brainiac conspiracy

Jobs II

Still better, but still also shit.

Lucky for us, there's a policy fix for this, and our leaders are on it!

Snark aside, income inequality in this country is not simply an economic policy crisis, it's a moral-existential crisis, too. Because a few hundred white men have come to the conclusion that they are entitled to all of the money, and they're literally being allowed to turn us into a nation of 300 million tenant farmers because our political leadership class is either too timid and feckless to do anything about it, or because they are in concurrence with the oligarchs. But either way, it's hard to see how the existing social order endures for much longer if all it is capable of producing is a few hundred billionaires and tens of millions of poor people.

---Baron V

Poverty Doesn't Happen by Accident

I guess this is legal:

The bankrupt assets of Hostess Brands, Inc., the company responsible for Twinkies, Ho Ho's, Sno Balls and Ding Dongs, are being put back to work by a buyout firm. What's not being put back to work are the former Hostess unionized employees [...]

"It appears that they are discharging the union contract in bankruptcy," said Matthew A. Kaufman, a labor attorney in Los Angeles who is not affiliated with the case.

But I can think of a time when it wouldn't have been---that's right, in the Reagan administration.

Guess it would have been smart to fill those vacancies on the NLRB when Team Democrat had 60 votes instead of waiting to recess-appoint them, only to be told by a panel of Teabilly judges---surprise!---that Democratic Presidents no longer have the power to recess-appoint anyone. Come to think of it, Team Democrat has the votes to fill those vacancies right now, but they have to show a little spine and exercise the power they've been given by the voters instead of whining about not having the votes, which is, of course, self-serving bullshit. This assumes, naturally, that Team Democrat still cares about unions---but sadly, I don't think we can assume that anymore.

---Baron V

Failing Upward

It's not just a concept, it's official government policy:

The financial instruments and arrangements at issue in the credit crisis investigations are highly complex. In many of the areas being investigated, there simply may not have been intentional misconduct or criminally reckless behavior, but rather plain bad judgment on the part of market actors. Even in situations where there was wrongdoing, the time and resources required to mount investigations and the burden of proving intent to defraud are formidable obstacles for prosecutors and regulators to surmount, except in the most straightforward of fraud cases. In sum, in its search for credit-crisis villains, law enforcement may not be able to bring successful criminal or regulatory enforcement cases to punish wrongdoing, at least in connection with the most complicated areas of financial transactions involving the largest dollar amounts.

This, of course, is a handy justification for failing to do your job: "I can't do my job because it's too complicated." Far as I'm concerned, it's fine if people want to offer this up as an excuse for failing to do their jobs, but it doesn't mean we should entrust the people who offer up this excuse with any actual jobs, so the question lingers over why the administration seems to be so favorably inclined towards hiring people who admit that they expect to fail in their jobs---unless the intended outcome is, oh, continued failure.

---Baron V

Deficit Hawks

They should be ignored because, truth to tell, they only care about deficits when Democrats are running the circus. They should be ignored because an equally compelling argument can be made that sluggish growth, i.e., reduced spending, drives deficits higher, not the other way around as they insist. They should be ignored because their policy proposals have failed abysmally everywhere they've been implemented. But mostly they should be ignored because the evidence they use to support their positions is patently full of shit.

---Baron V

One Big Happy Family

Breaking: The financial crisis is officially over. Mission accomplished!

Jim Millstein, a former Lazard banker who oversaw the government’s stake in AIG at the U.S. Treasury Department until 2011, also contributed a quote to the site.

“At a time when many in D.C. thought the government was going to lose substantial money on AIG, Goldman worked closely with Treasury and the company itself on implementing a restructuring plan that ended up netting billions of dollars in profit for taxpayers,” said Millstein, who now runs his own restructuring firm.

Meanwhile, profit for taxpayers.

Snark aside, how about taking that $23 billion profit and using it to mail checks to the people who helped generate the profit? Granted, each check would only be worth about $2,000, but that's only because there are so goddamn many people in this country who don't have any jobs. Please, Mr. Government, kindly fix.

---Baron V

One Last Glowing Tribute

Been waiting all day for this one:

Thatcher’s economic liberalization came to culturally transform Britain. Women were empowered by new opportunities; immigrants, especially from South Asia, became engineers of growth; millions owned homes for the first time; the media broke free from union chains and fractured and multiplied in subversive and dynamic ways. Her very draconian posture provoked a punk radicalism in the popular culture that changed a generation. The seeds of today’s multicultural, global London---epitomized by that Olympic ceremony---were sown by Thatcher’s will-power.

And that was why she ultimately failed, as every politician always ultimately does. She wanted to return Britain to the tradition of her thrifty, traditional father; instead she turned it into a country for the likes of her son, a wayward, money-making opportunist. The ripple effect of new money, a new middle class, a new individualism meant that Blair’s re-branded Britain---cool Britannia, with its rave subculture, its fashionistas, its new cuisine, its gay explosion, its street-art, its pop music---was in fact something Blair inherited from Thatcher.

She was, in that sense, a liberator. She didn’t constantly (or even ever) argue for women’s equality; she just lived it. She didn’t just usher in greater economic freedom; she unwittingly brought with it cultural transformation---because there is nothing more culturally disruptive than individualism and capitalism. Her 1940s values never re-took: the Brits engaged in spending and borrowing binges long after she had left the scene, and what last vestiges of prudery were left in the dust.

In other words, conservatism can never fail. It can only be betrayed by people with bad morals. Never mind that perhaps the reason why Britain went back to its free-spending ways was because, you know, that's what most people there always wanted all along.

But I digress. Meanwhile, liberation:

Speaking no ill of the dead tonight, submitted without comment.

---Baron V

Speaking Ill of The Dead

In general, I'd say I concur with the sentiments expressed here, but I don't think it speaks "ill" of deceased public figures to point out that they devoted a great of effort during their working lives to smashing unions and raising taxes on poor people when in fact, that's what they did. Policies have consequences, after all, and 30 years on, we've had enough time to evaluate the socioeconomic effects of Thatcherism/Reaganism to know that many people's lives were ruined and whole communities devastated because of it. That's not speaking ill, that's just objective criticism. (Yes, to be fair, Thatcherism enriched many other people, too; most of them just happened to be privileged and well-to-do already.)

And I certainly don't think it speaks "ill" of our media establishment to call out their annoying habit of re-branding sadists as statesmen and monsters as moderates. I think it's one of the biggest reasons why we continue, year after year, to be saddled with such awful political leadership:

Oh God, Richard Quest on CNN is going on and on about her flirting with Ronald Reagan. This is going to be a long day.

---Baron V

Dreary Day

I can tell already that it's going to be one---even though the sun is shining in the Marxist dystopia---because we're going to be reliving the 1980s all day along, and reminded that we were governed in those days by larger-than-life, Olympian figures. Because in the eyes of our nation's media establishment, nothing quite says "leadership" like strike-breaking, union-busting, austerity-peddling, war-mongering, and generally being one of history's more awful human beings.

---Baron V

Won't Need Robert Caro

To write the history of the Obama administration; the entire eight years will fit on a bumper sticker:

None of the [insert job creators here] admitted any wrongdoing.

---Baron V

It's Called RICO

We have some pretty stringent laws on the books to combat racketeering in this country. It would be nice if our leaders would consider enforcing them one of these days:

Banks aren’t living up to pledges they made as part of a $26-billion settlement of government investigations into mortgage servicing and foreclosure abuses, according to an advocacy group’s survey of California housing counselors and lawyers.

The survey, the ninth in a series conducted by the California Reinvestment Coalition, also found that providers of mortgage customer service are violating consumer-protection provisions in the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, the package of foreclosure-prevention laws sponsored last year by state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris [...]

Most big servicers are national banks regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. An OCC spokesman said he hadn’t seen the survey and couldn’t comment.

But let's make it easier for low-income home buyers to get swindled. That'll solve everything.

