The Art of Finger-pointing - The Blood Bath Continues

Monday in Asia. 8-8-2011. "Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region plunged, wiping billions of dollars more off world share prices. Last week’s turbulence in financial markets chopped off an estimated $2.5 trillion from the value of global equities.

Among the major Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 3.8 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 2.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was down 3.8 percent after briefly diving nearly 7 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.9 percent, Singapore’s benchmark dived 4.7 percent, Taiwan’s market slid 3.8 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 3.6 percent.

The main Philippine Stock Exchange index declined 2.4 percent." See http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/38527/global-markets-in-turmoil

Monday on Wall Street. 8-8-2011. 10-year and 30-year US Treasuries rallied (prices rose, interest rates dropped) despite S&P's downgrade of US debt.

The Dow closed down 634.76 points or 5.55 percent.

The are two ways to fix this:

1. US and Europe to incur more debt, China to buy more with the cash it supposedly has or

2. with option 1. not being likely, Obama ought to announce to the nation and delay the effective date of his health care plan to 2022, disengage from all foreign wars and conflicts immediately, lay-off 50% of federal government staff and allow their talents to serve the private sector and fire all the economists who have proven time and again that their theories and econometric models are diametrically opposed and worthless and the combination of them deadly.

In the next blog, I get to point my finger again, this time at the economists and their theories.

The Art of Finger-pointing

It all began in Washington. The TEA party republicans pointed fingers at President Obama and the Democrats for overspending. President Obama and the Democrats pointed fingers at GW Bush for his mismanagement of Wall Street, wars and basically everything else, costing the US trillions of dollars that is now debt. The result was the hostage-taking of the US dollar by the politicians of both parties resulting in the cutting of spending with no new taxes and the purchase of a political gain by Obama to raise the debt ceiling beyond the 2012 presidential election. The bickering lasted months until it was down to the wire.

Sunday. The Senate passed a compromise bill.

Monday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the United States was living beyond its means as a parasite feeding on the global economy. The House passed the Senate bill.

Tuesday. Deadline for the United States to avoid a default on its debt. The President signed the compromise bill. The debt ceiling was raised and default by the United States was averted.

Wednesday. The Dow dropped over 200 points.

Thursday. The Dow dropped another 513 points, erasing all of 2011's gains. Barack Obama's 50th Birthday.

Friday. After Asian markets declined following the steep drop on the NYSE, the European markets plunged: London's FTSE 100 down 3.5%, Germany's DAX 3.8% and France's CAC-40 2.5 percent. The US market has yet to open. [August 5, 2011 - DOW closed up 61 points after being down almost 240 around noon EST.]

And so the finger-pointing continues. The Democrats blaming the TEA party, the Republicans blaming the President, Russia blaming the United States, the United States blaming the Eurozone (Portugal,Ireland, Greece, Spain and now Italy) and China, except no one is blaming themselves for their own selfish actions.

Since everyone gets to point a finger, let me point mine as well. First at GW Bush for he was the "decider" when Wall Street failed, when he spent trillions on two wars, one that was unnecessary (Iraq) and one he executed poorly and lost (Afghanistan), second at the majority on the US Supreme Court in 2000 who put GW Bush in office and finally at myself, for voting for him in 2004 because I thought that the Democratic challenger, Senator Kerry was far more arrogant than GW Bush. I should have abstained from voting, not that my vote would have made a difference.

Debt Crisis - The President Has No Plan

A lot of republicans who had gone On the Record with Greta Van Susteren on Fox had complained that President Obama had not presented a plan to solve the debt crises. Even the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) director Douglas Elmendorf remarked, "We don't estimate speeches. We need much more specificity than was provided in that [April 13, 2011 budget] speech for us to do our analysis."

In President Obama's defense, I say that it is not the duty of the Office of the President to come up with a budget that would pass both houses of Congress. It is the Congress that holds the nation's purse strings. Having said that, I also maintain that President Obama could be dollar-specific with his budget in leading this country out of its $14.5 trillion public debt, see http://www.usdebtclock.org/

The reason that President Obama is unable or unwilling to be specific is that he does not want to his executive decisions to be limited by a budget. After all, who can renovate a home without money or credit?

Republicans do not want this President to spend anymore money the Unites States does not have. They want to cut spending and refuse to raise taxes.

To cut spending means no new spending. No new spending means no new programs, and it is new spending for new programs that define a presidency, positively or negatively.

In the case of GW Bush, his recklessness in spending is still costing the United States and world today in terms of economics and human suffering. In the case of Barack Obama, the verdict is still out, even though it is not looking good for him. This debt crisis impasse, even if resolved next week, may mark the beginning of the end of his one-term presidency.

President Obama can probably hear it already: No budget. No leadership. No jobs.

Perhaps there is a speech that he could give. Better yet, a prayer that he could say.