When Clinton Let the Foxes Run the Hen House

Imagine if I told you that during sometime in the first ten years of the twenty first century that a savvy plutocrat from a southern state would get this country on a path to economic collapse by implementing laws that would allow banks to run amuck. If I asked you to name this person, this public relations officer in chief of the most powerful nation in the world, would you concede that he would be a democrat names William Clinton?

Yep, Bill Clinton. Too me, the two most egregious actions against our economic prosperity was put in place by him. And what makes this so bad is that he was smart enough to know better, being vehemently more competent and astute as President in comparison to his replacement; for he should have known that Wall Street Bankers were merely a monopoly. Albeit they fly different flags – a pirate is still a pirate.

The first was the commodities Futures Modernization act, which II have written extensively about in past years. Although put in place in the late 1990s and the brain child of Senator Phil Graham of Texas, this is not what I am targeting, but rather Clinton’s abrogation of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Sure there were inordinate acts signed into law before and after the great depression including the Underwood Tariff Act, the Robinson-Patman Act and the Sherman Anti-trust. All were relatively ineffective, especially the last one. Glass-Steagall is (or was) the most instrumental and effective of all the banking or anti-trust laws implemented after the great depression. Politicians were always aware of the powers of the big banks, especially since the times of the Greenback. But as early as 1911, politicians were aware of the amassed power the Wall Street Banking Cartels had and is why Woodrow Wilson at the time called the “money monopoly.”

Prior to it becoming law, the Pujo Committee noted that the concentration of credit in the hand of a few on Wall Street was both a threat and danger to the nation. In particular since bankers were both capital users and capital supplying entities that made their loot using the loot of others (sounds familiar?) Practices that had been growing since the 1890s with the proliferation of investment banks and finance capitalism. By finance capitalism investment banks were both responsible for the selection and issuing of stocks and setting their prices. Meaning for the investment banker, a guaranteed return on invested capital was more important than national economic progress.

In essence, Glass-Steagall was a means to liberate credit systems from Wall Street control and end the perceived special privileged enjoyed by this sect via a rigged credit system. It was also an attempt to address the massive maldistribution of wealth and engaged reckless speculation of Wall Street investment houses. Moreover, the insider trading, pyramid schemes, speculation, unloading worthless securities and the fact that the general misuse of buying power had been responsible for the economic meltdown put a bright light on the obvious criminal practices of the banks such that laws had to put on the books to keep it from happening again. More importantly, it assisted in ending the incessant discrimination against small business in terms of access to credit, especially if they were outside of New York or Washington, D.C.

Glass-Steagall was signed into law in June of 1933. We have to give both Carter Glass and Henry Steagall of Alabama big props for this. Especially Steagall – who was responsible for instituting the FDIC into law to insure customer deposits? Strange is like today, Republicans who described insuring deposits as “socialism.” I would also have to give props to Duncan Fletcher and Sam Rayburn for their bill to regulate Wall Street and thee stock market. Here two, republicans and bankers argued that Wall Street could police itself.

Glass-Steagall prohibited commercial banks from collaborating with full-service brokerage firms or participating in investment banking activities. With one deft stroke of a pen, Clinton actions would proffer to show how Keynesian economic theory was wrong: that trying to obtain maximum employment was good and that liquidity, profit expectation and consumption are not enough to propel economic growth. Why, because equilibrium and underemployment are incompatible theoretical suppositions when conjoined. Clinton ended Glass-Steagall in essence letting the fox guard the hen house,

Yet we still act as if such is the Michael Jordan of economic jump starts, when we ignore the truth that no matter how much loot the government drop as stimulus, folks just gone buy stuff made in other nations, creating jobs over there, because we do not make anything that we or any other nation wants to buy – what we do make (movies and music) can be bootlegged (LMBAO).

fundamentals still aint sound

As of late I have become disappointed. Now I am a man who lives at his means, well really below my means in the current economic climate. I just wish the folks in Washington, them in the Whitehouse and them on Capital hill could see such. Now I know many get mad because I hold our leadership to task, but it is what we do given the principle of liberty. And if any of yawl know in 2003, I wrote an essay in my book Dirt Behind My Ears, predicting that Obama would be our first African American President. 4 years before he even ran and 6 years before he was sworn in - so don’t trip.

