Well, there's some justice in the world. Greenspan and his merry gang are losing some of their money, too. That's the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo.
According to the Financial Market Center, a private organization that analyzes financial data, Alan Greenspan, and four other Fed big shots lost a combined $2 million last year. Greenspan has most of his money in Treasury bills. And interest rates are going down, so his interest on reinvestment is falling.
Now nobody should feel sorry for Greenspan. He's a rich guy living large in D.C., but millions of other Americans have gotten hammered because of the Fed's failure to foresee the economic slowdown and its determination to use high interest rates to blunt the stock market.
Talking Points is fearful the American economy will slip even further. There doesn't seem to be much leadership in this area right now. The world is watching us and we are on vacation.
The Bush administration better get going on the economy soon, before consumers stop spending and start voting for the Democrats. In fact, this is a great opportunity for some Democratic presidential hopeful to outline a strong economic strategy, not the dopey anti-tax cut rhetoric we hear now.
You don't get out of a recession by government spending. Times of economic distress, the government needs to tighten spending. The more money the American people have, the better the economy will be. Economics 101.
I've said it before, but it's worth repeating. If the government would cut the capital gains tax, that would stimulate investment. That in turn, would give corporations cash to resume buying stuff and marketing what they have to sell. That, in turn, would raise earnings. There you go.
But Tom Daschle doesn't like that strategy because it takes money in the short run away from Washington. Notice I said in the short run. The big tax boys would get it all back and more because when the market begins to rise again, millions of Americans will take profits and 20 percent would go to the Feds.
Right now, there are no profits to take. So, the Feds are getting hammered and the tax surplus is shrinking. So read my lips, you power players in D.C., cut the capital gains tax. Get the economy moving again before we, the people, move you all out. And that's the memo.
Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Time now for the "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day."
Franco Gonzalez is an illegal immigrant living in Los Angeles. He makes about $300 a week washing dishes. So he's sitting at a bus stop earlier this week, and a truck zooms by.
Flying out of the truck is a clear bag. Franco picks it up and sees money -- lots of money -- $200,000 worth of money. So he takes it home, thinks about it, and then turns it into police.
There's a $25,000 reward attached to the money, but Franco isn't sure he's going to get it because of his illegal status. But we say he better get it and a green card, too, because we need more honest citizens like Franco.
It's ridiculous not to have him.
--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET. And send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox