Bits Bucket for February 23, 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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Welcome to the New America:
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-arvada-police-arrest-11yearold-over-inappropriate-stick-figure-drawing-20110221,0,7099823.story
Riddle:
If Goldman is above God and they are busy doing God’s work, then who does Goldman’s work?
dems and repubs.
Congress.
Sounds like an overreaction by overreaching authorities…
There should be recourse for something as stupid as this.
There is and it would require mass sterilization of of our un-naturally-selected society.
But who contacted the police about this?
I can understand a nervousness on the part of school administrators… if at some point in the future this child did something more they would be blamed for not seeing the signs…
BUT this seems quite excessive and probably more harmful in the long run.
And it seems to me that therapeutic coaching for child to draw about their emotions should include guidance on how to constructively vent their frustrations (and discouraging violent imagery).
The kid did draw himself holding a gun on his teachers and wrote something like “teachers must die”. Schools have protocols now that they must follow.
Deviation from the procedures are not to be tolerated.
Luckily in this case, no real crimes were being committed or needed investigating while law enforcement dealt with this serious issue.
Yes, and it helped stuff the National News with trivia.
Carlin called it. He said that public schools are all about producing “obedient workers”. Nothing more, often less.
Yep - welcome to the era of “zero tolerance”, where nobody is allowed to use their judgement in any specific situation because there are “protocols to be followed”.
By arresting and harassing this kid they’ve just dramatically increased the chances of him becoming a real problem in the future, IMHO.
An article that made an impression on me a while back w.r.t. education:
Link
Interesting article - thanks for the link
Mr. Bubble,
That was an excellent article. Thank you.
As a former public schoolteacher, and current homeschooling parent, I couldn’t agree more with it.
Now, to go against the common opinion here…
As a teacher, I had the opportunity to teach a couple of kids who had severe mental/emotional issues. One, in particular, had been kicked out of four kindergarten classes, and one school in kindergarten, for assault against teachers, students, and the principal, among other things…and then he became my student in first grade.
It is not hyperbole to say that some students like this can be truly frighteing. It’s not a simple case of a “misbehaving child.” This student would try to poke other students’ eyes out with his pencils, and would sit in the back of the class (in time-out) and take on strange voices, yelling out how he was going to “kill me” (with facial gestures that resembled those of Charles Manson — not an exaggeration).
I never called the cops, but he was eventually kicked out of my class (I had him longer than any of the “mainstream” teachers), then kicked out of two more first-grade classes, before he was finally sent to a school designed especially for “severely emotionally disturbed” kids, where there was a 1:1 or 3:1 student-to-teacher/aide ratio, and the goal of the school was basically to keep everyone safe. Education was a second priority.
This was a 5/6 year old boy. I don’t think people can really appreciate what it’s like to get a death threat from someone like that until they’ve experienced it themselves. Again, we are not talking about “normal” kids just misbehaving.
I don’t know if that was the case with the boy in this article, but we honestly don’t have enough information to determine if the teacher/police over-reacted or not.
gee I could draw actual people by that age, not too good at faces though.
the stick figures are metaphorical perhaps?
If they find his Pink Floyd album as evidence, any Prosecutor worth their salt should be able to notch yet another legal resume victory.
“Teacher,… leave them kids alone!”
I need new glasses. I first read it as ONE yo arrested. Ack!
“Last October, he drew stick figures of himself with a gun, pointed at four other stick figures with the words “teachers must die.”
That’s beyond “inappropriate.” That’s a death threat. And while I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t mean it, it’s not a game at that point.
The cause of the “pension crisis” is the boom/bust cycles that the Fed creates, and the “guaranteed” inflation, as the Fed tries to maintain a ~2% inflation rate, which they call “price stability.” The Fed’s tendency to bail speculators out of their foolish mistakes (the Greenspan/Bernanke put) made investors think that “they” would never let deflation happen, so the investors had no choice but to go all in.
If not for the bubbles, our commitments would be significantly lower. During the bubbles, city and state managers/legislators offered up compensation packages that cannot be sustained in a “normal” economy.
The problem is that our bubble economy has been going on for so long (since the early 80s), that everyone (govt management AND pension fund managers and actuaries) thinks the bubble economy is “normal,” and they plan accordingly. Those who thought it was unsustainable were forced out, as the returns they made were consistently lower than those who chased the bubbles and got the bubble returns. Also, as asset prices rose, unions would (logically) demand compensation increases to keep up.
BTW, in the situations I’m aware of, it’s not the reduced TAX revenue that is causing a problem with the pension plans. It’s the losses they saw during the “financial crisis,” and the lower returns on investments. The large pension funds in California do not rely on taxpayer funding, and taxpayers have not spent a single cent on the “pension crisis” experienced by these large funds (CalPERS and CalSTRS*). The pension funds, at lest the large ones I’m most familiar with (I’m not as familiar with independent municipal pension funds) get their revenue from the pension contributions that are paid by the employees and their employers, as part of their compensation packages. Approximately 70% of the revenue is supposed to come from investments (the link below is from 2005, and it shows investment returns are 75% of projected revenue), and THAT is where the problem lies. It’s not about tax revenue, it’s about investment returns/losses.
The funds were super-funded (over-funded) in the late 90s (a bubble!), which is why they passed the pension boost for public safety personnel. The bubbles that resulted from the actions taken by the Federal Reserve and Wall Street are what have caused them to make such foolish mistakes, and this, along with the eventual bursting of said bubbles, is why there is a “pension crisis.”
From the CalPERS link, who pays into the fund:
Member - $16.8
Employer - $17.0
Investments - $116.1
http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/Buenrostro%20(FINAL%20POWER%20POINT).pdf
——————
*The state pays ~2-3% of the employees’ (teachers’) wages to CalSTRS, from what I can tell. The rest comes from employees, the employers (as part of the compensation package), and investment returns.
http://calstrs.com/About%20CalSTRS/fastf...
————–
I think this is why I get so frustrated with the anti-union rhetoric. It’s just that so few people actually understand how the system works, and why it’s in trouble right now, yet they are ranting and raving about public sector workers who had nothing to do with the financial crisis.
Again, it is NOT the unions who caused the problems, but the financial industry and the Federal Reserve — by creating bubbles which made fund managers and actuaries think that 7-9% returns were “normal” and sustainable, and then forcing negative rates on us when the funds need ~7-9% in order for the numbers to work out…which force the managers to move further out on the risk curve when rates are held so low for such an extended period of time, and then those risks blow up in their faces when the bubbles burst.
This is why some of us are so infuriated. This is being labeled as “taxpayers vs. unions,” when that’s not the issue here. Why has Wall Street — the ones who caused the crisis — been getting bailouts, record bonuses and tax breaks, which cost taxpayers trillions of dollars…while public sector workers are being blamed in the media for causing the “pension crisis” and told they have to give up everything **they’ve worked for over the years** and were promised in good faith? IMHO, it’s an intentional diversion, and public workers are being made the scapegoats for the financial industry.
Sorry, but it’s B.S.
And just 12 years ago all the best financial minds were worried we would pay off the national debt too soon , down to zero ?
And then we passed “tax breaks for the rich” and began a couple of wars…
Politicians are smart!
“…boom/bust cycles that the Fed creates…”
It’s a stretch to blame the existence of the trade cycle on the Fed, given that it has evidently existed since biblical times (remember how Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, the one with “seven good years” followed by “seven bad years”?)…
It may be a stretch to blame all cycles on the Fed, but it might not be such a stretch to blame it on bankers in general. I still think it is the credit cycle, not the trade cycle.
Plus I always thought the “seven bad years” was supposed to be about weather back in Joseph’s time. Did they have enough credit to cause a bust back then?
Doesn’t really matter, in the end “money failed”. From my reading it appears Egypt was a decent place to live with private property and all that prior to the famine. During the famine “money failed” and all private property ended up being traded to Pharaoh for the stored food.
My understanding was part of the problem was a lack of savings: Living it up during the boom years, without setting aside enough provisions (aka saving) for the bust years. It was the same in the Roaring 1990s as it was in biblical times.
Definitely weather related in Joseph’s story. Maybe the lesson we need to learn is at all times and at all levels of organization to be prepared for 7 bad years.
One of the problems with this is storage. You need to protect stored food/wealth from rot and theft.
Companies were especially hard hit by the takeover mania of the “Greed is good” era in the late 80s. Reserves sufficient to weather 7 bad years made the company a takeover target by opportunists who stripped the reserves and sold the pieces.
Governments that save enough to weather 7 bad years will be trashed for over-taxing. And legislators will be tempted to tap funds for new or expanded programs so they can justify their re-election.
Family units have been the target of wealth stripping as well either from inflation or from market manipulations or from underfunded pension plans or scams.
I don’t understand how anyone can reasonably plan for a 20 or 30 year retirement. Especially in times of rapid change. From the personal to the global, there are too many black swan events - medical, accidents, acts of nature, wars, runaway inflation.
Governments that save enough to weather 7 bad years will be trashed for over-taxing. And legislators will be tempted to tap funds for new or expanded programs so they can justify their re-election.
—————–
This is very true, Happy.
I try to point this out to people who think that they are “taxed too much” when there are reserves. Everybody has their hand out when there is “extra” money, and that is problem #1, IMHO.
Agree with you, PIC.
The cycles we’ve been experience this past century (at least) are largely due to the credit cycle, and we euphemistically call it a “business cycle.”
IMHO, money shifts from the lower half to the upper half, aided by the extension of credit/debt — and everybody is a “capitalist.” Once the lower half is tapped out, things start to get wobbly, until the lower half wakes up and begins to revolt against the “capitalists” who own all the debt and assets.
It’s at that point that things swing in the other direction, as the working stiffs seek to shrink the wealth gap, and socialism becomes popular again. Taxes go up, the economy begins to equalize, and after awhile, the cycle can start anew.
How long does one have to work in the CalSTRS system before they can get a pension for the rest of their life?
5 years ( they may have changed this recently).
Each year of service translates to roughly $100 a month. You have to be at least 57 with 30 years plus of service to draw about 4000 a month. And this is what’s breaking the finances of our nation? What about Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Bernanke, The Maestro, Bush, Cheney, Clinton, Obama, and Saint Reagan. Mix in Nancy Pelosi and Palin as the spice girls. Look at international CEO’s outsourcing to prison China and Vietnam with no moral qualms of human rights violations. Look at the moral quagmire and apathy of the average American. Why are the pigmen panicking over Libya’s fall. As Christ said, “do you have ears to hear and eyes to see?”
And this is what’s breaking the finances of our nation?
No. This conversation is within the context of CalSTRS. Why does everyone keep redirecting the conversation in here?!
There are certainly issues our country is facing as a whole, but is it not possible to keep conversation focused on a specific state/municipality and evaluate where their individual problems come from, rather than making some comment or argument about problems at a different scope without stating some kind of causal relationship?
There are certainly issues our country is facing as a whole, but is it not possible to keep conversation focused on a specific state/municipality and evaluate where their individual problems come from,
But what if that specific state/municipality’s individual problems partially stem from those “issues our country is facing as a whole”?
Can we mention that kind of stuff even if it can get confusing?
“without stating some kind of causal relationship?”
The causal relationship is that we’re supposed to believe there’s no money, but there’s plenty of money. The rich have it all. It’s true nationally, and it’s true in California.
It isn’t called “The UNITED States” for nothing.
“Compartmentalizing” is debate tactic 101. The problem is, nothing exists in a vacuum. Especially social structures.
Wall Street is guilty, but so are the public employee unions.
You are saying the unions did nothing wrong because if inflated stock and housing prices continued indefinately, everything would be fine. Despite retroactive pension enhancement deals that would lead to devastation otherwise.
“Public sector workers are being blamed in the media for causing the “pension crisis” and told they have to give up everything **they’ve worked for over the years** and were promised in good faith?”
Promised by whom? Most members of the public were never told about the retroactive pension deals, let alone what the consequences would be for them. Public employees didn’t “work” for the people to get those deals — they only work in proportion to their CASH PAY. They worked the politicians, against everyone else.
How would you feel about a constitutional amendment to that would wipe out all the retroactive pension enhancements passed since 1995? Going back to what was actually promised when today’s near retirees were hired would go a long way toward solving our pension problems in New York City.
The promises were made by politicians that were put into office through campaign contributions (bribes) made by public unions. The conflict of interest is a mile wide, just like that of Wall Street, but don’t tell that to union supporters. They hate when facts get in the way, much the way the boys on Broad Street hate when facts get in the way.
Welcome to the “k” Street of Madison, Wi.
Koch brothers quietly open lobbying office in downtown Madison
JUDITH DAVIDOFF | jdavidoff@madison.com | The Capital Times | Posted: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 3:00 am
The billionaire brothers whose political action committee gave Gov. Scott Walker $43,000 and helped fund a multi-million dollar attack ad campaign against his opponent during the 2010 gubernatorial election have quietly opened a lobbying office in Madison just off the Capitol Square.
Charles and David Koch, who co-own Koch Industries Inc. and whose combined worth is estimated at $43 billion, have been recently tied with Walker’s push to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public workers. The two have long backed conservative causes and groups including Americans for Prosperity, which organized the Tea Party rally Saturday in support of Walker’s plan to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights and recently launched the Stand with Scott Walker website.
Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, acknowledged in a New York Times story Tuesday that he had encouraged Walker even before the election to mount a showdown with labor groups.
Koch Industries, which owns the Georgia-Pacific Corporation and the Koch Pipeline Company, operates gasoline supply terminals and a toilet paper factory in Wisconsin.
Koch Companies Public Sector LLC occupies a seventh-floor suite at 10 E. Doty St. According to an unidentified tenant there, the lobbying group moved in two weeks before Walker was elected governor on November 2. Jeffrey Schoepke, the company’s regional manager, did not return a phone call seeking more information on the firm.
According to the Government Accountability Board’s website, the firm has seven lobbyists who “represent various Koch Industries Inc. companies on public affairs matters, including Flint Hills Resources, LP, an energy purchaser and refiner & transporter of petroleum and Georgia-Pacific, LLC a manufacturer of paper, wood products and building materials.” The group’s lobbying interests are listed as “the environment, energy, taxation, business, policy and other areas affecting Koch Industries, Inc. companies.”
The group has had a lobbying presence in the state before, with four contracted lobbyists from Hamilton Consulting billing just over $97,000 for services during the 2009-11 legislative session, according to the GAB. Three of those lobbyists — Amy Boyer, Andrew Engel and Robert Fassbender — are now joined also by Ray Carey, Jason Childress, Kathleen Walby and Jeffrey Schoepke.
The lobbyists for Koch Companies Public Sector registered with the state on January 5, two days after Walker’s inauguration.
The expanded lobbying effort by the Koch brothers in Wisconsin raises red flags in particular because of a little discussed provision in Walker’s repair bill that would allow Koch Industries and other private companies to purchase state-owned power plants in no-bid contracts.
“It’s curious that the Kochs have apparently expanded their lobbying presence just as Walker was sworn into office and immediately before a budget was unveiled that would allow the executive branch unilateral power to sell off public utilities in this state in no-bid contracts,” says Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy.
Oh, in case you didn’t know, Tim Phillips, was a former lobbying partner to Jack Abramoff and Jeff Schoepke was Wisconsin’s top anti-tax lobbyist had been the tax lobbyist for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), where he carried the message for the state’s most strident anti-tax, anti-government organization.
Koch Companies Public Sector LLC occupies a seventh-floor suite at 10 E. Doty St. According to an unidentified tenant there, the lobbying group moved in two weeks before Walker was elected governor on November 2. Jeffrey Schoepke, the company’s regional manager, did not return a phone call seeking more information on the firm.
Attention, protesters, let’s meet up at 10 E. Doty!
The Kochtopus is being dragged out of the depths, up into the sunlight. Now some will find out who hosted their tea party, and directed the conversation.
“Attention, protesters, let’s meet up at 10 E. Doty!”
Yeah, these are really nice warm fuzzy caring people and somebody should order 300-400 house special pizza’s from Ian’s on State Street for the protesters and bill it to this address.
Scott Walker is absolutely duped by FAKE David Kock on the 45 min telphone conversation.
These telephone tapes are truly amazing to hear as this fake Koch talk to Walker as he briefs ‘Koch” on his plans, thoughs of planting ‘troublemakers”, crushing the union and tricking the runawy dems into session. The govenor is planning to to fly out to visit his buddy, the fake David Kock at the end of tape 2.
At the middle of tape 2, Scott Walker mentions a veteran flipping him off !
http://tinyurl.com/5v4862c
Wow…did ’somebody” scrub it already?
It was on the BuffaloBeast moments ago
http://www.buffalobeast.com/?p=5045#more-5045
By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press – 1 hr 20 mins ago
MADISON, Wis. – A prank caller pretending to be billionaire conservative businessman David Koch was able to have a lengthy conversation with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker about his strategy to cripple public employee unions, the governor’s office confirmed Wednesday.
On the call, Walker joked about bringing a baseball bat to a meeting with Democratic leaders, said it would “be outstanding” to be flown out to California by Koch for a good time after the battle is over, and said he expected the anti-union movement to spread across the country…
The man pretending to be Koch said, “You’re the first domino.”
“Yep, this is our moment,” Walker said.
The brothers own Koch Industries, Inc., which is the largest privately-owned company in America and has significant operations in Wisconsin. Its political action committee gave $43,000 to Walker’s campaign, and donated heavily to the Republican Governors’ Association, which funded ads attacking Walker’s opponent in last year’s election…
On the call, Walker talks about speaking with Democratic Sen. Tim Cullen, one of the Democrats hiding in Illinois to stop the bill, and telling Cullen he would not budge. After Walker said he would be willing to meet with Democratic leaders, the caller said he would bring “a baseball bat.” Walker laughed and responded that he had “a slugger with my name on it.”
The caller suggested he was thinking about “planting some troublemakers” among the protesters, and Walker said he had thought about doing that but declined. Walker said the protests eventually would die because the media would stop covering them.
At the end of the call, the prankster says: “I’ll tell you what Scott, once you crush these bastards, I’ll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time.”
http://tinyurl.com/47e98ec
That is an ACORN moment if I ever I read one.
I listened to the tapes and I have spoken to this a$$clown Scott Walker personaly . If the tapes are phony, they certainly fooled me.
“provision in Walker’s repair bill that would allow Koch Industries and other private companies to purchase state-owned power plants in no-bid contracts”
Does anyone have a link to the text of the bill? I haven’t been able to find one.
This should be front page headlines. ISTM that the union issue is political theater designed to hide the true purpose of this bill, at least from the Koch brothers perspective.
Transcript of (Ian Murphy impersonating ) David Koch and Wisconsin Govenor Scott Walker
http://tinyurl.com/4v8a2hs
See you guys ,never do something quickly just because someone is screaming ‘FIRE “.
Mikey
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for keeping us informed about this stuff.
If we ever have an HBB get-together where you can attend, your drinks and food are on me!
Okay CA Renter , but I have to get all of these renagade Wisconsin senators, socialist teachers, commie protestors and Minnesota Steelworkers Local 1938 out of my refrigerator before the Manchurian Canadate govenor finds them.
“knock knock — Here comes Koch!!
Executive pay set by cronies on corporate boards.
Public employee pensions set by cronies in state legislatures.
It’s the same deal.
Can there be a statute of limitations on how long certain people get to keep their idea of what they entitled based on conditions in the year 2000, while the rest of us are forced to live in the sold out future?
+2011
Thanks for the common sense WT. It went go over well.
WT Economist …your right . All prices that were set based on any form of corruption should be corrected .But what about the high price of health care that makes these pensions unsustainable also .
and a toilet paper factory in Wisconsin.
BWAHAHAHicHAHAHicHAHAHAHAHicHAHAHic* (DennisN™)
No Shasta! Those brothers Koch are gonna need quite a few 2-ply sheets to wipe clean the debris left on both their assets!
The “TrueAnger™” PeeParty tea toadlers better have the cupboards full!
Executive pay set by cronies on corporate boards.
Public employee pensions set by cronies in state legislatures.
It’s the same deal.
It is not the same deal at all in their consequences because:
“Executive pay set by cronies on corporate boards” is raised by outsourcing, union busting, disregard for the environment and worker safety, layoffs, hiring of illegals, overworking of remaining employees, cutting benefits, cutting time off, cutting pensions, cutting jobs, scared workers, the hollowing out of the American economy, and short term thinking to boost stock prices.
We see the results to the American economy and they were not caused by “Public employee pensions set by cronies in state legislatures”
Although in need of reform, public employee pensions do not even come close to causing as much damage to the American economy structure as the damage list listed above caused by “executive pay set by cronies on corporate boards.”
In addition, “public employee pensions set by cronies in state legislatures” has nothing to do with the the gaping wealth gap in America while the “Executive pay set by cronies on corporate boards” has most to do with it.
They are far from being the same deal.
+ a trillion, NYCityBoy
Once again too many commenters on the board are stuck in an either/or mentality. To concede any responsibility on the part of the unions is to absolve Wall Street from any responsibility whatsoever. Most of the posters on this forum are too smart for this sort of reasoning, but intelligence does not necessarily keep one’s perspective from being clouded over by narrow minded ideology.
It is a fact that both corporate and government pensions were DELIBERATELY underfunded against federal and state regulations and were consequently heavily invested in the financial markets to make up this shortfall.
