The State of Our Union

January 27th, 2010 | 12 Responses

Well, the American economy is f*cked. There really is no other way to put it. I know we’re way better up here in Canada, but it’s good to know whats going on with our brothers below us. Unemployment is now climbing into double digits, and America is falling further and further into debt. As I sit here, watching President Barack Obama addressing the nation about the condition the States is in right now, I realize he is not the saviour he claimed to be. But this is not a political site, and don’t worry, I will not bore you with all the baloney I’m hearing on the tube right now. Even though I really have no restraints on what I am told to write on here, I won’t go there. Let’s keep things simple, and slightly hilarious. What I’m gonna do is share with you a couple things that show the real state that America is in right now, the stuff Obama won’t even talk about. It is worse than you think.

First order of business: “General” Larry Platt’s hilarious American Idol audition performing his own “Pants on the Ground” is a rip off!!! I thought this was going to be a song for the ages, you would hear it as ringtones, on commercials, and maybe even in an elevator someday. Maybe we still will. But earlier today it was proven that Platt’s song sounds very, very similar to the Green Brothers song back in the nineties, titled “Back Pockets on the Floor”. Now the older aged rap group does not want anything from Platt, they just want their version heard too. But as far as I’m concerned the song has lost its, for lack of a better term, uniqueness. Nothing new under the sun, I believe the saying goes, but that doesn’t change the fact that Platt is a hoax and he should be ashamed of his actions. I know I am.

Pants on the Ground

Back Pockets on the Floor

Sound Similar?

Another tell tale sign your country is heading straight into the pooper is when preofessional athletes aren’t acting so professional. I’m talking about the two wannabe gangsters who play for the Washington Wizards in the NBA, Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. These two clowns thought it would be a good idea for them to resolve a dispute they were having by seeing who had the biggest gun. And no they didn’t flash each other in the shower Big Show, get your mind out of the homo gutter. Maybe that would have been a better choice seeing how neither will get another paycheck this season. Today the NBA suspended both players for the remainder of the season, without pay, for bringing guns into the locker room earlier this year. Now I know that every rapper thinks he is a “gangstar”, but there are few who actually are/were. But basketball players?!?! I can understand maybe football players, I mean some of those guys are pretty scary and/or tough lookin. But basketball? These guys are some of the biggest pansies I’ve ever seen in sports. Getting pushed off the court in a wheel chair, then coming back moments later ready to play. Doesn’t sound very “street” does it? These two guys deserve Darwin awards this year, because clearly they’ve earned ‘em. Leave your toys at home next time fellas.

Now we all now that night is the darkest before dawn, and America will climb out of this hole they are in, so all is not doom and gloom. The economy will pick up and eventually we’ll be right where we left off. I’m not sure how it’ll happen or when. All I do know is that Charlie Sheen will continue to abuse his spouses regardless of where the economy is at. Heidi Montag will keep getting plastic surgerys, no matter how many people are out of jobs. And ultimately in the end, more people will care about who wins the next season of american idol, or who is the next one voted off survivor, instead of their own real, yet boring life. Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the Hot Sticky Bun.

Responses

luke

✔ Luke likes this
Big Show

First off. I’d like to thank both Zimms and Luke for their continous support on my endeavors of what some of you may refer to as my life. Secondly..and I’m going to get a bit academic on you here, and discuss the American Debt. The thing with this outrageous amount of debt is that it will never be repaid…ever. Its getting close or has toppled a trillion…yes…a trillion dollars and is continuously growing. What can we do you say? Well…sit on our Mardi graw bead consuming asses(see “Back to the Future” By Luke to make that reference flow) and do nothing. The Americans are the most powerful economy in the world, followed by the European Union. The world relies on the US to make things happen. Their debt is outrageous, but what can we do? No country will call them out, their citizens are too dumb to care, and I personally have yet to feel the effects on it. My bet is by the time I turn 85(granted obesidy doesn’t shut my heart down at 25) the American debt will be over $10 Trillion and their president will be part of the imfamous al Qaeda terrorist group…
luke

perhaps big show, but i have read studies where by 2025 the american economy will be 3rd on the world stage behind china and the EU. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds…perhaps china will do the unthinkable and literally dump the billions of dollars of american cash in which they possess on the states, making the US$ virtually worthless and allow us to see inflation rates similar to that in Germany after WWII. Lets wait and see…
Big Show

