Bits Bucket For September 4, 2010
Post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
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Student loan debt — the new courtship undesirable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/your-money/04money.html?hp
“When, exactly, are you supposed to reveal a debt of this size during the courtship? Earlier than you’d disclose, say, a chronic illness?”
“Even if disclosure doesn’t render you unmarriageable, tricky questions linger. If one person brings a huge debt to a relationship, who is ultimately responsible for making good on the obligation? And if it’s $170,000, isn’t the more solvent partner going to resent that debt over time no matter how early the disclosure comes? After all, it will profoundly affect every financial decision, from buying a home to how many children to have.”
These stories always interest me. Inflation and deflation are both part of the middle class sqeeze. But $170,000 for studying photography in school?
Also the gal who wants to be an emergency room doctor/surgeon: I wonder just how long she will really want to stay in her career - malpractice, regulations, and so on are making many doctors give up their careers after a short stint.
At the rate emergency rooms are being closed she will be lucky to find a slot.
As the money squeeze rolls on, less money for medicine means less demand for doctors in general.
Oh I think that Az Slim will confirm that it’s perfectly natural to rack up $170,000 in student loans getting a degree in high-income-potential photography.
Ms. Eastman in San Francisco says she knows that now. “What would I have done differently, besides bringing a copy of my credit report on the first date?” she said, with a rueful chuckle. “I would have been more responsible.”
Geez I’m thinking of starting dating again. Just one more thing to worry about. I keep putting it off because my “list” keeps getting longer.
I don’t know most of my photo friends never seemed to go to a expensive formal school, To me its like being any kind of artist practice practice practice…. You either have an ‘Eye” for photography or you don’t….can you really teach that to people.?
I should post some of my Grand Canyon, Niagara falls i took with a kodak Instamatic years ago
Oh I think that Az Slim will confirm that it’s perfectly natural to rack up $170,000 in student loans getting a degree in high-income-potential photography.
“But $170,000 for studying photography in school?”
Even better stories are in current circulation.
P.S. Bawn and bred in Cocoa Beach, FL.
Stripper Finds Degree Profitable for Goldman Wasn’t Worth It
By John Hechinger - Aug 6, 2010 1:09 PM PT
Goldman Reaps Millions While Stripper Regrets Her Degree
Carrianne Howard makes her living in a way that doesn’t require a college diploma from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale; stripping at the Lido Cabaret, a topless club in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Photographer: Misty Kealer/Bloomberg
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Source: Bloomberg
…
Carrianne Howard dreamed of designing video games, so she enrolled in a program at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, a for-profit college part-owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Her bachelor’s degree in game art and design cost $70,000 in tuition and fees. After she graduated in December 2007, she found a job that paid $12 an hour recruiting employees for video game companies. She lost that job a year later when her department was shuttered.
These days, Howard, 26, makes her living in a way that doesn’t require a college diploma: by stripping at the Lido Cabaret, a topless club in Cocoa Beach, Florida. “I didn’t know what else to do,” she says. “I’ve got a worthless degree. It’s like I didn’t attend school at all.”
…
I’m repeatedly awestruck how people will borrow and spend big bucks getting training in a career without doing substantial labor market research or vocational assessments to see if this job even “fits.” My advice to students at the Community College where I work…interview people who are actually DOING THE JOB!! It’s the best and possibly most important time spent when preparing for a career.
Do they do it?
Unfotunately, no enough do. Many will just sign up for that student loan and throw caution to the wind.
DOC
Excellent advice, DOC. Let me guess…very few actually follow your advice (this has been my experience when giving the same advice).
Warren Buffet makes me sick every day.
Another diploma mill Kaplan is owned by Washington Post, another Buffet company.
Almost all of my friends who married and started families also paid their wife’s student loan debt to zero. However, none of them carried balances typical of today’s students.
Yeah. 20/30 grand, I could help her pay. But beyond that I will have to seriously think about it.
I had about 15K in loans when I got out of law school in 1993 - I was afraid to add them up, it seemed like so much. DH did’t have to pay a dime and I paid off them, my house and my car by 1999.
Which is worse: Courting a prospective mate with chronic illness, or one with unrepayable student and credit card debt?
I suppose the answer depends on the nature of the disease and the size and terms of the debt. I do know that student loan debt is only dischargable in death, so perhaps it is best to find a prospective mate with the combination of a good job with life insurance benefits, chronic illness and a high student debt level.
Gives a new meaning to the term “gold digger”, doesn’t it PB.
And a large debt early in life is easier to pay off than with someone in their 50’s or 60’s.
“And a large debt early in life is easier to pay off than with someone in their 50’s or 60’s.”
Ah so; Enter the sweet-young-thing in her, say, late twenties - maybe early thirties - who has a LOT of debt and meets up with the rich but lonely older guy who is undergoing a mid-life-crisis and hence needs a lust-fix.
Mutual itch scratching: A sexual itch gets scratched in return for the scratching a financial itch.
I look for a strengthening of this trend as this economic tightening gathers momentum. Time to invest in cosmetic and implant stocks.
(A wee bit of satire here … but just a wee bit.)
“Enter the sweet-young-thing in her, say, late twenties - maybe early thirties - who has a LOT of debt and meets up with the rich but lonely older guy who is undergoing a mid-life-crisis and hence needs a lust-fix.”
I peripherally watched the most delicious example of this flavor of symbiosis unfold during my former existence in a Midwest city. The sweet-young-thing latched onto an aged-80+ department store magnate; after his untimely demise due to a heart attack, she was set for life.
The elderly former wife was not at all pleased about how the situation unfolded. Oh that I were a writer, as novels could be woven from such stories.
This young gold-digger named Theresa glommed onto a rich and very old Senator Heinz, heir to the Heinz fortune. After he died, she in turn was snagged by a gold-digger Senator from MA.
Senator Kerry is no gold-digger.
He just reported for the duty.
Some great information lurks out there on the World Wide Web:
Morton D. May (b. March 25, 1914, d. April 13, 1983)
More About Morton D. May and Lucia Piaskowiak:
Marriage: July 26, 1982, Hawaii.
Sorry about the age guesstimate; guess he was only 68 when they married…
nice. If I get married, my wife will be my age and have a higher net worth…My mistress will be quite young though
Bill you are so old fashioned…a mistress….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTs6oQx1WJY&ob=av2e
“A sexual itch gets scratched in return for the scratching a financial itch.”
‘Itch’ is a mighty polite term for the symbiotic exchange you describe.
My Mom used to say…
“The girl that marries for money suffers in comfort.”
When I was in college, I knew a little cutie flirt who could utilize her sexuality like a fine artist might work their favorite medium. A Master at her craft.
However, one day she pulled her “gee, ain’t I cute and sexy” moves on a Professor to get him to cut her some slack. It backfired. He said, “you’re wasting your time with your act, do the work.” She said she told him, “what do you mean my act?” He said, “you know exactly what I mean.” LOL
I had to laugh when she tried to act hurt when she told me the story.
DOC
aNYCDj,
Ah, Britney. I never thought to look for her video - so I suppose I am old-fashioned. To get a chance with Britney would cost me a net worth of over $500 million. Maybe $2 billion. And in five years (not at least now) I would require viagra…
The real problems arise with Student Debt, when one defaults. The terms are essentially worse than most credit cards, with MASSIVE late fees, default interest rates typically at 30%, it is easy for a $100K debt to mushroom to several times that in pretty short order, and these debts are not discharged in bankruptcy, nor is there a statute of limitations. Most folks in this situation have to leave the country.
I personally would definitely see student debt as abhorrent in a relationship.
Student loans can’t be discharged in bankruptcy, but what’s to stop someone from paying them off with a credit card or home equity loan and then walking away from that?
That is not possible today. Perhaps three years ago…
That’s her meal ticket, move to Austria and forget the debt.
———–
Ms. Tidwell, 26, is involved in a serious relationship with Stefan Kogler, an architect who is a native of Austria and living in Vienna.
Interesting thought. Default on student debt and emigrate. It’s not a criminal offense so you couldn’t be extradited. Would European countries accept a US medical degree? Of course you probably couldn’t get transcripts after defaulting.
“It’s not a criminal offense…”
Not yet…
When I graduated from college, my student loan debt was $400. Ah, the good old days!
It’s all a scam:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/09/student-loan-debt-credit-card-debt/
Restore consumer protection for student loans? This is another scam to allow more debt discharge; debtors need to think seriously [before] entering into debt. College participation should be merit based, and expenses should be limited to materials and texts–no tuition.
The obvious answer is to limit student debt to say $10,000 TOPs!
Of course then school fees would have to come down…
Now, what my experience is showing me is an even bigger issue than student loans - is mortgage debt. Every woman I have met in the past two years bought a large and expensive condo by themselves. Most bought AT THE PEAK! It’s unbelievable - I could never recount all the stories in a single post. You would have to see and hear them for yourselves.
Seems lots of contemporary women really dove head first into the ownership thing a the worse possible moment - and their decisions appear, at least to me, as being very dubious. They bought places and paid prices that I don’t think any HBBer would ever contemplate for a nanosecond. Their faith in housing as an investment is something to behold.
