http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j7yD94F9y4&feature=player_embedded
This video provides a glimpse in the direction that the Tea Party would like to take our country. The ironic thing is that many members of the Tea Party would then be restricted from voting. They may not object to this as long as it would restrict minorities from voting as well. This would be consistent with the fact that many Tea Partier's were against the healthcare reform bill that would have given them access to Medicaid because it also made less desirable Americans eligible for Medicaid. I guess that is why many of them prefer to cut taxes for millionaires even if it means that their taxes do not get cut. You have to give credit to the media outlets and religious organizations that have taught them that certain principles are superior to their own best interest.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Framing the Political Debate
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/opinion/03brooks.html?src=me&ref=general
David Brooks sometimes refers to himself as the liberal's favorite conservative. That is because he is a very knowledgeable person who enjoys a good debate that deals with substance. I was particularly interested in his description of his debate with Paul Ryan at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Brooks was arguing that there was room for compromise on many of the issues that have divided our political parties. Ryan took the position that the GOP should not compromise on principle, and that the GOP should aggressively pursue its own agenda. Brooks then offered his view of a compromise on tax reform that he believed Obama could sell to the public.
The debate between Brooks and Ryan reminded me of a debate between William Buckley, who was one of the leading conservative intellectuals at that time, and Howard Zinn who represented the left wing of the Democratic party. Buckley expressed dismay at the political dialogue that he observed in the country. He felt that the debate was between liberal democrats and radicals on the left. He was concerned that conservatives had been left out entirely from the debate. I think that Buckley was correct in his observation. I think the debate between Brooks and Ryan reflects the political dialogue that frames most of our debates today. It is between the political center and the radicals on the right. Brooks admires Ryan (because he is smart), but he believes that Obama, who he also admires (because he is smart), could move a bit to the right and get a tax bill passed. I doubt that this is true, given that the objective of the GOP is to destroy the Obama presidency, but that is not my point. A political system in which the debate is between Brooks and Ryan unnecessarily restricts the range of solutions to many of our problems that require government leadership and a broader range of potential solutions.
David Brooks sometimes refers to himself as the liberal's favorite conservative. That is because he is a very knowledgeable person who enjoys a good debate that deals with substance. I was particularly interested in his description of his debate with Paul Ryan at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Brooks was arguing that there was room for compromise on many of the issues that have divided our political parties. Ryan took the position that the GOP should not compromise on principle, and that the GOP should aggressively pursue its own agenda. Brooks then offered his view of a compromise on tax reform that he believed Obama could sell to the public.
The debate between Brooks and Ryan reminded me of a debate between William Buckley, who was one of the leading conservative intellectuals at that time, and Howard Zinn who represented the left wing of the Democratic party. Buckley expressed dismay at the political dialogue that he observed in the country. He felt that the debate was between liberal democrats and radicals on the left. He was concerned that conservatives had been left out entirely from the debate. I think that Buckley was correct in his observation. I think the debate between Brooks and Ryan reflects the political dialogue that frames most of our debates today. It is between the political center and the radicals on the right. Brooks admires Ryan (because he is smart), but he believes that Obama, who he also admires (because he is smart), could move a bit to the right and get a tax bill passed. I doubt that this is true, given that the objective of the GOP is to destroy the Obama presidency, but that is not my point. A political system in which the debate is between Brooks and Ryan unnecessarily restricts the range of solutions to many of our problems that require government leadership and a broader range of potential solutions.
Friedman on How We Make China Happy
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/opinion/01friedman.html?src=me&ref=general
I am usually frustrated by much of what Friedman writes because he has a talent for telling a good story that is usually a bit off-target. In this op-ed he does a good job of story telling that might cause people to think about the future of a great country that is impossible to lead into a future that it does not want to understand, and into a world that does not exist beyond its national, or perhaps state, borders. Frankly, I would be worried about the country that Friedman describes if I were China. It is an enormously powerful country that faces an uncertain future. It will be difficult to predict how that power will be used by the kind of leaders that its electoral system is capable of producing, and by a political system that is in a constant state of electioneering because that is what its leaders are good at.
