It's A Deal
December 1, 2008
Best Idea Ever!
Random thoughts and second thoughts as we lament how much we ate over the holiday...
* The support and approval of the government's new "TALF" proposal--it's a "win-win" and "it's really the most direct way to solve this problem"--is so overwhelming and universal that we can conclude only one thing: it won't work. Yep, the early results were indeed encouraging, kind of like they were for TARP. And the Fed's emergency lending efforts. And AIG's bailout. Not saying it can't or won't work this time around, but let's hold off on the Dow 36000 talk for a few days.
* A most remarkable relationship ended in recent days, and by "remarkable" I mean "bizarre." I'm guessing that Tiger Woods is going to stop driving a Buick in the very near future, now that he doesn't have to.
* I understand the emotional appeal of a "fat cat" CEO getting paid a dollar in salary, or offering him and his underlings no raises or bonuses, but, really, is that the best way to help us out of this? Sure, in some cases it's our money, but how about some incentive to achieve. (Oops, I think I just said a bad word.) And if our aim is to penalize the remuneration for those who got us here, can we expect our Congressmen to work for a buck, too?
* I've got my issues with our incoming President, but I like his move to get Paul Volcker in the mix. Perhaps almost as important as throwing a collective $5 trillion-$10 trillion at the problem, we need a jolt of confidence in who is going to help get us out of this. Even if it is only in our perception that a single person or group knows what's going on, Volcker's the right guy to fill that role. Probably doesn't hurt that he didn't cut his teeth at Goldman or Citi, either.
* This retail season is going to be fascinating. In the past 10 years, we'd listen as the pundits said this was the year the consumer was going to slow down. Now, the government is doing everything in its power, and some would say beyond, to get people to spend, yet the free-spenders may have sobered up. And it's all happening at a time when the credit card companies have hijacked taxpayers for billions, yet are raising rates on the very cards that would be used by consumers to buy those big flat-screens, prices of which have been cut in half in a matter of a few months. Bizarre.
2 Comments
jD5XGK
Posted by: lymanknap l | August 6, 2010 4:57 PM
skkNoK
Posted by: folcklord f | July 21, 2010 4:16 AM
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