Who is Helping Walker?

There is MORE to the Right-Wing Agenda influencing Wisconsin  other than Governor Scott Walker. Like all movements, there is sufficient conformity and strategy that expands the entire territory. Which means, Gov. Scott Walker isn't merely the leader, he is the puppet; he is the channel by which the demands of the Right-Wing elites can be satisfied. Gov. Walker is following the rubric of what the Right-Wing have been developing intelligently over God-knows-how-long.

There is a consolidated effort through the establishment of non-profit organizations that are covertly propaganda vehicles to sneak pass even the most thoughtful of progressives and liberals. But, before I name them, let's look at some of what we know Gov. Walker and the Republican's are doing or wanting to do:

1. Eliminate the regulatory powers of government except as to protect personal property and provide fiscal benefits to increase the bottom-line for corporations:
• Ex: Gov. Walker has replaced and privatized the Dept. of Commerce with the purpose of "responding to the needs of businesses". (Wait and see what happens to the WI Dept. of Finance, don't say I didn't warn you)
2. Strategically get rid of public services that are not used by the upper classes, in exception to Social Security since that's Federal. (But wait, watch how he forces, indirectly, cuts to Medicare, by cutting Medicaid incredibly). These services include the State's health care plan,  BadgerCare, Family Care, Senior Care, FoodShare, as well as programs for out-of-home/foster children. 
3. Reduce government revenues through tax reform.
1. Just like the national Republicans, Scott Walker has increased the deficit by giving corporate tax breaks. Watch what happens to the State's capital gains tax, or at least the debate over it. (wink wink), meanwhile providing another $25 million to fund his new economic development agency.

Now, keep these three things in mind. Also, keep in mind, Gov. Walker, just like the rest of the Right-Wings, are pro-privatization, deregulation, and "small government" that's only big enough to protect their property, and benefit them using are tax process and tainted court system.

Who are these agencies you say? The Wisconsin Way, Bold Wisconsin, and Competitive Wisconsin, who share "support" (meaning corporations, institutions, and individuals that contribute to and/or are on the board of...) former Governor Doyle's "Climate Change" task force.

Let's start with: the Wisconsin Way. This is probably the most popularly known organization, that provides policy direction, "research", and ideas to our State and locally elected officials. Last year, the Wisconsin Way were one of the headliners of the Wisconsin Counties' Associations annual conferences, and probably will be for a long while. The WCA is the lobby organization made up of Wisconsin's 72 counties, attended by the Counter Board Supervisors across the State. Now, there are numerous things in the Wisconsin Way's "Blueprint for Change" that I can agree with. I am not demonizing Wisconsin Way, I am merely saying that they have strong influences from Right-Wing organizations. However, things such as making police and fire a "fee based service" is not one of them. (to see that they actually recommend a fee-based emergency force scroll down to "2b").

Let's look at some similarities between Gov. Walker and the Wisconsin Way

1. They recommend a confederation of economic development agencies to tackle the issues and "needs" of businesses for "Economic growth" or job creation. Gov. Walker develops his Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation that replaces the Dept. of Commerce. 
2. The WI Way is all about cutting property taxes, "consolidating" and "reforming" services, "review all state mandates", and "eliminate the capital gains tax", while providing a 5-year corporate income-tax free period for all new businesses to Wisconsin. Need I say more?

Then, there is Competitive Wisconsin. I urge you, to strongly look at their members, and correlate that to some of their proposals that are focused on, tax reform, including Keynesian tax benefits (for businesses of course). It started as a conservative tax group under former Republican Wisconsin Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus, and several members of Wisconsin's industrial and financial private industries. One of their accolades is the successful elimination of Wisconsin's state gift tax, and are behind Wisconsin Way as far as getting rid of the estate tax, and, well, more tax cuts for corporations.

Be Bold Wisconsin is a conception of Competitive Wisconsin. It shares the same recommendations as Wisconsin Way, in that it calls for "education reforms", from creating accelerated higher education courses for people wanting to enter the workforce, to work-study programs for grade schools, increase in funding "highly demanded" skills, and, well, again "reforming" the education system. Did I mention that Gov. Walker wants to split up UW-Madison from the UW-System.

 Now that Gov. Walker is in office, he has the chance to act on his grudges  he's been carrying for a long-time, and has the support of private industry, and the Right-Wing (or what we Left-Wing "Radicals" recognize as neoLiberalism domestically and globally). Gov. Walker has always hated the Milwaukee County Board, Milwaukee Public Schools, the UW System and their Board of Regents, among other groups. So, combine an ego with a thirst for power and vengeance with a covert national Right-Wing system of "reform" supported by billionaires, and you have the perfect recipe for the disaster to come.

My next blog entries will be explaining neoLiberalism, and all things that all people must know as to protect Democracy from the megalomaniacs of extreme corporatism.

Please recognize friends, that this is truly not a partisan fight. It's class warfare, but I guess I should stop talking before someone blames me for inciting a civil unrest. And if it happens, it better be towards Wall Street, and the Beltway (D.C.) for increasingly stripping the Democratic rights, freedoms, and powers of the People. There, I said it.

Tea Party Has an Expiration date: End of 2011

So the Tea Party isn't a gay orgy in Massachusetts?

I told my boyfriend and soulmate, Dayvin, (and then again on Pat Salvatore's status) soon as these Tea Partiers get into office, they are going to sing a different tune!"

Watch, out of all the Tea Party newly elected officials, no more than ONE of them "may" make about 10 Congressional votes over the next term that Tea Partiers will actually like...10 at most. What the Tea Party activists don't realize is:

1. The Tea Party movement was supported by the Establishment runners that have built and financed the careers of current Establishment Republicans.....and these supporters intend to make sure they control everyone they finance...including these "Tea Party" officials. Rand Paul is not a Tea Partyier, and actually is for the very things Tea Party activists, personally, do not want.

FACT: The Tea Party depends on Social Security and are against any privatization of Social Security; and they are against any cuts to Medicaid/Medicare. But, yet, Rand Paul and his Right Wing Libertarian party is actually for the abolition of social security, medicaid/medicare, etc. They believe in the free-market insurance industry...are directly funded by them.

2. Lets say these "Tea Party" officials were serious about being "anti-establishment". They ran on the Republican ticket, in exception to I think 1 person (florida) where the Tea Party is an actual registered party. So, that means they must follow the Republican status quo, because that party is 100% structured, and there is no deviation from what the leaders of the party and their funders want...

So that means, these Tea Partiers MUST follow the status quo to survive as Republicans and get anything past. OTHERWISE, they better have the tenacity of Limbaugh, who is the most influential leader of the party. But, Limbaugh follows the plight of the true leaders of the Republican party...which are the wealthy conservatives that own 50% of the wealth of this nation!

This is Tea that won't sit well with you!

Here are my more of my predictions: The Tea Party (unless it does something incredible to revive it's already, short-term incredulous reputation) is going to be disbanded and defunct by end of 2011, might see it as soon as June or July, especially with this week's hit headlines about the Tea Party Caucus asking for over $1 billion in earmarks despite being "anti-earmark" in their campaigns. There may be one of the members (coughcough Michele Bachmann coughcough) that will continue to make noise as  Teabagg...errm, Tea Partier...she might even be deemed the Sister of Teabaggers. But, everyone else are simply career Congressmen and state/local legislators that are, SO LOW on the totem pole with literally NO credibility with sponsoring/heading major legislation or being anywhere near one of the party leadership and assistant leadership (whips, deputies, assistant deputies, etc.). And, some of them, indeed, are actually Establishment Republicans despite all of the media frenzy over Tea Party people fighting the "Establishment"

For example, you have Tea Party Caucus member, Lamar Smith (R). He is SOOOO ESTABLISHMENT it is not funny. He has been in Congress since 1987 in Texas. He has gone to Conservative and wealthy Evangelical private schools his entire life, graduated from Yale, and Southern Methodist University. He is SO Establishment it's not funny...The man has a residence in CAPE COD, Mass! I mean come on.

