legal (http://bit.ly/aoBo6Y). So, the debating ensued, and of course we both had our own perspectives on not whether their business dealings were illegal, but who was ethically at fault for enabling the fiasco of our current economic downturn.Currently, several of the large players, Merrill Lynch, CitiGroup, and various other investment banks are all under investigation for creating "fake demand". The problem that exists for the investigators is that there is no transparent evidence pointing to the illegalities of creating a mechanism that told investors, that the product for which they sought, was somehow a "hot item", but below the surface, through the act of savvy investment deal strategies, the investment firms were selling cold, undesirable products. It is apparent after reading the lengthy article, that there was evident abuses committed, and that the markets, in the words of the now humbled Alan Greenspan, "took care of themselves", at the hefty cost of investors who were simply kept in the dark about the true nature of the products they were buying.So, do we plant…

The Struggle against Corporate Irresponsibility Continues

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:51:43 -0700

It is very difficult for the average person to understand why an industry that draws in hundreds of millions of dollars in profit a year cannot solve a problem caused by their own disaster. When we consider why companies on Wall Street that bilked the financial system and taxpayers, or we think over the reasons behind the cause of an oil rig to explode in the Gulf of Mexico, often times we overlook one important factor. This factor is plain and simple irresponsibility. The political engine of the United States has fully supported the enabling of these industries to keep themselves in check, a policy concept that would motivate selfish behavior in any situation.A system that allows its individuals to be responsible for its own actions is anarchic in nature, and leads to lawlessness. Can we continue to expect these companies to be even in the slightest virtuous, and trust that safety, progress, production, and responsibility would outweigh the decision to make a profit at any cost? Being responsible for your own actions requires objective oversight. If there is no regulation or oversight, the individual is aware that there is no consequence for their actions, and therefore the individual will seek out the ways by which he or she can gather benefits for them self at the cost of all others. If we are to live out our lives in this manner, and find that it is more than acceptable, then we are living no more advanced than common animals. We are willing to degrade,…

The Large Middle Class Isn't So Middle

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:51:55 -0700

The media seems to be all abuzz with reports that the U.S. government wants to uphold the middle class, and promises more tax cuts, and/or benefits to those who own a business or makes around $250,000 a year or less. A lot of the communication of economic policy coming from the Fed is very, very fuzzy, and only provides the American people with a monetary comfort via tax manipulation. Now, with the U.S. job market decreasing, and job cuts occurring in lumps, the middle class, that earns this so called below-$250,000, will be and maybe is deteriorating, and won't represent any part of the center of the economic class spectrum. The middle class in this country has been redefined by politicians, as word play to add support to those financially squeezed by a faulty economy, who have in fact become the lower class.In an NPR radio story, titled The Vanishing Middle Class, Part I 'What Is Middle Class?', several of the people interviewed, held notions that things had changed financially for their families, for in their "childhood in the 1960's..." they "considered themselves middle class", and that these families "never wanted for anything...don't remember being without anything, or hearing their parents talking about bills". That is a powerful statement when reflected upon what middle class families face in our current economic status. Plenty of families are now struggling to pay many kinds of bills, whether they are mortgages, utilities, credit, and all things included in the status quo. The main reason why the middle class…

Welfare or Recession

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:52:29 -0700

What would most Americans choose when they are faced with a shortage of finances? The new U.S. president, Obama, has introduced an economic stimulus plan marked for $825 billion that will: provide relief for families, by cutting taxes, increasing benefits for the unemployed and the poor. modernize federal infrastructure double alternative energy production in 3 years expand health care by providing subsidies for the uninsured unemployed, helping states with Medicaid, and modernizing health care information systems improve education invest in science research and technologyIt is well worth noting, at this point, that Republicans in Congress are wholeheartedly in opposition to this plan, and the only plan they bring to the table is through businesses, by lowering taxes on payrolls and overall business taxes.Setting these plans aside, looking at the concepts included in this policy, for one, the Republicans are simply griping about a more government-driven economic plan that Obama's administration has instituted and that will be more long-term, filling in the huge hole that has been produced by big businesses, that have no regulation, and are in Republican minds, receiving some more benefits via tax breaks. The Republican argument states that business tax cuts will place more money back into the economy, but for whom, if it is a tax cut? It will go right back into businesses, who are currently laying off people who can't afford to pay taxes, or their mortgages. So we get more recession, because these businesses are not getting effective loans, due to financing freezes, and so in turn these…

