Wednesday +Thursday Open Thread
Daschle is out . HHS nominee Tom Daschle removed his name from consideration yesterday due to reports that he had not paid over $100,000 in owed taxes. President Obama took full responsibility for not properly vetting the former Senator.
Republican Senator Judd Gregg has been formally tapped as the Commerce Secretary. In his place, NH Gov. Lynch nominated Bonnie Newman (R-NH), a moderate who vows not to run for election in 2010.
I'll be trying out a new feature to add to the open threads. Let me know if you like it:
Today's question(s): What power that the federal government does not have would you like it to have? And on the other side of the coin, what power does the federal government have that you wish it did not? For purposes of discussion, assume we're going off your personal interpretation of the Constitution rather than from the current SCOTUS jurisprudence.
Comments :
I was going to comment
on a maximum wage (since you asked what power I'd like the federal government to have) but PF already has a diary to that effect.
http://www.swordscrossed.org/diary/20090204/caps-executive-pay-yea-or-nay
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Obama is being generous with the financial corps to let
the vaulted > $500 K execs keep their jobs.
Ronald Reagan did it right in the 80's S&L debacle. Any bank, Credit Union or Savings & Loan (for this threads purposes I will also count financial institutions like insurance & stock corps) that goes under water (the value of assetts is less than it's depositors obligations), the government steps in, and takes over the operation. Reagan's Resolution Trust worked great. The depositors are insured up to the federal maximum, the stockholders are wiped out, the corporate executives & Board of Trustees/Directors are all fired. The operation continues with a clean bill of health/debt and when profitable, it is sold to private investors. Otherwise, those arms that are able to be are spun off & sold & the main entity is shut down peaceably.
That's the problem I see with the current way it's being handled. The folks that made the bad calls are still being listened to and hansomely rewarded for tanking their companies & you and I are left to pay for it. Then these yahoo's whine that we think they shouldn't draw ridiculous wages.
Go figure.
Whats wrong with insuring the deposits under existing FDIC...
...reg's and close the sucker down.
That would be a message that banks, and Barney Frank better loan money to qualified people.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
They made that case over at Reason
Someone did some back-of-the-envelope calculations if the 10 largest banks went under we'd be looking at about $4 trillion for the FDIC insured deposits.
I think it is safe to say that wouldn't be the cheapest way to go (given that assumption). I've heard anecdotal evidence that just about every large bank in the country is functionally insolvent. Let's hope that isn't true.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
But the 10 largest banks aren't going under.
;-)
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Because we, as a country, have decided to
privatize the gains, but socialize the losses.
We should follow the model the Swedes followed back in the early '90s when they had the same problem.
Nationalize the banks and be done with it.
I survived the Bush Administration
Move there then...
...we are Americans, and this is America.
We don't nationalize our banks, oil companies, or anything else for that matter.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Wow!
Sounds like a great place, this "America." Where is this place? Because here , certainly, you've heard about this
..or these 
..
Just because it isn't called nationalization in the mainstream press, doesn't mean it isn't. We just don't make it permanent--eventually taking it back to the market after a short time (usually). But effectively, if the government owns a controlling amount of your company, you've been nationalized. Or do you call what we've been doing lately "kinda-sorta nationalization"?
http://wealthweekly.blogspot.com
Wii FC:2805-8311-8040-2678 Brawl: 2277-7051-2186
Why do you hate the workers, Tlaloc?
Doesn't the Federal government already have this power via income taxes?
Wouldn't a strongly progressive income tax be better than a maximum wage/salary--we'd keep some of the incentive that comes with higher salaries (especially if it is based on bragging rights), and any revenue increase could be used to increase the standard deduction on income taxes.
Also, an income tax would include investment income, while a wage cap would only stop workers from becoming rich.
In my expert opinion, you should do what I tell you to do.
Why not both?
you can have a progressive tax structure that then eventually ratchets up to 100% at whatever level you decide is the maximum wage (and adjust it for inflation year to year). That way you do maintain some incentive even at the top in that a person will want to make sure they get the full, for example, $2 million, instead of a "mere" $1.9 million.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
I would like
the govt to do what it does for CSpan with newspapers. A non partisan, non profit pool of press, that is paid for with pennies in taxes..... as a part of the right to freedom of the press. The press is supposed to hold the government accountable, but if they are for profit then they will serve the interests of those that write their pay checks.
I would like the Pentagon to be audited and balance it's budget. Every year the Pentagon just ignores the laws of accounting for where they spend their money.
I'm only half stupid
with defense spending
I think the "low hanging fruit" is the defense contractors. Get rid of cost-plus accounting and scrutinize contractor accounting meticulously (followed by heavy sentencing for infraction, dare I say, treason?).
The other stuff I agree with.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Carrot and Sticks
If you wonder why our tax code will never be simplified it is because it is used as a billy club to beat people over the head with.
Tax credits for home buyers and car buyers are now in the 'Invest in America' stimulus plan.
I'm only half stupid
(1)...or...//...or.../...
...anyway...good point.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Great news for the advocates of liberty
626,000 people have been liberated from their jobs according to the latest Labor Department numbers.
That reminds me, why are we paying our good money to support a big governmen' communist style labor department in the first place...! Someone call Glenn Beck and tell him the communisn has already been instilled in our government while he wasn't looking! Do either he or Rush know that we have a 'Labor (Communist) Department'?
