You knew it would come to this sooner or later. It is the epitome of a ‘captive audience’. One airline is considering having paid toilets:
It matters not that there have been a string of losing seasons - or lawsuits, or off-court drama or paying a player millions of dollars not to play. None of that has diminished the worth of the New York Knicks. The Knicks franchise remains increasingly prosperous and the NBA most valuable team:
The financial stakes are beyond what most people can comprehend. General Motors requires an operating budget of eleven billion dollars a month to pay its bills. So, in the context of the level of money each of the auto makers go through in a month, going to Washington, D.C. in a private jets in just a small percentage of the monthly expenses:
Warren Buffett has called the financial crisis an “economic Pearl Harbor”. It is serious and most citizens do not have a full grasp of what caused this financial meltdown or what is being done to pull the economy out of this downspin. The public may be more aware of the rescue effort if there were greater oversight and more transparency.
From the days of the Founding Fathers, the principal of government was checks and balances. Government officials are servants of the “we the people” and, as such, are accountable to the people whom they service. This is elementary civics which is taught across the nation.
Unfortunately, with the seven hundred billion dollar government bailout, that oversight is lacking:
A new educational plan can have students finishing high school by grade ten. The final two years of high school would not be necessary:
Iceland nears bankruptcy. The financial repercussions of the world economic crisis are placing whole nations in jeopardy:
“…The country’s top four banks now hold foreign liabilities in excess of $100 billion, debts that dwarf Iceland’s gross domestic product of $14 billion.”
link: Iceland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy
Iceland may have some unique aspect. Nevertheless, it is linked in an inextricable manner to the global economy. The pressure that Iceland faces may portend the financial stresses which other nation may have to face in the coming weeks.
Catherine Forsythe
In the midst of a financial crisis and massive bailout, part of the American International Group’s (AIG) response is… golf. It is a resort retreat that cost $440,000 and included spa treatments and banquets, along with the golf:
“The White House said on Wednesday it was “despicable” that American International Group Inc. executives spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a posh California retreat just days after getting a federal bailout.”
link: White House Assails AIG Spending Spree
It would be illuminating how AIG can justify this. Are there no consequences to this type of behaviour?
Catherine Forsythe
Academic institutions are not immune from the present economic crisis. Many students are following the news closely and are concerned. The simple fact is that, for a majority of students, going to university or college is financed through loans. When financial institutions are in jeopardy, there are concerns about what is going to happen with those loans.
An alternative is leaving school and working. And that alternative looks grim as the unemployment numbers are staggering and business are trying to survive this economic downturn.
Catherine Forsythe
It matters not to which political party one belongs. It is a time of crisis. And that is not an over-exaggeration. It impacts everyone. Jobs are at stake. Housing is threatened for friends and family. Fuel prices change every day. And a food budget is an exercise in creative writing. The financial institutions face a similar problem.
It is a frightening time for many fellow citizens. Some are at war and are in Harm’s Way daily. And there is a crisis from within - the economy needs a bailout that places every American citizen in greater debt.
Amid this turmoil, there is talk about having political leaders to whom we can relate. It is the ‘I-can-have-a-beer’ with this person phenomena. That is utter nonsense.
To borrow a phrase from the late David Halberstam, what is needed is “the best and the brightest”. - The political leaders should be the bright, well read and gifted. This is not a time for empty rhetoric, grand impossible promises or ‘learn as we go forward’. There are external threats, as well as a national problems from within.
Hurricane Katrina happened in August of 2005. Still some citizens are trying to recover. - Veterans return home to inadequate medical services. Suicide rates climb. - Engineers warn of an infrastructure that needs repair. A bridge collapse should serve as a warning. Where are the funds for repair and maintenance? - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under-funded and under-staffed. It cannot fulfill its mandate to protect the food supply. The FDA decimated part of the tomato industry with a recall that proved to be erroneous.
The list could go on and on. This is not an election for just the next four years. It is recognizing that there are serious problems - and hoping that the best and brightest people are enough. The prime mandate of the next administration simply may be to prevent the situation from deteriorating worse.
Catherine Forsythe
