Careful If You Relocate - State Budget Shortfalls Mean Higher State Taxes

41 states could go bankrupt by 2009-2010 - the table below shows which are the worst.

As state governments scramble to stay above water - cutting both unneeded and needed services - the local legislatures grapple with ways to increase revenue.

And you know what that means. More taxes for all of us.

No more wondering what I’ll be doing with that $600 federal tax rebate check.

What the federal government giveth, the state government taketh away.

I don’t quite understand why every bank and their grandmother’s bank is getting TARP funds - while the states are left holding the bag.

More than 10 states are considering major tax increases, reports the Wall Street Journal.  These include “Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.  California and New York lawmakers already have agreed on multibillion-dollar tax increases that went into effect earlier this year.”

State taxes come in many forms beyond income tax.  Depending on where you live, and what your vices are, you could be nickled and dimed out quite a few dollars.  Here’s some of the taxes being considered for increases in various states.

Cost of living taxes

• Sales tax
• Fuel tax
• Property taxes
• Personal taxes, such as excise tax, and fees for registering your car or boat.
• Reductions of personal exemptions and standard deductions, medical/dental exemptions, and federal income tax deductions.

Target taxes

• Retirement taxes
• Military retirement taxes
• Estate Taxes

Vice taxes

• Cigarette tax
• Alcohol tax
• Gambling tax

What you can do

• Contact your local legislature.  Here’s how.
• Reduce or quit a vice.  Bummer.
• If you’re considering relocating either for job or retirement, you’ll want to take into account the tax burden you’ll be expected to handle at the new location.  Is it higher or lower than where you live now?  Here’s a list of per capita tax burdens by state:

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Should I Refinance? Obama Says Yes.

If you’re on the fence about taking the refinancing plunge, you should investigate now.  The US Government is giving the real estate market a kick-start, and the time could be right. For more details about it, you can read Jeffery’s article “Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows,” posted in January at Queercents.

Making Homes Affordable - the US government estimates that 8 million Americans are eligible for government mortgage programs.  Are you one of them?

Turns out I’m not.  But I may refinance.  I’m at 5.875 and mortgages are below 5% right now.  Obama says 7-8 million Americans can benefit from refinancing right now.

Pinyo over at Moolonamy offers some great advice on the pros and cons of refinancing.

Here’s a great refinance calculator to see if it makes sense dollar-wise.  Here’s a second one should you not like the first.

And finally, if you need some help clearing up your credit, first check out the US government’s National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

On a side not, if you’re a first-time home buyer you may want to “Take Advantage of the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Credit.”

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Is it Weight Gain or Weight Loss This Recession? Plus 7 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain.

The recession hasn’t curbed my appetite.

I’m on a diet.

Like always.

And if I’m not careful, I find myself reaching for low cost comfort foods.

