Oh the Scary, Scary Debt. Is Obama to Blame?
The Economist has put together an interactive graphic showing public debt worldwide. While it’s fun and colorful and interesting to play with, it’s also a visual illustration of the state of the world’s economies, especially all the developed countries with massive debt.
If you’re an African country (other than Zimbabwe, whose money is basically fictional) your per capita debt is quite low. Because if you live in an African country, you are receiving very few benefits from the government. And your country has no credit rating to finance a debt splurge. The developed nations, on the other hand, are credit maxed to the hilt. All of them, not just the US.
Obama Had Help
It seems that Obama, while he has made some unwise decisions like proposing a massively expensive healthcare overhaul during a nasty recession, or bailing out failed enterprises including auto companies and badly run banks like so much crack to crackheads, he is mostly the victim of bad timing. Republican antipathy toward Obama is misplaced for the most part. Every conversation I’ve witnessed degenerates into “Obama’s socialist policies are spending us into hell,” followed by, “Well, Bush caused the problem in the first place with an unnecessary war and no bank regulation.”
Truth is, both are accurate. Developed nations have been living like there’s an infinite tomorrow and no limits to what the great machine of capitalism can achieve. Our country is experiencing a massive let-down. For many, the bitterness is transparent. They thought the gravy train would eventually reach their lives. Now, the gravy’s gone and people are pissed.
Good News, Bad News on Economic Recovery
One bit of good news is that Americans are awesomely responsible when they need to be. According to the AP, the personal savings rate “fell steadily from 9.59 percent in the 1970s to 2.68 percent in the easy-money era from 2000 to 2008; from 2005 to 2007, it averaged 1.83 percent. Today, that trend is in reverse. From April to June, Americans’ personal savings rate was 5 percent, and it could go higher if the unemployment rate keeps rising.”
The bad news is that the machine needs capital to churn out GDP growth. Banks are keeping more and refusing to lend (good news for recovery, bad news for business and consumers) despite all those bailout dollars. And unemployment is creeping higher as a result.
Can the US Stay on Top?
One huge question when I look at all the debt represented in the graphic is to whom is all the debt owed? And of course, the answer is to each other, so what does that mean? Here’s where my understanding of global finance breaks down. Naively, I assume that it will all work itself out since everyone owes money to everyone else, therefore, can’t we all just call it roughly even? Fact is, the answer could be radically different. Maybe when all the debt is accounted for, new countries will be left at the top of the heap. Like China. Or India. And the US will be left struggling under a burden caused by too many years of fiscal irresponsibility.
This is where we need to take President Obama to task. Yes, he is the victim of bad timing. The bottom line is, blame can’t fix the economy and reduce the debt. Fiscal responsibility will. Our leaders need to rein in the spend-like-there’s-no-tomorrow habit. A weakness of democracy is the constant chasing after public popularity. When times call for painful policies, Congress and the President need to see past the short term pain and lack of popularity and do what’s right for the country. The country needs to stop expecting handouts and do its part, too.
And About that Healthcare Reform…
A final note, if healthcare reform really does have cost control as its main thrust, I’m for it. If healthcare reform has more coverage to more people as its goal, we can’t afford it. Right now, the message is that both goals are covered. I’m having trouble buying that.
Obama’s Test on Torture: Was Closing Gitmo a PR Stunt?
From the SCOTUS Blog:
The Obama Administration, taking its first position in a federal court on claims of torture of Guantanamo Bay detainees, urged the D.C. Circuit Court on Thursday to reject a lawsuit by four Britons formerly held there. In addition, the new filing argued that a recent appeals court ruling makes clear that “aliens held at Guantanamo do not have due process rights.”
Obama’s halo is crumbling when it comes to standing up for international law and abiding by the Geneva Conventions. The Obama Administration has appealed a federal court’s decision allowing for the right to habeas corpus (right to review of imprisonment) for prisoners at Bagram, an Afghanistani Gitmo. The judge did not object to prisoners who were picked up in Afghanistan, just to prisoners who are arrested in other countries and then transported to the Bagram prison where the judge’s ruling pointed out they were “physically beyond the reach of the Constitution.”
