As an American with more international exposure than 99% of the population I see the situation in the Middle East with completely different eyes. In essence the United States Government, which supports the will of its people be it right or wrong, permits Israel to carry out anything and everything it does to defend itself from its hostile neighbors. This is because the US public firmly believe that the use of any force as also happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, to get its objective is justifiable.
This is because the American public have no idea of the history of the setting up of the State of Israel from what was Palestine and how it has survived to date. If they knew the truth their attitude would be very different, and the lobby that backs Israel has the power not to let the people know the facts. The position shown to public is that Israel is a Jewish state anointed by God and not challenged by the Christians in the US who are more pro Jewish than pro Arab. An Arab in the view of the average American is an enemy and the Jew is an ally. This is the crux of the problem.
In the current Gaza crisis the Israelis know that they will never get rid of Hamas or the rockets they send over to Israel periodically. They may believe they can reduce the capability of Hamas by bombing Gaza out of existence, which has currently happened. The reality is that the intensity of destruction is directly proportional to the sympathy for Hamas, so I fail to see anything other than punishment and revenge by a powerful force against hapless people who are nevertheless sympathetic to anything and anyone wanting to harm Israel. Why does Israel continue to do this?
My interpretation is that by showing how powerful and destructive they are they will galvanize the world to action, and force a settlement politically on the Palestinians. The Palestinians will be forced to accept even though they may not like it if they are to be prevented from extinction. Israel knows they always will only have one ally in the form of the US and no other. They know no matter what they do they cannot change that fact, so they don’t care for world opinion and therefore just carry on as they know no one can stop them. The power of their army is no match for their enemies and they also have the ultimate capability of nuclear weapons.
As long as they are oppressed and have no escape the Palestinians will become more extreme and Hamas eventually will become the government.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The great debate on what is best to stimulate the economy
There is considerable input from all quarters on what is needed to avoid a catastrophic recession or even a depression. The opinions are as diverse as the number of advisors. If one goes back to basics, one can find the solution that works, not being tainted with labels for the economic theories propounded. What is needed is an amalgamation of right and left leaning theories into one that actually works. This is not a capitalist socialist thing either, as China is suffering as much as the US. The out of work Chinese have to go back to their home villages, giving up their yuppy lifestyle.
So how do we use existing productive capacity to good use that will immediately stimulate the economy? There is both the supply side and the demand side to contend with and so there is no use manufacturing cars with the existing productive capacity if there is no one to buy them.
It has been said that the US boom was fuelled by the increase in consumer spending which came out of increased confidence, job security, increased income, and increase in wealth from increasing home values and stock values. People then felt wealthier and so did not hesitate on borrowing on credit cards and home equity lines to spend on cars, second homes, flat screen TVs and exotic vacations. Now all these are in reverse and hence the contraction in every area of demand leading to unemployment.
Companies cannot afford to lose money even though the government can and so the layoffs are in the private sector while those in government jobs are secure for the time being. It is therefore very sad that the risk taking entrepreneur and his hard working employees lose their jobs through no fault of their own, many of them gearing up their business to meet demand which has suddenly dried up unexpectedly almost like a tornado.
It is for this economic tornado, just like for the real thing, that low interest federal money must be given. How it is to be equitably distributed is the question. When it is distributed will it have the impact bearing in mind the changed circumstances. This is the unknown. If I am a business man and I have laid off or about to lay off workers when I see a fall in demand for my products, will the $5,000 or whatever figure is given to me, prevent a layoff or encourage me to hire? That is the $64,000 question. In essence we must find the fix that will immediately have an effect in boosting demand and therefore reduce the need to layoff to put it simply.
There is a natural reticence to spend when one is out of a job, or about to lose one. Even if one has savings, one is less likely to spend fearing the length of the layoff. So unwittingly economics turns to psychology of confidence as the only practical solution. No matter how much tax rebates I receive, I will not go and spend it. I may spend a little of it, but for the bailout money to be effective I must spend all of it. Then should I spend it on imported goods or goods produced at home. That is not something that I could be compelled to do and is just a personal choice depending on what is available in the market along with the price and quality as I see it, along with my sense of patriotism. All these cannot be measured in figures.
It is therefore important that obstacles to confidence boosts such as the Gaza crisis are resolved so the economic crisis can be short lived. One cannot wait to resolve the economic crisis before the Israel problem is resolved, or shall we call the Palestinian problem is the US media have there say. There in lies the nub because the US just does not see the gravity of the Middle East crisis as emanating from the need for a few million Israelis insisting on living amongst a permanently hostile Arab neighborhood, supported exclusively by US aid and arms supplies to brutally suppress all who attack their land.
A holistic approach to the world is therefore needed, as all the large economies, of US, China, Russia, India, Japan, EU and Brazil are in crisis due to the intertwined and interdependant relationships they have with each other. We cannot go back to isolationism, which is now advocated by many, so this issue does not arise. I say it will, if we let greed get the better of common sense. It does not matter what ism we subscribe to.
The root causes of the current recession can take its time to be debated, and we should fix the current crisis as soon as possible before we sink to an even lower level of confidence in the future, when the worst of human qualities will be set free to add death and destruction to the already troubled psyche.
In a novel approach if the government was efficient, I would make the government the spender of last resort buying consumer goods and capital goods and then giving it to the users with some kind of interest free IOU rather than give money which will end up in a savings account, or used to draw down debt and pay of liabilities and credit cards. The effective way of doing this is giving people low interest credit if they purchase from a range of items that will be specifically identified as being the quickest to stimulate employment!!! So if I buy a car the government through the banks will lend!
So how do we use existing productive capacity to good use that will immediately stimulate the economy? There is both the supply side and the demand side to contend with and so there is no use manufacturing cars with the existing productive capacity if there is no one to buy them.
It has been said that the US boom was fuelled by the increase in consumer spending which came out of increased confidence, job security, increased income, and increase in wealth from increasing home values and stock values. People then felt wealthier and so did not hesitate on borrowing on credit cards and home equity lines to spend on cars, second homes, flat screen TVs and exotic vacations. Now all these are in reverse and hence the contraction in every area of demand leading to unemployment.
Companies cannot afford to lose money even though the government can and so the layoffs are in the private sector while those in government jobs are secure for the time being. It is therefore very sad that the risk taking entrepreneur and his hard working employees lose their jobs through no fault of their own, many of them gearing up their business to meet demand which has suddenly dried up unexpectedly almost like a tornado.
It is for this economic tornado, just like for the real thing, that low interest federal money must be given. How it is to be equitably distributed is the question. When it is distributed will it have the impact bearing in mind the changed circumstances. This is the unknown. If I am a business man and I have laid off or about to lay off workers when I see a fall in demand for my products, will the $5,000 or whatever figure is given to me, prevent a layoff or encourage me to hire? That is the $64,000 question. In essence we must find the fix that will immediately have an effect in boosting demand and therefore reduce the need to layoff to put it simply.
There is a natural reticence to spend when one is out of a job, or about to lose one. Even if one has savings, one is less likely to spend fearing the length of the layoff. So unwittingly economics turns to psychology of confidence as the only practical solution. No matter how much tax rebates I receive, I will not go and spend it. I may spend a little of it, but for the bailout money to be effective I must spend all of it. Then should I spend it on imported goods or goods produced at home. That is not something that I could be compelled to do and is just a personal choice depending on what is available in the market along with the price and quality as I see it, along with my sense of patriotism. All these cannot be measured in figures.
It is therefore important that obstacles to confidence boosts such as the Gaza crisis are resolved so the economic crisis can be short lived. One cannot wait to resolve the economic crisis before the Israel problem is resolved, or shall we call the Palestinian problem is the US media have there say. There in lies the nub because the US just does not see the gravity of the Middle East crisis as emanating from the need for a few million Israelis insisting on living amongst a permanently hostile Arab neighborhood, supported exclusively by US aid and arms supplies to brutally suppress all who attack their land.
