The first journalist busted Obama straight away.

[Lynnie]

In attempting to get his stimulus bill passed, using psychological tactics, like 'permanence and irreversible' - she just nailed him. I paraphrase, "Why would you state it is permanent when no other time in our history has been?" Rather succinct, I thought........... - and, like the good politician he is, as they all are, he side stepped and said, "No." in a very long-winded answer - in fact, it's still going on.

I am not for this stimuli! Mark my word, this will be worse five - ten years from now!

 

[Jdarg]

A funny editorial cartoon.....maybe somebody can figure out how to post the actual image.

Nick Anderson

 

[Lynnie]

I like Obama, but he is stumbling tonight. Just stated, "I inherited this deficit."

We all know this - he's only been President for three weeks and everyone (hopefully) knows that each president inherits the prior administration's benevolence and malevolence. Then he mentioned no earmarks - um, scuse me, but the plan he tried to shove through last week was FULL of earmarks, which is why it didn't pass.

I smell a rat............

 

[steele mama]

I like Obama, but he is stumbling tonight. Just stated, "I inherited this deficit."

We all know this - he's only been President for three weeks and everyone (hopefully) knows that each president inherits the prior administration's benevolence and malevolence. Then he mentioned no earmarks - um, scuse me, but the plan he tried to shove through last week was FULL of earmarks, which is why it didn't pass.

I smell a rat............

He also said the last 8 years did this and then the banks did it. Who did it???

 

[Lynnie]

He also said the last 8 years did this and then the banks did it. Who did it???

Yes, he did say that. One thing he said that is correct is we don't know the balance sheets of the banks. True! We don't know how their derivatives are valued, or their fabricated SPE's.

And, many of us don't want to hear this, but it was democratic administrations which basically sent directives to the lenders to make qualifying for home mortgage easier. Now, the gov't, Presidents, etc, DID NOT tell the lenders to lend ridiculously, but directives were sent in the 90's to 'stimulate the economy.'

 

[sbr]

CHANGE? CHANGE? Where are all the bandwagon people now? CHANGE? CHANGE?

 

[Matt J]

There you go jdarg.

 

[30ashopper]

He also said the last 8 years did this and then the banks did it. Who did it???

He actually fubared on that one a bit. I think he was just searching for something to say and ended up falling back on his populist roots. He stated that the root problem was not consumer debt, it was the banks investing in risky assets. Funny thing is those risky assets were mortgage backed securities based on consumer debt. He also kind of messed up on Japan's lost decade by claiming the problem there was the fact that they didn't react fast enough. In reality over a period of three or four years Japan spent something like 2.2 trillion on infrastructure, jacking their debt level up to around 180% of GDP. They are still trying to pay that off, and are in worse shape today because of it. At the end of Japan's spending spree all the workers were left unemployed and Japan only had a 100 or so "bridges to nowhere" to show for it. We ultimately pulled them out of it through our economic growth. Something tells me nobody is going to pull us out of this one.

Overall, he did a good job though. He's kind of long winded which saves him from a lot of questions. These press briefings are all just a big stone wall. He and everybody else out there don't have a clue if any of this is going to work or not. Save or preserve 4 million jobs? Can someone give me a definition of a 'preserved job'? We are in uncharted waters here, and there's a storm a brewin' on the horizon.

 

[Lynnie]

He actually fubared on that one a bit. I think he was just searching for something to say and ended up falling back on his populist roots. He stated that the root problem was not consumer debt, it was the banks investing in risky assets. Funny thing is those risky assets were mortgage backed securities based on consumer debt. He also kind of messed up on Japan's lost decade by claiming the problem there was the fact that they didn't react fast enough. In reality over a period of three or four years Japan spent something like 2.2 trillion on infrastructure, jacking their debt level up to around 180% of GDP. They are still trying to pay that off, and are in worse shape today because of it. In the end of their spending spree all the workers were left unemployed and Japan only had a 100 or so "bridges to nowhere" to show for it.

Overall, he did a good job though. He's kind of long winded which saves him from a lot of questions. These press briefings are all just a big stone wall. He and everybody else out there don't have a clue if any of this is going to work or not. Save or preserve 4 million jobs? Can someone give me a definition of a 'preserved job'?

When the government gets involved, things go sideways - always have. The only profitable federal agency we have is FHA and that (my prediction) will implode within 2-5 years from this date. I am not wishing it, but many of the brokers/lenders who suddenly no longer had sub-prime mortgage products began using FHA as the new subprime product. Only difference is that you have to prove your income, assets aren't particularly needed - so, effectively, one could go into default in month 1. And, up to Sept 30, 2008, you could get 100% financing with a credit score down to 580. HELLO????

The next part of this implosion equation is that the MBS's dried up on fannie and freddie - which were being stimulied by the feds. So, most brokers/lenders typically wrote 20-25% of their business as FHA - it is now 75% ACROSS THE BOARD! Not enough diversity! Not to mention that the commercial paper is about to crash. And, there are no jumbo MBS's any longer.........

Despite this gloom, I still say, "Leave it to We the People! Because We the People will work it out much more sensibly and ethically with more compassion for the underdog than our government printing money that is basically worthless and giving it to corporations who were surviving on credit anyway. Even if we have to go back to horse-trading, we will work it out! But, they didn't consult with me - they should have!

Cash is King!

 

[kathydwells]

YouTube - Seal - A change is gonna come 2008