Bits Bucket for January 10, 2011
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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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Name:Ben Jones
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Some of you people need to stop the Tucson shooting posts. You’ve been warned.
Well said Ben!
I hope you had a great Xmas!
Cheers from ATX
I’m just adding some information I heard on NPR. No ability to confirm. The reporter said that of the people who were injured but not killed, the Congresswoman was the only one who was still in critical condition; all the rest have improved significantly and a few may have been released. Since Arizona Slim’s real life name was not on the list of those who died, I think we can assume that even if she was there and even if she was injured (I haven’t found a list of the injured yet), she will be fine.
Slim checked in below.
Thank god.
thank you.
Thank you.
This is an interesting article - I hadn’t seen it posted before but it might have been buried in the blizzard of “other stuff” this weekend.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Decades-for-home-prices-to-cnnm-1435904245.html
Most of this article is “old news” but it did contain a couple of factoids I hadn’t seen before.
A case in point is Stockton, Calif., where prices soared 230% from 1980 to 2006 because residents of the Bay Area, unable to afford pricey San Francisco, purchased homes there….
Once the bubble burst, that all ended. Some homeowners got tired of the commute. Investors stopped coming. Foreclosures piled up and added to inventory. Prices fell and fell faster. Now prices are only 9% higher than in 1980 and about the same as they are in Detroit.
Only 9% higher than three decades ago in 1980?
The analyst then makes a rather bold prediction….
For non-bubble markets, the damage was usually much less severe. Cities such as Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y., Clarksville, Tenn., and Spokane, Wash. will be back to their peaks within three years or so, Chen said.
If Rottenchester is non-bubble, why did prices double there from 2004-2008 yet they were flat to falling during the prior 20 years? Even if thelong term secular trend of depopulation stopped, there is still loads of excess inventory, rising chronic underemployment and rising property taxes.
Let me know when prices stop falling in Rottenchester. Then we can discuss prices “back at their peaks”.
Wondering what it would take to get Lehigh Acres prices back to bubble highs…
Wondering what it would take to get Lehigh Acres prices back to bubble highs………..
That’s easy.
ZERO DOWN loans with no income or job verification, and better yet, 125% loan-to-value financing with “cash out at closing”.
As long as “buying” a house results in an immediate profit, then the sky is the limit.
Bernanke is “monetizing” the debt with what he calls QE2, a euphamism for printing money. Just keep printing, lending and “selling” and there is no stopping the “appreciation”.
Just don’t expect to get paid off on those “LOANS”, since no one really has the income to support them and won’t pay if they do.
Any of this sound familiar?
Cannot prove the following of course, but have grave doubts Syracuse will be seeing big bump anytime soon.
Houses are on the market at length. Interest rates if anything are rising. Save perhaps for Medicine, jobs are tough to find. This is, of course, a subjective impression.
Of course, nice big suburban houses can be found in some cases $75/sq ft, so living here is relatively easy, with all the usual caveats.
A realator friend in Penn Yan commented to me last week that houses (listings) are now like visiting relatives, who stay and stay and stay.
How much did those $10,000 houses in Detroit go for back in 1980?
WSJ has an interesting article on the closed/foreclosed hotel opposite the convention center in Detroit just waiting for some ‘investor’ to snap it up.
“For non-bubble markets, the damage was usually much less severe. Cities such as Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y., Clarksville, Tenn., and Spokane, Wash. will be back to their peaks within three years or so, Chen said.”
Ha! He’s just saying that because people in these markets are still drinking the Kool-aid believing that The Bernank has things all figured out and life as they desire it will go on.
In my county prices are up over 2008 yet volume is way, way off. The only reason prices have held is the job loss hasn’t been that bad unless you were in certain blue collar industries. But we’ll see what happens as the schools and the state adjust to a supposedly tough budget.
Spokane, WA had a HUGE run-up in prices. Many houses sold for double or more their pre-bubble price. This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Here’s a story that has a sidebar detailing the percentage downturn in housing appraised values for various towns in the Boise metro area.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/09/1481689/why-did-your-taxes-go-up-or-down.html
The number of square feet in your house is a matter of public record. The appraiser then comes up with a price per square foot number for “neighborhoods” and multiplies that by your square footage.
These numbers are an important source of data since Idaho has a peculiar law wherein actual sales prices of houses are NOT a matter of public record - the buyer or seller is under no obligation to disclose the actual sales price. I believe that this makes estimates such as Zillow’s even less reliable than normal.
sq ft in the tax records for place is off by 600 ft. I guess they go by finished?? not sure I want to correct the record.
I meant for my place, and it’s off by 800.
Man, if my house was off by 800, I’d have to sleep standing up, because I wouldn’t have enough room to lie down in.
“…multiplies that by your square footage…”
That’s a pretty crude valuation method. I wonder how the residual distribution would look if you subtracted (sq ft) X (appraised $/sq ft)
from actual market value? I’m guessing it would have a pretty large variance.
Not to mention condition issues of individual houses.
Realtors are corrupt.
…or they could just be really dumb. Did you ever think of that?
…or they could be both.
Very well…..
Realtors are dumb and corrupt.
You guys aren’t really being fair. They are just “brokers”.
I don’t like them much and don’t trust them and never take any of their advice. But i often think of the film “Trading Places” where The Dukes are explaining their business to Eddie Murphy as the trainee:”Tell him the best part……We’ll some are betting prices go up, some are betting they go down, but whether they make money or lose money………we still get our Commissions.” Do you understand?
Yea. You guys are Bookies………..I knew he’d understand.
Good thing I was watching football yesterday with a friend, and didn’t read the hubbub until yesterday evening.
From bloomibergi:
[Yellen speculates on what the Fed is trying to do with QE, and references a research simulation conducted by the San Francisco Fed.]
———-
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen presented a possible timeline of about seven years before the Fed’s balance sheet is restored to normal levels, while saying the central bank’s asset purchases will end up creating 3 million jobs by 2012.
Yellen, speaking in Denver on Jan. 8, referred to a model created by Fed economists that assumes the central bank will complete its second round of large-scale Treasuries purchases within a year. The Fed’s balance sheet would stay “elevated” for two years before returning to a normal size over five years, she said, alluding to the economists’ research. …
The Fed vice chairman dismissed concerns that inflation will flare. Weak labor demand will be helpful in “mitigating the risk” and the Fed can “tighten policy when needed” by increasing the interest rate it pays on excess bank reserves, the vice chairman said at the Allied Social Science Associations’ annual meeting.
“Is the program actually proving effective?” Yellen said, referring to the Fed’s two rounds of asset purchases totaling $2.3 trillion. “My short answer is yes,” she said…
In the research paper cited by Yellen, San Francisco Fed research director John Williams and three other economists from the Fed board in Washington relied on the central bank’s main economic forecast model, known as FRB/US.
The simulation assumes the Fed will increase its total securities holdings by $600 billion through June of 2011, consistent with the central bank’s current plans, and would maintain an expanded balance sheet “through the middle of 2012.”
Unwind Assets
Under the simulation, the Fed “renormalizes the size and composition of its security holdings within five years.” In order to achieve that path, the paper said, the Fed would unwind assets at a pace of about $80 billion per quarter through the middle of 2017.
————
Wow. Talk about long-term. Obama will be(?) re-elected and out of office before this is over with.
“the central bank’s main economic forecast model, known as FRB/US.”
FUBAR/US.
Under the simulation, the Fed “renormalizes the size and composition of its security holdings within five years.” In order to achieve that path, the paper said,
Is this the same FED that didn’t see the credit bubble??? Color me skeptical.
“relied on the central bank’s main economic forecast model, known as FRB/US.”
Is this the same economic model that Bernanke was relying on when he predicted that sub-prime would remain “largely contained”?
Yea. That’s the same model when Bernanke gave testimony that, although housing prices are elevated, they are supported by strong employment, low mortgage rates, high demand, and limit supply in many areas. But, most importantly, there has never been a National decline in housing prices, so expect a “leveling off” before more increases…………
He describes a formula for a speculative bubble and assures us that the high prices are justified……so buy, buy, buy, before you get left behind. The man is an imbecile.
Everything he has predicted has been wrong. And yet, he still has a job.
Snow here in the midlands of S.C. about 2 inches, so everything is shut down.Don’t laugh, remember were we are, and trust me you do not want to be on the road around here, they will run into you.
It is pretty, and will be gone in a day or two!
The common lament in DC is that “nobody knows how to drive on snow.” That’s patently false. More like: they “refuse” to drive on snow. Even Sunday at 7:30 am during a light snow, people were passing me on the right.
I can only imagine what would happen in S. FL if we got 2″ of snow. We already have some of the worst driving in the country, with a large majority of seniors that maybe shouldn’t be driving in the first place. Add in recent immigrants and illegal aliens (driving 30 MPH in a 50 because of their fear of being pulled over) and you’ve got a real recipe for disaster.
If it snowed down here I’d just stay in the house until it was gone, no way I’d venture out with the crazies on I95!
Driving slowly is the proper reaction to snow: slow speed, slow accelleration, slow decelleration, slow turns. Plus pulling over for a bit if visibility gets so bad that going slowly isn’t enough.
And have your blinkers on.
Forgive the ignorance, I live in the DC area. What is this “slowly” of which you speak?
Its illegal to drive with the hazard signals flashing. Obvioulsy not well known by yuppie SUV-driving baby-on-board types who turn them on in FL every time a raindrop hits the windshield.
A cop once stopped me and TOLD me to turn my blinkers on. I was driving a rental truck at night and didn’t realize the tail lights were out.
“Driving slowly is the proper reaction to snow.”
Not around here. Going uphill behind a slow car that stops halfway up the hill is likely to cause you to loss whatever traction you had.
Slowly, yes. Stopping no. If there’s a stoplight on a hill and you see that it’s red; it’s a good idea to SLOOOW down and creep up the hill until it turns green. Because stopping is BAD.
Here in So Cal nobody has a clue as to how to drive in rain. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if it were to snow here.
I was coming up I-15 out of san diego in the rain a couple months ago.I kept driving by people who had wrecked.It was kind of bizarre.Do these people know how to slow down?
Out here the fools who won’t slow down when its slippery are the one’s in 4×4s and AWDs. They are the ones you see flipped over in the median on I-25.
So how do the newer 4×4’s work, does the driver shift on the fly? Seems like a good recipe for an “event.”
“So how do the newer 4×4’s work, does the driver shift on the fly? Seems like a good recipe for an “event.””
That feature has been available for a long time. We had a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder that could switch between RWD and 4WD while the vehicle was in motion.
AWD works differently, and is optimized for on road use, as opposed to 4WD which is best of off road use.
So if somebody shifts to 4 on ice at full speed, couldn’t that cause them to lose control? It always seemed to me like they could but wasn’t sure.
On the really old rigs you had to stop, get out and adjust the hub.
I live in the Maryland suburbs of DC, and after last winter, I bought snow chains for the van. As God is my witness, I will not be snowbound again.
To be very fair, the whole “knowing how to drive in snow” thing doesn’t work out all that well when you are dealing with over 10 inches on the road. I had to drive home from a party during the first storm last year (the pre-Christmas one). Now, I’m a northern girl, so I know how to drive in snow and plugging along at 40 miles an hour (it might have been slower) on the Beltway worked. If DC drivers would just slow down in snow, they would find they could actually get where they are going….eventually.
uh yes And the 4X4 crowd spinning out in 1st is really amusing.
years ago i was listening to click and clack on NPR. They got the question about what’s the best to drive in snow.
hands down they said…front 2-wheel drive. the notion that 4×4s are better is a myth. they are much better than rear 2-wheel drive…but the front 2-wheel drive edges out. the 2 back wheels on a 4×4 actually hurt the effectiveness of the front two.
i have been telling 4×4 owners and northerners this for years and they tell me i am crazy. i figure the click and clack guys no much more about it than me (or them).
(gonna email jamie and adam right now)
The mythbusters love those car myths, though I think they might have to travel a bit to do a snow one. Aren’t they near SF?
I dunno, my outback AWD was better than my caravan. But when I needed traction to start out from stop I used 2nd..it’s less torque to the wheels.
Thanks to advice from click and clack.
when i say “years ago” it was around 1996 or so. AWD technology has probably improved greatly.
My 1960 VW Beetle was great in the snow. Rear engine, rear drive. A great combination.
I remember doing some things on snow-covered roads that make my hair stand on end just thinking about it now.
Of course at age 18 you think you’re immortal.
you are right…buddy of mine had one and i think it was because the tires were so small/thin.
it’s like they would cut through the ice like blades…but the engine was in the back too so i am sure that extra weight helped.
man…we have a whole darn mythbusters episode on our hands.
Old-school VDub beetle vs $80k awd Escalade on snow-covered course. Bling is better - busted!
“AWD technology has probably improved greatly.”
THere’s a big difference between AWD and 4WD. I agree that 4WD isn’t very good on snowpacked roads. Most AWD systems default to FWD until extra traction is needed (Subaru is a notable exception).
Having the right tires is half the battle. And in the snowbelt you don’t let then wear all the way down like you can in the sun belt.
