Friday, June 17, 2011

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, June 17, 2011


The Easybeats...
Posted by at

6 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/imf-cuts-u-growth-forecast-warns-crisis-130529571.html

The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth on Friday and warned Washington and debt-ridden European countries that they are "playing with fire" unless they take immediate steps to reduce their budget deficits.

* JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE AGE OF OBAMA!

June 17, 2011 at 9:15 AM
William R. Barker said...

* THREE-PARTER... (Part 1 of 3)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/opinion/17brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

[T]he most devastating scandal in recent history involved dozens of the most respected members of the Washington establishment. Their behavior was not out of the ordinary by any means. [Indeed, this scandal] indicts patterns of behavior that are considered normal and respectable in Washington.

[T]he Fannie Mae scandal is the most important political scandal since Watergate.

It helped sink the American economy.

It has cost taxpayers about $153 billion, so far.

* THAT'S DIRECTLY. BY CRITICALLY DAMAGING THE AMERICAN ECONOMY THE ACTIONS OF AMERICA'S MOVERS AND SHAKERS (WITH A DISPARATE NUMBER BEING DEMOCRATS) HAVE COST US FAR MORE THAN "A MERE" $153 BILLION.

The Fannie Mae scandal has gotten relatively little media attention because many of the participants are still powerful, admired and well connected. But Gretchen Morgenson, a New York Times colleague, and the financial analyst Joshua Rosner have rectified that, writing “Reckless Endangerment,” a brave book that exposes the affair in clear and gripping form.

* To be continued...

June 17, 2011 at 10:11 AM
William R. Barker said...

* CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 3)

The story centers around James Johnson, a Democratic sage with a raft of prestigious connections. Appointed as chief executive of Fannie Mae in 1991, Johnson started an aggressive effort to expand homeownership.

Back then, Fannie Mae could raise money at low interest rates because the federal government implicitly guaranteed its debt. In 1995, according to the Congressional Budget Office, this implied guarantee netted the agency $7 billion.

Instead of using that money to help buyers, [Democrat] Johnson and other [mainly Democrat] executives kept $2.1 billion for themselves and their shareholders. They used it to further the cause - expanding their clout, their salaries and their bonuses.

Fannie Mae co-opted relevant activist groups, handing out money to Acorn, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other groups that it might need on its side.

Fannie ginned up Astroturf lobbying campaigns. In 2000, for example, a bill was introduced that threatened Fannie’s special status. The Coalition for Homeownership was formed and letters poured into Congressional offices opposing the bill. Many signatories of the letter had no idea their names had been used.

Fannie lavished campaign contributions on members of Congress. Time and again experts would go before some Congressional committee to warn that Fannie was lowering borrowing standards and posing an enormous risk to taxpayers. Phalanxes of congressmen would be mobilized to bludgeon the experts and kill unfriendly legislation.

Fannie executives ginned up academic studies. They created a foundation that spent tens of millions in advertising. They spent enormous amounts of time and money capturing the regulators who were supposed to police them.

* To be continued...

June 17, 2011 at 10:12 AM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 3 of 3)

Morgenson and Rosner write with barely suppressed rage, as if great crimes are being committed. But there are no crimes. This is how Washington works. Only two of the characters in this tale come off as egregiously immoral. Johnson made $100 million while supposedly helping the poor. Representative Barney Frank, whose partner at the time worked for Fannie, was arrogantly dismissive when anybody raised doubts about the stability of the whole arrangement.

Most of the people were simply doing what reputable figures do in service to a supposedly good cause. Johnson roped in some of the most respected establishment names: Bill Daley, Tom Donilan, Joseph Stiglitz, Dianne Feinstein, Kit Bond, Franklin Raines, Larry Summers, Robert Zoellick, Ken Starr and so on.

Of course, it all came undone. Underneath, Fannie was a cancer that helped spread risky behavior and low standards across the housing industry. We all know what happened next.

The scandal has sent the message that the leadership class is fundamentally self-dealing. Leaders on the center-right and center-left are always trying to create public-private partnerships to spark socially productive activity. But the biggest public-private partnership to date led to shameless self-enrichment and disastrous results.

It has sent the message that we have hit the moment of demosclerosis. Washington is home to a vertiginous tangle of industry associations, activist groups, think tanks and communications shops. These forces have overwhelmed the government that was originally conceived by the founders.

The final message is that members of the leadership class have done nothing to police themselves. The Wall Street-Industry-Regulator-Lobbyist tangle is even more deeply enmeshed.

People may not like Michele Bachmann, but when they finish “Reckless Endangerment” they will understand why there is a market for politicians like her. They’ll realize that if the existing leadership class doesn’t redefine “normal” behavior, some pungent and colorful movement will sweep in and do it for them.

June 17, 2011 at 10:12 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/167085-senate-panel-approves-14b-funding-increase-for-pentagon

* SUBTITLE: OTHER THAN KILLING THEM... HOW DO WE STOP THEM FROM SPENDING?

The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved defense legislation provides almost $15 billion more than last year's bill.

* FOLKS... THIS IS INSANITY. WE'VE SUPPOSED ENDED COMBAT OPERATIONS IN IRAQ, YET...

The $547 billion is $14 billion more than the enacted 2011 funding level...

(*SIGH*)

“Unfortunately, the committee chose to authorize millions of dollars in unnecessary and unrequested pork-barrel projects, and rejected my efforts to stop the out-of-control cost overruns of the F-35 program,” [Senator and former GOP President nominee John] McCain said.

* BUT OF COURSE, HYPOCRITE THAT HE IS...

Despite his gripes, McCain voted in favor of the bill...

(*SHRUG*)

* WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT, HUH? AND AS BAD AS MCCAIN IS... REMEMBER... HARRY REID AND HIS DEMOCRATIC CRONIES STILL CONTROL THE SENATE.

Even as lawmakers from both parties are questioning the costs and direction of the operation in Afghanistan, the committee agreed to clear the Pentagon to spend $400 million next year “to support large-scale infrastructure projects that enhance the counterinsurgency campaign,” according to the summary.

* YOU UNDERSTAND, FOLKS, THE "INFRASTRUCTURE" THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT SPENDING BORROWED CHINESE MONEY ON IS AFGHANI INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT?

And it approved $12.8 billion “for training and equipping the Afghan security forces to build their capacity to assume responsibility for providing security for the Afghan people,” the committee summary states.

* YOU KNOW... THE SAME AFGHANI SECURITY PERSONNEL WHO NOW AND THEN SHOT OR BLOW UP OUR SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN - NOT TO MENTIONED ALLIED PERSONNEL.

With DOD transferring the lead agency role in Iraq to the State Department in January, the committee fully funded the Pentagon’s $524 million request for a special office in Baghdad that will coordinate all American weapon sales to the Iraqi military.

* AND WHY SHOULD... er... "COORDINATION" COST OVER HALF A BILLION DOLLARS...???

June 17, 2011 at 4:46 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/06/house-slashes-spending-for-food-safety-nutrition-programs.html

House Republicans narrowly passed a bill that makes significant cuts across the Department of Agriculture and related agencies...

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

The measure narrowly passed on a vote of 217-203 Thursday, with 19 Republicans joining all House Democrats voting against the legislation, which makes a 21% cut to the FDA’s budget...

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

...totaling $572 million below the president’s request...

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

The bill reduces discretionary spending by $2.7 billion from last year’s level...

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

June 17, 2011 at 7:26 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)