A select few will be very happy over these next weeks as the big financial institutions of America announce and then give out bonuses to their employees.  Those watching, who care, will get upset that money from the government was not used to spread credit, it was used to support the banks from collapse and make them bigger by acquisition and protection from bad assets. 

So we’ll watch and be upset.  But the question is why isnt there a law against it?  Why isn’t there a bonus tax?  Why aren’t we assisting the regular people with jobs, housing protection, or health insurance.  Where are the lawmakers when they are needed? 

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Congress is on recess and the debates about health care are raging. I’ve had them myself. It amazes me that people of means feel that all is well and therefore a change towards a national health plan that gives those members of society a safety net where they have none now, or allows those people with expensive or less than adequate plans a choice, and allows small business owners a new choice for their benefit packages.  It all makes sense to me, but not to others. 

In the press we hear about death discussions so that the fear is that all grandparents will be allowed to die, rather than give the treatments needed.  It seems that such would not be the design of the law and would not be tolerated if the law were interpreted that way once in place.  But presently the discussion is only based upon the trillions in extra dollars we will need to expend to support this plan and that the government will become the arbiter of who shall live and who shall die. 

I do not believe the plan will cost trillions extra, as the costs of the plans in place presently will continue to spiral for every American and looking back ten years from now over the then past ten years, the costs will be in the trillions.  So the new plan which will allow choice to some and a safety net for others will not be that expensive. 

But President Obama is not hitting his talking points.  The Republicans are and the debate has shifted.  First it shifted to the death of all grandparents, then it shifted to the financial costs, then it shifted to race relations and the White House Beer Party. 

President Obama must lead the way on the directed talking points to get the program liked by Congress and the populace. 

Stan

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Give money to all large corporations who want money.  They return two promises…

1.  Cap all salaries, perqs and bonuses in the entity to $1,000,000/yr. 

2.  Rehire all personnel let go since 1/1/8.  At $1,000/wk.

3.  All persons earning $500,000/yr or less get 100% tax credit (10% per year for 10 years) for investing in home purchases where they buy 50% of a home and the other 50% goes to someone who is (or was) in foreclosure at a non-profit rent, and an option to purchase that other 50% during the 10 years. 

4.  Remove cap from FICA contributions.  Reduce contributions to 2.5% on all remuneration and there will be a surplus on retirement income for all.

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Another 2 ½ year relationship has ended…I’ve had so many chapters of 2 ½ years.

Mojito Cohen died today in my arms at 12:30 or so this morning.  He wiggled out of the collar and ran under a cab.  It is a sadness that I will always have, but I had Mo for 2 ½ years and I loved him to the end. 

I will believe that he needed to exit.  He was probably ill from the Lyme’s Disease that he had a year or so ago.  His personality changed.  I never knew whether it changed because he turned 2 and lost that puppy step or because he was in pain from Lyme’s.  But in the recent few months he could play with all dogs, but he would get tired quickly.  He started charging certain strange dogs on the streets, yet he sometimes enjoyed the company of other dogs.  He always enjoyed having dogs share our lives.  Bella, most of the time.  Zoey, on occasion.  Patches and
CoCo this past weekend.  Even Jonah a couple of times.  He complained to other dogs that they had his bone, but would not fight for it.  He would just sit next to it and complain.  When he wanted to go out he did everything but get the leash for me.  He would stretch, get my attention in several ways, and he would give that sneeze sound.  But every morning he would jump up onto my bed and stand above my face and lick my forehead.  That was missed this morning and will be missed every day hence. 

