Yes We Can. Germany Did. German Unemployment at 18 Year Low

Remember German Chancellor Angela Merkel getting in Obama's face at the G20 and refusing to try to "spend their way out of the economic crises?" Whatever she is doing, it's working. Unemployment in Germany has not been lower since 1992. Consumer confidence is high. Make no mistake, this is humiliating for Barack Obama. Take a look at the headlines below and think about what Europe thinks about this "elegant, articulate and clean" President, now that Merkel is proven right. Our President casts a long, dark shadow over the White House.

At the time of G20, Merkel's position was called "Merkel's austerity."  At the same time, the head of the European Central Bank said: "...the idea that austerity measures could trigger stagnation is incorrect," and Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said: "Governments should not become addicted to borrowing as a quick fix to stimulate demand...." So, yes we can bring back jobs and confidence. Germany did.

Headlines earlier this year reveal Obama's folly:

Pres. Obama Rejected at G-20 

U.S. isolated on spending at G-20 

G-20 Leaders ignore Obama's advice, pledge to cut deficits 

Europe spurns Obama's Plea for More Spending

From CNBC:

German unemployment fell slightly in October, dropping to its lowest level in 18 years as the impact of persistently strong growth in Europe's top economy continued to filter through to the jobs market.

The number of jobless fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.153 million, figures from the Labor Office showed on Thursday, while the headline level dipped to 2.945 million, confirming figures announced a day earlier.

The headline reading fell below the 3 million mark — a key political threshold — for the first time since November 2008, to its lowest point since October 1992.

Data on Europe's biggest economy over the past week has been bullish, signalling its unexpectedly strong recovery could hold up in the face of signs of fragility in the global economy.

Yes, we can do it also. Germany did. November 2nd is the day we begin bringing jobs and confidence back to the U.S.

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Geithner G-20 Summit Bankers Pay: Worlds Largest Economies Agree to Limit Pay, Bonuses

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania welcomed the G-20 Summit this week. Our Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, is leading the discussion on limiting pay and bonuses for bankers in the world's largest economies.

 

Pittsburgh G-20 Summit

A "basic agreement" has been reached, but no dollar figures have been announced. One source that I refuse to link, reports that the agreement will be finalized on Friday, September 25th. The same report says that Europeans are "horrified" that financial institutions might get back in the habit of high pay and even higher bonuses. French President, Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to walk out if an agreement is not reach. Now, remember the earlier talk from the Obama administration about limiting pay and bonuses to bankers? Some referred to as "analysts" say that Obama is "at the forefront of the fight against such measures...." What???
Then the same article points out:

In January, Obama called it “shameful” that U.S. financial executives had bagged $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008. Earlier this month, he scolded a Wall Street audience: “We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess at the heart of this crisis,” in which “too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses.”

This article from February 2009 out London said "the days of wine and roses -- and company=paid country club memberships -- are fading fast for international bankers."

The move to slash their salaries, bonuses and perks extends far beyond the United States, where President Barack Obama has limited salaries to $500,000 for those whose banks accept bailout money. In Europe, some bankers are being forced to renounce bonuses and accept salary caps, while others have volunteered to do so to quell public anger.

Everyone believing Obama is truly not lusting to restrict banker's pay, send me an email or leave a comment. Once the agreement, (probably a non-binding agreement) is finalized, each country will "set separate standards." Fortunately for world economies, [barf bag alert] the new "Financial Stability Board" comprised of international bankers and regulators will be the watchdog.

Foreign Bank Bailout: War Funding Bill Funds International Monetary Fund

While our soldiers await the latest round of funding from Congress, the Senate added an amendment to the original war funding Bill. Some see that amendment as an effort to bailout foreign banks, and via the International Monetary Fund (IMF), perhaps put money into the pockets of terrorist organizations. Could this amendment have anything to do with releasing the Guantanamo Bay photos? Seems it might.

International Monetary Fund

The Senate added an amendment to the War Funding Bill to provide a $100+ billion line of credit to the IMF. It is reported the GOP is objecting with gusto. President Obama "promised" the line of credit at the G-20 Summit in April. The risk to taxpayers is said to be $5 billion but the U.S. would need to borrow $108 billion. The Obama administration says that there will be zero cost to taxpayers, but the Congressional Budget Office places the cost at $5 billion.

Borrowing money from China for a global bailout of the IMF makes no sense," said House GOP Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia.

To get the IMF funding, the Leiberman-Graham amendment to hold secret the Guantanamo Bay photos had to be scratched to get Democrat support. However, some Dems do not like the idea of war funding happening through an emergency supplemental.

Blue Dogs are against the IMF funding but have the national security need for the war funding side of the Bill looming. Here's how TPM's Brian Beutler says the Bill has progressed: 51 Democrats voted against the original war spending bill 14 of those who voted for it now say the have some concerns about the IMF provision Four Democrats didn't vote at all. The Democrats need 218 votes to pass the bill. There are 255 Democrats, which means they can lose as many as 37 of their own members and still pass the thing. Another way of putting that: 200 voted for it in May - and now the administration and Democratic leaders have to convince 18 more Democrats that either a) they shouldn't be concerned about the IMF provision, or b) the IMF provision is actually so important that they should ignore for now their principled opposition to the supplemental process and vote for it (Barney Frank is in this group)

Let's go back to the possibility of bailing out foreign banks and putting money in the pockets of terrorists. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), House Repbublican Whip, charges that:

"under current IMF policy, a long list of member countries have access to an IMF currency that be exchanged by those countries for low-interest loans of hard currencies. That list of countries includes Iran, Venezuela, Sudan and Syria."

We have some unfortunate experiences with bailing out our banks. A foreign bank bailout is unthinkable. Another "unthinkable" is that this trash legislation could be placed in the war funding Bill. If the U.S. economy is critical to the world economy, and if the U.S. economy is unstable, as it currently is with our record deficits, why would we guarantee $100 billion for the IMF who in turn makes loans based on crisis situations? This is a table short one and half legs.