Pay check away from a pink slip

If you dint know, my store for dogs is about three minutes from the Martin Luther King Jr. birth home, and 3 blocks from his grave and the eternal flame that lights his heart and passion. The day after Obama won, I walked around there and just stared, just a few moments. It was like his crypt was talking to me. Nope I aint crazy, but it felt that way. I was reassured and went back to my shop.

I guess yawl know how much King means to me. He was one of many that informed me of the importance of intellect and thinking for yourself and not accepting what people tell you and/or following blindly. I went to the tomb to respect my elder. It made me feel good, and reinforced that I still was challenged to the task such elders engendered in me.

I have said that I did not Vote for Obama or any of them other same ole lame okie dokes. My logic which many of you said was foolish, and self righteous, was neither to me. As I pointed out I voted for not the man, nor the party, but the policy. And if I must accept blame for seeing no difference in word on paper between the two – then so be it. Likewise, If I decided to study in an applied manner what they say they will do in concert with the problem that needs to be addressed, with the economy for example, and it is my conclusion such is far fetched, I will say such.

I particular felt this way about several things. Both he and McCain said the basic: I will lower taxes, I will reduce the deficit, and I will grow the economy. I want jones to be a success, but I will not reduce my penchant to evaluate his suggestions just as rigorously as I did the recent candidates, or past presidents regardless of party affiliation, nor will I give him a past. Unlike many I don’t see jones as the first black president, I see him as a president, who happens to be black.

Now some may say I need to get a life, for over the past day I have mulled over his economic position papers as well as his speeches on the economy and his latest transcript from his first press conference as the President elect. But it is my life to make certain I am in a stable milieu in which my kids and I can prosper economically.

I still feel that my note selecting either he nor McCain was based on logic. Re-reading I feel vindicated. What Obama has said and has [proposed on paper is just as bad as what Paulson and Bernake suggested with the bailout which he and McCain supported. All he proposes, either the break for 85% of Americans or raising taxes on the rich wont work and is just a tweak on a system that will not have any long term effect on a problem that has been building via debt collaterilization since the 1980s. The system needs to be gutted, not tweaked for our economy is riddled with structural problems – namely that we have a closed economy in a global world. This means he wont be able to raise taxes on the rich or cut taxes for poor folks like me.

Couple this with the fact that the bailout has had the opposite impact that Paulson has desired, the deficit is at about another trillion dollars and we still do not know how the money is being spent with respect to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Obama as we have – are sitting on a ticking time bomb. None of his solutions even include the aforementioned.

In two days since his historic victory, the Dow dropped as much as it did in September 1987 although 200 plus points were gained on Friday. For me it is a policy as opposed to an individual issue. He needs to address the volatility (which is a sign of investor confidence (so folk like me put loot back in the market), the housing crisis (which is getting worse) and stabilizing consumption (creating jobs, cause black folks are the only ones spending in a depression for we don’t know how to save anymore). As well as the structural concerns I have sited previously. For if he attempts to raise taxes on the rich – I just have two words - Sarbanes-Oxley, which means folks will move over seas to start new businesses than stay home in the states. Then he has not even addressed or considered revamping value-asset accounting principles nor obviating the Commodity Futures Modernization Act – which are two things that got us in this mess. Let alone accept the premise that folk like me don’t believe we should give banks money to buy other banks – especially when you talk about main street.

True he does mention job creation, but all I have read is the mantra of “new Green Jobs” without any relationship to reformulating the economic conundrum we are in and confronting currently. True, I am no economist, but I read and I try to use reason, but there is a lot more needed. It kills me when I read and hear folks say “freedom”, or “we aint got 40 acres and a mule but we got Obama”, or “Abolition” to describe his historic win, but go out and party and don’t feel as if they have a roll in this, and can see he is just one man, makes me feel that many think things have changed, without asking has America changed? I say no. It will be on us all for there is no such thing as magic. Something must be said with reason over feeling and emotion because although he won, most folks a pay check away from a pink slip.

red rum

So it is finally over, or is it? True, I was wrong about whom I thought would win based on a history of 43 prior white men, but as for my reasoning I was not. This past 22 months has reinforced all of the positions I have laid out in text from my dissertations regarding the economy to why we as human being must obviate race from our lexicon if we can, for although this past week was historic, and the world now see America in a different light, we still see ourselves in the same fashion, well at least many of us do.

First, it is obvious that many folk prefer to emote in contrast to think. I was hard on McCain (but this was ok). Unfortunately I was just as hard on Obama (but for many this was not). I have never approached any subject matter with respect to feeling with the exception of family, my children and how I would treat my woman. Oh, and food. But with respect to politics, I have never based any decision on feeling. This has lead me to understand than many folks make selections based on feeling when I make my as a function on thinking. For I know that if there was no TV or Radio, and folks were forced to read the history and positions of the Republican and Democratic selections for this past election – you would have seen that there were basically no difference between the two and that they were more similar than dissimilar. I also learned that many folks tend to vote for the individual whereas I vote for the policy positions.

