The stock market, Corporate influence in politics

Firstly, lets be aware that the stock market is not the economy, but a reflection of current conditions in addition to a quantifiable estimation of future conditions.

When i worked with Morgan Stanley, in their financial adviser training program, i was able to see the inside of the operation with unique 'outside' eyes.

The first thing i noticed, is that advisers were being asked to sell particular products, as opposed to listening to the client and finding the best financial products that may help him/her in their financial goals.

The second thing i could immediately see was awry - at least half of the staff of prospective advisers were professional gamblers.... shorting their way to a decent income to break into the business. They were like poker junkies.. some openly showing classic signs of addiction.

Yes, the market needs investors so firms can raise capital through the sale of public stock... ya ya ya...

It's the huge hedge funds shorting stocks in specific markets, influencing the market to dip, with automatically triggered sell orders. One only has to have an idea of where the triggers lay.

The speculation has reached revolutionary complexity, as a science.

Take a look at the Dow chart above.... see when it started to fluctuate wildly.... funny how its in the mid 90's. The exact time a significant number of 'investors' started practically applying the computer to speculation.

This is our first encounter with the classic 'Robot' question, of science fiction novels of the 70's.. what we have here, is independently acting financial 'robots' that react instantaneously to perceived risk, according the preprogrammed and regularly faulty algorithms.

The instantaneous nature of the robots actions removes the markets isolation from rumor and unfounded speculation.

In the past, a rumor would start, and before anyone could buy or sell any stock over the misinformation, the rumor was put to rest with confidently stated fact by respected people, calming the market.

Think of it, like the financial market released thousands of robots on the streets of New York to beg for change.. ends up, through A. I., they figured out how to mug.

What else changed in the market at the time? market regulation? slightly... End of the cold war... not really. The end of Mork and Mindy?? perhaps. ... it was a good run...

Funny how the feds ended short selling as soon as it bit them in the but.

The 'bailout', if it does not lead to large changes on Wall Street, as far as the way people invest and the way the speculate on the market, they we are just delaying the enevitable pain of change.

After the 'Tech bubble' of the 90's, i thought that the dow would be flat at 10k for 10 years.. here we are... I was amazed that the adjustment has taken so long.

Who expected F and F, with the help of the feds, to start giving away money in a huge barn sale of cash.

These people were giving loans to people with no down payment, and no proof of income. Tell me they did not know what they were doing.

I remember thinking at the time, how can this be good business? They must be counting on the government to bail them out when this house of cards falls... no way, i thought, they wouldnt make such a huge gamble...

... unless they were very very sure they were going to be bailed out in the end.

You see... every one who is involved in the loaning of money was making money on this, if the fat cats at the top dont have to pay for the barn sale of cash, they all make out well.

The only people who dont do well, are the people who did not take the cash giveaway, because they knew better than to get into a wildly adjustable mortgage, like myself. These people will pay for all the idiots and greedy people who got us into this mess. These people need the tax relief, as they are the innocent in this situation.

Let me get this right... i cant borrow money for my little drum building business because greedy people on Wall Street and stupid people in Main Street messed everything up... and i have to pay $2300 to be reminded of why i can not get my micro-loan. And when i do have the %20 down payment, the bank will not be there for my responsible, but ill timed, moment to earn the American dream.

The people who defaulted on the loan this quickly, they shouldn't have been in the house buying mode. The people who will barely keep 'their' homes, will get some help from the tax payers, poor and rich alike.. i dont feel bad for these people. They are home owners, who will be very happy with the price of their house 30 years from now. I doubt any will think of repaying the poor tax payers who supported them, when they sell their house for a profit.

The influence of the donation of funds to politicians from those who would profit from a bailout of this situation is well documented.

In particularly interested in the political contribution history of F and F, The National Association of Realtors PAC, and Hedge fund managers contributions to politics.

Check out the following link... NAR all of a sudden, kicked in with millions in contributions out of nowhere in 2007 and 2008. Look at how it was spread evenly between dems and republicans... look at the top 10 contributors list, and see how no other contributor is so balanced in its contributions.. convenient, when you are trying to get a bill past both the house and senate.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expend.php?cycle=2008&cmte=C00083279

Take a look at the influence of Hedge funds in our broken system:

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F2700

And the financial greed mongers and what they are buying:

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F07

Check out the top contributing industries over the past few years... if you add real estate, financial services, securities and investments, the banking industry, etc... all the complicit actors.. you see that it is the largest contribution to the politicians who are voting to bail them out.

And Fannie and Freddie??

According to opensecrets.org, 'Current members of Congress have received a total of $4.8 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with Democrats collecting 57 percent of that.'

And the following members of congress have personal investments in the same companies they are bailing out:

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/congressmen-may-have-lost-17-m.html

In the end, they will choke on their money, as it can not isolate them from what they have done.

We (kids, grand kids etc) are left to clean up the mess.

Does anyone remember Tea Pot Dome??

Tony

Prison Reform - crime and punishment

Here is another serious drain on our system, giving us little return on our investment.

Simply,

Declare amnesty, and decriminalize for all crimes to oneself, with respect to incarceration.

Incarceration should only be for those who have committed violent crimes, or significant crimes against humanity.

Abolish the prison employee unions influence in the political process. Unions are for protecting workers safty and human rights, not to influence legislation to imprison the minor offender to insure a steady stream of union jobs, for example. Obvious stuff here... greed is wicked.

Reconstruct the prison system to become secure working factories.

Each inmate must contribute labor to compensate for his/her crime, and to earn privileges beyond the very basic requirements of life. no work, no windows... is the slogen. That includes TV, ballenced regular meals, excersise, socializacion and visitation... all to be earned from profitable work.

The disabled can be determined, and cared for accordingly. Perhaps some government support here may be needed, as well as in rehabilitation services within the prison.

The criminally insane, and the hopelessly violent, can be segragated and configned at the cost of the state.

The prison staff is to use inmate labor to turn a profit, including the upkeep of all capitol equipment, as in all business. The free labor will be payed for by the prison in providing housing, food and living necessities for the working inmates. Luxuries are only for those inmates who make extrodinary contribution to the profitability of the prision, or the furtherance of the rehabilitation goals.

The prison staff can be fired if they do not turn a profit, by a publicly elected board of trustees.

Incentivise the rehabilitation of the inmates through prison employee bonus program with the focus on providing vocational training and experience to the inmates.

With respect to crime that is not significant enough to warrant incarceration, penalties should be community service related to the crime, in stead of monetary penalties. ... all the way down to traffic tickets. This will take the money making incentive out of penalty determining legislation.

..a work in progress... will update...

I will eventually get to the police and justice departments, and the perverse incentives therein.

Tony

Breaking the Grand Ologonomy - Election Reform - Gov Reform

Ok here is the general outline of a plan to take back the county from the corporations and countries who seek to control us through political influence and unregulated business.

The Ologonomy, is the bottleneck we find ourselves in, at the moment. Corporate influence in our process has poisoned the system, in direct and open defience of the spirit of the constitution.

The election is every four years. At the end of each presidential election, you start the process of the next election.

The model below is significantly different than the current system, and involves sacrifices from the electorate and the corporations who choose to do business in this country.

Each citizen is expected to do his or her part in the process, and is incentivised through tax breaks of for participation. One can choose not to participate, and just pay the tax to support the citizens who do participate, thus contributing the process.

Here is the idea, in general: at the end of the presidential election, you hold neighborhood elections and elect a representative of your block, to then compete at the city level, and county.

This round of elections is held in rapid succession, with the focus on presenting a general platform, lessing the spending of money and time politicing, at this point. The idea is to get the smartest people interested in office, from your area and representing your politics, to then compete at the state level, regional, and then national election for president of the country.

There will be four years for the vetting process to take place. Every 'winner' at the state level can be highlighted across the counrty, with as equal public support in the disemination of thier indivitual platform.

The playoffs can be held, ending up with a block of 5

The winner is elected President, and can personnally select his advisors. There is no VP position, to be replaced by: the next four candidates, gain positions of authority and importance within the government and are next in line for the presidency, should the president be unable to serve.

There is a another body, to be comprised of representatives of the supreme court, the senate and the house, a body of 5 that joins the 4 'winners' in a body of 9 that has veto power over legislation, taking that power away from the Presidency.

