This is a big f*cking deal

Well put, Mr. Vice President. One more step towards a facist economy and further price distortion. Again, the American people have accepted government as a panacea for government-induced market distortions. Anyone curious as to how this will play out can look down the rabbit hole by reading Prof. Thomas DiLorenzo's portrayal of what government control of other goods (healthcare is a good like food, shelter, or clothing) would look like. http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo176.html

Rules versus Guidelines

By now it has hit news that Lehman's buried $50 bil in debt in 07-08 off their balance sheet with Repo 150 transactions. While lawyers continue to look for angles and loophole in which to stick Lehman executives & EY for these misleading deals, Im wondering about the bigger problems with this regulatory structure.

Do the "rules" over "guidelines" philosphy encourage this type of malfeasance and misrepresentation? While it will be tough to prove LB broke any specific rules required to execute these Repos, wouldnt they certainly be toast under a guidelines system of good faith, full-disclosure, intention, and acting in the best interest of its stakeholders?

Show Me The Money!!

In leui of 2011 work stoppages/uncapped seasons in the NBA/NFL and the crazy over Wall Street bailouts, is there a way to objectify worker compensation? Obviously there are a number of dynamic factors including the nature of the industry, competition, value created, the loaded term of 'compensation' etc.. I'd like to delve into this more, although it may be tough to tackle such a broad subject when you consider pay tiers, incentives, bonuses etc..

With structures of productions changing so rapidly in this era, you would assume a 'hard cap' or guaranteed contracts/pay are further from the solution, but that cant entirely be discounted.