Jobless and hopeless in America

[JackBondLove]

but obama thinks the US needs more skilled workers from other countries
wants to open our borders to allow even more foreigners to come here and work

HERE HERE! His former senior senator (Durbin of Illinois) needs to have a good talk with the POTUS. He's a lead senator in going after the job destroying H1B & L1 visa programs, which have left me and many other STEM workers functionally unemployable.

[RichM]

Jack, there are more than one way to solve a problem, even one of the scale of the sad state of the U.S. economy.

I would favor drastic cuts in spending, elimination of the majority of federal programs and departments, the lowering of the debt ceiling, and the gradual elimination of the income tax (and its replacement with nothing), implemented by successive increases in the minimum income which is taxable. So every year, more and more people would pay no income tax at all, and wealthier people's total taxable income would similarly decrease as a higher amount becomes non-taxable; so in actual dollars, everyone would get the identical tax cut (except those who are already paying no tax).

The immediate increase in disposable income would be enough to stimulate the economy, in my opinion.

Marxism might also work, in theory. The problem is that it hasn't performed spectacularly well where it's been tried, nor is there very much chance that it ever could be implemented as Karl intended. Corruption and greed are not confined to politicians in Capitalist nations. In fact, my friends from the former Soviet Union tell me that even those few U.S. politicians whose corruption was so blatant and egregious that they went to prison, couldn't hold a candle to even an average rank-and-file bureaucrat in the former Soviet Union, much less a political office holder. Corruption, bribery, graft, payola, and so forth were the norm, rather than the exception to it, in the U.S.S.R.

I know: It's hard to believe, but there actually are politicians more crooked than our own. But it is this tendency that tends to make Leftist economic systems unworkable in real life, even assuming that you are philosophical agreement with those systems.

-Rich

[discouraged]

Eliminate the Federal Programs? Well, that would certainly get rid of the poor, since they can't afford Dr's. Gosh, let's just let them die I guess. How about school lunches? Gee, the poor would just not eat. This would enable the 'richer' kids to get ahead and again, the poor would just have to survive the best they can. This, of course, would lead to more crime as the 'have nots' reduce the wealth of the 'haves'.

I don't know the answer, but if the plan is to get rid of anyone middle class and under, it's working.

[RichM]

Eliminate the Federal Programs? Well, that would certainly get rid of the poor, since they can't afford Dr's. Gosh, let's just let them die I guess. How about school lunches? Gee, the poor would just not eat. This would enable the 'richer' kids to get ahead and again, the poor would just have to survive the best they can. This, of course, would lead to more crime as the 'have nots' reduce the wealth of the 'haves'.

I don't know the answer, but if the plan is to get rid of anyone middle class and under, it's working.

I was thinking more along the lines of getting rid od DHS, TSA (especially TSA), ATF, DOE, and other utterly useless departments.

I would also close all foreign military bases except those required by treaties, reduce the size of our active-duty armed forces, and express our national defense policy in these terms:

"We will leave the rest of the world alone, as the rest of the world has requested.
We will not try to be the world's policeman.
We will not attempt to interfere with your politics in any way.
But if you attack us, we will nuke you into oblivion."

As for public assistance, food stamps, etc., I would indeed ban from receiving any sort of government assistance all able-bodied adults who refuse to either participate in workfare or go to school. I'd rather educate a person to be a doctor than pay him/her to sit around watching daytime talk shows.

As for school lunches (and schools in general), I would move to vouchers to give the poor kids (of whom I was one, incidentally) a choice in where they go to school.

We can certainly debate the specifics, and your ideas may in fact be better than mine. But frankly, I think pretty much anyone's make at least as much sense as what's being done now, which is utterly incomprehensible.

-Rich

[discouraged]

I'm a little tender right now. I have worked since I was 16 and now am 57 and was laid off over 2 years ago. I worked 6 months as a temp in 2009 and then again as a temp from Oct 2010 until Jan 14 2011. I am on state aid for healthcare and just found out my bad back may be much more serious than just a bad back so I am very thankful for the healthcare (which I pay $75 a month for) is in place.

I have applied for jobs since I have been laid off and even had some interviews but, they see my age and I do not get a call back.

I agree that able bodies should work. Trust me, I would love to have a full time job again. I enjoyed getting up and getting to the temp jobs I had. It felt so good.

