Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[AlabamAlum]

[Whitley]

It might not be directly from the last time the feds gave money to them. But here is an article detailing the stock buybacks the Airline companies have made over the past decade.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2020/03/18/american-airlines-spent-12-billion-on-stock-buybacks-during-flush-times-now-it-says-it-needs-a-bailout/

snipped: The biggest U.S. airlines, including American, United, Delta and Southwest, have spent 96% of free cash flows to repurchase stock during the past decade, according to a Bloomberg News analysis.

There is a very good chart in this article, and they talk about Boeing (who is also asking for money):

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/airlines-and-boeing-want-a-bailout-but-look-how-much-theyve-spent-on-stock-buybacks-2020-03-18

[AlabamAlum]

[Ghengis Jon]

Use of the money must be specified. Look at Trump's Corporate Welfare/Taxcut. There was a televised round table with the Fortune 25 CEOs discussing the impact of the proposed tax cut. EVERY SINGLE CEO stated they would use the money gained for stock buybacks, and no we are not going to create any jobs or make any investments. Unlike Very Stable Genius, they were very open and transparent with what they were going to do with the unneeded and unexpected windfall. If money is to be dispensed, no strings - have ropes attached.


Here's the latest on the Democratic Hoax that China has a lid on that will go away quickly anyway.


Capture.JPG

[iam416]

There was a televised round table with the Fortune 25 CEOs discussing the impact of the proposed tax cut. EVERY SINGLE CEO stated they would use the money gained for stock buybacks, and no we are not going to create any jobs or make any investments.

Well, something worked as we trucked to the lowest unemployment in decades and the HIRING market became extremely competitive.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I think all of us here understand the necessity of government support for US businesses. The issue among us should be the degree of accountability to the federal government for liquid asset (actual cash) support and if the panoply of support actually allows for the redirection of future revenue to inappropriate use. (e.g., golden parachutes, bonuses, etc.), that's problematic.

Ideally and from a conservative viewpoint, you don't want any government accountants supervising your businesses' book keeping. Liberals would have the government fully involved. That businesses have a seemingly questionable history of responsibly handling both the cash they receive from government and then using cash that is freed up by other non-cash support for bonuses and excessive amounts of stock buy backs tilts the dial a bit to a more extreme liberal position ..... supervise the fuck out of them to the point the company is essentially Bernied.

Because judging to what degree accountability from the feds is implemented through legislation requires more than a casual understanding of banking and finance, understanding cause and effect in the global financial system, I tend to defer to the experts in this area. I'll have some time today to dig into this a bit. I suspect a layperson's overview of this is available and if I find it, I'll post a link. I do believe we don't want the government to give away the farm so farmers can farm and then have farmers sell their farm land to developers. How that's prevented responsibly and in line with my conservative views on such things isn't clearly understood by me at this time. More later...... and by that time the question will be OBE as the news reports this morning indicate a deal is near.

[AlabamAlum]

[iam416]

The issue among us should be the degree of accountability to the federal government for liquid asset (actual cash) support and if the panoply of support actually allows for the redirection of future revenue to inappropriate use. (e.g., golden parachutes, bonuses, etc.), that's problematic.

Sure. And, to be fair, I wanted a little more control in the Senate bill. As I've noted previously, the Obama Bailouts ended up making money for the US Government. Most companies were able to return the INVESTMENT to the Feds. Now, even though this really isn't a bailout, I'm still in favor of treating the aid as an investment. So, if/when these companies re-emerge from this pit of misery, then they pay "us" back. I'm all in on that.

What I'm not all-in on is using this aid to force companies acquiesce to Pocahantas talking points. I'm not in favor of using a depression to tell companies who MUST be on their board. I'm not in favor of using this depression to tell companies they gotta start Green New Dealin'. I'm not in favor of using a depression to force through a minimum wage bump to $15. I'm not in favor ofusing a depression to strengthen union bargain power. What I'm not in favor of is using the depression as a way to fund/defund abortion clinics.

Whitley is correct in that the delay hurts "real" people and small businesses the most -- the people who can't float for 2 weeks, let alone 9 months. But, it's also fairly goddamn undeniable that certain ginormous industries are going to get absolutely obliterated through no fault of their own. And those industries employee lots and lots of people.

The initial bi-partisan Senate effort was flawed, but it was also a good start. It was something that both sides could work with. If the Ds want a few more checks on aid to larger companies, then so be it. Let's move this forward. The Pelosi bullshit is a fucking shameless piece of legislation. It's not in the same time zone as a good start.

[Dr. Strangelove]

This guy has a long history of controversial statements and positions so this isn't wildly surprising. Would be nice though if he's so willing to give his life so his grandkids might have 2.3% GDP growth in the 3rd quarter (and thinks most grandparents would or SHOULD do likewise), it would be nice if he'd sign a waiver stating he refuses to take up a hospital room in the event he catches CV19. Save it for the young people instead.

https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-texas-official-grandparents-die-172ca951-891c-44e7-a9ec-77c486e0c5c3.html

[AlabamAlum]

[Dr. Strangelove]

Is this from the House/Pelosi proposed bill or what's being debated in the Senate? Because I think it's the House and there will be enormous pressure to get this passed and not attach every item on the Dem wishlist. There are Dems in the Senate who I think it's inconceivable that they're holding out in order to get corporate board diversity mandates. Manchin, Tester, probably quite a few others aren't holding this up for that bullshit. There are legitimate concerns that the McConnell bill is too laissez-faire in handing out taxpayer money to industries that might not be totally sympathetic, especially when talking airlines or casinos. We really are gonna bail out the casinos, right?

[iam416]

It's the Pelosi Bill. It's from the shameless fucking Pelosi Sandersland bill. It's a goddamn abomination. I'd rather drive to Las Vegas myself and hand every casino owner $100 than see that shit passed.

As I said, the Senate is trying to be serious. There's a reason McConnel is so fucking pissed -- and he is, surprisingly, in the right this time.

[iam416]

And we are now blaming PDJT for unimaginably stupid people eating fish tank cleaner.

[Dr. Strangelove]

And we are now blaming PDJT for unimaginably stupid people eating fish tank cleaner.

I was going to post a tasteless joke about "well, now we know what became of crashcourse" but thought better of it.

I'm sure he's out there saving lives as we speak. If he's lurking...Hello!!!!

[AlabamAlum]