The global economic storm continues to rage and national governments seem about as commanding in these conditions as small boats tossed around on a tumultuous sea. The week began with an emergency bailout of Citigroup, the world’s biggest bank, by the United States Treasury. A few days later the Federal Reserve released news of an $800bn credit market intervention. This was followed by a €200bn European Union-wide stimulus package from the European Commission. And expectations are rising that Barack Obama is planning an even bigger spending plan for when he takes office in Washington next year.

 

Yet the discomforting truth is that no one can say with any confidence that these various rescues and interventions will have any effect on the underlying crisis. Everything policymakers have thrown at the emergency thus far has had a disappointingly small effect. Our leaders appear to be surviving on a diet of hope. Nowhere is that truer than in Britain.

The Government presented its own contribution to the EU stimulus package in the pre-Budget report this week. But the real story of the PBR ended up not being the widely trailed £20bn stimulus, but the alarming projected borrowing figures…

(Read the rest of the article here, courtesy of The Independent)

Just thought you might like to see what I sent to Washington. I know it will end up in the dead letter bin, but you have to try. I will post any reply I get.

Dear Deadbutts (I didn’t include this line in the letter)

I know you have the world by the tail right now, but I don’t believe you will do anything with it. You have had the last 2 years with the dreamgirl at the helm, and have managed to screw up the nation worse than at anytime in recent history. Lucky for you it can be blamed on Bush. You don’t have to kiss my tail for a vote, I don’t vote for incumbents. But for the sake of the country, listen to what I say.

We just got a taste of how easily this country can be destroyed. I think we will recover from this current crisis, for a while. BUT, please get to work on this energy situation. Without a plan, this will happen again. Jimmy Carter made the same mistake, 30 years ago. What did you learn from that? What will Democratic Senator from Indiana 2038 learn from your actions? I predict nothing. But please prove me wrong. I know there is not a soul in Congress that has a plan. There are too many distractions to be coherent in Washington. What a bunch of deadbutts. Sorry, I will try to behave. Since there is not a functioning brain in Washington, look outside.

Start with Picken’s Plan. It makes good sense. Do what is right for America NOW. Drill, Wind, Solar, Nuclear, and most of all, increase infrastructure in natural gas. I don’t pretend to know what sort of games you are currently playing with all the bailouts, but why not put some money into making energy the last worry America has? Encourage the development of more efficient solar cells. Support the addition of many more wind generators. Support something we have never thought of, but the 12 year old down the street will invent. Show some vision. Be a Senator we could get behind.

If you want to know my views on why I believe America should prosper, I will be glad to share them with you. If you ever get the time to interact with real America, I will be glad to contribute. But for now, Please Don’t Forget What $4 per Gallon Gasoline Felt Like.

Sincerely and because I love America,

Duke Green

Life is back to good now. Bush is out, No-Experience is in. Personally, I have stopped listening to the news, so things are quite fine. Just remember, the media has predicted 27 out of the last 2 recessions. Screw ‘em all. Let the advertising dry up and the ‘news’ programs be cancelled. What will CNN do? Probably slip into reality programming. Or FOX? Geraldo needs more empty tombs to open.

Anyway, not what I wanted to talk about. If you remember (internet memory is far too short), gasoline was the hot topic a couple of months ago. Much hand-wringing about energy costs, but the smart people (both of us) were excited about the prospect of new technology coming to the forefront. Surely, there was someone that had a new idea about using something besides gasoline. But, those damn oil companies did it to us again and lowered the cost of a gallon of gas to below the bitch level for mindless America, bringing the contentment factor back to the numb level. Something has to be said about ‘staying the course’ when it comes to alternative energy. And PLEASE, use your own head when it comes to deciding what makes sense. We almost let Congress (see definition under Deadbutts) talk us into making ethanol the latest saving grace. Never mind the Wall Street Journal let the story slip that it actually takes more energy (and carbon emissions) to make ethanol than normal gasoline. And, for the record, the Oil and Gas Journal said the same thing years before. But don’t listen to those folks, they actually know something about energy.

Anyway, not what I wanted to talk about. We are on the endthebailouts site, after all. For the record, again, if the Detroit auto industry gets a blank check like Congress got, I will never buy another American car. If those bloated fatcats really wanted to be on top in auto sales, they would have marketed a car that people would have wanted to buy. The auto industry seems to run in a cycle. Cars are crappy for a few years, Japan gets ahead, Detroit management decides to bust a few heads and the quality improves, then Japan loses a few points, union gets a raise. Repeat.

Anyway, not what I wanted to talk about. Refer to the title of this article. Today, an energy-efficient car is less than satisfying to own or drive. But, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Fast-forward a couple of decades. You know we will be driving some technology that nobody thought of today. Why not do it today?  I will tell you why. Because as long as it is cheaper to burn a barrel of oil, that is what we will do. How many of you have even thought about the price of gasoline since it dropped to less than $2? I see no hands. There are a few doing something out there, but they will crash and burn if oil stays cheap. And the rest of you will contribute to the crash and burn as long as you take the cheaper route.

OK, time to wax positive. Go to www.lincvolt.com. It is Neil Young’s website in which he is attempting to power a large car using only electricity. Now Neil Young knows nothing about technology, but he does know how to carry a cause. Just look at the anti-war stance that the ‘group in which he is mentioned last’ has historically taken. (Wonder how they view America’s involvement in the war to defeat Hitler?) They can definitely carry a cause. I have no doubt that Neil Young has the ability to champion a youngster that has a radical idea that may take us away from the path of oil. But it will take a few of us to spend a few dollars more to fill a tank with a new substance, to pay a bit more to shingle our house with solar cells, to ride in a smaller conveyance, to lower the thermostat in winter and raise it in summer, to minmize trips in the car, etc. Back to the title…

Please don’t forget what $4 dollar per gallon gasoline felt like.

