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HomeSense on Cents Housekeeping: New Comment System
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 31st, 2013 3:36 PM |
Sense on Cents will be implementing a new comment system in the next day or so. Disqus is an application used on many websites, so I’m sure it will look familiar to many of you. It will add functionality to the comments, and hopefully generate greater interaction for our readers.
Posting comments, replies, like/dislike should be self-explanatory (you may need to sign in/create an account), but we will provide further instructions if needed. Stay tuned . . .
LD
Obamacare Trojan Horse: Is White House Muzzling Insurance Companies?
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 31st, 2013 9:30 AM |
Classics scholars are familiar with Virgil’s legendary warning, “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes,” i.e. “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”
Just as the Greeks on the mainland would have been well served to be leery of what the Trojans were hiding in their “gift,” the American public may also want to be very careful as to what lies deeply within the administration’s newly released horse, aka Obamacare.
If transparency is indeed the great disinfectant, then there is seemingly a lot that might smell in the Obamacare stable. Put on the heavy boots and let’s navigate. (more…)
Obamacare Personal Story
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 30th, 2013 12:48 PM |
With Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius taking center stage this morning to address the train wreck that defines the roll out of Obamacare, the lives of countless citizens in our nation are being impacted like never before.
Who in our nation would not want comprehensive and affordable coverage for all our citizens? The question is, obviously, how to attain that?
Do I think President Obama intentionally misled the American public that they could continue their health care coverage if they liked it so as to sell Obamacare? Yes, I do. Why? I think that like many a politician from both sides of the aisle our President believes the ends justify the means. Yet, let’s dispense with the politicking and finger pointing and look at the trauma facing an individual family from an Obamacare site launched to solicit stories such as this: (more…)
FINRA BrokerCheck: Protecting Who?
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 28th, 2013 7:42 AM |
How do the executives running FINRA reconcile that mandate with the fact that problematic issues raised by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) back in the mid-1990s continue to be outstanding today? In a recent letter sent by Markey to FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum, the Senator from Massachusetts writes,
I was alarmed to learn that arbitration awards and settlements do not show up in FINRA’s BrokerCheck database because brokers have been able to successfully expunge the information. (more…)
Schweizer Exposes Washington’s ‘Mafia-Like Tactics’
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 26th, 2013 6:23 AM |
With this commentary, I welcome inducting Peter Schweizer of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University into the highest echelon of the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame.
If you do not think that the folks in Washington employ practices (e.g, shakedowns, protection money) commonly connected to those engaged in ‘organized activities’, then take the mere 5-minutes to view a recent Yahoo clip highlighted below with the acclaimed author of the recently published Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets.
Schweizer opines on a standard Washington practice directed at business owners and executives.
“If they don’t offer up campaign donations…lobbying contracts for friends or family members, bad things will happen to them so they feel compelled to give when they would rather just be focused on building their business.” (more…)
Denninger on Obamacare and Health System: Organized Racketeering
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 25th, 2013 10:33 AM |
With all too many people and organizations in our nation parroting the talking heads from one side of the political aisle or the other, who is willing to take the sledge hammer and break the healthcare vice grip under which we all suffer?
If you do not read the work of The Market Ticker’s Karl Denninger then you do yourself a real disservice. I believe Denninger is the smartest and hardest hitting individual in the blogosphere today. In regard to Obamacare and our overall health system, he pulls no punches in exposing the scam for what it really is, a racket.
His commentary, How Badly Will ObamaCare Screw you? Answers Here, is a little lengthy but worth every second. (more…)
JPM – Madoff: A Fine Would Simply Be ‘Cost of Biz’
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 24th, 2013 6:24 AM |
Unlike the token fines — akin to mere parking violations — that the American public has seen imposed on Wall Street to date, the DOJ now seems to want to regain some degree of credibility by writing up the major Wall Street banks for some speeding tickets.
The widely publicized but yet consummated $13 billion fine expected to be paid by JP Morgan is proposed as a template for similar fines likely of a smaller magnitude to be paid by other banks.
An outlier in this imposition of fines as being little more than a cost of doing business occurred yesterday when a jury returned a guilty verdict in a civil case brought against Countrywide (now a division of Bank of America) for fraud in the sale of mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This case is an exception rather than the rule but recall that it is a civil disposition and not a criminal proceeding.
Returning now to our regularly scheduled broadcast, we awake this morning and see that JPM is back in the news with the Feds talking about imposing a penalty on Jamie’s bank for its involvement with the Madoff scam. (more…)
Obamacare ‘Shop and Browse’: Incredibly Misleading
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 23rd, 2013 9:51 AM |
If it were not Uncle Sam but a private entity that put forth “incredibly misleading” pricing quotes for health insurance, do you think The Better Business Bureau might pay them a visit and hit them with a fine if not far worse than that? No doubt.
Prevailing market forces typically enact incredibly punishing force on entities engaged in such practices so as to often put them out of business. But having dispensed with the basic tenets of prevailing market forces within this realm, the American public is forced to bend over once again under the weight of Uncle Sam’s heavy hand.
I recommend you put your coffee down and clear your desk of sharp objects prior to viewing this brief clip recently released by CBS News: (more…)
60 Minutes: Washington’s Legalized Bribery
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 22nd, 2013 9:33 AM |
The release this morning of September’s employment report indicates that our economy continues to limp along like a wounded dog.
But while many in our nation seriously wonder how they will make ends meet, there is one group in our nation that has developed a business plan for which most companies would be vilified — if not prosecuted — but which for them their cup overflows.
Just who are these visionaries that have developed a secret sauce that fills their coffers with booty and elevates the individuals to almost untouchable status? Who are they? Our politicians in Washington who are engaged in what can only be defined as legalized bribery.
For those who missed the expose on what looks and feels very much like a scandalous scheme of payola, let’s navigate and watch a 13-minute 60 Minutes must-view segment. (You will likely want to take a shower after watching this.) (more…)
My Thoughts on JP Morgan’s $13 Billion Fine
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 21st, 2013 10:12 AM |
Does a $13 billion fine such as that levied against JP Morgan represent justice?
I was asked by my friends at Global Economic Intersection to weigh in on the following questions regarding this penalty seemingly so large as to be hard to fathom.
Is the reported settlement appropriate? Sufficient? Insufficient?
How many criminal charges would be appropriate? None? Operational management? Executive management?
If you believe the action by DoJ is appropriate, has it been timely?
Should there be similar action against other banks? (more…)