But what bothers me is the lack of clarity and I hate to say it, transparency. I mean the Democrats won the white house by being very critical of the Bush Approach to the war and the Economy. Not to mention John McCain gave them the Whitehouse when he said the “fundamentals of the Economy were sound.” Particularly, it was how Obama kept hammering at Bush by saying that the deficit spending of his administration was irresponsible – which it was. The problem for me is that although in office briefly, his first proposed budget triples this fiscal year’s current deficit.

This is not an example of the government tightening their belts. As an individual American, I cant triple my debt and expect to survive or be economically responsible without fear of loosing my home or my business. I in fact have had to tighten my economic belt just to make ends meet. Why can’t the current administration and the folks in Congress do the same?

And I am talking as a person who started his own business with $60,000 of my own cash, as a person who pays himself and as a single parent. I am not one who depends on others to write me a check to live on and I don’t expect folk who don’t to really get what I am attempting to say. I mean this budget as well as the bail out place US and tax payers to more exposure and risk than the government, more so now than anytime in history.

Not to mention I am tired of folk giving me the okie doke about the Wall Street financial giants saying they are too big to fail. Folk, this is capitalism, business fail all the time and others take their place. If they to big to fail, to me they too big to exist. Then you talk about Banks and Bank holding companies in one breath as if they are the same. They are not. The FDIC can deal with banks, but can’t go into Bank Holding companies like AIG or Citigroup. So You not putting loot in banks, but rather bank holding companies.

Dumping money in a failing institution aint the way to solve this problem Mr. President, we need to restructure our finical system in concert with giving these folk loot. All around the nation, from the local to state level, governments are reducing their budgets not expanding them. Why can’t the federal government do this? And its not just the Dems, it’s the GOP too. They talk all that mess and don’t even have one constructive suggestion to suggest. They just complain. Now true I said a long time ago Geitner was the wrong man for the job and gave out about 10 others I thought were better to get us out this mess. But he there now so I aint tripping, but for the GOP to say he should leave without offering who they would replace him with, and bich over little nit picking shit borders on stupidity.

So I say April 15^th, if you owe some loot tell them folk to suck your private parts and don’t pay. If they aint got the balls to let the banks fail, or tell these mf’s they giving our loot too who still run the companies that got us in this mess to resign, or don’t revisited getting the laws on the book that got us in this mess such as the commodity futures modernization act, they can fail economically too. Cause our fundamentals still aint sound.

No strings attached.

Just want to say for the record, yea, I tend to harp on shit, in particular if it is what is on my mind. Butterah you know, such is just the way things are with me. Found out today against my dismay, that folk up on Capitol Hill finna give away some more of my loot. I was against it with Wall Street and I still maintain the same position respect to the automobile industry.

I still don’t get what the bailout will accomplish, but I won’t get into that. Let alone the massive number of Insurance companies purchasing Bank holding companies so they can get some of the loot too. I believe that one cannot rescue a person or institution that wont rescue they self. And a stock market that hit 89k mark over the past few days don’t mean jack to me for there is still no liquidity in the market, world borrowing is down nearly 80% and money still being withdrawn from Hedge fund accounts (1.5 trillion in Hedge funds world wide), tells me that these aint the average folks investing or making calls on stocks. Not to mention yesterday, from a few newspapers alone, I counted more than 12 thousand jobs lost (in one day). Just in Jan. this year the DOW was at 13k, and im posed to be happy with 8.9k?

So today, something new, instead of Alexander Onealing (critisizing), I am gonna offer a few suggestions that I would put in place if I was like a senator, a president or an economist. The first I know can’t occur, but may be used in the future when folks wanna give loot away all willy nilly.

