using your own words, those americans were net positive in net worth, assets bigger than liabilities, what me worry???
The latest development on Goldman Sachs being charged with fraud by the SEC is potentially dangerous for the global economy that is recovering. Now we have both Britain and Germany calling for investigations into Goldman Sach's role in the financial meltdown in both countries. Already Goldman Sachs is being blamed for "cooking" Greece's books that eventually brought down Greece. How could the US government be not aware of such machinations from their banking giants? This is a heinous crime of the worse kind. At least in widescale corruption, you know what is going on, although it is for the wrong reasons. Here they come into your house, be nice to you as well as promising you that they will make you rich soon, but in the end steals everything you have. No wonder Americans don't trust their congress and to a lesser extent their government.
huh??.. ..and you just realized that???....who set up the rules/regulations and the ones who didn't enforce the rule when they should have been doing so??..
Here was how Britain, Germany, and Greece got conned www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/18/ap/business/main6409386.shtml
Look who is benefitting from Goldman Sachs.. ..it was Enron during W's 1st term of presidency... now, looks like it will be Goldman Sachs becoming the new Enron for BO..uuhhh huh.. http://images.opensecrets.org/obama_top_contribs.htm?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638 It all started in 1999 with Larry Summers, Levitt, Greenspan & Rubin. Then expanded during W's presidency with the SEC. And it's continuing now.. Goldman Sachs was one of BO's top presidential campaign donors – giving nearly 1 million dollars to “The Annointed One’s” war chest. This is the same company that BO singled out and demonized last week for the financial collapse on Wall Street. What are the chances BO gives that money back? What’s worse, BO's attack on Goldman Sachs was really politically motivated. The Dems and the SEC timed the announcement of their fraud case against Sachs to coincide with Democrats’ bid to overhaul the nation’s financial regulatory infrastructure. “You take the worst companies in this country, and the worst accounting practices and all the Ponzi schemes – nothing begins to compare to the way that government has mismanaged our money”...
The underlined red statement nails it and I would add 'past and present government' to it. It is still deficits translating to huge debts, with no plan of how to balance the budget in the foreseenable future, forget about ever paying off, now add more spending and more spen....that eventually will torpedo the great US of A. Eepak can google, then spin and more spins to make debts looks good or manageable to support his arguments for more spending but as I look at CHN and then the 3 island nations of HK, Taiwan and Sing, what is common among them...no debt, huge $$$ reserves, strong economy. I still shake my head looking at USA's US$800B for annual debt servicing (>2X Canada annual federal budget) and the number will escalate when interest rate spikes, that is a huge transfer of wealth out of USA. How long can any nation operate of life support or borrowed $$$? unbelieveable.
^^Try to guess..^^ ..how many trillion of dollars have GS been pillaging, stealing, raping, gambling & putting in their pockets the reg. people's taxpayers' money over so many yrs....probably abt $32 trillion of them..people say the Dems stand for poor people, middle class folks, the minorities etc...yeaaaah, riiiight.. More on Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street’s most prestigious investment banks, was also among the many banks in 2008 and 2009 to receive billions of dollars in taxpayer money to help it stay afloat. Like others in the securities industry, Goldman Sachs advises and invests in nearly every industry affected by federal legislation. The firm closely monitors issues including economic policy, trade and nearly all legislation that governs the financial sector. It has been a major proponent of privatizing Social Security as well as legislation that would essentially deregulate the investment banking/securities industry. The firm tends to give most of its money to Democrats. A number of high-ranking government officials in recent years have spent part of their careers at Goldman Sachs. http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000085&cycle=2010 More of their happenings here: http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/otherdata.php?id=D000000085&cycle=2010
From my observations Americans like to blame others for their problems. Never has the thought that they themselves may be the cause of the problem ever enter their mind. All they have to choose is one or more of : 1. Pay more taxes to stop the massive bleeding. 2. Spend less. 3. Save more. Why, oh why can't Americans do at least one of the above? The reason may be surprising and even ominous for the US. The US uses the printing press to debase its currency which it then uses the dollar to ask the world to use it as a global reserve currency. It is the modern way of "colonialism" without any physical occcupation like the old ways of the British, French, Spaniards, Portugese, and even Italians and Dutch. Using the printing press, not only for itself but for the whole world, is the easiest way out to inflate the US out of domestic economic problems and pass the "buck" around the world. Let me frankly ask you, once you are used to easy money how can Americans volunteer to have a change in mindset and then opt for one or more of the above 3 options? Never! Only when a major catastrophic event like a major economic meltdown worse than the greatest depression ever known or it is reduced to ashes in a war, like what happened to Japan and Germany after WWII, will the above 3 options be forced upon them. Then we shall perhaps see a rebirth of a new, even more powerful but certainly wiser America.
