robvstate.com

Quote on health care

Jan 13

Posted by robparis in General | 2 Comments

“Now, let me get this straight…We are going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also hasn’t read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes…all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s nearly broke. What could possibly go wrong?”

 

 

I’m not sure who said it, but I like it.

Tags: ,

Bernanke quotes

Jan 4

Posted by robparis in General | No Comments

Here’s a select collection of Bernanke quotes from 2005-2008. For similar quotes from the Great Depressions, see my earlier post.

7/1/05  – Interview with CNBC

“We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though.”

10/20/05 –  Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee

“House prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. Although speculative activity has increased in some areas, at a national level these price increases largely reflect strong economic fundamentals.”

11/15/05 -  Nomination of ben s. bernanke, of new jersey, to be a member and chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system

“With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly. The Federal Reserve’s responsibility is to make sure that the institutions it regulates have good systems and good procedures for ensuring that their derivatives portfolios are well-managed and do not create excessive risk in their institutions.”

2/15/06 – Hearing before the Committee on Financial Services

“Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise.”

2/15/07 -  Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress

“Despite the ongoing adjustments in the housing sector, overall economic prospects for households remain good. Household finances appear generally solid, and delinquency rates on most types of consumer loans and residential mortgages remain low.”

3/28/07 -  Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee

“At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency.”

5/17/07 -  At the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s 43rd Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition

“All that said, given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited, and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system.  The vast majority of mortgages, including even subprime mortgages, continue to perform well.  Past gains in house prices have left most homeowners with significant amounts of home equity, and growth in jobs and incomes should help keep the financial obligations of most households manageable.”

8/31/07 -  At the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Symposium

“It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve–nor would it be appropriate–to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions.”

1/10/08 -  Q&A after speech

“The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession.”

2/27/08 -  Q&A after testimony to Senate Banking Committee

“I expect there will be some failures [referring to smaller regional banks]. Among the largest banks, the capital ratios remain good and I don’t anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large, internationally active banks that make up a very substantial part of our banking system.”

6/10/08 -  Boston Federal Reserve’s 52nd annual economic conference

“The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so.”


7/18/08 -  Remarks to the House Financial Services Committee

“The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing.”

Many of these quotes were found across the Internet and have been compiled before. Thanks to the following sites for source material:

The Market Oracle
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Bernie Sanders: US Senator for Vermont

Tags: , ,

On holidays and gift giving

Dec 30

Posted by robparis in General | No Comments

It’s the end of the year. Time for the wasteful, inefficient tradition of exchanging presents. If you disagree, try reading Jeffrey Tucker’s Is Christmas Inefficient?, Bob Murphy’s Putting the Economics Back in Christmas or Joel Waldfogel’s Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents for the Holidays.

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy getting a good gift. To me, a good gift (assuming it’s tangible), like a good purchase, is something that I value more than the cost of the gift itself. A good gift is something that I would have purchased myself had I known about it. If the gift is something I wouldn’t have bought on my own, then it’s likely that I value the money spent on the gift more than the gift itself. Accordingly, I would have been happier with the money.

As anybody familiar with the holiday tradition knows, in most cases, exchanged gifts between two people should have approximately the same value. It’s this rule that’s put me in an awkward situation. Somebody who I didn’t plan on exchanging gifts with got me something. This something was expensive. Just how expensive? $42,105. A $42,105 gift is very expensive, especially coming from somebody who I didn’t plan on exchanging gifts with in the first place.

Just who spent $42,105 on a gift for me this year? Well it was the generous federal government. The government has “spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion… The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S.” This gift was so generous, that Bloomberg decided to write an article about it!

Like most holiday gifts, it wasn’t something I wanted. In fact, I wish I’d never received it.

So now I’m in an awkward situation. The government spent $42,105 on a gift for me, and I got it nothing in return… and the year is almost over. I did what any prospective gift-buyer does. I snooped around. Trying to find out what the government really wanted, I started searching. On the FAQ’s for the Treasury, down at the very bottom of the page, I finally found it. The government wants more money! Even with the ability to make an infinite amount of worthless green paper, the government still wants more of it. Why? So it can go waste it on something else that we didn’t want in the first place.

The final Frequently Asked Question about the Public Debt:

Q. How do you make a contribution to reduce the debt?

A. Make your check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and in the memo section, notate that it is a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

So that’s what it wanted all along. As I write a check for $42,105, I wonder how this can possibly be a Frequently Asked Question. I wonder how many people would actually mail the Treasury more money than it already steals.  I wonder if anybody has ever used P.O. Box 2188 in Parkersburg, West Virginia. I get my head back together and focus in on the task.  I make sure to write a cheery holiday letter. I even throw in some holiday cookies. As I get ready to mail $42,105 to a P.O. Box in West Virginia, I try not to think about how shady a P.O. Box in West Virginia really is. Or even worse, how the government who thinks it can solve problems by throwing money at it, somehow thought it knew what I wanted for the holidays.

Tags: ,

Happy Holidays!

Dec 24

Posted by robparis in General | 4 Comments

And many more!

Tags: , ,

College Football Playoff Act of 2009

Dec 9

Posted by robparis in General | No Comments

H.R. 390: College Football Playoff Act of 2009 approved legislation to force college football to ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision game as a national championship. The bill favors a switch to a ‘more fair’ playoff system.

I don’t see what the real objection is. Congress has nothing else on its plate now. And anyway, its right there in the Constitution :

U.S. Constitution – Article 1 – Section 11 – Clause 3

The Congress shall have Power To Define and Regulate all Competitive Collegiate Activities that Define a National Champion for the common Entertainment and general Welfare of the United States. All Championship Competitors must be Drawn in uniform throughout the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.

The Congress shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to Declare a National Champion upon Completion of the Competition, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.

That’s right, the Constitution gives Congress the express power to determine how a college football playoff system should work.

Tags: ,