Reagan’s borrowing is still trickling down. The gift that just keeps on giving.

The big red bar is the % increase of US debt by Reagan, the next biggest is George W. The ultimate Washington spenders. America’s debt crisis has been building for 30 years, yet people will still play party politics. Both parties are only differ in whom the throw the scraps to, that is all. The Republicans are contrary to popular perception the greatest spenders, while the democrats have a modest legacy.

The debt crisis here, is as a result of both sides of the Potomac having lost sight of Govt. in America being a servant of them people, rather than of the lobby groups and small but organized voters pockets.

The larger portion of Bush and Reagan’s spending went to the Military/Industrial complex and to a select few banks. The democrats have been doing the same, maybe not at the same rate and maybe they throw more to the guy on less than 75k dollars a year but they are still gifting a very select few with an unfair advantage and with tax payers dollars.

Reagan did bring down communism but he spent more than all previous America Presidents, yes All, to do so. He armed and trained the Islamists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the very people that we are now fighting. He was Saddam Hussein’s key donor. The man’s economic legacy will take a generation to workout.

Reagan gets my vote for Worst American President to date.

Deficits and the National Debt This is perhaps the most ironic part of the Reagan Legacy. He railed against the national debt, even though it was decreasing with every president from FDR to Carter. As soon as Reagan and the fiscal conservatives took control over economic policy, the very thing they talked about the most started to grow.You have to love this, the G.O.P traditionally spend like sailors to support the biggest businesses and let the trickle effect dribble down to the small business owner. Regan started a trend of ideological madness that has broken America

This is from an excellent article located here, the image above is for graphic purposes only, and to encourage people to learn from . It makes the debt position of Ireland look positively glowing, given that that country’s economic approach was heavily influenced by Reagan economics. A common trend is starting to emerge. The facts do not lie. Regaan’s economic legacy is all around us today. Edmondo

What may be an interesting idea would be to plant a memorial tree to the world economy, a reminder of the economy legacy outlined here. This memorial tree would be a powerful reminder that careless economics driven by ideology rather than logic are never going to lead us to a promised land of prosperity. Hopefully the world economy will recover, but it is looking worrying. I certainly am tempted to create a memorial to my stock portfolio at the moment.  I am certain that we are all in the same boat regarding stocks. Diversification is the key at the moment I feel, especially in to more stable currencies, like the Loonie, or nordic currencies.

.I want to review and examine the offerings of Wentworth Finance, who are as far as I know,a UK personal finance company, that give loans to individuals and businesses.

Wentworth Direct Finance Personal loans are well known in England but are they as well known throughout Britain. They are based in Kent and specialize in unsecured loans for tenants and home owners up to 15k pounds. They are noted for being willing to take loan applications from individuals with poor credit ratings. Wentworth finance also offer it seems an apr of circa 15% and they have an application on their website wentworthdirect.co.uk

There are reports from sites such as blagger about people not having a great time with Wentworth Finance, so it would be interesting if any body here had a past history of the business and experiences of it. However that is the name of the game in finance, isn’t it.  Especially in the unsecured loans area that Wentworth Finance specialize in. There are many happy consumers as well. If any one has any interesting stories or if Wentworth Finance want to talk about what they do via a post, then please leave a comment.

It is a very interesting to look at finance companies and the products that they offer, the finance world is such an important aspect of all our lives.

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I’m sick and tired of people asking “What has Obama done?” So here’s a list of things he’s done since he’s been in office. Remember: He was elected President. He wasn’t elected Jesus!
The list is still growing. Let me know if I missed anything.

1. Saved the collapse of the American automotive industry by making GM restructure before bailing them out, and putting incentive money to help the industry

2. Shifted the focus of the war from Iraq to Afghanistan, and putting the emphasis on reducing terrorism where it should have been all along

3. Relaxed Anti-American tensions throughout the world

4. Signed order to close the prisoner “torture camp” at Guantanamo Bay

5. Has made the environment a national priority, and a primary source for job creation

6. Has made education a national priority by putting emphasis and money behind new ideas like charter schools, but speaking directly to school children in telling them they have to do their part.

7. Won the Nobel Peace Prize

8. $789 billion economic stimulus plan

9. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court

10. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles

11. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans

12. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues.

13. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force… this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.

14. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops

15. “Cash for clunkers” program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulates auto sales

16. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan

17. Closed offshore tax safe havens

18. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan

19. Ended media “blackout” on war casualties; reporting full information

20. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts

21. . Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB.

22. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules

23. Ended previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings

24. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports

25. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created 2.1 million jobs (as of 12/31/09).

26. Ended previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions

27. Ended previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back

28. Ended previous policy on torture; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards

29. . Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.

30. Ended previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry’s predatory practices

31. Ended previous “stop-loss” policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date

32. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources

33. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient

34. Established a new cyber security office

35. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children

36. Expanding vaccination programs

37. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses

38. . Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans.

39. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research

40. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools

41. Responded with compassion and leadership to the earthquake in Haiti

42. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters

43. . Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business. Great for the economy.

44. Improved housing for military personnel

45. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals

46. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan.

47. Improving benefits for veterans

48. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants…) after years of neglect

49. Donated his $1.4 million Nobel Prize to nonprofits.

50. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program

51. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market.

52. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel

53. Increasing student loans

54. Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return “home” to visit loved ones

55. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers.

56. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000

57. Limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House

58. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost.

59. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration

60. Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured.

61. Lower drug costs for seniors

62. Making more loans available to small businesses

63. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration

64. . Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis

65. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals

66. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans

67. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care.

