You see stuff like this here
Here’s his MySpace page
The man’s been through hell and back. Not good. 🙁
I feel for him; it’s tough here in Michigan.
Tag: Jobs
Video: We Will Remember
Stupid: General Motors plays a shell game
Here’s one for the “Stuck on Stupid” file that seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the day.
AP Headline: Gas in the tank: GM repays $8.1B in gov’t loans
Quote:
WASHINGTON – Fallen giant General Motors Co. accelerated toward recovery Wednesday, announcing the repayment of $8.1 billion in U.S. and Canadian government loans five years ahead of schedule.
The Obama administration crowed about the “turnaround” at GM and fellow bailout recipient Chrysler LLC, saying the government’s unpopular rescue of Detroit’s automakers is paying off.
Much of the improvement comes from GM slashing its debt load and workforce as part of its bankruptcy reorganization last year. But the automaker is a long way from regaining its old blue-chip status: It remains more than 70 percent government-owned and is still losing money — $3.4 billion in last year’s fourth quarter alone. And while its car and truck sales are up so far this year, that’s primarily due to lower-profit sales to car rental companies and other fleet buyers.
Chrysler, now run by Italy’s Fiat Group SpA, said Wednesday it lost almost $200 million in the first quarter. But it said it boosted its cash reserves by $1.5 billion, reducing the likelihood that it will need more government aid.
“This turnaround wasn’t an accident of history,” said White House economic adviser Larry Summers. “It was the result of considered and politically difficult decisions made by President Obama to provide GM and Chrysler — and indeed the auto industry — a lifeline, if they could demonstrate the will to reshape their businesses.”
Vice President Joe Biden said President Barack Obama “took a lot of heat” to keep GM alive. “And this has even exceeded our expectations.”
Everything is happy yappy and yippie skippy right?
Wrong.
Jamie Dupree dishes the straight dope on this little shell game: (H/T Q & O)
General Motors will make a big splash in the news today by announcing that the automaker will repay several billion dollars loans from the federal government earlier than expected. But it’s not really coming out of the GM wallet.
The issue came up yesterday at a hearing with the special watchdog on the Wall Street Bailout, Neil Barofsky, who was asked several times about the GM repayment by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), who was looking for answers on how much money the feds might make from the controversial Wall Street Bailout.
“It’s good news in that they’re reducing their debt,” Barofsky said of the accelerated GM payments, “but they’re doing it by taking other available TARP money.”In other words, GM is taking money from the Wall Street Bailout – the TARP money – and using that to pay off their loans ahead of schedule.
“It sounds like it’s kind of like taking money out of one pocket and putting in the other,” said Carper, who got a nod of agreement from Barofsky.
[….]
Most of Uncle Sam’s bailout money that was given to GM has now been turned into stock in the U.S. automaker.“The assumption is that, over time, hopefully the value of the stock will appreciate,” said Carper.
Long term that could prove to be a money-making investment for the feds – or if things go the wrong way for General Motors – a big, fat loss for Uncle Sam.
As most of you know, my Father is a 31 year veteran of the General Motors company. I find this little idiotic shell game right here to be just plain immoral. I mean, how in the hell are you going to use money from the Government to pay off the Government? That is basically taking money out of one pocket and putting into another. That is not paying off your debt; that is nothing more than a shell game. The reason why this is so upsetting to me is; that it is just going to hurt my Father. Because sooner or later, this company is not going to be able to pay my Dad’s pension.
As the son of a General Motors worker, I want to see G.M. succeed; but I want to see them succeed the right way and honestly. Not by playing a dirty, underhanded shell game, and that my friends is what this is, a dirty shell game to fool the American people and the workers at G.M. into believing that they are on to the road to recovery, when in all honesty, they are not.
The American Taxpayers, The workers and retirees for General Motors; deserve better than this.
Shame on General Motors for their deceptive tactics and shame on the White House and Yes, the President for aiding and abetting in this little scam.
The real cute part is that not a word of this, has been said in the media, as to just HOW this loans are being paid back. That my friends is a damned human tragedy.
Others: Questions and Observations, Mish’s Global Economic …, TigerHawk, Sweetness & Light, JammieWearingFool and The TrogloPundit
Update: Not surprisingly, Ed Morrissey Agrees with me.
