Day: May 29, 2009

MONEY: Why would anyone ever buy a bond?

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Shelby-assails-large-govt-apf-15380626.html?.v=4

Shelby assails large gov’t role in General Motors
Top Banking panel GOP member raps large federal stake in financially beleaguered GM Corp.
    * On Friday May 29, 2009, 8:27 am EDT
    * General Motors Corporation

*** begin quote ***

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Richard Shelby said Friday the government should have allowed the marketplace to decide General Motors’ fate and that the huge federal stake in the company puts Washington on “the road to socialism.”

Shelby, ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, argued that the financially beleaguered GM could have saved “lots of money” if it had chosen six months ago to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

“What I worry about” is Washington’s large interest in the company, the senator said in a nationally broadcast network interview. “It’s basically going to be a government-owned, government-run company … a company that has been sadly run into the ground.”

*** end quote ***

IMHO, the gooferment has no right to steal from the bond holders their rightful value. It would seem that there is a Fifth Amendment (“takings”) suit here.

# # # # #

RANTING: Men, specifically fathers, not required!

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133640.html

New at Reason: Cathy Young on Why Single Motherhood is on the Rise
May 21, 2009, 3:00pm

*** begin quote ***

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics with the dry title, “Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States,” contains startling news: births to single mothers, which had leveled off in the early 2000s, have risen sharply in recent years. Some sociologists believe we have reached a tipping point: the link between marriage and parenthood is no longer the norm. Why is this happening, and what does it mean for women, children, and men? There are no simple answers, writes Contributing Editor Cathy Young, only difficult questions that we ignore at our peril.

*** end quote ***

(1) Families ensured that children were nurtured.

(2) Positive male role models keep young boys in check and reassure young girls that they are valued.

(3) Intergenerational care was assured.

# # # # #  

MONEY: If You Care About the Uninsured

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133627.html

If You Care About the Uninsured, Please Drink Budweiser. Or Schlitz. Or Coors. Or Hamm’s. It Doesn’t Really Matter What Beer You Drink, Only That You Drink a Highly Taxed Beer. And If You Really Care About The Uninsured, Why Not Drink a Case of Beer?

Nick Gillespie | May 21, 2009, 7:21am

*** begin quote ***

Is it too late to take it all back, this loose talk about legalizing “vices” and then taxing them?

Some details on a “proposed beer tax” currently working its way through Congress like a kidney stone through Ted Kennedy’s man-parts. It’s all over but the shouting, screaming, and gnashing of teeth:

   Consumers in the United States may have to hand over nearly $2 more for a case of beer to help provide health insurance for all.

   Details of the proposed beer tax are described in a Senate Finance Committee document that will be used to brief lawmakers Wednesday at a closed-door meeting.

   Taxes on wine and hard liquor would also go up. And there might be a new tax on soda and other sugary drinks blamed for contributing to obesity. No taxes on diet drinks, however.

   Beer taxes would go up by 48 cents a six-pack, wine taxes would rise by 49 cents per bottle, and the tax on hard liquor would increase by 40 cents per fifth. Proceeds from the new taxes would help cover an estimated 50 million uninsured Americans.

*** end quote ***

And, of course, there won’t be any discussion of:

(1) Why do beer drinkers have to pay for the “uninsured”?

(2) Who is in the 50M “uninsured”? (Young people, people who could afford insurance, illegal aliens, UAW pensioners)

(3) Why is the government in the health insurance business in the first place?

Argh!

# # # # #