NYCB …I have always been in favor of correction of all the corruption across the board rather then this piecemeal thing ,while
the Power Brokers pick and choose who the winners and losers will be .
I think you failed to account for the double dipping practices of public sector workers in failed pension systems. Someone puts in their 25 years, gets pension, goes back to work in the public sector.
bang bang bang goes my little drum
There is a fair amout of Triple Dipping as well. My BIL (decent guy) has military retirement, civil service retirement and Social Security. My sis, his wife, also gets a pension from the DOD. Is that triple or quadruple?, not sure.
Bad Andy,
Does that end up costing the state/municipality more if they “double-dip,” or does it end up costing them LESS.
I know the answer. Do you?
If the funds were requiring 7-9% to ‘work out’, and the fund managers were the same brilliant guys as run hedge funds then they must have been aware that 7-9% a year was not realistic. So they should have made the call to put more cash into the fund or lessen the expected returns. Instead they took the easy way out and put it in more risky investments and got burned.
Well, they failed, and now changes have to be made. Simple as that.
Believe it or not, 7-9% was conservative, based on their historic return rates. That’s the problem with bubbles. Everybody begins to think that’s a “normal” economy.
Yes, I agree that changes need to be made. Where we disagree is when peole claim that “unions caused the pension crisis,” because that is absolutely not true.
Here in San Diego 70% of every tax dollar has to go to pension payments. Our roads cannot be fixed etc.
The simple fact is that most government pension funds were sound as long as the real estate bubble percolated away churning 10+ percent annual gains. Pension fund managers “ASSUMED” they could count on these returns forever. The problem we face now is that many have LOST money on bad bets in a manner reminiscent to the Orange County bankruptcy in the 90’s after their fund manager lost huge amounts on derivatives. Sound familiar?
The unions and government workers are demanding WE the tax payer pick up the tab and assume the losses (or unrealized gains) at a time when we have ALSO suffered massive losses.
Regardless, fair or not, there is not enough money in the universe to keep these public unions fed, and either they need to capitulate and assume their fair share of the losses (post bubble) or they need to be broken.
OK if your going to take funds from pensions by the same token you need to let prices fall naturally on all prices ,rather than create inflation that will even make the cuts to Pensions more extreme .
In other words ,the monopolies want to keep prices high and profit margins high ,keep real estate high ,keep health insurance prices insanely high ,raise the price of food ,you name it ,penalize savors ,yet reduce all increases
to Pension plans ,while at the same time Corporate America and Wall Street wants tax breaks which is a form of hand out , In other words the whole game is to keep Corporation profits high while at the same time reducing all workers wages and benefits . What kind of balance is in that deal .
Phase out pensions with new hires and implement self directed 403B’s with employer contributions. It makes sense to everyone except those who feel entitled.
One kid and spouse are public school teachers. They started around 12 years ago. No pension, just a 403b with an employer match. Apparently that arrangement started only a year or two before they started teaching.
As you might imagine, we have some interesting, but civil, conversations.
It puts responsibility on the individual. Keep the investments safe and properly contribute and you should have a reasonable retirement.
One kid and spouse are public school teachers….As you might imagine, we have some interesting, but civil, conversations. Bill in Carolina
Are they union? If so, did you ever call them union thugs? (civilly of course)
My wife is a teacher and she’s not a union thug, but I think it’s a fair characterization of the union bosses.
It puts responsibility on the individual. Keep the investments safe and properly contribute and you should have a reasonable retirement.
wait, are you saying people should be responsible for their own decisions and well-being?
That’s just crazy talk.
Unfortunately, as most of us private sector types are finding out, there is no really safe place to put 401-K (403-B) etc type money that earns a return sufficient to grow to a nest egg sufficient to retire well on. Plus, unsophisticated investors throwing money at equity mutual funds just says “rob me” to the wall street crowd.
I have a theory that had I put every dollar I put in equtiy mutual funds over the years into the highest earning FDIC Bank CD’s I could have found, my nest egg would be substantially larger than it is today. Of course most 401-K’s do not have CD options until you hit 55 and can utilize the diversification rules. But, live and learn.
It puts responsibility on the individual.
No, it put the ONUS on the individual because they have no control over their job. Government employees get laid off too.
Once again, this privatizes the profit and socializes the risk/loses.
“Of course most 401-K’s do not have CD options until you hit 55 and can utilize the diversification rules.”
Would you explain that please? I thought that just had to do with not getting stuck with company stock.
…and no control over the markets as well.
Every 401K program and 403B program I’ve looked at have some extremely conservative options…and the money you put away is yours. With a pension if you get axed before you’re vested you lose everything.
If an employee leaves CalPERS state service before vesting , they may receive all their contributions or leave the money on deposit where it continues to earn interest.
Yes, m2p has it right.
Sale expected to boost troubled institution, but Milwaukee could lose jobs
Dec. 17, 2010 |(289) Comments
M&I salel
BMO Financial Group, the parent company of Harris Bank, said Friday it has agreed to buy Marshall & Ilsley Corp. - Wisconsin’s largest bank - for $4.1 billion.
Some of the biggest names in Milwaukee business have been sold or merged in recent years. Which hurt the most?
Harris buying M&I: 23% Bucyrus bought by Caterpillar: 6% Midwest becoming Frontier: 31% Miller merging with Coors:
Harris buying M&I
Bucyrus bought by Caterpillar
Midwest becoming Frontier
Miller merging with Coors
M&I sold to Canadian bank for $4.1 billion
Change in lending style seen as demise of M&I
Editorial: Why we don’t cheer
After two years in the red and facing a still-bumpy road back to profitability, Marshall & Ilsley Corp. said Friday it would be acquired by the Canadian parent company of Harris Bank, a move that should invigorate the wounded M&I franchise but will cost Milwaukee a corporate headquarters.
M&I, which is the largest bank based in Wisconsin, agreed to be acquired by Toronto-based BMO Financial Group - known in Canada as the Bank of Montreal - in an all-stock deal valued by the companies at $4.1 billi
“Midwest becoming Frontier”
Actually it was the other way around, they just kept the Frontier name. There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth in Denver when Frontier was bought out and a lot of the jobs where moved out of state (Maintenance, reservations, etc.)
“M&I, which is the largest bank based in Wisconsin, agreed to be acquired by Toronto-based BMO Financial Group - known in Canada as the Bank of Montreal - in an all-stock deal valued by the companies at $4.1 billion”
Well, that is probably 1.7 billion dollars in TARP capitol it received from the U.S. Treasury that neither the Treasury or the US taxpayer will ever see again.
Comment by Housing Wizard
2011-02-23 10:46:28
OK if your going to take funds from pensions by the same token you need to let prices fall naturally on all prices ,rather than create inflation that will even make the cuts to Pensions more extreme .
Exactly the issue, Wiz.
The wealthy want the wealth divide to increase, as they want the workers to take the hit from the losses that the wealthy (financial elite) caused.
I think most public workers would be glad to roll back compensation levels to 1995 levels, IF they were able to maintain the purchasing power they had in 1995. The rich don’t want that, because they think they’re entitled to the bubble wealth, while the workers should give back what they got as a result of the bubbles.
That’s exactly the problem.
That’s why I don’t like any of these out of context attacks . Also why aren’t they talking about how the health care prices are one of the big factors making these Pensions unsustainable .
The unspoken rule these days is Corporations /Monopolies /Banks /Wall Street ,Investment class ,get to keep their profits ,get to raise their prices ,in part by bogus price fixing and bubble creation , inflation comes by which they are protected ,but
the working class gets to take all deductions ,and taxpayers have to pay for all bail outs and tax breaks go to the same
group that gets to maintain their profit margins .
When the bail outs started I knew they would be picking off one group after another . It’s just unacceptable . Those crazy mad hatter won’t stop here ,they will continue to take take take . It started with the moral hazard of the original bailouts and the obstruction of Justice that took place right from the start with the RE housing Ponzi-scheme crashing .
Agree 100%. They will not stop with the public unions. They are dismantling this country, one group at a time.
‘Pension fund managers “ASSUMED” they could count on these returns forever.’
Likewise, I am wiling to guess the Pharaoh assumed the Nile delta fields would continue producing bumper crops every year without ever experiencing a famine…
Likewise, I am wiling to guess the
PharaohEmperor assumed theNile delta fieldsChinese Material’s Acquisition Team would continueproducingimporting bumper crops every year without ever experiencing a famine…“TrueBambooLie™”
“Here in San Diego 70% of every tax dollar has to go to pension payments.”
Do you have a link for that?
I’m sure there’s no link for that, because he’s pulling the numbers out of a dark, smelly place.
“The unions and government workers are demanding WE the tax payer pick up the tab and assume the losses (or unrealized gains) at a time when we have ALSO suffered massive losses.”
This is the crux of the argument, and it’s IMHO the point that everyone on all sides is doing their best to avoid talking about.
The unions would love to have you believe that they represent J6P and the rest of the middle class. They don’t. J6P is the poor sap in the middle who gets stuck funding both union largesse and Wall Street excess. He’s not going to have any sort of pension or .gov health benefits in the future, and the unions couldn’t care less if he does or doesn’t. Don’t believe the propaganda both sides have been disseminating.
You are wrong, Julius.
Exactly how do you think private sector employees are going to benefit when public sector unions are broken?
Exactly how do you think private sector employees are going to benefit when public sector unions are broken?
lower taxes. better/more services.
lower taxes. better/more services.
Man…..you’ve been played. Bad.
Good luck with that fairytale, drumminj. Seriously, if you think you’re going to be the beneficiary of any tax savings (and I sincerely doubt there will be any savings, when all is said and done), you aren’t paying attention to what’s happening.
the banksters got theirs now the public unions want theirs and they will get theirs.
i love the movie jacob’s ladder. god and the devil battling for one man’s soul.
that’s how i feel with the banskters and public unions…cept for it’s two devils. God apparently is AWOL. i probably would be too if i were him…or he’s got a great big bag of popcorn amused at how well we can eff up free will.
i love the movie jacob’s ladder. god and the devil battling for one man’s soul.
is that what it was? I never could figure out wtf that movie was about. I should try watching it again…
I am with you on that. I watched it twice, 20 years ago, and had no idea what that movie was about. It was like watching 2001 A Space Odyssey on heavier acid.
“the banksters got theirs now the public unions want theirs and they will get theirs.”
Exactly. Good for the gander. Good for the gander.
The banks that depend on their mother, the private federal reserve to feed them are differant. Their goals, profit motives are not the same as Joe six pack. Wall St., Banks are really differant. Can’t you understand this!
BTW, please check out the link to the Harvard presentation for CalPERS.
On page 22, you’ll see how the employer contribution dropped off. This was due to the internet bubble, and they (CalPERS) reduced employer contribution requirements at the same time they (public employers/legislators) increased benefits. The public workers BEGGED them to save this money for future contributions/a rainy day, but their employers — almost all of them — refused, and spent it instead.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/Buenrostro%20(FINAL%20POWER%20POINT).pdf
More on CalSTRS:
Investment returns and contributions comprise the income to the CalSTRS system. [NOT "taxpayer dollars" -CA renter] CalSTRS cannot set its own contribution rates and requires action by the Legislature and Governor to change them.
The latest CalSTRS valuation, a snapshot of the fund’s health, showed the system’s funding level dipping from 87 percent as of June 30, 2008 to 78 percent as of June 30, 2009. However, investment returns still accounted for the majority of the $8.6 billion of benefits paid out in 2008-09. Solid investment returns, such as those seen at year’s end, are therefore a key component of the CalSTRS funding picture.
http://www.calstrs.com/Newsroom/2011/new...
———————
Lest anyone misunderstand what I’m about…
I think it’s ridiculous that investment returns are expected to fund such a large portion of these benefits. IMHO, contribution rates have to increase, and the employees should have to pay for the majority of these increases. Also, pension benefits need to be reduced from the current 3% rate for public safety personnel to 2% (teachers are already lower).
IOW, public employees will probably see a drop in total compensation ranging from 15-35% in the coming years. I don’t like it; not because I think they should be paid a lot, but because they **have been promised** this compensation, and many of them have planned their finances based on these promises.
A lot of public employees left higher-paying private sector jobs for the stability and benefits of the public sector. It just seems wrong that when their actions are about to be rewarded (sometimes, after many years of sacrificing higher pay), it’s pulled out from under them.
“It just seems wrong that when their actions are about to be rewarded (sometimes, after many years of sacrificing higher pay), it’s pulled out from under them.”
This issue isn’t about what is right or what is wrong, this issue is about money.
There is no money. Maybe there is supposed to be money, but there isn’t.
It is what is it is. Welcome to some Interesting Times.
Promises regarding Social Security and Medicare offer to the curious some interesting numbers for those who care enough to take a look.
“There is no money. ”
Oh, there’s plenty of money. It’s just that it’s all been redistributed to the wealthy, and they want to keep it all. Note that all the demands for budget tightening come after the wealthy get their tax breaks.
Note that all the demands for budget tightening come after the wealthy get their tax breaks.
please show where the wealthy in California (the subject of this thread) got tax breaks recently?
Or do you mean the tax breaks given to those who walked away from their homes and didn’t get 1099′ed on the forgiven debt? Because if you’re talking about that, then we’re in total agreement. But that pool of people certainly aren’t the “wealthy” normally bandied about here.
(I don’t recall seeing anything about California collecting their state income tax on that amount, so I’m assuming they haven’t stepped up to the plate)
“please show where the wealthy in California (the subject of this thread) got tax breaks recently?”
Uh, I was responding to combotechie’s misconception that there is no cash, I was pointing out where all the cash is. It was a thread within a thread, is that allowed? I wasn’t aware our rules were so strict concerning topicality. I think I sense some selective enforcement.
And California is a classic example of poorly thought out tax breaks/giveaways for the wealthy (ever heard of Prop 13?), followed by demands for budget tightening.
It was a thread within a thread, is that allowed? I wasn’t aware our rules were so strict concerning topicality.
sure, if you have no problem having people responding to a string of comments but discussing a separate issue. Personally, I find that confusing and non-productive.
Yes, combo’s comment can be taken in a general sense, but it was in response to CA Renter’s comment regarding CalSTRS. I would imagine most would think that that topic is flowing through the thread -that’s the whole idea behind a threaded structure. Otherwise, let’s just make it flat and throw out random comments without direct connections to what others have said.
I like puppies.
giveaways for the wealthy (ever heard of Prop 13?)
Like my mother who lives on a monthly $1200. social security check ??
I like puppies
That’s funny on a meta meta level!
I like the bathroom tile squeaky clean.
scdave,
I’m an ardent supporter of Prop 13 for a SINGLE, PRIMARY RESIDENCE. However, taxpayers should not be subsidizing the profits of landlords, or do you think they are deserving of these give-aways, but somehow, the rights of the people who risk their lives and/or teach our kids are beneath landlords’ right to make a bigger profit?
Comment by drumminj
2011-02-23 07:48:34
Note that all the demands for budget tightening come after the wealthy get their tax breaks.
please show where the wealthy in California (the subject of this thread) got tax breaks recently?
Or do you mean the tax breaks given to those who walked away from their homes and didn’t get 1099′ed on the forgiven debt? Because if you’re talking about that, then we’re in total agreement. But that pool of people certainly aren’t the “wealthy” normally bandied about here.
(I don’t recall seeing anything about California collecting their state income tax on that amount, so I’m assuming they haven’t stepped up to the plate)
The state of California has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on its own “tax credits” for the housing market. The banks are the recipients of that money, drumminj. They are the wealthy, wouldn’t you agree?
Then we have the employers who hire illegal immigrants who are subsidized by the state’s taxpayers. Their profit margins are higher because the rest of us pay all the costs that result from their “cheap” labor.
Then we have the govt “give-aways” to developers, when the state puts roads/highways through to certain large tracts of land, which increases the value of that land.
Then we have the govt buying up private property from “friends,” and grossly overpaying for it.
Then we have “no-bid contracts” for various services and vendors.
Then we have state grants and other goodies that go to “friends” in the private sector.
The list goes on and on…
“There is no money. Maybe there is supposed to be money, but there isn’t.”
There is plenty of money but your party doesn’t want to tax fat cats that has all Three Branches of Government in their pockets.
Pour Founding fathers did not think that some day few people will amass enough wealth that will be able to do that and American Democracy will be owned only by 1% rich Americans. The rest will have to fight for leftovers of past riches and budget deficit..
” The rest will have to fight for leftovers of past riches and budget deficit..”
Don’t forget gov handouts or as I prefer to call it “Riot Suppressant”.
drumminj! We’ve got another thread violator down here!
I will introduce a new topic by nominating Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and other philanthropists as exempt from our collective hatred of the 1%.
The others deserve it -
Ca renter …This is the point that I have been trying to make all along that Wall Street/Banks got trillions in bail outs but you have these
underfunded pension funds ,or lost funds because of the
bogus bubbles and misrepresentation of risk ,yet they are attacking Unions workers saying they are the culprits .In addition you have the unsustainable costs of the health care that is the result of the health care monopolies .
Are we going to take the heat off Wall Street and the Monopolies for all the different areas that were affected by their casinos and mis-ratings on securities . I believe rather than letting the Wall Street Kingpins off the hook or the price fixing monopolies ,rather than give them profits, they should be paying
restitution for years for those accounts . There is no reason that Wall Street should be having record profit bonus years after they left many financial sectors in ruins . Corporations that underfunded
pension plans should be compelled to pay up also .The money changers are trying to divert the blame to workers . I want all their bail outs back ,jail time for the culprits ,and restitution to the accounts that were affected . Restitution paid to the victims ,not bail outs for the Culprits ,or bail outs for liar loan gambler buyers .
By all rights,if standing law had dictated the meltdown of the
bogus RE housing Boom many of the culprits that were bailed out and went on to make record profits would of been penny-less and begging to not go to jail . We let them keep their ill-gotten gain
and they attempted to obstruct Justice . By all rights Hank Paulson gains of 1/2 billion in 7 years along with Goldmans would of been seen as the byproduct of a Ponzi-scheme with the absurd leverage he help create . The Feds have screwed up our economy with their bogus attempts to re-capitalize the Culprits ,while they didn’t enact true reform on their bogus casinos . Now they want the workers to pay ,just like they wanted the taxpayers to pay for their stupid fraudulent lending bail-outs .
I’m just into Justice and restitution concepts ,not rewarding the Culprits and transferring the blame .
The day that Hank Paulson stepped on the stage screaming “FIRE”
I knew it would all lead to the private and public worker and the taxpayer being screwed ,rather than proper restitution and correction . You brought up a great point about the bubble economy/Wall Street Casinos contorting all financial sectors ,and the Fed Chairman actions have sought to prop up the
corruption at Societies expense .
Like Warren Buffet said ,”Were Winning .” Who are these people who bribe our Government trying to kid . There is no connection between Wall Street ,Corporations ,Monopolies ,and the USA worker anymore . We are just here to be their whipping people so they
don’t have to pay for their own acts .
And for you people who think all the schemes were legal ,put it in a Court of law and see how far you get with that mindset ,rather than the culprits calling the shot with the small fines and
Obstruction of Justice .
Restitution ,not bonuses . Jail time ,not reward . Meaningful reform of financial playing fields ,not more bubbles and free
rein for bogus bubble creators . USA jobs ,not Corporations dumping obligations and the USA workforce that is destroying our tax base and our Country along with funds leaving our Country .
Proper trade balances and tariffs ,not schemes for Corporations to avoid taxes ,and leverage to bring USA workers down to world slave wage monopoly power . Meaningful health reform ,not catering to health care monopolies price fixing and unsustainable costs that will break every sectors back because of the greed .
We have already seen what happens when we let Wall Street and Corporations and the Feds and bribed Politicians define who will win and who will lose .
Restitution ,not bonuses . Jail time ,not reward . Meaningful reform of financial playing fields ,not more bubbles and free
rein for bogus bubble creators . USA jobs ,not Corporations dumping obligations and the USA workforce that is destroying our tax base and our Country along with funds leaving our Country .
Proper trade balances and tariffs ,not schemes for Corporations to avoid taxes ,and leverage to bring USA workers down to world slave wage monopoly power . Meaningful health reform
+1000
You’re making me want to get on a plane and buy a Chinese pitchfork at Home Depot.
(I don’t think USA makes them anymore)
We have already seen what happens when we let Wall Street and Corporations and the Feds and bribed Politicians define who will win and who will lose .
http://www.dailypress.com/media/photo/2009-04/46091950.jpg
“This issue isn’t about what is right or what is wrong, this issue is about money.There is no money.”
There was plenty of money to pay out a billion in bonuses for the bankers, becuase those bunuses were in their “contracts” and they were “promised.” So is a bonus right or wrong, and how is it somehow how more sacred than a pension contract for a teacher?
As for tax breaks for the wealthy and THEN they want austerity, what about Obama’s tax deal with extended tax cuts even for the wealthiest? The breaks were rammed through the Senate, and then suddenly everyone else has to sacrifice. Exhibit A of “f you I just got mine…”
Exactly. Expropriation by those who most fear government expropriation themselves. Nullification of contract law by those who hold contract law most sacred. Demands for economic ‘common sense’ (ie cuts in the little guys’ bennies) after irrational tax cuts for the wealthy, and a massively expensive bailout of those same wealthy.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
‘Where is the Money ” …..The money is in a swiss banking
account waiting to be invested in the next short term bubble .
