October 21, 2011

Weekend Topic Suggestions

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66 Comments »

Comment by Muggy
2011-10-21 03:25:23

O.k., y’all can work on the Oil City plan while RAL and I work on the Delaware plan. Lol…

“Hi, I’m in Delaware.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M_1fGshM1o&f

Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-21 05:38:39

Hey. Have you thought about commuting from mid-state to Wilmington? The way you were talking you wanted to be north of the C&D canal yet I hear to speak of hanging your hat in LowerSlower…. or is it SlowerLower…. I forgot which.

 
 
Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 05:01:30

Things that renters don’t do on their weekends:
1) mow grass
2) rake leaves
3) clean gutters
4) hang out at Lowes/HD
5) worry about winterizing their ‘home’
and so on and so on…

Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-21 05:35:52

GoonMan….. how do I become a federal Goon?

Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 06:24:17

The squad works as a subcontractor, not a full-fledged federal goon. They recruited us from an online resume, largely based on the fact that the squad possesses a masters degree. The task order for which the subcontractor hired was predominantly for projects funded with 2009 Recovery Act moneys. As these projects move toward completion, the task order scales back to cover projects funded by ‘normal’ congressional appropriations. With the Gov operating on continuing resolutions, there hasn’t been any ‘normal’ since the squad started working here. Sorry but no good advice for your federal goon job search, unless you’re a veteran or current federal goon, the USA Jobs website is a waste of time…

Comment by In Colorado
2011-10-21 06:41:29

unless you’re a veteran or current federal goon, the USA Jobs website is a waste of time…

I came to that conclusion a long time ago. It’s the ultimate black hole. The only people I know who could get a FedGov job are veterans or spouses of veterans.

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Comment by polly
2011-10-21 07:46:00

I am not a veteran. I am not the spouse of a veteran. I got my job through a listing on USA Jobs. Best bet is to be hugely over qualified for the listing and be willing to take a 20% or greater pay cut from your last position.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2011-10-21 08:00:15

But you’re in the DC area, right? My observation is for flyover country.

 
Comment by X-GSfixr
2011-10-21 08:34:53

You can add most state jobs to that list, BTW.

Went to my brother’s Border Patrol graduation at the Acadamy in Artesia, NM.

(And why was it built there? Must have been a kickback to someone……call Bill Richardson, he’s probably involved. To people in BFE, Artesia is considered BFE-squared. But I digress….)

3/4 of his class were “veterans”, most of them came straight from their discharge to the Acadamy.

Most of the rest were the sons and relatives (mostly Hispanic)of various police/sheriffs officers of departments along the border. This isn’t as big an issue as it seems…..most of these guys are 5th-6th generation US Americans who know the Mexican culture intimately, and don’t want it exported to the USA.

Anyway, that seems to be the latest career track; Army/Marines, then straight into law enforcement. Other than McDonalds in high school, never having a civilian job.

A lot of these former USAF/Navy pilot are retiring, and the high-rankers are getting Director/Chief Pilot jobs. And bringing their Air Force/Navy way of doing things with them.
Which is have all the pups out on the flight line, while all the Chiefs sit in the office, doing a bunch of unneccessary/BS paperwork, and drink coffee.

Doesn’t work that way in the civilian world. No money to hire the pup, for starters. So the maintenance guys work 8 hours a day on the airplane, and 4 hours a day doing the BS paperwork.

 
Comment by polly
2011-10-21 08:40:46

I moved to DC to get the job. I was living in Jersey City when I applied.

I also recommend networking into the group you want to work for. It won’t help you get on the most qualified list as that is done by others, but you want people to be looking out for your name on that list if you get through.

I had a professor who was willing to vouch for me recommend me for the position. I wasn’t at the very top of the list when it came through (or at least that is what I heard - never saw it), but they knew who I was and who recommended me once I did get through.

Also, if you are almost finished with some qualification for the job, finish it before looking for federal jobs. I was just a few credits shy of finishing a second relevant degree when I applied. If I had been done with it, I probably would have been higher on the list and the networking wouldn’t have been as important. Having one class left before I finished meant that the work I had done got me zero points towards being on the most qualified list.

