John Boehner to Barack Obama : "WHY AREN'T YOU NEGOTIATING???"

remarks : user eduardo2 in the readers' comments on 10/8/2013 9:44 AM PST in response to the new item "Obama renews calls on Congress to end shutdown, raise debt limit," published on Tuesday, October 8 in the Washington Post.

After reading the full transcript of President Obama’s Oct. 8 news conference on the shutdown and debt limit here, I was tempted to write my comment which I reproduce below :


jasuja wrote:
1:36 PM PST




"Significant damage has already been caused (to all the eligible entities) by the world-wide discussion of the government shut down and the default deadline of Oct. 17. I can't believe that Americans elect such foolish lawmakers who don't realise this obvious outcome of their egoistic behaviour. I hope they are NOT doing this under influence of some vested interests at the highest level, and to fulfill some ulterior motives. This is a globalised world. Someone's loss is someone else's gain. I am trying to know who is going to gain at the cost of Americans in the present uncertain scenario."

Meanwhile, I stumbled upon a very unique response from a reader (user name : eduardo2), giving the chronology of John Boehner's (Republican's) communication with Barack Obama since Oct. 2008 to Oct. 2013. I feel like sharing this by reproducing it below :


eduardo2 wrote 
10/8/2013 9:44 AM PST

Oct 2008: "You'll never get elected and pass healthcare."

Nov 2008: "We'll never let you pass healthcare."

Jan 2009: "We are going to shout you down every time you try to pass healthcare."

July 2009: "We will fight to the death every attempt you make to pass healthcare."

Dec 2009: "We will destroy you if you even consider passing healthcare."

March 2010: "We can't believe you just passed healthcare."

April 2010: "We are going to overturn healthcare."

Sept 2010: "We are going to repeal healthcare."

Jan 2011: "We are going to destroy healthcare."

Feb 2012: "We are going to elect a candidate who will immediately revoke healthcare."

June 2012: "We will go to the Supreme Court, and they will overturn healthcare."

Aug 2012: "The American people will never re-elect you, because they don't want healthcare."

Oct 2012: "We can't wait to win the election and explode healthcare."

Nov 2012: "We can't believe you just got re-elected and that we can't repeal healthcare."

Feb 2013: "We're still going to vote to obliterate healthcare."

June 2013: "We can't believe the Supreme Court just upheld healthcare."

July 2013: "We're going to vote like 35 more times to erase healthcare."

Sept 2013: "We are going to leverage a government shutdown into defunding, destroying, obliterating, overturning, repealing, dismantling, erasing and ripping apart healthcare."

Oct 2013: "WHY AREN'T YOU NEGOTIATING???"

If you look at the economic and wage structures in Russia, you will see that people get a disproportionally large amount of money for little work

Mikhail Shamolin

said: Mikhail Shamolin, President and CEO of Sistema, one of Russia's top-10 companies by revenues and the largest publicly-traded diversified holding company in Russia and the CIS. Mikhail Shamolin feels that the ideology should be completely different. "We should propagate through all the means of mass communication that only through hard work will you make a decent living," he is quoted saying in a recent news report. Shamolin said he went to the Samsung headquarters in South Korea recently and saw workers who came to work at 6:30 a.m., left at 10 p.m. and worked on Saturdays. On a different trip, he saw Chinese telecommunications workers who had mattresses for sleeping over at the office. A similar approach to work should be promoted in Russia, he said. The productivity levels of companies that work in competitive sectors are comparable to those of companies in the West, but monopolies trail far behind, Shamolin said. For example, Sberbank and VTB make $200,000 per worker annually, which is comparable to the $175,000 at Deutsche Bank, while Russian Railways makes $47,000 per worker.

B.V. Obnosov

The Director General of the Tactical Missiles Corporation - the parent enterprise which comprises 19 affiliated enterprises of Russian Military Industrial Sector - Boris Obnosov, agreed that the Russian work ethic can depress production results. "How can we create competitive products if my engineer runs off from work at exactly 5 p.m.?" Obnosov said. "You cannot force him to work for any kind of salary. It must be in his blood."

