Author: coastcontact

I am a somewhat cranky but mostly optimistic 65 plus who refuses to give up on this maddening world. The purpose of this BLOG is to express my feelings, thoughts.

HYPOCRISY

In a society that is too much about “me”, double standards abound.  Thanks to a variety of medical breakthroughs many people who lived through “the great depression” are still alive today.  They did go on to success.  It’s not that those successful seniors have forgotten their beginnings.  They simply do not want to accept the idea that many others have not been so fortunate.

 

Then there are those who were fortunate enough to have the skills and talent to rise above the rest of us.  Many of them have earned extraordinary amounts of money.  This group of people is small but seems to be clueless about the fact that they are so lucky.

 

An example of the clueless is Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive left that company with a severance package worth an estimated $21 million to $42 million.  Including her severance, she was paid nearly $180 million during her five-year tenure at Hewlett-Packard.

 

Fiorina bucked the populist tide against lavish corporate salaries by denouncing President Obama’s effort to cap annual pay at $500,000 for leaders of banks taking federal bailout money.

 

Now this is the hypocrisy (double standard).  After she was forced out of Hewlett-Packard, shareholders sued, claiming that the board of directors should have let shareholders decide her severance.  The Los Angeles Times quotes her as saying, “When somebody makes $40 million a year for failure, we cannot defend that.  On the other hand, I believe the solution should be, every  should be put up for shareholder vote each and every year. Let the shareholders decide.” 

Words of a Great Orator

President Barack Obama is a great orator.  He proved it once again tonight when he addressed the Congress.  He had the Republicans on their feet applauding his words many times during his presentation.  Considering Republican opposition to most of the president’s proposals this was a big surprise.  The replay of various parts of his speech on CNN programs throughout the evening confirmed my view that he gave us another outline of the goals he set when he was campaigning in 2008.  As Joseph Stiglitz pointed out on CNN, “the devil is in the detail” and those details could derail his objectives.  Every thinking American wants the president to succeed because if he does all of us will too.

It Probably is to Good to be True

How much time did you spend learning about your new digital camera? You know, that 150 page manual that was enclosed in the box.  Then there was your plasma TV that came with a 30 page 8×10 manual.  I know you read the part on set up and then filed it away in a place you will never remember.  Finally there is the 140 page Franklin Templeton Investments prospectus they send out annually to all holders of their funds.  You probably didn’t even open that booklet that is far more important than the digital camera and TV operating guides.

 

The people who gave their money to Bernard Madoff or Allen Stanford for investment wanted to believe that it was safe and would grow faster than most other investments.  Apparently they did not do the “due diligence” that everyone should.  They simply had faith.  They did not want to read the manual.

 

We talk to someone for 30 minutes and decide, based on that short discussion, to rely on an “investment counselor”, “financial advisor”, or “financial planner” to invest our hard earned savings in a way that will provide growth and protection.  I especially like the TV ad where you see the outside of an office where someone inside has stopped in, on the way to work, to get vocal reassurances that he should focus on his long term goals and not be worried that his portfolio is tanking.

 

I look in the Franklin Templeton Investments prospectus (printed copy, the on-line version is 11 months old) and find the following statement under the title Temporary Investments:

“When a manager believes market or economic conditions are unfavorable to investors, the manager may invest up to 100% of the funds assets in a temporary defensive manner by holding all or a substantial portion of its assets in cash, cash equivalents, or other high quality short term investments. …”

 

Did you understand that?  Although I have limited knowledge on investing I do know enough to look at the performance of this investment during the recent market collapse.  I see a 52 week high of 7.14, a low of 5.92, and a current value of 6.51.  OK, I am not happy but given the market situation the manager of this investment isn’t doing too badly.  If he had made a mess of things I would dump this investment FAST.

 

What’s the idea I am conveying?  Do your own investing.  Do not rely on others.  Don’t rely on words like “don’t panic” and “focus on your goals.”  This is a bear market.  You are trying to ensure your investments are safe.  Remember, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

 

We Need Israel Palestine Peace Now!

It is a great disappointment to me that I must oppose the behavior of Israel.  Their treatment of Palestinians is appalling.  It is a fact that Hamas’ goal is the destruction of Israel.  Israel has the right to do everything in its power to destroy the Hamas organization.  That right does not include the extreme force used against Palestinian civilians.

 

Fareed Zakaria’s GPS had three smart guests to discuss the Israel Palestine issue on his February 15 program.  His guests were:

–Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center’s Institute for Zionist History and Thought

-Yoram Peri is a former adviser to Yitzhak Rabin and is now a professor at Tel Aviv University and American University

-Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council

Each of these gentlemen clearly expressed his views and of course the two Israelis differed significantly from Mr. Barghouti.  The third party needed to bring this horror to an end is the United States.  There is no other that will step forward to help resolve the intransigence of the Israelis and Palestinians.

 

There is no point in reviewing the history of Israel and the territory it now occupies.  Israel exists and will continue to exist.  The question of its borders and the status of Palestinians both inside Israel and in the Palestinian territories needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.  The reason for this is the growing violence being displayed by everyone. 

 

George Mitchell is the American special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration.  Mr. Mitchell chaired the all-party peace negotiations, which led to the Belfast Peace Agreement in Nothern Ireland.  There could be no better person to help bring an end to the this conflict.

California Politicians are Failures

The state legislature has approved a budget that signs off on the idea that incompetence is acceptable.  The result of the new budget is that our sales tax and vehicle property tax will be one of the highest in the nation.  What makes this situation even more horrifying is that the state will still have to borrow money to balance its budget.