In 2006′, a bud of mine came by and said he and his fiance’ were buying a 3/2 bungalow in our little Central Calif. town, I flat-out told him it was not a good idea, hell, I even tried to get him and his Fiance to look at this site and Patrick’s bubble site. Even mentioned he might want to buy a little of the golden metal (think it was around $600oz. then).
No luck. She rolled all of the money from her condo sale into the new home. financed the rest. Bought for $415k, rolled in $100k from condo. Balance of $315 financed.
Drumroll please…
Identical house across the street from them just sold around $190k…Ouch!! Upside down city.
He came by with some old gold jewelry of hers to see what the scrap value was to scrounge up some extra dough. He said, “you were right, gold has gone up.” I told him how to get the most for it, but that they might want to wait, as it could still go up more.
DOC
“you were right, gold has gone up.”
LOL! But no mention of you being right about house prices? Denial city.
No doubt if you were to question the house purchase or the photography degree, you’d get “but it was my DREAM…”
Yes, we women are smart!
“They bought places and paid prices that I don’t think any HBBer would ever contemplate for a nanosecond.”
That’s because THEY didn’t pay the prices; some stupid lender did. And the reason they bought at the peak is because that was the only time in history that credit standards dropped low enough to allow them to do it.
“Seems lots of contemporary women really dove head first into the ownership thing a the worse possible moment…”
There was a brief period, close to when the bubble popped, when the contemporary women and the savvy under-30s were working off a whole different economic model which the rest of us dolts just didn’t get…
What a feakin hurricane not even a gust of wind…yeah yeah count my blessings….when is the next helicopter drop for those deadbeat HoeOhnaz?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100904/ap_on_bi_ge/as_afghanistan_banks
Do US taxpayers get to bail out Afghan banks, too?
The Iranians and North Koreans supposedly counterfeit our currency to destabilize it. Now, we do the job for them.
This bank bailout I could support. First of all it’s cheap. I bet a billion will go much farther there and second, we broke their country so we have to fix it.
It’s Karma, b!tches!
Ahhh…yes we broke their country! Thing were going swimmingly with the Taliban running around stoning people. Oh and that unassuming guy…what was his name…sitting in a cave planning attacks against the US mainland. Yes…Afghanistan was a veritable paradise till we screwed it up.
/sarcasm
Oh how soon we forget the killing and maiming of innocents and children every day that happens under this “good war.”
Hey wait the Taliban destroyed the poppy fields…and we attacked them for doing so
The stoning of women….was not important to our being there
Their country was already effed up — we didn’t break it. We’ve already poured billions into their economy, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, etc.
Most of the money came back to US via multinationals and companies like blackwaters. Some lined up the corrupt Afghani politicians. Sure Afghani people saw one or two new hospitals, roads and few schools, but the blood of so many can’t be bought off so cheap if there’s a justice in the world.
It sounds like you’re a compassionate person. I say join a foreign aid organization and go over there and help. Just make sure you have a platoon of soldiers protecting you because the Taliban doesn’t care that you’re there to help the women and children.
9:24 am on the east coasts and this is the first post? Gee whiz, I guess everyone is sleeping in or out of town for the long weekend. Maybe they’re all watching Earl on the Weather Channel.
When will the big BO start leading instead of blaming.. Management 101… Community organizing at it’s best!
That`s gonna draw fire.
Meh, you’re probably right. But the sun is shining, there’s a lovely breeze, and after a week of sweltering 95°, it’s freakin 74° degrees outside.
Life is too short to get all political today. It’s not like I’m going to convince anybody new. So I’m turning on the auto-Obamabot and going outside.
(I do feel for the unemployed who lost their jobs to outsourcing. They are the real victims.)
He’s leading all right.
To a ditch that is…….
What would you like him do anyway?
“What would you like him to do anyway?”
Maybe begin to listen to Paul Volcker?
Wrong Paul.
Ron Paul.
More likely he’d listen to Ru Paul….
“What would you like him do anyway?”
Because he ISN’T G W Bush !?!
Next question …
I don’t mind political posts and banter here as long as they relate to housing/economics. I’m getting pretty weary of posts like this that have no context and add no value. Criticize all you want, but at least have a platform other than “this guy’s a d’bag.”
A free lunch? You’re either at the table or on the menu.
Can you honestly say that Grandpa McCain and Caribou Barbie would have been any better? Obama inherited two wars, a deflated housing bubble and a worldwide recession. Just why is he to blame for not magically fixing everything in 18 months?
Pathetic and predictable reply from an Obama worshiper.
He has been a complete failure. Yet all you kool aid guzzlers can do is bring up Palin? That is beyond pathetic.
Nov 2nd will be so much fun.
I’ll have to agree that he’s been a complete failure. Like his predecessor he’s supporting Americans as consumers instead of producers continuing us down the wrong path.
I don’t for a minute believe we’d be doing anything different under McCain. Both men as senators voted for the original Paulson stimulus plan. David Walker, then the US comptroller general, has since stated only about a third of the stimulus package money actually went to areas that were better than pork barrel or waste. Let’s face it, Americans have abdicated their involvement in the political process and in the vaccuum the patients have taken over the asylum. Anyone who arrives at the asylum party well funded has to answer to the source of those funds and that means the less powerful will always bear the brunt of any changes.
+1
You need to start looking deeper.
Frontline did a reasonable piece on the Healthcare bill from start to finish. Bottom line, the corporations run the country.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1468710007/
…and have since 1862 when they were declared “persons” by the Supreme Court.
1886 Santa Clara Railroad Case. Based on the 14th Amendment which was passed some time after 1862.
FB wants a do over
I saw that Documentary on “Obama’s Deal”, the story of the health care bill when it first came out. PBS releases both TV and Online the same day.It was interesting, but the corruption and collusion was depressing.I watch Documentries or Interviews as I treadmill daily for 40-45 minutes.
Nov 2nd will be so much fun.
I know, because of hope and change.
Funny how hope and change is bad…until it’s your side that wants it.
Funny how hope and change is bad…until it’s your side that wants it.
I didn’t have much hope for real change, nor should you.
Obama planning new package of economic aid
By ERICA WERNER The Associated Press
Posted: 10:34 a.m. Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
WASHINGTON — Eager to jumpstart the economy ahead of crucial midterm elections, President Barack Obama said Friday he intends to unveil a new package of proposals, likely including tax cuts and targeted spending, to spark job growth.
From stimulus 1
African exit polls to study voting patterns ($233,000).
$529,648 to study the effects of local populations on the environment…in the Himalayas.
$760,000 to Georgia Tech to study improvised music;
$700,000 to study why monkeys respond negatively to inequity;
$200,000 to help Siberian communities lobby Russian policymakers;
$762,372 to create “Dance Draw” interactive dance software;
$1.9 million for international ant research
$308 million for a joint clean energy venture with BP, a highly unpopular firm since the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico;
$3.8 million for a “streetscaping” project that has reduced traffic and caused a business to fire two employees;
$16 million to help Boeing clean up an environmental mess it created in 2007;
$554,763 for the National Forest Service to replace windows in a closed visitor center at Mount St. Helens;
More of this?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100903/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_economy
Above is the link to the article that “Jeff Saturday” conveniently chose not to include. I suppose I would do the same thing if I took the liberty to include additional and false text and attribute to the Associated Press.
Now why would you do that Jeff? Nevermind. I’ll contact the AP and ask them what they think.
It’s not to “blame” so much as it is responsible. He is responsible because he is in the office. It’s not so much the problems that are present, but the response.
One ship sails east,
the other west,
impelled by the self same blows.
It’s the set of the sails,
and not the gales,
that determines where she goes.
I agree. Gramps and Mom wouldn’t cut it. I am willing to wait on the health care bill to see if it actually works. My biggest problem with what Obama has done is the collaboration with the Fed and Treasury. The FED lends money to the biggest financial companies at 0% and the Treasury then borrows this money back at 3.5% or so. It is no mystery why there is no credit for small business. The gov’t and Fed have rigged the game against them.
Now, both of the leaders in this mess are Lil Timmy Geithner and Singin’ Ben Bernanke. They may not be Obama guys exactly but Obama is certainly on their side.
Roidy
Ocare is working already. A cancer drug was pulled by the FDA because it would cost too much and not within Ocare guidelines.
Dead cancer patients cost less to treat than living ones. Obama is keeping his promise of reducing costs.
“Dead cancer patients cost less to treat than living ones.”
The dead patient option is an ever-viable way to reduce health care expenditures.
bear:
People are going to have to learn unless you have some overwhelming reason to stay alive another couple of weeks/ months then you should gracefully exit this world .
“……unless you have some overwhelming reason to stay alive another couple of weeks/ months then you should gracefully exit this world ”
and down the slippery slope we go.
well Dale:
Staying alive just for the purpose of staying alive is very selfish and inconsiderate.
“Dead cancer patients cost less to treat than living ones.”
And their votes are easier to tally!
That was great Uncle Eddie… now onto the Death Panel Tales as I unroll the sleeping bags and through another log on ye ole GOP campfire…Pleasse !
If true Eddie this would be great news.
The drug companies push stuff through that has negligible benefit and costs an arm and a leg.
The presidential candidates available for election are just puppets. It lets the proles think that somehow their vote really matters for something. Then they bicker back and forth about the two lousy candidates while they are robbed by the wealthy that are in charge of the country.