Unemployment: Our Leaders Simply Don't Care

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:52:50 -0700

Recently the news has been covering a lot of the status of unemployment in the U.S., and folks should recall that back when the rate was still beneath 6.5%, the media, and politicians all told American workers it was going to get better. But, it didn't get better, because now the unemployment rate has been set to 7.2%, a 16 year high. The American workforce cannot turn to their superiors because there is simply no dialogue going to occur when they get laid off, thus their only recourse is the unemployment line. So the American people who've lost their jobs can only turn to our political leaders, who are showing signs of shunning those who work an honest job.In an attempt to alleviate some of the financial pressures of unemployment, President-elect Obama pushed for his own plan for economic stimulus. The Senate's response to his plan was that of resistance, and is beginning to show signs of placing obstacles in the path of rescuing those who are financially falling out of the bottom. Now, when Congress was confronted with the task of approving $750 billion dollar bailout plan for failing financial institutions, the Congressional leaders swiftly ran to their podiums to cast their votes, and get Henry Paulson, and the Bush administration money to ensure that corporate America could survive. Now, that the American people need a "bailout" in some words, the Senate is expressing concern over a growing deficit. This was not a concern when the corporate "fat cats" wanted more money to save…

The Vultures Will Swarm

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:53:36 -0700

Having gone through enough political battling with the presidential elections having past, the American people have heard and seen enough of it, and now is a better time than ever for America's leaders to move well past the horrendous struggle between political parties for power of leadership. Enough is enough already! The American people deserve a working government, instead of a government that fights against itself. With a current financial crisis slowly devouring the stability of the U.S., the effective management of the Iraq war, and Afghanistan deployment, and pretty much the gather up of the pieces of dilapidated government and nation, that needs a stable and focused leadership.If the American people consider their disposition, the only political party that is to blame for it constant instability can be owed to the Republican party, mostly composed of neoconservative policy makers, and strongly supported by the GOP. These political entities have not only aggressively pushed faulty war policies, but have participated in underhanded moves to destroy any political opposition through federal grand jury investigations. Mainly, the responsibility of a failing Republican party or the GOP, or the blame should be heavily placed on the Bush's, especially George W. Bush, having been remarked as one of the worst U.S. presidents in history, which is the least of his blemishes upon his political record. When we look to trying to understand why he failed as president, it's simply because we went from a tremendously thriving economy, to that which was withered away in the first term of his…

Demanding Your Identity

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:54:02 -0700

It is noteworthy to hear that today MySpace is encouraging users to supply their real names on its site. Now, having a look at MySpace's user agreement, which each user, before being granted an account, must agree to, simply does not state anywhere that users should feel obliged to provide integral information about their identity. Facebook takes the identity requirement to a higher level. In its user agreement, it states in the section titled, Registration Data; Account Security, users must agree to:"...(a) provide accurate, current and complete information about you as may be prompted by any registration forms on the Site ("Registration Data"); (b) maintain the security of your password and identification; (c) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data, and any other information you provide to Company, to keep it accurate, current and complete..."What is very intriguing about this aspect of the user agreement, is that Facebook reserves the right to shut down any account that fails to maintain the accuracy and completeness of any user's identity. In fact any account that Facebook deems not veritable, it reserves the right to remove the account from the site.Also worth noting is, as of December 22, 2008, Chris Kelly, Chief Privacy Officer of Facebook, announced his run for California Attorney General. This was the person in charge of Facebook's identity management, and the course it took in demanding full disclosure of any and all user information on the site. By allowing Facebook to enforce strict identity rules for its users, Mr. Kelly does not uphold security…

Not the Only Shop In Town

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:54:19 -0700

With globalization such a trend of late, and the U.S. riding on its coat tails with the vehicle of free trade, it's seems apparent that the U.S. government wants to be the only shop in town (the town being the global market). Today, news agencies have reported, that South Korea's parliament is voting to approve a free trade deal with the United States, of which the South Korean people outright do not support. So what happens when a global power decides that it does no want to consider the needs of foreign people, and will at any cost force trade deals with unwilling nations? It blockades the voting chamber doors with office furniture, as the opposition is left to fight its way in, in order to stop the agreement.This is a very disappointing light that will be cast upon U.S. representatives of South Korea. Not only is the U.S. government turning a blind eye to these events, but it fails to publicly declare that it is attempting soft imperial practices around the globe. This is what America calls a democratic process? South Korean lawmakers who oppose the free trade deal have stated that this agreement would destroy agriculture in South Korea, and in conjunction to this the U.S. Congress has fought this deal, because it would economically topple an already faulty auto making industry in America. If free trade is not the will of the people, and it is a system that has not effectively supported current economic infrastructure, then why is it constantly being…

It's Not Complicated at All

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:54:50 -0700

Washington's argument for solving the national security issues it's having is weak, and it does not seem to ever get a full grasp of what it needs to do, in order to bring any worthwhile solutions to the global front. Foreign Policy magazine recently interviewed the next administration's choice for foreign-policy adviser, James R. Locher III. He was asked about his assessment of today's global security as being "unpredictable", "non-traditional", and "rapidly changing". Locher compared today's threat to national security as a series of smaller Vietnam-like events, which can characteristically be "incredibly complex and changing very rapidly".First off, current threats to our national security are today known as terrorism, and granted they may be very difficult to anticipate, but they are not changing at all, and are fairly consistent in strategy. There is no professional justification in historically classifying terrorism as a Vietnam-like event. That assessment alone would show most leaders that Mr. Locher is not a competent adviser, in that he is basing his advice on historical context, in a world where threats to security are new and do not represent any other type of conflict documented in the history books. His statements are basically one comprehensive contradiction.The failure of recognizing the problem stems from internal incompetence. Washington and all of its bureaucratic institutions have no policy or procedure in place, but instead they hold up a lot of theories about how to deal with current national security issues. If fighting terrorism is so important, then Washington needs to apply firm strategies to confronting…

