Pablo's Blog Spot

Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Poem by Sarah Grady

This was written by our photographer for our Wedding Sarah Grady. She is 18 weeks pregnant with her first child. And not only is she an amazing photographer, but a humorous poet. Below is her Poem entitled: Hell No!

The new forward to my book - WARNING: may offend some people with children and has some choice language

Well as most of you know by now, I'm not a big fan of the whole pregnancy thing. Today I finally broke down and cried to my mom. I really never thought it would be this hard. I have every issue known to man and the fact that my mom is on the other side of the country has been difficult. So after my lil breakdown I decided I could either cry about it or laugh about it. I finally chose laugh about it. :)

After a few hours I learned my new destiny to write a book entitled "Hell NO!" The truth about pregnancy. If you choose to read the graphic and disturbing but brutally honest poem below you will understand my point of view. I believe that this book will be a best seller and high schools across the country will use it for their abstinence programs. :) So below is my poem which will be the forward to your upcoming tale of HEEELLLLL No! (And to my church group I apologize ahead of time but this is how I feel).

**WARNING: may offend some mothers and has some choice language to get the point across**

The Pregnancy Alphabet

A is for
Ass terds coming out your hole
Otherwise known as hemorrhoids
Dangling in your toilet bowl

B is for
Burping a lot of what you'll do
Not exactly like a lady
But like an animal in the zoo

C is for
Constipation, Stonehenge you will pass
Your terds will be so huge
You'll think you can have that baby right out your ass

D is for
Depression they'll be moments far and few
But remember you are lucky
Having one baby and not two

E is for
Ever changing Appetite
Because you want to eat everything in sight
Problem is you only want a bite

F is for
Farting there's no hiding it now
It's like something is rotting inside you
Something very VERY fowl

G is for
Gas you have both above and below
You sound like a one man band
Farting, burping, to and fro

H is for Hellish Heartburn
Your esophagus is melting away
No more chili, no more pizza,
And no more Chinese for many days

I is for
Irritable some of which you'll be
The good news is it passes
With your multiple personalities

J is for
Jittery because if you don't eat on time
You look like a drug addict
Down to his last dime

L is for
Your Numbing Limbs legs and arms
so far the case
Will it be like Botox
If this issue hits my face?

M is for
Mood Swings with God's help
This too shall pass
People are afraid to tell you
your a dramatic pain in the ass

N is for
Nausea this sucks really bad
Your head is in a bowl not puking
But really wishing that you had

O is for
Overactive Bladder cough or sneeze
And you will pee
I'm only 29
But Depends are looking good to me

P is for
Pooping a joyous privilege
You rarely see
Every terds a celebration
Once you get past month 3

Q is for
Queasiness which you'll experience alot
You wanna puke
You need to puke
But your head just hangs in the pot

R is for
A runny nose flowing freely away
Be proud of this issue
It's either your nose or your va jay jay

S is for
Sore Boobies but this issue doesn't stick
You feel like you had a bad mammogram
But it just isn't as quick

T is for
Trouble Breathing it starts about month four
You feel like you've ran a mile
But you only answered the door

U is for
Uterus Enlargement but everyone has this
However the bigger the uterus
The more you have to piss

V is for
Vomiting it's an evil friend
Maybe for a few months
Maybe until the end

W is for
Water Retention this really isn't bad
Until the doctor weighs you
And then it's really sad

X is for
eXtra Weight Gain just accept it and move on
No matter how cute the clothing
You still look like you weigh a ton

Z is for
Zits all over back acne is a bitch
Welcome back dear old puberty
Your ugly but at least it doesn't itch

The letters K and Y were not listed you may say
For K and Y got us into the mess we're in today
So remember to prepare yourself
Before the journey you may begin
Don't listen to the ooey gooey moms
Who will try and suck you in
No matter how sweet that baby smells
Or how cute that lil smile
9 months of hell will come your way
A never ending mile
Those other moms will tell you lies
of how happy you will be
To them I say HEEELLLL NO!
The truth shall set you free!

SG

Monday, April 20, 2009

Phoenix Suitcase Party Fundraiser

In support of a couple of friends I have in the Active 20-30 Club of Phoenix, I’d like to tell you about an event that’s coming up that I thought you would be interested in attending. First of all, for those of you that aren't familiar, the Active 20-30 Club of Phoenix is one of Arizona's most active fundraising men's clubs. Since its founding, the club has raised millions of dollars and dedicated thousands of hours to local children's charities.

The club is hosting a new fundraising event, in conjunction with Make-A-Wish Foundation, called the Phoenix Suitcase Party ( www.phoenixsuitcaseparty.com ). In a nutshell, attendees will arrive at the event with their bags packed for a weekend getaway. Guests will arrive at the posh and private corporate aircraft hangar of Atlantic Aviation at Deer Valley Airport. Upon arriving, they will walk the red carpet and enjoy an evening of drinking, dancing and dining from various local restaurants.

Each ticket to the event serves as a raffle ticket. At about 9:30 PM, a Lear 55 private jet will taxi up to the hangar and the raffle will begin. If your raffle ticket number is called, you and your date will grab your bags, board the jet, and leave immediately for an all expense paid weekend in Sonoma Valley, CA. Once in Sonoma, you’ll enjoy 5-star luxury accommodations, 2 days of private winery tours with chauffeured transportation, meals, and spending money. On Sunday afternoon, you will once again board your Lear 55 jet and return to Deer Valley airport, where your car (and reality) will be waiting for you.

Those that don’t win the grand prize will still have a chance to put those packed suitcases to use. After guests watch the Lear 55 depart the hangar, additional prizes will be drawn from the raffle for “stay-cations” in the greater Phoenix area. These include 2 night stays at the Intercontinental Montelucia Resort, the Arizona Biltmore Resort, and the Westin Kierland Resort. The winners of these vacations will grab their bags and board their own private limousines to their “local weekend getaway”.

The event is 3-weeks away on Friday, May 8th and begins at 6:30 PM. If you’re lucky enough to win one of the vacations, you won’t return home until Sunday. Without giving away too much, your odds of winning some sort of a weekend getaway are fairly good. They anticipate having 500 people in attendance so if you bring a date, you have a 1 in 250 chance of winning the private jet vacation and a 1 in 84 chance of winning at least one of the weekend getaways.

As usual with all Phoenix 20-30 events, all of the proceeds go to benefit local children’s charities. So get some friends together for a great night for a wonderful cause.

If you would like to attend and are interested in purchasing tickets to the event, please let me know. Or you can purchase tickets online at www.phoenixsuitcaseparty.com. Tickets are $100.00 each and make sure to choose “Referral Source: Phoenix 20-30 Member” and then Marcus Davi's name, as he is the person I'm supporting in the club.

It’s going to be a great event for a wonderful cause.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Housing Crisis Resources and Websites

In today's Housing Crisis, the key to any individual is education.
Below are some great websites to help educate you on the financial options for housing if looking to buy or struggling with the house you currently own:

http://www.hud.gov/

http://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/foreclosure.htm

A non profit organization called Hope Now. Go to www.hopenow.com for further details.

Fail Safe Home Buying in Today's Market Seminar

Fail Safe Home Buying in Today's Market

Learning Points:
The government wants to give YOU $8,000
$35,000 FINANCED Renovations!
The REAL Truth about the VALLEY REAL ESTATE Market...
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Call Kris to reserve your seats today.
RSVP to Kris Anderson 480 567 2103

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Time: Doors open at 10:AM
Seminar begins PROMPTLY at 10:30 Am
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Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
~ James Madison

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Dust off your clubs and join us.

Hey Everyone,

I am thinking of trying to put together a Foursome to support this event for ACBVI. As some of you may know I have been friends with Steve Welker for more than 10 years now and have seen how much this organization has helped him.

Cost: $450 for foursome (about $112 per player of the Foursome)
$125 for an individual player

Usually entrance to non-profit Charity events starts at $250 or higher per player. A portion of the entrance fee would be considered a donation. Or if you wanted to If you are interested in joining me, let me know. You can also sign up by yourself at $125 rather than signing up as a foursome.

Also pass this along to anyone else who may be interested in joining my foursome or playing on their own.

Details are below in the email.

For Steve's story go to: http://www.radicalresiliency.com/

Thanks,
Pablo

Read Below:

Family & friends,

Please mark your calendar for the inaugural Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ACBVI)/ Ahwatukee Lion's Club golf tournament.

The event is being held at the Legacy golf course in Phoenix On Saturday, April 18, 2009. Please see the attached flyer for all of the details.

Proceeds from the golf tournament, dinner and auction will benefit ACBVI and the Lion's club

If you are not a golfer, you can still support us by sponsoring a hole, donating an auction item or attending the dinner/ auction.

Thank you for your ongoing support of this important agency.

Steve Welker
Chairman- Board of Directors
Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
3100 E. Roosevelt
Phoenix, AZ 85008

www.acbvi.org
Phone: 602.273.7411
Direct: 480.730.6200

Professional Development Tips

Tips from the recent January NSHMBA Professional Development Event:
Being laid off is a strategic retreat for a better perspective. These times are needed.

On resume
· Make specific statement
· Do not put tasked with but accomplished
· Focus on important
· Describe me in one word

Things to be working on· Google yourself
· Become known
· What do you want?
· Make more money
· Retain job...
· Get professional certifications (it shows you finish what you start)
· Do what is most important to your boss and customer
· “Ask, listen then adjust”
· Take five minutes to sit with boss per week and get input on where you should be
· Invest 10% of your work week to your career (Example: 40 Hour Work Week: 4 Hours to your career)
· Market yourself
· Get exposure in job
· Have passion. You will never work a day in your life. Make a life with passion
· Map out directions in your life
· Help others get what they want in ife
· Quantify/document
· Share results and accomplishments to boss
· See an image consultant
· Dress to the job you want
· Align activity with career goals
· Set your career objective/goal
· Approach the climb
· Find a path to your strategic career plan. Even if it is winding like a mountain climb and you take lateral positions to get to point you want, you will get there.

All of those steps were necessary to get you to your destination
· Keep a folder on what you do
· Job shadow
· Mentorship – both sides (learn and teach)
· Do more then expected
· Don’t confuse activity with progress
· What are requirements of the job you want
· Know your skills and strengths

It’s who knows you· Put yourself on Linked in and put your projects, etc. on (no immature postings)
· My Space - keep impeccable, Colorful pics (companies do employee research)
· Get published or blogged
· Company newsletter
· Join toastmasters
· Join National Speakers Association

In 8 seconds they learn about you things such as· Success
· Economic level
· Education
· Trust

Monday, January 19, 2009

Don't Smile For the Camera by Rachel Alexander

This was written by a friend of mine, Rachel Alexander. I found this to be a well written article that presents an excellent legal arguement.

Pablo

To go to the actual article, click here.

Traffic speed cameras are now used in 45 cities nationwide. Theoretically, bringing in revenue through speeding tickets instead of taxation while promoting public safety appears to be a win-win proposition. In reality, it just fuels more wasteful government spending.

