Archive for the 'Economics' Category

My Letter to Congressman Wamp

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on October 3, 2008
in Chattanooga, Economics and Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects
. 3 Comments

Dear Congressman Wamp,

Several days ago I was pleased to see that you took a strong stand against the bailout bill. You stated that “We simply cannot borrow our way out of debt, spend our way into prosperity or explain this bailout as anything short of an unacceptable intervention of the federal government into our private sector.”

Nothing about the revised bill that is now on that table changes any of that.

No amount of accountability will justify this sort of government intrusion into the private sector. No amount of accountability can justify an action like this, which attempts to subvert the natural process of the market by which businesses that make poor decisions reap the consequences for their actions.

There is no way around the fact that bailing out the institutions that got themselves into this mess sends a clear message to the financial sector that lending recklessly isn’t a big deal.

There is no way around the fact that institutions that did business in a responsible manner and lost business to the very institutions that are now in trouble will be penalized for their wise business practices.

Our government has been bailing out banks that loaned money recklessly since the aftermath of the War of 1812. Is it any surprise that the financial sector gets themselves into this mess again and again, when the government has shown a willingness to come to the rescue when the financial house of cards they have constructed collapses?

I am reminded of one of my mother’s cousins, who as an adult, spent most of his waking hours in a drunken stupor. He rarely tried to find a job, and when he did so, he naturally didn’t remain employed for very long. Yet time and again, when he needed money, or was in jail for some reason, his mother bailed him out.

In the end, Paul died in his singlewide trailer after he passed out on his bed and dropped his cigarette onto the mattress, and the building filled with smoke. Prior to his death, he had lost his driver’s license due to driving drunk, and his car had been repossessed.

Bailing out Paul didn’t help him in any way, shape or form. A wiser course of action would have been to let him experience the consequences of his actions.

Bailing out these failing financial institutions will not help either. Doing so will continue to send the same wrong message to them that we’ve sent for nearly 200 years: “Don’t worry, we won’t let you fail!”

It’s time to put a stop to this nonsense. I urge you to reconsider your support for the revised bailout bill, to vote against it, and publicly take the same sort of strong stand you took against the original.

Regards,
Jeremy Clifton
Chattanooga, TN

My Letter to Senator Corker

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on September 25, 2008
in Economics and Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects
. 2 Comments

In addition to registering my displeasure concerning the economic bailout package, I sent this to Senator Corker (I also sent similar messages to Senator Alexander and Representative Wamp).

—

Dear Senator Corker,

I encourage you to oppose the economic bailout proposal that is currently on the table. Your US Senate web site states that promoting fiscal responsibility is one of your priorities, and not bailing out these businesses that have made poor choices and are now facing failure as a result is the only fiscally responsible thing to do.

For almost 200 years now, starting after the War of 1812, our government has bailed out banks that recklessly lent money. Because our government has shown a willingness to try to exempt such businesses from the consequences of their poor business decisions, we have created an industry that knows that there is a higher-than-normal probability that they will not have to face such consequences. As a result, we have an environment where banks that would lend and do business responsibly are at a competitive disadvantage, and are thus punished for their wise decisions.

As a nation we are now facing the consequences of our poor choices to bail out banks time and again. The era of easy credit has resulted in a “false boom” and we collectively owe more money than we ever have any hope of repaying. We must allow these banks and businesses to fail, and allow the economy to return to its natural state.

Allowing the banks to fail will, of course, be a painful choice. It is going to hurt every citizen of our nation. However, like the proverbial spoiled child who has never been told “no” … somebody needs to step in and make the hard, unpopular choice.

This economic bailout package will simply keep us on the same path we’re already on. It may temporarily delay the inevitable economic correction that we are going to experience, but it will only make it worse when it arrives.

Again, I urge you to take a strong stand against this package.

Best regards,
Jeremy Clifton

Modern-Day Jeremiah

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on September 17, 2008
in Economics
. 1 Comment

Summer’s over; time to start blogging again. My Mac buddies got me hooked on Twitter, but I’m too long-winded to get everything into 140 characters most of the time. :-)

Wanna guess who predicted the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle five years ago? Nobody important … just some nut job who ran for president (hat tip to Father Hollywood who has an interesting twist to the whole thing).

People, we gotta wake up and realize that if we keep trying to spend on credit nationally, sooner or later pretty much everything we think we own belongs to folks outside of our borders. Period.

“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Profit, profit,’ But there is no profit.” (apologies to Jeremiah and God)

The First Annual George Bush & Government, Inc. Bashing Post

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on April 23, 2008
in Economics, General Stupidity, Libertarian Party, Life, Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects and Small Business
. 5 Comments

No, I’m not dead. Yes, I know it’s been over a month since I posted anything worthwhile. Hopefully that will change.

I am currently in the midst of making some major decisions about the direction of my business, so that has been occupying my time. I’m also now in charge of audio and computer stuff at church, which took an immense bite out of my time because I had to figure out on my own how all the sound stuff at church worked together because nobody else knew everything about the system. Finally, I’ve been trying to spent more time with my wife and daughter despite all of the above and all my other commitments. Fun times …

This month I did manage to find my way onto television. The Hamilton County Libertarian Party staged its annual tax protest here in town, and I got interviewed since I’m now the party chair. I didn’t do so hot on camera, but I got a small sound bite (and a quote on their web site) nontheless. It’s not what I would have preferred they quoted … but oh well.

On to basic complaining …

Yesterday on the radio I heard a GWB sound bite. It went something like “We’re not in a recession … [pregnant pause] … it’s just a slowdown.”

Um, George … I think “recession” and “slowdown” essentially mean the same thing. What you said is about as logical as saying “I don’t drive a car … I drive an automobile.” Or “We’re no sailing the ocean … we’re sailing the sea.”

Next gripe … there are advertisements on WGOW for the “First Annual Southside Blues Festival.” People, people … don’t call the first ANYTHING the “first annual (fill in blank).” You’ll just look stupid if the whole endeavor goes toes up and you don’t have a second one … and of course having the event for multiple subsequent years is a qualification for something to be “annual.” MAYBE after the first year you can call the next one the “Second Annual _______” but I’d wait until the third year.

It reminds me of when one of my former churches held their “first annual missions conference and dinner” … there was no “second annual missions conference and dinner.” Or, in another vein, it reminds me of when I was on the way to the Outer Banks in 1998 and saw a sign for a restaurant that was “famous since 1996.”

That being said, I hope the blues festival is a great success and we do have it regularly. I hope to be there … it sounds like it’s going to be good.

No Wonder the Economy is in the Toilet …

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on March 10, 2008
in Economics and Humor
. 4 Comments

I found this piece of mail in my mailbox a few days ago:

come_again.jpg

Besides being addressed to “Four-Ight-Four Sftwr Works” … I was amused at the idea of “keep[ing] [my] business in the black” while charging stuff to a credit card.

Is it any surprise that our nation is in serious economic trouble when a credit card company can send out something like this (presumably with some modicum of straight-facedness)?

Bernanke Wakes Up

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on February 28, 2008
in Economics, News and Twitter Updates
. 2 Comments

So, I saw on CNN this morning that Bernanke is now “concerned” about inflation. Well, it’s about time! Gold started last year at about $600, and ended it at about $800/ounce. As of the last week, only two months into the year, it’s been hovering around $950. Gas prices are up. Food prices are up. And he’s just starting to be concerned? Please. This is like being concerned about a plane crash after the fourth engine on your Flying Fortress flames out and you just got your tail sheared off by anti-aircraft fire. Most people started worrying when the second engine dropped offline. And Bernanke, bless his little heart, now drops hints that he might lower interest rates again. I guess we might as well go ahead and jettison those wings too and make the inevitable happen a little faster there …

Kudos to Sen. Corker

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on February 8, 2008
in Economics, News and Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects
. 4 Comments

I know I’m several days late on this … I blame the loss of my dearly beloved Powerbook and the business that accompanied the approaching primary election and my trying to catch up on work.

I’m no fan of Bob Corker. I did not vote for him when he ran for Senate. But … the man deserves recognition for doing the right thing and speaking out against the “stimulus” plan that has swept the government by storm, even though his opposition is unpopular.

Though he said he was happy Americans would get checks, he said he found “something inappropriate about a deficit-ridden federal government borrowing money from our grandchildren and sprinkling it across the country for a short-term fix that will do little, if anything to jump-start our troubled economy.” Hear, hear!

(From “A flawed stimulus plan,” an editorial in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press)

Sen. Corker … thanks for standing up and being willing to calling this exactly what it is … a political ploy.

Proper Education (For Mr. Bernanke)

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on February 1, 2008
in Economics
. 0 Comments

(Apologies to Pink Floyd)

We don’t need no mo’ inflation
We don’t need no economic controls
No stimulus packages from the Guv’ment
Bernanke, leave the economy alone.
Hey! Bernanke! Leave the economy alone!
All in all it’s just another nail in the coffin.
All in all you’re just another nail in the coffin.

Paul Volcker Endorses Obama

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on January 31, 2008
in Economics, News and Politics & Other Objectionable Subjects
. 0 Comments

Since I’ve invoked Paul Volcker’s name twice in the last couple of weeks, I felt like I should note that he endorsed Obama today (”Paul Volcker, Former Fed Chairman, Endorses Obama“).

“It is only Barack Obama, in his person, in his ideas, in his ability to understand and to articulate both our needs and our hopes that provide the potential for strong and fresh leadership,” Volcker said in an e-mailed statement today.

Hmmmmm. I’d be interested in hearing what Obama thinks about Volcker’s actions during the late seventies/early eighties when he peeved pretty much everybody by hiking the interest rates up, but saved the economy in the process. Obama … do you think we should do the same thing today?

Hat Tip: Lew Rockwell

Paging Paul Volcker …

Published
by
Jeremy Clifton
on January 30, 2008
in Economics and News
. 0 Comments

Paul Volcker, could you please come to the Customer Service Desk at the Federal Reserve, and slap Michael Bernanke a few times for us?

Geez … another interest rate cut, just over a week after the last one. Y’all up there in Washington ever heard of the phrase “like pouring gasoline on a fire”?

If you idiots keep this up, the economic reckoning coming our way is going to be (to use the words of another phrase from ’round where I grew up in the South) “uglier than homemade sin.”