9.07.2012
Another Rant
Been a while since I have ranted. Law School tends to keep me a little busy. I have lots to rant about this time around but I think I will stick to one thing that came to my attention this week. Representative Peter King of New York is holding hearings about the increase of radical Muslims in America. What amazes me is the lack of any uproar with this going on. Muslims in America are the new 2nd rate citizen... These hearings at their best reflect a McCarthyism that many thought we had left behind. Antecdotal evidence is being thrown around to link organizations like CAIR to terrorism. I am not saying they may not be linked but this is supposed to be a Congressional hearing you would think some concrete proof would be required,... but who are we kidding this is the Congress in 2011 proof is not their strong suit. Since antecdotal evidence seems to be foray of the day here are a few thoughts of my own. Just some facts 400 of the richest americans have more wealth than the bottom 50% of Americans. Americans spent twice what any other developed nation spends on health care and have the 37th ranked health care system according to the UN. I could go on but I would think even these two simple things require a little more attention than Mr. King's hearings...
3.26.2012
Are republicans watching the same primary?
I have been hearing a lot lately about the confidence of Republicans that they can beat Obama. Perhaps they can, but it's the arrogance with which they present their thoughts that strikes me. I mean Romney at this point is the likely candidate, he can't get his own party to like him. I mean here are some reasons why Romney will likely struggle
1. Politicians are not trustworthy, Romney takes the cake he can't tell what his own position is.
2. People vote their religion. Romney is a Mormon, he is closer to a Muslim then Obama.(Mormon's believe in multiple marriages too)
3. People want someone like them. Romney is a rich, 1%er, guy from the northeast that is nothing like them.
4. People at least want to be able to believe what you say. Romney is not sure he believes what he says.
5. People want a job creator. Romney has a track record of slashing and destroying jobs.
6. People like transparency. Romney doesn't, he still has not released more than two years of his taxes.
7. Romney looks good in debates against Bachman, Cain, Perry, Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul. You tell me which one of those candidates seems like the orator that Obama is.
I think Obama is going to have a challenge on his hand because in my opinion it doesn't matter who the candidate is. People blindly vote their team, red or blue. The question is what are the people at the edges going to go for and I for one am not ready to call it a landslide in either direction.
1. Politicians are not trustworthy, Romney takes the cake he can't tell what his own position is.
2. People vote their religion. Romney is a Mormon, he is closer to a Muslim then Obama.(Mormon's believe in multiple marriages too)
3. People want someone like them. Romney is a rich, 1%er, guy from the northeast that is nothing like them.
4. People at least want to be able to believe what you say. Romney is not sure he believes what he says.
5. People want a job creator. Romney has a track record of slashing and destroying jobs.
6. People like transparency. Romney doesn't, he still has not released more than two years of his taxes.
7. Romney looks good in debates against Bachman, Cain, Perry, Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul. You tell me which one of those candidates seems like the orator that Obama is.
I think Obama is going to have a challenge on his hand because in my opinion it doesn't matter who the candidate is. People blindly vote their team, red or blue. The question is what are the people at the edges going to go for and I for one am not ready to call it a landslide in either direction.
11.26.2011
Five Game Boycott
Most people are excited that the NBA is back. I am not going to lie I am happy as well. BUT... and it's a big BUT... there is a bigger point to be made here. Why did it come to this point. Really, it took the dissolution of the Player's Union for there to be concessions made. You know which party is being taken advantage of here... yeah you guessed it the fans,and honestly why not.
The NBA is getting in the habit of short seasons every time there are new CBA negotiations and they don't worry because the fans will come right back. The NBA needs to be reminded that fans are the reasons the players get paid, and owners get rich... simple as that. If you take us for granted we will remind you of that fact. My suggestion a nationwide boycott of the first five games that each team plays this year. I am not saying don't watch the game... simply that you watch it at home.
Five games without people in the seats and someone is bound to notice and get the message, that next time around they may want to come to an agreement before games are lost...
The NBA is getting in the habit of short seasons every time there are new CBA negotiations and they don't worry because the fans will come right back. The NBA needs to be reminded that fans are the reasons the players get paid, and owners get rich... simple as that. If you take us for granted we will remind you of that fact. My suggestion a nationwide boycott of the first five games that each team plays this year. I am not saying don't watch the game... simply that you watch it at home.
Five games without people in the seats and someone is bound to notice and get the message, that next time around they may want to come to an agreement before games are lost...
11.08.2011
The Mortgage Crisis
Finals are coming up so I obviously want to do anything but read for class and prepare for exams. Here is distraction number one for right now. THE MORTGAGE CRISIS, people disagree on how to solve it but most agree the problems in our economy are largely connected to homeowners being upside down. A good number might also agree that we are going to continue to see the problem until we do something about it. I have my own thoughts ... which I am of course going to share now... call it a solution but lucky for some I guess I am not in office and therefore I am not the one making the call.