Simple differences between Americans and Asians, particularly the East Asians can be found in the way credit cards are used. Americans use credit cards as a source of loans that are perpectual, choosing to pay the interest monthly. Asians use credit cards as a convenience to replace big budles of physical money they would otherwise have to carry. In the East all credit card outstanding amounts are fully repaid at the end of the month-credit card companies make no money from interest because there is none. Also the more advanced East Asians even loan money to convenience card companies. In Hong Kong we call it the Octopus Card, which is used for nearly all forms of transportation, purchasing, bookings, parking, dining, etc. The corporation that owns the Octopus card has billions of dollars paid in by users-it is a form of a huge bank which earns interest but pays none.
How can USA spend less with the health bill passing and nothing being cut to make up for it, instead of deficit financing to sustain the bill? you advocate spending more and say it was all part of economy and finance management, I call it mismanagement instead. You are right on easy access to $$$ and the huge appetite for consumer spending of the Americans. As for rebirth of USA, I think we will see the day the huge and rising debt will sink USA...one thing I do not know who will save USA from default, even IMF cannot do it.
You are correct in the blue highlight above...I add to it i.e. 'not only are credit card debt fully paid out every month, but holders collect flyer points or cash return (2%) from credit card company. Using Visa Gold for car rentals, automatic car insurance covered and oversea flight booking entitles to 5% cashback. Also, with excellent credit rating, no debt and huge savings/investment account with the bank, holders do not even pay the annual card fee. But the bank always make money collecting 2-3% from spending from the vendors'. That is the Asian way.
Credit card companies charging annual fees? No way, I will just ask them to go to hell. I am being bombarded with credit card offers with incentives and large spending limits with no mention of any annual fees or other fees at all. Even my existing credit card companies offer me loyalty rewards for staying with them, the longer the bigger the rewards which I convert to good wines.
I am with you on not paying fees for credit cards. We don't pay annual fees on our one and only Visa card ever since we got the card like ages ago, and there is a way to get it free other than good credit rating We get 1%-2% cash back reward, 5% cash back for flight bookings...VISA Gold charges C$120 annual fee and extra fee for second card for spouse, same C$120 fee for American Express, MasterCard...but these cards entitles the holders to 1-2% cash back or air miles reward for charging to the card. For example, we use Visa to pump gas (I travel a lot like 40,000 km a year on work) and get 2% back, plus because I fill at the local grocery store, we get another cash back from the grocery store every year, then I get to claim mileage and meals, so you can say I am paid 3 ways for driving. Plus the car I drive is a Toyota which gives me lifetime free oil change every time my odometer clocks 8000 km BTW, there are regular Visa, Mastercard that charges nothing but holders don't get reward $$$ or air miles.
Flip flopping now??.. ..i thought you are in favor & a proponent of more spending by the govt.?.. How about stop all the spending altogether? Isn't that the root cause of all debts? That way, no new taxes will be needed. Even if the govt. tax all the people, it still wouldn't be enough to cover the debt... Of course, no.2 & 3, above, are foreign to the current white house administration..
