RichC | October 23, 2011
The new CPI numbers (Consumer Price Index) released by the government verify what most balancing family budgets already know … inflation is taking a bigger bite out of incomes. Most private sector workers feel fortunate just to be employed and have seen their take-home pay and benefits stagnate or retreat. Everyone I know has had […]
RichC | October 19, 2011
I spent the 8 to 10PM hours Tuesday night watching yet another GOP debate, this one hosted on CNN. This time the top tier of the Republican field came out fired up and directed jabs at each other. I suspect viewers who prefer to see Obama as the target were somewhat uncomfortable with the body […]
RichC | October 17, 2011
By now most in America have at least acknowledged that there are legitimate protests movements in several cities including NYC; some protesting are anarchists and anti-American types looking to hijack any radical movement, but many are legitimately angry with the state of our nation, the partisanship that favors and bails out the Wall Street banks […]
RichC | October 10, 2011
Brian “Sully” Sullivan, one of my favorite reporters and business news anchors who is now on CNBC, wrote and interesting post that addressed unemployment, growing the economy and the correct way to increasing tax revenues — “all without spending a dime of taxpayer money.” The point of the article is that of the 14 million […]
RichC | October 4, 2011
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RichC | October 1, 2011
I saw a CNBC interview with Warren Buffett the other day and didn’t realized just how twisted the “tax the rich” ideas had become. I’m not saying that I agree with either Warren Buffett or President Obama’s new tax proposals, BUT I was surprised to have them being reported as nearly one in the same […]
RichC | September 23, 2011
Much of the political debate coming from Washington DC is focused on cutting the deficit, reforming the tax code and generating more revenue for the federal government. Hopefully those who currently pay federal income taxes (only 52%) are going to be given the loudest voice, but that may not be the case now that we’re […]
RichC | September 20, 2011
Why we need to reform the tax code and create a structure that attracts business to the United States … a thought from Thomas Falk, CEO of Kimberly Clark this morning on CNBC. https://myarchive.us/av/cnbc_thomasfalk_110920.mp4 A personal note: It was challenging enough to start a business and compete in 1987; doing the same thing today would […]
RichC | September 19, 2011
This was posted in late 2010, but I found the tracking of our two-party voting pretty interesting sped up over time. While trying to remember my American history, it is interesting to watch the political swings in ideology over the years. The swings between too much centralized government and regulation … and unregulated capitalism has […]
RichC | September 9, 2011
Like him and his policies or not, it would be great if all politicians were as succinct and committal as Congressman Paul Ryan. His interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box Friday morning after President Obama’s speech was sharp and to the point although respectful toward the president and those holding other ideas. Well worth a listen. […]
RichC | August 28, 2011
I’ve been thinking about the big entitlement (negatively charged word?) issue when it comes to how the U.S. structured our senior citizen’s healthcare and retirement living expenses. Having never really fully understood the cost … and inching closer towards that eventual day … I do recognize while looking at my own health and insurance costs […]
RichC | August 16, 2011
While listening for updates from the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today, a CNBC guest analyst made the observation that “If all countries were like Germany, Germany would not survive. Germany needs the weaker European countries to export to in order to prosper.” (paraphrased) BTW, no news from the […]
RichC | August 16, 2011
With the Obama administration failing to lead in the area we expect, liberal politicians (might as well say “all politicians”) have little problem taking a leadership role when it comes to telling the industry how to run their businesses. The Department of Energy distributes our taxes as gifts grants as a way to warp free […]
RichC | August 14, 2011
I’ve been reading a few of the ideas being toss around by congress as a way to stimulate the economy and “create jobs” (as I recall that was job #1 about three years ago?) The school of thought for most Republicans (at least the last couple years) is to lower tax rates and cut both […]
RichC | August 12, 2011
Without too much expectation we watched the presidential hopefuls in the Republican debate last night and came away surprised. Several of the candidates in Iowa avoided the canned talking points and went out on a limb in presenting fresh and thoughtful ideas; almost all candidates convinced me that the field is far more qualified than […]
RichC | August 7, 2011