A brief note on how this I think this mess got started, I think would shed some light on my thoughts and solutions. In the early 2000's prices went up year after year and people kept buying. Prices were going gangbusters and no one regulated anything. Everyone enjoyed the ride. It is not an exaggeration to say that mortgages were issued based on appraisals that were overvalued, income figures that were erroneous, sometimes made up, that the" professionals" were in on it. They were getting rich doing it. (Insert loan officer and CEO figures) What do I mean by professionals, the appraisers, loan officers, banks, loan companies, mortgage security bundlers, underwriters, rating agencies, and on and on... These were the "professionals" which to me means, they were the ones that were responsible for making sure things made sense. Let's issue a mortgage to a couple making 50,000 combined for a property appraised at $625000 based on whatever comps we can find, then lets bundle a whole lot of these mortgages together, bundle them, get Moody's to give them a AAA rating and sell it off to investors. Let me clear I am exagerating, but really am I. The picture was a little more complicated obviously to add to this mess the banks were betting on each other's obligations buying insurance from each other.
AIG was of course one of the largest holders of these "insurance" obligations and when some of the people came knocking it quickly became obvious nobody had thought about the risk that people would not pay. The "professionals" were making money hand over fist and were asleep at the wheel. So what did we do, what most agreed was the sensible thing to do, we bailed out the institutions. Sorry I know it may have seemed like I would opt for the banks just dealing with it on their own, but the risk was systemic and global. So I agree the bailout needed to happen.
What now... there are millions of homeowners who are upside down, and facing foreclosure. It's simple the "professionals" messed up they weren't doing their jobs they deserve to be punished. The industry must be forced to take write downs on mortgages that are upside down, and so it's fair they should have to do it whether the homeowner is struggling or not... period. They were all complicit they all suffer. What about homeowners that already own their homes outright, yeah they don't get anything concrete, but a stable housing market would be the best thing that ever happened to them. Now comes the dirty word MORAL HAZARD, we are rewarding people that took on more than they could afford... you know you are dam right we are.
You know what is a moral hazard? The shit these guys were doing... lest we forget about what I think led to this and they were on their knees begging for a bailout no bank executives seemed to say anything about Moral Hazard then. They were all going to fail, disappear, someone needs to remind them that they are lucky they exist at all. Yeah right downs would likely decimate some of them and shrink the size of a whole lot of others... well that's the free market at work we don't pick winners and losers. Write offs are the right thing to do and the best way to avoid MORAL HAZARD's in the future. Banking will shrink but those people that got write downs will start spending and other industries will recover. By choosing Banks we are picking winners and losers... The idea so many people are so vehemently against.
A brief note on how this I think this mess got started, I think would shed some light on my thoughts and solutions. In the early 2000's prices went up year after year and people kept buying. Prices were going gangbusters and no one regulated anything. Everyone enjoyed the ride. It is not an exaggeration to say that mortgages were issued based on appraisals that were overvalued, income figures that were erroneous, sometimes made up, that the" professionals" were in on it. They were getting rich doing it. (Insert loan officer and CEO figures) What do I mean by professionals, the appraisers, loan officers, banks, loan companies, mortgage security bundlers, underwriters, rating agencies, and on and on... These were the "professionals" which to me means, they were the ones that were responsible for making sure things made sense. Let's issue a mortgage to a couple making 50,000 combined for a property appraised at $625000 based on whatever comps we can find, then lets bundle a whole lot of these mortgages together, bundle them, get Moody's to give them a AAA rating and sell it off to investors. Let me clear I am exagerating, but really am I. The picture was a little more complicated obviously to add to this mess the banks were betting on each other's obligations buying insurance from each other.
AIG was of course one of the largest holders of these "insurance" obligations and when some of the people came knocking it quickly became obvious nobody had thought about the risk that people would not pay. The "professionals" were making money hand over fist and were asleep at the wheel. So what did we do, what most agreed was the sensible thing to do, we bailed out the institutions. Sorry I know it may have seemed like I would opt for the banks just dealing with it on their own, but the risk was systemic and global. So I agree the bailout needed to happen.
What now... there are millions of homeowners who are upside down, and facing foreclosure. It's simple the "professionals" messed up they weren't doing their jobs they deserve to be punished. The industry must be forced to take write downs on mortgages that are upside down, and so it's fair they should have to do it whether the homeowner is struggling or not... period. They were all complicit they all suffer. What about homeowners that already own their homes outright, yeah they don't get anything concrete, but a stable housing market would be the best thing that ever happened to them. Now comes the dirty word MORAL HAZARD, we are rewarding people that took on more than they could afford... you know you are dam right we are.
You know what is a moral hazard? The shit these guys were doing... lest we forget about what I think led to this and they were on their knees begging for a bailout no bank executives seemed to say anything about Moral Hazard then. They were all going to fail, disappear, someone needs to remind them that they are lucky they exist at all. Yeah right downs would likely decimate some of them and shrink the size of a whole lot of others... well that's the free market at work we don't pick winners and losers. Write offs are the right thing to do and the best way to avoid MORAL HAZARD's in the future. Banking will shrink but those people that got write downs will start spending and other industries will recover. By choosing Banks we are picking winners and losers... The idea so many people are so vehemently against.