Rescue Without Being Saved

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:55:13 -0700

The U.S. government is like a bad father handing out money to his children so they don't misbehave. Why is it the that the U.S. Treasury feels its best policy it can offer is to hand out billions of dollars to everyone and everything, in a desperate attempt to save the economy. It's broken because the system does not work, and not because there is no credit. Those politically elite up on Capitol Hill cannot possibly think that because Americans can't put themselves into more debt, is the main reason why Americans climb out of a recession.Let me introduce to those politicians in Washington a little thing called FICO. FICO known as the Fair Isaac Corporation is a company that stores credit scores, supplying formulas to retailers that can be used to see whether or not you are a risk to credit. It's a system that basically keeps you locked out of the credit system if you fall below what the market deems a low credit score. In a tighter economy, the acceptable credit score can be raised, and vice versa in better economic times. Credit scores are only measured based on your length of relationship with a debtor, and how often you failed to pay debts on time. It is not based at all on employment history or income.So here's a formula. People are evidently spending more then they can afford. Their real estate assets are worth less than the amount owed. 62% of people in America rent, not as a choice but because…

Why There's No Value

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:55:32 -0700

I had an interesting conversation with my mutual fund adviser this morning, on the matter of why the current economy is in such a funk. In a time when most baby boomer retirees are looking to collect on their hefty funds, they stare dividend declines in the face, and there's not a damn thing we can do. Yet, there is a large contingency, including myself, that has been brought up by these baby boomers, who taught us to save, save, save, and I do, among many others that I know who are trying to commit as much of our paycheck to our retirement plan as possible, among the overwhelming amount of other outrageous expenses we all have nowadays.When I asked my adviser if he thinks that the lack of efficiency in out financial system is the root cause of why the markets are crumbling, he said "Yeah that's a very large factor!" There was a certain confidence in his voice, that made me absolutely believe him. He went on to mention that when the "big boys" want to invest, they can do it, without delay, and that their money is immediately passed into the investments without processing, and stocks and the market can both be monitored and traded in almost real-time. Unlike, us, retail investors, who are forced to operate through corporate brokers, in order to invest, and often times these investments spend days if not weeks being processed, and there is no way for the average investor to analyze or monitor the market, and…

The Solutions To Our Economic Problems

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:55:45 -0700

When it comes to the solutions of the world's economic problems it stems mostly from a deteriorating economy within the U.S., which was not too long ago the world's strongest economic leader. Today it seems that the organizational structure of not just the government, but also the entire infrastructure of the U.S. is fouled up, by less progressive thinkers, and simply leaders who just "do their jobs", so as to promote themselves, and move on to the next task to add to their egotistical resume. All the while, nothing, absolutely nothing is being resolved. It's as if those not leading are being paid a lot of lip service, in order to sustain a system that our leaders have no idea how to manage.Obama, working on a weekend, today, announced to Congress that he wants some kind of a plan implemented immediately, in order to get the economy back from its coma-like state. He wants to create more jobs, and ease up financial pressures on already financially burdened families, yet the Congress still feels it can solve our problems by using the age old stimulis solution, of which it is not. What the Democratic congress does not seem to understand, is that in a time when a Democratic president-elect is trying to push better solutions, the Democratic Congress is still sitting on Bush's Republican fence of stimulus initiatives, which have been proven not to work at all, and are beginning to drive a bigger hole into our collective wallets.The most important thing the U.S. government needs…

If It's Broke, Don't Fix It

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:56:30 -0700

So the news today, has shed some new light on the A.I.G. situation, in that now the U.S. government wants to provide more aid to the failing insurance company, in the wake of the already agreed upon $700 billion bail out. The government's reasoning: because "initial bailout was putting too much strain on the company" (U.S. Provides More Aid to Big Insurer).In an economy that is so overburdened with debt at the average consumer's level, and with confidence in the economy at an all time low, why is it that the Fed keeps pouring billions of dollars of taxpayers' money into a business that failed to do its job? Did the executives at A.I.G. not understand what they were getting themselves into? They busted their loan from the government, yet the government still keeps pouring funds back into the black hole of A.I.G.'s purse. If there is any reason to say to stop this erratic economic behavior it would be because of one of two things: a) the business model doesn't work, and our government cannot comprehend that point; or b) the government in fact is aware of the never-ending money pit, and there are several government interests at work here. In short why won't the Federal government let A.I.G. collapse under it's own lack of responsible financing. If the government continues to financially support a failed system on the taxpayers' backs, would that mean that the government also is failing its investors, the American people?Basically, the Fed is giving a handout to a company…