A holistic approach to the world is therefore needed, as all the large economies, of US, China, Russia, India, Japan, EU and Brazil are in crisis due to the intertwined and interdependant relationships they have with each other. We cannot go back to isolationism, which is now advocated by many, so this issue does not arise. I say it will, if we let greed get the better of common sense. It does not matter what ism we subscribe to.
The root causes of the current recession can take its time to be debated, and we should fix the current crisis as soon as possible before we sink to an even lower level of confidence in the future, when the worst of human qualities will be set free to add death and destruction to the already troubled psyche.
In a novel approach if the government was efficient, I would make the government the spender of last resort buying consumer goods and capital goods and then giving it to the users with some kind of interest free IOU rather than give money which will end up in a savings account, or used to draw down debt and pay of liabilities and credit cards. The effective way of doing this is giving people low interest credit if they purchase from a range of items that will be specifically identified as being the quickest to stimulate employment!!! So if I buy a car the government through the banks will lend!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General of the US
If nominated my Obama and confirmed by the Senate, I personally believe this is an inspired choice for the position, as it is largely ceremonial and in the public eye where he can make pronouncements in the interests of Public Health in the United States.
Appointing a person in the media spotlight allows both name recognition and familiarity. He has not made any faux pas in his job reporting from hotspots all over the world and is generally aware of most of the public health issues worldwide. He is a neuro-surgeon by training and is therefore competent and no pushover.
Having a position of authority Dr. Gupta can impose his own stamp on matters and knowing how to maximize public exposure, through selective use of media, will be more effectively able to communicate his message to the mass audience. This is most critical to get the message to the masses.
Obesity the leading public health issue can be more purposefully dealt with by a young looking, slender operator, expounding the virtues of healthy eating, in order to reduce as much as possible the preventable diseases of the day. He can expound the truths and myths of smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse as well as sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS without getting stuck into politically sensitive areas of abortion and women’s reproductive rights.
I was so surprised when I heard of this choice that I thought it was a joke, but the more I thought about it I believe his appointment is one of the most inspiring of the administration, and one where a permanent stamp can be made on this position with future SGs finding it exceedingly difficult to emulate. I am confident that he will perform his function to the best of his ability. We can expect some novel approaches to improving the general health of the population that is increasingly dependent on drugs to live at an enormous cost to themselves, and their productivity in whatever they do.
In conclusion, I wish him well and hope he can by his position influence the world public opinion, which is not his brief. He is in a position together with the WHO to use the power of the USA and wealth of the Bill Gates Foundation to do some lasting good in eliminating and minimizing scourges around the world, especially as it pertains to the young and innocent children who are sick or may be at risk of developing preventable illnesses.
Appointing a person in the media spotlight allows both name recognition and familiarity. He has not made any faux pas in his job reporting from hotspots all over the world and is generally aware of most of the public health issues worldwide. He is a neuro-surgeon by training and is therefore competent and no pushover.
Having a position of authority Dr. Gupta can impose his own stamp on matters and knowing how to maximize public exposure, through selective use of media, will be more effectively able to communicate his message to the mass audience. This is most critical to get the message to the masses.
Obesity the leading public health issue can be more purposefully dealt with by a young looking, slender operator, expounding the virtues of healthy eating, in order to reduce as much as possible the preventable diseases of the day. He can expound the truths and myths of smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse as well as sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS without getting stuck into politically sensitive areas of abortion and women’s reproductive rights.
I was so surprised when I heard of this choice that I thought it was a joke, but the more I thought about it I believe his appointment is one of the most inspiring of the administration, and one where a permanent stamp can be made on this position with future SGs finding it exceedingly difficult to emulate. I am confident that he will perform his function to the best of his ability. We can expect some novel approaches to improving the general health of the population that is increasingly dependent on drugs to live at an enormous cost to themselves, and their productivity in whatever they do.
In conclusion, I wish him well and hope he can by his position influence the world public opinion, which is not his brief. He is in a position together with the WHO to use the power of the USA and wealth of the Bill Gates Foundation to do some lasting good in eliminating and minimizing scourges around the world, especially as it pertains to the young and innocent children who are sick or may be at risk of developing preventable illnesses.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The crisis on the Gaza strip January 2009
Lets go back to basics with a little bit of history and as you know even that is interpreted in a different light depending on the angle you come from.
