Realitätsfremd

“It could have been worse.”

That is how John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch, defends his request for a $10 million bonus for 2008. Under his watch, the company’s stock performance burnt through billions of investors’ money. Under his watch the company needed to sell itself to Bank of America to ward off a Lehmann Brothers-like scenario. Goldman Sachs, not nearly faring as poorly as Merrill Lynch, will not pay out bonuses to senior management. And yet Thain feels he deserves the moolah because it could have been worse.

I was dumbstruck.

English has, by far, the largest vocabulary amongst the European languages. Despite that, you occasionally are at a loss of words when confronted with an outrageous situation, such as this.

I scoured my mind (and thesaurus) for a single word that encompasses the delusion that Thain must be experiencing. Initially, I thought that it was my being sick, and not a lack of words, that stopped me. Then hubby saved the day…

Realitätsfremd – German. Out of touch with reality, in the sense of being estranged from reality. Marie Antoinette-esque delusion.

I could have simply used the word delusion, but there is a marginal, yet significant, difference in meaning. Thain seems to find his success in how much more of a failure he could have been.

Sad. Very sad.

Weekend Summary

I survived my first single-mom-marathon after the arrival of baby #4! Needless to say, I am very tired; hence I am tapping my inner list-freak to summarise my weekend.

What put a smile on my face this weekend:

• Pleasantly surprised concierges - I always make a point of saying thank you. I suppose that does not occur often to a hotel concierege.
• A shortened single-mom-marathon - Hubby surprised me by catching an earlier flight home!
• As is tradition, he brought me home some yummy cheese and foie gras from Pa-ree.
• Baby said "mama" - I know he still does not associate the word with me, but it still makes my heart melt.
• Hubby's mom and step-dad - Always good for a nice kaffeetrinken.
• We went out visiting museums and random exhibits in the city. Upon seeing a case filled with crowns and tiaras, our younger daughter proclaimed to anyone who would listen that they belonged to mommy and papa because they are a king and queen.
• At no point did the children become uninterested or impatient in the museums and exhibits.
• Hearing that Bush claimed his favourite childhood book to be Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". (The book was first published when Bush was in his twenties.)
  

What did NOT put a smile on my face this weekend:

• The Eurozone officially entered recession.
• My stores of Tim Hortons coffee are now completely depleted.
• Hubby's horrible hotel experience - First the hotel left him waiting outside the airport for the shuttle which was going to arrive "in ten minutes". It took over an hour for the shuttle to arrive. Secondly, he was first placed in a smoking room - despite his request for a non-smoking room. This mistake was very reluctantly rectified. Thirdly, there was patch of mould, about 75cm in diameter, right next to his bed. (All this at a four star hotel!)
• Dishonest people who cannot read - Upon hearing that he might be able to catch a delayed flight back home a day early, he spent between five and ten minutes away from his hotel room, at the front desk, to negotiate a free cancellation of his second night in person. He made sure he hung the do not disturb sign on the doorknob before leaving. When he returned, his bed was made up, and a 50 Euro note that he left on his bedside table was missing. The housekeeper was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, hubby could only place a formal complaint by risking losing the courtesy late check-in window that the airline offered him as an exception, so he left it as such.
  
• I forgot to recharge my batteries and had to leave my camera at home.
• The weather - I do not mind cold weather, but I do despise strong gusts of wind with spitting rain.
• An arrogant waitress - I do not care if you are having a bad day; you NEVER let it show to a customer!
• Hubby's aunt - She is completely oblivious and/or condescending to everything that does not interest her or conflicts with her priorities.
  
• CNNI - Enough with Tomb 33 already! It was interesting the first two times it aired, but that was weeks ago and it now seems to be aired with increasing frequency. Wait another six months and I will happily watch it again.
  
• Our planned road trip to the Harz Mountains - We had to postpone it for mid-December.

(Photo from AP)

Obama won. Now what?

Now that I have had a couple of days to let the words “Obama is the President-elect” sink in, my feelings of elation have given way to those of concern and worry.

Yes, Obama is the first African-American President of the US. I do not mean to detract from the significance of that. What worries me is the high expectation that America, and the world, now have of him. His predecessor has done an absurdly effective job destroying America. The damage incurred is of such colossal magnitude that the road to recovery will likely be painstakingly long. Obama inherits an America that has lost a fair share of its friends and most of its respect internationally.

It is imperative that we remember Obama is also human. He cannot work miracles, which is what people seem to expect of him. Mistakes will undoubtedly be made. One can be certain that these mistakes will be magnified to ridiculous proportion by the opposition (and Fox News) – you only need to look back at McCain’s election campaign to see that.

In fact, the radical conservative revolt has already begun. They are composing “Obama Administration Survival Guides". They are advising people to transfer money offshore for fear of being robbed by the government. They are calling for the impeachment of Obama, and this man has not even been sworn into office, yet! One statement in particular affronted any sensible political awareness:

“There are a lot of Americans out there that do not fully understand the concept of Socialism or Communism which is why they’ve elected Obama as president.”

Obviously the authors of the ignorant statement do not fully understand the concept themselves. (If you follow my blog, you know how much the misuse of the “S” and “C” words infuriates me.) They continue to call for Obama’s impeachment because of his support for “various unconstitutional programs such as the assault weapons ban, universal healthcare, and various schemes for wealth distribution”. Obama wants to elevate American society and Americans’ social responsibility to the 21st century! Oh no! Run for your lives! Candidly speaking, we are no longer in the Wild Wild West, where everyone needs guns to protect themselves from the unpredictable, potentially around the corner, savages.

I am veering off point. In this post I am trying caution Americans of the danger in raising their hopes too high. The groundbreaking, history-making outcome of this year’s US elections must not overshadow the reality-based possibilities in policy-making. It is easy to become exuberant and maintain exuberance about someone’s accomplishments when there were low expectations. Disillusionment can set in very quickly, and unjustly, when expectations are as high as they are of President-elect Obama.

ACORN and the perils of the uninformed vote

Kaffeetrinken with my in-laws always comes with the guarantee of a fun-filled discussion about politics, religion, the economy and/or ethics. (Well, perhaps not always fun-filled, but definitely interesting and passionate.) Today’s get-together did not disappoint.

My step-father-in-law, like most Germans, used to be crazy for everything American – the food, the buildings, the culture and, yes, the politics. Blinded by this love, he zealously shot down hubby’s doom-filled predictions for US economy and foreign policy after “Dubya’s” reelection. “Bush may not be the smartest, but the GOP would never allow for the decline of their country,” he said confidently.

He is now so turned off by recent American political events, that he followed this past election campaign without his usual level of interest. Among other things we had to explain all about “that ACORN business” – which solicited this question: Why would anyone court the vote from the uneducated, uninformed and uninterested?

ACORN’s aim to “get-out-the-vote” is fundamentally a noble one. Theoretically, the more people vote, the more democratic the outcome. The alleged “potential election fraud” by false vote registration cards was nothing more than a political manoeuvre. I would pay to see Mickey Mouse to show up at the polling station with valid identification in order to make use of that “fraudulent” registration. Hence, there is no way these false registrations will have any effect on the outcome.

With some of the recent, outlandish remarks by likely voters, my step-father-in-law raises an interesting aspect. Why is it beneficial to a democracy for people to cast a vote, and therewith influence the course of politics potentially substantially, based on utterly uninformed opinions and/or currently less central or irrelevant issues such as:

• Obama is a one-man terror cell.
• Obama is a Muslim.
• Obama is anti-American.
• Obama is a Marxist.

(I tried to find equally bizarre rumors about McCain, for balance. I was unsuccessful. I am not surprised.
UPDATE: LeftLeaningLady supplied me with a few; they are listed in the comments section.)

• Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice
• The fact that Obama would be the first African-American President
• The fact that Palin would be the first elected female VP
• The fact that one candidate fought in a war and the other did not
• How many homes a candidate owns
• A non-American middle name

It disconcerts me that in the current economic climate some voters, such as Kevin Sheen, are solely centering their vote on abortion. I respect that to some people this is a very important issue, but I find it difficult to understand why this issue is so heavily weighted against the economy and foreign policy. Such debates find their roots in religious belief, and should stay there. For that very reason did the Founding Fathers of the US insist on the separation of church and state.

An uninformed vote adds no value to a democracy; in fact it subtracts, regardless of the political affiliation of said vote. But who would get to choose which vote is informed and which is not? The aim must be to educate, as comprehensively as possible, eligible voters of the political platforms out there. Desisting from perpetual attack ads one way or the other would be a first step. Instead, entering into an in-depth, respectful debate is far healthier and democratic than fear mongering.

The message should be: Get-out, get-informed, then vote.

My Abbreviated Take on Social Policy (nur auf englisch)

I realise I already had my “rant” about taxes on this blog, but I have just come across two articles which I believe need to be read.

Socialism and Taxes = Not Necessarily a Bad Thing
I always find an argument to be stronger when put forth by someone who has previously opposed it. Christina G., who was Republican when she moved to Germany over six years ago, explains eloquently in her blog why she now calls herself “a believer”.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives contends that betterment for society does not necessarily lie in tax cuts, but in the re-arranging of revenue distribution. And yes, with that I mean implementing policies into government that slightly lean towards the left of the political spectrum. Currently the implementations of such policies appear impossible for a country such as the US, where McCarthy, Nixon and co. have done a brilliant job fostering the irrational phobia of socialism. Decades later, many Americans are still allergic to the mere thought and theory of socially conscious policy-making.

Socialism ≠ Communism
At this point, I need to point out that the word socialism needs to be used with great caution. There are many shades of socialism. Communists frequently hailed themselves as inherently socialist. Obviously, I’m not talking about that kind of socialism. I’m talking about the “socialism” of free-market, western countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France and, of course, Germany. I sincerely hope that those individuals who falsely equate socialism with communism realise that adopting a couple left-leaning ideas into government does not turn you into a raging red Communist. It will likely improve the societal quality of life.

NB – I wonder how many Americans realise that by comparison within the G-7, the Democrats are not at all left-wing, or even centre-left, but find themselves in centre-right territory.

My Abbreviated Take on the Canadian Federal Election (nur auf englisch)

When I started this blog, I vowed that I would not comment on the highly entertaining US elections or the extraordinarily worrisome global financial crises until I commented on the Canadian elections. Attempting to develop an informed opinion proved rather difficult. My exposure to Canadian politics was limited to what was reported on BBC World and CNNI which, to put it plainly, was a minute blip when compared to US election coverage (living in Germany, and without access to the internet for most of September did not help). I had a lot of catching up to do.

I am ecstatic that I found the English-language federal leaders debate posted on You-Tube. I quite like the round-table concept. The traditional debate platform somehow reminds me of a battleground, with the party leaders entering their battle stations at their podiums. The intimate setting of the round-table is inherently more egalitarian and reduces unfair advantages/disadvantages in physical appearance: i.e. if a candidate has a particularly impressive build, height, etc., the candidate can compensate lack of knowledge to some extent with an overpowering posture, large hand movements and a loud voice. This is not possible as much at the round-table setting. If someone positively stands out in the round-table format, it speaks of their being knowledgeable about the key issues and their ability to communicate said knowledge well.

It was nice to see Harper looking like a child who got into trouble when May called him out on his lack of economic platform. Was it really surprising that he asked for more debate time dedicated to economics? It was traditional divide-and-conquer tactics. The economic situation is on everyone’s mind, so naturally he wanted extra time to attack the other parties’ platforms. If he wins, it’s not going to be because he got everyone to vote for him; it will be because he stopped everyone from voting strategically against him.

Sadly, I missed the deadline to register for special ballot. If I didn’t, I would probably vote for the Green Party (to the chagrin of my staunchly hubby, with whom I can look forward to some animated debates). I am all for returning the GST to six percent – that is one form of taxation that I have no problem with a slight increase in, especially if income taxes are decreased or cut altogether. In my opinion, taxes should not be deducted whilst you earn it, but rather whilst you spend it. Yes, there is still an intrinsic unfairness in GST taxing, as low income households will spend proportionally more on consumption than the affluent. However, this form of taxation is more efficient than being heavy on income tax. In an ideal world, I believe that an income tax should only be imposed on reasonably high incomes (i.e. over $100,000, $150,000, or $200,000 p.a.) and that GST should be refunded in part or full for those living under the poverty line. But I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.

One thing I noticed from living in Germany is that taxes do not have as bad a stigma attached to them as they do in North America (particularly the US). When people talk about taxes here, they are not saying this tax should be cut and that tax should be reduced. They are saying that they want the tax revenues spent here instead of there. I would like to hear more of that attitude in North America instead of the “I’m overtaxed” mantra that has been chanted for way too many years. As such, taxes are not a bad thing. They make your governmental health insurance possible. They fix the roads you drive on. They pay for the education for our children. They allow the government to be a stabilizing force in our current market woes. Hence taxes are not the problem but the policies governing them and the inefficiencies in how the tax revenue is leveraged.

In the interest of stopping myself from a long-winded rampage, I think I’ll stop here. Besides, I am sure there will be more to say after the fourteenth.