Daily Archives: March 19, 2009

Obama wasn’t angry enough

March 19, 200912:35 p.m.

ObamaBarack Obama didn’t get angry enough about the AIG bonuses, columnist Maureen Dowd wrote, mocking how Obama “even needs a teleprompter to get mad.” Dowd suggested that “what President Obama should have said to the blood-sucking bums at AIG, many of them foreigners who were working at the louche London unit, was quite simple: ‘We stopped the checks. They’re immoral. If you want Americans’ hard-earned cash as a reward for burning up their jobs, homes and savings, sue me.’”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Economy, President Obama | Comments (80)

Should Obama fire economic team?

March 19, 20096:04 a.m.

Bernanke EconomyNoting that President Lincoln fired Civil War generals who weren’t getting the job done, Steve Forbes urged President Obama to dump Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (in photo), National Economic Council head Larry Summers and others. Detailing what he sees as these economic commanders’ sins, Forbes wrote of Bernanke that “this seemingly quiet, unassuming man has made just about every mistake possible in both creating and dealing with the crisis. His latest blunder is astonishing: Contrary to impression, the Fed has been tightening, shrinking its balance sheet by nearly $400 billion since December. In the face of the most severe banking/insurance crisis since the 1930s, the squeeze absolutely defies belief. This would be like a fire department deciding to roll up some of its hoses when a big house is a flaming inferno.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Economy, President Obama | Comments (130)

Open thread 3/19

March 19, 20096:03 a.m.

thread-comm43

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (217)

AIG chairman also angry about bonuses

March 19, 20096:02 a.m.

AIG Outrage“I have seen the good side of capitalism. But over the past six months, since agreeing to take the reins of AIG and reviewing how it was run in prior years, I have also seen instances of the bad side of capitalism,” Edward Liddy, chairman of American International Group, wrote in a commentary for the Washington Post. Liddy said he shares the public’s anger over AIG’s bonuses. “Make no mistake, had I been chief executive at the time, I would never have approved the retention contracts that were put in place more than a year ago,” he said. “It was distasteful to have to make these payments. But we concluded that the risks to the company, and therefore the financial system and the economy, were unacceptably high.”
Liddy told a House subcommittee Wednesday that employees who received bonuses of $100,000 or more were being asked to return “at least half.” Good luck with that.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Economy | Comments (9)

Wise to drop idea about veteran insurance

March 19, 20096:01 a.m.

tiahrt23The Obama administration was wise to drop its idea of billing private insurance companies for care provided to veterans for service-related injuries and health issues. The government made a promise to provide health care to veterans and shouldn’t back off of it. Even staunch opponents of “government-run health care” were up in arms about the proposal. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, wrote President Obama a letter this week voicing his “vehement opposition to any such proposal that shifts the burden from the VA to veterans and their insurance providers.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Health and safety, President Obama | Comments (23)

Don’t flush environment down the toilet

March 19, 20096:00 a.m.

toiletpAmericans’ preference for supersoft toilet paper comes at a high price to the environment. The fiber that gives the paper a plush feel comes from millions of trees harvested in North America and Latin America, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada, the New York Times reported. As a result, environmental groups have started trying to raise awareness about which toilet-paper brands are more environmentally friendly. Greenpeace calculates that Americans could save 400,000 trees if each family just bought one roll of toilet paper made from recycled paper.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Environment | Comments (22)