Archive for the ‘TARP’ Category
September 8th, 2011 | 
Author: At U.N., Obama faces problems on larger stage
By Laura MacInnis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, grappling with a poor economy and slumping approval ratings, faces problems on a larger stage this week at the United Nations, with challenges to his …
Publish Date: 09/19/2011 8:35
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/19/at-un-obama-faces-prob_n_969141.html
RealClearPolitics – Obama: Failing the Lincoln Test
Obama: Failing the Lincoln Test. By Michael Gerson. WASHINGTON — During his recent speech to Congress, President Obama gave Republicans this ideological glove to the face: "We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the …
Publish Date: 09/13/2011 3:00
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/09/13/obama_failing_the_lincoln_test_111312.html
What President Obama Inherited
Obama inherited a deep recession and financial crisis resulting from problems that had been building for years and those responsible include:
Borrowers and lenders on Wall Street and Main Street.
The Federal Reserve.
Regulatory agencies.
Ratings agencies.
Different presidents and Congress.
What Obama Will Bequeath?
Huge deficits.
Massive interest payments which could ultimately destroy the Republic.
Higher inflation.
A weaker dollar.
Pressure for higher taxes.
What Exactly Did Obama Enact?
An $825 billion stimulus package.
The Public-Private Investment Partnership to buy toxic assets from the banks.
Cash for clunkers.
The home-buyers credit.
The auto bailouts.
Five versions of foreclosure relief.
Numerous lifelines to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Financial regulation and health-care reform.
Energy subsidies.
Which Succeeded?
The auto bailouts?!
Even though a rapid private bankruptcy was preferable and GM and Chrysler are not yet de-nationalized successes, we can I believe, mark this up as a success.
Which Failed?
The stimulus bill cost an astounding $280,000 per job which is over five times median pay, as reckoned by the administration’s inflated estimates of jobs "created or saved", and much more using more realistic estimates.
Cash for clunkers cost $3 billion, just to shift car sales forward a few months.
The Public-Private Investment Partnership, despite cheap federal loans, generated 3% of the $1 trillion claimed, and toxic assets are still hindering some financial institutions.
The Dodd-Frank financial reform law institutionalized "too big to fail" amid greater concentration of banking assets and mortgages in Fannie and Freddie.
The foreclosure relief program permanently modified only a small percentage of the four million mortgages the president promised.
The economic records set on Mr. Obama’s watch are historic and no corporate CEO could survive such a clear history of failure.
Under The Obama Administration Watch:
The US experienced the first downgrade of sovereign U.S. debt in American history.
Relative to GDP, it now has the highest federal spending in U.S. history with the exception of the peak years of World War II
The highest federal debt since just after World War II.
The fraction of the population working is the lowest since 1983 and long-term unemployment is by far the highest since the Great Depression.
Job growth during the first two years of recovery after a severe recession is the slowest in postwar history.
Home-ownership rate is the lowest since 1965 and foreclosures are at a post-Depression high.
The share of Americans paying income taxes is the lowest in the modern era, while dependency on government is the highest in U.S. history.
Can Or Will Obama Recover From The Catastrophes?
Based on his present ratings in the polls and the fact that the economy has little or no chance of improving before the elections, one would have to say, "No he will not recover!".
And to make a comeback even less likely is the likelihood that the Obama administration will try to deliver more of the same things that failed.
Just fourteen years ago Obama was an active member of the New Party (read Communist) and he didn’t quit; it got shut down by the courts. Meaning that there is no reasonable chance that he will switch to anything like a free market economy, soon or ever!
