I changed things up a bit, and I'm actually more compelled to write about the articles in the Business Day section of the NYTimes, which today for some reason really jumped out at me, big time.
I also decided I need to start making these active links so you can be a part of the process as much as I am. Then again, I am unemployed and I am thinking "The Process" is replacing what used to be my worklife...
Trustee Sues Ruth Madoff for Nearly $45 Million
I'm really torn with this story. A few months back, I ranted about those who were screwed over by Madoff, to a certain extent, need to just grin and bear it. The money was fake, so expecting it to be paid back in part or in full is sorta just passing the problem on to someone else, but certainly not on to Madoff.
Ruth Madoff is disgusting. But more than that, the Gov't allowed her to keep 2.5 million dollars. 2.5 Million. Can anyone...Will someone...What the....Who the...Why?! Madoff said earlier this week from Prison he cannot remember the last time he made a viable transaction on the market...is there any reason to think 2.5 million of her money is somehow legit?
But the article really is about the lawsuit against Ruth for $45 million. The case can easily be made that she hid millions of dollars somewhere during the apprehension/conviction of Madoff...she has more than 2.5 in her possession. But the fact remains that if this trustee gets 45 million, where will that $$ come from? They are doing their best to find her $$'s, but the fact that, on the up-and-up, she was given 2.5 Million kills me. It kills me.
Increasing Postal Deficits Intensify Talks on Solution
For years, I have marveled at the fact that I could stick a piece of paper in a box, and 1, 2 or 3 days later it ends up somewhere else in this country. There is a magic to the Postal Service, and now I am realizing this magic comes at an extreme, over-the-top price.
Before I get into the specifics, there are a lot of things out there we are capable of doing, scientifically. We have the ability to move at the speed of sound, and we have the technological ability to do it safely. However, there are costs associated with that, and that is factored in when talking about using the sound barrier as an accepted speed in Commercial travel.
The Postal Service, for one reason or another, doesn't seem to have to measure themselves against actual standards of cost...Brace yourself for this, but the USPS is going to operate at a loss of somewhere around $7 billion dollars. $7 billion. This quarter, the loss will be over $2 billion.
I have a new enemy that I'll forget about in 2 days, and her name is Representative Jo Ann Emerson. One of the many possible ways to cut the deficit in the USPS budget is to slash 1 day from the mail carrier's duties, I think they said Tuesday, which is a low profit day for some reason. So they cut out Tuesday, and the $9B deficit goes down to about $7B, which is obviously still insane.
Rep. Emerson, however, disagrees. To be partisan for a minute, I'm hearing this type of argument from the GOP on many issues, mostly Health Care and basically anything else the Dems. suggest or introduce. In regards to cutting back a day, "I realize the Post-Master General thinks that this will save money, but there are other ways that can cost-cut," Emerson explains. So, at this point, I'm eager to hear what exactly her solution is, what are the other ways? And what could they possibly be that would justify them being in-place of, rather than, in addition to, the cutting back of 1 delivery day.
She continues, "My constituents feel very strongly about having their postal service continue as it always has." Blink, choke, gasp, vommit, cry. You know what else the fine people of Missouri want? They want jobs back. They want their houses to be worth what they were once worth. They want to be rid of reverse mortgages, rid of soldiers dying for no reason and to be able to understand, even a tiny bit, why their Health Care costs too much.
They want it to continue as it always has? They want it to continue at a $7B deficit? Maybe they don't, really. Maybe, when explained to them, they may say, "Sure, I like 6 days a week of mail so I can bet my coupons to Bed, Bath & Beyond and my Pottery Barn Kids magazines...but if it's going the taxpayer that much to run it, well, I can skip a day or two."
Is it possible, Rep. Emerson, that you provide a real solution other than, "because I wannannnannannaaaaaa" in regards to this? I don't think so. Your whole party is playing this game lately, and it's tiresome.
Efficiency Drive Could Cut Energy Use by 23% by 2020, Study Finds
With all this talk about Health Care, the War, the USPS, it is downright refreshing to hear someone propose something that, if done correctly, can legitimately save $$, pretty much with no argument. Not only that, it can provide a long term solution to our Nation's Largest Financial and Security problem...energy.
Essentially, an independent firm said that common Household and Business fixes, that would cost $520B now to fix, would save us $1.2T by 2020. Doesn't that seem like a good deal? In the world of huge financial bailouts to save banks that we have wrapped ourselves up in so heavily and dangerously, hasn't the precedent been set that, if we need to, we can find the dough?
Obama, FIND THE DOUGH!!! This is important crap, just do it.
The article goes on to describe the barriers that exist, and I'm aware of them, but Lawmakers seem to think nowadays that we are all so God Damned inert, and it kills me. I watch Mad Men, do you know how much red meat, alcohol and cigarettes we used to consume on a daily basis? We change, we evolve...if the figures have to be shifted where compliance starts now, and then we have full compliance in 2020, then aren't we better off in 2030 than if we don't do anything at all now?
As I write this, there are no less than 8 lights on in my house. What a joke I am.
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