No doubt the Obama administration is facing a huge dilemma: if they continue the illegal detention and torture of prisoners, they are certain to create more hostility against the US, essentially more potential terrorists. But, if they release the detainees, those are bound to be some really pissed off guys, more potential terrorists.
I understand this is a difficult decision. But the US is in peril if we don’t continue to show that we have parted ways with the arrogance of the Bush Administration where treatment of foreign nationals is concerned.
On Thursday, Obama will show his cards in his administration’s stand on torture. Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed after a long internal battle (against John Brennan) to declassify and release memos from the Bush Justice Department detailing specific techniques allowed for use against “high-value” detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Either the memos will provide full disclosure, be partially redacted, or the Obama Administration will refuse to release them all together. If Obama provides full transparency, then we can say that his administration has chosen to forgo secrecy. If they withhold the memos, then we can assume they’ve decided to protect the Bush Administration, and most likely will continue on the path that brought our country so much shame internationally.
Adding fuel to the proverbial fire, Spain is suing Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, Jay Bybee, David Addington, Doug Feith and William Haynes for their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens at Guantanamo. Why is Spain suing these Justice Department lawyers???
Because the US has not undertaken any investigation into the legality of torture under Bush. Glenn Greewald at Salon tells us why (emphasis mine):
The barriers to these prosecutions are numerous, but one of the principal obstacles is that CIA Director Leon Panetta has been emphatically demanding that there be no investigations of any government officials whose conduct was declared legal by DOJ lawyers (i.e., the very individuals the Spanish are now investigating for war crimes). And it’s not surprising that Panetta has taken this position given that at least two of his top deputies at the CIA are among those implicated, to one degree or another, in the torture regime [...]
…Take Stephen Kappes. At the time of the worst torture sessions outlined in the ICRC report, Kappes served as a senior official in the Directorate of Operations—the operational part of the CIA that oversees paramilitary operations as well as the high-value detention program. (The directorate of operations is now known as the National Clandestine Service.) Panetta has kept Kappes as deputy director of the CIA—the number two official in the agency.
And why is it that Stephen Kappes was made the number 2 officials at the CIA despite his being in a key CIA position during the implementation of America’s torture regime? Because the two most important Senate Democrats on intelligence matters — Jay Rockefeller and Dianne Feinstein — insisted that he be so empowered as a condition for their supporting Panetta’s nomination, after both of them first demanded that Kappes actually be made CIA Director.
Rockefeller and Feinstein? Wow, what too many years in Washington will do to a person, eh?
Obama may feel the need to appease hawkish Democrats and Republicans by continuing this shameful practice of torture in secret prisons. And, these people imprisoned for six or more years without any representation at all (!) may in fact be very bad people. If they are, let them stand trial. That’s the way justice is supposed to work here in the land of the free.
Rabid Republicans Just Don’t Get It
While I fully understand that some people are confused and scared that the recession came on so suddenly and has been so drastic, I am mystified by the bizarre extremes some Fox News Republicans are approaching. The loony Glenn Beck has now made an all out call for “Tea Party” protests where, apparently, barely educated, book-burning idiots meet in bars to protest…. uh… what exactly??? (Video of one meeting here.)
There’s some kind of massive disconnect between Republicans who claim to support a free-market economy and those same Republicans who don’t realize that their worldview supported the investment bankers and hedge fund owners who broke ZERO laws in the latest financial meltdown — because under those same unregulated free trade laws, all that over-leveraging and super greedy profit-raiding isn’t illegal.
So now that evil old Obama is in power, he’s a socialist. Are these same rabid people proposing some solution other than “teabagging”? These people clearly do not understand that the government redistributes wealth for the common good ever since it’s inception.
I am less than comfortable with the bailouts, since I feel that the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking could use a serious shakedown. I don’t like the fact that, from my middle-income position, it looks an awful lot like those bailouts are all about political “friends” covering the asses of their banking “friends.” All in the name of free trade. These Fox News fools would rather starve than give undeserved money to poor people or immigrants while giving gobs of cash to bankers is only wrong once the godless Obama started doing it. Bush and Paulsen couldn’t help it. They were forced to do something to help the citizens. But Obama? He’s definitely trying to make the country communist. Obama is practically the anti-Christ.
Yeah, you go on ahead thinking that way. Me? I can’t believe what a good president Obama is. I still wish we had a deeper democracy with less wealth disparity and a smaller federal government, but Obama is just doing so much right.
For more Republican crazy, see John Stewart…
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M – Th 11p / 10c | |||
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Obama Knocks ‘Em Down
For those of us who considered leaving the country when Bush, et al, were re-elected, it’s been a really good week. Obama has unflinchingly set out to overturn some of the more damaging policies set in place in the last eight dark years. Here’s a list of this week’s executive orders compliments of the awesome Harper’s Weekly Review:
- ordered all secret U.S. prisons closed immediately
- the detention center at Guantanamo Bay closed within a year
- stopped the torture of American prisoners
- granted access to all U.S. detainees to the International Red Cross
- ended the practice by which detainees could be sent to countries where they might be tortured
- froze the salaries of all White House officials making more than $100,000
- ordered all government agencies to “adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure” regarding Freedom of Information Act requests
- ordered all administration appointees to take an ethics pledge
- ended a government ban on funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad
- revoked Executive Order 13233, which placed limits on public access to the records of former presidents
Obama is whipping out the nostril-widening, heavy duty cleanser to remove the icky mold and fungus from national politics. I love a man who helps clean up, don’t you?
Peak Oil and the Grid
The next few posts will be a series exploring the concepts of Peak Oil, Smart Grids, Obama’s infrastructure plans, and the possible future(s) of energy and power use.
If you’ve never come across the concept of Peak Oil, now’s your chance to read up. Peak Oil theory is built upon the simple and obvious fact that petroleum resources are finite. Here are a few statistics:
- Oil currently accounts for about 43% of the world’s total fuel consumption [PDF], and 95% of global energy used for transportation.
- For every one joule of food consumed in the United States, around 10 joules of fossil fuel energy have been used to produce it.
- Of the 65 largest oil producing countries in the world, up to 54 have passed their peak of production and are now in decline, including the USA in 1970/1, Indonesia in 1997, Australia in 2000, the North Sea in 2001, and Mexico in 2004.
- Global oil output could peak by 2020 – much earlier than expected – amid a collapse in investment due to the financial crisis, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) chief economist Fatih Birol claimed.
So that’s your two minute Peak Oil Primer. There is no universal consensus about when oil production will peak. There does seem to be fairly universal agreement that it eventually will. Combine this fact with Global Warming theory, and your looking at a recipe for catastrophic failure if we don’t seek solutions — soon.
So, energy independence and alternative energy sources are getting lots of focus these days. When looking for solutions to the Peak Oil/Global Warming problem, logic dictates that we develop a range of alternative sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal.
But here’s where we hit a wall: our decrepit electrical grid. According to a blogger at MSN Money referring to a US Department of Energy report:
America’s total annual electricity bill is $250 billion. That’s about half what it spends on oil. There are more than 3100 electric utilities in the U.S. — 200 of them publicly traded, 2000 state run and 900 cooperative. The current electricity grid is frequently compared to a Ford Model T: While China and Europe have modernized their entire infrastructure in recent years, the US continues to do emergency repairs on a spluttering side-valve, 20-horsepower engine that breaks down with startling regularity…
The embarrassing fact about electricity is that 60% of it comes from coal — which is dirtier than oil. Some analysts claim that electric cars will actually increase global warming. But the reason we’re so dependent on coal is because of the inflexibility of our electricity grid.”
