IS IT POSSIBLE?

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT GOOGLE HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM WITH BLOGGER ON COMMENTS?

NOT SURE YET, BUT I ACTUALLY THINK I WAS ABLE TO LEAVE A COMMENT ON BOB'S BLOG TODAY (WILL CHECK LATER). I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMMENT ON KELLY'S BLOG (WORDPRESS) BUT NONE OF THE OTHER PEOPLE I FOLLOW! I READ YOUR POSTS AND TRY TO COMMENT, BUT BLOGGER WON'T LET ME.

IT'S BEEN DISHEARTENING AND HAS SLOWED MY OWN EFFORTS TO POST. WILL TRY AGAIN THIS EVENING...PERHAPS I WON'T HAVE TO MOVE TO WORDPRESS AFTER ALL!

Slash, Crap and Brutalize

Having watched the Ryan Budget plan lay a big, fat, egg....and, in the throes of an economy teetering on the balance, Republicans led by the distinguished Jim DeMint have come up with Cut, Cap and Balance.... and many of them are wandering around with "HUZZAH!!" painted on their T-Shirts.

I say what I usually do when confronted with extremism... "WHADDAYA, NUTS?"

I spent about an hour analyzing Cut, Cap and Balance , now known as "Slash, Crap and Brutalize", which completely eviserates any type of social program and a big chunk of the military. It guts education, Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security. Infrastructure improvements and energy innovation will be virtually eliminated. It literally locks Ryan's plan in, but, what is worse, it cements the inability of the country to EVER raise taxes on the rich, return to the tax plans that balanced the budget, or close the tax loopholes. It does so by dictating these "strategies" by Constitutional amendment. The last Constitutional amendment, the 27th, passed in 1992, after being introduced some 203 years before. So you can see what the likelihood is for both this strategy and its outcome to be successful.

The slashing begins in October, 2011. Before the first year of the plan is over, economists estimate that we will have lost 700,000 jobs. Timely. Reasonable. Thoughtful.

It's bullshit. Get serious, people.

THE 300 (whoops, 470!)

No, not the movie.

I've been wondering when the business community would wake up. You know, the people that politicians care about....the corporate interests that they all shine for, in order to reap campaign contributions.

Pundits, the media and amateurs like me have sat back, marveling at the fractiousness that has led to this cliff we are on, this precipice that is the refusal to pass a new debt ceiling. Failure risks another recession in this country, in the same manner (perhaps larger?) than the Lehman failure caused in 2008. But where has the business community been? Surely, if they push Congress, something will get done. And believe me, no matter what industry a corporation is in, if the debt ceiling is not raised, economic chaos will cause big problems for most of the companies in this nation.

And finally, they have acted. And, the letter that 470 CEO's signed to Washington is the reason you have finally seen some uncomfortable shuffling in the last week, some realization of what they are risking.

Did it have to come to this? Here's what they cautioned:

"Treasury securities influence the cost of financing not just for companies but more importantly for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student debt,” 470 business leaders wrote in a letter. “A default would risk both disarray in those markets and a host of unintended consequences. The debt ceiling trigger does offer a needed catalyst for serious negotiations on budget discipline but avoiding even a technical default is essential. This is a risk our country must not take.

Now is the time for our political leaders to put aside partisan differences and act in the nation’s best interests,” the letter said. “We believe that our nation’s economic future is reliant upon their actions and urge them to reach an agreement. It is time to pull together rather than pull apart.”

While deficit reduction at the same time is important, it is not necessary for this to pass, and it has not played a role in the multiple increases in the debt ceiling in prior administrations.

Put aside your pettiness, girls and boys, and do not allow another economic disaster. Our joblessness right now is bad enough.

Here's the link to the whole letter, with the names of the CEO's, written on July 12:

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/DebtCeilingLetter.pdf