Palestine was the land of the Palestinians, before Jewish immigrants arrived and gradually bought property in Palestine, first through legitimate means and later by coercion, and still later by devious and surreptitious means before the Palestinians who previously welcomed these people realized what was happening around them. Finally in 1948, the immigrants set up the state of Israel and those Palestinians who refused to live as second-class citizens in the Jewish state had no option but to live as immigrants in Jordan, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip. This strip is a barren tiny space less than half the size of Manhattan Island in New York.
The Palestinian leadership since 1948 ingrained on the refugees that they would one day return to their homes, which were now in the state of Israel. So when a democratically elected government, lead by the militant Hamas party pledging the eventual destruction of the state of Israel came into power it seemed that Israel had a sworn enemy on its borders.
To cut a long story short, the hardcore Hamas militants, have kept up a barrage of rockets to Israel, usually of low intensity and strength, but latterly with a longer range. The ammunition, has been smuggled through porous borders with Egypt. Israel using the policy of maximum force has decided to target Hamas, and bomb from the air, from land and from sea using the latest technology, bought and given by the US and some developed by Israel.
While Iran and some Arab states or individuals, support Hamas with money and equipment, the US supplies Israel. So there is a proxy war going on where the Arabs can only see the US pounding the hapless Palestinians!!
It is therefore a US problem as they are the only friends in the world Israel has, and as they have this feeling of being surrounded by enemies, they are carrying out what their electorate believes is the only way to go. Remember there is an election in Israel in the offing. Palestinian deaths will only increase the electoral assets of the perpetrator. This is the background of the crisis.
This is one area the UN has been impotent in, as all UN resolutions have been ignored by Israel, and as they have a veto power in the form of the US to defend their interests they act with impunity in ignoring all resolutions.
The innocent Palestinians are the most affected as there will be a further 1000+ deaths of innocents and they are still refugees in their own land, and if one goes to Gaza, you will realize it is the last place on earth you can convince anyone to live in as their home. In short this largest refugee camp on earth will remain like this until something more acceptable is made available.
With so many Jewish people both in Israel and the US believe it is a god given right that Israel is the land of the Jews, in essence Zionism, this is not accepted by the rest of the world. Let me also put my two cents into this argument. Any God will never allow any country to be taken over in his name. So no one has a right to a country by way of religion. Over the years people have settled all over the world and once borders were closed and passports issued post 1900 one was hemmed in and only permitted to enter anyone else’s country through the laws of the acceptor.
There is no possibility of a solution to this crisis until an acceptable solution is given to the Palestinian people to live in dignity in their homeland, however that is defined. In fact an impartial observer will say it is Israel that has to give more land concessions than the beleaguered Palestinians. They need contiguous land, airports, sea-ports and infrastructure to be a state. Nothing short of a return to the 1967 borders will allow this to happen. The world will have a Mideast Crisis till this is achieved. No one other than the innocent Palestinian people are really affected, so this will not be done as they just don’t have the political capital from anywhere for that objective.
It therefore takes a statesman with a lot of guts to solve this crisis once and for all, and at present I do not see one on the horizon. President Obama is the only one with the moral authority to do something, but his utterances and obeiscense to the Jewish lobby who helped him financially to get elected are anything by supportive of the Zionist cause. He can of course take a volte face in the interests of world peace and take a stand and impose a settlement.
The Palestinians have been let down by their own leaders pursuing personal agendas, UN playing international games, and by Israel playing big bully, using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Only God can help them, so help them.
Palestine was the land of the Palestinians, before Jewish immigrants arrived and gradually bought property in Palestine, first through legitimate means and later by coercion, and still later by devious and surreptitious means before the Palestinians who previously welcomed these people realized what was happening around them. Finally in 1948, the immigrants set up the state of Israel and those Palestinians who refused to live as second-class citizens in the Jewish state had no option but to live as immigrants in Jordan, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip. This strip is a barren tiny space less than half the size of Manhattan Island in New York.
