It Is Past Time To Break Up The Wall Street Banks

I wrote a commentary titled, "Too Big To Fail" dated April 17, 2010 in "politidose" and pointed out that if a company was Too Big To Fail it indicated that company was a monopoly and should be broken up. In the book titled "13 Bankers" by Simon Johnson and James Kwak supports everything this writer reported and pointed out in the above cited commentary and then some.

Johnson and Kwak think the Wall Street Banks should be broken up and pointed out that "even after the ruinous financial crisis of 2008 six banks, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley together control assets amounting to 60% of the country's GDP." In this writers judgement that is a disaster for the country and its people and show's how they have the wealth to do practically any thing they want to do. Johnson and Kwak also point out how the wealth of Wall Street are buying our elected officials with campaign contributions and slick propaganda and avoiding regulations.

Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt under stood that power and wealth of monopolies are not in the best interest of the country and its people and broke them up during their administrations. It is past time for President Obama and congress to act and do the same thing with the Wall Street Banks and their monopoly. The wealth and power of the monopoly, their ability to control legislation before congress and their ability to bring about another financial crisis and come out smelling like a rose while the general public pays the bill has to be put to an end.

In conjunction with President Obama taking the steps necessary to break the monopolies up he should go after congress and shame them for giving those monopolies special tax breaks and other goodies in the first place and put a end to this crime against the American people and the country. Lately in the news on several occasions it was revealed that Corporate America is sitting on $1 trillion in cash earned during 2010, most of whom are still seeking special tax breaks at the expense of the average American. Congress as a whole lacks the character and courage to stand up and say enough is enough, no more special treatment or favors.

Wealth and power in the hands of ruthless people is anti-American and anti-business in nature. As I wrote in my commentary mentioned above. "Power and wealth gives monopolies the feeling of being invincible and above the law and thereby do as they please." The Sherman Anti-trust act gives our nation the authority to break up monopolies and President Obama needs to point the way and do so. Anything less will make those monopolies more powerful and wealthy and that is unacceptable.

Health Care Repeal: The Republican's Achilles Heel

Republican leaders in the U.S. House and Senate really showed their true hypocrisy and lies concerning the Health Care issue. During the year and a half debate when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and before they passed Health Care legislation, the republicans told the American people they had their own plan but never disclosed what it was.

After the U.S. House voted to repeal Health Care just a few weeks ago, their leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor said the republican party would reveal their own Health Care plan they are working on over the next several months. In other words they had no alternate plan to actually offer the people during that year and a half debate and once again flat out lied to the people.

Now comes Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of the republican party who introduced the same Health Care repeal and the democratic majority who rightly rejected repeal on a 51-47 vote. The democrats stood their ground. After the defeat McConnell said the republicans kept their campaign promise. A sad excuse of a sad leader. In other words the hell with moving the country forward. Instead, do anything to block the democratic's agenda with the idea of making Obama a one term President.

The republican's anti-American ideology is still alive and are willing to continue to lie to turn the clock back. One should easily understand how their ideology along with the Bush 43 Presidency crippled the economy, brought about the record job losses and contributed to the financial meltdown. Republicans say they got the message of the November elections, but all the voters received so far is the same republican party of no and they should have known that from the start. After all the republicans do have a past record of failure and lies.

President Obama and the democrats in the Senate are the only hope of defeating the republican's agenda and a return to the Bush years. Dividing the country is still the standing procedure for republicans in congress. The President and democrats have to stand firm, have courage and continue to move the country forward. In the end, if they do that the country and its people will be the winner.

The Republican Controlled U.S. House: A New Congress But The Same Conservative Anti-American Ideology

Wednesday, the U.S. House voted to repeal Health Care Legislation that was passed into law last year. All republicans voted to repeal, all but three democrats voted no. A typical republican vote on an issue that divided the people last year but had less support for repeal at the time of the vote according to all the most recent polls. The fact that the republicans took up the issue proved once again they care nothing about the country and its people.

The U.S. Senate nor the President will let the republican vote stand and rightly so. Conservatives once again in a new congress raised it ugly head and showed that they will do any thing to destroy the Presidents agenda and legislation that will move the economy forward, reduce the deficit and create jobs. They are not satisfied that their support of Bush's policies gave the country the worst economic meltdown and record job losses, they now use a new congress and their new majority to carry out the republican status quo.

That the republicans picked out a divisive issue as one of their first priority is not strange or new. They will continue to choose divisive issues as their game plan because they have no record of accomplishments to stand on or debate. President Clinton often remarked the republicans could only win elections by dividing the people. Clintons wisdom on the subject has proved to be the truth time and time again.

The second issue they are talking about now is to not extend the debt ceiling that is due soon unless the President agrees to budget cuts to offset the debt ceiling increase. When they controlled both houses of congress under the Bush administration for the first 6 years they had a chance to cut spending when they raised the debt ceiling several times and never did. In fact they gave the country record federal deficits and debt.

The republicans ran on an anti government platform in November and won even though they are part of the government. The voters seem to be satisfied that the republicans never had any answers for the problems the country faced. Now the voters will have to live with their vote for the next two years. The country and its people are lucky to have a democratic President in office at this time in our history.

The economy is once again responding to a democratic President's policies, jobs are being created again, unemployment will continue to fall and the middle class will once again see their hopes of a middle class recovery come true. And once again the republican party will have no hand in the recovery. They are repeating their failed past when they voted against President Clinton's deficit reduction and economic policies in 1993 that was passed by the democratic controlled congress without one republican vote in either house of congress. They predicted doom and gloom for the economy. Does that sound familiar now?

The people should also be ready for the republicans to once again use personal attacks as their method of operation. As this writer pointed out in the past, it is hell when you have no record to run on or talk about and worse when you use a phony conservative ideology. That says it all.

The Economic Recovery Continues Under The President's Economic Policies

The unemployment rate for December came in at 9.4% down from 9.7% in November and the lowest in 19 months. The economy added 103,000 jobs in December and for the year 2010 over 1.1 million new jobs were created. One can compare that to the average of almost 1/2 million jobs lost a month in the last 14 months of the Bush administration.

The Labor Department announced the economy added 210,000 jobs in October, up from 172,000 previously reported and November's job creation was revised up from 39,000 to 71,000. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a Senate panel he sees evidence that a "self sustaining" recovery is taken place.

According to an AP report dated Jan 10, Morgan Stanley economists said 4% GDP is likely in 2011. The growth had been projected to be between 2.25-2.50% earlier by many economist. The unemployment, job growth and the GDP is now coming in line with this writers predictions as published in politidose long before the economist changed their mind. The economic recovery is taking place despite the opposition by the republican party to the President's policies. The deal the President made with republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts has nothing to do with the economic recovery and the republicans just say no attitude for the past two years has once again made them a bystander to the recovery.

Like Clinton, once again it is a democratic President and his policies who turned around the greatest economic failure and record job losses since the great depression. The President needs to continue to be vigil and monitor the progress of the recovery and do those things necessary to continue a "sustained recovery" and job creation. Anything less is unacceptable.

The Republicans Discover We Have A Constitution

John Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and his republican cohorts read aloud the U.S. Constitution before members of Congress last week. Boehner said the House will operate according to the Constitution. Their new found discovery of the Constitution is consistent with their phony ideology and their new pronouncements of cutting federal spending and the repeal of the Health Care legislation that was passed last year and signed into law by the President.

Never mind that Mr. Boehner, Mitch McConnel and the republican party controlled both houses of congress during the first 6 years of the Bush administration and had the opportunity and votes to (1) cut federal spending and (2) operate according to the Constitution during those 6 years and failed on both accounts. Instead the republican party and Mr. Bush gave the country record deficit spending and debt. They never saw a budget deficit they did not love. They also backed Mr. Bush's secret surveillance program which the courts found unconstitutional.

Democratic Senator Harry Byrd carried a copy of the Constitution in his pocket at all times and voted against the war in Iraq over WMD that did not exist because he pointed out only and act of congress can commit the nation to war. The republicans could have learned a lot from Senator Byrd concerning the Constitution. He believed it was a living document. The republicans use the Constitution like they use various issues to divide the American people. While Senator Byrd lived the Constitution, republicans were using it as a ploy.

The past is still the key to the future. In the past under Bush the republicans had a great opportunity to cut federal spending and never even tried. In fact their actions show their aim is to bankrupt the federal government with debt. Boehner and the republicans have already showed their hand. They want to kill health care legislation even though the CBO says to do so will add $230 billion to the budget deficit. That goes along with their objective of adding to the deficit in order to deprive the federal government of needed revenue.

