Dear President Obama,
A few minutes ago I visited the White House web page (www.whitehouse.gov) and saw one of your pictures while visiting Cairo. Looking good. Hope your visit will result in positive improvements (CHANGES) to the US.
I would like an answer to one and only one question from the Naive American. Before I pose it allow me to briefly provide some background and motivation for it.
A few weeks ago I was reading an article on the BBC on-line (http://news.bbc.co.uk) which called my attention. The article was based on an interview of a woman that I will call Jane Doe. Jane actually lives in Washington State. For many years, Jane used to work as a mechanic in the aerospace industry. I believe she worked in a Boeing plant. Read the rest of this entry »
Earlier this year the Naive American made an entry in this blog regarding Embraer (January 18, 2009). The reader might want to read it before continuing on this blog entry.
I am a General Aviation (GA) aficionado. Many years ago I looked into obtaining a private license certificate but at the time I had small children and little time. A couple decades went by (time flies when you are having fun). A couple years ago I decided that my two sons were old enough and I tried again. After the summer season was over things got busy, many changes at work and then our economy took a plunge, so once again I decided to put this endeavor on hold. Hopefully the next time I try it will be a charm.
I am a member of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). I fully enjoy their two main magazines. The June 2009 issue called my attention. The cover shows an Embraer Phenom 100 Very Light Jet (VLJ) soaring over Pennsylvania. The Phenom is a very good-looking plane. The main article in the last issue of AOPA Pilot magazine is titled “Thrill from Brazil” by Thomas A. Horne. I enjoyed reading the article.
What called my attention is that the Phenom is a plane made by Embraer. The Phenom is gaining popularity all over the country despite the bad economy in the US and in general in most countries around the world. The Phenom appears to be a very well designed product that has mass appeal in GA. Embraer is not an American company and their products are manufactured in Brazil. Read the rest of this entry »
Dear President Obama (outsourcing):
Sorry for not sending you this letter on Monday after I read the news but it appears that you might be walking the talk. When you promised CHANGE the Naive American was quite skeptic. The process has just begun. Hopefully lobbyist for American and Indian companies will be stopped on their tracks and allow curbing outsourcing to Indian and in general to any company outside the US.
I am not sure what twisted minds in the past came up with the idea that outsourcing was good for the USA. I can easily see how large companies would lobby for it until they got what they wanted without any regards for Naive Americans. Companies that outsource outside the US (OUS) are able to pay about one-third the salaries to get a professional job done overseas. That this meant for the company is less expenses so they could profit additional moneys to pay their top executives (the American Royalty) huge bonuses. On the other hand such companies would not need to hire well-prepared Naive Americans. With time, less and less Naive Americans have been interested in pursuing engineering and scientific jobs. The reason is that there is no way to compete with people that work for companies OUS because of their lower standard of living. The same engineer in India can live quite comfortable with a fraction of the salary that you need to compensate the same person living in the US. In practice, outsourcing will and has destroyed America. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday president Obama celebrated his first 100 days in the White House. Apparently he read a speech on national television. The Naive American does not like to listen to preachers, and for some reason our president sounds and behaves like one. I watched Good Eats on the Food Channel. Later that evening I watched the 9 o’clock news on Fox. They had a brief blur on the speech. Our president has a higher approval rating on the 100th day than Bush but not as high as Reagan. According to president Obama his report card has a B+.
Not sure why president Obama gives his administration such high grade, I would give him an F. The reason for this is that nothing has changed in the USA that has the potential of improving the current state of affairs, which includes the economy.
What we have seen is some tax breaks on April 15th. The average tax refund per family averaged $2,500 US Dollars. What can a family of two parents currently unemployed with two kids, a mortgage, car loans, credit cards, medical and possibly education expenses do with $2,500 Dollars a year? I guess it can help the monthly unemployment benefits that add up to a little over $1,000 a month. The sad reality is that unemployment does not cover the living expenses of most Naive Americans currently unemployed. Read the rest of this entry »
Dear President Obama (Credit Cards):
It was in the news late last week that your administration appears to be interested in passing legislation to regulate to some extent the way credit card companies do business. The Naive American is quite impressed with your decision. Allow me to explain.
The Naive American does not know who you are or where you came from. I believe most Naive Americans would share this opinion. The Democratic Party selected a set of politicians to run for office. We have never been presented with so many choices (white, African American, male, female, Hispanic, etc, etc, etc). The situation of the country, the democratic advertisement engine (CHANGE) and the way you were advertised got you elected. Your speeches sound like they are coming from a preacher. A lot of emotion but little, if any substance. Read the rest of this entry »
On Wednesdays and every other weekend, my wife and I spend time with our two granddaughters and my oldest son. My son has been divorced for several years but the amount of time assigned by the courts to his ex wife and him is still being argued. At this point in time these kids are 7 and 10 years old.
My wife and I have not been divorced so we do not have experience in this matter. I know many people that have gone through the process. In most cases it appears that the ex wife wants the ex husband to support them for life. The sad part is that in most cases they use the kids to accomplish this.