In Arizona, speed camera revenues fund a new, optional, experimental government agency that only a few other states have tried, Clean Elections. Clean Elections provides public funding for politicians to run for office, and since it originated in 2000 has not resulted in "cleaner" elections. A 2003 study (pdf) by the General Accounting Office (GAO) found no significant changes in Arizona and Maine, the two states that initially implemented it. Other studies found little impact or even a negative effect (pdf) on lobbyist influence, incumbency, and the types of candidates who run for office.

Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano forced the implementation of speed cameras statewide promising to fix the budget, but Arizona still had the second worst budget deficit per capita in the nation last year (only California was worse). Speed cameras aren't profitable, studies have shown that government collects less than half of the amount of each ticket, and much of that is used up handling court appeals, since approximately 40% of those who receive tickets appeal them.

Government officials freely acknowledge that the purpose of speed cameras is not safety, but revenue generation. In Arizona, speed camera tickets do not add any "points" to a driver's record; hypothetically a speeder could get hundreds of tickets and continue driving without a blemish on his record. Speed cameras take police officers off the streets and put them somewhere else -- leaving more drunk drivers on the road. A flash from a speed camera is not going to stop a drunk driver, who is free to continue driving drunk. Results of studies are conflicting on whether speed cameras have actually reduced accidents.

Speed cameras are less forgiving than police officers. In Arizona, the law defines speeding as driving at a speed that is above "reasonable and prudent" under the circumstances, and states that driving above the posted speed limit is only "prima facie" evidence that the speed is not reasonable and prudent; it is not decisive. This is why when a police officer pulls a driver over for speeding, there is discretion whether or not to give the driver a ticket. If it is a clear day, there is no one else on the road, and the road is straight and flat, a police officer will probably not give someone a ticket for driving 67 mph in a 55 mph zone. The camera allows no discretion.

Another problem with speed camera tickets is they fail to give people proper notice as required by law. The Arizona Court of Appeals has held that any speeding ticket that is not personally served is invalid. This has resulted in an exorbitant waste of money as speed camera companies hire process servers to serve ticketed drivers, who often avoid service of process, allowing them to avoid paying the ticket. The paperwork costs add up. Other drivers avoid paying tickets by simply returning them with a notation that they were not the driver, resulting in immediate dismissal of the ticket.

The Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause, which is also echoed in Arizona's Constitution, gives the accused the right to be confronted by witnesses against him. With speed cameras, the driver is never confronted by a police officer ticketing him. So far, local governments have skirted around constitutional protections by classifying speed camera tickets as civil, not criminal violations. Efforts to challenge the tickets based on constitutional grounds that appear to have a chance at succeeding are simply dismissed in favor of the driver, swept under the rug by local governments before they can be fully adjudicated.

Arizona State Treasurer Dean Martin has argued that speed cameras are unconstitutional, because they constitute a tax. Under Arizona's constitution, tax increases require 2/3 vote of the legislature. The vote authorizing speed cameras on state highways passed with only a simple majority.

Opposition is mounting to speed cameras. Vigilantes are destroying speed cameras worldwide and posting stickie notes over them. Texas has banned all speed cameras, even red light cameras, and seven other states have implemented various other laws against them. Red light cameras raise slightly different issues. There is a fundamental difference between speed cameras and red light cameras. Running a red light is a per se violation of the law -- it is always a violation of law. Whereas speeding is a subjective decision that requires the discretion of a police officer.

Arizona has certainly had enough of the "Janet Cams." Websites like StopCameraFraud.com and TheNewPaper.com are spearheading the opposition. A ballot initiative is being drafted that will ban all cameras in Arizona. Republican Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau ran on a platform of eliminating speed cameras last fall and won. Incoming Republican Governor Jan Brewer summed it up well: "It's everywhere from Costco to going to church… 'get rid of that photo radar.' Everybody that I've spoken (with), other than two or three people, they don't like it."

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Retail Executive Store Manager Career Opportunity

Anyone interested in a Retail Management Position of an entire Target Store read below. Nuong Ong, a Recruiter with the Target Corporation contacted me looking for talent to fill this position in the Phoenix Area. they are currently looking for up to 4 positions to fill below is further details. To contact Nuong, her email is nuong.ong@target.com or call her at 763-440-1276. Feel free to pass this along!

We are seeking candidates who have led large teams (150+) and who have significant leadership abilities. Our goal is to hire high performing, passionate leaders to run one of our stores before promoting to a District Team Leader level in about 18-24 months. The initial assignment is done in order to allow candidates to become accustomed to our technology and wonderfully supportive culture. Please feel free to have anyone in your network contact me with any questions. Thank you so much for your partnership!

Best Regards,
Nuong

Job Code T1008 Store Team Leader in Training
Req/Posting Title Store Team Leader
Job Description Purpose

As a store team leader, you will lead a store of 150-500 team members, providing leadership that will drive high guest service and build high team morale. You'll hold the ultimate responsibility for delivering a positive experience throughout a clean, fully stocked store with fast, fun, and friendly service.

See Yourself:

• Upholding the quality and productivity of every aspect of your store
• Directing all merchandising, operational and personnel functions
• Working to attain maximum profits, sales, return on investment, market share, guest goodwill and team member satisfaction
• Providing an outstanding retail experience for all our guests

Job Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

• 4-year college degree
• Five or more years of retail merchandising and operations management experience
• Supervisor level experience
• Ability to operate store computer and electronic systems
• Ability to read and understand labels, instructions, reports, policies and procedures
• Proven conflict management skills
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in all situations with great interpersonal skills
• Strong cognitive skills, including problem analysis, decision making, financial and quantitative analysis

Friday, November 21, 2008

ACBVI charitable organization tax credit

Below is a note from my good friend Steve Welker. It has information on a way to make a donation to a great organization and receive the tax credit:

November 18, 2008

Dear family and friends,

It’s a fact — asking people for money is not easy. In this market, it might even seem downright foolish. But what if we told you that giving to the Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ACBVI) could actually save you money, or better yet, make you money? That’s not foolish at all and it’s an easy decision to make.

Your turn to benefit.
Did you know that when you support ACBVI with your financial contribution, the Arizona Department of Revenue rewards your support with a tax credit? It’s true. The Credit for Contributions to Charities that Provide Assistance to the Working Poor, better known as the Charitable Organization Tax Credit, allows you to take a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your state return AND a deduction on your Federal return since ACBVI is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

This year, you can take a credit up to $200 if you file as single or head of household, and up to $400 if you’re married and filing jointly.

You can take advantage of this credit if you: file a return in Arizona, itemize your charitable deductions and have deducted charitable contributions at least once since 1996. We encourage you to consult your accountant for details on how this tax credit, and giving to ACBVI, can positively affect your tax return.

In the meantime, if you are moved to donate to ACBVI, please make use of the donation form below. We appreciate your support beyond measure and encourage you to take full advantage of the Charitable Organization Tax Credit.

Sincerely,

Steve Welker
Chairman
ACVBI Board of Directors

To Donate click Here

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I found this on FoxNews.com as to why McCain lost

I found this on FoxNews.com as to why McCain lost

I thought this was good constructive feedback:

November 5th, 2008 at 12:56 am
People need to stop blaming the media.
People need to stop blaming money.
Blame John McCain. This was his campaign. He chose his running mate. He chose his campaign advisers. He gave the speeches. He put his name on commercials and ads.
A few points:
-What if McCain had picked Romney (or Pawlenty) instead of Palin? Chances are, with the economy in the state it's in, he would have looked like a genius.
-What if McCain has SHOWED us how he's different from Bush rather than just saying "I'm not Bush." We know he's not Bush-but he didn't paint a clear picture of how he's different (the dem talking point "voted with Bush 90% of the time" didn't help).
-What if McCain had actually run a cleaner campaign, sticking to the issues rather than using scare tactics? What if he had actually been a cordial, respectful opponent to Obama?
-What if McCain had run as…McCain. It's not enough to SAY you're a maverick-he didn't act like one.
Just to name a few…
I think this is going to be the year of "what ifs" for the republican party. They really should have run away with this election. Instead, they panicked, and are now blaming everyone and everything else for losing the election.
In 2012, pick a legitimate candidate (not a candidate who couldn't win the nomination 8 years earlier), run a cleaner campaign, stick to the republican message, and republicans will take back the senate and White House.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Gingrich on Bailout Bust

I would first off like to thank Dan Koestner for bringing this article to my attention. Interesting perspective and solution that does not involve a bail out. I have a link to the actual article. But I have put a summary of his proposed solution.
-Pablo

Gingrich on Bailout Bust: 'I Don't See How the President Can Avoid Firing Secretary of Treasury'

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430429,00.html

Link to the video

Tuesday , September 30, 2008

"....
VAN SUSTEREN: Is Secretary Paulson the right guy to be spearheading this?

GINGRICH: No. I mean, I think that he must have been a terrific deal-maker at Goldman Sachs and a great chairman of Goldman Sachs, but I don't think that's the same job as being a secretary of the Treasury. And I think the president would be much better off if Undersecretary Kimmet was now replacing Secretary Paulson. The administration won't like to hear that, but I think it's true.

One reason is that there's a step they could take tomorrow morning that would dramatically improve things with no congressional action, and that is to change the accounting rules that the Sarbanes-Oxley bill imposed on the system called "mark to market." It's a complicated issue, but I think it's so central to our future, Greta, that every American needs to understand. We adopted an artificial rule which drives down the price of everything in a period when prices are declining. So we artificially make it much worse for companies.

Both Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson have indirectly admitted this when they said that they would pay two or three times the market value for paper because the paper is so dramatically undervalued. Now, that's a sign that it's the core accounting system that's wrong.

Two Chicago economists indicated on Thursday they thought this was 70 percent of the problem. That's $500 billion of the $700 billion that Paulson wants. The European central bank warned in 2004 that this would be a disaster, that you cannot do what we tried to do under Sarbanes-Oxley.

So my challenge to the administration is simple. Suspend tomorrow morning the mark-to-market requirement. Replace it temporarily with a three-year rolling average. You will overnight explode the amount of liquidity on the street. Companies will immediately have relief all across America. It will be a stunning effect. And you will have bought plenty of time to now think through in a better way what was so badly designed by Secretary Paulson and that, frankly, could not be salvaged.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. If this is so simple -- and Secretary Paulson is a man certainly with a long history in the financial system, having been at Goldman Sachs -- if this is so easy to change to this three- year rolling average, which you say will introduce liquidity into the system so quickly, why isn't he doing this? I mean, he doesn't -- he seems like a guy who would know this stuff.

GINGRICH: Well, I think there are at least two major reasons. The first is that Chairman Cox of the Securities and Exchange Commission sees his job as implementing the rigidity of Sarbanes-Oxley, and so he's doing what the Congress said during the last crisis. The fact that it's making it clearly and demonstrably worse doesn't seem to be getting through to him.

In the case of Secretary Paulson, I honestly believe -- and this is obviously grounds for real debate. But my personal belief is that he liked the idea, as a former chairman of Goldman Sachs, that he would get to spend $700 billion and he wanted the power.