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Tonight I lost Mojito.  He died at about 12:30 March 4, 2009.  I held him in those last minutes and made the best arrangements I could to get him to the Emergency Vet on 15^th and 5^th.  I went upstairs, called my vet, got the emergency number, called, got the address, brought him down got a cab by walking across the same spot he got hit, drove to the vet, buzzed, waited, buzzed many times, waited, pulled the door open, and gave Mo away to the man in green of the Vet’s office.  I held him as he died.  I had his back.  He was valiant.  He was beautiful, at peace.  We knew we loved each other.  He could not have died in a better place.  He did not cry.  He clung to me and clung to life.  I knew he was going but he was not gone.  In my hands he did not die.  But as I let go I knew he would let go.  He was pronounced dead on arrival.  I was asked if I wanted him resuscitated, I asked why r u asking me, just do it.  He said I had to ask, so I said go, run.  He ran and woman in green gave me a sad look.  By that time, Heather was on the phone.  We were crying together.  Now we knew, I went to spend a moment with him.  He is beautiful.  I took a perfect photo of him.  He is Mojito.  All who knew him will never forget him.  He was the one and only Mojito.  I will miss you. 

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Someone please explain why most commentators keep saying…things will get better in a matter of months.  We are in the 13th month of a recession (which was just announced during this 13th month.  But all I keep hearing is worse and worse news.  Now retail season is over and store closings, layoffs and lack of shoppers will create a new round of economic damage to our economy.  Doesn’t anyone else see we are heading for a depression (if we aren’t there already). 

Credit card debt is staggering and rates of 22% are now considered wonderful, what with banking companies allowed to charge 39%.  So how can anyone get out of debt? 

Mortgages were down to 5% and are now drifting upward to 5.25%, but who can get those mortgages?  I am trying to help a man who was a mulit-millionaire last month and is now as poor as can be, having lost it all in the Madoff rip-off.  He has a 770 score and cannot get a mortgage, because his tax returns show he had invested in the Madoff fund.  So because his only assets left are unencumbered real estate, he cannot get a mortgage.  So we seek other ways for him to survive. 

I believe the world will see a turnaround when we all start helping one another, rather than the anchor I saw last week who, after the story about the people not paying credit card debt or mortgages, said “Well at least I’m paying my bills”.  Well I’d like to hear him after he’s fired, whether he will continue to pay his bills.  I have a client who is a Doctor.  He did not get paid on the payday (Christmas eve)…Forget bonuses, he did not get paid.  He received an email saying cash flow was too tight and Doctors and management would not be paid.  As he said he can pay his bills for a month or two, but he better get paid within that time, or he won’t be able to pay his bills.  So no holier than thou attitude anymore.  We need to realize that we’re all in this together.

 If a house goes into foreclosure and is sold to a bottom fisher for 1/3 the value as it had a year ago, then the entire neighborhood hurts from that sale.  Wait til you want to sell or you want to refinance, the valuations will take into consideration that price.  What is a bank to do?  They should offer any deal on any mortgage to keep it alive.  I spoke to a client last week about his real estate holdings.  He runs a second generation family business which owns strip centers in the Northeast.  He told his broker community last month I’ll accept any offer.  A broker emailed him with an offer and an apology for such a low ball offer, hoping that the landlord will not be angry for wasting his time.  The landlord wrote back that if the Tenant is willing to sign a lease within one week, the offer would be accepted.  The landlord’s attitude was that if one store goes empty and a second and a third his strip will be empty as shoppers will not want to shop in a “dead” mall.  So he’ll take a small percentage of his asking price for the first three years of his new lease to keep the center looking filled.  He also has substantial credit lines available so he can do the up front work and make a profit on that money spent by getting the tenant to repay that with the 10% Landlord’s fee and interest if paid over time.  This is a man thinking about how to profit in this economy. 

It is time for all bankers to start to make deals with homeowners.  Cut principal.  Cut interest rates.  Keep the deal alive.  Shorten the term.  Allow homeowners the opportunity to live and find a way to prosper for a few years.  Then when the economy finds its new level, see what shakes out from there.  This is no time for a bank to own property…They can sell it for 30%.  Let the homeowner pay 75% at 3% rather than foreclose and get 30%.  It all makes sense to me.  Credit card companies have to claim amnesty to all.  Rebate all interest over 9%.  Cancel all late charges applied during the second half of 2008.  Apply that rebated amount to equally reduce payments over 2009 and you will see how well most people will pay their bills, which will allow the holder some breathing room. 