Posted in 'bad bank', 2012, administration, aid, bailout, bubble, clunker, crisis, deficits, economy, Fannie Mae, financial crisis, Freddie Mac, politics, polls, president, presidential elections, stimulus package, TAR, TARP, taxes, toxic assets, US banking, US banks, US economy, vouchers, White House | 
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FCC Official: Internet Freedom Threatened | Vision to America
visiontoamerica.org12/22/11
The United States is unprepared for an international fight that's brewing over whether the Internet will remain free from government regulations or fall increasingly under the control of emerging global powers, Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell warned Monday … When obama told Joe the Plumber that "it's time to spread the wealth around," he didn't mean to just spread it in the U.S. He meant to spread it WORLDWIDE. And that's where the …
Dell's Bottom Line: Obama Assumes Personal Control Of Your Internet
What the above report fails to mention is the fact that President Obama made a personal decision to hand control of the Internet to the FCC, which he controls by way of political appointments, and a matter that is of very serious …
Does The Obama Administration Now Want Companies Such As Apple, Microsoft and Google Under Its Control?!
Several members of Congress who claim to be concerned about the poor quality of cyber security at government and critical technology web sites, are now proposing that the Department of Homeland Security should have the power to force private networks to secure themselves more effectively.
A number of cyber security experts have stated however that the broadly worded bill that has been referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security could also impact many ordinary tech firms that merely play a role in infrastructure.
And Michael Gregg, chief operating officer of the cyber security firm Superior Solutions is on record as saying, “If the bill becomes law, even firms like Apple, Microsoft and Google could come under DHS’s thumb .They are stepping forward to regulate a potentially huge amount of the Internet. It’s up to DHS to decide who they want to fall under this umbrella and I have little doubt that large tech companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Microsoft, Google, Apple and Cisco could all find themselves being heavily regulated, and given the DHS’ record on security, they should have reservations about granting the agency such sweeping oversight”.
What Would The Bill Do?
The Homeland Security Cyber and Physical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2010 (HR 6423, proposed by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss.) would empower DHS to set security standards for the networks at various private facilities and would authorize penalties against any web sites it deemed to have lax security.
At the time of writing, almost every headline is now reflecting the public’s anger at pat-downs and scanners and an amazing 70% of Americans that were just polled said that they are now in favor of Israeli style profiling and quick fire questions, so just imagine having the DHS in charge of cybersecurity!
The bill would create a new department within Homeland Security, called the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, and a new Cybersecurity Compliance Division that would measure and rate how effectively certain private companies respond to network security risks.
But Jeff Bardin, who’s a chief security strategist and a cyber terror expert with XA Systems says, “The bill would most likely also end up regulating utilities and telecoms and a wide array of software firms. Anything that critical infrastructures depend upon, which is pretty much all information security companies, major and minor Internet hubs, the networks, database companies, software companies, etc. could fall under the umbrella of HR 6423, he told FoxNews.com. and it could run the gamut depending upon interpretation”.
An aide for the House Committee on Homeland Security said the bill wasn’t intended to be as broad as industry experts fear it may be and pointed out that there would be medium for voicing concerns, “In those cases where a company wants to challenge its designation, the bill calls for DHS to make a reconsideration process available”.
The committee aide noted that the private sector wouldn’t be included in the panel establishing the rules, “For the private sector regulations, the bill provides for an open regulatory process with notice and comment”.
But Gregg argued that even with the help of the private sector that, “The DHS isn’t in the best position to offer cyber security advice. The real problem is that DHS and other government agencies don’t have a great record of protecting their own critical assets. As recently as 2008, DHS did not have its own cyber crisis plan. Also in 2008, a DHS [internal phone system] was hacked using an attack vector that was at least 10 years old”.
Where Would The Power Come From
The power to regulate private networks comes from the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, which was established in 2003 and who’s goal was to prioritize critical infrastructure, and to protect it from terrorist attacks.
And The Danger?
The bill was originally a public-private relationship based upon cooperation and collaboration, but the intended changes would force compliance.
The real concern lies in the breadth of the new bill, which would mean that any technology company that sold to key infrastructures could potentially be regulated by it, including such companies as Oracle, Symantec, EMC, Cisco, HP, Dell and others.