Literally, you look at the Tea Party Caucus, it is low-level Republican Congressmen that ran with the Tea Party to keep themselves in office, because they knew the ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICAN FUNDERS/LEADERS that were pulling the strings behind the Tea Party. I mean, come on, the Tea Party was fueled by Rand Paul, another CHILD OF ESTABLISHMENT POLITICS! That wealthy douchebag.

Anyways, so, the Tea Party Caucus consists of pro-establishment, and actual Establishment politicians, and a couple nutcases, *sneezeBachmannsneeze*. They are showing and will continue to show their true colors, especially since some of them were elected in districts that, yes, are Conservative, but not dependent on the Tea Party to begin with. People need to stop acting like the Tea Party was revolutionary....many of these districts would have swung Republican regardless of them, and the others were Moderate swing districts, primarily, to begin with. Look at our beloved Senator Feingold. He's excellent, well loved in Wisconsin. However, Wisconsin narrowly voted him out, not because of himself..but because of the failure of the Democratic Party....And I will literally say this, ALWAYS: The National, State, and Local Democratic Party FAILED Feingold. That man is one of the most hardworking, principled, intelligent, moral, people-oriented, ethical politicians we have had in the 20th Century....both locally and Federally. But, the Democratic Party couldn't get its shit together, and the Republican Party did. Period...it's easy to be evil, what can I say?

So, yea. The Tea Party is going to be disbanded, and irrelevant before 2012 even gets here. Palin, Bachmann, and a few scrambling Republicans are going to try and keep it alive...buttttt, they are going to find themselves singled out quickly because of it, and it's a losing fight for them. Palin, however, is a winner, and is going to continue to shine as an entertainer and a political critic. She's basically the sexy, female, Glen Beck....minus the Glen Beckian schitzophrenia.

But, there will be a strong Moderate Third Party entity for 2012 that is going to take like 13% of votes for 2012. It's going to be a convergence of Liberals and Conservatives that have a common ground (a largely driven Blue Collar - Labor/Working Class group).....take down the corporatism out of Democracy, and bring back our Democratic liberties, rights, and representation. We will, then see an actual grassroots movement that will truly be anti-Establishment. REMEMBER.....most Americans do not want nor care to be wealthy bourgeois people. Most Americans just want to pay their mortgages, put gas in their cars, send their families to the doctors, have money to save, and have money to travel enjoy life and pay their bills with as few headaches as possible. BUT....the exact opposite is happening in the worse way. It's hell for the Blue Collar and the cubicle to Middle Management White Collar guys and gals....while Heaven is on a Real Estate Boom for the Wealthy that are becoming stupid wealthy!

Once the Tea Party is confronted for what it really was...a new party, a new movement, an unforgiving one is going to be around for 2012. Did I say 13%....I mean, more...maybe more. It may even be so large that the Dems and Republicans are embarrassed. And, since it will be a movement ORIGINALLY by people that are the guys and gals we hangout with, work with, or shit, is us....all of the billion dollar PR/advertising campaigns the Dems and Republicans will spend to try and discredit the movement will not work because it will SING to the People....Left and Right...because in the Middle we all care to take care of our house and home.....Democrats and Republicans that are sucking the teets of Billion Dollar America don't give a damn.


These are my predictions. We will see how accurate I am.

What Is Really Going On with Alternative Energy Initiatives

In my career, here is what I've noticed with my own eyes, ears, and brain to capture everything: 

For as much as our government and the major players in the energy sector push for "renewable" and "sustainable" energy, using solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, and the hydrogen-power fantasy (As I call it), the only REAL action and substantial investments are in nuclear power and natural gas. 

Firstly, NP2010 or Nuclear Power 2010 Program: this was created in 2002 under the Bush Admin.'s U.S. Secretary Spencer, which calls for a joint government and private sector investment in what will eventually be the prominent infrastructure for nuclear energy in the nation, where the U.S. will invest heavily in the research, production, and regulation of nuclear power plants. 