When promises are broken, it’s ALWAYS about right and wrong.
Wrong, combo. There IS money, but it’s in the hands of the financial class — it’s being used right now to speculate on commodities (among other things), and it’s starving people around the world.
I think that money would do us a lot more good if it were in the hands of working people in the U.S.
A lot of public employees left higher-paying private sector jobs for the stability and benefits of the public sector.
Really? Can you name a few?
“Really? Can you name a few?”
Hank Paulson. Bwahahaha.
Polly
Myself.
Myself (took a 30%+ hit when I went into public service).
My husband.
A number of other people I know.
Inflation will take care of these pension problems in a few years…
Ahhh. So that’s the plan. The Fed’s need to ramp inflation is everywhere you look. Do they realize it won’t work just like everything else they “plan”?
The bottom line is that if the power brokers get what they want ,do you think that there won’t be more rounds of taking from the worker . Two years from now there will be another round of deductions ,than another round of deductions ,than another round of deductions . This is just one of the first rounds of the transfer of loss to the taxpayer ,the worker ,public or private .Than it will be Social Security ,than it will be 401k’s can’t be funded because the to big to fall screwed up another one . Than it will be the doing away of min wage because it hampers business in the Globalism market . Than it will be lets take this group of people and put them in camps .
You’ve just described the last 30 years.
A lot of public employees left higher-paying private sector jobs for the stability and benefits of the public sector.”
Public jobs pay better for the working class. maybe CEO’s get less pay at Government jobs but workers ?
I am currently making less money than I did in 1998 even if you inlcude the value of my very limited pension. It is OK. I value not being asked to undermine the financial system of this country very highly, so I feel like I got the good end of the deal, but the fact remains.
cactus,
I left a position as Director of Operations for a tech/manufacturing company to go into teaching. I not only gave up the money that I was currently making (over 30% cut), but I was also getting a lot of calls from headhunters and other companies, where I would have been able to make a LOT more.
Ok, so it looks like Union workers have to make more of a contribution
to make up for less contribution . Private Corporations also underfunded
Pension plans . In some instances loss occurred because of the bath faith actions and misrepresentation of Wall Street Money Changes and the Ponzi -schemes .
I just don’t like hacking away at people until you determine who should pay what and what kind of restitution is warranted .
They didn’t just underfund, they DELIBERATELY underfunded and play the financial markets to make up for the shortfall.
“I don’t like it; not because I think they should be paid a lot, but because they **have been promised** this compensation, and many of them have planned their finances based on these promises.”
They received higher wages based on cost of living. Cost of living has dropped drastically so why shouldn’t their be a roll back or take a 5 yr average high salary to compute the final retirement package.
“Cost of living has dropped drastically “
Say WHAT?!
The cost of living has NOT gone down.
Stop paying attention to the f’d up CPI, and start looking at your own bills. I save my up for years, so can make comparisons over the years. Everything has gone UP. Even rents in our neighborhood are UP. Housing prices are down by just a small amount (maybe 10-15% at this point), but rents are up.
correction: I save our bills every month, and have records going back for years. Every single thing we spend on has been going UP.
A lot of public employees left higher-paying private sector jobs ??
Bogus…..
See my comment up above………laughing
Laughing because of how quickly it was shown to be wrong? Me too.
I’ll tell that to the ones I know personally.
scdave/Rancher,
A number of our very own HBB posters have done this (noted above), and I know MANY people, personally, who have done so as well.
Mad Money: Residents Protest Excessive Fines from Homeowner Associations.
LAS VEGAS – A Nevada senator received a fine from her homeowners association (HOA) for a hot chocolate stain on her driveway.
Another Nevada homeowner received a fine for patches of dead grass on her front lawn. And then there’s Matt Rudich, who received a warning from his HOA for removing a sharp plant from his front yard for the safety of his children. “It’s way too much oversight by the HOA board,” said Rucich.
“This is America, we have rights.”
While Rudich only received a warning for this incident, his current dispute with his HOA is not as understanding.
Since 2009, Rudich has paid his association $100 a week in fines for not landscaping his backyard. Thousands of dollars later, he’s had enough.
“It’s taking food out of my children’s mouths and the college funds are less $400 a month,” said Rudich.
Like Rudich, a growing group of homeowners around the country are fed up with what they consider an abuse of power by their HOAs. In Texas, homeowners are planning rallies in Houston and Austin to ask lawmakers to stop allowing HOAs to foreclose on homes if homeowners don’t pay maintenance fees.
And in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., an HOA told a woman who tutors children out of her garage that she could no longer do it anymore and that the kids can’t even play outside.
“It makes me extremely upset, it raises my blood pressure, it makes my blood curdle,” said Nevada homeowner Jonathan Friedrich, who organized a rally on Feb 8 of angry homeowners who feel members of HOAs are abusing their power.
Friedrich himself was successful in taking on the HOAs in 2007. He challenged his Nevada HOA’s power to implement special assessments without the input from residents and won, with the arbitrator ruling HOAs need a required vote from homeowners before adding HOA fees.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/22/homeowners-fed-excessive-fines-homeowners-associations/#ixzz1EmU9RyQZ
HOA’s have gotten out of control. Since when does moving a plant for the safety of children have anything to do with keeping houses in uniform appearance to protect property values? I still havent bought a house yet, and I wouldnt even consider one with an HOA.
Stpn2me,
Welcome back. We’ve lived in two HOA’s and you’re making the right decision. We’re avoiding an HOA like a plague this time. You feel like you you have a LL.
The city totalitarian govt. is bad enough.
I’ve been studying up on revised permit items in my area, and boy, they are cash grabbing. They are almost down to the paint.
He never left.
I bought my house in an area where HOAs don’t exist. For better or for worse, we have neighborhood associations.
Mine does little other than having meetings (during the dinner hour and there’s no food, not even potluck). These meetings are poorly attended, and the people who go like to grouse about this. I went to them for a while, but then I got tired of the poor attendance/poor attitudes of those attending.
These days, my neighborhood activism consists of “If you see something, say something!” And say something I do. I’m sending e-mails and making phone calls just about every day. I used to see my parents doing this, and learned from an early age that the squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease.
+1, AZ Slim.
Seems to me that we need to insist that things like the CC&R’s for a HOA to be in plain language, not legalese… If people read and understood what they were signing up or they might think twice before buying.
And yes, HOA’s and Condo/Co-op boards do create opportunities for busybodies to become little dictators.
“If people read and understood what they were signing up or they might think twice before buying.”
They don’t read their mortgage docs, so why would we expect them to read their HOA papers?
We should do a Top 1,000 Reasons Not to Buy. I am guessing property taxes and HOAs would be near the top of the list.
HOA , CO-OP or some sort of organization is pretty much mandatory in NYC isn’t it?
I can’t answer that. I don’t know and I don’t care. I have no intentions of buying.
Co-ops or condos are pretty standard in NYC because of the amount of housing that is apartment buildings.
Condos trade pretty much as other RE. Co-ops require extensive and intrusive disclosures of personal finances. Co-ops also require approval from the board before you can buy or sell and can decline a sale for any reason that is not legal discrimination (i.e. race, gender, etc.).
For example they can refuse let you in because of your profession (i.e. lawyers because they are litigious or celebrities because they might attract the “wrong” element, such as paparazzi.)
I also had a friend who used to rent a co-op from a grandson who had inherited it free and clear but was not allowed to live there by the board because he was underage.
HOAs casts an interesting light on the “all government is bad” people. Following their arguments, HOAs should be a much better, ‘free market’ alternative to government oversight. And yet almost everyone here agrees they’d prefer to live in a non-HOA area.
In other words, most claim to prefer government oversight over that of the ‘free market’ alternative. Because, guess what? Left to themselves, people form petty tyrannies and dictatorships.
What? Anti-government people are the ones who would never live in an HOA because they don’t want a government entity overseeing what they do with their property.
An HOA is a miniature government…and from my experience it’s as bad as any local, state or federal government.
I agree HOAs suck. But they are often found, and are most active, in PUDs (Planned Urban Developments), which were originally sold to us as a ‘free market’ way to escape the local government oversight (and often the taxation) of your streets, sidewalks, common areas, etc. At last, the actual residents themselves would manage such things, not government bureaucrats.
Didn’t work out so well.
HOA’s are proof of governments’ failings. Too few people with too much power. The result is never good.
“Too few people with too much power. The result is never good.”
You’ll find the same situation in any area without a functioning government, too. Usually worse.
I hope you’re not claiming our government to be functioning…or if you are, at least not well.
Just need to correct you on a few things Alpha;
in PUDs (Planned Urban Developments) ??
They are called Planned “Unit” Developments..
originally sold to us as a ‘free market’ way to escape the local government oversight of your streets, sidewalks, common areas,
etc ??
Well, it wasn’t really to escape “oversight” it was a way to get all the cost of maintenance and repairs of all these improvements “off” the back of the municipalities and “onto” the backs of the HOA’s…No current or future cost to the city…
“They are called Planned “Unit” Developments..”
Oh yeah, I forgot. Whoops.
“it was a way to get all the cost of maintenance and repairs of all these improvements “off” the back of the municipalities and “onto” the backs of the HOA’s”
True, but they weren’t sold that way. It would be a pretty stupid sales pitch. People were told pretty much exactly what I said- that they would run things themselves, not some bureaucrat downtown. And there would be tax savings from doing so. And that was true, too.
And as has been well illustrated by the fact that hatred of your HOA has almost become a cliche, it obviously didn’t work out so well.
Good points, alpha.
Let me get this straight. This guy has been paying a $100 a week fine since 2009 in lieu of landscaping his backyard??? If we assume that means since the middle of 2009, that’s 84 weeks and $8400 in fines. Is he an idiot? He couldn’t have landscaped the backyard up to the HOA’s minimum standard for $8400?
Not sure why anyone would willingly live in an HOA, but if you do, you’ve got to at least read what you are signing up for. Can’t complain that you don’t like the rules after you willingly agree to abide by them when you buy the house.
HOAs need a required vote from homeowners before adding HOA fees ??
Absolutely correct, however, what often happens is the members vote in their “self interest” to keep HOA dues low but this ultimately decimates the reserve fund for repairs & replacements…Thats why (In Cali.) there is a HOA “budget reserve study” required every three years…Today, in the lending environment that we are in, if you have a underfunded HOA reserve account you can forget about getting a loan…
I will add one more thing on this HOA subject..My experience is that the smaller the HOA the better they “can” be run…All the HOA’s that I have been involved with are very small (6-14 units)… Although they still have the same type of problems as larger HOA’s they tend to be solved more quickly and with less anger…They generally tend to be more of a community atmospher (neighbors you might say) then the larger complexes…
Sounds a lot like how things work with government.
Perhaps the take-away lesson here is that government doesn’t scale well (whether HOA or municipal), and are better kept small and at the local level.
“better kept small and at the local level.”
That’s precisely what the argument in favor of HOAs was.
Yesterday, housing wizzard asked:
“I was just thinking ,what if automation took over say 80% of the jobs in the world and you only needed 20% of the people to produce the output that 80% of the people needed . How would a system like that work because only 20% of the people would have a paycheck ,so what good would that production be .The 80% would be useless ,but they would need to be taken care of . Maybe the 80% would burn down all the automated plants and
take over and demand de-automation ,or some kind of commie world would evolve in which the 80% were simply taken care of by the 20% . ”
One only needs to replace “automation” with “slave labor”, then look at the last days of the Roman Republic.
Rome had become so successful in conquering its neighbors and taking them as slaves, that almost every job in the Roman empire was being performed by a slave. The result was very few rich that paid high traxes to pay for handouts to the vast majority of unemployed citizens.
In the end, the rich were quite content to have all the wealth and power, even thogh it required they pay high taxes on new income. In fact, these high taxes on new income helped them maintain their standing as it made it hard for anyone to move from poor to rich.
The poor were not so welcoming of living on scraps from the table, and were willing to see the end of their republic, seeing it replaced by a dictator that required rich people to actually hire some citizens to do some of the work.
But the Roman empire did last for 700 years
There was no NAR back then imploring people to buy homes they couldn’t afford.
Until it lost control of its borders. Then actually tried to use the barbarians, who were illegal immigrants, living on the boundaries for protection and then was overthrown by them.
I dunno if illegal immigrants overthrew Rome, exactly. They did help to break it up, however. And that’s sort of what’s happening here.
For the most part, today’s illegals will never assist or defend this country, and they’ll never be anything even remotely approaching what used to be considered “American”, papers or no. The US as we know it is pretty much over. We were broken down from within. People have yet to face this.
People thought the same about the Irish, Italians, Scotch-Irish, Germans, etc.
People thought the same about the Irish, Italians, Scotch-Irish, Germans, etc.
This very sort of prejudice was directed against my grandfather, who has an unusual last name. My grandmother’s family looked down on him because they thought he might be (gasp!) Czeckoslovakian.
The truth was, Grandpa was as much of a Celt as Grandma’s family was. They were Scots. He was Cornish.
This link makes my point: http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=22680
BTW, not all immigrants have been equally successful. German immigrants have been very successful. Immigrants from southern parts of Italy not so much. I think that a good test for immigration is whether the immigrants are raising or lowering the average IQ of a nation. We turned away any person at Ellis Island that we though would be a burden on the nation. A better test than the present family reunification which did not occur to the 1960s.
Not exactly the same. Educational achievement by Mexicans in the US don’t improve much from the first generation through the second, third, and fourth generation. Overall, the results are abysmal. Importing massive levels of low-skilled, low IQ people, especially during a time when low-skilled jobs are disappearing, is a mistake the US will never recover from.
“People thought the same about the Irish, Italians, Scotch-Irish, Germans, etc.”
You can’t compare these ethnic groups to retrograde ethnic groups from south of the border or the Middle East or even Asia. Language and culture makes that impossible.
Differentiation is a high skill. X=Y=Z is a recipe for trouble.
German immigrants have been very successful. Immigrants from southern parts of Italy not so much.
albuquerquedan:
The vast majority of Italians who came to this country came from southern Italy. I assume that when you refer to successful immigrants, you mean achieving a comfortable standard of living. If you could actully look up the average or median incomes of German-Americans and Italian-Americans today, you probably wouldn’t see much difference.
On the other hand, if you’re referring to the success that the first generation had after settling here, it is possible that the Germans assimilated more quickly than the Italians.
Also, from what I’ve read, It appears that the German immigrants faced less discrimination when they first came over than the Irish and Italians. Of course, when WW 1 started, that changed.
“You can’t compare these ethnic groups to retrograde ethnic groups”
Whatever a ‘retrograde ethnic group’ is, I can just about guarantee that the Irish and Italian and, especially, the Scotch-Irish, would have fit the bill when they first arrived. (And the Cornish too.)
It’s generally the scrubs who emigrate. The successful have little reason to leave.
And some of the differences may be in the way they immigrated.
For example, in the 1840’s New Braunfels Texas was settled by Germans who were part of an organized mass emigration encouraged by a German prince. (And there are many other examples of towns settled by ethnic or religious groups.)
That’s a big advantage over being dumped off at Ellis Island and getting absorbed into the tenements.
But after a few generations, I suspect a lot of the advantages/disadvantages disappear along with speaking the language of the old country.
I will concede on the Italian vs. German argument. The difference is probably not note worthy and can be explained by other factors. However, I do not accept that we have always received the scrubs. In fact, from people escaping communist countries like Vietnamese, Russian Jews, and Cubans, we often received the top of society at least until Castro emptied his prison. Also, just to the cost of a trip from Italy or Germany kept many from immigrating as well as the barriers at Ellis.
“I do not accept that we have always received the scrubs.”
Nor do I. That’s why I said ‘generally’.
Most of our large waves of immigration were of scrubs. The elite fleeing Iran, Viet Nam, Cuba, etc were relatively small in comparison.
One set of my relatives were german immigrants, and since i have a crazy last name they are fairly easy to trace back.
It’s interesting following them, as they were able to read, write, and kept meticulous records. They all lived together in a German community not far from New Braunfels, TX.
Mom’s side is more dicey since they were earlier immigrant dirt farmers from Kentucky vis a vis Germany, but in a few generations (1830’s - 1890s) had melted into US society. Being poor, they had regressed and were not able to read or write very well, and thus more of their history is lost.
“You can’t compare these ethnic groups to retrograde ethnic groups”
AKA
This is the White man’s country, and we have got to keep it that way at all costs!!
If you really want to stop illegal immigration, tell the White business owners to stop hiring them.
If you really want to stop illegal immigration, tell the White business owners to stop hiring them.
Yes, it’s all whitey’s fault.
Hire any kind of tradesman in Texas. The “face” of the company is a (presumably) legal worker who reads, writes, and speaks english well. His crew, however, always seems to be of questionable immigration status and speaks no english.
(note, I’m not saying that the only ones hiring illegal labor are legal mexican immigrant tradesman, but pointing out the ridiculousness that it’s only white business owners hiring illegal immigrants)
“Yes, it’s all whitey’s fault.”
Considering that the majority of business owners are White, I would say that is a pretty safe conclusion to draw. But of course, YOU assuming that all illegal immigrants speak Spanish and are Mexicans wouldn’t be stereotyping a a whole group of people now would it? Illegal immigration occurs NOT only from the southern boarders but the northern boarders as well.
“His crew, however, always seems to be of questionable immigration status and speaks no english.”
Where is your evidence for this? Did you ask them for there green cards, check their ids, or just make that assumption….hmmmm based on what?
YOU assuming that all illegal immigrants speak Spanish and are Mexicans
where did I do that? I simply provided an example in one region of the country. I never claimed it applied across the board, as you did.
“Hire any kind of tradesman in Texas.”
“His crew, however, always seems to be of questionable immigration status and speaks no english.”
I will ask my questions again.
Where is your evidence for this? Did you ask them for there green cards, check their ids, or just make that assumption….hmmmm based on what?
Where is your evidence for this? Did you ask them for there green cards, check their ids, or just make that assumption
The answer is obvious in what I said. if I saw their green cards, their status wouldn’t be questionable, would it?
Let’s look at the key words in my comment:
“seems to be” and “questionable”.
Nailing me to a wall, you are…
I am nailing you to a wall, because YOU refuse to provide an answer to WHY you think they are “seems to be” and “questionable” in regards to their immigration status.
Playing the racist card doesn’t work when stats back up the rules of thumb. Are more or less than 50% of the illegal immigrants in the United States from Mexico and Central America. Oh, it’s more? Then it’s not racist to substitute in the Mexican or Central American nationality when speaking of illegal immigrants. It’s a likely assertion.
When drummin says those workers were probably illegals, I’ll guess that they weren’t Irish redheads either. It’s not because I’m a racist, it’s because that’s real life, and if some people have a stick too far up their butt about being politically correct to call a simple statistic racist, then I’d like to start placing some wagers with those people on the likely nationality and immigration status of work crews where I get to look at them, and you don’t.
The funny thing is, I’m kinda proud of being pro immigrant, both legal and illegal. Not pro free benefit giveaway, but pro- make a better life for yourself. I’m just a realist when it comes to acknowledging that there are a BUNCH of illegal immigrants working construction. The problem isn’t that illegal immigrants AREN’T taxed out the wazzoo for all the unneccessary state spending, it’s that we ARE. Effective tax rate for the middle class is 28% Federal + 7.5% SSI + 7.5% employer match + 10% Ca tax + 8.5% sales tax . That’s a 61.5% tax rate right there, or call it 55% if you discount the sales tax only on your partial income.
+ gas tax + registration tax + license tax + unemployment tax + parking fees + park day use and camping fees + fishing permit fees + PUC taxes and fees uhhhhh. we could keep going…
“Until it lost control of its borders.”
Ruh-roh…
My response to his point was that it has already occurred, but your point is still better: The entire history of the human ascent to global domination has been the story of using our brain to devise labor-saving tools, machines, etc. And along the way, demand for the kind of labor saved by the new tools has steadily declined.
And considering there are billions more of us now than back in the caveman days, there should be no jobs at all.
What I would do is lower rates and lending standards and start lending to the 80% to build giant houses which they could then update and sell to each other in perpetuity thus creating realtor, finance, and construction jobs until the bubble popped.
Then ????????????????
But ,wouldn’t you say that the period of a strong middle class with reasonable wages and benefits in the USA with plentiful jobs had to be the balance that produced the best results overall ,in spite of Corporations and Wall Street making a smaller profit margin .
But the other factor that is affecting the financial stability of financial markets World wide is that funds just go to wherever a bubble can be created ,rather than funds going to needed allocation of funds to fund long term needed investments .Wall Street had all this money looking for a place to park so they simply took these excess funds and created the real estate Ponzi-scheme lending bubble and mis-rated the risk along with creating excess cash by leverage . There was never the correct reserves to back the Wall street casino playing world of the shadow banking and
Credit default swaps . These casinos are still alive and kicking and were not properly reformed .
The Investment world is just one big bubble waiting to happen by the fact that the excess funds go to false creations of value or need by the sheer fact that to many people invest in the new hot spot for gains that aren’t stable or based on real value long term .
You don’t see investment in job creations or manufacturing in America right now ,you see investments in any areas that represents short term excess gains .