Let me give you a single example. They could have come in and asked for a loan authority. They could have said, We will loan money at Treasury plus 2 percent to any firm that has a liquidity problem, but the firm has to work it out and it can't be a bailout. He didn't take that route. He was asked by House Republicans over and over again. He wouldn't take that route. He wanted the authority to go up and buy these assets -- and by the way, to buy them at prices that he arbitrarily set based on his judgment, not at market value.

And so I think that part of this is, if you will, a kind of hubris that was centralizing so much power in the Secretary of the Treasury that I think was very unhealthy for the American system. I was delighted when Senator McCain intervened the other day, and with his help, Congressman Boehner and the House Republicans significantly improved what was a very bad bill. And my fear now is that Speaker Pelosi will move to the left and make the bill dramatically worse by Thursday or Friday.

....GINGRICH: Every time I turn around, somebody says to me, "Let me tell you my horror story." Let me tell you how bad mark to market is because what it does is, it says to a firm, if you have one bad sale, you remark your inventory based on this new market, and that drives your inventory down. And now you've got to go out and borrow the extra money to cover this change in your values. On an upward cycle, it would lead you to overvalue your property. On a downward cycle, it leads you to undervalue your property.

And all you have to -- don't take my word for it. Read the testimony of Bernanke and of Paulson, who both said -- the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the secretary of the Treasury, who both said under oath that they would pay two or three times the current market value because the paper is actually worth dramatically more than its current value.

Now, that tells me what we have here is an accounting problem, which is leading to a liquidity problem. And as a simple test, I would challenge -- Chris Cox is an old friend of mine. I would challenge him tomorrow morning, take the gamble. Suspend it for two weeks and see what happens. If it works beautifully if the markets reliquidify, if we suddenly have dramatically less of a problem, then don't reimpose it. but if it turns out to be a problem, two weeks later, you have the authority to put it back in.

But take the gamble of helping America tomorrow. Don't cut a deal that moves the country into even more corruption and even more big government. You know, the Democrats at one point in this negotiation had a proposal to give left-wing community groups $20 billion as part of the price for passing this. I can't imagine what they're going to try to charge on Thursday.

...the first thing they ought to do tomorrow morning is suspend mark to market, which the administration can do internally without any bill. The second thing they should do is rewrite the bill.

But I would rewrite it to move it towards being a lending authority, not a purchasing authority and to enabling people to have a work-out, not a bailout..."

Who Caused the Economic Crisis?

Who Caused the Economic Crisis?
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/print_who_caused_the_economic_crisis.html

October 1, 2008

MoveOn.org blames McCain advisers. He blames Obama and Democrats in Congress. Both are wrong.

Summary
A MoveOn.org Political Action ad plays the partisan blame game with the economic crisis, charging that John McCain’s friend and former economic adviser Phil Gramm “stripped safeguards that would have protected us.” The claim is bogus. Gramm’s legislation had broad bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Clinton. Moreover, the bill had nothing to do with causing the crisis, and economists – not to mention President Clinton – praise it for having softened the crisis.

A McCain-Palin ad, in turn, blames Democrats for the mess. The ad says that the crisis “didn’t have to happen,” because legislation McCain cosponsored would have tightened regulations on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, the ad says, Obama "was notably silent" while Democrats killed the bill. That’s oversimplified. Republicans, who controlled the Senate at the time, did not bring the bill forward for a vote. And it’s unclear how much the legislation would have helped, as McCain signed on just two months before the housing bubble popped.

In fact, there’s ample blame to go around. Experts have cited everyone from home buyers to Wall Street, mortgage brokers to Alan Greenspan.
Analysis
As Congress wrestled with a $700 billion rescue for Wall Street's financial crisis, partisans on both sides got busy – pointing fingers. MoveOn.org Political Action on Sept. 25 released a 60-second TV ad called "My Friends’ Mess," blaming Sen. John McCain and Republican allies who supported banking deregulation. The McCain-Palin campaign released its own 30-second TV spot Sept. 30, saying "Obama was notably silent" while Democrats blocked reforms leaving taxpayers "on the hook for billions." Both ads were to run nationally.

And both ads are far wide of the mark.

MoveOn.org Ad:
"My Friends' Mess"

Narrator: We all know the economy is in crisis, but who's responsible?

McCain: My friends. My friends. My friends.

Narrator: John McCain's friend Phil Gramm wrote the bill that deregulated the banking industry, and stripped the safeguards that would have protected us.

McCain asked Gramm to help write his economic plan.

John McCain's friend Rick Davis lobbied for Fannie and Freddie for years, "defending" them against stricter regulation. And now? He runs McCain's presidential campaign.

And John McCain himself? He's stood by "deregulation" time and time again.

McCain: I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.

Narrator: And now that the markets are in meltdown? John McCain's friend George Bush wants hardworking Americans to write the biggest blank check in history, bailing out the Wall Street firms and the Washington lobbyists who got us into this mess. Main Street giving Wall Street $700 billion and getting nothing in return? It's outrageous.

Americans shouldn't have to foot the bill for mistakes that John McCain and his friends made.

Narrator: MoveOn.org Political Action is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
Blame the Republicans!

The MoveOn.org Political Action ad blames a banking deregulation bill sponsored by former Sen. Phil Gramm, a friend and one-time adviser to McCain's campaign. It claims the bill "stripped safeguards that would have protected us."