Panic … it is going to be the big issue for financial markets come Monday morning. It won’t be pretty. Is there really a difference between where we were last week (after the debt ceiling increase) and where we will be on Monday morning? No, not really, but unfortunately Standard and Poor’s downgrade (PDF) of […]
RichC | August 4, 2011
After the agonizing debates in order to come to a half solution to control our deficit, debt and raising the President’s ability to borrow these past several weeks, the debt ceiling agreement did little to help the world’s financial markets – Europe’s banking problem does little to help. Today Wall Street returned the largest lost […]
RichC | August 1, 2011
As I watch the talking heads on CNBC blabber back and forth, their premarket guest politicians covered their bases for the “lite” deal which in reality kicks the can down the road. It is expected that there will be enough votes to pass the small bill … enough to keep the government functioning and bills […]
RichC | August 1, 2011
Yesterday I heard part of an interview with noted social scientist Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute, which I recorded on my Palm Pre Z-corder app – well at least part of it. He pointed out that our government has moved beyond the point of providing just the necessary “safety net” … […]
RichC | July 31, 2011
For many of us, getting a visual picture regarding the debate polarizing the country around the nation’s debt and deficit is helpful in understanding just how big the problem is. I found a WSJ graphic to be a clarifying example as to the gap between what we spend and what we take in as a […]
RichC | July 29, 2011
President Obama announces the new fuel efficiency standards with a few early jokes regarding his daughter and driving before stressing the prices of fuel and the demand “worldwide” for oil. His “fix” is to take steps to control prices through and energy strategy that 1) increase domestic production, 2) getting rid of tax subsidies to […]
RichC | July 29, 2011
As the financial markets in the US trade down this morning on lousy economic recovery news (little growth – 1.3% annual rate) and no compromise in Washington DC on the debt ceiling … I’m wondering why politicians can’t find a solution with a country as strong as ours. The far right can’t come together for […]
RichC | July 28, 2011
In the Midwest we’re still sweating from the 90+ degree heat (12 days in a row for Cincinnati), although I’m getting use to it. We’re also sweating the debt ceiling and cost cutting measures being proposed in Washington DC by politicians. Like most of America, I watch the haggling and posturing between the extremes on […]
RichC | July 26, 2011
As Washington DC politicians debate how to deal with the U.S. debt ceiling and rapidly climbing debt, investors are faced with the growing possibility of default or at minimum a very real likelihood that we’ll see our nation’s credit standing slip. Individuals, companies and the government seeking to borrow money will see interest rates increase […]
RichC | July 23, 2011
I enjoy political humor as much as the next guy … and have a pretty good tolerance for the lambasting of politicians whether it is by rightwing talk radio or leftwing comedians (most deserve it). In fact, I enjoy listening to a few of the well known loudmouths as a way to hear left and […]
RichC | July 22, 2011
You know the frustration is building when those from President Obama’s own party are “losing their cool” over the administration’s tight lipped approach to what is being presented from the left. Republican’s have long complained that the President’s lack of leadership and a plan is making it difficult to debate the debt ceiling and budget […]
RichC | July 21, 2011
While Americans wait and watch politicians haggling in Washington DC, the stock markets seems to be banking on a deal. Mid day on Thursday, the NYTimes mid-day reported that President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner were close to a deal … only to have Whitehouse spokesman Jay Carney quickly say that there […]
RichC | July 19, 2011
Press Conference President Obama 07/19/2011 A surprise jolt of bipartisan support emerged Tuesday for a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction plan that had been in development for months, though it was thought to be dead just several weeks ago. Roughly half of the Senate’s 100 members sat through an hour-long briefing on the plan, which was designed […]
RichC | July 18, 2011
Far be it from me to defend the “corporate jet” crowd, but am I the only one who wonders what numbers President Obama is talking about when they advocate that wealthy in America “pay their fair share.” I’ve looked at most of the numbers and no matter how you slice the pie, those earning over […]
RichC | July 13, 2011
Although Indiana’s Gov. Mitch Daniels is not running in the the primaries against other GOP candidates, I certainly hope that whoever is nominated looks to Daniels for advice and executive experience. With an economy stifled by excessive bureaucracy and adversarial to business, we need someone with his experience when it comes to putting America back […]
RichC | July 7, 2011
