[robertt]

Originally Posted by Ptarmigan

No party is able, on it's own to command the confidence of parliament. A deal will have to be done. Nick Clegg, or the Lib Dems believes that as the Conservatives have the largest number of both seats and votes, it is their right to try first.

Sorry for the "ignorance", but that is all jibbirish to me. If you are commanding the confidence of parliment, does that mean your party is in charge?

What is the deal that will have to be done?

As far as the conservatives, they get to try what first? Getting control?

[Ptarmigan]

Originally Posted by robertt

Sorry for the "ignorance", but that is all jibbirish to me. If you are commanding the confidence of parliment, does that mean your party is in charge?

What is the deal that will have to be done?

As far as the conservatives, they get to try what first? Getting control?

The Queen will invite the party most likely to command the confidence of parliament to form a government in her name.

Constitutionally, it is the right of the incumbent Prime Minister to attempt to form a government, however, Clegg believes that as the Conservatives have the most seats, he should negotiate with him first (note, Brown has the right to try, the other parties have no obligation to even talk to him).

In the UK system if the government is voted down on a bill, they must resign as they no longer have the confidence of parliament and therefore, the people. Insert workable majority for confidence of parliament and it becomes clear.

The Conservatives, will have to make a deal with Clegg to form a government, otherwise Brown is the Prime Minister and remains so until a bill is voted down. Parliament opens later this month.

My prediction, and I have studied these things for years, is that Brown will resign early this week, and Cameron will be the new Prime Minister once the Queen invites him to form a Government in her name. Clegg will either form a coalition government with Brown, or agree that his MP's will not vote down a Conservative Bill.

[Ptarmigan]

Originally Posted by robertt

I do know that, but aren't the Unions killing them in France and the "Healthcare system" and entitlement programs in England killing them? I wasn't saying that they were ALL socialist, that's why I put the "or" in there. It seems that ALL of the places that are having problems have one or all of these things in common.

The amount of money as a proportion of GDP that the UK spends on it's health system is tiny compared to here.

Some of the entitlement programs are a bit beyond the pale, I'll grant you that, but in general they're not as bad as the press and others make you think.

[Roadhog]

Fannie and Freddie have their hand out again.
Fannie wants 8.4 Billion, and Freddie wants 10.6 Billion in taxpayer money.

Back in the dead of the night, behind closed doors on Christmas eve, 2009....
Our "Bribes-Extortion-Blackmail-Backroom Deals" Democrats passed a Housing Bill which guarantees Fannie and Freddie taxpayer bail out funds until 2012.
:deal:

[robertt]

Euro, Stocks, Commodities Retreat as Bailout Optimism Ebbs

By Justin Carrigan


May 11 (Bloomberg) -- The euro lost all of yesterday’s gains on concern the $1 trillion bailout will hurt European economic growth. Stocks fell, paring the MSCI World Index’s biggest advance in a year. Chinese shares entered a bear market.
The euro weakened 0.5 percent against the dollar at 9:35 a.m. in New York, trading below the level it was before the European Union-led aid package was announced early yesterday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.7 percent, after rising 7.2 percent yesterday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.9 percent. Copper, zinc, aluminum and led fell more than 1.5 percent to lead commodities lower.
The European Union’s unprecedented bailout package is unlikely to be a “long-term solution” for the region, Marek Belka, the director of the International Monetary Fund’s European department, said in Brussels yesterday. Inflation in China accelerated to an 18-month high, the nation’s statistics bureau said today, increasing pressure on the government to raise interest rates in an economy that has been an engine of growth through the global financial crisis.
“The euphoria of 24 hours ago has passed,” Derek Halpenny, European head of global currency research at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London, wrote in a report today. “We are in little doubt that steps taken will offer the euro little support and the aid package does not change the fact that Spain and Portugal in particular will still have to undergo further painful austerity measures.”
Yen, Treasuries Gain
The euro fell against 11 of its 16 most-traded peers, dropping as low as $1.2667, compared with the $1.2755 level at which it closed last week. The yen strengthened against all 16 of its major counterparts as investors sought the relative safety of the Japanese currency. The dollar advanced versus 14.
The S&P 500 erased about a quarter of yesterday’s 4.4 percent rally, which was the biggest advance since March 2009. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities is down 5.6 percent from its 2010 high on April 23.
To contact the reporter for this story: Justin Carrigan in London at [email protected]
Last Updated: May 11, 2010 09:38 EDT