• If you give ANY loot out, don’t ask folks to bring you a plan, you give them your plan with a "take it or leave it” caveat.
• For the Banks and wall street: Mandate they use the money to erase the balance of all outstanding student loans. This would be one way to foster consumer spending.
• As opposed to buying toxic assets and injecting capital, for banks, next time you may consider really attempting to stop home foreclosure rates by buying 35% of are the mortgages in America. You don’t have to purchase the entire mortgage for that will only assist 4 to 5 million of the 50 million across the country. This would make payments manageable, improve equity in said homes. And please just don’t use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; make them for all home lenders. All one would need is a standard agreement (as the Treasury made with Banks) for people to apply. This would be the best foreclosure mitigation approach from my view.
• Never let the Treasury department be in charge of stimulus or bail out programs because they don’t attach any strings. The Treasury “expects”, not know or has mandated, for banks to start lending and making credit available when in fact they did not state the manner in which funds received will be used. They say they “want” to work with congressional oversight committees and the Comptroller, but didn’t write it in so it is not a prerequisite for getting any of that massive sums of loot.
• Instead of giving money, buy shares in exchange for my loot so these banks can own up to their share of the debt in actual cost.
• If you are doing an infrastructure development/stimulus plan, don’t just focus on Urban areas. Be even handed with rural areas as well. It don’t sit right with me when I give money for Urban development and the bus stops at the end of the city boundary.
• Try and structure economic preparedness in our budgetary policy like they do in India, where the work from the construct of deficit confinement. As such all the do from growth to stimulus to tax efforts are designed to manage deficit growth to 2.5% or less.
• Study some these other stimulus packages being placed on the table around the world. I know China is putting one out worth $581 billion US/ And say study, not copy, because from what I can tell about the Chinese effort – it is lacking and don’t focus on human capital development – a no-no to me. So be sure to invest in human capital, this will increase social spending. One way would be to give 40 to 50 thousand dollar grants to people desiring to attend college for the next 4 to 5 years. Again this is an investment and not a give away. And I would be remised if I did not say jack up the investment in scientific research at the university level as well.

Now these are just a few ways I think we may see this economy swing around, it’s not about top down or trickle down - it is about bottom up. So Mr. Obama, I know your hands are tied, but you got to stop being so politically correct and think outside the box. Don’t be asking for no plans, or waiting for GM to give you no plans, make your own plan folks and tell them fools to break themselves or go home empty handed. Don’t be a pasty and stop shelling out our loot with no strings attached. Five to one the Big three gone roll through this loot and be out of business still before next Spring.

Rearranging the furniture

Want to start out by saying, told you it wouldn’t work. The bail out that it is. Jobs still being loss, home values are still falling, and stocks too. Check the Hang Seng, the Nikkei, and the UK FTSE if you still more concerned about Jennifer Hudson New Album or Beverly Hill Chihuahua. France's economy, the second largest of the 15 countries sharing the euro, reported they were in an economic recession for the first time in 15 years. Germany's Hypo Real Estate may be the next major world bank to fail. The Munich-based bank is a conglomerate which contains DEPFA Bank, Hypo Pfandbrief Bank International and Hypo Public Finance Bank. Reports from Germany suggest that the bank needs 20 billion euros by the end of next week just to stay solvent. Even emerging markets, where it used to be safe are taking a hit. The two bills we just past are merely topical and shows how short sited our political leadership is in general. They seem to only see wall street, and not the world, let alone the street or the back road in this issue.

What the fuck does bicycle paths, tax breaks for race-track owners, for rum imported from Puerto Rico, or Hollywood film and television production companies have to do with the economy or bailing out Wall Street? The 451-page Senate bailout bill, called H.R. 1424 has dozens of tax breaks for companies. Some of the specific pork dollar values include: a $100 million tax break to benefit auto racetrack owners; $2 million tax benefit for makers of wooden arrows for children; and $192 million in rebates on excise taxes for the Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum industry.

I know its just me, but I never saw what these political bills, let alone 700 billion dollars (which will likely be 900 billion - a trillion) can do for the national or the global economy. Throwing money away has never been the solution for anything. They are still throwing them at bad assets. Banks all around the world are failing. These folk so myopic and ill-informed that they aint even see the chance that asset markets would possibly close one day, especially given that lenders were the one who distressed the value of the paper they held. Its cool if u got loot, or capital, but most folk now days have less than 5% capital, or liquidity on hand compared to back in the day when folks had at least one dollar for every dollar loaned.

Federal policies created this, no matter what folks say, for with out them, folk who could not afford to buy a house with zero down would have never got them – and the truth is the banks and financial institutions lobbied for these changes.

