In Advance, Please Forgive Me For This Rant

[sosprey]

Gary -

You speak much truth. Also I want to give you props for the leadership aand inspiration you give to young folks to aspire to achieve their best.

Unfortunately all three constituencies share the blame [the 99%, the 1%, and the government (both parties)] all squabbling about the problem and doing nothing. The 99% continue to be swayed by petty issues and keep good (not perfect) people from seeking office for fear of getting their reputations trashed, the government fighting party line battles using political brinksmanship to score petty victories instead of doing a few good things, and the 1% are just a bunch of greedy bastards covering their asses the best way they can with no thought to the coming apocalypse.

We have devolved into a culture of largely irresponsible people expecting someone else to take care of them (liability claims for hot coffee spilled in a lap, welfare moms with multiple children, etc.) instead of Personal Injury Lawyers maybe we should create Personal Responsibility Lawyers and fine or jail (into a work program) folks who make spurious claims (give a bounty to the lawyers to get them on board with the idea). Many of our public schools are a joke filled with kids who do not support the notion of education, and educators complaining about "high stakes testing".

Brangelina, J Lo, & Brittany are more important news than how to provide childcare and job training and work to people who are struggling to rise from difficult circumstances. We should boycott all communication chanels that purvey celebrity gossip of any form and demand more useful news from all media.

The parable of Stone Soup comes to mind. Everybody will have to give up something if we are to get back the "can do" attitude that made America what it was. Unfortunately those of us in the middle ground just get runover by the two ideological extremes, and the 1% just enjoy the confusion.

[GaryDroze]

Amidst the gloom, one ray of hope...

I don't know if kids in other prep sports are like my cross-country & track athletes, but a good number of the youngsters I coach are bright, involved, and caring of others. At least part of this generation is up to the task of making the most of this crappy world we've bequeathed them...and not one of my former runners has become an investment banker. Props!

[JIm Smith]

Just read your rant, AMEN

[big bend gyrene]

Scoop Sea, forgive the sarcastic reply but don't you know your ranting is disrespectful to the very people Time Magazine named "person" of the year for 2011... "The Protester". Yep, the left has mysteriously decided the protester of 2011 is a MUCH improved/saner model versus the 2009 version... with that in mind, here's a cartoon that perfectly sums up THIS 2009 protester's opinion...

media protest 11_4_11.jpg (428.15 KiB) Viewed 1044 times

[big bend gyrene]

As for a dialogue that's worth a listen (and bet will capture the feelings of many on the board), Adam Carolla recently had a rant that i.m.h.o. is SPOT ON.

*** WARNING*** -- Adam uses saltier language than I normally would, but it's a rant after all... don't want to hear an anti-OWS rant with some foul language, PLEASE DON'T CLICK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQpXybTnGVg[/video]

[reelbad]

I launched a powerful movement at Wal-Mart this morning when I occupied a stall in the men's room.

Gary I hope you flushed twice cause it's a long way to Washington DC.

[MudDucker]

The shift of wealth is due to stupid government policies, not the 1%. The housing market collapsed due to the policies of the Barney Frank, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The derivatives were but a symptom of guberment gone wild. The deriviaties should have never been allowed, but they were created because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had an insatiable demand for cash to make loans to people who simply could never pay the loans back. This one guberment blunder caused the biggest loss of wealth by middle class folks since the great depression.

Sad thing is that the liberals in the guberment are trying to launch it again.

I agree government is at fault, they are supposed to regulate banks, corporations etc and have failed to do so for the past 30 years due to corruption.

You need to get your facts straight though. "Liberals" had little to do with what you described above, if you want to play the blame game and accomplish nothing it was actually de-regulation from the conservatives that contributed the most to sh!t storm were in.

The party or the president and majority of congress has little to do with this though, as they both continue to do the same thing. One day people are going to realize their ideologies and belief in one side or the other is the primary cause to our problems, as the same type of person continues to be voted into power.

I don't know what you are smokin', but man it must be some good stuff! The facts are clear. The demoratic party is the #1 culprit in this mess. This failure was not due just to lack of regulation, it was due to Barney and the boys jamming requirements down on banks to make sub-prime loans under programs called community redevelopment and Barney and the boys allowing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to run wild. Who ramped up Freddie and Fannie? Why none other than Jimmah Cartah. Need I remind you which party he belongs to?

A deregulated bank would NEVER make loans that it knew could not be repaid nor would a mortgage market make such loans without a Fannie Mae or a Freddie Mac to with guberment guarantees. Look at the market before these wonderful "new society" deals of the demoratic party. Look at all of the demoratic officials who are now under investigation for criminal activity. Look at Barney run!

There should be regulation of markets only to foster full disclosure and punish criminal behavior. There should be no guberment interference and distortion of the markets for social engineering.

Now the liberal scream about lack of banking regulations. The main deregulation bill was the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. This Act repealed Glass-Steagall. Students of history will know Glass-Steagall was enacted for purposes of separating commercial banks and investment banks as a firewall so that if one collapsed it would have minimal or no effect on the other. It worked exactly as it was intended until its' repeal.

The Commodities Futures Reform Act of 1999 removed all financial derivatives including CDO's, MBO's and Credit Default Swaps from all regulation and oversight.

In 1999, at the request of the President and his SecTreas, the SEC eliminated the maximum 12:1 capital requirement for all of the players mentioned above and only them. They all immediately "leveraged up" to 30:1 and 40:1 debt to capital and put it all in derivatives as both issuers and counterparties.

There are many other players and events that contributed to the collapse but these three things were the fundamental causes of the collapse. Without them there wouldn't have been the collapse we experienced. They were the linchpins.

