West Columbia, SC—With all the coverage of the current economic crisis that’s now worldwide, there have been a lot of comparisons made to the Great Depression that lasted through the 1930s. Leading up to the stock market crash in October 1929, the United States was in an era of economic growth. Easy credit allowed people to speculate in the stock market, borrowing money to invest thinking the growth of their stocks would pay them back. That’s very much like the growth in the housing market before the recent crash, with people using easy credit to buy more house than they could afford, thinking the homes’ rising value would keep them afloat.

But for all the comparisons, there’s nothing like living through both times to give you perspective. Cornelia Freeman is 96 years old and lives in a retirement community in West Columbia. She was 17 when the stock market crashed and remembers well living through the Great Depression.

“Oh, I remember one horrible day. My father, we lived in the country on a farm and we had plenty, you know, lot of food. But he was a director in the bank in Orangeburg and he was called to come. And the citizens had started a run on the bank,” she explains. He left early in the morning and got home very late, “really looking despondent”, she says. The bank had run out of money and became one of more than 9,000 that failed nationwide during the Depression.

But the actual day-to-day life during the time wasn’t as bad for her family as it was for many others, since her family had the farm and they raised all their own food. “We accepted the fact that we weren’t going to live quite like we had,” she says.

USC economist Dr. Bill Hauk says of the comparison between now and then, “There are enough similarities to say there’s definitely something wrong here. We definitely do need to be concerned. I think the comparisons to the Great Depression are certainly premature and hopefully unneeded.”

He thinks the government learned a lot of lessons from the Great Depression and has policy tools now it didn’t have back then to keep the economic problems from getting as bad.

“We’re certainly looking at a recession. I don’t think anybody would say there’s no cause for worry. But are we going to be seeing bread lines on the streets and things of this nature, 25 percent unemployment? No, I don’t think so,” he says.

The Great Depression did make Mrs. Freeman a lot more frugal. “Until this day, I can’t throw away anything,” she says. “You’ll be surprised, my little box of Christmas ribbons that came off of packages.”

Other than that, though, she doesn’t think it had a lasting effect on her. She does have advice, though, for all of us going through the current uncertainty. “Accept doing without and you can cope, you can cope with what you have.”

Coincidence?  I think not.  In general – not always but in general – Conservatives are more likely than Liberals to be fiscally responsible.  Now we seem to have evidence that bears this out.  My state, IL, is one of the bluest in the nation and I know we’re in serious trouble.  Sure, there’s some exceptions, but we can see that in general, the bluer the state, the worse trouble it’s in.  Reason enough to vote Republican this election – not just the Presidential seat, but all your local and state elections that are occurring this November as well.  Don’t forget the current fiscal mess we’re in was caused almost exclusively by Democrats, and the current Congress is Democrat controlled.  Something to think about.

©DarcsFalcon

El campeonato en Boltaña se juega en el Ciber Café Edelweiss, los sábados a las 16:00h.

Emparejamientos zona Sobrarbe-Ribagorza

Alright, we're now starting.

Allen Shaffer: "What's the fastest solution to bail out" citizens, from economic turmoil?

Obama: We're in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and many of you are worried.  This is the final burden on the failed economic policies of the last 8 years.  McCain agreed with Bush, and stripped regulations, and now we're paying for it.  Step 1: Make sure last week's rescue package succeeds.  Come on Obama, it won't - the package sucked!  The focus group is liking this.  Step 2: Tax cuts for citizens.  Help people stay in their homes.  Help states create jobs.  Health care.  Have politicians thinking about middle class.  Women really loved him, and men were pretty high up there too.

McCain: Americans are angry and upset and fearful.  I have a plan to fix this problem: energy independence.  Don't send money to countries who don't like us.  "Let's not raise taxes on anybody--today."  What was that - what was that "today" - that sounded bad.  "We're gonna have to do something about home values."  People can't afford mortgage payments (well, that's mainly their fault).  Have government buy up bad mortgages so people can pay them off - come on McCain - that plan sucks.  People had been liking him a lot there (more men than women), but it dropped down a bit toward the end.

Brokaw: Who would you appoint to Treasury Secretary?

McCain: Not you Tom.

Brokaw: With good reason.

McCain: Somebody who people can connect with.  Meg Whitman - CEO of some company - oh - Ebay.

Obama: Warren Buffett would be a good person, but there are others as well.  McCain said, "The fundamentals of the economy are sound."  That's because they are.  The principles of our economy, and the American work ethic is sound.

Oliver Clark: How will the bailout bill help people?

McCain: "You described bailout, I believe it's rescue."  I left my campaign to go back to Washington to make sure that there were protections for the taxpayer - oversight and a way to pay back taxpayers.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are what lit this thing on fire, and many hadn't heard of them before this crisis.  Democrats in Congress defended what Fannie and Freddie did while they got money from the two.  Obamagot the second highest amount of money from Fannie and Freddie.  Fannie and Freddie started this forest fire.  And he's not doing to well with the focus group during that, although it came up toward the end.

Obama: Right now, the credit markets are frozen, so small businesses can't get loans, and can't make payroll, so they may have to lay people off.  "That's why we had to take action."  The biggest problem in this whole thing was the deregulation of the financial system.  I argued for more regulation, but nothing happened.  I never promotedFannie, but McCain's somebody on his campaign--was something with Fannie Mae (I didn't catch the whole statement).  The President has to make sure that the homeowners are protected.  He got pretty good ratings there.

Brokaw: Are you saying it'll get worse before it gets better?

Obama: No, I am confident in the American economy.  Isn't that what McCain said when he said the fundamentals are strong?  HYPOCRITE!  He got great ratings there.

McCain: It depends on what we do.  If we stabilize it and buy up bad loans, and get rid of special interests in Washington, we can fix our economy.  Our workers are the best in the world.  They're the fundamental aspect of our economy.  "We gotta give them a chance to do their best. ... They're the innocent bystanders of" this crisis.

Teresa Finch: "How can we trust either of you with our money when both parties got us into this global economic crisis?"

Obama: I understand your crisis and cynicism.  "You're right, there is a lot of blame to go around. ... But remember, when George Bush came into office, we had a surplus ... now we have a deficit."  We've almost doubled our deficit.  Nobody is completely innocent.  I'm going to spend money on key issues that we have to work on, health care and energy.  Ratings are really high here.  Invest in college affordability.  "I'm cutting more than I'm spending."  And men just plummeted in their ratings there.  And what exactly is he planning on cutting?

McCain: "The system in Washington is broken."  I've been a reformer and crossed the aisle, working with Senator Feingold on campaign finance reform.  "The situation today cries out for bipartisanship. ... Let's look at our records as well as our rhetoric."  Obama is proposing 860 billion dollars of new spending, and voted for every increase of spending that came across the floor.  He voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel spending, including a projector for a planetarium in Illinois.  We need to get Americans working again, and get more jobs for Americans.  We need nuclear power.  We need to stop depending on foreign oil.  Ratings were pretty bad there, but came up at the end.  McCain was right - Obama's earmarks are just atrocious.

Brokaw: Health care, energy, and entitlement reform - order of priorities?

McCain: Do all 3 at once.  We won't be able to provide same benefits for future retirees as we are able to today.  I've worked across the aisle.  We can work on nuclear power plants, create new jobs.  We need alternative fuels, wind, tide, solar, natural gas, clean coal.  Health care - everyone is struggling to make sure they can afford their premiums.  We can do these all at once, and we have to do them all at once.

Obama: Your list of priorities.  Energy, we have to deal with today.  Gas is expensive, and it may go up.  Some countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran are gaining from high oil prices.  In 10 years, we need to be free of foreign oil.  Just like Kennedy said we can go to the moon in 10 years, this can be done.  That was a great analogy!  I missed what he just said.  I want to go line-by-line and eliminate programs in the federal government, and eliminate programs that don't work, and make others cheaper.  Women are rating him really high now.  Money given to big oil companies, which McCain wants, takes money out of the system.  Don't mislead, Obama, he wants to give tax cuts to ALL companies, but that doesn't exclude oil companies.

Brokaw: What are you gonna ask Americans to sacrifice to get out of the depression?