I’ve lived in snow country for my entire life. Dollar for dollar a good set of snow tires is a MUCH better investment than 4wdr. If you live up a long unplowed driveway 4wd may be needed but even there I’d take a good set of tires over 4wd.
It never ceases to amaze me that 4wd owners often don’t believe that you can’t stop any faster with 4wd.
I saw a guy with a brand new Jeep yank the wheel when he touched a snow on the side of the road and slide backwards through traffic into a ditch on the other side last week, the road was completely dry. There is no substitute for learning how to drive in the snow.
The stupid thing about 4wd is the idea that it will help you turn or stop. Because for those, there is little difference between them and a standard car.
it all depends on what you mean by snow country.
in 2010 it snowed 700″ here. 4wd with chains is often required
life without 4wd is no fun around here.
“It never ceases to amaze me that 4wd owners often don’t believe that you can’t stop any faster with 4wd.”
Everyone has 4 wheel stop.
My VW’s were great! Snow tires on the back and you were good to go….except sometimes I would do a 360 but fortunately this was on deserted roads..
It never ceases to amaze me that 4wd owners often don’t believe that you can’t stop any faster with 4wd.
With brakes, that’s true. Using the engine/transmission to slow you down, though, I find that 4WD has more “resistance” and thus will slow you down faster w/o having to apply the brakes.
The thing I’ve found with 4WD is that it will help you out when your normal (rear or front) drive wheels are on ice. Rather than going into a spin, having the other two wheels taking you in the correct direction will keep you in control.
Of course, you should be going slow enough/not making sudden changes in direction such that you’d go into a spin in the first place.
My dad taught me how to drive with 4WD. His advice : Drive nice and easy in 2WD mode until you get stuck, then use 4WD to get out. We lived in Montana and he had a tiny Toyota diesel with 2WD that he took to the most godforsaken areas (Hydro-geologist and an avid hunter) and would wind up helping somebody get their stuck suburban 4×4 out at least once a season.
He also taught me that throwing a couple of hundred pounds of sand in the back of your truck against the tailgate makes your truck a lot handier in slippery situations, and to buy new tires before you got stuck, not after. I still carry chains even in the Bay Area because of growing up in Montana.
What also works, believe it or not, is common household bleach. Toss it on snow and it will improve your traction.
Fannie Mae is jacking up mortgage fees
Potential home buyers who have high credit scores and hefty down payments may be surprised that even they are being targeted for higher ‘risk-based’ fees.
By Kenneth R. Harney
January 9, 2011
Reporting from Washington —
Here’s mortgage giant Fannie Mae’s sobering New Year’s greeting for home buyers and refinancers in 2011: Give me more money! If you want a loan this year, you’re going to have to pay more — thousands of dollars more in some cases — even if you’ve got stellar credit scores and bundles of cash handy for a down payment. Things could get much worse if your scores have been sagging with the economy and you don’t have much money upfront.
In a Dec. 23 memo to lenders in its network, Fannie announced that it had decided to impose a new schedule of higher add-on fees, similar to what Freddie Mac — the other huge congressionally chartered mortgage investor — rolled out to jeers from the real estate industry just before Thanksgiving.
The implication here for borrowers in 2011: It’s payback time, folks. Get ready to do precisely that — whether the heavy add-ons hamper a housing recovery or not.
http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20110109,0,6538732.story - 158k -
So the responsible have to bail out the irresponsible. Just like everything else. I wonder if other banks will cut fees to attract market share — you know, “competition.” Doubtful. They’ll just jack their own fees in the same non-colluding collusion that we saw with the credit cards and the airlines.
“I wonder if other banks will cut fees…”
Other banks (except for a very few local places that have ignored the changing bank business model over the past decade) are the ones originating these loans for Fannie. Fannie’s fees are their fees.
This is monopoly pricing. Federally backed loans are pretty much the only game in town, hence they can charge whatever they feel like. No one else thinks they can sell the bonds (and without a Federal guarantee they are probably right), so no competition.
And please remember that Fannie Mae is a profit seeking institution. The chief executive doesn’t make Wall Street CEO level money, but his pay is in the millions. Even though he is running an institution that was bailed out/taken over by the government. As soon as that happened, the whole place should have been knocked down to a GS pay scale. Even high level executives would be down below $200K.
Well SESs technicaly, but yes.
You have to go through some rigamarole training program to be SES, don’t you? And agree to get assigned anywhere in the country they decide they need you? I don’t think these guys in their English country manor style headquarters qualify.
Let ‘em live with GS-15. Previous pay at other job would probably even qualify them to start at a higher step level.
GS scale… +1 Polly!
Imagine if they did that to the TARP banks, or Government Motors. Might be tough in midtown Manhattan, but anywhere else it would put those execs in their place swiftly. And it would bust their “we hate federal employees they get paid too much” attitude just as swiftly.
“…the whole place should have been knocked down to a GS pay scale.”
I’m pretty sure GS does not mean Goldman Sachs in this case.
Yet one more incentive to sit on the fence.
Checked credit score recently and found it lowered by 20 points because of now recent revolving credit. Dah, I pay all bills on time so I don’t pay interest or I pay in cash so I don’t pay a sales tax.
Also it seems that if you have CC’s with high limits that is used as though you have debt, and if you lower the limit it is used as if your credit is being called into question. I found out if you lower limit to put request in writing and add copy to your credit file.
Higher fees = lower prices. Bring them on!
“There is no clear indicator that Congress will allow the actual default of a large state, such as California. Always, lenders have come to the rescue in the past. Meredith Whitney has said that there will be defaults this year by dozens of state and local governments. This prediction has been universally dismissed as extreme. The experts insist that this is not going to happen. Someday, yes, if things don’t change, there will be a default by this or that small city, but not soon and not many. The capital markets do not send an indication of trouble. But they did not in late 2007, either.”
“Rock-a-bye Baby.”
← If a town goes broke the state will step in a save it. If a state goes broke the federal government is obliged to rescue it. If the federal government becomes bankrupt….ooops….that can’t happen, say the experts. The federal government “has the printing press that creates money.”
> Gary North looks at the links in the chain of government-guaranteed safety nets we have grown to depend on. His suggestion…if you’re blissfully rocking in a government cradle in a government tree, consider climbing down before the bough breaks.
” If a state goes broke the federal government is obliged to rescue it. ”
I guess the plan then is for the state to shift everything to the cities and towns and have them file BK. Next throw a little money to your favorite counties for political support and let the rest figure it out on their own.
Plan? There’s a plan?
You can bet GS has a plan. They will determine the most profitable stance for gov to take and then bet accordingly.
I think you mean “lobby accordingly”.
” If a state goes broke the federal government is obliged to rescue it. ”
” If a state goes broke the federal government is obliged to rescue it. ”
Democrats in states that have been bankrupt by public unions (CA, IL, NY, etc.) think this means obama will come running with his “stash” with NO questions asked.
However - it could be alot like bankruptcy. The Feds could demand breaking all public union contracts, revalue state pensions at 30%, mandate firing 50% of public employees, have state employees pay for their health insurance like the way private employees pay, etc. before any bailout happens.
The states better be careful what they wish for…
oh my!
————–
Gingrich seeks bill allowing state bankruptcy to avert bailouts
Move afoot to help states escape benefit obligations
By Doug Halonen
Former House Speaker and possible GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich is pushing for federal legislation giving financially strapped states the right to file for bankruptcy and renege on pension and other benefit promises made to state employees.
http://www.pionline.com/article/20110110/PRINTSUB/301109976#ixzz1Ae3S4Ije
Gingrich is a private citizen. If he wants to push legislation, let him run for a public office which gives him that power.
Oh, right…
Again bailouts for the elite
F the retired workers of America.
They get deminishing returns on safe investments, pension cuts, and eventual inflation.
Gingrich is a stalking horse for the GOP. If he’s floating this idea, it’s because the Establishment Republicans are backing it.
Wait till all those labor and public service unions that have mindlessly backed the Democrats for all these years, in the mistaken belief that their benefits and pensions were an iron rice bowl, get thrown under the bus as the wholly owned Wall Street subsidiary known as the Republicrats sheds such inconvenient liabilities as bankrupt pension funds.
My guess is that this is when you will see true violence explode in this country.
Bingo, measton.
Like you’ve mentioned…seemingly unlimited bailouts for bankers (who confer no benefit to society) is just fine; but when it comes to the people who actually put their lives on the line and make society a better, safer place, all of a sudden, there is “not enough money.”
You bet, this is when the violence erupts.
my company has a $ 405,000 2007 tax refund due from the state of IL. we still have not received it. when we call they simply say “we’re not really sure when we are gonna refund it”.
CA was sending IOUs for any tax refunds.
PA is shaking us down…basically saying “take us to court” even when we are correct on our position.
MI just sucks.
Newt Gingrich, the stalking horse for the GOP, has introduced legistlation allowing bankrupt states to shed their pension obligations.
He resigned his seat. He can advocate and lobby but he can’t carry the legislation himself.
Don’t forget that those evil public workers paid into their pensions every paycheck just as anyone else paid into a 401K. And how many of them, really, double dip? Gingrich wants to take away the ONLY retirement they have. But what does he care? He’s on “wingnut welfare.”
Oxide, try to wrap your mind around these two cases:
Let’s say one starts working in the private sector at 18 and pays into their 401(k) until they’re 59.5 - the age they have to be to take penalty-free withdrawals. This person will pay into the 401(k) for 41.5 years. Let’s say they live to be 83. They will take out of their 401(k) for 23.5. Sounds fair and self-sufficient to me.
Now let’s say one starts working for the prison system at 18 (like my buddy did). Let’s say he works 25 years until he’s 43 and then retires with a full pension (like my buddy did). Let’s say he lives to be 83 (like my buddy is expected to). He pays into the system for 25 years and takes out of the system for 40 years. Sounds totally like a Ponzi scheme and it doesn’t seem self-sufficient. Now let’s further assume that my buddy goes on to double-dip - just like his dad did. The Ponzi scheme grows even larger. Oh, and for the record, his dad is 70 and has actually triple-dipped. Two pensions from Oregon and one from Washington - and his son wants to follow in those footsteps. I’m surprised you’ve never met a double-dipper. But no matter, the numbers are horrible even assuming NOBODY double-dips.
It’s simple mathematics between the 401(k) and the pension. 41.5 - 23.5 = +18
25 - 40 = -15.
It’s so simple a third grader could get it. Oh, and don’t forget my buddy gets free health care for life. That doesn’t come with a 401(k). Somehow I feel that skews it even more toward the government job.
Most people I’ve met who are working while receiving a pension… need to.
They also not so naive as to think their pension is bullet proof.
And once again I must remind everyone that outside of certain states, the rest of the pensioners in this country ARE NOT making fat bank and the CAUSE of our current situation IS NOT the pensions, but the Wall St.
“Most people I’ve met who are working while receiving a pension… need to.”
C’mon eco - and I quote Oxide here - “how many of them, really, double dip?”
It’s actually not too hard to find a double dipper after all, is it!
And the idea that they “need to” double-dip as some kind of evidence that the pension isn’t enough? Laughable. Most people - regardless of whether or not they have a pension - in general “need to”. They all try to keep up with the Jones’. They have boats, Escalades, jet-skis, McMansions and Starbucks that they “need”. If these people understood the difference between “wants” and “needs” maybe they wouldn’t “need to”.
“And once again I must remind everyone that outside of certain states, the rest of the pensioners in this country ARE NOT making fat bank”
I pointed out the mathematics in my state. In your state where they aren’t making fat bank and pensions, how long do they need to work before they retire? What percent of their pay do they get in retirement? Do they get free health care? Which states are you talking about so I can look them up myself.
Thanks in advance.
http://www.ers.state.tx.us
http://www.trs.state.tx.us
http://www.prb.state.tx.us
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/pensionplans.shtml
You aren’t seriously saying that someone who has retired should not be allowed to have another job are you?
Seriously?
No. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that one should have to work a lot longer than 25 years to get a full pension. 40 years, say, like somebody who contributes to a 401(k).
I looked at the first link. Now maybe I did something wrong or I’m misinterpreting how it works. You can tell me if I am. I put in $5000/month for monthly income and 25 years of service in their retirement estimator. I didn’t know what to put in for “Enter your leave hours” so I left it blank. So after working 25 years I apparently get:
*Health (includes $2,500 Basic Life) for you and your dependents
*Dental for you and your dependents
*Term Life: $10,000, Option 1, or Option 2
*Dependent Term Life: $2,500
*Long-term care
*Texa$aver (continue your active employee account)
and $2875/month per life. Seems like the pension deal looks fine to me. Pay in for 25 years and get a nice deal for the next 40 years courtesy of people who actually have to work their whole lives.
You have a great point …. lack of consideration on how long a
person would collect the pension benefit .Maybe they should of had clauses on the max number of years a person could draw a
pension .I also thinks its a issue of Corporations underfunding
Pension Plans. Also the issue of loss on Pension Plans that were
invested in AAA grade investments that was really junk .
In theory the money should of been there if the funding was proper and those funds should of generated the necessary amounts because principal should not of been touched in those funds (they don’t give you your Pension in one big check ,its
spread out in monthly payments ).
As far as medical benefits go ,I think that the intent was that
Medicare would cover for most of the retirement period and the
employers wouldn’t .I don’t think Industry made some of the agreements they did and expected Health Care to soar in price to this degree . So , you have one Monopoly affecting all the
other industries .So you get the Industry Power Brokers together and they lobby for screwing the people rather than
corrections on the forces that are making long term contracts
impossible and unsustainable now .
I agree that some of these Pension Contracts were way to padded for what is occurring now ,but Industry already got the benefits of those contracts for years and now when its time to
pay they want to void the contract or transfer it to the Government or BK on it .No question that adjustments will need to be made ,but what if inflation takes place ,than do you still
keep people at the adjusted lower price ? It’s apparent that
the younger people are being screwed by not even being offered Pension Benefits or Medical that was supplied by
Employers for most part in the USA for decades and decades .
Jobs are going elsewhere and there is avoidance on telling the truth were they want the money flowing to .
My 401k isn’t backed by the taxpayer as NY state workers’ pensions are.
If they bail out California, they’re gonna have to bail out everyone else. Hope the printing press is warm. How much are the underfunded gov’t pensions? Aren’t they trillions in the hole?
I don’t think they will bail out the states. I just don’t see how they can. If they do it for one, then they have to help everyone who needs it, and I think the list includes alm ost every state that doesn’t get substantial revenue from mineral rights.
The state bankruptcy approach is really interesting just from a technical point of view (not the political side show). I don’t know what sort of mess you would end up with. What would a judge do with poverty programs, programs where federal revenue is lost if the states don’t provide their portion, etc.? There may be precedence at the municipal level. Not sure how that will scale up to an entire state. Jerry Brown’s apparent approach (dump the programs and obligations on the cities and counties and let them go bankrupt) is also kind of fascinating.
Back after Prop 13 passed, Jerry Brown was governor. Then the plan was to “bail out” the county and local governments with surplus state funds. The counties and cities never got their budgets in order after Prop 13 passed. So there is an ironic twist to Brown’s present plan to reverse what he did 30 years ago.
“Jerry Brown’s apparent approach (dump the programs and obligations on the cities and counties and let them go bankrupt) is also kind of fascinating.”
Will be real cleaver if it happens because the counties should then not send taxes (property and sales) to Sac but use them locally because they won’t get any fair share refunded back to the county.
Which might violate some court orders about not leaving all the poor districts with no money. See what I mean? Fascinating.
“alm ost”
Alms for the poor (states)!
Texas has a “fascinating” idea of no longer participating in the Medicaid program. My mother has Alzheimer’s, is on Medicaid and is in a nursing home. Her SS and retirement benefits all go to the nursing home, of course. Some would say - well, have her live at your home. That would not work for many reasons - none of which would involve “inconvenience.” The leg starts it’s session tomorrow to deal with a $25-28.9 BIL shortfall. I hope what comes down will have people rethink their idea of moving to this state because it’s “different” here.
That plan would shutdown a lot of hospitals and a bunch of dentist.
Just paying for the births of new citizens is a stagering amount of money.
I often wonder how many billions the state would save if it quit making stupid decisions that keep get its butt successfully sued all the time?
At least 1 billion.
They can’t bail out all the states, so if you are doing with the state, I suggest you find some replacement customers, fast.
“…doing business…”
It seems clear that the Fed intents to inflate away all government (and banking system) debts and liabilities. Prepare for hyperinflation.
Yes hyperinflation will increase the sale of food and fuel and decrease services and consumption. This will actually make state budgets worse. Food is not taxed and gas is taxed by the gallon so rising costs will cut use and tax revenue.
Watching foodball yesterday, I saw a couple commercials for GoDaddy dot com — with all the same irrelevant cheesy-poof imagery and idiot script, not to mention a craptacular domain name like “GoDaddy.” (Almost as bad as Rabid Bunny.) I think they’re some sort of temp agency. I saw a few other ads others too, like eTrade. They really are trying to inflate the dot com bubble. How stupid do they think we are?
The other 468 commercials were for the usual gadgetry. We can now “watch all our favorite shows” on a tiny screen while walking in traffic. Now, if only they produced some content worth being run over for.
Meanwhile, I often walk past a cell-phone tower, and a month ago I spotted a sign that said “Tower space for rent” with a phone number. That’s a new one on me. Do towers count as CRE?
“Do towers count as CRE?”
If it’s for rent, then it is CRE IMHO.
Here in AZ you will find these cells towers disguised as a big cactus or a palm tree - so someone has invested some money. I thought the phone companies themselves owned these things. Don’t know how often they change hands. Have to guess not very often.
If it’s for rent, then it is CRE IMHO Even if it’s a church steeple?
Wireless providers (Verizon, ATT, etc) started out each building their own network of cell towers. Then someone got the bright idea of having independent companies build the towers and rent space to all the wireless providers who wanted it. This has reduced the providers’ capital costs significantly and also reduced the blight on the landscape that would result from every wireless provider having its own separate network of towers.
American Tower (NYSE: AMT) leases over 27,000 cell phone towers to wireless service providers. Crown Castle has about 23,000 towers that it leases space on.
The wireless companies own the towers but often rent out space on that same tower to other companies so you can conceivably have 2-3 different wireless companies transmitting off a single tower.
“The other 468 commercials were for the usual gadgetry. We can now “watch all our favorite shows” on a tiny screen while walking in traffic.”
Never underestimate the desire of a young hipster to be “cool”, even if it makes no sense.
That sort of fetish used to be the exact opposite of cool.
The Clear (nee Clearwire) WiMax system is organized around transponders placed on rented space on existing cell phone towers. So yes this appears to be a common business practice.
Vegas home prices: On the skid until 2032
By Les Christie, staff writerJanuary 7, 2011: 5:14 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Move over, Cleveland. Make room, Detroit. Beat it, Buffalo. There are some competitors for the title of America’s most depressed real estate market.
These are not old Rust Belt post-industrial cities, where the manufacturing economy vanished years ago; these cities were flourishing as recently as 2005. But they got crushed by the housing bubble, and most won’t recover from the damage until at least 2030.
“The bubble caused a lot of over-investment in these markets,” said Celia Chen, a housing market analyst for Moody’s Analytics.. “It’s all collapsing because of the recession and over-valuation.”
So, bring on the contenders.
Chen estimates that Las Vegas home prices won’t return to their pre-recession peak until after 2032; in Phoenix, the rebound will take until 2034; and Salinas, Calif., and Naples, Fla., won’t come back until sometime around 2038.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/07/real_estate/home_prices_depressed_for_decades/index.htm - 98k -
“and Naples, Fla., won’t come back until sometime around 2038.”
Find the New 2038 Ford Edge at Your Local Cleveland Ford Dealership
2038 Ford Edge
Limited FWD shown
MSRP
$97,220 - $108,070
Invoice
$95,808 - $105,409 The 2011 Edge is a 4-door, 5-passenger sport-utility, available in 7 trims
People that viewed the 2038 Ford Edge also viewed these cars
2038 Chevrolet Equinox
MSRP
$92,745 - $100,070
2038 Ford Explorer
MSRP
$98,190 - $139,190
2038 Ford Taurus
MSRP
$85,170 - $107,770
Median HH income, circa 2038: $49,000
Viva la third world standard of living, coming to a neighborhood near you soon.
#1 best seller in 2038: 101 ways to prepare rice and beans.
Or as Han Solo once said (while trapped in the trash compactor): We’re all gonna be a lot thinner.
Zero percent interest, Zero-down, and No payments until 2090!
Zero percent interest, Zero-down, and No payments until 2090!
Ben? Ben Bernanke? Is that you??
Yea, buddy!! You really know how to “jump start” an economy.
German Refusal to Boost Euro Rescue Fund Weakens
Germany may be softening its opposition to expanding the 750 billion-euro ($966 billion) rescue facility for indebted euro nations as investors question Portugal’s ability to avoid tapping the fund.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, declined to repeat German objections to restocking the fund after the Handelsblatt newspaper reported European Union leaders may discuss the matter in February.
“No decision has been taken about widening the rescue fund,” Seibert said by telephone yesterday. “We should note that only a small part of the available funds has been tapped.”
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,736680,00.html
Merkel, like most Eurozone politicians, puts the interests of the EU above those of her own nation. However, German taxpayers are furious about being forced to bail out irresponsible and corrupt nations like Greece, and may finally be rousing themselves to demand a return to the Mark and an end to endless bailouts of the PIIGS.
Just like Americans were opposed to TARP.
What the Banks want the Banks get.
It’s GOOD to be the Banksta!
Germany backing those funds might be illegal. According to the Maastricht contracts no country is allowed to bailout another country. This is currently at the German supreme court with a verdict expected in Febuary. I would expect the judges caving in to political pressure as usual.
Things will get really interesting once Spain, Belgium and Italy need a bailout. This will happen within the next 12 month.
Basically the big European (German, French, British, Spanish) Banks loaned out a bunch of money to deadbeat individuals and deadbeat governments. Now the deadbeats have a hard time coming up with cash. That means the taxpayer has to do the bailing. Sounds familiar?
Basically Germany can back other EURO countries or they will have a bunch of bankrupt banks on their hands. In either case the taxpayer will have to pay. Of course it is not clear if the taxpayer, that has been suffering from years of wage declines, has the ability to backstop this mess.
Germany backing those funds might be illegal. According to the Maastricht contracts no country is allowed to bailout another country.
The Maastricht contract, much like our Constitution and Bill of Rights, is a dead letter. It’s sole purpose was to assauge soverign country doubts about entering the EU. Now that this misbegotten alliance has been formed around a single currency, it will become the job of the responsible to pay for endless bailouts of the irresponsible and the TBTF bankster speculators. I can think of a similar situation.
I take note of this situation when we discuss if states will be rescued by the Feds. I see a pattern of Germany refusing to help the weaker European states. It holds for a while but ultimately the German officials always seem to capitulate. So like here, in the end, officials do not listen to the people’s wants. So let’s say Merkel gets voted out next election. If it happens there like what we’ve seen here, all parties end up doing things pretty much the same while in office. The pattern seems to be they will find whatever way possible to provide rescue funds and keep the ball rolling.
Bank can go after other assets in Florida if you default on mortgage
By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel
6:18 p.m. EST, January 8, 2011
Worried that your bank might go after your other assets if you’re late on the mortgage or lose your home to foreclosure?
It can happen in Florida, especially if a bank sells your foreclosed house and doesn’t recoup the full loan amount and if you’re a big-dollar borrower.
Problems on typical home loans usually don’t crop up before foreclosure. They tend to come after the bank sells the home and ends up short.
In Florida, banks can go to court for a “deficiency judgment” to collect the rest of the money owed on a mortgage after foreclosure, said Anthony di Marco, vice president of the Florida Bankers Association.
Banks can pursue other assets with that judgment. They can file a lien on your boat or car. But “they can’t jump priority on a loan,” so the lender for that boat or car has first dibs to collect, di Marco said.
Florida banks usually don’t target other assets after foreclosure if they don’t see much to tap. “Collecting on judgments is time-consuming and costly,” said real estate attorney Shari Olefson, a partner at Fowler White Boggs in Fort Lauderdale and author of “Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream.”
But banks pay more attention to borrowers with multimillion-dollar homes or businesses that default on big commercial properties. The lender can check if the customer has other accounts with the same bank. Depending on the terms of those savings or checking accounts, they may move to freeze, sweep, garnish or otherwise tap those accounts to collect money owed, Olefson said.
There’s another risk for smaller borrowers later. Banks may sell their deficiency judgments to a collection agency. The judgments are valid for up to 20 years. That leaves an agency focused on collections ample time to come after you for the balance still due, she said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bank-mortgage-garnish-20110107,0,5129126.story - 182k -
“Banks may sell deficiency judgements to a collection agency. The judgements are valid for up to 20 years.”
No FB dollar shall be allowed to escape.
With the tens of billions of dollars worth of deficiency judgements ripening like fruit ready to be plucked from the money tree I can envision an entire well-honed collection industry spring up from the underemployed masses.
Gather up thousands of the desperately unemployed, train them in the game of hard ball, unrelenting, in-your-face collection tactics, then unleash them onto the FBs.
Pay them, of course, on a commission-only basis; This will keep their incentives at their peak.
Nothing a BK won’t resolve.
I thought judgements were good for ten years? Then they have to be renewed every ten years to keep them valid.
That makes 20, last time I checked.
that could make 40 or 50 year genius.they have to be renewed every ten years.
No, anti-genius, it’s only once renewable.
10+10=20.
Get snippy with me and I’ll unleash the whirlwind.
When the bank decides it’s not worth pursuing, do they then issue a 1099 for the “forgiven” debt? Now that 2011 is here, what’s the status on the federal taxation of such forgiven debt?
your wrong my friend.It can me renewed as many times as they creditor wants to.Just has to renew it before the 10 year periods end.