Expert Rating Agency, #1 Russian rating agency working on a global scale, has come out with its latest Expert-400 ranking survey of Russia's top companies. The total sales revenues generated by Russia’s top 400 companies amount to 1.456 trillion USD. The Expert-400 study warns that large businesses in Russia are prone to fall into stagnation if suitable measures are not taken to increase the national competitiveness by increasing labour productivity. At present the average labour productivity in Russian companies is 40 percent of that of the Fortune 500 Global companies. The survey finds that the average labour productivity of Expert-400 companies is 183,000 USD/person. This is 3.4 times lower than their Japanese counterparts, almost 3 times lower than in Western European and U.S. competitors and 1.7 times lower than in the leading corporations of the BRIC partners.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

In his election articles, Russian President Vladimir Putin had called for 1.5-time increase in operational efficiency by 2018. The tools for labour productivity enhancement - improvement of business processes, using of cutting-edge technologies and training of workers and their skill development - all involve capital investment. According to Expert Rating Agency, a 1% increase in investment leads to 0.21% growth in labour productivity. Hence in order to achieve 1.5-times increase in productivity by 2018, the top Russian companies - whose combined investment in fixed capital stood at 12.5 trillion RUB (approx. 415 billion USD) in 2012 - would require an additional 4 trillion RUB (approx. 130 billion USD) worth of investment. Presently, Top 10 leading state-owned companies account for approx. 30% of the aggregate revenues of Expert-400 list. 

According to Expert Rating Agency, Russia no longer has the market advantage in terms of cheap natural resources, labor and utilities. "Local industries pay 55 percent more for electricity than their counterparts in the U.S., while gas and coal prices for Russian power stations are on par with the American ones.

The average net salary in Russia was 23,410 rubles per month in 2012, which is higher than the wages in all other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as some European Union members, such as Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. The lack of professionals is a key issue in the country, Obnosov said. The Tactical Missiles Corporation employs about 40,000 people, but there is a trend of workers going to higher-paying jobs at Rosatom and the defense industry.

An old fashioned workforce with relatively weak technical skills and the inability of Russian companies to absorb new technology are significant obstacles to more widespread technology use in Russia. Appropriate human capital and skills are crucial for technology absorption, as technology alone is not sufficient to achieve productivity growth.

America Is Already Politically Bankrupt: "The Blocked World Power"

The Statue of Liberty in New York is
currently closed due to the government shutdown

Says title of the article (and the described picture) by Charly Wilder in Spiegel Online International in which a review of German commentators on the United States government shutdown has been presented. One of the illustrative aftereffects given in the article includes a picture of The Statue of Liberty in New York which is currently lying closed due to the government shutdown. 

"The picture on the cover of German business daily Handelsblatt yesterday fairly well encapsulates the way the US federal government shutdown is being perceived across the Atlantic," writes Charly. The Statue of Liberty stands bound in chains, her torch hand hanging listlessly by her side. Across it reads the headline: "The Blocked World Power." 

Charly has quoted the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as saying: "What Washington currently offers up is a spectacle, but one in which the spectators feel more like crying." This editorial also says that the shutdown is the result of many factors, both ideological and political, and involves huge risk for the US. According to this editorial, "the political establishment in Washington appears to have got rotten to the core driving the world power into a budgetary state of emergency." People are wondering how things could have been allowed to get to this point.

By and large, the Germans describe the shutdown as a "specifically American problem," and a similar government shutdown is ruled out in Berlin, where Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently discussing Germany's federal budget with her prospective coalition partner, the center-left Social Democrats.