Yes Luke, China is a powerful state. You also have to remember that China is a Communist State. Which could work for and against such a move. I personally dont see the American economy ever being overtaken…or not during out life time anyways. As they are very very dominant in the world imports/export trade. There was a stat thrown at us in our Global financial management class that mentioned something about 45% American, 19% EU were the big players, with China no where on the map. Im not sure what it was, haha, but it was showing the Americans world dominance. The EU will never be a big power without England on board, and that doesnt seem to be happening anytime soon. As good an idea as the EU and Euro are, there are some major flaws. As the central bank of the Euro is located in Belgium, and all decisions for the EU economy are based out of there. It seems like a sweet idea, however countries like Ireland that are located quite far away, and have a lackluster economical infrastructure arent really enjoying some of the decisions made. The countries that use the Euro as a currency are like 11?(est) and new countries are shying away from the Euro due to the fact that their investment into the currency is going to be used to build the infrastructure of less fortunate countriesm instead of staying home and benefitting the people that matter..the people of the home state. Global finance…MGT 3460 at U of L…take it, haha
Zimms

One thing that isn’t looking good for the Americans right now is having a President that is losing faith from everyone including his own party. Obama is not what the states needs right now, first saying he will cut back on spending, then in his next breath saying how the government should be funding more research to keep up with the Chinese. I dont know much about american politics, but I do know that he has been making alot of promises, and following through with very little. And you can’t even say his problems right now have been carried over from the Bush administration, because under his regime, America saw some of its highest economical growth in the past 20 years. Also, in 2006, the senate and the house was won by the democrats, so they’ve had their hand in the cookie jar for a while now.
walks

You guys are to fucking political for me, I thought Ronald Regan was still in power.
Big Show

“And you can’t even say his problems right now have been carried over from the Bush administration, because under his regime, America saw some of its highest economical growth in the past 20 years.”

Zimms…Its like this. Bush was a fuck up and left the world in a mess. The whole recession can pretty much be blamed on the sub prime mortgage crisis, and mortgage backed hedgefunds which all defaulted as people stopped paying. Its much like the situation in Alberta currently. Do you really…really think Ralph Kline was the best premier in world history because he led Alberta to a surplus and carried that surplus through for X amount of years? Or do you think it was the fact that he was in power during a time where the Alberta oil and gas industry began to boom again, and reaped the benefits, and as long as things were going good and people were hearing the words “suplus” instead of “deficeit” he was the best thing going. Now you have a guy in Stelmach, who has came in and is considered the worlds biggest jack ass, and is running a deficeit…He made some poor announcements, but there was also studies done that the Alberta government wasnt maximizing its revenue from the Oil and Gas industry. He implemented the right things and now they are. Just like Bush…the only thing the guy had going for him was his last name, he cheated his way into office, he tried to redeem his daddies lost battles, he racked up enormous amounts of debt…were talking trillions of dollars, and he did leave Obama in a bad spot. You have to remember that Bush was still in office when the sub prime crisis happened. His government allowed the rulings to be in place to hedge mortgage backed securities, and when he left office the world…not only America…the world was in its worst recession since the 1980′s. Almost 30 years. Obama was dealt a tough slate to start with. I dont know what he is doing, but I have heard people arent happy. So be it. We all knew he wasnt going to be the god send people hoped for, and Im sure he is doing what he feels best. He is cleaning up Bush’s mess, and the American econoy has been in the shits for awhile. Like I always say. When our dollar is at or around par(which it went to $1.1014/1 US$ in September or October of 2007…Under Bush) its not our economy that is doing so well as much as the Americans economy shitting the bed. Think about it. Its a direct correlation between the countries, we need them…and when they suck our dollar goes up, meaning they arent going to be buying our exports cause they are too expensive, which drives our dollar back down to below par. Currently we are at like $0.93/$ 1US and its a good spot. Our dollar isnt undervalued or overvalued and they can still afford to buy our exports keeping our economy in a good spot. We have, and always will be one of the most respected countries as far as the banking industry goes for stability. The Americans…not so much. And if youre not sure, check again what caused this recession…sketchy American banking practices, created and allowed to flourish under George Bush.

