Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day: Hybrid Hypocrisy

Worse than the gas combustion engine?

"Mass. joins program to cut tailpipe emissions; Goal is finding cleaner-burning fuels for vehicles" by Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff | December 31, 2009

Some question whether such a program - called a low-carbon fuel standard - will actually benefit the environment. Earlier this year, a trio of academics published a paper in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, questioning the efficacy of a clean fuel standard. A study, they wrote, showed that a low-carbon fuel policy “increases low-carbon fuel production, possibly increasing net carbon emissions.’’

Also see: Biofuel Fart Escapes at U.N.

Translation: A clean fuel policy could unintentionally result in more pollution.

But GOVERNMENT and the agenda-pushing MSM will FIX the PROBLEM -- even as they ALWAYS SEEM TO MAKE IT WORSE!

But let's just let them explain it, dear readers. They wouldn't lie to you to advance their own self-serving interests, would they?

That’s because, though the production of dirtier fuels decreases, larger amounts of cleaner fuels - which still generally have some negative environmental impact - will be made....

Yeah, they USE FOSSIL FUELS to make the gas out of food!!

That's why it is a NET LOSS as YOU GO HUNGRY, one-in-seven Americans (that is a story that slipped away like a plate of food, 'eh?)

--more--"

Yeah, I NEVER THOUGHT BURNING FOOD for ENERGY was a good idea -- unless you planned to cull the planet of useless eaters.

Then you look around at the starvation in the world while the
U.N. and elites fixing the problem live high off the hog.

And it gets worse, America
:

"The problems with hybrids - a boom time favorite - come home to roost" by Agnes T. Crane, Reuters | July 8, 2009

Hybrids - a favorite financial product created during the boom years - are coming home to roost.

The Wall Street Journal notes that these securities, a blend of equity and debt, helped fell six family-owned Illinois banks last week, leaving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on the hook for an expected $267 million.

ANOTHER BAILOUT, 'eh, America?

The rationale for investing in hybrids - or in this case sliced and diced hybrids packaged into collateralized debt obligations - is painfully familiar: a high credit rating, attractive returns, and the belief that any lingering risk had been sufficiently dispersed through the miracle of securitization.

That is how the HOUSING MARKET was DESTROYED by Wall Street, America!!

And now they have gone and done the SAME THING to the HYBRIDS?!

Also see: You Bet Your Life!

Wall Street Back the Way It Was

Banks Will Save the World From Global Warming (Updated)

And NOW YOU KNOW WHY you are getting a CARBON TAX!!

It's ALL ABOUT DEBT and getting you in it any way they can, isn't it?

In hindsight, it’s easy to see what went wrong and wag fingers at the misguided investment strategy of some regional banks.

Then why are they BACK to the SAME OLD S***?

But when taxpayer money is on the line, something more radical is needed to ensure that the next newfangled financial product doesn’t require the FDIC, and by extension the taxpayer, to swoop in and save the day. The answer? Make banking boring, very boring....

Wow, what an INSULT, 'eh, Americans?

Yes, DELIBERATELY HIDE the PROBLEM from them!

That is what she is advising!

Banks making some bad investment decisions.

And YOU MUST PAY FOR THAT, taxpayers!

And they RUINED YOUR PENSIONS at the SAME TIME!

Take the hybrids, known more formally as trust preferred securities. The six failed Illinois banks and two others owned by the same family started gobbling up hybrids in 2005, according to the Journal, as a means of juicing profits. They weren’t alone. These securities were championed by a host of investment banks as a safe way to boost returns at a time when the premium on other conservative investments like bonds hovered around its historical low.

Yeah, that is why Goldman Sachs is in so much trouble now.

Related: Breaking News: Goldman Sachs Screwed Greece

Money Monday: Goldman Sachs' Gold Mine

They f***ed us all, and made more profit doing it.

Of course, this economy is really for you, American.

The catch with hybrids is they are part stock and therefore more vulnerable than debt to losses should the issuers (largely bank holding companies) get into trouble. They also allow the issuing banks to suspend the dividend. This little detail, while known by all during the boom years, was downplayed, since few thought the issuing banks would ever run into serious trouble. This was another widely held assumption the credit crisis quashed.

Yup, the WHOLE ECONOMY is BASED on ASSUMPTIONS and LIES!!