It's not my usual M.O. to argue for reducing the size of the federal government, but the OCC is easily the single most corrupt and incompetent agency in Washington, and it needs to go away at once. So, for that matter, does the Attorney General of the United States---and maybe also too, the Attorney General's boss.

---Baron V

Why They Loot

Elaborating on a post from earlier, there's more than one way to steal on the job:

Workers in seven of the 10 largest occupations typically earn less than $30,000 a year, according to new data published Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's a far cry from the nation's average annual pay of $45,790.

Food prep workers are the third most-common job in the U.S., but have the lowest pay, at a mere $18,720 a year for 2012. Cashiers and waiters are also popular professions, but the average pay at these jobs tallies up to less than $21,000 annually. There are 4.3 million retail sales workers out there, making them the most common job, but the position pays only $25,310 for the year.

How to fix? Simple---let's make it easier for them to buy a house!

---Baron V

Random Thought

Regular readers of this blog are well aware that only a fool or a Fabian socialist would dare to think that our particular version of corporate capitalism is founded on a business model that deliberately seeks profits off the sickness and suffering of millions of people. Unless, of course, it is.

---Baron V

Loan Sharks

Not sure what else we can call them anymore, but I guess if we lower their taxes so they can be more competitive in the global marketplace, everything's going to work out fine:

Some of the nation’s largest banks are providing short-term loans with interest rates of up to 300 percent, driving borrowers into a cycle of debt, according to a new report from the Center for Responsible Lending.

The study, due out Thursday, gives an updated look at the perils of advance-deposit loans offered by Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, Regions Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Guaranty Bank and Bank of Oklahoma. Banks bristle at comparisons to storefront payday lenders, but researchers say their products carry the same abusive high-interest rates and balloon payments.

---Baron V

Random Thought

It has its limitations, but by and large, capitalism is an awesome way to create wealth. It's only unfortunate that so many capitalists are such awful human beings. Then again, maybe they're a feature, not a bug?

---Baron V

Just One of The Boys

If I ran dog-and-pony show, this would be a firing offense:

Gary Gensler has for four years overseen a revolution atop the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as its oversight expanded into swaps markets and the agency handled fallout from a rash of scandals and the odd financial crisis.

The spinning took on a rather different form this week as he challenged brokers and exchange executives to match his steps on the dance floor.

Mr. Gensler took to the floor at a late-night party during the annual Futures Industry Association confab in Boca Raton, Fla., transparently stepping and twirling before the industry elite.

“He moves well, for a regulator,” commented one European broker who observed the scene.

Great bunch of guys, eh?

To be fair, judging from what I've read of him, he's allegedly one of the less corrupt Obama financial appointees, but come on---partying down with the same bunch of vampires he's supposed to be regulating? You'd think this sort of thing would be strictly off-limits for an administration that has touted its moral rectitude as a model of good governance (regardless of the realities). Then again, Gensler's already on his way out the door, and his boss isn't running for re-election again, so perhaps they don't feel the need to keep up the pretense anymore. Besides, a dance party in Boca is probably as good a place as any to pass out your résumé and hustle some job interviews.

---Baron V

America's Job Creators

It has taken awhile, but they are finally creating some good-paying jobs:

Welcome to Saint Venus Theater---a roving amateur strip club that caters mainly to young finance guys looking for a less tacky, more girl-next-door stripping experience.

Launched in 2009 by a man known to his employees as “Rob S.,” a mysterious character who favors a top hat and long ponytail, Saint Venus started off as a members-only, application-based strip den for a small group of Rob’s financier friends [...]

Events can last until 3 a.m., and a girl can expect to make up to $1,000 a night in lap-dance money, before spilling back out into the street and her normal professional life.

(Via.)

---Baron V

Green Shoots

They're sprouting up all over these days:

Household wealth in the U.S. climbed in the fourth quarter to the highest level in five years, propelled by a gain in home prices that is helping repair family finances.

Net worth for households and non-profit groups increased by $1.17 trillion from October through December, or 1.8 percent from the previous three months, to $66.1 trillion, the Federal Reserve said today from Washington in its flow of funds report. It was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2007.