In the State of Minnesota, it appears that the parent that spends more time with the kids may receive more childcare money from the other. This sounds fair until you get lawyers, judges, and custody evaluators in the mix. At that point the kids are moved to a back burner and it appears that the only thing that matters is money. This behavior is quite common among Naïve Americans. Statistics indicate that currently one out of two people have been divorced at least once. Can you imagine the numbers of kids with divorced parents? Read the rest of this entry »
I have known this person for several decades. For this blog I will call him Joe. Joe learned his trade in a college in Houston, Texas. He used to be a welder back in the late 70’s and 80’s. He developed some health problems with his eyes and the intense heat working in oilrigs. For medical reasons he decided to look for a new job. After that Joe switched between jobs a few times trying to find a new occupation. While in that process, Joe, the father of two sets of twins, found himself in the middle of a divorce. Joe at the time was not able to cope well with the situation. He suffered a heart attack and wondered around the country for a few years working odd jobs.
About ten years ago he moved to the Twin Cities looking for a change and to be close to relatives. He worked at a local casino and at the international airport. He then found a job at a Walmart store in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota.
Joe worked five days a week. His schedule changed now and then. Most of the time he worked over weekends. He would get up early in the morning to make sure he had enough time to get to work on time. He was never late. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday afternoon my wife and I stopped by to visit my oldest son. Recently he purchased a male miniature Doberman Pinscher puppy. My son named his dog “Jaws”. Jaws looks like a regular Doberman but at a fraction of the size. Played with the puppy for a few minutes and left. I am not an animal lover.
After shopping for perfume for my wife at the Mall of America, we headed to visit my youngest son. My wife and I have two sons, both with families of their own. My wife had purchased a few weeks go some Easter baskets which my daughter in law needed for next week. The grandkids will be hunting for eggs next week. At this time we are not sure such event will be outdoors or indoors. When we went to bed last evening there was no snow on the ground. This morning all is covered with about two inches of fresh snow. The weather forecast calls for a warming period. Hopefully the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul will be experiencing highs in the 50’s by the end of this week. The kids might be able to spend time outdoors next Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
I am back. The past couple weeks I was on a business trip in Irvine, California. In the past couple years I have not been traveling much for business. Being away from home for ten days made up for that.
A business associate and I roomed at an extended stay. I was impressed with the facilities and service. The hotel had breakfast every day and hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine Monday through Thursday. I have to admit that one evening I ingested four hamburgers (what a pig) with vegetables (healthy). This is in addition to lunch and occasional dinners that we were treated by our gracious hosts.
After a couple days in Irvine, I could feel my weight going up. We decided to hit the exercise equipment forty-five minutes a day. There was a weight scale, but we decided to skip on the reality check. The exercise room had a large flat screen. Most of the days the television set was tuned to CNN.
By now every Naive American knows that a considerable sum of taxpayer moneys, in the order of billions of Dollars has been, and will continue to be handed to bail out AIG (http://www.aig.com). I am not going to cover in this blog if bailing out AIG is the right thing to do or not. Will leave it for a separate entry. Read the rest of this entry »
The Naive American enjoys watching on Sunday’s 60 Minutes on CBS. Not every episode or story is extremely interesting or makes me ponder, but one of the segments by Steve Kroft reported on the whistleblower that warned the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) about Bernard Madoff. The show aired last Sunday March 01, 2009. You can view it on-line by going to the following link: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/60minutes/
The 60 Minutes story touched on two names that have been lately in the news: Bernard Lawrence Madoff and Harry M. Markopolos. Let me first provide some background on these individuals and provide facts on what they allegedly have done.
I will cover a very well known term that describes what Mr. Madoff allegedly did. Finally I would like to reflect on what this means to Naive Americans like you and me and what could be done.
Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff (born April 29, 1938 in New York City) is a Jewish American businessman and former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange charged with perpetrating what may be the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person. He founded the Wall Street Company Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960 and served as its chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008. Madoff said that his Company had liabilities of approximately $50 billion US Dollars. Mr. Madoff was running the world’s largest unregistered hedge fund. Banks from all over the world have announced that they have potentially lost billions in dollars as a result. Madoff’s Company was one of the top market maker businesses on Wall Street. Madoff was also a prominent philanthropist who served on the boards of nonprofit institutions, many of which entrusted his Company with their endowments.
Harry M. Markopolos (born October 22, 1956 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is a former securities industry executive turned independent financial fraud investigator for institutional investors and others seeking forensic accounting expertise. Mr. Markopolos tipped off the SEC repeatedly starting in 1999 (the US economic melt down occurred in late 2008), when he argued that it was not legally possible for Madoff to deliver the returns he was claiming (steady 12% year after year).
Read the rest of this entry »
March 2nd, 2009 in
US Economy | tags:
60 minutes,
fraud,
hedge fund,
investor,
Madoff,
Markopolos,
Nasdaq,
Ponzi,
ponzi sheme,
pyramid scheme,
SEC,
wall street |
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