Ideas for final paper

The object of this blog is to write down some topics for possible discussion for my final paper.
(1) The threat of government interference in the businesses of the economic bailout.
Should the government be allowed to give out money and then make rules on how the money should be spent? Did the government go too far by forcing GM CEO to resign. Is the government actually working in the best interest of the society by controlling bailouts.
(2)Financial reporting in respect to AIG and its downfall.
(3)Home mortgage crisis. What happened to cause this crisis, how does it effect the economy.

Too much Control

After checking out these websites dedicated to the media reform movement, I came across the one issue in the market of media. Too much control exists in the few hands of conglomerates. As few as five large companies control the stories heard through the media outlet. As I see it, the internet is the last frontier for journalism. The internet is the last true outlet that isn’t being controlled by a large media source. Without the internet being censored it allows for individuals to publish their own versions of stories and to lean bias however they deem. This brings up the next issue I see with the media outlet; Determining good information from biased information. Yes, there are always two sides of a story but if you don’t know what side you are getting then you can’t formulate your own standpoint. Without a standpoint there is no way to properly digest the news and to become an informed consumer.

Financial Crisis: AIG

As it stands right now, our economy is sitting in the toilet ready to be flushed; unless we can revive the laying waste that is our financial market. President Obama commented on a 60 Minutes interview on the situation at hand and believes that in retrospect the action taken to grant AIG the aid of a bailout was the right decision. AIG is one of the largest insurance companies of America and if we can help them get back on track it will ultimately help get the rest of the economy back on track. Obama also stated that Wall Street needs to realize that they cannot expect to get the same perks and privileges that they’ve had in the past because of the downturn the economy has taken, and they had a large stake in causing it with their shenanigans.

AIG Lynched

AIG received over $170 billion in taxpayer money in the recent bailout from the government. The company is also 80 percent owned by the government, and AIG had the audacity to try and pay employees bonuses totaling $165 million. First off, I don’t think any employee of any company deserves a bonus for poor performance. Secondly, how dare AIG try to use tax payer money to reward these bums, especially in the conditions of our economy today. The Daily show on Comedy Central as well as NY Times has covered this issue recently and both share the same opinion as I do. The same department responsible for the almost failure of the company would be receiving an undeserving bonus; well the government plans to stop that from happening one way or another. The senate met and demanded that the bonuses be returned or a new tax plan would be put in effect to get the money back. Now my only concern with that plan is if the money is stopped from being handed out in bonuses, wont other taxpayers have to pay new taxes to get that money back? I don’t know about you but im tired of taxes being raises to cover companies’ wrong doings.

Midterm: Obama's Tax-Hike Plan

This article was posted online by ABCNews.com after being revised to show concern for those who fall into the bracket of families making $250k or more a year in income. From this statement alone I can tell that there is going to be a bias as to what public is trying to be reached by this article. Those who claim to work hard to be where they are financially are trying to find ways to avoid being taxed additionally for the money that would exceed $250k. I feel it’s sad to see that people came together to elect a president into office for hope of change and the same people are already reneging on the course of action that will bring change. These people are sick with greed and I feel they only think of themselves instead of the entire economy. To think they would go as far as cutting back their productivity and even layoff employees in order to achieve a lower income is just sickening to me. Everyone wants help but when it comes at their expense no one wants to pay.

The main source quoted in this article is a financial planner named Gary Schatsky, who is by all means an expert in his field which falls into the subject at hand. He has had several appearances on television shows and has been named a top financial planner by several magazines. From that information I can conclude that he is a very credible source to lay a foundation with. The other sources in this article are more personal sources and only offer insight to their own circumstances; With this in mind I would say this is a trustworthy author, but the article is still biased because it is focused on the side of those who make $250k or more.