GE Took Gov Aid Money, but Immelt Won’t Cut the Fat

Posted by on May 9, 2009 · 2 Comments 

As GE Stocks continue to hover at historic lows, GE announced that it is launching a new medical development program called ‘Healthymagination’ at a cost of about 6 billion dollars.   One of the main objectives of the program is to assist the Obama Administration’s goal of digitizing everyone’s medical records for instant access.

In their announcement, GE said it will draw upon its divisions to include GE Capitol and NBC Universal, both of which are losing entities in the GE brand name.

Now in order to counteract these losses GE has received money and guarantees from the government :

GE Chairman and CEO of General Electric, Jeffry Immelt, not only secured FDIC debt coverage on up to $139.0 billion in bonds outstanding as of Sept. 30, that mature by June 30, GE also tapped the Federal Reserves commercial paper funding facility for almost $5.0 billion in late October. GE became a bank holding company in order to qualify for TARP funds. Shares of GE Stock fell about 4.5% for the week ending 8 May 09.

Tom Daschel, the Health and Human Services nominee who withdrew because of tax trouble, is serving on the GE Healthymagination advisory board. As you may recall, this was Barack Obama’s first choice for the HHS post. So where is the conflict of interest alarms? Why was Vice President Cheney run up and down flag poles for being on the board of Halliburton prior to becoming VP?  Where are the alarmists who screamed bloody murder about President Bush and Exxon? Tom Daschle has Mr Obama’s ear, and this venture represents a huge steak in his health care initiative. It once again proves beyond a reasonable doubt that transparency among administration officials is as clear as Mississippi River water.

GE Capitol in 2008 experienced 7.2 billion in credit losses alone. Combine that with the unprofitable entities of NBC (MSNBC, and CNBC) and you begin to get the picture that GE is not very healthy under Mr. Immelt. In what was once a healthy company with share prices hovering around $50.00, the company now stands to lose its credit rating of AAA and Investment rating from stable to risky.

NBC Studios, MSNBC, CNBC, are currently all rating losers. So why does GE not shed the fat?  Because they stood in line behind the Obama Campaign, and thus are not being treated like Chrysler and GM?  No change at the top for GE (which in Chrysler’s Case, was for pure political expediency) and no forfeiture of unprofitable divisions? As it stands, NBC Studios will develop, produce and air, segments related to this initiative and MSNBC will air a new health related program for Healthymagination. Why are there no salary cap instructions for NBC talking heads like Brockaw, Matthews, or Olbermann? Oh, yeah, they were the only ones who got tingly feelings up and down their legs at the mere mention of Mr Obama.

But again the question is, where does all this money come from, and can GE, who has lost share value and siphoning money to GE Capital, afford 6 Billion dollars?   We have to wonder about the potential huge ethical questions here as Barack Obama owes NBC for all of their unwaivering support, and GE’s push into Mr Obamas healthcare initiatives.  How much of the bill is the taxpayer going to be responsible for?

Filed under Bailouts, Budget, Health care, National Security, Obama, Politicians, Stimulus, Treasury, Wall Street · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Specter Stands for Nothing, Falls for Everything

Posted by on May 7, 2009 · 1 Comment 

After Arlen Specter’s spectacle last week, where he switched parties for political expedience and a better chance at winning the 2010 election (or so he thought), he is now being snubbed by his new “teammates.”

I don’t think this comes as a surprise to anybody but Specter.  Those who don’t live by principles or standards, and change their mind at the drop of a hat, will inevitably be fooled by anyone and anything.  I guess Arlen expected his new party to adorn him with benefits galore and adulation for his switch and the chance to give the Democrats an official super majority after Franken is seated.

However, some say that the latest snub by the Democrats regarding Specter has probably more to do with the fact that nobody can trust a man who can change political parties that fast and only for self-centered reasons.  The Dems don’t trust the guy because of his recent “no” vote on the budget and some other odd things that have come out of his mouth since his “change of heart.”

