Perverse results created by economic crisis.

I suppose it should come as no surprise, but the following article reveals how difficult it can be to achieve just results when there is an economic crisis. I can't understand how the managers at the FDIC and other institutions couldn't just renegotiate the failing mortgages on their own and keep 100% of the renegotiated payments in their own system. Instead, they are giving away the store for "pennies on the dollar" to the people who are probably contributors to the whole mess, all because they are allegedly more "creative" in devising refinancing. How creative is it to offer a 3% interest rate to a defaulting mortgagor? I could have thought of that! I wish I could roll all my debts into a 3% loan. To top it off, they could very well structure the business so that the profits count as a capital gain, and thus subject to a lower tax rate than ordinary income. The full story is in The New York Times.

A Health Reform Article from the NEJM

I think it's important to see what the medical community is saying about health care reform, so I submit this article from the New England Journal of Medicine. Article in first comment...

All troops out of Iraq by December 2011

February 28, 2009
With Pledges to Troops and Iraqis, Obama Details Pullout
By PETER BAKER

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — President Obama declared the beginning of the end of one of the longest and most divisive wars in American history on Friday as he announced that he would withdraw combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 and all remaining troops by December 2011.

(The whole article is in the first comment. I'm including this because getting out of Iraq is important for many reasons, including saving the money for health care and conversion to green energy.)

Excellent news review in first 10 min of CounterSpin

The wonderful FAIR folks do half-hour news review every week in audio, and the first 10 inutes is a quick series of short stories, and well worth your time. It's in RealAudio and MP3 format at CounterSpin.

$30 billion more for AIG

March 2, 2009
U.S. Is Said Set to Offer A.I.G. Up to $30 Billion More
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

The federal government is preparing to loosen the terms of its huge loan to the American International Group and provide another $30 billion to the insurer as it prepares to report the biggest quarterly loss in history on Monday, $62 billion, people involved in the discussions said Sunday night.

The intervention marks the fourth time that A.I.G., the giant insurer, has had to seek assistance from the federal government. The government already owns nearly 80 percent of the insurer’s holding company as a result of the earlier interventions, which included a $60 billion loan, a $40 billion purchase of preferred shares and $50 billion to soak up the company’s toxic assets.

(The whole article is in the first comment. Click on the title to view it.)

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to Lead HHS

Sunday 01 March 2009
by: Charles Babington and John Hanna, The Associated Press

Washington - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of health and human services, a White House source said Saturday.

The source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said Obama will formally announce the nomination on Monday.

The Sebelius pick caps a week in which Obama underscored his resolve to pass a major health care overhaul this year. He issued a challenge to Congress in his speech Tuesday, and followed up Thursday with a budget that requested an eye-popping $634 billion over 10 years, which the administration called a "down payment" on coverage for all. This week, Obama will host lawmakers of both parties and representatives of major interest groups, from insurers to drug companies to consumers, at a White House summit on health care reform.

(The first comment has the whole article.)

The excellent Frank Rich on Obama's address to Congress.

March 1, 2009
The Ecstasy and the Agony
By FRANK RICH

BARACK OBAMA must savor the moment while he can. It may never get better than this.

As he stood before Congress on Tuesday night, the new president was armed with new job approval percentages in the 60s. After his speech, the numbers hit the stratosphere: CBS News found that support for his economic plans spiked from 63 percent to 80. Had more viewers hung on for the Republican response from Bobby Jindal, the unintentionally farcical governor of Louisiana, Obama might have aced a near-perfect score.

(The full essay is in the first comment. Just click on the title.)