Pay attention to what Bloomberg said on today’s Press The Meat:
MR. GREGORY: Can you explain how that impacts businesses? Because we hear it, it’s a conventional wisdom that a lack of leadership, uncertainty, means that businesses aren’t hiring. They’re making money, they’re doing more with less, and yet they’re not hiring.
MAYOR BLOOMBERG: Well, nobody has any confidence. If you’re a bank and you have money, would you make a loan when people are talking about putting you in jail for what happened in the mortgage crisis three, four years ago? You hunker down. If you’re a business, would you go take a loan and expand and hire more people when every day there’s talk about different regulation, different tax policy? Business has to know what it’s going to be in the future to plan because hiring people is a long-term commitment. If you’re an individual, would you go take that extra vacation, buy a new house and that sort of thing when you’re not sure whether Washington is going to do what’s right to keep job creation going in America? That’s the–in the end, it is confidence, confidence, confidence.
What a lying sack of shit this man is.
I think we know where Bloomberg stands — and it ain’t with the workers, middle and lower classes. Not with the actually small businesses.
Wow. You mean banks can’t loan bcz they’re not sure they’ll get away with their earlier cons and bad bets? Just…wow.
There is some validity to the “certainty” argument – if the Catfood Commission is talking about eliminating the mortgage deduction, people thinking about buying a home will take this into consideration when deciding whether they can afford a home. However, it’s one of many factors – and at today’s interest rates, not the major deciding factor.
indeed, if the argument is that intransigent Republicans playing “The Mad Bomber What Bombs At Midnight” and shutting down the government every few weeks causes businesses to delay decisions – would you invest in a “green jobs” company that was partially dependent upon federal programs that the Republicans want to shut down? Making a decision to, say, invest in a solar electricity company become complex if you feel the Republicans will give oil/gas/coal companies massive subsidies to help ensure that solar remains “uneconomical.”
However, the “I refuse to make loans because people are talking about prosecutions related to loans I made in the past” argument implies that either they have no way of knowing whether something is illegal despite their well-paid corporate law department, or that their entire business model is built on ignoring any inconvenient laws. Sounds very Third World – the Republican ideal society (the rich do as they will, the rest suffer as they must.)
Uncertainty in the job market is the real investment killer in an economy based upon sales to middle-class wage earners. No middle-class jobs = no need to increase capacity = no investment = fewer middle-class jobs = reduced investment… and so the race to the bottom slowly swirls us all down the drain to the septic tank.
Mr. Bloomberg and other members of Our Corporate Masters may not be confident, but I’m quite certain. Whatever OCM want to do, I can guarantee it’s intended to absolutely fuck the rest of us.
No confidence. That’s why I haven’t taken any vacation (much less an extra one) in the last fifteen years.
every time i hear, “if we [raise taxes on / prosecute] the bankers, they will [ take their money and set up shop elsewhere / otherwise refuse to do business ],” i have to wonder: “so fucking what?” all they’ve been doing for the past several years is extracting value from the system; how is “i’m going to continue to do more of the same” a reason to stop demanding they cease to do more of the same or face some kind of consequences?
Well why not remove that particular issue and just prosecute them… then everyone knows where they stand and can plan accordingly!
What went on there was beyond the pale, and there is no question there was dirty dealings going on. Investigate, prosecute, wrap it up fast so everyone can go on with their lives knowing justice has at least been attempted if not served.
Perhaps we should give them some certainty…if they won’t trickle their wealth down to the rest of us so we can get on with our lives, then perhaps the government needs to do it for them…taxes to create a 21st cent. WPA, CCC, to forgive student loans until Jobs are created, or even the Prez’s very modest jobs plan.
I think we just need to reassure them they will be prosecuted. They seem to to be uncertain on that.
It is increasingly apparent to me that Bloomberg is trying to position himself as a Republican presidential candidate. He’s not saying it, and the scheme is obviously to wait a while, but maybe next summer, all of a sudden, he starts getting some real consideration after the current contenders – Perry, Romney, et. al., burn themselves out. Jewish Republican president? Stranger things have happened — obviously.
But but but . . . . I thought we allowed vast accumulation of wealth by capitalists because they were “risk takers” but they shouldn’t have to take any risks but loan rates reflect any risk premium but democracy is never static but but but . . . [brain stops like Norman in I, Mudd Start Trek episode]
I sure would like to know who all these businesses and business leaders are who are intentionally turning down craploads of profits right now because they fear tax rates may rise a little or some regulation may be passed at some point down the road.
Don’t write that program because you don’t know what language will be around in 18 months. Just don’t do it, even if it is productive and useful now and will help others do something of value. If the language of favor changes, all the good you did by writing that program now in a language that will be out of style will mean nothing.
FORTRAN will never die. It’s a cockroach.