Don't Help GM and Ford
By Jerome Grossman
Please don't help General Motors and Ford. Loaning them $25 billion to ride out the world-wide economic perfect storm would be a waste of money. Every patriotic American knows that it is more important to save Baghdad than Detroit, or to put 100,000 Sunnis on the US payroll in Anbar Province for doing nothing, our current policy. Money for the automobile companies could be better spent in Iraq looking for Saddam Hussein's fictitious weapons of mass destruction. The funds saved in Michigan could be given to the Halliburton Corporation for one of their no-bid contracts. There will be plenty of opportunities to spend even more in Iraq now that the government there is about to authorize our presence for the next three years - and maybe longer if enough Iraqis rebel against our occupation and Iraq doesn’t run out of oil. No problem about the money. We have already spent about one trillion dollars in Iraq on an invasion based on lies told to the United Nations and the US Congress. And we didn’t even have a plan, ask Bush and Rumsfeld. Just like GM and Ford don't have a plan. And the generals and government officials and Members of Congress get to fly to Iraq in specially equipped US military jets, flights that cost $100,000 each, just to get their names in the newspapers to tell us that we are winning but whisper that we must stay as long as Iraq has oil and favors US oil companies. Hey, it's only money, better spent in Baghdad than Detroit or to pay for the 700 military bases we have in 130 other countries. First things first.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Money in Politics
Money in Politics
By Jerome Grossman
"Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with".
Will Rogers, 1931
"Nothing but money
Is sweeter then honey"
Benjamin Franklin, 1735
"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce"
President James A. Garfield, 1880
"Knowledge - Zzzzp! Money-Zzzzp! - Power! That’s the cycle democracy is built on!
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie", 1945
How important is money in politics? The Federal Election Commission has recently released the following information:
In 2006 the top spenders won 94% of US House of Representative races:
and 73% of the U.S. Senate races
In 2004 the top spenders won 78% of US House of Representative races
and 88% of the U.S. Senate races
Figures for 2008 election are not yet available but we know that at least $5 billion was spent on Presidential, House, Senate races and that President-elect Barack Obama outspent GOP nominee John McCain by an estimated margin of at least three to one, giving Obama a great advantage in advertising, paid workers, organization.
Clearly, well meant initiatives like the McCain- Feingold election law controlling political spending in elections has failed. However, we cannot cease efforts to make the electoral process fair to candidates with fewer resources. Our national goals of equality and democracy demand continued searches for the right formula.
By Jerome Grossman
"Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with".
Will Rogers, 1931
"Nothing but money
Is sweeter then honey"
Benjamin Franklin, 1735
"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce"
President James A. Garfield, 1880
"Knowledge - Zzzzp! Money-Zzzzp! - Power! That’s the cycle democracy is built on!
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie", 1945
How important is money in politics? The Federal Election Commission has recently released the following information:
In 2006 the top spenders won 94% of US House of Representative races:
and 73% of the U.S. Senate races
In 2004 the top spenders won 78% of US House of Representative races
and 88% of the U.S. Senate races
Figures for 2008 election are not yet available but we know that at least $5 billion was spent on Presidential, House, Senate races and that President-elect Barack Obama outspent GOP nominee John McCain by an estimated margin of at least three to one, giving Obama a great advantage in advertising, paid workers, organization.
Clearly, well meant initiatives like the McCain- Feingold election law controlling political spending in elections has failed. However, we cannot cease efforts to make the electoral process fair to candidates with fewer resources. Our national goals of equality and democracy demand continued searches for the right formula.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The War on Recession
The War on Recession
By Jerome Grossman
The success of the Obama administration will be measured primarily by its performance in reviving the United States economy, now sliding toward widespread unemployment, corporate bankruptcy, with a desperate middle-class that has lost its life savings.
The Bush administration, with the assent of the Democratically-controlled Congress, has initiated fiscal policies that point the way for the Obama administration: give federal government money to banks and other corporate entities considered “Too big to fail”; accept in return partial ownership and a measure of control over the subsidized companies. To this menu, subsidies for the citizens must be added. Everybody should be on the gravy train.