The democratic controlled Senate needs to vote down the republicans right wing agenda and the President needs to stand fast, especially now with the economic recovery well under way.

The O'Reilly Factor of December 31, 2010: A Conscience and Disregard For The Truth

It must be hell when you are a conservative with a top rated T.V. show and you try to make a fool of your guest and the viewing public by misleading both concerning the facts of the subject matter. O'Reilly and Fox News think of themselves as elite and evidently enjoy the sad role they play. I can just hear them after the show saying, "we took our stupid viewers to the cleaners once again tonight, those fools."

O'Reilly on his show dated above told his guest Bill Maher and the audience that President Obama was the biggest spending President in the history of the United States. That was a blatant and out right lie and the numbers provided in this post below will prove so. What is behind the O'Reilly and Fox's failure to stand up for the truth? I have the answer, it chaps them both that the truth points our that Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 were not only the biggest spending Presidents of their time, but also the biggest deficit spenders and creators of debt when they were in office. O'Reilly and his bunch do not have the character or courage to report the truth or facts.

Federal spending, the budget and the national debt are published by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Treasury Department on line and contain the final actual numbers by fiscal years. The federal government's fiscal year is October 1 thru September 30 and that is how the CBO carries the budget numbers for each administration. All numbers below are taken from the CBO and Treasury. Now lets examine O'Reilly's false charge and lie.

Total federal spending for George W. Bush's last fiscal year budget
that ended 9/30/09 ..........................................................................................$3.52 Trillion

Bush's record deficit for that same fiscal year .................................................1.416 Trillion

Total federal spending for Barrack Obama's first fiscal year budget
that ended 9/30/10 .........................................................................................$3.46 Trillion
a decrease in federal spending of 1.6%. No Republican President has
had a decrease in spending over the previous year in the last 50 years.

Obama's deficit spending for that same fiscal year ........................................1.294 Trillion


The National Debt stood at $5.807 Trillion on 9/30/01 at the end of
President Clinton's last fiscal year budget.

The National Debt stood at $11.909 Trillion on 9/30/09 at the end of
President Bush's last fiscal year budget. An increase in the national debt
of $6.1 Trillion on Mr. Bush's watch. An increase of 105%.

It should be noted Bush handled the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan outside the budget process so Bush's numbers are actually worse than shown. The bottom line is that the administration of George W. Bush as of this writing is still the biggest spending President in the history of the U.S., the biggest deficit spender and the biggest creator of debt. When you look at what Bush inherited when he took office, balanced budgets with record surpluses, record economy and job creation, lowest unemployment in over 30 years and compare that with the economic meltdown and record job losses that Obama inherited from Bush, it is easy to see that Obama has done a good job.

I would recommend that any one who is interested in the facts go to the CBO and Treasure site and you will find that only two Presidents have presided over a balance budget since 1969, Presidents Johnson and Clinton, both democrats. You will also find that since Reagan was elected, Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 are responsible for the greater part of the national debt as it stands today. Those three Presidents served for 20 years and failed to balance one federal budget.

What also chaps O'Reilly and the conservatives is the fact that the economy is on the right track and that once again it is a democratic administration's policies that are working and that will put America back to work. The republicans have no hand in that. For more information concerning how Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 has taken the middle class and our country to the cleaners with their massive spending and debt see my past commentaries listed below.


The National Debt: Betrayal and Devastation dated 12/06/09
Federal Spending: Facts vs. Myth dated 10/31/09
The Fiscal Legacy of George W. Bush dated 10/30/09
The Republican Cycle of Record Federal Deficits and Debt dated 8/3/08
The U.S. Economy: Which Party Performs Best Part I of III dated 1/27/08

ATP Oil and Gas Corporation: An Open Letter To President Obama

The Chairman and CEO of ATP wrote an open letter to President Obama which was published in the Times Picayune dated 12/27/10. One would think the Chairman, T. Paul Bulmahn would have been satisfied not to make the letter to the President public but propaganda has always been a part of the oil and gas industry dealings with the public. During the administration of Bush 43, V.P. Chaney met with the energy industry executives and their discussions and decisions were and still are secret. They did not think the people had a right to know. If Mr. Bulmahn's company participated in those meetings with the V.P. perhaps he should write another letter and make the discussions and decisions of that meeting public.

