Obama: We 'Don't Enjoy Meddling in the Private Sector'
By Susie Madrak Thursday Apr 30, 2009 1:00pmIt was smart to address this, because the wingnut echo chamber in talk radio is pushing the idea that "fascist" Obama wants to take over and run more private industries:
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said he wants to get the government out of the private sector as fast as possible -- but that as long as his administration is acting as a major shareholder for large sectors of American commerce, from cars to finance, he won't hesitate to shape decisions at those firms.
President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference marking his 100th day in office in the East Room at the White House on Wednesday.
In his most extensive public comments to date on the principles guiding government-ownership stakes, Mr. Obama said at a news conference Wednesday that "I don't think that we should micromanage." But he added that, in the name of protecting taxpayer dollars, the government would help troubled companies make "tough decisions based on realistic assumptions."
"Like any investor, the American taxpayer has the right to scrutinize what's being proposed," he said at news conference marking his 100th day in office. "I don't know how to create [an] affordable, well-designed, plug-in hybrid, but I know that if the Japanese can...then doggone it, the American people should be able to do the same."
[...] In addressing the government's role in the private sector, Mr. Obama said his administration had no choice but to step in as the financial and auto sectors were collapsing and that "our first role should be shareholders that are looking to get out."
"I don't want to run auto companies. I don't want to run banks. I've got two wars I've got to run already. I've got more than enough to do. So the sooner we can get out of that business, the better off we're going to be," he said. "I want to disabuse people of this notion that somehow we enjoy, you know, meddling in the private sector."
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very well put.
from the VideoCafe a MUST-SEE
"Progress
by kos
Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 01:14:04 PM PDT
So Obama's budget passed yesterday with zero Republican votes. And you know what was the best part? The Administration didn't give a damn and the media didn't give a damn. All that Obama talk about "bipartisanship" has ceased, and as a result, the media is no longer claiming Obama is a loser because he failed to garner Republican support.
Obama is now demanding to be judged on legislative results, not process ones, and the media is playing along. The only reason it ever gave a damn about the unified Republican front against Obama's stimulus and budget bills was because Obama made bipartisan cooperation a marker for success. When he failed at that, the media dutifully reported on that failure.
But what matters in the end is legislation, not roll calls. And with Obama's team no longer forced to water down legislation in a fruitless quest for irrelevant Republican votes, we'll see much better policy in the end.
I call that progress."
HELL YES! F*ck em!
ALSO voted against it.
whoever would have expected THAT from him?! :
Primary challenge.
I think Specter is history but we can use him as much as we can until the primary. It's better to have than not have him... I think.
he is playing to his base back home. a no vote when it doesnt matter - doesnt matter. if it helps him get a few more votes back home as a newly minted democrat trying to steer the dems into fiscal responsibility, then good for him.
Leave the guy alone, he freaking single handily put a dunce cap on Rush's head, and gave us a filibuster number for the important shit.
We Don't Enjoy Meddling in the Private Sector
now, if only the private sector felt the same about the govt.
Ding ding ding!
Todays WINNER!!!
Can you put this on a bumper sticker?
And this Global Empire love making their own rules which have put us in the mess. The government gives our tax money to private corporations with no oversight and no strings attached.. That is a win -- win for them...
Yet they have passed legislation which gives Corporation and especially the financial institutions complete and free pass to do as they d... well please. They charge any rate for interest for what they receive for citizen for peanuts , because citizens are getting just about 0 interest for the money they place in the banks...
This Global Empire love it just the way it is.. They can take our money and run overseas while not paying taxes on any of it to our government.. Then when they wish to increase their capital for their criminal actives they ask the government and they just hand over trillions of dollars with no strings attached.. Where can the citizens of this country get the same deal.....
They'll argue something akin to, "Well, at least we now know he doesn't walk on water," and that he's a hypocrite because he's saying he doesn't want involvement but he is involved, and that he's diverting his attention away from the crucial business of running America's war efforts so that he can meddle in the private sector, thus risking the lives of brave American soldiers. Watch.
or Marxism or dictatorship. There doesn't have to be any logic involved when it comes to reslugs and name-calling.
Much to Michelle's chagrin.
good
The Oligarchs who lost vast fortunes through greed, fraud and stupidity, but now are having those diminished fortunes replenished thanks to their puppets in the beltway.
Not one question about the Oligarchs from the brain dead 'journalists' in attendance at the 'press conference' last night.
Obama wants to say he was handed an enormous deficit, he helped shape it.
By one count the taxpayers may get back 28¢ on the TARP dollar. The TALF and PPIP could even be worse.
FDIC is headed for enormous non recourse loans and the FED has bought hundreds of billions in fraudulent assets using the same rating agencies that committed the fraud in the first place.
The Oligarchs are the Welfare Kings, the politicians are their bag men, and women.
If Obama would just only do nothing the Conservatives could then be able to call him lazy, confused, unprepared, etc. These stupid bastards are such fucking disingenuous liars. They know Obama inherited this shit. The fact that he's trying anything that might succeed is driving these solutionless fuckers nuts.
One of the many reasons why the GOP must never gain a foothold in power again
http://jed-lewison.dailykos.com/
When I followed your link the video was gone from the page. There was another link to an RNC page but no video there either. Can you tell us what was on the video?
go to dailykos.com as of now it's the top posting.
Notice how much of what they put in that video was applicable to Bush.
Karl Rove 101. Accuse the other side of what you are guilty of.
I think I found it at wonkette. Is it a voice over doing Obama at his inauguration and the voice sounds like Jimmy Carter?
yes. as with everything "creative" the Rethugliklans do is poor quality.
I could only understand about half of what the voice said and the visuals were so awful they gave me a headache. So was this the lamest attempt ever by the RNC to be funny? If it was they need to understand, if you don't have a sense of humor, you just can't be funny. Ha Ha Ha...NOT
Like the President said, he had an over flowing plate to deal with when he walked into the oval office, he sure as hell didn't want to deal with this too. Who in their right mind would?
However, that isn't stopping Beck from marching forward with his bs. Nope not one bit.
Hardball warning! Chris has Delay on his show tonight. Why? I have no fu*king idea. The show is about what the repubs need to do to improve their party. Seems to me Delay is the last bastard on earth you would consult about that.
On Beck's show today, a guy from the Ayn Rand Institute was on espousing how wonderful it is to "go Galt." He said that people need to stop thinking about the greater good and start thinking about individual self-interest because that has worked out so well for us in the past.
Probably Yaron Brook.
Here is my last comment him.
I found him utterly detestable.
I almost watched Beck, but I was in too happy a mood to get all pissed at him as I knew I would. My husband is coming home tonight after being away three days on business and I am one happy little camper. I didn't want Beck dirt in my head on such a happy night.
Ah yes, let's everyone be in it just for themselves and fu*k everyone else. Beck being a man of god and all, wonder what he thinks Jesus would think of that damned selfish approach to life?
that there are rational long-term self interest motives that out-compete irrational, short-term self interest motives.
Long-term happiness vs short-term happiness.
I wonder why Beck always forgets about that one?
Well, I'm glad you didn't turn in then. Beck definitely sours any mood, no matter how good.
reminds me of a person who just had their watch, wallet, jewelry, pants, shirt, underwear, and finally socks and shoes snatched off of them and is standing there nude shaking their fist saying . . "I'll be damned if I'm going to get ripped off it's time to put measures in place to prevent it!"
http://www.slate.com/id/2216238/
Click on Feb 09
Marxist or whatever they come up with. Elders and Larson were on Larry King basically calling Obama a liar and an enemy of free markets. Nothing is going to stop them from their insane rhetoric, nothing......
Mr. President, you may not enjoy government intervention, but it is sorely needed.
I wish Obama would just nationalize the banks (the ones that have been receiving TARP, TALF, etc. funds) and auto industry and get it over and done with. 15 years ago, the banks, Treasury Department, and the Fed said that CDS and derivatives did not need to be regulated because they were such a sure thing and regulation would stifle innovation and "creativity." Look what 15 years of no regulation/oversight and financial "creativity" landed us. I want the government to take over these big banks, clean out the boards, and cut them up into smaller banks or better yet make them into regional credit unions. Also, I would love all derivatives outlawed, but if that can't occur, I want CDS outlawed. In regards to the auto industry, convert them into green industry manufacturing plants that can produce not only cars that are greener, but solar panels, windmills, etc.
Yeah, but that isn't going to happen because we have a corporate controlled government.
Here is my last comment on derivatives.
Here is a link on the quadrillion dollar world derivative market. Here is a previous essay also by DK Matia.