 
 
Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-21 07:11:33

GoonMan……Yes ARRA. Quite familiar with it. ;) Anyways I figured life would be sweet as a bonafide card carrying Goon.

As a Bonafide Federal Goon, would I still be overpaid by 50%?

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Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 07:18:55

The squad does not consider itself overpaid, the flexible scheduling allowing for 26 non-holiday weekdays off is the real gravy.

 
Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-21 07:25:33

Yeah but as an employee of consultant/contractor Goon outfit that gets 60% of their revenue from govt. of all types, I’m overpaid. If I became a bonafide Federal Goon, how much would they slash my salary?

 
Comment by polly
2011-10-21 08:46:05

Your salary might slashed as a contractor, too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/us/politics/three-lawmakers-propose-cutting-contractor-wages.html?src=recg

Most of the article seems to be aimed at the executives of the company, but if you cut the top pay from $700K to $200K, the worker bees are going to get it too.

Three Lawmakers Propose Cutting Contractor Wages

….The proposed recommendation from Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Grassley and Mr. Tonko — one of many being made to the panel by lawmakers — would also expand the cap to cover all of a contractor’s employees, not just the top employees. The lawmakers said that inflated contractor salaries were passed on to government through higher bids for goods and services. In their letter, the lawmakers said that from 1998 to 2010, the rate for contractor salaries grew 53 percent faster than the rate of inflation….

 
 
 
 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:09:21

“3) clean gutters”

Thanks for the timely reminder to ask our landlords to come over and clean our gutters before the onset of Santa Anna firestorm season…

 
Comment by jeff saturday
2011-10-21 06:13:30

My DB LL hasn`t done sh#t in the 20 months I have paid his Deadbeat @ss. Place looks far better than the day we moved in.

Comment by AVOCAD0
2011-10-21 12:24:28

As an ex owner, now renter, yes a lot less work on the castle. Still have some upkeep as the LL’s are lazy and cheap.

Comment by cactus
2011-10-21 13:17:44

As an ex owner, now renter, yes a lot less work on the castle. Still have some upkeep as the LL’s are lazy and cheap.

me too , it is so nice to be able to micky fix things for a change.

For example in Poway ca rental the toilet valve leaked as it filled the tank, spraying water straight up to the underside of the tank lid where it rolled to the edges and driped down to the floor. Fixed it by putting a empty plastic butter dish over the top of the valve deflecting the water down before it could spray the underside of the tank lid. took about 2 minutes. in the old days I would have rebuilt the whole toilet , every seal, etc and with the crap at home depot it would have lasted about 2-3 years before it broke again.

I use alot of tape and long screws to fix things now, its really fast to micky fix things, slow and hard to fix things so they will last. renting is a time saver.

the handy man the various land lords send over is the same or even worse than my micky fixes. they CAN do a better job but why bother. When I owned I MADE them do a better job. now who cares I don’t

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Comment by polly
2011-10-21 13:01:12

Sounds like you didn’t do a very good job negotiating your lease.

 
 
Comment by Hwy50ina49Dodge
2011-10-21 06:15:04

Things that renters don’t do on their weekends:

Paint their interior/exterior walls, say; avocado green/purple passion?

Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 06:47:05

Renters who aren’t wasting their time painting get to go rock climbing on the weekends, right?

For a $40 annual rent, the squad rents unlimited access to Rocky Mountain National Park. Although this rented ‘backyard’ is shared with other renters, most of the crowds never venture more than a few miles from the paved roads.

 
 
Comment by In Colorado
2011-10-21 06:36:59

“Things that renters don’t do on their weekends”

FWIW, I see house renters out here do these things all the time. (OK, maybe not hang out at Lowes/HD).

 
Comment by CarrieAnn
2011-10-21 11:51:33

You’re kidding, right?

