Here is one that sticks out:   A GUY WHO DRIVES           A CAR WIDE OPEN        IS NOT THINKIN’        HE’S JUST HOPIN’

When I had digested President Obama’s strident, partisan and angry oratory in Ohio two days ago, I had the impression he and his speech writers had not been and were not — THINKIN.’   Just hoping that the message would work since nothing else seems to be (working that is).

That messsage?  One the dems have been using a lot lately and one the President believes mitigates all of his disastrous spending policies:  The devil Republicans made me do it.  Especially President Bush.  Not the dems fault.  Blame anybody else but not them.

The crowd that was there loved it.  The ‘anti-Beck’ has spoken and the faithful cheered.

I didn’t buy it and I don’t think the the voters in Ohio will either.

Come on, who is the President kidding?

His Ohio visit and message wasn’t about the economy at all.  It didn’t address the problems nor offer any viable solutions.  There was no meat in it.

Nope.  It was nothing more than a campaign speech with all of the requisite negativity thrown at the ‘not-so-loyal’ opposition.

There is no place in today’s economic and political atmosphere for our President to be so decisive.  I can understand why Beck, O’Reilly, Olberman and the like do it (money, money, money — thank you ABBA).  But the President?  No way, Jose (not Canseco)!

The President’s primary job is to solve American problems, close behind is to be a cheerleader for our weary nation.

Come on Obama?  What have you and your fellow socialists Democrats done in the past two years?  Doubled and tripled the deficit, created unheard of debt and done absolutely nothing to fix unemployment.

The blame game only works so long and the dems deadline to drop out of the game was last spring.  Oh, yeah, Obama, what ever happened to that change in politics you promised us?  Same old same old.

I don’t like either party right now.  I hope you are with me on this.

Bush was an awful President.  The Republicans in Congress just made his terms worse.  But Obama is opening himself up to being right there at the top with Bush and the dems in Congress are not helping the President.

We need solutions from our leaders.  Not stonewalling and criticism.  But President Obama has really opened the door and the Republican leadership is going to go storming through.  I hope they do.

We need new and better leadership.  In Washington D.C. and in our own backyards (cities, counties and states–hope you heard about the city leaders in a small California town that were bleeding the working citizens to death with near $million compensation packages).

To mention just one important thing, we need to start over with a completely new tax code . . . and that will only happen if we get completely new leaders in Washington.  To change the anger and hatred in politics we have got to change the politicians.  In fact we need to rid our nation of the word “politicians.”   No career elected leaders, ever, just genuine citizens elected for a term or two.

I (we?) can only hope that the two parties tear at each other so much that we, the people, see them for what they are and start voting out every single multi-term elected official there is.

By the way, a VAT (value added tax) like most other developed nations have would be an excellent replacement for our income-tax system.  And the best way to stimulate the economy is to create jobs, give incentives to businesses, and then get government the heck out of the way.

Believe me, while I have rested my keyboard-weary fingers for a few months, my mind has been going full-speed-ahead.  I have watched my stock portfolio take a hit that is reminiscent of 2008 (I cringed when I got my statement today), Congress has proven yet again their unworthiness to govern and President Obama  has demonstrated to all sensible  Americans that he is  as American born and Christian as the next   (only attends church on Easter and for funerals).  The economy is souring with unemployment still (20 months into this recession) the #1 problem.

But wait, there is more.  Iraq is no longer a combat zone for Americans (pity the poor Iraqii’s though), Afghanistan is ballooning into a Vietnam and a Korea all balled up into one awful nightmare, and the Mid-East situation is no better at all (despite the opening of Obama’s direct talks with Palestinians and Israelis) as the threat of Iranian nukes hovers ominously.

Hold on!  If you keep on reading you will get even more from CapitalistMarks in the coming days.  Health care reform is proving to be the opposite of the wonderful promises made  (Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Utah has cancelled my policy and forced me to take another with significantly less coverage/benefits coupled with added costs that could easily be in the tens of thousands of $$ each year).  I am told there are a bunch more like me out there that won’t be helped at all until at least 2014 when the new Obamacare/Democratcare plan kicks in.  Health care costs will continue soaring, and health insurance companies profits will bollow in lockstep.  But will I (others) live until 2014 with reduced coverage and costs that exceed average American family incomes?

