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Thursday, 8 December 2011
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Ham on Wry rarely forwards e-mail and restricts those that are forwarded to humorous or touching ones. However, today my close friend PJ sent me a message that compelled me to share it with readers. Since I don't know who authored the text, I can't give credit to that person. I have taken license in some of the formatting and in changing the title, but the exact wording remains. Somehow, the Wall Street bull pictured below seems an appropriate symbol for today's post. Please comment, if so moved.
The New York Stock Exchange
Consequently, Helga's gross sales margin increases massively.Helga is the proprietor of a bar.
She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics
and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar.
To solve this problem, she comes up with a new marketing plan that allows
her customers to drink now, but pay later.
Helga keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the
customers loans).
Word gets around about Helga's "drink now, pay later" marketing strategy
and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Helga's bar.
Soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in town.
By providing her customers freedom from immediate payment demands,
Helga gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she substantially
increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages.
A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank
recognizes that these customer debt constitute valuable future assets and increases.
Helga's borrowing limit.
He sees no reason for any undue concern, since he has the debts of the
unemployed alcoholics as collateral!!
Now, do you understand why the economy is the way it is?At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders figure a way to make huge commissions, and transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS. These "securities" then are bundled and traded on international
securities markets.
Naive investors don't really understand that the securities being sold to
them as "AA" "Secured Bonds" really are debts of unemployed alcoholics.
Nevertheless, the bond prices continuously climb!!!, and the securities
soon become the hottest-selling items for some of the nation's leading
brokerage houses.
One day, even though the bond prices still are climbing, a risk manager at
the original local bank decides that the time has come to demand payment
on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Helga's bar. He so informs Helga.
Helga then demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being
unemployed alcoholics they cannot pay back their drinking debts.
Since Helga cannot fulfill her loan obligations she is forced into
bankruptcy. The bar closes and Helga's 11 employees lose their jobs.
Her wine supplier also claims bankruptcy, closing the doors on a family
business that had endured for three generations, her beer supplier is
taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and
lays off 150 workers. Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses
and their respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multibillion
dollar no-strings attached cash infusion from the government.
The funds required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied on
employed, middle-class, non-drinkers who’ve never been in Helga’s bar.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
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| President Obama in Osawatomie, Kansas--Photo by Charlie Reidel/AP |
Whether one supports President Obama or feels he should serve a only one term, his speech on the economy today sounded a theme that resonates with conservative and liberal Americans alike: income inequality. The choice of the small Kansas town served a dual purpose. The President was speaking to the "Heartland", a typically conservative area of the country, yet hitting the mark with people who have suffered greatly since the economy nosedived in 2008. He was also following in the footsteps of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who, in his 1910 speech in Osawatomie, called for a "square deal" for Americans based on a Progressive Party platform. For readers who don't know much about the Progressive Party, I suggest you do some research. That name has resurged this year as a possible third party.
Presenting to a crowd that had gathered at the high school gym to hear his speech, Obama declared, "This isn't just another political debate. This is the defining issue of our time. This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class." He noted that after World War II, Americans were imbued with optimism and "believed in an America where hard work paid off, responsibility was rewarded, and anyone could make it if they tried — no matter who you were, where you came from, or how you started out. These values gave rise to the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known." He then discussed the myriad ways that the middle class has declined since America's heyday.
Obama disparaged any efforts to return to the failed practices that led to the financial debacle, which has hackled our economy for over three years. He held big banks responsible for much of the crisis, saying there now exists "a deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street" and called for increased oversight and stronger regulations that would hold financial institutions accountable for their actions. Further, he called on all Americans to engage in the political process and businesses to use fair practices in dealing with customers.
Ham on Wry eagerly awaits details President Obama will offer about specific ideas that can help our economy regain momentum and encourage a more vibrant middle class.
Monday, 5 December 2011
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| Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich-Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images |
Trump still believes that President Obama was not born in Hawaii in 1961, despite ample evidence to the contrary. The State of Hawaii has attested to the authenticity of Obama's Certificate of Live Birth and CNN asked a man who was born shortly after Obama in August 1961 to obtain proof of his birth. He received the same kind of document. The Honolulu Star Bulletin announced both births, and the Honolulu Advertiser also published an announcement about Obama's birth. How much evidence does this man need to let this issue go? He now accuses most Americans of not caring about the truth. Trump looks squarely at truth and identifies it as a lie. Although he still believes American should have concerns about Obama's citizenship, he has announced that the "birther issue" will not be debated. How magnanimous of him!
Republican candidates Ron Paul and John Huntsman have declined to participate in the December 27th debate. Trump quickly dismissed their absence as inconsequential. Those two men present as the two most well-informed, reasoned candidates on the slate. The others just don't hold up when one studies their backgrounds, their platforms, and their ability to handle international affairs. I wonder if Trump pouted in his usual way when Paul and Huntsman announced their decision.
Ham on Wry suggests that Trump stick to what he does best--reality TV. Like other stars of that ilk, he lives his life in a grand manner with actions designed to attract media attention. He doesn't understand the meaning of decorum and service. His life is all about The Donald. Everything else comes in second or less. I'll skip this debate and do something worthwhile instead.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
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| Custom-built Panda Enclosure FedEx Used to Transport Pandas from China to Scotland |
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| Yang Guang Munches Bamboo at Edinburgh Zoo |
The FedEx crew that transported the pandas wore kilts for the occasion, which blended with those worn by the bagpipe players, who welcomed their guests. Tian and Tian and Yang Guang will stay in their new home at the Edinburgh Zoo for ten years before returning to China. Zoo officials negotiated for the loan of the pandas for five years before finalizing the deal this year. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will pay almost $1 million a year for the pair, a hefty amount in the eyes of skeptics.
Both pandas have parented previously, but never as a pair. The Edinburgh Zoo hopes that Sweetie will mate with Sunshine and deliver at least one healthy cub while in residence. The eight-year-old pair are the first breeding pandas Britain has hosted in seventeen years. They were raised at the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Ya'an, Sichuan Province and will be researched as part of a joint project between China and Scotland.
The giant pandas will have two weeks to settle in before the viewing public will be allowed to see them. By nature, they are shy animals and will require that time to adjust to their new surroundings. Chinese efforts to save giant pandas from extinction have proved successful, and hopes are high that Sweetie and Sunshine will add to the panda population during their stay in Scotland.
Friday, 2 December 2011
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| Judy Lewis with her Mother Loretta Young in 1961 |
Young then contrived a huge deception, placing her child in an orphanage under the care of nuns for the next eleven months. She then reclaimed her daughter, but told everyone that she had adopted the girl. When her daughter turned five, Young married Tom Lewis. Young gave Judy her husband's last name, bur he never adopted Judy and treated her poorly.
As a child, Lewis suffered the slings and arrows of other children, who called her "Dumbo Ears" because her ears closely resembled her father's. At the age of seven, Young arranged for an ear surgery to make her daughter's ears less prominent and diminish the likelihood of people drawling conclusions about Gable being her father. Gable did visit her once at the age of 15, but he never saw her again. Lewis was mystified by the visit and his show of affection when he left.
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| Judy Lewis in 1997/Photofest |
Two weeks before 23-year-old Lewis married Joe Tinney, he told her the truth about her parents, but she didn't confront her mother about it until eight years later. Young finally confessed the entire story to her, although she publicly denied Gable was the father when Lewis's memoir Uncommon Knowledge was published in 1994. This caused a rift between the two that lasted until a few weeks before Young died in 2000. when they reconciled. After her death, Forever Young, the authorized biography of her life, ended any speculation about Judy Lewis's true parentage.
Lewis pursued a successful acting career for two decades, but switched to marriage and family therapy after that. She spent much of her later career working with foster children and pregnant teens. Perhaps her parents' refusal to acknowledge her and her unhappy early life prompted her choice to focus on troubled children. Lewis never really made peace with Gable's absence from her life. Of his only visit she wrote, "As he left, he gave me a kiss on my forehead, but I didn't know he was my father. I cry when I watch his films. Why didn't he ride up on a white horse and rescue me?" Ham on Wry finds it tragic that a child suffered so that her parents' careers could flourish.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
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| Secret Santa Hands Money to a Woman in Reading Bus Station, the Reading Eagle |
Approximately 90,000 people inhabit the city of reading, which has suffered greatly since the economic slide began in 2008. It is the most impoverished city with a population of 65,000 or more in America, so residents received "Secret Santa's" gifts with tears of joy and appreciation. A video produced by the Reading Eagle showed one man weeping inside a bus station. He said that he had been praying for help just the night before, and "Secret Santa" arrived with the present. The video followed Santa's helper but always showed him with his back to the camera.
When asked why he had chosen this specific act of kindness, the anonymous Santa replied, “Cities like Reading are experiencing tough economic times. It’s time for us to step up, not step back.” Ham on Wry hopes this story convinces others with the means to share some of their bounty during the holiday season. America has had too many examples of selfish greed, and I'm delighted to share some happy news about someone giving away money in this post.
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