That claim is bunk. When we contacted MoveOn.org spokesman Trevor Fitzgibbons to ask just what "safeguards" the ad was talking about, he came up with not one single example. The only support offered for the ad's claim is one line in one newspaper article that reported the bill "is now being blamed" for the crisis, without saying who is doing the blaming or on what grounds.

The bill in question is the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which was passed in 1999 and repealed portions of the Glass-Steagall Act, a piece of legislation from the era of the Great Depression that imposed a number of regulations on financial institutions. It's true that Gramm authored the act, but what became law was a widely accepted bipartisan compromise. The measure passed the House 362 - 57, with 155 Democrats voting for the bill. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 90 - 8. Among the Democrats voting for the bill: Obama's running mate, Joe Biden. The bill was signed into law by President Clinton, a Democrat. If this bill really had "stripped the safeguards that would have protected us," then both parties share the blame, not just "John McCain's friend."

The truth is, however, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act had little if anything to do with the current crisis. In fact, economists on both sides of the political spectrum have suggested that the act has probably made the crisis less severe than it might otherwise have been.

Last year the liberal writer Robert Kuttner, in a piece in The American Prospect, argued that "this old-fashioned panic is a child of deregulation." But even he didn't lay the blame primarily on Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Instead, he described "serial bouts of financial deregulation" going back to the 1970s. And he laid blame on policies of the Federal Reserve Board under Alan Greenspan, saying "the Fed has become the chief enabler of a dangerously speculative economy."

What Gramm-Leach-Bliley did was to allow commercial banks to get into investment banking. Commercial banks are the type that accept deposits and make loans such as mortgages; investment banks accept money for investment into stocks and commodities. In 1998, regulators had allowed Citicorp, a commercial bank, to acquire Traveler's Group, an insurance company that was partly involved in investment banking, to form Citigroup. That was seen as a signal that Glass-Steagall was a dead letter as a practical matter, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley made its repeal formal. But it had little to do with mortgages.

Actually, deregulated banks were not the major culprits in the current debacle. Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase have weathered the financial crisis in reasonably good shape, while Bear Stearns collapsed and Lehman Brothers has entered bankruptcy, to name but two of the investment banks which had remained independent despite the repeal of Glass-Steagall.

Observers as diverse as former Clinton Treasury official and current Berkeley economist Brad DeLong and George Mason University's Tyler Cowen, a libertarian, have praised Gramm-Leach-Bliley has having softened the crisis. The deregulation allowed Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase to acquire Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. And Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have now converted themselves into unified banks to better ride out the storm. That idea is also endorsed by former President Clinton himself, who, in an interview with Maria Bartiromo published in the Sept. 24 issue of Business Week, said he had no regrets about signing the repeal of Glass-Steagall:

Bill Clinton (Sept. 24): Indeed, one of the things that has helped stabilize the current situation as much as it has is the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, which was much smoother than it would have been if I hadn't signed that bill. ...You know, Phil Gramm and I disagreed on a lot of things, but he can't possibly be wrong about everything. On the Glass-Steagall thing, like I said, if you could demonstrate to me that it was a mistake, I'd be glad to look at the evidence. But I can't blame [the Republicans]. This wasn't something they forced me into.

No, Blame the Democrats!

McCain-Palin 2008 Ad: "Rein"

Narrator: John McCain fought to rein in Fannie and Freddie.

The Post says: McCain "pushed for stronger regulation"..."while Mr. Obama was notably silent."

But, Democrats blocked the reforms.

Loans soared. Then, the bubble burst. And, taxpayers are on the hook for billions.

Bill Clinton knows who is responsible.

Clinton: I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Narrator: You're right, Mr. President. It didn't have to happen.

McCain: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

The McCain-Palin campaign fired back with an ad laying blame on Democrats and Obama. Titled "Rein," it highlights McCain's 2006 attempt to "rein in Fannie and Freddie." The ad accurately quotes the Washington Post as saying "Washington failed to rein in" the two government-sponsored entities, the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"), both of which ran into trouble by underwriting too many risky home mortgages to buyers who have been unable to repay them. The ad then blames Democrats for blocking McCain's reforms. As evidence, it even offers a snippet of an interview in which former President Clinton agrees that "the responsibility that the Democrats have" might lie in resisting his own efforts to "tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." We're then told that the crisis "didn't have to happen."

It's true that key Democrats opposed the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, which would have established a single, independent regulatory body with jurisdiction over Fannie and Freddie – a move that the Government Accountability Office had recommended in a 2004 report. Current House Banking Committee chairman Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts opposed legislation to reorganize oversight in 2000 (when Clinton was still president), 2003 and 2004, saying of the 2000 legislation that concern about Fannie and Freddie was "overblown." Just last summer, Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd called a Bush proposal for an independent agency to regulate the two entities "ill-advised."

But saying that Democrats killed the 2005 bill "while Mr. Obama was notably silent" oversimplifies things considerably. The bill made it out of committee in the Senate but was never brought up for consideration. At that time, Republicans had a majority in the Senate and controlled the agenda. Democrats never got the chance to vote against it or to mount a filibuster to block it.

By the time McCain signed on to the legislation, it was too late to prevent the crisis anyway. McCain added his name on May 25, 2006, when the housing bubble had already nearly peaked. Standard & Poor's Case-Schiller Home Price Index, which measures residential housing prices in 20 metropolitan regions and then constructs a composite index for the entire United States, shows that housing prices began falling in July 2006, barely two months later.

The Real Deal

So who is to blame? There's plenty of blame to go around, and it doesn't fasten only on one party or even mainly on what Washington did or didn't do. As The Economist magazine noted recently, the problem is one of "layered irresponsibility ... with hard-working homeowners and billionaire villains each playing a role." Here's a partial list of those alleged to be at fault:

The Federal Reserve, which slashed interest rates after the dot-com bubble burst, making credit cheap.

