black…MYstory

Just like the polar bear, another species is facing near-extinction…the black stock owner.

After reaching a high of 34% in 2001, stock ownership among black folks dropped to 22% in the years between 2001-2004.  The rate of white ownership remained steady, dropping less than a percentage point from a high of 57.5%.

I can’t lie…seeing the mess on Wall Street play out and knowing the irresponsibility of some who run these companies, I am hesitant to trust them with my hard-earned bucks.  However, I also know that building wealth is important for us, as a people, and we need to be in the game in order to benefit from it.

Hopefully, faith can be restored and we can get back to the wealth-creation in which we, as black people, so desperately need to involve ourselves.

Popularity: 56% [?]

Oh, I guess those on the right have found religion on “fiscal responsibility” and are now taking their anger to the streets.

Yesterday, I watched (and shook my head) as I see swarms of disaffected (mostly conservative) folks fill downtown Cincinnati to protest the stimulus.

Dubbing themselves the “Cincinnati Tea Party”, the “movement” is calling on the U.S. government to stop bailing out banks and corporations.

Question: Where have you been?

When George Bush was in office, spending money like a drunken sailor, where where you?  When he doubled our foreign debt and borrowed to finance unnecessary war (causing us to double our national debt, as well), where was your concern for fiscal responsibility.  You were making noise but, at the time, it was cheerleading because your guy was in charge and you shouted down anyone who questioned the wisdom of borrowing money we didn’t have to fund a war that we didn’t need to fight.

Furthermore, you complained when people talked of regulation, saying that the “free market” should rule the day, not realizing that, when you take out the rules, it stops being a free market and becomes a free-for-all, where anything goes.

So, you fed this beast, helped it grow and now, when it comes back to bite you in the a$$, you want someone else to put it down for you?

There’s a old saying, “pay me now or pay me later”.  Well, it’s now “later” and the price is going to be high as a mutha.

Popularity: 58% [?]

…can’t catch the rhythm of the stroke/
Why should I hold my breath/
Feelin’ that I might choke…/

-Aqua Boogie, Parliament

Are you underwater?  If you’re a homeowner paying a mortgage in America today, there’s a 20% chance that you are.

Yesterday, a report issued by First American CoreLogic is saying that some 20% of those of us still paying mortgages owe more than the home is worth.  Right now, this means that this is affecting some 8.3 million us mortgages. I knew the number was high but, I was unaware that it was this high.

We have not hit the bottom yet.  CoreLogic also reported that another 2.2 million have homes worth only about 5% more that their mortgage value.

I know Ohio, where I live, has challenges but, just look at some of the other places impacted:

Nevada has the highest proportion of mortgage-holding homeowners with negative equity, 55 percent, the report released today states. About 15 percent of District homeowners who owe money on their homes are “underwater,” compared to nearly 20 percent of Virginia homeowners and 13 percent of those in Maryland.

Fortunately (and finally), the Obama administration is moving its focus from just bailing out Wall Street to formulate a plan and target funds towards helping homeowners in trouble.

This move is expected to help some 9 million homeowners.

Nonetheless, I say grab a bucket and start bailing or learn to swim.  A lot more of us are going under.

Popularity: 17% [?]

The mayor of Lansing, Michigan let a Fox News Host have it with both barrels.  Fox, like much of the corporate media, seems to have a problem with common working people making a decent wage.  For some reason, it seems that they would be okay if they were paid pennies while their bosses made millions.

Well, Mayor Virg Bernero took it right to the Fox host and didn’t back down one bit (see video below).  Just one thing, though.  Next time, mayor, would you debunk this garbage $70/hour myth for UAW employees.  If I go by why the Republican talking heads tell you, the average union auto worker is bringing in nearly $150,000 in wages and benefits.  In reality, this number is derived from a convoluted formula.  It looks at the benefits and pensions made to all active AND retired employees, which, I guess, would be averaged to$42/hour.  They add to this the average wage of an hourly employee, which is $28/hour.  This is how they arrive at a number of $70.  However, active employees are not getting $42/hour in benefits.  In actuality, according to the UAW, it is more like $10/hour for active employees.

Popularity: 22% [?]

David Frum, a former speechwriter for the Bush White House and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is not one of my favorite people to hear speak but, I have to give credit where credit is due.  Frum is taking his party to task for not coming up with serious alternatives for the economy at a time when they are needed.

For example, one thing the Republicans have been railing about is that there is money in the package for wetlands restoration.  The Republicans turned this into an allegation that $30 million was going to be used to study the marsh mouse and, in typical fashion, began their  so-called indignation agains wasteful spending.  However, Frum rightly takes them to task for focusing on this item vs. focusing on the issues with the broader economy:

The problem with the story is not that it was false. The problem with the story is that it was stupid.

The US economy has plunged into severe recession (94% of Americans describe economic conditions as “bad,” according to the Feb 2-4 CBS poll, and 51% say conditions are getting even worse).

President Obama and the Democrats have responded by steering the US radically to the left. Since World War II, the federal government has most years spent less than one dollar in five of national income. Once the stimulus gets underway, the federal government will spend more than one dollar in four. The cost of everything the Democrats want to do comes closer to one dollar in three.

We’re facing more regulation of everything from high finance to the ordinary workplace. The Democrats are expanding Medicaid to crowd out private insurance. The federal government wants a huge new role in redirecting private investment in transportation and energy in the name of “green jobs.”