Bailout spending?  Sure a few big banks have survived and some large Corporations  too . . . but only to the benefit of the CEOs and a few of their croonies . . . surely not you and I . . . the employees,  ‘head-shaking’ shareholders or the stunned taxpayers.

Stimulus?  Cost billions more than we were told originally and now Obama and his minions are talking about adding a few dozen more billions.  And, the Federal Reserve is out of arrows with interest rates at zero (of course they have quantitative easing left . . . but the Fed buying up government notes will add to the already enormous deficit).

Fiscal Policy?  Don’t look for any help in an election year.  Everyone in the country knows that the tax system needs to be reinvented.  But, don’t expect any politicians to offer  any credible solutions that would cost any votes.

Remember the old sage who said (roughly) ‘when 51% of the poor decide they want to live off the honest earnings of the other 49% then democracy will fail.’   Well, Obama’s democratic solutions of socialism at it’s worst are beginning to make that a possibility.  Wouldn’t it be something if he really is a Muslim or Communist ’sleeper’ who ends America’s greatness by destroying our economic/political system with old fashioned Marxist policies?  NOTE:  I do not believe this . . . but I can see why some bloggers are going conspiracy theory on us.

China?  Passed Germany as the #2 economy in the world and is only 30 or so more years of double digit GDP growth from passing the U.S.  Oh, yeah, don’t forget their military is growing faster and more aggressively than any other in the world, nor their efforts to grab natural resources from the rest of the world for their own good (sounds pretty capitalist to me).  Note that the ‘rare earth’ minerals used in so many high-tech products are produced primarily in China’s two mining/mineral centers, and that the costs of these crucial minerals have gone up over 1000% (yep, one thousand) in the last 10 years or so.

Iran?  I can’t even bear to talk about it.  Ahmadinejad is nuts!

Venezuela?  Run by a lunatic dictator who makes Castro (in his old days) seem like a kindergarten recess monitor.

Housing?  Millions of homes in foreclosure and the banks still won’t bend over to help anyone despite federal laws requiring them to do so  (wait until those very real writeoffs hit the books!).

Unemployment?  Some estimates put actual #’s as high as 20+% when underemployed and work-force abandoners are included but regardless there are at least 25 million Americans who want good full-time jobs and don’t have them.

Global warming?  Only the HOTTEST summer in history for our northern hemisphere.

I could go on but my moist, fearfuk and warm tears are clouding my eyes too much.

All I can say is it behooves you to stay tuned to this channel.

I will tell it like it is–give my answers to tough questions–offer solutions where needed.  I will be right-on most of the time and never wavering in pursuit of truth and justice.

But,remember this always:  the single biggest problem America has today is professional politicians.  They call D.C. home and they love living there and partaking of their un-American perks and benefits.  The new byword is ‘if you don’t like their perks, get rid of the jerks.’

Do NOT vote for incumbents . . . we need citizen leaders who leave their real lives to serve for 4-8 years and then go back to those same lives.  Guys like you and I who can listen to both sides consider the alternatives and decide what is really best for our country.   Our founding fathers intended it.  We really have to now.  Oh, and eliminate the guaranteed jobs, golden retirements and benefits for congress and government employees.  Make them live like the rest of us . . . they won’t want to stick around more than they are welcome if we can push that through.

I hope you will join me at the polls in November to oust the greedy, self-serving ‘pros’ and vote in our neighbors and friends who will do an honest job (particularly those who promise to go home after one or two terms).

I will post when impressed to do so and not just in order to get another word in.  You can count on that.  Also, due to some continuing health issues, I may not post as regularly as I would like.  I promise though, every post will be important, current, relevant and helpful.

Like we all want to root for Afghanistan to rise up out of the poverty and religious intolerance that has made it one of the poorest nations in the world . . . war torn for decades, rife with uneducated Mullahs (except in their perverted view of the Qu’ran) who poison the minds and wills of generations of young people, destroyed by Russia’s arrogance, and now occupied by America and it’s allies in a seemingly perpetual war against terrorism and Al Quieda.