According to Charly, Germany's right-leaning daily Die Welt has published an article titled : "The whole world pays for America's shutdown," in which Anton Böner, president of the Federal Association for German Wholesalers and Foreign Trade, has warned : "If the Americans shoot themselves in the foot right now, it is highly dangerous for the entire global economy, and of course for the German export economy."

Gregor Peter Schmitz

The German press, by and large, blames the Republicans for the current deadlock. Gregor Peter Schmitz of Spiegel Online calls their party as 'Kamikaze Party' or "Cocktail Party." Attributing the crisis to the political culture, Schmitz opines that America's mercenary political culture is responsible for the creation of such circumstances in which "a brigade of Republicans conduct themselves like a bunch of Berlusconis - as enemies of the state from within who want to cripple the country because that's the desire of their conservative voters at home."

Charly quotes Nuremberg's Nachrichten as writing: "There are fundamentalists within the world's largest democracy : The hardline wing of the Republican Party is once more crippling the United States. The Tea Party movement does not engage in democracy, but in dogmatism."  Charly also quotes a commentator writing in Collogne's Stadt-Anzeiger about the Republicans: "Here are fundamentalists at work who hold up their country to ridicule to advance their pure doctrine. What a tragedy!" Munich's national Süddeutsche Zeitung offers a slightly more depressing take, writes Charly.

According to this paper, since last few years, the United States - one of the world's oldest democracies - has been the victim of what can be called as politics of 'self-destruction.' The great tragedy is that this work of destruction isn't being wrought by enemies of democracy or greedy lobbyists or sinister major party donors. It is being done by the very people who are supposed to preserve it: the voters, the parties and the politicians."

The Republicans who have brought Washington to standstill are repeatedly and democratically elected by voters and given a mandate to block. The parties themselves are fomenting an increasingly radicalized culture that deepens political, societal and geographic divisions in the country. There are very few politicians in America who are willing or capable of thinking beyond their own electoral constituencies. Charly ends his post with this paper's conclusion: "At the moment, Washington is fighting over the budget and nobody knows if the country will still be solvent in three weeks,"  "What is clear, though, is that America is already politically bankrupt."

America's Shutdown is China's Login

Herbert Walter

Says : the title of today’s post by Herbert Walter, Ex-Chief of Dresdner Bank (who led Dresdner Bank from 2003 to 2009) and a financial wizard, in German Business Daily Handelsblatt.

Commenting on the US shutdown's impact on the Capital markets across the globe, Walter writes that 'current the bizarre financial crisis in the United States' have not much impacted the markets so far because there exists 'apparently unshakable opinion' everywhere that President Barack Obama will get his budget through and ultimately everything will be alright.

According to Walter, a higher debt limit will save the country from insolvency but the solution offered will only be for the short term. The United States faces substantial damage of its reputation through the budget disputes. As a result, Walter foresees an accelerated descent of the country as the number one world power. He feels that "Quite possibly China will take its place in the long run." China has become the world's second strongest economic power in the last 20 years and accumulated huge wealth which is evident from the facts that it is the largest creditor of the U.S. and has more than three trillion U.S. dollars foreign exchange reserves. Walter predicts that - in view of the weak and unstable US financial strength - China will reset its wealth globally for strategic acquisition of companies, real estate, commodities and natural resources. (Source: Handelsblatt)

It's the US's responsibility to protect the interest of its creditors. The U.S. government should take "decisive and credible steps" to avoid a debt crisis and ensure the safety of Chinese investments. We hope the US will learn from history.

Zhu Guangyao

Said : Zhu Guangyao, Vice-Minister of Finance, while calling on the US to stay solvent to ensure the safety of massive Chinese assets, as reported in the Communist party newspaper People's Daily of October 8, 2013. This was the first official comment to the US government shutdown from China. China is US's biggest creditor holding $1277.3 millions worth of Treasury Securities as of the end of July, according to the US Treasury data. Next is Japan owning 1135.4 millions of US debt. The U.S. government should take "decisive and credible steps" to avoid a debt crisis and ensure the safety of Chinese investments, Zhu said.

