Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use
Vol. 11 Issue 39…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…September 28, 2008
Intuit's Vibe
God Bless the Child
Billie Holiday
Them that's got shall get
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
Money, you've got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you're gone, spending ends
They don't come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
He just worry 'bout nothin'
Cause he's got his
own
Avoid Foreclosure
Scams
White collar criminals have devised a number of foreclosure "rescue" scams that invariably leave consumers worse off than any actual foreclosure. According to a national survey, nearly ten percent of homeowners either behind on their mortgage payments or already in foreclosure will fall victim to these scams in often fruitless attempts to save their homes. Once behind on mortgage payments, the worst thing a homeowner can do is get into bed with crooks promising to stave off foreclosure.
From
Laws passed by a number of states
against these fraudulent operations are generally ineffective, because as soon
as a law is passed these white collar crooks devise sophisticated ways to skirt
the new restriction. The most effective remedy rests in the hands of the
individual. If you are late on a mortgage payment or are facing foreclosure,
ignore unexpected solicitations, whether via mail, television, by telephone or
in person. Contact your mortgage lender at the first sign that you will be
unable to make a payment. Seek counseling advice. The US Department of Housing
and Urban Development at http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/
provides a nationwide list of certified counseling agencies.
As a general rule, no smooth
operator will rescue you from foreclosure; pursuing their self-interest, these
for-profit-operations are out to make themselves rich at your expense. Do not
fall for a foreclosure rescue scam that will make your situation worse.
Bit of History
Adam Smith
(1723-1790)
"His very limitation made for success. Had he been more
brilliant, he would not have been taken so seriously. Had he dug more deeply,
had he unearthed more recondite truth, had he used more difficult and ingenious
methods, he would not have been understood. But he had no such ambitions; in
fact he disliked whatever went beyond plain common sense. He never moved above
the heads of even the dullest readers. He led them on gently, encouraging them
by trivialities and homely observations, making them feel comfortable all
along." Joseph Schumpeter - History of Economic Analysis.
Adam Smith, who is widely
recognized as the father of modern economics was born to Margaret Douglas at
From 1729 to 1739, Smith attended
the Burgh School of Kirkcaldy, where he studied Latin, mathematics, history,
and writing. At age fourteen (14), Smith entered the
On returning home, Smith
delivered a series of well-received lectures and was made first chair of logic
(1751), then chair of moral philosophy (1752), at
In 1762, the
For the next two years, Smith
traveled extensively with his pupil. During this period, Smith met and came to
know a number of intellectual leaders; he also began writing another book. In
1766, Smith's tutelage ended and, with his pension for life earned, he returned
to Kirkcaldy. For the next ten years, Smith devoted most of his time to writing
his magnum opus An Inquiry into the
Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
In 1773, Smith was elected fellow
of the Royal Society of London and member of the Literary Club in 1775. On
March 9, 1776, Smith published The Wealth
of Nations. An instant success, it became the bible for market
capitalism. In it, Smith expounded on the principles that lie at the heart of
free market economics, i.e., division of labor, pursuit of self-interest and
freedom of trade. As though guided by an invisible hand, free markets produce
the goods consumers demand; the economy naturally achieves equilibrium.
In 1778, Smith was appointed
commissioner of customs in
Smith's literary executors were
given explicit instructions to destroy his personal papers. Several works,
including History of Astronomy (1795) and Essays on Philosophical Subjects,
were published posthumously.
Bulls Stampeding
Bears
By John Burl Smith
During the current stampede to
bail out Wall Street, most Americans do not understand why other needs are
being trampled to rescue the runaway credit market. Wall Street, like the rest
of
Trying to cure the jitters caused
by over-exposure to credit, these "laissez-faire" witch doctors are
prescribing heavy doses of liquidity - a placebo aimed at a symptom of the
contagion. Now, rather than a mild case of sniffles, bailout advocates swear
the economy is on its death bed.
Digressing, the earliest stages
of voodoo economics began under Pres. Ronald Reagan. Praising the need for fewer
restrictions on business, "laissez-faire" or "free-market"
capitalism became a code word for deregulation. Republicans began crooning a
tune of deregulation and Americans swooned every time they heard the melody.
Following his election in 2000, George W. Bush teamed with Alan Greenspan,
Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to form a duo. Bush sang lead with tax cuts
for the rich and Greenspan chimed in with a mortgage financing jingle. The duet
convinced Americans that a recession was imminent. Therefore, to put a little
pep into the sick economy's step, Americans needed to go on a shopping spree.
Greenspan opened with a song and
dance that urged Americans to use their homes like ATM machines. A chorus from
Wall Street trilled the need for fewer restrictions on refinancing and
mortgages for first time home buyers. Serenading Americans with a choral of
easy credit, Wall Street and
Wall Street bears (those who take
a conservative approach to buying stock) hit a sour note with bulls when they
pointed out the inflated value of real estate, the ever increasing risk in the
mortgage market and dangers ahead if the bottom fell out of the subprime
market. Bulls excoriated bears, shouting them down for their refrain for
restraint and opposition to cheap credit. Accused by bulls of trolling gloom
and doom, bears were reduced to cantillating on street corners.
The Bush administration and Wall
Street bulls used the media to stampede bears into virtual silence. Buying and
selling mortgages, as orchestrated by Greenspan, meant money for anyone willing
to sing along. Enjoying themselves like sunbathers on a
Like a snowball rolling down a snow
covered hill, the real estate bubble grew and grew and grew. Then one day the
sun came out and began melting all that snow. Although the spring thaw had not
begun, the subprime snowball melted and the back flow seeped into the subprime
market. Clogging up-stream banks, the flood of bad debt continued to rise;
major banks started going under. Lapping at Wall Street's door, the red tide
infected beach goers around the world.