My Submission to HotAir.com
They’re having a contest over at HotAir.com, for videos explaining how existing Government regulation has affected you or someone you know.
Here’s my submission:
A somewhat of a transcript, it was an e-mail to Ed Morrissey and I decided to film it:
Ed,
I am sending this as an e-mail, but I might send this as a video submission.
This short story about Federal Regulation. You may or may not know this; but, I have a Commercial Drivers License, Class A. I took advantage of a “Socialist” program here in Michigan, offered to people who have disabilities, such as mine. I have A.D.H.D. (I was diagnosed at age 5.) I got my CDL-A. I also have Doubles and Tanker endorsements. I did have Hazmat, until Michigan got this stupid idea to charge an ungodly sum for an idiotic background check to get the stupid endorsement.
Anyhow, I have this license; and you want to know what it is worth? Absolutely nothing. Why? Because I do not happen to have at least two years of experience of driving a class A vehicle.
A little background… Back in the 1970’s and the Early 1980’s there were a rash of accidents, involving Semi-trailers. Many of accidents were due to negligent business owners, who did not properly maintain their trucks. The State of Michigan, with it’s liberal enlightened intelligence; instead of fining the businesses, who did not maintain their trucks; instead the state of Michigan and also the Federal Government, passed all sorts of insane regulations for Trucking Company Owners and also insurance companies.
One of more brilliant laws passed, basically forces Insurance companies to REQUIRE ALL DRIVERS to have AT LEAST TWO FULL years of experience in order to be hired.
What’s so horrible about this? Well, let me explain.
Most trucking companies in Michigan, and also Country-wide, REQUIRE at least two and sometimes 3 years of experience. Which is fine, if you are like 21 years old, and have no disabilities and can live on no sleep and drive all over the Country. But, what about someone, like me, who, because the medication that I take, and just because I happen to be a little older and need at least 4-6 hours to function? Basically, because of over-reaching federal and State regulation — I am left in the cold, and as a result, my license, which I happened to have to work a little harder for, because I have A.D.H.D. — is basically useless.
Welcome to Michigan Liberalism.
-Patrick
I really do not expect to win. As it is not entertaining as some might be. But, I did try.
Justice: Goldman Sachs sued by the SEC for the Meltdown of 2008
Finally, some justice to these bastards:
Via the NYT:
Goldman Sachs, which emerged relatively unscathed from the financial crisis, was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which claims the bank created and sold a mortgage investment that was secretly devised to fail.
The move marks the first time that regulators have taken action against a Wall Street deal that helped investors capitalize on the collapse of the housing market. Goldman itself profited by betting against the very mortgage investments that it sold to its customers.
The suit also named Fabrice Tourre, a vice president at Goldman who helped create and sell the investment.
In a statement, Goldman called the S.E.C. accusations “completely unfounded in law and fact” and said the firm would “vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation.”
The instrument in the S.E.C. case, called Abacus 2007-AC1, was one of 25 deals that Goldman created so the bank and select clients could bet against the housing market. Those deals, which were the subject of an article in The New York Times in December, initially protected Goldman from losses when the mortgage market disintegrated and later yielded profits for the bank.
As the Abacus deal plunged in value, Goldman and a prominent hedge fund made money on their negative bets, while European investors like IKB and ABN Amro lost more than $1 billion, the S.E.C. said.
According to the complaint, Goldman created Abacus 2007-AC1 in February 2007, at the request of John A. Paulson, a prominent hedge fund manager who earned an estimated $3.7 billion in 2007 by correctly wagering that the housing bubble would burst.
Goldman let Mr. Paulson select mortgage bonds that he wanted to bet against — the ones he believed were most likely to lose value — and packaged those bonds into Abacus 2007-AC1, according to the S.E.C. complaint. Goldman then sold the Abacus deal to investors like foreign banks, pension funds, insurance companies and other hedge funds.
But the deck was stacked against the Abacus investors, the complaint contends, because the investment was filled with bonds chosen by Mr. Paulson, who is not named in the suit, as likely to default. Goldman told investors in Abacus marketing materials reviewed by The Times that the bonds would be chosen by an independent manager.