In other words , money is not being allocated World wide according to real circumstances and long term needs . Wall Street is really creating situations in which you can get more to big to fall situations ,some of which would represent serious losses that could
impoverish many people .
They needed to bust the corrupted financial markets from day one when the housing boom Ponzi-scheme went bust .
Another great post, Wiz.
I’ve worked in and around much of that vaunted “automation” and believe me, it isn’t reliable. It breaks constantly and has to be repaired and maintained on a regular basis.
It also lacks flexibility and requires serious capital investment to install not to mention finding out the hard way that the company that sold it to you lied about it’s abilities.
Things I really don’t see changing for the next hundred years or so.
NAR is Corrupt.
exeter
To reply to your UHS “mirroring” inquiry from yesterday, the UHS tries to mimic your speech pattern (slow or fast), preferences, your world and r e views, while not making it obvious their doing it. They practice on each other until the acting job is perfected.
This is an actual bonafide technique at a workshop that Real-Tards attend?
exeter
I wasn’t there all by myself. LOL The workshop was broken into small groups. I could not bring myself to treat another human with such a lack of morality or decency. But what do I know, I have a conscience. I did commercial but was thinking of a residential sideline.
I loathe any class that breaks you up into small groups.
“I loathe any class that breaks you up into small groups.”
+1
I think “mirroring” is a common sales technique for establishing rapport.
Most of us do it unconsciously. George Carlin had a routine about it.
That’s creepy, Awaiting, but it does explain why my recent interactions with RE agents have found them agreeing with me on everything (even bubbles, economics, politics, etc.).
Thanks for sharing!
My realtor saga (posted last night at end of yesterday’s thread) continues. After telling us the seller has already rejected a higher offer in the last month, now the listing agent is asking us if we are flexible on our closing date. And, as far as our agent and I can tell, she still has not presented the offer to the sellers.
I wonder if the seller might have multiple offers. Three years ago I had 3 offers w/a supposedly 4th one coming in before the end of day. That’s a really tough position to be in believe it or not. Who do you chose to engage in your counter offer? And meanwhile all the others go away? So the realtors go fishing w/o committing.
I don’t like to compete with other offers ,its drives me up higher than I really want to go and the sales people won’t prove that other offers are on the table ,so I don’t believe them .
My motto is always be willing to walk away form a deal ,because the truth is there is always another house , there is always another fish in the sea .
In fact I remember one time the sales people told me there was another offer on a property I was bidding on . I told the Sales people to just give the house to the other buyer . Two weeks later they were chasing me with wanting me to re-submit my offer
because the other offer didn’t work out . I said “Sorry ,I don’t want the place anymore unless they take less now .”
I just have always had a idea of what I wanted to pay for anything and if I don’t get it another buyer isn’t going to make me pay more than I wanted to .
Plus if I know the seller is in a weak position do you think I’m going to give them a top offer as if they are in a strong position. Also, if I think the market is going to go down ,I need compensation for that fact if they want me to take the property off their hands . It’s called a risk premium in a falling market ,of course that needs to be offset by favorable interest rates. Whatever you do ,the sales people BS is simply BS . Also ,you don’t have to give market value for a house , you can try to get a property for under market value . Sales people act like
they can show your some recent sales and that should determine what you offer . You offer what you want to
offer .
Oh ,market price is a joke anyway in a high inventory foreclosure market . Its a dump foreclosures market .
In fact I remember one time the sales people told me there was another offer on a property I was bidding on . I told the Sales people to just give the house to the other buyer . Two weeks later they were chasing me with wanting me to re-submit my offer because the other offer didn’t work out . I said “Sorry ,I don’t want the place anymore unless they take less now .”
An A-plus for your negotiating strategy!
That’s what we do, Wiz.
So far, we’re still renting…but that’s worked out to our benefit, IMHO, as prices are stagnant around here, and renting is still cheaper.
“Who do you chose to engage in your counter offer?”
The one who agrees to feed the squirrels!
Excellent tactic!
I don’t think there are multiple offers on the table or I am sure this LA would have said so. It had occurred to me that she might be trying to reach the folks who put in the (rejected)higher offer (if one really existed) before ours to try to get them back to the table to either start a bidding war (even though our offer is “best and final”) or to freak them into a raised re-bid. If that’s the game she is playing, she appears to be a clumsy player.
Although we have been told that she will present our offer tonight, my real curiosity is why she waited three days to do so. Otherwise I’m pretty apathetic about this, if only because I am cringing at the thought of jumping through some moonbat’s hoops throughout the entire escrow period.
Kim ,do you realize that is one of the biggest lies sales people tell
buyers ,that a higher offer has already been rejected .But ,if you don’t want to pay higher don’t . Who cares what other buyers do and who cares if sellers were stupid enough not to take a offer a month before . The higher offer could of been from some jerk who was asking for 10 % in concessions along with the deal . Do sales people ever show you the entire deal so you could look at it ?
“do you realize that is one of the biggest lies sales people tell
buyers ,that a higher offer has already been rejected”
Well, of course. We’ve run into that practically ever time we’ve made an offer. The timing of it this time makes it extra suspicious, as it wasn’t mentioned up front, but after a whole day of the LA playing email games. Still don’t know why our offer wasn’t presented sooner, though. I will make a point to avoid that LA in our future search, which shouldn’t be too hard to do considering we’ve been following the market for three years and have never run into her at an open house or anything.
Given that real estate prices are steadily dropping, as evidenced by each Case-Shiller/S&P data release, I find it amazing that more real estate investors don’t throw in the towel and sell.
What gives?
Prices always go up…in the long run.
Of course, I think the “long run” is a long, long way off.
Sounds as if some folks still have plenty of money burning a hole in their pocket. As Combo would say, if they want to volunteer it to get a few bankstas/FBs off the hook, so be it. Better them than us.
We looked at a One-West-Indymac REO yesterday. The house had good bones (floorplan), but needed $30K-$40K minimum to bring it up to liveable (excluding water issue), and it backed up to condos at $203/psf. The pool was fiberglass (vs. gunite), the house had water damage in the flooring/or underneath the slap, and was a mess. 80 DOM, and down $50K from original list price. I think it will become a settle house for some schlup. WAFM.
An article in Fortune magizine notes that some parts of Florida real estate won”t regain Bubble prices until 2038 .Wonder what the rest of Florida is predicted for that ? perhaps 2025?
2038 is still optimistic when some foreclosures and distressed properties are going for 1980’s prices.
Kim,
I am following your saga like a cautionary tale (yesterday-caught up), so your dishing is appeciated. We’re cash, so I appreciate all your insights. We’re in So Ca.
PB- Yeah, the market is leaking, and the arrogance of the sellers (private and banks) is just amazing. I’d be getting out, too.
Ya’ll
I heard from A Broker (taken with a grain of truth, not to worry) that the flippers are starting to go beyond breaking even, and losing on carrying and redo costs.
One flip we looked at yesterday, the garage is now the new master and the slant of the slab wasn’t evened out. The wood floor makes noise and slopes. Moroons! (Seems like no permit was pulled.)
This is why we will never buy a flip without discounting it significantly. I’d much rather buy some old granny’s house with the 1950s tile and carpet, and redo everything ourselves.
I had hoped that flippers would go away after the crash, but that hasn’t happened…yet.
Several reasons:
Tax write off. This is even more true for the very wealthy.
Sell to who?
Title transfer problems.
Financing.
There are decades of national experience suggesting that purchasing housing can build wealth. This of course was all before the advent of securitization in the late 70s and the growing debt bubble.
The housing-always-goes-up crowd do have some history on their side. Watching the PBS Nightly Business Report tonight, I realized there is a very strong link between the banks and housing/mortgages. And the government is currently of the mindset that the banks are the very cornerstone upon which the rest of the economy is built. So they suck wealth from the society and firehose it to the financial sector.
I think it is linked to the quasi-Keynesian mentality. Keynes’ big idea was that spending by the government in bad times - even running debts - would prime the pump until the private sector would once again start growing and spending, boosting the economy. And then the government could go back to fiscally sound, balanced-book operations.
However, I have concluded there is one basic, central flaw with Keynesian thought: Politicians will not stop deficit spending in good times. Deficit spending helps keep them in power, as they are able to dispense more and more money. It is irresistible to them. They will continue to deficit spend until the system breaks.
So, what does it mean that the system “breaks”? Loss of faith in the ability of the government to pay off the debts in non-inflated dollars. I recall reading some time ago in The Economist, that inflation was a siren song to central banks trying to pay down massive debts. Inflation would lead to currency debasement and a lower standard of living.
Central banks and politicians will almost always do the short-term politically expedient thing. The way we can see into the future is to see what the series of short-term politically expedient acts will be.
And ultimately - what is “politically expedient” is what voters will continue to vote for. “A society cannot be ignorant and free” - Jefferson. What will society vote for? That is the only unclear issue to me.
So ole’ Palmy woke up this am with one of those gob-smacking Eureka moments:
It’s the drugs.
People wonder WTF is up with the boomers, why the sheeple are sheep, why there weren’t more leapers during the meltdown, why folks seem to placidly accept what’s handed to them and acquiesce to national suicide, why kids have a rough time in school, why so many people seem to do things beyond the pale of civilized behavior, why there’s no outrage, etc., etc.
It’s the drugs. Both legal and illegal. As my sis mentioned to me the other day, just look at the commercials from big pharma. What do they promise? “You’ll never have a bad mood and you’ll always be able to get a woody.” Life’s good.
She mentioned that most of the people around her are medicated one way or another and I got to wondering if that wasn’t true for me, too. Probably, although I don’t go asking to see people’s prescriptions or stashes.
And I remember my dad reading something to me when I was a kid about China’s philosophy that all they had to do to take over the US was somehow get the youth of the country on drugs. Well, I don’t think China had much to do with it, seeing as how school systems seem to be doing a bang-up job at getting kids to mainline ADHD drugs. And of course Mexico takes care of the street stuff.
But I’d be willing to bet that more often than not, 60% or more of the folks I interact with day to day are medicated one way or another.
Where’s the outrage? Take a Soma. Brave New World. It’s the drugs.
…and they could be putting something in our water too.
Don’t forget Obama; he’s like a narcotic for black people; I bet he could bring back formal slavery and most black people would forgive him: “well, ah, you know… Bush messed errything up, and, and, he’s doin the best he can with what he has…”
(((shakin my head)))
Nah its rap and hip hop music that has dumbed down black people…notice how few can speak English anymore?
If I were a member of the KKK i would be laughing my azz off on how easy it was to achieve our goals…
Nah its rap and hip hop music that has dumbed down black people…notice how few can speak English anymore?
Recently read a very interesting book on this topic. It’s called Losing My Cool, and let’s just put it this way: The author feels very grateful for the non-hip hop influences in his life. Like his bibliophile dad and his Georgetown University profs and classmates.
“Nah its rap and hip hop music that has dumbed down black people…notice how few can speak English anymore?
If I were a member of the KKK i would be laughing my azz off on how easy it was to achieve our goals…”
You’re joking right?
Don’t you know that its white children who prop up the rap/hip hop market?
Its not that black people aren’t smart; it has more to do with an emotional “retardation” that leads us to seek acceptance/valadation in a decaying corrupt system maintained by a certain class of white people.
“how can you kill John Wayne when you want to BE John Wayne?”
Look at it this way, we are like your little brother who never gets to do any of the “cool stuff” with you and your friends; so we get so desperate to hang out with you that we will eat a roach or drink some bong water just to get a pat on the head from you.
Black people are getting crushed, but they can’t say nothin because the president is black.
I guess the Nazi’s were not smart enough to see the utility of putting a Jew in charge of the concentration camp?
Pretty slick system ain’t it?
Iffin you is black and take issue literacy andwith tongue in cheek reference to joining KKK; then why choose a disparaging and offensive screen name like spook? We get the reference; turn off the lights and only the grille is visible.
BTW I am white living in whitebread country; but some of my favorite relatives are black.
Last census in Deschutes county (100,000 population) 178 were listed as black.
Mike,
do you have a problem with my screen name?
Why?
A “spook” can also be an employee of the CIA?
Or a ghost?
Even if it refers to black people; I don’t have a problem being a black person?
Should I?
Thanks Spookwaffe for exposing these people for what they are (bigots, xenophobs, and racists).
It is amazing to me that these people, who have probably spent their whole lives AVIODING being around Black people, are suddenly EXPERTS on the problems within the Black community.
Hit them with FACTS like “Don’t you know that its white children who prop up the rap/hip hop market?” and they move to derail your arguement by asking stupid questions about your screen name, LOL.
And THEY think it is everybody’s else fault that this nation is falling apart.
Hit them with FACTS like “Don’t you know that its white children who prop up the rap/hip hop market?” and they move to derail your arguement by asking stupid questions about your screen name, LOL.
That was one of the points that the author of Losing My Cool came up against. He had come out of North Jersey and enrolled at Georgetown University. And found that his white college classmates were into hip hop in a big way.
But, unlike his friends back in North Jersey, his Georgetown classmates didn’t take hip hop seriously. They listened to it with a sense of irony.
As for the author, he started to realize that his hip culture-influenced worldview was so narrow that he had trouble grasping that “sense of irony” concept.
He also had a bit of a “Huh?” moment in the Georgetown Dean and Deluca market. A friend asked him to grab a baguette, and he had no idea what a baguette was.
Ever so slowly, he started to become interested in the wider world around him. To the point of taking a trip to France and acting as sort of an unofficial, French-speaking ambassador for the American students he traveled with.
“But, unlike his friends back in North Jersey, his Georgetown classmates didn’t take hip hop seriously. They listened to it with a sense of irony.”
I see that you are trying to having an honest conversation about this. but: are you serious?!? Of course you wouldn’t take hip hop seriously if YOU come from a middle class background, and are not constantly exposed to crime and poverty. I don’t know the author that you are speaking about (and thus can not comment on his view), but if you are growing up in the “hood”, you are not influenced by the so called “gangsta hip-hop” because all of the crime, poverty, and family disorganization is GOING ON RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. So it is purse bullsh*t to say that hip hop is causing any of the ills in the Black community (or any other community for that matter). Young kids in the hood listen to this music because it speaks to their reality.
HIP-HOP is not responsible for;
-the high unemployment in poor communities
-terrible schools and overall education systems
-one parent households, or family dislocation,
-so called “Black” or “ghetto’ culture (like White people don’t have their own poor or uneducated subcultures)
SO, if hip-hop disappears nothing will change in the “hood”. When America starts to give a damn about these neighborhoods, then things will change. But of course, some people on this website would have a problem with that, because the resources aren’t being used in more deserving people, aka White neighborhoods.
MK …I haven’t studied it but I’m betting that blacks have really taken a hit by this recession . If it continues the poor will just get poorer . I think in many cases its the first time thousands of whites have gotten food stamps and couldn’t get a job ,
something blacks have dealt with for decades and decades .I just think that the sinking of the middle class sinks all ships or potential for deprived people to come up ,white or black . Look ,I could be wrong ,I don’t know ,I haven’t walked in the shoes
of other ethic groups that have been deprived or oppressed and know exactly how it feels or what limitations and opportunities
are not there .
By the way ,I don’t know if you know this ,but during the Egyptian Revolution they were passing out translated speeches
of Martin L. King and it went a long way toward influencing
the Egyptian people on how to conduct their Revolution . I was shocked when I saw that on TV.
“I just think that the sinking of the middle class sinks all ships or potential for deprived people to come up ,white or black.”
Agreed.
But the problem is, and has been highlighted by the ignorant statements posted on this website, that the American people (of all colors, the middle class and the poor) will continue to turn on each on each other, and make up fake boogymen to blame their problems on (i.e. people on welfare, ACORN, illegal immigrants, etc., etc.) instead of waking up, using their critical thinking skills, and realizing that CLASS WARFARE IS BEING WAGED AGAINST THEM.
My closest relatives are black but I don’t call them Spook as a joke pertaining to ghosts or the CIA, it would disparage their race given the history of the word. You are engaging in semantic race baiting. DJ was wise to not reply to someone picking a fight.
Just calling a spade a spade (of course I mean spade in the context of spades, hearts and diamonds; or do I mean shovels, gems and organs; or do I mean race?).
Your screen name Spook identifies you in a racial context when combined with things you’ve posted; sure other possibilities exist but you have said you are black, not CIA or a ghost; I assume therefore your name refers to being black. A racially charged term when calling folks out on prejudice.
Does a person hypothetically referring to the KKK make that person racist?
If you are at all touchy about your racial background, maybe using Spook is perpetuating a term otherwise falling from the lexicon. But I like your screenname if you do. I also hope you are OK with being black. Nose jobs and bleaching did not cover it well in the case of MJ. He may have been better served embracing himself as a black person. I hope your questions to me are now answered.
Yes, I am seeing the class warfare and the turning on each other . What better way to divert from the true issues than to
get people divided and fighting with each other . Just a bunch of tricks ,the Power Brokers seem to always divert from the true issues .
HIP-HOP is not responsible for;
-the high unemployment in poor communities
-terrible schools and overall education systems
-one parent households, or family dislocation,
-so called “Black” or “ghetto’ culture (like White people don’t have their own poor or uneducated subcultures)
——————
Honest question here…
Who IS responsible for these things, then? IMHO, the failure of black men to marry the mother (yes, there should only be ONE mother) of their children and take responsibility for their families is the #1 cause of the problems in the black communities.
There are plenty of examples where black people were able to overcome racism and lead phenomenally successful lives. I’m not buying the “blame the white guy, while I hang with the homies and drink my 40″ argument.
It’s easy to blame the other guy; but sometimes, we need to look in the mirror.
“Who IS responsible for these things, then? IMHO, the failure of black men to marry the mother (yes, there should only be ONE mother) of their children and take responsibility for their families is the #1 cause of the problems in the black communities.”
Try again. These black men you talk about have no jobs, no income = no marriage. That is something you fools fail to realize. The unemployment rate for Black men in inner cities neighborhoods is above 30% (in NYC it is 50%). And if it such a Black problem, then WHY IS THE MARRIAGE RATE AMONG WHITES DROPPING? If dysfunctional one parent households is such a black problem, why is the RATES AMONG WHITE HOUSEHOLDS EXPLODING?? Lets see what type of lame excuse you will use to explain this away.
“HIP-HOP is not responsible for;
-the high unemployment in poor communities
-terrible schools and overall education systems
-one parent households, or family dislocation,
-so called “Black” or “ghetto’ culture (like White people don’t have their own poor or uneducated subcultures)
——————
Honest question here…
Who IS responsible for these things, then? IMHO, the failure of black men to marry the mother (yes, there should only be ONE mother) of their children and take responsibility for their families is the #1 cause of the problems in the black communities.”
Wow, as I reread you comments its is becoming clear to me that you are a very ignorant person. SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT? The lack of marriage in poor Black communities is the reason for high unemployment? Wow, just wow. The facts are that unemployment rates for the poor (of all colors) has always been higher than the middle class, and for poor Blacks 3-4 for times as high as Whites (as long as unemployment stats have been taken).
SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT? The lack of marriage in poor Black communities is the reason for poor educational systems in low-income Black communities? Ok, I will bite. Name a point in this country’s history when the resources devoted to Blacks schools have ever been equal to White schools?!? Ohh, that right, NEVER! And that was done (and continues to be) done intentionally. After all, we don’t want Billy to compete against too many Tyquans for all the good jobs out there.
At this point I pretty much have debunked your argument. My line of reasoning addresses the last two points, but I don’t feel like typing anymore.
Debt is slavery, so there you go. We’re all in the Red now.
Yep.
“bring back formal slavery”
ummm…. it’s already here. It’s called wage slavery. And you’re one of them.
‘It’s called wage slavery. And you’re one of them’
I see you post along these lines, but I don’t understand it. If you have a job, why call yourself a ’slave’? I understand the analogy or whatever, but it seems like a put-down.
IMO working people are more like the ’salt of the earth.’ Not everybody can own their own business.
I should correct it then…. It’s called wage slavery, I’m one of them. Why? Because my livelihood is fully dependent on being a wage earner as opposed to profiting from capital gains. And it will always be that way for me Ben as it is for everyone who earns their living from wages. I do not have the investments that generate enough gain to live off of. No trust funds, no inside gig, nada.
Ben’s right. Go visit any third-world country if you have any doubts about how good you have it. Stop crying into your Starbucks.
Using the term “slavery” does seem to do a great disservice to those that have actually faced slavery. It is like using the Nazi comparison, or comparisons to such devils as Stalin, Pol Pot or Mao. It really lessens the awful cruelty of Hitler, Stalin, Pot, etc.
‘investments that generate enough gain to live off of. No trust funds’
The little oil town I grew up in was for a brief time in the late-70’s the home to one of the highest per-capita of millionaires in the US. (Back when a million was a lot, BTW). There was a truism we shared that the people who originally made the money (grandparents, etc) were solid, ordinary folk. The further the rich got from them in age, kids, grand-kids, the more “worthless” (as we put it) they got.
“Shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in 3 generations.”
Medication Nation.
The little oil town I grew up in was for a brief time in the late-70’s the home to one of the highest per-capita of millionaires in the US
Texasville?
Using the term “slavery” does seem to do a great disservice to those that have actually faced slavery.
————–
indeed. it’s like the parts of slavery that make it horrible are minimized to the point that where ’slave’ is equivalent to ‘dude with a job’.
