Charlie Rose

PFJChow  12/12/2012 11:45 AM Report

Here is my take on Entitlement Programs:

Hey, you politicians of both stripes (some should wear those zebra stripes as their uniforms), republican and democrat all, listen up. Stay away from the Entitlement Programs. We, the people, those not of the top 2 % on the economic scale, are entitled to them. We have that right. We’ve earned it! We earned it by contributing to these programs through our mandatory payroll deductions.

These three programs are the spunks that keep the medically indigents and middle class senior citizens going with their minimal subsistence income. The rich and most politicians don't need Social Security and Medicare because their financial futures are handsomely secure. The rich get their entitlements from secretive bank accounts scurried away in some offshore banks. And politicians can live off on non-disclosed campaign funds from super PACs stuffed in their refrigerators’ freezer compartments. This goes to show these guys don’t know a first thing about liquid assets. No wonder our economy is in such a deep freeze and sliding down a slippery permafrost slope to the fiscal cliff into the financial crevasse.

Some venture capitalists, aka corporate raiders, live off on corporate welfare through government subsidies and bailouts, leaving the taxpayers holding the bag. Consider Bain Capital, headed by one Mitt Romney and his investors. When Bain Capital was acquiring Steel Dynamics, Mitt Romney and his partners was able to take in $37 million in taxpayer subsidies. Then later, Bain Capital gained majority control of an Armco steel mill in Kansas City, Missouri. They renamed it GS Technologies, GST. There they cut corners, skimmed profits and finally wrung the company dry. The company went under, costing a loss of 750 jobs. When it was discovered that GST had underfunded its pension plan by $44 million, the federal agency who oversaw and guaranteed pension plans had to step in to pick up the tab, sticking it again to the taxpayers. This is just an example tip of the proverbial iceberg. How did Bain Capital get away with hauls of cash through taxpayers’ sweat and toil? One can look no further than Capitol Hill. There is gold in them thar Hill, where crocks of taxpayer gold are hoarded and doled out by political leprechauns who chair powerful senate or congressional committees and caucuses.

The CEOs draw off their discretionary funds for their recreations with their favorite politicos on some indiscretionary procreation activities from facade corporations in tax haven countries and by creative accounting. If you learn your stuff well from Economy 101 about liquid assets, you can easily spot these discretionary corporation accounts, listed under the main category Liability, subcategory Expenses, Lobby, and then Procreation. Oops, I meant Recreation. For these guys, recreation means procreation with the lobbyists and interns. The pro- part of the procreation process they like it well enough, but the post- part is where they hush up and sweep under the discretionary fund carpet. This underground economy operates and flies under the radar of the IRS and FBI, here the money behaves by the laws of quantum mechanics. They pop in and out of those politicians’ pockets without leaving a trace, and more elusive than those elementary quarks. The minute you notice them and poof, they are gone, leaving behind nothing more than a Cheshire Cat’s grin on those screw-the-taxpayer politicians’ faces. This is the quintessential Washington DC Barter System: Money, and Sex, and Political Favors, Oh My! You sure get the feeling you are not in Kansas anymore. This is something they don’t teach you in Econ 101.

Some would complain that the Entitlement Program is getting too big and we will go the way of the Greeks. This country is not like Greece. The United States is seventy four times the size of Greece. Our economy and financial system is backed up by our huge natural resources, our relatively political stability, tons of gold in them thar Fort Knox, not to mention we have more geeks than all the Greeks in Greece. And the geeks will lead them economist types and see us through this financial quagmire, if only them political types would listen. Our country alone in the whole world can print all the money we need and still have people queuing up to buy US Treasury bonds; and if you haven’t notice, the US dollar is the de facto international tender for exchange and trade. Of course, we need to cut the deficit, but not at the expense of the middle class and their retirement future.

Social security would be financially sound (and still is) had it not been for certain previous administrations and Congress siphoning off funds to support their own unwarranted wars and pork barrel projects. Trim wastes, frauds and abuses from the Entitlement Programs, yes! Eliminate COL increase, reduce benefits, no! United States have always been known as a nation of generous people. We dish out millions in aids annually to developing countries the world over, why can’t we do the same for our own citizens at home. Remember and take heed of an old but sage injunction: charity must begin at home!

To those politicians who act as proxies for those super rich, super PACs and corporate heads to undermine the current Entitlement Programs, I give this fair admonition. To quote the man who warned off a TSA Official whose was over-enthusiastic in frisking him: "Don't touch my junks!", I'll paraphrase here to warn you two-timed politicians: "Don't touch our spunks or they will rise to the occasion to screw you royally come next erection! Uh… election!"

NeilMacCallister  10/29/2012 02:18 AM Report

Hah!!!! .."Mike1234" wants to silence those "Rich Guys Tea Party Nuts", ..and "get back to the woman who reminds me of my high school teacher"!!!

Mike??? ..I insist you just HAVE to be "Mike 12 yr old"!!!

***

At a SF Giant's victory party tonight, ..I heard a young fellow tell me he would vote for Obama.

I asked him, "WHY???"

He responded, "Women's rights!!!"

My jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Really???", I said, "We have an absolute failure of the American economy! We have historically high unemployment, family earnings drastically dropping, American educational levels losing to a dozen other less-well-funded countries -- our embassies being torn apart, and our ambassadors being murdered overseas, ...

...and you think "the liberation of American women" is the critical issue in America today????

***

Damn it!!!!! ..don't women own 70% of all the dollars in American banks today?????

What the HELL was he talking about????????

Then I got it, ..he was young, ..and that is just the way it is.

***

You've got him for now, Barack.

Bon Appetit!

Mike1234  10/29/2012 01:15 AM Report

After Obama was elected in 2008, I got a barage of emails from my Republican buddies that Nancy Pelosi was the most terrible person in Congress. Almost every day. I had never heard of her but the mails seems to be "Canned", part of an organized "slam the New Speaker of the House". I read them but then I noticed that my friends were Not creating the emails, they were coming from some "organization" whose mission was to discredit the Speaker.

Well, 2010 the Right Wing Party Obstructionist Nuts took control of the House, including my Congressman. Obstruction and doing everything possible to keep the country in the toilet, doing nothing to create jobs and recovery all with one thing in mind, the 2012 Presidential Election.

I have wised up, and I like Nancy Pelosi. I don't know everything about her, but she reminds me of one of my 'tough Teachers" I had in High School, who was tough, made us work, and we remember her name even after 40 years since High School.

I think Nancy is of that Stock.

I like her. I don't think she puts up with the Propaganda nonsense that comes out of New York and Wall Street.

I hope, after this election, she returns to be the Majority Leader in the House. We sure need to get rid of those Rich Guys Tea Party Nuts.

anne4444  10/28/2012 04:22 PM Report

Oct 26, 2012

Pyramids of Crystal Submerged in the Bermuda Triangle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gct08hqBM40

NeilMacCallister  10/28/2012 03:55 PM Report

Under President Obama, America's GDP and family incomes have fallen, and historically high unemployment is the new normal.

President Obama introduced America to Trillion dollar deficits - with no returns - and welcomes those crushing Trillion dollar deficits back, each and every year.

His administration refuses to employ a Federal Budget.

The "deficit cliff" is but the date Congress has scheduled for the performance of the abortion now required because of this Congress' - and this President's - irresponsible fiscal behavior.

prof_out_of_the_academy_but  10/28/2012 01:05 PM Report

Noam Scheiber sets the record straight re Woodward, Pelosi:

http://www.tnr.com/book/review/bob-woodward-price-of-politics#

SharkswithfrikingLazers  10/28/2012 03:55 AM Report

Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), Fmr. Speaker of the House: We don’t always see eye to eye, do we, Newt?

NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA), Fmr. Speaker of the House: No, but we do agree our country must take action to address climate change.

SEAN HANNITY, Fox News: Why would you ever do a commercial with Nancy Pelosi?

NEWT GINGRICH, Presidential Candidate: I was really stupid.

SEAN HANNITY: Do you believe global warming, man-made global warming is real?

NEWT GINGRICH: I— I believe we don’t know.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/environment/climate-of-doubt/transcript-31/

Oh Charlie, help me.

richard-lipscombe  10/27/2012 05:20 PM Report

Thanks Charlie for this interview...

It was good for me to actually listen to what Nancy Pelosi has to say under sustained questioning...It was good to see you press her to tell us more about the "truth"...

It is so easy to see why Capital Hill does not work when you listen to the former Leader of Congress...She makes it clear that both sides are captives of their ideology...Both sides are restricted to their ideological argument that any form of real compromise is totally outside the box of their thinking...