The Palestinian leadership since 1948 ingrained on the refugees that they would one day return to their homes, which were now in the state of Israel. So when a democratically elected government, lead by the militant Hamas party pledging the eventual destruction of the state of Israel came into power it seemed that Israel had a sworn enemy on its borders.
To cut a long story short, the hardcore Hamas militants, have kept up a barrage of rockets to Israel, usually of low intensity and strength, but latterly with a longer range. The ammunition, has been smuggled through porous borders with Egypt. Israel using the policy of maximum force has decided to target Hamas, and bomb from the air, from land and from sea using the latest technology, bought and given by the US and some developed by Israel.
While Iran and some Arab states or individuals, support Hamas with money and equipment, the US supplies Israel. So there is a proxy war going on where the Arabs can only see the US pounding the hapless Palestinians!!
It is therefore a US problem as they are the only friends in the world Israel has, and as they have this feeling of being surrounded by enemies, they are carrying out what their electorate believes is the only way to go. Remember there is an election in Israel in the offing. Palestinian deaths will only increase the electoral assets of the perpetrator. This is the background of the crisis.
This is one area the UN has been impotent in, as all UN resolutions have been ignored by Israel, and as they have a veto power in the form of the US to defend their interests they act with impunity in ignoring all resolutions.
The innocent Palestinians are the most affected as there will be a further 1000+ deaths of innocents and they are still refugees in their own land, and if one goes to Gaza, you will realize it is the last place on earth you can convince anyone to live in as their home. In short this largest refugee camp on earth will remain like this until something more acceptable is made available.
With so many Jewish people both in Israel and the US believe it is a god given right that Israel is the land of the Jews, in essence Zionism, this is not accepted by the rest of the world. Let me also put my two cents into this argument. Any God will never allow any country to be taken over in his name. So no one has a right to a country by way of religion. Over the years people have settled all over the world and once borders were closed and passports issued post 1900 one was hemmed in and only permitted to enter anyone else’s country through the laws of the acceptor.
There is no possibility of a solution to this crisis until an acceptable solution is given to the Palestinian people to live in dignity in their homeland, however that is defined. In fact an impartial observer will say it is Israel that has to give more land concessions than the beleaguered Palestinians. They need contiguous land, airports, sea-ports and infrastructure to be a state. Nothing short of a return to the 1967 borders will allow this to happen. The world will have a Mideast Crisis till this is achieved. No one other than the innocent Palestinian people are really affected, so this will not be done as they just don’t have the political capital from anywhere for that objective.
It therefore takes a statesman with a lot of guts to solve this crisis once and for all, and at present I do not see one on the horizon. President Obama is the only one with the moral authority to do something, but his utterances and obeiscense to the Jewish lobby who helped him financially to get elected are anything by supportive of the Zionist cause. He can of course take a volte face in the interests of world peace and take a stand and impose a settlement.
The Palestinians have been let down by their own leaders pursuing personal agendas, UN playing international games, and by Israel playing big bully, using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Only God can help them, so help them.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
the republican promise to filibuster the auto industry bailout
Due to a lot of public pressure especially from the constituents of the Republican senators, those senators rightly bending to their PAC and elector pressure have threatened to filibuster as in not allow to pass the massive bailout of the auto industry. Both sides have a case and if one really looks at the case fairly, it seems that it is really due to the intransigence of the unions not to give in to some realistic compromises in order to receive the money that has put paid to the bill.
One must realize that the auto industry in the US must seriously reform itself as the Japanese car makers in the US making cumulatively as much as the big three are doing it with less than half the labor force and costing about two thirds of a big three worker, in total payroll costs. While some of this cost is due to the high retiree pension and health benefits, that is not the whole answer. We are not denying that they work hard, but in order that their jobs be saved, they must accept some reduction in their benefits as sacrifices need to be made in industries that are struggling or are not competitive in the market today.
I do accept the argument that a bailout will cost the government far less than the bankruptcy of the auto industry. However if bankruptcy is what will take to reform it then so be it. Once bankrupt, individual car marks can be sold to investors who will build cars with less cost and half the labor force, and so the unions would have got their comeuppance. The union’s purpose is to safeguard the long term interest of their members and I do not believe they are doing it at present, and are willing to play poker with the government to obtain what they want and if they fail they are toast with no one else to blame.
