" Market-based economies have historically proven superior to the alternatives. The wild card in this process is taxation.
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Absolutely, the problems is when the components of those market-based economies are allowed free reign.

The Republicans are busy blaming the Democrats and the Democrats are saying this is all the Republicans fault. I suspect their both right, but the results are still the same, the taxpayers are paying the price, as usual.

I suspect the real culprit is that age old problem: greed.

Is it right that a corporate CEO should make more in one single day than one of the employees in that same company makes in and entire year?

I have long thought the concept of incentive goals, while sounding like a good idea, might also be a big part of the problem. People get used to those big bonus checks, and decisions seem to be made on how to keep them coming, rather than what is best for the company, the share holders and the employees. This quarter's P & L statement seems to be the dominant factor for making decisions.

There is something fundamentally wrong, when a corporate executive can walk away leaving a mess behind and get millions of dollars for his failures. We see this everyday.

And adding insult to injury by these folks being bailed out, I see where one company, immediately after the bailout vote, took its executives on a 400 thousand dollar retreat. What a slap in the face to the the taxpayers. And sadly, we know that other than grandstanding and hot air by our politicians, nothing will be done about it either. "

" Actually, Early Bird, the AIG extravaganza was NOT for the company executives. It was the result of a sales reward (a contest) for the top 100 independent insurance agents who were the company's top producers in the previous year. Every insurance company I know of conducts these sales contests year in and year out. Typically, the agent spouses are included in the "party". By the way, the value of these reward trips is taxable to the agents.

I agree that, from a public relations stance, it was a mistake to go forward with the event, but AIG had a legal contractual obligation already on the books. If they had cancelled the event just for appearances, that would have been even more disastrous for them. Those top producers would have abandoned ship - and probably already have anyway. It was a lose/lose situation for them. "

" In that same scenario lets apply it to the local city management teams. These folks give the impression, they would have their friends over for tax payer subsidized scrambled eggs for breakfast, play a couple rounds of golf, and have fried chicken for supper. Let everyone get their own chicken. This one was delicious. "

" You may not have noticed, Ozee, but capitalism just blew its brains out. "

" It is true. I know very little about economics beyond the balancing of my own budget demands. This is my fault. It never really interested me before. I have a slight understanding of supply and demand, and just a miniscule bit about how economies are based on debt more than surplus. I should know more than I do.

But greed is still the problem. Greed makes those who know want to bamboozle us into believing that they are operating for our good, when they are actually stacking the deck in their favor. Greed makes suppliers hold back their supplies in order to create false lack of these same supplies. And greed makes them sit back and congratulate themselves on what great businessmen they are, while allowing them to ignore what lousy human beings they are.

Someone once said you can tell how successful a man is by how many people attend their funeral. I don't think this is quite accurate. I believe you can tell by how many of those people are honestly saddened that you are gone. How sad to think how many of these good businessmen will be remembered not for their humanity, but for the deceptive practices they used that sank the economy. History will forever hold them accountable.

I was watching a cable program recently which was describing the interior design of a wealthy man's airplane. He had requested leather apholstery on his toilet seats. Leather apholstery. On a toilet seat. He said it was because he wanted to be the only person in the world with leather toilet seats on an airplane. I truly believe that there are times when people really can have too much money. "

" Good story but you left out one major player in it. What if you only fed the chickens 10% real food and the other 90% was just paper pellets? After a while, the hens die from starvation. That would be called fractional feeding. You know, kinda like the fractional banking system that has deluted the markets with fiat (faux) money making it's value starve and stagnate. Kinda like the starving hens. "

" What happens when you want fried chicken? "

" It was a good story until it drifted way to the right. Eggs are sold in dollars, but taxing them is done at 33 percent of the daily egg volume. Its deffinately a GOP doom and gloom taxes kill the economy, markets, business etc. ending.

Most markets were unsustainably inflated. It has been bubble after bubble, ready to burst for several years now. The tools that cound have eased this decline, were left in the shed by this administration. It waited for the bottom to fall out of all of them at once, to feel the need to get involved.

This is what happens under the lax regulation and oversight still clung to by many GOP followers.

Finance is just part of the decline, fostered by this kind of mismanagement. EPA regulations have been ignored being inforced for the duration of this administration. FAA, comsumer protection, food safety, and many other big potential problems have been turned a blind eye to just do the best they can, and government responsibility has been ignored.

Staying complient with regulations, is part of the cost of doing business in this country. A century of protections of every aspect of our lives, has been eroded. It is going to be more expensive to get complient, than it probably would have been to keep up with it gradually. President Obama is likely not going to appoint inept regulators and cabinent members to over see these important functions of government.

Some of these businesses need to be allowed to fail. If they were involved in illegal activity to get in the shape they are in, let their chips fall where they may. If Us auto companies, or any business, can't remain profitable after a hundred years in business, they deserve to fail. Capable business will take their place, and they will sustain themselves and evolve with the economic and environmental conditions, or go under like all poor business strategies should.

How does continually bailing out loosers that develop durring republican rule, help this economy. Banks Airlines, and on down the list. Why is it usually under republican adminisrations, these industries can't pe profitable in their own businesses. The GOP bible says their practices encourage growth.

Keating got four measily years for his part of the S&L melt down. How does that convince CEO's they better fly right, or pay the piper. If a bank robber gets caught, its 20 to life. If the head of the bank or a judge gets caught, improperly handling hundreds or thousands times more money than the bank robber could possibly get in a heist, they get treated as less of a criminal, a fine and minimal jail time.

Its past time punishments fit these crimes. The days of management and government getting a free pass to reak havok, on share holders or taxpayers investments, need to end. If a few politicians, and CEO's get 20 to life sentences, its likely to curb the practices of many more folks, than slaps on the wrist, censures, or a few years in the executive posh prisons seem to.

Its time for some new hard on fraud laws to be based on the last eight years. Every 10k of mismanaged company or taxpayers money, should get six months or a year in prison. Every complicit individual involved, faces the same penalty. If this was the law, needed oversight would be reduced. They would go out of their way to keep from mismanaging money. Corprate greed and crime would be curtailed.

If these companies and the government were investing, instead of waisting millions or billions of money, their business would prosper, and not be in this pickle. If they invested just the money they spend on lobbying, they would be in so much better shape.

Outlaw lobbying, and send people convicted of fraud, to a normal prison, and this problem will solve its self, for the most part. Some oversight will still be needed, but constant issues, will fall off dramaticly, and proper focus can be used a necessary to correct issues, before they become a crisis, like should have been done in this administration, from day one. "

" The idea of the hens and eggs might work ok till the keepers of the flock turn their heads and allow the foxes to run amok in the henhouse. Then you have a ravaged upside down mess on your hands and a bunch of fat foxes. "

" If you want fried chicken, go for a rooster. But remember to keep a rooster in the flock, if you want any chicks to come from the eggs. The story must have relied on an immaculate conception of the age old question. Which came first the chicken or the egg? "

" Speaking of crisis in the making, what better proof do we need than the tons of very high priced prescription drugs we flush down the toilet each year that are pushed on us by the drug companies and medical industry, FDA at heel,that we're basicaly gullible fools? "

" There is also the wise old saying don't put all your eggs in one basket. Lets not forget times like these is why a diversified portfolio of investments is part of controlling risk exposure, so they say. But I am no lawyer/accountant.

Please don't flush your meds and dope down the drain. Fish and frogs don't need your prescipion for what ails ya, and I don't want peoples kids and grandkids exposed to that stuff in their drinking water.

I think the FDA has been off its watch longer than 8 years. Vioxx and others, probably were in development, and approval stages, in the previous administration. But be assured the last eight haven't been in any way in our favor. From tainted vaccines, and serious injury or death being the hey time out point, for drug recalls now, to Pharmaceutical reps pushing some doctors to prescribe their treatments, as broadly as possible. Eighty years ago, they would have been recognized as snake oil salesmen, and doctors tended to shy away from that bunch. Insurance companies and HMO groups, it wouldn't be prudent, to leave them out of this discussion, of continued failures to respond to issues facing taxpayers. Its deffinately put medicine in the failed protections category.

GW forgot to campaign back in 2000, saying Read my lips no new oversight, regulation, or even enforcement of most rules. If he had he would have had more support it seems. Had he openly declared it a free for all administration, perhaps the markets world wide could have hedged its own bets, and regognized the actual risks. They all went under the assumption rules still applied to every one else they dealt with. Kind of a combination of an illegal foreward pass, and the game hot potatoe. As long as they weren't the ones caught holding these burning through the bag bundles of debt, alls fair in finance and war.

People that cling to these views, still some how tend to have more offspring, in 30 years, they might have further diluted their gene pools enough, building a few generations, of voters, to get back into office, in majority numbers. That coincides with projected times for social security, and other items, to hit the fan. The next republican built calamity, could be the big one elizabeth. That is if this one winds up being the version that makes us stronger. "

" Very good illustration Sir.
As you see on this blog it is to complicated for some to comprehend and the others are just Socialist.
Note: Lets see who was in charge of the oversite for the very least of the last 2 years. Who are the Fat Cat Democrats that took home the BIG Bucks ??
They also didn't like the facts that Leonidas Miller gave them. "

" I agree that drug companies are on the list of those that need a come-uppance, but while we are at it, let's not forget to point a few fingers at ourselves. We got greedy too. Our greed runs to the impatient, give it to me now category.