Our government has tens of thousands of troops in this God-forbidden, mountain bound’ land-locked and insular land.  We have spent hundreds of billions of $$ trying to rid the country of wicked and ignorant men and women who care nothing for the ‘nation’ we are trying to create for them.  Our efforts to educate the people (mostly the young) have met with resistance and killing.  Attempts to free women from the bondage of poorly interpreted religious traditions resulted in further hatred and even torture.

And yet, our government (with support of a majority of citizens) has labored on.  Like other battles for the ‘underdog’ Americans stand willing to sacrifice for the ‘greater good.’

The blood of hundreds of our young men and women has been spilt on the dusty plains and rocky ranges of the faraway country.  Enormous amounts of equipment, supplies, food, and other necessities have been shipped there.

And why?

We think we know and so struggle on, but . . . Karzai?

Karzai has assumed that it has all been for him and his ill-conceived, and even more ill-functioning government.  Bribery is a way of life there.  Fraud and abuse of the $$billions we send there result in little being dribbled down to the people as corruption at the highest, and all, levels are commonplace.

Karzai and his cronies line their pockets and play at governing but the Afghan people see no improvement.  In fact most reports say they  either fear or hate the bureaucrats and police.  There are even rumors of government alliances, both political and financial, with some of the Taliban.

This of course has been hard to stomach.  I have not trusted Hamid Karzai from the first day I saw him on TV costumed in his pretentious green robes and sillywool ‘crown.’  There was something inherently dishonest in the was he spoke . . .  the droll of his pleas for peace and money.  I have been a pretty good judge of character in my life . . . it has helped a lot . . . and I judged him bad from day one.

The stated strategy has been that we must support the ‘nation building’ of a country that has rejected a central government for generations.  All so that the nooks and crannies within its borders will not become hiding places for terrorists bent on destroying all western and Christian forms of life.  The process has been harrowing and dangerous.  Some of our allies have packed up and left . . . deeming the goal to be unachievable.

Yet, America presses on under the leadership of our own new President.  Hoping that eventually Afghanistan will thrive under a legitimate and self-sustaining democratic government.  I can only say dream on.

Both President Bush and President Obama have voiced support for the ‘elected’ leader of the land:  Hamid Karzai.  I say ‘elected’ because the most recent elections were so rife with fraud that no President should have been elected.  Yet Karzai prevailed . . . and Obama has said that ‘the people’ of Afghanistan have spoken.

Let me tell it like it is:  Karzai is in power in Afganistan only because America allows him to be.  Perhaps this administration considers him the lesser of two evils (or three or four for that matter).  But, this support is misguided and wrong.

Karzai is not in control of his nation.  He is even less in power. The United States military, along with our few remaining allies, is in control and has the power, such as it is.

Yet this administration continues the charade of Karzai’s puppet government.  We allow him to parade around the world as if he was a genuine leader worthy of international acclaim.  He is the titular head of a ragtag army and national police force . . . yet those very forces are trained and funded with our tax dollars.  There is no real government in Afghanistan.

Talk about a balanced budget– heck Afghanistan’s government has revenues of only $1 billion and spends over $3 billion.  About the same as a mid-sized city in Montana.  Are you kidding me?  Karzai has been bad for his own people and he has been bad for us . . . more so every day it seems.

Now, Karzai has really crossed the line.

Last week he complained of ‘international’ interference in the most recent election (international can only mean U.S. since we dominate the foreign presence there).  The White House took that with unexpected resilience that came across as far too understanding.

Then, a few days later, in a final strike at the hand that feeds him, Karzai said that if foreign interference continued the Taliban would be legitimized and he might even join them.  What the heck would he do without ‘foreign’ interference?  He would be nothing but another penniless  ’foreigner’ strolling along Paris streets.  Is this guy crazy?  A Quisling?  Traitor, enemy, crook?

The audacity of this idiot is incredible.

And it must not be allowed to continue.

It is time for Obama to follow the lessons learned after WWII in Germany and Japan.  Our military must take over the entire government process until the people of the country are distanced enough from Karzai’s puppet and illegitimate rule to see that self-governance can and will work.