This degree of government intervention would have been unthinkable only a few months ago, especially with a conservative Republican president. President Obama will build on the Congressional and Bush precedents by vastly increasing the already sanctified programs, extending them to include many more economic entities under financial pressure, relaxing the qualifications to save or help those with lesser clout. George W. Bush has given Barack Obama political cover.
Opposition to this dramatic and expensive program will be minimal. Some will decry expansion of government power and they will be correct. Others will cite waste and fraud as thousands of companies and millions of individuals get in line for federal dollars and they will be right. In justification of its extension of Bush policy, President Obama needs only to declare a “War on Recession”, the battle to save the American economy from defeat, from deflation, from massive unemployment, from the collapse of US world financial hegemony, from the diminution of Social Security and Medicare, from the possibility that other nations might take advantage of our plight, even challenging us militarily.
The people of America will respond positively to the call to war as they have so many times in the past: the war on terror, the war to save democracy, the war to end war, the Cold War, the war on drugs, the war on poverty, etc., etc. The amount that will be spent on this war will be many times the $700 billion already appropriated but only a fraction of the losses sustained by corporations and private investors. The safety of the nation is at stake. The price is not the decisive factor. We will spend any amount to insure economic stability and to guard against social disruption. All we need is a slogan, The War on Recession to rally public support and achieve focus. The rest is history and it begins on January 20, in President Obama’s inauguration address.
By Jerome Grossman
The success of the Obama administration will be measured primarily by its performance in reviving the United States economy, now sliding toward widespread unemployment, corporate bankruptcy, with a desperate middle-class that has lost its life savings.
The Bush administration, with the assent of the Democratically-controlled Congress, has initiated fiscal policies that point the way for the Obama administration: give federal government money to banks and other corporate entities considered “Too big to fail”; accept in return partial ownership and a measure of control over the subsidized companies. To this menu, subsidies for the citizens must be added. Everybody should be on the gravy train.
This degree of government intervention would have been unthinkable only a few months ago, especially with a conservative Republican president. President Obama will build on the Congressional and Bush precedents by vastly increasing the already sanctified programs, extending them to include many more economic entities under financial pressure, relaxing the qualifications to save or help those with lesser clout. George W. Bush has given Barack Obama political cover.
Opposition to this dramatic and expensive program will be minimal. Some will decry expansion of government power and they will be correct. Others will cite waste and fraud as thousands of companies and millions of individuals get in line for federal dollars and they will be right. In justification of its extension of Bush policy, President Obama needs only to declare a “War on Recession”, the battle to save the American economy from defeat, from deflation, from massive unemployment, from the collapse of US world financial hegemony, from the diminution of Social Security and Medicare, from the possibility that other nations might take advantage of our plight, even challenging us militarily.
The people of America will respond positively to the call to war as they have so many times in the past: the war on terror, the war to save democracy, the war to end war, the Cold War, the war on drugs, the war on poverty, etc., etc. The amount that will be spent on this war will be many times the $700 billion already appropriated but only a fraction of the losses sustained by corporations and private investors. The safety of the nation is at stake. The price is not the decisive factor. We will spend any amount to insure economic stability and to guard against social disruption. All we need is a slogan, The War on Recession to rally public support and achieve focus. The rest is history and it begins on January 20, in President Obama’s inauguration address.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Put Obama in the White House – NOW
Put Obama in the White House – NOW
By Jerome Grossman
President George W. Bush should immediately invite President-Elect Barack Obama to participate in presidential decisions. Don’t wait until Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. The financial crisis requires immediate coordinated action. We cannot afford to follow the traditional procedure as the economy sinks day by day.
On November 15, the leaders of 20 nations will meet in Washington to discuss the global financial crisis. United world action is absolutely necessary to prevent the utter collapse of stock prices and other financial instruments that are destroying the life savings of millions of people in America and around the globe and generating mass unemployment.
Any agreement signed by President Bush will be subject to the approval or repeal by President Obama in January. Valuable time will be lost as the new administration reviews the new agreement. We cannot afford to wait taking the chance that values and economic activity might decline even further.
President Bush has lost his popularity by a combination of errors and negative circumstances. Breaking tradition by involving Obama in policy decisions in this time of crisis will earn Bush public appreciation for putting America first by sharing power.