McCain: Talking about defense contracts that were done corruptly.  Get rid of earmarks, and some of those are "good" projects, but they have to be eliminated still.  Except for Defense, Veterans Affairs, and other crucial programs, we will have to have a spending freeze.  Keep everything transparent.  Don't allow for the government to hide earmarks.

Obama: After September 11, everybody came together, and President Bush did some smart things at the outset.  We need leadership to focus on problems inside and outside of government.  We need to think about how we use energy - we need to tell oil companies to start drilling and invest in clean coal technology.  We need to think of ways that we can conserve energy, and provide incentives to buy American cars that are fuel efficient.  The young people of America want to serve, and we need to increase the Peace Corps.  Ratings were really high there, especially among women.

Brokaw: President Bush last summer said Wall Street got drunk.  Now many think that both Washington and consumers also got drunk.  How do you get people to reduce easy credit and overspending?

Obama: We have to cut spending and increase revenue.  There are $18 billion in earmarks, but McCain wants to give tax cuts to CEOs, and that's not sharing the burden.  Actually, it IS sharing the burden - it's sharing it equally.  All of us need to contribute and make sacrifices.  We don't need an across-the-board freeze.  That way, we only help those who need it.

McCain: Obama wants to raise taxes.  The last President who raised taxes during hard times was Herbert Hoover.  We've lost 700,000 jobs in America, but300,000 jobs have been created by small businesses.  Obama's tax increases will increase taxes on over 50% of small businesses, meaning that jobs will have to be cut.  Obama said he'd fore go his tax increases if the economy was bad.  The economy is bad.  I don't want to increase tax cuts.  I want to leave tax cuts alone, but give tax credits to people, and give credits for health care.  Let's get our economy going again.

Obama just tried to keep going and Brokaw shut him up!  YEAH!

Brokaw: Would you tell Congress to do something about Social Security and Medicare within 2 years?

Obama: We won't solve Social Security and Medicare without solving tax problems.  I want to provide a tax cut for 95% of Americans.  THAT'S A LIE!  ONLY 90% of Americans even make enough money to PAY taxes!  We provide a 50% tax credit to small businesses to buy healthcare.  And the ratings are really high here, again, especially with women.  McCain wants to give tax cuts to large corporations and the rest going to CEOs.  "That is not fair, and it doesn't work."  If we reverse the policies of the last 8 years, then we can deal with Social Security and Medicare, because we'll have a health care plan that works for you.

McCain: "Hey, I'll answer the question."  It's not that tough to fix social security - we have to sit down and fix this together.  Reagan and Tip O'Neill sat down and worked together.  Have a commission come together withrecommendations.  Then have Congress vote up or down, and not fool with it.  Obama has voted to increase taxes and voted against tax cuts.  I have fought to reform government.  "We'll get our economy going again, and our best days are ahead of us."

Ingrid Jackson: Congress moved pretty fast with the economic crisis.  How would you make sure they move fast with environmental issues?

McCain: "When we have an issue that we may hand our children a damaged planet--I have disagreed strongly with the Bush Administration."  We brought this issue to the Senate.  We need nuclear power.  Nuclear power is safe and clean, and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs.  My liberal roommate's getting mad that the focus group doesn't like this: "These voters suck."  And the ratings went up a bit at the end there.

Obama: "It is absolutely critical."  We need to create a new energy economy.  We need to understand that this is a national security issue.  I favor nuclear power as one component.  OK, the focus group does suck.  They're now rating him high, and he's saying basically what McCain said.  The focus group seems kinda biased.  McCain's problem withenergy is that he hasn't done anything with alternative fuels.  It's easy to talk about this stuff, but McCain hasn't done anything.  McCain talks about drilling, and that's important, but there's not enough here at home to "drill our way out of the problem."

Brokaw: Do we need a Manhattan-like project to deal with the energy crisis?

McCain: We need government involvement initially, and then once it's started, release it to the private sector.  Obama (this is where he said "that one") voted for a bill that Bush/Cheney backed with lots of money for oil companies, and I voted against it.

Lindsey Trella: Health care has become a profitable industry.  Should health care be treated as a commodity?

Obama: Health care is a very important issue.  Premiums have doubled over the last 8 years, and co-pays have increased as well.  We have a moral and economic imperative to do something about this.  Here's what I would do: you can keep your plan if you like it, and we'll work with your employer to lower your premiums.  We'll work on making forms electronic, instead of on paper.  You'll be able to have the same health care plan that Congress gets.  McCain has a different approach.  He'll give you a $5,000 tax credit, but then tax your employer health care benefits.  He'll then take out regulations that states have that make sure that you get certain things covered under your insurance.

McCain: You've identified one of the major challenges that America faces (directed to the audience member).  We need to impose efficiencies.  There's a fundamental difference between me and Obama.  Obama will pose mandates.  If you're a small business owner or parent, and you can't afford health care for your employees or children, Obama will fine you.  How does that help the situation?  He's ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!  How will that help you if you can't afford health care already?  95% of Americans will have increased funds to get health care under my plan, except the really rich people.

Brokaw: Is health care a privilege, right, or responsibility?

McCain: Responsibility.  The government shouldn't mandate that health care must be provided to all.  There shouldn't be fines for these companies or parents, and Obama hasn't said how much the fine is yet.

Obama: Right, for every American.  Talking about his mother dying at 53, and arguing with insurance companies.  He's really rating high right now.  If you have a plan that you like, you can keep it, I'll just help lower the premium.  Small businesses won't have a mandate, they'll get a 50% tax credit.  We don't want kids going to ERs for treatable illnesses like asthma.  McCain voted against (something dealing with children and health care).  Crack down on insurance companies cheating their companies.  The problem with going across state lines is that companies will go to states that have laxed laws and cheat their customers, like banks do in Delaware.  DID HE JUST USE HIS RUNNING MATE'S STATE AS A BAD EXAMPLE!!!

Phil Elliot: How will our economic distress affect our position in the standing of the world militarily?

McCain: Much of the criticism of our foreign policy is justified.  We are peace makers and keepers.  We need to know when to go in and when not.  That question can only be answered by someone who understands these things.  We need to prevent the spread of genocide.  He's rating really high here.  My opposition to sending Marines to Lebanon, and my stance on Bosnia, Russia, and others show that I understand these things.  Obama has been on the wrong side of some of these issues.

Obama: I don't understand how we invaded Iraq when bin Laden is still free.  McCain said that Iraq would be quick and easy.  We're spending money in Iraq when Iraq has a surplus.  We need that money more than them, and they have a surplus.  We are the greatest nation in the world, but we can't maintain our military superiority if our economy continues to decline.  He is right about that.  We need to fundamentally change our foreign policy.

Brokaw: Let's establish doctrines for using force when national security isn't at stake, but in humanitarian issues?

Obama: Would've stopped Rwanda and the Holocaust.  When we stand idly by as genocide occurs, that diminishes us.  We should intervene when possible, but we can't be everywhere all the time.  We need to work in concert with our allies, such as in Darfur.  We need to lead the international community.

McCain: If we had withdrawn from Iraq when Obama wanted to, it would have been a travesty.  Genocide is terrible, and we never want it to happen again.  We need a person who understands the limits of our capabilities.  We went into Somalia being peace makers, but had to withdraw in humiliation.  I stood up against Reagan with Lebanon.  We have to be able to beneficially affect the situation, realizing that we're sending Americans into harm's way.  I won't make these decisions lightly.  We can't have another Holocaust or Rwanda, but we can't make the situation worse.

Katie Hamm: Should we respect Pakistani sovereignty and allow terrorists to stay there or invade like we did with Cambodia during Vietnam?

Obama: We got distracted from Afghanistan and Al Qaeda, and went to Iraq.  They're now stronger now than any time since 2001.  They're plotting to kill Americans right now.  We need to end the war in Iraq, put troops into Afghanistan, eliminate drug trafficking, and change policies with Pakistan.  We need to encourage democracy, and if we have bin Laden in our sights, and Pakistan won't or can't take him out, we will take him out.  That's our number 1 national security priority.

McCain: Obamawants to announce when we're going to attack Pakistan.  It'll turn public opinion against us.  We drove Russians out of Afghanistan with Afghani freedom fighters, and that led to bin Laden coming to power.  General Petraeushad a strategy of getting the support of the Pakistani people, and working with them to get Al Qaeda.  Don't threaten to attack them, but talk with them.