68. New federal funding for science and research labs

69. New funds for school construction

70. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending

71. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices

There is a Facebook page, isn’t there always – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Things-Obama-has-done/457458970505. Support them and spread the above, which they created

There is nothing worse that getting a Christmas present like the one in the picture. You want to laugh and cry, but you can’t say anything, cause it is the “thought that counts”.

Thankfully Joel Waldfogel, a Professor at Wharton is giving you a well thought argument against lousy presents.

Americans he says, spend up to 70 billion a year on gifts that other people usually do not want. We spend our time throughout the year, buying items that we need, but at Christmas time, people are shooting in the dark, and often just buying just to have something to give.

These gifts are often of low value and are usually imported, so in effect this spending, is going on something that will never be used and the money will be deposited in a bank account in China. You might as well post the money to the Community party of China, Beijing, China.

So how can we counteract this waste of US dollars.

1). Use of Gift cards. Gifts cards are similar to cash in their effectiveness but they still allow the buyer to get their desired gift, without the social stigma of receiving cash as a gift.  If the cards are not used, there value is transferred as revenue to the shareholders, after usually 18 months. So there is no wealth destruction.

2). Charity cards – in line with the original and positive meaning of Christmas, give to the deserving. From a cynical economist point of view – the money is allocated according to the person’s wishes and can be targeted at services and needs within the local community, keeping the money in circulation.

While there is a lot of jokes about this idea, such as Waldfogel must have been stiffed a lot at Christmas and is now lashing back. It still makes sense, if you look at consumer spending in America in the last ten years, it could be defined as spending for the sake of it. This is a timely call for people to clarify what exactly they are going to buy. People have lost respect for money and how hard it can be to earn it. Unfortunately due to the recession, we are all going to have a very clear lesson. Why not have a look at memorial Trees

One thing that will be certain, is that it will not herald a return to normality – what ever that is. We are in the new normal.

Global production excess capacity is at an all time high, there is enough give in the labour and production sectors to absorb any new orders without hiring extra staff.

The American consumer has decided that materialism and shopping does not have a direct impact on their well being, in fact theyr have come to realise that buying is a cause of stress. Family, friends and the simpler things in life are now more important. The consumer feels like that they are in a bear rally, their stocks are going up, but they and their friends are still losing their jobs.

As we head in to the year, and the stimulus package starts to peter out, the unemployment rate is states like the Dakota’s are going to start creeping up, they have been immune to date but like the economy overall the outer edges are frayed, with New England and the West Coast, having unemployment rates north of 10%. Expect this to go up all over the nation.

Phase 2 of the depression will start, as the stimulus runs out and the savings that many people have been surviving on start to run out. This applies to individual states as well, given that the Govt. has bailed them out to date as well. Once unemployment benefits run out, expect social trouble to not be far behind. Once people see that large business and the free marketer’s are supporting bailouts of mis-managed and frankly often corruptly run banks and businesses but that the majority of people are expected to bear the pain, they will explode. Gerard Celente says that we are currently in the early years of a new American Revolution.  Beware of those who describe the rule of law  and the founding principle of a republic, that all are equal as “Socialism”.  Socialism has become the word of the day in America at the moment, where anything that does not benefit those in power is anathema. Remember that they are in power because they are backed by special interests, look at the number of businesses that are going to the wall every day, because they are refused credit, even though they are viable and have good credit records. The problem is not with the business, but that certain individuals and businesses are closer to the reins of power that any person who votes could ever be.

As a self employed person, who actively buys stocks, and has done so since the age of 17 – there can be no doubt that I am a Socialist or a communist.  I wonder will Glenn Beck condemn me on his show – it really is hard to take this country serious anymore.  The country can bail out failed banks without a whimper, yet anything else is a distortion of the marketplace. The market place in America is run for a select few, it has been for over a 150 years, but as long as Joe public thinks that he has a fair chance, and that his business is valued as part of the economy, why not let them skew the system.

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I think that the low interest rates and the tarp funds have only postponed the inevitable. America has been on a borrowing splurge since Regan and his crazy ideas of deficits don’t matter.  I think that a lot of home owners and businesses are disagreeing very strongly with the Actor turned statesman at this stage.

Once that stimulus has worked its way through the system, the cracks will re-appear again. Look at the sheer debt that countries owe, look at their employment prospects. Paul Krugman, the Nobel prize winning economist said that we are going to need about 300k new jobs a month just to return for 5 years to return to full employment. The no’s are so high now amongst the unemployed , especially the Californian unemployment figures, that even if this did happen, it would take  several years, before main street gelt like things were improving.  This slow recovery with high debt will spook a lot of investors, who will look to increase their gold holdings. China are going to continue to hoard the metal, and will avail of gold buying opportunities in the dips.

That is my take, what do you think??

I think that the Govt. are getting creative with the figures. I can understand why this is happening, they want to try to force a recovery by restoring confidence, get people spending and investing. However the banks and Wall st. have messed up so bad, that Main street will not spend for a very long time yet. If the stimulus spending had not gone through, then the financial crisis would have been a lot more severe.

We aren’t out of the woods yet, not by a long shot, until Wall street is controlled more effectively, and not indulged like it has been over the last 8-10 years, this financial crisis will continue and only get worse.

America’s economy s 70% based on consumer spending, the consumer is still getting hammered, unemployment is rushing up towards ten percent in the official figures. The thing is that when you add in underemployed you are up to about 17%. There are so many more that have taken wage cuts, or have gained employment but at a lower rate than their previous job.

But hey, at least the big banks on wall st. are going to be ok, while small and medium businesses all over the country go to the wall. Welcome to the American Corporate republic – where all are equal as long as they have a 1 billion net profit per annum.

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