How I am getting along here...

Everyday I grow as a person and I hope you see that in my work. I also evolve my thoughts while keeping my main principles that practical solutions and working together is always achievable. Since I have moved across the pond, my life has changed and it has forced me to grow and change. This is all for the better and I thank the most amazing woman in the world for helping me achieve everything I have in the past half-year. My views on this world have gained more depth and I am looking at issues from a global perspective which should make this blog better.

I hope you will join me this year in this evolution and journey. We will have lots of political debates but also some travel and food reviews.

La dolce vita :)

Skip to the "Lew" my darling

So the incoming secretary of the treasury will be Jacob Lew is an interesting character. I know the POTUS likes hammering those evil banks and bonuses they pay, but mr Lew was a managing director at Citigroup and ran an internal hedge fund that bet on the housing market to collapse. I am completely fine with his background but I am surprised Mr O doesn't have an issue with his experience as an "evil" banker. Politics is funny as people argue two sides of the same story and truly believe everything they are saying. I am sure a conservative with a similar banking background would have sailed through the POTUS's approval chain....

As my old boss used to say "right right right...."

Pounded

As an American, I know having your currency get “pounded as the dollar fell against the Euro and other major currencies. The British pound topped out at 1.62USD per GBP back in April and Oct 2012 and since Oct, it has fallen steadily. The realization the British government needs to continue quantitative easing (what hurt the dollar originally) and continues to have an extremely weak economy or even falling into another recession is the best reasoning for the falling pound. Economic cycles are funny as history very often repeats itself. When you deflate your currency, your goods become more attractive overseas and you sacrifice the international purchasing power of your country’s folks overseas, OR when your economy continues to be weak, you have to try everything including the kitchen sink. The US FED has done this and somehow the US has not collapsed under one of the most disastrous spending sprees in history. I hope other countries learn, that economic growth and lower barriers to entry and free capital flow, makes everything better…….not just buying your own debt and priming the pump. Happy Monday…Cheerio

Debt....and taxes and debt and taxes

It is funny because all politicians and government officials talk about is debt and then taxes and then how much debt they have and how to raise taxes. Oh I am sorry, did I repeat myself :-). Taxes should be set at rates that allow the government to collect the amount needed to not borrow 1.6 trillion extra each year but allow growth in the economy. After living in the UK for a few pay periods I now realize that high tax rates along with a 20% VAT tax really makes you wonder why are you even working at all. Sorry but now know why people envy our debt, at least out taxes aren't that crazy...YET!!

Easing there boys...Easing.....

When will the FED stop its QE 3 or 4 or 5 (sorry I have lost track on which one it is), is a great question. At some point they will have to stop flooding the market with liquidity as they insinuated yesterday that it could be soon. I am not convinced they will, but putting that aside, the market and banks are already making the program seem like it should be ended. While the stock market reacts negatively, banks and corporates are issuing more junk debt and chasing yield by issuing more structured products and securities that kind of got us in the problem years ago. I realize that ending the program is a hard choice, but at some point rates need to rise otherwise you will have a massive asset bubble (call Alan Greenspan). The real issue here remains that the way we grow our economy is the cut corporate taxes, encourage hiring and make businesses want to spend money. While low interest rates help,corporations are still hoarding cash and not investing the capital in their businesses.

QE needs to end soon otherwise we will have another crisis.....

Coming next, England and slamming the pound!

Back in the saddle....London perspective

There is no excuse for malaise in government or writing a blog, so I am back in the saddle and ready to start blogging again.  Since I recently moved across the pond I find it interesting how the British press is all over its government on the economy, but the focus seems to be overly weighted with banks bonuses, tax increases and making everything fairer.  The British economy along with Europe has had a malaise for a while and it makes the US seem like the roaring twenties. The government here is caught between a rock and hard place.  Thy want growth, but taxes here are so high which restricts growth.  They have deficits (Like the US), but need they need to invest in their economy.  They want more homegrown energy, but have not gotten on the shale gas bandwagon.   They want jobs in the financial sector, but want to hammer the bankers and make they feel like they are evil.

I realize that there is no perfect answer these days, but it just seems like no one has creative ideas to make things better and WHEN they do, people say that will never work or is too extreme. 

Cheerio......

Guns......

I know I haven't dropped anything in the while but i think a short update on the gun issue is needed.  I respect the amendment that gives us the right to bear arms.  I also know that most gun owners are good, law-abiding citizens, but when people can buy automatic weapons and there are so many loopholes, i have to draw the line.  The incidents that have happened recently Colorado movie theater and Sandy Hook, really make me think differently.  I am very torn as I hate restricting people rights, but CAN we all agree that assault weapons should be banned and something else on top of that needs to be done??? More to come.....

The cliff...did we fall over

It is a little frustrating when politicians say they fixed a problem because they compromised and accomplished so little. I mean raising taxes or increasing revenues was going to happen but to have nothing on spending cuts or entitlement reform really shows how divided this nation is. Leadership on both sides of the aisle has been lacking and as I have said numerous times that the solution to this problem is not simple but will need compromise. People will not be happy but you can not keep spending into debt. Higher taxes will not fill the gap! Happy new year!

Fiscal Cliff...part 2....

So both the POTUS and SOTH keep going back and forth on a "fiscal cliff" deal.  I am sure both parties feel they have leverage, but the Dem's won the election and probably feel very annoyed they can not get their full proposal through.  I find it very interesting still that neither party feels compelled to propose a game changing plan to eliminate the long-term deficit and debt issues.  They all seem to like hot button topics like "tax the rich" (yes we know its going to happen), "Eliminate waste", "cut money going to drug companies" etc.  The real solution here is to reform the entitlements programs along with simplifying the tax code.  Less IRS paperwork will mean people will spend less time trying to pay less taxes and more time just paying them. I just hope that we get  a deal that actually helps American regain some its fiscal footing, but I am not very optomistic......are you?

Fiscal Cliff.....

So taxes are going up......ummmm..thanks I think we all knew that.  We know after BO won the election, taxes for the wealthiest will be going via marginal rate increases or limiting deductions.   The Dem's favor the former and the Repub's favor the latter.  I would prefer limiting deductions as that seems like an equal revenue items and raising rates is not the best elixir.  But let's focus on the other HUGE issue here.  Raising taxes on the "rich", will not solve the problem.  The deficit is still massive and with the middle tax reduced tax rates along with massive entitlement issues.  The POTUS and speaker can go back and forth, but the headline of taxing rich and spending cuts that are phantom do not fix the problem.

It is very disappointing that after an election people can not honestly discuss the issues and propose plans that are balanced and actually fix the deficit. Fine, tax the rich, but then also find $3 trillion in other cuts that actually bring the spending in line with the minimum deficit that ratings agency wont cut our rating again...

We can do better......more to come

What a week...

What a week.  General P, fiscal cliff, DOW plummeting, Israel and Hamas.... The world is a fascinating place with so many dynamics at work.  Selfishly I hope Congress addresses this budget / "Fiscal Cliff" issue very soon with precision as the markets are already very skittish about it.  BO needs to be a leader and push the parties together on a compromise that works for all.  Specifically real cuts in spending and reforming the tax code with the focus on reducing deductions. 

With respect to Israel, this situation is very bad and I can never see it getting better.  As long as the Palestinians and Hamas resides within the borders of Israel (legitimate or not), there will never be peace. Does everyone agree?

Finally, General P, what a fall.  I not sure if you gave up any intelligence because of your affair, but more importantly, I lost respect for you as just one of the thousands of politicians who cheat on their spouses.......

Have a great weekend!

 

Fiscal Sanity......here is the plan

So let's get back to the country's business here and create a plan to make our country fiscally sound. Here is my plan to solve our fiscal issues. 

  1. Raise taxes on rich and middle class.  The rich should bear a larger burden but raising taxes solely on them doesn't balance the budget
  2. OR reduce rates across the board and get rid of deductions.  The latter in my view expands the tax base and is a better solution.
  3. Raise cap on Social Security taxes to make the system fully solvent
  4. Cut corporate taxes to encourage hiring and companies wanting to stay in the US.

More items to come......

 

POTUS Election...now lets get to business

Congrats to BO on his relection, but now we must as a nation come together to solve this fiscal cliff that is approaching.  There is so much animosity in DC, that I wonder if anything can get done.  It is not a simple solution and it will take a person who has conviction, but is willing to compromise for the best of the nation. I really hope BO can be this person as he is the POTUS for the next 4 years.  I have written in this blog before that the nation needs someone to take the fiscal reigns and make tough decisions about entitlements and taxes.  I hope that BO and Congress will be up to the task.  Hope springs eternal the day after election.....

Down the stretch they come.....

Well the debates are over and we are in the final two weeks of the campaign.  I have been fascinated on how the fervor for this race has been very light for a presidential campaign.  Maybe it has to do with the candidates or the very tentative nature of the economy.  Maybe its the overexposure for this election since we start tracking the next  POTUS race the day after election day. The debates were very entertaining and I was surprised how well Mitt did.  Whether you like him or not, he definitely exceeded expectations.  The last 2 debates definitely leaned to BO, but that was no surprise.  I think Mitt does better when he is standing versus sitting (haha).

Anyway we have a post or 2 everyday up until election day.  I am really interested how neither candidate has a serious and real plan to cut the deficit and one that COULD pass Congress.  Pie in the sky plans are great for campaigns but do not help the American people have their government get back on track fiscally....

Atera...Best Opentable ever!

The story goes that my amazing and wonderful girlfriend mentioned a place she wanted to try called Atera.  I found it also on the recently published Michelin star NYC restaurant list  with 2 stars...and of course, what I always do, I checked Open Table.  Places like Atera, that are impossible to get into with all the hype and accolades would definitely have a late Friday evening reservation available...right???? of course not, BUT the luck of the Irish (I am almost 50%) was there with us.  A 9:30pm reservation was there, sitting like a diamond in the rough....and we so are glad we went! You walk into this very small, elegant and cozy place with seating for about 12 people around a bar that is right on top of the kitchen.  The skilled and amazing preparation of each dish is right there for each person to see. The wait staff and chefs move like artists in a scripted play.  Each movement and dish and discussion point is timed and spot on.  Some dishes are prepared to look like Ramen noodles and we asked to guess what we each thought it was.  Of course, she was dead on more items than me, but you are so amazed at how squid noodles look like ramen or how a churro normally made of dough is a salsify (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsify)

Atera is truly a gem.....and it was the BEST OPENTABLE EVER......until next the best one....

Post debate....Mitt finally looked ALIVE and the POTUS looked bored

Well it has been a while here between new posts, but what a better time then post the first POTUS debate.  First, we all know that I have killed Mitt over the past few months for running a disorganized, bad and message-less campaign, but on Wednesday night, he definitely showed up for the gunfight.   BO seemed bored and not ready for the intensity and fervor that Mitt showed.  Mitt over talked Jim Lehrer, who was completely lacked the control of the debate and ran over BO.  I think the POTUS was expecting a discussion when he should have known that this was Mitt's last chance to redefine, his to date, very poor campaign.  BO looked disinterested and frustrated which harkens back to Al Gore and the sighing incident with GWB (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-4-2000/indecision-2000---sigh-language). In these national POTUS debates, people look at body language and the way people are presenting themselves almost equally to content sometimes.  That statement is unfortunate, but like other parts of your life, if you look bored etc, then most people will not listen to you. From a content perspective, this is where the debate to me is so important.  I have urged on this blog that compromise on tax and spending and other issues will be the key.  I have strongly supported lowering tax rates and LOWERING deductions to simplify the tax code. Getting rid of all of these dumb write-offs for people and corporations will encourage people to pay MORE taxes because you can not game the system.  Mitt Romney FINALLY put out some plan that is detailed and recommended lowering raising and cutting deductions.  That is progress but unfortunately without reforms of Medicare and Social Security, the government will still be running huge deficits. 

Whether you like Mitt or not, you have to say he dominated the debate from a presence perspective and from driving the discussion.  I just feel that the POTUS will have to look like he wants the job for 4 more years and fight back otherwise this large lead in those swing states might go up in smoke very fast. 

More content coming.....apologies for the drought and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Oh Mitt....Oh Mitt...

Well in this day of omnipresent media people, Mr Mitt got burned bad this time.  I think I am fairly balanced person and we all know that politicians pander to their audience for various different reasons, but people have to know whatever they say these could make it onto some website.  Mitt is in a very precarious position as his campaign lacks focus and he always seems to step on his foot while speaking publicly or even in private. I have said this before and it bears repeating that both candidates and most importantly the challenger have run bad campaigns.  Mitt has offered solutions that at best are not realistic and lack details.  The POTUS is riding that wave of Mitt's imcompetency and a better campaign and convention.

If Repubs can not win this year, it is their own fault.  Pandering to the wrong ideas and lack of focus on real deficit reduction and realistic ideas will be their downfall.....and Mitt......

...insert foot in mouth..

Downgrade, spending cuts......any good news? AHHH...QE3 maybe?

So as we approach the end of Friday here in the US, I can not help but read the news and get a little depressed...

Small rating agency Egan Jones downgraded US debt to AA- which could be the precursor to the larger agencies downgrading us.  Our leaders do anything except grovel about how $100 billion of auto spending cuts will devastate the government but smart people must realize you have start somewhere. I would prefer an approach where people discussed alternatives and compromised, but that IS WAY too hard for these absentee politicians........BUT.......

QE3 is here.....yippeee....more government (sorry FED sponsored) priming and dollar killing monies being pumped into the system. I mean how much will it take until people realize that keeping zero interest rates and repeating the same measures will not change the problem.  Until we have more certainty around the fiscal stability of our government, people will continue to hire slowly and the recovery will be less robust. 

Maybe this weekend we can all send our politicians a note and say we are sick of being ignored...START WORKING FOR US AND FIXING OUR DEBT PROBLEMS!!