Hey Russ,

Saw your latest video on the current economic situation:

McCotter: Republicans Oppose the Paulson Splurge (video)

I found it mildly interesting and typical of those that will point fingers at others but not at themselves.

What we are seeing on wall street is the result of 24 years of republican deregulation (they controlled congress that long) that allowed greedy types to do suspicious investments without sufficient oversight.

Curious that we now see many calls for increased oversight.

What we see is the absolute and utter invalidation of the so called "trickle-down" theory. Why? Because in spite of the massive pumping of funds into the top money pockets by this administration over the last 8 years, the failure of the economy started at the bottom.

It was the failure of the common people to be able to meet their economic needs that started the collapse of the mortgage market, the collapse that has now spread to the big houses on wall street, the places where the economic benefits were supposed to trickle out of down to those common people.

They never got it. Across the board we have failure from the bottom of the economy trickling up to the top of the economy.

Trickle down economics is a falsified concept: an economy is made by people moving money, it is the number of transactions between people, not how much is in their pockets. The more people that are involved in making transaction, the healthier the market.

Republican presidents (3 in the last 4) have put money in the pockets of the rich, saying it would trickle down to the common people.

Republican congresses passed bills deregulating the mortgage industry and others, and this deregulation allowed shaky mortgages to be given out.

The failure of the economy to "trickle-down" to the bottom of the economy means that the people did not have the ability to pay for their mortgages. If they had been able to pay them we would not be in the situation we are now. But the middle and upper levels were not protected by the trickle-down economics either, and the floor was kicked out from under them.

Feed the bottom and everything above it will grow: an honest wage for an honest days work, one that pays for the basic necessities of life, with a little left over for fun and for future needs is

We should bail out the common people, not wall street, not the president, nor the republican congress. Build a foundation before you construct a house.

Enjoy.

I got this forward today.....

Subject: The Birk Economic Recovery Plan

Hi Pals,

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child.
So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up...

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads.

Put away money for college - it'll be there.

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs.

Invest in the market - capital drives growth.

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves.

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it... instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ("vote buy") economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

Can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend; more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because
$25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Birk

T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic


PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!

It's hard to disagree with any of that.

However, if you do the math yourself instead of just passing along the Birk idea as a solution you will come to realize that 85,000,000,000, 85 billion, divided by 200,000,000, or 200 million, is only 425.00

that's right, Birk's plan would give two hundred million american adults only 425.00, or, Four hundred and twenty five dollars, not four hundred and twenty five thousand.

Like T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic, you should have learned to use a calculator before posting numbers.

but I imagine that that is part of america's problem in a nutshell too. Johnny cannot read and neither Birk nor Jeanie can add.

correct me if I am wrong.

Hey Jeanie.

Great idea, and I'm all for it, but his math is a little off:

$85,000,000,000.00/200,000,000 = $425.00.

It's like what I said we should do with the tax break scheme that was supposed to fuel economic recovery - give everyone the same dollar amount.

The bigger problem is to solve the CAUSE of the economic failure: get rid of the trickle-down concept and replace it with reality. Economic health builds from the ground up. The economic "food chain" will feed those sharks at the top once the bottom of the "food chain" is healthy.

And also let them pay a "user fee" for benefiting from the economy provided by the USA financial system and government - taxes that represent the governments share in keeping that economy working and safe in the world.

Get rid of the idea that business is a good model for government: business is selfish and greedy when left to it's own devices (as aptly demonstrated eh?), while government "of the people by the people" should be for the people.

One role of government is to keep people from doing bad things: regulation is a part of keeping a civilization civil.

One role of government then is also to keep businesses from doing bad things: regulation is a part of keeping a civilization civil.

Enjoy.

Hey SoSick, long time.

Strangely we agree on the math, and that this may be a common problem in the US.

You forgot to include CTD as well - are you going to correct his math?

Enjoy.

no, uh uh. Because as far as evolution is concerned, fallacy and error is part and parcel of the package.

But as far as finances are concerned, when you cannot add you should not play the game with real money.

Kinda makes ya wonder though. I saw a funny tidbit on CNN this evening, a little spot.. some lady complaining about fraud when she bought a home (which later went into default because of an ARM).. she kept saying... "I asked the lender.. twice, three times.. I asked the lender.. is this a fixed rate mortgage? And they assured me that it was.."

and I sat there watching that wondering why she was unable to read the mortgage papers herself.. and why she had to ask anyone if it was a fixed rate mortgage.. chances are excellent that neither she nor the person at the bank or mortgage company read the paperwork they signed. She probably dealt with some low level clerk as illiterate as herself.

I really couldn't understand why she was complaining. She signed the papers herself. why one illiterate person blames another illiterate person for their problems is beyond my understanding. They should actually have a common understanding of certain problems in life in general when one cannot, or does not bother, to read (the paperwork). or add.

Thanks SoSick,

But we are not talking evolution, just math, the simple math of exponential equations.

Seeing as you claim mathematical ability here, it seems to me that you should be able to tell the difference between

(1) N(t) = N(0)e^-?t

Where
N(t) = The amount of material at a particular time
N(0) = The initial amount of material.
t = The time expended
? = the decay rate, which is differs between materials

and

(2) A = P(1 + (r/n)}^{nt}

Where,
* P = principal amount (initial investment)
* r = annual nominal interest rate (as a decimal)
* n = number of times the interest is compounded per year
* t = number of years
* A = amount after time t

Or show how (1) and (2) can be equivalent.