No longer dancing to sweet music,
Wall Street bulls are singing the blues. Drowning in their excessive use of
credit, they are pleading for bears to come to their rescue. Trampled by the
stampede for riches, few bears are willing to bail out those whose reckless
abandon disregarded warnings that a day of reckoning was coming. Most bears
feel bulls are getting their just desserts because this should be the outcome
in free-market, "laissez-faire," capitalism. Businesses should not
only reap profits; they must take the bitter pill of losses as well. If
businesses can get government doctoring to inoculate them against their bad
decisions and actions, there is not any difference between
Stampeded by Bush into an illegal
war in
Hood Notes
Lehman Brothers: The Asian Contagion US Style
By John Burl Smith
Troubles in the
Regulators across
From
Nevertheless, Thursday Japan's
key stock index sank to its lowest level in nearly six months as investors
dumped banks and brokerage stocks. The Nikkei closed down 225 points, 1.98
percent to 12,102.50 -- its lowest close since March 18. Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group, Inc., the world's largest bank by assets, shed 5.07 points and
the top Japanese brokerage Nomura Holdings, Inc. tumbled 5.94 percent.
Intensifying its monitoring of
financial and foreign exchange markets,
Meanwhile the big story was in
The jitters struck
Benchmarks in
Australian Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd said the nation's fourth-largest bank,
Elsewhere,
"Whatever good news you can
think of -- nationalization of mortgage debts or lower oil prices -- doesn't
seem to help the markets," said Henry Chan, team leader at Baring Asset
Management in Hong Kong, who helps oversee about $11 billion in Asian equities.
"It's confirmation that we're in the stage of a bear market. (Sources: www.tmcnet.com, http://business.maktoob.com,
http://news.morningstar.com and http://online.wsj.com)
DISHing It Up Hot!
On Racism and Voting!
By Dot
By all accounts, Democratic
Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama should be well ahead in the polls,
given the last eight disastrous years of George W. Bush and the Republican
candidate's voting record, which has closely mirrored Bush's policies on war
and peace. Yet, Senator John McCain is roughly even in the polls with Senator
Obama. To discover the reason behind this conundrum, an AP-Yahoo News poll, in
association with
Personally, the results of this
survey were not surprising. Anyone that knows the history of this country
should not be mystified at the degree to which racism is still alive and well
in
In the 1970s, Harvard biologist
E.O. Wilson, the creator of the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), endured a firestorm
of criticism when he suggested that all animals, including humans, were
genetically predisposed to certain behaviors and some were genetically superior
to others. Naturally, "minorities" and women led the fight to
discredit
Suppose
From its founding, the
Disgruntled feels: Afraid! US politicians
must believe
Disgruntled
wants to know: When the current run of Wall Street bailouts began with
Bear Stearns, there was a great deal of concern and conversation about moral
hazard, the notion that decision-makers should not be insulated from risk for
fear they will not avoid risky behavior. After all, in a capitalistic economy
individuals freely choose when and how their resources are invested and incur
profit and loss accordingly. Now that the Bush administration and members of
Congress, Democrats and Republicans, have entered negotiations to buy bad debt
to the tune of $700 billion in an historic bailout of Wall Street, in effect
nationalizing private losses, there is no talk of moral hazard. Even more
unusual, some of the nation's staunchest free enterprise advocates support the
big bailout. Given this dramatic turn of events, can we officially declare
Disgruntled
says: Taxpayers should get more bang for their bucks in bailing out Wall
Street, since the money that will be spent will take money away from domestic
programs, like education, community services, poverty reduction and sustainable
development that does not remove current residents. Wall Street firms,
including Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG, that participate in
the bail out should have to do substantial community service and development.
For instance, they should use their expertise to help public schools that are
in trouble, providing math and reading help. Programs could be set up so that
their aids go where the problems are. They should not all help big cities like
Mailbox: E-Mails,
Faxes and Phone Calls
Email www.msnbc.com
...Senate sends big spending bill to Bush to sign...Bill lifts offshore
drilling ban, aids Gulf Coast disaster victims... Automakers gained $25 billion
in taxpayer-subsidized loans and oil companies won elimination of a
long-standing ban on drilling off the
Email www.ap.com...WaMu
becomes America's biggest bank failure...As the debate over a $700 billion bank
bailout rages on in Washington, one of the nation's largest banks -- Washington
Mutual Inc. -- has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the
mortgage market. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu on Thursday,
and then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9
billion. Seattle-based WaMu, which was founded in 1889, is the largest bank to
fail by far in the country's history.
Email www.findingdulcinea.com...Genetically
Modified Meat Could Be Sold Unlabeled...by Sarah Amandolare....The U.S.
government is considering allowing genetically engineered animals to be sold as
food to consumers, but some feel that the lack of labeling could be a health
hazard. Americans could soon be consuming fish that has grown unusually fast,
or has particularly heart-healthy eggs, thanks to the
Email patricia2090@yahoo.com ...Dear
Dish...Can you believe this! I recently heard a white caller to the Washington
Journal blame blacks, he said "minorities," for the housing crisis.
In particular, he believes the home loans given to minorities that probably did
not work or had marginal jobs were the culprits. This cause of a global
financial crisis ignores the avarice on Wall Street. The poor and middle class
minorities and whites that received subprime loans and other mortgages played
no role in bundling these mortgages and selling them as securities. They did
not make the hundreds of millions of dollars the vultures on Wall Street reaped
in betting the farm that their corrupt scheme would continue to produce record
profits. Yet, some whites will blame "minorities," blacks, for this
debacle. It is a sad commentary on the state of race in