Not too long ago, the governor espoused slots as a way of saving the MD horse racing industry and subsequently the Preakness. From the Washington Post – Nov 11, 2006:
Gov.-elect Martin O’Malley called upon the Maryland General Assembly yesterday to legalize slot machine gambling at horse tracks, saying he was "sick of this issue" but feared that the state’s racing industry could collapse if lawmakers did not find common ground early in his term.
Isn’t it ironic that slots have passed and now O’Malley is pushing legislation to once again save the Preakness?
Leadership isn’t placation of the news media with regard to constant reaction and the topic du jour. It usually means devising unpopular, long term solutions to problems.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. That is probably the only time I’m going to be able to say this all season. Full schedule here.
Stephen Janis formerly of the Baltimore Examiner and currently Investigative Voice is a great reporter. He knows how to dig into the big issues.
Stephen reports the story of a local Hopkins student where BGE decided to estimate a portion of his bill. “My average use for the month was 36 kilowatt hours per day, but for the six days they estimated at the beginning of the billing period I was supposedly using 106 kilowatts hours per day.”
When Stephen contacted the PSC, they told him they were woefully understaffed to deal with the complaints. Wasn’t this an O’Malley promise to fix the PSC?
The biggest problem I have with all of this, is that BGE doesn’t tell you if any portion of your bill was estimated. This bill is supposed to represent consumption.
Just read this article on First Read from MSNBC. Do our representatives realize that the AIG bonuses ($165mil) are 1/10 of 1% of the money AIG has received?
Members of Congress should realize that they are just as accountable in this fiasco. After all, they relaxed the regulations that created the credit default swaps in the first place. Before that, AIG was purely an insurance company.
It is inappropriate for our elected officials to keep up the rhetoric – suggestions of suicide – without first looking in the mirror.
Now that gas is below $2/gal (nationwide average = $1.91/gal) again, both Honda and Toyota can’t seem to sell these cars. It has become such a problem that now both manufacturers are offering rebates on these cars.
On another note, I was becoming accustomed to hearing about how hybrid cars will save the environment but I’m really failing to understand. Today, these cars principally use batteries that are recharged using electromagnets. The last time I looked, batteries are a gigantic source of pollution with many known negative effects on the environment.
While many middle class families continue to struggle in the current economic climate, our elected representatives choose to give themselves a raise.
“in 1989, it [Congress] passed a law providing for annual cost-of-living adjustments unless Congress votes otherwise”
The 111th Congress is in session from January 6, 2009 thru October 30, 2009. That makes the current congressional salary: $174K/10 months.
Obama reverses the Bush directive forbidding federal funding of stem-cell research.
If you have ever seen the effect of Alzheimer’s on a family member, it is difficult to reason why Bush put that directive in place. So much for his compassionate conservatism.
Companies FAIL! There, I said it. It is time to stop bailing out every company. The quicker we realize that pumping billions of dollars into a broken machine will just cause inflation, devaluing of the dollar, increased national debt and more panic, the quicker this depression will end. While I realize it may not be technically a depression due to historical context, the reality is that the S&P has dropped 25% over the last 2 months. In my book that is a depression.
However, while the economy continues to look more bleak every day and middle class families continue to have problems making ends meet, there is one key aspect that we can take advantage of during this period of uncertainty:
Long term investors can buy stocks of good companies on the cheap.
This strategy was recently espoused by Warren Buffett in his NYTimes Op-Ed piece. “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful”
Other famous investors cite another long-term wealth preservation strategy. Jim Cramer of Mad Money fame, says “And in this horrible market, I fight to keep their losses to a minimum by having some good dividend-yielding stocks from different sectors, some bonds, some gold and some cash.”
Good dividend-yielding stocks are available right now. Look at the components of the DJIA, many are paying 3-4% yields and trading at 52wk lows. In you don’t know, these yields mean that the company will pay you 3-4% on your money even if the stock stays at it’s current valuation.
The market is no longer trading on fundamentals but rather hysteria and panic. These stocks are cheap for the long-term investor. This buying opportunity – a reality of capitalism – amongst the doom and gloom won’t last long and hasn’t been seen a long time.
Feedback welcome.
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