“The product was new and complex, but the deception and conflicts are old and simple,” Robert Khuzami, the director of the S.E.C.’s division of enforcement, said in a statement. “Goldman wrongly permitted a client that was betting against the mortgage market to heavily influence which mortgage securities to include in an investment portfolio, while telling other investors that the securities were selected by an independent, objective third party.”
In response Goldman Sachs says:
The SEC’s charges are completely unfounded in law and fact and we will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation.
Yeah, sure the accusations are unfounded. If I were a Goldman employee; I would be looking for a new job pronto.
From the SEC Press Release:
The SEC’s complaint alleges that after participating in the portfolio selection, Paulson & Co. effectively shorted the RMBS portfolio it helped select by entering into credit default swaps (CDS) with Goldman Sachs to buy protection on specific layers of the ABACUS capital structure. Given that financial short interest, Paulson & Co. had an economic incentive to select RMBS that it expected to experience credit events in the near future. Goldman Sachs did not disclose Paulson & Co.’s short position or its role in the collateral selection process in the term sheet, flip book, offering memorandum, or other marketing materials provided to investors.
The SEC alleges that Goldman Sachs Vice President Fabrice Tourre was principally responsible for ABACUS 2007-AC1. Tourre structured the transaction, prepared the marketing materials, and communicated directly with investors. Tourre allegedly knew of Paulson & Co.’s undisclosed short interest and role in the collateral selection process. In addition, he misled ACA into believing that Paulson & Co. invested approximately $200 million in the equity of ABACUS, indicating that Paulson & Co.’s interests in the collateral selection process were closely aligned with ACA’s interests. In reality, however, their interests were sharply conflicting.
According to the SEC’s complaint, the deal closed on April 26, 2007, and Paulson & Co. paid Goldman Sachs approximately $15 million for structuring and marketing ABACUS. By Oct. 24, 2007, 83 percent of the RMBS in the ABACUS portfolio had been downgraded and 17 percent were on negative watch. By Jan. 29, 2008, 99 percent of the portfolio had been downgraded.
Investors in the liabilities of ABACUS are alleged to have lost more than $1 billion.
The SEC’s complaint charges Goldman Sachs and Tourre with violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. The Commission seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.
Allow me to humbly submit that I hope that these bastards get exactly what is coming to them. I mean, these guy literally gambled as the stock market and by proxy; our economy went straight into the toilet. Many people that I know; like my parents, lost a good deal of money on this stuff. Not only that, after the credit crises hit; G.M. ended up having to shed a bunch of expenses; and as a result, my parents lost their optical and dental insurance. That came as a indirect result of this Wall Street mess. So, as far as I am concerned; throw the book at these bastards.
Capitalism is one thing, heartless greed is another; and these bastards crossed that line, big time. 😡
So much for all those new jobs, eh Barry?
It figures:
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 460,000 in the week ended April 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a result of 442,000. The four-week average of initial claims — a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number – rose 2,250 to 450,250. For the week ended March 27, continuing claims fell 131,000 to 4.55 million. The four-week average of these ongoing claims declined 36,000 to 4.65 million, the lowest level since January 2009. In the week ended March 20, about 5.8 million jobless workers, not seasonally adjusted, were receiving extended federal benefits, down 223,000 from the prior week. Altogether, 11.1 million people were collecting some type of unemployment benefits in the week ended March 20, down about 373,000 from the prior week. A Labor Department official said interpretation of the data around this time period is clouded by events such as Easter that make it difficult to properly adjust for seasonal factors
via Jobless claims rise 18,000 in latest week – MarketWatch.
So much for the stimulus creating new jobs. It created new jobs alright — Temporary Government jobs, but nothing lasting.
Just another liberal boondoggle, paid for with your child’s future.
Lovely, eh?
Remember this come 2010 and 2012.
Update: Holy Hot Hamburger! InstaPundit Links in… Wow two of these in a month; I dunno if I can handle such excitement. 😯
Update #2: Here’s the AP’s headline on the story:
The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, a sign that jobs remain scarce even as the economy recovers.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims increased by 18,000 in the week ending April 3, to a seasonally adjusted 460,000. That’s worse than economists’ estimates of a drop to 435,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The report covers the week that includes the Easter holiday, and a Labor Department analyst said seasonal adjustment for Easter can be difficult since the Easter holiday occurs in different weeks each year.