They forget that slavery often included:
selling your daughter off to somebody else
your boss raping your wife
you are beaten when you are too sick to work
you are chained in a boat for 3 months
you get no educational opportunities
you don’t get to pick your line of work
etc…
How about body parts cut off for transgressions and actually getting murdered for trying to escape your slavery? Those aspects seem fairly negative to me.
Well, we can debate the definition of slavery, but if over an extended time period, one has no practical choice but to work at an unpleasant and/or socially useless job, that would seem to fit the bill…
The conditions may not be as awful as in the plantations or gulags, but if there is no exit, there is no freedom.
Another term might be “malemployment”– one can be making a good income, even an investment-banker level salary, yet be doing totally unproductive work, and have no reasonable alternative, thanks to the economic distortions of government-chartered corporate cartels. This is a severe, and largely ignored economic problem IMO.
And Ben, while not everyone can own his/her own business, many more could than currently do, if we had a free-market economy. This is not a zero-sum game, unlike running for office or becoming a CEO.
“Go visit any third-world country if you have any doubts about how good you have it.”
Considering you have to set the bar so low to make your case, I have to wonder what your next false equivalency will be.
I’m amazed how eloquently you stated the facts of wage slavery, yet you and I are at extreme ideological odds. And to further your point, freedom without opportunity is like no freedom at all.
Very very well stated LehighValleyGuy.
LehighValleyGuy, I don’t often agree with you on many things, but you’ve absolutely nailed this one.
No choices and no exit does indeed mean no freedom.
Been there. Done that. Doing it now.
Another term might be “malemployment”– one can be making a good income, even an investment-banker level salary, yet be doing totally unproductive work, and have no reasonable alternative, thanks to the economic distortions of government-chartered corporate cartels.
—————–
Malemployment I suppose is fine and i’d even consider ‘wage slave’ a legitimate term for the bottom 1% in the US, but seriously, what are you counting as ‘freedom’ if you could have an ‘investment banker’ salary and not have it? Heck, if you could have the median US salary and not have it? The freedom of only history’s wealthiest indivduals? To hunt the deadliest game? Seriously, what?
Unproductive work with no alternatives? The US unemployment rate is only 10%. Let’s not get overly dramatic here.
Wage slavery is confined to the bottom 1%?
Your denial of your own status has deluded you.
No freedom and no exits…ya mean like Tennessee Williams and the company store?
Last year I told a friend that I was living the extreme frugal life. In the fall aboard my motorhome and in the summer aboard my boat. Living expenses real close to zero, relatively speaking. He laughed at me. Only in America would having to choose between living on a yacht or the motorhome be considered “frugality”.
There’s no such thing as owning a yacht and living frugally. When you add up the cost of the yacht, the moorage fees, and maintenance alone, it’s for wealthy people. Let’s be honest here.
Some of us are creators, inventors an explorers.
Some of us are humanitarians.
Some of us are nurturers and teachers,
Plenty of constructive things to do.
10% is “only” 15 MILLION people.
Another 10% are underemployed.
Now we’re up to “only” 30 MILLION people. Many of whom have families.
Oops, we’re going to raise that number again.
Well Blue Sky, that would depend on the size and age/condition of each, wouldn’t it?
Thanks, exeter and ecofeco. We want the same things, we just differ on how to get them. I believe in the wisdom of the many, and not in some force majeure that’s going to come down and smite wrong-doers.
I’m with all of you guys on this, LVG, exeter, and eco.
IMHO, if we were to put aside our “left-right” differences for a moment, I think most of us would agree about a lot of things.
(((shakin my head)))
Are you being amBIGuous on purpose?
Is there something I need to clarify?
Which is bigger…
The black one; at least thats what ya’ll say?
When I talk about wage slaves I’m usually talking about third
World labor making a buck a hour or less with no ability to get out of the poverty they live in no matter what they do . Exploited and suppressed and oppressed people with no opportunity for anything else .
There a few million just like that here.
Quite a few million.
That may be the reason the birth rate is dropping among natives . illegals don”t use that many prescriptions , but wow , look at them re-produce .
For them its a cultural thing. No kids == you’re not a real man.
It’s a cultural thing for them. No kids == you’re not a man. More kids == more macho.
I think too much espresso latte cappucino fueled the sales fever, and flippers used meth to do their quick renos…
It’s the drugs. Both legal and illegal.
When I was a young pup, I was living with the fam outside of Media, PA. In that town, there was a clinic that housed the prescription-happiest bunch of docs you’d ever want to meet.
I can recall standing there with my big ears and wide eyes as one of my mother’s friends would rave about the docs over at the Media Clinic. And how they prescribed this, that, and the other thing for my buddies.
Mom didn’t think that such prescription-frenzy was a good idea. She insisted that we get our medical treatment from another doctor who wasn’t at that clinic. And this guy was of the mind that, unless it was a life-threatening emergency, no ’scrip for you.
Later on, when I was in junior high and high school and my mom was teaching school, I was treated to almost daily stories about her students being zonked out on drugs.
Some of those drugs were indeed illicit, but Mom was also quite shocked to learn that a lot of them were prescribed. In some cases, the kids told Mom what they were taking. In other cases, Mom had some very worried conversations with the school nurse.
And, mind you, this was before the widespread diagnosis of ADHD and the prescribing of drugs like Ritalin.
I remember that. Lots of adults had tranqs and diet pills including my mother. A “good” doctor was one who’d prescribe whatever. Then there was Elavil and the early antidepressants. That’s why hippies thought the older generation so hypocritical going off about pot and acid, because they knew all about the mother’s little helpers.
Then there was all the social drinking & smoking, lol. Guys croaking from MI at 42..what a life.
Then there was all the social drinking & smoking, lol.
Not a laughing matter where I grew up. More than a few of our parents had nasty health problems from those two things. If anything good came out of it, seeing what happened to them made more than a few of us kids into nutrition mavens. Not to mention non-smokers who rarely, if ever drink.
I also seem to recall quite a bit of “coping with WWII memories” drinking among the men. Matter of fact, our house was one of the few that didn’t have a bar in it. Much of that had to do with my father’s father’s alcoholism. Dad saw that up close and personal and he wanted no part of a bar in the house. Mom was with him on that one.
Valium 5’s n’ 10’s, and not the children, were refered to as “Mother’s Little Helpers” during the 60’s and 70’s
My husband was prescribed valium for ulcers in the late 60s/early 70s.
What were they on? 60’s style allergy medicine would put you out like a light, but I can’t think of too many others that would be prescribed to kids.
60’s style allergy medicine would put you out like a light, but I can’t think of too many others that would be prescribed to kids.
ISTR Mom saying that a lot of the kids were on some sort of allergy medication. And I can recall a couple of HS classmates that were absolutely flattened by the stuff. To the point where they could hardly stay awake during the school day.
Of course palmetto ,your theory has to explain the lack of Will and
passiveness of the sheep . You combine all that with all the brainwashing
that takes place ,than the power groups can do anything .
One has to wonder why there is such a big demand for drugs in the USA
that it would be creating the problems with the drug cartel from Mexico
to this point .
I know a lot of people that have been put on depression medication ,and they have been on that crap for a long time . Just look at how many people seem to be walking around with dazed eyes . I really get a little concerned when I’m on the freeways knowing a certain percentage
don’t really have their wits about them .
It’s really a problem I would suspect . Myself ,I have never been on any form of medication or drugs ,maybe a little wine with my meals ,but that’s about it .
I think your theory has a lot of merits . I noticed one of my friends
that’s on heavy mood medication can’t talk about reality at all . You can only talk about stupid stuff with that person . I don’t know what percentage of the population is compromised by drugs ,legal or illegal ,but I think the numbers are high .So, maybe the masses should be drug tested before they can vote .You even see a great increase in criminal defenses using drugs use as the defense ,
You see some of those commercials on TV talking about medication
and after they talk about the side effects you wonder why anybody would be interested .Than I think about how many people are
combining medications that are producing brain wave disruptions .
Than I think about the diet of the American people on top of everything else and I think its a factor in the down hill trend in
performance .
You see some of those commercials on TV talking about medication
and after they talk about the side effects you wonder why anybody would be interested
Don’t worry, they can prescribe other medications for the side effects.
I think your theory has a lot of merits . I noticed one of my friends
that’s on heavy mood medication can’t talk about reality at all . You can only talk about stupid stuff with that person .
——————-
Interesting observation. Now that you mention it, I’ve noticed the same thing.
Palmy,
You probably are right WRT the drugs. It would be fascinating to find out more about this. It seems like almost everyone we know is on some kind of “mood-altering” drug.
Toll Brothers posts surprise first-quarter profit, helped by tax gain, higher delivery prices
HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) — Toll Brothers Inc. posted a surprise profit for its fiscal first quarter, helped by a larger tax benefit and a higher average price for its homes.
The nation’s largest builder of luxury homes said that while the market “is still tough,” it sees improvements “in many places.”
Toll Brothers had net income of $3.4 million, or 2 cents per share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31. That compares with a loss of $40.8 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast a loss of 8 cents per share.
The quarter included a $20.4 million tax benefit compared with a $16 million tax benefit a year ago.
Revenue climbed 2 percent to $334.1 million from $326.7 million, besting Wall Street’s $317.7 million.
If there was NO corporate income tax there would be no retroactive Tax benefits from all the losses you incur.
The quarter included a $20.4 million tax benefit compared with a $16 million tax benefit a year ago.
Sounds like they need to stop building houses altogether and just let the tax benefits roll in. A bulletproof, jobless business model.
Too bad that San Diego and DC, which are touted as the “bright spots” in the latest Case-Shiller/S&P report, are so heavily dependent on federal government jobs, as if Congress fails to come to agreement on the budget, a federal government shutdown is a realistic possibility. This could entail furloughs for federal workers who thought they possessed Chinese iron rice bowls. I guess it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a likely consequence is that a sizable share of furloughed workers might no longer be able to make their mortgage payments, at which point SD and DC may join other MSAs in the race to the housing market bottom? This would boost Obama’s election prospects, in a similar manner to how Gingrich’s Republican revolutionary government shutdown in the mid-1990s blew up on him and pretty much ruined his prospects of ever occupying the White House.
Pretty soon, only Megabanks armed with bailout loot will be able to afford to buy houses!
P.S. How many times can Detroit possibly hit another low point in housing prices before it bottoms out?
Metro Detroit hits low point in housing prices
Feb 23, 2011
Metro Detroit was among 11 markets in December that hit their lowest home price levels since their peaks, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices released Tuesday.
David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, said the markets peaked in 2006 and 2007 including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tampa.
Metro Detroit home prices are at their lowest level since May 1994 after falling 9.1% in the past year through December, according to the indices.
Home prices fell 2.4% in the past year for the nation’s 20 largest cities, according to the report. And prices declined 4.1% for the fourth quarter. In metro Detroit, the decline for the last three months of the year was 2.3%.
San Diego and Washington, D.C., are the only two cities where home prices are increasing on a year-over-year basis, the report said.
“Despite improvements in the overall economy, housing continues to drift lower and weaker,” Blitzer said.
…
The Metro Detroit area has far more supply than could ever be absorbed by demand. High unemployment and a shrinking population continue to dog Michigan. Many suburbs are going to suffer the same vacant blocks as the city proper.
I watched the show “hardcore pawn” last night. They talked about how bad the casinos in Detroit hurt the city. It must be bad if the guys charging 40% interest think it is.
The casinos have brought a lot of revenue into the city. Unfortunately many of the people playing in the casinos have no business being there. From a cash standpoint alone the casinos are good. From a society standpoint, they’re a miserable failure.
There are about 50,000 actual federal employees in the DC area (might be DC itself, but I don’t think so). There are a heck of a lot more contractors whose employers would send them home if they were told that there was a real chance they would not receive payment for the project their employees are working on. There are lots and lots and lots more social security recipients who won’t get checks if there is a government shut down.
By the way, I told the blog that I thought the chance of a shut down was fairly remote (5 to 10%). Husband of a co-worker thinks it is much, much more likely than that, as in better than 50-50, though he is betting on a two week extension (from the early March deadline) before it happens.
In other news, I was supposed to go on a business trip later in the month. It is a no-go. No money.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
2012 Federal Budget
Government facing possible shutdown March 4
The U.S. Capitol
Marketplace explores government agency contingency plans if lawmakers can’t cut a deal on funding for the rest of this fiscal year.
…
Kai Ryssdal: There’s not a whole lot of collective bargaining going on in Washington D.C. In fact, there’s not much bargaining going on at all. And that’s making a federal government shutdown look more likely by the day.
Democrats and Republicans are miles apart over a funding plan to keep the government running through early April, let alone finding a way to pay for things through the rest of the fiscal year this fall. The current authorization expires a week from Friday.
Our Washington bureau chief John Dimsdale reports.
John Dimsdale: After the 1995 government shutdown, agencies put together contingency plans. So they should be more prepared, says New York University government professor Paul Light.
Agencies first decide what emergency jobs won’t be furloughed when the government closes down. That creates some strange inequities, says Donald Kettl at the University of Maryland.
Kettl says most non-essential government services are routine — processing passport applications at the State Department, for example. Or investigating corporate wrongdoing at the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can’t prepare for an interruption; you just turn out the lights and close the door.
…
The one possible implication of a federal govt shutdown which really grabbed me was the prospect of a cutoff of funding to states. It’s not as though the state budget situation was not already at a point of near-apoplexy…
The one possible implication of a federal govt shutdown which really grabbed me was the prospect of a cutoff of funding to states. It’s not as though the state budget situation was not already at a point of near-apoplexy…
Hopefully that will bring the whole issue of the fed overtaxing and re-distributing to the states into the limelight. Perhaps I’m being too hopeful, but if people really understood that I think they’d be pissed.
(bah, who am I kidding)
It’s how the FedGov gets around their constitutional limits of powers.
It’s how the FedGov gets around their constitutional limits of powers: bribery.
Cali and Illinois both have established histories of getting their citizens to accept I.O.U.s in lieu of payments. So no problems there.
Good thing Meg Whitman failed in her election bid, or you know this would be happening in California as well!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
State and Municipal Budget Crisis
State protests spread
Protests in Wisconsin
Wisconsin protests go wide to Indiana and other states across the Midwest. Thousands of public workers are descending on state capitols to protest states’ attempts to balance budgets by stripping unions of bargaining power.
…
How is cutting back the power of the public unions bad? I guess if you are one of the connected or on the receiving end of their political bribes then it is bad.
We know that schools are no longer about teaching kids. They are about funneling as much money and power to the unions as possible so they can then distort the political process with strong arm tactics. It is about making sure administrators and teachers stay paid above market rates, psychiatrists keep doping kids and people keep paying property taxes through the nose. Just look at their actions in Wisconsin and around the country. It is disgusting.
These people are not the middle class. They are a special class, like the apparatchiks of the Soviet Union. They are as much a special interest group as the financiers of Wall Street. And they do not plan to go gentle into that good night.
It is clear that the public unions own the Democrats. You can say that about the financiers owning the Republicans but it is clear that the financiers also own the Democrats. Just look at Dodd-Frank, and the actions of O, to see that reality. The Dems are owned by all special interests. They love those revenue streams.
But I’m guessing you are on that gravy train, prof, so you want it protected at all costs.
Just look at their actions in Wisconsin and around the country. It is disgusting.
Disgusting? Why? It’s kinda neat. Think about it. They have clever signs that say stuff and they chant things in unison. You don’t like chants in unison? I thought the “Fox Lies” chant was funny. But OK, how about the pizza thing? That’s a lot of pizza. And the music. Yea, how about the singers singing songs protesting things? It’s hard playing guitars when it’s freezing.
You don’t think that’s even a little cool?
Your cracking me up RIO .
+1
Gravy train
OR yeah, but the banksters got their bailouts……
Unions are about union management and generally are not about the worker. That’s the reality of today’s union.
“Bob Chanin, General Counsel to the National Education Association, recently retired after 41 years of service. In his farewell address to the NEA convention earlier this summer, Mr. Chanin said the following:
Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas; it is not because of the merit of our positions; it is not because we care about children; More.. and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child.
The NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of million of dollars in dues each year because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them; the union that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.
This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing drop rate rates, improving teacher quality, and the like are unimportant or inappropriate. To the contrary these are the goals that guide the work we do. But they need not and must not be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights, or collective bargaining.
That is simply too high a price to pay.
If you don’t believe that the public education system is broken, go to a private school and see better educated students. Go to a private school and see what they’re doing with literally 1/3 of the money per pupil. Go to a private school and see where there’s operational efficiency in place of just plain waste.
Around here, private schools are much more expensive than private schools.
Private schools do not have to educate the kids that nobody else will teach.
You think private schools take kids with behavior problems and 70-80 IQs? Not a chance! But this is what public schools have to deal with on a daily basis.
You can’t compare the two because they are working with completely different types of students (and parents).
I can’t disagree with the thuggyness of union officials. However, what would be your idea of a MARKET PRICE of a teacher? Let’s say for example, all American kids watched one teacher from India, who talks over the Internet for 6 hours and then goes home to his mud hut and daily bowl of rice. Would that be a fair enough salary for you?
My wife is a teacher. We’ve broken down her salary by the hour if she works just what’s required by her contract. It’s approximately $33 and we live in Florida where teachers are not well compensated.
I’m not exactly sure what a market based price is but $33 hourly is pretty good money.
How many hours per year does she work? My sister puts in a good 10 hours per day.
I’m not discussing my wife in particular because she puts in 110% every single day plus works evenings and weekends.
Many if not most in her building work to union contract and not an hour more.
I’m not discussing my wife in particular because she puts in 110% every single day plus works evenings and weekends.
My mother was that kind of teacher.
And, truth be told, she did have some colleagues who worked to the contract and that was all. Oh, did Mom have some choice language for describing them. I was amazed — I didn’t know my mother could cuss like that.
“…she puts in 110% every single day plus works evenings and weekends…”
In that case, you aren’t discussing most of the teachers I know, either.
Oh, so your wife’s a union worker, Bad Andy? And I bet that’s where you get your health care insurance too? It’s easy to be a big conservative when wifey brings home those liberal benefits, isn’t it?
Like I said, that’s the standard pattern in my neck of the woods too. Conservative, rugged individualist hubbie who thinks all government spending is a waste, wifey who works for the school or the local gov to get all those nice bennies for the family.
Ironic, isn’t it?
My benefits package with AT&T was pretty generous. I hear it’s still generous. That’s a PRIVATE employer.
If the school district added the cost of the benefits back to my wife’s check we could pick up much more attractive insurance for less money. Unfortunately that’s not an option. You know nothing about me or my situation.
Wake me when teachers have to work 12 months a year.
AT&T. That’s a union job too, no?
No.
I actually should say, not at that time, not my side of the house anyway.
AT&T. That’s a union job too, no?
both my parents worked at AT&T. Neither were union.
Private employer. So I guess that means we don’t have to pay for it.
Oh wait…
Yeah, I love the districts that gave students and teacher President’s Day WEEK off. That’s right. A whole week off in the name of President’s Day.
“It is about making sure administrators and teachers stay paid above market rates”
Yeah, my 40K per year sister who teaches bilingual ed is really living it up.
When I was laid off in 2009 I thought of a career switch (HS Math teacher). Then I saw the starting pay, about 33K. I kept looking for a new SW engineer job.
That $33K is for 9 months of nearly full-time work.
I actually got myself hired as a Jersey City high school math teacher once. I refused to sign the contract until they finalized the pay which at first was supposed to be $42K (they were going to count my JD as a masters plus 20, I think) but later they thought it might have to go down to about $38K. I was going to have to pay entirely for the certification classes. Then I got offered a job in my area for two and half times as much money and they would pay for a masters degree plus give me flexibility in my work hours to get to class. I still think I would have liked the teaching, but I took the job in my field. There really wasn’t any other choice.
“That $33K is for 9 months of nearly full-time work.”
It’s still a pittance. Iabout 1/3 of my current salary.
Good thing Meg Whitman failed in her election bid…
Meg 2010 / Beg 2011
$120 million $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ personal ego quest: poof!
or you know this would be happening in California as well ??
Oh but it is;
California public employees rally in support of Wisconsin counterparts
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 - 12:18 pm
About 2,500 public employees gathered Tuesday evening at the state Capitol in Sacramento, their minds 2,000 miles away with counterparts in Madison, Wis.
About 2,500 public employees gathered Tuesday evening
Come on scdave, out of 2,500 people, none of ‘em could figure out how to schedule it during working hours within 1000′ ft of a Soupantation?
I guess a proclivity to curse like a drunken sailor is regarded as a badge of honor when it comes to Chicago politics?
Feb 23, 2011
Running against Rahm Emanuel like facing ‘hurricane’
07:51 AM
…
Emanuel won 55% of the vote on Tuesday to win a post he long coveted. Chico, a former chief of staff to Daley, came in second with 24%. An analysis of the Chicago vote shows a decisive win by Emanuel, who won 40 out of the city’s 50 wards.
The new mayor, who faces a city with a budget deficit of at least $500 million, will be sworn in on May 16.
The show of force by Emanuel — known for his aggressive style and often profane mouth — came up frequently in today’s stories about his victory. Carol Ronen, a Democratic committee member in Chicago’s 48th ward and Emanuel supporter, told the Chicago Tribune that it was like Emanuel “had a nuclear bomb and everybody else had a fly swatter.”