Mr. Bulmahn starts his letter out by reminding the President gasoline at the pump is already climbing over $3.00 gallon. He fails to note it hit $4.00 gallon on Bush's watch and has been at its highest sustained cost since Bush took office. During the Gulf War in 1991 when Bush's father, George H.W. Bush was President, the average yearly cost of a barrel of oil during his 4 years in office was $32.04. (See Note 1) Today it is over $90 barrel and on Bush's 43 watch it hit $140 barrel.

The import of Mr. Bulmahn's letter to the President is to approve a permit to drill OCSG 16661, Mississippi Canyon Block Well #4 which has yet to be approved. He also speaks about his company's safety record and the fact that offshore drilling has been taken place in the Gulf for over 60 years. He ends his letter asking the President to give ATP a permit to return to work rather than forcing more American jobs to be lost.

What was missing in the letter is the fact that with over 60 years of drilling experience in the Gulf, Mr. Bulmahn's industry does not have the technology or equipment to TIMELY cap a blow out such as BP's Macondo well nor the equipment to TIMELY clean up any leaked oil from the waters before the oil hits shore. One has to assume ATP does not possess that ability to do so any more than BP. If I am wrong he should have told the President about his company's ability to do so.

The price of a barrel of oil and gallon of gasoline is manipulated by the oil industry and the sustained high price of both since Bush 43 took office and their secret discussions with V.P. Chaney is the Rosetta Stone. The industry is noted for cutting production to bring about shortages which is used to manipulate prices. The American people need to keep in mind that the industry has been given special tax breaks and incentives since the very beginning to find and produce more oil but our nation is more dependent on foreign oil today than ever before. Just ask Boone Pickens.

We hear a lot about lost jobs from the industry because of the moratorium and about rigs moving over seas. Well lets explore the following: In 2001 the average number of drilling rigs working in the Gulf of Mexico was 119. In 2008 it was 64, a loss of 55 rigs and there was no moratorium in effect during that period of time. Where did those 55 rigs go, what happened to those jobs, did they go overseas? Were those workers laid off? The industry has never made comment on this. According to the oil and gas industry there were 35 rigs working the Gulf when the BP rig blew. (See Note 2)

The oil and gas industry own, lease or rent millions of acres that they have yet to drill one well on. Instead of laying off workers they should be drilling those properties and putting their people to work. The American oil companies will never produce enough oil to make our country self reliant. They would have to stock pile the inventory and that would bring prices down. They perfer the manipulation game, continue to cry wolfe and continue to receive tax breaks and other incentives that do not produce one extra barrel of oil or one extra gallon of gasoline.

The major oil companies should be broken up and scattered to the wind. Their take over of other oil companies thru the years has also not produced one extra barrel of oil or gallon of gasoline. It has only produced larger companies and wealth for their CEO's and Executives. That says it all.


Note l: Inflation Data.Com. Historic Oil Prices May 2008

Note 2: Times Picayune report dated 1/17/10, page E-4

What Will The New Year Bring Politically

A repeat of past mistakes or the wisdom to learn from the past and have a better future. A triple history will begin the New Year in January 2011 with President Obama starting his third year in office. Our nations major combat role in Iraq is over; the congress will be split with democrats controlling the U.S. Senate and the republicans controlling the U. S. House; the expectation of the economy making big gains, a continued expansion and the best since the early part of 2007. Job creation should be a certainty with the economic expansion.

The question is will our leaders learn from the past mistakes to determine the country's future. The previous administration did not and our country and its people paid an awful price. President Obama during his first two years in office succumbed to the past on a few issues and now has two more years to apply what he has learned and lead our country and its people into the future.

We know the republicans in congress will be little help since they want the President to be a one term leader. The President does have enough clout to over come that and must exert his leadership and courage to do so. The President also needs to reduce our troop presence in Afghanistan in a big way in 2011. It can be done without harming our national security. The U.S. has the intelligence capacity, military power and equipment to take care of the terror threat without occupying other lands.

Since no republican administration has presided over a balanced budget in over 50 years, actually 1960, the President needs to avoid the PAST mistakes of that party and apply what he has learned to reducing future deficits and balance the budget. President Clinton's ideas and knowledge of the budget would be a good place to start to reverse the sad fiscal PAST of the previous republican administrations.

