Patterico's Pontifications

11/8/2008

Now You Tell Us (Part 2)

Filed under: Dog Trainer — Patterico @ 3:42 pm



The L.A. Times reveals a truth many of us already knew, but that the electorate at large evidently did not — namely, that Obama’s economic policies are terribly worrying to many knowledgeable investors:

[P]lenty of people believe Obama’s ideas will be somewhere between hurtful and ruinous for investors over time.

Tom Kerr, who helps manage $2.5 billion in stocks for Reed, Conner & Birdwell Inc. in L.A., asserts that many of the policies Obama has espoused are “job destroyers and are bad for all size businesses in America.”

He ticks off his list: “Less free trade . . . more business regulation . . . increased union power . . . higher tax rates on big consumer spenders.”

It’s OK to say . . . now that he’s safely elected.

39 Responses to “Now You Tell Us (Part 2)”

  1. Hope and Change becomes: “...I hope you can spare some change.”

    Eric Blair (57b266)

  2. I heard a good line the other day. Obamba seems to think you can run the economy from the bottom up. Why then during his first President Elect press conference did he surround himself with millionaires and billionaires and not poor people?

    Boots (6d907f)

  3. This is the last presidential election that the Los Angeles Times will cover before their inevitable bankruptcy. On the bright side, you’ll be able to pick up some computers and office furniture really cheap at the sheriff’s auction.

    Official Internet Data Office (c1dfe4)

  4. When I saw the “some” in the headline today, I skipped it and went straight to the crossword puzzle.

    Can’t take it anymore.

    Patricia (ee5c9d)

  5. Boots makes a good point. The only ones left standing after this debacle will be those who are are already millionaires and billionaires.

    Speaking of those left standing, does anyone wonder why of all the investment banking firms left standing Goldman Sachs is ‘the One’? Does anyone wonder why Lehman Brothers was told to f’off in September even though the Fed, Paulson and Morgan scooped up Bear Stearns in a heartbeat in March? Does anyone wonder why Paulson and Fuld met to discuss Lehman’s future when assurances were made that Lehman would be considered for assistance?

    Does anyone wonder about “October Surprises”? I do. Lehman was forced into BK in September. Lehman’s demise triggered a global equity market meltdown after what seemed to be a reprieve from the March failure of Bear Stearns.

    Apparently Paulson suddenly discovered a dedication to moral suasion, and he then decided that an act of “tough love” would be best despite the warnings of Christine LaGarde (Fin Min of France). Did any of you watch the equity market meltdown diminish your savings in October? Yeah. So did millions of people around the planet.

    Would stoooopid people getting ready to vote in a general election get spooked and blame the current administration? Probably.

    So, what I’m asking is whether or not Paulson and his pals (look at the BO supporters) decided to shut down Lehman Brothers triggering another tranche of selling during October and deliver the real “October Surprise.”

    Just askin’

    Nohopeandchange (1718e0)

  6. Why progressives such as Oiram continue to have trouble understanding the negative aspects of Obama’s policies for businesses and the stock market amazes me. Willful ignorance or stupidity. You decide.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  7. Where’s oiram? The other day he was telling us the dropping stock market since the election wasn’t because of the election.

    Steverino (6b42c9)

  8. Why didn’t the rich and famous and brain dead politicians notice that investors and business owners have been running from Hussein O since the day he became the ‘chosen one’? I haven’t heard one business owner say anything other than ‘we’re going to get taxed so bad we can’t possibly stay in business’. One contractor let his six full time employee’s go and does the work with his pardner and part timers. Another’s seasonal (boat repair) business with 2-3 employees fell off so bad he may not be around come spring and is already doing all the (what little there is) work himself. These are both good friends of mine. I know dozens of workers involved directly in the coal business and they all wonder what they will do come spring. Now they are in a panic because they’re entire retirement is based on 401K’s which may be raided by the democrats and used as walking around vote buying money.

    Scrapiron (ce69ff)

  9. Remember when Saddam was stealing from the oil-for-food program which was ostensibly set up to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people? Saddam wanted his people to suffer — the more the better because it helped him make the case for removing UN sanctions.

    The hard left argument is that capitalism has failed the American people. As more and more voters feel the pinch of economic hard times, it makes it easier to sell socialism. Who’s to say whether Obama’s policies or Bush’s policies are responsible for the suffering? Certainly not the MSM. The GOP? C’mon, they couldn’t even place the blame for the real culprits in the Fannie/Freddie debacle — Chris Dodd and Barney Frank should be in orange jumpsuits and instead they’re plausible candidates for the Obama cabinet.

    armadillo (211a15)

  10. One final thought:

    Obama’s foreign relations plan is shallow and naive; his economic plan is scaring the poo out of business owners. The Times knew all this before the election but didn’t print a word about it.

    Steverino (647a08)

  11. Yeah, the economic policies now are leading to riches for all. It’s not like hundreds of banks have failed, we’re not heading into one of the worst recessions in many years, the housing market isn’t collapsing, and we’re not running an expensive and useless war out in the middle east.

    You’re absolutely right, we should fear Obama.

