Tag archive for ‘Secretaries’
Getting to Sixty before January 20th
As it presently stands, the Novemeber 4th election resulted in 55 Democrats, 2 independents (Lieberman and Sanders who both caucus with Democrats - making an effective 57 Democrats), 40 Republicans, and 3 seats oustanding. The three outstanding seats are Coleman’s in Minnesota, Saxby-Chambliss’ in Georgia, and Stevens (the convict) in Alaska. By hook and because of a “crook” - it would appear that the Democrats may wind up with the 60 votes needed for a “filibuster proof Senate” before the 111th Congress is sworn in next January.
The Obama Gaffe
With some of America’s largest and most prestigious financial institutions undergoing a threatening liquidity meltdown, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has not hesitated to seize the opportunity to exploit the situation for political gain. Despite being the second largest recipient of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac political donations in the entire United States Congress, he [...]
The Sting: Now that the bail out is law - will it work?
Yesterday, the President signed into law HR 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization and Recovery Act, also known as “the bailout bill.” With the stroke of the President’s pen, Uncle Sam entered the financial market with 700 billion dollars in cash and a mandate to buy the crappiest investments that Wall Street can muster. The hope of the politicians who passed the measure is that the massive injection of money by the Treasury will stabilize the mortgage market, stop the free fall in the value of equities, and most importantly, keep the entire fabric of western capitalism from unravelling. We should all be cheering, right?
Bail out on the bailout
Put simply - the problem with the bailout is this - who are we bailing out, exactly, with the current Bill (HR 1424)? The now 420+ paged monstrosity includes things such as tax breaks for employers who encourage their workers to take bicycles to work, a 2500+ dollar tax for electric vehichle purchases, an alternative fuel tax credit, credits for biodesiel and alternative fuels, credits for carbon dioxide sequestration, credits for geothermal heat pumps, tax breaks for the steel industry, changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax system, oh and among my personal favorites, a seven year amortization table for the expenses associated with development and running a motocycle racing track. Yes, you heard me - motocross racing tax provisions.
Something I could get excited about - Colin Powell on the ticket…
So the rumor mills in Washington are grinding again at the thought that former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, met with both Senators Obama and McCain. Moreover, there is considerable speculation at the thought of having Powell as a Vice President pick for either candidate. I fear, however, that Colin Powell is possibly headed to [...]
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