Unemployment rate has doubled since 2007, and that doesn't take into account the folks who have simply stopped looking for jobs. We just brought the nation to the brink of something or other in a debt ceiling crisis - but no worries, we have a hyper-partisan committee looking into budget solutions that will be chock-full of proposals that will horrify the other party into a virtual coma. Where's Obama? On vacation, of course. But it's ok, because he has explained a few things. Aside from announcing that he is just weeks away from unveiling his new plan for fixing the economy, he has also told us that he fixed the first recession, or rather he fixed the economy and ended the first recession and that there will be no 2nd or double-dip recession. Pay no attention to the economists that are all telling us that a double-dip is inevitable, or the signs from the Fed that suggest that nothing will improve for a couple of years (so let's keep the free money coming). Do pay attention to the economists who say that the recession ended...but ignore the ones who try to tell you that the recession ended in June of 2009.
I know, this all sounds terribly confusing, which is why I recommend getting a teleprompter. Everything makes sense and sounds good when you read it off a teleprompter. Here's the key stuff to remember: Obama "fixed" the economy and ended the recession within 5 months of taking office by borrowing a ton of money from China and increasing our national debt. He did other stuff, too, but let's keep it simple. Then, no one got their jobs back and no one hired anyone new. This lasted for...well, it's still going on. Then in March of 2011, an earthquake and tsunami stuck Japan, and our economy was dealt a devastating blow, which combined with the totally foreseen collapse of the Greek economy in a perverse conspiracy that made Obama sad because it then appeared that he did not know anything about economics. Charles Krauthammer wrote a nice article about this on Friday. You should read it HERE.
GALLIMAUFRY!!!
MSNBC has breaking news that Social Security will be out of money by 2017. Of course, MSNBC skews the story to be about the perceived backlog of cases. They do, however, report that last year SSA paid about $1.4 BILLION in over-payments. Perhaps someone can explain how it is that Social Security will run out of money when we just found $1.2 TRILLION in secret zero-interest loans were made to banks (which have yet to pay it back!). Seriously - how can we say that a bank is too big to fail, but somehow the SSA (which we have all been paying into via FICA taxes) is in danger of becoming insolvent? This is a great example of how the government is no better with money than your drunk uncle is.
GALLIMAUFRY!!
Note to Rick Santorum: We know you are a dumb person, but exactly what did you hope to accomplish by calling Maxine Waters "vile?" Oh...you were trying to make the point that the media employs a double standard for jumping on what republicans say versus what democrats say? Everyone knows this, but let us know how that works out for you. How is that you are still a candidate and Pawlenty has packed it in?
GALLIMAUFRY!
Via Reuters: (H/T Zero Hedge)
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has hired high-profile Washington defense attorney Reid Weingarten, according to a government source, as the Justice Department continues to investigate the bank.This will be well worth watching. I think I'll start a GoldmanSachs Indictment Watch.
Blankfein, 56, is in his sixth year at the helm of the largest U.S. investment bank, which has spent two years fending off accusations of conflicts of interest and fraud.
The move to retain Weingarten comes as investigations of Goldman and its role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis continue.
The news spooked already jittery investors. Goldman shares fell sharply in the final minutes of regular trading after Reuters reporting the hiring, finishing down 4.7 percent at $106.51, their lowest level since March 2009.
They slipped further in after-hours trade to $105.45.
The Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) in April released a scathing report that criticized Goldman for "exploiting" clients by unloading subprime loan exposure onto unsuspecting clients in 2006 and 2007, and concluded that its top executives misled Congress during testimony in 2010.
Goldman has said it disagreed with many of the report's conclusions, but took seriously the issues addressed. The Justice Department launched its investigation in late April.
On Monday, Goldman said: "As is common in such situations, Mr. Blankfein and other individuals who were expected to be interviewed in connection with the Justice Department's inquiry into certain matters raised in the PSI report hired counsel at the outset."
Blankfein has not been charged in any civil or criminal case.
"Why do you bring in someone like that?" said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, about Weingarten. "It says one thing: that they're taking it seriously."
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