Here’s two examples of how tough times have affected the weight of many of us, with 7 solutions for the “weight gain” camp.

~~~

1)  Financial hardship has led to “recession pounds”

Less expensive foods fill you up faster.  And when I need comfort food, I don’t reach for an apple.

Wall Street tells the story.

• McDonalds and Burger King is the place to be in the stock market these days.
• “Buy stock in pasta,” advises Stockweb.com.  “Shares of AIPC ( American Italian Pasta Company) have something around 110% performance since the beginning of the year and is one of the best performing stocks this year (2008.)”

What you can do?

If you’re finding your comfort in food these days:

• pick up a copy of Dr. Judith Beck’s, The Diet Solution at the library, and learn to “think like a thin person.” Not your run of the mill fad diet book, Beck bases her suggestions on sound cognitive principles developed by her father, Dr. Aaron Beck.

• stay at the perimeter of the grocery store. That’s where most of the more nutritional foods are.

• think about it. If you eat less, you’ll spend less, and will be able to afford better food.

• HALT.  it’s ok to let yourself feel hungry for a few hours.  But a lethal combination is being hungry, angry, lonely and tired.  This is an Alcoholics Anonymous acronym that I use for everything.  To battle the hungry part, keep healthy snacks with you.

• it takes twenty minutes for your body to respond to something you eat. So eat slower, and consciously wait to feel the response.  You’ll realize how little your body needs to ward off hunger.

• follow these tips from Wise Bread’s post “How to Avoid Putting on Recession Pounds.” It’s full of great suggestions for staving off the pounds.  Here’s a great quote from the article: “It is ironic when you think that in the past, lower socioeconomic standing often resulted in people losing weight due to lack of food. In the modern era of plenty, however, obesity has now become a symptom of poverty because these highly processed foods are not only promoted vigorously and widely accessible, but they are also cheap.”

• you’ve heard it before but I’ll say it again.  Exercise! Do anything!  You’ll feel better!

2)  Companies have been tightening their belts on corporate lunches

“I can’t justify cocktails and fillet mignon when I’m laying off employees,” says one CEO.  “It’s coffee at Starbucks now.”

And when executives are springing for lunch they’re often choosing healthier options.  “Sometimes I’ll ask clients to meet me at McDonalds,” says a well known publisher.  “But often we’ll hook up at a lower priced restaurant with a good salad bar.”

According to the Boston Globe, “The thinning ranks of the region’s executives and financiers has spurred business for tailors in Wellesley and Harvard Square on Newbury Street in Boston, who report a steady stream of clients dropping off cashmere top coats, Brooks Brothers suit skirts, and Brioni trousers in need of resizing for trimmer physiques.”

They don’t want to spend the money on new clothes.  After all, the layoffs are still going strong.  Who knows if they’ll be next?

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Snap Sunday Sermon - Holding the Emotion in Times of Stress

The current political and economic times have added an increased level of stress to all of our lives. With this comes more emotion, anxiety and inappropriate reactions.

When I am going through my daily activities and I feel a strong reaction, I’ve learned to hold on to it.

The reaction must obtain my approval before I release it.

Many times reactions, especially the strong ones, are based on incidences in our past. The feelings of these past incidences are triggered.  In the worst situations - such as with war veterans or rape victims - we call this Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)

But in times of stress created by everyday living , we also pull our past forward for comfort.

We do this because that part of our brain that stores emotions  - the amygdula - knows no timeline.

Consciously or unconsciously, we are controlled by previous experience - often locked in - unable to free ourselves.

Ways to heal:

Practicing Mindfulness. Conscious thought and awareness of these reactions can free us to be in the present.

Emotional Freedom therapy (EFT) is a needle-free acupuncture like treatment that has been getting positive press.  Get a free starter manual here and learn about calming hyper-response reflex.

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Is the Time Right for the Next Generation of Outliers?

Part of success is opportunity and timing. So hypothesizes Malcom Gladwell in his best-selling book, “Outliers.”

His book offers theories about those:

“men and women who, for one reason or another, are so accomplished and so extraordinary and so outside of ordinary experience that they are as puzzling to the rest of us as a cold day in August.”

He says that:

“We vastly underestimate the extent to which success happens because of things the individual has nothing to do with.”

Here’s one example:

When Gladwell looked at a list of the 75 wealthiest people in history, he found that almost 20 percent of those people on the list came from “a single generation in a single country.”

Here’s his list, with birth dates.

01. John Rockefeller, 1839.
02. Andrew Carnegie, 1835.
28.Frederick Weyerhaeuser, 1834.
33. Jay Gould, 1836.
34. Marshall Field, 1834.
35. George Baker, 1840.
36. Hetty Green, 1834.
44. James G. Fair, 1831.
54. Henry H. Rogers, 1840.
57. J.P. Morgan, 1837.