Home buyers, who took advantage of easy credit to bid up the prices of homes excessively.

Congress, which continues to support a mortgage tax deduction that gives consumers a tax incentive to buy more expensive houses.

Real estate agents, most of whom work for the sellers rather than the buyers and who earned higher commissions from selling more expensive homes.

The Clinton administration, which pushed for less stringent credit and downpayment requirements for working- and middle-class families.

Mortgage brokers, who offered less-credit-worthy home buyers subprime, adjustable rate loans with low initial payments, but exploding interest rates.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who in 2004, near the peak of the housing bubble, encouraged Americans to take out adjustable rate mortgages.

Wall Street firms, who paid too little attention to the quality of the risky loans that they bundled into Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), and issued bonds using those securities as collateral.

The Bush administration, which failed to provide needed government oversight of the increasingly dicey mortgage-backed securities market.

An obscure accounting rule called mark-to-market, which can have the paradoxical result of making assets be worth less on paper than they are in reality during times of panic.

Collective delusion, or a belief on the part of all parties that home prices would keep rising forever, no matter how high or how fast they had already gone up.

The U.S. economy is enormously complicated. Screwing it up takes a great deal of cooperation. Claiming that a single piece of legislation was responsible for (or could have averted) is just political grandstanding. We have no advice to offer on how best to solve the financial crisis. But these sorts of partisan caricatures can only make the task more difficult.

–by Joe Miller and Brooks Jackson
Sources
Benston, George J. The Separation of Commercial and Investment Banking: The Glass-Steagall Act Revisited and Reconsidered. Oxford University Press, 1990.

Tabarrok, Alexander. "The Separation of Commercial and Investment Banking: The Morgans vs. The Rockefellers." The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 1:1 (1998), pp. 1 - 18.

Kuttner, Robert. "The Bubble Economy." The American Prospect, 24 September 2007.

"The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999." U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Accessed 29 September 2008.

Bartiromo, Maria. "Bill Clinton on the Banking Crisis, McCain and Hillary." Business Week, 24 September 2008.

Standard and Poor's. "Case-Schiller Home Price History." Accessed 30 September 2008.

"Understanding the Tax Reform Debate: Background, Criteria and Questions." Government Accountability Office. September 2005.

Bianco, Katalina M. "The Subprime Lending Crisis: Causes and Effects of the Mortgage Meltdown." CCH. Accessed 29 September 2008.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Is your salary fair?

Great website to see if you are getting paid what you are worth:

www.glassdoor.com

Alcantera 2008 Harvesting Festival

September 27, 2008 - 2008 Harvesting Festival - 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

- Entrance: $10.00 per person

- With Tasting: $15.00 per person

- Children under 14 get free admission

Entertainment - Food & Wine - Farmer’s Market - Activities
Caterer: Recovery Room
Featuring: Exhibits on Sustaining and Building Green

Also Featuring Poster Artist John Bowler & ‘Smokin’ Joe

For more Information please call: 928.649.8463

http://www.alcantaravineyard.com/page10.html

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Commentary: Bailouts will lead to rough economic ride

By Ron Paul
Special to CNN

Rep. Ron Paul says the government's solution to the crisis is the same as the cause of it -- too much government.

(CNN) -- Many Americans today are asking themselves how the economy got to be in such a bad spot.

For years they thought the economy was booming, growth was up, job numbers and productivity were increasing. Yet now we find ourselves in what is shaping up to be one of the most severe economic downturns since the Great Depression.

Unfortunately, the government's preferred solution to the crisis is the very thing that got us into this mess in the first place: government intervention.

Ever since the 1930s, the federal government has involved itself deeply in housing policy and developed numerous programs to encourage homebuilding and homeownership.

Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were able to obtain a monopoly position in the mortgage market, especially the mortgage-backed securities market, because of the advantages bestowed upon them by the federal government.

Laws passed by Congress such as the Community Reinvestment Act required banks to make loans to previously underserved segments of their communities, thus forcing banks to lend to people who normally would be rejected as bad credit risks.

These governmental measures, combined with the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy, led to an unsustainable housing boom. The key measure by which the Fed caused this boom was through the manipulation of interest rates, and the open market operations that accompany this lowering.

When interest rates are lowered to below what the market rate would normally be, as the Federal Reserve has done numerous times throughout this decade, it becomes much cheaper to borrow money. Longer-term and more capital-intensive projects, projects that would be unprofitable at a high interest rate, suddenly become profitable.

Because the boom comes about from an increase in the supply of money and not from demand from consumers, the result is malinvestment, a misallocation of resources into sectors in which there is insufficient demand.

In this case, this manifested itself in overbuilding in real estate. When builders realize they have overbuilt and have too many houses to sell, too many apartments to rent, or too much commercial real estate to lease, they seek to recoup as much of their money as possible, even if it means lowering prices drastically.

This lowering of prices brings the economy back into balance, equalizing supply and demand. This economic adjustment means, however that there are some winners -- in this case, those who can again find affordable housing without the need for creative mortgage products, and some losers -- builders and other sectors connected to real estate that suffer setbacks.

The government doesn't like this, however, and undertakes measures to keep prices artificially inflated. This was why the Great Depression was as long and drawn out in this country as it was.

I am afraid that policymakers today have not learned the lesson that prices must adjust to economic reality. The bailout of Fannie and Freddie, the purchase of AIG, and the latest multi-hundred billion dollar Treasury scheme all have one thing in common: They seek to prevent the liquidation of bad debt and worthless assets at market prices, and instead try to prop up those markets and keep those assets trading at prices far in excess of what any buyer would be willing to pay.

Additionally, the government's actions encourage moral hazard of the worst sort. Now that the precedent has been set, the likelihood of financial institutions to engage in riskier investment schemes is increased, because they now know that an investment position so overextended as to threaten the stability of the financial system will result in a government bailout and purchase of worthless, illiquid assets.

Using trillions of dollars of taxpayer money to purchase illusory short-term security, the government is actually ensuring even greater instability in the financial system in the long term.

The solution to the problem is to end government meddling in the market. Government intervention leads to distortions in the market, and government reacts to each distortion by enacting new laws and regulations, which create their own distortions, and so on ad infinitum.

It is time this process is put to an end. But the government cannot just sit back idly and let the bust occur. It must actively roll back stifling laws and regulations that allowed the boom to form in the first place.

The government must divorce itself of the albatross of Fannie and Freddie, balance and drastically decrease the size of the federal budget, and reduce onerous regulations on banks and credit unions that lead to structural rigidity in the financial sector.

Until the big-government apologists realize the error of their ways, and until vocal free-market advocates act in a manner which buttresses their rhetoric, I am afraid we are headed for a rough ride.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Wine and Art Scholarship Fundraiser

Hi Everyone,

As some of you may know, I am on the board for a nonprofit organization, the Phoenix Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBA's (NSHMBA). We are hosting our very first Scholarship Fundraiser. It is being held on Friday October 24th at the Zelma Basha Salmeri Gallery in Chandler, AZ. This Gallery showcases one of the largest collections of Indian and Western Art in Arizona.

All proceeds raised from the tickets sold will go to the NSHMBA Scholarship Fund and will specifically go to recipients attending MBA programs in Arizona.

Tickets are $35, and includes dinner and dessert catered by A.J.'s Fine Foods, as well as wine, beer, and soft drinks.

We have to sell tickets in advance to provide the Bashas' Corporation with a headcount for the food and drinks. So we are asking everyone to buy their tickets in the next few weeks. Only 200 tickets will be available.

For more information and to buy tickets, go to http://phoenix.nshmba.org/calendar.asp?id=4081

If you are unable to attend, but want to donate to the NSHMBA Scholarship Fund there is an option on the link to do this as well.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Pablo

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Your Money: McCain vs. Obama

See where the presidential candidates stand on the major economic issues.

Click below to read this article that goes issue by issue.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/news/0806/gallery.election_issues/index.html

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Career Readiness Program: Getting the most from your next career fair. Jobsearch tips for the MBA and the MBA to be.

Do you feel ready for the NSHMBA conference? Have you ever wondered how some conference attendees seem much at ease and even land jobs right at the conference? Your Phoenix chapter will be hosting a mini-workshop for professionals and aspiring MBA's that will prepare you to get the most of the upcoming conference (or any other career-focused conference that you may be planning to attend.) Come and learn strategies to maximize your time at the career expo where you will encounter over 200 recruiters and Fortune 500 companies seeking for talent. Attend the conference prepared to make your next career move!

Additionally, the mini-workshop will feature experts from Jobing.com in a discussion on the latest trends for the local MBA job market.

Come prepared to polish your resume with a resume critique session from local and national recruiting experts.

Not an MBA yet? ...Come to learn about preparing for the GMAT during an exclusive GMAT exam information session provided by experts from the Princeton Review.

All of these will be part of our evening this Wednesday August 20, 2008...you're invited!

RSVP at http://phoenix.nshmba.org/calendar.asp?id=4240

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

LOCAL GETAWAYS: ALTERNATIVE TO RISING TRAVEL PRICES

Wine-drinkers Find Comprehensive Tours Available at Home

PHOENIX, A.Z., Aug. 12 -- Gas prices, economic uncertainty, and even reduced airline amenities are causing many to reconsider the usual travel getaways. Arizona businesses are recognizing the need to offer alternatives. With wine sales in the U.S. at an all time high and the rise in quality of Arizona wines, family owned Arizona Grape Escapes (AGE) was inspired to begin providing a new wine tour based out of Phoenix."We've fallen in love with Arizona wines and want to share them. It's just that simple, we're winos!" says Colleen 'Chase' Dalrymple, an owner of the new tour company. According to the Arizona Wine Growers Association, this state boasts 35 vineyards and 28 bonded wineries. Chase explains, "Wine is often associated with California, France, and Italy. But it doesn't require world travel; we can think globally and drink locally." This philosophy is not limited to the wine itself. According to Local First Arizona, a non-profit organization, 45 cents of every dollar spent through a local business stays in-state, versus only 13 cents when spent at a national chain. "It's also fascinating to consider the potential reduction on our ecological footprint just by supporting local businesses… imagining the emissions caused by shipping products is certainly a downside to the global marketplace" says Tina Gibson, co-owner of AGE. With this in mind, the lunches served on the wine tours are made fresh by Bertha's Café in Phoenix. AGE also helped sponsor Locavore 3 at Tapino Kitchen & Wine Bar, a five-course dinner and wine-pairing event created entirely from Arizona produce. The new wine tours travel from Phoenix to four wineries in the Verde Valley area: Page Springs Cellars, Oak Creek Vineyards, Javelina Leap, and Alcantara. The daytrips accommodate up to ten attendees, with roundtrip transportation, lunch, tastings, and education included. Wine enthusiasts and novices alike can request an individual seat or reserve the custom bus, dubbed the "WINOBAGO", for a private group tour at ArizonaGrapeEscapes.com.