In a press conference, Zhu, who indicated that his government is in constant contact with U.S. policymakers, expressed his concern about the US government shutdown and the fiscal deadlock and said : "it's the US's responsibility" to protect the interest of its creditors. The US Treasury Department has already set Oct 17 as the deadline before which it will run out of cash. Unless Congress authorizes it to borrow more before Oct 17, the US faces insolvency for the first time in its history. US government bonds are regarded as the pillars of global financial markets and a default will send shock waves across the globe. "We hope the US will learn from history," Zhu added. 

US government bonds are considered risk free across the globe. A default would push up bond yields worldwide, make borrowing harder, freeze liquidity and eventually plunge the world economy into recession once again. However, China Daily has also quoted He Weiwen, co-director of the China-US/European Union Study Center at the China Association of International Trade, saying that the possibility of a US default is slim. According to He, the debt ceiling issue and recent government shutdown are mainly a result of disputes between Democrats and Republicans, and such disputes have become more regular in recent years. But the two parties will eventually work out a conciliatory plan, he said. However, He Weiwen believes that a larger risk China should be wary of is the possible tapering off of the quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve, which could lead to possible capital flight from emerging economies, even though the US has promised to consider the spillover effect on other countries when making such a move. Defending Zhu's remarks, he said : "It's right, though, for Vice-Minister Zhu to make such a stance to urge the US to protect China's interest."

Taro Aso

Reuters, in its news report today, has revealed that "Japan's finance minister, Taro Aso, also pressed the United States to quickly resolve its political deadlock over government finances to avoid a fiscal crisis that could damage the global economy." The news report has quoted Taro Aso telling reporters after a cabinet meeting that "The U.S. must avoid a situation where it cannot pay (for its debt) and its triple-A ranking plunges all of a sudden. The U.S. must be fully aware that if that happens the U.S. would fall into fiscal crisis.

As per the official data, U.S. liabilities to foreigners reported by U.S. banks were recorded at $4.8 trillion in June 2013, an increase of $240 billion from year-end 2012. U.S. banking liabilities include foreign holdings of U.S. short-term securities but exclude foreign holdings of U.S. long-term securities.

Besides China and Japan, other major holders of US Treasury Securities are : Brazil  ($256.4 billions); Taiwan ($185.8 billions); Switzerland ($178.2 billions); Belgium ($167.7 billions); United Kingdom ($156.9 billions); Luxembourg ($146.8 billions); Russia ($131.6 billions); Hong Kong ($120.0 billions); Ireland ($117.9 billions), and others.

Approximately 5% of practicing physicians in Canada engage in recurrent disruptive behaviour - inappropriate words, abusive language, shaming, outbursts of anger or threats of physical force, refusing to work cooperatively with others or being chronically late for scheduled patient appointments or meetings; or paying more attention to email than to discussions during work-related meetings.

Said : the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) located at Ottawa - Canada's capital and the fourth largest city in the country - in its discussion paper titled "The role of physician leaders in addressing physician disruptive behavior in healthcare institutions," released during its 2013 annual meeting held on August 21 this year. The paper addresses the issue of disruptive behavior and recognizes the negative impact of this behavior on providers and on patient safety. The Association has more than 86,000 members. (download full paper in pdf here) According to the discussion paper, although all health professionals, including administrators, can demonstrate disruptive behavior it may be particularly noticeable among doctors due to their role in the provision of care. Studies show approximately 5% of practicing physicians engage in recurrent disruptive behavior  These physicians are at risk of medico-legal consequences including human rights complaints and hospital investigations which can lead to suspension of hospital privileges. As well, investigations by Colleges can lead to suspension, restriction, or revocation of medical licensure, and termination of a medical career.