…
LOL, one of the writers over at the Takimag site described Rahm has having eyes that look like two anuses.
Oh, it isn’t merely a badge of honor. It’s a necessity. How else is Da Mayre gonna show people he’s tough?
Meanwhile, down in Tucson, our longtime mayor has just announced that he won’t be running for another term. (He was elected back in 1999.) The scramble to replace him is already underway. Methinks the fireworks will start shortly.
Arizona Slim for Mayor!
Hey, that isn’t nice. I like Slim. Why would you wish that on her?
She’d be great. She sounds like community activist/gadfly-about-town already. Might as well get paid for it.
Win with Slim!
Next stop the governorship! Then, dare I say it, host of America’s Got Talent!
Win with Slim!
Government shutdown: 12 things that would and wouldn’t happen
From CNNPolitics.com
February 21, 2011 2:36 p.m. EST
…
“Federal funds to states would be cut off, leaving states already in a cash crunch to somehow fill the gap.”
Mind the gap.
In the past when there were state or federal shut-downs the impact for us in the private sector was the spectacle of the political brinkmanship show. Not much impact except maybe a delay in certain services. One could usually adjust. I can’t speak for the public paycheck experience which I’m sure gets much hairier.
There will be no U.S. housing market bottom until the wide disequilibrium gap between the price for distressed sales and for non-distressed sales closes.
Economy Lab
Carnage not over in U.S. housing industry
MICHAEL BABAD
Globe and Mail Blog
Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 6:37AM EST
Bloodied though it may already be, the U.S. housing industry is in for still more.
Tuesday, the latest reading of the widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed house prices slipping again in December, falling a further 0.4 per cent from November despite better economic signs from the world’s largest economy.
That shows the U.S. real estate sector firmly in a double-dip, economists say, and some believe the carnage isn’t over.
“The second leg in house prices that began last year will continue throughout this year and take prices to a new cycle low, some 5 per cent below current levels,” Paul Dales, the senior U.S. economist at Capital economics, said in a new report.
“If a vicious circle of falling prices and rising foreclosures were to develop, prices would fall much further.”
Economist Alistair Bentley of Toronto-Dominion Bank, agreeing U.S. home prices will probably reach a “new cyclical low” this quarter, pointed out that a stunning 4.6 per cent of U.S. homes are in foreclosure. The record levels of foreclosed homes on the market will continue to drive down prices, he said, though he added such properties may be skewing the performance of the overall market.
“At this point in the housing cycle, declining prices are not necessarily the best gauge of the broader housing market given the disproportionate share of sales from distressed properties,” Mr. Bentley said. “These properties tend to sell at a 35-per-cent discount relative to non-distressed sales.”
…
More related to this story
* Housing market overhang traps Spaniards in debt
* U.S. home prices hit post-bust lows in most big cities
* U.S. housing may move closer to ‘double dip’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home sales are starting to tick up after the worst year in more than a decade. But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time home-buyers who are critical for a housing recovery”
buy now or miss out investors are buying all the homes with cash !!
“At this point in the housing cycle, declining prices are not necessarily the best gauge of the broader housing market given the disproportionate share of sales from distressed properties,” Mr. Bentley said. “These properties tend to sell at a 35-per-cent discount relative to non-distressed sales.”
—————
It’s always entertaining to hear this logic. Apparently, the prices of foreclosures “shouldn’t count,” but the prices for houses purchased with low/no-down and a high DTI ratio is “market price.”
Um, okay…
Less affordable home prices = BETTER
San Diego Home Prices Better Than Rest Of Nation
By Erik Anderson
February 22, 2011
Housing values are falling in most of the nation, but they still managed to inch up in San Diego and Washington DC. The Standard and Poor’s Case Schiller index measures housing prices in the nation’s 20 largest markets. Prices fell in 18 of the areas measured, but San Diego bucked the national trend. Maureen Maitland tracks housing for Standard and Poor’s.
“As recently as April and May, it was up over 12 percent from the prior year,” said Maureen Maitland, who tracks housing for Standard and Poor’s. “So there is some weakening in the San Diego market. Even though its staying strong on a relative basis when compared to some of the other markets.”
Maitland said tight credit, rising interest rates and the large number of distressed sales are also putting downward pressure on housing prices. She said San Diego prices were softer at the end of the year, because prices were up 12 percent last spring, but up just 1.5 percent in December.
“Credit is still tight,” said Maitland. “People just don’t have confidence. And there is a lot of inventory overhang to work off. So there’s a lot more supply than demand, which is depressing housing prices.”
…
The way that I look at this is that, like many other things, high house prices are good for some people and bad for other people. If the price of gasoline goes up, that’s also good for some people and bad for other people, etc.
Yep, once again,…it’s a story about the many… verses the…suffering few.
I don’t believe that DC is immune as so many people think. DC still has jobs, yes, but it dosn’t change the fact that people bought houses that were way out of their income range, and not all with fxed rates. Cuts in defense and a pay freeze will wreak havoc.
I suspect that DC is in that second hump of good ol’ Credit Suisse, and it will be a case of duration duration duration.
Most of the people who bought houses beyond their means were in places like Woodbridge and Manassas. The foreclosure firestorm has already gone through those communities. Think about what Florida, Arizona, the IE, Las Vegas have gone through. We’re talking traumatic amputation vs. a bruised knuckle in DC itself, plus Montgomery County and the close-in Virginia counties.
DC will continue to prosper. No double-dip to be afraid of. JMHO.
Mongomery and close in Virginia will suffer if there is a real push to cut federal contracting.
And like every place else, it will go down if dowpayment requirements and interest rates go up, but that isn’t really the “double dip” as we generally refer to it.
Think about what Florida, Arizona, the IE, Las Vegas have gone through. ”
yes those places are really taking a beating. If Costal CA, DC and a few other elite places stay high a home owner from there could mortgage their home and buy dozens of rentals in a place like Phoenix it could be the new “Pottersville”
Oh wait they already did that…..
I know plenty of people who bought million dollar houses inside the beltway on salaries that shouldn’t have qualified them for loans. I even know one family who bought 7-8 “investment” houses and have been trying to unload them without losing money for the past few years.
Who came up with that stupid phrase “inventory overhang?”
I guess it doesn’t sound as bad as “excess inventory.”
Or even more to the point, “surplus.”
Nope, can’t use just one word when 2 or more will do.
I like “inventory muffin-top”. much more visual.
time to get bloody
Providence plans to pink slip all teachers
Think of dismal societal ripple effect:
Lost police enforcement jobs and wasted K9 dog training dollars on no longer having a need to drug search the K-6th “elementary” school bus.
Repubican “Tricky Dick” ’70’s era: “We’re hard on crime”
So, how’s the US Prison/Judicial system these dog days of 2011, running efficient & “low-cost” effective?
Stay focused America: Lindsay Lohan is gonna do jail time! Don’t turn off the “Network”!
I have a suggestion for Uncle Sam: Stop listening to Eats-shoots-and-leaves writers like this one, and start listening to reason. There can be no housing recovery until prices bottom out, and prices will not bottom out so long as they are artificially propped up, as this writer proposes, despite the recent evidence that such a policy is futile.
Above all, drop the silly notion that affordable housing prices are bad for the economy. The seeds of recovery lie in affordably-priced housing!
In Housing Trouble, The Seeds For Recovery
Posted: February 23, 2011 at 5:13 am
There was not a bit of good news in the S&P/Case-Shiller data about the housing market for the last quarter of 2010. The National Index was down 4.1% from the same period last year. Many markets reached lows which matched home prices in 2000. The trouble in cities which include Las Vegas, Detroit, and Cleveland was particularly bad. But, almost no city has escaped the powerful down draft.
The seeds of a recovery are probably buried in the data and the trends they represent. The federal government now has to deal with the fact that housing has already hit a double dip. This combined with intractably high unemployment could cause the improvement in the US economy to sputter. The idea that a recovery can be jobless has already been questioned. A “homeless” recovery may be an even greater challenge.
It can be conceded that the number of underwater home mortgages, now measured at about 11 million, and the shadow inventory of houses seized by banks, which numbers over 2 million, makes further foreclosures more likely. Some will be caused by unemployment, some will be “strategic” defaults, a problem which is vexing in states like Florida where many second homes are located. Another problem is that the real estate buyer’s strike has not let up despite low interest rates. Shoppers are concerned that prices will go even lower, which will wipe out any equity in a newly purchased home.
Washington views all the housing trouble from the sidelines now, but Congress and the Administration are forced to look back at tax credits which ended last April. The credits cost the government money, but they gave the market some level of equilibrium. That has dissolved over the last year.
The federal government will get the chance to revisit the housing problem as it debates the budget. Some politicians know that nothing a greater threat to the economy (SIC) than the disintegration of home prices. The situation damages everything from consumer confidence to bank losses. And, not a single national solution is in place.
…
Read more: In Housing Trouble, The Seeds For Recovery - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/02/23/in-housing-trouble-the-seeds-for-recovery/#ixzz1EnDpjihl
So affordable housing is good for society but affordable government employees are bad?
We have affordable public employees… how come we don’t have affordable tax breaks?
Thanks for the chuckle.
Chuckles….. what one does in the absence of a retort.
Chuckles….. what one does in the absence of a retort.
(Rio chortles)
First he “chuckles,” then the NYCityBoy says he “ignores your posts.”
I have doubts to either.
I guess if there weren’t six times more government employees to pay than the job requires they would be more affordable.
We most certainly can not “afford” the public employment rolls in their current expanse. The nation as a whole goes further into debt each day, and in a global marketplace raising taxes on those who aren’t wage slaves during an economic downturn is a sure recipe to turn a recession into a depression.
Seems to me that lowering taxes got us into this mess. Perhaps raising them would get us out of it, no?
Lowering taxes didn’t get us into this mess, increasing expenditures beyond increase of income got us into this mess.
For how many more years will we find ourselves reading about yet more bright minds discovering the Fed has painted itself into a corner? HBB posters noted the Fed was pushing on a string all the way back in late-2007.
Trapped: The Fed Has Painted Itself Into a Corner
By CHARLES HUGH SMITH Posted 11:30 AM 02/23/11 Economy,
As prices for commodities such as cotton, sugar and grains skyrocket, many financial commentators have been pointing the finger at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s “easy money” policies of zero interest rates (ZIRP) and quantitative easing (QE2) as a major cause.
The Fed intended these two policies to lower long-term interest rates and to nudge investors into riskier assets, thus stimulating growth. At least one part of that strategy is working. By lowering the yields on traditional financial investments such as bonds to near-zero, the Fed has essentially forced trading desks and hedge funds to scour the globe for higher yields.
Many traders and investors have found that higher yield in commodities, which is where speculative money is now flowing in abundance, helping to push up prices. Because the price of wheat, for example, is roughly the same everywhere in a global market, these rapid price increases are destabilizing poorer countries where much of household income is devoted to food.
…
“The Fed intended these two policies to lower long-term interest rates and to nudge investors into riskier assets, thus stimulating growth. At least one part of that strategy is working. By lowering the yields on traditional financial investments such as bonds to near-zero, the Fed has essentially forced trading desks and hedge funds to scour the globe for higher yields.”
However, the “tophats” manage to get bailed-out at par when things go badly.
No, China has painted itself into a corner. Not the Fed.
Mark my words, we may all hate the Fed but this game is not the Fed’s to lose.
RMB 51,000 /square meter in a not-so-upscale area of Beijing. Which is about $725/square foot, and that is for an apartment. Average “good-job” salaries around $3000/month assuming both spouses work, with high taxes to boot. And yes, people are still buying.
Where does China fit into the Fed’s situation? Simple - as long as they are willing to buy USTs at any cost, the Fed would be stupid to hike interest rates. The day they stop buying USTs, the yuan will shoot up in value and the export machine come to a crash.
Then what happens to the million dollar two bedroom apartment?
$600K for a 800 sq ft, on a $36K salary? China is a nation of strawberry pickers. Are they going to bail out their banks with US Treasury IOU’S?
There’s a dangerous assumption built in there - that the US has the option to export from someone else. I’m not sure I’m so willing to praise the Fed without having solid knowledge that this is true.
“these rapid price increases are destabilizing poorer countries where much of household income is devoted to food.”
So the Fed is bringing democracy to the Middle East? And getting ready to crush China? Hmm. Maybe they’re not so dumb after all.
I agree totally! Everyone who says BB is dumb clearly never sat in an economics course at Princeton (NYCityBoy included).
Bernanke reminds me of this kid who used to sit next to me in statistics class back during my University of Michigan days.
Guy was one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet, but, man he had a crushing intellect. The sort that people would speak of in awe. We were blown away by it — he was *that* smart.
I think he’s now at the Brookings Institution.
These food crisis that are bringing on these pent up Revolutions
where not intended by the Feds /Wall Street/Bankers . It would be funny if it ended up whereby the Whole World went on strike
and all evil systems were rooted out and all evil empires were
crushed and we had peace for a 1000 years with lions and
tigers walking around with humans in gardens .
and all evil empires were
crushed and we had peace for a 1000 years with lions and
tigers walking around with humans in gardens
Can we throw in a Rapture for good measure?
Saudi king boosts economic benefits to citizens as unrest sweeps Middle East
CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Wednesday nearly doubled a development fund that helps citizens buy homes, get married and start businesses, and it set up unemployment assistance for the first time as the oil-rich nation warily watches the unrest spreading around the Middle East.
The steps, reported by state television, were apparently aimed at shoring up popular support and fending off unrest that has spread to neighboring Bahrain. They came as new signs of the undercurrent of discontent in the kingdom appeared to be bubbling to the surface.
A Facebook page calling for a “March 11 Revolution of Longing” in Saudi Arabia has begun attracting hundreds of viewers. A message posted on the page calls for “the ousting of the regime” and lists demands including allowing for the election of a ruler and members of the advisory assembly known as the Shura Council.
Saudi Arabia — where King Abdullah and thousands of royals are largely untouchable — has been mostly spared the unrest that is rippling through the Arab world. But Bahrain became the first nation in the oil-rich Gulf to experience the region’s anti-government upheavals that are linked to poverty as well as demands for more political freedom.
Showing how deep the concern is, Abdullah ordered that 40 billion riyals ($10.7 billion) be pumped into the country’s development fund, which provides interest-free loans to Saudis who want to build homes, get married or start small businesses.
A loan to get married……LOL.
How else is a poor family supposed to come up with a dowry?
I think it’s a dowry loan…
The was a report on NPR the other day that chronicled the lack of employment opportunities for overeducated Saudi youth.
Yes, all 4 of them had trouble holding a steady job.
Jokes aside, that part of the world heavily imports labor, even middle management types, from the Indian subcontinent and the rest of Asia/Europe. Clearly migrant workers offer better bang for the buck. For the mid to upper level jobs, these foreigners are reasonably well paid and taken care of. Now why would the educated Saudi, who would be given all sorts of priority and benefits in such a role, not take up such a position? Well, because they are either not up to the job, or unwilling to put in the effort that modern commerce/industry requires. Most end up working government jobs which, of course, are limited.
Educated Saudis will not take any job that involves working with your hands.
And they probably have to import plumbers.
“…that chronicled the lack of employment opportunities for overeducated Saudi youth.”
There’s some “wanted-poster” fellas in the Pakistan/Afghanistan cave system that has jobs waiting for ‘em, free training & a golden key to eternity.
“…which provides interest-free loans to Saudis who want to build homes, get married or start small businesses.”
will they loan money to those who want to fund a small revolution?
I heard he sent everyone a $300 check. Evidently he got that idea from a cabbie during his visit to NY.
There’s been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible situation in Libya will get much worse. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya’s rebellious tribes: It’s either me or chaos.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2052961,00.html#ixzz1EnOHyT2f
Is the message to the tribes or is it to Obama? My overthrow is going to mean much higher oil prices which will bring you down. Seems close to the strategy that Saddam used with George Bush in Gulf war I. BTW, it worked the higher oil prices caused a recession that caused Bush to lose to Clinton. Will the Middle East break up along tribal lines or follow the Moslem Brotherhood and establish a caliphate. Either way the West is going to suffer. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Google and Obama are about to find that out.
If they wan’t a muslim gov I say let them. It will be the best lesson in why you should keep church and state separate you can imagine. Just take a look at the unrest in Iran. Also it gives us some nice targets. If there is terrorism sponsored by the state, you can start bombing cities instead of hunting for rabbits in the mountains. They will have an economic interest in making things work. They won’t be able to blame the west when their people start starving.
There is however the possiblility that they will establish more moderate gov’s that aren’t as bad as people fear.
I’ve read we don’t get much of our oil from Libya. Italy, otoh, gets 45% of their oil from Libya who recently declared force majeure in regards to their oil contracts. Isn’t Italy considered TBTF as far as the Euro is concerned? Italy’s 10 year rate is already ticking up. There’s your potential for chaos. In Europe.
(multiple zero hedge articles over the last several days)
“It’s either me or chaos.”
Hmmmm. That rings a bell. Hank Paulson’s desperate pitch for the TARP bailout comes to mind… along with all the other TBTF bailouts (GM, Chrysler, AIG, etc).
Blackmail by the rich and powerful, as a way to pretend the interests of the less well off are aligned with theirs.
Corruption is the way of mankind; it’s how we win!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuBstLZINco
Al Jezera is pretty much saying it’s going to be a long bloody mess.
Major Jouland is the terror behind the throne, as long as he is still alive there will be war.
Most of the sheeple have never heard of Gadhafi or know where Libya is. They’re too busy knowing the length of Jennifer Aniston’s hair. They’re about to get a geography lesson the hard way, the next time they go to the gas station or the grocery store.
Jennifer Aniston - Greek
Libya’s closest European neighbor - Greece
See this is how you get people interested.
Oil should break $100 per barrel today. It’s only $.46 away right now. It is already destroying our economy. Yipppeeee!!
I take it you mean West Texas Intermediate should break $100. Brent, and most other forms of oil, have been over $100 for weeks. They show us the number that is the lowest and it is still $100. There is trouble ahead. Bernanke’s bubbles are coming back to bite us.
OTOH I love watching the high fliers such as LULU and NFLX getting pounded today. And yet they continue to hope this newest stock market bubble can rebuild 401k and pension funds. Well, watch out for the busting of that pipe. It was just another stupid idea. They will never stop trying to play hide the sausage.
I’m always quoting WTI because that’s what Marketwatch tracks. It actually touched $100 today around 10 am PST.
Bernanke is a speculator’s wet dream.
Civil war. One of the nastier sorts of war.
Dem lawmaker on labor protests: ‘Get a little bloody when necessary’
By Michael O’Brien - The Hill.Com
Sometimes it’s necessary to get out on the streets and “get a little bloody,” a Massachusetts Democrat said Tuesday in reference to labor battles in Wisconsin.
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) fired up a group of union members in Boston with a speech urging them to work down in the trenches to fend off limits to workers’ rights like those proposed in Wisconsin.
“I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going,” Capuano said, according to the Dorchester Reporter. “Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary.”
Political observers have been the lookout for potentially incendiary rhetoric in the wake of January’s shooting in Tucson, Ariz., where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) survived an assassination attempt, six were killed, and 13 others were injured.
wmbz, have you still not learned? It’s OK, he’s a Dem.
No, it was a stupid thing to say, but it was one isolated statement, and it pales in comparison to putting bulls-eyes over pictures of your political opponents, and ranting regularly about second amendment solutions.
wmbz, have you still not learned? It’s OK, he’s a Dem.
GONG! That ain’t it. There are degrees. Sarah Palin is a national figure with a large following of gun toting, ignorant nutballs. She put a gun target on districts and said RELOAD.
Wackjob Sharron Angle was under the national spotlight running against Senate Majority leader Harry Reid. She said we needed 2nd Amendment solutions and should be “taken out”.
Fact: It goes on and on much more on the nutball right than on the loony left.
Michael Capuano?? Who? He said protests might “get a little bloody but have you ever heard of him b4?
She said we needed 2nd Amendment solutions and HARRY REID should be “taken out”.
A more biased and narrow assessment could not be offered.
A more biased and narrow assessment could not be offered.
Lighten up and don’t be so hard on yourself.
Besides, spring is only 3 months away up there.
You should read the transcript of the prank phone call.
Koch: Bring a baseball bat. That’s what I’d do.
Walker: I have one in my office; you’d be happy with that. I have a slugger with my name on it.
Koch: Beautiful.
Walker: [union-bashing...]
Koch: Beautiful.
So which one is worse. You be the judge
Ind. official out of job after live ammo tweet
By CHARLES WILSON
Associated Press
Wednesday, February 23, 2011; 7:26 PM
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana deputy attorney general “is no longer employed” by the state after Mother Jones magazine reported he tweeted that police should to use live ammunition against Wisconsin labor protesters, the attorney general’s office said Wednesday.
The magazine reported Wednesday that Jeffrey Cox responded “Use live ammunition” to a Saturday night posting on its Twitter account that said riot police could sweep protesters out of the Wisconsin capitol, where thousands have been protesting a bill that would strip public employees of collective bargaining rights.
Cox also referred to the protesters as “thugs physically threatening legally-elected state legislators & governor” and said “You’re damn right I advocate deadly force,” according to the magazine. He later told an Indianapolis television station the comments were intended to be satirical.
