Posted on 08/08/2014 6:35:54 AM PDT by C19fan
In November 1998, attorneys general from across the country sealed a historic deal with the tobacco industry to pay for the health care costs of smoking. Going forward, nearly every cigarette sold would provide money to the states, territories and other governments involved 2014 more than $200 billion in just the first 25 years of a legal settlement that required payments to be made in perpetuity.
Then, Wall Street came knocking with an offer many state and local politicians found irresistible: Cash upfront for those governments willing to trade investors the right to some or all of their tobacco payments. State after state struck deals that critics derided as "payday loans" but proponents deemed only prudent. As designed, private investors 2014 not the taxpayers 2014 would take the hit if people smoked less and the tobacco money fell short.
Things haven't exactly worked out as planned.
A ProPublica analysis of more than 100 tobacco deals since the settlement found that they are creating new fiscal headaches for states, driving some into bailouts or threatening to increase the cost of borrowing in the future.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolicy.com ...
Yes they are. JPM and GS seem to be the main culprits. But if there were no suckers there would be no deals made. The truth is that the politicians will always make a deal because they NEED that lump sum in order to skim quickly and disappear... when the balloon comes due they are gone.
You don’t understand - it is the leftists goal to relieve as many people as possible of their responsibilities, which then allows them.to control every aspects of their lives.
I other words our elected officials were STOOOPID enough to fall for those cheesy ads running on daytime TV.
“If you have a structured settlement, but you need...cash...now......
How about if politicians can only sign deals that last for their own term. So that Governor Bilko could get a cash advance on only the next four years of his term. No newly elected pol should have to pay back loans made and spent during previous terms.
California immediately spent all the tobacco money when that verdict came down.
California is doing this again with buying iPads for everyone in Los Angeles schools. A billion dollars x the interest x 25 years or more. (you know this will be rolled over in the future making it more expensive).
It would have been far cheaper to buy any tablet outright but there are people being bribe so the taxpayers will be paying for decades. They are now buying 6 different devices.... They refuse to not spend any money. Pen and paper and books have worked forever.
http://www.cultofmac.com/285853/la-school-districted-votes-give-students-alternatives-ipads/
Hey, I get to kill two birds with one post.
First, no bank, “Wall Street” or otherwise (or combination of them) owns the Fed. The Fed is, and always has been a government operation.
Second, the entire idea of securitizing a stream of future payments is based on the iron-clad fact that the stream of payments will actually happen.
Unfortunately, for the states that securitized, the income stream is diminishing. Oops.
As a long-time smoker, I’m happy to help that process along. Instead of paying $6 or more per pack, I make my own for about 75 cents.
The combined federal and state tax in Florida on commercial cigarettes is about $2.34/pack.
On the last 10,000 I’ve made for personal use, instead of paying about $1,200 in taxes, the 25 pounds of tobacco I used incurred $25 of federal tax, initially paid by the manufacturer. And then by me, of course.
What I make for myself are the equal of anything produced commercially, and better to the extent that there are no additives at all. 100s. 1” filter. Indistinguishable from commercial, except that they taste much better.
Think Florida is bad? NY state is far worse. Total tax of $5.36/pack.
NY city? $6.86/pack. Almost $70/carton in taxes alone. No wonder there is a thriving contraband trade. Hijacked cigarettes, anyone?
NYC prices are over $10/pack. No wonder they sell “loose” cigarettes on the street, they’re worth 50 cents each.
Apparently, that sort of stuff can get you killed. Just another reason I don’t like NY, even having been there many times over the decades.
“The Fed is about as Federal as Federal Express.”
- Jim Quinn
How about some FACTS, instead of the usual rubbish (such as the idiotic link that you posted) that gets repeated over and over?
Here's something I wrote years ago in response to someone else who had the same misconceptions about the Fed that you (and others) seem to have:
The Federal Reserve System Board of Governors is a FEDERAL AGENCY created by federal law. All 7 members of the Board are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 14 year terms. The System BoG formulates monetary policy. The System BoG is where reserve requirements are set, where the discount rate is set, and where rules and regulations are adopted.
The 7 System BoG members are a PERMANENT MAJORITY of the 12 member Federal Open Market Committee, the other 5 members being the President of the NY Fed and 4 other regional Fed bank presidents each serving one year terms.