This will take years.  But we must do it.  We simply cannot allow Afghanistan to collapse again like it did when the Russkies abandoned it.

America and our allies must be in control of everything that goes on in Afghanistan.  We have to control the police, the army, the bureaucrats, transportation, licensing . . . the entire government.  We have to be there to manage our $$Billions and save our soldiers lives.  We can’t leave any decision that involves the Afghans or our soldiers to be left up to others — especially not someone like Karzai who only came to Afghanistan after the successful ‘invasion.’  We have to make sure the people in every city and throughout the country have peace, freedom, education, roads, dams, schools, hospitals, and everything else it takes them to enter, at least, the 20th century.

It is clear that this will never happen with Karzai or anyone else like him.  Leadership can’t just be assumed.  It has to be learned and earned and America must be the teacher here.  Perhaps there is a young man (or woman) somewhere in Afghanistan who can, someday,  rise to leadership . . . and we must provide the avenue for him (or her) to do so.

It will be a huge commitment (perhaps along the lines of post-war Germany or Japan, maybe even South Korea) and it will take years, not months.  Forget the pretense of Karzai’s leadership and take control.  Out of the existing mess, one day,  pride and greatness can rise. jJust not now.  Just not Karzai.

That much is as clear as anything in this troubled world.

I call on President Obama to recognize that Karzai is NOT a legitimate leader and has neither the qualifications nor the honor to function as President of Afghanistan.  Appoint an interim ‘Governor’ and assume complete leadership.

Give the Afghan people a chance–and some time.

thanks to flickr’s blatantnews.com for the photo

The Repubs are guaranteeing to make this the #1 issue in this year’s midterm elections.  Some are even proposing to repeal the bill.  Of course, Obama, has struck back with ‘bring it on’ which is scary since weren’t those the exact (or very close) words Bush used when referring to Osama Bin Laden and his rag-tag crew a few years ago?

But at least we, the people, are now getting a chance to look at the bill (several web sites including  Whitehouse.g0v link to copies).

Politics aside this bill is clearly better (at least for 30 million Americans) than nothing . . . and there are some real advantages to what has been passed: no lifetime limits for coverage of serious illness (like the cancer that has struck both the mother and father of a great family we know), and no arbitrary exclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Great.  And of course as the only developed nation in the world that doesn’t offer health care as a ‘right’ we have just added those 30 million mentioned above to the system so we are a bit closer to the health equity of all other rich nations.

And this is probably a good thing.

Yesterday I was driving home from a doctor’s appointment with my wife when we heard a discussion about that very point on the radio.  She turned to me and said something I had never heard from her before–and believe you me it pressed home the point.

“I remember my Dad telling my Mom with real astonishment a few months after we had emigrated here from Germany, ‘I had no idea that you get no health care in America — you have to pay for it all yourself, either with insurance or out of your own pocket.  The government does nothing.’  They were both worried and the result was that while I grew up my brothers and I  hardly ever saw dentists or doctors because we couldn’t afford to.”

Boy that struck home.  If my 4 kids had not had good insurance while growing up then none of them (nor I) would be around today.

Of course from a social justice point (and to heck with that airhead Glen Beck for ridiculing that term) America should provide health care to those who need it.  How can we have ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ without good health?

BUT . . . on the other hand.  How do we (and believe me it is you and I that will) pay for it??

Big issue and one that the Obama plan practically ignores.

I took a survey and extended it from the one person I polled to the entire nation.  Here is what I found out.

Most Americans would like to see the government provide health care to all . . . they just don’t want to pay for it with more taxes.  What they DO want is to lower the out-of-control inflation of health care costs and the crazy increases in insurance premiums.  Did you know that if health insurance premiums continue at the rate of the last decade then in another decade or two all of our paychecks will go to health insurance?  True.  And that is a scary thought.

Government always over-extends social benefits–and not just the democrats.

Social Security?  The standard employee withholding in 1950 was 0.2% (the amount the government takes out of your wages for you to contribute to S.S.) and today it is 6.2% or a 3100% increase!  Further S.S. is the most expensive government program in the world and America’s biggest federal budget expenditure all while being essentially bankrupt.