Obama: Nobody called for the invasion of Pakistan, but to strike inside of Pakistan if bin Laden is available to be taken out.  And I agree with Obama here on this one.  McCain IS twisting his words, and not taking bin Laden out when Clinton happened is one of the things that led to September 11th.  Pakistan was not promoting democracy, and it undermined our fight on the war on terrorism.

McCain: I have supported efforts that the U.S. had to go in militarily, but opposed it when it wasn't necessary.  I was joking with a veteran about Iran (Obama used McCains "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" quote).  I will act responsibly as I have through my military career.

Brokaw: In Afghanistan, the senior British Commander has said that we're failing in Afghanistan.  The Afghans need to take over.  We need an acceptable dictator.  What's your opinion?

Obama: We need to withdraw from Iraq responsibly, and make the Iraqis take control so that we can put more troops into Afghanistan.

McCain: The same overall strategies between Afghansitan and Iraq are the same.  We need more troops, like Obama is saying.  Obama still won't admit that the surge worked, and that's the same strategy that we will need in Afghanistan.  Once they feel secure, they can lead normal lives, the same thing that's happening in Iraq today.  And he's absolutely right here.

Brokaw: How can we get Russia to behave better without starting another Cold War?

McCain: We won't have another Cold War.  I warned about Vladimir Putin a long time ago - I saw a "K," a "G," and a "B."  He was wrong with Georgia.  Ukraine is in Russia's sights now (it's in the sights of the Somalians too - that whole pirate thing is just weird).  We need to talk, such as in the G8 summits.  Russia must realize that this is not acceptable, and we need economic and diplomatic means to show that that this is not acceptable.  Really high ratings there, and he's absolutely right.

Obama: Russia will be an issue that we'll have to deal within the next 4 years.  I agree with Senator McCain on most of that.  We can't just have diplomacy.  We need to support, financially, former U.S.S.R. countries, such as Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, etc.  Georgia is suffering, and that's probably what Putin wanted to happen.  Russia was trying to obtain territories, and this is unacceptable.  We need to be proactive, not reactive.  He is right here - we have to be a step or 2 ahead of Russia.  Energy will be key in dealing with Russia, that's one of the things that happened in Georgia's situation.

Brokaw: Is Russia under Putin an evil empire?

Obama: No, but their actions are sometimes.

McCain: If I say yes, it reignites the Cold War.  If I say no, it seems like I'm ignoring it.  Energy is a key issue.  My liberal roommate just said that both want to say yes, but it'd be political suicide to do so.

Terry Shirey: If McCain attacks Israel, would you send troops or wait for UN Security Council approval?

McCain: We wouldn't wait, because Russia and China would pose obstacles to sending troops.  Iran with nukes is a threat to the stability of the Middle East - other countries would acquire nukes.  Obama would meet with them without preconditions.  I would impose tough sanctions, and we can abridge their behavior, and hopefully they'll abandon this quest for nukes.  We can never allow a second Holocaust to take place.

Obama: We cannot a nuclear Iran.  "It would be a game changer in the region."  It would threaten Israel - one of our strongest allies.  As well, it would lead to nukes in the hands of terrorists.  I will never take military action off the table.  If we can work more effectively with more other countries to tighten sanctions, we should.  He's getting rated higher, but said the same things as McCain - the focus group is biased folks.  Neither of them answered the question about if Iran ATTACKED Israel.  When we stopped talkingwith Iran, their nuclear pursuance increased, as did North Korea's when we stopped talking.

Brokaw: What don't you know, and how will you learn it?

Obama: It's the challenges that we don't expect that consume most of our time.  I wouldn't be standing here if my country hadn't given me great opportunity.  The question in this election is will we pass on this same American dream?  That dream has diminished - people are losing health care and going bankrupt.  Kids can't afford college.  We can't keep doing the same for the next 8 years.  We need fundamental change.  Really good ratings there!

McCain: I think what I don't know is what's gonna happen both here at home and overseas.  What I don't know is what the expected will be.  I know what it's like in dark times.  I know what it's like to fight and hope through dark times.  "I know what it's like to have your comrades and neighbors reach out to you and put you back in the fight.  That's what America's all about."  It's been my privilege to serve this country, and I'm asking for an opportunity to serve you more.  I've always put my country first.  Good ratings at the end, but not as good as Obama's.

Brokaw, thank you... "You're in the way of my script."  Thank you, and goodnight from Nashville.

Alright, overall, I thnk that both candidates performed pretty poorly.  Overall, I can't really pick a winner.  I hate doing this again, like I did after the last debate, but I'm going to have to call this one a tie.  McCain wasn't as strong on foreign policy as he could've been (and that's his strong point).  On economic issues, he had some good plans but he didn't seem to appeal to the average Joe citizens.  The media has been commenting on McCain calling Obama "That one" when he was talking about Obama voting for money given to oil companies (and I've put it in italics in the text above).  Apparently it caught some people as awkward.  The consensus on CNN was that it was intended as "that one" versus "this one" (meaning "me" from McCain's stand point).  Sure it was maybe bad wording, but I don't think it was anything to get worked up about (and again, my liberal roommate agrees here).  Look, politicians use poor choices of words all the time.  I'm not saying McCain should've said it, but it's nothing that people need to complain about.

Also, Obama seemed to get a little overconfident at the end, and he was stuttery at times.

Both candidates wanted to violate the rules of the debate, and just keep talking.  I think Brokaw needed to do a better job of moderating.  Instead of just saying, "You didn't stop when the red light turned on," he should've said, "Your time is up."

At some points, some of McCain's humor was just sucky (kinda like my fathers at times - he'll tell these lame jokes when he's doing announcements at church that he's got this reputation, and people just kinda laugh to humor him, and the fact that he's tried to tell a joke becomes the joke - it's not always a bad thing, but it was with McCain).

Again, I do think that this was a tie, and this was one that McCain could not afford to lose.  McCain is going to need a couple small miracles to actually come back from where he's at now.  I'm not giving up hope, but it's definitely Obama's race to lose at this point.

CNN just released a poll - Obama gained favoribility and lost unfavorability, but McCain stayed the same on both.  Overall, those polled thought Obama won (56%-30%).

Done Analyzing,

Ranting Republican
:: :: :: :: ::

Las etiquetas definidas como <Complemento> y <ComplementoConcepto> permiten incluir información adicional de uso regulado por la autoridad por medio de resoluciones particules otorgadas a un sector o actividad especifica, permitiendo que la información adicional sea protegida por el sello digital del comprobante fiscal digital.

Como se puede leer... la diferencia fundamental es que el nodo Addenda es libre... osea no está regulado ni forma parte de la firma digital y que el nodo Complemento si lo está y además forma parte de la firma digital.

Desde julio de 2006 a la fecha se han ido liberando paulatinamente diferentes nodos complemento de manera mas o menos inadvertida. Al día de hoy, ya se encuentran liberados los siguientes:

• Complemento para los Proveedor de Servicios Autorizado
• Complemento para Estado de cuenta de combustibles de monederos electrónicos autorizados por el SAT
• Complemento de datos requeridos para emisión de CFD por Donativos “Donatarias”
• Complemento para CFD que amparen la compra - venta de “Divisas”
• CFDs para devolución de IVA a turistas
• CFDs por orden y cuenta de terceros

Y en la página del AMECE, en la presentación "La Miscelánea Fiscal, autoimpresores y los nuevos esquemas de Facturación", en las diapositivas del SAT se puede ver que hay más nodos complemento por liberarse, como son:

• Estado de Cuenta Bancario.
• Comprobación por Orden y Cuenta de Terceros.
• Retail AMECE-ANTAD.
• Venta de Combustibles.
• Estado de Cuenta Afore.
• AMIS y AFIANZA (Comisionistas)

Lo que llama mi atención es que la estrategia de fiscalización digital de hacienda cada día abarca más y más sectores... pero tal vez de una forma un poco desordenada ya que veo que el esquema de los CFD cada día se hace mas compejo y que al paso de vamos habrá múltiples "sabores" de CFD dependiendo del sector al cual pertenezca el comprobante.

¿Cuál será el resultado? La verdad no me animo a dar un pronóstico. Usted... ¿que opina?

With the current American economic crisis and 2008 presidential election, I have grown quite concerned. Where is America headed?