58. Oliver Payne, 1839.
62. George Pullman, 1831.
64. Peter Widener, 1834.
65. Philip Armor, 1832.

He then offers this explanation:

“What’s going on here? The answer is obvious, if you think about it. In the 1860’s and 1870’s, the American economy went through perhaps the greatest transformation in its history. This was when the railways were built, and when Wall Street emerged. It was when industrial manufacturing started in earnest. It was when all the rules by which the traditional economy functioned were broken and remade. What that list says is that it really matters how old you were when that transformation happened.”

How old were these gentlemen in 1860, when the economy hit bottom - when America went through the civil war - and started its rebound?  30-40 years old.

How old were these gentlemen in the great economic expansion of the Gay Nineties? Their 60’s.

If you believe we are at the same type of transformational cusp in history, then this type of extraordinary success should repeat.

Think about it.  The world is in a transition like we’ve never seen in our lifetimes.

• The global economy and stock markets are on the verge of recovery.
• Vast amounts of money are being funneled into alternative energies.  We’re at the start of a mass exodus away from oil and towards windmills.
• Medical breakthroughs such as stem cell research and DNA mapping are transforming modern medicine.

We’re at the beginning of monumental world change.  The timing is right for success. Don’t you think?

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5 Consumer Trends in the Recession Economy

Alcohol consumption -  is down.

Home consumption of alcohol was down 9.3% in 2008. Beer led the way with a 14% drop, while wine and spirits were off 1.6% and 0.8% respectively.  I guess if you’re a Ford factory worker drinking beer, you’re more worried about your job than the Ford executive getting bonuses and drinking Macallan Single Malt Scotch.

This trend is also being seen in Ireland, where the Irish Times reports that alcohol consumption was down 5.9% in 2008.

Chocolate consumption - is up.

Chocolate sales in the U.S. reached $16 billion in 2006, and are expected to top $18 billion by 2011.  Cadbury reported a 30% increase in profits for 2008.

Makes sense to me.  When you’re feeling stressed, or just trying to watch your cash, what better way to splurge than on a 50 cent Snickers bar? Or perhaps you’ll give up going out for dinner, but maybe you’ll treat yourself to some Ghirardelli dark chocolate for dessert.  Studies show dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants, after all.

On the flip side:  In London, doctors are pressing the British government to add a “fat tax” on chocolate, saying it’s one of the leading causes of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the U.K.

Movie Attendance - is booming.

“What’s doing well?” says the 538 Blog.  ” The movies. The movies, also historically a recession-proof industry but not a counter-cyclical one, are doing terrifically well. Motion picture theaters increased their revenues by 10.9 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the Commerce Department. But the movies are not typically seen as extravagant. You don’t feel guilty after purchasing a movie ticket; you feel kind of wholesome.”

Gambling -  is down.

The Journal of the North America Gambling Industry reports that in 2007 $92.7 billion was spent on gambling - before “the crash.”

Gambling of all types was way down in 2008, with casinos being hit the hardest.  The impact was devastating.

For example, in Las Vegas “air traffic down 13.2% in September 08; room rates down by double digits week in week out; casino stocks off 40% to 90% from their twelve month highs; a negative outlook from Moody’s and other rating agencies; layoffs at properties all over town (and around the world) except Steve Wynn’s; new condominium towers standing empty, vertical ghost towns; business at the Strip’s storied or notorious night clubs off 20% to 25% and “wait until December” when club owners expect things to get really bad.  Gross gaming revenue, the engine that built Las Vegas, was down 8.1% in August, 5.4% in September and no relief in sight. “

Lottery ticket sales fell 2.8%.

Newsday reports a 5% increase in calls to national gambling hotlines in 2008.

Eco-Trends are the way of the future.

Regardless of how tight money’s been for consumer’s, there’s an every-increasing “green” awareness that is and will continue to grow.

People are willing to pay a little more to stay green.  But not too much more right now.

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How Have Your Retirement Plans Changed?

My spouse and I are both in our early fifties, and both of our 401ks have been trashed.  And the clock is ticking.

With only 10-15 years to recover, we’ve had to dramatically re-adjust our retirement strategy.

• As painful as it feels, we are still putting money into our 401ks. We’re actually putting a little more in than we had been.

• We’re paying extra on our mortgage - with the hope of having it completely paid off in the next 10 years.  Tax-wise, right now this doesn’t make sense.  The interest deduction is a big help.  But once we retire, not having the financial burden of a mortgage will be a tremendous relief.

• We’ve had to push our retirement age out at least a couple of years. How many years will be determined by the rate of economic recovery.We realize that - at least at the start of our retirement - we’ll be working part time.

• We’re hoping that a solid national health insurance program is put into place in the next 15 years.

How have you adjusted your retirement plans?

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The CEO Blank Check

With all this AIG business, the bailout mess is getting tougher for me to take.

Whoever heard of bonuses being given to employees of a company that goes belly up?

Has Webster changed the definition of the word bonus?

It used to be that creditors were lucky to squeeze any money out of these failures.

Now the US government just keeps printing money and throwing it at these companies.

And they not only survive, they have the audacity to give bonuses.

Sheesh.  Can I work for them?

Ford CEO Takes Compensation Cut. But are the Vehicles Better?

Let’s talk about Ford.  I just bought 150 shares.

Two epiphanies about Ford have come out of this recession:

• CEO compensation is out of control.  Who gets paid $20 million to lose $14.7 billion, and need a $9 billion dollar bailout to stay in business?
• You don’t want to be driving a Ford lately. The Consumer Reports Car Issue tells all.

OK, so these aren’t exactly epiphanies.  U.S. consumers have felt let down by Ford - and other U.S. car companies - for a while.  The difference now is that Americans are no longer willing to tolerate poor quality for the sake of buying American.

Let’s look at Ford in more detail.

CEO Compensation

In an effort to address investors’ and taxpayers’ explosive negative feelings surrounding skyrocketing CEO compensations whilst they are all being hung out to dry,  CNN reports that Ford has given their President and CEO, Alan Mulally, 5 million shares of stock options between now and 2012.

Mulally will take a 30% pay cut for the next two years, reports CNN.

Further, all previous incentive bonus plans for both 2008 and 2009 have been eliminated - not only for. Mulally, but for all executives and salaried employees.

Mulally can sell up to 1/3 of the options a year from now, 2/3 two years from now, and all must be sold by 2019.

What’s good about this announcement?

• (Finally) tying executives’ incentive packages directly to profits makes sense.  They got away with blockbuster paychecks for as long as they could.  And without any regulation, you can bet when the heat’s off they’ll be walking away with  them again.  But at least their salaries are being held in check right now.
  

• As an owner of 150 shares of Ford stock (purchased at $2.04/share this week,) it gives me a “we’re all in this together” kinda feeling.  I like that.

What stinks about this announcement?

• On Dec. 4th, 2008, CNN reported that Ford promised to cut Mulally’s salary to $1 per year if they took the government bailout loan. Well, they took the $9 billion loan, but even with the 30% pay-cut, Mulally is still making over $1 million dollars a year. His standard salary without bonuses was $2 million.
  

• His stock options were priced at $1.96/share.  The stock closed at $2.19/ share on Friday.  That means if the company goes nowhere and the stock stays exactly where it is until 2012, Mulally still makes $11 millon.

Have You Driven a Ford Lately?

The really sad question, of course, is “Why would you want to drive a Ford lately?“

And the really sad answer given by many Americans is “You don’t.”

In 2007, Time magazine published the Top 50 Worst Cars of All Time.  The Ford Model T (1909), Edsel (1958), Pinto (1971), Explorer (1995), and Excursion (2000) all made the list.

I owned an Escort station wagon in the 1990’s, and once the car hit 75,000 miles it was over.  I became friends with the Triple A towing service dispatcher.

This got me to wondering:  “Were Fords ever any good?”  Or was it just that we didn’t know any better?  The success of Ford - and other poorly built American cars - may be purely the result of:

• brain-wash type marketing, and
• the “I must buy American” guilt complex.

Were Fords actually better built then?  Or was it just that we didn’t know any better?

Case in point.  Who remembers the Ford Pinto scandal?

Many of the Ford cars made the 50 top selling lists and 50 top famous cars lists as well.  That’s what makes me love them even as I hate them. When I was in college, I traveled many miles in an old (even back then!) blue ’60’s mustang.  A milk crate kept the driver’s seat from falling back.

So, if I feel this way about Ford, why did I buy those shares?  Because Ford has momentum right now.  They aren’t going under any time soon.  They’re making press announcements that say what I want to hear.  And the market is gaining momentum. Oh, and at $2/ share, they’re a bargain.

I checked out the Ford website, and right now - other than the Ford Ranger pick-up, which has always been my secret dream vehicle - nothing is catching my eye.  How about you?

What’s been your Ford experience?

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Federal Government Spending = Pork Spending? You Decide.

OK, I guess you all know I really like this Obama guy.

Here’s another reason why I really like him.

This website:

Recovery.gov

Here I can find out where the billions of tax dollars dropped on the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

are going.

Skeptics will claim that Recovery.gov is blatant “pull the will over our eyes” propaganda.

Could be.

There’s definitely spin doctors at work, I’ll give all you McCain lovers that.

BUT

I’m glad it’s there.

I’ll read it.

And I’ll breathe easier.

I like where my tax dollars are being spent.

I Remember This Same Type of Horrific Job Climate in 1980