We rent a decent sized home in a neighborhood and we are responsible for all those things. It’s is particularly disdainful because the landlord couldn’t care less if anything is done well or safely. It is more about what it is to the minimum necessary to get the tenent to leave me alone so I can back to my non-landlord life. All that as I pay $500 more than my former piti. And that is why so many people do buy here. After all what is the downpayment money doing for me where it is?

Guess I gotta fire up the prayer circles again so the ancient hot water heater makes it through again. The servicer told us it was way beyond its life as we know but the LL told us to just have it patched up again. If it floods all our storage in the basement will probably be ruined.

Comment by oxide
2011-10-21 19:09:50

“$500 more than my PITI”

And there it is. $500 buys a lot of maintenance.

 
 
 
Comment by jeff saturday
2011-10-21 05:41:33

“The simple law of supply and demand dictates prices should rise as inventory drops.” “inventory is drying up.”

ScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScam
ScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScam
ScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScam
ScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScamScam

County home sales up 34 percent in September, prices dip to $180,300

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 10:27 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011

Everyone wants a deal, that 3/2 with a pool and discounted price tag, but homebuyers in Palm Beach County are finding more fixer-uppers than low-cost luxury.

With sales of existing homes elevated all year - they were up 34 percent last month compared to September 2010 - inventory is drying up.

And as with most things in the new world of real estate, old rules no longer apply. The simple law of supply and demand dictates prices should rise as inventory drops.

Terence Desvignes would like to be one of those buyers, but after two years of looking in Palm Beach County he has yet to find what he wants in a price range he’s willing to pay.

“It’s not only lack of inventory, it’s lack of quality,” said Desvignes, who hopes for a home in the $250,000 price range in a gated community with a large yard and view of a lake.

But his Realtor, Shannon Brink of RE/MAX Prestige Realty in West Palm Beach, said Desvignes may have to consider neighborhoods not on his original list.

“I had a pretty blunt conversation about the fact that not only are the steals disappearing, but we are running out of any options at all in some of these communities in a certain price range,” Brink said.
———————————————————————————-
Confidence trick

“Con games”
“Scam”

A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as greed, both dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, naïveté, and the thought of trying to get something of value for nothing or for something far less valuable.

The confidence trick is also known as a con game, con, scam, grift, hustle, bunko, swindle, flim flam, gaffle or bamboozle. The intended victim(s) are known as marks. The perpetrator of a confidence trick is often referred to as a confidence man/woman, con man/woman, con artist or grifter. When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.

See also

Counterfeit
Franchise fraud
Great Reality TV Swindle
(Angelo Mazzillo)
List of confidence tricks
List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates (Realtors)
List of Ponzi schemes
Malignant narcissism
(Deadbeat)
Moving scam
Phishing
(Bank of America)
Ponzi scheme
Psychological manipulation
(Homeloaner)
Psychopathy
Pyramid scheme
Quackery
Scad (scam ad)
Scam baiting
Scams in intellectual property
Social engineering
(HAMP)
Spanish Prisoner
Sting operation
Swampland in Florida
UK Plot Based Land Banking
White-collar crime

Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:07:40

I wouldn’t call it a “scam” — collusion to fix prices by withholding shadow inventory from the market is more like it.

 
Comment by Hwy50ina49Dodge
2011-10-21 06:22:39

Confidence trick

“Con game$”
“$cam”

See also:
Psychological manipulation
Sub-Plot: ;-)

(Cheney -$hrub):
“WMD’s”
“Yellow-cake”
“Mi$$ion Accompli$hed!”

Comment by iftheshoefits
2011-10-21 06:53:07

“Green jobs!”

 
 
Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-21 07:17:27

This is a task for RuPaul and The Goon Squad!

Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 07:40:26

We’re on it. 2banany, meet the tranny…

Comment by Realtors Are Liars®
2011-10-21 09:23:53

….. meanwhile, down at RuPaul-2012 headqaurters, campaign manager 2banany trolls blogs and forums seeking to win friends and influence people.

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Comment by ahansen
2011-10-21 12:11:11

LOL

RuPaul and The Goon Squad!
Sounds like a Saturday AM cartoon show.