The republican party has learned nothing from the PAST failure of trickle down economics that started with Reagan over 30 years ago. Bush 43 repeated the same PAST mistake with his tax cuts for the wealthy and dammed the future of his time in office. President Obama will have to support policies that will truly work to better our future. We know where we have been on the subject and we do not dare go there again.

President Obama has a unique position having served two years as chief executive. If he has not learned from the PAST the country and its people are in real trouble. He knows why deficit spending is a problem, why we can not afford to stay in Afghanistan, why we have to have an expanding economy and job creation and the many other problems that have been with us for so many years. It is now time to reverse the PAST and do those things that really matter and make a difference for our future and future generations.

Over six thousand years ago the very first civilization, that of the Sumerians said they were taught that the PAST is the key to the FUTURE. It is my hope that 6000 years later, we in this generation will be able to say that in the year 2011 the U.S. learned from its PAST and created a great FUTURE for its country and its people.

The 111th. Congress: No "Lame Duck" Session Here

Congratulation to U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senator Harry Reid for their leadership and courage as leaders of the U.S. House and Senate for keeping the congress in session and demanding that congress act on legislation concerning important bills that affect the country and its people. Senator Reid had to make it known to the little boy republicans that he would keep congress in session thru the holidays until the senate completed its business.

The accomplishments of the democratic controlled congress proved the "lame duck" label to be wrong and should give people in the news media a lesson in media failure. No wonder people are negative concerning politics. It is bad enough that far too many people do not really pay attention to what takes place. A negative news media is unacceptable.

I wrote a post on December 20 titled "President Obama and The Next Two Years" and pointed out that this congress would take care of its business before the end of the year. Not many people agreed. The hand writing was on the wall really for everyone to see. Democrats do not always agree, but they put their country and its people first. They were going to let it be known they still run the show in the majority and would not let the republicans and outside forces make this session of congress a "lame duck." The handful of republicans who bucked their party's leadership and voted yes concerning DADT and the Start Treaty should also be congratulated.

The importance of the legislation passed by this congress will play out in time as it is implemented. Coupled with the fact that the economy continues to gain steam and the job picture will continue to get better proves once again democratic policies move the country and its people forward while the opposite happens when the republicans are in control. The republican leadership in the U.S. House and Senate did their best to make this congress a "lame duck" but democratic leadership and courage prevailed. At a time of what could have been a crisis, President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid stepped forward with leadership and courage. That says it all.

President Obama And The Next Two Years

The democratic controlled congress will end the year on a positive note by passing meaningful legislation even though the congress was called "lame duck." In a flurry of action before the end of the year the American people and the country will come out a winner despite the whinning of those little boy republicans. There were some doubts that anything would pass because of the mood in congress but the democrats, despite their differences held every thing together and the bulk of the legislation that has passed and that will soon pass will benefit the middle class the most. That is the key to a complete economic recovery that will continue to create jobs.

The task for the President and democrats in congress will be much tougher the next two years because republicans will continue to say no and try to block the Presidents agenda. The President and democrats need to stay on message and take their case to the people so things will get done. The President did not do that as well as he could have during his first two years in office. The republicans will also try to reverse some of the legislation passed in the last two years and the President will have to stand up for democratic values and the people and push back.

The President and democrats are on the right side of history at this point in time and need to remind the people every time the republicans open their mouth that it is the democratic party that has the best record on handling the economy, job creation, low unemployment, advances in the average workers wages, decrease in poverty rates, balancing the federal budget and paying down debt. The lowest average yearly price of a barrel of oil and gallon of gasoline in the past 34 years also took place on the democratic watch. The child tax credit, college tuition credit, child care, family leave and many other benefits are democratic programs. President Obama needs to tell the story often to combat the false hoods and lies of the republican party and those right wingers in the news media, especially Television.

Let the republicans talk about how they cut taxes for the wealthy over the average citizen. The people should have learned by now how republican administrations get into the average citizens pocket a hundred different ways with their failed trickle down economics. The record job losses, economic disaster and high unemployment of the previous administration did not happen by accident, it happened because of the republicans warped ideology.

The President and democrats in congress can make their case with the people. The economy is getting better every day and in the near future job creation will hit those numbers necessary to reduce unemployment. And as usual, it will happen on a democrat's watch because of democratic policies and actions. Republicans will continue to be the party of no because they seek failure, but democrats will succeed once again in turning the economy around. That says it all.