Yes, there are people who abuse the system, but the reality is, in this economy you would advocate taking away benefits from people like me, who have worked their whole lives. It scares me to think I may have to have an operation on my back, but I certainly couldn't do it without public assistance at this point. It scares me more to think of never walking again - which would certainly limit my employment abilities much more than I am now.

Right now, in this economy, we have to look at the broader picture. Yes, as I said, there are people who abuse the system, but you can't penalize all of us for those that do abuse it.

The OP first started this thread to show what is happening to people just like me. We are actively seeking work,desperate to find jobs and without some sort of lifelines, we will be lost.

[helpme2010]

I get frustrated when I see how much we give in foreign aid to so many countries, yet we have to borrow this money which further puts us in debt. All those billions that could be invested here at home to help the poor and help build the economy as well.

I also want to rip my hair out when I see how much we allow corporations to outsource, including the visas. So many people lose their jobs because they simply can't compete with the rate of say a programmer coming from Russia or India. Manufacturing and so many other industries shut down so foreign countries can take over. Imagine how close we came to shutting down the entire car industry (yes GM is run poorly and yes restructuring is necessary to better compete), but that would be another entire industry of unemployed with no replacement jobs to give these people.

I get angry when people complain about the unemployed getting extensions, yet there is no other alternative. The people that caused this to happen are the same ones who complain about the victims just trying to survive.

Just like the movie a Christmas Carol, it's so easy to turn a blind eye on the poor, I only wish those greedy people would get visited by 3 ghosts.

[banca rotta]

Just like the movie a Christmas Carol, it's so easy to turn a blind eye on the poor, I only wish those greedy people would get visited by 3 ghosts.

It wouldn't matter. Most of the greedy people you are talking about are not human beings, so they don't really scare that easily.

[helpme2010]

It wouldn't matter. Most of the greedy people you are talking about are not human beings, so they don't really scare that easily.

My bad. I forgot, compassion for our fellow man, morality, ethics, that is so last century!!!

[msm859]

My bad. I forgot, compassion for our fellow man, morality, ethics, that is so last century!!!

Too true. I was having a discussion about taxes and the other person wants everyone to pay "income" tax -- he would like a flat tax. Didn't care if as an example it was 10% and someone who only made $1,000 per month with that tax liability would have to worry about buying food with that $100 or pay the tax vs the person who makes $10,000 would pay his 10% and have $9,000 left for everything else. Also didn't like the fact that anyone could go to the ER even if they don't have insurance or money. With my parochial education I don't understand. Even more sad though is it is a very myopic position. He is a business person and all his customers are the middle class. When they are gone who is going to buy his services? Also, businesses are able to be successful in this country in large part because of the relative safety and stability. With no government or middle class we will be no different then many third world countries. People are always complaining about taxes but without them we would not have the environment to promote the hight standard of living for so many.

[helpme2010]

Too true. I was having a discussion about taxes and the other person wants everyone to pay "income" tax -- he would like a flat tax. Didn't care if as an example it was 10% and someone who only made $1,000 per month with that tax liability would have to worry about buying food with that $100 or pay the tax vs the person who makes $10,000 would pay his 10% and have $9,000 left for everything else. Also didn't like the fact that anyone could go to the ER even if they don't have insurance or money. With my parochial education I don't understand. Even more sad though is it is a very myopic position. He is a business person and all his customers are the middle class. When they are gone who is going to buy his services? Also, businesses are able to be successful in this country in large part because of the relative safety and stability. With no government or middle class we will be no different then many third world countries. People are always complaining about taxes but without them we would not have the environment to promote the hight standard of living for so many.

I agree. Unless or until you walk a mile in someone elses shoes, in this case the poor, you can't relate to the extreme differences in living or surviving.

Not only are we heading down the direction of a third world country, but taken to the extreme, we can eventually replace 95% of the work force with machinery and robots (also of course outsourcing the remaining physical labor to 3rd world countries with the cheapest of slave labor).

Humans and especially the poor are such a nuisance aren't they? This conjures images of sci-fi movies like Logans Run where they terminate people over 30 or the Twilite Zone episode of the greedy CEO replacing every department of his manufacturing plant with machines, until all the thousands are gone and he is the only one remaining. The final scene shows the robot who eventually replaces him. This is of course just crazy sci-fi talk, but I think the point comes across as to how we decide as a society to value our citizens, especially those deemed the least valuable or the largest resource intensive.