And facing all this – we’re talking about mice?

Could we possibly act more inadequate to the challenge? More futile? More brain dead?

He further chastises them for going back into the old tax cut bag when offering “solutions”:

We in fact have a constructive solution to offer, one that would deliver more jobs faster: the payroll tax holiday, an idea endorsed by almost every reputable right-of-center economist. But that’s not the solution being offered by Republicans in Congress. They are offering a clapped-out package of 1980s-vintage solutions, including capital gains tax cuts. Capital gains! Who has any capital gains to be taxed in the first place?

I think Frum is reading the writing on the wall.  Politically, America is not where it was four-plus years ago.  Middle America is very concerned, and rightly so, with food, clothing and shelter.  People are concerned with whether or not they are going to be able to stay in their homes or if the company at which they work is going to fold.  In the face of these very serious challenges, the last thing they care about is theatrics and political gamesmanship.

Republican congresspeople continue to push themselves into irrelevance.  I just hope they don’t try to take the rest of us down with them.

Popularity: 9% [?]

You know, it’s funny, one of my early criticisms of President Obama is not that he’s not more inclusive of Republican views.  Actually, I don’t like that he’s be so inclusive of their views.  In particular, I think that on the issue of the economy, Republicans are a one-trick pony.  Their answer to everything is to cut taxes.  To paraphrase the noted American psychologist Abraham Maslow, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

So, when I see top Republicans whining that, by not kissing up to them, Obama is off to a bad start, I have to laugh.

Obama has wined, dined and met with Republicans all throughout the process of trying to get support for the stimulus package.  He included those infamous tax when drafting the framwork for the bill.

But, this is, apparently, not enough for House and Senate Republicans.  I liken it to the spoiled kid, used to getting his/her way, who is now out on their own and learns that the real world doesn’t work in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed.

As I see it, it’s just more political posturing from the right.  They’re still stinging from the November elections, which were, in no small part, a referendum on Republian policies.  Now, they want their “spot” back and are willing to take down the economy to get it.

Well, let’s hope that 2010 brings a better economy and even fewer Republicans in office.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Could it be that, after being punked for the last 8+ years, the Democrats are actually ready to play hardball?

Maybe so?

Wednesday night, we saw how the latest economic stimulus plan passed the House but, without a sing Republican vote.  In all fairness, I have my own issues with these big stimulus packages, myself and, if Republicans truly do disagree, they should have voted “no”.

But, here’s the problem when your the minority party in Congress — things might get start getting done without your input or consideration.  After Wednesday’s display, some Dems are starting to wonder if they should really worry about playing ball with the Republicans.  The latest stimulus included a significant amount in business tax cuts, specifically included to appeal to the Republicans, as well as the removal of some items, such as funds for family planning, to which Republicans objected.  Some Congressional Democrats are now saying that these tax cuts should be stripped from the bill if the Republicans are going to vote against the bill, anyway.

Here’s the problem — you can’t just be the opposition, you also have to bring some ideas to the table.  We been tax-cut to death in this country (well, if you were fortunate enough to be really rich) and that did not trickle down to the rest of the country and jobs, instead of being created, were lost at a record pace.  So, when Republicans say that the answer to our economic woes is more tax cuts, we have the last 8 years to look back on to show that this approach is not the remedy.  In fact, it only worsened the problem.

So, is it time to play hardball? I hope so.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Okay, I am looking up today and see that Bush is going to ask for Congress to authorize the release of the remaining half of the $700 billion bailout package.  Apparently, this is in response to a request made to him by incoming president Barack Obama, who says he wants to be able to use this money on day one to start addressing the nation’s economic issues.

Okay, call me distrustful and cynical but, do you think that, if given access to the rest of the money, Bush and cronies would just let the Obama team decide on what to do with it?

We already saw the games they played with the first half of it.  We have no real oversight of what’s been disbursed so far.  Also, they Bush Administration quietly slipped in some language at the last minute that lets most of the financial institution off the hook for having to put a limit on executive compensation.

So, knowing this (and many other things about the last 8 years), why would I trust them to do the right thing, now?  Maybe I’m just paranoid but, with it being just a little over a week to go, if I were Obama, I would have held off on this request.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Ronald Reagan used to speak of an 11th commandment: “Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican”.

This election season, this commandment is being violated all over the place (the circular firing squad is in full effect).  But, even the last media bastion of Republican refuge, Fox News, is showing signs of disgust with McCain and crew.  On his show, Neil Cavuto blasts McCain for have no consistent or understandable position on the economy.  For a minute, this sounded like a “special comment” a la Keith Olbermann.

Cavuto argues that, while he does not like Obama, he can respect his consistency but, to McCain, he says “on economic matters, you have no convictions.”

Needless to say, I have my bowl of popcorn out as I watch the Republicans battle it out.

Video below:

Popularity: 22% [?]

I just read that the proposed $700 billion bailout plan was defeated in the House by a vote of 228-205, with plenty of Democrats and Republicans on both sides voting against it even though leadership on both sides was imploring they support it.

In a related note, markets across the world were hammered upon hearing the news.  At one point, the Dow dropped 705 points after the vote on the bailout failed.

Update: The market closed at 778 points down, becoming the worst fall in history.

Popularity: 18% [?]