What the Candidates Should Have Said

Here's a good article about what the Presidential candidates should have said about climate change. Instead, they said nothing, and now they look foolish because Hurricane Sandy is stepping in and saying something. Here are a few good quotes from the article: “Thank you, Jim/Candy/Bob, very much for asking about where we stand on the issue of climate change...Our lives and prosperity depend upon a stable climate...There are some who would like to see American’s dependence on fossil fuels continue, benefitting the few at the cost to many. They are pouring money into misinformation campaigns run by think tanks and front groups that are designed to distort media coverage, undermine education efforts and attack the credibility of those working on the issue...It’s time our oil and gas sector shifts into leadership mode, rather than trying to line the pockets of decision makers in Washington DC. Americans are tired of feeling guilty when they go to fill up their car because they know burning gas is part of the problem but they don’t know why they can’t have the solution of an electric car or a high-speed train ride to work...Climate disruption is a national security issue—an unstable climate will inevitably result in unstable political situations that can jeopardize our energy supply, cause mass migration of peoples, and brew increased conflict and terrorism...Climate disruption cannot be a partisan issue...That is why I pledge, if I am elected, to make addressing climate disruption my administration’s top priority."

Dear Federal Reserve: Buy only MBS's that have been refinanced or loan modified, and provide a Citizen's line of credit

A quote from William Greider on a modest example of what the Fed could do to help revive the housing sector.

[The Federal Reserve]could announce its intention to buy only new mortgage-backed securities that have been subjected to the process of refinancing and modification to establish positive equity and more realistic valuations. The mere announcement would cast a cloud over the existing stock of GSE mortgages and probably trigger a wave of market-driven mortgage adjustments. The Fed, in effect, would not only provide a model for debt write-downs generally but help create the market for them. The Fed’s presence would assure people the process does not threaten the banking system. For distressed homeowners, it would amount to redistribution of income and wealth—sharing the costs of the financial catastrophe among other players instead of dumping all the pain on borrowers. Unilateral action would send a cleansing shock wave through the political system.

Greider relates another interesting idea from Miles Kimball, an economics professor at the University of Michigan: A government created “federal credit card.”

..."send one to every adult in the nation, enabling each person to borrow $2,000 at a very low interest rate (my comment: why not zero interest?) and not pay back any of the money until after the economy has fully recovered (my comment: or ever?) . The provocative kicker in Kimball’s proposal is that the Federal Reserve would itself provide the financing, not Congress or the president through the federal budget. And he argues that the central bank can do this with its unique power to create money. A federal line of credit, Kimball suggests, could become a new, fast-acting channel for economic stimulus—more potent than the usual methods like tax rebates, and far less costly. That’s because consumers would not get any benefit from this government assistance unless they use the card—that is, borrow and spend—and do so before the government’s offer expires. After all, this is exactly what the economy needs. Why give the money in tax breaks for banks or businesses, which may not use it for the intended purpose? Why not deliver the aid to consumers, who will? Kimball argues that this novel approach could deliver a strong, quick jolt to the stagnant economy, $400 billion or more. Yet it would add very little to the federal budget deficit, because the Federal Reserve operates under its own, independent balance sheet. Further, it’s not free money but a temporary loan, like the trillions in short-term loans the Federal Reserve gave the banking system at the height of the crisis. The low-priced credit would immediately help pressed families scrambling to pay the rent, young people without jobs and especially the desperately poor, who are “unbanked” and victimized by predatory lenders charging usurious interest rates for “payday” loans. “A big advantage of national lines of credit,” Kimball explained, “is that, once triggered, the details of spending are worked out through the household decision-making process, which is relatively nimble compared to corporate and government decision-making processes.” The banking industry would go nuts, of course. Its lobbyists would rail against unfair competition (just as many citizens complained about the unfairness of the bank bailouts). But the homely truth about capitalism is that it cannot function without a constant cycle of new borrowing and debt. Despite popular moralistic aphorisms (“neither a borrower nor a lender be”), the capitalist process requires that someone is always lending and someone else is always borrowing. If risk-averse creditors refuse to lend and struggling consumers or businesses are prevented from borrowing, only the federal government has the power to intervene and get the money moving again. If the government does not step up, stagnation endures. A federal credit card sounds far too radical for the conservative central bank. But it actually offers a viable solution to the Fed’s stymied monetary policy. Professor Kimball has already introduced it to Federal Reserve governors themselves, at a private conference for “academic consultants” who advise the central bank. None of the governors commented one way or the other afterward, and it is highly unlikely Kimball’s idea will be tried. It would probably require Congressional blessing, and Congress is hobbled by do-nothing paralysis. Nevertheless, policy advocates and citizens should push Fed governors and politicians to explore the concept seriously. Kimball’s account of his proposal, “Getting the Biggest Bang for the Buck in Fiscal Policy,” can be found at his blog, supplysideliberal.com.

A People's Agenda from 1995

A People's Agenda by Hiralal Desarda, March 28, 1995: I. Disband World Bank, IMF and the Bretton Woods systems and stop so called structural adjustment programs forth with. II. Repudiate all debt; halt repatriation of profits, revoke all economic sanctions against all nations and end discrimination on the basis of Race, Religion, Gender and other inequalities. III. Suspend the hydrocarbon based energy model and invest in alternative bio-solar energy systems and renewable technologies which are environmentally sound, sustainable and socially just. IV. Prohibit MNC's from running businesses in countries other than their own and hand over their present assets to local agencies of the people. V. Promote alternative lifestyles of consumption, production and transport. This meat-eating, tobacco smoking, alcohol guzzling, private automobile addicted and energy intensive gadget dependant life pattern of the present day dominant industrial and urban society must be radically reduced in a very conscious and rapid manner for our planet and peoples to survive. VI. Work for values of family and sexual morality and restraint. VII. Respect for all life forms, unity of life and harmony with nature. In short, total nonviolence should be the basis of all human and social activity.

Weathergirl goes rogue

Part 1 Part 2

Steady State Economy graphic

New Location for Rumsfeld Invaders Game

Dear Rumsfeld Invaders players, Here is the new location of the Rumsfeld Invaders game: http://www.firebrandforges.com/rumsfeld/rumsfeldinvaders/rumsfeldinvaders.htm Update your bookmarks, and have fun! For those of you who hadn't heard, Rumsfeld Invaders is a fun video game based on the Atari 2600's famous Space Invaders. There are 2 versions of Rumsfeld Invaders at the link above: one in Flash (click "New Game" above middle) and one in Visual Basic (click the link above left to download or play the Updated Version). Kick Rumsfeld Butt! Background (for those of you who are new to the idea of a Rumsfeld video game): About Rumsfeld: Rumsfeld, the former US Secretary of Defense, waged war. He preferred bombs over diplomacy, and killing over humanitarian aid. He re-started the Cold War and revived Reagan's defunct "Star Wars" missile program. Rumsfeld pulled out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Russia (the basis for international disarmament). Military spending was at least $342 billion in 2002. Spending on renewable energy was only $377 million (1/1000th as much). Rumsfeld, and those like him, pose a clear and present danger to the United States, our national security, the survival of our species and a million others, and peace-loving people around the world. We must pre-empt Rumsfeld's type of mental illness before it destroys us. It is up to you to stop him.