[tobee43]

Banks face obstacles in 2011...just more good news....

By Patty Ouimet
Dollars & Sense


Sunday, February 13, 2011



While most analysts and traders on Wall Street are enthusiastic about a 2011 recovery for the U.S. economy, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the banking industry.

As we know, both large and small banks have to be healthy for a healthy economy to thrive. Foreclosure issues raised their ugly head again, last month, with the Massachusetts Supreme Court reinforcing a lower court ruling against Wells Fargo and US Bancorp claiming the banks had no proof that they owned the properties on which they foreclosed. It would be surprising if Massachusetts was the only state pursuing this issue, and we surmise therefore this issue will not be going away any time soon.

Regulators on both sides of the political aisle are likely to create new legislation around mortgage servicing as a result of the continuing foreclosure issue. Also the new Republican Congress introduced a bill to repeal the Dodd/Frank bill. While some believe only parts of the bill should be repealed, there is a lot of controversy surrounding Dodd-Frank, and that has inevitably spilled in to the banking industry.

Uncertainty about proposed regulations remains as implementing the bill is much different than writing and passing it. Regulators and agencies are just now writing the bills to implement within the structure of the Dodd-Frank bill so, there needs to be oversight around projected legislation.

Last but not least, the controversial Volker rule and budget and activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are still "uncertain" issues.

One big issue that has surrounded the Dodd-Frank bill since its passing is whether it really solves the "too big to fail" issue it was drafted to address. At the heart of "too big to fail" is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's power to unwind failing institutions. The bill and supporters argue that the government can fail a large bank or institution that is systemically important without disrupting financial markets. There is concern surrounding the failure of non-depository institutions since that is not an area of FDIC expertise.

The FDIC and others' support of a $50 billion fund to help exempt a firm that is deemed large enough and important enough from bankruptcy is also a concern in the bill. This continues to be controversial as it sends the message to the larger institutions that there is a security blanket out there. Many believe there will have to be a test case before this issue is resolved. Creditors of the larger institutions feel comfortable that they would be rescued in liquidation, while the smaller institutions would have to face the bankruptcy process. This gives the large "too big to fail" institutions a lower cost of capital than their smaller brethren and those without the political influence of size.

Last year was a perfect year to pass the Dodd-Frank bill with concerns surrounding the financial crisis still fresh in the minds of the public and regulators. Now 2011 is the year to sift through the regulations included in the bill and address them.

Another one of the biggest hurdles is dealing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their role in the residential financial crisis which was not addressed in the Dodd-Frank bill. Both parties in Congress are treading softly on dealing with the two GSEs, while the housing market and the economy are still fragile.

Oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with a $600 million starting budget is expected to be another hot button issue that the new Congressional Republicans may challenge by possibly not funding the bureau. Currently, the director of the CRPB has the authority over the funds. Ironically, even though the new bureau is called the "Consumer Protection Bureau" the consumer will be hurt most by stricter regulations on smaller community banks which will have to pass the cost on to them to survive. Larger banks will also feel the pain and increase fees, but are somewhat insulated because they have more efficient access to capital.

More uncertainty around the Dodd-Frank bill involves the "Volker rule" which bans proprietary trading and restricts investments in hedge funds and private-equity firms. The law left most of the implementation of this ruling up to regulators. U.S. capital markets competitiveness globally rests on this issue being resolved according to critiques so these regulations could be watered down so that U.S. capital markets firms are not at a disadvantage. And then the global banks must deal with the implementation of the new Basel III capital requirements, which will also be a challenge for some institutions across the globe.

Bank merger and acquisition activity is expected to pickup in 2011 as some smaller banks will be overwhelmed by new regulations and others will just throw in the towel. Some parts of the country are expected to witness more activity than others. Deals are expected to be in the areas of the country with the best asset quality which is why the Midwest and Northeast were the places where M&A activity started in 2010. Acquirers are drawn to the perception of solid future business opportunity which will most likely be in the most stable areas.

Besides areas of the country where banks have better credit metrics, the areas with job growth should also attract buyers. Again, the expected growth of manufacturing in the Midwest will attract banks looking to build commercial and industrial loan books. The economies of the hardest hit states like Florida may have less M&A activity or continue to be more distressed in nature.