I am usually frustrated by much of what Friedman writes because he has a talent for telling a good story that is usually a bit off-target. In this op-ed he does a good job of story telling that might cause people to think about the future of a great country that is impossible to lead into a future that it does not want to understand, and into a world that does not exist beyond its national, or perhaps state, borders. Frankly, I would be worried about the country that Friedman describes if I were China. It is an enormously powerful country that faces an uncertain future. It will be difficult to predict how that power will be used by the kind of leaders that its electoral system is capable of producing, and by a political system that is in a constant state of electioneering because that is what its leaders are good at.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Council of Foreign Relations Interview with Marriott CEO
http://www.cfr.org/publication/23430/ceo_speaker_series.html
Some of you might be interested in watching this video featuring J.W. Marriott, the CEO of Marriott International. His comments on the world economy reflect the exposure of his business to almost every country. I was particularly interested in what he said about growth prospects in China, India and Brazil. He was not pleased with the 31% loss of travel business in the US in the last decade. When foreigners travel to the US it counts as a US export and it would stimulate our economy. He believes that there is a lot of interest around the world to visit the US but we have not done a good job of marketing the country and we have made it very difficult to obtain a visa. Europe has been booming and no visa is required.
Some of you might be interested in watching this video featuring J.W. Marriott, the CEO of Marriott International. His comments on the world economy reflect the exposure of his business to almost every country. I was particularly interested in what he said about growth prospects in China, India and Brazil. He was not pleased with the 31% loss of travel business in the US in the last decade. When foreigners travel to the US it counts as a US export and it would stimulate our economy. He believes that there is a lot of interest around the world to visit the US but we have not done a good job of marketing the country and we have made it very difficult to obtain a visa. Europe has been booming and no visa is required.
Weak Numbers on Job Growth and Unemployment
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/12/an_ugly_jobs_report.html?hpid=topnews
The graph tells the whole story. Unemployment rate is up slightly and job growth is anemic.
The graph tells the whole story. Unemployment rate is up slightly and job growth is anemic.
- Wall Street Owes Its Survival To the Fed
CFR.org - Wall Street Owes Its Survival To the Fed
The Fed published its balance sheet in compliance with the financial reform law. This is a brief but informative response to the information provided by the Fed. We know that congress gave the government $700 billion under TARP for the rescue of the financial system. The Fed, however, provided $3.3 trillion in loans and guarantees to a variety of US and international institutions to rescue the worldwide financial system. Some of our largest banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, were in much worse shape than they admitted at the time. Both were heavily dependent upon facilities made available by the Fed. The thrust of the article is not to criticize the Fed for its role in saving the worldwide financial system. Rather, the article suggested that the problem, if left to elected officials, may not have been remedied.
The Fed published its balance sheet in compliance with the financial reform law. This is a brief but informative response to the information provided by the Fed. We know that congress gave the government $700 billion under TARP for the rescue of the financial system. The Fed, however, provided $3.3 trillion in loans and guarantees to a variety of US and international institutions to rescue the worldwide financial system. Some of our largest banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, were in much worse shape than they admitted at the time. Both were heavily dependent upon facilities made available by the Fed. The thrust of the article is not to criticize the Fed for its role in saving the worldwide financial system. Rather, the article suggested that the problem, if left to elected officials, may not have been remedied.
Extensive Examination of JP Morgan's CEO
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/magazine/05Dimon-t.html?_r=2
Jamie Dimon did a better job running JP Morgan that most of his peers. That may be a low standard, but he has survived, along with his company, better than most. This article describes his management style and his vision for JP Morgan. He wants JP Morgan to become an even bigger global bank than it is already. He envisions 50% of his revenues coming from international markets. This raises questions about whether we are moving from the problem of being to big to fail to becoming to big to save as suggested by Simon Johnson. JP Morgan has $2 trillion in assets today and the plan is to grow the asset base rapidly overseas. When the asset base a of bank becomes large relative to GDP, and internationally entwined, it may become to big to save much in the way that the Irish banks have become to big to be saved by Ireland. The impaired assets of the Irish banks, and the capital they required, was larger than the national GDP. Ireland has become dependent upon international intervention to restore its banking system and its economy.
Jamie Dimon did a better job running JP Morgan that most of his peers. That may be a low standard, but he has survived, along with his company, better than most. This article describes his management style and his vision for JP Morgan. He wants JP Morgan to become an even bigger global bank than it is already. He envisions 50% of his revenues coming from international markets. This raises questions about whether we are moving from the problem of being to big to fail to becoming to big to save as suggested by Simon Johnson. JP Morgan has $2 trillion in assets today and the plan is to grow the asset base rapidly overseas. When the asset base a of bank becomes large relative to GDP, and internationally entwined, it may become to big to save much in the way that the Irish banks have become to big to be saved by Ireland. The impaired assets of the Irish banks, and the capital they required, was larger than the national GDP. Ireland has become dependent upon international intervention to restore its banking system and its economy.
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