I don’t fully agree with this guy often, but here’s Bill O’Reilly speaking against the auto bailout of the Big Three:

I will preface this by saying I do believe that the big 3 is being treated harsher by Congress than the banking industry has been. That being said I think this was poignant and entertaining.

Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-New York On learning that the CEOs representing the big 3 all flew private jets to their hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.

“It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious.”  Source

I will admit that it may seem petty of Congress to be focusing in on the travel methods of the CEOs when they should be working on a solution to a looming problem, but it does speak loudly to the thought process of the people in charge of these companies.  Your company is almost out of money and the welfare of all your employees is at stake. You don’t ride in to town on your golden chariot. You swallow your stupid pride and crawl on you hands and knees all the way from Detroit to present your business plan that justifies this massive loan.

I hope the day comes when these companies have money bursting from the seams and can afford to fly everyone from their CEOs to custodians on personal jets all around the world, but today is not that today. Today is a day to be humble and accept that your business model is failing and your business practices need to be revamped. The CEOs have a chance to lead by an example right now. You want to prove that you are willing to do whatever it takes to save your company? Try flying coach. Hell, I’d settle for business class.

American Auto Industry: “Can we please have $25 billion in tax payer money to stay in business?”

Congress: “If we give you the money what are you going to do differently to ensure that you don’t end up in this situation again?”

AAI: “Umm… This time we’re going to do it with your money instead of our own.”

And scene.

“We have little evidence this $25 billion will do anything to promote long term success,” said Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) “I’m pretty sure if you took this bill to your banker and asked for $25,000, he’d send you back to do more work.”

I do believe that there will be a significant amount of economic turmoil if the big three collapsed, but handing them free money to continue failed business practices is not an acceptable solution.

This country is at a crossroads in our future of long term energy solutions, and the auto industry will play a key role in that process. This is and always has been a very industrious and ingenious nation. We have an opportunity to make a giant leap forward in terms of sustainable energy. I say if the auto industry wants my money, then they need to demonstrate to me how they can help in this.

“Their board rooms in my view have been devoid of vision,” said Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, in opening remarks at a hearing attended by the executives of the nation’s Big Three automakers. “The Big Three turned a blind eye to opportunities. They have promoted and often driven the demand of inefficient, gas guzzling vehicles, and dismissed the threat of global warming.”

I don’t want to get off on an environmental tangent, but the days of gas eating vehicles are fading. If you want the money, present me with a business plan that helps this country and not just yourself.

Quotes are courtesy of this article.

What happens when you agree to dole out $700 billion of taxpayer money directly to corporations? The vultures start circling looking for the remaining specks.

As of this writing, Atlanta, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and now Dallas are lobbying for their own cut of federal tax money to help prop up their cities. The former three cities are asking for a cut of the $700 billion, whereas Dallas hopes to receive a chunk of the proposed “economic stimulus plan”.

While it’s not a new concept for federal tax money to be spent on city programs, seeing the mayors of these cities publicly lobbying for a portion of a terribly unpopular bailout plan is very strange.

Where does this federal spending stop? Who will foot the bill if McDonald’s loses a warehouse full of Big Macs? What if a chicken farmer catches a cold and is forced to take a few days off of work? Should the federal government step in and draft someone to fill in for the farmer?

A failing city is very similar to a failing company. If you can’t afford your expenses with your current income, then you have to deal with the problem. Either increase your income or decrease your expenses. “Help me! Give me money!” is an unsustainable approach since we can’t afford to backstop every single institution that is having financial trouble.

The Wall Street Journal commented on an interesting facet of the bailout bill. Apparently, the Democratic Party has decided to slip in some “scripted dialogue” after the vote on the bailout took place in order to secure more money for the UAW via Detroit’s Big Three:

The plan? Make it the Bush administration’s responsibility to give Detroit cash — namely by claiming after the event that the $700 billion rescue package for financial institutions was in fact a rescue package for auto makers. This was attempted with several hilarious “colloquys” — pre-scripted dialogues between members that were quietly inserted into the Congressional Record after the vote, all aimed at rewriting the “intent” of the law. Say, this one, from Oct. 1:

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin: “As Treasury implements this new program, it is clear to me from reading the definition of financial institution that auto financing companies would be among the many financial institutions that would be eligible sellers to the government. Do you agree?”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd: “Yes, for purposes of this act, I agree that financial institution may encompass auto financing companies.”

If this type of rewriting history is common practice in the corrupt world of politics, then more has to change than just the bailout policy.

In a recent spotlight on the Boston Globe’s website they try to come up with reasons why the bailout might feasibly help taxpayers.  Seems to me like they have to stretch pretty far to see any light at the end of that tunnel.  Most of the “benefits” are obscure ways to maybe possibly save on your tax returns.  In other words, the government is going to take more of your money unless you can pay a good accountant to find all the little ins and outs of the new bill for you.  Even with tax deductions being the only real benefits, the Globe has environmentally friendly habits listed three times: alternative energy, home energy improvements, and hybrid cars.

Lesson learned: go buy expensive Japanese hybrid cars and purchase very expensive solar panels from Asian electronics companies and then hire wealthy accountants.  The poor man gets…. NOTHING.

View their slideshow style presentation here.

Problems here in the US have a tendency to make themselves felt worldwide, as we have all seen in recent months.  Here is another good example.

German automaker Opel, a subsidiary of the existentially threatened American firm General Motors, is trying to get the German government to secure its future. Its request raises a number of prickly issues.

Read the rest of the story here at Spiegel Online.