Absolutely. Well said, Va Beyatch. You sound like me, a Political Atheist.
Wow, I like that! A political atheist!
That’s from Bill Mahr.
Been using it myself for years.
“political atheist”
Yeah, the old fashioned term was “moderate.”
But in this ADD society we live in, we need 2 words when one will will do. 10 words are even better! And made up ones are the best!
But the royal flush is 10 made up words… when one from the dictionary will do.
I learned “Political Atheist” from Gerald Celente, a trend watcher, analyst, who I admire. He might be kind of raw and frank, but he’s 100% right and honest.
I know who Bill Mahr is but don’t own a TV to watch.
ecofeco - “moderate” and “political atheist” aren’t the same. I just don’t give a carp or believe in anyone anymore. Different flavors. I love you anyway. I always enjoy you. (Just don’t tell your other half…or mine.)
I would never equate political agnostic with the term moderate. When Bill M threw the term around in his interviews it very boldly declared I belong to no one. I prefer to think for myself. That can overlap w/a moderate point of view but doesn’t reflect the anger pointed at the wing nuts in either party that make you want to limit your affiliations.
Of course this is Gerald Celente’s postion and you’ll often find him imploring people to think for themselves. I think moderates may fall into that description but not necessarily. They might just have issues w/commitment. LOL
Agreed. The wealthy control the main stream media which in turn promotes presidential and congressional candidates that are the least likely to promote change that benefits the country as a whole.
How do you feel about being called a “consumer”? I find the word personally insulting as this is what we’ve been labeled by the government and their corporate masters.
I’d rather they get right to the point and call us “sheep waiting to be sheered”.
As more individuals take residence at the government nipple, calling the masses “consumers” makes a great deal of sense.
Though the term “parasite” would probably be more accurate.
Correction: It fools the clueless proles (those who just can’t admit they’re poor working class, were born poor working class and will die poor working class, basically the eddies of the world) think that somehow they’re going to be rich one day if the big bad government would just ____.
Exactly, exeter.
Just why is he to blame for not magically fixing everything in 18 months ??
Because thats what the neocons do best…Take no responsibility for your previous actions that put us in this position and then blame the new guy for not curing the systemic cancer….
30 years of failed GOP supply side economics won’t be repaired in 18 months.
It looks like supply side housing economics could be fixed in short order, if only the government would stand back and let home prices correct to affordable levels.
40 years of socialist dems (til ‘94) brought us to ruin.Then 12 years of reps (til ‘06) to finish the job. Now a community organizer and a bunch of Marxists have taken over. Get rid of them in ‘10. We only have this chance. Don’t dissapoint pismo.
Well deal with that hand wringing later… This is your post from yesterday to which I posed a question. Why won’t you answer it? I ask again.
Now why would an average wage earner such as yourself volunteer to raise his own taxes by abolishing the earned income tax credit? It defies your own shaky ideology.
Comment by pismoclam
2010-09-03 15:22:52
Yes, I’m taking care of 5 dependents plus myself. I’m not in the top1%. Cut off the earned income credit (Money for welfare queens and illegals). You get a check for not working.
Because most of the “fixes” seem worse then just leaving it alone..
Why didn’t he just concentrate on getting some kind of health insurance for those that were making too much money for welfare and medicaid, but too little to afford their own?
———-
Just why is he to blame for not magically fixing everything in 18 months ?
If he is not up to the job of cleaning up after his predecessor, then we need someone who is. No one has blamed Obama for Bushes mess, but I see no evidence he is other than a Bush term 3…
If Obama is not up to the job, we need him out and someone who will at least try, instead of just blaming and then doing nothing as though it is not his responsibility.
With regards to his health care initiative, what we needed was Govt OUT of health care, not MORE govt. We need them out of health care which prevents us buying insurance across state lines. We need Govt out of health care that prevents us buying prescription drugs from Canada. Bottom line, we need to get back to direct pay and get insurance out of the medical world all together, but instead we get more Govt, more insurance and ultimately much higher costs. Any of you notice how little the insurance industry squawked?
The federal government does not prevent people from buying insurance across state lines. The states do. Insurance regulation has long been a state function. The argument is over whether the federal government should pass a law preventing the states from regulating insurance policies sold to the citizens of their state. The limited federal government stance is to let the states keep regulating insurance sold in their states.
Good point ….so why can’t chains like CVS Walmart etc buy drugs from canada if they are a lot cheaper?
Drugs are expensive in the US because the drug companies only have to negotiate with retailers. The retailers don’t have enough clout to force a price reduction. I don’t know why US pharmacies can’t buy wholesale in Canada and resell in the US at lower prices by free riding on the Canadian negotiated prices. Canada certainly doesn’t have an issue with our citizens buying from them retail, but presumably that requires a Canadian prescription.
Medicare part D could have set new standards for drug prices in the US since it could have negotiated hard with the companies and since it controls a huge amount of the US market, it would have been able to get much better prices. But it can’t do this because the Bush administration insisted (and Congress allowed) the Medicare part D legislation to forbid Medicare from even trying to negotiate for better prices from the drug companies the way the Canadian provincial programs do.
So, you still haven’t answered the question.
Why can’t INDIVIDUALS buy from Canada? Or Austria? Or Cambodia? Or anywhere else for that matter?
Probably because Washington lobbyists and assorted cronies refuse to take a cut in income, fees and lawsuit money - that’s why.
Rather tough for lawyers to make money suing individuals who purchase products for themselves, no?
Tort reform is needed - now.
Do I wish he was doing a better job? Of course. But has he been twiddling his thumbs? Uh, no.
http://www.daily-jeff.com/news/simple_article/4857392
The world economy almost completely collapses, we come close to WW3, unemployment not seen since the Depression, corruption not seen since the Roaring 20s and you people think it should all be fixed in 2 years?
And you wonder what’s WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY?
I don’t see any less corruption in the current administration than the last. I am not concerned about thumb twiddling, but rather policies which continue to erode the middle class and propel our country to what many say is its just deserves, but at least if that is to be the outcome we could have someone in office who would at least try and represent the interests of its citizens.
+1.
No one is saying he’s got to fix things in 2 yrs. Some people need to stop being childish and stop that argument. All we want to see is some small steps in the right direction.
Again….. 30 years of failed corporatist elitist supply side economics can’t be undone in 2 years.
“Again….. 30 years of failed corporatist elitist supply side economics can’t be undone in 2 years.”
How long will our long awaited Communist Revolution take? I better change my politics soon so I can get a nice party position and real food.
“Again….. 30 years of failed corporatist elitist supply side economics can’t be undone in 2 years.”
How long will our long awaited Communist Revolution take? I better change my politics soon so I can get a nice party position and real food.
On your equating criticism of supply-side economics with Communism:
It’s just as faulty as readers automatically equating your leaps of logic and unwarranted, talking-point conclusions with paranoidal, lunacy.
“It’s just as faulty as readers automatically equating your leaps of logic and unwarranted, talking-point conclusions with paranoidal, lunacy.”
Nice try. Communists have infiltrated our schools, media, unions, all levels of government and the environmental movement. They call themselves progressives because it sounds nicer. I started taking notice of this back in the 80’s and have watched it become the cancer it is today. As long as comrades like you can push progressive talking points, I can call you on it.
Also, my comments are never personal, this reply being the exception. You got personal with my post therefore I must have hit a home run.
Communists have infiltrated our schools, media, unions, all levels of government and the environmental movement. They call themselves progressives because it sounds nicer. I started taking notice of this back in the 80’s and have watched it become the cancer it is today….You got personal with my post therefore I must have hit a home run.
After that post, I’d say it’s more like you hit into a game ending double play.
Governments, community groups to get first crack at foreclosed homes
By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 5:48 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010
Cash investors hunting for abandoned and foreclosed properties will take a back seat to buyers using federal housing money under an “unprecedented” agreement with the nation’s largest private lenders.
The “First Look” program, announced Wednesday, gives local governments and community groups using Neighborhood Stabilization money the first crack at buying bank-owned homes in areas hit hard by the real estate crash.
While plans to spend stabilization money differ among organizations, the general intent of the nearly $6 billion awarded nationwide is to refurbish and eventually sell or rent the homes to low- to middle-income families.
Palm Beach County has received about $77.7 million in stabilization money over two rounds of funding. The City of West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, and Lake Worth’s Community Redevelopment Agency have also received funding.
But spending the money isn’t always easy. Competition with speculators looking to rent or flip for a profit has made finding viable homes a challenge.
The program, which a U.S. Housing and Urban Development statement called “unprecedented,” also includes a new web-based mapping tool to help groups easily identify bank-owned homes.
“The properties are few and far between right now,” said Michael McManaman, who oversees the neighborhood stabilization money for the Lake Worth CRA.
The CRA received $23.2 million in a second round of funding announced in January. Since then, it has been able to purchase 17 properties in a small area west of Dixie Highway.
But McManaman said he relies partly on code enforcement officers to tip him off when a property might be in foreclosure, as well as real estate agents and combing through bank-owned listings.
Then there’s the investors.
Assistant Palm Beach County Administrator Shannon LaRocque said officials had to work hard to meet a Sept. 4 deadline to match $12.8 million in stabilization money with homes. Part of the county’s program offers loans to eligible buyers, but the buyers have to find foreclosed houses first.