Oh…wait….

 
 
 
Comment by jeff saturday
2011-10-21 06:05:12

County home sales up 34 percent in September, prices dip to $180,300

By Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 10:27 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011

20 COMMENTS (none of them mine)

It is amazing to see home prices so high at $180,000. When factoring in the cost of home ownership, one must include taxes, insurance, HOA, security guards, and maintenance such as pool, yard, etc. These items are extremely expensive and are not yet being fully factored in to home prices. When they are, you’ll see another 30-50% decline before being in line with actual income in our area. If you are able to sell, do it now. If you’re thinking of buying, wait, or get ripped off now.
fact checker
1:15 PM, 10/20/2011

Shocker! Prices down AGAIN..and sales go up…Dont need Economics 101 to understand that..with millions of homes still being squatted in by deadbeats.and “shadow” inventory in the millions.House prices are still going lower..no way around it.until the houses are all foreclosed upon,until all the squatters are kicked out with houses sold at market value,until banks put the millions of homes in inventory back on the market, Why buy? Prices going lower,common sense!.and expenses going up! Not good
steve
1:24 PM, 10/20/2011

“Fact Checker” is 100% correct. Home prices (not on the water) won’t bottom until they hit roughly 75 dollars per square foot, including land. We’ve got another 30 to 40 percent down from here.
tom
2:45 PM, 10/20/2011

Low home prices are a very good thing. Still a ways to go. If the median income is $45000 then the average price should be around $125,000 not $180,000.
Jon King
7:44 PM, 10/20/2011

 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:14:15

What about the proposal to save the U.S. housing market by offering foreign investors a sweet deal on obtaining a Visa?

Buy a US Home, Get a Visa— But There’s a Catch
Published: Thursday, 20 Oct 2011 | 12:43 PM ET
By: Diana Olick
CNBC Real Estate Reporter

Home sales are bouncing along the bottom, home prices still haven’t hit bottom, and government proposals to juice the housing market are simply falling flat.

The one bright spot in the hardest hit markets is foreign investment. While international buyers made up just 3 percent of home purchases nationally in September, according to the National Association of Realtors, they made up a far higher share in Miami and Phoenix, where the now-burst housing bubble left the greatest rubble.

Investors are buying up the distressed inventory at a fast clip, but not fast enough.

So why not try to get more?

That’s precisely what a bipartisan team of Senators, Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are proposing. The last section of a their new immigration bill is titled, “Increasing Home Ownership by Priority Visitors.” It would offer non-immigrant visas to foreigners who buy at least $500,000 worth of residential US real estate. Unfortunately, there are a whole lot of caveats that will limit the scope of that potential buying population.

First and foremost, this is not a work visa, and the buyer has to live in the residence for at least six months (not necessarily consecutive) out of the year. That means said buyer would not be able to work in the US for half the year; translation, said buyer would have to be really rich. The buyer would of course have to go through the standard criminal background checks that any US residence visa requires, but they can bring the spouse and kids. The homeowner could not receive any US government benefits, and once they sell the house, they have to leave the country.

Comment by Blue Skye
2011-10-21 07:58:07

If we are serious about scamming these marks, give them automatic dual citizenship, so we can tax all their overseas earnings.

Doesn’t Congress have any serious work to do?

 
Comment by cactus
2011-10-21 09:30:54

need more people to get the pyramid ecomomy cranking again

bring in new blood since the natives have been bled dry

Comment by In Colorado
2011-10-21 13:03:55

The thing is that in so many foreign countries things aren’t so rosy: kidnappings, riots, drug lords, etc. A lot of people want to emigrate someplace where it’s still “safe”.

My brother got his engineering degree at ITESM in Mexico (Mexico’s top engineering school). He told me the other day that the majority of his classmates managed to get themselves trasferred to the USA by their multinational employer (I have a cousin who is trying to do that right now).

Being middle to upper middle class in Mexico means have a big fat bullseye on your back. You aren’t wealthy enough to afford bodyguards but rich enough to pay a ransom.

