Recent comments

  • Don't think we have to concern ourselves with that as Geithner's latest fraud, PPIP, is simply a continuation of the Bush Administration's massive and final transfer of wealth from the rest of us.

    [For the record: when a bank has to put up on 7%, while receiving 93% back, on items which were worthless last week according to true market value - that is, not finding any buyers for said items - then that is truly a colossal bank/investment fraud - and one which profits those banks greatly. And where does all that 93% come from? And from what population's present and future pockets?]

    While this was an insightful and thoughful post, an alternative post might simply have the web site of the thinking person's humanitarian economist: www.ied.info

    Reply to: Why the Wall Street Bailout will Harm average Americans -- even if it works!   15 years 7 months ago
  • the part that I found most scary. If behavior science has reached a point that you can control a great mass of people.......we are in deep, deep, doo doo.

    Reply to: Why the Wall Street Bailout will Harm average Americans -- even if it works!   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • When you see an intelligent person on these other blogs who is focused on economics, invite them over to EP.

    As far as DK goes, I don't know why it is so knee jerk, do not read hostile, but do believe many do not read the actual blog posts themselves. I think redstate can be similarly weird so let's be bi-partisan here on the bizarre rancor of some sites.

    But it's a big wide blogosphere and there are many other political blogs as well as great economics blogs to read.

    The key is to get other folks to spread their wings and start discovering other blogs.

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • You are right and seemingly those speaking truth were shut out of power for the most part.

    Are you tracking on the movement, effort to make the Federal Reserve more transparent, with more oversight, limit it's powers?

    I always blew off Ron Paul because to me his positions are completely inconsistent but it seems he may have a serious point on the Federal Reserve.

    Reply to: KC Fed Chief: Let insolvent banks fail   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • I noticed this sociology/mass psychology use by Obama intensely. So, none of this is surprising. What I found scary was how well it worked.

    Reply to: Why the Wall Street Bailout will Harm average Americans -- even if it works!   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • We need to recall our troops from Iraq and station them in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas?

    And then maybe finish what Nicholas Trist stopped- and just Annex Mexico.
    -------------------------------------
    Executive compensation is inversely proportional to morality and ethics.

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • A call center in FLORIDA!

    -------------------------------------
    Executive compensation is inversely proportional to morality and ethics.

    Reply to: Complaining about Offshore Outsourcing Works - Keep it up!   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • I know that politicians use polling to their advantage but this is new to me. Is this why we see the money being spent in the manner it is spent and the statistic releases that are given to the general public?

    I find behavior control to be scary. I don't want Reps or Dems using behavior science as a reason to make policy.

    IS there anyone out in the MSM (I mean of the big three) that is willing to stand up and tell of the possibility (probability) of a great wave of inflation. Muni's are about to be down graded and that leaves Treasuries as a safe haven. Once the Treasuries are down graded what is remaining.

    I'm calling this afternoon to buy some of that shiny Deak-Perea stuff. The last time I did so my choice at the time for President, Jimmy Carter was in office.

    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1889153,00.html

    Two weeks before Election Day, Barack Obama's campaign was mobilizing millions of supporters; it was a bit late to start rewriting get-out-the-vote (GOTV) scripts. "BUT, BUT, BUT," deputy field director Mike Moffo wrote to Obama's GOTV operatives nationwide, "What if I told you a world-famous team of genius scientists, psychologists and economists wrote down the best techniques for GOTV scripting?!?! Would you be interested in at least taking a look? Of course you would!!"

    Moffo then passed along guidelines and a sample script from the Consortium of Behavioral Scientists, a secret advisory group of 29 of the nation's leading behaviorists. The key guideline was a simple message: "A Record Turnout Is Expected." That's because studies by psychologist Robert Cialdini and other group members had found that the most powerful motivator for hotel guests to reuse towels, national-park visitors to stay on marked trails and citizens to vote is the suggestion that everyone is doing it. "People want to do what they think others will do," says Cialdini, author of the best seller Influence. "The Obama campaign really got that." (See pictures of Obama taken by everyday Americans.)

    The existence of this behavioral dream team — which also included best-selling authors Dan Ariely of MIT (Predictably Irrational) and Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein of the University of Chicago (Nudge) as well as Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman of Princeton — has never been publicly disclosed, even though its members gave Obama white papers on messaging, fund raising and rumor control as well as voter mobilization. All their proposals — among them the famous online fund raising lotteries that gave small donors a chance to win face time with Obama — came with footnotes to peer-reviewed academic research.

    Reply to: Why the Wall Street Bailout will Harm average Americans -- even if it works!   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • The fear of "too big to fail". I have been saying that the survival of the zombie banks is in direct conflict with our interest and the long-term health of our economy.

    The last paragraph of the blockquote reminds me of Simon Johnson's discussion of the financial oligarchy.

    Reply to: KC Fed Chief: Let insolvent banks fail   15 years 7 months ago
  • DKoz people are often not objective in reasoning or debate. This forum is much more open to debate and different ideas.

    Another thing I notice on Dkoz is the timing of a post. You will get attacked much more frequently in the morning the times before school/college classes start and the afternoon right after most classes end.

    IMHO, I have no stats to back it but.....I think there are a lot of kids that post on the Dkoz. The debating tactic of kids is to name call and use pejorative language about those that disagree with them.

    Disagree with the Dkoz kids and you will be called a Troll. I am in the belief that both Reps and Dems have done great harm to our economy. Many Dkoz would never, ever consider such an idea. To them, their party of choice can never, ever do anything wrong.

    There are some on Dkoz that still put up with the extreme partisan thought......I gave up on expecting interesting debates.

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • willing to exercise control over TARP recipient. At least with preferred stock/dividend we were in a better position to receive some return on our money.

    Reply to: Report says U.S. May Convert TARP Bail Out Money to Common Shares   15 years 7 months ago
  • The tie ups are amazing - (JP Morgan's latest ever so clever lapdog is Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister of course) so if you ever had the feeling of being manipulated in the past by the Fed, Big Brother Gov in cahoots with Wall Street regarding the state of the US economy... you're right on the money.

    David.

    Reply to: The Banking Crisis Is Over! Long Live The Banking Crisis!   15 years 7 months ago
  • He's not backtracking...realistically, just very few limited options. Think about it: Mexico (NAFTA) and its southern cousins (CAFTA) are basically hell holes. Cut them off completely, and what happens? Hence, Obama is trying to
    convey that the U.S. cannot be a door mat, lest its ensuing unhealth plague the entire hemisphere. (And FYI, as a critical thinker I'm no Obama accolyte, but rather hold him to a high standard.)

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • ...as long as you don't beat on their god Obama in the process. Other Democrats are OK, but picking on his inner circle of advisors is almost as bad as picking on Obama himself. They're almost Republican in their reflexive, lock-step defense of the man. But cracks are starting to appear in the facade as his pandering to the politics of torture finds almost no support and fewer commenters willing to claim that this is just a head fake. They will eventually realize that Obama is neither populist nor progressive, but has been bought and paid for by Wall Street and the Defense Industry. As NDD states downthread, it's all about the money, and we don't have enough to make a difference.

    But that doesn't mean you shouldn't post over there. They need to hear the message and you do a fantastic job of delivering that message...even if they're not listening right now. I always give you a rec, as long as I get over there in time to see your posts before they scroll off. But these days, I don't get over there very often. Spending too much time just trying to keep one step ahead of the banksters...

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • Money talks, ideology walks.

    The downfall of the Dems was when they allowed themselves to be co-opted by corporate campaign money in the 60s and 70s, when they were fat, happy, and complacent in their Congressional majority.

    One thing I point out to people is that 90% of the newspapers opposed FDR. He and the New Deal coalition were able to go around the newspapers by relying on unions and other organizations to get the word/vote out.

    Big Money and Big Media will never really support leftish causes. Grass roots organizations must be marshalled instead.

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
  • Heh

    I love Rob's "welcoming" you to EP.

    Don't know about you, but I find less and less need to crosspost at DK. Everything except Sky-is-falling (but Obama will save us) or anti-GOP red meat falls like a rock. And analysis? who needs that?

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
  • as long as they always keep a real candidate from having a prayer's chance or having most of the gerrymandered districts in the house challenged.

    I really feel 2006 was the best progress in terms of getting elected real candidates to represent their constituents, but not 2008.

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • ;) There is a reason why we are not partisan. You can say the emperor has no clothes, regardless of which emperor one is referring to and not get lynched!

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:
  • keeps alienating its base support. Why is it that Democrats never understand this concept?

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
  • I just took a beating at DKos for posting this article, expanding on it to show that Obama is pushing for a free trade agreement with Colombia, and declaring that this is a betrayal of labor union supporters.

    With friends like this, who needs enemies?

    Reply to: As expected, Obama backtracks on NAFTA   15 years 7 months ago
    EPer:

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