    Russell Miller (5c3b36)

  12. At least if Dodd and Frank get political appointments they’ll be out of their current seats. Good luck getting those back. Do you really think either will want to quit being at the top of their current heap to take jobs where they could be dismissed on whim alone?

    The idea makes more sense for someone who hasn’t already managed to climb atop the rotten dungheap that is Congress.

    Soronel Haetir (644722)

  13. Many voted for him with these as expectations. Ruinous for a big business is only slightly worse than only having a headquarters in America and shipping all your work overseas.

    Having the most wealth and a super powered economy isn’t really that great if only 10% of the people get to enjoy it.

    Better to lop off a chunk of the top of the mountain and give the bottom 90 a bigger chunk.

    Bobby (2e9cbd)

  14. Re comment #13–that’s possibly the most mindless drivel I’ve ever read. I gather you voted for Obama.

    Mike Myers (31af82)

  15. The only hope we have of meeting federal debt and entitlement obligations is to grow the economy. Yet, when Obama was presented with incontrovertible evidence that reduced capital gains rates led to increases in federal tax revenue, he blew it off in the name of “fairness.” In other words, he doesn’t care that reduction in capital gains and corporate taxes (e.g. Ireland) stimulates the economy and job growth. It’s more important to “lop off 10% off the top” to spread the misery around. Much easier to expand governmental control under those circumstances.

    armadillo (211a15)

  16. Don’t worry about that stock market dropping like a rock. Obama is just making stocks more affordable for everyone.

    James (ce5dcc)

  17. I heard a clip of Charlie Rose and a network anchor man (You all know his name, but I’m blanking) talking about Obama peri-election. Says Rose, “You know, we really don’t know that much about him…During his speech you could tell he was not only giving the speech and observing the crowd, but he was observing himself interacting with the crowd, everything he does is calculated… There’s this cult of personality that is spooky” (My close paraphrase)

    One of my sons, not religious, asked me if I was worried as he claimed the “pick 3” in the Illinois Lotto on election day was “666”. (Is that true nk and other Chicagoans?) I told him not really, as we already know he follows the textbook that was dedicated to Lucifer.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  18. So Bobby, what happens when there’s no more “top of the mountain”? Soon everyone’s at the bottom looking up wondering where the mountain went.

    Boots (6d907f)

  19. It’s OK to say . . . now that he’s safely elected.

    Indeed. After all, it’s every journalist’s job to make Obama a successful President. It’s kinda hard to be a successful President without being elected President first.

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  20. So Bobby, what happens when there’s no more “top of the mountain”? Soon everyone’s at the bottom looking up wondering where the mountain went.

    “Bad luck”

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  21. Patterico, how hard did you look for similar pre-election quotes appearing in the LAT? I found these two within a few minutes of searching:

    From Monday’s LAT:

    Still, uncertainty remains in excess supply on other issues — including the makeup of the new Congress. A big gain for the Democrats, coupled with an Obama victory, could fuel investor concern about Democratic policies, particularly on taxes.

    From August 26, a piece headlined “Trio of Worries Drags Down Stocks”:

    With the beginning Monday night of the Democratic convention in Denver, the presidential election also is weighing on stock prices.

    Some investors worry that, if elected, Barack Obama would raise taxes, hurting corporate profits – at least in the short term.

    I suppose you’ll try to argue that these quotes are not quite as harsh as saying that “plenty” of investors think Obama’s policies could be somewhere between “hurtful and ruinous”. Really, though- the idea that the LAT was trying to hide the fact that some investors worry about his policies is a bit of stretch.

    Foo Bar (03f778)

  22. No, it was not, MD in Philly #17.

    nk (95bfab)

  23. Yet, when Obama was presented with incontrovertible evidence that reduced capital gains rates led to increases in federal tax revenue…

    It doesn’t.

    jpe (5320bf)

  24. P.S. And there is no reason why it should have been. After all, when we are talking about the Daleys we are not talking about Fallen Angels. We are talking about the snakes St. Patrick missed.

    nk (95bfab)

  25. The bright spot is the diminishing value of my IRA, and Mutual Fund,
    None of it is invested in media stocks.
    Can’t wait for that Sheriff’s auction on the steps of the Times-Mirror Building.
    Parrrttttyyyyyy!

    Another Drew (ec051d)

  26. nk

    check out 11-5

    SteveG (71dc6f)

  27. Obama is bad.
    He is really bad.
    He is worse than that.
    He’s bad bad.
    The economy is going to hell because he wanted to be president.
    He is bad.
    Bad.
    He probably will push for regulation.
    He is bad.
    Bad bad.
    That’s communist. That’s socialist.
    That’s bad. Bad.
    Do something about it.
    Palin 2012.
    YAY!