In CA you can extend a judgement every ten years if you refile before the 10 year time period is up:
697.320. (a) A judgment lien on real property is created under thissection by recording an abstract, a notice of support judgment, aninterstate lien form promulgated by the federal Secretary of Healthand Human Services pursuant to Section 652(a)(11) of Title 42 of theUnited States Code, or a certified copy of either of the followingmoney judgments with the county recorder:
(1) A judgment for child, family, or spousal support payable ininstallments.
(2) A judgment entered pursuant to Section 667.7 (judgment against
health care provider requiring periodic payments).
(b) Unless the money judgment is satisfied or the judgment lien isreleased, a judgment lien created under paragraph (1) of subdivision(a) or by recording an interstate lien form, as described insubdivision (a), continues during the period the judgment remainsenforceable. Unless the money judgment is satisfied or the judgmentlien is released, a judgment lien created under paragraph (2) ofsubdivision (a) continues for a period of 10 years from the date ofits creation. The duration of a judgment lien created under paragraph(2) of subdivision (a) may be extended any number of times byrecording, during the time the judgment lien is in existence, acertified copy of the judgment in the manner provided in this sectionfor the initial recording; this rerecording has the effect ofextending the duration of the judgment lien created under paragraph(2) of subdivision (a) until 10 years from the date of thererecording.
I am not exactly sure on the florida laws for this.
Years ago I used to visit a money-based message board where one of the regulars was the owner of a payday loan store. He had few deadbeats (so he said) because he had a well-circulation reputation of playing unrelenting-hardball when it came to collections.
He said he was considered to be “The Money Man”, and everyone who needed money loved to hang around the Money Man and loved to do favors for the Money Man. He let it be known to these hangers-on that he would be “very appreciative” if life would become horribly miserable for anyone who stiffs him.
Note: He did not specifically tell the anyone to flatten tires, key cars, break windows, etc; he just let it be known that somebody owed him money and refused to pay up and this made him unhappy. This unhappiness wasn’t something he wanted to keep to himself, rather it was something he wanted to extend to the source.
In his view everybody wins when he gets paid his money. He wins because he gets paid what is owed him, and the person who owes him wins because his misery suddenly and magically stops as soon as he forks over the dough.
That’s the mafia loan-sharking model. They should sue this guy for patent infringement!
Yes. Yes it is.
Welcome to Italy.
It doesn’t sound like due process to me. But your story does add weight to the idea that society can function without a court system.
It wouldn’t be too difficult for a bank or collection agency. Just look to see if a new luxury car or boat was registered by the FB after taking out a home equity loan. Chances are that it was purchased 100% with the home equity money. Take it back.
Full recourse baby! I wonder whether after all is said and done, we’ll start to see different rates for mortgages in full recourse states, like MD and FL. At least for jumbos where the borrowers may have other assets and some savings.
I’m waiting for banks to offer lower rates to people who are willing to sign a side contract agreeing to liquidate their retirement accounts (payng taxes and penalties) if they default and turn the remaining cash over to the bank. I’m not even sure it would be enforceable, but it would be fascinating to see the reaction if it was ever offered.
yeah I wonder if someone could legally consent to that. Could they agree to a confession of judgment? or does that require a court order…never used them myself w/o a court.
“…willing to sign a side contract agreeing to liquidate their retirement accounts…”
You are the attorney, but would that even be legal?
Since bankruptcy is the process of voiding contracts, and retirement accounts are usually protected in bankruptcy, I’m not sure that these would work well, or reliably enough to be worth the trouble. And that’s the thing, those who are insolvent basicly are “judgement-proof.” Creditors aren’t interested in spending money on lawyers* simply to force defaulters to declare bankruptcy. It only makes sense to get a deficiency judgement if the borrower HAS sufficient assets that he would NOT be able to keep in bankruptcy.
*even cr@ppy, foreclosure-in-15-minutes ones.
You can’t change law governing operation and use of 401k’s, but banks use financial covenants in loans all the time with respect to major real estate projects. For example, you must post money with the bank sufficient to satisfy a preset LTV or a certain debt service coverage test. Obviously, one legal source of funds is a loan against your 401k. I think the idea is ridiculous for a typical homeowner, however, given the costs and attorney fees for negotiated contracts and ongoing costs associated with confirming that the financial covenants are being met and dealing with disputes related thereto. Note that in many circumstances such financial covenants are not any good unless you are posting the money with the bank. Financial covenants without pre-bankruptcy perfection is not that valuable. One simple, albeit imperfect, alternative is varying rates based upon % down. Oh wait . . . deja vu.
People can contract to almost anything that can be written down. The question is could it be enforced. Assume you have no assets except for your retirement accounts that are protected from your general legal obligation to use your assets to pay your debts. You declare bankruptcy to try to get the debts discharged. The creditor goes to the bankruptcy court with a contract, signed by you, stating that you agreed that if you ever defaulted you would liquidate those accounts and turn over any funds after paying taxes and penalties. You received a benefit (lower interest rate) in exchange for signing the contract. What would the court do?
I have no idea. It isn’t illegal in a criminal sense unless you threatened to break someone’s legs to get them to sign. There are plenty of people who are perfectly competent to understand what such a contract means, though a few might not. There are other ways to get certain debts to have priority over others in bankruptcy (much easier and more common for businesses than for people). I just think it might come down to not being able to enforce a contract that requires a person to take on a government imposed penalty. Might. I’m just not sure. That is why I originally said I didn’t know if it would be enforceable. I don’t.
Yeah Polly. IMHO there is some similarity to attempts to get around the statutory early expiration opportunity of copyright assignments by making the assignors sign a contract agreeing to extend the assignment at the time when the assignment was made. They’re both cases where somebody is trying to get around a statute by simply agreeing to waive one’s legal rights. You can sell yourself into slavery, but that contract isn’t enforceable.
A typical example of an unenforceable contract is one of the old housing CC&Rs that stated “no sales to blacks or orientals”, which were quite common not that many years ago.
DennisN - Of course when many of them were written, they were enforceable. Shelley v Kraemer was decided in 1948. ISTR that the federal housing administration wouldn’t fund projects that DIDN’T include racially restrictive covenants.
If it wasn’t enforceable, there still might be some benefit because a few people would just do it just because they promised to. People with a substantial amount of money in their retirement accounts aren’t likely to be unaware of their rights, but with “opt in” retirement savings as a default there might be some in a few decades.
The laws have clearly established that it is considered good public policy for people to save for their own retirement and that in order to enable that public good there are tax preferences for certain accounts and and protection of those assets from being wiped out by other debts. But there are a lot of exceptions to using those accounts just for retirement and the penalty for doing so is there, but it isn’t huge. It isn’t impossible to imagine people being able to contract out of the protection. The place where I get stuck is the being able to “force” someone to liquidate the account. Forcing someone to take an action, or to give someone else a power of attorney to take that action if certain conditions are met. Hmm….a limited power of attorney thing might be a way to implement it.
Anyway, Elizabeth Warren would be all over this in a heartbeat if anyone ever tried it. Assuming her merry band isn’t defunded.
I wonder whether after all is said and done, we’ll start to see different rates for mortgages in full recourse
Only if they do away with securitization.
They’re more likely to do away with non-recourse.
Good luck with that in Cali…
So much the “strategic” jingle mail option for those underwater but have the assets/income to pay.
20 YEARS of someone chasing you.
The grifters will find a way to hide the assets and income.
All they need to do is get a new SS # (borrow one from the kids?).
That’s how they got the loan in the first place
Junior will be dodging collectors until he is in college.
Has anyone read the book mentioned in the story?
http://www.amazon.com/Foreclosure-Nation-Mortgaging-American-Dream/dp/1591026636
Is it any good?
“The judgments are valid for up to 20 years.”
Is this true for all 50 states? Sounds more like a scare tactic.
judgements are usually good for ten year periods.They can be extended in ten year increments if the creditor refiles it before the 10 year increments end.
No. Like much RE law, it varies from state to state. And the degree of legal variation is something that the banksters have started to rediscover in MA.
yes you are right.In CA they can be extended indefinitely.
697.320. Unless the money judgment is satisfied or the judgment lien is released, a judgment lien created under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) continues for a period of 10 years from the date of its creation. The duration of a judgment lien created under paragraph(2) of subdivision (a) may be extended any number of times by recording, during the time the judgment lien is in existence, a certified copy of the judgment in the manner provided in this section or the initial recording; this rerecording has the effect of extending the duration of the judgment lien created under paragraph(2) of subdivision (a) until 10 years from the date of the
rerecording.
Housing market to drag on rebound: NY Fed official
NEW YORK | Fri Jan 7, 2011 12:42pm EST
(Reuters) - The struggling housing market faces serious obstacles and will drag on the country’s economic rebound this year, though a double-dip U.S. recession is unlikely, a top economist at the New York Fed said on Friday.
The growing number of defaulted mortgages “continues to weigh down any recovery in the housing market,” Joseph Tracy, an executive vice president and senior advisor to the president at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, said in prepared remarks to an economic outlook summit on Friday.
“Distressed sales are expected to grow even further over the coming year,” he told the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and Metro Hartford Alliance Economic Summit & Outlook 2011.
“However, the protracted process of resolving the overhang of negative equity resulting from the overvaluation of housing during the boom will remain a headwind restraining economic growth for several years to come,” he said.
Considering the dopes here in the Northeast and NewEngland still believe “we’re not Florida”, this message ought to crush a few more delusional Trump-style dreams of grandeur.
The Fed and its pet economists have a very poor track record when it comes to economic forecasting. Remember Greenspan’s “there is no bubble” or Bernanke’s “subprime crisis is contained?” Bollocks!
There is an even better failed Fed economist prediction highlighted in Matthew Taibbi’s Griftopia. Apparently Alan Greenspan made some kind of outlandish bull call just before the U.S. stock market lost half its value in 1973-1974. Something along the lines of, “It is hard to find a reason to not be outright bullish at the present time,” but I can’t recall the exact wording. The more I read about Fed economist “forecasts,” the more I think many who rise to leadership posts in that institution are charlatans.
Everybody should pick up a copy of GRIFTOPIA. Not only is it eye-opening, it also supports one of a handful of honest journalists still plying his trade. The rest have become Wall Street shills.
I’ve only read excerpts, but I will second this recommendation.
Maybe not charlatans, maybe just deluded.
The higher the degree annointed the more one knows about a subject. If a person wins the highest degree offered for knowing a subject then he must know more than anyone else about the subject. Which may be true, but knowing more than anyone else doesn’t necessairly mean he knows all he needs to know.
But it is difficult to convince many of the annointed of this.
“The higher the degree annointed the more one knows about a subject.”
You’d think they would know enough about economic forecasting to know better than to pretend that economic forecasting is any better than astrology at predicting future economic conditions. Perhaps they believe the public likes astrology…
UK house price drops accelerating. As usual, the actual drop far exceeded economists’ expectations.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/houseprices/8249930/UK-house-prices-fell-again-in-December.html
Prices fell 1.3pc, an average of more than £2,000 to £163,435, between November and December, Halifax said – far more than the 0.4pc economists had forecast and contributing to a 0.9pc fall in the last quarter of 2010.
House prices were 3.4pc lower than in December 2009, the Halifax’s latest figures showed.
In the three months to December, prices were 1.6pc lower than the previous year, and Halifax said prices were likely to keep falling in 2011.
The problems in the housing market would be further exacerbated if the Bank of England decides to raise interest rates in the face of rising inflation, economists warned.
Funny how its the foreign media who chronicles this, huh? Good thing they exist, or we would be told that unemployement is but a mere 3% and house prices are skyrocketing by our corporate owned MSM.
The UK and European financial media is vastly more informative than the Wall Street fluffers of the US MSM.
Oh you must be wrong. Well I was told quite vigorously at lunch today by 2 of my co-workers that Fox News provides all the truth anyone needs and any other source is for the uninformed and uneducated. Yes, and to boot they did kick the internet as a way to gain knowledge. (Forget that via internet you could connect w/European and Asian news sources that maybe just maybe would be more willing to spill the US position as they saw it)
Ahhh….well they done told me.
You have my sincere sympathies. I hate finding out my co-workers are really dumber than a 5th a grader.
Coming soon to a country near you….
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110110/wl_sthasia_afp/stocksbangladeshprotest
DHAKA (AFP) – Police fired tear gas and baton-charged thousands of investors in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Monday as crowds vented their fury after the stock market tumbled nine percent in an hour.
Trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) was halted when stocks fell a record 9.25 percent soon after opening in a plunge that sent outraged investors onto the streets.
The benchmark Dhaka Stock Exchange general index (DGEN) rose 80 percent in 2010, with small investors piling into the market, but has suffered falls in the past three weeks in what analysts described as a much-needed correction.
Police clashed with protesters outside the stock exchange building, where tyres and office furniture were set alight as crowds chanted slogans against the government and market regulators.
Similar protests broke out elsewhere in the country, with at least 500 investors rallying in the southwestern port city of Chittagong, local police chief Rafiqual Islam told AFP.
In Dhaka, riot police reinforcements were called in to break up demonstrations as offices barricaded their gates and windows to avoid being attacked.
“Up to 5,000 investors held protests on the streets in front of the exchange building. Some of them have been violent,” police inspector Azizul Haq told AFP.
“They started vandalising government property, which forced us to use batons against them.”