Certainly understanding the last one is crucial to understanding your mortgage eh? So anyone getting a mortgage should also be literate in the math for this equation.

But this is what happens when banks no longer actually hold the mortgages that they issue. Before de-regulation the banks held the mortgages where you signed them, and the people doing the work at the bank knew what they were selling.

It may have been a fixed rate for the first 5 years then turn to ARM (fairly common I believe), but yeah, people trusted the banks to be straight with them. That's what happens when you trust authority instead of evidence.

Enjoy.

ps - when I was looking at a mortgage a little over a year ago I asked the bank to figure out how much I could qualify.

They asked me how much I wanted.
They did not ask me how much I made.

Telling.

why does it matter?



Being literate in algebra was 7th and 8th grade math where i went to school. No big deal, just fill in the blanks.

Except in your equation you seem to be asleep at the wheel having substituted either braces for a parenthesis or vice versa so your equation will never even fly. your database has already crashed.

take a hint RA+Z+D.

just a forward..... I like the concept. Sheesh, SoSick. Where does all that hate come from?

Well, SoSick, we are back to dodgeball eh?

Because you just insulted someone for not checking the math on a post, and implied that they were not capable of doing simple addition.

Because you have not shown your ability to do exponential calculations to see if CTD is correct, but don't include him in your list of mathematical failures.

Try dealing with the issue instead of avoiding it. If you can't figure out that there's a typo and don't understand what was meant, then I can understand, perhaps, why you can't do the math for exponential equations.

Enjoy.

Hey Jeanie,

Inside. Pent-up. Forgive her, I have.

So do I, and I also think that if you gave every person in the world $85billion/6.725 billion = $12.64 that it would do more for the US economy than giving it all to AIG.

Enjoy.

It's obviously a typo RAZD, but the fact that you were not paying attention caused your equation to crash just like wall street is crashing. unfortunately, excuses of typos do not help anyone in real life. My point exactly. And before you try to start a discussion about what we need to do about education maybe you could just explain why so many 7th and 8th graders simply do not pay attention because most everyone in the USA had the same opportunity to learn 7th and 8th grade math that I did. The mistakes they make later as a result and the excuses they provide for them, like you, don't really cut it when it's too late.

Hey Jeanie, no hatred here, why do you see hatred in everyone is a better question because you are constantly accusing everyone of being hateful. Everyone who you disagree with or who says something to you that you don't like is hateful... great way to live to live Jeanie, congratulations. But I think the hate is emanating from yourself...

Please do not apply to substitute teach at our local schools, we need teachers who can think.

That statement is not rooted in hate btw, just a sincere concern for our future generations of leaders.

Someday you'll understand.. maybe.

Here's another view:

From http://www.gocomics.com/laloalcaraz/
http://www.gocomics.com/laloalcaraz/2008/09/23/



Enjoy.

Honestly, So Sick, it is you who does not make sense. You come up with anything and everything you can to nit pick whether it jives or not. Here, High School subs are not expected to be able to come in every class with every subject and actually teach (or know the material for every class). Could you?. We normally just supervise the kids following the instructions their teacher leaves. I am not a teacher... Thinking about it, but not. I did homeschool my own 2 girls and, now, couldn't be prouder of both of them and how they've turned out. But I have also been a loving influence on lots and lots of kids in encouraging them not to give up and to strive to be good people. Its absolutely amazing how good the kids are for you when you think highly of them. I'm just a stand in, but am all over the school and care (and they know it). Kindness actually goes a long way. You should try it sometime.

I don't deny that, sometimes, I cannot think. I was so tired Friday I went back and read some of what I posted and there were lots of mistakes. In fact, sleepy again now. Working full time torches me. Working full time this week, too. Good to be working, but its hard on my back.

SoSick, I hope you're doing well. I mean that sincerely. I have no bone to pick with you. I like your spunk and satirical wit.

RAZD, ever seen any Mo Paul comics? Not sure if I want to claim this, but he's a relation of mine. I love him, (he's NOT Mormon btw : ) We use to love having him draw caracatures of us when we were little. He got bitter somewhere along the line. (Has polio). There are folks online that do not approve of him. I really don't either, but still love him and know he's a good hearted man...

Jeanie,

I found a link to
Unfortunately it appears the site has been hacked (the link goes to a swingers party site, though rather humorous in a bizarre way). I confirmed there were no comics on the site by

Your search - site:http://www.mopaul.com/ "comics" - did not match any documents.

I found these examples:
http://www.hermes-press.com/mopaul.htm
http://911review.org/gif/mopaul.com/happy911.jpg
http://911review.org/gif/mopaul.com/wantedposter.jpg
http://____www.garlicnews.com/StoryImages/talkies.jpg
http://____www.garlicnews.com/StoryImages/mar19cartoon.jpg

Enjoy

Hi RAZD, I hope the site was hacked... I saw that a while back. He's been married to the same woman for years and years. They are old hippies, but who knows. His parents are coming through to visit soon. (My aunt and uncle). He is good at his job (but a trip). I do agree with some of what he says. He's actually quite idealistic. His brother is the total opposite.....Republican Christian. Mo is actually probably nicer. The other gave me quite a hard time for becoming Mormon. (Religious one). Anyway, thanks for sharing : )