Medicare?  Medicaid?  Same kind of thing with even worse funding and cost problems down the raod.  Do your own search but I assure you that what you read will be scary.  And now we add another program that is almost just as bad and will certainly bet worse?

What is going to happen with this new reform?  We know that, at least, in the next ten years it is going to cost about $1 trillion and as our government gets into it and as entitlements increase the costs are going to soar just like other entitlement programs in the past.  That seems to be inevitable human and political nature.

This reform does very little to deal with the most critical issue on the health care horizon:  costs.

America has to find a way to lower cost inflation in health care.  Actual costs have to be lowered while still providing reasonable service.  The bill is silent on the issue.  No interstate competition for insurers (Adam Smith assured us that competition would always drive prices lower), no effort to deal with Tort Reform and limit frivolous law suits (that enrich greedy lawyers who then run for Congress, yech), no legislation that deals with incredible RX costs (ours are much higher than most nations even though a majority of new drugs are developed by U.S. companies), and there are other ways to cut costs too — but Obama failed to address them.

Seems like tax and spend, or spend and tax, all over again.

How the heck are we going to pay for this thing 10 years down the road.  Will the 4% surtax on the wealthy be increased by 3100% and extended to everyone like Social Security funding?  My math shows that is not even possible but the thought is scary enough.

We can’t afford  to have another Social Security system or another Medicare/Medicaid system.  Not without giving up defense programs, the war on terror, and many other federal programs.

Maybe, and it pains me to admit this, the repubs have it right and they should try to repeal this bill and start over by taking health care issues one at a time and do each of them methodically and  right.  I do know that as it stands we surely have moved one step to the left and are closer to European socialism than we have ever been before.

For a free market, true democracy, freedom of choice guy like me this bill smells bad.  Something is rotten in Denmark Washington D.C. and in a few years our Treasury is going to need open heart surgery and a full financial-resucitation all at once!!

Sorry folks, but the truth hurts.

The reasons for his approach are clear.  The imbalance in our trade with China is huge ($266 billion deficit in 2008) and the total trade with China has grown from $5 billion in 1980 to about $410 billion in 2008 — that’s 8000% growth.

President Obama recognizes that this kind of trade imbalance and expansion can’t continue.  Every year China gets the gift of a few hundred billion $$ to do with as they please . . . and they please to put more and more into their military budget and expansion of influence around the world.

China holds about $700 billion of U.S. debt and Obama made it clear that he doesn’t like owing China that kind of money–especially when the markets that create the debt are so lop-sided.  Still, China insists on keeping the value of their currency unrealistically low, which distorts (to their advantage) their real capacity to manufacture and export.

It is so easy a cave man could do it, because the Chinese leaders have a ‘command economy’ (they control everything about their economy) and we have a ‘market economy’ (the will of the masses directs economic results).  It comes down to the fact that  the Chinese have about a fifty point lead at the beginning of each year’s game (forgive the basketball analogy but it works).  America has no chance to make up the difference.

Obama started his first year in a conciliatory mode . . . expecting countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China (the so-called BRIC’s) to change from a tight-fisted acceptance of American leadership to an arms wide open welcome.  To give him credit it has worked a bit–but not with China.  They have taken this as a sign of weakness and followed-on with strident, aggressive and bitter language and actions.

Obama should have known better, his advisors didn’t do their jobs.  Heck I grew up in the orient and I could have told him that orientals have a vastly different view of the world.  To them respect is earned with strength, earnestness and real credibility.  Obama failed in all three cases.

China saw this as an opportunity to act.  They are planning to send a man to the moon (with US $$) and build aircraft carriers to extend the range of their military influence (with US $$).    But more importantly they are  ’purchasing’  loyalty from leaders in Africa and South America where the abundant natural resources will, in the future,  fill the voracious demand of Chinese manufacturing and the energy/fuel needs of a huge and rapidly growing middle-class.  Again with the American $$ they earn from the unlevel field of our mutual trade.  (note: to be fair the Eruo-zone nations are suffering the same ignominious treatment)

Back to the Obama speech on Thursday.  He spoke of a need for China to improve their human rights dealings.  He spoke of a need for them to let their currency float on international markets so that trade will be more balanced.  He spoke of leveling the playing field.  And his words were not very conciliatory, for the first time that I know of.

So, perhaps this marks the end of his effort to win friendship with hugs and kisses.  Perhaps now the Obama administration will put realistic diplomacy at the forefront of our international relations.  Perhaps this new effort will particularly include China–our 2nd largest trading partner, our 3rd largest export market (after Canada and Mexico) and our largest importing market.

I hope so because I am sick and tired of China running rough shod over America.  I am tired of their political and diplomatic hypocrisy.

They willingly broadcast their friendship with those who hate America such as the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran–its like kicking sand in our faces.  But, shoot, when Obama meets with a revered international religious leader like the Dalai Lama, the Chinese leaders have an ickky fit.  They gripe and moan at our selling or sending defensive weapons to tiny little Taiwan whose entire population is not even equal to that of Shanghai.  Heck let tham ‘claim’ that Taiwan is a part of China but don’t ever let them pretend to be afraid of that miniscule little nation of free and entrepreneurial people.  More people are born in China every year than live in Taiwan.  Get real.

I don’t want our relationship with China to be adversarial but it sure as heck can’t be apathetic.

We have to recognize that they are a potential foe and recognize that today they are at best a faux friend.

President Obama and Secretary Clinton need to deal with the Chinese leaders as equals and do so without giving anything away.  The 1.3 billion people in China love western (read American) things but they also revere their own history and culture.    Wow, and 300 million American’s love Chinese things (almost everything we buy at Walmart or Best Buy) but we also revere our history and culture.

We can get along.  We have far too much mutual benefit at stake to do otherwise.  And besides I don’t think the people on the streets of either country want enmity . . . they want to be tourists of each country.  Every time I visited China the Chinese people I met wanted to be friends, to sit and talk, to spend a few hours doing Kareoke . . . and I have to tell you that they must have been sincere since listening to my rendition of anything is a chore.

We need to become real friends with China and use the relationship to benefit both nations people.  But we have to do it in a way that is fair to everyone.

Keep the pressure on Mr. President.  Until our relationship with China is fair and balanced.

thanks to flickr’s exfordy for the photo

Stocks have rallied, the $ is stronger, and government bond interest rates have gone up.  Signs that confidence and the economy continues on a growth path.

Sadly, but naturally, commodity prices also went up–from oil ( over $81 –yikes!) and gas (natural gas remains near an all-time low) to corn and copper.

Unemployment (click on the above chart for a better view) remains the #1 priority on President Obama’s desk (despite his continuing push for the democrats to force health care as defined by the dems) down American’s throats.  But, the question is will he act?

Obama and his minions just have to start taking tax uncertainty and health care cost uncertainty off the table.  They should waste no further time and simply announce that ALL the Bush tax cuts will remain in place (maybe expanded with business friendly cuts) and that health care (if not passed by the dems in the next two weeks) will be taken off the table for the rest of Obama’s term.

Then, I think we will see businesses’ opening their healthy coffers of cash (the big ones) or their entrepreneurial resources )the smaller ones)  to ‘full speed ahead.’

thanks to speaker pelosi for the chart

As to health care, congress should forget the massive restructuring they contemplate and start working on the important pieces one at a time.  Like a bill to open interstate competition.  Then a bill directed at tort reform to reduce costs.  Finally (this year anyway) a bill to regulate the insurance companies with the interests of the entire country in mind (no denials of benefits, insurance available to even the sick, and rate increases limited to inflation adjusted health care costs.

There is a lot to do and a lot to look forward to.  I am hopeful for the first time in months (see prior blog on the Obama ‘Home star’ program).

I would just love to see the March unemployment #’s drop but right here and now I will predict a slight increase to 9.8% in March (primarily because Obama and the dems will not likely do anything to mitigate the above mentioned uncertainty).

The next couple of weeks will really determine the rest of the year.  Act now Mr. President.  Help him Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.  Pleeeeease!

I like it.  The home construction industry will like it.  Home Depot and Lowes (mentioned in the speech) are really going to like it.  Local building supply retailers are going to like it.  Most importantly the American home owner is going to like it–a lot I suspect.

Here are some of the items he spoke about:

Homeowners are going to be given an incentive to make their most important possession (usually) more energy efficient with a ‘rebate’ of up to $3,000.  The rebate will be calculated by giving back 50% of the cost of applicable ‘raw materials’ needed to accomplish the goal.  The program is tilted towards things like windows, doors, insulation, roofing and such.

All of that is good enough, but Obama has shown his true potential here with the  way he is going to handle the details.  And, in this case the approach is unique, vary creative and a major step in simplifying the process.

Let me say here that I used the old program last year to get a $1300 tax credit for buying new highly insulated windows . . . but I had to search carefully for the right ones, get all kinds of details on efficiency, keep records of the entire project, calculate only the actual window costs and then apply those to my taxes to get the credit some 8 months after the project started.  Yechh!

But this new program is a giant leap forward in government thinking and execution.  It helps the consumer, it helps the construction industry, small business, local contractors (all hurting in this recession) and big box and local home suppliers alike.

The rebate applies to things like roofing, insulation, windows and doors–all things that are usually made in the good ‘ol USA — oh yeah, baby.  Those things are all going to be installed by local contractors and sold by local stores.  The program is actually going to create jobs, save consumers $ over the long term and short term, and stimulate the economy (get us consumers to spend).

But, the greatest and most unique part of the program (and don’t ask me how the government is going to do this ) is that you and I, if we chose to improve our home’s efficiency will get the ‘rebate’ right at the cash register.  No waiting.

Now, that is thinking Mr. President.   You’ve made this program appealing and easy.  That doesn’t sound like something government would typically create.

So I congratulate you President Obama.  You are finally showing that you have the capacity to live up to your ‘hype’ and push change that is beneficial all the way around.  I just wish that this kind of focus had been forthcoming earlier in the recession.  Think of what the $758 billion stimulus could have accomplished if this kind of program had been used and multiplied by 10 fold.

Fantastic.  Private sector type thinking goes a long way to making me, and a few hundred million others, believe we just might be able to improve our trust in government and stimulate our confidence . . . 70% of the U.S. economy just got a little more positive in their outlook.

Great job Mr. President.  Hoorah!

Too many politicians and far too many economists have been wearing monetary policy blinders for the last year or so.  They do seem to be working.  but that isn’t enough today.

Sure interest rates are too low, sure there is no more expansionism the FED can do right now, and sure the ‘quants’ have been spending far too much time at their computers modeling what future rate policy will do for/against economic growth.

We all pretty much get that.

But, what about the current White House administration whose present worries seem  limited to the problem with employment?  I think they are leaning too much on the FED’s liberal current views of expansion.  They need to act unilaterally.

The problem is that with so much apathy in the White House (apathy to real action in their own front yard that is) no one is paying any attention to the mood of small businesses and hopeful entrepreneurs.

Why?  Doesn’t take a bunch of polls to tell us that most Americans in those two categories are cautious . . .  and that they are cautious due to lack of direction in terms of fiscal policy.

Anyone with a payroll knows that employment and business taxes are too big of a burden right now.

Uncertainty regarding the administration’s views on the subject are restricting growth (particularly in all-important employment).

What to do?

Announce soon, as in this week Mr. President, that the former administration’s tax cuts are going to be allowed new life rather than an early death.  Don’t let those tax cuts die President Obama.

Too many of the potential ‘hirers’ in the economy are waiting–even though they see obvious signs of economic growth–waiting to hire, waiting to expand, waiting to add to inventories, waiting to take a flyer an new products focused at the consumer.

You, Mr. President can change all that.

Continuing (and maybe adding to) the Bush tax cuts would very likely calm the nerves of businesspersons (nearly half of them are women afterall) and consumer (more than half) alike.

Take a flyer on American intelligence and ingenuity President Obama.  I am pretty sure that if you took such action, we would see a surge in the economy and in stock markets within a few weeks (at most).

I’m ready to pile back on and a bunch of others will be too–if you calm our fears of imminent tax hikes.

thanks to flickr’s wonderlane for the photo

A Noble Peace Prize?  Oh come on, who thinks the world is safer or more peaceful than it was a year ago at this time?

Really.