The derivative market at somewhere around a quadrillion dollars is way beyond the control of any central bank. We may already have the Weimar Republic v 2.0 and not know it.
As for CDS, at the very least naked (meaning the underlying asset is not owned) CDS should be forbidden and collateral required otherwise.
Thank you for the links.
I can't say that I'm not surprised to learn about CDS having a hand in Chrysler's bankruptcy. This scenario made me think of this.
I think you are right about the Weimar Republic 2.0. However unlike the original one, I think we will see hyperinflation on a global level, not just national. When that happens, I just don't know exactly how anyone will be able to "muddle through" this mess.
Based upon what I have read, I can't believe that CDS or derivatives for that fact were ever made legal. I haven't seen one good thing that this financial creativity has produced. But, I do agree that naked CDS should be forbidden if anything else.
I only hope that there will be some form of a silver lining to this whole horrible, catastrophic situation. If I don't retain some shred of optimism, then I will become completely despondent by the bleakness of it all.
Such as that, is why I use the name Alice. That is me, Alice in finance land.
In this country, we use to make things. The regulations of the thirties when we came to the fifties encouraged the world that the things we made and sold were reliable.
That started to change with Nixon and then Reagan was the big push.
The financial debacle developed in the last ten years should thoroughly damage our reputation with anyone who is paying attention.
We made financial crap, called it gold and safe as milk and sold it to any sucker who would buy it.
That was before the crash. Now the US taxpayer seems to be the last one that is going to buy the crap.
We don't make things, we just have our hands in the other guys pocket.
As for inflation I think it will be a mixed picture. Very difficult to predict, the point of the article on derivatives is two Fat Cats can sit in an office in Singapore or wherever and write a futures contract for a hundred billion and no central bank or government has anything to say or do about it. The is a bizarre universe we have allowed to be created.
Here is an interesting piece. I am suspicious of any writer that calls China 'communist' but the rest is worth considering.
The possibility I see is that the US, UK and Japan all inflate together because we have been printing money with the Euro somewhere behind behind because they have not, yet. The may fall in line.
But commodities when demand returns, if it returns, will go up. Maybe WAY up.
China's currency is not now convertible (in capital accounts) but will need to be if they want to get out of the dollar. When the make it convertible it will revalue by a lot. That will make them expensive and their exports, if they have recovered, will fall again.
They could hang on to their dollars, watch them deflate and lose anyway.
The world is changed. China revalues and what we buy from them will be very much more expensive. Whatever happens, the middle class here is going to shrink, maybe a lot. Poverty train here we come.
Yet, Obama with his program as it is wants to keep the same banking system with the same crooks in charge that have wrecked the world's economies.
To me, that promises turmoil.
know anyone dumb enough to buy an American Car?
could score some points and turn the auto industry right around: Change the name of Chysler to the Obamamobile and 54M would buy one the next day; throw in a Obama bobble head doll for the dash and some people would buy two!
That Cunningham guy is nuts.
The voters are not going to get back our losses . . equity, investments, savings, etc, etc, back anytime soon.
That really is the bottom line. If it does at all it will be just another trickle down system. After the Big Boyz get their share first.
It really is One Big Lie
Why do these jokers think that Obama would want to run a shitty auto company? If he wanted to run a bank he would have gone to Wall Street after collage. He is the fucking President of the United States of America. If he wanted power he has more power than anybody in the world. Just like about everything else the wingnuts have their head up their ass and have to have it explained to them again. Jeez.
All my inventory is sold before it can be manufactured. In some cases it's sold before it's even designed and prototyped. I keep finding myself turning down orders, revenue and profits daily. Just can't keep up with it, glad the 100 hits a day on the web site aren't calling with credit card numbers.
And what a dishonest mutherfocking sonafabitch:
The Japanese government contributes substantially (HEAVILY SUBSIDIZES) Japanese manufacturing. Not only by having national health care, but by direct contributions to r&d. Been at it fer farking YEARS, and wadizmore, the SOB KNOWS IT@!
Socialists are the opposite of fascists. Fascism is the state being run by corporations = conservatism and republicans.
I always use the term "corporate fascsist" when I describe the GOP, because thats what they really are!
Would it be asking too much for these idiot republicans to get a dictionary, so they could at least use the proper words in context? I mean really, WTF!
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