Pelosi says here that Defense spending is a zero-based issue that starts with the mission...Growth is the answer to the US government revenue question - Nancy Pelosi seems to suggest that government spending on k-12 education will grow the economy over the next 10 years...she says don't cut mortgage deductions because that would not be good for Californians...she says what is important is the re-election of Obama ...if Obama is elected then Medcare, as it is, wins (no reform)...Middle Class wins if and only Obama wins...the only real loser after an Obama win is as it should be - the wealth will pay more taxes and that is only fair... She says that Republicans do not believe in clean air, etc, etc ...On the issue of Social Security she says no changes to the current system - it should be placed on a separate table and not messed with...

Nancy Pelosi is one tough Democrat...It is good to hear what she thinks is important and why... It is good to hear what she holds to be the "truth"...It is most interesting for me to hear the questions that you asked her that she did not, will not, and can not answer...

Cheers, Richard.

hga  10/27/2012 03:39 PM Report

Thank you for having Nancy Pelosi as a guest on your show for all to see once again how worthless she is as a public official. When she was not interrupting, talking over Charlie and being rude, I could not understand her response to any of his questions. She has a crazed look about her!

MisterMittster  10/27/2012 02:13 PM Report

... how somebody that Stupid can rise to the rank of, 'Speaker of the House', is a testament to the degradation and ineffectualism of politics today. No wonder it was so easy for a John Roberts to drive the final death nail to 'the people' with the 'Citizens United' Plutocratic Trojan Horse, to solidify their corruption of politicians on our way to a Bannana Republic for future generations (that their parents are being tricked into voting for.).

Unbelievable! .. but, True

MisterMittster  10/27/2012 02:05 PM Report

... Nancy Pelosi is an Idiot; and she is a Liability to this country.

MisterMittster  10/27/2012 02:02 PM Report

If Obama loses the election, he can thank Ms. Pelosi, Lou Reed, and Mitch McConnell for their poitical 'expertise' of divide and conquer without compromise. Of picking their own 'careers' over the good of the country. they are the arch-types of the corporate owned politicians of today. Plutocrats, all of them.

Not, Lou Reed. HARRY Reed (He Peed). That wimp!

christnecr  10/27/2012 10:13 AM Report

I didn't realize until this interview how politically conservative CR is. The conversation was not a profitable one at all.

quotes88  10/27/2012 08:42 AM Report

QUOTES&NOTES http://qnpress.blogspot.com.au/

A periodical of reading notes By James Farmer

Knowledge, while it is in aphorisms, is in growth. (Francis Bacon 1561-1626 ).

If you would like to support No-Commercial press, please

email this periodical to your close friends and work colleagues.Together, let's build a better civil society.

All rights @ James Farmer 2012.

regular_viewer  10/26/2012 07:48 PM Report

On the exchange with Representative Pelosi on Benghazi, in her statements regarding the release of information by the congressional committee she asserted it “endangered the security of our country” , and further went on to say ,“… committee investigating has never had an intelligence briefing another separating what is classified from non-classified as to what goes into the public domain”.

I believe Executive Order 13292 and 12958 rest the authority to classify national security information within the executive branch, specifically through those agencies listed in the Federal Register entry of December 29, 2009 - Original Classification Authority.

The point of this is that the Benghazi documents released by executive agencies to Congress should have been appropriately classified (or not) by the releasing executive branch agency prior to their release, and only released in accordance with the classification standards. If the information endangered the security of our country and should have been classified and subsequently was released without being properly classified, then it appears like a serious failure in the executive branch at the point of release.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  10/26/2012 03:05 PM Report

Charlie, the Colin Powell clip and his comments about Congress were great!

WORST CONGRESS EVER

Article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-why-this-is-the-worst-congres s-ever/

First remember they get paid $174,000 per year plus HUGE benefits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salaries_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate#Salary_and_benefits

The 112th Congress did serious damage to the recovery.

The 112th Congress lost our credit rating.

The 112th Congress' "super" committee failed.

The 112th Congress did not fund the government on time EVER.

The 112th Congress shut down the FAA and lost $350 million in revenue.

The 112th Congress passed 124 laws and 27 of those were to name post offices. The average number of laws is 300 and the 112th Congress did not even do half.

The 112th Congress is the most polarized since the end of Reconstruction.

Senate Democrats won't propose or vote for a budget.

The 112th Congress voted not once, not twice but 33 times to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act. If doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result makes you insane, what does doing the same thing 33 times and expecting a different result make you?

This Congress is number one … in being hated by their constituents.

Even John McCain says they are the worst: http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/09/when-it-comes-to-picking.php

“America’s problems have rarely looked so large, and Congress has rarely looked so small.”

