US Economy; The Ship Sinks

As politicians and corporate executives try to convince the citizenry that the situation is not going to get any worse, the situation gets worse. Somehow, the powers that be keep insisting that the sham can go just a little further. It's over. You can't base a national economy solely on consumption and have dumbed-down public schools at the same time. This country isn't even producing a large volume of critical thinkers. The thinkers in public schools are pounded into the ground before they can get out of middle school, and the bully adults and children think it's hilarious. The average American driver is so stupid, that they can barely keep operate a car, and that can't do that safely.

The US is going to have to completely restructure the public school system. That means rehiring all teachers and getting rid of the dead weight, no matter what race or gender they are. The death grip the democrats and republicans have on public policy has got to end. It's become a criminal enterprise, not public service. The voting system is going to have to be reformed and uniform through out all 50 states, so we have no more stupidity like in Minnesota. Only then will there even be a starting place for recovery, I don't care how many TV sets anyone can sell.

The Games Goldman Sachs Plays

I've never gotten the bad taste out of my mouth from the CNBC Fast Money programs where all of the traders were flopping around in blind praise of Goldman Sachs and it's brilliant (ie. ruthless) operation.

Well, here's some of that brilliance. Part of that business model appears to be betting against products that other Goldman Sachs employees are selling. The firm did the same thing with home mortgage securities. That way they play both ends. Goldman sells junk for big money, shorts what they know will quickly fail and makes a profits at both ends. Let us not forget, that is the company where treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made his $700 million. How is that less criminal than a Nigerian email scam?

Goldman-related Update:
A nice article that touches on this "Goldman as a god" fantasy floating around. Seems like Paulson's boy wonder isn't getting such grand reviews. The article also tends to support the talent versus salary post I have up. What talent do these Wall Street guys really have? They are supposed to be the best in the financial business, but they just seem like a bunch of cowboy speculators to me. They don't actually seem to understand the fundamentals of banking or of managing people. When nothing makes any sense, I consider the possibility of criminal activity.

Wealth and Talent Decoupled at Wall Street?

Each time I see Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, my reaction is the same, "That guy's got over $700 million?" It's clear enough that Paulson has no clue about what to do and his inflated opinion of himself won't allow him to make the quick adjustments his incompetence requires. It's also clear that CEO jobs on Wall Street have more to do with one's connections than with one's talent. This guy ran Goldman Sachs? He should be thriving in an environment like this. I've always said US management was lacking in many ways. Unlike other countries, the US places excessive value on ego, height, and social skills at cocktail parties over talent. Henry Paulson, more confirmation that an image of competence is often not reality.