Meanwhile, family finances.

Meanwhile too, household wealth:

This year the number of homeless people sleeping each night in the New York City shelter system surpassed 50,000 people for the first time since modern homelessness emerged three decades ago. That grim milestone includes more than 21,000 homeless children. More children and adults are homeless now in New York City than at any time since the Great Depression.

But entitlement reform needs to be on the table because deficits. Glad that's settled!

---Baron V

Really Can't Turn Shit to Gold

It speaks volumes about the state of our discourse when you can find more objective political analysis in a business publication than you can in the Times or at the Post:

The random slashing represents a genuine victory for the conservative movement. For them, cutting spending is no longer a means to an end---efficiency, for example, or arguably even low taxes. It is the end. But the effort also confirms that Republicans increasingly view themselves less as a party vying for majority support than as a guerilla band operating in enemy-controlled territory.

This should also serve as a reminder to Team Democrat that any time they attempt to co-opt or re-cast Republican budget-cutting mania in the form of "smart and sensible spending cuts," they are (1) enabling the guerillas by legitimizing their message, and (b) they're buying into a philosophy of governance that postulates no constructive role for government to play in the lives of its citizens save as a cash cow to be plundered by the party's allies, and a cudgel to be wielded to punish its political opponents. That's how Republicans have governed for the last 30 years, and that's how they'll govern the next time they're given the chance. You really can't compromise with a gang of nihilists---you need to push them to the margins, chart your own course, then beat them at the polls at every opportunity.

This assumes, of course, that Team Democrat sees a more expansive and supportive role for government, in which case they should say so, plainly and unequivocally. They might just find out that most voters happen to agree with them.

---Baron V

Incentivizing Incompetence

Essentially, that's what our government has done---and what our central bank continues to do, via regular infusions of free money---to the job creators who couldn't manage all the myriad risks they'd assumed over the last decade because they couldn't accurately value them. Which is to say, they failed to allocate capital in the most efficient manner, which is basically why banks exist in the first place. And since they were rescued absent demands for regime change or anything resembling a systemic restructuring, it should come as no great surprise that, yes, they're still doing a lousy job of asset management. Which might be tolerable---entertaining, even---if we weren't mortgaging ten years of growth to repair their crap-riddled balance sheets, with no assurance of a more prosperous outcome to show for all of our efforts.

---Baron V

Today's Worst Persons

We have a tie, yippeeeeee!! First up:

“While everybody is focusing on the here and now, there’s a much, much bigger storm that’s about to hit,” Druckenmiller said in an hour-long interview with Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television’s Market Makers. “I am not against seniors. What I am against is current seniors stealing from future seniors.”

Also too:

Maybe there are better ideas for reforming social insurance. The point is, we better start talking about them. Otherwise, grandpa and grandma and their fellow Grateful Dead fans are going to eat all the food on the table.

Hardy har har. Because all the greedy old Boomer people want free stuff they haven't earned and really don't need. Even though, actually, not.

And it's especially rich for a guy whose effective income-tax rate as probably half of what yours is to be accusing other people of stealing.

Snark aside, it comes down to this: for the past several decades, we have lived under a social compact that has assured our elderly of a generally decent and dignified retirement. The question is, do we want to renew the compact for the next generation, or walk away from it? Frame the argument any way you want, but if your answer is the latter, you are telling tens of millions of your fellow citizens who didn't get rich on Wall Street or land six-figure book publishing deals that they must accept the fact that they will be poorer and sicker, and die sooner, than they needed to because you didn't want your taxes raised. Period. Don't drag the kids into it and try to re-cast this as some generational struggle---they're just as cash-strapped as a lot of older people are. This is all about a bunch of rich people and corporations who have been freeloading off the tax code for the last 30 years, and who have decided they simply want everything now---our houses, our pensions, our 401(k)s, the works. Call it "fiscal responsibility" if you wish; I call it sociopathic behavior.

---Baron V