Showing posts with label debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debt. Show all posts

Friday, September 9, 2011

That Obama. . .

. . . first he causes a recession and he gets us deep in debt. Then he won't make any jobs and NOW THIS. . .

from
msnbc.com news services
updated 9/9/2011 2:36:54 PM ET 2011-09-09

"Bank of America is considering cutting at least 10 percent of its work force as part of a massive restructuring, according to published reports.

The Wall Street Journal said that officials at the Charlotte, N.C., bank have discussed cutting 40,000 employees, or 14 percent of the bank’s 288,000 total staff. Bloomberg put the job cuts at about 10 percent. They each cited people that were not identified by name. . ."

The bank recently sold $5 billion of preferred stock to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and also agreed to sell half its stake in a Chinese bank. Bank of America is also trying to sell a large portion of its mortgage business, the newspaper said.

The Journal said that most of the job cuts are expected to be made on its consumer side. It got rid of 63 unprofitable branches between April and June and said it plans to close 750 of its nearly 6,000 locations in the next several years. . . "

. . . I'm sure republicans will eventually (if not already) regale their gullible constituency with tales of how the president caused the earthquake and brought on a hurricane in the same week before having the nerve to make it rain for 5 days straight in the eastern part of the country. [And I'm sure they won't mention the paychecks, perks, stock options and bonuses the B of A execs will take when this is over.]





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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Our leaders. . .

. . . have squandered the economic recovery that was building before the debt-ceiling debacle.

By choosing to display their stubborn, partisan agenda instead of truly serving their constituency and contributing to the downgrading of long term U.S. Treasury bonds instead of making sincere efforts to balance the U.S. budget, our representatives in Congress have put the brakes on anything resembling an economic recovery and many analysts say this is the most serious issue of all.

A commentator on the news this morning said that the Feds need to reassure panicked investors. Duh, yes. And many thanks to the very same industry that provides that commentator a livelihood for the panic that occurred in the first place.

What are the real issues hindering our economy? I offer the following thought, albeit oversimplified and informed mainly by my gut, but still one about which I feel very strongly.

The word that comes to my mind is GREED. Listen to the business news and stock market reports when they say things like, 'gold has backed off of its high' or '3% growth, lower than expected. . . ' We, in and around Baltimore, Maryland depend upon a utilities provider called Constellation Energy who made revenues of $14.3 billion in 2010. Granted, these are 'revenues' not 'profits', but no matter how you slice it, it's big. The Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of this company earned a total Compensation of $6.02 million. That's enough to feed an entire country. And this while our rates for gas and electricity continue to rise.

Why can't profits grow at less than astronomical rates? Why can't we learn contentment and not always crave MORE!!?? Instead of generating MORE, MORE, MORE for investors and providing outrageous compensation packages to executives, why can't these businesses provide jobs and settle for stability or modest growth?

Are any of these people in Congress REALLY leaders?




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Monday, July 25, 2011

“Where there is much desire to learn. . .

. . . there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.”
-John Milton

The president urged a "balanced approach" in his Monday night speech. He pushed for the two parties to work out an acceptable deal, and called for Americans to demand that their congressional representatives put aside short-term politics to reach a compromise. He also said, ". . . We can't allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington's political warfare. . . "; '. . .stop-gap deal would only mean the Republicans returning again next year to use the same tactics to seek more cutbacks. . . '; "The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government"; "History is scattered with the stories of those who held fast to rigid ideologies and refused to listen to those who disagreed. But those are not the Americans we remember. We remember the Americans who put country above self, and set personal grievances aside for the greater good."

Milton didn't highlight it, but one word should out in the quote: “Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in GOOD men is but knowledge in the making.

Mr. Boehner said that he, "made a sincere effort"; "I gave it my all,"; "I didn't want 'mano-a-mano' with Obama" (he was overheard to say on his way out of the building); "Obama created the "crisis" atmosphere". Of Mr. Obama's call for a "balanced" approach in the debt limit deal - one that includes both spending cuts and revenue increases - Boehner said it amounts to Washington-speak for "we spend more, you pay more." The Sacramento Bee said, "In his response to Obama's televised address to the nation, Boehner gave no indication of compromise."

Have YOU decided where YOU stand?



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