The latest 700 billion dollar Bail out bill that Bush and Congress approved I do not believe in. Why should the American tax payers reward Wall Street, Banks and Insurance companies’ BAD BEHAVIOR? In my professional opinion, this Bail out package will not work in the long run because the bad behaviors that were happening have not been made to change. This bill is not a good plan to change irresponsible behavior.

Why haven’t these companies who recklessly allowed greed to motivate them been fined?  (punishment) Why is it that corporate America gets a helping hand, but the middle class who are already struggling, must struggle even more since we have to pay for their bad behaviors?

I just can not believe that the Securities Exchange Commission was not aware of this crisis coming. Nor can I believe that the Democrat controlled Congress and Bush Administration were not aware of this economic crisis coming either after approving a $300 billion bail out last Summer. Was everybody in government asleep?????  I wasn’t, I recognized many troublesome economic indicators : declining value of the dollar, housing bubble, excessive trading deficit, federal government’s out of control spending deficit,  problematic state spending deficits, exorbitant reliance on credit, sky rocketing fuel and food prices etc.

All I hear is how businesses cannot borrow money due to this financial crisis thus the rationale for the Wall Street bail out. Okay, well I am a small business owner, I do not borrow money to run my business, I must work my business within its means.  Why are large corporations borrowing money when they have large profits gained? As a small business owner, if I have a good month, I will try to save extra money for upcoming months that I may have less contracts to rely on. Why are the corporations being bailed out allowed to have extravagant entertainment/travel budgets? With my consulting business I do not have that luxury, I do not get a bail out package from the government that I can depend upon. So why is it okay for corporate America to not spend wisely?

Oh that is right, I am the good small business person who pays her taxes, pays her bills, maintains good business credit and tries to save money for a rainy day. Why is this not expected of corporate America ?  Why are they bailed out for bad behaviors ?

I totally agree with VP Republican nominee Sarah Palin:

IFILL asks at the VP debate: Who do you think was at fault? I start with you, Gov. Palin. Was it the greedy lenders? Was it the risky home-buyers who shouldn't have been buying a home in the first place? And what should you be doing about it?

PALIN: Darn right it was the predator lenders, who tried to talk Americans into thinking that it was smart to buy a $300,000 house if we could only afford a $100,000 house. There was deception there, and there was greed and there is corruption on Wall Street. And we need to stop that.

Again, John McCain and I, that commitment that we have made, and we're going to follow through on that, getting rid of that corruption.

PALIN: One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let's commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars. We need to make sure that we demand from the federal government strict oversight of those entities in charge of our investments and our savings and we need also to not get ourselves in debt. Let's do what our parents told us before we probably even got that first credit card. Don't live outside of our means. We need to make sure that as individuals we're taking personal responsibility through all of this. It's not the American peoples fault that the economy is hurting like it is, but we have an opportunity to learn a heck of a lot of good lessons through this and say never again will we be taken advantage of.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/debate.transcript/index.html

Yes Governor Palin, financial responsibility is to be applied personally and in business.

Now Senator Joe Biden the Democrat VP nominee stated at the debate that this upcoming 2008 presidential election is important. I agree, however Obama is not the solution.

Remember voters, our federal government has already increased the tax burden for middle class America another trillion dollars. Obama wants to spend an additional trillion dollars on ‘hope and change’ programs. Sounds good doesn’t it, huh? So who shall pay for this too?  Us responsible business and individual tax payers.

As I sometimes tell some of my clients that I work with who love to over spend, “I wish money grew on trees, but money does not grow on trees.”

I’ll take my chances on a McCain ticket of experience and for reform any day over the lacking substance Obama ticket of magical ‘hope and change’ trees that grow money which equates to higher taxes.

America, please vote responsibly.

Babu Basu wonders whether it is possible to ‘think yourself out of recession?’

Go wash your mouth out!

You can swear infront of me as much as you like. I’m not offended. Use the ‘r’ word (recession) however, and I’ll ask you to leave the room. Do not offend me with such insolent language. I know that recession (look I’m saying it again) exists, but we don’t need to keep repeating that awful word.

For any bad word to be truly effective, it must only be used sparingly. The media, however, are positively bathing in it.

Things are bad economically. I’m not doubting that.

But I wonder, have we developed a ‘recession obsession’?

Could we, in fact, be talking ourselves out of recovery?

Doomed! We’re all doomed!

Our homes are losing value. Energy and food prices are rocketing and confidence is evaporating. The UK economy is juddering like a new driver, practicing clutch control. As we grapple with falling fiscal confidence, can we, the economic hoi polloi, really make a difference?

The economics bit.

According to free market theory, the impact of the individual is limited. In the UK, we’re only one of a 60,000,000 potential players, therefore, our ‘financial footprint’ is of little consequence.

But, this is just economic theory. Economic fact however, is rather different.

We may be part of a free market, but we are not, (sharp intake of breath) all equal. Some of us carry more sway than others. It’s not just about having more money. It’s also about having influence and shaping attitude.

The guilty fourteen.

Here’s a quote to get you thinking,

“The credit crunch in Britain was started by 14 individuals”

Fourteen?!!

According to a colleague, quoting from a BBC radio phone-in, the fall in consumer confidence was brought about by comments made by 14 key people – all well respected spokespeople from politics, journalism and business.

I’m not so sure…

Okay, economies are complex as are reasons for (I’m going to say it) recession. Our present state of economic stagnation, occurred mainly due to global factors - things that most of us could do little about.  But, the quote got me thinking...

If individuals who shape attitude can slow down market activity, why can’t they also help to pick it up?

I’m not suggesting that we fake good news or have an Orwellian style ‘Ministry of Happy Thoughts’, but could we have some good news or practical debates on how we can make things better? Surely, there must be away.

He crazy, no?

At this point, I’m sure certain politicians, economists and some of you, think I’m a well meaning and idealistic simpleton. Perhaps I am. But before they cart me off to funny farm ask yourself, “Can we afford this complacency? Can we afford this cynicism? The average person in the street is hurting right now. Times are tough.

Happy happy. Joy joy

No one person has all the answers. That’s never the case in business, nor in economics. But, I’m pretty sure that many of us have part of the solution. We need to change our collective mindset.

Throw off the doom and gloom cloak and put on something more cheery. Sometimes, just adding an ‘i’ and an ‘e’ will help turn things around.

An ‘i’ and an ‘e’?

Throw away the term ‘Credit Crunch’. It frightens us all. It sounds painful. Instead, let’s use the far friendlier, ‘Credit Crunchie.’ (Ya see, adding an ‘i’ and an ‘e’)

The Crunchie bar was, and is, a delicious, crunchy honeycomb snack, smothered in chocolate. It’s sweet, tasty and makes us feel happy.

We need to bring that feeling of happiness back to our economy. That positive, desirable ‘Friday Feeling’.

So go out there and buy yourself a Credit Crunchie. Go now (or wait till the shops open).  Purchase a delightful honeycombed snack and watch (y)our attitude change.

What happens then?

Buying the Credit Crunchie will mean:

1)    You put money put back into our economy. This then generates more economic activity. This is known as the ‘Multiplier Effect’.

2)    You possess something that will make you feel happy. When you’re positive, you’re more able to face economic uncertainty head on.

3)    You feel psychologically stronger as you start to devour economic uncertainty. You are eating your problem away!

4)    You will have the energy to think entrepreneurial, creative thoughts.

And 5) If you eat too many, you’ll need to buy new clothes – putting more money into our hard hit retail industry.

Dentists, dieticians, doctors and fitness instructors would benefit too.

You see, happiness and wealth creation for all.

And, should you, on your travels, hear someone using the offensive ‘r’ word, you have my permission to beat them about person with a Crunchie bar and force feed them with its sweet, entrepreneurial goodness.

Go forth and Crunchie-fy!

Deficitul bugetar ar putea ajunge la 3,8% din PIB în 2008 şi depăşi 3% din PIB în 2009
Deficitul bugetar ar putea ajunge în acest an la 3,8% din PIB, calculat după standarde europene, pe fondul presiunilor de relaxare a politicii fiscale înainte de alegeri, şi ar putea depăşi pragul impus de UE, de 3% din PIB, şi anul viitor, a spus vineri Nicolae Chidesciuc, senior economist la ING.