George Bush is a fucking idiot….
Zimms

I don’t know much about American politics, but I do know that what you just said in the previous comment has zero to do with why America is in such massive debt. I also know that Obama is a blatent liar. He has been contradicting himself in every speech he has made since his beginning campaign for President. Read a paper or watch a political news show sometime. You’ll see what a joke he has been as President so far
Big Z

Re: bush was an idiot
Big show take zimms advice and read a book I will leave you with a little bit to think about in regards to who should take the blame for the housing crisis. Try thinking about the US system as one that is controlled by a very different form of goverment than our own . What I mean by this is that the governing party in your arguement the republicans controled the White house “Bush” but the Democrats controled the congress . Congress writes the legislation that can become the law and the ruling party in congress sits and chairs the majority of the commitees (where the real power is) The democrats now control all three legislative branches with a majority and until Browns win a week or so ago it was a super majority in the Senate and the House .For an entire year the democrats have had complete control the Republicans coudn’t hold up a single piece of legislation all of the legislative hold ups in the past year have been Democrats fighting democrats .

Back to the subject of the housing crisis Big show I have pasted a pretty insightful esay from a fellow blogger named “Blue Collar Muse ” hope you enjoy.

The following quotes are from the New York Times five years ago. Republicans proposed increased oversight and regulation of Fannie and Freddie, but Democrats fought it.

“The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry. The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.” Democrats pushed back. “Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing”.

“These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis”, said Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. “The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed. “I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,” Mr. Watt said.

Given the above, the following would be great questions for Barack Obama either tonight or in the Economic Issues debate at Belmont University next month.

1.Why did you stand silent in 2005 and vote with the other Democrats to block very financial reforms which would have prevented the current crisis in the financial markets?

2.One of the primary reasons so many bad mortgage loans were made in the first place is that “community organizers” like ACORN, for which Obama worked, spent decades pressuring banks and bank regulators to do more to make mortgages available to people without much in the way of income, assets, or credit. These campaigns often were couched in racially inflammatory terms. Does Obama still think that banks should have made these loans?

3.Why did you not favor punishment for the former CEO of the bankrupt Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines, a man who personally made $90 million over a few years while cooking the books Enron-style at Fannie Mae? And why did you have Jim Johnson, former Fannie Mae Chairman, helping you pick you VP before the pure embarrassment made him resign?

4.How can you blame John McCain and the Republicans for this mess when you yourself supported the easy credit policies and refused the needed reforms for these programs?

5.How can you blame John McCain and the Republicans for this mess when you yourself supported the easy credit policies and refused the needed reforms for these programs?
Big Show

Bush was in charge of the world when these decisions were made, if Obama helped make the ecisions is beyond my knowledge or caring. Bush was a joke. Every day in classes I hear more and more about why we are in this recession and the reasons all seem so preventable. Whether its mortgaged backed securities, sub prime loans, hegde funds from rich americans, mostly who are or were a part of government etc…all things that were prevalent in Bushs time in office and left for Obama to deal with. Any idiot could have led the Americans to their greatest economic state when Bush was around and got all the credit. For example Ralph Klein in Alberta. Guy can’t tie his shoes but can run a provincial economy to a surplus for X amount of years.

All I’m saying is that Obama didn’t have a chance, due to the mess left to him. And he may be talking out of his ass all the time, however…the American government is one of if not the most corrupt system in the world, and I’m sure his decisions and actions are coming with a lot of pressure…even more then GB had, due to the circumstances, and the pressures of being a black president. If memory serves me correctly didn’t Bush have the lowest approval ratings ever???