    Larry Reilly (d11f9a)

  28. SteveG #25,

    Thank you. I stand corrected. Satan was triumphant over both those revelling in victory and those wallowing in despair.

    nk (95bfab)

  29. Larry – Are you sure you are commenting on the correct blog? Correct thread?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  30. ____________________________

    Comment by MD in Philly — 11/8/2008 @ 5:32 pm:
    Says Rose, “You know, we really don’t know that much about him … During his speech you could tell he was not only giving the speech and observing the crowd, but he was observing himself interacting with the crowd, everything he does is calculated… There’s this cult of personality that is spooky”

    If your quote is accurate — and assuming I’m correct in guessing that Charlie Rose’s political preferences are very close to or identical with those of the tens of thousands of wealthy Democrats (aka limousine liberals) throughout New York’s Manhattan — I’m not sure if it reflects nervousness…

    “Yikes, Obama is distressing me the same way that Mayor Bloomberg, with his many proposals for new higher taxes from A to Z, is scaring me!”

    Or a peculiar form of respect and excitement:

    “Obama’s cult of personality is awesome — like that of the many wonderful Hollywood celebrities I’m always interviewing — and his calculated approach to politics is so reassuring, similar to that of impressively clever Bill and Hillary!”

    Mark (411533)

  31. Barakkk-onomics.
    It’s racist if you don’t support it.

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  32. It’s OK to say . . . now that he’s safely elected.

    Since many in the financially troubled media, the LA Times (and other newspapers) in particular, are on a sinking ship, it’s no surprise that the quasi-Socialist sympathies of many of them are at a fever pitch right now. They probably hope that an Obama White House will be more favorable to the idea of giving government subsidies to friendly voices throughout corporate America, or that laid-off workers in Obama-nation will receive increasingly generous and easygoing unemployment (if not eventually welfare) benefits similar to those found in Europe.

    Mark (411533)

  33. Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw

    Well, if I got the link formed correctly, this is a youtube recording from Rush Limbaugh’s show of a series of clips from 10/20/2008 Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw pretty much saying they don’t know anything about Pres. Elect Obama. (don’t know about how he sees China–do we know anything about the people advising him–etc.).

    BfC (bf78a2)

  34. Most bankers are dip shits who don’t understand what a bank even does.

    It explains the Casino on Wall Street as well as the grossl;y over-valued compensation packages of money changers.

    Robert Rodriguez (54247e)

  35. Personally, I hope the liberal media goes bankrupt so that idiot shareholders finally lose their money.

    You put a bunch of losers who don’t believe in the profit motive in charge of a paper WTF do you expect?

    Be so happy when the NYT, Wash Post, etc go down the toilet.

    Robert Rodriguez (54247e)

  36. Typo in my above post… This interview was recorded on 10/30/2008–just a few days before the election where C. Rose and T. Brokaw said they know nothing about then Candidate Senator B. Obama.

    -Bill

    BfC (bf78a2)

  37. Thank you nk, SteveG., and BfC.

    I am not really serious about this, but…

    Do any of you remember an episode of “The Outer Limits” (or was it “Twilight Zone”?) where the Earth was visited by aliens who were technologically advanced, enforced peace on Earth, etc., and started taking shiploads of people to visit their planet?
    Somehow a group of researchers obtained a copy of their book entitled “To Serve Man” which described their intent to be benevolent. As one of the group is boarding the spaceship for her vacation a coworker comes running up and yells, “It’s a cook book!”, but the alien guards won’t let her turn around.

    Makes one worried what a “civilian security force as large and well equipped as the military” might be guarding.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  38. “Most bankers are dip shits who don’t understand what a bank even does.”

    Rob-Rod – That’s the most stupid thing I’ve seen you say yet, but nobody can bat 1.000. The comp practices are egregious, I agree with you there.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  39. Comment by armadillo — 11/8/2008 @ 4:31 pm

    I heartily agree with both of your comments, sir…

    It doesn’t seem to matter though, to Obama & Co, that their policies are viewed as ruinous by many in the Investor class. What is puzzling though, is how they still voted for him and hoped he would change his tune when the time came…

    What I’m about to say will make all wonder whether I’m wearing a tin-foil hat, but here goes; Obama-Reid-Pelosi-et al, need for the economy to be totally tanking. Just like they wished for the Iraq war to be hopelessly FUBARed. These people need the public perception of any issue they wish to move on to be one of apocalyptic crisis; that’s where the MSM comes into play. When folks think that there is absolutely no hope in the status quo, and impending doom due to the crisis, they are willing to accept almost anything that could possibly make things better; and believe me, when the time comes, the MSM will be trumpeting how the proposed socialist hopenchange will solve all of their problems…

    Basically, the majority of folks want to trust their government so that they don’t have to pay attention to all of the things being done-in their name. They’d rather watch TV sports, American Idol-esque pablum, play video games, or engage in some alternative self-serving pastime. Among the ways that the MSM has worked the electorate into a change lather was to harp so much on the failures of eeeeeevil Booooooosh! that they felt like they couldn’t trust what was going on. You can be sure that the MSM’s reprise to their Obama love fest during the campaign season will be to convince all that they can trust him to take care of their business. The MSM will try to do this in the hope that we will all go back to our pastimes, and pay no attention until the next election; when they can tell us all how much we like hopenchange and to feel free to vote for him and his congressional allies, again…

    Best Wishes…

    Bob (99fc1b)


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