Bursa scade cu până la 1% după primele tranzacţii, în ton cu evoluţia negativă de pe Wall Street
Bursa de la Bucureşti scădea uşor după prima jumătate de oră a şedinţei de vineri, iar sectorul SIF pierdea cel mai mult - aproape 1% - după ce bursele americane au închis ultima şedinţă cu scăderi puternice, după ce temerile privind o posibilă respingere a planului Paulson au revenit.

OK - now we're about to start.

Ifill: Talking about the Senate bill.  "Was this the worst of Washington, or the best of Washington?"

Biden: Neither.  The economic policies of the last 8 years were the worst part.  Obama laid out rescue plan: Oversight, "focus on homeowners and folks on mainstreet, treat taxpayers like investors, and lastly, make sure CEOs don't benefit."  "We will fundamentally change the ... economic policy."

Palin: "Our economy is hurting, and the government has not provided the sound oversight that we need and deserve."  Women undecided voters in Ohio (the group they're surveyin is Undecideds in Ohio) arereally liking her, now she's mentioning McCain, and she's dropped a bit - talking about his  policy will accomplish what we need.

Biden: Talking about McCain saying "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" - well he was talking about the PRINCIPLES of CAPITALISM and the American workers, not the details of our current economy!  Women, liking Biden more than men, a trend that seems to carry no matter who's talking.

Palin: Basically correcting Biden's statement about McCain, saying what I said.  Americans are craving reform.  Men had liked her more, then women climbed back on top.

Ifill: Subprime lending meltdown.  Who was at fault?  Lenders or buyers?

Palin: "Darn right it was the ... lenders."  And the women are as HIGH as they can go on  the chart - wow.  Talking about not living outside of our means, that we do need to take responsibility - and both categories are as high as they can go.  Basically saying that this isn't the people's fault, but that we can learn a lesson from it, and take steps to insure that we don't live above our means.

Biden: Saying McCain let Wall Street run wild.  That his stances for deregulation were bad, and Wall Street can't regulate itself.  Well, it can and should, Mr. Biden.  Saying that McCain wants to deregulate the health care industry.  I got interrupted there - lost what Biden said.  I did notice the chart, women liking him more than men, but not as high as Palin.

Palin: OK, I'm back - something about tax reduction and letting private sector keep more of what we produce.  We need tax relief.  Undecided Ohio voters are loving her.

Biden: Palin lied: Obama didn't raise taxes.  Saying that Palin didn't answer the question about deregulation.  Saying that McCain DID pursue deregulation.

Palin: Wants to correct Biden's misstatements on taxes first.  Now talking about what she did in Alaska for taxes.  Now on to talking about McCain pushing for more regulations: citing tobacco and campaign finances.

Ifill: Time is up.  Next question: Tax benefits on health care.

Biden: "The middle class is struggling."  He's right - middle class families are struggling, and the voters understand this and are agreeing with him.  He's hitting it home here, and the focus group is liking it, women more than men.  Saying that Obama will cut taxes for people under $200,000.  Talking about McCain wanting to raise taxes, but as soon as he went negative, his ratings went down, now back up.  But Biden did hit it home to the average Joe voters - it was good for Obama.

Palin: Talking about Biden saying that paying higher taxes is patriotic, and that she disagrees, coming from the middle class.  Saying that private sector and  families should grow, thrive, and prosper.  Talking about Obama's spending being "the backwards way in growing the economy."  Talking about McCain's health care plan: $5,000 tax credit - "that's budget neutral," unlike Obama's plan which will cost the government money.  Her ratings aren't doing too well right now.  Saying that McCain will promote crossing state lines to purchase plans - and that'll increase competition.

Biden: Talking about not redistributing money to big businesses.  Talking about health care - he's kinda stuttering and bumbling around during this part.  He's talking about health care, specifically McCain taxing health care benefits, which will have money going to insurance companies.  Having to replace a $12,000 plan with $5,000 because 20 million people will be dropped.  "The ultimate bridge to nowhere."  Good quote - the focus group didn't like it, but I thought it was clever.

Biden: talking about tax cuts, and not going through with the Bush tax cuts.  Not gonna support tax cuts for corporate wealthy.  Not gonna support tax cuts for Exxon/Mobil.  Saying we can't slow up on education.  And  the women are  rating him as high as they can right now, but men putting him at neutral now.  Saying he and Obama will eliminate wasteful spending, one which is a tax dodge by putting their post office box off shore.

Palin: "McCain doesn't tell 1 thing to 1 group" and something else to another group.  Talking about the energy plan: Obama voted for a plan that gave oil companies big tax breaks.  Saying that she took on those oil companies.  They were doing what they need to do, but they're not her biggest fans, because she broke up monopolies, and she was at a neutral rating all through that, but is now a little bit positive.  Reemphasizing that Obama voted FOR that energy plan.  Saying that her area of expertise is energy.  Saying that she'll do what is right for the American people, and stop greed on Wall Street, and that the rescue plan needs oversight.  She dipped pretty negative there, but balanced it out at the end.

Biden: Talking about Obama voting for the bill.  Saying it was the first bill that really allowed for alternate energy.  Why is McCain adding tax cuts for oil companies? (he asked).  Saying that we should be able to give back money to everybody just like Palin did in Alaska, but under McCain's plan, it'll all go to companies.  Saying he hopes Palin will convince McCain to support windfall tax, like Palin supported in the past.

Ifill: Something about economy and something about debt - I didn't hear exactly what it was.

Palin: We need to be appreciative of McCain's call for reform.  And emphasizing reform is a very good strategy for her (and Biden) in this debate.  Put politics and campaign aside and fix this "toxic mess on Main Street that's affecting Wall Street" (I think she switched the 2 of those up).

Biden: Saying that McCain and Palin don't support certain ways to help the people through one of the bailout bills, I missed the specifics - women liked him, men didn't.

Palin: Talking about doing all we can do to become energy independent.  She dropped really low, and is coming back now, talking about having to rely on foreign countries, instead of "dollars circulating here creating 10s of 1,000s of jobs. ... Energy independence is the key to this nation's future."  Talking about not giving oil company tax breaks.  She rose pretty high there, but dropped down at the end.

Ifill: What's true and false about climate change.

Palin: Talking about Alaska often changed by climate, since it's an arctic state.  Some of it's human-caused, others of it is cyclical.  Doesn't want to argue about causes, but wants to discuss how we'll clean up the planet.  That's a great answer - and she's right.  Who cares HOW we got here, as long as we know HOW to fix it!  We need an all of the above approach to tap into energy as well as conserving fuel - and she got pretty high ratings there.

Biden: "I think it's clearly man-made."  And he dropped down a bit there.  Saying that we can't get a solution unless we know the cause.  Well, Mr. Biden, even the National Climatic Data Center doesn't know the cause, and it's their job to figure these things out.  Talking about ways to stop greenhouse gases from being emitted.  Saying that China is building new dirty coal plants weekly - we need to export technology to help them and their environment.  Saying McCain voted against alternative energy 20 times.  Biden got some pretty good ratings there.

Palin: McCain supports caps on drilling.  Saying that we need to tap into oil, and that's what the people want.  She gave the "Drill baby, drill!" quote and that dropped her pretty bad.  Saying that Biden called drilling "raping" the continental shelf.  Saying that we need an all of the above approach.  Saying that Biden didn't support clean coal, saying that he said there's no such thing as clean coal.

Biden: Saying that the comment was taken out of context, and that he's supported clean coal for 25 years.  If the only answer you have is oil, and not everything, how will that help?

Ifill: Do you support, as they do in Alaska, benefits to gay couples?

Biden: Absolutely.  In our administration, there will be no difference between gay and straight couples.  And  here's where I disagree - it's a states' rights issue.  He brought up visitation in hospitals, and I do agree there.  Although he's remaining barely above neutral ratings.

Palin: I wouldn't do it if it redefined marriage, but I will be tolerant.  Saying that she has a diverse group of family and friends - I can't tell if she's implying gay friends?  Saying that McCain wouldn't ban visitation rights, but supports defining marriage between 1 man and 1 woman.  She did pretty good in ratings.

Biden: Neithe me nor Obama want to redefine marriage.  That's a decision to be left by the faith institutes.  Saying that Palin doesn't want differences in rights, so they're on the same page.