I graduated from college with a BS in Biology in 1980.  Entry level jobs in biotech at that time were few and far between.

There were few jobs available back then doing anything, just like now.

From 1980 to 1982 I worked as a social worker on the graveyard shift, a manager for a convenience store chain, a QC Technician for an arthroscopic instrument manufacturer, a lab technician for a contact lens company, then back to QC as an inspector for a pipe insulation manufacturer.

Then I got laid off one time too many. I’d had 5 dead end jobs in 24 months.  It was the spring of 1982.  I decided to collect for a while.  Don’t tell anyone, but while I was collecting unemployment, I also did yard work.  I was rolling in dough.

I was a college graduate, going nowhere.  But nobody I’d graduated with was.  Unless they were going to grad school, they were waiting out the recession just like me.

Finally, that August, a friend of mine who had graduated with a music degree, and was working as a cashier in the cafeteria of a biotech company, wheedled us both entry level jobs in the manufacturing division.

That was almost 27 years ago.  I’m still employed with them today. Pretty unusual these days, don’t you think?  I was fortunate enough to move into the research lab after about 6 months, then to technical support.

I really like the company, and I really like my job. I’ve managed to stay under the radar, avoiding the inevitable layoffs so common and matter-of-fact these days in any growing and successful company.  Many of my friends/colleagues could not.  Divisions were relocated, upper management changed, we had a bad quarter…etc.  All of these things contributed to people being let go.

But I can tell you that every one of them is doing well now, has survived the painful trauma of the pink slip.

And me, I  will someday write a book “How I Survived 14 Layoffs.”

But that’s not the point of this article.

The point of this article is that the economy turned around then, and the economy will turn around again.  So hang in there, compadres.

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The Psychology of Money: Economic Survivor Syndrome

It wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last, layoff I’ve survived.

It was one of those small,”under the radar” types.  6 great hard-working people, all great at what they do.  I’m sure they’re scratching their heads right now, puzzled, hurt and angry at what happened.

As a layoff survivor, I’m also shaken.  I cared about these people.  Why them and not me?  Will I be next?

Keith Ablow, a noted psychiatrist and author of the book, Living the Truth, published a great article in my local newspaper today that addresses this issue.  I thought I’d share it in its entirety with you here.

Weathering Economic Survivor Syndrome

Living the Truth
Dr. Keith Ablow

With the economy under siege and mass layoffs around the country, men and women are sharing with me symptoms of depression and anxiety clearly triggered by job loss. Never before in my 16 years of practice have I seen so many people so shaken by joining the ranks of the unemployed, with all the challenges that presents to their self-esteem and confidence in the future.

I am also hearing from others who still have their jobs, but are clearly suffering the effects of what has been called “survivor syndrome” in the workplace. Witnessing layoffs of valued colleagues, they aren’t feeling relief or a sense of having triumphed over adversity. Rather, they feel as if they have little control over their futures, regardless of how well they perform.

They have a sense of impending doom that the next downsizing will include them. And many actually feel deeply troubled — even guilty — that co-workers have lost their jobs while they have kept theirs, almost as though, by staying aboard, they have sanctioned the firings themselves.

Indeed, recognized symptoms of survivor syndrome in the workplace include less motivation to excel at one’s job, a lack of trust in management, reduced loyalty to the organization and feeling like it might be better if the whole company were to perish all at once.

The roots of survivor syndrome sometimes lie in one’s life history. Seeing sudden distress in others can reawaken feelings of sadness, helplessness and anger attached to earlier life events, like sudden illness in a sibling or a treasured childhood friend suddenly moving out of state. But our vulnerability to the syndrome is ultimately connected to our wonderful human capacity to empathize with the plight of others.

Here are a few keys to overcoming survivor syndrome:

Realize that it’s unlikely anyone in the organization — including top managers — is eager to cut jobs or is unaffected by economic stress. There’s no bad guy to hate.

Focus on what you can do to make the workplace cohesive and to comfort those who remain on the job.

Reach out to see how colleagues you care about who lost jobs are doing, a week or a month later. They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll be showing yourself and them that camaraderie doesn’t haven’t to dissolve when a company downsizes.

¢¢¢

Keith Ablow, MD, is a psychiatrist, best-selling author, Fox News Contributor and founder of www.LivingtheTruth.com. He lives in Newbury. His column is reprinted from New York Post. Contact him at info@keithablow.com.

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What if You Could Choose How the Government Spent Your Tax Payments?

How about you?  What do you want your hard earned tax dollars spent on?