Obama's Admin., which has not been a stranger to 100% pro-nuclear power, is in support of this and has increased funding for nuclear power in the annual budget. In fact, this is outside of the $8 billion dollar commitment Obama has made in February, in providing loans for development of new nuclear reactors in Georgia...and TRIPPLED the amount he wants to loan for new reactors to $54 billion! 

Seriously, everything as far as "energy reform" presented by Obama is enough for an environmealist to have a heart attack. Obama implied to the nation back in January and February that he was going to eventually open up off-shore drilling, and was still focused on "clean coal" (bulls***t), and nuclear power....Oh, and "solar powerr, wind power, and Captain Planet". He is a hit with the energy industry, and he is the reason why I'm going to continue to be invested in energy companies that have nuclear power in their portfolios, or plans...Oh, and natural gas as a backup incase another Thousand-Mile Island happens, on a big enough scale to destroy nuclear energy stocks. 

If you've been keeping up with the news about the BP oil spill, and the Chevron spill, OUTSIDE of the immediate events, both of these spills have actually increased the positive attitudes for nuclear energy. In a June 8th article of Seeking Alpha, an online economics and finance news publication, even major "green" organizations like Green Peace and Friends of Earth have joined the pro-nuclear bandwagon. 

The next big one: Natural Gas. Natural Gas has been an active major source of eletricity for decades, and in lieu of the movement against fossil fuels, coal-energy firms have been investing HEAVILY into more natural gas production.....ironically, natural gas is also a byproduct of fossil fuels...and really, outside of hydrates and biomass, natural gas isn't really "clean"....and, given the nature of a firm to make profits, most new and mature firms producing natural gas may opt for the "cheaper" processing which means, we're still hardly reducing the right amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. 

And, BP and the other oil firms are not stupid. They know the limits of crude oil as a fuel source and a money maker...they know where the energy market is heading, and they are on the frontlines of investing heavily in where the market will be. So, BP, Exxon, Texaco, Chevron, etc. already have a wealthy portfolio of "new energy" in their R&D...and they aren't going to go away...ESPECIALLY with the 10s of BILLIONS of dollars EACH of these oil companies get in money and tax breaks from EACH developed nation including the U.S. That is right, part of their 3,000,000% profits comes from taxpayers' money across the globe. And they provide too much political capital, jobs, and tax revenue for any nation to go against these conglomerates. 

This BP oil spill is going to take several months before we get it under acceptable control....but it will take decades before the results are cleaned up. And, of course the government isn't going to go ahead with its entertaining threats of criminally charging the corporation....all they have to do is suspend the money and subsidizing they are providing to BP (which has already hit nearly $900 between January and June of this year alone). 

And any of the monies BP has to pay for this incident, they are going to get back by the end of the next quarter, and double if not triple it by the end of this year. 

Oh, and there is going to be another oil spill in China as the same s***t is happening there with unregulated, haphazard deep sea drilling by the same companies. 

Solar power and wind power are simply taffy candy the industry and the major world governments are giving out to their concerned and increasingly knowledgable citizens. However, they remain at least a step and a half ahead. 

This is the world we live in.....c'est la vie de capitalisme et mondialisation. 


(this is happening locally as well in Democratically controlled and Republican controlled local governments....for instance, in Wisconsin, Gov. Doyle [D:071a93ec72], introduced the Clean Energy and Jobs bill which was disputed by environmentalists and liberals due to the proposed END of the 10-year moratorium on nuclear power included in the budget...mind u, it was developed by his Climate Change Task Force which includes WE Energies and other energy firms that own natural gas and nuclear power plants or plan to). 


Articles of Note:


LA Times: "Obama pledges $8 billion"
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/16/nation/la-na-obama-nuclear17-2010feb17 


Seeking Alpha: BP Oil spill boosts Nuclear Power
http://seekingalpha.com/article/209058-bp-oil-spill-boosts-nuclear-power 


Wikipedia.org: Nuclear Power 2010 Program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Power_2010_Program 

Republicans: How Dare You Incite Civil War?

One of the reasons I left the Republican Party in late Fall of 2004 is that the Party advocates segregation, violent segregation. The propaganda within the Party invokes a faith in paranoia, that the world opposite of you is your enemy out to enslave you. I am a former College Republican, and I was extremely active within the party in Milwaukee. I left, simply because I was aiding these people in hating me (I'm gay, middle-class, and black).

Photo courtesy: www.bupipedream.com

Yet, in the light of the fierce Conservative "Grassroots" movement, this nation's racial warfare is becoming even more overt (despite its systemic dormancy, in its guise as a "post-racial society" while continuing to kill minorities), viciously overt...and yes, the Republican party is feeding the fire, and feeding off of its fire. You don't believe me, read this, straight from the website of the College Republicans:

"Enlisting in Operation Advancing Freedom puts you on-call for freedom. As an operative, you will have the opportunity to be a part of special deployment operations year-round to take out Democrats from coast-to-coast. Past operations included helping elect Bob McDonnell in Virginia, Chris Christie in New Jersey and Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Further operational plans are being drafted as you read this. Fight for freedom and your future by signing up today!"   - www.crnc.org
                             
I have never been so disgusted, well I have, but this is still just vile. Calling forth college students to become "operatives" to "take-out" Democrats? You're telling predominantly white, rural, lower middle-class, poorly educated, religiously-based, and abused males (and the occasional white female) to be "operatives" to "protect their freedoms" and "take-out" Democrats, whom have a significant membership of African Americans, Hispanic, Latin, Asian, Native, and other minority citizens. All the while, the country's first black President, and the first First Lady ever that is a descendant of slaves,  is promoting things that would, theoretically, make all people's equal (this is not desirable in).

The Republican Party is inciting violent civil unrest that could end up costing people lives.

For shame....this is not what the Founder's of this Nation would be for.

The Costs of Quality - General Commentary on Price-For-Quality Business

The Costs of Quality - General

***Please note, I realize that I tend to do these blogs when I'm either tired and it's late, or when I'm really busy multi-tasking...cuz you know, I'm a Millennial with an active lifestyle with a laptop and a smartphone...I will REPAIR this so that it makes more sense...later. lol Here's a funny cat pic instead***

What I call the "premium price for quality" pricing and positioning model does not necessarily equate to high profitability to due many..well costs.

If your goods or services are price-for-quality, above the competition, that means customer expectations are high and influencing customer perception of your company's quality involves increase investments in production innovation (to increase distribution time, and reduce production/labor errors), increase efficiency and quality training for employees, supplying hirer wages and benefits to attain higher qualitified higher skilled professionals, the investment in higher cost raw materials/inputs, etc. etc. etc.

Really, a there is more to protecting your company's name than "public relations" "advertisements" and comestics (architecture etc.).

In my personal experience, PR, advertising, and cosmetics do next to nothing as far as how customers perceive your company. So, I've grown to be an anti-advertising professional.

For restaurants, it is very much the same. You need the best fresh organic raw materials, that are produced in highly controlled and innovative agricultural firms across the globe, in the best environments...and due to A) the limited supply of premium produce (especially due to a lot of industrial, political, and environmental factors), B) the high cost of preserving the quality nutrients of these rare high quality raw materials during interstate/continental importation, C) the sophisticated, thus, expensive demands for high quality, specialized equipment, and building architecture design to control precise temperatures, etc. to protect the quality of the final products (food), D) high salaries for chefs, and higher salaries for experienced executive chefs, E) HIGH insurance costs D) foods are just as vulnerable to trends as clothes, so u're speciality better be one-of-a-kind in your location, but u better have a flexible menu...

Honestly, when it comes to restaurants, the cosmetics mean very little....I dare say, they mean nothing.

For a restaurateurs, it is best to focus on the supply of high quality raw materials, and the materials to protect them, and produce high quality finished goods, before you consider turning ur restaurant into some "posh" modern joint with expensive artwork and funky furniture.