Palin: Says that she doesn't want to redefine marriage, so they agree.

Ifill: On Iraq - exit strategy.

Palin: Saying that we have a good plan, and that the surge worked, is working, and  Obama shouldn't have voted against troop funding, and she's glad that Biden stood up to him on that.  Saying that we can start putting more troops in Afghanistan.  She's rating right around neutral right now.  Saying that we're getting closer and closer to victory, and it'd be a travesty if we quit in Iraq.

Biden: I didn't hear a plan.  Outlining Obama's plan: Train the Iraqis.  McCain voted the same way in no funding for troops.  Said he won't fund them with a timeline.  He's rating pretty decent now.  Although he dropped a bit with women when he attacked McCain.  Saying it's time Iraqis spend their own money, and he's now maxed out at the women's rating and is almost there with men.  "For John McCain, there's no end in sight to end this war."

Palin: "Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq" and thats' not what our troops needed.  The surge worked, and Obama can't admit that.  Saying that Biden would've been on McCain's ticket because he supported McCain's stance on Iraq, and that he flip flopped when Obama picked him.  Saying Obama voted against troop funding.

Biden: Saying McCain voted against funding for troops.  Voted against it because it had a timeline in it to end the war.  Saying McCain has been dead wrong on fundamental issues on the Iraq War.  "There are the facts."  He got pretty good ratings back there.

Ifill: Which is more dangerous: nuclear Iran or unstable Pakistan?

Biden: Pakistan already has nukes.  Could hit Israel.  Iran is not close to getting nukes, so both are very dangerous.  Saying that John still thinks that the battlefront on terrorism is in Iraq.  Ratings are really high, especially among women - he's doing pretty good here.  Saying that we need to help them build schools (in Pakistan) and that's where bin Laden lives.  We need to go after him.

Palin: Saying that both Petraeus and Al Qaeda said that the central battlefront was Iraq.  The only thing they agreed on.  Saying that Ahmadinejad is unstable (quoted him on Israel).  Talking about Obama meeting with nations without preconditions, showing naivety on Obama's part.  And her ratings went from pretty good to neutral.

Ifill: Secretaries of State have advocated talking.  Are they wrong?

Palin: No.  We need diplomacy, but with dictators who hurt America cannot be met with just sitting down on a Presidential level like Obama said he'd do.  "Diplomacy is hard work by many people."

Biden: That's not true.  He didn't say sit down with Ahmadinejad.  It surprises me that McCain doesn't know that he doesn't control the security apparatus of Iran.  Saying that McCain and Palin said they have passion for diplomacy, and we need talks with our friends and allies, yet our allies said, "Sit down and talk," but we didn't.  Rating pretty good there.  McCain said he wouldn't sit down with Spain, a NATO ally who has troops in Afghanistan.  "I find that incredible."  Rating great there - and yeah, that was a really dumb moment by McCain.

Palin: Forging peace will be top of McCain/Palin agenda.  We will never allow a second Holocaust, even if that's what Iran warns of.  Saying we need more peace, but we need commitment, and we'll give that commitment.  Great ratings there.

Biden: "Nobody has been a friend to Israel in the Senate as much as Joe Biden."  What about Bernie Sanders?  I'm just assuming that since he's Jewish he supports Israel, but I could be wrong.  Talking about Hezbollah and that they're a legitimate part of the government of Lebanon.  We will change this policy, and stand with Israel, not insist that policies are past.  Rating great there.

Palin: Saying that she's glad Biden cares so much about Israel.  Saying that we can't keep finger pointing at Bush (like Biden just did - I left that out when I typed above).  Put partisanships aside - he's known as the Maverick.  It's good that she's bringing that up.

Biden: How different will McCain's policy be different than Bush's?  He hasn't heard how it's different.  On Israel, Iran, Pakistan.

Ifill: What should be the trigger when nuclear weapons use is put into play?

Palin: Dangerous regimes cannot be allowed to get nukes.  "Period."  Saying we need sanctions on nations like North Korea.  On Afghanistan, McCain's stance is different than Bush's - McCain will use surge principles, just like we did in Iraq, and it worked.  Saying we're fighting terrorists and securing democracy and building schools.

Biden: On Afghanistan--commanding general said that the surge principle will not work in Afghanistan.  And Biden's ratings are pretty good now.  Spent more in 3 week on Iraq than 6 1/2 years in Afghanistan.  Ratings are pretty good there.  Saying that McCain hasn't supported nuclear test ban treaties.

Palin: Saying that the general didn't say that the surge principles wouldn't work.

Biden: Saying that the general DID say that.  Obama, Hagel, Biden, and Lugar have called for more money in Afghanistan.  McCain said we had already succeeded in Afghanistan.  We need to spend more in Afghanistan than on Iraq.

Ifill: Biden, you've had an interventionist stance.  Should America continue this?

Biden: It worked in Bosnia (this is something Ifill brought up), and he supported it and was the first for it.  On Iraq, he voted to let us go to war, but opposes it.  We needed to have our allies with us.  In Darfur, we cannot allow for the genocide - we need to provide helicopters.  And the ratings skyrocketed.

Palin: Saying that she must be a Washington outsider, since she doesn't get why he switched his views, and compared him to Kerry.  Saying that he opposed Obama's strategy and now is for it.  We can agree on Darfur, specifically the no-fly zone.  And her ratings are going up decently.  Talking about not using money that would look like we will allow travesties in Darfur.

Ifill: When is the line to be drawn to go to War?

Biden: Can we afford it?  When a country engages in genocide / terrorism, that country forfeits their right to say that we can't intervene.  Saying that he predicted Sunni/Shia conflicts.

Palin: I disagree with you on whose strategy you supported.  John Mccain has faced challenges and knows what evil is, and will know how to implement commanders, and will know how to win a war.

Ifill: If the worst were to happen, how would a Biden administration differ from an Obama administration?

Biden: I'd carry out policies - accurate health care, an energy policy that creates new jobs.  A foreign policy that gives power to Iraq.  Reject the Bush doctrine.  He's rating as high as he can among womenn, and VERY good among men.  It's the most important election you'll have voted in since 1932.  I agree with Obama on every major suggestion.

Palin: Talking about disagreeing on drilling in ANWR, continue good work he started - getting rid of greed in Washington and Wall Street.  The money needs to be put to the average family.  And her ratings are skyrocketing - maxed out for women, very high for men.  Talking about Obama's plan being bad for our economy.

Biden: Saying that it's been Bush's economic policy that hurt us.  Saying that McCain says he's different, but he really isn't.  "The middle class has gotten the short end."  Very good ratings.

Palin: Saying that teachers need more pay.  We need better education.  Her ratings are doing pretty good.  Education in America is just accepted to be a little bit laxed, and that's unacceptable.  We need to reform No Child Left Behind.  Very high  ratings among women and pretty good for men.

Ifill: What does the Vice Presidency do?

Palin: Talked about her saying a lame joke, "and yours must've been a lame joke too because nobody got it."  Pretty funny.  Talking about presiding over the Senate.  Saying "McCain has tapped me and that's where he wants me" - dealing with special needs children - might've been education, I missed part of it.

Biden: "I would be the point person for legislative initiatives."  Saying that he'll give Obama his best advice.  Sahying that he won't be afraid to tell Obama if he disagrees.  Pretty good ratings.  And he's showing himself being somewhat of a Maverick or independent, and willing to disagree with HIS president.

Ifill: Opinion of Cheney's Vice Presidency.

Palin: Talking about doing best for the American people in cooperating with the President's agenda, and that there's a lot of flexibility.  Talking about her executive experience, and those years will be put to good use.

Biden: It's been the most dangerous we've had.  Only preside over Senate when there's a tie vote.  Give President advice.  His ratings are VERY high right now.  Criticizing Cheney's defining the VP as a legislative job.

Ifill: What are your Achilles heels?

Palin: Responding to Ifill (who asked if it was her experience).  I was experienced in being a governor and mayor, and I'm tapped into average families.  Talking about standing for tolerance, freedom, and equal rights.  Combine that with being a team of reform and it's a good ticket.  Pretty good ratings.