I received my first Landlord’s ten day notice to cure from a client of mine today.  My client owes tens of thousands of dollars on a lease.  That sounds like a lot of money, however, the tenant is only in default for November and December rent.  If I were the Landlord I would be calling and saying let’s make a deal.  Who is going to fill that space if he goes through with the eviction?  When someone does come in months from now, what percentage of the 2006 rent will that Landlord get?  I believe that Landlord will win the case and evict my client, but will lose the battle and the war.  My client will find another space at 50% of the present rent, and the Landlord will lose several months income and then end up making a deal for 50% of the present rent with a new tenant.  I’m sure every reader can advise the Landlord what to do today.  But this landlord is not so smart. 

As far as the auto industry…The Government should give them Hundreds of billions of dollars…but only for R&D toward electric cars and hydrogen cells.  That’s what we need, and that would make them #1 in the industry. 

As far as the TARP funds, get an accounting.  Get to trials against management, let jurors, the taxpayers of America decide whether the money borrowed by every single bank or Wall Street institution, was used in accordance with what the taxpayers thought.  Not what Paulsen and some Banker friend didn’t write, but what we all thought the money was to be used for.  I bet the day the indictments come down, you will see open credit in America.  But until then, big wigs will spend on acquiring other institutions, and paying big salaries and bonuses to once again help the fortunate few, rather than the hurting American taxpayers. 

Finally, to President Obama (figuring he won’t read this until after January 20…)  I like the idea of building new roads, bridges and re-creating the infrastructure of America.  However, we have been an economy of services and some percentage of Governmental largess must go to the members of the service community not making it today.  Small business owners, small professional firms, teachers, hospital workers or municipal employees, all of us need help too.  I know no one is going to hire me to lift a shovel to carry dirt from a road side bed.  But they might hire me as a professional for that is what I have been.  I hope to be that successful professional again.  But in this new economy there are no guarantees.  There is only hope that all will be well.

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Hamas starts a series of terror attacks on Israel, and after a few days of warnings with no retreat by Hamas, Israel strikes back with greater force than terror.  The state sponsored terror inflicted by Israel upon Gaza does not gain any political ends and certainly does not create a next generation for peace. 

While I am Jewish and believe in the sanctity of the State of Israel, I do not believe any state has the right to kill civilians for any reason.  Collateral damage, death penalty, alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, or to seize control over governments of another territory. 

Peace is a virtue.  Turning the other cheek is a much better biblical motto to live by than an eye for an eye.  In this case, as with America over the years of the Bush administration, we have moved that motto to a greater retribution than even the unsightly eye for an eye. 

Now there are deaths of women and children whose families will remember what Israel did to disrupt their family existence for another two or three generations unless the state stops and says no more fighting. 

I will continue to rail against retaliatory strikes as the State must rise above the mentality that striking harder creates new safety.  Never has and never will. 

I will write about the ravages of war and the gains of peace til the day I die.  It is my passion, though I know I have lost friends by not supporting the American wars in which we are engaged, and I have lost the zeal for peace until this past weekend, when I realized that we must speak out, whether read or unread, whether heard or unheard, we must continue to speak out and say NO MORE.  I have a dream that man will not lift sword against man and Nations shall not learn war no more.  Unfortunately thousands of years of evolution and that is still a dream, not even close to a reality.  How is it possible? 

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If the McCain-Palin ticket become the next administration then it is probable that tonight’s speech kicked off that possibility.  Sarah Palin is now a name in American History and because of that, another mozaic in this year’s election drama.  Her small town gal with high school sweetheart-union husband, world champion avocatist, special needs child, pregnant teenage daughter with boyfriend (chewing gum) at her side, parents together, played so well to America, even me.  She is the Republican Party’s elder statesman for two or three generations to come, and watch her enlisted children grow into their roles.  This is the truth whether McCain wins or loses.  That is his legacy…he has coronated the next leader of his party, whether next year or in 3 when it is time to announce her candidacy. 