The Indiana attorney general’s office said it conducted “a thorough and expeditious review” after the report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/23/AR2011022305979.html
I know this is a drop in the bucket; but, foreclosure sales are backlogging. Somehow more have been scheduled than can be processed. Just makes for a longer timeline for us squatters, I guess.
How can they schedule new trustee’s sales when they can’t process the ones that are already on the docket? In our county, since friday, the number of Bofa Trustee’s Sales has dropped again, from 278 to 236. So another 42 off the docket and off the radar for now. A search for our TS # yeilds nothing, as our sale disappeared last week.
I think you’re good for “an extended period of time” Mike.
“Just makes for a longer timeline for us squatters,”
I hope that turn of phrase is strictly tongue-in-cheek, mike—remember, legally you are the owner until the bank gets around to exercising their legal rights under your contract. Why wouldn’t you live in the house that you own?
Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about staying without paying. You are doing the bank a huge favor by keeping squatters of the destructive sort out of the property.
I want dibs on your fridge when you bail.
Maybe I should add that I have a lot of respect for people who bail and do NOT gut the place. There is positive economic benefit for all in keeping squatters out, and there is positive economic benefit in keeping the place is ready-to-occupy shape (e.g. appliances still present).
too funny! PiC—Wife is owner so we are NOT squatting; but I have heard FB’s (which we are as wife did put 20% down; take a while to recoup that loss) called squatters here; I understand that technically we are not squatting being owners of record and all. We don’t feel bad keeping the real squatters out and the water on as a cold snap hits.
BTW–We need our fridge as our realtor tenant in my investment home has her own so it will be coming with us when we go.
Just trying to make heads or tails of the falling TS #s (down to 232 presently)
Now their sales are 218; surprised. It will take some time to reissue over 400 T.Sales. Will post when we get a new sale date or TS #.
If you were my wife, would you:
Pay the HOAs (if we are gonna be here all summer we would use the pools/gyms)
Pay the property taxes
We have good legal advice; not taking any advice from here to the bank; but we are interested in what others would do.
When it became apparent that we were NOT gonna retire here, or be able to pay our loan in 2 more years MAX; we got legal advice.
Luckily my name is not on the title or loan on wife’s home/our family home since 2007; my fico was lower; wife ended up buying this house without myself getting involved in any way. Her credit will be shot; I am building my fico score seperately meanwhile.
We are glad we used the rest of our $$ to go all in on a rental house in my name, while we await the bank’s foreclosure action on our current home. When we go we wont be taking anything that is not ours, and will not do any spiteful damage. We keep seeing Disaster Relief trucks tending to other vacant units (flooding issues?)
If you were my wife, would you:
Pay the HOAs (if we are gonna be here all summer we would use the pools/gyms)
Pay the property taxes
Since you’re asking…
I would pay the HOA if you can afford it.
Chances are if you don’t pay the property taxes, your lender will. Back taxes can be made into superleins, and are paid even before the primary leinholder. How long can you go before you face something more than penalties/interest/fines?
The HOA can sue you for non-payment. You’re responsible for payment of dues as long as you’re the legal owner. Property taxes are attached to the house and you can stop paying those as soon as you stop making the mortgage payment. Insurance is a gray area, but most attorneys recommend keeping it current since the cost is usually relatively low. Other gray areas include letting the landscaping go to hell, neglecting pool maintenance, etc. In theory you can be held responsible for any devaluation due to “waste”, but I would think that would be difficult to prove other than obvious theft (stealing cabinets, fixtures, etc) or willful destruction.
Thanks all; TSales # down to 184 now. I guess we will be staying current on HOAs/Ins. Not paying prop taxes for now.
I walked into a Sam’s Club at 8:45 this AM to pick up some cleaning supplies. The price of regular gas on the board by the door was $2.94. I walked out in roughly 30 minutes and it was $2.97. I went ahead and filled up. The price at a Shell down the street was $3.09
How does fear cause a price increase?
We’re at $100 per barrel based upon fear and nothing else. When Gadhafi starts setting wells on fire, etc., the Wall St. pigs could easily pump it up to $120 or more within a few days time. Then, we’re at $4 per gallon out west, and climbing. $4 per gallon was when the economy in my neck of the woods began to completely crumble. It’s curtains for any sort of “recovery.”
Agree. The low end stores such as Walmart never recovered from the recession and the gas prices are just making worse. The high end Nordstrom etc. were coming back with the stock market rise but that seems to gone into neutral at best and the stimulus is running out and the payroll tax is just for one year. I cannot see how a continued recovery is possible and 2012 looks even worse.
Hwy’s saving the Death Valley “report of events” until this Friday morning.
High:
Panamint Springs Shell: $4.36 (bought x1 gallon )
Further down into the Valley of Death,… the price of gasoline actually got lower as well:
(+10 feet above sea level):
Stove-Pipe Wells, CA: $3.73
It seems oil eCONomics has a lot in common with silly-putty science.
Diesel fuel out west is $3.69, with regular gas at $3.39.
not too far off the same prices here in Florida today.
As ProfB would say, that’s an annualized rate of inflation of (2.97/2.94)^(365*24/0.5) * 100 - 1 = something with seventy nine zeros. That’s the danger of using short baselines and extrapolating to a much longer period.
In adjusted terms here in Southern Ontario we are paying $4.59 a gallon. Our dollar is worth a tiny bit more than yours. Quit complaining.
They’re paying that in Alaska, too. But, their wages are higher. I’m assuming yours are too. Or else, your economy is set up to support such prices. Most areas of the US are not. That extra money that goes into the tank, comes out of discretionary income. Small businesses start folding, more people are out of work, and the Greatest Depression continues..
When you fill your tank and then get hit your head against the wall after you see the bill, at least your doctor visit is free.
It’s only free if your too young or too old to work, or your unemployed. Taxpayers pick up the tab.
“It’s only free if your too young or too old to work, or your unemployed. Taxpayers pick up the tab.”
Only if you have no assets (or have done a good job of hiding them).
You’ll probably have no assets after you fill up your tank.
You’ll probably have no assets after you fill up your tank.
This is just what I’m seeing with mine own eyes and hearing with mine own ears, so take it for what it’s worth, but I’m noticing a questioning of the costs of car ownership.
In the last month, I’ve spoken with a fellow who saved up money from his job to buy a very nice bicycle for getting around town. And now he’s talking about getting rid of his car.
And, more recently than that conversation, I was tuning up my primary transportation bike at a nearby shop. I’m friends with the owner, and he let me use the “employee side” of his two-station bike repair stand.
Well, I was back in my bike shop mechanic glory days, even though I wasn’t in his shop’s employ, and it was my own bike that I was working on. And then it happened: One of my neighbors walked in. She was looking to add one of those Xtracycle extensions to her bike.
Mind you, I’ve seen her riding on our street, but she seems to defer to her pickup truck more often than not. Well, with the addition of that Xtracycle, she’s going to have a miniature pickup bed on the back of her bicycle.
Looking forward to seeing her on the bike more often. And, if she can convince her new boyfriend, whose car has taken up residence in her driveway on most nights, to do the car-to-bike thing, we’ll have a movement going around here.
And, if she can convince her new boyfriend, whose car has taken up residence in her driveway on most nights, to do the car-to-bike thing, we’ll have a movement going around here.
Slim, “sounds like” there already is…”movement”.
Hey Slim –
I’m with you on the biking front. Unfortunately, just after I put on my new Salsa rear wheel, a new computer and had $250 worth of work done, some *%&*$^ stole the bike two Fridays ago that allowed me to go car-less over two years ago. I was going to get a new/used one this weekend, but my partner’s labor got complicated and we just got out of hospital with the bambino yesterday. Got any tips for buying a used bike outside of Craigslist since I have no time? The new, steel road bike that I want will be $1400 with tax, pedals and shoes and that’s a little steep, even with silver going crazy…
MrBubble
PS: I enjoy your posts very much.
Slim, “sounds like” there already is…”movement”.
Well, evil minds do think alike, don’t they?
When I look out my studio window and see Boyfriend’s Wheels parked in her driveway — and I’m viewing that car a lot more these days — I say, “Honey, I hope you’re charging him rent.”
It doesn’t help that I know the boyfriend. I can’t help but thinking that he’s found himself a girl with a nicer pad than the one he lives in, so why not spend a lot of time over at her place? In addition to her cute little house (which was renovated by a flipper during 2006-07), there’s another nice little benefit for him.
Got any tips for buying a used bike outside of Craigslist since I have no time?
I just Googled “shopping for a used bike” and got all sorts of good links.
BTW, if you’re really short, I have a folding bike that’s for sale. Still have the suitcase and carrying bag for it. Only used the suitcase a couple of times and the carrying bag not at all.
But, in order for this bike to be a comfortable ride, you need to be a real munchkin like me [grin].
Thanks for the offer and the info. Wife is 4′10″ (munchkin land), so it would work for her, but I am… larger. Been looking at the 58cm Bianchi Imola (new) but the CL find that I wanted is long gone.
Thanks for the offer and the info. Wife is 4′10″ (munchkin land), so it would work for her, but I am… larger.
Looks like your wife wins the munchkin competition. I’m just a shade over 5 feet.
Congratulations on the new baby, Mr. Bubble!
In adjusted terms here in Southern Ontario we are paying $4.59 a gallon. Our dollar is worth a tiny bit more than yours. Quit complaining.
I love how you foreigners try to lecture us when your prices are lower for things AND when they’re higher. By your logic on health care, we Americans should all be laughing at you and telling you to adopt a US-style energy system.
Huh?
“That’s the danger of using short baselines and extrapolating to a much longer period.”
The danger is in misinterpreting my annualized rate of change calculations as extrapolations. They are only valid as extrapolations in the sense of showing what the annual change would be if the past month’s rate of change continued for an entire year. If this is beyond your intellectual grasp, please ignore my posts.
Bank Of America Demands Mortgage Payments From Yet Another Non-BofA Customer
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2011 3:30
http://consumerist.com/2011/02/bank-of-america-demands-mortgage-payments-from-yet-another-person-non-bofa-customer.html
New Slogan:
Bank of America: We just can’t let you go.
I love the first line of the article.
“Bank Of America is really making a last-minute run to secure a high seed in the upcoming Worst Company In America tournament.”
Yet I bet more than one poster here still has an account at BofA.
Yet I bet more than one poster here still has an account at BofA.
I had an account with them for about a year during the 1990s. I had to keep at least $2,500 in my checking account in order to avoid being charged a monthly fee. Not that the checking account was paying mega-interest, mind you.
Kicked that bank to the curb and put my money in a credit union instead.
Our CU is doing a 5% down mortgage on a 30/yr fixed, FICO 720+. The next group of REO’s on their website. They talk a conservative game.
I just found out FIA is a BofA subsidiary. That’s the card I’ve been crowing about that kept our rate at 6.99% this whole time.
What to do! What to do!
Deputies: Man Left Dead Uncle In Home For 30 Days
MERCED, Calif. (CBS13) — A man has been arrested on a number of charges after allegedly failing to notify authorities that his uncle died and then stealing money from the victim’s account.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Department said a relative of a 63-year-old man flagged down deputies and told them the man was dead inside his home on the 2000 block of Beachwood Drive on Monday.
When authorities began investigating the scene, a deputy spotted the victim’s nephew, 45-year-old Patrick Lara, abruptly stop when he drove into view of the home and turn around. Deputies pulled Lara over and began to question him about the gruesome discovery.
Lara allegedly told them he never called for medical attention after his uncle broke his arm on January 22 and died a short time later. Receipts found inside the home indicate that Lara had used the man’s ATM card to get cash from his accounts, even using it to gamble at Chukchansi Casino, according to deputies.
The victim’s body had begun to decay by the time it was discovered, and Lara said the smell forced him to turn on the swamp cooler. The cooler began leaking into the roof, causing it to collapse on the deceased man and coating the remains in mold.
Lara allegedly lived in the house the entire time. Relatives became suspicious when he kept forestalling their visits by making excuses.
Deputies charged Lara with involuntary manslaughter, elder abuse, theft of caretaker, and the charges could be upgraded to murder after the autopsy is completed. He is being held on $175,000 bail.
“Receipts found inside the home indicate that Lara had used the man’s ATM card to get cash from his accounts, even using it to gamble at Chukchansi Casino, according to deputies.”
That story puts the whole housing ATM concept in a new light!
The victim’s body had begun to decay by the time it was discovered, and Lara said the smell forced him to turn on the swamp cooler. The cooler began leaking into the roof, causing it to collapse on the deceased man and coating the remains in mold. Lara allegedly lived in the house the entire time.
What!?????? I am speechless- flat out floored. This is just mind-boggling and wrong on so many levels. Is this guy bonkers?? Everyone knows roof leaks should be taken seriously.
His defense will be that he watched “Weekend at Bernie’s” too many times.
“The cooler began leaking into the roof, causing it to collapse on the deceased man and coating the remains in mold. ”
Compost happens.
If he had just gotten the right breaks in life, he would have made a perfect CEO on Wall St.
How Will US Consumers Cope With $100 Oil?
February 23, 2011~ CNBC
Oil prices will need to rise another 50-60 percent before energy costs put a squeeze on consumers with the same impact as 2008, according to the fixed income team at Credit Suisse.
“‘Manageable’ is the word that springs to mind, so long as real instability does not roll on to the bigger oil suppliers in the region,” Credit Suisse said in a report.
“Manageable is also the bottom line in terms of the impact on US consumers’ disposable income from the rise in energy costs so far: January’s payroll tax holiday is about three times as large as the drain from higher gasoline prices to date,” the Swiss bank’s analysts wrote.
The problem of higher oil could also be offset by further help from the Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke, according to the report.
“Our economist’s view is that Mr. Bernanke will probably make it clear in next week’s Humphrey Hawkins Testimony that any new threat to the recovery will only confirm his determination to keep rates low for an extended period,” they wrote.
Those “cool” pickup trucks will be perceived as hungry alligators.
Those “cool” pickup trucks will be perceived as hungry alligators.
And alternative fuel research will get a lot more attractive.
I’m already hearing the whining.
110-year-old ag business closing shop
February 23, 2011 News-Post
After 110 years in business at the same location, Knott & Geisbert Inc. Mowers & Farm Equipment is closing up shop.
A two-day liquidation auction is planned March 4 and 5 to dispose of inventory with an estimated value of more than $1 million. The company’s 3.5-acre site on Urbana Pike is for sale as well, for $3.25 million.
Third-generation business owner and operator Roger Hood “Hoodie” Geisbert III said he was concluding business for several reasons.
“I guess I’m getting older,” Geisbert said. “I’m 75 and my wife passed away, who was a main part of the business.”
In addition, Geisbert said the community’s agricultural base is declining because of houses being built and land being bought up. “So it’s time to go,” he said.
“The company’s 3.5-acre site on Urbana Pike is for sale as well, for $3.25 million.”
Unless this is zoned for skyscrapers, tell me what kind of business can turn a profit on a more than $3m piece of dirt.
A fast food or chain restaurant, or a grocery or drug store, if Urbana Pike is a very busy main artery, which it may well be.
Just Google Mapped it. There are 3 golf courses within a 5 mile radius and 4 major parks with a 10 mile radius.
Also 2 country clubs and a municipal airport.
Shopping center or car dealer or hospital or apartments.
- Arbitrage of tax credits and getting US credit.
- High frequency trading (HFT) that is a 100% profit certainty
- Electronically traded ghost funds (the new securitization)
- Plundered intellectual property rights sold back to us
- One trillion offshore profits being held at randsom (by US Corps)
- A Dow with 1.6 B Vol last year at 1.2 today (.873 considering HFT)
- 90% of QE money ultimately lent to the casino (Dow)
- Bonuses for being able to design gouging systems
- Offshore competition without fear of reprisal
HFT operates in a billionth of a second often on it’s own data and doubles the trade - profiting on the spread. How is this fair?
Why isn’t the market in control of this?
That is what has made the market go up. When it goes down will they have enough money to ultimately pay QE back?
Jail time is a start for weasels who dine on their nation’s remaining flesh while it falls apart.
I would start with BenGey for studpidity.
I have a theory that a number of issues could be solved if the law were changed to require brokers to fill orders by FIFO rather than by order size. It might give the small retail investor a fighting chance. The chances of such a law passing, however, are extemely slim to none.
Bonuses for being able to design gouging systems
“The HELOC you say!” (In Montana™)
“TrueAmericanPatriotCEO™” utilizing, “Financial Innovation” for the good of the people. Benefiting which “people”, should by this time, be abundantly clear.
Ho ho, hah hah, hehehehehehe, BwaHaHaAhHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb-thrower™)
Will wonders never cease! Onondaga County finally went negative yoy December in median sales price. Sale count -16.7 yoy if you don’t believe the NAR is overstating that is.
Quick! Bring back the tax credit!
Here in Yates as well. But, we never had a “bubble”. LOL.
Banks Recovering but Need to Lend More: FDIC
23 Feb 2011 | By: Reuters
The banking industry continues to recover from the 2007-2009 financial crisis but lending will need to pick up if progress is to continue, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair said on Wednesday.
Industry profits were up considerably from a year ago standing at $21.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, which compares to a net loss of $1.8 billion a year ago, according to the quarterly banking report released by the agency.
Most of the increase was due to banks putting aside less to guard against loan losses.
Banks put aside $31.6 billion in the fourth quarter for losses, about 50 percent less than a year ago.
Bair said that in order for banks to fully move beyond the financial crisis they will need to start lending more.
“Cleaning up balance sheets, however, is only a first step,” Bair said. “Now, we are looking to the industry to take the next step, and begin to build their loan portfolios.”
“Cleaning up balance sheets, however, is only a first step,” Bair said. “Now, we are looking to the industry to take the next step, and begin to build their loan portfolios.”
Ummm, Sheila, Slim here. I keep reading that the demand for loans is way down. So, who are you planning to tell these banks to lend to?
“The patient needs to lose weight to regain normal health but must also be encouraged to eat more to gain weight.”
Where’s the punishment?
(-1)
By Lourdes Medrano, Correspondent / February 23, 2011
Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona justice: Shawna Forde death sentence a rebuke to border vigilantes:
“These fringe elements get in the way of having civil dialogue about these issues,” William Simmons, a border expert and political scientist at Arizona State University.”
Commentary coming soon from: “TrueAmerican™” MUrDoch’s “TrueProvoker™”/“TrueFoxVenom™” News…
What galls me about this case is that Shawna Forde went to this house looking for drugs that she could take in order to fund her movement. Well, guess what. No drugs at that house. So, instead of going away empty-handed, she killed a nine-year-old girl and her dad.
BTW, I’m acquainted with Pima County’s prosecuting attorney in this case. His flattening of the “she had a bad childhood” defense is a classic.
Saw these opinions that suggest she’s being railroaded:
“Forde was probably the “mastermind”; IMO the prosecution didn’t convincingly put her on the scene of the crime. And what about the FBI’s detailed prior knowledge of the “home invasion” plan? Wouldn’t that make the Bureau, like Forde, an accessory before the fact?”
“The only witness denied it was her, multiple times - until she reversed herself (presumably on seeing the same face in line up after varied lineup). She’s a high-profile pain in the ass - no evidence of involvement other than the testimony of the killers. It stinks.”
“Good News” for metro New York.
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110223/REAL_ESTATE/110229955#
Single-family homes off nearly are 22% from peak and at a seven year low, but the “good news is that metro area is faring far better than most other major U.S. markets.”
“Examined over a longer span of time, the New York area market is a clear standout. Over the last decade, prices in the metro area have risen 68%. That is enough to rank it in third place among the 20 cities, behind only Washington and Los Angeles. At the other end of the scale, in Detroit and Las Vegas, prices are down 34% and 1%, respectively in the last decade.”
The Consumer Price Index was up 27.0% from 2000 to 2010.
I didn’t realize the U.S. MSAs were in a race for “least affordable housing market.” Exactly how does pricing out your prospective future labor pool benefit local economies?
It is a complex calculation that involves carrying the 6 and doing a $hitload of hallucinogenics.
Remember, there are 2 economies. One for the rich and one for the rest of us.
Now why would the rich care about the other economy?
Problem bank list hits new high
Posted by Colin Barr February 23, 2011 ~ Fortune Finance
The economy may be on the mend, but the nation’s banks are still looking a little green in the gills.
The number of banks at risk of failing rose for the 17th straight quarter to 884, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday. That means 1 in 9 FDIC-insured institutions is at risk of collapse – which is the highest proportion in at least two decades.
The latest rise in the problem bank list comes as the banking industry has returned to profitability and the economy is showing signs of recovery.
U.S. banks made $21.7 billion in the fourth quarter, the FDIC said, marking their fourth straight quarter in the black following the financial meltdown of 2008-2009. Almost two-thirds of institutions showed year-over-year profit gains in the latest quarter, and the number of banks reporting losses declined.
But even as the industry’s numbers improve, there are signs of a troublesome disconnect between the health of the banks and the health of the economy.
A huge share of the latest quarter’s profits came from a few megabanks. The three most profitable U.S. bank holding companies – JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Goldman Sachs (GS) – made $10.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
Returns at community banks continue to lag behind those at bigger banks, the FDIC said, while the number of banks keeps shrinking.
A huge share of the latest quarter’s profits came from a few megabanks. The three most profitable U.S. bank holding companies – JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Goldman Sachs (GS) – made $10.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
Profits skyrocket when you put aside less for bad loan reserves. Thank god for killing mark-to-market accounting.
Thank god for killing mark-to-market accounting.
yes. it killed my shorts on the banks too. Hallelujah!!
Workers Sickened at Apple Supplier in China
23 Feb 2011 ~ The New York Times
Last week, when Apple released its annual review of labor conditions at its global suppliers, one startling revelation stood out: 137 workers at a factory here had been seriously injured by a toxic chemical used in making the signature slick glass screens of the iPhone.
Apple, describing it as a “core violation” of worker safety, said that it had ordered the contractor to stop using the chemical and to improve safety conditions at the plant. Apple also said that it would monitor the medical conditions of those workers.
But in interviews last weekend, nearly a dozen employees who say they were harmed by the chemical said they had never heard from anyone at Apple.
Instead, they said the contractor — a Taiwanese-owned company called Wintek — had pressed them and many other affected workers to resign and accept cash settlements that would absolve the factory of future liability, charges the company denied.
Hell, here you wouldn’t even get the cash settlement!
Damn commies!
Kansas City Fed President says farmland prices surging due to Fed policies:
(Via today’s Bloomberg) In response to audience questions, Hoenig said the Fed’s monetary policy “invites speculation” with its current pledge to keep interest rates low for an “extended period.”
Hoenig cited the case of rising farmland values. The Chicago Federal Reserve reported last week that the price of such land rose 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 from a year earlier. In Congressional testimony last week, Hoenig said the Kansas City Fed has recorded farmland prices nearly 20 percent above year-earlier levels in Kansas and Nebraska.
The Fed’s policy is “encouraging asset buildups,” Hoenig said. “My point is monetary policy isn’t just about inflation,” he said, it’s also “about asset values.”
The Fed’s policy is “encouraging asset buildups,” Hoenig said. “My point is monetary policy isn’t just about inflation,” he said, it’s also “about asset values.”
I came close to giving Richard Fisher a big hug last year. (He was a guest speaker at the University of Arizona’s business school.)
Reason for my unusual behavior: He gave his “end too big to fail” speech a test-drive. And we, the audience, liked it.
Now, Richard, you’re going to have to get in line. Now I want to hug Thomas Hoenig. And I’m not a huggy-kissy type of person.
I’ve never understood why asset price inflation isn’t considered “inflation.”
Guess it’s because they can’t see those asset-price bubbles, so it’s best to ignor what happens to asset prices…unless they’re going down, of course, in which case, you need to pump more money into the system to “stabilize” prices.
I’m coming a little late to the discussion of unions and gov pension obligations. The case of New Jersey I think is revealing because it demonstrates the debt obligation problem was something that was either ignored or abetted by conservatives and liberals alike. Two points are maddening. First, as I recall there was an accounting loophole for a time in which state assets were counted before the debits rolled in, creating an artificial surplus. This surplus was then fed into union contracts, and I don’t recall anyone protesting. And then there was poor out-of-her-depth Christie Whitman who a) made no payments to the pension fund during her administration, and b) argued, during a stock market bubble, that the pension funds had too great a surplus by $2B which she promptly raided (and issued bonds) in order to reduce tax obligations which benefited the wealthy disproportionately. I calculated that my benefit from the tax reduction worked out to about 1 pizza per month. (I also laugh bitterly when I recall that to balance the budget one year, the Turnpike sold a stretch of Highway to the Turnpike, or vice versa, and counted a $400 million profit.)
There were many hogs at this trough, and Jersey is now suffering from uber-debt. When I left it was about $59B, but is in the $60B range now. Enter, ironically, Chris Christie. It will be interesting to see how the untested governor will handle this debt crisis. It has been my untutored opinion that the Gov should cut back selectively in years where there were more slices handed out than cake, but state law would make this very difficult.
An aside: some commenters here have denigrated public relative to private schooling. A look at NJ shows the primitiveness of this opinion. In fact, there are world class public schools in some areas that are supported by the high property taxes I mentioned. Take Princeton, take Hunterdon County, Montgomery Township, etc. I was single then, and $11K in property taxes–which had increased from $6800 in 6 years–didn’t even buy garbage collection. But I was 5 minutes from an incredible public school and if I had had 3 kids, I would have thought of the $11K/3 as a great value. If fact, there are parents that move into by former area for 4 years so their kids can attend high school. The real problem with public schooling is that there are also high property taxes in areas with low-performing school. While people pay less in absolute terms, the tax rates are actually higher in poor neighborhoods. Thus, not only is the property tax regressive, but across-the-board budget reductions place a heavier burden on schools in poor neighborhoods. A property tax cap of 2.5%, which was probably necessary, does nothing to resolve the problem. (And the state property tax rebate is pure insanity.)
While people pay less in absolute terms, the tax rates are actually higher in poor neighborhoods. Thus, not only is the property tax regressive, but across-the-board budget reductions place a heavier burden on schools in poor neighborhoods
Tankxs,…and an Irish blessing to you & yours
I agree…Thanks…Post more often please…
Uh oh.
Facts.
(thanks x4gregor)
In New Jersey, part of the problem is retroactive pension enhancements under peak of the market union deals, but the taxpayer failure to fund the pensions that were promised to begin with are a bigger part of the story.
In NYC, on the other hand, the unions get more of the blame. NYC’s taxes have been at the top as a share of its residents’ income, but NJ’s taxes have been lower — which is why so many rich people move to NJ.
You can find out who paid what into the pension funds, and what their situation is, in this post.
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/larry_littlefield/state_and_local_finance_and_the_future_part_i_pensions.html
The spreadsheet includes data on all 50 states.
Whitman wasn’t out of her depth. She was a nasty little future destroyer who was followed by several of her kind, all members of Generation Greed. So while I don’t like Christie, I bear in mind he inherited the mess.
Thanks, WT Economist.
NY: Wall Street 2010 bonuses estimated at $20.8B
NY Comptroller DiNapoli estimates Wall Street bonuses nearly flat at $20.8 billion for 2010 February 23, 2011
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says Wall Street bonuses remained relatively flat at $20.8 billion in 2010, the first full year after the national recession officially ended.
The estimate of cash bonuses to New York City securities industry employees is down from what was actually paid in 2009. But it is $500 million more than DiNapoli’s bonus estimate a year ago.
It’s about one-third less than the 2007 bonuses before the financial crisis.
DiNapoli says Wednesday’s number reflects an industry shift toward deferred compensation and higher base salaries.
The comptroller’s report says Wall Street profits totaled $27.6 billion in 2010, second only to 2009 when the industry benefited from massive federal bailouts and low interest rates.
In 2008, Wall Street firms gave out $17.4 billion in bonuses.
NY: Wall Street 2010 bonuses estimated at $20.8 Billion
Next two years projected Wisconsin deficit is $3.6 billion
Those numbers kind of put the Crony-capitalist, bloodsucking Wall Street bonuses in perspective.
Also keep in mind that 20.8 Billion in Wall Street bonuses will be taxed at a historically low rate. (Because rich need their hard earned dough doing god’s work.)
I have read that the bonuses were higher than that ,I just have to go back and find those references .
Thank you, Rio.
Seems some can’t grasp this point.
Then and Now - Advertising Genius:
In July 2008 Lawrence Yun stated “I think we are very near to the end of the housing downturn.”
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National ASSociation of Realtors, said that the housing rescue bill would play a major role in helping the housing market to rebound. He said an especially significant feature was a tax break worth up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers who purchased between April 9 and July 1, 2009. Yun estimated that up to 3 million first-time home buyers would qualify for that tax break, providing a significant boost to sales at a critical time. “I think we are very near to the end of the housing downturn,” Yun said.
Yun is a modern expert on housing, of course.
Here’s what some medical experts said some time ago:
http://tinyurl.com/4swqbt2
Investors snap up cheap homes, new buyers miss out
Foreclosures, all-cash deals fuel home sales in January, while first-time buyers shrink
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home sales are starting to tick up after the worst year in more than a decade. But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time home-buyers who are critical for a housing recovery.
The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales.
A record number of foreclosures have forced home prices down in most markets. The median sales price for a home fell last month to its lowest level in nearly nine years, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Lower prices would normally be good for first-time home-buyers. But tighter lending standards have kept many from taking advantage of them. With fewer new buyers shopping, potential repeat buyers are hesitant to put their homes on the market and upgrade.
Cash-only investors are most interested in properties at risk of foreclosure. They can get those at bargain-basement prices.
Cash-only investors are most interested in properties at risk of foreclosure.
One wonders where they’re going to find tenants for these properties. Because I can’t help but think that they’re snapping these properties up now, doing some cosmetic fixups before renting them out for a few years, and then, ka-wham, house prices will start rocketing back up to the sky and they’ll really make a killing.
“…house prices will start rocketing back up to the sky and they’ll really make a killing.”
Kind of like how Japanese residential real estate investors who bought in the mid-1990s, after prices bottomed out, made a killing for themselves?
Oh wait…
“They can get those at bargain-basement prices.”
Later they can sell those at discounted bargain-basement prices.
They’re SNAPPING and SCOOPING them up again:
Derek Kravitz, AP Real Estate Writer, On Wednesday February 23, 2011, 3:02 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home sales are starting to tick up after the worst year in more than a decade. But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time home-buyers who are critical for a housing recovery.
The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales.
A record number of foreclosures have forced home prices down in most markets. The median sales price for a home fell last month to its lowest level in nearly nine years, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Lower prices would normally be good for first-time home-buyers. But tighter lending standards have kept many from taking advantage of them. With fewer new buyers shopping, potential repeat buyers are hesitant to put their homes on the market and upgrade.
Oh yea baby! The savvy infestors are on a roll. All the first time smucks are done for! Prices will never be this low again!
“But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time home-buyers who are critical for a housing recovery.”
Gawd bless the knifecatchers with cash for doing their part to keep the US housing market from outright collapse.
Good article at Forbes with the language of the WI bill. Hurry, it might disappear.
A Secret Deal Between Gov. Walker And Koch Brothers Buried In State Budget?
http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/02/22/a-secret-deal-between-gov-walker-and-koch-brothers-buried-in-state-budget/?partner=contextstory
…there is a conspiracy theory coming out of the fiasco in Wisconsin that may tell us everything we ever needed to know about Governor Scott Walker – and the cool part is that it comes with a verifiable ending.
(1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
…What this says is that the State of Wisconsin can sell or contract out management of state-owned heating, cooling and power plants without the requirement that bids for such a sale or leasing be solicited so as to maximize what the government can pocket through such an arrangement.
Put another way, the state can pick who they want and make whatever deal they want without anyone else having a chance to bid on the deal.
You have to admit- that is pretty unusual.
…So, who in the state of Wisconsin would be in a position to buy or operate these utilities such operations and benefit from a bid-free scenario?
Koch Pipeline Company, …The C. Reiss Coal Company …Flint Hills Resources, LLC,
All three of these Wisconsin based companies are the largest –or among the largest – in their fields. And they all have one thing in common.
Each of these companies is a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
The Kochtopus’s tentacles reach everywhere!
All three of these Wisconsin based companies are the largest –or among the largest – in their fields. And they all have one thing in common.
Each of these companies is a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
Koch: “WE-CARE-ABOUT-YOU…(peons)! REALLY!”
Hey now, looky here: 1,853 Comments!
Separate but unequal: Charts show growing rich-poor gap
By Zachary Roth
But the American economy is also plagued by a less-noted, but just as serious, problem: Simply put, over the last 30 years, the gap between rich and poor has widened into a chasm.
Gradual developments like this don’t typically lend themselves to news coverage. But Mother Jones magazine has crunched the data on inequality, and put together a group of stunning new charts. Taken together, they offer a dramatic visual illustration of who’s doing well and who’s doing badly in modern America.
Yep. Nothing to do with campaign contributions.
Hey, now, step right up!
You too can be like Chairman Bernank and provide much needed liquidity the world over. Just put one of these on your desktop. “Benjamin” green ink cartridges sold separately:
http://www.dimensionprinting.com/
Those wacky liberals…..
Ind. official who urged ‘Use live ammunition’on Wis. protesters loses job
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41736625/ns/us_news-life/
An Indiana state official who tweeted that riot police in neighboring Wisconsin should “use live ammunition” to clear out pro-union demonstrators has lost his job.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday that Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Cox “is no longer employed by this agency.”
The office made the announcement after reviewing statements Cox purportedly made in tweets and blog posts, including one in which he said he advocated “deadly force” against “thugs” who threatened state elected officials in Wisconsin.
Maybe he can go to work on Sarah Palin’s run for the White House…
Former aide rips Palin in leaked book manuscript
UNPUBLISHED: Former governor broke election law, Bailey alleges.
By SEAN COCKERHAM and KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News
Published: February 19th, 2011 10:16 PM
Last Modified: February 19th, 2011 10:17 PM
A leaked manuscript by one of Sarah Palin’s closest aides from her time as governor charges that Palin broke state election law in her 2006 gubernatorial campaign and was consumed by petty grievances up until she resigned.
The unpublished book by Frank Bailey was leaked to the media and widely circulated on Friday.
The manuscript opens with an account of Palin sending Bailey a message saying “I hate this damn job” shortly before she resigned as Alaska’s governor in July 2009, less than three years into her four-year term. The manuscript goes on for nearly 500 pages, a mixture of analysis, gossip and allegation.
Copies of the manuscript were forwarded around Alaska political circles on Friday. The Daily News received copies from multiple sources, the first from author Joe McGinniss, who is working on his own Palin book. McGinniss didn’t respond to a message asking where he obtained the manuscript and the reason he circulated it.
…
I wonder if Jeffrey was getting a pension (or better pay or benefits) from his govt job????
I don’t know how pensions/benefits/wages for government workers can be determined ,but isn’t the statement “We don’t have the money “not valid .
Heard Robert Reich on the radio tonight say Social Security could be fixed by hiking the wage base to $180K or so. Seems too easy. Funny how the banksters’ multi-billion dollar bonuses were protected against the will of the American voter, but Social Security isn’t even deemed politically worthy of a simple, relatively inexpensive remedy. This would be a nice twist on the Greenspan Social Security fix of 1983, which was to stick the rank-and-file with a burdensome 15.3% entitlement tax which stands to date.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
2012 Federal Budget
How to fix Social Security
Robert Reich
Commentator Robert Reich says there’s one way to keep Social Security financially solvent. And it doesn’t involve cutting benefits or raising the retirement age.
…
Greenspan’s commission failed to predict how much income would become concentrated at the top. Remember, the Social Security payroll tax applies only to earnings up to a certain ceiling that rises with inflation. That ceiling is now $106,800.
Back in 1983, the ceiling was set so the Social Security payroll tax would hit 90 percent of total income covered by Social Security. Today, though, the Social Security payroll tax hits only about 84 percent of total income.
It went from 90 percent to 84 percent because income inequality has widened. Now a much larger portion of total income goes to the top — almost twice the share they got back then.
If we want to return to 90 percent, the ceiling on income subject to the Social Security tax would need to be raised to $180,000. Do that and Social Security’s long-term problem is solved.
So there’s no reason even to consider reducing Social Security benefits or raising the age of eligibility. The logical response is simply to raise the ceiling.
Not incidentally, several months ago the White House considered proposing that the ceiling be lifted to $180,000. Somehow, though, that proposal didn’t make it into the president’s budget.
…
Why don’t we hike it to 5 million instead of 180k . I’m serious . The logic is this , We the people need a bail out . We don’t care if it’s
fair . We are yellin “FIRE” and we need a big gun ,and we promise
we will spend it for the benefit of the rich ,but we want immunity if we don’t . And while were thinking about it ,how about a ill-gotten gains tax for 10 years on profits from speculation ,or maybe credit default swaps , but maybe we should make it retroactive. Heck ,why can’t I pick the winners and losers . And while your at it could you also re-capitalize us lower class people a little bit ,after all my standard of living much go on at the Fat Cats expense . Maybe you can add a tax for any outsourced job by a multi-national
Corporation ,that one would be fun ,wow that would bring in the bucks . Maybe you could possibly ,while your at it ,adjust the tariffs
and the trade balances ,I know the Multi National Companies won’t like it ,but hell who cares .
I agree, Wiz.
There’s no reason to have any cap on income that’s taxable for SS.
Do this, and have means testing (yeah, it’s “socialism”), and we’d have a surplus!
A Blast from the Past:
“The special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital that they could not attract under pure market conditions. Like all artificially created bubbles, the boom in housing prices cannot last forever. When housing prices fall, homeowners will experience difficulty as their equity is wiped out. Furthermore, the holders of the mortgage debt will also have a loss. These losses will be greater than they would have otherwise been had government policy not actively encouraged over-investment in housing,”
Ron Paul, 2003
No wonder the Lame Stream Media portrays him as a tinfoil-hat- wearing loser to be ignored
Acknowledging that he was spot on with his vision would reveal a bevy of MSM-favored ‘experts’ who couldn’t see it coming to be the charlatans they are.
Map of National Gas Prices by County, In Case You’re Thinking of Driving Or Moving Somewhere:
http://tinyurl.com/63986s8
Ex, my in-laws are selling to locals.
Got it.
We have nothin’ to worry about unless oil spikes to over $100/barrel…
Oil spikes to $100 a barrel
Oil prices surged, propelled by upheaval in Libya and disruptions to its crude supplies. Nymex futures rose to $100 a barrel, the contract’s highest price since 2008.
The way the oil price is moving, we won’t even need a Republican-sponsored government shut down to precipitate a second dip of the recession.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Brent oil hits $113 on Libya unrest; stocks off lows
By Ian Chua
SYDNEY, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Unrest in Libya and the threat of contagion to other oil producing countries in the region drove Brent crude to $113 a barrel on Thursday, but the selloff in Asian stocks eased as investors started to nibble at beaten-down shares.
…
I can’t wait for the chance to blame the looming recession on the GOP…
America’s Debt Crisis
GOP spending cuts would hit economy hard
By Jeanne Sahadi, senior writer
February 23, 2011: 6:38 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The more federal spending Congress slashes this year, the greater the potential drag on economic growth, according to a new analysis from Goldman Sachs.
In a research note, economists at the Wall Street bank estimate that the House GOP’s spending bill — which would cut $61 billion between March and Sept. 30 — could reduce economic growth by 1.5 percentage points to 2 percentage points in the second and third quarters.
…
This development seems to increase considerably the risk that violence will erupt in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, a jarring new note in discordant debate
By James B. Kelleher
MADISON, Wisconsin | Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:14pm EST
MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - It’s going to be a long and noisy fight. And wait until the vuvuzuelas arrive.
…
If the protesters were looking for some peace and quiet, they may not get it soon.
For the past week, the volume of the protests here has been at times deafening, thanks to dozens of drummers who have kept up their pounding and cheering often well into the night.
Now comes word that vuvuzuelas, those long plastic horns so popular among fans at last year’s World Cup in South Africa, are about to add to the din.
Nick Nice, a 41-year-old DJ from Madison, has ordered 100 vuvuzuelas from a company in Utah and plans to distribute them to protesters when they arrive on Thursday.
“I watched 62 of the 64 World Cup games last year because my son was two months old and needed to be fed constantly,” Nice said. “The vuvuzuelas were the most annoying sound ever.”
…
“The vuvuzuelas were the most annoying sound ever.”
This is total B.S.
He must have never heard Scott Walker talk while being prank-phone-call punked.
Time to bust the Megabank trusts and restore the functionality of the banking system.
The Fed
Feb. 23, 2011, 1:20 p.m. EST
Biggest banks must be broken up, Hoenig says
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The systemic risks to the U.S. economy from the biggest U.S. banks are even worse in the wake of Washington efforts to reform the regulatory system, said Thomas Hoenig, the president of the Kansas City Fed, on Wednesday.
“In spite of all that’s been done and debated, the soundness of the largest financial institutions and the systemic risks they continue to pose…is even worse than before the crisis,” Hoenig said in a speech to a finance group in Washington.
Federal regulators must now turn their attention to breaking up the biggest banks, Hoenig said.
Hoenig’s call is likely to fall on deaf ears. The Kansas City Fed president is often a maverick at the central bank. His message is in sharp contrast to the views of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who has said that regulation has made great strides with the Dodd-Frank act. Moreover, the new Congress, led by Republicans, has been seeking to slow implementation of Dodd-Frank.
Hoenig said that the biggest banks should be broken up by expanding the Volcker rule to carve out business lines that are not essential to the basic business of commercial banking.
He argued that these separate parts of most too-big-to-fail firms might add up to a value much larger than each firm in its entirety.
“If action isn’t taken to scale down the biggest banks, we’ll have a bigger crisis in the future,” he said.
The top five U.S. banks now have 52% of all banking industry assets, Hoenig said, up from 38% in 1999.
The growth of these banks has hurt the recovery, he said. Normally market forces would steer funds from troubled institutions to strong banks.
But the opposite has occurred coming out of this crisis.
“Too many dollars appear stuck in institutions that must restore capital and work through bad asset problems before they can think of pursuing new lending opportunities,” Hoenig said.
…
My fantasy DC appointment: Hoenig heads up the council of economic advisors and opposes the Fed and Treasury leadership.