Oh yeah…he’s sweet though, he led their economy to a strong position…check other countries of the world, I’m sure economies were lights out everywhere during those years…not just in America…check now…pretty sure economies are the shits everywhere…not just under the Obama led America.
Big Z

Hate to break this to you Big Show but during the Bush years the US lead in every category monitered by the IMF,OECD,WB, ICP and according to the US census Bureau. I stated earlier that the Sub Prime crisis was caused almost entirely by the congress controlled by the democrats. Barney Frank the chair of the banking commitee has been universaly condemed for blocking all White house measures to regulate Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac . The two federally controlled institutes that were at the heart of the sub prime crisis.
When you check your facts you will see that the republicans in congress the senate and the white house were warning of an impending catastophe in the mortage industry.

Listed below are the facts as to the REAL economic reality just prior to the mortagage crisis in late September 2008.

How does the performance of the U.S. economy really compare with other advanced economies over the eight years of George Bush’s presidency? Data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the International Comparison Program (ICP) (a cooperative venture coordinated by the World Bank) and the U.S. Census Bureau allow a nonpartisan, factual assessment. Here are some of the findings:

- Economic growth. U.S. output has expanded faster than in most advanced economies since 2000. The IMF reports that real U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 2.2% over the period 2001-2008 (including its forecast for the current year). President Bush will leave to his successor an economy 19% larger than the one he inherited from President Clinton. This U.S. expansion compares with 14% by France, 13% by Japan and just 8% by Italy and Germany over the same period. The latest ICP findings, published by the World Bank in its World Development Indicators 2008, also show that GDP per capita in the U.S. reached $41,813 (in purchasing power parity dollars) in 2005. This was a third higher than the United Kingdom’s, 37% above Germany’s and 38% more than Japan’s.

- Household consumption. The ICP study found that the average per-capita consumption of the U.S. population (citizens and illegal immigrants combined) was second only to Luxembourg’s, out of 146 countries covered in 2005. The U.S. average was $32,045. This was well above the levels in the UK ($25,155), Canada ($23,526), France ($23,027) and Germany ($21,742). China stood at $1,751.

- Health services. The U.S. spends easily the highest amount per capita ($6,657 in 2005) on health, more than double that in Britain. But because of private funding (55% of the total) the burden on the U.S. taxpayer (9.1% of GDP) is kept to similar levels as France and Germany. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 84.7% of the U.S. population was covered by health insurance in 2007, an increase of 3.6 million people over 2006. The uninsured can receive treatment in hospitals at the expense of private insurance holders. While life expectancy is influenced by lifestyles and not just access to health services, the World Bank nevertheless reports that average life expectancy in the U.S. rose to 78 years in 2006 (the same as Germany’s), from 77 in 2000.

- Income and wealth distribution. The latest World Bank estimates show that the richest 20% of U.S. households had a 45.8% share of total income in 2000, similar to the levels in the U.K. (44.0%) and Israel (44.9%). In 65 other countries the richest quintile had a larger share than in the U.S….

- Employment. The U.S. employment rate, measured by the percentage of people of working age (16-65 years) in jobs, has remained high by international standards. The latest OECD figures show a rate of 71.7% in 2006. This was more than five percentage points above the average for the euro area. The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 4.7% from 2001-2007. This compares with a 5.2% average rate during President Clinton’s term of office, and is well below the euro zone average of 8.3% since 2000.

The evidence shows that much of the Democratic Party’s criticism of President Bush’s economic record is wide of the mark. True, the economic slowdown now affecting most advanced countries will likely result in rising unemployment over the coming months. But thanks to sensible policies pursued by the Bush administration (not always with adequate support from a Democratic-controlled Congress), the U.S. economy is sufficiently flexible to keep unemployment below the 7.7% peak reached in the last postrecession year of 1992.

The risk with Barack Obama is that he will pursue a “social justice” strategy. This would encompass higher taxes on entrepreneurs, savers and investors, more direct government intervention in the economy, and protectionist policies (including revoking existing trade agreements) aimed at safeguarding the jobs of his union backers in “old” industries and public services. If so, the pain of this recession is likely to be more widespread and prolonged.
Big Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFdAJRVm94

Hotstickybun

The State of Our Union

Responses