As we wait for the final scheduled liftoff of Shuttle Atlantis and STS-135 on Friday (weather postponement likely), I am of mixed emotion. As a child when the United States began its race to the moon, exploration of space was a pivotal part of being an American. As a tax paying citizen, the expense of […]
RichC | July 2, 2011
What’s with the sudden rise in oil price again? We’ve seen our weak economy take a crushing blow from rising oil prices once again. We all know that there has been an oil moratorium on U.S. oil ever since the BP oil spill … or perhaps since President Obama moved to the Whitehouse, but the […]
RichC | July 1, 2011
The controversial Glenn Beck finished his two and a half years on a successful hour long TV program yesterday to the disappointment of many loyal viewers. Love him or hate him, he has made an impact in about every venue he gets involved in. Radio, cable TV books, Internet, live events and just teaching history […]
RichC | June 27, 2011
Why do only 53% of the citizenry of the United States of America pay federal income taxes? Something’s not quite right when nearly half of the people benefiting from from living in this country are voting for, but not funding, those who are elected to spend others peoples money. This could change if congress eliminates […]
RichC | June 22, 2011
It should come as no surprise, but after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered his remarks on Wednesday saying the U.S. economy was recovering more slowly than expected, Wall Street had little interest in continuing to move indices positive. More than likely the fact that the Fed saw no reason to tighten money supply in […]
RichC | June 21, 2011
It’s not often the AOL/HuffPo finds fault with Obamacare … but it looks like this costly oversight even has liberal universal healthcare lovers questioning the new law: President Barack Obama’s health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered […]
RichC | June 21, 2011
It probably doesn’t surprise many conservative readers to see Keith Olbermann’s face on the NPR.org website, but I WAS surprised to see ads for the new Olbermann show. I would have thought that management at NPR was using a bit more discretion, so as not to so blatantly hightlight the left-leaning bias suspected of public […]
RichC | June 20, 2011
Every once in a while I hear short and succinct statements which makes me wonder why politicians in a “United” States of America complicate issues for our country — is there that much disagreement over everything? Not promoting and maintaining one language … English … as our national language, in the end the lacks commonsense […]
RichC | June 10, 2011
I wish I would have been a better listener to the old adage: “Sell in May and go away and play.” (INDU heads below 12000 Friday morning) It looks as if we’re in for a 6th week of down markets; a tough summer for those Americans hoping President Obama’s “bump in the road” comment was […]
RichC | June 6, 2011
Over and over again, “men” in powerful positions repeatedly show little self-control or respect for their elected positions (or their families) while serving in congress … or governorships or even as President. Today, the week long scandal involving Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and his Twitter account and the tweeting of images of himself to a […]
RichC | June 3, 2011
At age 85, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan talked candidly with the CNBC hosts this morning about the looming “debt ceiling” debate and more importantly our country’s lack of unity in addressing our deficit spending. Interestingly he is currently supporting some increases in taxes as a compromise realizing that in a divided government one […]
RichC | June 2, 2011
The Republican heavyweight contender (at least in raising campaign funds) has announced his candidacy for presidency today at an event in New Hampshire. It was an expected move from a somewhat calculating and predictable politician/businessman – perhaps something the country needs? Former Governor Mitt Romney, a hardened campaigner, made the announcement at the Bittersweet Farm […]
RichC | May 24, 2011
How about a quicker way for car buyers willing to invest in the latest green automotive technology to get their tax credit? If Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood gets his way those purchasing an EV could apply it to the price of the vehicle. He’s suggesting that instead of a tax credit when filing income […]
RichC | April 30, 2011
I get so frustrated when I hear smart and successful men like John Malone speak and yet very few seem to be listening, particularly those who are in positions to implement change. His comments the other day during a business interview makes complete sense to me; he even offers up a few practical ideas. If […]
RichC | April 29, 2011
Call me a negative Nellie, but one has to wonder if we are really seeing much of an economic recovery? With prices rising, inflation looming (if not already here) and the buying power of the dollar severely weakened over the past year, how will Americans perceive those elected and appointed to guide the United States […]
RichC | April 28, 2011
I heard something similar to my posted title the other day on CNBC, and after hearing that the Federal Reserve will continue to keep interest rates low a bit longer, I’m seeing those concerned about inflation moving even further toward taking off-the-grid survivalist measures. Gold “up” – Silver “up” – Food Commodities “up” – Gun […]
RichC | April 13, 2011
Since the President delivered his budget in a speech during mid-day, I didn’t get the chance to listen to President Obama unveil his ‘updated’ budget … after the one he submitted two months ago. I had thought he might get serious about taking a bipartisan leadership position in deficit reduction and realized that most Americans […]
RichC | April 9, 2011
The financial markets continue to hold their own, which considering the continued of negative news we’ve hearing is amazing. Gold and especially silver (at a 31 year high) have become safe haven investments for some investors concerned that the economy will stumble and inflation (or likely ‘stagflation’) will be what we’ll see in the second […]
RichC | April 6, 2011
The fiasco in Washington DC over the 2011 budget, legislation that should have been passed last year by the previous congress is coming to a head once again. Some think we’ll see another extension delay tactic, but entrenched politicians are getting louder and seem to be unwilling to compromise. There are those wanting to cut […]
RichC | April 5, 2011
It looks to me as if grappling with how to pay for health care is going to be the biggest hurdle when dealing with our deficit spending in the future (as if it isn’t bad enough now). It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about current private insurance plans, Obama’s national health care law, Medicaid for […]
RichC | April 4, 2011
When I posted the current “Cell Phone Laws by State” map the other day, it was in part due to a project my niece was working on at Ohio Northern University. My brother mentioned she was asked to present their finding to Ohio lawmakers on House Bill 99 (summary) in Columbus last month – kudos to […]
RichC | March 27, 2011
It does seem a little early, but it is nearing the time we’ll find out who is a viable and electable 2012 Republican candidate for President. As I look at the current field of previous GOP presidential candidates, a couple of them seem to be getting their names out early. One well known political hopeful […]
RichC | March 26, 2011
After 13 years battling blood cancer, the “political trailblazer” Geraldine Ferraro past away today at age 75. She was best known for breaking the glass ceiling in presidential politics after being selected as a vice presidential running mate in 1984 by Walter Mondale. After losing to the incumbent, then President Ronald Reagan, she continued to […]
RichC | March 25, 2011
Stephen Lerner relayed plans to intentionally damage the economy of the United States last week and suggested it would start this May. He is (was?) a politically connected SEIU official who regularly visits the Obama Whitehouse, although is said to currently be on administrative leave – his phone rings through and voice mail still takes […]
RichC | March 22, 2011
Although I’m not a big Don Imus fan, KT McFarland discussed the point that has been bothering me seeing the many uprisings in the middle east. At what point do we restrict our military involvement around the world to our security and national interest … and at what point do we commit our blood and […]
RichC | March 1, 2011
The pain at the pump over high fuel prices will most likely slow the pace of our tepid economic recovery. For Americans fortunate enough to be fully employed, that means spending more dollars on fuel and less in other areas that might have hired a new workers. For businesses that mean a higher cost of […]
RichC | February 28, 2011
As the crowds of protesters dissipate in Madison Wisconsin (previous post), some of the more intense union members or bussed in supporters are still sticking around to get their point across. The Capitol police in Madison have for the most part been clearing out the state house and the door have been closes to prevent […]
RichC | February 27, 2011
Duke Energy, our electricity utility, was kind enough to ship me a nice size box of compact florescent lamps at no charge to replace our existing bulbs. I can’t say that I was surprised to see that they are made in China, but I sure would rather they be manufactured in the United States – […]
RichC | February 18, 2011
On the heels of the Arizona shooting and the liberal media blasting their favorite “target” Sarah Palin, as well as blaming other rightwing conservatives for using incendiary speech … I wonder why they remain silent as union protestors put crosshairs on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker? Could it be there is a bias … I […]
RichC | February 18, 2011
If there is one politician that gives me hope that we can get our government fiscal house in order, it is Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan. Greta Van Susteren had one of her best interviews (probably because I liked what I heard) with Rep. Ryan on Thursday night … it is well worth listening to if […]