By Jerome Grossman
President George W. Bush should immediately invite President-Elect Barack Obama to participate in presidential decisions. Don’t wait until Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. The financial crisis requires immediate coordinated action. We cannot afford to follow the traditional procedure as the economy sinks day by day.
On November 15, the leaders of 20 nations will meet in Washington to discuss the global financial crisis. United world action is absolutely necessary to prevent the utter collapse of stock prices and other financial instruments that are destroying the life savings of millions of people in America and around the globe and generating mass unemployment.
Any agreement signed by President Bush will be subject to the approval or repeal by President Obama in January. Valuable time will be lost as the new administration reviews the new agreement. We cannot afford to wait taking the chance that values and economic activity might decline even further.
President Bush has lost his popularity by a combination of errors and negative circumstances. Breaking tradition by involving Obama in policy decisions in this time of crisis will earn Bush public appreciation for putting America first by sharing power.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
How Healthy are the Candidates
How Healthy are the Candidates
By Jerome Grossman
If you apply for residence in a retirement community you will be required to furnish medical information about your present state of health as well as your complete medical history. That information will determine whether or not you will be accepted.
If you are a candidate for president or vice president of the United States of America, with the responsibilities of commander- in- chief and the duty to execute the will of the Congress or vetoing their bills, there is no requirement that you submit to health examination or furnish medical information.
The health of the four major party nominees should be an important consideration to the voters because some past candidates as well as their doctors have concealed serious ailments that could have affected performance in office. Examples include Senator Tom Eagleton (depression), Senator Paul Tsongas (cancer), Senator Bill Bradley(heart), Richard Cheney (heart), Senator John F. Kennedy (Addison's disease), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (heart), Woodrow Wilson (stroke) to name only a few. They didn't tell and their doctors didn't either.
In the current election, John McCain has released more details about his health than the other three nominees but not enough for a complete medical history. He has limb difficulty from his Vietnam War injuries and has had extensive melanoma surgeries.
Barack Obama's campaign has released a single page letter from his doctor attesting to his "excellent health", the only possible medical problem is his difficulty in stopping smoking.
Sarah Palin has released no medical information and has declined to provide any health records.
Joseph Biden has had two brain aneurysms for which he had two major operations with a major complication: a blood clot lodged in his lung.
McCain and Biden clearly have medical histories that might affect their abilities to do their jobs. Obama and Palin appear to have no serious problems but the voters have no way to be sure.
Clearly, there ought to be an organized way of checking all aspects of their health and the information ought to be given to the electorate as a condition for a running for office. The authority to use the nuclear bomb ought to be as jealously guarded as admittance to a retirement community.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Next President's Honeymoon
The Next President's Honeymoon
By Jerome Grossman
The next president will inherit the leadership of a country beset with extraordinary domestic and foreign problems, the solution of which will determine his place in history and his chances for re-election.
The Wall Street implosion has reduced the standard of living for millions of Americans, stifled business activity, dramatically increased unemployment and threatened the value of the dollar.
The Bush administration will have spent at least $1 trillion by inauguration day to rescue the US banking system from the first stage of the emergency. Will there be sufficient funds available to finance the campaign promises on health care, infrastructure, military, education, etc. without running the risk of runaway inflation?
The next president must also resolve the unpopular wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. US troops have been fighting and dying in Afghanistan since 2001, in Iraq since 2003, in Pakistan since 2007 at great cost in blood and treasure. These military engagements cannot continue indefinitely.
The next president may have four years to end these crises, perhaps less, certainly not more. The next election will be congressional and the president had better show serious progress on these issues else his party will suffer at the polls. Then he himself will run for re-election with no chance if the situations are not dramatically improved.
Mount Rushmore will be the reward for success but the choices and the tools available to the next president are limited. New presidents usually have political honeymoons but the next president may have the shortest honeymoon in history.
By Jerome Grossman
The next president will inherit the leadership of a country beset with extraordinary domestic and foreign problems, the solution of which will determine his place in history and his chances for re-election.
The Wall Street implosion has reduced the standard of living for millions of Americans, stifled business activity, dramatically increased unemployment and threatened the value of the dollar.
The Bush administration will have spent at least $1 trillion by inauguration day to rescue the US banking system from the first stage of the emergency. Will there be sufficient funds available to finance the campaign promises on health care, infrastructure, military, education, etc. without running the risk of runaway inflation?
The next president must also resolve the unpopular wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. US troops have been fighting and dying in Afghanistan since 2001, in Iraq since 2003, in Pakistan since 2007 at great cost in blood and treasure. These military engagements cannot continue indefinitely.
The next president may have four years to end these crises, perhaps less, certainly not more. The next election will be congressional and the president had better show serious progress on these issues else his party will suffer at the polls. Then he himself will run for re-election with no chance if the situations are not dramatically improved.
Mount Rushmore will be the reward for success but the choices and the tools available to the next president are limited. New presidents usually have political honeymoons but the next president may have the shortest honeymoon in history.
Friday, October 17, 2008
After The Debate
After The Debate
By Jerome Grossman
At the third debate, John McCain accused Barack Obama of promoting "single-payer" national health insurance, a system that puts every American on the equivalent of Medicare, the efficient low cost system that keeps retirees alive. Barack's response was a grin and "who me?" Then he and McCain outlined their complex health insurance plans that few could understand in detail, plans that would cross a rabbi's eyes.
Neither candidate told us how to revive the crashing economy, joining the professional economists and Nobel Laureates who are also lost. Both candidates support the quick rescue of banks and bankers from their derivative mistakes, but are slow to restore the purchasing power of the American masses by building roads, schools, hospitals etc.
They agree that America is spending beyond its means resulting in enormous deficits. Yet they support expensive military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and the largest military establishment in the world including 737 US military bases in 130 countries.
The winner of the debate was the most handsome, the most likable, the most articulate, the smoothest and the youngest performer who overcame an irascible old man, the representative of a collapsing political party facing abject domestic and foreign failure. Obama could have clarified the differences between the parties by asking McCain a simple question: “Is this a good time to talk to you about your plan to privatize Social Security?” But the debate revealed no solutions to the overwhelming problems. If they arrive at all they will come after the Obama inauguration, after the celebration, in the glorious first 100 days - we hope.
And hope will be needed, for the future is a mystery. As pundit David Broder wrote in the Washington Post. “Something strange is happening in this strangest of all presidential contests. The longer it goes on, the less we know about what either of these men would do if he were in the Oval Office next year.”
By Jerome Grossman
At the third debate, John McCain accused Barack Obama of promoting "single-payer" national health insurance, a system that puts every American on the equivalent of Medicare, the efficient low cost system that keeps retirees alive. Barack's response was a grin and "who me?" Then he and McCain outlined their complex health insurance plans that few could understand in detail, plans that would cross a rabbi's eyes.
Neither candidate told us how to revive the crashing economy, joining the professional economists and Nobel Laureates who are also lost. Both candidates support the quick rescue of banks and bankers from their derivative mistakes, but are slow to restore the purchasing power of the American masses by building roads, schools, hospitals etc.
They agree that America is spending beyond its means resulting in enormous deficits. Yet they support expensive military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and the largest military establishment in the world including 737 US military bases in 130 countries.
The winner of the debate was the most handsome, the most likable, the most articulate, the smoothest and the youngest performer who overcame an irascible old man, the representative of a collapsing political party facing abject domestic and foreign failure. Obama could have clarified the differences between the parties by asking McCain a simple question: “Is this a good time to talk to you about your plan to privatize Social Security?” But the debate revealed no solutions to the overwhelming problems. If they arrive at all they will come after the Obama inauguration, after the celebration, in the glorious first 100 days - we hope.
And hope will be needed, for the future is a mystery. As pundit David Broder wrote in the Washington Post. “Something strange is happening in this strangest of all presidential contests. The longer it goes on, the less we know about what either of these men would do if he were in the Oval Office next year.”
Monday, October 13, 2008
McCain's Last Gasp
McCain's Last Gasp
By Jerome Grossman
William Kristol, the neo-con columnist at the New York Times, has surrendered the campaign of John McCain. “His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama's........ McCain is doomed.”
Obama's lead in the polls is lengthening. He is far ahead on domestic issues although today’s stock market rally will help McCain by modifying the wave of bad financial news. Public concern about foreign and military policy, issues on which McCain is strong, continues to slide.
Look for a shift in the McCain strategy, away from issues of public policy, away from attacks on Obama's associations, away from Obama's inexperience.
