Chapter 11? And other AIG musings...

In all of this AIG mess, I continue to wonder what would have happened if the government would have let business run its course. There is a reason that Chapter 11 Bankruptcy exists! It is for companies that have gotten into contracts that they can no longer honor, so that the may reorganize. Hmm...this situation sounds eerily familiar... Now, as it stands, the AIG bonus scandal is dominating headlines, and taking the focus away from the real crooks in this situation: Congress.

Simply put, AIG was required to pay these bonuses; Chris Dodd wrote the contract that said so. A lot of those executives don't take a large salary because of a salary tax. So, in an effort to keep more of their money, they started giving bonuses. Now, the government is attempting to take back the bonuses, tax the snot out of them, or require that they are "voluntarily returned" if AIG is to receive anymore tax dollars. Say that you, Mr. Average American, make $40,000 per year. However, your company elects to pay you $1 in salary and a $39,999 bonus at the end of the year. What happens to your take home pay as soon as your "distasteful bonus" is dismantled? And, since when can Congress be so judgemental? Last I checked, this country was in some serious debt, and earmarks are still being put into bills.

Consider this analogy: Mr. and Mrs. Average American just lost their jobs but have yet to pay off their house. Mr. American decides to continue to uphold his family's contractual obligation to pay their monthly morgage, and his family becomes outraged. They might say, "How can you possibly justify paying this amount of money every month?! We don't have any income!" The next day, Mr. American pulls up in the driveway in a brand new Rolls, and nobody puts up a fuss.

How backwards is that? But, that's exactly what is happening in our country right now.

Home Prices

I know that this video is a little old, two weeks or so, but it isn't really "mainstream media."



I found some additional data from the Standard & Poor's webpage. I believe that this data mirrors the entire U.S. economy. History supports the cyclical behavior of the economy in general, and we have been able to enjoy a large period of prosperous times. Now, it is time to return to earth. From a purely egocentric standpoint, the next few years aren't bad for young people that are ready to invest. As all things having to do with the U.S. economy drop, it seems like a great time to buy and hold.

UMass, Take 2

I am at a loss for words after staying up to watch that Texas Tech game last night. Thinking back, I am not sure that we could look any worse. The game was worse than UMass because we were supposed to have "broken through the wall." The Jayhawk faithful witnessed our potential against Mizzou and OU. And now, we have witnessed how bad we can really look.

It is difficult to pin the loss on one particular person. If anybody can be mostly absolved of blame, it would be Bill Self. We had PLENTY of open looks and stifled their offense with a change to zone. The calls from the bench were spot on. However, when Sherron Collins goes 3 for 19 (1 for 10 from deep) and Cole Aldrich goes without a field goal and a rebound for almost the entire first half, it's tough to win a ball game. On top of that, our on ball defense was pitiful. How does Brady Morningstar let Alan Voskuil make 9 of 14 threes and go for a career high 35 points? That could be Coach Self's one question mark: why didn't he put Sherron on him for a while? In my opinion, the loss boils down to our star performers not perfoming.

I realized that I may seem harsh to pin the majority of this loss on Collins and Aldrich, but that's facts, Jack. The reliable role is what the two of them have fallen into, and, for the most part, they have embraced it. I'm not saying we needed 25 points and 15 boards from Cole or 30 points and 10 assists from Sherron. A slightly under average game would have done just fine. Maybe Cole makes a LAY UP early in the second half to tie the game at 43. Then, who knows what happens? Our team gets energized and storms past the Voskuil Raiders. Or, maybe it wasn't our night, and they would have finished it off anyway. I know that everybody can't be on every game, but come on, everybody off on the same game? I'm sorry. The responsibility to pick up a down team falls upon its leaders.

The good thing, however, is that I still feel like we played hard. I am confident that Coach Self will have them ready for Saturday in Allen, and I look forward to finishing off a great season with an out-right BigXII regular season championship. Thanks Missouri.