Oil: The Weapon Generator

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:56:49 -0700

With news of the falling price of a barrel of oil, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran are experiencing spending hardships (3 Oil-Rich Countries Face a Reckoning). The United States seems to reap the benefit of a lower price at the pump, and the world seems to be a safer place, because oil is so cheap. Well, you would assume that is true, but it is not.In the past the United States has gone to Saudi Arabia cutting a deal that if the Saudis could offer up its oil resources, we would promise plenty of military aid, and support, just in case, a country like Saudi Arabia, with a very weak military infrastructure, would not have to fret over foreign threats in their region of the world. What a nice deal that is! This is sort of an unspoken agreement that the United States has with Saudi Arabia, but is evident all together, when you consider that such a nationally insecure country like Saudi Arabia has never really faced any real threat of invasion or attack from another nation since World War Two. As long as the oil flows from the sandy desert nation to the always thirsty United States, the latter will always have the former's back.In more recent history, the U.S. has held an eight year occupation of Iraq, and that has led to relentless fighting from insurgencies from all over the Middle East. America's response is "bring it on!" Now, keep in mind that the U.S. is fighting a war on terror, against a…

Offer of Services for the FBI

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:57:09 -0700

Dear Mr. Mueller,Today, I came across an article in the New York Times, titled, F.B.I. Struggles to Handle Wave of Financial Fraud Cases. The first paragraph stated that your agency "is struggling to find enough agents and resources to investigate criminal wrongdoing tied to the country�s economic crisis". It would be my pleasure to offer my services to help you and your bureau investigate these corporations who have robbed my American people blind. If you need help just ask! I have a steeped background in research, since my background consists of library work, and having done research at the levels of higher education.I find it hard to believe that with a seven percent unemployment rate in this country, that you cannot locate at least several employees to analyze and research those institutions that have created our economic fallout, and are mainly responsible for stealing the livelihoods of each and every hard working American. I would be more than willing to find ample information for your agents to bring down the corrupt and greedy individuals who were only concerned with bringing themselves to the top on the stairway built on Americans hard working backs. Help me give us back the control that is deemed necessary.If you cannot bring those employees of yours dedicating their time to useless investigations of phantom menaces overseas, the terrorists that are ever-lurking outside America's door, then offer me a job at the FBI. I feel that our nation's security can best be upheld, by fighting the terrorists from within, who go…

The Forgotten Class

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:57:26 -0700

An interesting interview just given by Bill Moyers on PBS discusses what both presidential candidates fail to recognize: the lower class. McCain hasn't even acknowledged any classes in his campaign, and Obama is sternly focused on the middle class. But what about the lower class, the poor, those who are struggling to provide adequate food, housing, and a decent standard of living for themselves, because gas prices are so high, food prices are rising, credit is untouchable, and housing and rent costs are through the roof? It is blatantly obvious that no political member in the United States knows how, or should it be said wants to recognize a huge amount of people who have no influence on America's rudderless leadership, other than the fact that they are just ever-present.How does such a lower level economic mass begin to effectively be a player in the political realm of government? In the past, revolutions seemed to have been the only means for poorer classes to force recognition upon their leaders, or in fact turn over the ruling institution, and grab hold with their own structures of economy and rule. The one thing the United States is missing since its inception is a revolution of sorts, one in which has completely turned the governing structure on its heels, and replacing it with what is necessary to make the populace feel secure in the way they can effectively, and efficiently get through life under a governance.The United States, is in a sense revolution-proof. A large part of the…

Confidence is Nothing Without Value

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:57:46 -0700

Headlines everywhere today, are discussing how investors need to hold out and keep a positive outlook on where the markets are going. For seven days straight, the markets have been in negative territory, and yet the general public is being asked to stay positive, instead of dealing with the reality of the situation. How can people possibly hold their heads above water, when governments are tossing money at financial institutions that are failing, not because they are losing money, but because the average investor can't remain confident in an institution that has been absorbing money faster than the investors can put back into it.Blame Wall Street, and blame the government for not owning up to being responsible with money. It is nearly impossible to look at an investment portfolio these days, and confidently get a solid understanding of what it's doing. For example, today I accessed my 401K plan online, and looked over my portfolio. Talk about scant information! I had one table showing all my funds, bonds, stocks, etc., along with prices of the stock at purchase, and quantity of stock I owned. Fair enough. Then it shows way at the bottom, my total earnings on these investments. No current stock price, no market values, and no break down of gains or losses. The company that runs this online software is CitiSmithBarney, which when I opened the 401K, was just SmithBarney, and also not to mention, that when I log in, I get a disclaimer saying that ING has just completed its acquisition of…

