"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." - Albert Einstein

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are Out on Bail

September 7, 2008 By

Government Seizes Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
By Ken Sweet

The U.S. government seized control of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM: 7.04, +0.62, +9.65%) and Freddie Mac (FRE: 5.10, +0.15, +3.03%) on Sunday, placing the liabilities of more than $5 trillion of mortgages onto the backs of the U.S. taxpayer.

Article Continues… (Fox Business)

There’s a line of thinking regarding the health industry in the U.S.: the biggest problem is that they don’t try to prevent illness; they just treat symptoms. I’m starting to suspect the government takes a similar approach to the economy. Instead of trying to fix the problem, they just jump in with a bail-out to fix the latest symptom.

Filed Under: U.S. Economy

I.O.U.S.A. premieres tomorrow

August 20, 2008 By

I got this email today, and am planning to check it out tomorrow night. I guess I’m just a sucker for documentaries:

There are no explosions…no Pixar…no Stiller, Cruise, or Black…but tomorrow we invite you to join us at an exciting and important movie event.

53 trillion dollars. It almost makes our $9.5 trillion national debt seem small. But $53 trillion is actually the true sum of our current financial obligations including debts and unfunded promises for Government programs. And we, the American taxpayers, owe that money — $175,000 per person. Without reforms, our $53 trillion hole will increase by $2 trillion to $3 trillion a year.

In the past few days, you may have heard or seen former U.S. Comptroller General Dave Walker on CNN, Fox, or NPR talking about America’s endangered fiscal future and promoting the new film I.O.U.S.A. Now, we invite you to join Walker, Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson and others on Thursday, August 21 when, immediately following the debut of I.O.U.S.A., theatres around the country will become community town halls to debate America’s economic challenges. Technology will allow you to participate in this panel event no matter where you are.

The film and the Omaha-based panel will be shown tomorrow in 400 theatres nationwide – so click here to find a theatre near you. On Friday, I.O.U.S.A. moves to select theatres in 10 cities so be sure to check your listings. The event starts at 8:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. CT, 6:00 p.m. MT, and will be shown tape delayed at 7:30 p.m. PT.

We welcome your thoughts and reactions to the film and to this vital cause. Please send email to feedback@iousathemovie.com.

Best regards,
The I.O.U.S.A. team

Here’s the trailer:

Filed Under: U.S. Economy

2 More Banks Collapse

July 27, 2008 By
widget icon 2 More Banks Collapse

FDIC Takes Over 2 Western Banks
By AP Staff Writer

Federal banking regulators closed 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Article Continues… (CBS News)

This sounds worse than it is, as another bank (Mutual of Omaha) is simply taking over for the failed ones. However, this makes 3 banks in a pretty short time, which really hurts consumer confidence. What to do, what to do…

Filed Under: U.S. Economy

Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve

July 25, 2008 By
widget icon Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve

An interesting documentary on the Fed, produced by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, that I stumbled across today:

Filed Under: U.S. Economy

The dollar falls some more

July 15, 2008 By

Dollar Falls to Record Versus Euro; Credit Woes May Damp Growth
By Agnes Lovasz and Kosuke Goto

The dollar declined to a record low against the euro on speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will say credit- market losses are hurting U.S. economic growth.

Article Continues… (Bloomberg)

I just don’t get this.

Filed Under: U.S. Economy
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