Framing the Dialogue

Posts Tagged ‘geithner’

Fungible (fun-je-bul)

The dictionary defines fungible as:

  1. Returnable or negotiable in kind or by substitution, as a quantity of grain for an equal amount of the same kind of grain.
  2. Interchangeable
  3. of goods or commodities; freely exchangeable for or replaceable by another of like nature or kind in the satisfaction of an obligation

Synonyms:  changeable, commutable, compatible, converse, convertible, equivalent, exchangeable, interconvertible, mutual, reciprocal, reciprocative, same, substitutable, synonymous, workalike

Quote:

“People think this tax is for Social Security. But tax monies are really fungible. They get raided all the time.”

– Eugene Ludwig

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S.S. Obama

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from this Mid East port

Aboard a tiny ship

The Obama administration, in yet another example of a long string of leadership failures, has jumped in to the fray to rescue United States citizens stuck in Libya amid the rioting. For this White House the reaction was fairly rapid if not effective as the ship that they chartered to haul away our fellow Americans was far too small to handle the number of people and the rough seas and was unable to leave the port. Could have happened to anyone you say and I suppose that is true, but the Greeks and the Turks had the foresight to get a proper boat. No disrespect to those nations, but we should have done better.

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IRS Offers Revised Plan to Tax Cheats

In this series I choose a current news article and you decide via a multiple choice format which terms were used and whether others would have been more accurate…….

NEW YORK — The IRS unveiled a new __________ (initiative, set of rules for politicians, plan to hire thousands of agents, kinder-gentler enforcement approach)  yesterday that’s intended to lure tax evaders, but with stiffer penalties than in a previous program.  Americans with hidden offshore accounts have until Aug. 31 to report the accounts to the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for penalties below what __________ (politicians, Hollywood stars, they would, we) ordinarily pay.  Defense lawyers had been ________ (wondering how to make money on, speculating about, getting ready to turn themselves in, suing someone over)  a possible new program after recent statements by IRS officials.  The agency created the latest program amid a widening crackdown on offshore accounts sold to wealthy Americans.

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Obama Appoints Warren to Shape New Consumer Agency

In this series I choose a current news article and you decide via a multiple choice format which terms were used and whether others would have been more accurate…….

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama named Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren a(n) __________ (adviser, czar, czarina, non-vetted adviser) to help  __________ (control, shape, subvert, empower) the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calling her __________ (“one of the country’s fiercest advocates for the lower class,” “one of the country’s fiercest advocates for the middle class,”  “an elitist from academia with no business experience who will further my socialist agenda,”  “an awesome sista and you’re a racist if you oppose her nomination…wait there was no nomination process as she is just another one of my extra-Constitutional appointees with unlimited power and answers only to me…snap!”)

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If A Crook Falls In The Forest….

A famous philosophical puzzle asks the question whether a tree that falls in the forest makes any sound when there is no one around to hear it.  As an engineer by education and thought I really did not enjoy these types of “core” classes in college even though they gave me a “well rounded” education.  My philosophy class was perhaps the most tedious class ever and was dominated by seemingly endless discussions about what ifs and could be’s.  Our bearded professor certainly looked the part and in many ways I was happy that at least one person with a degree in philosophy was gainfully employed in his profession.

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Congress acts, but bank bill has work ahead

In this series I choose a current news article and you decide via a multiple choice format which terms were used and whether others would have been more accurate…….

WASHINGTON — In the end, it’s only a beginning.

The __________ (comprehensive, far-reaching, power grabbing, socialist) new banking and consumer protection bill awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature now shifts from the politicians to the technocrats.

The legislation gives regulators __________( latitude, unlimited power, control, plenty of campaign contributions)  and time to come up with new rules, requires scores of studies and, in some instances, depends on international __________ (approval, loans, agreements, scorn) falling into place.

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Separated At Birth – Hermy/Geithner

We all remember Hermy the misfit elf.  Hermy did not fit in with the other elves in Santa’s workshop since he did not like to make toys.  He could only think about being a dentist and often screwed up toys because he could not concentrate on his task.  He ran away with Rudolf to find fame and fortune and, of course, to become a dentist.  Hermy and Rudolf made their way to the Island of misfit toys where they, as misfits themselves, fit in nicely.

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A Chilling Development

I was planning on taking the day off from posting.  I played the Subway 3-Point Play game, checked my e-mails took a look at my Amazon account all while watching the NCAA basketball games.  All in all it was a pretty good evening.

As I was getting ready to shut down my system, a headline caught my eye:

GM CEO Wagoner to step down at White House request

President Barack Obama has requested that the Chief Executive Officer of a private, American  resign!  The President of the United States has inserted himself into the workings of a publicly traded company!  Will Obama also “hire” the new CEO?  What are the Administration’s qualifications to run an auto manufacturing company? 

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