Obama's Weekly Address: Small Businesses Are Next Money Target Of Attention

In his weekly address, the president has asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and SBA administrator Karen Mills, to convene a conference of regulators, congressional leaders, lenders, and entrepreneurs to come up with additional steps to improve the flow of credit to small businesses looking to expand. Image Credit: cf News13

Obama's Weekly Address: Small Businesses Are Next Money Target Of Attention

That'll work.

These people, these uneducated in economics, Maoist/Marxist true believers ... really do not have a clue how jobs are created and sustained. They honestly think it is about the object, "Money", and not the concept and process of "Needs Satisfaction" that actually causes people to spend the representation of their labors in exchange for something.

We're sunk!

HOPE placards from Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. A scribble on a placard is about all that our nation can "hope" for. Image Credit: TwitPic

This excerpted and edited from Bloomberg -

Obama Says Small Businesses Must Be at Forefront of Recovery
By Catherine Dodge and Julianna Goldman - Oct. 24 (Bloomberg)

President Barack Obama called small businesses the “engine” of the U.S. economy and said too many are still struggling to get the credit they need to operate.

In his weekly address on the radio and Internet, Obama said the nation’s banks, supported by taxpayers in the economic crisis, now need “to stand by the creditworthy small businesses.”
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The president this week announced measures to open up credit for small business, such as capital injections for community banks to spur lending. Obama also asked Congress to raise the limits for Small Business Administration loans from $2 million to $5 million and as much as $5.5 million for manufacturing.

“The goal here is to get credit where it’s needed most -- to businesses that support families, sustain communities, and create the jobs that power our economy,” Obama said.
Reference Here>>

Two Words: T-A-X C-U-T

But oh, no ... he went on to say:

“It’s time for those banks to fulfill their responsibility to help ensure a wider recovery,” Obama said. “We’re going to take every appropriate step to encourage them to meet those responsibilities.”

This strategy will only keep these businesses alive. Small businesses need to have a strong purchasing environment to succeed and the current leadership has saddled the economy with way too much debt (Stimulus & Omnibus) and uncertainty (Cap & Trade and Obamacare) for operating cash loans to really keep businesses in business.

We have a socialist, black hole economy, and it will get worse when the Bush tax cuts get repealed by the current Democrat Congress Leadership.

This concept of Obama's (Banks lending operating Capital) is like priming a pump that has no water in the well!

This is a bit like the "Sub-Prime" mortgage mess we are trying to come out of, in that, the Government is doing everything it can by throwing money into a place it will do the least good.

Throwing Loans to people who can not qualify or pay for them (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Government money) or throwing loans to small businesses to keep them alive (TARP money from the Government and lowered interest rates from the Government to the Banks) even though nobody has a job or the money to purchase the goods and services they produce.

The Government needs to back away and STOP MEDDLING in our free market economy. Everything they do, no matter how well intentioned or evil intentioned, is the exact opposite of what it takes to get a free market economy back on the tracks ... the one they threw off of the tracks in the first place through social engineering programs and regulatory inaction.

Financial Awareness To Avian Flu Threats Still Key

Dr. Daniel Miller, John Lange and Kent Hill address journalists at avian flu workshop in New Delhi. Image Credit: Cheryl Pellerin/State Dept.

Financial Awareness To Avian Flu Threats Still Key

Over the last four years, cases of Avian flu infection have been reported from sixty countries. Through the processes of improved detection and containment these reported threats had been kept in check, but the risk of a global pandemic affecting humans remains a real potential catastrophe.

Of 335 humans infected since 2003, some 205 have died, in twelve nations, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

A ministerial conference that started today in India has assembled hundreds of health officials from over 100 nations representing health and mobilization groups to discuss effective strategies and structures to combat this continuing threat. Money and the management of cost effective options to counteract this pandemic threat are expected to dominate the main topics of discussion.

This excerpted from EARTHtimes.org -

Bird flu still a global threat, say experts
Posted : Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:14:00 GMT - Author : IANS - Earthtimes.org

New Delhi, Dec 4 - Developing countries need to look at low-cost options to fight pandemics like avian influenza, India's Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said at the three-day International Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in the capital Tuesday.

Addressing over 600 health professionals from 105 nations and 20 international and intergovernmental organizations, Ramadoss urged them to focus on empowering communities as the most powerful tool to combat epidemics.

The conference, which is from Dec 4-6, is the fifth in a row of similar conferences organized across the world to discuss issues of geographical spread of avian influenza - and the health challenges that come with it - and threaten the global community at large.

Jacques Diouf, director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that avian influenza could still cause a global pandemic and requires continued vigilance and control efforts, particularly in animals.

Diouf warned in his speech that the spread of avian influenza typifies the potential emergence of major health crises with an increased risk of pathogens traveling over large distances in very short time periods, favored by globalization and climate change.
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Most of the human deaths from the disease have been reported from Asia, the latest from China on Sunday.

'The World Bank has projected that for a reasonable level of preparedness for avian and human influenza, developing countries would need to spend at least $ 2.2 billion over two to three years period,' Ramadoss said at the inaugural session of the meet.

He said that the current gap for mobilizing resources for the country programs is $960 million, or over 40 percent of the identified needs. From earlier conferences, $649 million is available to help fill this gap.

'But these resources are in the form of loans, while grants would be a more appropriate form for financing this global public good.

'While this gap must be minimized, I would urge that we need to look at low cost options also,' Ramadoss said.

With avian influenza prevention and control programs being in place for almost four years, many countries have been able to contain or even eradicate the disease.
Reference Here>>

Grants may be called for in favor over loans at this conference, but it strikes us here, at MAXINE, that the loan path keeps all of the parties responsible to how the money is spent while health officials keep their eyes on the pandemic threat.

And this from the U. S Department of State -

The United States, which has contributed $434 million to its international effort against avian flu, hopes to mobilize more resources during the New Delhi ministerial.

“On Thursday [December 6],” Ambassador John Lange, head of the U.S. delegation, and special representative for avian and pandemic influenza at the State Department said, “I will announce a new U.S. government pledge to this effort in terms of our international assistance.”

This would make the United States the major contributor to Avain Flu mobilization resources. Of the $649,000,000 of funds from previous conferences, the United States has already contributed $434,000,000 or over two-thirds of these available mobilization resource funds.