California also closed its state offices for a holiday March 31 honoring Cesar Chavez, the analyst said, which likely held down the claims figures. On an unadjusted basis, claims rose by 6,500 to nearly 415,000.
Economists closely watch unemployment claims, which are seen as a gauge of layoffs and a measure of companies’ willingness to hire new workers.
The four week average, which smooths volatility, rose to 450,250. Two weeks ago, the average fell to its lowest level since September 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed and the financial crisis intensified.
Jobless claims peaked during the recession at 651,000 in late March 2009.
Again, this is what happens when you try and employ Keynesian economic policy tactics to “fix” the economy, it fails.
On a side note:
California also closed its state offices for a holiday March 31 honoring Cesar Chavez, the analyst said, which likely held down the claims figures. On an unadjusted basis, claims rose by 6,500 to nearly 415,000.
😯 Says much about that State and the people in it. Think of this, next time you plan your vacation.
About that mine tragedy in West Virginia
I just wanted to post something here to all my readers. I noticed that not too many Bloggers on my side of the political fence have said anything about this.
Well, once again, I will be the one to do it.
Politics is one thing, real life is another.
Losing someone to a tragedy such as this, is unimaginable. Unlike some on the left, I will NOT bring my personal politics into this. But I will say that I personally feel for this people. Mining is in my family too; sort of. My Father is from Middlesboro, Kentucky. Back when he was a young man, he drove a tri-axle dump truck down in his home town. He worked out of a strip mines down in that town. Oh, the stories he would tell, about Hazards of driving those trucks. Some of the stories were side splitting tales, some were quite scary.
Anyhow, my heart goes out to these people during their time of loss. This is where I will also deviate from my normal hard line Conservative stance, and say the following; which most likely will not do anything for my Conservative creds. Not that I quite honestly give a damn about that anyhow.
It would be a crime, if I did not mention the fact that this mine was, in fact, a non-union mine. Because of that, the safety record of this mine, was, in fact, terrible. Unions; for all their short-comings and horrible politics, are the best defense against companies who want to cut corners and allow their employees to work in unsafe conditions. I honestly believe that if the union that my Father was represented by at G.M. had not been there, my Father would have been dead ages ago. For those who are just passing through, my Father is a retired G.M. Worker and is represented by the U.A.W. The Union forces the big business owners to a very high standard of safety and if the companies do not adhere to them, they simply will not allow their employees on the job. Which I feel is a very good thing. Equipment can be replaced —- Human Lives cannot.
There are some possibly of the right, that might say my bringing this up is morbid or something silly like that. Well, too bad. As they say, all politics is local; and this my friends is a local, personal issue for me. One of the nicest things I read, was the fact that even though this mine was non-union, the President of the Union miners was sending a team of people up to the site, to offer their assistance. Because it is the human and responsible thing to do. That is what normal, sane, rational Americans do, when their fellow man is hurting. They put partisan differences aside and come together. I bet some in the world of Political Blogging could learn something from that; on both sides of the aisle.
Again, my and my family’s prayers go out to the people of MONTCOAL, W.Va. tonight.
Update: Video confirming what I wrote above:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
About that Sean Hannity Ad in the sidebar
I am sure that by now most of you have noticed that Ad for Sean Hannity’s new book.
Well, as most of you know, I loathe Sean Hannity; I am not even remotely a fan. But $15.00 is $15.00 is $15.00, and seeing that I am in the financial position that I am in, any sort of extra money, say from advertisements like that —- is a good thing. Believe me, if I had tons of ads in that sidebar, that were paying me more money; I’d tell ol’ water carrier boy to pound sand. But right now, I will take any sort of money that I can get.
