GOOD ECONOMIC SIGNS

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO) ANALYSES
CBO is supposedly non-partisan.
Budget people at CBO Predict Recession Will End in 2009 Without Stimulus
CBO: Obama stimulus harmful over long haul

FINANCIALS NEWS
World stocks sag on concerns about Obama plans…
Wall Street falls on Geithner announcement…
Stocks plunge as Obama’s government unveils bailout plan
The dollar promptly fell and gold jumped $40 after Geithner said the Obama Administration “believes that China is manipulating its currency”
MAYOR: Obama should apologize for Vegas trip quip…
Obama: Caterpillar will re-hire people if stimulus passes; Caterpillar CEO: No, we won’t
CEOS DEFEND…

BUT…
Obama caps salaries at $500,000 for business executives

MORE HYPOCRISY FROM WASHINGTON
Politicians go to spa resort paid by taxpayers
Democrats use taxpayer money to go to luxurious resort for annual “planning” retreat…all during economic crisis
● Obama recently blasted Wall Street executives for their “excesses”
but he joined Democrats at the resort….mostly paid with taxpayer money.
● Obama chose this luxury resort to be his first trip aboard Air Force One….a 9-minute flight!
● About $500,000 of taxpayer dollars have been spent by Democrats to attend these retreats.
● About $70,000 are spent each year for an Amtrak train to ferry Democrats to the resort.
● Security helicopters fly above the train.
● Republicans also went the week before to another resort for “their planning session.” They said they don’t use taxpayer money but lobbyists’. Having interest groups so close to our politicians it’s not pretty, but that is reality. When has a politician with no funds won an election? John McCain found out that his campaign-financing bill although is sounded great it just restricted him to receive donations. Obama refused to use public funds and was free to raise unlimited amounts. Obama won.
● Using taxpayer money for these retreats is worse than using resources from lobbyists or from nonprofits organizations since taxpayers get robbed with so many taxes and then do not have dedicated personnel fighting for the private American citizen in Washington like interest groups (weather they are lobbyists or non-for-profit organizations or activists.)
● Some politicians pretend to dislike lobbyists but there are plenty of lobbyists in the current administration.

Politics is a nasty business.

BUT….POLITICIANS CRITICIZE OTHERS
● Wells Fargo Defends Then Cancels Vegas Retreat Amid Controversy
● Politicians slammed AIG executives for spending more than $440,000 at a company retreat…just days after receiving …$85 billion bailout in taxpayer funds
● Lawmakers excoriated banking and financial companies for flying in corporate jets to Washington to request bailouts

POLITICIANS CELEBRATE WITH $100-PER-POUND STEAK

Obama invited House leaders to celebrate the first House of Representatives passing of his Stimulus Bill.
Obama’s cocktail menu included Wagyu beef….

What is Wagyu?
One of the most expensive meats:

$2,299.99 for 15 lbs
at Costco

BUT…Obama said to businesses “…there will be time for them to make profits
and there will be time for them to get bonuses….
now is not that time…” (minute 1:49)

● Obama calls Wall Street bonuses “shameful”
Obama said, “It is shameful. And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.” (NYT)

“KANJORSKI talking about 9/18/2008: On Thursday at about 11 o’clock in the morning the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous drawdown of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion was being drawn out in a matter of an hour or two. The Treasury opened up its window to help. It pumped $105 billion in the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide; we were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts and announce a guarantee of $250,000 per account so there wouldn’t be further panic out there.”

The question is: Who orchestrated the September massive panic?

STIMULUS PLAN INCLUDES SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE
Are they following the recommendations from Tom Daschle, Obama’s choice for health czar (who already resigned due to tax problems) For unpopular legislations, Daschle recommended “to pass the legislation early in the first year of the president’s first term, when he is most popular and is least likely to be resisted….The other strategy, which is very smart, is to leave the nasty details out of the bill.”
*Will the Stimulus Plan ruin your health? (Bloomberg):
-It will make public your private medical records
-It will ration health care according to age (seniors not cost effective)
-Government bureaucrats to decide your medical treatment. Katrina anyone?
*Socialized medicine in Cuba

*Cuba’s “advanced” preventive health care?

*Australia’s health care is basically broke
*U.K.’ Socialized Health Care:
“In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision. ” (Bloomberg)

CONGRESS MORE INFLUENCIAL THAN PRESIDENTS
CONGRESS HAS MORE IMPACT ON THE DOW JONES THAN PRESIDENTS

Congress impact on Dow Jones

click image for analysis & sources

Republican Bush was the President when the failed bailouts started but it was a Democrat Congress in charge….they eagerly passed the bills. Bush was wrong in abandoning his free-market principles. Bush was wrong in trusting Democrat-lead Congress, his Republican-minority in Congress, his financial advisors like his Democrat Treasury Secretary Paulson and current Democrat Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (who was the President of NY Federal Reserve Bank which oversees WallStreet) Check Geithner’s Rap Sheet. Republican and Democrat Congressmen and Senators rushed to pass the bailouts.