The Invisible Hand

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, says: “the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.” [7][8] Stiglitz explains his position:

Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, is often cited as arguing for the “invisible hand” and free markets: firms, in the pursuit of profits, are led, as if by an invisible hand, to do what is best for the world. But unlike his followers, Adam Smith was aware of some of the limitations of free markets, and research since then has further clarified why free markets, by themselves, often do not lead to what is best. As I put it in my new book, Making Globalization Work, the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.

…

Real people … who we knew and loved … who died unnecessarily in the U.S.

Real Life Stories of Americans

THE SILENT … NOW DECEASED

“My daughter got sick with cancer after her husband lost his job. She never told anyone she was sick because she knew the financial hardship it would cause and eventually the hospital would take their house for unpaid medical bills. We lost her in the following spring … We read her diary and learned all she was feeling and thinking. Now I wonder how many others are just like her in this America? And how many before her?”

Deaths due to Preventable Diseases: Dead Last

Rankings 1st to 19th. France, Japan, Australia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Austria, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, Portugal, United States

http://www.medicareforall.org/…

If you DON’T Study, DON’T play by the Rules, and DON’T CARE who is hurt by your careless actions — would you expect an “all expenses paid” Scholarship?  … or record Bonuses?  … or more free Mad Money than you know what to do with?

Hardly!

Yet that is exactly what the reckless Wall Street Bankers got — HUGE Rewards — FOR BEHAVING BADLY!

In some circles, this is call Co-dependency and “Enabling” …

In America we call it “Too Big to Fail”.

Well Alan Grayson and Ron Paul, are about expose this Trillion Dollar “reward for failure” system, for what it is …

Rep. Alan Grayson on the Fed Bailing Out Big Banks:

“You Don’t Give Scholarships to Kids Who Fail”



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Pete DeFazio Slams Tim Geithner & Larry Summers  (TheYoungTurks)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Is it finally Time to Bail Out — MAIN Street ?

Wall Street HAS gotten all their Trillion Dollar Bail Out $$$$$$$$$$$$$

AND so far NOT much of it has Trickled Down to Main Street — Where it’s Most Needed!

Something ‘s got to give — and Soon!

Before Small Town America, (and Metro-America) rolls up the welcome mat, and fades into history.

Here’s something to test your knowledge, of Politics, History, and Trivia.

I will post 10 Quotable Quotes.

See if you can Match them up to the Person “Who Said That”?

The Person’s Names will be in random up order, different from the order of the Quotes.

(you can click on a person’s name link, only if you need a clue — or if you want to cheat, lol)

“Don’t Let the Perfect become the Enemy of the Good” — it’s common knowledge, right?

Important words of wisdom with Great Historical Significance, right?

OK, if you say so …

François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French writer, deist and philosopher.

Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.

* The better is the enemy of the good.   — La Bégueule (1772)

 Variant translations:

   The perfect is the enemy of the good.

   The best is the enemy of the good.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V…

Voltaire

Author and Philosopher, 1694 – 1778

Francois Marie Arouet (pen name Voltaire) was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris. Voltaire’s intelligence, wit and style made him one of France’s greatest writers and philosophers.

[…]

In 1726, Voltaire insulted the powerful young nobleman, “Chevalier De Rohan,” and was given two options: imprisonment or exile. He chose exile …

Woooo, some drama … could be a notable lesson here?  

The Problem: Unemployment, is just supposed to keep getting worse:

Unemployment rate rises to 10.2%

It’s the first time it has hit double digits since 1983.

By Don Lee and Jim Puzzanghera — Nov 7, 2009

Not since 1983, after a double-dip economic downturn had sent the auto, steel and housing industries plunging, has the jobless rate gone so high. And many economists predict that it will go higher still in coming months — and remain high for most if not all of next year.

Some 15.7 million workers now have no jobs, the government said in releasing its monthly unemployment report, and an estimated 5 million more are working fewer hours and drawing smaller paychecks than they were before the country fell into the worst recession in a generation.

http://www.latimes.com/busines…

Funny, you’d think that a Country with SO Much to Fix, in the Backlog, could find SOMETHING for ALL those Millions TO DO?

Back in 2008, Candidate Barack Obama, invited average American Citizens, to provide their thoughts, on what should be INCLUDED in the ‘New’ Democratic Platform for Change.

Here is one such reply, that made it to the ‘final draft’:

Citizen Statement – (pg 10)

“I worked for a manufacturer for over fifteen years. My wages stayed the same for six years as I found myself paying more and more for health care. Co-pays went up, deductibles went up.

In late 2006, the company sent my production job to Mexico and China and I was laid off.  I could not afford COBRA premiums.  I am two years away from Medicare and unemployed and on the ‘faith based’ health care system — meaning I just pray I don’t get sick.  

Oh yeah, and I’m a cancer survivor and I haven’t done the yearly checkup in 3 years.”

— Listening to America – National Hearing

Renewing America’s Promise — The 2008 Democratic National Platform

Such is the America Dream as of 2008.

The only thing Alan Grayson should Apologize for …

was not having the Fed’s Price List

for their services!

(imo)

Perhaps Grayson can be excused, since “The Fed” does favors for its clients, far from the scrutiny of prying eyes … giving away Billions to their good ole Buddies, both Foreign and Domestic, without so much as a Receipt or and IOU exchanging hands …

It’s easy to see how this shady activity just might get “mis-construed”:

Alan Grayson: Which Foreigners got the Fed’s 500 Billion?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Back in August, barely 2 months ago, Senator Hatch (R-UT), displayed a graciousness and a spirit of bipartisanship, rarely seen among the Party of NO.

Senator Orrin Hatch on Ted Kennedy’s Life

The Situation Room — Aug 26, 2009

BLITZER: […] the issue that was the most important to him, health care for the American people, you were — you’re a member of the Finance Committee. […] And since this was so important to your good friend, Senator Kennedy, I’ll ask you directly, Senator Hatch — are you willing to get back into those negotiations with the Democrats right now in memory — in honor of Senator Kennedy?

You know how important health care reform was for your friend.

ORRIN HATCH: …

The Problem: Unemployment, is just supposed to keep getting worse:

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose More Than Forecast

By Shobhana Chandra

Oct. 22, 2009  (Bloomberg) — More Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, a reminder that the labor market will be slow to recover.

Initial jobless applications rose by 11,000 to 531,000 in the week ended Oct. 17

[…]

Economists project the unemployment rate will reach 10 percent by the first quarter of 2010, underscoring the risk to consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy. Companies cutting costs remain reluctant to hire, even as they’ve eased dismissals from levels seen earlier this year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…

I heard a news Report this weekend that the +10% is expecting to last throughout most of 2010 too … Uh Oh!