Is the Bailout Needed? Many Economists Say "No"

Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers: "A funny thing happened in the drafting of the largest-ever US government intervention in the financial system. Lawmakers of all stripes mostly fell in line, but many of the nation's brightest economic minds are warning that the Wall Street bailout's a dangerous rush job. President Bush and his Treasury secretary, former Goldman Sachs chief executive Henry Paulson, have warned of imminent economic collapse and another Great Depression if their rescue plan isn't passed immediately. Is that true?"...Coming out of the White House on Thursday, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Alabama's Richard Shelby, held up what he said was a five-page list of economists opposing the rescue plan.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/53107.html

Protecting the public interest in any economic "bailout"

The U.S. government has been turned into an engine that accelerates the wealth upwards into the hands of a few. The Wall Street bailout, the Iraq War, military spending, tax cuts to the rich, and a for-profit health care system are all about the acceleration of wealth upwards. And now, the American people are about to pay the price of the collapse of the $513 trillion Ponzi scheme of derivatives. Yes, that’s half a quadrillion dollars. Our first trillion dollar compression bandage will hardly stem the hemorrhaging of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme built on debt "de-leverages."

Does anyone seriously think that our public and private debts of some $45 trillion will be paid? That the administration's growth of the federal debt from $5.6 trillion to $9.8 trillion while borrowing another trillion dollars from Social Security has nothing to do with this? Does anyone not see that when we spend nearly $16,000 for every family of four in our society for the military each year that we are heading over the cliff?

This is a debt crisis, not a credit crisis. Just as FDR had to save capitalism after Wall Street excesses, we have to re-invigorate our economy with real - not imaginary - growth. It does not address the never-ending war on the middle class.

The same corporate interests that profited from the closing of U.S. factories, the movement of millions of jobs out of America, the off-shoring of profits, the out-sourcing of workers, the crushing of pension funds, the knocking down of wages, the cancellation of health care benefits, the sub-prime lending are now rushing to Washington to get money to protect themselves.

The double standard is stunning: their profits are their profits, but their losses are our losses.

This bailout will not bring real jobs back to America. It will not bring back jobs that make things. It does not rebuild our schools, streets, neighborhoods, parks or bridges. The major product of this financial economy is now debt. Industrial capitalism has been destroyed.
In the next few days I will push for a plan that includes equity for every American in any taxpayer investment in this so-called bail-out plan. Since the bailout will cost each and every American about $2,300, I have proposed the creation of a United States Mutual Trust Fund, which will take control of $700 billion in stock assets, convert those assets to shares, and distribute $2,300 worth of shares to new individual savings accounts in the name of each and every American.
I will also insist that all of the following issues be considered in whatever Congress passes:

Reinstatement of the provisions of Glass-Steagall, which forbade speculation
Re-regulation of the finance, insurance, and real estate industries
Accountability on the part of those who took the companies down:
a) resignations of management
b) givebacks of executive compensation packages
c) limitations on executive compensation
d) admission by CEO's of what went wrong and how, prior to any government bailout
Demands for transparencey
a) with respect to analyzing the transactions which took the companies down
b) with respect to Treasury's dealings with the companies pre and post-bailout
An equity position for the taxpayers
a) some form of ownership of assets
Some credible formula for evaluating the price of the assets that the government is buying.
A sunset clause on the legislation
Full public disclosure by members of Congress of assets held, with possible conflicts put in blind trust.
A ban on political campaign contributions from officers of corporations receiving bailouts
A requirement that 2008 cycle candidates return political contributions to officers and representatives of corporations receiving bailouts
And, most importantly, some mechanism for direct assistance to homeowners saddled with unreasonable or unmanageable mortgages, as well as protection for renters who have lived up to their obligation but fall victim to financial tragedy when the property they live in undergoes foreclosure.

These are just some thoughts on the run. You will hear more from me tomorrow.



Dennis Kucinich

12 Year Old Boy Invents New Type of Solar Cell

Now here’s a story that makes me feel profoundly unaccomplished: a 12 year old boy in Beaverton, Oregon recently developed a new type of 3D solar cell that makes other solar cells look inefficient by comparison.

William Yuan’s 3D cell can absorb both visible and UV light. According to his calculations, solar panels equipped with his 3D cells could provide 500 times more light absorption than current commercial solar cells and nine times more light than existing 3D solar cells.

Tomorrowland

A design competition for eco-smart city-living aims to turn “what if” into “what is”

Profile: Music Genome Project

The music genome project is a colossal effort to classify songs by using over 400 “genetic markers” that, applied to a song and taken together, help to create a kind of taxonomy of music. The genetic markers include everything from basic attributes such as whether a song is acoustic or electronic, to subtle qualities of the lead singer’s voice and all aspects of the arrangement -- right down to whether or not hand claps are in the mix. Dissonant harmonies, guitar effects, specific use of drums and cymbals, syncopation, orchestral music, and even subtle influences become part of the song’s DNA map.

The music genome project is the brainchild of 1988 Stanford graduate, Tim Westergren. The actual work of analyzing songs is carried out by a dedicated team of highly qualified technicians and musicians who reportedly spend 30-minutes analyzing every song that becomes part of the music genome project library. Virtually all music genres are included in the project.

You might be wondering what purpose such an interesting project could serve. The answer is to provide music-loving Web surfers with the ability to create free, personalized online radio stations that only play music the listener likes—even when it's music the listener has never heard before.

One need only visit the music genome project website, Pandora.com, and enter the name of a favorite song or artist in a search box. Server-side software uses the artist or song to find genetically similar material in the database, and the resultant playlist begins streaming for the listener. Song title and artist is displayed along a cover shot of the relevant single or compact disc. Player controls allow the listener to repeat a song or skip forward to the next tune in the playlist. If the playlist doesn’t quite meet your needs, you can tweak it by changing the parameters.

Since entering a song or title necessarily limits the music genome project to find similar music, Pandora allows a user to create several radio stations to cover several different types or genres of music. For example, one might create a custom radio station for rock, one for blues, and one for alternative. The user can then use the “QuickMix” feature to choose which of the radio stations should be included in a “shuffle” mode where the streaming radio will feature songs from each of the (chosen) custom radio stations, rather than just one.

The music genome project opens a whole new world to music lovers by exposing listeners to music they have never heard but are likely to appreciate. This is exciting for music lovers and also for artists, as it creates positive exposure to potential new fans. Due to licensing restrictions, Pandora’s services are primarily available to visitors located in the United States.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-music-genome-project.htm