Blight

On days the largest banks in the world aren't on the edge of failure, we often get to hear stories of blight as a result of the mortgage fallout. As a country, are we really that well off that we can afford to spruce up abandoned neighborhoods just so they don't look bad. Aren't there a few more relevant causes we could attend to with our unending riches. I guess we've taken care of all the problems that fall below bad looking neighborhoods so this is next most important.

Toxic assets

This week the treasury guaranteed what has been called $300 Billion of toxic assets. I really don't understand what comprises a toxic asset. Toxic by definition is something that is poisonous, so much so that it can cause death or serious debilitation. I'm not sure how a mortgage security or a CDO can cause death, at least to a human being.

The real issue is that these firms holding toxic assets have toxic levels of leverage that has led to their inability to make markets in the securities they hold. It's fine for firms to apply leverage to capitalize on their competitive advantage; however, many financial institutions appear to have misjudged their competitive advantage. They believed they were supreme experts at quantifying risk. It is this lapse in judgement that has been toxic to their shareholders and taxpayers alike.

Burning $

Interesting article in the WSJ on the auto industry bailout. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122669746125629365.html

I would like to have my portion of whatever the auto industry bailout is burned. Take it, turn it into hard cash and burn it. It is likely that this would be a slower way to lose the money than the auto makers have found.

Corn Independence

The notion of energy independence seems very troubling, and hopefully not very probable. First off, why would we choose two or three commodities that we call "energy" which we really like, and tell the rest of the world we don't want any from them any more? It is possible that we perceive energy to be so important to our national security and future survival that we want to handle this one on our own. If these commodities truly are that important, why not consume all we can from the rest of the world now and save ours for later. Seems like there are many other products produced by the rest of the world we may not be able to live without that we don't mind buying. Should we become steel independent, we need steel to build war ships and tanks to defend our country? Seems like the more countries depend on each other, the less likely they would be to engage in aggressive behavior in the first place.

To be independent, we will either have to draw down our own resources or find technologies that don't use the resources we formerly associated with "energy". In fifteen years, will there be headlines about how we need to be corn independent or questions about what to do with all of our oil and gas now that no one uses it.

I'll have a Tucker

The Big 3's attempt to suppress innovation and advancement will hopefully be their downfall; however, this is no revelation. Dating back to their successful fight to stop the Tucker Torpedo in 1948, the Big 3 have never embraced innovation or been willing to accept the change that would allow them to compete on the global stage. It could date back even further to the Model T, every single one of which rolled off the assembly line in one bright color; black.

To the Nancy Pelosis and Harry Reids, please don't try to spend my money to change and update three companies that have spent the last hundred years fighting the change and innovation that could have prevented their demise. Please let these three turgid corporate citizens of malpractice reap the seeds they have sown.