What You Want to Hear Comapred to What You Should Know

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:58:04 -0700

Last night's presidential debate, though in most of media's opinion was pretty bad as far as structure, but the content is a great reflection of how much the balance of truth in the U.S. is so lopsided, that it doesn't seem that American's know what to ask themselves what they expect of a leader. Instead, Americans have always lumped all the failures of the government on the shoulders of presidential candidates, in hopes that they can solve all their problems.That's a huge responsibility to expect of two people, and is not even close to being reasonable. On the Republican stance for smaller government, if we look at the government's disposition under a Republican leadership, the government is huge. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the government's employee count comes in at 1.8 million employees, and that doesn't include the postal service (Federal Government, Excluding the Postal Service). With 488 congressmen, and 15 cabinet member within the Bush administration, there is apparently a large amount of government presence. The point here is presidents are not the sole solution to the country's problems. They only manage, and if they manage instead of controlling the government, then they can indeed solve all the nation's problems.Something that really stood out last night, was McCain pointing out that Obama was wrong about the surge in Iraq. Well, he wasn't wrong. Yesterday afternoon, General Petraeus talked about the future of U.S. Central Command, addressing the Association of the U.S. Army, and he mentioned the surge, and stated that the surge…

The Great Money Experiment

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:58:27 -0700

The reason why corporate CEO's make so much money is because they hold the most power and with that comes great responsibility, and with that responsibility comes the automatic absorption of any blame when something goes wrong. Consider this, and look at the current financial dilemma, and how much it seems to be blunder in the media that no one knows who is to blame.It's really not a matter of who to blame, but rather blaming those who had there hands on the money most of the time. Those who managed, manipulated or exchanged money, in order to move loans into the housing market had their hands on the cash at all times, not to mention the commission that came as reward for successfully locking in a loan for a lender. Steve Heideman, a mortgage broker said back in April 2007 that the brokers are to blame, because there are "problems and abuses [that] are happening because brokers see it as their right to make as much money as they can on a loan" (Subprime crisis shines light on mortgage brokers). The higher dollar value of the loan, the higher the commission on it's signing. This could have been a main contributor to bloating the value of the loans, to the point that the values of the homes would plummet below the debt of the loan. As of August 2008, "one-third of U.S. homeowners who bought in the last five years now owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth" (Debt outpaces home…

A Clueless Economy

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:58:51 -0700

Why does Congress vote no on a bill to rescue Wall Street, then turn around, and vote yes? Why does Lehman Brothers get tossed overboard while other financial firms get rescued by the U.S. government? It's really not absurd to say that there was a failure, and it is easy to assume that failure is always due to someone abusing the system. Bob Moon, stated on National Public Radio's Marketplace, stated that American's have lost well over a trillion dollars in retirement funds since the Wall Street fallout bail out. Now there has been this huge amount of lending over the past decade, so much lending that banks, and financial firms were giving out endless amounts of credit without any sound collateral, and by overlooking the risks of loaning to unchecked borrowers. These financial firms were giving out money like it was going out of style, and now they've been bailed out by the government, and at the same time are locking up the credit and the flow of money. Moon, even went onto say by "painting a word picture" for the listeners, that "the fire hose is going, it is just gushing out money right now, to make sure there is an adequate money supply around the world. What's happening is, it's going directly into the coffers of those banks (ones that survived the financial fall out), and they are drinking it all up." Thus the banks are reluctant to distribute any of the money that is amply available to them.So today we have…

Just Shut Up, and Vote

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:59:07 -0700

You know, when I people tell me, "Why should I vote? It won't matter.", I consistently tell people they should, because if you don't it really wouldn't matter. Especially when we are having so many critical things to consider, like whether we should continue being at war, what we should do about our corrupt and dysfunctional economy, and placing people in leadership who will fix the broken system we call democracy.Whether your candidate wins or not, it is not just about who the next president is going to be, but a number of leaders lower on the rung, like your state senator, representative, circuit court judges, mayors, supervisors, councilmen, or propositions on bills that will closely effect your life. If you don't believe me, go to http://www.smartvoter.org/, and search by your zip code. I would be more than willing to bet that you would find a large amount of things to vote on, and you would end up spending well over an hour in a voting booth deciding over what to vote on, because there is so much to vote on. So there is no excuse not to vote. By saying that your vote doesn't matter is just as ignorant as saying that there's no sound coming out of your mouth when you're speaking.In all reality, I would think that a person may be semi-correct in saying that when voting for president, let's say, the vote may not directly matter, even though it does, because of the complicated structure of our nation's government. There is…

Wall Street, You Can't Have Anymore!

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:59:26 -0700

Last night the New York Times released a column that could possibly place the source of blame on Wall Street for our current financial crisis (Agency�s �04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt, and Risk). Now, will the House of Representatives move forward in passing the current Economic Stabilization Act? I hope not. Financial firms less than ten years ago have been misrepresenting their accounting, if at all publicizing factual assets. In 2004 major investment banks came to the Security and Exchange Commission to beg for "exemption from an old regulation that limited the amount of debt they could take on". Now hold on to your seats, because it gets even more atrocious. These five investment banks, "including Goldman Sachs, which was headed by Henry M. Paulson" the current U.S. Treasury secretary, were now being funneled billions of dollars from the Federal Reserve, in order to have "a cushion against losses on their investments" further down the road. This was a precedent to being bailed out, and yet their financial structure was hedged on failing, and these Wall Street institutions took full advantage of deregulation in the name of profiting at the cost of the American taxpayer.Now, Congress intends to give these thieves another Federal hand out. These firms had full intention of getting permission from the government to perform unrestricted lending, and by getting this, would have the potential for what the New York Times calls a sharply increasing leverage ratio. In other words each company, for example Bear Stearns, had more debt…

The Leaders Who Cry Wolf

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:59:44 -0700

There has been an ever present strategy in Washington to lead us down a road of fear and despair, if and only if America doesn't respond immediately to any threats that surface. Being wary is alright, but there is a key ingredient missing in the practice of informing people of looming crisis or failure: information. Many government leaders inundate Americans with headline statements that infuse fear and strong emotions in folks that gives leadership a "blank check" on policies that they want implemented.Now, in today's economy, we've been confronted with statements from the U.S. Treasury secretary, Paulson, President Bush, and leaders of Congress, all having cried that if Congress doesn't make a decision on the housing mortgage bail out, then the U.S. would face a major economic fallout, a depression. What needs to be done is stop this fear mongering, and begin to "connect the dots", so that Americans can understand what this bail out will do to benefit the taxpayer. The fear of terror, the fear of financial crisis, the fear of voting for the wrong candidate, the list goes on, when it comes to unresponsive and irresponsible political leaders. If the current economic crisis is considered, even after instilling the fear of losing jobs, and credit and coming face to face with those elements of financial failure, this "crisis has had little effect on most Americans" (Lesson From a Crisis: When Trust Vanishes, Worry). Throughout history, people fear what they don't understand, and the Economic Stabilization Act, not only disables confidence, but places…

I Can't Get No, Stimulation

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:00:02 -0700

The U.S. government is an absolute disgrace. We've got Republicans calling us to action to help the economy, then they decide they don't want to move forward with it. We've got presidential debates postponed, now it's going to happen. We're getting promises of lower taxes for the middle class, yet we're being expected to bail out big companies with our tax dollars. Democrats didn't trust Paulson on the bail out plan, yet they will move forward on implementing an unpopular plan, yet it is the "responsible" thing to do (Demolition accomplished).I was watching on C-Span over the weekend, representative after representative, approach the podium with out-right anger at how this economic bail out plan is being managed by a select group of Congress, and then being brought to the floor for approval, without any discussion over it 110 page subject matter, and the laws it outlines. It's an absolute disgrace to America's ideals, and the way government should be run based on our Constitution. It's sad to witness a hand-picked group of Senators, Bush administration figures, and Representatives, go over a resolution, and walk out and tell the American public that this deal is ready to go. It's not a deal if there's no one else to make a deal with.Here's a solution for you! Why don't you bail me out? Why don't you bail out all those people who are swamped in debt, because of these outrageously high markets. Why don't you bail us out by giving us jobs that give us reasonable pay,…

You Can't Run, Then Don't

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:00:19 -0700

Granted there is a major crisis occurring in the U.S., but McCain's move to suspend his campaign, and bypass the presidential debate is in very bad taste, as far as leadership is concerned. How about, when you become president, and we go to war, you just suspend your presidency when you see fit. Mr. McCain, we want to hear what your thoughts are on topics, especially now, in a time when a firm sense of leadership is most important.These days, I wouldn't think that a politician in one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, could not correspond with Washington via email, or phone, or Blackberry device. But, oh yeah! I forgot, McCain, can flip barbecue ribs, but he can't click send for an email. (watch this!)On a separate note, regarding the financial crisis. Have you ever experienced trying to contact congressional members online. I spent a good part of Wednesday afternoon, submitting messages to congress via web forms, and more than three quarters of them were restricted by zip code. So, in other words, if you don't live in that congressional district you can't inform members of Congress of anything. I don't desire a response, so there is no taxpayer money going into dealing with my email, and it cost near nothing to receive an email. So, why is contacting our government so restricted? The email address of a Senator or Congress person is not private information, and should be made readily available for any American citizen.So what I was forced to…

Warning! Warning! Warning!

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:00:47 -0700

It's a very simple solution that the government and Wall Street fails to put together. The U.S. Treasury expects the American taxpayer to rescue Wall Street at a cost of $2300.00 a taxpayer. This years tax stipend offered up by the Bush administration was a mere $600.00. American homeowners are struggling to pay off their mortgages. All of this, and yet the American people are being asked to rescue Wall Street. The U.S. government has been irresponsible, and Wall Street has been irresponsible, and taxpayers should not have to pay. Several solutions were put in place by the U.S. government, and yet all have failed to help the economy sustain itself. It simply cannot. Everyday in America, Americans are losing more and more money, and while they lose, the U.S. government insists on withdrawing more money from them. The well is dry.Now back in April of 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were both warned about their accounting practices, having performed the practice of producing "gains when the value of securities declines." Basically these companies were legally cooking the books through accounting standard no. 159, Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The law set aside, it was not regulated and not used with an ounce of prudence, and had inflated the actual value of Fannie and Freddie's assets. Even the director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), stated that "it is important that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac apply fair value in a sound and consistent manner." But no…

You've Been Had

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:02:42 -0700

Obama said something that made a huge amount of sense, today, "the American people have been suffering long before Wall Street has." This couldn't be made clearer to the current leadership, who has devastatingly ignored the real problem that the U.S. was and is currently facing. All of this could have been avoided, but when the wealthy in this country are not effected, and the wealthy are so closely tied in with the political elite it is no wonder no one in the U.S. congress, the presidential administration, or the treasury couldn't accept or acknowledge the looming financial crisis that has slammed us hard.It is worth noting that the current Bush administration has, since 9/11/2001, has governed with the drive of its own interests, committing it's political maneuvers to high level secrecy, without an ounce of regard for the American people and its well being. Now in an attempt to secure our financial crisis, Congress has made an attempt to shore up this crisis, by obliterating party lines, and seriously taking care of this matter once and for all. But, yet again, the Bush administration has not offered up any information regarding its approach to salvaging flailing Wall Street firms, and members of Congress are still in the dark, on both side of the aisle, to boot.So, the U.S. Treasury is planning to buy up bad mortgages with a estimated value of 2 trillion dollars, and will implement a ban on short selling of financial stocks. The ban is a great idea, because it is…

How Money Flows

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:02:57 -0700

If you ever feel like you have no control over your money, then you're certainly not alone, and you're definitely not imagining things. After the Fed's decision today to bailout A.I.G., it is apparent to me that the U.S. government has an agenda to save it's own interests, or should I say corporate America is pulling the strings of our government. $85 billion dollars of your hard-earned tax dollars is now in the hands of a company who was not responsible with doing its job. These companies could not manage their finances, and the best we can do is cut them a loan, at the cost of the American taxpayer. This is an absolute outrage, and those in government should now be held accountable. Selective bailouts, and bailouts that come with a hefty price tag, supporting an institution that failed not only its customers, but also the American taxpayer.Some may argue, that if these bailouts are not given, that the economy would fail. But what you don't understand is that A.I.G., and such corporations are not the economy, they are a small part of it. With that in mind, when the true economy, the American people, are having there tax dollars withdrawn and poured into the private sector, these bailouts are in fact draining the all encompassing U.S. economy.You know, that no one bails you out when you lose your job. No one bails you out when you fail to effectively do what you're expected with your job. If your credit is bad, and it's…

Changing the Way We Are Viewed

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:04:00 -0700

With all the talk about change going on in the current election campaigns, I would like to address a key factor of change that I don't see being discussed, and that is how Muslims currently view America. Having watched a talk by ABC News correspondent Jim Sciutto, it was interesting to note, that he has surveyed not only Muslims, but also those of non-Muslim faith, who to this day have a much more negative view of America now, than we knew of before the occupation of both Afghanistan and Iraq, and even 9/11.Now, politicians and presidential campaigners can talk all they want about change, and I am all for bringing change to our own doorsteps, but we also need to strongly consider how we are going to positively respond to Arabs, Muslims, and the public of the Middle East, because we are not living up to our promises to these people, and in fact have failed to show that we are a people of principle, and uphold solid character on a global scale. Sciutto mentions that several times dissidents of Al Qaeda, Iran, and other insurgent factions have come to the U.S. leadership asking for assistance in stabilizing their region, and bringing about a better way of life, and our leaders have turned them away multiple times. Sciutto makes note of the fact that the Arab people are already fighting one enemy on their own soil, yet when America ignores their requests, with passive policies, yet America occupies their lands, these people feel as if…

The Global Bloc

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:04:42 -0700

Okay, I got two wonderful bits of information for you guys today. First off, I read an interesting article from former CEA chairman N. Greg Mankiw (however you pronounce that), who conveniently slipped an op-ed piece into the New York Times today, regarding the similarities of Obama's tax policies to those of George W. Bush. Now I'm not really up on my high level economics lately, but it seems that this article was a bit of a reach a former White House economic adviser to slam Obama on his tax policies, being that Bush was such a screw up, Mankiw sets Barack at his level, stating that he has "embraced a central element of the Republican agenda", regarding corporate dividend tax.So now that I've made up my mind about who I want to vote for, some economic guru comes along, and casts a shadow of doubt on my prospects, and for what reason? Now, for some of you not up on their Economics 101, based on the Wikipedia, dividend tax "is an income tax on dividend payments to the stockholders (shareholders) of a company." In other words, the profit made by stockholders on stock, is taxed on top of tax deducted from the company's profit. So, now that that is laid out for you, in 2003, Bush proposed to Congress to eliminate dividend tax, saying, it was a form of "double taxation", and that it would cause our economy to falter.Now, Mankiw, is stating in his piece that in 2008 Obama plans on proposing "only…