I suspect the President elect at the back of his mind will be pleased with the sequence of events as he can reform the industry, something he would have found hard to do if just called upon just to save the big three who continue with their same old habits. Unions must realize what the times are telling them. Namely, if they are to survive they have to be flexible, as the whole world is changing and in order to survive the upheaval there has to be a lot more give than take if one is to preserver the jobs of one’s members. In the rough and tumble world of playing poker with politics this time the unions unquestionably lost badly to common sense and reason. So instead of blaming the Republicans, thank them for making Obama’s job easier.
One must realize that the auto industry in the US must seriously reform itself as the Japanese car makers in the US making cumulatively as much as the big three are doing it with less than half the labor force and costing about two thirds of a big three worker, in total payroll costs. While some of this cost is due to the high retiree pension and health benefits, that is not the whole answer. We are not denying that they work hard, but in order that their jobs be saved, they must accept some reduction in their benefits as sacrifices need to be made in industries that are struggling or are not competitive in the market today.
I do accept the argument that a bailout will cost the government far less than the bankruptcy of the auto industry. However if bankruptcy is what will take to reform it then so be it. Once bankrupt, individual car marks can be sold to investors who will build cars with less cost and half the labor force, and so the unions would have got their comeuppance. The union’s purpose is to safeguard the long term interest of their members and I do not believe they are doing it at present, and are willing to play poker with the government to obtain what they want and if they fail they are toast with no one else to blame.
I suspect the President elect at the back of his mind will be pleased with the sequence of events as he can reform the industry, something he would have found hard to do if just called upon just to save the big three who continue with their same old habits. Unions must realize what the times are telling them. Namely, if they are to survive they have to be flexible, as the whole world is changing and in order to survive the upheaval there has to be a lot more give than take if one is to preserver the jobs of one’s members. In the rough and tumble world of playing poker with politics this time the unions unquestionably lost badly to common sense and reason. So instead of blaming the Republicans, thank them for making Obama’s job easier.
the hedge fund scandal of December 2008
I was recently informed of the Ponzi scheme involving a hedge fund that has no assets and therefore the details I have are sketchy and could be factually incorrect, however the point of the essay nevertheless is valid.
Echoing the recent Sakvithi scandal where a person of supposed repute defrauded untold number of investors of their life savings and skipped town, I understand a hedge fund manager in the US has just been arrested, and it has been exposed that the fund does not have any assets, and instead investments by new people were used for redemptions until as we know redemptions in the wake of the financial crisis now exceed new investments and the fund was unable to pay out due to no funds in the kitty. This is almost equivalent to the Sakvithi fraud referred to above where the same method was used to cover withdrawals.
The fund was run by a reputable person known within hedge funds and is also similar to the above. This alone makes people lose their sense of care when making investments based only a person’s reputation. I know better now than to invest with any person however reputable they may be.
It is no surprise that due to the lack of careful oversight this has come about. I fear this is the tip of the iceberg and there are many more like this to surface as they always do when times are tough and the charade can no longer be played. The sad result of all this is that people’s money is at stake with no recourse and therefore permanent loss with the resultant consequences of hardship and in some cases suicide when people with means suddenly become destitute and are then unable to cope.
There is a body of people I hold responsible as they are expected to report on these scandals and they are auditors, the only people from outside allowed in to inspect the records of these companies. Just as in the fall of the banks, the auditors have been conspicuous by their absence as they fear for their survival. I firmly believe they should also bear some of the responsibility as their systems fail to detect such mega fraud and that is not acceptable.
I have left the field of accounting due in part to my belief that they defraud investors money by not performing a satisfactory inspection, and we have the current financial scandal begun by the secondary mortgage crisis as an example of their failure. It should have been brought to light in a good audit.
