Economics & Personal Finance

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Information About DefeatTheDebt.com

I have been seeing a lot of ads about the national debt from a website called DefeatTheDebt.com. I decided to do a little research to find information about DefeatTheDebt.com. The site and ads are run by a corporate public relations company headed by Rick Berman. This public relations company takes money from corporations to start front groups, websites, and ad campaigns to influence the public. For example, the food and beverage industry gives money to Rick Berman who then creates a "consumer… Continue

Added by paul on August 4, 2010 at 11:54pm

— 1 Comment

Economic Reality Vs. Economic Perception

There is a big difference between economic reality and economic perception. The biggest example of this is how many people think they should buy stocks when the stock market is going really well and that they should sell their stocks after the market has crashed. The economic reality is that you should buy stocks when they are cheap and in trouble while selling stocks when they are doing very well. Another example occuring right now is that a majority of Americans tell pollsters that the econo… Continue

Added by paul on August 3, 2010 at 10:22am

— 2 Comments

Don't Blame Obama For The Debt

A lot of conservatives like to talk about how much debt President Obama is adding this year. However, most of the debt being added this year is structural debt leftover from the Bush Administration. For example, Bush nearly doubled the national debt. This means part of the debt being taken on now is interest payments on the debt Bush added. Second, Bush enacted huge tax cuts that decreased revenue. These tax cuts are still in place. Third, the decreased revenue from the recession Bush left us… Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on July 22, 2010 at 9:10pm

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You Can't Just Divide Stimulus Money By Numer Of Jobs Created

I was watching Jay Leno last night and he joined a bunch of other idiots who make fun of the stimulus package by taking the billions spent by the millions of jobs created or saved. The joke becomes that at a couple hundred thousand per job, we could have just given the money to people. People then clap or agree that the stimulus plan was wasteful or unsuccessful even though they are being misled. The truth is that not all of the stimulus money went to job creation. A lot of the stimulus money w… Continue

Added by paul on July 17, 2010 at 3:02pm

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Support Elizabeth Warren For The New Consumer Protection Post

Please help many of us support Elizabeth Warren to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Write or call your elected officials and sens a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Elizabeth Warren has been an advocate for consumers for a long time. She has written many books, taught many classes and served in many positions with the main goal of protecting consumers against the shady practices fo the financial industry. With Elizabeth Warren in the position, we will get easier… Continue

Added by paul on July 17, 2010 at 2:56pm

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Economic Reality - Digging Through Trash For Food And Water

I don't get out very much, but tonight I went downtown to see some free music. I am fairly secure in terms of having enough money each day so I haven't really felt the effects of the economic recession. Since I don't get out very much I haven't seen the effects fo the recession either. It is hard to understand what it really means when it is reported on the news that the official unemployment level is at 9% and the real unemployment rate is over 15%. They are all just numbers unless you are exp… Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on July 14, 2010 at 9:54pm

— 2 Comments

What Are You Working For?

Why do you go to work each day? Are you doing something you love and want to be doing or are you going to work each day to earn a necessary paycheck? A few lucky people get to do both. They get to do what they love while also making enough money to pay for the things they need and want in life. For the rest of us, we often have to make some very difficult decisions. Usually, if we do what we want to do, we make little or no money. This is easier to do when we are young, but once a mortgage, ch… Continue

Added by paul on July 14, 2010 at 3:55pm

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Free Financial Advice

I like this site because I can get free financial advice. I used to pay to see a financial planner, but honestly, I have learned more and can get my questions answered just as fast by posting them on this site. How many of you use financial planners? I know they are good for most people because they really show you the nee to start saving money and the way to do it. However, I am already saving money and I can generally manage my own investments since it is just a 401K that needs to rebalanced… Continue

Added by OICUAM2 on June 8, 2010 at 8:40pm

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Rand Paul & Ayn Rand Meet Reality

While writing the title of this blog post it occurs to me that Rand Paul might have been named after Ayn Rand. I'll have to check the dates and look at his wikipedia page to see if this is true. Anyway, I want this blog post to be about how the philiosophy of Ayn Rand and the the political future of Rand Paul are always in trouble when they are faced with reality. If you don't know who Ayn Rand is, she was an author who wrote Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead along with many other philosophi… Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on May 20, 2010 at 3:25pm

— 1 Comment

The Causes And Response To The Financial Crisis

I found a copy of the testimony presented to Congress by Mark Zandi called The Causes And Current Staus Of The Financial Crisis.

