Bits Bucket For November 10, 2010
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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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Ahead of the Bell: Jobless claims
Unemployment benefit applications likely dropped last week, but job market remains tight
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment claims likely fell last week but probably not enough to signal that widespread hiring is under way.
Several economists forecast that claims will fall by 7,000 to 450,000 in the week ending Nov. 6. The report will be released at 8:30 a.m. by the Labor Department.
It would be the third drop in four weeks. And coming after the jobs report Friday that was better than many analysts expected, it could be another sign the job market is slowly healing.
“Unemployment claims likely fell last week but probably not enough to signal that widespread hiring is under way.”
Why use words like “likely” and “probably” when you already know the number will be unexpected.
Because it’s a slow news day and the object is to sway and spin the audience before the actual facts are known.
450K new clais per week is staring to look like the New Normal.
Something thing tells me that Sarah Palin will be the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012. You’d have to be nuts to want to inherit this mess, which I expect will no better and probably worse than it is now.
I agree, I think we are heading into a muddle along stage, barring any unforeseen occurrences. I would assume that Barry will run again in 2012. If the repubs trot out Palin it would be a mistake IMO, but then again they don’t have much to choose from. Same old retreads.
Anything is possible though and Barry has turned off a lot of his followers, so we’ll see.
One thing I am 99% certain of is that we will not see a return to what so many want to see and that is a rebound to the go-go days pre-bust lending standards, and housing ATM’s.
Barry V. Sarah. I think I’m going to look for another country to live in! Any suggestions?
You’d be surpised at how hard it is to get legal residence in other countries. Unlike the USA, other countries don’t believe in open borders or easy immigration.
Racist!
Married as Aussie with an EU passport in June. Gotta be somewhere safe in that bunch. Now it’s just transporting my silver…
MrBubble
Colorado, you’re right. But I know people living illegally in the UK, even using NI there without paying squat! Even in Germany I knew a couple of “illegals”, though I didn’t know anyone illegal who actually used public benefits in Germany, and working inevitably became problematic.
The USA is actually danged difficult to move to if you do it right and just want to work and live there. I’ve lived in several countries, and the USA was the worst of any I’ve had experience with for someone wanting to move here legitimately, work, and spend — be it temporary or permanent.
(Thankfully, Italy and India were not on my itinerary. I hear they’d give the US a run for its money in the bureaucracy misery.)
Bolivia is pretty easy to move to and get citizenship.
“Bolivia is pretty easy to move to and get citizenship.”
If you bring a large sack of money with you many 3rd world countries will let you in.
If you bring a large sack of money with you many 3rd world countries will let you in.
This is the same for any country.
“This is the same for any country.”
The minimum sack size varies by country. You can probably get into Bolivia with a smaller sack (say a regular SS check) that what is required to get into the EU or Japan.
I think I’ll go to Canada with ‘Cousin Eddie’. Didn’t Cher and Barbara go there after the second Shrub’ election??? Oh, they didn’t! What went wrong? Molson isn’t the same since Coors took it over.
I dunno. I think the GOP learned their lesson last time ( you would think) People like my Dad didn’t vote for Mccain precisely because she was chosen as his running mate.
Earmark ban proposed by DeMint, is apparently nonbinding and nonenforceable. McConnell opposes the ban. Earmarks are something on which Repubs pounded Democrats for the past four years. But it means nothing.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44888.html
Rand Paul is waffling on earmarks.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/252748/rand-paul-already-selling-out-veronique-de-rugy#
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
How funny, when it was McCain that was part of the Keating 5.
Ever heard of them?
Sarah P will only be the candidate if the GOP has determined that Obama is unbeatable, e.g. a throw away candidate. A bit like poor ol Bob Dole ‘96.
If the GOP PTBs sense that Obama is vulnerable, they will find a serious candidate. Newt maybe?
IMHO.
It is hard to say. A lot can happen between now and 2012.
There’s plenty of interest in other candidates in the GOP, like Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie (but probably too soon for him). Republican activists around the country had plenty of other favorites before she came along. Sure she was a sensation at an otherwise boring convention, and the delegates I know were jazzed about her for awhile afterward, but the enthusiasm soon evaporated. It was just a shot in the dark for McCain.
It’s the media and Palin herself who make it seem like she’s the only one out there. The Dems bring her up at every opportunity, for a reason, and it’s hard for the leadership to quell that without looking heavy-handed.
“It’s the media and Palin herself who make it seem like she’s the only one out there. The Dems bring her up at every opportunity..”
From the time her name was first mentioned for Vice President the Eastern Liberal Press realized they had zero info on her; and then the Eastern Liberal media directed that everyone should HATE Sarah Palin and be ASHAMED that she could ever be Vice -President.
So far the Eastern LIberal Press is doing it’s job, I guess.
Did the Eastern Liberal Media tell her to flub all those interviews too?
She’s a dolt, irrespective of any media bias.
Since Fox News is the leading source of “news” these days, shouldn’t you be updating your slogan to Eastern Right-Wing Media? What exactly is liberal about the media? Please explain, curious mind wants to know.
The disproportionate percentage of journalists and reporters that give campaign contributions to Dems and not Repubs for one thing. I think the % split was 90/10 in favor of Obama and Dems. A lot of the media actually admit their liberal bias - I know my paper (Wash Post) did so a few years ago (as if one couldn’t see in their ‘editorial’ section that they endorsed almost every Dem candidate (Fed and S&L) year and year. Its really a shame I think b/c it ruins journalism I think - on both sides (Fox too). Sad thing is to read the Post’s (?) journalism creed or whatever it is - IIRC it explicitly states that they shouldn’t/can’t take sides b/c doing so defeats the inherent goal of journalism.
Used to be that every town had a right/left pair of papers: my hometown Detroit had the News and the Free Press; Chicago with Tribune and Sun Times, DC the Post and Times, SF the Examiner and Chronicle. Now even one paper has trouble surviving.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias
This nicely sums up media bias from both liberal and conservative camps.
Our local paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, is known for it’s conservative bias. Even in the midst of Watergate they endorsed Nixon, and have endorsed most every GOP no matter their record– even Randy “Duke” Cunningham–and recently Meg Whitman. Further, the influence of Fox News, along with the Wall Street Journal, both owned by Murdoch and beating the GOP drum, is far greater than the handful of big city newspapers left….
Newt has too much personal scandal to be electable. Too bad, but true.
I still think Mike Pence will run. But he says he’s praying to the Lord to help him decide.
http://politics.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/11/03/pence-to-step-down-as-no-3-house-gop-leader.html
“Sarah Palin will be the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012. You’d have to be nuts to want to inherit this mess,…”
She appears well-qualified.
…claims will
fall by 7,000 toremain mired in the muck around 450,000…Looks like the case for QE3 is withering.
Of course it’s hard to say how much the change is related to temporary holiday season hiring.
Economic Report
Nov. 10, 2010, 8:41 a.m. EST
Weekly jobless claims fall 24,000 to 435,000
Four-week average drops to lowest level in two years
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of workers who filed new claims for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to 435,000, continuing a recent see-saw pattern that’s given mixed signals about the U.S. labor market.
Jobless claims plunged in 2009 as the economy exited recession, but they have been stuck in 450,000 range through the first 10 months of this year in a reflection of weak hiring trends. Economists believe weekly claims have to move toward 400,000 to indicate that hiring is on the upswing, or at least that layoffs are slowing.
…
..continuing a recent see-saw pattern that’s given mixed signals about the U.S. labor market.
I was on a jury one time, and we were hung at 7 to 5 votes. After several votes, everyone was aching to get it over with so it was agreed we’d take one more vote. If there was no change, we were through.
The vote was 7 to 5 again.
You’d think nobody changed, but I did. So, at least one other person did, and counter balanced mine.
But it might be true that as many as 10 people changed their vote, and the results could remain at 7 to 5.
——
The point is that even though unemployment remains at about 450K, a lot of changes might be taking place. Some industries or markets could be growing and hiring while others are shrinking and laying people off.
I think it’s far less likely that the same companies (or all companies) are firing and re-hiring people soon afterward..
So, instead of writing off this see-saw pattern as “mixed signals about the U.S. labor market”, someone should probe a little deeper.
Two million jobs gone.
First i wanna know which industries those 2 million came from.
It’s been taken for granted that the entire economy is shrinking… that the 2 million are evenly distributed across all industries. That may or may not be the case.
Construction and RE had to be hit much harder than agriculture. Might agriculture even be hiring? How about transportation?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
In just the last three years, U.S. food exports to China have doubled from $6.7 billion in 2006 to more than $13 billion last year, and there is no other country whose appetite for U.S. food exports is growing faster than China’s.
“First i wanna know which industries those 2 million came from. ”
It would be interesting if a meaningful breakdown was published somewhere. I have seen some before, bit they tend to be “low res” as in the “the business and services sector added X jobs”. That’s a very wide brush as it covers a full range from burger flippers and cashiers to engineers and attorneys.
If I had to wager a guess we are still offshoring high value jobs while creating mostly menial P/T work. But thats just a SWAG.
“…..US food exports to China have doubled…..”
But Ag industry employment hasn’t doubled.
Our “growth” industry is hiring help to straighten out the foreclosure/MERS mess. Of course, that is so screwed up, people will be able to make a career out of that.
This is older but the most current data available. We’re hemoraging construction jobs mostly, low pay sectors are losing more jobs than high pay sectors (except in health care where both are adding jobs but more are being added at the low end).
Meaningful breakdown of jobs by sector.
http://tinyurl.com/25q48dj
The breakdown is much more specific but I thought this was more useful.
I used the BLS Occupational Employment data so it’s only through May 2009, but it gives you a better idea of what’s really happening in job creation.
Something I’m noticing on the job front: People who have an in-demand skillset — and the work ethic talent to go along with it — are getting hired.
Matter of fact, I’m working on a web development job that requires programming. First programmer I asked got (excuse the terminology) snapped up by a major magazine publisher. And so she wasn’t available except for a few hours a week.
Oh, well.
My backup programmer, whom I’ve never worked with before, is just an absolute gem. The kind of guy who motivates me to drum up all sorts of additional business so I can keep sending work his way. And he reports that he’s getting more headhunter calls than he has in a long time.
Then there’s the lady in NYC who’s just as hardcore a freelancer in her field as I am in mine. Or so I thought. A mutual friend told me that she’s been working in a job for several months.
Of course Slim, but not everyone can be a programmer…. or top flight engineer or doctor or lawyer. The professions were and always will be only for those who can afford it and learn it, which is still a small percentage of the population.
What do you do about the rest? Who just happen to be the majority.
And it doesn’t help that millions of the both types of jobs have been permanently offshored. So a good skill set and work ethic must also be combined with really good connections.
Ecofeco,
That’s what’s happing on the job front though, it’s not offshorred, it’s automated. Most people aren’t John Henry, once a machine is designed to compete with them, they loose badly. For those who can, rewards are huge (because they’re usuallly doing something in high demand) for those who aren’t there aren’t really good solutions (the options are explicitly take from the few stars who outcompete machines or accept Latin American levels of inequality).
Basically cad/cam the internet, and databases made it easy to see who was really really good at their job (both for employees and employeers) and shifted production from jobs with high performers that produce 1-2x what low performers produce to jobs where high performers produce 100-200x what low performers produce.
It’s that AND offshoring of jobs. Millions of jobs getting offshored over the last 25 years is a fact.
When was our last “cyclical” aka “Archie Bunker” recession? 1981-2? You know the kind, it’s when a dock worker for Acme Co. is laid off and hired right back to his old gig. It sure wasn’t 1991, that was the first of the real job killers as old school white collar jobs were kicked to the curb.
“You know the kind, it’s when a dock worker for Acme Co. is laid off and hired right back to his old gig.”
I believe those are called “furloughs”.
Anecdote: When I was laid off from HP in 2001 I was telling an elderly retired gent that I was looking for a new job.
“You mean HP won’t call you back when things pick up?” he asked.
I had to explain to him that things were fine at HP and the the thousands of us who had been let go were permanently replaced by Chindians. The look of shock on his face was priceless.
Yup, my brother was about 51 that year, lost his job and never really worked again.
“and never really worked again”
That may be the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read on this blog. Really.
Except the age limit has moved down to about 45 now.
And now we have a new twist, (for employees who are “essential” at least part of the time), where you get kicked to the curb, but they want you to become an “independent contractor”, and get to work around whenever they decide they need you.
Of course, there can be unanticipated costs associated with this. Just ask my former employer about his $200K plus engine inspection bill. (snark on)
OK, stop scaring Polly, X-GS.
Polly, you will always have a job. You are smart as a whip and have lots of experience.
My over 60 BIL just got downsized from his job as head of the legal department for a large corporation. The new CEO decided to get rid of the legal department. He’ll get 6 months of severance, and already has two job offers (albeit at less money.)
I’m aware that I am in a good place when it comes to a job. Mostly because I didn’t go the hedge fund route when I was last out of work. They were almost the only ones hiring people with my background in 2003/2004.
My brother and sister in law are OK too. But I have friends and other family who aren’t so fortunate. I ache for them.
“Mostly because I didn’t go the hedge fund route when I was last out of work.”
Grizzly no like hedge fund route. Grizzly no like Polly at hedge fund. Grizzly happy.
Polly, you will always have a job. You are smart as a whip and have lots of experience.
I sincerely hope so. But I think polly is also smart enough to know that anything can happen and in these times, and there is no guarantee.
Delighted to make you happy, Griz. I just couldn’t do it. I was ready to teach math in an inner city high school, but just wasn’t interested in the hedgies.
GS-fixer, your story reminds me of my grandfather. He was a civil engineer. Had his own construction company for a long while (doing his own design work - ugly boxes that could stand up to a New England winter). Closed that down when his partner wanted to retire and went to work for a local furniture chain designing their buildings and keeping track of maintenance. The local chain got bought out. He told the new owners that he strongly recommended they hire him. They declined. He retired. A year or two later the new owners were replacing the roof of the local company’s flagship building. It took a long time, looked expensive and kept that building closed for quite a while. We drove past it on route 128 nearly every week. Grandpa was generally amused. Wish my brother and I had been a little older at the time. He didn’t swear in front of us kids until we were old enough to have heard it all at school, but his distain for short sighted jerks was fluent and filthy.