[robertt]

Originally Posted by Roadhog

Fannie and Freddie have their hand out again.
Fannie wants 8.4 Billion, and Freddie wants 10.6 Billion in taxpayer money.

Back in the dead of the night, behind closed doors on Christmas eve, 2009....
Our "Bribes-Extortion-Blackmail-Backroom Deals" Democrats passed a Housing Bill which guarantees Fannie and Freddie taxpayer bail out funds until 2012.
:deal:

CNBC’s Rick Santelli Rips Key Democrat For Ignoring Fannie/Freddie Reform
Dems’ Financial “Reform” Leaves Taxpayers on the Hook for Government Mortgage Giants

Washington, May 11 - Follow @GOPLeader on Twitter for updates.
Democrats still don’t get it, and they refuse to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage companies that sparked the meltdown by giving high-risk loans to people who couldn’t afford it. Standing up for American taxpayers, CNBC’s on-air editor, Rick Santelli teed off on Rep. Paul Kanjorski’s (D-PA) claim that Democrats’ couldn’t reform Fannie & Freddie in their financial regulation bill because it was “too complicated,” asking: “It’s too complicated? You think taxpayers that go to work to pay the money you are subsidizing, it will end up a half a trillion, do you think they think complicated is an excuse?”

The exchange couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rep. Kanjorski and Congressional Democrats, because Fannie and Freddie simply won’t go away. As the Financial Times reported today:

“Fannie Mae said on Monday it would need an additional $8.4bn in aid, as the US government-controlled mortgage finance company continued to suffer heavy losses on its bad loans…Fannie Mae’s appeal for help comes on the heels of a similar plea last week by smaller rival Freddie Mac, which asked for an additional $10.6bn cash infusion. The latest requests for aid bring the total amount of taxpayer dollars drawn down by these companies to $148bn since the 2008 government-led bail-out.

“Anthony Sanders, a senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, called Fannie and Freddie ‘our own Greek tragedy.’ Mr. Sanders estimated that total taxpayer liability was about $8,000bn for the combined companies, including public debt and loan guarantees.”

But the unlimited bailout that the Administration has bestowed on Fannie and Freddie doesn’t seem to bother Democrats, though the latest giveaway may come at an “inconvenient time,” as the New York Times noted today:

“Fannie Mae’s request on Monday for another $8.4 billion in federal aid comes at a politically inconvenient time for the Obama administration, which is pressing to pass sweeping financial legislation without resolving the company’s future…. Democrats want to defer an overhaul of federal housing policy until next year, after the midterm elections. But Republicans have seized on the continuing losses to argue that a plan for the two companies should be a priority of the current legislation.”

Republicans have been pressing for an end to bailouts that would get the government out of the mortgage business once and for all. But Democrats are not only unwilling to reform Fannie and Freddie, they are doubling down on the failed government mortgage companies – burning through hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. As the Washington Post noted in a report today: “Under the terms of the government's 2008 emergency takeover of Fannie and Freddie, the Treasury must pump money into either firm whenever its worth, as measured by assets minus liabilities, goes into the red. Late last year, the Obama administration pledged unlimited backing.”

For years, Republicans raised red flags about Fannie and Freddie’s financial condition and proposed responsible reforms only to be thwarted by Democrats who have deep political ties to the worst offenders. These same powerful Democrats are now pushing for a financial reform bill that doesn’t even address the need to fix these government mortgage companies. As the Wall Street Journal wrote last week, “reforming the financial system without fixing Fannie and Freddie is like declaring a war on terror and ignoring al Qaeda.”