Television channels showed badly bleeding protesters trying to escape after police wielding sticks beat back the crowds.
“I lost five million taka ($70,000) out of a 10 million taka investment. This is insane — my whole savings are gone,” investor Monirul Islam told AFP at the scene.
Since December 5, when the DGEN hit a record high of 8,918.51, it has fallen by 27.4 percent.
“The exchange has halted trading as per orders from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after the benchmark index plunged 660 points, or 9.25 percent, in the first 54 minutes of trading,” spokesman Shafiqual Islam said.
The fall was the largest single-day loss in the bourse’s 55-year history.
The number of investors has nearly doubled in the last 15 months to some 3.3 million people.
“I poured all my money into the Dhaka stock exchange,” said investor Humayum Kabir, who had lost 60 percent of his family’s 2.5 million taka in savings.
“The finance minister lured us into the stock market, he told us it was safe, but now we have lost everything. They artificially jacked up the prices of junk shares and now our savings have vanished.”
“The finance minister lured us into the stock market, he told us it was safe, but now we have lost everything. They artificially jacked up the prices of junk shares and now our savings have vanished.”
Coming soon - to America.
Reminds me of Greenspan telling the sheeple there was no asset bubble before the tech and housing bubble crashes, or Bernanke’s repeated assurances that all is well.
“I poured all my money into the Dhaka stock exchange.” He probably put it in at record highs and pulled it all out at the bottom too. How hard is it to understand that price matters, and the way to make money is to buy low and sell high.
But the Dhaka stock exchange always goes up!
I had to get in before I was priced out forever!
Hmmmm…..
Another casualty in the War of Central Banks.
““I lost five million taka ($70,000) out of a 10 million taka investment. This is insane — my whole savings are gone,” investor Monirul Islam told AFP at the scene.”
Should have stuck with gold.
Change “investor” to “Ponzi scheme mark.” Not to worry, Monirul, Bernanke will bail you out too.
Well now, that’s quite a different reaction than what we witnessed here last May during the Flash Crash. Thank goodness for the Bernanke Put!
Some of you may recall my apartment complex in Austin,TX increased my rent 18% for my renewal or $320 per month…. yikes!
Before turning in my move out notice, I talked to the regional manager and she pretty much told me to take it or leave it. She said new tenants were taking all vacants units left and rght.
So, I turned in my notice and started looking for a new place to live. Surprinsingly, all places in downtown Austin have 97% occupancies. All the hipsters throughout the US are moving here and finding high paying jobs that allows them to rent +$1500 for 1 bedroom units.
I still haven’t found what I want, but I received a call from management saying they would be willing to lower the offer $70 a month. The monthly increase would only be $250 a month… I am seriously considering sticking w my decision; they really pissed me off in the way they treated me as a tenant that has given them no issues and has always paid on time.
Along those lines, I do not know what’s going on in Austin, TX… RENTS ARE SOARING for high end units… I am talking about 626 sq ft units leasing for $1517 per month\… the higher end one start at $2400/month for 920 sq ft…
I do not understand where all the money is coming from
I guess it is different in Austin.
According to the Austin Business Journal, “apartment occupancy rates jumped notably in 2010, prompting decreased supply and higher prices, according to a recent report.”
According to the study by MPF Research, Austin “occupancy is expected to rise another 2.2 percentage points this year with a concurrent 6.8 percent increase in rental rates. Only San Jose, with 10.2 percent revenue growth, is expected to outperform Austin’s net 9 percent revenue increase this year.”
Rents are significantly higher downtown where typical units are priced from $1.50 to $2.00 per square foot.
==============
My unit will go from $1.68 sq ft to $1.98 sq ft
with a concurrent 6.8 percent increase in rental rates.
I would show these figures to management and ask them for only a $175 increase and 2 days to answer.
Why not?
I already tried that strategy, and the regional manager said… sorry, but no
Well, you can always move to the burbs and the let the hipsters pay the sky high rent, it’s their funeral.
And deal with traffic getting to work?
HELL NO
A lot of the hipsters are using daddys money.
The bad thing is that every summer there is a fresh crop moving to town.
Austin is becoming a government town (like the DC area is a government town). When the govt is spending, it’s a great place to be.
“And deal with traffic getting to work?
HELL NO”
Pick your poison. Or find a job that isn’t downtown. Should be easy as Austin is “booming”, right?
“Austin is becoming a government town (like the DC area is a government town). When the govt is spending, it’s a great place to be.”
So true. Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to swim upstream.
“I am seriously considering sticking w my decision; they really pissed me off.” You are best off doing what is best for you, and not worrying about who pissed who off. Good luck.
This is exactly what happened to me in DC. The local people were understanding, mainly because they didn’t want the city government to make life miserable for them. * But the regional manager 600 miles away didn’t give scrap for the city government and “invited” me to find a lower price. Of course, there were none. Everybody was coming to the city for the jobs (including me), and management companies priced and colluded accordingly. Just another example of our spending a greater % on necessities.
————–
*My complex is in marginal physical shape compared to other places, is populated with undesireables, and has a history of being less than acceptable with the city. New management tried to sell the troublesome place off their hands, but no one would buy. So they take it out on the residents.
My increase was 4% this year in Montgomery County. Was yours a lot more than that?
Don’t even ask. To be fair, I was probably underpaying to begin with. And I live in a different type of unit than you do.
I wonder if the FED has decided to lease apartments to drive up rents?
Wouldn’t just standing back and doing nothing while banks drag their feet forever on bringing millions of homes in shadow inventory to the market be enough to drive up both home prices and rents? After all, everyone has to live somewhere…
My little company that got by IBM has 2/3rds of our development staff in Austin. We are having a hard time finding computer programmers to replace those that are leaving…. but those leaving are having no problem finding jobs.
Austin has a very hot tech industry right now. I’m not surprised that rents are soaring.
Along those lines, I do not know what’s going on in Austin, TX… RENTS ARE SOARING ”
S. CA was like until recently one had to own or face being priced out at some time in the future.
I have no idea whats going on in Austin? Too much money chasing too few rentals.
Must be due to a prevalence of jobs. I can’t otherwise fathom why anyone would want to pay so much to live in that furnace. When you click on Travis County on this map, it shows massive inbound immigration:
http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html
” I can’t otherwise fathom why anyone would want to pay so much to live in that furnace”
I visited nearby San Antonio (trade show) a few years ago during May. The place was so hot and humid that after a nightime stroll on the Riverwalk I was drenched.
It was almost like a scene from a Sci-Fi movie, where a formerly uninhabitable alien world was partially terraformed and the humans moved in.
I don’t even want to think about how big the cockroaches get.
‘I visited nearby San Antonio a few years ago during May’
You’re talking about America’s Sweatiest City (two years in a row!). And that was May. Try August or September. Austin is nearly as bad for heat. The big roaches are palmetto roaches. The get about 3 inches long and can wiggle under the gap skirting at the foot of a door to get in. To me the fleas and mosquitoes were more bothersome than the roaches. They’ve got these big thirsty tiger mosquitoes that are aggressive, and when there’s one, there are a hundred.
And then there’s the spiders, fire ants…
Florida’s lines are entertaining the say the least. As is Las Vegas. And rural counties in the Midwest and Plain states show just a little movement, often only one or two counties away. Very valuable data.
Move. You are being taken for the mark you are.
“I do not understand where all the money is coming from”
State capital. University of Texas. Tech jobs. California immigrants. Nationwide hipster rep.
At $1500 for a one bedroom apartment is for suckers.
$1500 for a one bedroom is now readily available in Orange County, CA!
wow those are San Diego downtown prices I am paying, sorry but Austin isn’t San Diego. I guess all those “Best Places to Live” lists are finally causing a bubble in Austin.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_greece_financial_crisis
Greek borrowing rates hit new high. These bondholders (bagholders) must be assuming the EU and IMF (which is funded heavily by US taxpayers) will make up their losses when Greece defaults. How many more trillions will Bernanke be printing for the ECB?
Greece is nothing. Things will get interesting once some of the “too big to bail” crowd gets into trouble. Namely Spain and Italy. They either let them fail or we must have a serious money printing event. I would bet on the latter despite all assurances to the contrary.
“I would bet on the latter despite all assurances to the contrary.”
Ditto, with Merkel pretending to kick and scream, even as she makes deals behind the scenes to bail out large German banks with skin in the game…
Question for californians: My stepson and his wife are finally leaving our basement apt and heading for WORK in norcal. He’s driving his grandma’s 1990 beater pickup - How long can he get away with that rig there? I heard they were getting pretty tough on poor folk there.
oh, and she just turned 21 and wants to buy a house, b/c her dad is a realtor. lol..
I believe legally you are required to register a vehicle from another state within 30 days if you plan to live here.I think the rig itself is not the problem really.I see people driving beaters around sacramento all the time. If you keep your nose clean you can probably buy more time than the 30 days.I think your biggest problem would be neighbors calling you in to dmv.Keep the neighbors happy.
Yeah, but a MT truck probably won’t be configured for CA emissions. Apparantly, that means a one-time $300 smog impact fee when you register it.
Hubby is going to go over it. Lots of our vehicles here come from California..will look into it, thanks.
Friend from AZ moved to CA and took his time registering - got hit with a whole load of backdated road taxes - don’t know if he got a penalty too - just remember him complaining about how much he had to pay.
got rid of the x-box?
HAHAhaha..how did you know. He came back from the service with an X Box, WII and big ol’ honking flatscreen. LOL!
What a surprise.
will have to get CA smog certificate. If it doesn’t meet standards he may be better off selling and buying used CA approved car or truck. Don’t park truck on street in area’s around apartments or they may realize you are here as a resident. If military you’d be exempt.
The CA DMV site is helpful. http://dmv.ca.gov/portal/home/dmv.htm
The offices at the DMV however……
Best to use AAA if they are members since you can do any DMV paperwork for registration at AAA offices.
But you will have to go to the DMV for drivers’ licenses.
“Welcome” to California!
A time of Reckoning: It is in the air here in FL, all around I am feeling signs that people are resigning themselves to lifestyle downgrades of all colors. The holidays marked the end of the party I believe. Anybody else feeling something similar?
Yes, I tend to agree… It’s pretty subjective but people have to regroup and figure out new ways to cope.
And not sure how big the holiday party really will turn out have been once the numbers (and profits, if any) are finally figured out.
That being said, some kinds of lifestyle downgrades may not be all bad. Consuming more thoughtfully is probably a good thing in the long run.
does anyone on here know anything about the company Madison Marquette…or its parent private equity fund Capital Guidance?
i have a possible job opportunity with them at their DC headquarters.
Did you google them yet?
yep…pretty good info on madison…not so much on the parent.
i usually read the company 10K cover to cover but since they are private…no dice.
Michael, consider registering for Vault dot com. It’s got an incredible amount of information about consulting and other professional services firms. DON’T BUY ANYTHING - RENT.
Once you are HERE, it’s quite stable professionally. There are so many of us sardines in this can that it’s hard not to build up a network in short order.
In contrast to where I came from, the area has superb vitality. All that rush hour traffic sez people have somewhere to GO.
Given my priorities, I was not gonna start with the moanin’ and groanin’.
If you come down to check it out, let us know. I can’t speak for everybody else who was there at the last HBB meetup in DC, but I’d sure love to meet you and your missus and tell you whatever I know that might prove useful. Maybe Oxide could be coaxed as well. The HBB’ers met in the most central of possible locations - in a bistro right next to Union Station!
Bit by bit I am making my way through Matt Taibbi’s Griftopia. I don’t recommend it to anyone with the slightest tendency towards depression, as it is sure to kick off an episode. I keep hoping to turn to a page which reveals that the whole book is a kind of bad dream fantasy novel about how the U.S. would turn out if it were taken over by a cabal of evil bankers on a mission to destroy it from the very inner circle of its power structure, but I haven’t come to that page yet.
I am looking forward to finishing Griftopia and passing my copy on to the local community library before moving on to the more uplifting “All the Devils are Here” (lol!)…
how the U.S. would turn out if it were taken over by a cabal of evil bankers on a mission to destroy it from the very inner circle of its power structure,
You might feel better if you remember what we’ve been told by an insider. It is not a banker’s job to be moral and it’s definitely not a banker’s job to care about their country or country’s economy.
It is only a banker’s job to make tons of money even if the money made is taxpayer bailout money. (that makes them smart, see?)
Once you understand that, you might still rightfully weep for your country, but at least you won’t be mad at the bankers who ruined your country.
There’s a new article by Matt on the Rolling Stone website.
U.S. Wants Chinese Drywall Manufacturers To Fix Homes
Reuters
BEIJING — The top U.S. product safety official said on Monday the agency has failed to persuade Chinese makers of defective drywall to compensate American homeowners, in a dispute that threatens to mar strained trade ties.
The failure to persuade about 13 makers of contaminated drywall to redress American homeowners has been a major stumbling block for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for protecting Americans from unsafe household products.
Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said she would raise the drywall issue again when she meets her counterparts at China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, later on Monday.
“We have not been able to get any of the Chinese manufacturers to come to the table to discuss our scientific findings and what, if any, they think their responsibility is to the American homeowner,” she told reporters at a media briefing.
“We are still very hopeful that the Chinese companies can come to the table and let us explain what our findings are and see if they can participate in helping us make our homeowners get a remedy in getting the Chinese drywall out.”
Drywall is also know as plasterboard and is used to make walls and ceilings.
Tenenbaum said about 4,000 homeowners had filed complaints about Chinese-made drywall saying the material had made their homes uninhabitable because it emits a foul smell and causes appliances such as air-conditioners to fail.
Tenenbaum said the agency has released guidelines that said certain Chinese drywall samples emitted hydrogen sulfide, at higher levels than U.S. samples.
Tenenbaum was in China to announce the appointment of Jeff Hilsgen as the agency’s representative in Beijing — the only overseas office set up by the agency.
The tainted drywall, which was imported to rebuild houses after Hurricane Katrina hit the southern United States in 2005, has added to increased concern about the quality of goods imported from China.
In recent years, worries about the high levels of toxic substances such as lead or cadmium in toys have led to a series of large recalls, hurting trade relations between the United States and China.
Tenenbaum’s visit to China comes a week ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s trip to the United States, during which rising trade tension stemming from issues such as product safety disputes will likely top the agenda.
Last March, U.S. senators pressed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to demand China pay for damage and health problems caused by contaminated Chinese-made drywall.
IMPROVEMENT IN PRODUCT RECALLS
But Tenenbaum said the number of products recalls from China had improved markedly in 2010, lauding regulatory measures undertaken by China.
“We’re seeing an improvement in terms of the quality of products coming out of China,” she said, noting that the number of product recalls in 2010 dropped to 220, from 346 in 2008.
Despite this, Tenenbaum said enforcement in the provinces was still a challenge for her Chinese counterparts.
Slightly more than half of U.S. product recalls come from China, according to data provided by the agency.
Only one company, Germany’s Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) had agreed to remove the drywall and rewire 300 homes in a pilot program, Tenenbaum said.
The program excludes more than 5,000 homes tainted with drywall from other Chinese manufacturers, which argue they should not be required to face claims in U.S. courts.
Lennar Corp., the third-biggest U.S. homebuilder, had to set aside millions of dollars to cover claims against it for the use of faulty Chinese drywall.
And the Chinese want the US to replace the defective dollars Wal-Mart keeps sending them.
UK house prices could drop 25% this year. That won’t do much for the solvency of their banking system.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/8250303/Typical-house-price-to-lose-a-quarter-of-its-value.html
Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, said average house prices dropped to £162,435 in November, down 1.3 per cent on the previous month and 1.6 per cent on the same period a year ago.
But economists forecast that values will drop even further this year to just £150,000 amid concerns about the economy.
It would mean a total drop of £50,000 in prices from the beginning of the credit crisis in August 2007, when they stood at £199,612.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “Uncertainty about the economy, weak earnings growth and higher taxes could put some downward pressure on demand.”
It comes amid growing speculation that the Bank of England will raise interest rates this year to combat higher inflation.
Here’s a San Diego listing which has been on the market for just over a year now. I’m sure some Wall Street bankster looking for a bonus-funded vacation home will snap it up any day now.
———————————————————————————
8330 Prestwick
La Jolla, CA 92037
Beds: 4 On Redfin: 497 days
Baths: 3 Year Built: 1961
Sq.Ft.: 2,276 Lot Size: 0.58 a
$/Sq.Ft.: $3,625 MLS#: 090049519
Status: Active
Last Sale: -
Listing: Prudential California Realty
Sorry, I accidentally posted the wrong link (here is the right one), and forgot the list price ($8,250,876). Moral of the story: Coffee first, then post.
I’m not sure what kind of extreme makeover results in an increase in value from $256,456 to $8,250,876, but I’m sure any good Used Home Seller could explain it to a buyer with a box of money and a bucket of stupid.
Nice place there, Bear. Wonder what the neighborhood comps look like, mid 80’s and peak bubble?
“I’m not sure what kind of extreme makeover results in an increase in value from $256,456 to $8,250,876,”
One that tears down the existing structure and replaces it with something in the 40-80K sq/ft range would be about the only thing I’d think could add a cool 8M to the value.
What a crazy listing, that’s not even oceanfront, it’s just a 3000 sq/ft house with an ocean view. It’s a nice place; I’d consider 400-500 for it. 8.2M? You’ve got to be a special kind of crazy..
That’s why the listing has a special kind of long time on the MLS.
Property Information for 8330 Prestwick Dr
Property Features Financial History
* Single Family Residence
* Year Built: 1961
* 3 Bedrooms
* 2.50 Bathrooms
* Approximately 2,276 Sq Ft
* Lot size: 25,264.8 Sq Ft
* County: San Diego
* Parking: Garage 2 spaces
Source: Public Records Last sold on 5/17/1985
Last assessed at $256,456 on 2010
Previous assessments
* $256,456 on 2010
* $257,067 on 2009
* $252,027 on 2008
Source: Public Records
California Fire Hero Gets Schooled
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmC26RuO26g
that was great.
Founder of Laughlin buys Arizona land near Colorado River for $15 million
KINGMAN, Ariz. — The man who founded a Southern Nevada community and turned a bait shop into a casino more than 30 years ago spent $15 million Thursday to purchase prime real estate along the Colorado River in Arizona.
Yet Don Laughlin doesn’t know what he’ll do with the near 69-acre parcel in Bullhead City, across the water from the Riverside Resort Hotel Casino he owns and operates in Laughlin.
Laughlin was the only party to bid for the publicly owned property that the Arizona State Land Department sold at auction on the steps of the Mohave County Courthouse. An application submitted by California-based Brentwood Partners, LLC led to the sale but Brentwood didn’t bid come auction time.
http://www.lvrj.com/business/founder-of-laughlin-buys-arizona-land-near-colorado-river-for-15-million-113063879.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tunisia/8250477/At-least-20-killed-in-economic-protests-in-Tunisia-and-Algeria.html
Food price riots spread across North Africa. Riots over soaring food prices also preceeded the 2008 market collapse. This tends to happen when central banks and Federal reserves go crazy with their printing presses.
What? They don’t have food stamps? Savages.
2011 same old same old. Few will buy when they perceive home prices will fall further. Sellers who have large negative equity, and sellers who just want out at losses beyond twenty-five percent of price paid are rather common, and many who dislike where they live but can’t fathom selling at a huge loss - one and all of these are SCREWED. Existing homes for sale is troublesome, but most worrisome is the huge shadow inventory of homes. If shadow inventory is not scrupulously controlled, it could lead to a severe recession, worse than anything we’ve been living through. Housing sales prognosis? Maybe good bottom feeding buys for the wealthy long term investor, but dire outlook for most others.
We still have a long way to go down in nearly ALL markets.
You could argue that MAYBE Florida is near bottom. But is will stay there for a long time.
I’d argue that nobody is near the bottom with interest rates still this low.
+10
Agreed and they are falling further. Even several years into this great normalization, it’s mesmerizing to see firsthand examples of price action in one’s own backyard.
On Friday my building’s super told me that a unit in my tier, the most extensively rennovated unit in our tier, sold short for just over $70k. It’s owner purchased at the height for just under $120k. Surprisingly this info confirms my price extrapolations for my own place almost to the cent! Basicaclly prices are down ~a third from boom and falling at a good clip.
The building super called a bottom with this latest sale. I’m not so sure. $70k is still above 1997-1999 levels. I’ll stick to my forecast for the tier’s bottom to be ~$45-$50k. This unwinding is way more messy and slow than I had ever imagined. Example, the most common response when sharing this story over the weekend is still that: “distressed sales don’t count”.
the most common response …is still that:“distressed sales don’t count”.
I’d calmly explain to them that maybe the only sales that really don’t count are the no-sales because the price is too high.
But then I’d shake my head sympathetically and end it with something like “the whole thing’s crazy”. (so they wouldn’t get too mad at me)
Ha,that’s exactly my response!
Besides, why RE is such an emotional topic still befuddles me. Emotional/heated discussions over food and drink - that’s more my speed.
Hey everything great & booming here in DC’s housing market
We have all the jobs……..
Yes, you have all the jobs, until the Republicans make good on threats of slashing government spending. Then only New York will have jobs.
The GOP won’t slash spending. Mr. Market will be the one to force Uncle Sam’s hand, and when it comes to that, Uncle Sam will print money like there is no tomorrow.
Tiny Calif. ski resort ordered to pay $30 million
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. (AP) — The Sierra Nevada ski resort of Mammoth Lakes is looking at a mammoth bill.The Los Angeles Times says an appeals court last month ruled that it must pay $30 million in a breach-of-contract lawsuit. That’s about twice the size of the town’s annual budget.The Dec. 30 decision said the town of 7,500 tried to back out of a 1997 agreement that gave a developer the right to develop a hotel and buy land in return for improving the local airport.Developer’s spokesman Mark Rosenthal declined to comment to the Times, saying Mammoth Lakes is going to appeal to the California Supreme Court. The town has until Feb. 8 to file the petition.It’s also seeking advice on bankruptcy and studying proposals such as raising taxes and cutting services to pay the judgment.___Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com
Let the hotel be built - then tax it to pay the judgement!
Black swan to be hyperinflated food costs…
US Corn Supply At 15-year Low
Production drop, big demand shrinking corn stocks
* U.S. corn supply seen falling to 15-year low
* Corn use for ethanol nearing 40 percent of production
Sam Nelson
Reuters
U.S. corn stocks are expected to slump to the lowest level in 15 years this year due to strong demand, possibly stoking global food prices which hit a record high last month, a Reuters Poll of analysts showed…
Quick - make more ethanol!
Yes, we need our engines damaged so we’ll buy more stimulus cars.
This is the exact reason for ethanol. Drive up the price of corn. It’s a global tax that benefits the US gov and farm states.
Not that I support it.
Stop producing corn ethanol. Problem solved.
Oh wait, that would make ADM unhappy.
Remove the tax subsidies for ethanol and corn prices would plummet.
Remove the tax subsidies for ethanol and corn prices would plummet.
Aren’t corn prices already unnaturally low due to gov’t subsidies? It used to be the gov’t would buy corn from farmers when there was a surplus (at a guaranteed rate?), and then sell it off when there was a shortage. Nowadays, they simply guarantee a price to the farmers, and make up the difference between the open market price and the guaranteed price.
As such, there’s surplus production, thus driving down the price on the open market. “We the people” are funding that.
Yes, but removing the massive subsidies from alternative energy scams would force them to swim or sink on their own merit! We can’t have that.
removing the massive subsidies from alternative energy scams would force them to swim or sink on their own merit
See above. That still wouldn’t be the case, as the US gov’t still subsidizes farmers for growing corn.
I would agree that ethanol is a scam because EROEI is negative. The others are not a scam. I am not addressing how these technologies are introduced to the marketplace; I’m just saying that they are not all a scam based on EROEI.
Mr. Bubble, EROEI isn’t really the objective. The objective is to consolidate energy into a storable and transportable form. You have to trade some energy for that.
One possible outcome is stagflation — rising prices for traded goods, including such necessities as food and energy, with high unemployment, stagnant wages, rising state and local taxes and cuts in services.
Possible?
You soaking in it!
Exactly what I’ve been thinking, WT.
This was my #1 worry during the bubble years. It’s like whatever is bound to hurt the U.S. middle-class most, while enriching the bankers most, is what we will see going forward.
And the union worker are being flogged by the PTB-controlled MSM to distract the masses from the guilty culprits as they sail away on their yachts.
Greetings from sunny (but chilly) Tucson. This town certainly has been in the news for the past three days.
On Saturday morning, I attended a monthly gathering of people who are interested in improving their photographic skills. One of our group said that he was at the Safeway shopping center when the young gunman opened fire on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others. My fellow group member was not attending the Giffords town hall, and he was a good distance away from the shooting. He and his companion left the center.
Well, he shared the news about Rep. Giffords, whom I’ve met and like. After all, she’s an avid bicyclist like I am. I spent the rest of the meeting alternating between seething in anger to looking around the room at all the good-hearted people who were there to help others improve their photographic skills. We’re that kind of group.
After the photography meetup, I decided to head to the library and stay there for the rest of the afternoon. Rather than retreating to my private home to immerse myself in the news, I wanted to remain in the public space as long as possible. As I rode over to the library, I noticed very little traffic, which is very unusual for Tucson on a Saturday afternoon.
The library was its usual congenial self. Packed to the gills with people from all walks of life. While I was borrowing yet another stack of books, I got to chatting with another bookworm from Minnesota. She said that she thought that Arizona was getting downright scary. I couldn’t help but agree.
However, I can’t help thinking that in the coming weeks and months, you’re going to see a very different place than the one that’s being portrayed in the news. We’re better than that.
And, if any of you HBB-ers care to come to Tucson, you’ll be warmly greeted by Arizona Slim. Doesn’t matter what political persuasion, ethnicity, profession, or anything else that you are. We’re going to raise a glass together.
Good to see you Slim.
“Arizona was getting downright scary.”
Well, this was just one nut. But the idea that a trashing of the American Dream would lead to a less than neighborly reaction is consistent with the predictions by many here years ago.