My biggest complaint with paying taxes is that I don’t want to be footing the bill for certain government projects.  I want to pay my fair share - could be considered a left winger, sheesh, almost a friggin’ socialist, by my conservative friends.

I just don’t want to finance “my fair share” of things like the war in Iraq, nuclear energy funding, or oil drilling.

At breakfast this morning, my spouse and I got to talking about how great this would be.  We thought it’d be interesting to see how others felt about it.

I know I’d feel a whole lot better about paying my taxes if I were designating where the money went.

How about you?

Where would you like your hard earned tax dollars to go?

If I get enough responses, I’ll summarize them in a future post.

Here’s where I want my tax dollars going:

• public education and health care
• social security
• jobs
• maintaining our infrastructure
• alternative energy development - eliminating oil dependence
• research in medicine -and in other projects that improve the quality of life on our planet
• reducing global starvation
• improving global health
• building a sustainable planet by fighting the war against pollution and global warming
• developing global relations with other countries
• supporting the arts
• World Peace.

Feel free to also list where you wouldn’t like your tax money going, too.

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Out of Work? They’re Hiring at the Unemployment Office

Over 5 million Americans are now on unemployment:  more people than at any other time since 1967 - when records started being kept.

Here in Massachusetts, where unemployment jumped an entire percentage point - to 6.8% - last December, the phones at the Massachusetts Unemployment Center in Boston are literally ringing off the hook.

Kim, a single mother of 3, called 20-30 times per day for five days before getting a live person.  Her benefits didn’t start arriving for 4 weeks.  “It was extremely frustrating,” says Kim.  “Luckily, I had some savings to tide me over.  I don’t know how some families are getting by.”

To ease the claims bottleneck, the Massachusetts office is adding 60 new employees.   “This should ease the current claims crunch,” said a local official.”

They’re not alone.

In California, it’s the same situation.  According to the Orange County Register, unemployment offices across the state have the following openings as of February 26th:

• Los Angeles area: 140
• Orange County area: 30
• Bay Area: 60
• San Diego area: 20
• San Bernardino, Riverside, Redlands area: 36
• San Jose:  35
• Sacramento: 81

Individual states each run their own programs, but they must comply with federal guidelines.  To handle the increased number of claims, most offices are hiring more workers and extending business hours.

For more information on filing, check out this site at the United States Department of Labor.

For more information about the jobs, contact the individual offices.

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• Do You Have To Pay Taxes On Unemployment Income? Today the U.S. unemployment rate jumps to 8.1% with another 651,000 jobs disappeared in February. The unemployment rate is higher now than at any time...
• Big Government vs. Small Government in Auto Insurance The spring edition of USAA Magazine arrived in the mail yesterday. Most of the information is extremely basic fundamentals such as "make your coffee at...

Are You a Taxpayer or a Shareholder?

Yes, this is a trick question.  Millions of Americans, of course, are both, whether we like it or not.  And we have our dismal 401k balances to prove it.

If you don’t have a 401k,  come out of the cave and get one.  If you ever want to retire, you have no choice.  And if you’re not paying taxes, e-mail me the details on how you’re managing that.

So here I am, taxpayer and shareholder, $847 billion dollars later, again - because didn’t we just do this? - scratching my head, wondering why all of these supposedly really smart economists think it’s right to keep pouring non-existent tax money into the pockets of those same financial wizards that tanked all the banks in the first place.

We should be firing them, and prosecuting them, but here we are giving them another carte blanche.  I wish my boss was that stupid.

NPR’s interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz today discusses the merits of banks being nationally rather than privately run. He says that Americans are handing over the money to pay the bills, but we have no control over which bills - if any - are getting paid.

It’s like giving your teenager lunch money.  Who knows where it will end up.  But if you kept the money and packed his lunch, you’d have a better chance of him eating it.

I agree with Stiglitz - in that it would give the government control of where their money is going.  But will that make things better? There’s graft and corruption in government run as while as privately run businesses.

Stiglitz is missing the boat on the true problem here:  that there’s no business ethics, or values, or integrity to be had out there.  And that without heavy regulation, and control, this will keep happening.

Shysters will always be shysters.  And without protection, the smart honest people will have to play the shyster’s game, or they’ll sink.

Do you think the USA government should take over the banks?

photo credit:  PicApp

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• The credit crisis video The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo. This video about our current economic crisis has been bouncing around the internet for quite...