CALL YOURS AND ASK FOR A REFUND OF THEIR SALARY TO PAY DOWN THE DEBT.

THEN VOTE YOURS OUT a week from Tuesday and I'll fire mine too--pass it on.

tabs  10/26/2012 02:35 PM Report

Nancy Pelosi needs to read Bob Woodward's book in order to know what is in it. Yet, confusingly she said, "That her staffers searched the records?" So does she know more about what is in the book than what she claims? Then Nancy is claiming that the House Republicans leaked information about Benghazi which is a "SHAMEFUL" breach of National Security while she is silent about the White House leaks concerning the Bin Laden raid and Cyberspace operations. And then Nancy says, "That the Budget was balanced under Bill Clinton and we were headed for a 5.4T surplus." Was that "balanced budget" before or after the Social Security Payroll taxes were placed into the General Account? Apparently Nancy's perception of reality and "TRUTH" is filtered by the blue tinted glasses that she wears.

As far as the Grand Bargain, she says that she and Harry gave the "go for it" thumbs up. But then Speaker Boehner claims that the President came to him and needed more revenue? So presuming that both parties are stating the truth of what they know the question becomes who changed up the deal? The only answer is the middle man in the equation and that is the President?

Does one get the feel from listening to Nancy Pelosi that we are living in a Nancy In Wonderland world?

REMant  10/26/2012 01:00 PM Report

The "ditch" was created not by the failure to pay taxes, but by the Fed stepping in so they wouldn't have to. So that the good-do-bees could prosecute the war in Iraq they clamored for (speaking of cooperation). And it did so on the bogus theory that in the face of the Chinese, et al, we deserved welfare. It's hard to say from all the gobbledegook whether they really believe it will actually stimulate something, or is only refinance and not a Ponzi scheme, but when printing money cannot inflate prices, it induces, rather than diminishes, hoarding, until, of course, hyperinflation sets in.

While you can argue that had the budget remained balanced everything would be hunky-dory it ignores the effects of such a policy on the economy as a whole, even if the productivity of govt spending were never in doubt. But deficit spending and money printing have always gone together. Pay-as-you-go or no, Ms Pelosi is one of those who think credit pays for itself, a sort of perpetual motion machine. Sequestration was, I hope, intended to increase saving, not avoid paying taxes, and saving is necessary to increase productivity or pay down debt, unless you just hang others out to dry.

And we constantly hear this being touted as civilization. Yet so far from increasing the division of labor and the sum of knowledge, as Smith hoped, it centralizes it with effects he deplored. Metropolitan areas are everywhere expanding, impoverishing everyone else, while specialization destroys individuality and self-reliance, and even society, for where are people more asocial than in cities? The only way this can be considered beneficial used to be called Social Darwinism.

The gentry, upon the introduction of a market economy, would not condescend to pay their bills. And we might consider that those who don't pay their bills, aspire to gentrification. Obama seems never to have realized you can't devote yourself to learning and helping others, and still live the high life, unless there's something not on the square somewhere. And that's no doubt a good part of the reason why students are so far in hock.

Last year, however, by one academic's estimate, Federal debt increased $11 trillion.

The only thing that IS clear about the Federal budget is that it is clearly a shell game.

The "grand bargain" should have been thought of before the Democratic Congress decided to shove health care down the opposition's throats. And the latter is not out of the woods yet, tho Roberts' infinite taxing power is a perfect example of the general attitude.

Do I have to quote Eisenhower on the subject of the Tea Party AGAIN???

Powell backed Obama four years ago, and could likely kiss any further public involvement goodbye if he hadn't done so again, as long the president hasn't been convicted of moral turpitude, and maybe even then. But I notice Planned Parenthood's head has now joined the fray, and that the president is sure to be seen with his pink bracelet. (I suppose the other wrist sports a braided black one. Not surprisingly the polls now have him losing lower class whites as badly as Carter, whom, I imagine, doubt his empathy, esp when they hear him trying to imitate Martin Luther King. Obama, ironically, comes across as a man more concerned with votes than the public interest, which may be why he is sensitive to it in others.) At least no one is yet claiming face lifts are a part of women's health.

And last, how could these people possibly be affronted by the fact that resumes were put into binders by women's groups for Gov Romney's attention? Should the candidates have been marched across a stage in Atlantic City? Was he remiss in using the word binders instead of resumes?

With any luck, however, we will be spared this frenzy for early votes as Romney's polls trend upwards, by a paucity of electricity.