Some of you are wondering what I do not like about Hannity. I just don’t like his attitude and stuff he calls President Obama. It just strikes me as unprofessional and yes, I sometimes think he sounds a bit racist. That whole “Anointed One” line got stale long ago. I mean, I am not a big fan of Obama, and yes, I do criticize his polices. But I do it without the stupid and sometimes borderline racist nuances, name calling and general stupidity, which people like Hannity and his fans are known for. I will admit, during the election and a little after it. I partook in some of that myself. But there was a point, when I basically said, “Okay the man is President now; time to move on and criticize his polices.” I mean, it’s one thing to say something witty once and a while; but to revolve a whole show around it and repeat the same stale crap every week, is just downright stupid. I guess my biggest complaint is that Sean Hannity makes it personal about the President and his Wife and I have also heard his kids. That’s over the line in my book. I never make it personal. Hannity does, this is why I do not watch his show.
As for Hannity personally; I never liked him when he was with Alan Colmes either. He’s a very, very, very, arrogant man, and the sick part is, he has got nothing to be arrogant about. The man lied his way into the business and the only reason he is where he is today, is because some idiot at Fox News felt sorry for the bastard. So, the way I see it; he has nothing to be conceited about.
Anyhow, about that Ad Space — I have plenty of spaces available for advertising. If you have something you would like to promote. Please, take out an Ad. My rates are the lowest around. My site gets anywhere from 300 to over 3K hits a day, depending on the news cycle. I expect during the 2010 elections that this sites numbers will rise as election day nears. So, getting ad space would be a good idea; and besides, it is for a good cause — Me, of course! 😉 😛 😀 Seriously, with the economy like it is here in Michigan and seeing the Obama administration is now putting the hurt on small business. I fully expect the jobs in this area to simply decrease. So, this little blogging gig might be my income for a long time to come. I realize that my readers are not rich and that they are suffering too. But, this is America folks, hard times like this, is when Americans come up with the best ideas for starting a business, and the key to a successful business is advertising. Remember folks, Capitalism is America and being your own boss and being successful at it, is the American dream. I am just looking for my share. Help me do that, place an ad today!
America-haters, Liberals, idiots and pinheads need not apply…
David Frum gets fired
Yes, it is true. David Frum got released from The National Center for Policy Analysis. Now, if you will pardon me, while I try to stifle a giggle. You see, I have not forgotten about how he spoke about those, especially the Paleo-Conservatives; who disagreed with Bush on the Iraq War.
The way I see it, this is nothing more than sweet justice. Believe you me, I am not the only one who feels this way.
However, on the other hand. I did agree, to a certain extent, with his assessment, as to why the right lost their battle in the healthcare debate. However, I felt it was more because of the idiot and quite repugnant behavior of some of the Tea Party folks.
Either way, in these rough times, I do not like the idea of someone being set out in the cold. However, I do not look for Frum to be unemployed for very long at all. David Frum is a very public name and I tend to believe that there will be someone there at the ready, to put the man back to work. That is, if you consider sitting at a keyboard and writing your opinion on a website; actual work. I am quite sorry to have to say this; but this, what I am doing right now, is NOT REAL WORK.
Real work is driving a 53 ft. Semi truck all over the damned Country for little pay and on little sleep. Real work is driving a 24ft straight truck, loading and unloading Pallets off of a truck with manual hand jack. Real work is getting up at 4 o’clock in the morning and working from 5 o’clock in the morning till 5 o’clock in the evening. Real work is working your tail off in a foundry somewhere hammering out a product for your boss and trying to make a living for your family and feeding your children. Real work is loading and unloading trucks on a dock, while your punk boss yells at you for being too slow. Real work is working on a assembly line, and trying to keep up, while the boss speeds up the line. What I, and the rest of the idiots do in this Blogosphere; is not real work at all. However, I do write for some of those people. Those who are not Republicans; but are just damned tired of the Government taking their hard earned money, all to pay for some welfare queen to live “High on the hog”, while the rest of American actually has to work for a living.
So, yes, as you can tell, I come from that background. Let’s just say that I have been there and done that. I do not have some sort of idiotic degree; but rather I have something that David Frum does not have. I actually have life experience. I have actually worked for a living, and I have a royally screwed up back and knees to show for it. But this, real work? Please. I have done real work and this is not nothing like real work.
I wish Frum the best.
Video: Is the Stimulus Working?
This comes via R.S. McCain:
