dagblog - Comments for "Will Barack Obama Work For GE?"

Wish you could run it,

we are stardust — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:31:54 +0000

Wish you could run it, Destor. You'd whip that puppy into line!

Yeah, I'm all for an

Michael Maiello — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:46:58 +0000

In reply to Destor, it seems there's some

Yeah, I'm all for an infrastructure bank, but it has to be independently run and accountable to the public, not run by the same bankers running the finance industry!

Destor, it seems there's some

we are stardust — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:24:11 +0000

In reply to Will Barack Obama Work For GE?

Destor, it seems there's some news concerning the Repatriation Tax Holiday. Now Shumer is for it, as are Apple, Pfizer, Duke Energy are reviving the idea, saying that the revenue (5%? of the trillion) could be used to fund an infrastructure bank.

Okay. But this news about the small business lending fund ($30 billion) hasn't lent out a dime in the nine months since its birth. It was to be channeled through the banks, and the numbers make it look like not just small banks, and that 'small businesses' may even be the faux small businesses that folks like the Koch Bros. qualify as. Hard to say.

But I worry that eve now that Obama is up for the idea, and the SEIU, strangely enough, according to Stern. What worries me is if the same Treasury Dept. will be in charge, and money again gets funneled through big banks to big concerns that have already been given tons of the stim money for say...highway paving again. I mean there are loads of smaller projects, and more efficient ones, that would constitute as 'infrastructure' and put Americans to work with minimal new skills to learn. Unless it's just another way to thrust money up the economic ladder.

OTOH. The Treasury Dept. also

kgb999 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:09:40 +0000

In reply to Destor, I apologize for the

OTOH. The Treasury Dept. also came out against extending the top-end Bush tax cuts. So, by that token Obama is not The Treasury Department either.

Jeff Immelt, of course, would never comment publicly either way. Not asserting I have any idea what he has or has not advised Obama, but a lack of public statements as criteria is somewhat absurd.

It's just ONE of the things

we are stardust — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:41:28 +0000

In reply to They could set up an

It's just ONE of the things Obama/Treasury could do to help. When I was hunting for the remaining HAMP and TARP money residues, I found so many hard stories; this from La Raza damned near broke my heart.

I remember Ezra Klein asking

Michael Maiello — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:33:04 +0000

In reply to What reason(s) do they give

I remember Ezra Klein asking a Treasury official about this and getting the answer that they just didn't know which homeowners to help and who to let sink.

They could set up an

Michael Maiello — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:31:49 +0000

In reply to I really thought the Dems or

They could set up an infrastructure bank, outside of the control or even consent of Congress tomorrow if they treated it like any banking institution: let the Federal Reserve make a zero interest, non-recourse loan of $50 billion to any group of people Obama chooses and... presto.

What reason(s) do they give

Peter Schwartz — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:46:13 +0000

In reply to I don't trust these people

What reason(s) do they give for not deploying this money?

I really thought the Dems or

we are stardust — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:43:46 +0000

In reply to I don't trust these people

I really thought the Dems or the White House had already traded the remaining TARP funds for some part of a deal, maybe unemployment compensaation a few months ago, and it went back into the general fund to help offset it, but I couldn't find a link the other day when I tried (in a hurry as usual).

The nations Mayors are livid (why wouldn't they be?), and the debt ceiling talks are looking hideous for us. As of today, polls show a majority of Americans want us out of Afghanistan as soon as possible; Obama's about to announce cuts higher than Gates and Petraeus want, but leave out the pre-surge surge of 30,000 troops which will make it all look more like 'he fought the Generals and kicked some ass, boy, howdy'. Feh.

Wonder how fast they could put together an Infrastructure Bank if they wanted to? Do some things to help out!

I don't trust these people

Michael Maiello — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:26:10 +0000

In reply to Well, I would go with those

I don't trust these people either. Which is why I'm often led by my skepticism. The mere fact that this, of all things, is a topic for reasonable consideration while there's still unspent TARP money that could end the foreclosure crisis, is sickening.