It really hasn't been that long since the American public was complaining to their political representatives about the long period of time that the FDA was taking to approve new medications and treatments. The wealthier of us were even flying to countries with more lax requirements to purchase drugs that the FDA was still testing at home. When the AIDS epidemic hit the fan, the complaints exploded. So we got what we yelled for. New drugs are now reaching the market place at a much more rapid rate. Look at what happened. The drug companies are making billions, probably even trillions, and we ended up holding more than a few dangerous lemons.

We reap what we sow. And when we sow without paying attention to all of the consequences possible, there are others even more greedy ready to move in to take advantage. Of course they need to be swatted down, and very harshly, with long prison terms and huge fines. But if we don't come out of this with a better understanding of our part in the fiasco, then we are doomed to have another go-round with the financial devils. We need to think before we ask. And we need to realize that we don't need it now. We maybe even don't need it at all. Especially if we have to borrow to get it. Very few items are worth going into debt for. "

" Cabinet and appointed positions, don't answer to congress, they answer to the president. Congress approves their funding on occasions, but many have emergency discretionary money and tools at their disposal to do their jobs of oversight. Regulations, weren't enforced by the appointed agencies and bodies. New regulations, or reduced regulation, usually has to go through congress.

We saw with bail out vote 1, in the house, what congress has been like with republicans having just enough votes, to slow the process for the sake of it. Was version 2 a better deal for the people, that is still up in the air. Was the extra week delay, good or bad for the crisis, its not clear yet, it may never be, but it could be possibly agreed that it didn't help it any.

Politicians messed this up. People borrowing money they could not afford to, did as well, and need to be kept to those promissary notes. They need to repay every dime the note is valued at. Renegotiatin of payments over a longer period of time, at lower interest rates, might keep them in their homes, fulfill their obligations, and teach them some responsibility.

Streamlining and deregulation, politicians completely stink at. Both parties, think simply cuting red tape, and smoothing the process is usefull change. Rules are in place for a reason. Steps of approval, usually have reasons tied to them as well. Removing speed bumps, on things, needs to have remaining rules and regulations re written to cover the intent and basis of the items being eliminated, when necessary. Lawsuits and legal fees, are not an effective deturrent to companies. Those costs, get passed on to consumers and taxpayers. Government being full of former lawyers, tends to be fine with that scenario. Rules and regulations, need to be as accomidating as possible, but still protect consumers and taxpayers.

Punishments and fines, for convicted corporate and government officials wrong doing is a joke. Keating got 4 years in prison, for tanking a savings and loan. Ryan got what 6, for his legal issues. Costs to try these cases, are staggering.

Alaska just spent around a hundred thousand dollars to do one version of troopergate. They wrote a report, and have no standing to determine any furher actions to be taken on it. No penalty could have come from their investigaion, except their witen marks against her charachter. If the personel board, finds the same way, it looks like possibly the strongest action it could take is charge a 5000 dollar fine, for an ethics violation.

The entire legal system is the most elitist and detrimentally taxpayer siphoning entity in this country. But thats been a failure for decades longer than most of the issues we also curently face, and neither side wants to tread into those murky waters.

The biggest reform to help this country, in many of its problem areas, would be a complete reform of the legal system. Luxury prisons, for executives, need to be converted to group homes for youth offenders. Double standards need eliminated. Lawers fees need capped, not victims settlements. Cap the fees on both sides of cases, and trials won't be long drawn out affairs. Settlements will be fair, and lawyers wont get 20 to 30 pecent of windfall court cases.

Expert witnesses, need some compensation. Summon them to court, and pay a flat rate for time and expenses. Exorbatent appearance fees, from either side, should be seen as extorted testimony.

Many more reforms need to take place in every aspect of practicing law. Taking that issue out of the mix of contributing to problems, will save taxpayers trillions of dollars, truely impact prosecutions and punishments of crimes, and filter through many aspects of our society in a positive way. An effective legal system, where the law is truely equally upheld, would reduce crimes of all kinds, and prison populations would eventually decline.

The revolving door system we have is a constant drain. We need to try a different balanced approach to law, and see how much of an impact can be made, at drasticly lower costs to taxpayers. Business will be just as profitable, and not have another expense to pass on to consumers and taxpayers. "

" Let's see now. Thousands of young Americans died in a war that was based on lies. The economy is in the toilet. We're in debt to the tune of billions of dollars to the Chinese Communist government. Oh yeah, that sure makes me want to vote Republican. They've proven they deserve 4 more years. And to think they say Obama will ruin the country. "