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This was sent to me by a friend, fellow memo reader and keen observer of the political scene.
GE's Immelt was appointed Obama's job Czar and now GE may be moving a major facility to China? What gives?
I understand the logic of what Immelt/GE is doing. He is motivated by profit and realizes he can probably make more in China than in America. What conclusion do you believe Obama will draw from this if any? (See 1 below.)
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Being right salves one's ego but does not help those who fail to benefit.
I have basically been right in suggesting Obama was an empty suit and would eventually be attacked by his own.
America has not benefited.
I have been basically correct in believing the economy was going to soften and markets would eventually cave because the economy was not likely to become robust and in fact could drop into a new recession because the consumer would remain cautious as unemployment created a high hurdle for confidence to clear.
Investors have not benefited
Finally, I have been basically right about why the education problem could be laid at the feet of union bosses who remain intractable because they want to retain political power and high salaries.
With respect to the latter, in Saturday's Wall Street Journal section C5 under "Learning The Hard Way," Joel Klein discusses two books: "Class Warfare," By Steven Brill and "Special Interest,"" by Terry Moe. Both authors reach the same conclusion but come at the problem from different directions. Klein writes: "Teacher unions - fueled by the manpower and money they can mobilize and the enormous political power they enjoy as a result - are the major obstacle to solving the education crisis."
Klein lays out the 'traditionalist' argument - they claim poverty is the root of the problem and we must spend more. I characterize this argument as the 'nymphomaniac solution' - it only takes more to satisfy.
When going in the wrong direction speeding up will not get you there faster.
Since 1970, Klein, cites the fact that: "Real dollar spending has doubled on k-12 education. The results: increased number of teachers by a third, legions of new non-teaching staff positions created, and raised salaries and benefits across the board."
Again what were the results: "Fewer than 40% of students who graduate from high school are ready for college."
The 'reformists' acknowledge poverty is a factor but point to specific classroom achievements that show: " Different schools and different teachers get very different results with essentially the same kids."
Competition works in virtually every facet of life so why not in education?
If everyone agrees what we are doing is failing it would seem a different approach is in order. When different approaches have been tried improvement often occurs. So what is the problem? You guessed it - union bosses want to hang onto political power and their high paying jobs and teachers need unions to fight their wage and benefit battles.
Who truly cares about the students - certainly not unions. Kids are simply pawns to achieve the ultimate goal of union bosses and their members - retaining power, jobs and their own welfare.
American students have not benefited.
My conclusion: an awful lot of people are being screwed!
If no one cares about our youth and our competitiveness, Obama and more Democrats should be re-elected.
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And this from a talented friend and fellow memo reader who sees through Obama quite consistently. (See 2 below.)
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More second dip commentary. Many words, no conclusion.(See 3 below.)
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The more I ponder Warren Buffet's recent comment that the wealthy should pay more taxes the more I am convinced he should stick to buying stocks and companies. Why? For these three simple reasons:
a) First, as I and others have stated, he can always write a check for any amount he wishes and the IRS would both gladly accept it as well as credit him with a deduction. That goes for any citizen who feels aggrieved at not being taxed enough. Even the applies for those Hollywood types such as Michael Moore and Barbara Streisand et al.
b) More importantly, if government confiscated the entire wealth of all those deemed 'stinking rich' and gave it to the 'poor' it would not equal a speed bump in our deficit highway and would not sustain them for a full week.
In fact that was what Obama's 'shovel ready' program was supposed to do and it did not move the unemployment dial a hair's width.
c) Finally, there is something morally wrong about forcing anyone to reward a system that is inefficient and often corrupt. Would Warren liked being forced to spend his money on a bad meal?
Frankly government should first be made to clean up its act by reducing its size, then become more efficient and stop wasteful and restrictive policies that cripple entrepreneurial initiative that makes our nation uncompetitive before it is sent another dime.
That is Tea Party talk and perhaps Warren should start drinking tea instead of Cherry Coke.
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Have a great weekend and you are welcome to send Uncle Sam a check to cover the cost of Obama's new buses. I forgot, we taxpayers already paid for them out of the US Treasury.
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Dick
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1)General Electric is planning to move its 115-year-old X-ray division from Waukesha, Wis., to Beijing. In addition to moving the headquarters, the company will invest $2 billion in China and train more than 65 engineers and create six research centers. This is the same GE that made $5.1 billion in the United States last year, but paid no taxes-the same company that employs more people overseas than it does in the United States.
So let me get this straight. President Obama appointed GE Chairman Jeff Immelt to head his commission on job creation (job czar). Immelt is supposed to help create jobs.I guess the President forgot to tell him in which country he was supposed to be creating those jobs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2)Need ID please:
Obama walks into the Bank of America to cash a check. As he approaches the cashier he says, "Good morning, Ma'am, could you please cash this check for me"?
Cashier: "It would be my pleasure, sir. Could you please show me your ID."?
Obama: "Truthfully, I did not bring my ID with me as I didn't think there was any need to. I am President Barrack H. Obama, president of the United States of America ."
Cashier: "Yes, sir, I know who you are, but with all the regulations and monitoring of the banks because of imposters and forgers, etc., I must insist on seeing ID."
Obama: "Just ask anyone here at the bank who I am and they will tell you. Everybody knows who I am."
Cashier: "I am sorry, but these are the bank rules and I must follow them."
Obama: "I am urging you to please cash this check."
Cashier: "Look, sir, here's what we can do: one day Tiger Woods came into the bank without ID. To prove he was Tiger Woods he pulled out his putting iron and made a beautiful shot across the bank into a cup. With that shot we knew him to be Tiger Woods and cashed his check. Another time, Andre Agassi came in without ID. He pulled out his tennis racquet and made a fabulous shot where the tennis ball landed in my cup. With that spectacular shot we cashed his check. So, what can you do to prove that you are really the President of the United States ?"
Obama stood there thinking, and thinking, and finally says: "Honestly, there is nothing that comes to my mind. I can't think of a single thing"
Cashier: "Will that be large or small bills, Mr. President?"
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3)Has the Double-Dip Recession Arrived?
By Clay Hegar
On Thursday and Friday August 18-19 of last week, the world's markets lurched downward. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed nearly 600 points (-5.2%) as the week ended. The catalyst for the renewed fear came early on Thursday, when data released by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank showed a potentially contracting economy in that region. The expected value for the outlook survey was slightly positive, but was in fact an incredibly disappointing -30.7. Investopedia offers a further explanation of the Philadelphia Fed Report
An increase in jobless claims to 408,000 and continued weakness in the housing sector have stoked speculation that the American economy is suffering negative growth. Bill Gross, manager of the PIMCO bond fund, believes that current low treasury yields indicate recession. In Gross's scenario, investors are bearish on growth and are parking their money in US treasuries as a safe holding area.
We must give added weight to disappointing jobs, housing, and Philly Fed numbers when we consider that economic growth for the first half of 2011 was truly anemic and not at all consistent with the expected growth of a post-recessionary period. Ultimately, we will not know for sure if a recession is beginning this August until months in the future -- such is the nature of macroeconomics. Present speculation occurs because every investor wants to be ahead of the wave, not chasing it. Whether we are in recession or not, economic performance this year has been poor.
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