It was said earlier in the evening that “it is not eloquence we need right now it is record.”  I disagree.  I think we should have a spokesman for our country one who can deliver a message no matter what the circumstances.  Sarah Palin delivered her message and while I do not trust her experience to make all right choices, I do trust she will learn and be ready.  However, Senator Obama has been running a campaign in an extraordinary manner which created his nomination, and part of that winning strategy was to speak eloquently and take the high road at all times.  I think he’d make a remarkable leader of the Free World. 

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Since our world is becoming smaller with ever more increasing contact between peoples of the world, it is important to remember that we are all human, we all breathe the same air, we all love our children, and we all are mortal.  As Jimmy Carter said in his recent acceptance speech for his Nobel Peace Prize “We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”  The Dalai Lama pointed out in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, that “the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue.”  And 25 years before that, Martin Luther King accepted his Nobel Peace Prize based upon his profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of his time—the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.  Farm activist Cesar Chavez told us “Nonviolence is not non-action.  It is hard work.  It takes patience to win.”   

We believe that all humans yearn for freedom, equality and dignity with respect for human rights.  Whatever our differences we must always remember that we are bound together as members of the human family. 

To find resolution to conflict the advice is clear from John Kennedy’s inaugural address:  We must first explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.  Never fear to negotiate.  Let all peoples share in the wonders of science instead of being affected by its terrors.  And as to governments remember that the strong must be just and the weak secure.   

The key to creating a better and more peaceful world is the development of love and compassion for others.  This naturally means we must develop concern for our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate than we are.  It is a tragedy that in so many parts of the world there is no shortage of guns and bullets, but a severe lack of food.  In order to co-exist, we must begin to resolve clashes of interests using new techniques.  It can no longer be thought that war will win the debate.  It is not weakness that drives continued discussion.  It is willingness to evolve toward a higher humanity that will allow patience in discussions to eventually become solutions. 

Let us, as humankind, work as one community to solve the grave problems of our time.  Terrorism, overpopulation, dwindling natural resources, environmental issues all threaten our very existence on this planet.  Human rights, environmental protection and great social and economic equality are all interrelated.  Peace will prevail on earth as soon as we understand old lessons, and start sharing this planet as a human family.   

In this age where security is not assured the only way to find peace daily is to work with all peoples toward disarmament, and embark on a path toward love and compassion for ourselves and our brothers and sisters.  Compassion is, by nature, peaceful and gentle, but it is also very powerful.   

Ultimately, humanity is one and this small planet is our only home.  

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WHY DO WE LET IT HAPPEN?

We the People can do something about change, but we let it happen. 

They say money buys the elections.

They are right but only because We the People let it happen.

What can we do about it?

Get behind a platform issue. 

For example…

I have found a solution to the problem with funding social security… reduce the 6.7% tax to a 2% flat tax and there will be much more money in the pool than the present collection method which caps the tax receipts to less than the first one hundred thousand in income. 

2% flat tax will tax Mayor Bloomberg and other high income Americans on their full incomes.  We must also tax trust income, dividends, stock options, tax deferred income, capital gains, barter… any income any way, no cap, just a straight 2%.   This sharing of the public good will cause much less pain at 2% than it does to the sufferers in the present system at 6.7%. 

There are others issues

We, the People, as consumers, can purchase efficient lighting.  That will change our use of energy to the extent of changing the present direction toward irreversible global warming. 

We, the People, can elect officials who want to work for us, and not those that work for big corporations or big lobby groups or to help the rich at the expense of the poor.  But that is who we are electing, because We don’t stick together.  So let us form a union.  If you earn less than one million dollars then let us all discuss who we will vote for and if we do that We the People will have the power to help Us the People. 

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