Guess who the President was who signed these bills into law in 1999? Why guess, it was Bill Clinton. Do I need to remind you which party he is a member of?

Do I need to post the actual recording from CSPAN where President Bush asked Congress to look at Freddie and Fannie and the snide looking Barney's public reply.

American voter ignorance is the demoratic party's greatest ally!

You are right in one thing, one day people are going to look at history and facts and realize that one party's blind reliance upon gubmerment interference is a primary cause of our problems and they will vote that party out of power completely!

[MudDucker]

We have devolved into a culture of largely irresponsible people expecting someone else to take care of them (liability claims for hot coffee spilled in a lap, welfare moms with multiple children, etc.) instead of Personal Injury Lawyers maybe we should create Personal Responsibility Lawyers and fine or jail (into a work program) folks who make spurious claims (give a bounty to the lawyers to get them on board with the idea). Many of our public schools are a joke filled with kids who do not support the notion of education, and educators complaining about "high stakes testing"

This is so true, but do we stop here. No, we must look to the cause. The root cause in the destruction of the culture of America that lead to our success is the rise of the liberal progressives who use the guberment to foster irresponsibility under the guise of compassion. We no longer exalt those who work hard and achieve, instead, one groups seeks to tax away their success to give to those who chose to be irresponsible. As for personal injury lawyers, please look at studies to see what party they overwhelming support. They overwhelmingly support the demoratic party which has been the main stumbling block to tort reform in this country.

[MudDucker]

As for a dialogue that's worth a listen (and bet will capture the feelings of many on the board), Adam Carolla recently had a rant that i.m.h.o. is SPOT ON.

While his language lends nothing to the argument, his idea is absolutely correct.

Let me say this though, I do think that some parents in our society had and have swung too far too early on competition. I've seen parents absolutely going nuts over their kid's (under 10 yr old) sports performance or the lack thereof. Our parents used to have to work too hard to have time to come the ball fields and become our personal coaches. We need to let a kid be a kid and learn the rules of the game before we go overboard on competition. However, once they reach an age of some understanding, the bullcrap "participation" trophies need to end and they need to be taught what competition is. Competition is NOT a dirty word. Entitlement IS a dirty word.

[Gumbo]

Thank you, sir! Now I know who to blame for the rich getting richer. It's those pesky liberals! All their policies to tax the rich have actually resulted in the greatest concentration of wealth in history along with low corporate tax rates and a completely disappearing middle class. Boy, they messed that one up, eh? Can't even get their own social engineering correct. And here I was stupidly thinking that the politicians who are beholden to corporate money were doing their bidding. Sure got that one wrong. I'll vote for the elephant every time now knowing that they will fix this mess (and maybe even outlaw participation trophies).

[MudDucker]

Thank you, sir! Now I know who to blame for the rich getting richer. It's those pesky liberals! All their policies to tax the rich have actually resulted in the greatest concentration of wealth in history along with low corporate tax rates and a completely disappearing middle class. Boy, they messed that one up, eh? Can't even get their own social engineering correct. And here I was stupidly thinking that the politicians who are beholden to corporate money were doing their bidding. Sure got that one wrong. I'll vote for the elephant every time now knowing that they will fix this mess (and maybe even outlaw participation trophies).

Conservatives want to drop everyone's taxes. Jackazzes want to start class warfare and have the other fellow pay for their big government. If you don't think there are a bunch of demorats, including Nancy Pelosi, who have not made themselves rich during this debacle, then you need to remove your rose colored glasses.

[Jumptrout51]

Nancy Pelosi is among the richest members of Congress,[109] with an estimated net worth of approximately $58 million, the 12th highest estimated net worth in Congress, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics[110]

While members of Congress are not required to disclose their exact net worth, organizations such as the Center for Responsive Politics prepare estimated ranges based on public disclosures. The CRP's midpoint estimate of the Pelosis' net worth is $58,436,537 as of 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available, with a possible range from $7 million to $124 million.[111]

In addition to their large portfolio of jointly owned San Francisco Bay Area real estate, the couple also owns a vineyard in St. Helena, California, valued between $5 million and $25 million.[citation needed] Pelosi's husband also owns stock, including $1 million in Apple Inc.[citation needed], and is the owner of the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League.

[big bend gyrene]

If you don't think there are a bunch of demorats, including Nancy Pelosi, who have not made themselves rich during this debacle, then you need to remove your rose colored glasses.

Dayum straight, MudDucker... I think many liberals are completely blind as to how hypocritical their leadership is regarding wealth. You would think Republicans would be bulk of the richest gooberment leaders, right? Wrong... here's a list from 2010.

1. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) - $188.37 million
2. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) - $160.05 million
3. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) - $152.62 million
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) - $81.50 million
5. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) - $73.75 million
6. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) - $70.19 million
7. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) - $56.49 million
8. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) - $55.47 million
9. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) - $49.70 million
10. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) - $46.07 million
11. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) - $31.41 million
12. Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.) - $25.52 million
13. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) - $21.74 million
14. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) - $19.90 million
15. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) - $19.69 million

Few more facts to consider...

1. The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress is now slightly over 2 billion dollars. That is “billion” with a “b.”
2. The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress increased by 25 percent between 2008 and 2010.
3. This happened during a time when the net worth of most American households decreased by 23 percent.
4. The net worth of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi increased by 62 percent from 2009 to 2010. That number is astronomical as investment returns go.

[big bend gyrene]

JT... Pelosi keeps up her rate of return she's going to own the world pretty soon. When it comes to herself she sure appears to be pretty capitalism savvy despite all that socialism talk, now doesn't she???

[hmaadd29]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-oS4WLui3Q