McNay on Money

McNay on Money

Save Us from Ben Bernanke

Even before he was appointed as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, I concluded that Ben Bernanke was out of touch with working Americans. Only Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky agreed with me; the United States Senate rubberstamped Ben’s confirmation.

As interest rates on 10-year Treasury Bonds zoomed up to 5.25%, I am wondering how many Senators would like to have that vote back. Bernanke is in over his head in a touchy and tough economic market.

High interest rates are wonderful for people (like me) who are in the structured settlement or annuity business. They are not good for the overall economy.

People in the real estate and construction businesses benefit from lower interest rates. Those people are hurting and they are going to hurt some more. Ben is not the only reason for their pain but he is doing little to ease it.

Here are a couple of columns I wrote about Bernanke last year:

The People Really Calling The Shots
http://www.donmcnay.com/content/view/57/9/

Big Shot Bernanke
http://www.donmcnay.com/content/view/37/9/


Speaking of Structured Settlements

Michael Stevens runs an excellent legal blog called Kentucky Injury Law Journal. Last week, he posted an interesting United States Court of Appeals ruling about companies (like the ones you see non-stop on television) who purchase structured settlements from injury victims. The ruling makes it difficult, if not impossible, for someone receiving money from a Federal Torts Claim Act settlement to sell their structured settlement to a settlement purchaser.

This is a wise and well reasoned decision.

Over the years, I’ve cranked out over 50 scholarly articles on arcane subjects like structured settlements, qualified settlement funds and other topics.

I am working on a few more of those “articles that need footnotes”. The case last week reminded me of one that I wrote a few years ago about Federal Torts Claim Act cases.

Thomas Lee Gentry, who is now the head of the civil division for the United States Attorneys in Lexington, Ky., co-authored an article with me about FTCA cases for the Trial Diplomacy Journal. The article seems more relevant now than when we wrote it in 1997.

Trial Diplomacy Journal: "Structured Settlements and the Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act of 1995

http://www.mcnay.com/Featured%20Articles.htm

U.S. Sixth Cir. Ct. of Appeals denies state court jurisdiction over structured FTCA settlement per sovereign immunity

http://kentuckylaw.typepad.com/kytortlaw/2007/06/us_sixth_cir_ct.html


Don