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"I'm proposing that we take 30 billion dollars of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat," Obama said in his first State of the Union address.
The credit they need to stay afloat? Why does this feel like a payday loan? What's wrong with this picture?
Top Ten Reasons to Love U.S. Small Business
7. The 22.9 million small businesses in the United States are located in virtually every neighborhood.
$30 billion / 22.9 million = $1,310
How far is that really going to go? Each small business could use this new debt to postpone laying off one worker for one week? Is that the plan? Of course, the debt will still exist and it will clearly need to be paid back.
1. The latest figures show that small businesses create 75 percent of the net new jobs in our economy.
I think I shall remain bearish on job creation. Yeah, I think that's exactly what I will do.
Let's look at this from a slightly different perspective.
- One large business (AIG) got $85 billion.
- 22.9 million small businesses get to split $30 billion.
It's not all gravy and biscuits though. You may not have the shrewd negotiating skills of an AIG when asking for the money at your local "community bank". Try not to seem too desperate. That's only considered to be a great tactic for businesses too big to fail.
Angry Bear: I Got your REAL State of the Union right here
Well, I thought being tonight is the big night for the President I would give my version of the SOU. This is an update on the flower shop. For any new readers, these are real numbers from an honest to goodness small business.
As you can see from the chart below, or maybe not, I don't need a loan....
There is only one thing that will fix it: CUSTOMERS!
18 comments:
"If you are a small business owner, get out the party hats. Relief is on the way. It's one-sixty-five-millionth of an AIG bailout."
Mark you are obviously a partisan hack! Kidding!
Seriously, I have had it with all the "aid" and "subsidies". When will anyone in power realize that any subsidy just gets added onto the price by the seller? The 8k home tax credit was almost perfectly reflected by rising home prices over Sept-Nov. College entered the mega cost age when the government began pell grants and student loans. A 10k tax break for college costs (which does squat for those of us that are super rich, lol) will just be added onto the tuition at schools. This is never going to end until it does. Overnight. Ask Argentina, twice. And Russia.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll021.xml
You have to admit these guys have a sense of humor, The Senate votes to reconfirm Bernanke and these clowns in the house are well aware of what that means
Mark,
lifted your China article last post for tonights blog, I said I wrote the whole thing, is that ok?
GYSC,
"When will anyone in power realize that any subsidy just gets added onto the price by the seller?"
I hear that!
Anonymous,
Good grief. We sure are going down the drain.
Mark,
I was getting worried about you after the long delay! Glad to see ya!
GYSC,
I'm actually running out of things to say. It's probably a miracle of some sort. ;)
Britain to avoid double dip recession: BoE member
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5izsG-wXlZTYNOImLjW9Clj1bxWsg
There is a disclaimer of course...
As long as the international economy continues to grow healthily...
Now all we need is a way to tell if the international economy is healthy. That seems easy enough.
From 2006...
Bush Cites 2 Million New Jobs in 2005 and Healthy Economy
"The American economy heads into 2006 with a full head of steam," Mr. Bush told a gathering of business executives in Chicago, citing data not only on job creation, but also on gains in productivity and homeownership.
Granted, the economy clearly isn't as healthy as it was just before it imploded. It's pretty darned healthy right now though! YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO TRUST ME!!
I think I've been watching too much financial news on TV. Screaming somehow became a debate tactic. Sorry.
LOL!
I think Halo XXXXVIIIXV is worth discussion, no?
Michael O'Rourke: One of life's pleasures: popping bubble wrap
http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/83149482.html
This past Monday was Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. I know! I missed it as well. Mostly because I never knew such a day existed. Evidently, the last Monday of January has been Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day since a radio station in Indiana declared it so back in 2001. Hey, why not? Although I am a firm believer that it isn't really an official day until Hallmark designs a card line for it.
In many ways, any day a package is delivered is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. Doesn't matter if the box contains an expensive computer or a delicate piece of china. As long as the contents of the package are wrapped in sheets of plastic air bubbles, they are going to be appreciated.
There may be gallows humor and pun analogies here for those who know where to look.
Obama to propose $3.8 trillion 2011budget
http://tinyurl.com/yjxp6ka
YOW-ZA, A trillion here and a trillion there pretty soon your talking real money.
LOL. I think. We are so screwed.
Kevin
Kevin,
A trillion here and there and soon you are talking make believe. That is where we are.
PS,
have not seen you over at my site for a while.
"In many ways, any day a package is delivered is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day."
Except when what is wrapped is the new Halo 3 game, all bets are off as to whether those bubbles will ever be popped.
Mark said:
"I'm actually running out of things to say."
I'm with GYSC, you could always loosen those lips with a little Halo hullaballoo!
Stag,
There may be gallows humor and pun analogies here for those who know where to look.
I must not know where to look. All I can see is some light hearted humor about bubble wrap. Sheets of bubble wrap actually.
And I agree with the premise of the article. Almost everyone loves bubbles, but there is a widespread lack of appreciation for bubbles. What gives? People really don't appreciate things (like bubbles) until they are gone.
I get the part about wrapping expensive things like "delicate china" in bubble wrap, but is there really such a thing as an "expensive computer" anymore?
Oh well, according to helicopter Ben, there are no obvious bubbles at this time in the U.S. eCONomy.
I don't know about everyone else here, but I still see an enormously big credit bubble that has NOT popped. And since the price of the assets (bubble wrapped CONtents) behind the bubble have crashed in price, the credit bubble looks bigger than ever. In that sense, the humongous credit bubble is more unstable than ever.
Imo, our bubble eCONomy is walking on puns and needles. D'ough boy!
Kevin,
$3.8 trillion sure doesn't seem to go as far as it once did.
Obama budget ends return-to-moon plan
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35131431/ns/technology_and_science-space/
The money in the president’s budget is not enough to follow through with NASA’s Constellation moon landing plan initiated by President George W. Bush in 2004. An aide to an elected official who was told of Obama’s plans said the president is effectively ending the return-to-the-moon effort, even though $9.1 billion has already been spent. The aide asked that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
To Limitations and Below! - Buzzed Darkdecade
GYSC,
From July...
Traded away for a make-believe economy, the real US economy is dead
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4918.shtml
There is no way for these deficits to be financed except by printing money or by further collapse in stock markets that would drive people out of equity into bonds.
It seems like we're in jeopardy. I'll take "Things To Hoard at Costco" for $50 Alex.
watchtower,
I'm working on a new game idea. It's an MMORPE (massively multiplayer online role playing economy).
Ben's Belly-Up Busted Bubble Bailout Budget Buffet!
There's gravy and biscuits in it for you. And by that I mean that it's all the free lunch you can stomach.
Fine Print: It's not all you want to eat. It's all you CAN eat. Nobody walks away until they are absolutely full of it.
mab,
I get the part about wrapping expensive things like "delicate china" in bubble wrap, but is there really such a thing as an "expensive computer" anymore?
It does seem silly. However, I'm always willing to take the other side of the debate. Perhaps the author pondered the following.
1. If you spend $499 on the new Apple iPad and you then lose your job to a Chinese worker making $1 an hour, in order to compete effectively it may end up being a 499 man-hour mistake. Just sayin'. Sigh.
2. Person A hoards 1000 rolls of toilet paper at Costco. Person B hoards a nearly equivalently priced Apple iPad. In 10 years, which investor will be considered a value investor?
SPAM deleted.
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