 

It is obvious that state government needs to be reorganized.  It is very inefficient.  The ability to legislate the changes needed for reorganization of the bureaucracy ought to be everyone’s criteria for electing all of the legislature and the state wide officers.

 

The silence from members of the legislature tells me that there is no will now to change anything.  Recalls are not the answer.   Newly elected people are the way to go.  Forget party affiliation.

Justice Denied

As I wrote in January of this year, the continuing appeals of those on Death Row makes a mockery of justice.  Is it any wonder that killers believe they can get away with murder when they learn of the case of Thomas Francis Edwards?  He died in prison after spending 22 years fighting his execution. 

Edwards was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 killing of a 12-year-old Orange County, California girl.  This case was the subject of a Los Angeles Times November 2008 article.  That aricle quoted state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George, “The leading cause of death on California’s death row is old age.”

Bigotry is Alive and Well

NY Post Cartoon

The New York Post’s February 18, 2009 cartoon about a chimp who was shot to death by police, after it mauled someone, was a perfect example of bigotry. Actually the cartoon suggested that President Obama ought to be shot for promoting a stimulus package. Would this cartoon exist if the president was White? Of course not. Will someone be encouraged to attempt an assassination of the president? I hope not. Freedom of the press allows the ignorant to continue behaving badly.  After all, it’s our right!

Fire the Corporate CEOs

Corporate America has failed. (Which managers or economists were standing up to say America is going in the wrong direction?)  The proof is the decline of the economy of the entire world.  It is a decline that was started by America’s leading corporations.  This decline did not start in 2008.  It started decades ago when U.S. manufacturers decided that they did not need to respond to Japan’s companies who had determined to define their products as the quality alternative.

 

The astonishing rise of quality products in Japan was the result of William Edwards Deming, an American, whose quality control ideas were largely ignored by the United States manufacturing community until the 1990s.  The consequence of Japan’s pursuit of quality products resulted in the success of Toyota, Honda, Canon, Panasonic, and a plethora of other quality conscious companies throughout the Far East and southern Asia.

 

Our nation went from being a creditor country to a debtor.  To counteract the decline of America’s manufacturing supremacy our government, in conjunction with the finance industry, determined that easy credit was the tool of choice to promote capitalism.  It is a philosophy that has worked well for at least 30 years.  Both government and business told Americans to just keep buying everything and everything will be OK.  The idea was that every kind of investment will continue to grow in value forever as long as we all keep spending.

 

A simple proof of this philosophy occurred after the 9-11 attack in New York City.  Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, lowered interest rates (2.5% to 1.75%).  President George W. Bush told everyone to keep buying everything.

 

Where were the managers of our corporations as all of this was happening?  They were making millions of dollars for themselves.  Bernie Madoff and others like him bought into the idea that the value of everything would never go down.  The idea was It’s a never ending pyramid scheme!   CNBC documents the philosophy on it’s program House of Cards.  This program tells the frightening reality.  An unapologetic, unremorseful Alan Greenspan drove me wild.  

 

US
Saturday, February 14th  7p | 10p ET
Sunday, February 15th  9p ET
Monday, February 16th  8p | 12a ET
Sunday, March 1st  Midnight ET
Sunday, March 15th  9p ET

ASIA
Monday, February 16th 8p | 11P SIN/HK
Tuesday, February 17th 4a SIN/HK

Australia
Monday, February 16th 10p AEDT
Tuesday, February 17th 2a | 7a AEDT

 Now we are in the ditch.  I do not know all the answers.  Clearly our smartest people do not know the answers either.  For starters I suggest we fire all the top managers in all the companies that are asking for federal bail outs.   “Yes we can” and we should.

The British Select America’s Best Leaders

When I say, “the Queen” most people know that I am talking about Queen Elizabeth of England (the United Kingdom).  America’s ties to England have really existed ever since the colonization of America.  The exception being that period from the Revolution until The War of 1812 was settled.  THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE UNITED STATES. By William Archibald Dunning, a Columbia University professor, was a book published in 1914 that marveled at the fact that despite many “bickerings, Americans and Britons had remained continuously at peace for 100 years.”  Today we are nearing 200 years.  This was brought to my attention by a New York Times on-line archive piece.

 

It is interesting to find that English fascination with America is as strong as America’s fascination with England.  AOL’s list of the ten best and worst presidents is a replication of The Times of London’s listing on their web site from October 31, 2008.  It came as no surprise to me that President George W. Bush made the list of the worst ten.  That President Jimmy Carter did not make the list of the ten worst did surprise me.  President Andrew Johnson succeeded Abraham Lincoln, was a southerner who did not further the civil rights of the newly freed slaves, and was worthy of being on the list of the ten worst presidents.  The C-SPAN survey did put Andrew Johnson in his well earned 42nd place.

 

I certainly hope Barack Obama is one of the 10 best.  His goals are so high and the world so troubled that I am guessing he will only serve one term.  My family says it’s too early to predict his performance.  I hope I am wrong.

Government Spending to Jolt the Economy –

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate!” “We won!”

  

I heard John Cronyn (R-Tx) on the floor of the Senate just prior to voting against the stimulus package say “We cannot spend our way into properity.” He was echoing John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20 who wrote a similarly titled column posted on Real Clear Politics.  Many other conservative Republicans have repeated those words but none have offered an alternative.  Of course this all followed on the heels of Rahm Emanual’s appearance on Meet the Press.  Obviously there are two schools of thought.

 

The American people have spoken when they elected Barack Obama president and sent large numbers of Democrats to Congress.  Of course this is a big gamble.  Yes there are doubts about whether the stimulus bill will jolt the economy.  Republicans had their chance and their ideas did not work.  I have lots of misgivings about the Democratic stimulus package.  Where are the alternative ideas?