A City On The Edge of the Erie

For people living near and around Rochester, New York, much of what goes on in the city could be referred to as a soap opera. It seems every time you turn around, there’s another example of poor decision politics going on. Could it be those in leadership are always looking for the quick fix instead of the right fix? Officials in Rochester have a tendency to put all of their eggs in one basket. Then, they go for government funding, and in the end, many times, the project fails.

Could it be that’s happening again with PaeTec?

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Looking For Handouts, While Throwing Punches

First Wall Street told us the sky would fall if they failed. Financial CEO’s with they big dollar salaries and perks galore told the federal government if they didn’t give them money, the entire economy would collapse. Going against public opinion, the government decided to hand out billions of dollars of taxpayer money to prop up Wall Street. We now find ourselves on the other side of the bailout, and not much has changed. Expect for companies like AIG who could afford their all expense paid business trips, Wall Street continues to grind along.

Not only did the sky not fall, but Black Friday sales were up this year!

Now it’s the automakers turn to strong arm the nation. Their first trip to Washington did not go well. They were sent packing as nothing more than greedy CEO’s looking for a handout. As one leader said, “They arrived on Capital Hill in their private jets with a tin cup in their hand.” Not only did Capital Hill not buy it, but the nation has not bought the song and dance either. A recent CNN poll reveals that once again the majority of the people in the nation are against any kind of bailout. Of course the automakers are quick to say it’s not a bailout. They say they’re looking for a loan. But, if one were to check their credit report, I would say it doesn’t look good and therefore their credit rating number is rather low.

Of course we know what that means, if you have a low score, you don’t get a loan.

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Is Black Friday Dead?

It is no secret economic times are tough. Of course if you listen to the government leaders, various talking head pundits and the so-called financial experts, you’re probably filled with lots of fear. Lets face it, there’s a lot of fear-mongering going on these days. If we believed all the reports from the people who are supposed to be in the know, we’d all have our heads buried in the sand. There was plenty of doom and gloom with early predictions of a weak Black Friday. Some people even said the name should be changed. Obviously those calling for the name change don’t understand the meaning of Black Friday. The term is not one of doom and gloom. It’s not even used to describe the crazy antics of shoppers. No, instead, it’s a term describing the fact that retailers use the Friday after Thanksgiving as a way to determine if their sales will move out of the red and into the black.

But, could it be the know-it-alls are full of hot air?

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Rochester, New York Announces Incentive Bonuses

While performance-based pay is commonplace in the private sector, the Mayor of Rochester, New York has decided to implement the practice at the government level. As a result of his new plan, the already cash-strapped City of Rochester, is handing out thousands of dollars in bonus pay. This plan, especially coming at this point in time, has at least three major problems.

• The economy is in a bad way.
• Mayor Duffy is handing out taxpayer money to pay huge bonuses.
• Mayor Duffy spends more time crying for money in Albany than he does at home. How can he justify this reckless spending?

All of this also comes at a time when the President of the University of Rochester, Joel Seligman, announced this week he will not take a pay increase next year because the U of R is uncertain of what will happen to their funding stream in the midst of the current economy.

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When No One Wins…

Chess is a game of strategy where you always need to be at least one move ahead of your opponent. The ultimate victor is the one who declares Checkmate! However, more often than not, many chess games end in a stalemate. No one wins, you’re simply left sitting in your chair looking at your opponent as the chess pieces on the board can move no more. When it’s a game, that’s fine. You just pick up the pieces and move on. However, when governmental leaders play a game of chess with taxpayer money, we expect more. That’s exactly what’s happening in New York State these days.

New York State leaders are playing chess, they’re at a stalemate,
and they’re all poor losers.

New York State is in the midst of a budgetary crisis. Governor Paterson appears to be working hard to deal with the crisis. But many other leaders are simply playing a game of chess. However, they have no clue what their opponents next move will be. As a result, the leaders have egg on their face, and are in the midst of a stalemate. The so-called leaders have stooped to name-calling and are exhibiting the traits of a poor loser.

These so-called leaders of New York State should be ashamed of themselves.

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New York State Legislators Balking At Budget Cuts

New York State Governor David Paterson is set to meet with legislative leaders today to discuss mid-year budget cuts once again. However, it appears not everyone is on board with the idea of cutting the budget. Not only do some of the Albany-fat-cats not want to trim the budget this year, but they’re even balking at trimming the budget for next year. The Governor keeps say the budget deficit needs to be addressed now before it gets worse. While he’s partially right, he is on the mark when trying to cut the budget. We did not get here overnight. New York State spending has been out of control for years. In the past, instead of trimming an already bloated budget, legislators decided to take loans to cover the losses.

How stupid is that? Borrowing to cover loss, does not get you out of the hole.

Reality is, thanks to some of the legislators who’ve enjoyed the gravy-train ride to Albany, New York State is facing a huge budget deficit. The sad thing is, many of those same legislators are busy drawing political lines in the sand, than really trying to work a solution for the budget shortfall we now find ourselves in.

Could it be some are waiting for a Federal Government bailout?

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Everybody Wants A Piece of Your Paycheck!

Every time you turn around these days someone wants another piece of your paycheck. When will the craziness end? Of course another amazing aspect of the whole economy revolves around the fact that finally government officials and news media types are calling this what it is — We are in a recession folks! — This is a headline now? It’s about time those in office figured out what the normal people already knew. But then again, these are the same guys with bloated budgets and fat expense accounts. I guess when you’re paid with taxpayer dollars, you don’t notice a recession because it’s not your money in the first place.

So, what’s going on in the wonderful world of big money today?

• AIG Gets More Money While Execs Party!
• Auto Makers On The List for Bailout Money!
• American Express Credit Card Company Becomes A Bank!
• McDonald’s Making Money On Dollar Menu

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News bulletin…news bulletin! As heard on CNN this morning…

“The recent economy problems faced by the nation revolve around finances and money!”
So-Called Economist Specialist

Well there’s no big d’uh there! Imagine that, a financial fall on Wall Street revolving around money. Where did CNN dig this guy up? Sometimes I think news agencies grab anyone they can just to include a sound-bite inside a newscast. Give me a break guys, it’s time to start listening to what you’re doing before going live on the air with this silliness.

While it is indeed good news that Wall Street and the stock market had a rebound day yesterday, some were saying all along to just take a deep breath. Many people panicked, much of the panic was caused by the White House itself, and jumped out of the market. But, others took the advice of some calm thinking people, took a deep breath and waited for things to turn around. Knee jerk reactions to bad situations rarely do any good. In this case, for those who lost money, they will never regain it if they jumped out. But, for those who remained calm, they will make up some of what they lost.

With the turnaround in the markets, just in time for the Christmas spending season, Neiman Marcus has released his annual Christmas book of top dollar gifts! Now in its 82nd edition, the department store has announced the 2008 list of “must haves” for the upper crust of society this holiday season.

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Economics 101 Class Is Now In Session

The National Debt Clock near Times Square, New York
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

In the midst of the financial tailspin we now find ourselves in, the National Debt Clock in New York City ran out of digits midweek to record the growing figure. As a temporary fix, the dollar sign was switched to a figure — the ‘1′ in the now over $10 trillion dollar national debt. The Durst Organization, which takes care of the sign, says it plans to update it next year by adding two digits.

That means the updated National Debt Clock will be capable of tracking debt up to a quadrillion dollars!

If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will. I don’t even know what a trillion dollars is, let alone a quadrillion! The late Manhattan real estate developer Seymour Durst put the sign up in 1989. At that time his intent was to call attention to what was then a $2.7 trillion debt. Apparently those in positions of government leadership don’t care about the debt, nor did the sign catch their attention. If the sign caught their attention, we should now be debt free!

With this in mind, while I’ve said it before, I will say it again, I am NOT an economist, but I can certainly figure this out.

So listen up governmental leaders…
The Economics 101 Class Is Now In Session!

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As the financial crisis continues in the United States, the latest headline which should catch every taxpayers attention goes like this…

Federal Government Gives AIG More Money!

When will this madness stop? The very government that’s supposed to bring a sense of order to the nation, is doing nothing more than cause panic at every corner. Government leaders have mismanaged our money for years, and now not only are they mismanaging our money, but they’re also empowering the sickness of the rich CEO’s on Wall Street. For whatever reason the federal government has decided the best way to deal with every situation is to throw more money at the problem. But, in this case, they’re throwing money at money institutions that have not handled money well in the first place.

Could it be the politicians are simply buying votes in this election season?

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