The paper notes that nearly 73% of respondents to the Canadian Association of Internes and Residents 2012 National Resident Survey reported experiencing inappropriate behavior by others that made them feel diminished during their residency. Half of all respondents (50.5%) experienced this behavior from other staff physicians or nursing staff. The most commonly cited behavior was yelling, shaming, and condescension (the attitude or behavior of people who believe they are more intelligent or better than other people). All physicians can experience or witness disruptive behaviour at some point in their careers.

Dr. John Gray

According to Dr. John Gray, CEO of the CMPA, there is interest in the healthcare community to address the issue of disruptive behavior  While this is in part due to regulatory and legislative changes, the growing sentiment in the healthcare community is that disruptive actions by doctors and other providers have never been acceptable, and collectively, the community needs to eliminate this conduct. “Disruptive behavior is a complex issue,” added Dr. Gray.  “It involves identifying the behavior and assessing whether any underlying factors exist that may be contributing to these actions, such as excessive workload, stresses in the work environment or individual physician health issues. While physician leaders play an essential role in this process, disruptive behavior requires a collaborative and tiered response.” “Every effort should be made to address disruptive behavior  when it happens,” said Dr. Gray. “Early identification and proactive intervention combined with a thorough workplace assessment and remediation when necessary, can yield positive results. Given the challenges with Canada’s physician supply, every effort should be made to retain high performing physicians.” 

The CMPA concludes that continued collaboration and dialogue at the national, provincial, territorial and local level are necessary to help mitigate and eliminate disruptive behaviour in the healthcare environment. The CMPA will continue to work with physician leaders, institutions and stakeholders to advance this important discussion. (Source : CMPA)

Start-ups are moving so fast that even paralysis in Washington won't get in their way.

Alan Patricof

Said : Alan Patricof, founder and managing director of Greycroft Partners as reported in Lydia DePillis's post in today's Washingtonpost. Alan is a longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital with more than 40 years of experience in this field.

Lydia, in her post, discusses "Why Silicon Valley has been silent on the shutdown" in spite of the fact that "Lobby shops for companies like Google and Facebook have ballooned, campaign contributions have started to flow, new organizations have formed, and high-profile advocacy campaigns have made headlines across the country."

Vivek Wadhwa writes in Washington Post that most of "Silicon Valley’s inhabitants aren't experiencing the misery that furloughed government employees are. But the Valley seems totally oblivious to what is happening in the nation’s capital." He noticed that the Valley’s “don’t care” attitude about government is strikingly visible.

The Valley’s "what, me worry?" attitude largely emanates from the fact that companies in the tech world are mostly funded by venture capitalists and angel investors and not by banks. Banks are much more cautious and their lending behaviors change with the prevailing macroeconomic conditions whereas VCs and angel investors enjoy much more freedom with their cash and are generally more liberal and willing to fund exciting new tech companies.

Vivek Wadhwa

Lydia DePilli

Wadhwa's observation that the Valley seems to have shrugged off the shutdown crisis entirely is, therefore, in sync with the Valley's ground realities. Alan's comment - in Lydia's post - quite appropriately describes this reality. "Frankly the start-up wave that's going on in this country is inexorable; nothing seems to be able to stop it. And most of our companies are at such an early high growth stage, they're growing 30, 40, 50 percent a year, so they're relatively isolated (from the D.C. impasse)."

Joe Green

However, there are people who feel that there is a need to create a voice for the knowledge community as America is already a major player and enjoys leadership position in the knowledge-based industry. They want this for the future and not for the short-term selfish motives. They are quite sure that an organized knowledge community in America can have a very powerful voice that can significantly influence politics, and hence, policy making. 

Facebook-affiliated FWD.us' director Joe Green - Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard roommate - is one such person, according to Lydia who feels that this (shutdown) is one of those times when such a voice could have an impact. FWD.us is an advocacy organization created to promote policies that will lead to a more advanced workforce and stronger knowledge economy in the U.S. The organization is backed by a diverse group of leading innovators, job creators, business owners and founders from Silicon Valley’s tech sector.