Change Must Happen

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:21:46 -0700

On a little side note, today, I've been reading through a very good book by Thomas L. Friedman, titled, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twentieth-first Century, and I will take from a quote that was an answer to the author's question of what this Indian CEO's message was to the American people, in a world where the playing field has been flattened, and now India, China, Russia, and the like, are all beginning to thrive in a global technological economy. His response, that everybody [in America] needs "to wake up to the fact that there is a fundamental shift...in the way people are going to do business...everyone is going to have to improve themselves and be able to compete."That's a pretty hard statement to swallow, but in my opinion it's true. I think I can completely and utterly relate to what he has said. America is very steeped in this conservative mindset, that what has worked in the past - basically becoming prosperous to due to innovation and setting the economic pace - will work now. But it won't! Don't you see? There is a new playing field, and Americans are still playing baseball, while the rest of the world is embracing a new and completely different game.Unemployment is rising in America because there is way too much consequence to "doing your job", and not enough focus on making your job better, and more adaptable to the new way things work. In part people have been forced out of the workforce…

Obamanated!

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:22:11 -0700

Yeah I know, another Obamanym, but I couldn't resist. Anyhow, I just got done watching the speech given by Obama at Mile High Stadium, and up until about 5 minutes into his 45 minute speech, I was convinced that he's going to be the greatest thing to happen to this country in a long while. Now I say this from a former Republican standpoint, because I come from a conservative background, and tend to not have a lot of tolerance for extreme liberalism. I am starting to see a swing to the right a bit more in the Democratic party with Obama getting the presidential nod. I like that he has called McCain, and the GOP out on the floor, and is demanding that they start getting in touch with the reality of governing the United States of America, instead of their political mumbo-jumbo, full of empty promises to the American people. He has made it clear that Republicans do not govern, but instead they let the country ride the dangerous wake of their disorganized, unplanned, and threatening foreign and domestic policies. All of which have left the American people out in the cold and harsh realities of economic despair, employment hardships, and a government toward whom they cannot turn. I think my decision has been made based on Obama telling us, that we have come the crossroad, "a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more."Obama has brought in both parties…

Big Oil Is Blowing Smoke Up Your ...

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:23:07 -0700

I've just about enough from big oil. This morning on Good Morning America I caught an interesting interview with Shell Oil's president Marvin Odum, defending his company's multibillion dollar profits. He stated that there was a significant increase in consumer demand and that may have been a factor in rising gas prices. Well, Mr. Odum, you're full of it, and I don't know why you and other big oil executives keep pushing this platform of high demand, and yet you insist on advising consumers to keep their energy costs down. If consumer demand is so high, and big oil is making tons of money in this so called "high demand" market, then why are they curbing potential profits, which they say are being put into investments for new energy projects. Odum stated that his company spends more on these investments than they make in profit, so why in the world would big oil hamper making more of a profit, by saying something like this? That doesn't make any sense.Anyhow, to get to a stronger point in my argument, Mr. Odum is a liar, or he does not know the facts behind a 5 year decrease in energy resource demand since the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I'm calling out all you big oil companies on this point, because to say that you've been forced to increase prices because of a higher demand is an outright farce. Don't lie to us!In this video, Richard Vague addresses the New America Foundation on how the Iraq War is costing…

Your Move, Russia

Chris Walsh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:23:41 -0700

The U.S.'s current foreign policy is like trying to follow a senile driver who is lost. I can't figure where it's going, and what it's direction is. In 2001 we were all for tackling terrorism, by taking out Bin Laden and his "evil doers", and then the U.S. swung it's focus to Iraq out of left field, selling a need to go to war, based on loose connections to terrorism, and WMD's. And now we are planting missile defense systems in Poland. WTF? Like most people would say, "what does this have to to do with the price of eggs?" Or, in more general terms, what is the point?I've come to note that Iraq and Afghanistan, not only are advantageous as a geographical control for oil resourcing, but also a way to box in Iran, and keep any of their intents at bay, whether good or bad. But Poland, which borders many of the former Soviet Union, and is Eastern Europe's gateway to Western Europe, may be another move by the U.S. not against Russia, but rather to keep a former Cold War enemy at bay also, just like Iran. And, now with the soft crisis in Georgia that just occurred, maybe, just maybe, the U.S. is making a decisive international chess move to check Russia from any potential move towards the Middle East, and play its part in a discreet energy resources race.In an article in the New York Times today, it said that American officials are using rhetoric to explain that this missile…