Skip to content

Thoughts on the Bailout and Credit Cards

November 12th, 2008 by Jerry

Unsurprisingly enough, card defaults are on the rise. This industry is marked by less oversight and more shadiness than the mortgage industry, which is saying something. Now American Express is asking for a government handout, since AMEX depends on banks' buying securities backed by card in order to make money. Banks, of course, are trying not to choke on the credit cards debts they already have without incurring more, which leaves AMEX begging Uncle Sam for money.

But let's see here: if Uncle Sam helps out AMEX, it allows AMEX to float more card . Is this what our economy needs? Maybe card should dry up a little bit, especially since Americans abuse cards so badly. Sure, an illiquid securities market may make it harder for some Americans to refinance or consolidate some cards, but that is still no substitute for paying the bloody cards off and not incurring more , and ready access to new credits cards will probably just make it easier to avoid making the hard decisions.

In short, having the federal government go with more deficit spending so that Americans can get into more card sounds like a perfect recipe for destabilizing our currency and economy even more. No doubt it will be wildly popular on Capitol Hill for that reason.
Posted 12 November 2008 † Jerry § economics § essays, editorials, fisks, and rants § government, law, and politics ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Neighborhood Walk

November 11th, 2008 by Funky Dung

Today my son and I participated in the Rust Belt Bloggers' Neighborhood Walk. I pushed him around a section of Squirrel Hill and took pictures at most intersections and few other places.

map of route

photo set

Posted 11 November 2008 † Funky Dung § personal ‡ Comments (2) °

Change

November 6th, 2008 by Peter Wall (guest atheist), syndicated from Notes

Over at the New York Times, Sam Tanenhaus has written a helpful analysis of the two major parties’ positions. Here is an excerpt, citing Michael Gerson:

“The issues that have provided conservatives with victories in the past — particularly welfare and crime — have been rendered irrelevant by success,” Michael Gerson, the Bush speechwriter turned columnist, wrote last week. “The issues of the moment — income stagnation, climate disruption, massive demographic shifts and health care access — seem strange, unexplored land for many in the movement.”

In fact these “issues of the moment” have been with us for years now, decades in some instances, but until recently they were either ignored by conservatives or dismissed as the hobby-horses of alarmist liberals or entrenched “special interests.”

Continue Reading »
Posted 06 November 2008 † Peter Wall (guest atheist) § essays, editorials, fisks, and rants § government, law, and politics ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , ,

An election-day reminder to Sen. Obama

November 4th, 2008 by Laika

Dear Mr. Obama:  You were talking the other day about how important the youth vote is to you.  I wanted to point out to you that on demand, which you so enthusiastically support, has taken the lives of 25 million plus potential voters who would be between the ages of 18 and 35 today.   I'm just saying.   Continue Reading »
Posted 04 November 2008 † Laika § essays, editorials, fisks, and rants § government, law, and politics ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

A Letter to AT&T

November 1st, 2008 by Peter Wall (guest atheist), syndicated from Notes

Dear AT&T Wireless people:

As seems to be standard practice for companies these days, you do not provide an obvious or easy method to give direct feedback on your products and services. So, after rummaging around the AT&T Wireless website for a while and finding no ways to “contact” you except when I need “support,” I decided instead to write a blog post, hoping that you, like Comcast, have minions that track these kinds of things.

Continue Reading »
Posted 01 November 2008 † Peter Wall (guest atheist) § essays, editorials, fisks, and rants § science and technology ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , ,