Inciteful McCain

If Sen. McCain is not careful, he could go down in history as the candidate that incited violence AFTER the election is over! He is ratcheting up the stakes with his new robocalling strategy. What does he think his radical right wing followers will do if he loses? After he's told them that there's a terrorist headed for the White House? Where will all that hate go? It's shameful what this one-time-American-hero has stooped to.

The US Consumer Market is the Most Coveted

The US consumer may currently be down.....but certainly not OUT! It's frustrating to hear "conservatives' talk about the advantages of McCain's plan to cut corporate taxes to rates that are more consistent with the European average. As if that is the key to bringing business to the United States.

This is laughable.

Just as parents will pay more to live in the best school district, corporations will pay more to do business in the US. Why do the conservatives insist on putting our markets on par with the rest of the world? Isn't it bad enough that our blue collar work force is competing directly with the lowest payed workers in the rest of the world.

We need to begin to leverage the immense strength of our market or it WILL atrophy.

Sarah Palin

I don't care how "well" she performed in the debate! This person was a small town mayor just two years ago!

Bail Out Concerns

A basic concept underpinning the current bail out proposals seems to be the government purchase of these distressed mortgage-related assets. This seems reasonable on the surface. My concern is how these distressed assets will be priced. In the case of Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), I don't believe an accurate valuation is even possible right now. (IMHO) My recommendation would be to provide "rescue" funds to these banks based on an initial guestimate of value, and then do a future "true-up" of payments once the housing market stabilizes and a better valuation of these assets is possible. We simply should not (can not afford to) overpay these bankers for these assets. This is their mess.

UPDATE: Like most ideas, mine turns out not to be original: IMF Proposal

China, 100 years behind!

Based on the Melamine scandal, it seems China and its bourgining capitalism is about 100 years behind us in learning the importance of consumer protections in the market place. I suppose Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is not required reading in China.

Globalization, Multinationals, and Sovereign Wealth Funds

Just sharing some concerns about the path the world is on relative to Multinational Corporations and Sovereign Wealth Funds. For those of you don't know about Multinationals, there is a growing number of large corporations that describe themselves as "without nationality" (for more information just Google it!). They are global corporations that leverage their ability to source goods and services from the most efficient places on the planet. They are a significant component of the globalization of the economy. We are also seeing the the growing prominence of Sovereign Wealth Funds (Google them too, if needed). In the possible "fire sale" of assets that could be coming as a result of the current economic crisis, SWFs could end up with a very significant share. Has anyone thought about the possible ramifications of this? So far, SWFs have not imposed their wills on the companies in which they invest, however, this could change. Multinationals effectively blur the economic borders of physical countries. SWF currently have little transparency. Could a situation arise where all the wealth we're transferring to the middle east could come to haunt us through "globalization"? Could anti-American-backed SWFs put America at an economic disadvantage through accelerated outsourcing or other means? On the other hand, could concerns such as those expressed here spark protectionism here (and in other countries) that could also impact the global economy? I don't pretend to have the answers, but I hope someone other than me is asking these questions!

The Trifecta of Horror!

Sean Hannity interviewing Sarah Palin followed by Karl Rove commentary! Thank you Fox News!!!! :-)