Echoing the recent Sakvithi scandal where a person of supposed repute defrauded untold number of investors of their life savings and skipped town, I understand a hedge fund manager in the US has just been arrested, and it has been exposed that the fund does not have any assets, and instead investments by new people were used for redemptions until as we know redemptions in the wake of the financial crisis now exceed new investments and the fund was unable to pay out due to no funds in the kitty. This is almost equivalent to the Sakvithi fraud referred to above where the same method was used to cover withdrawals.
The fund was run by a reputable person known within hedge funds and is also similar to the above. This alone makes people lose their sense of care when making investments based only a person’s reputation. I know better now than to invest with any person however reputable they may be.
It is no surprise that due to the lack of careful oversight this has come about. I fear this is the tip of the iceberg and there are many more like this to surface as they always do when times are tough and the charade can no longer be played. The sad result of all this is that people’s money is at stake with no recourse and therefore permanent loss with the resultant consequences of hardship and in some cases suicide when people with means suddenly become destitute and are then unable to cope.
There is a body of people I hold responsible as they are expected to report on these scandals and they are auditors, the only people from outside allowed in to inspect the records of these companies. Just as in the fall of the banks, the auditors have been conspicuous by their absence as they fear for their survival. I firmly believe they should also bear some of the responsibility as their systems fail to detect such mega fraud and that is not acceptable.
I have left the field of accounting due in part to my belief that they defraud investors money by not performing a satisfactory inspection, and we have the current financial scandal begun by the secondary mortgage crisis as an example of their failure. It should have been brought to light in a good audit.
Friday, December 5, 2008
the methodical way the new appointments are announced
I am very impressed at the way the new administration, of Barak Obama is announcing the key positions and who will be in place. If I am not mistaken, it is unprecedented, namely the thought and careful planning that appears to be going into each appointment along with the rational being discussed as to the whys and wherefores of each appointment.
This start bodes well for how the problems of the day will be handled and delegated, especially as the policy will be set by the new president and senior people will be responsible for carrying out the policy, even though it is likely that they may not agree with some of the methods of achieving the objectives.
I would like to be a fly on the wall to witness the debate amongst the intellectuals putting forward their individual points of view being moderated by the President and then decisions finally made by the President who will be eventually responsible for the outcome, and accept blame where they fail, as indeed many will just as a matter of course.
I am also interested in seeing the order of play, to determine what issues will be tackled first along with the economic crisis which seems to get worse as each day goes by. Come inauguration day the economic mess will be so great, people will wonder why we are spending money on the inauguration when there are more important areas to concentrate on. I hope the celebrations will be muted just for that reason.
We haven't seen nothing yet, as far as the economic crisis is concerned. We are heading for a 1930s style depression which will scar a whole generation, just as it did that past generation. My ancestors suffered directly as a result of the Great Depression, and I expect many of my contemporaries and relatives as well as myself to suffer now. How much we suffer and for how long is something I cannot predict, but suffer we will.
It is therefore important that a disciplined way is adopted in dealing with the crisis at hand. I therefore am glad that the signs are good. With an unflappable President I am sure we will confront the crisis with the best person at the helm, as we will sink, and he will guide us in the water to safety, but not before we actually sink. So don't blame him for the sinking ship, as the holes had already been made before he took charge as captain and he is doing his best to plug these holes. In this process, we may delay the speed with which we will sink and the boat may not capsize and we will have to thank him for saving the boat from capsizing, not blame him for sinking!!
Those who are fortunate to read this blog will know I am seeing the picture ahead much clearer than most people who are not inclined to believe my opinion on the severity of the recession, which is likely to become a depression. We just seem to be escapists and are currently unwilling to accept that this is a possibility. A student of history would however point to the sure signs of depression and as there are few students of history and those who do not believe that history will repeat itself will be living in total denial until it actually happens.
I am not at all being alarmist, I am just being a realist as this has to happen, as there is no concerted effort to avoid this problem. The bandaid that is being applied is just not enough to prevent the bleeding, and the stitches that are eventually required will take a longer time to heal as we are not ready to accept the inevitable.
The point to realize is that there is more to life than economics. We just need just enough to live and everything else is just icing on the top. So we can survive this onslaught when we get a grip of our lives and decide what is really most important to us. Materialism is not the answer, so we go back to spirituality and family and friends.
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