Those problems — in brief:

• Specter pronounced that he would be keeping his seniority when he announced his party switch last week — maintaining that his ability to deliver for the state would not be diminished in any way shape or form by his move across the aisle. Except, that wasn’t exactly right. The Senate’s approval of Specter’s junior status on a series of committees led to a “he said, he said” between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and the newest member of his caucus. Asked about the back and forth by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, Reid stood his ground saying simply: “He is a person who’s been in the Senate since 1980. I think he should be able to handle himself.”

• In a sitdown with the New York Times’ Deborah Solomon, Specter said he was hoping that the Minnesota courts would do “justice” and declare former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman the winner in the contested 2008 election. Whoops! Specter tried to walk the comment back told Reid that he briefly “forgot what team I was on.”

• Specter has done little to back off his initial assertion that his decision to switch parties was based almost entirely on political calculations and had little to do with ideology. While most party switchers are almost certainly guided by personal political concerns (what politician isn’t?), most don’t come right out and say it because it is a turnoff for voters who want to believe that their politicians believe in, well, something.

For Pennsylvania voters — especially Democratic primary voters — this triptych of recent events is likely to be deeply troubling.

“His actions over this past week have done nothing to curry favors with either party,” said Penny Lee, a former senior adviser to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and now a Democratic consultant. “He needs to show some willingness to be a Democrat.”

To show Specter the respect he deserves, the Democrats stripped his seniority from him.  Specter is now a junior Democrat Senator, even after being in congress since 1980.  Some will say that this is a childish move by the Democrats and proves that they are really power hungry, control freaks who care more about their ideology than doing the right thing, however, there are those who will also argue that this would be expected from a person with no principles or limited time under their belt as a Democrat.  Either way Specter and the Democrats are both incredibly childish and unethical.  It would be nice to have more people in D.C. that had a back bone, character, and integrity.

Sen. Arlen Specter was unexpectedly stripped of his seniority Tuesday night in a humiliating blow from Democrats who earlier had welcomed the former Pennsylvania Republican’s defection from the GOP. The move not only strips the five-term senator of his legislative clout but also hampers his ability to persuade voters he can still bring influence to issues in Pennsylvania as he approaches election there in 2010. Specter lashed back Wednesday, strongly suggesting he had been betrayed.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Specter said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had promised him that his seniority would be preserved.

Oooopsie!

Unfortunately, this entire decision by Specter does not seem to be boding well for his re-election prospects and who could blame the voters of Pennsylvania based on his lack of seniority and the fact that he threw his own constituents under the bus?  Specter may be challenged by Joe Sestak in the primaries.  If the Democratic strategists are paying attention, they will probably back a REAL Democrat rather than a faux Democrat who switched in order to win.  I think the Democrat voters will feel the same way.

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Chuck Schumer Reveals It All

Posted by on May 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

I have a question for Chuckie Schumer’s constituents… Are all of you that void of morals and principles that this man actually reflects who you are?  For anyone to not be able to see how devoid of character and integrity this man is, is absolutely beyond me!  Obama’s idea of “bi-partisanship” is “I won.” That’s not bi-partisan and anything that has been presented by Republicans in the congress has been shot down and certainly has not been taken under consideration.  Schumer’s ignorance is quite telling of his constituents, because they must be as ignorant if not more so of what the “Right” actually represents and what various members of the “Right” truly believe.  We believe in freedom, liberty, small government and yes, traditional values.  I’m not so sure what is so wrong with that?

As noted by Jonah Goldberg, liberal Democrats like Chuck Schumer are now so convinced that 2006 and 2008 have permanently altered the American political landscape that they no longer feel the need to hide their disdain for the things majorities of the American people have supported for decades:

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U.S. Drops Charges Against Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Posted by on April 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

Many of us recall that the oldest and longest senator in the history of the U.S. had corruption and ethics charges brought against him right before elections last year. 

There was a lot of conspiracy talk going on and many saying he was innocent.  I do not have much of an opinion on this issue because I neither knew of the man nor was I as involved in politics over the last few years as I am now. 

From the Anchorage Daily News (ADN):

The Justice Department has moved to dismiss former Sen. Ted Stevens’ indictment, effectively voiding his Oct. 27 conviction on seven counts of filing false statements on his U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms.

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