The 10 Dopiest Business and Economy Leaders of 2008

Weatthy should take it in the shorts.

Big 3 Automaker CEOs pulling in millions for a paycheck wont hurt nearly as bad as the average american worker if taxes are raised at all. So what if he cant buy another Luxury car for his kids birthday...get them a Wii. What sucks is working 50 hours or more a week, being barely able to pay a mortgage, bills, insurance, health care, kids schooling, and groceries.. only to turn on the tv and see some rich fat cat complaining about he needs more money GIVEN to him. After his multi-million dollar paycheck, he's run a company into the ground, ruined the LIVES of thousands of his employees, and now he wants them to pay him MORE to keep doing it?? FIRE him!!, take his multi-million dollar paycheck and distribute that to the workers. I think he will be able to live a modest life from his severance pay which would be more than any of us will ever see. Nobody saw any of this coming??

Chaz of SD @ Dec 17, 2008 09:18:17 AM

We are all the dopes!!!!

All Americans are the real dopes. If nobody sees the fundamental problem to this whole situation is the Federal Reserve System. All this other crap is just a distraction to the real problem. Through the Federal Reserve private bankers are given the ability to create i.e. print money out of nothing whenever they feel the need. This is unconstitutional and should be stopped immediately. Currently the only way that our economy can continue to grow is by the creation of more debt. We have all but lost our manufacturing base and the only thing that drives growth is now debt, and Americans are out of credit. Here is my proposal. The US Government should start issuing their own currency and make it backed by something. Weather it is Gold or Silver it can not be backed by the "Faith and Credit of the American People" it has to be of substance. Actually I don't know why it can't be multiple substances like grain, the strategic oil reserves, or how about real estate. Let this currency start flowing out to the American people by buying up all of these foreclosed homes and homes that have been on the market for 2 years. Make this currency compete with the "Federal Reserve Notes" that we have now and see how quickly it overtakes it. We must remove the Federal Reserve from power and do it immediately before there is no hope of return.

James of MI @ Dec 17, 2008 09:17:33 AM

It is sad and amazing that most people see the actions of government as being the result of one person, the President. The financial crisis convinced most swing voters that the economy had to be given to the Democrats as the more trustworthy party. It is a great irony that the wrong party is blamed.

It usually takes government power, arrogance, and stupidity to create a crisis.

Our current financial problems were created by government pressuring the loan market to make bad loans, and empowering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy up those loans so that the process could continue. This was promoted by Democrats and tolerated by Republicans, so there is blame all around, but not for all Democrats or Republicans.

The Democrats said "we are arranging loans to good people who will pay back the money". The Republicans wouldn't say loudly "we don't want to make those loans, they are too risky", although they said it softly in committee.

The government ran an off-budget loan-department (Fannie and Freddie) that borrowed $5.4 trillion ($5,400 billion), as much as the <i>total debt</i> of the US before that. Fannie and Freddie were regulated and directed by the House Financial Affairs committee, chaired by Barney Frank (D. MA) and controlled by the Democratic majority for the last two years. The bad loans were made mostly in the last two years, under their direction and encouragement.

I predict more irony. For eight years the cry has been "It is the fault of the devil President Bush". In the next four years, despite a Democratic President Obama, and regardless of any continuing economic problems, the cry will be "It is the fault of the prior devil President Bush".

See We Guarantee It at http://easyopinions.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-guarantee-it.html for a review of the related news and analysis of our housing/credit mess.

Andrew Garland of MA @ Dec 17, 2008 00:31:59 AM

[size=4][size=3][size=1]Ignoring the nonsense above it, this:"HIGHER TAXES WOULD BE HELPFUL." is just about the most ....well, I won't say it.

Do you know who Bastiat was? Are you aware of what he said concerning turning the law into an "instrument of plunder?"

Perhaps you should find the quote, and then find out why one of the most respected, distinguished economists in history said it.

[/size][/size][/size]

Lt. York of NE @ Dec 16, 2008 23:51:42 PM

You forgot Christopher Dodd

Frank and Dodd both received huge campaign donations from Fannie and Freddy than when the things blows up they are mugging for the camera as if they are our only hope for fixing the mess. These two clowns don't deserve the voters trust. Makes you wonder about NJ and Conn if they can't figure these two bums out.

It easy to blame GW Bush but it was Bill Clinton who started the trend that everyone deserves a house no matter what the cost. We now know what the cost was as the sub prime mess caved in our economy.

L Parsons of CO @ Dec 16, 2008 23:39:24 PM

sign of the times

An Allen Greenspan book in the 50% discount bin. Next stop, recycle paper plant. Maybe we can print money on the recycled paper.

President elect Obama running on a platform of change.

He will succeed. I'll have change in my pocket instead of folding money.

Bill of CA @ Dec 16, 2008 22:34:50 PM

Problem is that the people who have the power to make the decisions that hold the fate of the working class are so out of touch with reality and what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck- or do a hard days work for a living. Everyone is looking to do finger pointing right now but no one is taking any accountablility for their actions or lack thereof. Some of these big corporations need to suffer some losses and write off some of their losses. Yea it may cut their EPS for the shareholders and drastically reduce the value of any Employee Stock options but they made bad business decisions and now the working class taxpayers are going to have to pay for it.

This nation has lost its morals and values and turned to nothing but greed. The tops of some of the biggest companies of which we rely on for our jobs and livelihood are so corrupt with no conscience or ability to determine right from wrong. Please tell me Joe CEO how you can run a company spending days on the golf course, taking outrageous bonuses, and living it up while your company is letting employees go and/or cutting benefits to cut costs?? Let me tell you, your job may be important but a company goes no where without the people at the bottom you are cutting out. And the people oversees you have contracted to create your products to cut costs--dont care how they turn out and arent buying them either--they have no pride in those products.

Also, the politics in business are pathetic too. there are so many ideas and ways of improving businesses that are out there within the lower ranked employees; however, those people are not given an open forum to bring their ideas and improvements to discussion because they have to be order takers in fear of the fact that if they challenge their superiors they will lose the job they ever so desperately need.

JDR of OH @ Dec 16, 2008 22:23:29 PM

Auto Bailout

Jim:

Add your name to the list it is really stupid to advocate putting a million people out of work. If it were not for the unions in this country we would all be working for $0.75 an

hour. I' bet you make more tha the average auto maker for

lees work put that in your pipe and smoke it instead of that other stuff.

Bill Doran of CA @ Dec 16, 2008 21:31:39 PM