- Jeremy "JayCreative" Mitchell

U.S.'s Fannie Needs More Money

Yesturday, Fannie Mae asked for an addition $15 Billion in Treasury bailout funds. Fannie Mae is the infamous gov't sponsored and created corporation (NYSE: FYM) that has been a direct player in housing booms since the 40ies. They provide billions in capital financing for the home mortgage business and was one of the key experimental participants in the sub-prime mortgage lending fiasco since the late 80ies. So, through the U.S. Fannie Mae, and it's boss, Big Banks, the U.S. government is still doing "business as usual", inflating demand for homes when prices are still above rational demand (As in demand exists based on ability and willingness to pay, and not just "want"...Need is different).

Well, there is not going to be another housing bubble, and demand for new homes is never EVER going to be like it was following WWII. The U.S. people will never see earnings like they used to, and the design of cities is no longer going to necessitate "suburban sprawl". Until this economy is fixed and put on an actual rational and sustainable economy with rational growth, then we'll see increased home ownership...but not anytime soon.

Take the $15 billion and put into a public insurance option for healthcare services, or to put money back into Education that the government continues to take out.

The Big Mac of Recoveries and the Clogged Arterie That Will Follow

What has happened over the last three years, 2006-2009, was inevitable. And, yes, amid all of the celebrations over this supposed "recovery", I dare say the next devastating economic troubles are definitely inevitable as well. Economist Nouriel Roubini from New York University and I are on the same page as we discredit the overzealous claims that our economy is in a true recovery.

No-Holds-Bar Super-Risk Economy
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is creating more chaos than  people recognize. Of course, the scope of free-market anarchy is vast due to the repeal of the Glass-Steagle Act, which prohibited the combination of investment firms, depository banks, and certain lending institutions. Glass-Steagle Act also was aligned with the purposes of the, later, Community Reinvestment Act which was a consumer rights bill that purely focused on requiring financial institutions to meet the qualitative and quantitative needs of every individual community and prohibited redlining (which even the Riegle-Neal Act of 1994, which allowed the interstate merger between banks that was restricted by the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956). Having passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, financial firms have been given phenomenal legitimate power, where the endgame for the economic behaviors of today's financial mega-firms are rationally contrary to the purposes and powers of the CRA. This translates into drastic increase in devious discrimination in the financial industries against different communities and individuals that's continually harder to address in the courts due to the privacy rights these financial institutions have on their decision-making bases (filled with a variety of  mysterious algorithms that is impossible to get information on, let alone analyze their validity). 

Where our dollars were once safe in depository and savings accounts, they are now in a highly volatile position inside of deposit and savings accounts dependent on the size and performance of high-risk securities, and a place that is purely ensured by the FDIC ($250K per account, where the FDIC's on finances do not meet the needs of demand...the bankruptcy of Bank of America lone, now, would most likely lead into the next Depression, if not, a half step-away).

Super Size My Mortgage Feds! And Insure It Too!
Deregulated High-Risk financial market + Housing Bubbles x  Horrible Debt Coverage Service (or Debt-to-Income Ratio) = Are you nuts!?!?!?!?! Well, that is where we are, and the Federal government is now multiplying the situation! The Federal Government's "investments" into the consumer financial markets has been much more than the TARP and other stimulus funds: let's not forget the trillion dollars in short-term emergency loans the Federal Reserve has auctioned off quietly since 2005, or the coverage of high-risk securities and debts for major banks like AIG (thank you Geithner). Fortunately, the government makes it easier for us to see how they are increasing their multi-trillion dollar investment into the housing markets, both primary and secondary markets. Yesterday, Januay 30th, 2010, the Office of the Special Inspector General on TARP released the quarterly report to Congress. On page 112,  it is all outlined:

Remember back in the turn of the new century, in 2003, when Pres. Bush and his Administration were pushing for people to buy new homes and celebrated the sub-prime mortgage market as a "savior for low-income families"? Now, remember how people look back and said that those events were major factors in the recent housing crash that has caused the collapse of major and small banks, and led to the current recession? Apparently, our government didn't get it the first time. Now, instead of the Bush Administration pushing Congress to sponsor new home buyer programs and push for the mass marketing of sub-prime mortgages, we now have a government not only insuring trillions of dollars in high-risk financing within the housing market, but also creating trillions of dollars in government-sponsored monetary tools to put people, yet again, into homes they can't afford! Oh, but its worse as this adds to the multi-trillion dollar super-deficit we have that will be with us for the entire lifetime of this nation, (and will probably last as long as radioactive waste!), as these come directly from the backs of taxpayers and the weak GDP. Not to mention, this Housing Bubble this government is trying to spur will result in another massive Housing Crash, it's all cyclical because we keep doing the same mistakes over again....not a "natural" economic cycle.