You wonder what is going to happen in some of these far flung subdivisions as money for public services disappears such as policing disappers. They’ll always be someone to investigate the shooting of a member of Congress, a judge, a CEO. I’m not sure about anyone else.
Exactly, WT.
Glad to see you are doing well, AZ Slim. People were worried that you were possibly attending that gathering.
Glad to see you posting. Given your political involvement, some posters here were fearing the worst for you over the weekend…
Thanks for posting, slim. Glad you weren’t there.
Good to hear from you Slim. Tucson isn’t in my plans, but if it ever is, it will be to meet with you. Best wishes
I think I’ll be in Tucson in July sometime
I like Tucson lots of cactus
Good to hear from you! If I ever get to Tucson, we’ll have to go on a photo outing.
Hmm…a stock market plummets after the country’s central bank keeps interest rates artificially low as inflation, especially food prices, rises sharply. Glad it couldn’t happen here….
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/01/10/stock-index-suffers-steepest-drop-oct-2008.html
The country’s benchmark stock index, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), went into freefall at midday, suffering the steepest drop in more than two years since October 2008.
JCI plummeted 4.19 percent, or 146 points, at the bourse’s noon break, sliding back to the 3,400 level at 3,485 amid widespread inflation worries.
Indonesia’s inflation neared 7 percent in 2010, with food prices increasing by almost 18 percent mainly due to climate anomalies that hampered the harvest season in the country, where domestic consumption accounts for more than 60 percent of the economy.
Despite the high inflation, the central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low 6.5 percent for 18 consecutive months.
Analysts have expressed concern that if the rate is not increased, inflation could hamper economic growth, which the government expects to reach 6.4 percent this year.
Blue-chip stocks suffered the most in Monday’s trading, with Astra Internasional, the biggest firm by market capitalization on the nation’s stock exchange, slipping nearly 6 percent to Rp 46,250 a share. (est)
Did the guy with the fat finger move to Jakarta?
(Bloomberg) India May Pay for Iran Oil With Gold, Economic Times Says
India may use gold to settle payments for crude oil from Iran until the countries agree on a currency and a bank to clear the transactions, the Economic Times newspaper said, citing an Indian government official it didn’t identify. ‘
Gold is money. Gold is preferred over debt paper money. Got gold?
All Americans holding debt money will be holding the bag. Someone has got to be the bagholder and it will not be the Asians.
Smart move by India I would say.
I just saw the list of countries that still gold large amount of US debt. India didn’t even make the list. China leads with $900 billion, far less than 2 trillions, I think from last year.
gold = hold
One more reason to attack Iran. All the neo-cons of the world rejoice…….
It’s not because India doesn’t like USD. India doesn’t have much US debt because India doesn’t have much foreign exchange. As opposed to China with its huge and ballooning trade surplus, India has had a trade deficit even in the best of times.
China treasury holdings in Oct 2010 similar to Oct 2009 around 900 billion according to fed data
In August 2009 they were 800 billion and in Aug 2008 223 billion less so less than 600 billion according to market watch
hmarketwatch.com/story/chinas-us-debt-buys-slip-but-higher-for-year-2009-10-16
No clear sign that China is dumping yet.
Thanks for that.
I swear I saw 2 trillions last year.
I’m with you. I could have sworn I saw at least 1 trillion last year, although 900 billion pretty close.
It turns out the regulations on the sale of pseudoepherinee increased the number of people involved in the meth trade. Another win in the war on drugs and bad sinuses.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_re_us/us_drug_war_tracking_meth
But an Associated Press analysis of federal data reveals that the practice has not only failed to curb the meth trade, which is growing again after a brief decline. It also created a vast and highly lucrative market for profiteers to buy over-the-counter pills and sell them to meth producers at a huge markup.
In just a few years, the lure of such easy money has drawn thousands of new people into the methamphetamine underworld.
I’ll never forgive them for neutering my NyQuil.
I’ve met quite a few “Xers” who only deal drugs because their crappy jobs don’t pay the bills.
If there is one thing I’ve noticed without fail in my life: people with decent paying jobs don’t go breaking laws.
Most, anyway.
Was that a shot at Tom Delay?
It looks like some economists have left the reservation
finance.yahoo.com/news/Economists-foretell-of-US-rb-3281831038.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=7&asset=&ccode=
DENVER (Reuters) - To hear a number of prominent economists tell it, it doesn’t look good for the U.S. economy, not this year, not in 10 years.
On the one hand, Harvard’s Martin Feldstein said he believes the outlook for U.S. economic growth in 2011 is less sanguine than many believe.
First, the boost to growth from government spending will be drying up this year, he said. Renewal of expiring tax cuts is no more than a decision not to raise taxes, and the impact of one-year payroll tax cut is likely modest, he said.
“There’s really not much help coming from fiscal policy in the year ahead,” he said. Woes from the dire situations of state and local governments may actually be a drag on growth, he said.
Growth got a lift from a lower saving rate in 2010, but that probably will not last this year as households worried about an uncertain future return to paring back debt and socking more away, Feldstein added. Discouraging declines in home values mean there is less to save from, he said.
“People are worried, so there’s a strong reason for precautionary saving,” he said.
The United States will need to come to terms with the fact that its prevalence in the world is fated to come to an end, Jorgenson said. This will be difficult for many Americans to swallow and the United States should brace for social unrest amid blame over who was responsible for squandering global primacy, he said.
MIT’s Simon Johnson put it more bluntly, saying the damage from the financial crisis and its aftermath have dealt U.S. prominence a permanent blow.
xxx
I’m concerned about the excessive power of the largest global banks,” he said. “Who are the government-sponsored enterprises now? It’s the six biggest bank holding companies.”
Good news for USA. I don’t think I trust these always wrong “economists”.
Where have they been? It hasn’t been “good” for the last 30 years.
A Real Arizonian and a Real God-fearing, blue eyed American. Any complaints about pandering to NRA for campaign contributions will simply be ignored. Wink, wink.
http://www.youtube.com/v/GqnjzONrPiA?
interesting.
Worse than guns are the Israeli/american lapel pins. Is she running for joint congressional office of Arizona/Tel Aviv?
Mega-idiot.
You jamoakes really make me laugh. You’ve been rejoicing for years now that stupid homebuyers are getting what they deserve b/c they bought a house as opposed to your brilliant ability to see into the future and the carnage that would ensue in the market. Now you are pissing and moaning about rents going up, claiming thats its a rigged market. What do you think you deserve? Free housing? Buy a house at $20/sf or rent at 20 cents/sf a month? I’ve never seen people get so much enjoyment out of seeing other people suffer while being so intolerably smug about their intellectual superiority.
What do you think you deserve? Free housing?
No
Buy a house at $20/sf or rent at 20 cents/sf a month?
Maybe. Around here $100/sf for a nice small suburban-style house would be nice. I think that we be about where we started the bubble at in Boulder.
What do you think you deserve? Free housing? Buy a house at $20/sf or rent at 20 cents/sf a month?
I think we deserve to be able to buy and sell houses in a free market– not one in which millions of units are left vacant indefinitely so the banks can play extend and pretend.
“You’ve been rejoicing for years now that stupid homebuyers are getting what they deserve b/c they bought a house as opposed to your brilliant ability to see into the future and the carnage that would ensue in the market.”
Are you saying it didn’t happen? How many howmowners are underwater these days? Millions!
And as far as rents go, it’s only in select markets (like those heavily laden with gov’t pork) where rents are rising.
The free market says that banks or other property owners can sell whenever they see fit… not when you tell them to. The free market says that property owners are going to maximize profits by renting for as much as they can and selling for as much as they can. The free market will straighten this thing out eventually and its not going to ask for your seal of approval, either.
You want intolerably smug, go talk to Jamie Dimon and Hanky Panky Paulson who are walking off with bonuses. You want smug? Ask the “classy realtor” who wore a Rolex with borrowed money. Ask the strawberry picker who landed a McMansion just by signing his name. Ask the loan originators who collected their fees today and tomorrow could go hang. Ask all the pretty young things who bought condos at the height of the bubble and bragged (to us) just how much money they “earned” when their home appreciated. I think we deserve a little slack.
The “free market” is one where houses are left vacant because the seller is choosing to eat the losses. In this market, MY tax dollars are eating those losses, allowing the sellers to choose to leave the houses vacant at little cost to them. And no, I didn’t grant a seal of approval for it. Not to mention the manipulation of interest rates and collusion among the few monopolistic banks left. This is not a free market.
When a true free market does return, this won’t be sorted out eventually; it will be sorted out FAST.
Our troll seem seems to believe that corporatism == “free markets”
The free market says that banks that engage in reckless lending and speculation can go broke, but that’s not what we have in America, where we privatize profits and socialize risks.
The free market says ” most of the big Banks should be out of Business”
They would be, if they didn’t own Capital Hill and just about everybody on it.
And one in which borrowing for housing is set by some vague semblance of a market which has to take into account the risk inherent in those loans.
Troll alert
Sour grapes FB, for sure.
‘your brilliant ability to see into the future’
That’s kinda funny. I for one never claimed any ability to see into the future. I could only see what was going on at the time. It wasn’t that hard to know that trees can’t grow to the sky, that tiny, bone dry bits of land in the west weren’t worth a life’s savings, that camping out for condos that hadn’t even been built was silly. The thing is, anybody could have seen this if they cared to question the mania that was going on.
If you think people that post here enjoy true suffering, you haven’t been reading very long. That said, IMO when the movies are made about the foolishness of the housing bubble, they will most likely be comedies. This is because it’s intrinsically humorous that buyers would write flattering letters to greedy house sellers, promise to feed their squirrels, to see experts have eat their hats, etc.
Watching stupid, greedy FBs get their comeuppance doesn’t strike me as “true suffering.”
The first movie about the housing bubble was made years ago, and it was a comedy. They just didn’t realize it was about the bubble at the time.
50 years from now when people want to understand the mania, all they have to do is watch “Over the Hedge”.
Animals go to sleep for the winter, and when they wake up, their wilderness has been transformed into a gated community. 3000 sqft mcmansions occupied by a single busy body that spends her evenings calling her neighbors to complain that thier grass is 1/4 inch longer than HOA rules allow. Ginormous SUVs…. “Wow, how many people does that hold?” “Usually one”. The people worship the giant flat panel TV with surround sound. They order take out food between meals of prepackeaged junk food, before and after their snacks, and then run on treadmills to burn off weight so they can eat more food….. And it all ends up here, in the trash.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1704919321/
Also, “The Money Pit.”
Dunno if I’m smug. I am very content.
My 3/2 apt rental held rent stable at $895 this year, including all utilities (air con, heat, water). Fairly spacious place 1400 sq ft. Nice suburban location just couple miles from my hospital in downtown Syracuse. About the cost of taxes on most houses here in upstate NY.
Saving oodles. Enjoy nice vacations. Cannot complain, really.
Honestly, you got a good deal there, doc.
Good for you.
Rejoicing???
Despite being right about this I will likely be supporting my mother who was knee deep in real estate prior to the crash. I have friends who are unemployed and in financial trouble. My quality of life is about to take a deep hit as my community becomes progressively poorer. I find that corporate control of Washington is much stronger than it was 20 years ago to the point that the peoples wishes mean nothing. They will tax me and destroy the value of any conservative investment. This was not the case in the past.
Ditto. I can count the number of folks who listened to my warnings on the finger of one hand, while I have more than ten friends and relatives who are suffering the lasting major financial damage from foolish real estate decisions based on “real estate always goes up” type thinking. If watching your friends and relatives deal with major financial devastation is what jamoakes Jimmy O classifies as “fun,” then he is one sick puppy.
Speaking of clumsy losers, how about someone who can’t even figure out how to spell jamoke properly? Google is your friend.
——————————————————————————–
Jamoke
A clumsy loser who is incapable of doing normal human tasks.
There is no such thing as a free market.
Never was and never will be.
You haven’t been to a mid-sized Vietnamese city, have you?
Don’t forget about the drug trade. Not exactly the best example to model an economy on…
I often think that no one hates the American people more than the American people. Watch these videos put on by Jessie Ventura that the mainstream refused to play. Get the idea that Americans have true contempt for the ideals expressed in the constitution and profound contempt for each other. Actually the contempt from the government toward the people is near an all time high while the people scratch their heads wondering why their servants are so brutal.
http://tinyurl.com/23r2p9r
Thank god Rush Limbuagh, Beck, Savage, et all are paragons of patriotism or all would lost!
http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2011/01/lets-get-this-straight.html
Free market. Freer for some than most. For many investors who once held Wall Street in high esteem the bubble has burst. Most everyone is suspicious now. GM. Nicely engineered bankruptcy tossing off obligations, common shareholders, bond holders, suppliers..only to open as NEW GM. Hello Saudi Arabia? Not to worry. We are engineering a restructure so sit tight and your big investments is safe. The small investors, gee whiz, oops. Hello Goldman? A little bad PR for a short spell and it’s back to betting against America if it grows green.
All I’m asking people to do is deal with reality rather than espousing incessantly on how ‘it should be’. Since the beginning of time, there has been preferred classes of citizens. This is based on ‘the golden rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules.’ The banks have all the gold, hence they make the rules. The markets will be as free as they see fit. You, and the 99.9% of the population are rule takers, not rule makers. Everyone (homebuyers, realtors, pension funds, mortgage brokers, etc.) should simply be expected to maximize their own situation based on the rules of the game that given day. Is their inherent greed going to cause them to make some imprudent judgments? Yup. Are more prudent people going to pay the bill for the irresponsible? Yup. Why? Because you don’t make the rules. You can hate the game but that’s not going to be enough to get rid of it. And until you can buy an island and only invite rational game players to your perfect market game, you are going to have to live with making the best of the game that’s given to you by your overlords.
You should read a few history books.
No kidding. Either the guy is not an American, or else he musta flunked grade school history class. He seems to have no idea why America was founded, or on what principles Thomas Jefferson or Andrew Jackson staked their lives and political careers.
There have always been rapists in the world, so supposedly we are to sit by quitely while getting raped, because that’s just the way the world works??
“Since the beginning of time, there has been preferred classes of citizens.”
Said like a true maroon and trust fund baby…
Justice = Joy
There has been very little joy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70664T20110107
America’s G20 allies starting to complain to Obama about how Zimbabwe Ben’s runaway printing press is contributing to soaring food costs, which in turn is contributing to regional instability. But as long as the bankers get their bonuses and bailouts, it’s all good.
Soaring food prices and riots in places like Algeria offer Sarkozy ammunition to press for more coordination between G20 governments to combat wild swings in vital commodity prices as well as exchange rates versus the long-dominant U.S. dollar.
How many ipods / TV’s and cars are they buying in Algeria these days? My guess is a lot fewer than they were a year ago. How about the other places with food riots. Could China be in for a surprise when the worlds population is forced to spend most of it’s money on food and fuel and less and less on manufactured goods.
I don’t think that too many 3 worlders were buying bigg azz flat panels or cars to begin with.
OK substitute radio boom boxes, flash lights, new clothes, the bottom line is fewer manufactured goods will be purchased.
They are buying lots of cell phones. People in small villages in Africa are purchasing solar panels to recharge their phones and run a few LEDs.
Free Market………yeah, right.
Nothing is a free market, when government policy is wrapped up in like residential real estate.
-Tax policy has promoted overbuilding, and artificially inflated prices.
-The bank Bail out policy has prevented their inventory from being liquidated.
-Allowing “Mark to Fantasy” accounting is letting the banks hold these properties cheaply and indefinitely, while degrading neighborhoods with thousands of soon to be party/crack houses.
The PTB decided two years ago that they were going to try to bale out the banksters (mainly), local governments (by propping up real estate, they also prop up property tax receipts), and homeowners (by accidental coincidence). Kicking the can is the order of the day. As long as the government can/is allowed to print money.
The only “free market” believers in this whole mess are those who opted out of the frenzy, and who believe that prices should rise or fall with demand. Pardon us for being pi$$ed that the whole Bankster/Real Estate Complex is being baled out, at our expense (in taxes, in inflation, and artificially high prices and rents).
Silly us. We just don’t get the big picture.
A free market is just code for “free to eff you up the bum” market.
The market is, was and always will be, gamed by big money.
Often they get the government to do their dirty work for them and act as the frontman/scapegoat for the naive to blame.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011000557.html?hpid=topnews
A rare honest judge sentences former House Majority Speaker Tom DeLay (R) to prison for three years for funneling corporate money to GOP candidates. A life sentence would’ve sent a firmer message, but given the impunity with which most Republicrat wheeler-dealers operate, I’m happy to see this former top Republican rubbing elbows and possibly other body parts with his fellow felons.
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched
DeLay was immediately taken into custody, but Priest granted a request from his attorneys that he be released on a $10,000 bond pending appeal once he is processed at the county jail. Prosecutors said it could mean DeLay will be free for months or even years as his appeal makes it through the Texas court system.
My guess is the presiding judge will face retaliation and the conviction will be overturned years from now.
My guess is the presiding judge will face retaliation and the conviction will be overturned years from now.
Around here, retaliation against judges is no longer a joke. A federal judge, John Roll, was killed at Rep. Giffords’ Congress on the Corner event.
Measton, he tried this twice since last April and failed.
Google News “Tom DeLay Appeal” and then click on 2010 and 2009.
This is good news.
‘Tis a shame that we can’t toss the other 10,000 government-level felons in the pen.
If there was a chance of that, I’d be more than willing to see my tax money pay for their incarceration. Bread and water style accommodations.
How creepy is this? Pasadena law enforcement issues Orwellian warning that buying gold is against the law unless you are licensed by the California Dept of Justice. Details of gold transactions are then reported to the police. Given the frequency with with CA police are fired or indicted for criminal offenses, and their hiring of sketchy recruits to meet affirmative action quotas, the police are the LAST people I’d want to report any gold buys to.
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_16988452
Police issue warning about buying and selling gold
Posted: 01/02/2011 04:46:53 PM PST
PASADENA - As soaring gold prices tempt many to sell off jewelry and other gold items, police are working to keep thieves from taking advantage of the trend by making it difficult to sell stolen gold.
With gold selling for more than $1,400 per ounce, officials remind the public that there are laws governing the buying and selling of gold, Pasadena police said in a written statement.
“The Pasadena Police Department would like to inform the public that buying gold is against the law unless you are licensed by the California Department of Justice,” the statement said.
In addition, police added, “Gold buyers are required by law to ask for identification from whoever they buy from and maintain a description of the items they are buying. This information is then reported to law enforcement.”
“We want to caution people that care should be taken to buy from and sell to only licensed second-hand dealer,” Police Chief Phillip Sanchez said. “This helps to prevent crime and will prevent people from buying stolen property unknowingly.”
When not complying with the law, according to the police statement, “Some businesses may knowingly or unknowingly take in stolen property that belongs to the victim of a crime.”
Business operators that buy or sell gold without a license are subject to arrest, a $1,500 fines and accusations of dealing in stolen property, police added.
The license required to sell gold is the same as that of other “second-hand dealers” who deal in items with serial numbers such as computers, cell phones, iPods and video game systems.
“By using reputable, licensed businesses, the average citizen can curb the buying and selling of stolen goods,” Sanchez said. “When we make it harder for thieves to sell their ill-gotten gains, there is more of a chance to stem property crimes related to burglary.”
Lt. Chris Russ said his department hopes to make strides this year against theft, as well as all other types of crime, by encouraging residents to make neighborhood security a New Year’s resolution.
“In the new year, everyone should be committed to fight crime in their own neighborhoods through prevention,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to this year being a tougher year for criminals,” the lieutenant said.
“…..department hopes to make strides this year against theft…..”
By actually arresting criminals? Nope. By “prevention lectures”; IOW, we can’t be bothered with property crimes, we’ve got a lot more tickets to write.
This is what happens when you operate a police department “like a private business”. Traffic tickets are a profit center. Arresting people for property crimes costs the department money, unless you can prove a property crime in the course of another investigation.
Time to buy a new radar/laser detector…….
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8251389/EMU-debt-crisis-edges-ever-closer-to-the-core.html
EMU debt crisis edges closer to EU Core. But if this was something to be concerned about, Jim Cramer would’ve told us so.
Republican John Boehner is one sly dog, but will those puppy eyes and dark tan get him to the throne on PA Avenue? Stay tuned. Dude sure is tight with Coors/R.J.Reynolds/Goldman Sachs - he has the money pipeline thing down solid. Good to hear he’ll stop passing out tobacco payoff checks on the floor of Congress. I’d say he was a hypocrite there, but he does smoke, just like Barrack. Or did Obama give up the pleasures of nicotine on doctors advice? Hitting the Hawaiian links sans cowboy killers sounds like a good retirement plan.
Dreams for sale: Lehigh Acres and the Florida foreclosure crisis (video)
http://www.dreamsforsalemovie.com/full-version.html
Iranians are consuming 20 percent less fuel since the government began slashing energy and food subsidies earlier this month, a senior government official said Wednesday, claiming an early sign of success in the controversial program.
Gasoline prices quadrupled and bread prices tripled after the cuts came into effect Dec. 19
Again my guess is they are buying 20% less of a lot of things at this point. So long ipod hardly knew ya, time to return to two tin cans and some string. This is going on globally due to inflation.
Were iPods ever allowed in Iran? Aren’t they a source a decadent western music?
Little known fact: The Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Shah was fueled by the exiled Ayatollah making cassette tapes and sending them back to Iran.
I guess states are getting desperate for money
School police officers in Texas are doling out more tickets to children as young as 6, who under past disciplinary practices would have been sent to the principal’s office instead, according to a report by a Texas nonprofit
School police officers?
So Texas K-12 schools now have their own police force?
“So Texas K-12 schools now have their own police force?”
Most Florida schools do.
Uh … why? Is it needed? If it is … holy cr@p!
Yes. And each school district has its own force. In the larger cities, there can be as many a dozen districts. School districts are independent and so are their police.
Public transportation also has its own police.
Within some cities, there are independent townships INSIDE the city limits that have THEIR own police force.
And over all of that is the sheriff’s department, supplemented by constables.
Statewide it’s troopers and the Rangers.
“Don’t Mess With Texas” indeed.
“And each school district has its own force.”
The job descriptions and such seem more like prison guards than peace officers.
You guys get your jollies figuring stuff out. Sickos.
Downright unAmurucan, ain’t it?
Real Americans like jamocha Jimmy are stoopid, rich and proud of it.
This place has been such a fantastic source of information over the past decade. It has accurately described the mortgage market and the housing market. The stock information I get here has been excellent. There are some very wrong predictions too, but they tend to be outliers.
I think people saying that we take pleasure in the suffering of others is just not true. We are gratified, as a group, to see that our predictions - well, the predictions of some of the more astute posters that many of us agree with - usually come true.
The rental market has been a topic of some discussion. Rents are unexpectedly going up. I wonder how much of a manipulated squeeze that is. I see some of the contrarians here provide some good counterpoints. But then I see angry cheerleaders (like I perceive Jimmy to be), who seem to be saying, just accept the manipulations of the banksters and be happy with your crumbs.
That kind of sentiment is very “Animal Farm”-esque. Everyone should just be Boxer. I’d rather not see the fruits of my labor stolen by the Fed and the banksters, thank you very much. And if they are being stolen, I’m going to examine the system that the politicians and banksters have created, and try to point out the injustices.
Economic justice doesn’t mean allowing my net worth to be inflated away in the face of zero interest rates and accepting massive flows of capital to the entities - both political ane economic - that have extracted so much wealth from the society.
I really have been surprised at the utter inability of these high profile gun crimes to cause any limitations of gun sales. Thank the gun lobby and the massively increased willingness of Congress to be influenced by moneyed interests. The Virginia Tech massacre caused nary a peep. You can’t even question nutballs about buying guns? Then we see the financial crisis. No perp walks, which is utterly incredible. Again, I’m seeing the influence of a Congress which has made itself even more beholden to moneyed interests.
I heard an interview with a classmate of the Arizona shooter today. He said he tried to befriend the shooter because he felt that the shooter was going to come to class one day with an AK and that if he had befriended him, maybe he would be spared. Unbelievable that this clown, that everyone knew was a risk, could get quality weaponry. Blame Congress and their willingness to prostitute themselves for money.
The politicians today represent the highest bidder, not the people. And they don’t really even pretend much to the contrary.
What I find more disturbing is a society that has degenerated to the point where you make friends so that people don’t shoot you.
You can’t even question nutballs about buying guns?
Nutballs do get questioned. Have you ever bought a gun? Have you filled out the form where it asks whether you have ever been deemed ‘mentally unfit’?
There are many questions one must answer when purchasing a firearm..whether you’ve been convicted of a felony, dishonorably discharged, etc etc. I’m too lazy to google at this late hour, but I’m sure you can find the form online. A background check is performed as well.
This is also along the same lines as the debate about regulations being needed to cure the problems in housing and the economy or regulations being the cause of the problems:
“one of the prime errors in social theory is to treat “society” as if it were an actually existing entity.”
“…Consider the typical view that not the individual criminal, but “society,” is responsible for his crime. Take, for example, the case where Smith robs or murders Jones. The “old-fashioned” view is that Smith is responsible for his act. The modern liberal counters that “society” is responsible. This sounds both sophisticated and humanitarian, until we apply the individualist perspective. Then we see that what liberals are really saying is that everyone but Smith, including of course the victim Jones, is responsible for the crime. Put this baldly, almost everyone would recognize the absurdity of this position. But conjuring up the fictive entity “society” obfuscates this process.”
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/75041.html#more-75041
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia/2011/01/2011110214019555446.html
Footage of the Bangledesh riots that erupted as the overheated market lost 9.5% in a single session before trading was halted. Investment banks were recently told by the central bank, which seems more responsible than our own Fed, that they could invest no more than 10% of depositor’s money in stocks - some had invested as much as 75% in a bubble market, so now we get a preview of why reckless speculation is a bad thing. The MSM is all but ignoring this story, despite it being a cautionary tale.