Tails, You Lose: The Amazing Goldman Sachs

No, Goldman Sach's did not create the insane, senseless collectivist free for all that passes for our system of government these days- a system based on the blind belief that a small group of elite folks will serve and protect "the public interest".

Of course, most folks smart enough to work at a place like Goldman Sachs know there is not and will never be a way for anyone to know what might best for millions of living, thinking changing human beings. Goldman, and it's employees and alumni however have had an amazing record protecting their own interests.They didn't invent the game but man can they play it.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Was Hank Paulson- the former Treasury Secretary and former Goldman Sachs CEO protecting his own interests when thought it critical to bail out AIG-- a firm that just happened to owe Goldman 13 billion or more?



Is it any wonder why we can't audit the FED?

Why Do People Vote For Collectivists?

This post was originally posted on Tea Party Patriots.

One of the great mysteries in social and political science is that a large number of people who personally, experienced the failures and horrors of Collectivist rule still want more of it. This is obviously one of the reasons.

"In contrast, the enlargement of the state always means an attack on responsibility. Under a communist regime, self-responsibility is eliminated. The more a government intrudes into citizens’ lives, the less people feel a sense of responsibility for their actions. Bureaucrats do not typically have full responsibility for their actions. Politicians, central bankers, and judges do not pay for their mistakes. They experience a kind of immunity from bearing blame for the consequences of their actions during the time they are in power.

The same holds true for police officials, public surgeons, public school teachers, etc. All mistakes that are made by public employees are often paid for by others. The bill is paid by taxpayers, by people sent to jail mistakenly, by people killed in public hospitals, by Iraqi citizens, etc. Not even people who earn private salaries are fully responsible under the State. Under the larger and larger safety nets created by the state, firms get more and more dependant on public help in order to survive. Big companies lobby for subsidies, duties on imports, and other kinds of help. Banks and large industries such as airlines hope to be declared “too big to fail.”

Individuals are also less and less responsible. In Europe many people grow up with the idea that the State owes them something: jobs, health, free education, vacations, happiness, and deliverance from despair. People are led to believe that the State will always care about their problems and address their community concerns. People are made to believe that whatever they do (they lose their job, they get sick, they become depressed) the State will be there to help.

The perverse result of all this is that citizens no longer bear full responsibility for their actions. All this can be explained through the concept of the moral hazard. The mechanism works as follows: on the one hand the responsibility of public employees is transferred to everyone affected by their mistakes (among these, the taxpayers); on the other hand, taxpayers demand also for a shift of their responsibility to the State. Given the taxes they pay, they should get something back, shouldn't they?"

Needless, to say this places the costs of "society" on anyone who takes responsibility for anything.

Obama Plan Working, Unemployment Declines In Washington D.C.

Well, the latest unemployment stats show declines in Unemployment in D.C.

North Dakota and the District of Columbia registered rate
decreases, and 3 states had no change in their rate.

The news in the rest of the country was a bit worse.

"Regional and state unemployment rates were nearly all higher in
March. Over the year, jobless rates were up in all 50 states and the
District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate rose from 8.1
percent in February to 8.5 percent in March, which was 3.4 percent-
age points higher than in March 2008.

In March 2009, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 48 states
and the District of Columbia and rose in 2 states. The largest over-
the-month employment decrease occurred in California (-62,100), fol-
lowed by Florida (-51,900), Texas (-47,100), North Carolina (-41,300),
Illinois (-39,600), and Ohio (-37,500). North Carolina experienced
the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment (-1.0
percent), followed by Idaho, Minnesota, and Washington (-0.9 percent
each) and Delaware, Nebraska, and Oregon (-0.8 percent each). The 2
states to show an over-the-month increase in employment were Mississippi
(+300 or less than +0.1 percent) and North Dakota (+300 or +0.1 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment decreased in 46 states and increased
in 4 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-year
percentage decreases in employment occurred in Arizona (-7.0 percent),
Michigan (-6.4 percent), Florida, Nevada, and Oregon (-5.4 percent
each), and Idaho and North Carolina (-5.0 percent each). The over-
the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in the District
of Columbia (+0.8 percent), Alaska (+0.7 percent), North Dakota (+0.3
percent), and Louisiana and Wyoming (+0.2 percent each)."

Michigan ____________ 12.6%

Oregon _____________ 12.1%

South Carolina_________11.4%

California_____________11.2%

North Carolina_________10.8%

Rhode Island__________10.5%

Nevada______________10.4%

Indiana______________10%

The American Economic stats resemble those in third world statist countries. Growth in and near the capital city where the looters and connected thugs work to split wealth pillaged from the rest of the economy.