Polly …my father was a civil engineer and was lucky enough to
get into a Government job and had job stability his whole working life, except they retired him out 5 years early at 60 instead of 65
after 30 years of service . Anyway ,you comment about your grandfather’s distain for short sighted jerks fits my Dad . My
childhood was a lesson in the evils of being short sighted .
A tale of 2 classes…
There are two American economies. One is on the mend. The other is still coming apart.
http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/279-82/3845-americas-two-economies
The one that’s mending is America’s Big Money economy. It’s comprised of Wall Street traders, big investors, and top professionals and corporate executives.
Yet the American economy has lost 15 million jobs since the start of the Great Recession. And if you add in the growth of the labor force — including everyone too discouraged to look for a job — we’re down about 22 million.
Highest Earners’ Pay Quintupled in 2009, Government Data Show
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-25/america-s-top-earners-saw-pay-quintuple-last-year-to-average-519-million.html
As the recession pushed U.S. incomes down last year, America’s highest earners — 72 people who made more than $50 million — earned an average of $84 million each.
Nationally, the average annual wage fell by $598 to $39,055 and the median wage fell by $253 to $26,261 during the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.
“and the median wage fell by $253 to $26,261″
So by definition half of America is poor now. Small wonder so many people get food stamps and other forms of public relief.
“Yet the American economy has lost 15 million jobs since the start of the Great Recession. And if you add in the growth of the labor force - including everyone too discouraged to look for a job - we’re down about 22 million.”
Staggering.
WEEKLY. Not monthly. Weekly.
Read it and weep. We’re effed.
Ambac sues U.S. and says IRS may ruin bankruptcy
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc has sued the United States to block a seizure of $700 million of tax refunds that it said could destroy its ability to reorganize in bankruptcy court.
The company said the Internal Revenue Service has been examining and may seek to recoup the refunds, which relate to losses that Ambac suffered from credit default swaps that insured municipal, corporate and asset-backed debt.
Ambac is seeking a court order letting it keep the refunds, and declaring it has no tax liability from 2003 to 2008.
“Ambac’s ability to reorganize successfully will be jeopardized or destroyed” if the refunds are seized quickly, Peter Ivanick, a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP representing Ambac, wrote in Tuesday’s complaint.
Earth to Ambac bondholders -
The IRS is ALWAYS first in line.
This is about the dumbest, most poorly wrtitten/researched article I have ever read. Its on MSN Money.
3 Ways to Dump Your House:
http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=26244308
let me guess…
lower the price!
lower the price!
lower the price!
?
How can you give it away if you’re underwater? If you’re NOT underwater, you can always sell it. Of course if it doesn’t sell at a high enough price, you ARE underwater, you just refused to believe it.
I imagine you can “give it away” via a quit-claim deed, depending on the state, but your name is still on the mortgage, and the mortgage lien is still on the property! Not so good plan.
Quit-claim deeds can be great! How do you think the US got Alaska? We paid the Russians several million dollars for a quit-claim deed.
Yah, imagine your grandchild’s face when you give them a house worth less than half of what is owed on it. “It’s all yours little timmy! Just keep up the payments! You better see about expanding your newspaper route!”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-10/wall-street-collects-4-billion-from-taxpayers-as-swaps-backfire.html
Wall Street’s creative financing schemes, peddled to municpalities as a way to lower their bond costs, are blowing up in the rubes’ faces.
Municipal finance officials should be barred from dealing with the street. They are so outmatched.
Especially by Wall Street salesmen who contributed to their campaigns.
People say the private sector is more efficient than the public sector. This ignores the fact that what it does most efficiently is fleece the government.
… AND the public.
Little known fact: your local government, from the village to the state, are heavily invested in Wall St. And I’m not talking about just the pensions either.
Google CAFR.
This whole fiasco has been a way of extracting wealth from the taxpayer.
Of the executives who engineered it, no one has gone to jail, and almost certainly they’re all the richer for having been a part of it. The politicians? There’s been some change, but I suspect the incumbents still made out very well.
South Florida’s economic albatross: Home values and losses not getting any better
By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 12:14 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010
About 42 percent of South Florida homes with mortgages were underwater during the third quarter of the year, nearly double the national average and a “millstone around the neck” of real estate that could keep the market down indefinitely.
Analysts at the Seattle-based Zillow released housing data today that showed a 17th consecutive quarter of home value declines nationwide, including in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, where values fell 15 percent compared with 2009.
In the same tri-county area, 46 percent of homes that sold in September did so at a loss, according to Zillow’s report. Statewide, 48 percent of homes sold for a loss.
“The length and depth of the current housing recession is rivaling the Great Depression’s real estate downturn, and, with encouraging signs fading, will easily eclipse it in the coming months,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries, who made the millstone comment. “The high percentage of homeowners in negative equity continues to be troubling, in that it represents a huge number of people who are not only more vulnerable to foreclosure, but who are essentially trapped in their current homes.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/real-estate/south-floridas-economic-albatross-home-values-and-losses-1035787.html
…it represents a huge number of people who are not only more vulnerable to foreclosure, but who are essentially trapped in their current homes.”
Didn’t investors from all over commonly buy multiple Florida properties, none of which were their “homes”?
This idea about foreclosures primarily affecting families and homes, instead of infestors and their hungry alligators, needs to be straightened out.
Slim here — and be forewarned that I’m in serious celebration mode because today’s my birthday.
I had to mail a letter yesterday, and after I dropped it in the big blue box, I took a walk around the nabe.
Passed by a boarded up place that’s just two doors south of a major road that will soon be widened. The big widening’s supposed to start in 2013, but we shall see. After all, this is Tucson, aka the Land of Manana.
ISTR that the boarded up place was a rental. Probably owned by one of those infestors. We’ve had quite a few of those critters in Tucson, and they’re really hard to exterminate.
“ISTR that the boarded up place was a rental. Probably owned by one of those infestors. We’ve had quite a few of those critters in Tucson, and they’re really hard to exterminate.”
An investation of infestors?
well well well..
Happy 583,400,000 mile-trip-around-the-Sun.
Its a sobering thought that most of us won’t even get 100 trips around the sun, yet the Earth will get billions. We’re like wild flowers, here today, gone tomorrow.
It actually makes me want to laugh at the so called “masters of universe” who are blind to their own insignificance in the big scale of the cosmos.
They’re not blind. It is their biggest fear and motivator.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! How’s it feel turning 39?
Actually, it’s 53, and it’s grrrrrrrreat!
Az Slim-
H a p p y B i r t h d a y to you.
H a p p y B i r t h d a y to you.
53 is still a young’n,
So H a p p y B i r t h d a y to you.
(*The older I get, the younger 39 sounds!)
No it’s your fifteenth annual 39th birthday!!
39 is young … and you are Slim. Life is good!
Happy Birthday Slim! Nothing but happy thoughts today. Sunny skies, chirping birds, and dead realtors!
Sunny skies, chirping birds, and dead realtors!
Press, if I told you once, I told you 100 times. Stop making me laugh!
Happy Birthday!
Have a great day!
Ha, I’m 10 months ahead of you & yer anniversary, x3 Cheers to Slim & have a wonderful celebratin’ day!
Happy Bday, Slim! Here’s hoping it is a good one for you, and the start of a great year…
I wanted to thank you, Prime, for offering to help me with my computer the other day. I did not see your response until much later on. Nothing’s changed, BTW, as I’ve never found a remedy. I’m positive it’s a software problem with Vista as there are innumerable other people dealing with the exact same thing. I’ve tried every fix I could find. Every once in a while, if I right click on “USB Controllers” under “Device Manager” and select “Scan for hardware changes” it will refresh the CD/DVD drive under “My Computer,” and allow me to listen to a CD- for about 30 seconds until it stops, and disappears again. It’s probably some problem in the Registy (from what I’ve read), but that’s way beyond me.
Right now, I need to figure out how to get all of my pictures off of this thing. Since i don’t have the CD burner, it makes it very difficult. I don’t want to buy an external hard drive, as I’m afraid I will have the same problem with the computer not able to recognize it. Wondering if I should use Shutterfly, or something online, but then I don’t know if they allow unlimited downloads. I’d hate to have to buy my pics back. If I could get them off here, I’m going to send the computer in under warranty, assuming it’s a hardware problem (even if it’s not, they’ll have to diagnose that).
How many gigs of pictures do you have on your hard drive? If it is just a matter of storing them somewhere while you get your computer fixed, you don’t need a photo storage place. Any on-line storage will do. It will be horrible to figure out which picture is which if you don’t already have descriptive name on them, but you won’t have to worry about limits on downloads.
Walmart works for me. Download everything and buy a CD once a year. IIRC If you buy a photo or CD once a year, no charge for storage.
I haven’t added up my pictures, but it’s probably like 20 to 30 gigs. Basically all the pics I have taken over the past 3 years. Do you know anything about companies like Shutterfly, specifically if I upload all of my pics there temporarily, that I will be able to download them back to my computer for free? I would have for there to be free uploads, but not downloads. I just need them safe for a time while I either get the computer fixed, or go with an Apple once and for all. I am sure this is a Vista problem, and I am done with Microsoft.
You should always have an external drive just for this reason.
They are less than $90 these days and if you shop around, you might be able to find one for $50.
Barring that, a large thumb/jump drive should work. $12 -$50.
A good and free registry fixer is CCleaner. piriform dot com. Comes with other neat stuff like DOD and NSA level delete/wipe.
Grizzly, just saw your reply posted yesterday; I’m still happy to help. Will check back here for contact info, or I can create a throw-away email address and leave it for you to make contact.
I’ve got external drives that you could use temporarily, though I cannot recommend strongly enough that you have one yourself for a backup–hard drives can and do fail or get corrupted, and I have had to salvage pictures from thse drives for more than one friend who did not make a backup.
Anyone reading who doesn’t have a backup: MAKE ONE TODAY!
It is a major bummer to lose irreplacable photos/memories.
Happy birthday, Slim. Eat some cake for me.
Happy Birthday Arizona Slim!
Happy Birthday Slim, you youngster!
Happy Birthday to one hell of a person.
When my niece (16 y o)asked my age on my last B-Day , I replied “I’m over the hill, and off the pill!” She gave up.
Happy Birthday, Slim.
They’re contemplating widening a very scenic section (ocean views!) of the I-5 from 8 lanes to 14 lanes, from Del Mar to Oceanside. We seem to be destined to be in cars for the next 50 years, so not sure what the answer is. It’s an axiom that whenever you improve the roadway you encourage more volume and then you need to expand the roadway, yet again…
Fourteen lanes? !!! Just imagine the driver in the left lane who suddenly realizes his/her exit (on the right, of course) is coming up next.
Than god high speed rail isn’t (going to be) the answer. Wouldn’t want to waste those tax payer dollars that could be supporting the auto and oil industry instead!
Happy Birthday, Slimmie!
Happy Birthday Slim!
On the bright side, you’re only 10 in dog years and 9.25 in cat years!
Happy Birthday, I owe you coffee (or tea?) if I can ever get down to Tucson to buy!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101110/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis
Eurozone crisis contained…all is well…just go out and spend, citizens.
Eurozone crisis = the turd that couldn’t be flushed.
Where’s Packman been, he’s always all over this story?
So Ireland is officially the second of the PIIGS to squeel. Who’s next? Portugal or Spain?
When good condo-conversions go bad:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-foreclosures-metrowest-hamptons-20101107,0,3819723.story
Recovery to Speed Up as Fed Moves Build Confidence, Survey Says.
The world’s largest economy will strengthen through next year as the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented actions help underpin consumer and business confidence, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
After growing at a 2.2 percent annual rate this quarter and next, gross domestic product will accelerate each successive period, reaching a 3.2 percent pace by the last three months of 2011, according to the median forecast of economists polled from Nov. 3 to Nov. 9.
The $2.3 trillion that the central bank said it will have pumped into financial markets by June will probably keep interest rates low and sustain the rebound in stocks, shoring up corporate and household finances. An improving job market and election results that raised the odds Bush-era tax cuts will be extended may help the economy gain speed.
Destroying ones currency and savings is an awesome confidence builder.
So the logic they’re following is that if we anticipate further inflation we will rush out and buy stuff. Seems reasonable enough to an academic I’d imagine.
Meanwhile on Main St., the peeps have doubts about their income streams and assets. So if a loaf of bread goes to $10, the $1,000 that granny has in her savings account will still keep her fed. But if she cuts loose and spends $500 now - and bread still goes to $10 - she won’t be able to buy half as much bread.
The textbooks are going to fail here.
What savings? J6P doesn’t have a paid for pot to piss in. Our Asian bankers will get the shaft (initially), but like a good boomerang this will swing back and hurt us in other ways.
Watch out Apple, those imported iPods and IPhones might get really expensive soon (along with a lot of other things.
Apple may have to start making things in the US again.
Interest rates from 10 years out have only gone up since QE2 was announced. The fed misjudged the “stupididty” of the bond market. Hard to say “inflation isn’t high enough” and then expect rates to stay low.
” said it will have pumped into financial markets by June will probably keep interest rates low and sustain the rebound in stocks, shoring up corporate and household finances.”
The key word here is “PUMPED” (ie.move (something) vigorously up and down). It damn well is not shoring up any household finances that I am acquainted with.
But Ben and Timmy are going to Pump You Up!
Except their fake muscles are wadded up $100 bills under their sweats. Get out there and spend it, don’t be a girlie-man.
Follow the money. The Fed is giving this money to the banks. It is already gone.
Blue Skye …yep, BB is giving the money to the Banks .
The debate about a possible return to a gold standard has begun. Disappointing to see the celebrated economist Nouriel Roubini choose the manipulated paper credit system over the Constitutional mandate for honest money.
Roubini raises the following question: If you are on a gold standard, or modified gold standard, what do you do in the event of a bank run-if you don’t have enough gold to fully back the currency? Roubini explains that most central banks in today’s economy have far greater financial liabilities than gold in reserve. In fact, according to Roubini, in the case of most central banks today that ratio is about 40 or 50 to 1.
Dr. Roubini, you are letting the cat out of the bag! You are letting common folk in on the trick of fractional reserve banking, which would not be permitted under a strict system of honest money. You, like most other economists, have fallen under the spell of irredeemable fiat currency - which is so quickly, now, leading us to ruin. You believe human manipulation and printing presses are superior to the discipline of a gold standard. You are afraid honest money will limit us in some way.
But that’s the beauty of gold and silver. You can’t “print” actual Constitutional money in huge abundance and destroy the economy through inflation. You CAN print paper in any quantity and persuade people that the bits of paper are “money.” We’ve been doing that for years, and look what it got us.
So, let the debate on honest money vs, debt-based currency begin. It might result in the USA coming to its senses. We can always hope.
meh…it’s nto even printed on paper any more.
I would like to know what sort of transition plan you would put into place to get from fiat currency to only gold backed currency. Lets limit the plan to the US for now, but assume that other coutries are doing the same thing.
If the ratios he cites are correct, every bank in the country would have to call between 97% and 98% of its loans, because of reserve requirements, right? All bank deposits and cash would have to be exchanged for new denominations of “gold backed” dollars presumably at $2 to $3 of new currency for all the old currency. If nothing else a heck of a lot of small “new currency” coins would have to be minted pronto. I’m not sure what else, but I’d say commerce would fall into some level of complete chaos. What other measures would the government have to take to effect this transition? I really want to know.
You can’t get there from here. I know it’s pointless, by I’ll repost my comment from 2007.
How exactly would people propose doing this? There’s simply no non-catastrophic way to get away from a fiat currency. If the government decided to harden the currency by re-opening the gold window and eliminating the federal reserve we would have to set the gold/dollar exchange rate so that it was proportional to the money supply. Otherwise you’ve simply provided a government subsidy for people to empty out fort Knox. If the government decided to hand out one ounce for every 35$ people brought in, Fort Knox would be empty in DAYS. Banks would drive tractor trailer trucks of all their currency right up to the window and demand their gold until it was all gone.
So the exchange rate would have to be set at a level proportional to the amount of money currently in circulation. The question quickly becomes, what version of money supply do you use? If we decided to use M3, the broadest level of money in circulation, we’d be able to walk up to the gold window and turn in $477,782 for one troy oz of gold. This is not the sort of exchange rate that will provide the inflations limiting backstop that people who hate fractional reserve banking want.
So let us instead use the M0 money supply. This gives us an exchange rate of $544/oz. Now we’re talking. M0 is a measure of actual currency and coin in circulation. If we did we would have to eliminate the FDIC. To limit the exchangeable money to that which is part of M0 the government could not guarantee deposits greater than actual cash on hand for banks. The result would be an instant run on banks until all of their cash was gone. The first few people in line might get all their money and everyone else gets the shaft. Savings accounts, money markets, checking accounts all gone, because the government does not have sufficient gold to back them.
I can imagine a way to get there without major upheaval: two parallel currencies in use at the same time, for a period of time.
Look at how the Euro was introduced for a good example of how this works; in most countries, you could use either currency for a period of time, as people got “used” to the new currency. And on a particular date a few years out, you schedule the official change-over.
At first, most prices would still be listed in Dollars, and the value of the new currency as priced in the old Dollars would float significantly. That floating rate would prevent the runs on Fort Knox, since the price would be the same as today.
After the change-over prices would be quoted in the new currency, and the value would cease to fluctuate.
There is an existence proof; it has been done.
Except that when the Euro was introduced, from the first day it was legal tender the exchange rates with the affected old currencies were frozen and locked. There was no floating rate with people shopping and using both currencies.
But since they were both fiat currencies, they could print as many Euro as they needed. There was never any doubt that there would be enough euro and therefore that every DM would be converted. The Government can’t do the same thing with gold. We can’t magicaly wish tons of gold into existance. The gold standard is kind of like being pregnant. You either have enough gold to convert all the money or you don’t. Insufficiency of gold reserves and the threat of a run on Ft Knox was the reason that we went OFF the gold standard. And if we decided to convert ALL the $Fiat into $Au we end up with an exchange rate of approximately $477,000 per ounce.
IIRC, Silver Certificates were very easy to print in excess of bullion reserves. Nice try though.
There were huge gold discoveries in the 19th century, and back then this might have worked. But the world population has grown from about 1 billion in 1900 to 6 billion today, and we haven’t recovered an equivalent amount of gold in that time period.
I’m not sure what you mean by the expression “Consitutional money”. Art. I sec. 10 para. 1 says the states may only use gold and silver as money, but there is no similar restriction on the federal government.
As long as the economy grew at the same rate as gold reserves, gold would make a great currency. Given the current rate of slow growth, it might be workable.
There’s a debate on the gold standard up at the NY Times today. Six economists have posted articles. It’s not much of a “debate” since NONE of them argue for a return to the gold standard.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/11/09/back-to-a-gold-standard
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Fed’s $600 billion plan is ‘risky business’
There are already signs showing that the $600 billion infusion the Fed made isn’t going where they want to. Sarah Gardner looks at potential consequences of the Fed’s move.
There you go, assuming they are telling you what they “intend”.
It’s a Game of Confidence, AKA Congame.
Wouldn’t you want to see how financial reform is going to play out before snapping up bank shares at fire sale prices?
FINANCIALS
Why to buy banks
Jeff Reeves lists seven reasons why right now is an opportune time to buy financial stocks.
Yup, banks haven’t been able to catch a bid on thier share prices.
Snapping up. Where have I heard that before?
We are all hoping (well, maybe almost all of us) that banks shrink down to the conservative institutions they used to be. Buying financials just encourages bad behavior.
Obama: Strong US economy key to global recovery.
SEOUL, South Korea – President Barack Obama said a strong, job-creating economy in the United States would be the country’s most important contribution to a global recovery as he pleaded with world leaders to work together despite sharp differences.
Arriving in South Korea on Wednesday for the G-20 summit, Obama is expected to find himself on the defensive because of plans by the Federal Reserve to buy $600 billion in long-term government bonds to try to drive down interest rates, spur lending and boost the U.S. economy. Critics say the move will give American goods an unfair advantage.
“my printing press is the world’s only hope” -obama
help me barrack won obama…you’re my only hope.
Obiewon Canhopie?
homeless guy - “spare some change”
peter griffon - “sure” (taps the homeless guys can)
homeless guy - “you didn’t put anything in there”
peter griffon - “sure i did…i put hope in there…hope”
Obama’s printing press is similar to the “time mash-een” in Idiocracy. Almighty problem solver, yet ficticious only to those with any sense.
“GM reports $2B 3Q profit ahead of stock offering”, says a headline in Yahoo Finance.
But yesterdays’s WSJ (page B2) says:
“GM executives reiterated statements from last week that the company expects to deliver between $11 billion to $13 billion in annual pretax profit within the next few years, and produce profit margins of between 7% and 8% of sales.
“But Monday, under questioning from potential investors, GM said about $2 billion of the annual profit would come from gains generated by its pension fund, not from auto operations, according to people who attended the event.
“In the past, when GM was losing money, it was unable to claim pension-fund gains as income, but now is now able to do so, according to people familiar with the situation. The change is related to the ‘fresh start’ accounting rules that were applied to GM’s balance sheet after bankruptcy reorganization.
“The fresh start rules also mean that GM could have greater charges to earnings for depreciation and amoritization.”
privatize the auto industry! and the banking, and the insurance, and the health care, and ss
Funny how eanings are all of a sudden so great befroe the ipo comes out.I guess the fed can sell some of thier shares to stooopid investors, I mean sheeple.
I know, its like all of a sudden GM is the most kick-ass company in the whole of Amerika. Gimme an effin’ break.
“gains generated by its pension fund”
Really? Someone seriously said that? We’re doomed.
fresh start’ accounting
Where US Taxpayers hold all their bad debt and investments…
You have problem with Corporate Communist Capitalism©®™, comrade?
I wonder how many cars the federal government bought to juice up GM’s numbers before the IPO.
I wonder too.All the govt workers probably got new cars.Then the fed will sell thier shares to these pround chevy owners.
I don’t know any government worker that “has” a government car and I know a lot of people who regularly travel by car for their jobs. They get milage reimbursements. These people aren’t sales people, but they travel almost as much as a sales person would. At my last private job, all the sales people and sales support people had company cars.
I’ve seen a few federal government vehicles around (mostly park service) but not parked in driveways. I’ve always assumed they are pool cars - if you take public transport to work and need to go someplace where public transport isn’t an option, you take a car out of the pool to drive there and back. Anyone who knows otherwise for federal jobs, please speak up.
Also, I don’t get why the feds buying GM cars is so bad. Isn’t the issue with GM cars that they are boring? I WANT government workers to have to use boring cars when they are using government cars for work. I don’t want them to have any incentive to find an excuse for a trip in the government car because it is such a sweet ride.
Polly you party pooper.
In the parking garage, I don’t see a single government vehicle. I see a plenty of old workhorse cars and some newer nicer SUV’s, and the occasional Beemer. Before you scream about government bureaucracy, please note that my section is at least 50-60% master’s degrees and the rest are doctorates, and those degrees aren’t in Elizabethan history. Had this been private sector you would have seen many more Beemers.
I would like to clarify part of what I said. When I am near work, most of the government cars I see are actually uniformed secret service. (They also use a lot of bicycles.) But being right near the White House, I consider myself to be in an atypical area. Outside of the few blocks around my office (in a private building), most of the federal government cars I see seem to be park service.
I don’t use any of the garages around here so I can’t do an eyeball of the cars like oxide, but most of the folks that drive to this area are not public employees, so it wouldn’t matter anyway.
I would like to clarify part of what I said. When I am near work, most of the government cars I see are actually uniformed secret service. (They also use a lot of bicycles.)
They use bicycles, all right. And they won’t give passersby the time of day. I know because I tried to chat a couple of Secret Service copsicles up when I was in DC. They wouldn’t even acknowledge me.
So phoo on them.
Contrast that to the Capitol Police copsicle. It almost got to the point of us adding each other to our Christmas card lists. Our conversation really was that good. Too bad I had to leave on a Capitol tour with my dad, who needs me along as a hearing interpreter.
Good morning. I did not buy a house!
Hey Muggy! How’s the family? Where are you living?
Congratulations Muggy!
Kirisdad, the family is awesome. We have a new rental in Pinellas in the St. Pete area. Being a family guy is a good gig. Much to discuss… I just wanted to drop in and say hello. I’ll holler again sometime over Thanksgiving. I’m crazy busy.
Blue, we never made to W/CNY last summer, only to NYC metro area. Hopefully we can connect next summer!
I’m glad that all is well Muggy. Best of luck.
Details! Details!
Howdy mugster, so how’s the teeter-totter?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
“Honey, how’s your job lookin’”
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
Do we rent or do we buy?
“I say sweety-pie, how’s your job lookin’”?
Muggy! I thought you turned realtor on us!
You were missed, Muggy. And there’s plenty of time to find a house. St. Pete’s, eh? Find a job there or are you commuting?
“Good morning. I did not buy a house!”
I did, and I’m now down to $22,306 balance due with six months paid in advance. Planning on July 2011 or sooner; fingers crossed!
Muggy! Good to hear you are doing well.
You’re back! Congratulations on the non-purchase, and apologies for my typical rudeness back when you were thinking about going through with one.
Palin agreed with many here on QE2 and here’s what she got here yesterday.
“will be interesting to see what her “handlers” are telling her to say.”
“Palin’s a disaster. She needs to exit, stage left. For good.”
“I can see a Gary Hart-like exit in her future.”
“i saw an interview with palin and she sounded like a complete idiot/bafoon when discussing the economy.”
“I didn’t any books in her house.”
“She must have special ed classes every day.”
“What a sad state of affairs for our country that this nit wit can get as much air time as she does…”
“just keep talking sister sara. eh heh.”
“She’s no conservative and she makes little sense when not controlled by the powers that be.”
“She may thrive if she were to forumulate a single coherent thought of her own but don’t hold your breath.”
“Once you get used to the 5th Ave clothes, life takes on new meaning.”
——————————————
interesting set of attacks, why not attack her positions? this blog has a lot of rational discussion, why is it dragged down to ad hominem attacks when palin speaks up? if she is so dumb you should be able to dispute her without simply calling her names.
why not attack her positions?
Because that would require thought/research and Tina Fey could not see Russia from her window while shooting bears?
“why not attack her positions?”
I can think of several positions for an attack.
She and here idiocy is yours to defend.
Get to work.
Exeter, we don’t have to defend her. We only need to point out your baseless remarks.
what’s her position on the economy…china…the foreclosure crisis…and taxes?
An Obama’s position on those issues would be …
Dr Txchick, Palin is the topic, not Mr. President.
Stay focused now.
what’s her position on the economy…china…the foreclosure crisis…and taxes?
I don’t recall Obama being asked any of these questions. IMO, Obama was set up to be the fall guy for W’s trashing of our country.
Her position is something for nothing. She is against both taxes, and any reductions in government spending, except on people who are not like her. She isn’t a “maverick.” She is a mainstream Republican.
Why does she think that way?
Because she comes from state with the highest total tax burden as a share of its residents’ income in the U.S., but the residents don’t pay any of it — they get checks. The oil companies pay for it all.
And the highest government employment as a share of total employment.
And the highest federal spending relative to taxes paid.
The formula works for Alaska. But if she thinks it can work nationwide, she is mistaken.
I went to Alaska to check it out, considering a permanent move there. I thought I had an idea of what it was like. The nature part turned out to be what I expected, but the population did not. I was expecting individual freedom types, but the federal govt is dominant, so most people love their pork spending and govt related jobs.
As for Palin, I don’t know a lot about her, but I do know she’s a Neocon product. Those people would sell their grandmother to advance their insane agenda.
Yea a lof of Alaskans are drunks because they are on govt handouts, welfare etc.
That and the fact that is is nighttime for six months of the year.
The suicide rate is very high, nut never mentioned.
Ben Jones,
“I thought I had an idea of what it was like”
As did ‘I’ ( albeit 30 years ago ) When I first moved to Oregon, yeah absolutely.., breathtaking! Then there’s that whole “What am I going to do to enable me to ’stay’ here?” thing!
Good friend, grew up in Jersey, lived in DC for a decade +, finally moved out West for that liberating ‘feeling!’ and I think… they’re still in the “honeymoon phase”? All the fun things to see and do! Then sobriety sets in.
You find yourself too old to move back and oft wonder what your career ‘could’ have looked like had you stayed? It’s all fine and well, and yes, you ‘could’ work from Belize if you so elected.., but there’s something to be said for having face-to-face contacts. And here out West, anyone that’s successful has a complete stable of ‘admirers’. ( Line forms to the rear )
I’m sorry to hear the porkus report. Good job checking it out for us, Ben. Is the porkus inescapable in the US (without going to a ultra-rich area)?
People in Nevada are pretty independent minded. I just don’t care for the climate. Arizona is OK, so is Florida IMO. I’ve heard/read good things about the folks in New Hampshire, but I’ve never been there.
Floridians are addicted to pork, I am afraid. I was in the gym yesterday and oherheard a “family services” worker saying there is a massivie new problem with daycare facilities shutting down as two-income families can no longer afford the service. Apparently the one with the lesser job quits and goes on welfare so he/she can stay home with the brats. Wonder why food-stam and welfare programs are growing like kudzu?
Government Pork: The other white cheese.
“Apparently the one with the lesser job quits and goes on welfare so he/she can stay home with the brats.”
It’s not that easy for peeps who have demonstrated the ability to participate in the workforce to quickly jump aboard the gravy train; or is it?
Interesting. And here’s me thinking the majority of Floridians were Republicsans, less government and all. Why, no sah, no demo welfare for po me!
Wow, I can’t even mimic an accent in writing.
“but the residents don’t pay any of it — they get checks. The oil companies pay for it all.”
Would it be inappropriate for me to use the “S” word here?
The formula works for
Alaskathe Con-FEDerate State of Alaska,… aka: CSA(Hwy has friends living in glorious Alaska, been there myself as well. A Gov’t economic template for the “other”49 states”,…and I quote: “You Betcha, by golly!”)
Charlie, I agree. All they do on here is call her names and insult her. They don’t know how to address the issues. These comments are just stupid.
‘ address the issues’
Oh really? Where does she stand on lying to get the US to invade Iraq? Because that’s what the monsters that call themselves Neocons did. Look it up if you don’t believe me; we wouldn’t even know who she was if it wasn’t for the Neocons.
ben,
throwing up straw men isn’t addressing the issues
I guess I’ll ask again, since the seriousness of it seems to escape you. Given that she was “discovered” and pushed onto the McCain ticket by the Weekly Standard crowd, what is her position on Iraq? Does she believe in defending Israel no matter what, like if they nuke Iran, etc?
These aren’t issues? BTW, we are spending billions EVERY WEEK in Iraq, and can’t seem to get our people out of there. Which is exactly what the Neocons wanted.
sarah palin, on the issues
http://www.ontheissues.org/sarah_palin.htm
Link for idiots… don’t click it. This is the one you want to click… then read.
http://sarahpalinisanidiot.blogspot.com/
What? Bill Clinton was/is a neocon? I know he talked about Iraq’s WMDs on more than one occasion while he was pres.
I looked it up - it passed with overwhelming support.
October 11, 2002
WASHINGTON (CNN) — In a major victory for the White House, the Senate early Friday voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions.
Hours earlier, the House approved an identical resolution, 296-133.
That’s generally what “lied to” means.
Ah yes, back when the congresscritters were still tripping over one another to prove who was the biggest patriot. They wouldn’t be caught dead without a flag on their lapel and a fistful of freedom fries.
What is a neocon? That name gets thrown out here quite often. My definition: A pro new world order socialist/progressive leaning non Democrat.
Also, let us not forget just how many on the left supported the Iraq invasion before it turned sideways. I have to hand it to the Democrat Party for spinning their way out and becoming the opposition voice for a military operation they rubber stamped.
Also, let us not forget just how many on the left supported the Iraq invasion before it turned sideways.
What part of being intentionally lied to as a pretext to WAR do you find hard to comprehend?
And what part of Obama has been Prez for almost two years and yet maintains and adds to all of these ‘neocon’ concepts? Still in Iraq, huge escalation in Afghan, Gitmo rolling along, etc. And if they were so outraged the DEM Congress could have leverage the dozens of spending bills to force a withdrawal. Enough w/ the evil W bs already - Dems have had FULL control for almost two years now to pass anything they wanted.
neocon is short for “New Conservative”
Just slightly right of Stalin and Mussolini.
Hijacked the Republican party in the 1980s.
Thanks, Mags. Good comment.
Dems have had FULL control for almost two years now to pass anything they wanted.</i.
Wrong. Turn off the wingnut radio. The Dems have only had a technical majority. 51%.
That is not “full” in anybody’s book.
Gitmo closing: blocked by the Repubs
Iraq: Troop pull out is happening even as we speak.
Afghanistan: Pakistan is the real reason. Unstable country with nukes.
And what part of Obama has been
Thanks, Mags. Good comment.
Darn. This is what passes as good comment Mags and Georgiagirl? About 60 plus words and not one complete and coherent sentence or a logically supported idea?
good job yu’all.
fart
“Just slightly right of Stalin and Mussolini.”
I think everyone alive is right of those two ultra leftists.
Wingnut radio? How about simple facts?
How is the ability to introduce and pass bills in both the House and the Senate and then send it to a Dem Prez not full control? And where exactly do you get 51%? It’s 57-41-2 in the Senate and the House is 235-198 - that’s almost 60% on both sides. The fact that Obamacare was able to be passed shows ‘full control’.
And how are Repubs blocking the closing of Gitmo? What was to stop the Dem Congress from using their majority to pass whatever is needed to close it?
It’s so funny to see all the liberals pretend that everything that has happened over the last two years is somehow the fault of Repubs. The ONLY thing that could have prevented the Dems from passing whatever they wanted these past two years is OTHER DEMS voting against it.
what’s her position on the economy…china…the foreclosure crisis…and taxes?
first you call her names,
then you ask what her positions are?
little backwards?
sure it’s backwards…and i admit to being a d-bag…now…
what’s her position on the economy…china…the foreclosure crisis…and taxes?
Why, the same as AIPAC’s of course. Don’t ya know.
They don’t know how to address the issues. These comments are just stupid.
To tell the truth, Sara Pailen looks pretty smart to me because she wears intellegent, no-nonsense glasses and is so very pretty and she would be our first president who could wear high-heels in public. I also like the way she talks and her accent makes me feel she is one of us and not some type of educated east coast snob who wants to tell me what kinds of guns I can shoot my moose with.
I am happy she came out against the Fed eral government’s QE2. But I actually spent the night once on the Queen Mary in Long Beach so I might be biased.
Thank Rio for discussing those very important issues. At least someone on this blog has a brain!
Exeter, whoever disagrees with you has no brain. Sure.
Don’t be skeerd dear hiding one.
Her ignorance alienated many people from the get go. And it doesn’t help that she appeals to many on the far right.
How about a response by the Wall Street Journal?
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/11/09/palin-responds-to-real-time-economics-and-we-respond/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wsj/economics/feed+(WSJ.com:+Real+Time+Economics+Blog)
I don’t trust anything that Palin writes or says in a formal environment — how do we know it wasn’t ghost written or spelled out on a teleprompter or spoon-fed to her? The only footage that I trust to be 100% Palin is off-the-cuff interviews — like her arguing with a teacher in Alaska, or talking mom-and-apple-pie in front of a turkey slaughtering event. She sounds like those junior-high ad-lib books where you fill in a phrase.
Compare that to Obama’s conversation with Joe the Plumber. Even if you don’t agree with the philosophy, at least Obama was articulate and well-spoken.
Stealing by (at least Obama was articulate and well-spoken.) or (She sounds like those junior-high ad-lib books where you fill in a phrase.) is still stealing
Oxide, that’s the point. All psychopaths/con men wear that guise.
Can we get off the boring knee jerk script of genuflecting before The One and excoriating those who have not been anointed now?
You guys are sounding like sheeple when you parrot that script. Those are not the thoughts of independent thinkers. You have bought the propaganda hook line and sinker: “Thou shalt not worship anybody who is not anointed for adulation by the East Coast intelligentsia”.
Think about what you’re doing before you parrot. Parroting the words won’t get you in the door, and it never will. It will not make you one of “them”, regardless of what you think. Reciting back that catechism marks you as one of the deracinated, having swallowed the formulaic hopey changey.
“We’re all above average here! We are protected by virtue of chanting the party line!”
If that comforts you, fine. But understand what you are doing.
If you can’t tell that Sarah Palin is a moron…
“Thou shalt not worship anybody who is not anointed for adulation…”….before The One and excoriating…genuflecting…Reciting back that catechism marks you as one of the deracinated, …excoriating those who have not been anointed now?
Woa Jane…
I like big words and stuff but…your whole post sounds kinda nutball scary….
Oh my word…. Jane, please don’t tell me you’re the same Jane I conversed with by email a few years ago regarding construction…
Hey now, she does go by other self-applied monikers: The “TrueRogue™”… “Sarah The Barracuda”! / “Momma Grizzly” / “39 shades of Palin “Lipstick Red” / “Shoot-a-Moose-without-help”
But hey, if you think she’s a better politician then my Republican gals up in Maine, that’s cool, YOU’RE allowed to have your own POV, no thesis required!
Sarah Palin says she’s deeply concerned about…
Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$$$
Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$$$
Cha-Ching $$$$$$$$$$
Has her “TrueGoal™” changed course?
MUrDoch’s “TrueProvoker ™” Faux News salary Money 1st…
Political wink/”gotcha” travel circuit 2nd…
“spending time with growing family/moose hunting” slides a lil’ further on down her priority list,..one more day at a time.
The problem with Palin is that she is more a television personality than a stateswoman. The only major office she ever held was a 2 1/2 year term as governor, and her last year before she resigned was spent running for VP and traveling around the country. She reports for Fox News, has a reality show and tweets silly sound bites. I think that makes her fair game for ad hominum attacks. There is very little to go on to judge how she would govern. The only thing she would be sure to do would be to open the Arctic to oil drilling. In Alaska, drilling/pipeline revenues provide a socialistic stimulus to its citizens, replacing state income tax and property tax. That wouldn’t work for the country as a whole.
The problem with Palin is that she is more a television personality than a stateswoman. …The only thing she would be sure to do would be to open the Arctic to oil drilling.
Good points.
On a different but related subject, I’m actually in favor of opening the Arctic to oil drilling. There are oil rigs off Santa Barbara. I grew up near oil rigs in Illinois. Heck, when I was a stupid kid I thought about riding an oil derrick like a teeter totter. I’m glad I didn’t but…
What’s the big deal about drilling in the Arctic?
I’m sorry, WT Economist; I posted the above comment before I read yours which says the same thing, four hours earlier.
Speaking of Alaska, the Senate write-in vote count started this morning. Miller, the Tea Party candidate, was 11,000 votes behind “write-in”, but he’ll catch up and overtake by challenging the write-in count. He wants to count only votes that are spelled correctly, as well as only those where the oval is circled next to “write-in”. He’s catching up, probably because it’s hard to spell “Murkowski” correctly.
Palin was also a Mayor.
I’ll sum it up succinctly…she’s a quitter. Move along.
Positions?
How, pray tell, can a chirping nitwit have a “position?” Position implies critical analyses, original thought, nuanced argument.
A reasonably lucid eighth-grade debate team could take this national embarrassment out in three minutes flat. She makes GW Bush look considered; although one can see why the idiocracy adores her um, simplicity.
The irony of this person co-opting the TeaParty agenda does not escape one. Another intriguing third-party option flushed into the toilet of demagoguery….
Sarah Palien is smart and brillyant…. like me!
I’m sarahs running mayte in 2012. I’m gunna be your vise presadent.
November 10, 2010
Homeowner, facing foreclosure, goes on hunger strike
A Baltimore homeowner who fell behind on her mortgage payments after her property taxes unexpectedly spiked protested in an attention-grabbing way this week: She went on a hunger strike.
Lauren Rymer started just after 7 a.m. Monday and spent an empty-stomach day camped out in Annapolis, trying to get an audience with Gov. Martin O’Malley and talking to passersby who wanted to share their stories of economic woe.
By the time she ate something at 5 p.m. Tuesday, she’d had a foreclosure alternative offered to her by the state housing department, talked to someone from O’Malley’s office about the tax problem and given interviews to a bevvy of media from WBAL to the Huffington Post to MSNBC about her hope that elected officials will do more to help Americans avoid foreclosure.
“Awareness has been raised on this issue, so I feel like the strike was worth it,” she wrote on her Hungry4Home Twitter feed Tuesday afternoon.
Rymer, 32, who works for a nonprofit in Baltimore, bought her two-bedroom home in Upper Fells Point four years ago. She said her monthly payment started off at $1,500, including taxes and insurance, which she could afford. But it jumped to $2,100 this year after her property taxes skyrocketed, she said, and that was beyond her ability to pay.
…
Her taxes increased by $7200 a year? On a two bedroom? Is there anything else going on, because that sounds odd.
Drop her a coupole big macs and she will snap out of it.
http://www.wbaltv.com/r/25677444/detail.html
The above link shows the lady. Going a day or two without food won’t hurt this lady. Do they still teach personal finance in schools? Or has it been replaced by Whining 101 and Gaming the System 101. No one was complaining or wanting to share their profits when housing was going up. But when housing goes down and they bought more house than they could afford they want a govt bailout using OPM. The truth is that, despite what the turds in guv are doing, housing will seek the globalist value of third world countries, as that is where we are headed as a country.
we are doomed…when a hunger strike that lasted from 7:00 am to 5:0 pm the next day gets international news media coverage.
it should have at least taken a weak.
Well Americans are pretty lazy when it comes to protesting.
Well Americans are pretty lazy when it comes to protesting.
You’re quite RIGHT! There was hardly anyone other than Secret Service circlin’ the Ranch down in Crawford, TX during those x77 Air-force 1 low-cost flights while the “I’m-The Decider” was hangin’ out-in-the-front leading the country in those x2 foreign WARS.
(…The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.
Yes, that’s 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.)
week
She makes me sicker than the chemo did.
Prolly good for her to have a hunger strike. She is a little chunky on the hips.
“myriad of”? English seems to be going to hell in a hand bucket.
J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo face myriad of foreclosure lawsuits
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
JPMorgan Chase is facing two potential class-action lawsuits alleging fraud in foreclosures, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
The lawsuits, which were filed against Washington Mutual Bank and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and against Chase Home Finance in California state court, allege “common law fraud and misrepresentation, as well as violations of state consumer fraud statutes,” JPMorgan said.
The bank said it also faces suits regarding mortgage-backed securities from Cambridge Place Investment Management, a hedge fund, and brokerage Charles Schwab.
J.P. Morgan’s disclosure comes as three other major banks — Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — said Friday that they could suffer rising legal costs because lawsuits about the foreclosure mess.
…
Might have something to do with borrowing at zero percent and lending it back to the same people you borrowed it from at a higher rate.
Just rising legal costs? Does that mean they think there is no chance they might have to buy back the unperforming loans and have real business losses? ‘Cause I’m not sure I agree there….
Prof,
With all due respect, “myriad of” is considered proper usage, as well as simply “myriad.”
Check your OED.
Thanks for the heads up. I keep forgetting that English is an evolutionary product.
Yes, you’ve been refudiated.
The market must be unbelievably efficient for traders to make money every day of a quarter! Is there any way for individual investors to acquire some gambling chips from the same the funding source which enables them to post such consistently stellar results?
Perfect trading marks again for 2 big banks
Lenders had a profit daily for quarter
Bloomberg News / November 10, 2010
NEW YORK — Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the two biggest US banks by assets, racked up perfect trading records for the second time this year, making money every day last quarter after accomplishing the same feat in the first three months of 2010.
…
..Is there any way for individual investors..
I guess you could buy some JPM or BAC, and go along for the ride.
the two biggest US banks by assets, racked up perfect trading records for the second time this year,
If I didn’t know that we were free-market capitalistic, I’d think the system might be rigged to benefit the really wealthy.
All it suggests to me is they probably didn’t make a lot of profit (they didn’t) and deliberately traded in ways and in things which presented little risk, and little chance of loss.
JPMorgan posted third-quarter net income of $4.42 billion, or $1.01 a share, up from $3.59 billion, or 82 cents a share, a year earlier.
Look familiar?
If the majority of their trading comprised borrowing from the Fed at 0% and lending it back at 3% then I’m not surprised at all at this outcome.
Dimon Beset by Bad WaMu Loans as JPMorgan Makes Overseas Push
By Dawn Kopecki - Nov 2, 2010 2:12 PM PT
Jamie Dimon wanted Washington Mutual Inc. and he wanted it bad.
The JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer was determined to expand on the West Coast, and Seattle-based WaMu, as it was called, was a prime target. Dimon had a team of auditors poring over WaMu’s books in March 2008, at the same moment the Treasury Department was pressing him to acquire struggling investment bank Bear Stearns Cos.
While he initially couldn’t make a deal for the Seattle lender, JPMorgan did buy WaMu in September 2008 after it was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which meant the assets came at a bargain price of $1.9 billion, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its December issue.
The 2,200 WaMu branches in California, Washington and 12 other states gave JPMorgan’s consumer bank, Chase, a total of 5,410 branches — the second-biggest network in the nation. And it moved Chase to first from third in deposits, with $905 billion after the deal closed.
Dimon, 54, got what he wanted — and a lot that he didn’t want. JPMorgan is now saddled with $74.8 billion in nonperforming home loans inherited from WaMu, a third of the $230.7 billion in mortgages on its books.
…
Right, and Bank of America was taken down by Countrywide and (I believe) Golden West. Well Fargo is still dealing with Wachovia loans.
The didn’t make the mess, they bought it. They saved the taxpayers some money. Maybe.
ISTR that Wachovia bought Golden West back in ‘06. And we grizzled old HBB veterans were scratching our heads, wondering why Wachovia would do such a stupid thing.
Later on, Wachovia got eaten by Wells Fargo.
they’re a bunch of savage cannibals..
Actually, they covet whatever they don’t have, and if some other bank has it and there’s an opportunity to take it, they go for it.
..Wachovia agreed to purchase Golden West Financial for a little under $25.5 billion on May 7, 2006.[10][11] This acquisition gave Wachovia an additional 285-branch network spanning 10 states. Wachovia greatly raised its profile in California, where Golden West held $32 billion in deposits and operated 123 branches.
California.. who could resist.
If the M&A department doesn’t identify takeover targets and then take them over, they don’t earn their bonuses.
It was a good acquisition per se.. but the timing proved to be bad.
Golden West didn’t have much in mortgages.. no subprime.
Wachovia’s portfolio was the one that stunk.
Reuters
Wed Oct 13, 2010
JPMorgan posted third-quarter net income of $4.42 billion, or $1.01 a share, up from $3.59 billion, or 82 cents a share, a year earlier.
…net revenue was $23.8 billion..
It’ll be quite some time before they are out from under all that garbage.
Home Loan Blues: Refinancing Isn’t So Easy
by Wendy Kaufman
November 10, 2010
Mortgage rates are at all-time lows. Rates range from 4 percent to 4.5 percent for some borrowers.
It’s a great time to refinance — if you can.
Many homeowners who would love to lower their mortgage payment don’t qualify. And many who do are discovering that getting a new loan isn’t as easy as it used to be.
Pennsylvania resident Jeff Marsico has been with the same lender for 15 years. He’s had two houses and has never missed a payment. With equity in his house, a solid income and credit score, he figured refinancing with his existing lender would be fairly simple. It wasn’t.
It took 90 days to get the loan — and along the way the lender inundated him with requests for documents: every page — even the blank ones — of his brokerage statements, and every page and schedule of his two most recent tax returns.
“Many of you who use accountants probably know that accountants staple the top of the tax return,” Marsico explains. “So, in order for me to scan those documents I was pressing the paper up against the scanner and it left a black mark at the top.”
But it wasn’t pristine enough for the lender who wanted blotch-free pages. Marsico undid the staples and rescanned the pages.
…
You can refi only if you qualify.
If only the banks went to such lengths when they initially made the loans.
There’s something even better than qualified borrowers: Ever increasing collateral values.
That worked great until they didn’t increase any more.
if removing a staple is too much for you…you should not be allowed to buy a house.
If you can’t understand why a bank wants a copy of the entire page of your tax return with even the part under the staple visible, then you shouldn’t be asking it to lend you money.
Yea, but a lot of people got loans via verbally stating their income. this is discrimination, totally. get me a lawyer.
hmm..
“this instrument is non-negotiable”
that would fit, with room to spare.
i like it.. can’t wait to try it.
The guy who bought my San Jose house in 2006 was a green-card Mexican. His lender almost held up closing because the copy of his green-card that he submitted wasn’t clear enough - he had to go get a better copy made ASAP.
The bank that loaned him the money extended way too much credit to him - something like 13 times gross income - but even back then they demanded clean copies.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704506404575592360334457040.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Ireland’s fate tied to doomed banks. Them today, us tomorrow.
isn’t crazy when an 8% rate on soverign debt signals a possible default?
lucky that our rate is much lower. Plenty of room to grow, I mean print.
The housing bubble in Ireland put the American one to shame.
Isolated and abandoned farms selling for millions of pounds. New condos in Dublin for a million pounds. Avergae wage in Ireland about $20,000 per year.
As did the bubbles in Spain, the UK, China, Australia. Heck the biggest bubble in the world may be in Moscow. Funny how this isn’t mentioned much anymore in the press. The “Global Financial Crisis” all started with Lehman Brothers, according to the PTB.
Some good news from the housing world.
I needed to do my MBA paper on business ethics. I choose the housing bubble and the bailouts that followed -
It was supposed to be 14 pages. I am up to 20 pages and have to cut it short. Way too much to say.
We are supposed to give a pro/con side of the issue also.
I wish I could post it - I am sure the comments would be good.
just post a link to it
“my MBA paper”
I finally understand why your ideological drum only bangs one tune!
We are supposed to give a pro/con side of the issue also.
Opening statement: “Fraud! Fraud! Fraud!”
Wall St. : “You Lie!”
Main St. : “You Lie!”
Gov’t Housing : “You Lie!”
Foreign Investors : “You Lie!”
Rating Agencies : “You Lie!”
realtors : “You Lie!”
brokers : “You Lie!”
appraisers : “You Lie!”
Strawberry-pickers : “You Lie!”
Doctors : “You Lie!”
Bugs: “eh, could be you’re on to somethin’ Doc, What do you think FogHorn?”
FogHorn: “Well listen up here boy, let me tell ya somethin’, that thar hen-house has to be worth, …oh, I’d say a least, um,…well now see here boy, did eyes ever tell ‘bought the time I was wrestlin’ with a bunch a gators’ down in Florida, found myself stuck in mud swamp,… now pay attention son,…I was SURROUNDED by ‘em eyes tell ya! then all of sudden like eyes got this heres idea on how to get myself out of quite the fix eyes was in…here’s what I did…”
Why can’t they make cartoons like those anymore?
The cartoon business became just like other labor intensive businesses: they cut labor costs until all they were making was least common denominator crap.
It’s takes skill, lots of time and REAL artistic talent to make good cartoons and that costs REAL money.
I can’t imagine that you could find a single valid “pro” argument in favor of the bubble or bailouts, except from the standpoint of a bankster or someone who sold before the collapse.
RE:
Try and find an anti-gay marriage activist that doesn’t include some religious doctrine or scripture…..I couldn’t for the radio show i produce
There was a story a few years ago about an essay contest on the subject of good government. The winning entry (in its entirety) was:
“Good government,”
“Good government.”
“Sit!”
“Stay!”.
Shanty Saga, Final Chapter-
Regarding the post bankruptcy offer I made, realtard called and said deal is dead, even though seller/owner signed my contract.
Reason: In order for BofA to approve, the owner needs to officially file short sale paperwork with BofA which he hasn’t done nor is he going to. He’s off the hook and doesn’t care. BofA stated that they will proceed with foreclosure and the dump will ultimately “get marketed by FannieMae” according to the BofA asset management dept.
I’ll wager that the foreclosure will proceed at a rapid pace considering the owner is off the hook and won’t contest it. BofA began foreclosure back in September but I’m not sure if the reset button was hit due to the owner getting his debts discharged via bankruptcy.
It is what it is. I care but not that much. But I hate what these #$%ing banks have created. They created this entire debacle, all the way back to the late 1990’s. The process of buying a shack seems designed such that who ever is the end user crashes and burns. And if you’re like one of us and want to minimize risk, you’re excluded still. There are no easy entry points….. yet.
“It is what it is. I care but not that much.”
Hang in there, your day is coming.
Heh…. my other alternative is parcel of a lot from the family plot and build on it. I’m not keen on close proximity to immediate family. Newp. Land prices are silly. Yeah you can find it cheap but it’s garbage dirt. Large lots are priced at an ok level but I don’t want/need/desire a 50+acre lot.
We boycotted beginning in mid 2004 and will continue.
“And if you’re like one of us and want to minimize risk, you’re excluded still. There are no easy entry points….. yet.”
exeter-
Boy, isn’t that the truth. I did some digging on some over-priced cr*pboxes in my target area and price point, and they aren’t showing as Foreclosures in the MLS, but are on Fannie & Freddie’s REO websites. So, the Asset Management Contractors/Realtards are not disclosing it. Just a heads up to you and all.
I can only imagine the tone you use when you converse with the realtard.
It is what it is.
+ you didn’t lose any sleep over it! x3 Cheers!
(Hwy hums tune):
“All my life… I’ve been a wandering, and just when I think I’ve reached the end,…that old road, it starts to bending, and I wonder,…what’s around the bend?…”
Keep an eye out for the listing when it is bank-owned. Although they’ll likely jack up the price.
Just to clarify things from yesterday concerning FORECLOSURES.
A foreclosure is like a final judgement in Divorce. The point of a foreclosure is to FORECLOSE all claims and make a final settlement concerning the legal ownership of property. There are no “do-overs”.
I got a comment yesterday from one blogger insisting that in Idaho, you had 3 months after the final decree to redeem the property.
Usually you have 3 months from the time of default before the bank can issue a NOTICE OF DEFAULT, and usually another 3 months to REDEEM the property before the Court will put it up for sale to settle the debts.
Another said in their State, you could reclaim the property after 2 years.
I decided, that since this defies the definition of “FORECLOSURE”, to do a quick check.
I got a link on foreclosure.com about Idaho. Here is what they say:
Is there a right of redemption in Idaho?
Idaho has no post-salestatutory right of redemption fornon-judicial foreclosures, which would allow a party whose property has been foreclosed to reclaim that property. Default can be cured within 115 days of the recording of the Notice of Default. This will stop the foreclosure proceeding and require that all defaulted sums and costs be paid.
Got that? NO right of redemption after foreclosure.
So, if any of you other legal geniuses can find statutory evidence that your State allows “do-overs” within a certain period AFTER (post) foreclosure, please provide the State Statute number. I don’t believe any State allows this UNLESS it can be proven that FRAUD was committed. The burden of proof would be on the litigant.
Thank you for the info.If a state did allow post sale redemption it would be hard to sell it to someone after the foreclosure.Sale contingent on the previous owner not redemming?That doesnt sound good.That would create a disaster.
Azdude,
This discussion all stems from the posting I did yesterday about having my sales contract cancelled for a home purchase that Freddie Mac got in foreclosure. I was astounded that this was even possible. I learned from the agent handling the sale that the prior owner had found a lawyer and filed suit, like so many others, to try and re-capture a foreclosed property. Lots of prior owners want to do this. The want a do-over. They defaulted because prices fell.
There are a TON of strategic defaults. What all are hoping is that the MERS screw-ups will lead to a free house, with the court disallowing the mortgage claims. It’s made a mess of things.
With the pending litigation, in which the lawyer hopes to prove fraud or find some technical defect in the procedure, most title companies won’t provide insurance. The title is clouded.
Nonetheless, I don’t think the prior owner has any legitimate claims. The foreclosure has been done and the property has been put up for sale. Freddie Mac has even stipulated that the property be owner occupied, not purchased by a business, and that no relative of the former owner or agent of Freddie can buy it. They are trying to stop the “flipping”. I had to sign an affidavit claiming all these things to be true. If they find that I have rented the house within a year and not occupied the house as agreed, they can reverse the sale. Those are all conditions of the contract.
As of last count about 40% of mortgage holders are “underwater”. Many substantially. They would all like a “do-over”. If this FB is successful in “re-acquiring their former abode, what do you think this will do to the foreclosure market???
There are places where there is a post-sale right of redemption. I believe MT is one and I think there is a year to redeem. And it is chaotic, for sure. For that reason house sales here are done by deed of trust with power of sale and no one uses those old-timey mortgages for house sales now.
YMMV.
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/foreclosures-redemption-rights-explain-548369.html.
redemption depends on the state and depends on the note .
Some of those older notes could have greater rights for the
defaulter .
All I was trying to point out was that depending on the State you
live in a ex-owner could have some rights .
Diogenes ….Sorry I even posted something that does come into
play in foreclosures ,but I never said it applied to Florida
because I don’t know all the ends and outs of Florida . I agree
with you that the ex-owner of the property you bought seems
to be some guy trying to come in on a loophole and get the property for free. The ex-owner is a piece of shit …he knows
he didn’t pay .
“Got that? NO right of redemption after foreclosure.”
I think the key is non-judicial vs judicial foreclosure. I believe in a judicial foreclosure, there is a right of redemption.
From the same site about Oregon:
“Oregon has a post-sale statutory right of redemption for judicial foreclosures, which would allow a party whose property has been foreclosed to reclaim that property 180 days after the sale by making payment in full of the sum of the unpaid loan plus costs and by submitting notice to the Sheriff not more than 30 and not less than 2 days in advance of the redemption.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/249211fc-ec1d-11df-9e11-00144feab49a.html#axzz14tDKP81W
why do we see articles on decreased crop yields whenever the fed starts up the printing press.
GM soybean crops are failing worldwide to due vulnerability to disease known as “Mad Soy.” The new disease, whose origin is still unknown, prevents soybeans from maturing with plants remaining green until they eventually rot in the field. Around 40% failure rates.
Cotton is up to due increased infestation of the mealy bug.
I recently entered into a formalized agreement to exchange consulting services for a new personal project. The scientist I have contracted agrees to work in exchange for a 50% maximum equity stake in the finished product itself, not the venture, earned through accrued hours logged on the project.
I was thinking that this was a nice way to get the project moving since my time is so limited to work on it, but I realized that my example also supports Combotechie’s theory of scarcity of money. 2 years back I never could have retained the services of this individual for less than the going market rate in cold hard cash paid bi-weekly, now I have his services in exchange for promised monies dependant on the success of his work.
Interesting no?
Will the IRS see it your way?
Why wouldn’t they? A joint venture is a joint venture. Partnership agreements don’t even have to be written and you sure as heck don’t need an “entity” to do it.
And to make certain that is true the contract has a clause that says essentially that each and every is responsible for themselves before the IRS.
The situation doesn’t fulfill any of the 20 pointers for employee-hood.
I am an attorney (Illinois) and a licensed AZ realtor. Took a CE class on Anti-Deficiency Judgments, which was pretty scary. It seems banks will be coming back to retrieve their “Deficiency” from these short sales in the form of 1099’s to the sellers, especially if the proper papers weren’t filed at the closing preventing that. Many AZ buyers do not use attorneys, and rely on realtors’ advice. In Las Vegas there are nighttime tv ads by lawyers asking if your realtor gave you bad advice to call them. Most realtors’ E & O insurance does not cover these short sales transactions, so they may be liable for damages. The banks usually have a 6 yr Statute of Limitations to get the deficiency back. Anti-deficiency state statues do not cover all types of loans. Also found out auction houses are selling homes that may still have second mortgage liens on title. Could it get any worse?
The laws seem to change everyday it seems.Realtors are not good people to get financial advice from.
Could it get any worse?
Yeah - wait until house prices go down by another 50% and interest rates go back to a “normal” and historic 5%
+one.
I find that very refreshing. It is as it should be. As I have tried to point out many times on this site, the bank did not buy your house. you did.
the bank provided the loan. It is exactly that, a loan. you have pledged the property as collateral.
You then signed a MORTGAGE NOTE saying that you owe the bank the money that you borrowed and promise to pay it back under the terms and conditions of the contract. It is a contract like any other.
It should be honored and if they buyer can’t or won’t perform, then the bank should be able to get relief in foreclosure.
I hate scum bag speculators. They are the reason for this Bubble.
They bought properties they could not afford and had no intention of paying…..but signed documents attesting that they would.
Now, boo-hoo, the price the agreed to pay is much less than they can sell. Too Bad!!!!
Let the lenders go after them for every single penny in deficiencies.
This will also teach those “strippers” that torn out and sold off the fixtures and every scrape of valuable item, while removing toilets and sinks and kicking in the walls, that they don’t have the right to destroy the collateral or devalue it, just because their deal didn’t work out.
With a lot more deficiency judgments handed down, speculation will be a long distant memory, and houses can be places to live at reasonable prices.
And just so you don’t think i am sympathetic to bankers, I am also in favor of “clawbacks” on all the bonuses Goldman-Suchs, JP Morgan and all the other Bankster crooks lined their pockets with from taxpayer funds. They should be in prison and paying back every dime from the various “funds” the FED passed their way to “save the world economy”> Bernanke and Paulson and Geithner should all be jailed, too..
Traditionally in a short sale, sellers would write a hardship letter to the lender explaining why they are insolvent and ask for them to waive the 1099.
Much more interesting these days with folks who can afford the payments but who must short sell.
A question I have is whether the FB can take a capital loss on losing the house, and what the basis would be for that.
If the house is sold at auction, would the FB get a capital loss = (purchase price - auction price)?
If the auction doesn’t create a sale, IIUC banks normally put the REO “sales price” as the mortgage amount. Would the FB use this as a basis price, or would they be permitted to claim the “eventual sales price” when the bank finally unloads the REO?
A claim for capital loss may offset much if not most of a 1099 for “debt foregiveness”.
You cannot deduct a capital loss on non business or non investment property. The IRS has very stict guidelines on what constitutes investment or business property. Even if it is investment property, the amount of excess capital loss that can be taken in any tax year is limited to $3,000. Takes a long time to recoup a $150K loss at $3,000/year
The Federal “Homeownership Society building apparently has more “mystery doors” then the IRS & Pentagon buildings,…combined!
Inside HP’s New $1 Billion Outsourcing Plan
CIO — HP today revealed further details of its previously announced $1 billion investment in offshore outsourcing, selecting six countries—Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, India, Malaysia and the Philippines—as its global delivery hubs. Those six spots are “best for our clients and best for where our markets are headed,” says Robb Rasmussen, VP and general manager, Best Shore, HP Enterprise Services. (Best Shore is what HP calls its global services delivery strategy within HP Enterprise Services.)
The company, which acquired IT service provide EDS two years ago, maintains that the restructuring will involved a total of 9,000 layoffs over the next two years as well as 6,000 new hires.
Sounds good for my Malaysian friend. She’s been wondering about the possibility of staying here vs. going back home after she gets a US university degree.
Lucky her, she can get job back home. Where do the rest of us move to?
“Best Shore is what HP calls its global services delivery strategy within HP Enterprise Services”
Best for who?
Bil and Dave must be spinning in their graves.
“The company, which acquired IT service provide EDS two years ago, maintains that the restructuring will involved a total of 9,000 layoffs over the next two years as well as 6,000 new hires.”
Let’s see ….
9000 layoffs in the USA (and a few in Europe as well) 6000 hires “over there”
Wait until “cloud computing” really takes off. A lot of IT guys are going to lose their jobs.
I didn’t even know they had 9000 in the USA. Heck, they used to have 9000 just in Corvallis….
Americans are getting super-sized on one hand, and right-sized on the other. Must be some caloric connection there….
9000 layoffs is USA and 6000 hires in other countries. Did I read it right?
The goal is to have all non-customer facing employees working outside of the US. Except for senior executives of course.
So what’s this about the US not graduating enough engineering students?
And they give it a clever name: “Best Shore”
It’s breathtaking how quickly HP went from being one of the best places to work to one of the worst.
Last month, I attended Homecoming at the University of Michigan. While there, I sat in on a meeting that was led by a department head in the engineering college.
In terms of enrollment and hiring of graduates, his department is firing on all cylinders. Enrollment’s going up like house prices did a decade ago. And his graduates — undergrad, grad, and postdoc — are in high demand.
Did he say who’s hiring? Fortune 500? Mid size? Small? Really small?
Did he say who’s hiring? Fortune 500? Mid size? Small? Really small?
All of the above. And all levels of government, not just in this country. (The U-M has a lot of foreign engineering students.)
Sun Tzu: “Follow the demographics, the trail is clear & free of danger.”
Facilitated by the Repubs voting to extend the tax breaks of offshoring jobs.
Sounds like things are going well across the pond…
Protesters smash way into Tory HQ and storm the roof as anti-cuts rioters hijack tuition fees march in London
tuition fees protest
Students, wearing hoods and balaclavas, broke windows at Millbank Tower next to the Thames before lighting a bonfire of their placards as they rallied in Westminster. Around 50,000 demonstrators have descended on London. Breakaway protests are ongoing near the Tory Party headquarters and outside the Business Department, with chants of ‘Tory scum’ and fury at the Lib Dems for their U-turn over fees.
Where is my free stuff (government cheese) riot…
Coming soon to America.
Where is my free stuff (government cheese) riot…
Many on the right are brainwashed to only concentrate on the symptoms. (food stamps, welfare etc) However they are ignorant and clueless about addressing the cause. (The very rich’s dismantling of our jobs base to provide more money for themselves)
If our jobs base had not been gutted. (The cause) There would be less symptoms. (food stamps, welfare etc.) It’s really quite simple but…..
The reason why those on the right don’t address the cause is because the cause is the cause of their brain washing puppet masters and most on the right are proving unable to think critically for themselves.
I wonder if I could get a SBA loan to start up a mobile guillotine rental company? Lynch-mobs would be booking these things round-the-clock. Corrupt politicians would pay double to tie up equipment so it doesn’t end up outside of their office. Who wants to partner with me on this?
Make sure you price yourself **below** what Blackwater would charge for their protection services…
“I wonder if I could get a SBA loan to start up a mobile guillotine rental company? Lynch-mobs would be booking these things round-the-clock.”
The preacher, politician and an engineer were ready for their execution day. When the guillotine failed for the preacher he claimed it was god’s will, and the politician claimed the people still desired him, so he walked too. The engineer looked up closely, and pointed out the problem. Whoosh, off came his head, flawlessly!
“If our jobs base had not been gutted. (The cause) There would be less symptoms. (food stamps, welfare etc.) It’s really quite simple but…”
+1000
Ditto +1000.. good post Rio …The simple truth …..
I don’t know if you want to classify me as left or right but when I saw the protestor crowds the first thing I felt was sadness they were protesting the the cut-off of pork instead of protesting the rising cost of education on the campuses.
If we’re going thru the great deleveraging than heck, let’s get on with it and get those costs down. To me propping education costs up = propping housing costs up. But the protesters don’t think in the terms of unwinding. They only think of terms of I had this yesterday and now it’ll be gone forever.
Exactly CarrieAnn exactly .
Have you been reading about their Big Society? NPR’s Marketplace had a segment about it last night, I’ve been corresponding with a UK friend who likens it to the punk years under Thatcher.
Homes for Under $100K
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/homes-for-under-100k.html
Looks a lot nicer than what is under $100k in SE Florida. That price range puts you in a neighborhood where, well let`s just say your neighbors are less than desirable.
I thought the Tudor looked a lot like little TTT’s then I realized it was in Detroit.
Nice house, to bad it is where it is.
OK, I saw the cute house in Syracuse for $80,000. The upstate New York HBBers complain that the bubble hasn’t burst up there. What gives?
I don`t know what the neighborhood is like for that house in Syracuse, but I could show you pictures of nice looking houses in Jupiter Fl. for that price but like I said your neighbors would be less than desirable. Decent house in a decent neighborhood is still overpriced, way less than 05-07 and still dropping but overpriced.
The best value is probably that Victorian 2 miles from downtown KC. It would be a great house for, say, a $45K government bureaucrat with a handyman husband.
China may be bigger economy than US within two years.
The Daily Telegraph
Here’s a finding that will have any red-blooded American spluttering into his cornflakes. According to the Conference Board, a highly respected economic research association, China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy by 2012, or within two years.
OK, so in dollar terms, that’s obviously not going to be the case. It will be a lot longer than two years before China overtakes the US on that measure. But in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the Conference Board’s latest world economic outlook, China is already nearly there, and by 2020 will have reached a size of output which is nearly half as big again as the US.
A comment on a right wing blog.
Obama fulfills one of his missions.
“A comment on a right wing blog.”
Keep those comments there?
Wall Street and the MNCs had more to do with this than anything the government has done.
Here’s a finding that will have any red-blooded American spluttering into his cornflakes, especially the one’s that aren’t being exported cheaply to china
China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy by 2012, or within two years
You’re so many, we’re so few,…please hurry, we have more National Food Stamp trouble than we can handle!
Sincerely, Hwy50
Sears to be open Thanksgiving for first time
suntimes.com
Sears will open on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in its 124-year history. The Hoffman Estates-based retailer will open stores from 7 a.m. to noon on Thanksgiving Day.
Doorbuster sales include diamond or ruby with diamond pendants for $19.99 (regular $59.99); a Craftsman professional 20-volt lithium-ion three-piece combo.
Grey Thursday will be a bust that robs from Black Friday.
I will be at home watching the parade and dog show.