Regional Fed bank presidents are appointed (subject to approval by the System BoG) by each regional Fed bank's 9 member Board of Directors, 3 of whom are appointed by the System BoG (none of these 3 may be an officer, director, employee or shareholder of any bank,) and 6 of whom are elected by the member bank "shareholders" (3 of these 6 may not be an officer, director or employee of any bank.) One of the directors appointed by the System BoG is designated by the System BoG as Chairman of the Board and another as Deputy Chairman.
The 3 "bank" representatives on each 9 member regional Board are excluded from the process of appointing the regional Fed bank's president.
The Chairman of the System BoG is also the Chairman of the FOMC. The FOMC implements System BoG monetary policy. The FOMC is where fed funds target rates are set, where margin rates are set, and is responsible for open market operations to carry out policy.
The System BoG and the FOMC are where ALL of the actual power of the Fed resides. The 7 System BoG members nominated by the President are an absolute and permanent majority of both the BoG and the FOMC. They hold and exercise ALL of the power of the Fed.
The Boards of the regional Fed banks suggest changes in the discount rate, but the System BoG must approve them. Other than that, the primary function of the regional Fed banks is to provide services like check clearing and FedWire to member banks. They do the scut work and a lot of research, and their presidents give lots of speeches.
Here are 14 key differences between the regional Fed bank "shares" and actual shares of real common stock in the real world:
1) If you want to buy shares of IBM (or any other public company) you may buy any amount you wish. The "shares" Fed member banks have to buy is equal to 6% (3% in cash, 3% on-call) of their paid-in capital and retained earnings. By statute.
2) If you own shares of IBM, you will never be required by anyone to buy more for any reason. As Fed member banks' capital increases, they are required to purchase more Fed regional bank "shares." By statute.
3) You buy IBM shares through a broker on a market like the NYSE or NASDAQ, not from the government. You simply buy them, you don't fill out an application to the Federal Reserve as prospective Fed member banks do, by statute.
4) You buy your IBM shares from some (unknown) individual or institution on the other side of the trade. Not from the government, as Fed member banks must, by statute.
5) When you want to sell IBM shares you use the same markets you used to purchase them, and do so whenever you wish. Fed member banks can only sell their "shares" back to the government and only when they cease to be a member bank. By statute.
6) You can pledge your IBM shares as collateral on a loan at anytime you wish. No member bank can pledge or hypothecate its regional Fed bank "shares" under any circumstances, ever, by statute.
7) An owner of IBM shares can vote on all issues that are put to a shareholder vote. Regional Fed bank "shares" entitle a member bank to vote for 6 of the 9 members of its regional bank's Board of Directors. That's it. By statute.
8) Owners of IBM shares gets one vote for each share. Member banks holding regional Fed bank "shares" get one vote, period, no matter how many "shares" they own. By statute.
9) Candidates for IBM's Board of Directors are nominated by IBM or its shareholders in accordance with its by-laws, and are then voted on by shareholders. The Fed's Board of Governors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and neither Fed member banks nor their 12 elected regional bank Boards of Directors have anything whatsoever to say about it. By statute.
10) If IBM's Board of Directors decides that they want to increase the dividend payable to shareholders they can do so at anytime they wish. The 6% "dividend" on Fed regional bank "shares" is set by statute.
11) If IBM wants to amend its corporate by-laws, it can do so at anytime with the approval of a majority of shareholders. By statute, no regional Fed bank can amend its charter, ever.
12) IBM is a profit-making private enterprise, and they may do whatever they wish with any after-tax profits. The Fed regional banks must turn over 100% of their operating income (net after payment of the statutory 6% "dividend") to the US Treasury each year. By statute.
13) As time goes on, the value of IBM shares fluctuates, sometimes widely. The value of each member bank's regional Fed bank "shares" is fixed at $100. By statute.
14) If IBM is liquidated, your shares entitle you to your relative proportion of assets left (if any) after all creditors of IBM have been paid. Fed regional bank "shares" entitle member banks to exactly zero Fed assets under any circumstances. By statute.
"Shares" of the regional Fed banks owned by Fed member banks are mandatory, totally restricted, entail virtually no rights or privileges, and confer no ownership of anything under any circumstances.
The reality is that regional Fed bank "shares" are nothing more than a semi-permanent deposit of capital by another name.
It's unfortunate that the word "shares" was ever associated with the mandatory deposits by Fed member banks because it creates an impression that they're something that they're not.
The use of the word "share" was very narrowly technically correct as these quasi-governmental regional Fed bank entities were formed as corporations which issue shares, as do all corporations. But, it gave rise to conspiracy theories cooked up and propagated by people who know little or nothing about the Fed, banking, government or law, but focus laser-like on the regional Fed bank "shares" to claim that "the Fed is privately owned." Never mind that the regional Fed banks have no power over anything.
The Fed is not privately owned and never has been. For good or ill, it's a 100% government-controlled operation.
For the ill-informed/tin-foil hatters, FACTS are unfortunate, but nonetheless remain true.
Just so you don't get the wrong idea, I think the Fed should be abolished. It was always a bad idea, remains so and has always, from day one been a 100% government-controlled entity.
Rant and rave all you want, but FACTS are stubborn things.
I like the comparison of Fed Reserve to Fed Express. People in the USA haven’t been told the Federal Reserve is just another European entity set up by Woodrow Wilson and European bankes all the way to the centuries old Rothschild’s banking establishment.
I rarely rant and rave, but as a matter of ‘fact’ just recently read the posts about the Fed (will read yours AFTER I finish this reply, not a rant) and have been wondering who is behind all the crud going on around the world. Must be God then.
You’ve obviously already read my reply, my reference to “ranting and raving” was at the very end of it.
Who is behind all of the crud of the last 100 years?
Idiot politicians. Simple as that. Politicians always find a way to debase the currency. It’s what they do, one way or another, central bank-based or otherwise.
Unless you want to dispute something I’ve said, you need to stop posting ridiculous garbage about the Fed. That sort of junk is rampant amongst conservatives (and the general public) who know absolutely nothing of the facts.
It all sounds great, but none of it is true. You can’t argue for the abolition of the Fed based on nonsense.
There are plenty of good reasons the Fed shouldn’t exist, but made-up stuff contributes nothing.
You can’t possibly be serious.
Read post 29 — yes, every single word of it — and get back to me.
Yes, Wilson was an incompetent idiot (much like the current inhabitant of the White House,) but, no, the Fed isn’t a “European entity,” nor does it have anything to do with the evil Jooos, or, as you put it, the centuries-old “Rothschild” endeavors in banking. Stormfront much?
Thankyou for that.
Aren’t politicians who are idiots bought?
Also, I read the beginning and then skimmed through till the end. I did go back and read it.
Let’s just leave it that we see differently as to the Fed Reserve and it’s European connections. I am serious and have docs to trace the history.
OK.
Do you have a better understanding of how the Fed works in reality?
Do you understand why I object to the goofy BS about the Fed being “owned” by bankers, etc., etc.?
The Fed was a really, really dumb idea, but it’s a purely government operation, the place where almost all dumb ideas germinate and bloom to our detriment.
I actually would prefer that there was no government lender of last resort — that it be entirely left up to the private sector and no one else — after all, those are the guys (together with their shareholders, who can fire them) with something at stake. As it was before the advent of the Fed for over 100 years.
Which means that I’m all in favor of a “Fed”-equivalent which is actually, totally, publicly and fully owned outright by the private sector. That is to say, by the banks who get together to make loans to each other such that the system always functions. It’s their money at stake on a loan to the ABC or XYZ bank that got into trouble — they’re going to be much more careful about the terms than any fed bureaucrat will ever be.
A system over which the government has absolutely no say whatsoever.
That puts us in a place where there’s no mistake about who is responsible. There’s no mistake about who did what or to whom or why. No excuses are possible.
No BS. Just the relentless efficiency of the private sector.
We see it differently?
Well, all right, then. Please post your documents that “trace the history.” Links, perhaps?
Prove me wrong. Lay out your evidence that European Jews like the Rothschilds are behind the Fed.
I’m not your literary/library servant. Your just showing you don’t like to do creditable research that might cloud your opinions. For starters I suggest you look up who and from what country sits on the board of the USA Fed Reserve.
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