American People 1 - Washington Insiders 0

The good news to come out of Washington is that one tax cheat is gone and another one or two or their significant others seem to be on the way out. I want to personally thank President Obama for doing the right thing and applaud his apology for the Daschle mistake on national television; I can only hope he continues to do the right thing. I also truly appreciate that he and his staff seem to be taking my words to heart and acting on them. Of course this is pure speculation on my part, but hopeful none the less.

Still, I am confused about one thing that came out of the Nation’s Capital this week about use of tax dollars for unnecessary expenses. Thursday evening, the big story was the President’s speech at the annual Congressional retreat. I believe it was his first official flight on Air Force One and expect it and the retreat cost quite a bit of money. Why is this use of tax dollars tolerated during these times while similar expenses incurred by firms that accepted bailouts are not only questioned but vilified? I don’t get it: The bailed-out companies only recently went on the dole, while Congress and the Government have been on the dole for more then 200 years. Shouldn’t we cut the private sector a little bit of slack?

On the hedge fund front, the big news of the week was of course Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introducing a bill titled “The Hedge Fund Transparency Act.” If enacted, hedge funds and private equity funds would be forced to become investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission when they hit $50 million in assets under management. In doing so, they would be required to disclose all sorts of stuff, blah, blah, blah and a little more blah. I am sure it is supposed to do something other then add to the bureaucracy but I haven’t figured it out yet. One thing is for sure: The lawyers win with this – lots more billable hours dealing with registration and all that good stuff.

I find it funny that these two Senators and probably many other members of Congress, the press, probably even President Obama and others believe that registration will correct all that ails the hedge fund and private equity worlds. We all know that this just another example of Washington window dressing. After all, the Treasury Secretary’s recovery and stability plan includes using hedge funds and private equity funds as sources of capital to get us out of this mess!

One thing is for sure, though: A lot of journalists, both print and broadcast, are secretly hoping the bill doesn’t pass, because if it does, they will no longer be able to lead all their hedge fund stories with the phrase : “The highly unregulated and secretive world of hedge funds”!

THINGS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY!

I am tired of people not taking responsibility. Over the past week, my wife and I scheduled to have our phones switched from one carrier to another. It seemed rather simple, but, as is everything these days, it turned out to be a headache. The real problem turned out to be Comcast Operator No. 441 – Debbie. She’s a really terrible employee and in my opinion should be fired. Not only did she accuse me of lying to her but, to throw fuel on the fire, when I asked to speak with a supervisor, she responded “The supervisor does not want to speak with you now” and then hung up. This drove me crazy, not because she hung up, but because I can only believe that this is corporate policy at Comcast. “Get rid of the callers who expect something” seems to be their motto. After all, what do they need me for, I’m just a customer.