Biden: Responding to it being his lack of discipline.  I'll place my record against McCain's.  Talking about crime bills.  Talking about it knowing what it's like to be a single parent.  Saying that he's much better off than many Americans now, but the notion that because he's a man, he doesn't know how to raise to kids alone.  And he's getting emotional here - and it is really appealing to the focus group - that was Biden's best moment right there - and it was a GENUINE moment.  It's going to be hard for Palin to make any comeback from that without looking bad.

Palin: Americans aren't looking for more of the same.  Talking about John McCain's Maverick position.  And she's not doing well with the focus group, just as I predicted.  Talking about not allowing Wall Street greed, and now she's picking up ratings.  "Change is coming and John McCain" will bring reform.

Biden: McCain is not a Maverick - he voted for Bush's budget.  He voted against putting children into health care coverage.  Not a Maverick on education, on the war, on virtually anything that affects the average people.  He's rating pretty high.  "Maverick he is not on the important issues that affect people at the kitchen table."

Ifill: Single issue where you had to change a long-held view to accommodate circumstances.

Biden: Yes, the only thing that mattered for a judicial nominee was a moral person who hadn't committed crime.  Now I realized that ideology matters, and he gave an example of somebody he opposed.  Women liked his response, but Men are rating him neutral.  "I'm glad I did [change on that]."

Palin: There've been times when I was governor and mayor that I didn't like, but didn't veto.  Times when I wanted to cut taxes, but didn't have enough support.  Never a time when I had to change my views because up in Alaska, we've been able to compromise and work things out.  That's what I'll do in Washington, and that's what McCain has done.

Ifill: How do you change the tone and promote bipartisanship, after looking at the bailout vote?

Biden: I've worked across the aisle and changed opinions of my party and the Republicans.  Saying that people shouldn't question motives of members of the Senate.  Question their judgment, not motives.  And he got pretty good ratings there - that was a pretty good statement.

Palin: Do what I did as Governor - walk the walk and appoint people from both parties.  Work together.  Let policies and proposals speak for themselves.  Lower taxes on workers and businesses.  Rein in spending.  Don't support a ticket that will increase spending.  And her ratings were doing really good, but she's dropped a bit.

Ifill: Closing statements.

Palin: Glad to be here and glad to meet Biden and debate him.  Wants to speak to people without filters - just speak to them.  We'll fight for the average American people.  Always been proud to be an American, and so has McCain.  We need to fight for freedoms.  "Freedom is always a generation away from extinction."  We will fight for freedom, and only McCain has fought for you.

Biden: Thank you, and it was a pleasure to meet you Governor.  This is the most important election you've ever voted in.  There's a need for fundamental economic and foreign policy change.  Obama and I don't look at that based on CEOs and tax credits to Exxon/Mobil, but when sending a kid off to fight in a war.  They should be guaranteed best health care and education.  Really good ratings right now.  Talking about believing in selves and accomplishing things, and that's why him and Obama are running - to reestablish that mood.  It's time for America to get back up together.  May God bless you, and may God protect our troops.

Ifill: Thank you to the Commission, the University, Governor Palin and Senator Biden.  "Good night everybody."

Palin: "Thank you so much!  Thank you Gwen."

Why is her mic still on?  that's weird.

So, my analysis overall:

• I didn't like the fact that Palin avoided some of the questions at the beginning.  She lost some points with me here.
• Biden got a little wordy and confusing toward the end at some points, but it wasn't a huge issue.
• I give a lot of credit to Biden for being a single dad.  When he started getting emotional, that was a powerful moment, and I felt for him - I could feel the emotion just watching him.  It didn't affect the outcome of the debate (at least not in my mind), but I think credit needs to be given to him for that.

Overall, I call it a Biden victory.  Perhaps it's just because I was going into this thinking that Palin wouldn't perform well, but I didn't think she did too bad, but I would definitely say that I am confident that Biden won.  I really don't think that either campaign will get a bump from this, but if anybody will, I think it'll be McCain.  Like I said earlier today, it was Biden's debate to lose.  He performed very well, but Palin did as well, and for Biden to help the Obama ticket much more, he would've needed to blow her out of the water, and that just didn't happen.

Done Analyzing,

Ranting Republican
:: :: :: :: ::

Apparently, one of the most liberal members of the US Senate is a tax-cutting fiscal conservative and a staunch pro-lifer.

Why does Obama have to pretend to be something he is not?

And if he really is pro-life, why aren't feminists and liberals attacking him the way they are Palin and McCain?

Aren't liberals usually viscerally against any mix of Bible verses and public policy?

Of all  three branches of the U.S. government, only Congress has the power to determine federal spending. I'm just saying, how many of you have viewed the Constitution recently?  Pursuant to Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution, "No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law."

So riddle me this ... if a President has the leadership responsibility, but must work with a Congress that is largely against his/her ("her" for future onlookers) policies how does out of control spending happen?  Doesn't that mean the REAL responsibilities lay with the members of Congress?  If the House and Senate can overturn Presidental veto's and they don't approve of a budget what happens?  Ask some people who worked for the federal government during the mid '90's and we can tell you.  The federal government closes down, and even military members see shorted paychecks (to be "caught up" once the budget is approved) until law maker's can come to an agreement or override the Presidential veto; right?

So the next time a Democrat tells you that it's "ALL President Bush's fault" for our economy ask them who approves the budget, spending, and why is it that while Congress has been controlled by Democrats the fewest laws in the past 20 years last session? (see here, here, and here) Before you read on I strongly suggest you read those links.  Perhaps more perspective will be found there.  By the way, how did those 1,900+ resolutions help you're local economy, gas prices, regulation, taxes, and lending issues your family is facing on "Main Street America"??

Please when pointing fingers know a) your history and b) your U.S. Constitution.

So please remember, the next time a Democrat tells you it's all the Republicans fault, don't just see who was the President during that time, look at who controlled Congress in that time frame.  Oddly you may gain a new perspective on things. 

Please, once again, don't take my word for it.  Go look it up!  Education is a wonderful thing ... even after you've killed off more brain cells than you can remember.  Speaking of which ... I have me some brain cells to kill off now!  :)

American's are letting their voice be heard on this issue and it is a good thing because it reminds our politicians who they work for.

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The Common Sense Fix

-Dave Ramsey

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three step Common Sense Plan.
I. INSURANCE
a. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.
b. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:
1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
c. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.
II. MARK TO MARKET
a. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
b. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.
III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
a. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.
b. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down.

This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

One of my last pieces of advice to DIA's director before leaving last year was to increase the amount of money annually invested in IT research and innovation. DIA's technology budget was typically too bloated on the side of operations and maintenance for current systems, and not investing enough in the future, though during my time there we had made significant progress in redressing that, increasing the resources (people and money) put against "what comes next."

In government-agencies particularly (and many torpid commercial enterprises also), budgeteers make the mistake of throwing money at legacy systems instead of being bold and prioritizing research for the next generation of systems. (Last year I wrote about these issues in "Moving Money to the Left.")

Now, no one has asked me about my views on the fiscal "bailout package," which makes sense, particularly when there are people who make far more sense than me expressing their well-founded opinions in ways I thoroughly agree with - such as, say, Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron in his excellent op-ed piece for CNN last night ("Bankruptcy not Bailout is the Answer").

But a number of people have asked me what the impact on Microsoft might be from the current "crisis" and market volatility.  I have to say that I'm pretty optimistic, precisely because Microsoft is investing in the future, in ways that are designed to carry us through short-term downtimes and on to exciting new platforms.  The company's cash-rich, which helps. 

 Most importantly, our CEO Steve Ballmer firmly pointed to our increasing bet on our new approaches to the future.  Speaking in Silicon Valley, he said proudly that not only will Microsoft continue to buy about 20 innovative companies a year, but we will also keep spending $9 billion a year, or 14 percent of revenues, on internal research and development. (See the Venture Beat story here.) 

Microsoft "will use the slump as a chance to invest more in our future than the other guys we're competing with" - Steve Ballmer, quoted in Bloomberg.com  

There are going to be winners and losers coming out of this slump, as there have been in each of the tech slumps I've seen in my short (!) life over the past three decades I've been involved.  The winners are inevitably those with a vision for the long term and the determination to plan beyond the horizon. 

Microsoft won't be the only winner (see "Microsoft, Xerox Invest in Innovation" for a description of the Xerox CTO's similar thoughts), but I'm convinced we will be in the front rank.