So, consumers continue to spend at a rate 40x's your income, save less than 5% of your earnings, and rest assured that the government is insuring the mega-firms that are selling you into mortgages designed to fail!

The World Gets Its Placebo!
 Since the robust declaration of the "ennnddd of the recession" last year, I've been saying again and again, "yea,  but it's not a recovery". For those of my peers who get to listen to my complaining all day on modern economic behaviors and pie-in-the-sky surrealism, you're used to me saying that our global and national economy is living off of "False wealth". This is true. Imagine you are married, man or woman doesn't matter. Okay, if you are married, then this may be too real for you. Now, you have a job that makes $50,000 a year before taxes, and you know your spouse only brings in $35,000 from his or her job. Knowing how much you two are drowning in debt, you begin to see your spouse walking around happier and more confident: wearing new designer clothes, driving a new SUV you've never seen before, taking you out on vacations, and eating out at five-star restaurants. So, surprised, you ask him/her, "honey, where is this money coming from, did you get a new job?" And he/she responds, "no, I just have more money." You reply curiously, "oh wow, when did you get promoted and a raise!?" And he/she answers, "I didn't get either, I'm just getting more money", and proceeds to tell you that there is no way she/he is making more money: no inheritance, no salary wages, no new jobs, nothing. Well, what's the deal? You ask yourself. So, you check out the bank account and find, indeed, the balance is what you expect from your paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. But, how in the hell is your spouse living so lavishly and the cops, nor IRS, banging at your door?

That is what's going on, pretty much.The stock market has recovered some of its major losses since the dark recession. Hedge funds, and other wealthy seasoned investment firms are making billions of dollars a week, recovering some of its YoY (year over year) losses at a moderate pace. The unemployment rate according to the Dept. of Labor, has fallen back from its rapid growth with less reported unemployment claims. You turn on MSNBC, CNN, or FOX! News and the journalists are no longer sweating a threat to their job security (unless you are brave and like to report real news...then you probably don't have a job anyways). "Recovery" is the world of the year. But, how?

The stock markets, which is the public's primary (other than the Consumer Price Index and the Unemployment Rate) source to judge whether they should hide their money or, as Jim Cramer says, "Buy! Buy! Buy!", are operating fully off of the hype created by the TARP and other government stimulus funds. For as happy Keynesians get over the increase government/public sector investments and expenditures, these factors do NOT equate to a real increase in economic productivity because these are temporary factors that are not based on concrete sustainable economic resolution. The savings rate of consumers, private and public institutions are still too close to zero, the number of actual hours worked quarter-to-quarter are down, and the debt service coverage (the ability for people and firms to pay their debts from their income) are remarkably poor (and increasingly). The only positive news right now, from my opinion, is that there will be extra funds given to local community banks and even the mega-banks to increase lending to businesses, which leaves us in a positive position to simply wait and see if the financing for operations and business improvements lead to increase profitability, new jobs, and, hopefully, a positive acquisition of assets and a better ability to pay debts short and long term.

But, right now....it's all primary false wealth, and a false recovery. Take it from my idol, Roubini:

“The headline number will look large and big, but actually when you dissect it, it’s very dismal and poor,” Roubini told Bloomberg Television in an interview at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “I think we are in trouble.” Bloomberg.com: "Roubini Calls Us Growth 'Dismal and Poor,' Predicts Slowing"


 Roubini Calls Us Growth 'Dismal and Poor,' Predicts Slowing

 What are my ideas for sound resolutions? That will follow, come back later! =D