In addition to the pickup in M&A activity helping the sector heal, the better capitalized large banks may now be able to buy back shares and issue dividends which had been put on hold during the crisis. This should improve sentiment for the sector in 2011. This is good news for the sector. However, many things still hinge on housing since it is unknown when home values will stabilize across the U.S. Should home prices stabilize that would be good news for the banking community on so many fronts as it leads to more commercial and industrial lending and small business lending for the banks.

In the end, banks have to feel comfortable with their collateral to lend and help grow the economy especially in the face of new and yet to be announced regulations. And even if banks have the funds to lend, job creation is another key component to credit analysis by the banks and without a job it is tough to buy a home. In other words — not all banks are out of the woods yet so investors have to be selective.

[daylate]

One of the biggest problems are that big companies are now multi-nationals, in many cases deriving a majority of their revenues overseas. This raises a question as to where their loyalties (should) lie. Unfortunately their major loyalty lies with their shareholders, many of whom are foreigners. Add to that technological advances and it is easy to see why hiring a $2 an hour customer service rep in Mumbai trumps the $10 plus benefits that would be required in the US.

Other problems:

Tax cuts to reduce revenues, two wars to increase expenses
An out of control health system
Politicians who bloc vote along party lines that are formulated by marketing rather than what is best for the country
An aging population
An inept federal reserve system
Too much of just about everything-tell me other than jobs what do we really need?
A federal deficit that based on interest and entitlement programs alone is in such a hole that I don't think we ever climb out

A bleak future for the USofA. The middle class is shrinking and will someday, probably sooner than later, be a very small segment of the overall population.

Solutions are complicated and will require sacrifice and probably a lower standard of living for generations to come.

[msm859]

......
A bleak future for the USofA. The middle class is shrinking and will someday, probably sooner than later, be a very small segment of the overall population.

Solutions are complicated and will require sacrifice and probably a lower standard of living for generations to come.

I would disagree that solutions are "complicated" -- politically difficult/impossible yes. 1. Let all of the Bush tax cuts expire. 2. Have a public option on health care such that everyone has the right to buy the same health care as congress at the same price they pay. 3. Get out of Afghanistan 4. Declare war on energy dependence - promoting American manufacturing. 5. Put a 10% surtax on incomes above 1 million and close more loopholes. 6. Tax estates over $10 million at 50%. Do not allow corporate deductions for compensation packages over $1 million or political contributions or lobbyists. These would be a good start to the road to recovery.

[banca rotta]

Marxism might also work, in theory. The problem is that it hasn't performed spectacularly well where it's been tried, nor is there very much chance that it ever could be implemented as Karl intended. Corruption and greed are not confined to politicians in Capitalist nations. In fact, my friends from the former Soviet Union tell me that even those few U.S. politicians whose corruption was so blatant and egregious that they went to prison, couldn't hold a candle to even an average rank-and-file bureaucrat in the former Soviet Union, much less a political office holder. Corruption, bribery, graft, payola, and so forth were the norm, rather than the exception to it, in the U.S.S.R.
-Rich

If Marxism would work then the USA would be in the recovery that Obama and his lapdogs in the media keep saying we are in.

We have a combination of Marxism and Fascism today in the US.

We have zombie companies that should have been allowed to fail so the strong better run companies could have swallowed them whole and build up again.

We have soviet style central planning where our central bank sets interest rates instead of the free markets.

The market place dictates that the dow should be back at 6500 or lower where it was 2 years ago except fed policy has blown up this balloon.

Home prices should be much lower and more in line with what we can all really afford, but govt tax rebates forced suckers to buy homes propping up the price which are still at bubble levels.

We have overpriced college educations because of govt aid. If not for the aid, then the cost of an education would be down to affordable levels.

The same thing with health care and many other programs, but hopefully most of you get the point by now.

My friends this is not capitalism!!! Anyone who thinks it is go back to sleep and the barbarians at the gate will wake you up when it's all over.

[tobee43]

well...personally, we all know there is no simple answer ...

we need to bring back jobs to this country....

educate our children for "tomorrows" jobs....OR they will be out sourced since we are dropping that ball...and really what is the answer to society security...health care.....this is absolutely depressing......

we all remember "a brave new world"..........huxley........just drug me now...give me some of that soma now!

and you're right this is NOT capitalism...it's insane-ism.......