I haven’t set foot in a Sears store in years. Everything they sell, someone has a better deal.
Anyone remember when Die Hard car batteries were the gold standard?
The only time I walk in a Sears store, is when I need to buy a tool on Saturday afternoon or on Sunday.
Anyone remember when Die Hard car batteries were the gold standard?
[Slim waving hand.] Me! Me! Please, teacher, pick me because I remember!
Really desparate.
Some more first hand observations of the Commercial Real Estate market in my backyard of Mesa, AZ:
Val Vista and Brown Road:
Going into it’s second year of 0% occupancy, a planned medical office center, has never had a tenant. Someone has to be losing big $ on this project that replaced a fully functional orange grove.
FOR LEASE
Val Vista and University:
There used to be a day care center and a karate gym here nest to the Albertson’s grocery store. Two years ago nobody needed day care any more, because either Mom or Dad or both had been laid off so they would be home. Karate gym could not cover expenses and folded.
FOR LEASE
For two years - no takers.
Think the construction-loan provider is engaging in any exend-and-pretend?
Depends on if the bank has already failed.
“karate gym here nest” = next **YOUR AD HERE $25.00**
Martial arts studios come and go al the time. They tend to be pricey and the market is limited.
They cater mostly to kids as the drills are tough for adult desk jockeys. kids bore quickly of the repetitive drills and drop out, which is why the sensei will twist your arm to sign a multiyear contract in exchange for lower monthly fees.
Karate gym could not cover
expensesLL continually raising the lease and folded.(Don’t believe there are a lot of equipment expenses with a martial arts studio, less of course they buy those Japanese non-toxic mats that aren’t made in China.)
The liability insurance is a little pricey.
The one I saw had a 30 calender in the window: 80% booked by the elderly learning Tai-Chi
that replaced a fully functional orange grove.
That’s the worst part of this mess.
I just had a depressing thought. Until we can get rid of the Fed (and therefore the PPT), we are stuck with Eddie.
I think Ben banned him the other day.
ISTR Ben saying something to Eddie about revoking his posting privileges. Haven’t heard much from Eddie since then.
And it takes a lot for Ben to ban somebody from posting. He lets a LOT slide.
Now we’ll never know what the lines are like at his local Chili’s (sniff)
Feds propose graphic cigarette warning labels.
Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs: These are some of the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that will take up half of each cigarette package.
The images are part of a new campaign announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.
“It acts as a very public billboard because you all of the sudden are reading something about lung cancer from that pack behind the cash register, whereas before you were just reading ‘Marlboro,’” said David Hammond, a health behavior researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who is working with the firm designing the labels with for the FDA.
Feds propose graphic cigarette warning labels…..Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs:
They have those in Brazil. Some are really scary. One has like a limp banana pic and says how smoking causes E/D.
So I’m at a news stand in Rio and this Brazilian guy goes in to buy a pack of smokes. The clerk hands him the pack with the banana on it and the guy sees it and looks scared and says “No way man…I don’t want this one. Give me the one with the lung cancer pic”.
Brazil, what country!
I’m weak with laughter, Rio!
So what will happen is the return of those handy little cigarette cases, and first thing you do when you buy a pack is to empty the cigarettes into your “luxury” case and toss the empty plastic and paper package on the ground.
All luxury cases will have a stiff banana boner picture.
In Canada they just made pleather cases that slipped over the box the cancer sticks were in. Nothing all that fancy was needed.
The second leading cause of lung cancer is Radon, a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium. It is one of the densest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions and is considered to be a health hazard due to its radioactivity.
Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as attics, and basements.
- Wikipedia
Ran across a screaming deal on a low mileage, early 90s Corvette yesterday. But it is a big PITA getting into, and out of.
Talk me out of it.
I remember a bit from a female comedian who said:
“Every time I see a middle-aged man in a Corvette pull up next to me at a stop light, I say ‘Sorry about your p*nis!’”
That help?
“Every time I see a middle-aged man in a Corvette pull up next to me at a stop light, I say ‘Sorry about your p*nis!’”
I was going to try to talk him out of it, but that should do it.
I’ve developed the ability to stop giving a $hit about what other people think, so that’s not a problem.
(And don’t get me started about women who throw down the “small junk” card. It’s not like the guy had any choice in the matter, or can do anything about it. Sorta like making jokes about people with birth defects, IMO).
I’d prefer finding a 70-72 driver, then update it with a 5-6 speed trans and port fuel injection, but under $7K for a decent Corvette is kind of hard to walk away from.
That car will just get you crappy fuel economy and a speeding ticket. Give your $7k to the Obama administration - they know better what to do with it.
You only live once, if it suits you and the number sounds like it does, then go after it!
I was going to try to talk you out of it since the newer ones are so much better IMO, but you’re right…under 7k is amazing.
Probably a deal, here are some more to look at.
http://www.vettetraderonline.com/ - 41k -
GM quality construction.
If it makes you happy and you can truly afford it, go for it X-GS. But based on what you say here, I don’t think you can (I feel like Susie Orman
) And remember, people will laugh at you behind your back.
“And remember, people will laugh at you behind your back.”
So what? If he enjoys tooling around a Corvette, and its a bargain, why not?
My current car is getting a little long in tooth. Because I don’t have the time (or the garage….since I’m no longer a homeowner) to work on it myself, it has to go to the shop to get fixed. Lately, it has become a monthly event.
As noted, an early 90s Corvette with under 70K miles on it, for under $7K makes a lot more sense than a Prius. For what I’d pay for sales and property tax on anything new, I can buy a COMPLETE, RUNNING, DRIVING car. (my state really screws you on property and sales taxes when you buy new).
Yeah, it needs some cosmetics, mainly interior stuff. No big deal. If I end up not liking it, I’ll sell it next spring.
My daughters hate the idea……they say pretty much the same thing as REhobbyist says…..owning one would mark me as a “loser”
But here’s the deal. WE ARE ALL LOSERS, in some people’s opinion, whether we admit it or not. The trick is to not care what other people think about you.
“WE ARE ALL LOSERS,”
Hey! I am not letting all of you in!
I’d say it is mostly a knees issue and weather issue. You say it is a little hard to get into and out of. If is is just a little hard, not painful, I’d try to figure out if it will continue to be just a little hard, not painful. Then I’d think about the ground clearance and amount of snow expected where you work now/could see yourself having to work in the future.
Only the haters will talk behind your back. Drive the car with a girl to your right and a girl to your left. That will keep them shut.
Women may say all about your pen!s, they will still hop on your Corvette than the Ford F-150s. If someone has to talk about it, you know it you got them. Just my observation.
Personally I like Japanese. Cars, that is.
One of the local dealers has a 1990-91 300ZX with 19,000 original miles for sale. They are asking $19K. Even with the low miles, seems high to me, but what do I know? I could have bought a running, driving Plymouth Superbird for 1500 bucks.
Porsche cars are kinda interesting except for:
- They are WAY overpriced, and
- As a Porsche owner, it’s contracturally required that you become a d##khead.
My MBA brother and his lawyer wife have bought into the “German cars are superior” mystique. I expect a Porsche to show up in his driveway any time now.
One of the local dealers has a 1990-91 300ZX with 19,000 original miles for sale. They are asking $19K.
That’s funny. I assume it’s the twin turbo model, but I still can’t imagine anybody paying that much for it. They didn’t respond well to modification compared to their primary competition of the era (Supras), so they never really developed the cult following of some of the other 90s Japanese models.
One of the local dealers has a 1990-91 300ZX with 19,000 original miles for sale. They are asking $19K.
$5-10K max. It’s not the milaeage, it’s the years. Try finding parts for it.
Age. Parts. Repairs. Gas mileage. Plus those old Vet’s ride like rocks and that’s no exaggeration.
And believe me, getting in and out of car with ease is VERY important when you’re over 40.
Taking On a Second Mortgage to Pay the Foreclosure Lawyer
“It’s a new model, a new paradigm.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/business/07lawyers.html?_r=1
OMG - 8-(
For some Florida residents, the price of getting out of foreclosure will include taking on a second mortgage — payable this time to their lawyers.
…
For instance, if the mortgage was $500,000 and is reduced by the bank to $200,000, the client would owe Ticktin 40 percent of $300,000, or $120,000, minus any legal fees paid by the losing bank as well as any monthly sums paid to the law firm.
…
“Any time someone calls me and says, ‘I want to keep the house and get my mortgage gone,’ I say, ‘That’s not realistic or fair,’ ” said Margery E. Golant of Boca Raton, a former executive at the lender Ocwen.
Jingle mail sounds a lot cheaper.
It has occurred to me that a certain percentage of the population (10-20-30%?) knows no other way to exist, than off of the “free lunch”. This statement isn’t limited to poor people. There are all kinds of businesses (cough…..ethanol…..cough) that wouldn’t exist, if it were not for various government subsidies/incentives/handouts.
So like meth addicts, what does society do? The “free lunch” costs money. But the treatment for the disease likely costs even more, with no guarantee that the treatment will be effective.
It would be a smaller percentage, but goods jobs have disappeared by the millions over the last 30 years.
$11hr WalMart McJobs don’t pay the bills.
But by FAR, the largest welfare group is the large corporations.
Deficit panel leaders’ plan curbs Social Security
WASHINGTON – Leaders of President Barack Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission on Wednesday proposed reducing the annual cost-of-living increases in Social Security, part of a bold plan to control $1 trillion-plus budget deficits.
The proposal also would set a tough target for curbing the growth of Medicare and recommends looking at eliminating popular tax breaks, such as mortgage interest deduction.
As proposed, the plan by Chairman Erskine Bowles and former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., doesn’t look like it can win support from 14 of the commission’s 18 members to force a debate in Congress. Bowles is a Democrat and was former President Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff.
Cuts to Social Security and Medicare are making some liberals on the panel recoil. And conservative Republicans are having difficulty with options on how to raise tax revenue. The plan also calls for cuts in farm subsidies, foreign aid and the Pentagon’s budget.
Tiptoe through the third rails! But hey, have at it - some good ideas there.
Notice that the only people who are willing to sit on such a board are “retired” politicians.
I’d rather see the retirement age rise than the cost of living increase reduced. That just means the cuts will increase more the younger you are.
As for Medicare, cuts are fine as long as they are immediate and affect today’s seniors, not just tomorrow’s.
Social Security and Medicare = 50% of the budget
Defense = 20% of the budget
It is the logical place to start.
Except that SS and Medicare have their own funding (payroll tax), while defense is funded with borrowing.
Do you really want to see SS and Medicare go away, while the payroll tax remains in place (you know it won’t go away) to fund more wars and pensions for gov’t workers?
The SS and Medicare payroll taxes do/will not cover the expenses of these programs. The rest comes of out the general budget. Nothing was saved from the surplus years.
The military is constitutional authorized as a legitimate function of government by the US Constitution. A government retirement system for everyone and a government health care system are not mentioned in the US Constitution as a legitimate function of government.
In the coming years - everyone’s ox is going to get gored.
A government retirement system for everyone and a government health care system are not mentioned in the US Constitution as a legitimate function of government.
This “not mentioned in the Constitution” point misses the point because:
We as a nation have decided democratically to make them legitimate functions of government and it was done within the framework of our constitution.
That’s how it works.
We as a nation have decided democratically to make them legitimate functions of government and it was done within the framework of our constitution.
Can you point to me what part of the Constitution was changed to authorize this? Start with Section 8 - Powers of Congress.
Then go to the The 10th Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Now when did democratically change to US Constitution to allow this?
PS - We didn’t.
Now when did democratically change to US Constitution to allow this?
You don’t understand how it works do you? Many laws have been found unconstitutional.
“The SS and Medicare payroll taxes do/will not cover the expenses of these programs. The rest comes of out the general budget. Nothing was saved from the surplus years.”
So they reduce the benefits, that is pretty a given. As I asked before, would you really prefer to see SS and Medicare disbanded and have the payroll tax go to funding more wars and fat compensation packages for gov’t employees?
From the 2010 Social Security Report:
• Income including interest to the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $807 billion ($667 billion in net contributions, $22 billion from taxation of benefits and $118 billion in interest) in 2009.
• Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $686 billion in 2009.
We can ignore the “interest” income as that’s only an IOU from the gov’t. After excluding the interest revenue (which exists only on paper) SS took in 689 billion and spent 686 billion. Not bad, if only the rest of the government were like this.
Now there is no doubt that the expenditures will grow faster than revenues ove rthe next years. To address this they will have to do some combinaton of 1) higher payroll taxes, 2) lower expenditures (raise retirement ages, reduce payments).
I simply don’t understand those who wish to abolish SS
I find all these discussions of what is “constitutional” or not to be rather amusing, reminicent of Protestant Fundamentalists arguing over whether the “rapture” will occur before, during or after the millenium.
The bottom line is that the Constitution isn’t some sort of Holy Writ. It means whatever the Supreme Court says it means.
while they are at it. how about cutting the federal workers retirement or putting their retirement money in with SS’s. Why should the the federal workers have a better funded retirement than the people on SS? How’s about our elected officials taking a 10% pay cut across the board to set an example of living on less for us peons.
This is what I don’t get about the “abolish SS” crowd. All that will happen if we do that is that the payroll tax will end up padding the pockets of government workers.
And they are an entitlement minded crowd. I was discussing the impending state/muni pension crisis with a state employee. He wasn’t having any of that “retirement funds will be depleted” stuff. In his mind the taxpayers, who he refereed to in his own words as ’suckers’ would have to pay up to make good on his underfunded pension. I told him to guess again.
You do know that government employees pay taxes from their paychecks too, right?
GB might get their house in order through tough austerity measures. In our lobbyist controlled Congress there’s no way this will happen. The end game will be QE3, QE4, …, QEX
Once the $$ loses reserve currency status and we have to produce actual goods to trade for imports we will see that financial swindles Made in Wall Street are not as popular an export good as some might think.
The only thing that might generate some real revenue is food/grain/cotton exports or military hardware. Still, that won’t be enough to cover the current outlays. Some day in the not too distant future we will have a holiday. Like a bank holiday a la Argentina.