True Obama won, and I’m pleased with that, but American may be in the same position historically it has always been. Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Georgia, Lousiania, Utah, Montana and Idaho among others still remain GOP and in strong support of the divisive politics that have historically been a function of race (many in the South). And I know folks don’t like to use history to project future speculation and to form opinion – but I do. These states have been red for the longest and no end seems to be coming soon.

I feel that yes this is historic, but also may reflect a change - a regression for many back to the time before the civil rights movement. Yes, 40 years ago a great man was killed for bringing change. I just don’t know what will be, given what i feel will be major conundrums quick fast and in a hurry for the new president jones:

• Russia: This may be the first head bump for Jones. Russia (Putin) is making a fat cat move to buy allegiance from Latin American states that are right in our own backyard. Plus they mad because of our decision to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. So as a result, they have decided to place some similar equipment in Cuba – or so they say.
• Economy: Many would like to infer that Obama’s victory brought back extreme volatility to the market, with the Dow Jones industrials falling 480 points and the major indexes tumbling more than 5 percent. After Tuesday night. True some may be pulling loot out as a form of fear, but truth as I have written before, this will continue for a couple of few administrations, irregardless of who had won. He will have to tackle this and his tax cuts, during a recession don’t make much micro or macro economic sense, but it sounds good to the voter. So he will need to foster the gumption to show how smart folk really think he is, for short term tactics as taking loot from the rich wont pay for nothing, nor do jack, when the deficit is approaching a trillion dollars; oh and did I say he wont be able to end the war as quickly as he proposed?
• Middle East: It will be difficult for Obama to end the war as he said. Especially since his chief of staff was one of the folks that assisted and motioned that we start a war with Iraq and has a desire to start one with Iran - Israeli Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives as the Democratic Caucus chairman, will be returning to the White House, where he served as a political and policy adviser to Clinton.

Which brings me back to thinking over feeling. I as many feel that America has changed. But looking the states that McCain carried, what I call the redrum states to honor one of my favorite movies of all time, the Shining, it won’t be easy. These folks will fight tooth and nail against him, even when it may benefit the commonwealth. For unfortunately, his victory has also brought back the zealots, the folks if they don’t like the color of your skin, will post up outside your crib and chase you with an ax and string you up from a tree. Yes this is historic, but the history he has fostered via victory, has only begun. Let’s just hope it does not assist in bring back the attitudes many thought were no more, and that some as myself – feel are merely dormant.

Had a ball talking politics with 12kyle at shop yesterday.

Fk the VP, who gone be your Treasury Secretary

Ok back on the grind but first two things I have noticed: 1] I have noticed how Obama is saying all that I wrote in my post called slacking on your macking now. 2] My Titans 3 – 0; 3] Aint no gas in GA – there is a shortage in most places except where I live. LMBAO.

Back to the task at hand. I was trying to stay away from the economy. Seems that folks don’t have worries no more. Well I don’t wanna scare anyone, but I do desire for folks to have a semi objective and non biased opinion of things the way this single distorted, sordid and diabolic mind perceives such. I mean Wall Street over the past three Sundays, that’s right Sundays has gone over a dramatic facial. Now Goldman Sachs (as I said) and Morgan Stanley (as I said) are no longer investment houses but rather regular old banks now thanks to you guessed it, basically unilateral decisions of the Feds. Yep regular banks – which have stiffer regulations when compared to investment houses.

I don’t know about you, but I would hope that I am not the only one kind of leery of having basically one man in control of making financial decisions with my tax loot. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson. And add to that Ben Bernanke, it makes me a bit more concerned. If it was like it was back in the day I wouldn’t be so worried. The old fed maintained T-Bills as most of its asset base. The typically matured in increments of 90, 180 or 360 days and sold at a minimum value of 10 stacks.

I know Paulson think he is doing the right thing and maybe he is, but to compare the value of a MBS to a T-Bill from the historical vantage point I maintain is feculent. Add to that, doing all of this decision making in essence to hand over a black check to these folk with out consulting congress before hand borders on treason to me. Shit, today the Dow dropped almost 400 points and Oil prices posted a record one-day gain today, going over $25 per barrel. I aint buy no oil futures, but Gold, just as the aforementioned is a commodity also [note to self last week u could get 68.78 oz of gold for 50K, today 50K gets you 58.8 oz] . Add to that the knowledge that P. Morgan Chase and American Express fell 13 and 8 percent alone today respectively.

I just say, I feel that we are bailing out folks for stupidity or even worse for making poorly thought out investment decisions. And the plan as I have just finished reviewing, I mean the planned bailout, still leaves it wide open for these institutions to load even hedge funds to dump these distressed assets on the tax payer, I mean the government.

I think we need to dig in for the last 7 weeks before the election and ask these folks some serious questions. Dang man, we know who the VP is, but on the really real, fk the VP, I wanna know who they gone pick as the next secretary of the Treasury. We got it all wrong up in this camp.