Hey, some make out and SOME DON'T, 'eh, America?

Just the luck of the draw, right?

If deposits are protected by the federal government, then the banks using those deposits to turn a profit should be required to invest them in easy to understand and relatively safe assets. That means nothing more exotic than Treasuries, or government agency securities, or the billions of dollars worth of other debt backed by Washington.

That's YOU in that case, taxpayers!

It would at least help solve the issue of moral hazard that has cropped up with all FDIC-insured banks, not just the “too big to fail’’ ones, and give the federal government breathing room to concentrate on the much more complicated issue of fixing large banks that could take years to sort out.

This guy sure veered of the road into a bank ditch, didn't he?

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Maybe we should grab a bus instead, 'eh, readers?

"MBTA launches first of hybrid buses; At a cost of $915,000 each, fuel-efficient fleet to serve 3 busiest routes" by Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | April 21, 2010

The MBTA introduced the first of 25 hybrid gas-electric buses yesterday that it says are quieter, less polluting, and more fuel efficient than the existing fleet, traveling city streets at a cool 5 miles per gallon.

That's it?

That might not sound like much, but the fuel economy of the hybrids is nearly twice that of the compressed natural gas and diesel buses it will be joining. “Good, clean investment,’’ tweeted Jeffrey B. Mullan, the state’s Twitter-happy transportation secretary, before quoting a federal transit official with the words, “Public transit is the future, and the future is now.’’

I hate Shitter because of the MSM's agenda-pushing promotion!

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority purchased the hybrids, at $915,000 apiece, using federal stimulus dollars.

HOLY CRAP!! A MILLION DOLLARS apiece?!

Is that what you wanted YOUR TAX DOLLARS going towards, America?

More agenda-pushing s***?

HOW MANY JOBS did that create, and WHERE DID THEY BUY THEM FROM?

The new buses will serve three of the system’s busiest routes. Four of the buses hit the roads yesterday, timed to tomorrow’s celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day....

Tell me, America, are you not SICK of SYMBOLIC IMAGERY being SHOVED in your face?

So where are the Earthers on the WARS, hanh?

--more--"

All right then; let's try and grab a TAXI!

Well, if you can't get a cab you can always ride a bike.
Of course,
"Now the question becomes whether enough people will put their lives on the line riding on bicycles along city streets"

Related: The End of Boston's Bike Program

Do YOU want to go for a RIDE, readers?

"Cyclists urging safety measures after fatal crash" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | April 9, 2010

A fatal cycling crash involving an MBTA bus at a busy Boston intersection has sparked an outpouring of sympathy and frustration from cyclists, who say the accident underscores the risks of navigating busy, narrow city streets and the need for greater safety measures.

Then DON'T GO OUT THERE!

Eric Michael Hunt, a 22-year-old from Mission Hill, was killed in a collision with a bus traveling east on Huntington Avenue on Wednesday evening. Investigators from both the MBTA and Boston police said Hunt was trying to pass the bus when he hit its left rear section, causing him to lose control of his bike and fall under the 60-foot-long vehicle....

Oh, so it was HIS OWN FAULT, huh?

Btw, readers, I biked for the better part of the 1990s because I believed the lie and thought I was doing something good, so I KNOW that you must BE CAREFUL and NOT TRY TO PASS BUSES!!!!!!!!

Boston roads are known for their unforgiving nature.

Yeah, never mind the insane a**holes behind the wheel.

Related: Getting Around Boston

Yesterday, another rider was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after a crash with a car at Beacon and Charles streets at the edge of Boston Common, Boston police said. The 37-year-old unidentified man had life-threatening injuries, police spokesman Eddy Chrispin said last night. Chrispin said the man underwent surgery, but he did not know his condition.

Cycling advocates say the city has made significant strides in recent years, adding bike lanes to reduce the risk of accidents. “It gets safer and safer as we put more infrastructure in,’’ said Nicole Freedman, Boston’s director of bicycle programs. “But there are a lot of competing uses for the streets, and we all have to respect each other.’’

Yeah, this is the lady who wants you to risk your life.

Looks like that job should fall under the budget axe, doesn't it, Boston?

Related: Morning Bike Ride in Boston

Nah, I'll skip it, thanks.

--more--"

Also see:
Last Stop at the Library

Yeah, maybe you could one open or keep a couple more workers.