Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Fanny Mae Scandal...... DISGUSTING!

Here is a quick look into 3 former Fannie Mae executives who have brought down Wall Street.

Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae. Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when auditing discovered severe irregularities in Fannie Mae's accounting activities.

At the time of his departure The Wall Street Journal noted, " Raines, who long defended the company's accounting despite mounting evidence that it wasn't proper, issued a statement late Tuesday conceding that "mistakes were made" and saying he would assume responsibility as he had earlier promised. News reports indicate the company was under growing pressure from regulators to shake up its management in the wake of findings that the company's books ran afoul of generally accepted accounting principles for four years." Fannie Mae had to reduce its surplus by $9 billion.

Raines left with a "golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear. http://housingdoom.com/2006/12/18/fannie-charges/

The Government noted, "The 101 charges reveal how the individuals improperly manipulated earnings to maximize their bonuses, while knowingly neglecting accounting systems and internal controls, misapplying over twenty accounting principles and misleading the regulator and the public. The Notice explains how they submitted six years of misleading and inaccurate accounting statements and inaccurate capital reports that enabled them to grow Fannie Mae in an unsafe and unsound manner." These charges were made in 2006. The Court ordered Raines to return $50 Million Dollars he received in bonuses based on the miss-stated Fannie Mae profits.
Net windfall . . . $190 million!

Tim Howard - Was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard "was a strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a "stable pattern of earnings" at Fannie. In everyday English - he was cooking the books. The Government Investigation determined that, "Chief Financial Officer, Tim Howard, failed to provide adequate oversight to key control and reporting functions within Fannie Mae,"

On June 16, 2006, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., asked the Justice Department to investigate his allegations that two former Fannie Mae executives lied to Congress in October 2004 when they denied manipulating the mortgage-finance giant's income statement to achieve management pay bonuses. Investigations by federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipulate 1998 earnings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004.
Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million!

Jim Johnson - A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO. A look at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's May 2006 report on mismanagement and corruption inside Fannie Mae, and you'll see some interesting things about Johnson. Investigators found that Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998 compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million." Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO o f Fannie Mae.
Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FRANKLIN RAINES? Raines works for the Obama Campaign as Chief Economic Advisor

TIM HOWARD? Howard is also a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama

JIM JOHNSON? Johnson hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee

IF OBAMA PLANS ON CLEANING UP THE MESS - HIS ADVISORS HAVE THE EXPERTISE - THEY MADE THE MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Would you trust the men who tore Wall Street down to build the New Wall Street ?

The Financial Crisis!!!!!

Now this is a very interesting idea!! I could go for this bailout!

To my fellow Americans......

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It Dividend". To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a “We Deserve It Dividend”. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband/wife have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college – it'll be there

Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car – create jobs

Invest in the market -- capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance – health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else

Remember this is for every adult U. S. Citizen 18+; including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President..If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let AIG go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion "We Deserve It Dividend" more than do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC. And remember, this plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much be tter getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Taxpayer

NOW THIS IS A GREAT IDEA!
THIS IS WORTH SENDING OUT TO EVERY BODY! COPY AND PASTE AND EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. WHY NOT? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE.?

THINK ABOUT IT!!

The Obama Age of Political low Expectations

Sens. McCain and Obama


Since Jim Crow many minorities have gotten by because of allowances made for them. So is the case with Democrat’s presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

With questions about Gov. Sarah Palin’s experience and ability coming to the fore front, questions with regards to her abilities to lead this nation, it is time that those same questions be pointed back at the Democrat nominee for President, Barack Obama.

The fact of the matter is that Gov. Palin has more executive experience than Sen. Obama. Therefore any questions doubting Gov. Palin’s abilities go directly to Sen. Obama’s readiness to lead as well.

Yet Democrat partisans don’t care to see it that way, so they set the Commander in Chief bar high for Gov. Palin while actually lowering the standard for Sen. Obama.

In last Friday night’s Presidential debate it was clear that one man was a fake, a phony and a poser the other man was the genuine article a diamond, he was forge under the pressure of experience having walked the walk in his service to our Country and his over 20 years service in the Congress, Senator McCain has not simply talking the talk he has walked the walk. (see transcript)

Still, many in the Media have proclaim Barack Obama the winner in last Friday’s Presidential debates because… well gee he just looked and sounded presidential.

That and Obama was able to speak about the Middle East with what seemed like knowledgeable insight.

These are the low expectations that Democrats have for Sen. Obama who Democrat Hillary Clinton supporter Harriet Christian referred to as an inadequate Black male.

What’s also surprising are what low expectations that those in the media and on the Democrat side have for the Command in Chief. If you believe liberal leaning media because Sen. Obama was prepare by Cliffs Notes for this debate he as somehow passed the “Commander-in-Chief Test”! (see story)

Look, just because Sen. Obama got a few of his study buddies together to cram for Friday nights debate does not mean that he is qualified to be Commander in Chief what it means is that he was well prepared to debate the issues.

But as all of us know information that is crammed in this fashion is not really ours to retain and though Obama gave an impressive showing it remains to be seen that he actually knows what he is talking about.

After all parroting information is something a law professor could do and that is what Sen. Obama performance amounted to. But actually applying said information in a court of law as an Attorney, or Presidential debate information as the President of the United State for that matter, is entirely a different thing.

Sen. Obama used the same old Blame Bush tactics that Democrats have employed for the last 8 years. Frankly the only people impress with these types of tactics are partisan Democrats.

This election has been all but given to Democrats by the media for at least 8 years so it’s not surprising that they called this debate for Obama.

But not everyone did! Rodger Simon writing for Politico saw Friday night’s debate as an all out McCain win! (see story)

David S. Broder, Washington Post says Sen. McCain clearly as the Alpha Male on the stage and in the debate where Sen. Obama had to acquiesce no fewer than 6 times to Sen. McCain’s expertise by saying I agree with Sen. McCain or Sen. McCain is absolutely right. (see story)

As Sen. McCain demonstrated there was only one candidate in this presidential election that is fit to be President, as Sen. Hillary Clinton pointed out Sen. McCain has all ready passed the Commander in Chief test, and that other candidate well he gives good speeches as long as he’s connected to a teleprompter.

Undoubtedly, Sen. McCain’s own personal knowledge and command of the facts were so vastly superior to Sen. Obama’s flash card memorized information that Sen. McCain could do two things at one time. McCain could fly to Washington to assist in the greatest finance crisis of our time and then fly down to Mississippi to debate with Obama with very little time to prepare himself.

However because Democrats have lowered their expectation as to what the experience and qualifications of the Democrat leader of the free world should be they have settled on a political neophyte with what amounts to 143 working days in Congress no executive experience, no military experience and presented this person who is lacking in expertise because he came across as a good speaker in the 2004 Democrat Convention and now gives the impression as somewhat knowledgeable in a 2008 Presidential debate and based on that, they say he has passed the Command in Chief test?

Oh Please!