Hi friends.  I’ve decided to take much of the financial and political commentary out of my personal blog and move it to a new venue, TheGreatUnwind.com. I hope to make TGU a venue for a wider audience to participate in a sharing of knowledge to counter the disinformation society.
Anyhow, please pick up the feed [...]

Please call/write/fax your senators now!  A consensus of academic economists have arrived at a workable plan, but Congress is ignoring them and the will of the people.  Our representative democracy is fighting for its life because entrenched special interests are now dictating public policy.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
OPPOSE PAULSON BAILOUT
Dear Senator,
As an Oregonian and a concerned citizen, I am [...]

So far, very bad. Suspends mark-to-market pricing (not surprising, as it would BK many banks), allows banks to maintain ZERO percent reserves as of Oct. 1 (are they encouraging a bank run? From the comments of another blog: “Can it still be called Fractional Reserve Banking if there’s a zero in the numerator?” - [...]

We are at a critical juncture in our country’s history.  Congress is being pressured to pass a bailout package that will cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars and create runaway inflation.  We can’t afford it, and the people asking for the money know it.
It is important to recognize that the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson is [...]

Please read this, Petition: Economists against the Paulson Bailout Plan.

Here’s the text of what I’ve been mailing and faxing to my Senators and Representatives in Congress.  Feel free to co-opt all or part of this message for yourselves.
OPPOSE THE BAILOUT
America can literally NOT AFFORD the cost of the Bush Administration’s proposed bailout. The unfortunate reality is that residential real estate prices are still too [...]

The Endangered Species Act is under attack as the current Administration prepares to leave office. The proposed rule change seeks to limit the circumstances under which proposed actions would require consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, and would change the interpretation of the word ‘effect’ as defined in the Act (I’m not making [...]

Opining on the news of the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac seizures by the Treasury Department, both Presidential candidates, as well as President Bush have released their position statements. From the Seattle Times:
In a statement, President Bush said: “Americans should be confident that the actions taken today will strengthen our ability to weather the housing [...]

That is the sound of your party pilfering our bank accounts (socializing the losses), to pay for their bad investments. In the last twelve months or so, the Federal Reserve Chairman together with the Treasury Secretary (with a wink and a nod from President Bush) have undertaken a massive transfer of taxpayer wealth to [...]

Friday, after markets closed, word leaked that the Treasury will announce plans to nationalize Fannie and Freddie in the largest private bailout in our nation’s history.  Five trillion dollars of agency debt will become guaranteed by US taxpayers overnight.  Over one trillion of that bond debt is owned by foreign governments, and the rest by [...]