Memo to American cubicle dwellers: coming soon to your neighborhood.

Comment by Carl Morris
2011-10-21 15:30:06

Being middle to upper middle class in Mexico means have a big fat bullseye on your back. You aren’t wealthy enough to afford bodyguards but rich enough to pay a ransom.

Glad that’ll never happen here.

Memo to American cubicle dwellers: coming soon to your neighborhood.

Doh.

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Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:18:15

How is your personal Great Recession investment portfolio holding up compared to those of high profile fund management gurus?

Note to Gross: Don’t fight the Fed.

Oct. 21, 2011, 12:09 a.m. EDT
Big-name money gurus aren’t too big to fail
Commentary: Bad bets by Gross, Paulson show how mighty can fall
By Howard Gold

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The market has been pretty rough these days for all of us. But some big-name investors are probably doing worse than you are.

William H. Gross, the head of Pimco Total Return Fund PTTRX 0.00% and the most illustrious bond investor of our time, is reeling from a big move out of U.S. Treasurys early in the year.

John A. Paulson, Mr. “Greatest Trade Ever,” is anxiously awaiting the end of the month, when he’ll see how many of his investors cash out of his Advantage hedge funds after heavy losses this year.

Both Gross and Paulson are big names who’ve had rough patches and their experience shows how tough it is for even the best to beat the market consistently over long periods, especially if managers make big macro bets on the economy or stray beyond their areas of expertise. (Paulson’s spokesman declined my request for comment, and Pimco didn’t respond by deadline.)

Comment by Bill in Phoenix and Tampa
2011-10-21 17:02:59

My GR portfolio is holding up well, surprisingly. 10.5% precious metals, 55% equities and the remainder in a mix of savings bonds, municipal bonds, T-bills, and cash and a small amount of treasury notes and TIPS. Within $43,000 of my all time high net worth, which was sometime in the summer.

Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 19:39:27

Keep working it. Live forever. The squad’s retirement plan is to start free-solo unroped rock climbing at age 70.

Your retirement, in comparison, sounds well-funded, and totally boring…

Comment by Bill in Phoenix and Tampa
2011-10-22 03:56:03

My retirement is to be part time work from my homes. I will be spending time masters swimming and mountain biking - in my 70s.

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Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:21:11

What, if anything, will OWS protests accomplish by the end of the day?

And when, if ever, will the day end?

Oct. 21, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT
Why Occupy Wall Street will fail
Commentary: Five reasons why the protests won’t change a thing
By Brett Arends, MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The public has every reason to be angry at what’s going on in this country, and every reason to protest. But will the Occupy Wall Street movement succeed in changing anything? Don’t count on it.

Here are five reasons I think these protests are doomed to fail.

Comment by goon squad
2011-10-21 07:50:42

The typical reader comments on MW article: dirty hippies, go back to mom’s basement, et cetera…

Over on counterpunch DOT org, article by the Rev. Jesse Jackson trying to hijack OWS and advocating loanowner bailout.

Jesse, Al, corporate democrats, stay the f* out of this, there’s no free cheese in this for you!

Comment by SV guy
2011-10-21 08:26:28

“Jesse, Al, corporate democrats, stay the f* out of this, there’s no free cheese in this for you!”

+ a bunch

 
 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 08:29:13

Voices From the Occupy Protests
Oct. 20, 2011

Wall Street Journal reporters in New York, Chicago and Washington, DC asked a variety of protestors for their views on the Occupy movement.

 
 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:25:05

Has anyone come up with any vibrant new solutions to fixing the U.S. housing market, or are we collectively stuck with the same tired old neo-Keynesian proposals over the foreseeable time horizon?

OPINION
OCTOBER 20, 2011

How to Clean Up the Housing Mess
Millions of foreclosures are ruining millions of lives. We can do better than Social Darwinism.
By ALAN S. BLINDER

About four years ago, as the housing bust worsened, our country faced an entirely predictable problem: A huge wave of foreclosures was headed our way. The issue of the day was how to stop it before it engulfed the entire economy. My suggestion then was to revive the Depression-era Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, which refinanced about a tenth of all the mortgages in America and closed its books with a small profit. Never mind the details; the suggestion was ignored. Maybe there were better ideas, anyway.