The McCain focus in the last two weeks of the campaign will be his life story, his ancestors, his military service, his five year imprisonment in Hanoi, his bi-partisan initiatives in Congress, his embodiment of the American Hero and American values, making him the person who "deserves to be President."
This story, this strategy, may not work but it appears to be all that McCain has left.
Sic transit gloria mundi
By Jerome Grossman
William Kristol, the neo-con columnist at the New York Times, has surrendered the campaign of John McCain. “His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama's........ McCain is doomed.”
Obama's lead in the polls is lengthening. He is far ahead on domestic issues although today’s stock market rally will help McCain by modifying the wave of bad financial news. Public concern about foreign and military policy, issues on which McCain is strong, continues to slide.
Look for a shift in the McCain strategy, away from issues of public policy, away from attacks on Obama's associations, away from Obama's inexperience.
The McCain focus in the last two weeks of the campaign will be his life story, his ancestors, his military service, his five year imprisonment in Hanoi, his bi-partisan initiatives in Congress, his embodiment of the American Hero and American values, making him the person who "deserves to be President."
This story, this strategy, may not work but it appears to be all that McCain has left.
Sic transit gloria mundi
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Best and the Brightest (Part 2)
The Best and the Brightest (Part 2)
By Jerome Grossman
Yesterday I blamed financial leaders and gurus for the financial turmoil destabilizing our country and the world without mentioning their names.
Today's New York Times, October 9, has the errors and the perpetrators in full gory detail led by Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, and especially Alan Greenspan. The heroes, ignored and unacknowledged, who tried and failed to establish an adequate regulatory process were Edward Markey and Brooksley Born.
Read the story and weep, then make sure that the people who made the mistakes do not get another opportunity to repeat.
/ | October 9, 2008
The Reckoning: Taking Hard New Look at a Greenspan Legacy
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Derivatives have long had a great supporter in the former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
By Jerome Grossman
Yesterday I blamed financial leaders and gurus for the financial turmoil destabilizing our country and the world without mentioning their names.
Today's New York Times, October 9, has the errors and the perpetrators in full gory detail led by Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, and especially Alan Greenspan. The heroes, ignored and unacknowledged, who tried and failed to establish an adequate regulatory process were Edward Markey and Brooksley Born.
Read the story and weep, then make sure that the people who made the mistakes do not get another opportunity to repeat.
/ | October 9, 2008
The Reckoning: Taking Hard New Look at a Greenspan Legacy
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Derivatives have long had a great supporter in the former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Best and the Brightest
The Best and the Brightest
By Jerome Grossman
The current financial crisis is widely perceived as the greatest threat to the stability of the USA. This threat was
• Not caused by radical Islamic terrorists
• Not by Colombian drug lords
• Not by organized crime
• Not by radical right-wingers
• Not by radical left wingers
• Not by inner-city street gangs
This crisis was created by the best and the brightest Americans
• Educated at our finest universities
• The elite of our society by virtue of talent and riches
• The leading donors to our most deserving charities
• With the blessing of government leaders of both parties
Am I playing the blame game? You bet I am. The best and the brightest profited with enormous salaries, the adoration of the media, the perks accruing to the leaders of society. But they have failed and must step aside for new leaders. David Halberstam warned us that the best and the brightest would fight displacement by blaming others and impersonal forces for their failures as they did in the fiascos of Vietnam and Iraq. We must not allow that to happen.
By Jerome Grossman
The current financial crisis is widely perceived as the greatest threat to the stability of the USA. This threat was
• Not caused by radical Islamic terrorists
• Not by Colombian drug lords
• Not by organized crime
• Not by radical right-wingers
• Not by radical left wingers
• Not by inner-city street gangs
This crisis was created by the best and the brightest Americans
• Educated at our finest universities
• The elite of our society by virtue of talent and riches
• The leading donors to our most deserving charities
• With the blessing of government leaders of both parties
Am I playing the blame game? You bet I am. The best and the brightest profited with enormous salaries, the adoration of the media, the perks accruing to the leaders of society. But they have failed and must step aside for new leaders. David Halberstam warned us that the best and the brightest would fight displacement by blaming others and impersonal forces for their failures as they did in the fiascos of Vietnam and Iraq. We must not allow that to happen.
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