Our grid system is antiquated, fragile, inefficient, and worst of all, uni-directional, i.e. it cannot handle the intake or upload of generated electricity from outside sources.
Enter Obama. According to SmartGridNews:
We expect the Obama Administration to announce two things that will converge to give this already growing sector an additional boost. The first is a Clean Energy program to stimulate five million new jobs. The second is a “New Deal” stimulus package based on rejuvenating essential infrastructure.
In both case, the Smart Grid will be a centerpiece. We cannot achieve clean energy without a Smart Grid to transport it where needed. And we are increasingly reliant on the electric power system as the critical infrastructure that makes our way of life—and our global competitiveness—possible.
So we just might be in luck if Obama really can rally a New Deal effort to restructure the grid
using Smart Grid technology. Proponents like T. Boone Pickens and, of course, Al Gore are pushing to elevate the discussion. The nonprofit organization Repower America has committed to developing a plan for renewable energy production within 10 years. They’re looking for new members if you’re interested.
Next installment: The theories that claim it’s too late, we’re already past the point of no return…
~Elation~
Whew!! It’s been a LOOOOOOOOONG eight years. But this morning, I am feeling redeemed. Our country was hijacked for too long by people who co-opted the word ‘freedom’, eroding it all the while bantering it about like a marketing slogan. Freedom and liberty aren’t just words, they’re deeply-held values. So, in celebration of those values, here is the TOP TEN LIST OF THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO UNDER OBAMA:
10.
No more Sarah Palin! You betcha she’s a great governor for Alaska and all, but can we get her off the national stage? Also? Please?
9.
Justice John Paul Stephens, who at 88 years of age has held out admirably, can now retire. THANK YOU JUSTICE STEPHENS!
8.
Proposition 8 may lose in California, but we are, once again under Obama, a country that stands up for individual freedoms in the face of discrimination. Gay civil rights are coming. Keep fighting!
7.
A more humane response to any national tragedy. Remember Bush when he was notified of the 9/11 attacks? The seven-minute blank non-response? Can you imagine how very differently Obama would’ve handled 9/11 or Katrina? Healthcare, or lack thereof, counts to me as a national tragedy. We are too rich a nation to let our own people suffer without care.
6.
A return to the balance of power between the branches of government. Goodbye to the abuse of executive orders. WOOT!! CHENEY’S FINALLY OUT!
5.
An end to the Bush Doctrine. Pre-emptive strikes? Insanity. And a violation of International Law. A pre-emptive strike in defense is a poorly masked act of hegemony at best, an outright invasion of a sovereign country at worst.
4.
A return to ANY form of fiscal responsibility. Can we say, $10 trillion in debt? According to Kathleen Parker, Bush “spends like a day-wager on a three-day drunk.”
3.
A return to sanity for Women’s Reproductive Rights and international support for Family Planning. Enough with the archaic, anti-woman dogma that led Bush to ban all support for international family planning organizations within hours of his inauguration. You get the feeling that all those millions of poor starving third world babies are invisible to religious extremists. Of any flavor.
2.
Goodbye Gitmo and all the shame it stood for. When detainees protested by attempting suicide, the Pentagon reclassified suicides as “manipulative self-injurious behaviors.” When detainees protested with hunger strikes, they were force fed with tubes down their throats. In June of 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that internees at Guantanamo Bay were entitled to habeus corpus since Combatant Status Review Tribunals were determined to be an inadequate substitute for representation before a fair court to determine if they were held justly. I am looking forward to a return to individual rights and freedoms, even for accused foreign peoples. If they are truly “terrorists” or criminals, the truth will out. Arbitrary imprisonment without review is Stalin’s legacy, not ours.
1.
Most of all, I am looking forward to a sane and reasonable president who instills confidence with his calm, his intellect, and his compassion. This is a man I respect and am proud to call our next president.
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