Letters: Woe in the financial markets

What an economic mess we're in ["Stock market stress," News, Aug. 9]. Perhaps some advice from the classics will help President Barack Obama.

In "David Copperfield," Charles Dickens offered this financial advice: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." Although written more than 150 years ago, the message is clear. Heck, even high school students understand it. How much misery is enough, Mr. President?

Leadership has been called the art of influencing. Perhaps therein lies the root cause of the mess we're in: the president's inability to influence individuals and impact their decisions. When, Mr. President, will you start leading this country?

Richard Gluck, Wading River
 

Thanks to Congress, we have the beginnings of a stock market crash. Usually markets crash because greedy investors have driven prices so high that it crashes as a result of its own excesses. A bursting bubble of greed, so to speak. But that is not the case this time. We can squarely blame this start of a crash on the politicians we all elected.

Prior to the egregious behavior of our politicians in handling the debt ceiling issue, the stock market was in a nice long-term uptrend, with stocks reasonably priced and the likes of Apple leading the way with great, new American products. Yes, we have big-time unemployment, and that was and is a continuing drag on the economy and the stock market. Yes, the housing industry is still in a depression. And yes, some banks like Bank of America are having big trouble with their stock price. But overall, we were digging ourselves out of a big, deep hole and slowly recovering.

The toxic partisan politics has destroyed the positive glide path of the stock market and the economy. Their silly stupidity on the world stage, gambling with possible default on American debt, scared not only us but the whole world. How could these crackpots in Washington ever be trusted with the buttons that could destroy the world?

Let's start with some fresh new minds and faces in Washington.

Tom Lloyd Sr., Massapequa
 

I remember how Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was able to reveal to the taxpayers in New York how the gimmick in Albany was to increase the budget every year before they started looking at it. These built-in increases led to the deficit that he faced, and by eliminating them, presto chango, we had a nearly balanced state budget.

Why can't we do the same in Washington? We could eliminate our deficit, or at least narrow it, by freezing spending. No cuts at all. Why can't our politicians do at least that?

Paul Sheridan, Hicksville
 

If there is a public financial adviser, who at first failed to give needed advice and as a result millions of people lost billions of dollars, what credibility would that firm have? Then suppose, but a short time later, that same allegedly neutral advisory firm gave you skewed advice that once again cost untold billions of dollars. Would you put any faith in, or trust that same firm?

Standard & Poor's failed in its job just a few short years back, never informing investors about the true risks associated with the bundled mortgages that were given AAA ratings. Yet now, this very same rating agency turns around and arbitrarily lowers the credit rating of United States' government-backed securities, creating unfounded fear that once again causes huge losses for investors. How can any firm with a track record like this retain any credibility?

If anyone thinks, for even one moment, that this move was without partiality, I would strongly suggest that the S&P report be read in its entirety. Once that is done, perhaps the markets would react differently when the suppositions and guesses contained in it see the light of public scrutiny.

George Jehn, Bayville
 

There is no question that our political leadership is more focused on making the opposition look bad than doing what is best for our country ["American people have Congress' number," Opinion, Aug. 8]. In the wake of their actions, they have only succeeded in appearing inept, pushing S&P to issue a downgrade and further damage the limited wealth of the average American. What do we want and need our leaders to do to pull us out of the hole they have pushed us into? Try working together. Here are a few no-brainers our politicians could start with:

First, eliminate the employee cap on income subject to FICA. This would make for a more equitable tax, no longer benefiting those earning over the $106,700 cap, while closing half the Social Security shortfall. Reducing the cap on employer contributions would promote hiring.

Next, start taxing the wealthiest 2 percent at a higher rate. While we clearly need to make significant spending cuts, the reality is that some of this spending stimulates the economy. Our political leaders must acknowledge the need for both spending cuts and additional taxation. They must also work together to make smart decisions in which cuts are made and how tax policy is changed. Absent bipartisan cooperation, there will be no winners.

Robert Biancardi, Valley Stream