“Cuts to Social Security and Medicare are making some liberals on the panel recoil. And conservative Republicans are having difficulty with options on how to raise tax revenue. The plan also calls for cuts in farm subsidies, foreign aid and the Pentagon’s budget.”
Makes for good pr. We’re see what survives.
Maybe the Repubs shouldn’t have voted to extend tax breaks for offshoring jobs.
A bill they blocked that would given those tax breaks to American businesses to hire American workers. Workers, who, well… pay taxes from their paychecks.
But I’m just crazy that way. I keep forgetting I’m living in a fact free society where reality is grounds for shunning.
“…and recommends looking at eliminating popular tax breaks, such as mortgage interest deduction.”
death nail for the housing “recovery”.
Without jobs, stable decent paying jobs, there isn’t ever going to a housing recovery.
There has not been a cost of living increase in SS payment this year and won’t be one for next year either.
So why can’t Barry give everyone who wants one a gubmint position. Then millions more would be getting 150k a year. We could get the economy become back on track, buy excessive consuming and house flipping. Problem solved…
More federal workers’ pay tops $150,000
The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention of fiscally conservative Republicans who won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in last week’s elections. Already, some lawmakers are planning to use the lame-duck session that starts Monday to challenge the president’s plan to give a 1.4% across-the-board pay raise to 2.1 million federal workers.
After all of those jobs he already saved and created and you still want more. Some people are just chronic complainers. The man can only work one miracle at a time.
It’s good that you point this out, wmbz. This is another issue that should be addressed in the lame duck session. All federal workers are lumped together, e.g. military, but most taxpayers would be upset at an across-the-board 1.4% pay increase for federal employees.
This USAToday article expands a little on wmbz’s post.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm
“So why can’t Barry give everyone who wants one a gubmint position.”
Cuz he knows that won’t work?
Yea, probably so, it just seems so simple, it’s only money.
Okay, how about firing off checks to each of us for say 150k tax free. That should ignite some consuming, by us consumers.
Damn-it man, we have to do something, and hurry up about it!
Archaeologist: Beer Sowed the Seeds of Civilization
(Nov. 10) — Over the years, beer has brought countless people together. But researchers now say beer isn’t just responsible for sparking new friendships and relationships — it might also be responsible for the rise of human civilization.
Archaeologists believe that when Stone Age farmers in Southwest Asia began harvesting grain — a process long considered to be a precursor to the advent of civilization — they weren’t doing it to produce food.
Instead, they say agriculture’s early seeds were sown in an attempt to brew beer, according to LiveScience.com.
Scholars believe Neolithic groups in the Natufian culture began settling down and farming cereal grains about 11,500 years ago. But archaeological evidence reportedly shows that barley and rice were only minor parts of the diets of early humans — leading researchers to believe they might have been used for drinks at parties.
Considering how hard it is to turn grain into food and how far some Neolithic people traveled to obtain grain, archaeologist Brian Hayden at Canada’s Simon Fraser University believes early man might have stockpiled grain to make beer that was served at feasts.
Sponsored Links
“It’s not that drinking and brewing by itself helped start cultivation, it’s this context of feasts that links beer and the emergence of complex societies,” Hayden told the website.
Notice how it says “early man stockpiled grain…”. He did not spend away his grain several times over and go into deficit. What happened to “early man”, where did he go?
Alabama?
I’ve lived in Ala. Too true.
Notice how it says “early man stockpiled grain…”. He did not spend away his grain several times over and go into deficit.
That’s because he didn’t understand the synergies of leverage and fractional reserve granaries.
Thank god we’re more edumacated these days.
On public televison, NOVA credited dogs with the creation of civilization last night.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/dogs-decoded.html
“NARRATOR: Dog domestication may have helped pave the way for a fundamental change in human lifestyle.”
“Peter Rowley-Conwy: It’s hard to see how early herders would have moved and protected and guarded their flocks without domestic dogs being in place. And one has to wonder whether agriculture would ever really have made it as a viable alternative to hunting and gathering.”
“NARRATOR: Some believe that the influence of dogs on our development was not just important but pivotal.”
“Greger Larson: Dogs absolutely turn the tables. Without dogs, humans would still be hunter gatherers, and without that initial starting phase of dog domestication, civilization just would not have been possible.”
Dogs and beer. Chariots of the Gods next.
Archaeologist: Beer Sowed the Seeds of
Civilizationsoshalism!I like bratwurst with my beer (not dogs)
Any oldtimers here have experience with redlining?
I wonder if the real estate market in many places will revert to what it had been in many urban neighborhoods in the 1970s — no loans, period. Only those prices supported by cash buyers. Viable homes in the suburbs, built before 1980, for the cost of a used car.
My neighborhood, where 100-year-old houses sell for $1 million (or used to), was redlined in the 1970s due to the expected white flight. Lots of the houses were just passed down in families.
They will have to use more subtle criteria than before but some variation seems possible to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining
The inner city neighborhood I grew up in saw lots of white flight as my friends parents fled to the suburbs because of school integration.
And there are lots of houses within the city limits now priced at nearly Detroit prices, but not in places you’d feel safe living.
Not sure what people will be fleeing from/to these days… taxes? deteriorating schools? deteriorating infrastructure? Lots of the older inner ring suburbs already have urban problems.
I live in a nabe that is historically black. It’s just south of Tucson’s red line, which was at Grant Road.
If you were black, well, you could just forget about living north of Grant. Your choices of neighborhoods were:
1. Sugar Hill (what this area used to be called)
2. South Park
3. Dunbar Spring
If you didn’t like those choices? Too bad.
It wouldn’t surprise me if all of Flyover Country isn’t “redlined” eventually.
How about Florida?
Given what has occurred, I’d say going back to a 20 percent downpayment may be optimistic there.
My folks owned a house in Dallas (Oak Cliff) Circa 1958, in an all white neighborhood that was “blockbusted”, targeted for integration. Banks wouldn’t lend to black buyers, so the folks had to carry the note to sell the place. It was a big mess for them. Took years to get their cash out, but I believe they finally did.
Budget year begins with $140.4B October deficit- AP
The federal government began the new budget year with a deficit that fell 20 percent from a year ago but still the third highest October imbalance on record.
Remember the days when “progressives” would yell/complain/scream when a Bush budget had a deficit for the ENTIRE year of around $140 billion.
“Imagine all the teachers we could have hired. Imagine all the hungry children we could have fed…”
Ah, the good old days…
Considering that Bush inherited a budget with a surplus from the Clinton admin (and yes, we know it wasn’t a true surplus) and that he opened the deficit spending floodgates to get us where we are today, I would be upset as well.
What year did Bush reduce the deficit?
Get back to us on that. Take your time.
What I”d like to see is the changing proportion of that budget that goes to servicing debt over time.
Could Fed Moves Just Be Setting Up a Sucker’s Rally? ~ CNBC
Getting in on a Federal Reserve-induced stock market rally that began in late August has been a pretty easy call. The hard part will come in deciding where to get out.
While many are taking the don’t-fight-the-Fed tack, skeptics think that the easy-money rally will come with an inflationary price down the road and end quickly when the backlash hits.
Among the dangers they see are that the central bank might succumb to global pressure to stop printing money and devaluing the currency; there’s also the possibility that the $600 billion program to buy Treasurys and drive down rates might not succeed in resuscitating the economy.
In the worst-case scenario, investors could find themselves in what David Rosenberg, strategist and economist at Gluskin Sheff in Toronto, calls a “sucker’s rally.”
“[A]ll we know is that these Fed-led asset cycles end in tears, and few manage to get out early enough because greed is an emotion that may go comatose in a brutal bear market but it never fully expires,” Rosenberg wrote in a note to investors. “In other words, quantitative easings are no antidote for structural economic problems, even if they manage to give investors a short-term sugar high.”
There already were signs that the rally is sputtering, with the market negative on consecutive days for the first time since September and uncertainty prevailing over European sovereign debt.
I got a pamphlet from the U.S. Post Office today, paid for by money seized from criminals:
Do You Know the Warning Signs of Fraud?
Warning Signs
Sounds too good to be true.
Pressures you to act “right away.”
Guarantees success.
Promises unusually high returns.
Requires an upfront investment-even for a “free” prize.
Buyers want to overpay you for an item and have you send them the difference.
Doesn’t have the look of a real business.
Something just doesn’t feel right.
“The Subprime Crisis is contained.”
From Tucson’s leading fishwrap, we have the case of the underwater police chief:
Tucson Water chief resigns to take a lesser post
Yes, I know. I got you all excited, then plopped that headline down in front of you.
Here’s the part about the police chief:
[T]here’s only one other department head who could soon bump up to a deadline to meet the city’s residency requirement: Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor.
Villaseñor said he is trying to move into the city and has another full year to do so, because the city extended the deadline for the move from 18 months to 30 months. But he said it’s been difficult because he can’t sell his house given that he owes more on his mortgage than he can sell it for.
“My house is up for sale; I can’t sell it,” Villaseñor said. “The problem is, I’m upside down on my house.”
Can’t he just rent a studio apartment somewhere and make that his “official” residence?
He sure could!
Matter of fact, he could rent a pretty nice apartment at Redondo Towers, which is within easy walking distance of City Hall.
I knew a lady who rented there, and maybe she still does. I haven’t talked to her in over a year. Anyway, her Towers apartment really came in handy when she got the job of running Gov. Napolitano’s southern Arizona office. The state office building’s even closer than City Hall.
Analysis: German tempers fray as U.S. policy gulf widens
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s undiplomatic outbursts against U.S. policy, calling it “clueless” before a G20 summit, show growing estrangement on economics as America’s focus shifts away from transatlantic ties to domestic challenges and Asia.
“The Atlantic is getting wider,” said Anton Boerner, head of Germany’s Foreign Trade Association, who spoke of a “creeping alienation” between America and Europe, which has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis.
Germany and the United States often criticize each other’s approaches to aiding economic recovery, with U.S. calls for more expansive policy falling on deaf ears in fiscally disciplined Germany. But Berlin has taken the rhetoric to a new level.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, 68, said last week that the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to buy $600 billion of government bonds undermined U.S. credibility and was “clueless.” There was no point, he said, in pumping money into the markets.
To paraphase Stalin:
The Germans? How many Panzer Divisions do they got?
Recall that Operation Barbarossa was the beginning of the end for the Nazi takeover of Europe. Something about the Germans having to fight against General Winter. Same thing that Napoleon’s troops experienced a century before.
Currently 3 active Panzer divisions equipped with the Leopard 2s and some combination of rapid response infantry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Army#Current_army
Nooz from the nabe: In the past, I’ve referred to a couple of (now former) neighbors as Mr. Doom and Mrs. Gloom. Reason for these names: Their real estate transactions.
Early in 2004, Mr. Doom and Mrs. Gloom bought a house that’s two blocks away from the Arizona Slim Ranch. Purchase price was $135k.
Well, in 2006, they decided that this nabe was not to their liking. So they bought another place in the oh-so-hippie granola and trendy Dunbar Spring nabe. Purchase price was $249,900. (Okay, make it $250k.)
For two months, they carried two mortgages. And, in May 2007, their place sold for $220k. They’d originally listed it at $240k.
Turns out that the new nabe wasn’t to their taste either. Earlier this year, I noticed a “for sale” sign outside of the Dunbar Spring house. So, I pedaled home to my computer, logged on to the real estate agent’s site. Spied an asking price of $219k.
It didn’t sell.
This past summer, still for sale. So, I logged on to that agent’s site, and look at this, price is down to $159,900. Ouch.
It still didn’t sell.
Just heard, by way of the neighborhood grapevine, that Mr. Doom and Mrs. Gloom have moved out of state. And a check of our county assessor records shows that. Meanwhile, the house is being rented.
Ouch.
One thing is for sure, this economy is definitely separating the professionals from the amateurs.
Fed Moves Preemptively to Debase U.S. Dollar.
“In announcing the effective monetization of U.S. Treasury funding needs through mid-2011, the Federal Reserve not only has begun a process from which it will be increasingly difficult to withdraw, but also has begun a process that likely will have to be accelerated in the months ahead, in response to mounting U.S. fiscal and systemic-solvency problems intensified by a still-unexpected “double-dip” recession, as well as in response to intensifying selling and dumping of the U.S. dollar and dollar-denominated paper assets in the global markets.
Such locks-in one of the underlying prerequisites for the U.S. economic environment to evolve into an unthinkable hyperinflationary great depression. The U.S. government effectively is bankrupt and remains extremely likely to resolve this ultimate sovereign insolvency by printing money to meet its obligations. As global pressures force the Fed into further Treasury debt monetization, as global confidence in the world’s reserve currency evaporates, risks remain particularly high of a U.S. hyperinflation beginning to unfold in the first-half of 2011, along with severe economic, social and political consequences that will follow.
The U.S. central bank will succeed in creating consumer inflation, but it will be the worst sort of inflation, inflation that is driven by monetary policy distortions instead of by booming economic demand — inflation combined with declining business activity. Given the Fed’s recent jawboning of the now-announced Treasury debt monetization policy, the inflation process already has started. U.S. dollar weakness in response to the Fed’s jawboning helped to spike oil and gasoline prices, which, in turn, will help to fuel somewhat stronger inflation reporting as early as next week.
Not only are Mr. Bernanke’s actions unlikely to stimulate domestic economic activity, but, as seen with the dollar weakness and soaring gasoline prices in 2008, the unfolding “inflation creation” likely will exacerbate the current downturn in U.S. business activity, where liquidity-strapped consumers likely will be forced to ration other consumption in order to pay for necessary gasoline.
Rest of the World Protests.
Heavy selling of the U.S. dollar against most major currencies and heavy buying of gold and silver followed the Fed’s action, clearly signaling that the global investment community believed that the Fed would succeed in debasing the U.S. dollar and creating U.S. inflation. Prices and exchange rates have been volatile coming into tomorrow’s G20 meeting. Irrespective of near-term swings, however, including central bank intervention, precious metals and the stronger major currencies should continue to do well, over the long haul, against the U.S. dollar, preserving the purchasing power that otherwise will be lost in a debased U.S. currency.
(From J. Williams’ Shadow Stats)
Crooks and criminals.