But yawl don’t hear me though. Lets look at the world around us. The Turkish government issued new Turkish lira banknotes and this past Friday. This recapitalized of its banking system included tighter regulation under a $10 billion IMF-backed lending. And we finna have a new currency standard in a few for I wont be surprised if the dollar will be 60 cents to the Euro by the endo of the year.

All I am saying is that stability of the dollar is paramount in any economic solution to this current mess; I see a secular decline in credit just as what happened in Japan. My consternation is that neither McCain nor Obama is addressing this.

We really have not had a loss in capital across this great nation, that is not the issue, but we have not had any gain in capital - that is the problem. To solve this conundrum means we have to gain more capital. Tell me how we do this Jones, fuck the dumb shit, we are thinking and breathing Americans and I say we at least deserve that. You cant take money from the private sector (as the government is doing when they take over and bail out banks) and give it back to the same said private sector. To me that is just like rearanging the furniture in your house. The 700 billion wont do jack, businesses on wall street or in the stock market dont make money unless people spend money or have money. Shold have gave it to the common person. Add to that we only have fiat money, no money of real value, in the 1930s we had real money which was on the Gold standard, and after the early 70s, no longer is our money based on the gold standard. We just print money and throw money at the problem as if it is the answer. All our politicians are doing is stopping the bleeding so the patient don’t die, or worse, just re-arranging the furniture in the house. vote

That’s makes 10

Things are not as rosy and the democrats and republicans are painting them. Unfortunately the outlook proffered by them economically is not presented as serious as thing are on the really real. Down here in the dirty, in Georgia in particular, we got wind that another bank/lending institution failed. Yep, Integrity Bank of Alpharetta, Georgia.

This is the 10^th US bank to fail this year. Many of these are in my mind a result of what I wrote about before as well as dumb ass Federal Reserve policies proffered by Alan “the green hornet” Greenspan, Bill Clinton and Both the Bush’s. Oh and Ronald Regan too. And specifically, from this savants purview, of how Glass-Stegall removed the barriers between Wall Street and Banking Institutions. Throw in a floundering real estate market, foreclosures up the azz and the worst decline in housing since the Depression, I figure we are only seeing the start of this avalanche.

This year alone, the following banks closed/failed: Columbian Bank and Trust of Topeka, Kansas, First Priority Bank of Bradenton, Florida, Reno-based First National Bank of Nevada and Newport Beach, California-based First Heritage Bank; Staples, Minnesota-based First Integrity Bank and ANB Financial in Bentonville, Arkansas; Hume Bank in Hume, Missouri; and Douglass National Bank in Kansas City, Missouri. Add to this that I think the first bank to fail when the housing market started to slump was Net bBank, also headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Then since the FDIC don’t do nothing to protect or warn the general public outside of insuring depositors up to a certain dollar point, they just reported that the have classified another 117 banks as being a problem for the second quarter alone (30% more than the previous quarter).

Since 2000, the FDIC had closed 36 banks since October 2000. In 2002 alone there were 11 banks that closed and before, in 1994 12 banks closed. The very fact that these institutions are failing is a major concern for me because such is deflationary in essence. By deflation I am referring to a reduction in general price levels that are due to a reduction in the supply of money. This is often due to reduced spending at the government and individual level as well as a drop in the level of investments. The consequence of such mainly seen in increased levels of unemployment.

Like I said, the current presidential candidates don’t seem to talk about the economy in tangible terms but more in chic rhetoric and sound bites. Correct me if I am wrong, but I have yet to read any economic statements that even talk about the threat of deflation or the state of the banking and lending institutions in our great country, have you? This is number 10, any bets on how many more will be gone by the end of the year? Maybe there will eventually be one big super bank – like in old school China or Russia. vote

THIS IS FUN_NY

game recognize game

Believe it or not, no politics, no foreign policy or no history today. Instead I’m going to turn my attention to male sartorial splendor. Now this may not be for everyone, but these are the essential GAMES any self-respecting male should consider with the specific regard to personal style. And this is not in any particular order and based singularly on my personal practice.

1] SCENT GAME – your scent or cologne game has to be tight. I consider mine top shelf. My preference is not to wear the regular shelf variety of cologne. It has to match both the individual spirit and dressing habits. For me, my rotation consists of 16. My favorites being Jo Malone Pomegranate, Acqua Di Colonia Melograno, Acqua Di Parma (Cary Grant’s favorite), Hanae Mori, Musgo Real No. 3, and Thierry Mugler Angel. Again in no particular order and I like hearing from women incessantly say “you smell good, what is that."

2] TIE GAME – A nice cravat is worth its weigh in gold, preferably all silk. A man at a minimum should have about 60, inclusive of Bow ties. Yep, Bow Ties. I find the best to be made by Ralph Lauren. I mean 45 bills for one aint bad, seeing that the ones I have by him are in mint condition and at least 12 years old plus. And 40 bills aint a lot, especially when you can pass a mint condition Tie down to your son.

3] JEANS – One word – Levi’s. None of that paint on the back of the pocket, I’m cool as fuck, like a hip-hop star shit. Just the classics.

4] SHOES – Now I have about 12 pair of shoes and that is more than enough not counting tennis shoes. I have four pair of Tennis shoes, but tennis show game is over rated. I have a purple and gold high top pair of Laker Magic Johnson’s Converse, a pair of the original AIs by Rebook, and two pair of addias for the tennis courts only, but the are Shell toes, All white, black and white, and white and green (in pic w me and daughter green shirt). I can’t find my Borg Didoria’s. As far as dress, Two pair of black shoes, and two pair of bucks (white and Brown hopefully by Cole Hann) are an essential. My black shoes are slip-ons, and one pair of Monk Strap. Then you need a pair of boots, maybe two, I like the Kenneth Cole Dessert Boot and the Georgia Boot Company boot (in pic w me and daughter in snow), albeit most folk like Timberland, either one will do. The remainders of my shoes are al open toe and open heel sandals. One can develop a mean sandal game by living abroad, especially in Africa. And i do have a pair of blue and gold air force ones high tp - colors of my AAU team i coach.

5] SHIRTS – I have not bought a shirt in about 10 years. I have about 80, but all you have to do is have an assortment of collars, some stripes, and solids. I send mine to the cleaners and get them folded (they come back new like in plastic), The last a long time that way and the even stamp your name in the inside collar – Dr. Stephens. Then you got to have a plethora of White Tee’s and wife beaters, a must in the dirty.

6] ASSESORIES – Every man needs a flask. I got a nice Suede flask I got for $9.00. I keep Tequila in mine, no Patron, just the real with worms. And No wallet for me, I have a passport case. I keep my passport with me daily albeit I am on my 3rd one, You can keep multiple currencies in it too. Mine used to keep Rand and Dollars and I do have one crisp 50 pound note as well. Then there is the need for belts, skins preferably and a coat or two – classic London Fog trench and a nice black wool full length. Add some leather and suede jackets, and a few Jerseys (Mine are of my favorite athletes: Kareem, Jack Sikma, Conrad Dobbler, and Penny Hardaway among others). But remember throwbacks are not dress attire.

7] WATCHES – I’m not for diamonds in m watches. In fact I have three. One my son gave me, and two, antiques, one from each Grandfather: a Wittnauer (62 yr old silver band and a Bulva 55 year old with a lizard skin band?. No Jacob the Jeweler. Again importance on being able to leave to your son.

8] GAT GAME - was told by my folks that if had use a pistol, I was too close. And although my tool of choice is the SKS, followed by the HK and M-16, every man needs good pistol. One that is easily concealable is of preference. For me, it’s the nickel plated .380. I can fit it in a inside suit coat pocket with no bulge. However, my road or travel pistol is the snub nose 357. This is what we used to call a toss-across or throw away. Never know when it may come in handy.

9] SUIT GAME _ I personally have 30 suits. But the essential things are to have them tailored. See I’m pimp size, 6’2”, 180, 40 Long. Perfect suit size for models they say. Any who. Pin stripes, and a few khaki suits, and some light grays are a god start. If you can get a few linen suits and have at least one double breasted (6-button) and one 3-piece although I have neither. All of my pants are cuffed though, 1.5 inches. And I would be remissed if I didn’t add my preferences for Jos A, Banks, Hugo Boss, and Canali. And do have a tux, mine is black, and I only wear white tie.

Now this is just a start, For me flannel shirts and thick sweaters are part of the act as well. There are more details I could share, but I do not want to give it all away, for it is as they say, “game recognize game.”