Stock Market

Eric Cantor: Promoting His Own Wealth Through Loophole In “Insider Trading” Legislation: A True Mark Of Corruption!

Ronald 2 Comments

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a true disgrace to the chamber he leads, and is a constant threat to the survival of Speaker John Boehner, should Boehner ever attempt in any way to “go off the reservation”!

Cantor, an extremely ambitious and ruthless politician, has been implicated in a scandal, although his party may not think that it is that, by inserting a loophole in the House version of the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, which is designed to prevent any advantage for members of Congress in stock market transactions because of “insider’ information available to that institution, and was passed in April, with the purpose of restoring faith in the Congress on the part of the American people.

The manipulation by Cantor was not made evident to its Senate sponsors, Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who were shocked to discover that Cantor had inserted an exception for spouses and children of Congressional members.

Now under fire, Cantor claims he is willing to make changes in the legislation, but had slipped in these corrupt exceptions with the clear hope of having no one notice it!

For this obvious transgression, Eric Cantor should face investigation and possible censure, but of course, it will not happen.

Still, John Boehner had better have “eagle eyes”, as there is nothing that Eric Cantor will NOT do to advance his own ambitions, and enrich his own pockets and fortune, at the expense of the American people!

The Barack Obama Economic Record: Worth Defending!

Ronald Leave a comment

Republicans love to attack Barack Obama as a dissater on economic matters, claiming he is a total failure, and conveniently forgetting the horrible record of George W. Bush, and what Barack Obama inherited, the worse economic conditions for a new President entering office since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933!

But just as the FDR economic record is seen as positive by most historians and other scholars, someday the Obama record in his first term will be praised.

Of course, there are still naysayers for FDR’s economic record, and they seem to be multiplying, as part of the conservative and Republican assault on Barack Obama, but the truth is otherwise from what the propagandists state!

Is there room for improvement? Of course, but considering where we started in January 2009, the economy has come a long way.

What has been accomplished?

The creation of 4.1 million jobs.
25 straight months of economic growth.
The lowering of the unemployment rate from a high of 9.7% to 8.2%.
An increase of 63 percent in the stock market.
The revival and success of the auto industry.

This is a record Obama can be proud of, and we must remind ourselves that, as Obama has stated, the mess we were left in by the Bush Administration cannot be reversed completely in four years, and maybe not even eight years.

It will be a long haul, but the point is progress is being made, and Mitt Romney refuses to recognize that, and thinks his business experience will be the way to get us out of our economic mess more quickly.

A final thought: The last businessman President was Herbert Hoover! That is correct, Herbert Hoover! Enough said!

Stock Market Dow Jones Industrial Average Doubles Under Obama!

Ronald 1 Comment

Today, briefly, the stock market Dow Jones Industrial Average went over 13,000 points, doubling the level it was at in March 2009, shortly after Barack Obama became President.

With 87 percent of people earning over $75,000 a year investing in the stock market in either IRAs or 401K Retirement Plans, that cannot make these people other than happy.

This is an amazing recovery, and makes it much more difficult for Republicans to use the economy against President Obama.

It also is a fact that Obama can now claim the FIFTH best stock market record of any President, only behind in order, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Bill Clinton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower!

As a result, we are having Republican candidates debating social issues instead of the economy, and in so doing, alienating independents who do not want social intrusion by government into their lives. One can be assured that when Rick Santorum, for instance, says Satan has his designs on the United States, that eyes are rolling all over America, as Rick shows more than ever with every utterance that he is a dangerous man, who only religious extremists on the Christian Right can cheer, but it is causing havoc for Mitt Romney as he must try to match Santorum to have a chance to survive for the nomination, although in so doing, Romney marginalizes himself for the Presidential election this November!

Stock Market Revival Under Barack Obama: Wonderful, But Not Time To Declare Victory!

Ronald 2 Comments

Three years into the Obama Presidency, and the great news is that the stock market has seen a tremendous revival under his watch.

Yesterday, the stock market reached a level unseen since before the economic collapse of 2008 and the Great Recession, as the Dow Jones reached its highest level in four years, and the Nasdaq reached its highest level in eleven years.

With a 5,000 point gain since the Obama inauguration, there is a temptation to think that the economic decline is over, but that would be unwise to believe. There is still too much unemployment, and too many people who are underemployed, so it is not a time to declare victory in any shape or fashion. 8.3 percent unemployment is the lowest in three years, but not good enough to rest on one’s laurels.

However, if Obama can bring about or have the fortune that at least 150,000 jobs are created every month from now on, with last month bringing 250,000 growth in jobs, then the unemployment rate will go below 8 percent, and the odds of Obama winning a second term will be greatly enhanced.

The point is that Mitt Romney and other Republicans will have less of an issue to use against Obama if that growth occurs, and already, one can see that Romney is having problems being coherent in his reaction to the job and stock market gains.

The long range issues of foreign policy and defense and national security, and the significance of the federal courts and the Supreme Court, will, hopefully, start to come to the forefront, as in the long run, these are the more important issues for the future of the nation.

Obama Successes In Midst Of Difficult Times!

Ronald Leave a comment

Barack Obama has had a rough August, what with the battle over the debt ceiling, the lowering of the Triple A credit rating by Standard and Poor’s, the resulting stock market disarray, and the growing discontent in the polls with the unemployment crisis.

And yet, Obama has succeeded in recent days in a number of areas, which should raise his public opinion polls somewhat.

First, he has accomplished in combination with the Arab League, NATO, and UN backing, with the overthrow of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi, although the leader is not yet accounted for.

Second, the number two man in the Al Qaeda terrorist leadership, after the death of Osama Bin Laden, has been murdered in Pakistan, indicating further disruption in Al Qaeda leadership, and making some think Al Qaeda may never be the same. This comes on top of the successful elimination of numerous other Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives over the past couple of years by the Obama Administration!

Finally, it is already evident that Obama’s government has responded far better on Hurricane Irene than George W. Bush did on Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2006. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is doing a superb job, and the same can be said for the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Janet Napolitano!

So in the midst of much criticism and bad times, there are some developments to applaud, and to prove once again, the ups and the downs of being President of the United States!

President Vs. Congress: Three Times As Popular!

Ronald Leave a comment

Opponents have made a big deal over the fact that President Barack Obama had fallen down to 39 percent in public opinion ratings over the last week, after the stock market gyrations and the Standard and Poor’s downgrading of US debt after the Debt Ceiling Crisis.

But now, Obama has gone back up to 41 percent in new polls, while the Congress, with a Republican House majority, has slipped from 14 percent positive rating to 13 percent, an all time low!

And this comes upon the earlier poll that shows that the Democrats have a seven point edge on the Republicans in a generic matchup for the 2012 Congressional elections.

So the GOP has actually lost public support at a crucial time, and it is involved in a internal struggle between Mainstream Republicans such as Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, and the Tea Party Republicans such as Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann for the soul of the party.

This is only good for President Obama, as columnist Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post points out today in his column!

The GOP Race Down To Four Candidates: Bachmann, Perry, Romney, Huntsman!

Ronald 1 Comment

So the 2012 Republican Presidential race is down to FOUR candidates in the real world: Establishment Republicans Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, both happening to be Mormons: and Tea Party Republicans Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann, born evangelical Christians who promote combination of church and state and have followers who believe Mormons are a cult and not truly Christians!

What a mess the Republicans are in, and it should make Barack Obama feel very comforted after the rough times he has had lately with the Debt Ceiling debate, the lowering of the credit rating from Triple A to Double A Plus by Standard and Poor’s, and the stock market gyrations of the past week!

The Republican Party may boast that they are on the way to defeat of Barack Obama, but instead they are on the way to a bloodletting in the caucuses and primaries, with the Iowa caucus likely to be a battle between Perry and Bachmann, and the New Hampshire primary likely to be a battle between Romney and Huntsman. The South Carolina primary will likely be a battle between the survivor of Iowa and the winner in New Hampshire, and then Florida will play a major role, as the fourth largest state, in determining who the leading candidate will be.

But likely, the battle will go on into the other caucus and primary states and could drag out to June, and severely weaken the party, and strengthen Obama.

So forget Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich completely, and Tim Pawlenty has already bowed out ot the race!

And realize, after the bloodletting that will go on in the GOP, the only real hope that will exist for the Republicans to defeat Barack Obama will be IF they nominate either Romney or Huntsman, with the hope by Establishment Republicans that neither will have been fatally wounded during the caucuses and primaries!

If either Perry nor Bachmann end up as the nominee, the election will be a “cakewalk” for Barack Obama.

The upcoming battle can only benefit Barack Obama, as it demonstrates the right wing extremism prevalent in the Republican Party!

2011 Is Becoming A Repeat Of 1937-1938! Economic Disaster In The Making!

Ronald Leave a comment

In 1937, under great pressure from critics, President Franklin D. Roosevelt cut back federal spending on the New Deal after four years of greatly increased spending, which had brought down the unemployment rate and given millions of Americans hope for the future, with the growing number of jobs and economic expansion resulting from people having income increases.

Conservatives then, as now, condemned the New Deal spending, and Roosevelt, unfortunately, reacted to it, and the result was the infamous collapse of the economy again, what is referred to as the Recession of 1937-1938 within the era of the Great Depression.

The result of what was done due to conservative pressure was the following:

1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49 percent from its peak in 1937 by the year 1938.

2. Manufacturing production dropped by 37 percent, greater than from 1929-1933 under President Herbert Hoover.

3. Unemployment percentages, which had reached 25 percent in 1933 as Hoover left the Presidency and then declined to 14 percent, suddenly rose to 19 percent because of the cut in federal spending, and the corresponding loss of jobs all over again.

4. Price declines, due to lack of spending, led to deflation, which is far worse than inflation.

The events of the past week, with steep stock market declines, and gyration of stock prices like we have never seen them before, is a danger sign, a warning sign, that we could have a disastrous economic collapse that could be even worse than 2008!

So the urging of Nobel Prize winning Paul Krugman of Princeton University and the New York Times, and of former Labor Secretary, (Bill Clinton) and University of California at Berkeley Professor Robert Reich that MUCH MORE federal spending is needed to stimulate the economy, and that budget cuts on a massive scale with no tax increases is a disastrous policy, needs to be listened to by government leaders!

However, with a GOP House majority, and the fact that Republicans can filibuster in the Senate with their 47 members, it makes such a possibility just about impossible!

The American people, by their ignorance or lack of understanding, have caused this mess by creating a split Congress, with, of course, corporate spending endorsed by the Citizens United case of the Supreme Court, playing a major role as well in causing a disastrous economic situation, which will cause much suffering, and guarantee the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression will become far worse in the next two years, until the next Congress, hopefully, will reverse course, but only if the Democrats win both houses and keep the White House!

The Republican Lies About The Obama Economic Record!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican Presidential debate in New Hampshire last night demonstrated the GOP ability to lie and deceive gullible voters!

You would think that Barack Obama walked into the Presidency in good economic times, and that George W. Bush left him a positive legacy!

Of course, George W. Bush left the worst economy to his successor of any President since Herbert Hoover left the Great Depression to Franklin D. Roosevelt!

The facts are as follows:

1. The economy has come out of the depths it was in in 2009, although the level of economic growth has slowed up in recent months.
2. Over 2 million private sector jobs have been added in the past 15 months, not enough certainly, but compared to the 750,000 jobs a month being lost at the end of the Bush Presidency and the early months of the Obama Presidency, it is certainly a good sign.
3. The stock market has improved, whereby half of the lost household wealth has been regained.
4. The auto industry has revived from its low point, when we almost lost the entire domestic auto market, which would have led to far worse conditions in the Midwest and South, where most of the auto factories are located.
5. Housing is the big area of lack of improvement, with home prices and home construction still declining. Of course, the nation’s leading banks are major culprits in this regard, refusing to give mortgage loans and trying to foreclose illegally on many properties!

The point is that there is no magic potion by government and the private sector to restore the economy quickly, and the Republicans have come up with no strategy or plan to create jobs or revive the economy, deciding that just attacking President Obama is enough.

And cutting taxes and spending is just the old Herbert Hoover concept, which only made the Great Depression worse!

Do we really want to go back to Herbert Hoover, as Tim Pawlenty proposes, and to believe that miraculously there will be five percent growth annually for the next decade?

It is time to put up or shut up, meaning that the GOP leadership in Congress must stop talking and attacking, and start producing results in cooperation with President Obama, instead of just working to undermine him and making the economy worse!

Will “It’s The Economy, Stupid!” Outweigh The Death Of Osama Bin Laden And Help Mitt Romney Against Barack Obama?

Ronald Leave a comment

A month ago, President Barack Obama’s public opinion polls skyrocketed, following the successful elimination of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

Now, a month later, due to the unstable economy and lack of major job growth, and general economic pessimism, Obama has lost the majority support he had last month, and has slipped below 50 percent in the polls.

In the Washington Post-ABC News poll, Obama has slipped to 47 percent, and in a matchup with Mitt Romney, he is behind by three points, 46-43, emboldening the former Massachusetts Governor to believe he has an advantage for 2012, and that such an advantage will give him the edge for the Republican Presidential nomination.

The problem is that Romney might, for now, be ahead, and he might, realistically, along with Jon Huntsman, be the BEST candidate for the GOP, but that is no guarantee that he will win the nomination of his party or the election in November 2012!

The fact that he has stated his belief that global warming and climate change are a real factor, if not the sole one, in what is happening regarding weather and environmental conditions, will not win friends from the social conservatives.

Nor will his Mormon faith, the same problem of Jon Huntsman, help Romney, since evangelical Christians do not regard Mormons as Christians, but rather as a cult.

Nor will his Massachusetts health care plan, often compared to Obama Health Care, although he has carefully defended it, while saying he would not foist it on the nation as a whole.

Nor will his chameleon nature, constantly changing his views with the shifting political winds, with many seeing him as a moderate to liberal Republican in his past, but now claiming to be a conservative.

Nor will his slick manner, his seemingly perfect family and clean image, help him because it seems, somehow, contrived to many!

But will an economy with a high unemployment rate, poor housing prices, high gasoline prices, and a stagnating stock market, be enough to help Romney or some other Republican, and outweigh the national security issue, including the death of Bin Laden, and the fact that America is involved in fighting terrorism in FIVE nations by bombing and drones–Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and Yemen–making Obama look tough on defense and security issues?

Just about 16 and a half months away from the election, and eight months from the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, the Republican Party has some hope, but many daunting challenges ahead, but then again, so does Barack Obama, to convince the nation to re-elect a President with high unemployment numbers and percentages, greater than since Franklin D. Roosevelt!