“We knew there was going to be a foreclosure wave and we started to see more properties but they would be gone immediately,” LaRocque said.
Under the “First Look” program, groups will have up to 48 hours to express interest in a property and then another 12 days to do inspections.
Participating banks include Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Deutsche Bank, GMAC, Nationstar Mortgage, Wells Fargo and the West Palm Beach-based Ocwen Financial.
“This is a way for us to assist in the larger housing crisis by providing options for state and local governments to find solutions for homeowners,” said Ocwen Senior Vice President Steven Nesmith.
Some institutions, including Bank of America and FHA, had already started programs similar to “first look,” but not always on a nationwide scale.
Another $1 billion in neighborhood stabilization money is expected to be announced soon.
The additional money will likely be welcomed as banks move swiftly this year to take back properties.
That is just wrong on so many levels. But I’m confident that they’ll piss away most of the money, thus leaving most normal buyers unscathed.
Leaving most normal buyers unscathed? WHAT ABOUT US? The irresponsible upper classes get bailed out, the irresponsible lower classes get the houses, and the responsible buyers who are trying to do the right thing are shut out of opportunity…again.
And how much do you want to bet that those community prices won’t be registered as open and usable comps?
“…and the responsible buyers who are trying to do the right thing are shut out of opportunity…again.”
Somebody always pays for free sh!t.
You just have to wait.
This is almost the same scenario when the RTC was formed during the S&L disaster. The RTC got first dibs on everything.
By the time RE finally bottomed out and then plateaued, there were plenty of deals for the average person.
“You just have to wait.”
I’m effectively out of the market, at least until my kids are all grown up (eight more years). I guess that makes me a priced-out, bitter renter for life. So it goes…
It’s really shaping up to be a long wait, isn’t it?
After a long enough wait, you’re dead.
“The irresponsible upper classes get bailed out, the irresponsible lower classes get the houses, and the responsible buyers who are trying to do the right thing are shut out of opportunity…again.”
Theoretically, yes, but again, I’m guessing they’ll piss away most of the money, and thus there’ll still be plenty of foreclosures for us normal buyers. Maybe I’m too optimistic, but so far, all the “Save the Houses” programs have only postponed the day of reckoning, and I don’t think this one will delay it by much.
DebtinNation
I can only hope you’re right, but I fear you’re not. I am not sure of the price point and square footage they will target, and I am concerned it will dim my hopes of finding a modest one-story at a reasonable price. (Let alone, what it will do to the comps.) Another flipper orgy, and now the govt is really supporting it. Just when you think us true (long term) buyers will get a break…
I need an aspirin.
You’re going to need a lot more than an aspirin
before this cluster F#*k is over with.
If you take careful notes, you will realize there is a pattern to U.S. federal housing policy in recent years:
Drive up housing costs for ‘normal buyers’ in order to house politically-favored groups at below-market prices while also funneling money into the coffers of the REIC and Megabank, Inc — government-sponsored financial engineering at its worst!
“…funneling money into the coffers of the REIC and Megabank, Inc…”
…is the first priority.
“…politically-favored groups at below-market prices”
…is just a bone thrown out.
Totally agreed. The “help po’ folks” is just a smoke screen Democratic politicians use to line the pockets of wealthy constituents.
Totally agreed. The “help po’ folks” is just a smoke screen Democratic politicians use to line the pockets of wealthy constituents.
Busted.
‘Cash investors hunting for abandoned and foreclosed properties will take a back seat to buyers using federal housing money under an “unprecedented” agreement with the nation’s largest private lenders.’
More monopoly power for Megabank, Inc to snap up foreclosures and flip them when market conditions improve? I hope the market collapses and Wall Street interests in local real estate markets lose their shirts…
Just another way that they will put tax payer money into the banks pockets and bail them out - they will get a 1% discout - whoo-hoo - I bet the investors were trying to get them for steeper discounts.
It’s the RTC all over again.
This means things are worse than they look, but we’re damn near right on schedule.
“This means things are worse than they look”
“It’s just a flesh wound!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4 - 111k
What’s the schedule? I was thinking buy 2012 but then some said 2014 with all the screwing around, but now I just don’t know - besides it’s a bit moot as my hubby is desperate to buy - so far I’ve probably pushed off buying till next year now, but he is not happy - he’s being sold “interest rates are the lowest ever, noes the time to buy” by a friend of his
surely by now you have mutual friends you can’t point at and say, “Do you want to end up like that???”
Should do the trick for a few months… till they get bailed out by some program designed to make me wait till I’m dead to buy a house.
Media catching up to what some of you were talking about re: shadow inventory. But did you describe it as colorfully as ranks of Napoleonic infantry
“Mr. Barnes describes the shadow inventory as akin to “ranks of Napoleonic infantry, rows deep, hidden in the fog.” This inventory, estimated by Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac to be between three million and four million homes, is almost certain to drag down home prices for the foreseeable future. “The disinterest of buyers, in an interest-rate environment that may be the lowest ever, is striking,” Mr. Barnes said. But, he added, it makes perfect sense. Since 2007, housing prices have been in a deflationary spiral, and nobody can say when it will end. “It doesn’t matter if interest rates go down to 2 percent,” Mr. Barnes said — buyers won’t reappear in big numbers until they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/business/economy/28nocera.html?pagewanted=2
We can only hope for Waterloo.
But are they marching towards, or away from, Moscow at this point?
Hopefully back towards Paris, and also that the Russians remembered to drop their dead horses into the wells…
To those who ultimately end up doing the fighting, the battlefield is usually the grand climax of someone else’s mistakes.
mikey HBB
Suggested revision:
“…
buyerssellers won’t reappear in big numbers until they believe they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”In wake of Bell scandal, CalPERS may change pension calculation rules
Former city manager Robert Rizzo’s latest contract divided his nearly $800,000 salary between his main job and various city boards. Excluding the side pay could drastically cut his retirement income.
http://tinyurl.com/2ewbnx4
Too bad the DA will not even entertain an attempt to prosecute this criminal!
“Fed-sponsored REO rentals” sounds like yet another move to avoid the normal price discovery process which levels the playing field between owners of an asset and prospective buyers. Never mind that the Fed loans banks money at zero percent so they can “snap up” foreclosure inventory at fire-sale prices. By contrast, if a household wants to buy a home and doesn’t have the cash to do so, they need to borrow from a lender at “market rates,” which were considerably above zero the last time I checked.
Not only is the youngest generation getting hosed by terrible labor market conditions, but also by “Save Our Homes” measures, whose effect is to keep prices propped up above a level where newly-formed households can hope to afford them without working themselves to an early death. By contrast, a good way to help communities heal and thrive might be to allow market prices to reach a level where young families have the hope to house themselves without busting their budgets. But central planning and decentralized market-based solutions don’t mix. And so long as the Fed gets to call all the shots, they can always claim things would have been far worse if their policy prescriptions had not been followed, so I guess it’s all good.
It is high time for someone to invent the “Monopoly Game — Bailout Edition.”
Fed starts to tackle issue of foreclosures
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The inventory of foreclosed homes — and what should be done with it — is gaining more attention from policymakers.
Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke said officials should stabilize communities wracked by the housing crisis by promoting the rental of foreclosed homes owned by financial institutions.
“Including rental options among the mix of stabilization strategies makes particular sense at a time of high unemployment,” Duke said in a speech at a Fed conference on Wednesday.
“Redevelopment strategies” for neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates should include “lease-purchase and even converting owners to renters to avoid vacancies,” Duke said.
“What began as a problem rooted in poorly underwritten loans has been exacerbated by high unemployment and slow economic growth,” Duke said. “As delinquencies and foreclosures continue to grow, they will hinder the ability of communities to heal and ultimately to thrive.”
…
“Also this week, Administration officials said major banks are agreeing to give local governments and nonprofit groups the ability to buy foreclosed homes before they are sold to private investors. The properties could be renovated or the land used for redevelopment projects.”
No good deals for the patiently waiting peeps.
The way forward appears to be Fed-funded inventory withheld from the market, presumably to be followed by orchestrated, slow-burn release when the putative recovery is finally underway. Flat to negative returns on real estate investment are likely to result for years going forward.
It looks to me as though in order to save Upper Richistan from the natural consequences of their financial folly, we are unwittingly following in Japan, Inc’s footsteps towards multiple lost decades. But then I am a professed bear.
I wonder whether these will turn out like these government-owned houses in San Francisco.
The refurbished housing development at the national park’s southern border signals an important milestone for the Presidio Trust, which runs the park. The development is the final neighborhood of many that the trust has spent hundreds of millions of dollars restoring over the past 12 years, and it will help fuel the economic engine that will drive the park’s future when taxpayer support is cut off in 2013. …
But this urban oasis does not come cheap. The three-bedroom duplex units are renting for $5,300 per month, and the largest house - five bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths - will go for $10,000 per month. The Presidio is not subject to San Francisco’s rent control laws because it is not county property. As a result, the trust can charge whatever the market will bear.
Linkey
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2010/09/03/BU4O1F8H2J.DTL
Looks like Afghanistan is becoming more and more like the US ever day!
U.S. to temper stance on Afghan corruption
U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan are developing a strategy that would tolerate some corruption in the country but target the most corrosive abuses by more tightly regulating U.S. contracting procedures, according to senior defense officials
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090305545.html?hpid=topnews
What? 50 BILLION dollars later? Now they’re going to do something?
Should we blame this on Obama as well?
I am no Bush lover, but Obama accepted the job, and knew in advance what that job entailed, so if he does not want the job, he should resign and make room for someone who WILL do his job.
IMO Obama is simply Bush term 3.
Not sure I will put it that way.
But Obama had one advantage over Bush, learn from Bush’s mistakes. Man, these guys turned out to be so inept. I’m not disappointed though because I saw the writing on the wall before the election and voted for Barr.
Comptroller under fire for pension padding tips on website
Brian Sharp • Journal Albany bureau • September 4, 2010
ROCHESTER — In recent days, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has alleged overtime abuses at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and announced dramatic increases in state and local governments’ pension contributions.
But on the comptroller’s website, under the heading “Maximizing Your Benefits,” DiNapoli provides “tips” for government workers to pad pensions by stockpiling vacation and sick time, or working overtime and holidays.
“You may be unaware that you can increase your retirement benefits by increasing your service credit and/or final average salary,” the site reads. “Here are some tips for doing that.”
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100904/NEWS/9040334/Comptroller-under-fire-for-pension-padding-tips-on-website
In Texas, the state holds seminars for employers on how to get rid of employees and not pay them unemployment.
I wonder how many points Forbes give TX for that when they calculate their “Best States for Business” list. We’re # 1, aren’t we?
FUBAR housing market conditions to continue for an extended period of time…
New CoreLogic Data Shows Second Consecutive Quarterly Decline in Negative Equity
Real Estate Industry and Trade Media
August 26, 2010, Santa Ana, Calif. ‒
CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of consumer, financial and property information and business services, today released negative equity data showing a second consecutive quarterly decline in national negative equity rates. CoreLogic reports that 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter of 2010, down from 11.2 million and 24 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Foreclosures, rather than meaningful price appreciation, were the primary driver in the change in negative equity. An additional 2.4 million borrowers had less than five percent equity. Together, negative equity and near-negative equity mortgages accounted for nearly 28 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide.
Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down,” means that borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combination of both.
Data Highlights
…
* In addition to driving foreclosures, negative equity reduces homeowner mobility. Since the peak in home sales in 2005, non-distressed sales have dramatically declined and there is a clear relationship between the decline in non-distressed sales and the level of negative equity at the zip code and state level. At low levels of negative equity there are moderate and varied declines in non-distressed sales across most states as it reflects state macroeconomic fundamentals. At higher levels of negative equity, the non-distressed declines have been much larger, which implies that that the 11 million negative equity properties have reduced homeowners ability to move.
* The 11 million negative equity properties are backed by $2.9 trillion in mortgage debt outstanding (MDO). On an MDO dollar basis, the negative equity share was 33 percent percent and the total dollar value of negative equity was $766 billion.
“Negative equity continues to both drive foreclosures and impede the housing market recovery. With nearly 5 million borrowers currently in severe negative equity, defaults will remain at a high level for an extended period of time,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic.
Aug. 26, 2010
Number Of Underwater Mortgages In US Fell In 2Q
Foreclosures Help Winnow 2Q Number Of US Homes With Mortgages Higher Than Property Is Worth
(AP) LOS ANGELES (AP) - Foreclosures are helping to thin the ranks of U.S. homes with mortgages that exceed what the properties are worth, new data shows.
…
The slide in home prices began stabilizing last year, but prices are expected to continue falling in many markets due to still-high levels of foreclosures and near double-digit unemployment.
That means homes purchased at the height of the real estate boom are unlikely to recover lost value for years.
Faced with that situation, homeowners sometimes stop making payments and walk away from their homes in so-called strategic defaults. Others end up losing their homes to foreclosure because of missed payments due to job loss or medical bills.
Underwater mortgages also dampen home sales, because homeowners who might otherwise sell their home refuse to take a loss or can’t get the bank to agree to a short sale - when a lender lets a borrower sell their property for less than the amount owed on the mortgage.
Home sales have been weaker in areas where there are a large number of homeowners with negative equity in their home, Khater said.
“Those homeowners can’t sell,” he said. “They’re trapped.”
The majority of the underwater mortgages are concentrated in five states: Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Michigan and California, CoreLogic said.
Among those, Nevada had the highest rate at the end of June, with 68 percent of its residential mortgages underwater.
In Arizona, half of the home mortgages were underwater. In Florida, it was 46 percent. In Michigan, the rate was 38 percent, while in California it was 33 percent.
Sorry this article is a week out of date. The housing market news simply unfolds too fast for me to stay on top of it any more. I long for a day when housing market news and central banking are both as boring as dentistry.
Meanwhile, got popcorn?
Decline in foreclosures likely to be temporary
By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 27, 2010
Foreclosures and late payments on home mortgages dropped slightly in the second quarter of this year, but sustained high unemployment and a stalled economic recovery could make the improvement short-lived.
Although one in 10 mortgages in the United States is still behind by at least one payment, the number of “seriously delinquent” loans - those that are at least 90 days late - dropped compared with the first three months of this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
Also, the percentage of homes in foreclosure dropped to 4.57 percent in the second three months of this year, compared with 4.63 percent in the first quarter.
However, the number of seriously delinquent mortgages is still higher than it was during the comparable period last year.
“When I’m asked, ‘Are things getting better or worse?’ my answer is like most things these days,” Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist Jay Brinkmann said in a conference call Thursday. “It is a combination of good news and not-so-good news. And there are areas of concern even with the good news.”
The nation’s foreclosure and mortgage-delinquency statistics are dominated by depressed markets in the “sand states:” Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida. In the second quarter of this year, California had 13.2 percent of all outstanding mortgages and 14.7 percent of all foreclosures, the association said.
…
I long for a day when housing market news and central banking are both as boring as dentistry.
Hence the Chinese curse, “may you live in interesting times”.
How about the Great Recession updated version, “May you live in sucky times”?
Charles Darwin figured out something quite similar to this story over 150 years ago, but I suppose it nonetheless qualifies as “news” in America.
Why God Did Not Create the Universe
There is a sound scientific explanation for the making of our world—no gods required. An excerpt from the new book by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow.
Speaking of god and PB…
How good is your German, or knowledge of the Lutheran Bible?
It finally dawned on me the other day that the grammar in Brahm’s Requiem is odd.
Herr, du bist wurdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft.
Note the use of the informal pronoun “du”. You are addressing God with the pronoun used for close friends: why isn’t it “Herr, Sie sind wurdig” instead?
Is this common in the Lutheran Bible?
Nicht so gut, und ich habe kein deutsches Heilige Schrift.
Is this common in the Lutheran Bible?
OK, now for a less lazy answer:
- Mein Vater ist Lutheraner Prediger.
- So far as I am aware (which may not be that much) the German Lutheran tradition is to address God with the informal pronoun, which as you noted, is ‘du’ auf Deutsch. In English, this is “you,” compared to the formal “thee” preferred by certain other religious bodies (e.g. LDS).
- My hunch (vague recollection?) is that Luther’s use of “du” in his translation of the Bible was symbolic of his revolutionary break with Catholic church tradition. Before Luther, the Bible was in Latin, and only the Catholic authorities had access and the privilege of delivering its message to the people. Thanks to Gutenberg’s printing press, Luther’s translation of the Bible was distributed to the masses, sowing the seeds for the Protestant Revolution.
Pretty compelling story, no?
In case you are less lazy or have more time on your hands than I do, I recommend reading Penguin’s short biography of Luther, which may contain hints. Mine remains on the shelf with my half-read book collection.
P.S. Were he alive and living today in America, I would guess Luther would be a Ron Paul supporter.
Thee is the informal (familiar) you in english.
I’ll have to go read that someday.
Somehow addressing God with an informal pronoun sounds to me like attending a formal affair with the British Queen and going up to her and saying “hey Liz, how’s it hanging?”
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking would know no more about God’s existence than anyone else.
I beg to differ. Imagine a life spent sitting in a wheel chair, thinking about the history of the universe. I am sure he know much more about God than I ever will.
Imagine a life spent sitting in a wheel chair, thinking about the history of the universe. I am sure he know much more about God than I ever will.
This makes no sense whatsoever in the context of Stephen Hawking knowing more about God’s existence than anyone else.
Understanding the history of the universe and super high IQ’s has nothing to do with it.
I beg to differ. His advanced understanding ALLOWS him to find a rational explanation for the universe that does not require the existence of God. And if there is a God, is he a regional God, or a Multi-verse God? Is God of this earth or an Alien? Would a life form which had been evolving for say 5 billion years longer than we have be distinguishable from God? Could such a being not potentially perform using insanely advanced technology, or some form of mind power ALL of the necessary miracles needed to qualify as God? Lots of questions, One small book from before science!
I beg to differ. His advanced understanding ALLOWS him to find a rational explanation for the universe that does not require the existence of God.
But your whole well thought out post is irrelevant to the question of if God exists.
Why would God not be rational in many of the apparent aspects of his creation?
“Why would God not be rational in many of the apparent aspects of his creation?”