The president has the power of executive privilage, that is also subject to veto by the body of 9. If urgency is neede and can be proven, the President can act, subject to a vote by the body of 9 to determine the constitutionality of the action, with powers of impeachment.

The military determines the commander in chief independently. All top decisions subject to veto of the body of 9, unless urgent action is needed, and can be proven, then the President him/herself has veto power and final say on military action, subject to a vote by the body of 9 as to the constitutionality.

Some would say this is way to much time demanded from the voters... others would say that the problems caused by apathy are far more expensive.

I figure its less than 20 elections over 4 years, one vote every other month in perpetuity aproximately.

How to fund it? money from the no participating citicen tax, corporate tax. Corporations will benifit from the stable political system under wich to do business. They will pay for the contribution the citizenry has performed in this political process, and will share proportionately in the burden. As they do not have a vote, they can contribute money, as public good will to the people who will determine their governance. build a park, school, or piece of art, instead of lining fat lobbiests pockets.

All individual or corporate donations to individual candidates is forbidden by law, every thing is publically funded, as outlined above.

in the words of George Bush... 'What ya'll think?'

Tony

Corporate influence over the political process in the USA

This is a big one...

As a son of the revolutionary war (my ancestors were in the war to gain independence from the British), I feel a deep appreciation for those who have created this country, and the fine and wonderful aspects therein.

Our forefathers designed a elegant, if not flawed plan of governance that instills some of the most humanitarian rights in the world.

The enactment of their vision, of course, has fell far short of its potential... as of yet.

At the University of California at Santa Cruz, i studied Environmental studies, and Economics. It was preparation for a doctorate in Developmental Econ... a dream of mine that may come to pass one day. That being said, im sure i will get many a person saying i dont know what im talking about... thats all good, i will post your comments only if they provide a contribution to the subject matter. Feel free to disagree, or post your support of any idea expressed here.

In school, i was very interested in the weakness of the capitalistic model, as practiced by a large number of countries around the world.

The collapse of the Soviet Union had me thinking... most likely our model of governance is in its infancy as well, and the world is blindly groping for a solution to this challenging issue.

The Chinese have decided to give the socialism/communism/capitalism thing a go... we will see.

There is a paper called 'the tragedy of the commons' that lays out the general weaknesses of the capitalistic model we have here in the states.

Basically the gist is... one cannot maximize social good, and personal gain at the same time. Personal gain has to be fettered by the group in order to obtain a higher level of gain for the group as a whole. Simple as that, not hard to understand, and really needs to be accepted, so we can move on to a solution.

You rugged individualists who dont think government has a place in your life. Dont complain about the deteriating society, just make some blinders out of your stock certificates, as this is what you are creating. Try to think what life will be like for your children if the trends continue.

The problem of the conflict between personal gain and social welfare will be a larger and larger issue, as the separation of rich and poor increases. The rich will be isolated from this problem, until it becomes severe, and they must address it. Global warming is one of millions of examples of this.. I call it the 'shit hits the fan' principal. Change is not easy, and usually comes when the pain of situation is greater than the pain of the change.

Will people give up thier extra humvee so they dont have to watch thier backs when they go to the store, or keep thier kids locked up in the back yard? Some may. Some wont. Most wont see the connection between the two.. if thats you.. keep reading this blog.

With the inertia of given events, like Global Warming for example, and this hesitation to change, there usually is a tardy reaction, and many associated problems. The idea behind this blog, is to see if smart people can gain enough power and influence to make necessary changes before the growing pain become unbearable, or even deadly.

The rich need the working class to run the machinery of the country. If the personal gain of the rich causes the poor to be unwilling, or unable to serve the rich, the personal gain of the rich is of little use to them. Economies are built on the work production and consumption of the common man, not on investments by speculators or influence by big business.

In future posts, i will outline some solutions to problems such as these.

I will start with a practical idea of how to wrestle our government from the hands of the rich.

having fun yet?!!

Tony

First post - Lets change the world together

Hey all,

After years of working out some unique solutions for some of the more difficult problems facing humanity, i decided to start a blog, as a way of communicating my vision for the world.

I hope it generates discussion and action in your household and community.

Tony