Our America aint black or white – it’s green

I’m hopeful everybody got they fix of CNN this past week, I’m sure they got some huge ratings. Unfortunately, I don’t get down with talking heads and think they may be doing more to divide America than bring us together. I mean the title alone, sure there may be two three or four Americas, but I don’t think a TV special does anything than tell folk what they already know and experience. Unless we live under rocks like Armadillidiidae vulgare, excuse me I mean pill bugs or Earth worms. Strange to me also was the timing, while Obama was on his worldwide tour. Folk brought out 200 stacks of folk out in Germany. Yep, it was a good look, but what does it do for me is my query?

Last I heard Germans don’t vote up in this camp. And I aint hating, I said the same thing about McCain when he was in Israel. Not to mention, I was gonna post on his lameness today but some more brain cells started to twitch – thus the current thought crime. As I have said in maybe too many post, our economy is fucked. As well, I have recanted a number of factors and postulates as to why we are experiencing what we are. Unlike the pundits or politicians, I have offered DOABLE solutions to this economic conumdrum.

But the way I see it, it will only get worse if we don’t take control and create our own reality. Now I’m no leader, but I was taught that leaders do two things: create their own reality and know how to say thank you. What have they created for me thus far is a porridge of unknown proportions. I se e the Dow Jones, and I see it loose and then make up some of the ground, but each time it does gain its losses, it looses another 200 to 300 points and need I remind you, that aint a good look. Dow Chemical profits dropped almost 30 percent over the past quarter, namely from what they say was due to spending 40 percent more on fuel and raw materials. Starwood Hotels, the folk that own Westin among others reported a 28% loss this past quarter and Kimberly Clark, the folk that make Kleenex and Huggies, reported a loss of 10% (do to rising energy cost as well). These are just the past quarter, I would add the last year but I don’t wanna cry in public.

The problem for me, outside of the political presidential hopefully not dealing with such specifics, is that it is only happening here in this country. I mean Daiwa Securities in Japan expects a profit of any where from 200 to 300 million over the next quarter. Credit Suisse can manage to mogul a billion dollar plus profit for the next quarter when overall net profits dropped. The Qatar Investment Authority has just increased its stake in Barclay PLC of London by more than 6 percent or $9 billion.

Now all American Based companies aint fucking up, I mean ask Occidental Petroleum, they profits increased 63 percent the past quarter, that’s right, they in oil. Now don’t get upset, so I aint watch Black in America or what ever it was called. All I am saying that the America I love and know has been foul to me and mine; that it is not black or white or mauve or polka-dot. If such was the case, we would have the black and white IRS and the Yellow and red Federal government. We have neither. The America that is ours (me my, son, and daughter) is green (dollar, dollar bill yawl), regardless of the denomination. That must and should unite us all, what color is yours jones?

poor mr. or mrs. next president

It was my intention to not discuss the caucus results of Iowa and or Barack Obama at all so early in the election. I was hoping after reading a substantial corpus of blogs from around the globe I would see a majority of the implications discussed. Especially after such a "stunning" victory (others words not mine; stunning to me is 50% of the votes).

For the record, your boy here likes to stack a little change. Easy change which means using your brain. Maybe some consulting or statistical data analysis mostly, but also in them markets, precious metals and Forex exchanges. I mean I bought my first stocks when the DOW was at 3500 (which fell today 266.84 to 12,998.28). So one could suffice to say I have accrued and nice sum of chump change.

However, I feel that whoever the next President is, there will be something to deal with that won't be easily dealt with either with the rhetoric of experience or new leadership. This week, an ominous and unfortunate event occurred, the price of oil went over the mythical $100.00 a barrel mark. Although it returned below that level, it did happen.

True, the price is a function of increasing demand, especially from countries in Asia like china and India, but it is also a major consequence of the falling dollar. It is also a function of disruptions abroad due to civil unrest and war. Not to mention, that in America, there is no productivity in manufacturing, we make nothing anymore, no job creation and as noted in 2007, a 40% increase in consumers filing of bankruptcies. The latter itself is the function of another indicator - the increase in foreclosures and the decline of the housing market.

Now I'm no economist, but I think I was taught well by my 10th grade Econ teacher at Hamilton High School in Memphis, Dr, Moyer, but I can say that when Bush came in, we had a surplus and now, by the next 120 day, who knows, maybe inflation. And the Federal Reserve may not be able to do nothing about it. I mean as long as I have been investing, in particular in forex and precious metals, the dollar normally increased proportionally to the price of Gold. Now the dollar goes down as gold (and oil) increases. This scares the fuck out of me and the 300K plus I have saved over the years.

So yep, Obama won Iowa. I do wish him the best albeit I am supporting neither democratic or the republican nominee. Nonetheless, still more states and regardless of whoever wins, I feel sorry for poor Mr. or Mrs. President, whoever they maybe.

[PS: ANY YAWL SEE HOW ROMNEY STOLE THE MESSGE OF CHANGE FROM YO FOLK OBAMA-LOL. THEY STOLE ROCK NOW THIS.]