I read it because I wanted to hear from a respected economist regarding the Great Recession' causes. It seems people on the left blame it on unregulated financial institutions who took on too much risk while people on the right blame it on government agencies that kept interest rat… Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on May 16, 2010 at 10:30pm

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Republicans Vote Against Wall Street Reform

The Republicans blocked Wall Street reform today. Hopefully, the Democrats will be able to bring the reform bill back to the floor and get it passed at some point this summer. We need a major reform package for Wall Street. We need more transparency. We need to make it illegal for banks to take on way more risk they can afford to back. We need a consumer protection agency that will limit the predatory lending of the credit card companies. Continue

Added by OICUAM2 on April 26, 2010 at 11:02pm

— 3 Comments

A Problem With Capitalism

One of the major problems with capitalism is that the profit motive often leads individuals and companies to do things they know are wrong. The easiest example is a company that dumps toxic waste into the river because that is the cheapest option - as long as nobody finds out about it. Another example is a health insurance company that does everything possible to deny claims in order to collect money without paying for the services promised. Many fishing companies know they are threatening th… Continue

Added by James Scott on April 16, 2010 at 9:32am

— 2 Comments

My Opposition To Rep. Paul Ryan

I'm not a fan of Paul Ryan. He seems like a nice enough guy, but his political and economic ideology is opposed to mine. In addition to his ideology, he likes to use GOP talking points and misleading political language. I know most politicians do it, but it adds to my desire of helping his opponent in the next election. In general, his ideology is very heavy on freedom and capitalism and very light on democracy and justice. This is the basic difference between right and left so it is a pretty… Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on April 12, 2010 at 5:47pm

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Fed Members And Future Policy Predictions

I just read an interesting article about the members of the Federal Reserve and the implications on future monetary decisions.

Basically, the argument was that the new members are soft money proponents who will keep interest rates low. The author argues that this will lead to higher inflation.

What do you think? Continue

Added by paul on March 9, 2010 at 6:30pm

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FunnyOrDie.com's Missed Opportunity

I got excited about a video being produced to talk about the financial reforms needed in this country. Ron Howard directing with current and former President's being played by Will Ferrel, Dana Carvey, JIm Carey, Chevy Chase, etc... The problem is that it isn't very funny and it really doesn't make any solid points about the financial reform needs in this country. Here's the video. What do you think?

… Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on March 3, 2010 at 4:44pm

— 1 Comment

Frontline Program: The Warning

I highly encourage you to watch the PBS Frontline program called The Warning. It is about how a woman tried to warn people that unregulated derivative markets within the financial system was not a good thing. However, many people within the government (especially Allen Greenspan) subscribed to the philosophy that there should be a separation between the government and the market. This is the laissez-faire ideology that holds that the market will regulate itself while creating the best outcomes… Continue

Added by OICUAM2 on February 21, 2010 at 10:35pm

— 2 Comments

Wall Street Supports Republicans

Wall Street loves the Republicans. To express their love and support, Wall Street is sending tons of campaign contributions to Republican candidates. Wall Street bankers want nothing more than to be able to continue making huge risky bets while knowing they will be bailed out by taxpayers. These are the risky bets the Obama Administration is trying to limit. The Republicans voted against the financial regulation bill in the House. Nobody wants any industry to be over regulated. However, there… Continue

Added by paul on February 8, 2010 at 8:28am

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A Picture Of The Jobs Situation

Here is a graph showing the jobs picture of the last couple of years. The red bars are the accelerating rate of job loss during President Bush's last year in office; the blue bars are the decelerating rate of job loss during President Obama's first year of office.

Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on February 7, 2010 at 11:30am

— 1 Comment

President Obama Rejects GOP Economic Attacks

A Republican attacks President Obama about the budget deficits using less than accurate information. However, this time President Obama is there to respond to the attacks:

Continue

Added by Nathan Andover on January 29, 2010 at 10:02pm

— 1 Comment

George Bush's Debt

I have always been amazed that the Tea Party activists are so vocal about the huge national debt now that George W. Bush is out of office. Where were they during the Bush years? When Bush took office, the national debt stood at $5.7 trillion and was being reduced with the budget surpluses being left by President Clinton. When President Bush left office, the national debt was over $10 trillion. President Obama has a goal of reducing the national debt. Yes, there are some investments that need t… Continue

Added by paul on December 25, 2009 at 10:07pm

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