11.07.2011
NBA Lockout
Rather than write a whole long rant here are some points.
• The past CBA was a 57/43 split. The players are now offering a 52/48 split, so they are willing to take a pay cut.
• I have heard a lot about the whiny players... they are just negotiating for what they think is fair... again they are making an offer that is lower than the starting point... the current CBA
• Does David Stern seem like he has lost his mind?
• The owners own these franchises ... why don't they seem to be afraid of the brand losing value
• My opinion is that fans are to blame... we make the owners rich by buying tickets and watching the sport...
• A new movement needs to be started... boycott of games once a deal is made. For every game that gets cancelled due to lockout, fans will boycott two games after the season begins.
Hoping this will start some ranting from others... What are you guy's thoughts?
• The past CBA was a 57/43 split. The players are now offering a 52/48 split, so they are willing to take a pay cut.
• I have heard a lot about the whiny players... they are just negotiating for what they think is fair... again they are making an offer that is lower than the starting point... the current CBA
• Does David Stern seem like he has lost his mind?
• The owners own these franchises ... why don't they seem to be afraid of the brand losing value
• My opinion is that fans are to blame... we make the owners rich by buying tickets and watching the sport...
• A new movement needs to be started... boycott of games once a deal is made. For every game that gets cancelled due to lockout, fans will boycott two games after the season begins.
Hoping this will start some ranting from others... What are you guy's thoughts?
11.03.2010
Election 2010
Disappointed... Happy... for better or worse the elections were yesterday... Time to congratulate the winners, console the losers and start working for a better tomorrow.
I graduated from college in 2001 and before graduation I was already working for a State Assembly member. That was the year that 9/11 happened… it seems to me that we have become more divided in our views, more charged in our political attacks, more unwilling to work with each other from that point on. We were on the same page for a few years, a unified front but soon that unity faded.
I am not saying we all have to agree. Anyone that knows me or has read any of my past posts knows I have pretty strong opinions. Discourse is important because it helps us arrive to better solutions, but there in lies the crux we need to arrive at solutions. They are not all going to be perfect… I don’t think any of us have all the answers but we have to work towards some sort of progress. I myself have to heed my own advice.
Two more things. Politicians are not saints, and I don’t expect them to be. They have to be negotiators, fighters, smart, and aggressive. If we had a bunch of “Tibetan” Monks running the place I am not sure any hard decisions would ever be made. There are no right answers in many cases just different approaches. The second point is that we have to be patient enough to let these approaches bear fruit. I may not like the results of the election but throwing up road blocks to ensure the other side fails is not going to get us anywhere…
3.23.2010
Why are the Republicans in such an uproar? (Just take a vacation perhaps "Costa Rica")
Just a thought if Barack Obama doesn't do anything else for the rest of his presidency he will already have done tons more than the last person who had the job. Last I checked since he took over the stock market has improved, he has worked on the torture issue, vowed to close Guantanamo, worked on passing historic Health Care legislation, worked on withdrawing from Iraq, oh and he won a Nobel Prize along the way. I think its about time the President took a vacation, I mean the last President only took more than any other President in the history of our country. But in his defense nothing was going on... oh wait...
Lets take a look shall we... A full blown terrorist attack on our soil, Katrina, two wars, Valerie Plame, "Mission Accomplished, Full financial meltdown, TARP (yes it was first passed under Bush), No child left behind, oh and of course Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, water boarding, etc... Under Clinton we had a surplus after a Republican administration we managed to have the largest deficit ever... hmm definitely sounds fiscally responsible, yeah his vacations were definitely justified.
You would think with their track record they would learn to just be quiet for a little bit. It's like the kid in class that failed every subject but just can't seem to understand why people don't think he is smart. I am all for open discussion and discourse but when the talking heads of your party are Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the others at FOX News it makes you wonder.(these guys all love the last guy) To top that we always have Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, and Dan Quayle... you mean to tell me this is who America wants to lead our government if something happens to the President... you had your chanced you failed, pipe down and chill for a while you are used to vacations anyways...
Lets take a look shall we... A full blown terrorist attack on our soil, Katrina, two wars, Valerie Plame, "Mission Accomplished, Full financial meltdown, TARP (yes it was first passed under Bush), No child left behind, oh and of course Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, water boarding, etc... Under Clinton we had a surplus after a Republican administration we managed to have the largest deficit ever... hmm definitely sounds fiscally responsible, yeah his vacations were definitely justified.
You would think with their track record they would learn to just be quiet for a little bit. It's like the kid in class that failed every subject but just can't seem to understand why people don't think he is smart. I am all for open discussion and discourse but when the talking heads of your party are Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the others at FOX News it makes you wonder.(these guys all love the last guy) To top that we always have Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, and Dan Quayle... you mean to tell me this is who America wants to lead our government if something happens to the President... you had your chanced you failed, pipe down and chill for a while you are used to vacations anyways...
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