But, with few real accomplishments in his first year, tomorrow presents our  ’celebrity’ leader a 2nd chance to move America forward.  The State of  The Union message is traditionally a time for the President to speak of past achievements and lay out plans for the coming year(s).  This time around there is only cause for future plans.

Tomorrow Obama needs to talk about only three things — unemployment and unemployment and unemployment.

If he does so in a way that is encouraging and restores optimism to the average American,  I think they will give him another chance and perhaps his party too.

If he does not, then I believe both America’s and World-wide stock markets will tank (accelerating last week’s declines) in a visible reflection of the populace’s distrust and doubt regarding the World’s preeminent leader’s policies.

A lot of this will have to do with how the media characterizes the future after the speech, but I believe most American’s will ‘get it’ on their own too.

This  ’do nothing ‘ Democrat-heavy government has got to start focusing on the issue that resonates with Americans of class except the ‘royalty’ residing in plush Washington D.C. homes.

It is not a difficult call.

With 15 million unemployed, 5  million under-employed and at least another 20 million more who are married to, parents of, or friends to the first 20 million, there will be heads to roll in the next election.

That ought to give the D.C. royalty a thing (or 20 million) to think about.

How many voters really give a crap about high falootin and pork belly  health care issues if they or a friend/relative is out of work!

President Obama had better have some genuine solutions for unemployment, and not the income transfering middle-class benefits that have been touted on the news as White House leaks lately.  Giving a few $$ more deduction for kids on someone’s taxes isn’t putting anyone to work!

Things that he needs to promote are:

Immediate infrastructure projects that have real usefulness over the long-term,

increasing military recruitment (to take the pressure off of soldiers who have spent 2 or 3         tours in the battlefields),

immediate, huge  incentives to small businesses to encourage them to hire,

the same incentives to entrepreneurs to encourage them,

and, how about the government hiring another 500,000 or so homeland security types — it isn’t like we don’t need them at our airports, border crossings and in our malls.

We need action that will add jobs within 60 days —  not 3 years!

And, stop VP Biden,  or anyone else in the administration, from talking about the millions of jobs Obama has saved or created . . . that is just political ‘preeming.’

Show us the money!

I’m waiting Mr. President, because I really want you to succeed.

Darnit, I have friends and family that are out of work and can start tomorrow!

Actually day-after-tomorrow will be fine with them.

thanks to flickr’s ewen and donabel for the photo

He announced today a number of initiatives to limit the ‘free-market’ activities of big banks. The implications to future profitability for those institutions (think here of JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and such) is going to be significant.

Apparently investors think things are going to get a bit darker for the ‘biggies’ as a result.  Stocks of most of them took a big hit today.

thanks to adobemac for the flickr foto

Summarizing Obama’s speech is easy.  He doesn’t want the big banks to be able to take risky bets on other people’s money.  Heck, what precipitated the recent recession if not the big banks (financial institutions) and their Las Vegas style of money management?  The President gets it.

At first I was a bit disappointed.  You know, here goes the democrats putting new regulations and restrictions on free enterprise.  But on further reflection I am inclined to take a Keynesian mock-liberal view.  Do what is best for the country.

In fact I believe the President’s action will go a long way toward limiting  future financial crises.

You see, what happened in the past few years is that financial institutions had every incentive to take the ‘big’ bets.  Low interest rates made money readily available.  The banks ability to leverage ‘our’ money made it even easier and potentially more profitability.  There seemed little or no risk to taking big bets.

Lack of regulations in that  wild-west landscape?

Even Greenspan admitted that financial executives were legally (morally?) able to operate for their best good at the expense of ‘us.’

Bottom line:  I approve of the President’s anger and response.

Financial institutions should be free to do whatever they want with their own equity (money they have put up).  But, as regards to all of ‘our’ depository money (which gave them huge additional leverage)?

Whoa cowboy, keep that money safe and even off the freaking radar of the overpaid money managers who just loved to bet ‘our’ money so they could get any spoils but not risk any of their own $$.  $20 million bonuses?  Easy money folks.  But not so much now.

Good work, Mr. President!  Keep thinking outside of the box . . . you may even be able to persuade a republican or two to consider legitimate health care reform.