Mark Knows It All

I don’t know where to begin to comment watching events unfold between General Motors and Barack Obama. Where does the Federal government get the authority to fire a CEO of a major corporation? I know. I know. “Thems that pays the piper picks the tunes.” And I know that General Motors approached the Feds for money. And I know that for all intents and purposes, but for the Feds, GM would be bankrupt. Nonetheless, there is something unseemly and inherently un-American about what is happening. Let’s start with GM itself. It has had long standing quality problems and union contracts which would sink a battleship. Its cars were…let’s just say…bad. They rusted within two years. They rattled. They were in constant need of repair. And GM, as well as Ford and Chrysler, were blown away by the engineering and galvanized steel of the Japanese imports. GM is currently carrying legacy costs which, in effect, change the nature of what it is. GM no longer makes cars to make money. It makes cars to pay ...

Finally, the Obama administration is taking measures to repair the issues that are at the heart of our economic problems. This comes under the category of better late than never. The heart of the economic malaise we find ourselves in has always been those so called “toxic” assets, and their attendant valuation by a flawed mark to market rule. It caused a paper loss for the banks and a credit freeze when the banks were forced to stop lending because of minimum capital requirements. Just so you know, cash flows into banks have never been higher, and absent the toxic asset, banks would be making more money now than any previous time in history. They are sitting on tons of cash, but can’t loan it because of fear of further bond markdowns. What is so irksome, and tragic for our country, is that the primary problem was known in September. The original TARP request for funds was to be used to fix the bond problems…but was used by the Bush administration for amything but after it got the money...

There is no better representation of man’s common experience than music. I learned that lesson many years ago when I was in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Soviet Union had just collapsed, and western business entities were moving in at a rapid pace. The Hotel Europa in St. Petersburg was one of the first luxury (and extremely expensive) western hotels attempting to do business there, and my business partner and I left our standard, Russian run, affordable hotel to sneak a peek at how the other half was beginning to live in this magnificent city. It was the week before Christmas. St. Petersburg is dark 20 hours/day and very cold that time of year. In the lounge of the hotel, a Russian lounge piano dude was attempting to play Christmas music. Living in an atheistic society for all of his life, it was clear he had no knowledge of western Christmas music, and my partner and I kind of laughed as he struggled through some tunes that sounded vaguely familiar but off the mark. He looked at us and...

If I were to choose one thing that could result in the downfall of the United States as we know it, I would choose death of personal responsibility. It’s not only responsibility’s demise, but the institutionalization of rewarding irresponsibility. In our country today, we punish those who act responsibly, and celebrate those who don’t. What lesson are we teaching our children? How can our culture survive? The deck is stacked against those of us who work hard every day, try to provide for our families, and live by some semblance of a moral code. Let’s start with the entertainment industry. Look at the role models being held up to our young people. Gangsta rappers, drug users, promiscuity is the road to riches and success as we celebritize those people whose behavior is abhorrent by any measureable standard. The Octo-mom gets a new house and 24 hour free help to raise her 14 kids. Has anyone helped you raise your children lately? The key to success is not hard work. Do something outrageo...

There are different ways people vote. The obvious way is at a ballot box on Election Day. The other way people vote is with their wallet. Using the latter measure, Barack Obama is in BIG trouble. One only has to look at the rapid decline in the stock market since his election to know that, at least where money is concerned, there is a vote of no confidence. There will be bear market spikes over the next few months, but the long term trend is bleak. There is not enough money in the world, literally, to service and pay the debt Obama and the Congress are racking up. To quote Margaret Thatcher: “The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money!” The assault on the American business community is in full force, and it effects everybody. The stock market is telling us in no uncertain terms that Obama’s economic plan will not work. Why is the stock market important? Do you have a pension fund? Are you a member of STRS or PERS? Do you have an employer funded 40...