Thank God the Stimulus Bill has been blocked by Republicans en force. Freedom is on the march.
I'm only half stupid
Why are you not freaking out about the poor people...
...in Kentucky, dozens killed, no power, freezing to death,,,while Obama doesn't go there, FEMA's a no show, and Barry's out wining and dining on $100 per lbs steaks!
Now there's an issue like a liberal like you can get her teeth into!!!
Yet...not a peep?
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Well that didn't take long
We've already got allegations of fraud and threats of violent resistance against the new Iraqi government from the Sunni trbes in Anbar.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR200902...
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Did you expect anything else?
The got absolutely wiped out in the elections.
But they are now a known quantity, they are in the minority, the country wants to move forward and let the good times roll, these guys want to turn back the clock to 1100AD.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Minority, sure.
They were also in the mionrity when they ran the insurgency that kept Iraq awash in blood. Oh and now they have new US weapons (remember part of the "Anbar awakening" was arming the tribes we liked?). If they follow through expect Iraq to go to hell very quickly again.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
NRCC Chairman says House GOP learning from Taliban
Amazing.
Imagine the right-wing blogosphere if a Democrat said this:
Link:
www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0209/Pete_Sessions_House_GOP_learning_from_Taliban.html
The GOP.... modeling their behavior after the Taliban.
I survived the Bush Administration
Sigh....
It smells like desperation. They squeal like pigs.
This isn't about doing what is right for the country for the GOP. It is a desperate attempt to hold on to power, the country be damned.
Reason number 5,001 why I despise the GOP and their terrorist talking points.
I'm only half stupid
You're commentary has reduced you're credibility...
...to that of the average cartoon character!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
The thing that disappoints me about Obama's bipartisanship
is how the right has reacted.
I mean this specifically in regards with the stimulus package the administration is trying to create. The more hard core right seems to think asking for help and input is a weakness and the talking heads (radio & tv) jump all over that thinking it's bush43 time again and they can run the table. The republican moderates (the 4 in the Senate, I don't think there are any in the House) don't seem to be willing to publically agree with Democratic proposals. They've held tight with the whole tax cut/no spending mantra that's dominated the rest of the party.
Here's the thing. This course of action is taken at the Republicans peril of getting anything at all. If the vote is taken & it loses, Harry Reid has already said he'd take it up again as a budget bill which can't be filibustered & only needs 50 votes to pass. Getting greedy in this case will get them nothing. That doesn't help them other than the faction that is going to be knashing their teeth, pulling out their hair & rending their garments any how. ie - the Glen Beck/Rush faction.
The GOP governors
all want this bill to pass. Their police and fire departments will have to take cut backs. Their constituents will be storming the gates of their offices and the Republicans can shout, "But I gave you a tax cut."
This is just childish rhetoric on the part of the GOP. They don't care if the economy goes over a cliff as long as they can stick it to the democrats. Country first my ass.
Tax cuts won't create jobs. Tax cuts won't recapitalize the banks.
I'm only half stupid
Reason makes a point
On Kellogg's dropping Michael Phelps
from their line of sponsors:
That made me smile.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
LOL
I wasn't aware of Kellogg's colorful ideas.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Pelosi can't even get her scare tatic facts right...LOL!
Pelosi claimed that without the stimulus package, America would lose 500 million jobs a month. Wow, that’s two hundred million more jobs, than America has people. Apparently the illegal immigration problem is a lot worse than anybody thought.
Ah, those Dem's...lol!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Joe Biden Is A Despicable SOB!
How did this idiotic lampoon of a politician get on Obama's short list? Here he simply say's point blank, we don't care if the people are not for $800B in federal expansion, we're doing it anyway, regardless of the consequenses.
I had to let go 3 people this week, he doesn't give a flying F, he is living large in DC, going on retreat while people are frozen in their houses without any FEMA aid...I'd like to spit in his face.
Biden Urges Passage of Stimulus Despite Voter Backlash
Susan Davis reports from Williamsburg, Va., on the House Democrats’ retreat.
Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged today that Democrats could face political repercussions in 2010 for their support of the $900 billion economic stimulus package.
“But when we do [approve it], I’m sure you’re going to be nailed in ads, ‘Well they voted on that’ 30 second ads,” Biden told roughly 200 members of the House Democratic Caucus gathered here for their three day annual retreat. “I promise you as [a colleague] once said to me, ‘I’ll come campaign for you or against you, whichever will help you the most in your district.’ And so will the president because, again, we’re all in this together.”
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
It's a republic
Biden is elected to serve the best interests of the people of the US, not necessarily their whims. Now I agree that if the people feel strongly about something then you should have good reason to buck that. That said the stimulus is right now pretty split in terms of support vs opposition (yes I know the rasmussen poll you've been spamming it here, but 43-37 means that the difference is still within the MOE).
Out of curiosity did you declare Cheney a despicable SOB when he insisted it didn't matter if the american people wanted us out of Iraq at 70-30 levels?
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Hyperbole...
I don't spam anything.
Debating a trillion dollar bill and passing it after 3 days, and pulling our troops out of Iraq after 5 years are slightly differnt ideas.
And the American people wanted the troops in when we sent them by a 70% approval.
So go mix yourself up somewhere else.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman