What the Republicans Hath Wrought

If I read one more quote from the likes of John McCain criticizing the current bail out package, I may have to throw something. Don't think my arm is strong enough to reach Washington, let alone Arizona, though. Darn!
Let me say it loudly and clearly: the Republicans raided their children's and grandchildren's futures when they allowed the banking system to spin out of control over the past 8 years. The shell game of securitized assets, insurance on securitized assets, short selling of bank stocks, hedge funds and the like absolutely guaranteed that a loud sucking sound would be heard. Poor fools who had their money in 401ks, in mutual funds. What chance or hope did they have to avert what the Wharton School whiz kids had cooked up?
I knew things were fishy several years ago, when youngsters suddenly had financial managers and the managers themselves were still wet behind the ears (I typed years, mmmm). When Merrill Lynch customers paid extra closing costs and origination fees to their investment bank for mortgages that were supposed get as "valued customers" at discounted rates. When the rates themselves were far from discounted. I started to feel squeamish after awhile when yet another customer would announce to me that they 'needed to run things by' their financial advisor. And when my investment bank assigned me to one of this ilk, I spent my first and last phone call with him conducting my own job interview. It didn't take long to realize this kid who was trying to sell me annuities was working off a script penned by only god knows who. And if you think things have gotten better, you only need to know all it takes to become a mortgage loan officer for a leading lender is a high school degree.
I know it's going to get really rough out there. The money men behind the Republicans want back into power so they can raid the last vestiges of wealth out of the American pot: Social Security (remember how much they pushed for those individually controlled investment accounts for young workers?) and employer provided Health insurance. Heaven save us if they get their hands on those funds -- or get control over whether employers offer benefits at all.

The Ethics of Layoffs

Seems I'm not the only person wondering about the constant barrage of corporate layoff announcements lately, specifically from healthy companies like Microsoft and Viacom -- here's an insightful blog on the same subject:

http://www.businessethics.ca/blog/2009/01/layoffs-by-profitable-companies.html

On another note (musical -- I can't be outraged all the time, can I?) -- the Grammys last night were eminently watchable and, unfortunately, predictable, with Robert Plant and Alison Kraus walking away with album of the year and former Led Zeppelin frontman Plant sounding like an industry insider as he managed to thank everyone responsible for handing him a "lifeline". Standout performances from Radiohead (didn't those marching band members look happy?) and "let's give the award to the talented chubby girl" Adele instead of the abstinence espousing Jonas kids, I'm still wondering why M.I.A., the Sri Lankan rapper extraordinaire, got drowned out by the rap pack boys when she managed to show up on her baby to be's due date. Give the girl 3 minutes air time for her trouble, guys !!

And good on Grammy President Neil Portnow for calling attention to the fact that while the arts are one of our biggest cultural exports, arts funding in schools remains abysmal (abysmal? non-existent is probably more like it). Will we get a cabinet level arts member? Probably not. But it speaks volumes that artists now feel empowered to *ask*.

Stock Owner Power -- Addressing Job Losses and Corporate Accountability

It's all over the news, job losses in January topped 600,000, the worst job losses since 1945. My question is this: for every non-executive level worker laid off at Caterpillar, Home Depot, or Sprint, how many board of director positions or salaries or meeting budgets were adjusted?
President Obama has made a laudable start in addressing the egregious difference between executive and average worker pay by asking banks who will be receiving significant bail out funds to cap executive salaries. Maybe it's time to start addressing the corporate bloat in all American businesses, where executives often make 400 times the average worker's pay in benefits, stock options and bonuses.
Should we reward hard work and innovation, yes. But can we continue the privilege party for the few (a group that seems to have grown exponentially during the Bush years) at the cost of the many? I don't think we can.
If you're a stock holder, it's time to exercise the power owning those shares still gives you (as their economic reward is so sorely diminished) --read the proxy materials and start voting your shares for change in the way America does business.

Don't Get Fooled Again ...

Senate amendment 353 arrived as a buzzword in my email this week. "Urge your Senator to support amendment 353 to reduce mortgage rates to 4.5 percent," urged the president of the real estate company that holds my license, and included a link to make it easy for me to reach out to my Senators. And it sounded like such a great idea. What home owner wouldn't welcome that huge a reduction in their mortgage rate? Think what spending that additional money might mean to the faultering economy. And then tonight, an update from our new mortgage officer: "Senate amendment 353 has been defeated." I had to do some research.
It turns out, amendment 353 wasn't just an amendment to reduce mortgage rates with federal subsidies. It also included provisions for capital gains and small business tax cuts, and some other verbiage I lack the legislative training to decode along the lines of a "5-year Carryback of Net Operating Losses and Delayed Recognition of Certain Cancellation of Debt Income". Sponsored by a relatively obscure Republican Nevada Senator, and hidden under the attractive title of "Fix Housing Now", it looked to contain the kind of tax breaks and loopholes the Republicans were thrown out of office for in the last election. These are the people who bring you logging in National Forests under the Healthy Forests Initiative. Reduced air quality standards under the Clear Skies Act. We got rid of them but we really didn't -- they spent the months between November and January sharpening their rhetoric and they will do just about anything to get back into the political picture.
While Barack Obama was preaching a politics of inclusion, going so far as to reach out to his opponent through a face to face meeting (what incoming president ever did that before?) the Republicans were doing what they do best, strategizing how best to buzzword and slogan their way back into the hearts and minds of frightened populace.
So my fellow citizens, be wary. Expect to have your emotions and fears manipulated by the same people who created the mess within which we find ourselves. Read between the lines when you're urged to support something. Ask to see the fine print. If something sounds too good to be true to fix the mess, it probably is.