Rationality is the key. Most people who believe in some sort of god or supernatural being treat their “god” as a Uber Santa Claus or something.
In reality, there can be no interference in the physical universe from an outside source such as a god or supernatural being. All of the energy that is in existence was here from the beginning - The Big Bang. Total energy is in the general forms of the potential energies (the energy of position) or the kinetic energies (the energy of motion). To have any change in this basic amount of energy would add to the total. This would cause a momentary decrease or change in the steady increase in entropy aka disorder. Any action from a source that is outside of the universe that changes this or redistributes it also takes energy and would add to the total. It would be catastrophic in that a basic law of physics would not hold. What would this do? I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be good.
You can’t stop playing nor can you change the rules of the game. There is no Deus ex Machina in this Greek Tragedy.
Roidy
“All of the energy that is in existence was here from the beginning - The Big Bang.”
How do you know the Big Guy in the Sky doesn’t have an energy press technology very similar to Big Ben’s printing press technology, which can be cranked up at any point when the universe runs a shortage of energy liquidity or confidence?
You can’t stop playing nor can you change the rules of the game. There is no Deus ex Machina in this Greek Tragedy.
Of course I can’t not play nor change the rules. But God could. That’s why they call him God and not professor nor your honor.
You can’t disprove God by citing the big-bang or e=mc2 if God himself created these temporary concepts.
I’ve never had a problem with believing God created evolution and I’ve never sought confirmation of God within a science book.
To try to do so is like trying to explain baseball with a soccer manual.
“…irrelevant to the question of if God exists.”
You bring a good point. There does seem to be a sort of universal coin toss involved here with a very low subjective probability of tails, where tails is defined as ‘God does not exist’ for believers and as ‘God does exist’ for atheists. By contrast, the ‘exist / doesn’t exist’ probability distribution may approach 50-50 for agnostics.
Does what the true believers, professed atheists and agnostics have nothing to do with the outcome of the coin toss, either?
Does what the true believers, professed atheists and agnostics have nothing to do with the outcome of the coin toss, either?
Why would any of that matter? God’s very existence would never be subject to math, an election, what certain groups believe, or a coin toss.
I can explain this using little words that even a FB w/ a boob job can understand. Not trying to step on anyone’s toes here but I go anyway.
If you can honestly look up into the night sky and claim, “there is no God” there is no hope for you. Same goes for those with children. Look at them and claim no God.
I think the fact that he is in a wheelchair and can’t get out gives him resolve in his shortsighted claim.
Let’s see him PROVE it. I’ve got a daughter that was in an emergency c-sec and when her cranium had to be forcefully shoved back into mom she became damaged goods. An MRI revealed brain damage and there was question whether she’d ever walk or talk with any sense of normalcy. Well one week + in the icu with multiple seizures and stop breathing episodes makes one REALLY look at spirituality and life in general. She was stiff with her legs straight her arms pinned at her sides and her fists clenched. I was a wreck. Mom knew there was issues but not fully aware of what was the extent of injury.
I literally watched as my daughter’ brain re-mapped itself over a 3 month period. She relaxed and coordination came. She is smart and active with very little remaining from the injury. One eye tracks a bit slow in certain situations. She is 4 know and every day I pray to my God thanking him for his love, mercy, and grace. Without it I’d be broken.
In closing I’d like to make one last comment to stir the pot. If you think there is no God, no plan for us, etc. then why not do Mother Earth a favor and jump off a cliff, there is no consequence, right? Go GREEN and make way for someone else. (Not saying being responsible is bad- I like to think i’m trending toward being green) I just had to throw that in there for all the finger pointing goofballs out there telling me it is bad to throw away a can whilst wearing a fleece (plastic) $200 North Face coat w/ cat poop looking dreds, tats and piercings.
If Stephen Hawking was a paying card carrying member of my pagan druid(Socialist) cult, I would have told him that sooner.
Heck, he could have even been famous for something.
Who will be forced to pay for this latest flavor of mortgage aid? Or will the Fed fund it with printing press money?
* REAL ESTATE
* SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
Government to Deploy Broader Mortgage Aid
By NICK TIMIRAOS
The Obama administration on Tuesday will launch its most ambitious effort at reducing mortgage balances for homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth.
Officials say between 500,000 and 1.5 million so-called underwater loans could be modified through the program, the first initiative to target homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but are at risk of default because they have no equity in their homes. Some experts are warning, however, that the same knots that tied up prior initiatives could do so again.
Under the new “short refinance” program, banks and other creditors that write down mortgages to less than the value of the property can essentially hand off the reduced loan to the government. The process involves refinancing borrowers into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
While the program puts taxpayers at risk—officials estimate one in five loans in the program could default—the government has set aside $14 billion previously earmarked for housing aid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to cover losses.
The new program, which was announced in March, is starting as the housing market shows signs of renewed trouble and as the Obama administration’s signature Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, falls short of its goals of helping three million homeowners. Half of the 1.3 million borrowers that enrolled in temporary loan modifications have fallen out of HAMP because they didn’t qualify. Only one-third has received permanent modifications.
The initiative also comes as mortgage rates fall to their lowest levels in more than 50 years. Average rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans dropped to 4.43% last week, down from 4.55% during the previous week, according to a survey published Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
One of the biggest dangers facing the housing market is the glut of underwater homeowners who could default if their personal finances or home prices worsen. About 11 million borrowers, or 23% households with a mortgage, were underwater as of June 30, according to CoreLogic Inc.
…
If there was a churn or turnover in these homes think of the fees that would generate, mortgage costs, state fees, home improvements w/lawyers, appraisers, plumbers, electricians, roofers, and realtors all taking their part. Mortgage modifications only help the present owners but how many of these owners would end up buying in the near future after an asset class price drop anyway? And of course the present MBS bagholders. The fear of loss is sometimes the only real limit on greed. Unfortunately our gov has outlawed that natural end.
Wife’s unprompted remark, on discovering the above article in today’s dead-tree edition of the WSJ:
“That’s stoopid. Why can’t people just keep making the mortgage payments they agreed to? Who cares about the prices of the houses?”
Never mind centuries worth of contract law. Never mind private sources of loanable funds to the mortgage market — the government has unlimited monies to fund mortgage lending and federal guarantees to prop it up for as long as necessary until private lending comes back.
I love the smell of political desperation in the morning.
Most contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on these days.
That dawning realization, plus a dearth of interest paid on loans, pretty much guarantees the shut down of private mortgage lending for the foreseeable future.
I would hazard a guess that most people not paying their mortgage cannot afford to pay. I doubt the myth of ruthless or strategic defaulters is nearly as common as the press would have us believe.
The contract was based on easy math. You take out a massive loan on an overpriced home, then after a year or two flip it, paying off the mortgage and banking serious dough. Then after selling it to the next sucker, he would do the same. See it all works just fine and the contracts are honored.
Until….. Oh No price declines, that was not in the contract. We don’t make nearly enough to actually pay for this home, it was supposed to pay us!
‘Under the new “short refinance” program, banks and other creditors that write down mortgages to less than the value of the property can essentially hand off the reduced loan to the government. The process involves refinancing borrowers into loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
…
The White House hopes to reach borrowers like Irene Gerloff, 62 years old, who was turned down for a loan modification because she can afford her payments. While she owes $292,000 on her two-bedroom condominium in La Habra, Calif., the property is probably worth less than $200,000.
She is worried about what happens in five years, when her “interest-only” loan begins requiring much larger payments. “If things don’t improve between now and 2015, I’m going to have to let this house go,” said Ms. Gerloff, a secretary.’
Let’s assume for the sake of argument that Ms. Gerloff, a secretary who bought a home with an unaffordable mortgage, is typical of the sort of home owners the WH hopes to help (as suggested in the article), and that the help she gets is a ’short refinance’ which writes down the mortgage to less than the value owed on the home, then hands it off to the FHA.
Since the home is ‘probably worth less than $200,000,’ let’s just guess for the sake of illustration that the home would sell for $192,000. Since she owes $292,000, her ’short refinance’ would hand the FHA a $100,000 loss, which amounts to $100,000 worth of stimulus income for Ms. Gerloff.
For further illustration, let’s assume her $100,000 in direct stimulus is a reasonable proxy for the average lump sum in windfall personal income provided by this program, and take the middle value of 1 million home owners helped at face value. Then the overall cost of the program would be $100,000*1,000,000 = $100,000,000,000 ($100 billion), not just $14 billion, as the article suggests.
That sounds like a heckuva lot of secretarial stimulus!
“He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.”
- John Myles White -
“The White House hopes to reach borrowers like Irene Gerloff, 62 years old, who was turned down for a loan modification because she can afford her payments. While she owes $292,000 on her two-bedroom condominium in La Habra, Calif., the property is probably worth less than $200,000.
She is worried about what happens in five years, when her “interest-only” loan begins requiring much larger payments. “If things don’t improve between now and 2015, I’m going to have to let this house go,” said Ms. Gerloff, a secretary.’”
The glass slipper didn’t fit, and now she’s sixty-two.
That mortgage will become increasingly pricy as ObamaCare costs escalate markedly.
Professor Bear Get Stucco
Which one is Dr. David Banner?