Sadly, however, we did almost nothing to stop the predicted foreclosure wave, which is now drowning us. The issue at this late date is how we can mitigate the damage.

One oft-repeated answer comes from the intellectual descendants of Andrew Mellon and Herbert Spencer: liquidate, liquidate, liquidate. Let the housing market find its natural bottom, and the chips fall where they may.

I beg to differ. Some of the reasons are humanitarian. Millions of foreclosures are ruining millions of lives and devastating many communities. We can do better than Social Darwinism.

Comment by Blue Skye
2011-10-21 07:59:47

It’s not the disease that kills you, it’s the diagnosis.

Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 08:32:18

Actually, it is the bad behavior that led to the onset of the disease which kills.

 
Comment by X-GSfixr
2011-10-21 08:45:04

And the diagnosis is to tape up the broken finger, and ignore the shotgun blast to the chest.

It’s about the jobs, plain and simple.

And there’s no fix for that, without stopping the outsourcing, and ending illegal immigration. And since illegal immigration and outsourcing are favored by the 1%ers, it means that there is no fix.

Comment by In Colorado
2011-10-21 13:05:11

And since illegal immigration and outsourcing are favored by the 1%ers, it means that there is no fix.

+1

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Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 06:26:57

Is the Fed to blame for the financial crisis?

OPINION
OCTOBER 20, 2011

Blame the Fed for the Financial Crisis
The Fed fails to grasp that an interest rate is a price, the price of time. Attempting to manipulate that price is as destructive as any other government price control.
By RON PAUL

To know what is wrong with the Federal Reserve, one must first understand the nature of money. Money is like any other good in our economy that emerges from the market to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. Its particular usefulness is that it helps facilitate indirect exchange, making it easier for us to buy and sell goods because there is a common way of measuring their value. Money is not a government phenomenon, and it need not and should not be managed by government. When central banks like the Fed manage money they are engaging in price fixing, which leads not to prosperity but to disaster.

The Federal Reserve has caused every single boom and bust that has occurred in this country since the bank’s creation in 1913. It pumps new money into the financial system to lower interest rates and spur the economy. Adding new money increases the supply of money, making the price of money over time—the interest rate—lower than the market would make it. These lower interest rates affect the allocation of resources, causing capital to be malinvested throughout the economy. So certain projects and ventures that appear profitable when funded at artificially low interest rates are not in fact the best use of those resources.

Eventually, the economic boom created by the Fed’s actions is found to be unsustainable, and the bust ensues as this malinvested capital manifests itself in a surplus of capital goods, inventory overhangs, etc. Until these misdirected resources are put to a more productive use—the uses the free market actually desires—the economy stagnates.

Comment by butters
2011-10-21 06:51:53

Ron Paul is wrong.

Fed is right, look at the stock markets.

If Ron Paul was so right, he would be leading in the polls……

Comment by X-GSfixr
2011-10-21 08:50:37

His “Always blame the FED” plan is getting as bad as the “all our problems are due to unions/sub prime borrowers” bunch.

What’s his plan “B”, if the FED goes away, and the candy-crapping unicorns don’t show up?

Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 12:31:52

I’m still waiting to hear about what happens after he “Ends the Fed,” not to mention all those other “useless” Federal government agencies he wants to scrap, such as the Department of Commerce, which conducts the “useless” census and puts out “useless” GDP numbers.

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Comment by polly
2011-10-21 13:03:20

Doesn’t the department of energy play some important role relating to nuclear materials?

 
Comment by In Colorado
2011-10-21 13:06:36

Ron Paul wants to go back to 1903. Problem is, it’s not 1903.

 
Comment by X-GSfixr
2011-10-21 13:32:34

I believe the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is under the DOE.

He can kill the Department of Energy, but you still need the NRC.

He can kill the Department of Transportation, but you still need the FAA, NHTSA, and NTSB.

Unless of course, you think that the “free-market” can regulate itself.

I really think we need to let the Republicans get their hands on all levers of government, and auger this ship straight into the ground.

They overestimate the “waste, fraud and abuse” of government, and underestimate the willingness of business to sell their mothers, if it means a few extra bucks in their pocket.

Why think about long term, when a couple of years of outright criminality can set you up financially for life? Especially since we don’t seem to be able to put white collar criminals in jail anymore.

 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 14:11:17

“Doesn’t the department of energy play some important role relating to nuclear materials?”

I’m sure the much-vaunted private sector could handle the work just fine.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by jeff saturday
2011-10-21 06:41:04

New housing plan expected soon: Congress aide

By Thomas Ferraro and Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON | Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:45pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration and the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to unveil new steps to help distressed homeowners in the next week or two, a senior congressional aide said on Thursday.

The aide commented on the plan after Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said the Federal Reserve planned to send Congress “legislative recommendations” on housing.

The aide said Feinstein “misspoke for a second” and meant the administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

After Senate Democrats met with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Feinstein told reporters the central bank chief had stressed that more needed to be done to help the housing sector.

“They are going to submit a list of recommendations next week,” Feinstein told reporters. She said the pending proposals are “legislative recommendations we can look at.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-usa-congress-bernanke-idUSTRE79J7QN20111020 - -

 
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower©
2011-10-21 12:33:26

Is a record low value of the dollar relative to the yen desirable or not?

Oct. 21, 2011, 3:23 p.m. EDT
Dollar hits record low vs. yen, helps euro
Japanese yen at strongest level since World War II
By Deborah Levine and William L. Watts, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar fell further against the euro and other major currencies after dropping sharply to a record low against the Japanese yen, which some analysts attributed to the market hitting key levels that triggered selling of the greenback and a more general unwinding of positions ahead of key meetings in Europe.

The euro gained earlier even though a Sunday summit of European Union leaders is no longer expected to produce a far-reaching plan to address the region’s debt and banking crisis. European leaders have promised a plan will emerge from a subsequent summit, to be held no later than Wednesday.

The dollar USDJPY -0.86% dropped as low as 75.76 Japanese yen, according to FactSet Research, down more than 1% from ¥76.85 in late U.S. trading Thursday. It lately bounced back a bit to ¥76.17.

The move gave the dollar a 1.4% loss against the yen this week, adding to a yearly decline of 6.1%. It’s the biggest weekly drop since mid-August.

 
Comment by Muggy
2011-10-21 14:37:44

Related to my post above… weekend topic suggestion: how has the situation “turning Japanese” altered your plans?

For me, I planned on getting experience and moving back to the northeast, but now I should probably stay put. The prolonging of the housing bubble is making people less mobile… is that a good thing?

Comment by Bill in Phoenix and Tampa
2011-10-21 17:07:21

You’re being sarcastic aren’t you? I’m mopping up $ in Florida right now because of my mobility. I get head hunter contacts weekly for jobs out west. $65 to $75 per hour in Irvine - well that’s the stated rate. I could get it for $90. But I want to be in Florida for awhile. Softy jobs are booming in California. My most pessimistic contact in LA admits it too.

Those people stuck in houses is a good thing for the roaming high tech contractors.

Comment by oxide
2011-10-21 19:38:39

Yeah, good point, Bill. Maybe Muggy should divorce the wife, put the kids on the church doorstep, LUCK into a demand field, and pack a teepee into the back of an F-150. Then he too would mop up the $$$ and you won’t be able to rub it in for the 487th time. :roll:

Comment by Carl Morris
2011-10-21 21:46:58

I don’t feel like Bill “rubs it in”. He made his choices and occasionally the upside is so good he needs to tell somebody about it :-). I don’t begrudge him that…I could probably do the same thing but I have much different priorities. I don’t need to crow about the times when things work out well for me, because he gets to hear about what he’s missing every day from our entire culture.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by Muggy
2011-10-22 06:21:22

Bill, you missed my point.

 
 
 
 
 
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