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Most people understand that if you do something stupid, you pay for it. Over the past few weeks the government has been using the tax dollars of Americans to pay for blatant stupidity. There seems to be some sentiment among Americans that even if not passing this bail out leads to some tough times that we will all be better off in the long run. Why? Because people will learn that stupidity and outright greed will not be rewarded.

I expect the government to go back to the drawing board to try and come up with some other type of bail out plan to rescue the economy, but I think they are completely missing what we really need to stabilize the economy. I agree with Mike Huckabee that the best way to fix the economy is to dramatically cut taxes on investing. Imagine if the taxes on investing were completely eliminated, money would pour into the American markets and more people would be encouraged to invest.

Washington only knows how to spend our money. They think that they can spend their way out of this mess, when what America really needs is more incentive to invest. Hopefully, the defeat of this bill will help them to realize that Americans don't want to see stupidity rewarded.

On a side note: isn't it funny that the Democrats, who claim to stand for "the little guy"  seem intent to pass this bail out that will cost every single little guy thousands of dollars while rescuing big business?

That being said, I must assert my relief and satisfaction that ya'll didn't get what you wanted. Ya'll are fat while the rest of us starve. I heard BOTH house leaders, Hoyer and Boehner get up in front of the House and wax poetically about how a 'yes' vote will "benefit" the American people. I daresay I think Boehner even got tears in his eyes. He definitely sounded choked up. Just curious, which "American people" exactly were Boehner and Hoyer referring to? Because I happen to know for a fact that since I don't work on Wall St. (I work at 3719 Central Ave. to be exact) I don't get ANY of the $700 billion you were crying for. (Yes, crying. I was sitting at home watching you on C-Span, I could see you.)

You want to know who I blame for all this? Me. That's right - me. Your constituent. Because as an adult who can legally cast a vote in this country I have allowed myself to become complacent. I've been downright irresponsible. I've gone about the business of living my life casting blind eyes toward Washington and deaf ears toward your policies. I sat back and allowed myself to be spoon-fed by MSNBC, CNN, and when that got to be too much I just flipped the channel to The Simpsons and Family Guy. And yet you didn't get where you were for any reason other than because you were elected - by somebody. But that somebody sure wasn't me because I've managed to avoid voting in primaries, or in anything else for that matter. And yet I sit at work and grumble and complain along with everyone else because gas prices are too high, everything's too expensive, and my paycheck seems to get smaller on top of everything else.

And don't get me started on health insurance. The healthcare profession in Florida is a JOKE, for starters - I've discovered I'm actually better off staying away from the doctors down here. Seeing a doctor in SWFL is hazardous to everyone's health. I'm not saying that because it's a shocking statement to make: I'm saying that because I've witnessed with my own eyes the truth of it. I've witnessed as several people I know personally go to the doctor and come back with bags of pills, only to discover the diagnosis was wrong, and who receive rather indignant and very condescending reaction from their doctors when confronted with why they were misdiagnosed. Yeah, I've seen it firsthand. I watched my husband get laughed at in the ER at Cape Coral Hospital when he was in dire pain - he was told he needed to "toughen up" - when in Grand Rapids, MI by comparison he received pain medication, 100% undivided attention, and a solution to the same problem instead.

And my own personal hospital bills from having an incomplete miscarriage back last December? Those got sold to another company, the selling of which magically transformed those same hospital bills into ... consumer bills? As in, consumer bills that affect my already badly-bruised credit???

Do you think if I stood on a soapbox in a public area and began asking people how they feel about their hospital bills affecting their credit that I might get their attention? Do you think once I had their attention they might consider voting for a third party?

This is no one's fault but my own, me being that aforementioned constituent who has allowed herself to be lulled into complacency from years of psychological assault waged by the negative ad campaigns on the trail to the White House.

And then I discovered something, something that, quite frankly, I know for a fact will make you shake in your shoes (and possibly soil yourself) more than the failure today to pass House Resolution 3997: I discovered I have a choice besides Democrats and Republicans on the ballot. In fact, as luck would have it, in the state of Florida I have many choices, why, I have more than 10 choices running for President and among them are: Ralph Nader (I), Cynthia McKinney (GP), Bob Barr (Lib) and Chuck Baldwin (Const). I even discovered the one ticket that is exclusively female also happens to represent one of the largest Third Parties in America - that is Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente of the Green Party.  The Green Party, which as you may or may not know, is only 5% of the Electorate away from becoming a Major Party alongside Dems and Repubs and thereby becoming eligible for federally matching funds in their campaigns.

What I further discovered is that the Green Party rejects corporate funding, that is to say the same corporate entities who are represented by the House Reps. down on their knees pleading and snivelling today for the yes vote they did not get. By comparison, the Green Party is not for sale! I like that - they have my vote on that alone, but they also have my vote on many other issues too, such as the war in Iraq which, if they were elected they would put an immediate stop to that war and bring ALL the troops home - ASAP, no questions asked, just open your arms and welcome the troops home as fast as they possibly can. I also like their stance on the environment which, for me anyway, carries even greater significance than the war in Iraq.

Guess what else? Cynthia McKinney is both female AND African-American! Her running mate? (Obama supporters listen up:) Rosa Clemente is a graduate of SUNY Albany and Cornell University. She also happens to be a widely recognized and respected Hip-Hop Activist. Why is that important? Um, have you seen the numbers of the hip-hop community? She has the distinction of having been a founding member of the first ever National Hip Hop Political Convention in 2003. They just held their 5th annual Convention this past August. The Hip Hop community is organized and has representation on a legally registered political party in the form of Vice Presidential candidate, Rosa Clemente.

The funny thing is, Cynthia McKinney caught my attention several months ago, this past spring. I just wanted to see what she had to say, and I found I liked the way she talked about the issues that matter to me. But I kept an open mind. I was prepared to have my mind changed by either the Democrat or Republican party, and so I listened to both sides these past several months.

However as time went on and Hillary conceded to Obama and then the Democrats and then the Republicans had their national conventions, I wondered aloud: why aren't we also following the movements of the Green Party? And it made me suspicious. And then my suspicions were handily confirmed through a magnificent piece of citizen journalism called, Split: A Divided America. And the more time that goes by, the more convinced I am that neither Obama/Biden nor McCain/Palin deserve my vote, and the more time that goes by the less distinct they seem from each other. I listen to my colleagues at work bickering with each other and I think to myself, hats off to the bipartisan effort to make this country even more complacent than we already are.

Well ... no more. Not for me anyway. I can't control anyone else, but I still have control over my vote. Just think, Reps. Hoyer and Boehner, just think Reps. Pelosi and Frank: how many other constituents are having the exact same thoughts as me right now???

Sincerely,

SarahSoda, constituent

P.S. Don't worry. The Green Party is a peace-loving party and we will extend to you the same help we have expected in our time of need, that you so stubbornly withhold from us.

Sean ustedes bienvenidos al blog de CIMA CONSULTORIA, esperamos crear un espacio abierto a las ideas, al debate y esperamos sus comentarios y aportaciones para enriquecer este blog.

The reasons for the collapse are complicated but it basically follows this storyline. Consumers borrowed more than they could afford to purchase homes. To accommodate the demand, banks and mortgage lenders reduced their credit standards and created lending products that incentivized more consumers to take bad loans. The granting banks sold these loans to other institutions, such as Fannie Mae, which packaged them into assets, or bonds, and sold them to other institutions. The bonds contained some good loans but far too many bad loans. Rating agencies provided scores, such as an “Aaa” rating, to these bonds that misrepresented their risk and promoted their further buying and trading. The mortgage crisis eventually exposed them as poor assets and the value of the bonds collapsed, their ratings were reduced and banks suddenly did not have enough assets to loan money. The flow of money between banks and to businesses and individuals began to dry up, banks had to file for bankruptcy, the stock market reacted to fears of a recession with dramatic declines and the US Treasury asked Congress to recapitalize the banks in order to facilitate the flow of money and avoid a potential recession.

At the end of the week, the presidential candidates flew into Washington to sit at the negotiating table in order to demonstrate their concerns about the nation’s economic health. Their presence, however, did not resolve the mater. Negotiations are still underway and Congress is working to complete the $700 billion bailout package by late Sunday or before the markets open in As