I try to reserve the Get Stucco moniker for articles specifically about people “getting stucco.” Not feeling cantankerous any more these days so much as just sick of the mire into which we got stucco…
Bear:
Same here i’ve been getting angry at all the stupid bailouts, nothing for renters, and just dumb ideas from our “leaders”, and i am a nice calm guy…usually
My take its finally sinking in there is No light at the end of the tunnel…instead we are at the end of the tunnel and this is the best we will see for a while, and its scaring lots of people.
“… and it’s scaring a lot of people.”
Oh, the pain!
Pain is weakness leaving the system, as in No pain, No gain.
To paraphrase Al Capone: You get more with a kind word and some pain then with just a kind word by itself.
Financial reasoning without financial pain is not as effective as financial reasoning with a lot of financial pain.
Think hot stove: It is rare for someone to willingly put their hand on a hot stove the second time.
It’s going to be a bitch, but it’s not as if what many are about to endure has not been forecasted a long time ago and has spent a long time in coming.
Time for popcorn and lawn chairs, for some. For others … ?
In local Idaho news….
Rod Beck, a former Idaho Senate majority leader from Boise, author of the GOP’s new “loyalty oath,” and the leader of the effort to close Republican primaries, must pay $7,721.51.
According to 4th District Court records, Beck stopped paying his credit card bill in January 2009. He was sent bills in February, March, April and May before the company “charged off” the debt and began collection proceedings….
Beck, a real estate agent, was a four-term state senator, headed the Idaho Housing & Finance Association and ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992, losing to Dirk Kempthorne.
Well since he’s a realtor I guess it’s all right to skip on paying a debt.
Linkey
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/09/04/1327420/beck-must-pay-credit-card-debt.html
heheh, lots of realtors in the state legislatures, far more than lawyers in the states that don’t pay state reps well.
…author of the GOP’s new “loyalty oath,”…
I’d like to ram about fifty copies of his “loyalty oath” up his a$$ with the stick from my coat closet.
GOP loyalty oath?? LMAO….. They still haven’t learned a thing have they…. loyal to their corporate masters until eternity.
No bailouts on the horizon for restaurateurs. Unlike banking, where ginormous players with monopoly power have tremendous sway with politicians, America’s small but vital competitive industries get perpetually hosed by the conditions of the Great Recession.
Rescue by boomers not on menu for eateries
By Lori Weisberg, UNION-TRIBUNE
Friday, September 3, 2010 at 9:08 p.m.
Server Aaron Cribbes works at Cucina Urbana. The casual eatery has been successful after switching over from an upscale restaurant.
John R. McCutchen
As prospects for a strong economic recovery dwindle, the hard-hit restaurant industry is looking for any help it can get, but it shouldn’t expect the mammoth baby boom population to come to the rescue.
If a new 10-year food service forecast is to be believed, aging boomers, despite their large numbers, will in fact have a dampening effect on restaurant traffic as they choose to economize and eat out less often, according to The NPD Group, a Chicago-based market research firm. And dinner, concludes the forecast, will take the hardest hit because of all those stay-at-home boomers.
That gloomy prediction could be particularly disheartening for San Diego County’s independent restaurants, especially more upscale dining spots that struggled throughout the recession to find ways to stop the sharp decline in spending among diners.
While some local restaurateurs are skeptical that NPD’s prediction will come to pass, many have already made adjustments by lowering prices, emphasizing a more casual vibe and being more generous with special deals. Still, there’s only so much an owner can do during tough economic times to make up for sluggish sales, says Bertrand Hug, owner of Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe and Bertrand at Mister A’s.
“I see my friends eating more at home, talking about what their wives made for dinner, where before, it was, ‘Let’s go out,’ ” said the French-born chef. “But not everybody can fix at home what I do and serve it in the manner I do, so I’m not so worried.”
…
That’s funny…..we go out less and less because my husband is such a good cook I often find the restaurant fare disappointing.
“But not everybody can fix at home what I do and serve it in the manner I do, so I’m not so worried.”
My neighbor, who has a four car parking pad and 1 car garage, parked on my lawn today. I mean all four tires on my lawn and not his. WTF! I told him to move it or I’d have it moved for him.
Not a good harbinger of things to come.
“…who has a four car parking pad and 1 car garage, parked on my lawn today.”
LOLOLOL!!!
did you tell him GET OFF MY LAWN??
In Texas, you can shoot them the second time.
The car or the neighbor?
You wouldn’t wanted to live next to us…we had a 9 car non paved parking pad and no garage…mom dad had their cars so did i and my 2 bros, plus the tenants 3 cars then dad had a junk car to haul stuff in….and we still had room for more…
No, you’d be fine. It’s that he parked on my lawn, like it’s no big deal!! I don’t care if he has 30 cars, so lawn as they’re all on HIS lawn.
Red Beach
Good for you, laying down the rules. There are way too many inconsiderate a-holes out there, and evidently your neighbor is one.
Actually, caring about your neighbor’s parking behaviors is a fair concern. It’s your homebase and you don’t want it looking like Los Angeles, illegal central.
Sorry to hear your neighbor is an amoral maggot.
You should thank him for the gift, then stick a “For Sale” sign on the windshield.
Or … buy some chickens and use the car as a chickencoop.
I left out one important detail: he doesn’t live adjacent to me, he lives across the street!!
There is actually a name for the practice of artificially inflating the value of homes: PRICE FIXING.
* LETTERS
* SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
We Treat Home Prices Differently Than Other Prices
Regarding your editorial “The Housing Mirage” (Aug. 25): The root of the word mirage is to look at or to admire. We look at our homes with a skewed perspective combining pride and admiration.
We never look at alternatives to owning our homes if we can afford to buy. We welcome increases in its value although that also means an increase in property taxes and insurance costs. For every other item that we consume— such as cars, shoes and rent—we want the price to decline. But for our home, we want the price to increase. Why? Because we call it an “asset” and use it as an ATM. It generates no income but plenty of cost. I know no other “asset” which has to be fed every month.
I welcome further declines in the value of my home. It hasn’t shrunk in size or declined in utility, but it eats less in property taxes and insurance. The beast has been tamed; I’ve paid off our mortgage. I can say this because I don’t use it as an ATM, I am not counting on it for retirement and I am not a parasite feasting on the beast, as are home builders, real estate agents and state and local governments.
Bottoming out would be beneficial for all. It will allow activity to return which would benefit home builders and real estate agents. It is state and local government that will have to diet. I can live with that.
George Posada, CPA
…
This is one helluva soft patch!
Bernanke out of moves, critics say
How many arrows left in Fed’s quiver?
THE WASHINGTON TIMES FILE
By Patrice Hill
The Washington Times
8:54 p.m., Thursday, September 2, 2010
With interest rates near zero and the Federal Reserve already owning a large share of the mortgage and Treasury securities markets, many investors fear the central bank may be out of ammunition should the economy take a serious turn for the worse.
But Fed-watchers say the central bank, despite its dwindling options, has proved adept recently at manipulating markets to generate at least a psychological boost - perhaps all the economy needs if it is experiencing only a temporary “soft patch,” as the Fed maintains.
…
“soft patch”?
The elephant in the living room is DEBT!
Personal, Business, Corporate, Municipal, State and Federal!
Until this Debt is paid or goes away, it will remain a large and stubborn drag on the economy.
“Until this Debt is paid or goes away…”
“Goes away” is my bet.
“Goes away” as in those who are owed the money (because they loaned the money or were promised the money) won’t be paid the money.
If they are not paid the money they THOUGHT they were owed then they CAN’T SPEND money to keep the economy rolling.
No money = no money flow = hard times (unless you are one of those who has money, at which case the times aren’t as hard as they are “interesting”).
Cash rules.
So far, there is no macroeconomic budget constraint in view.
Expert View
Bernanke Out Of Bullets But Not Bombs
Michael Pento, 08.31.10, 01:00 PM EDT
Federal Reserve’s ability to buy assets and spark inflation is unlimited.
- How Dr. Keynes Will Kill The Patient
- Why Jobs Are AWOL
- Why Deflation Fears Are Overblown
There is an abundance of market pundits squawking about the Federal Reserve being out of bullets. They believe that since interest rates are near zero, and commercial banks have a superfluous amount of reserves, that Fed Chairman Benjamin Bernanke has been rendered financially impotent.
They contend there would be no impact in the battle against deflation if the Fed were to add on yet more excess reserves and there is nothing Bernanke can do to increase the money supply because banks aren’t lending and consumers aren’t borrowing–despite near-zero interest rates. Therefore, they contend that expanding the Fed’s balance sheet would have no affect on markets or the economy.
They are 100% correct in believing that the Fed can’t help the economy by printing more money. But that’s not because the Fed is out of bullets, but because the Fed has always been incapable of engendering viable growth; its ability, rather, is limited to manipulating the purchasing power of money. While it is true that further quantitative easing would once again hurt the economy, it does not mean the Fed’s impact on the value of the dollar would not be profound.
The truth is the Fed may be out of traditional bullets; that is to say, it has worn out the usefulness of purchasing short-term Treasuries from primary dealers to bring down short-term rates that nudge the entire yield curve lower. But the Fed is never, ever out of ammo. In fact, according to Bernanke himself, he may be about to unleash the heavy artillery.
…
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2010
Bernanke throws in the towel
S Balakrishnan
It’s the one event that puts central banks and central bankers even more in the spotlight than usual — their annual meet at Jackson Hole (by invitation only).
Times are bad with prospects getting worse. The latest data report the US economy growing 1.6 per cent, which is as good as being in recession, as there’s no job creation at such meagre growth levels. Europe is stuttering (but seems to have escaped the worst, despite the Greek crisis), Britain’s new Prime Minister thinks the way forward is to cut Government and spending and Japan has forgotten what growth is and is also stuck in deflation.
Jackson Hole started with the US Fed Chairman, Dr Ben Bernanke, committing the Fed to more ‘quantitative easing’. But he also declared the Fed alone may not be able to pull the economy out of the morass. “Strong and stable” growth will “require appropriate and effective responses from economic policy makers across a wide spectrum” as well as private-sector leaders, he said. His view is shared by a wide cross-section of economists.
A ‘lost decade’
Anecdotal news from the US suggests deep problems that are beyond the powers (and ken) of the Fed. One observer describes it as the world’s richest country trying its best to join the ranks of the poor! Such is the scale of job destruction in manufacturing and services with no equivalent numbers of new jobs being created. High-profile investor and market commentator, El-Erian of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund, speaks — chillingly, for those out of a job — of a ‘lost decade’.
Not that corporate profits are suffering. Their share of GDP is increasing. Most of income and wealth is concentrated in the top deciles of the population. Conservatives want this group to be ‘incentivised’ with low taxes and minimal regulation to invest and employ America.
Forget that the main thing (hedge) fund managers of the wealthy will do is to trade in financial markets. The first round effect of putting more money in these hands is likely to be more LBOs and corporate asset and manpower stripping, i.e., jobs losses, not additions. How all this will solve unemployment, even in time, is unspelt.
…
Carnac, we’ve missed you.
* REVIEW & OUTLOOK
* SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
The Diviner of System Risk
Ben Bernanke as Carnac the Magnificent.
After two more days of hearings this week about the 2008 credit meltdown, the lid on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s black box remains shut and locked. Testifying Thursday before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Mr. Bernanke made clearer than ever that financial “systemic risk” is whatever he and his fellow regulators decide it is. Read on and weep at how little has changed despite financial “reform.”
The danger of a systemic financial failure was the government’s catch-all justification for its unprecedented market interventions beginning with Bear Stearns in March 2008. Asked by commissioner Keith Hennessey this week to define “systemic risk,” Mr. Bernanke said that many academics are currently trying to do just that, but there remains a debate about how to measure it. Taxpayers might hope that Mr. Bernanke would demand a clear definition before he commits the next trillion dollars, but that’s probably not the way to bet. The Fed Chairman confidently predicted that determining the level of such risk will largely “remain subjective.”
As bad as this news is for taxpayers, the potentially worse news came when Mr. Hennessey asked if, in times of crisis, the government could still assist a particular company now that Dodd-Frank reform is the law of the land. Mr. Bernanke quickly put the matter to rest by noting that a too-big-to-fail company undergoing the government’s new resolution process could still receive money from the Treasury. Uh, oh.
…
“You are wrong, bailout-breath!”
From today’s WSJ Op-ed:
‘While reciting a litany of mistakes by private firms and various harms allegedly caused by a lack of regulation, the Fed chief once again dismissed the notion that loose Fed monetary policy contributed to the credit bubble.
So there you have it: The chairman takes no responsibility for the monetary roots of the credit mania but wants virtually unbridled authority to intervene in the markets based on a hip-pocket judgment about “systemic risks” that not even he can define. Taxpayers will just have to take his word for it.’
The Fed. Wall St. The Fortune 500.
People we did not elect, who run this country, who tell us they are not accountable to us.
You have problem with Corporate Communist Capitalism©®™, comrade?
SERFS Up!
“Mr Gross Goes to Washington” doesn’t quite have that ring to it.
This is the first I heard of the close similarity between Newport Beach, California and Des Moines, Iowa. I suppose they have lots of multi-million dollar houses in Des Moines in need of government stimulus support?
A Disillusioned Mr. Gross Returns from Washington
Wednesday, 25 Aug 2010 | 6:28 AM ET
Patrick Allen
CNBC Senior News Editor
Famous PIMCO fund manager Bill Gross went to Washington last week and admits in his September note to clients that moments like heading to the Treasury for the first time in his 35 years in the business had the “little boy inside me is screaming ‘Run!’”
“Jimmy Stewart, I’m Not,” Bill Gross wrote.
The purpose of the visit to see Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was, in Gross’ own words “a Bill Gross, instead of a Mr. Smith, going to Washington, but with the same populist spirit: no filibusters or anything, but an idea or two on how to benefit Main Street as opposed to Wall Street, in the ongoing housing crisis.”
Unfortunately for Main Street, Gross says he found little support in Washington for his ideas.
“Just like Oz isn’t Kansas, Washington D.C. isn’t Newport Beach or Des Moines, Iowa,” he wrote.
…
PIMCO is still dealing in billion$ whereas Washington D.C. has moved on to trillion$; only qualified players allowed at the new table.
WTF! I know the American taxpayer won’t mind bailing this crowd out. What’s that, no one asked them? That’s correct, as the D.C. cesspool always sez…Screw the serfs, we’ll tax then to death and beyond.
Bailout in the Works for Afghan Bank Hit by Panic ~ NYT
KABUL, Afghanistan — In a bid to fend off the threat of a nationwide financial crisis, the Afghan and United States governments hammered together a deal to bail out Afghanistan’s largest bank on Saturday after lines of frantic depositors mobbed the bank for a third day.
Details of the deal were still being worked out on Saturday by the Central Bank of Afghanistan with assistance from the United States Treasury Department, Afghan and American officials said. But American officials said no United States funds were involved in the bailout.
The planned injection of cash into the beleaguered Kabul Bank is meant to slow the run on the bank by its customers, who have withdrawn more than $200 million in the past few days amid fears of a wider economic collapse.
But on Saturday, thousands of nervous Afghan depositors, unaware of the bailout and unconvinced of the bank’s solvency, stormed the bank’s central branch in Kabul to withdraw their savings.
Now they tell us the Ownership Society incurred a $13 t hit in 2008. Since Bernanke said in August 2007 that “subprime would be contained to $200 bn,” I guess one can conclude his early estimate of the eventual cascading economic damage from the subprime collapse was off by a factor of 65 (65*$200 bn = $13 t).
Week In News: Romer, Economy, Midterms, Oil
All Things Considered
September 4, 2010
This was the last week on the job for Christina Romer, the president’s top economic adviser. In her farewell speech, she shed some light on the backroom dealings that got the stimulus package passed. Host Guy Raz speaks with our regular news analyst, James Fallows of The Atlantic, about those revelations and other top stories in the news.
Christina Romer likely received the Brooksley Born treatment from none other than Larry (the enforcer) Summers.
I’m going out tonight to try to have some fun. Copacabana or Ipanema. Cheers Amigos.
What both parties did was bogus. They hit us where we live for their gain.
We were jerked around, made to sweat, made to bark, made to do tricks and mortgage our futures.
20 years lost for worse than nothing. Who would have thought?
Happy Labor Day.
“Copacabana or Ipanema.”
Ah, yes: The Girl From Ipanema.
Http://stan-shepkowski.net/girlfromipanema.htm
Er, http://stan-shepkowski.net/girlfromipanema.htm
Economics focus
War footing
Monetary and fiscal stimulus make a potent, if uneasy, combination
Sep 2nd 2010
THE Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is the big event of the year for central bankers. But defining monetary policy is far harder than it used to be. In recent years central bankers have lurched ever closer to the realm of fiscal policy, mainly by buying government debt with freshly printed money. They can justify such “quantitative easing” (QE) on monetary grounds since they have already lowered short-term interest rates to, or close to, zero. But they also worry it is a slippery slope from QE to monetising government deficits and thence, inevitably, to inflation. When Phillip Swagel, then an official with the US Treasury, was asked why he attended the conference in 2008, he shrugged: “Fiscal policy, monetary policy—what’s the difference?”
For central bankers this is an unsettling thought. Their mistrust of fiscal policy was nicely captured in a paper presented at this year’s Jackson Hole conference by Eric Leeper of Indiana University*. As central bankers have become more independent, they have increasingly based their policies on rigorous economic analysis. By contrast fiscal policy is deeply politicised, with haphazard methods and few, if any, defined goals.
Much as central bankers would like to ignore fiscal policy, they cannot. “Fiscal alchemy can undermine monetary science,” says Mr Leeper. A wise monetary policy aims to keep prices stable, prudent fiscal policy to stabilise government debt. This division of labour works as long as the public believes that, after running a big deficit, the government will raise taxes or cut spending enough to keep debt under control. But, he argues, if the debt is so large that the government cannot credibly commit to these actions, the public assumes the central bank will inflate away the debt by printing money. Inflation expectations soar and the central bank loses control of prices.
…
Was at an LDS social function tonight, where two otherwise reasonable people told me with a straight face that they are certain Obama is a Muslim. The way the people of this country can be misled by fringe news is downright frightening. I wish more of them did a bit of independent research before telling me with a sober look what they “know is true.”
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