Bits Bucket for October 28, 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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From Counterpunch DOT org:
“Marine Scott Olsen made it through two tours in Iraq without an injury, but back home in the United States he was critically wounded by a police riot.
The injury to Olsen is a shot being heard around the world, like the Kent State murders during the Vietnam War, though far less deadly.
This incident disproves lies told by the corporate media who try to demonize the diverse members of the Occupy movement with words like “hippies.”
The Occupy movement brings hope, enthusiasm, determination, anger, joy, and the possibility of a better world. But we should expect the 1% and their managers, including Pres. Barack Obama, to begin firing, in various ways, on this Second American Revolution.”
If I ever do attend one of these rallies myself, I’ll be carrying a placard w/his name on it. I can’t tell you how much it upsets me that this has happened to him this way.
I had read that he was not unemployed but in fact has a job as a software developer. But it was not confimed in a way I feel confident. Does anyone have more information on this person and what he was doing before being shot at?
If you want any information about the Occupy movement and events in the US, read the UK Guardian. The Amerikan media is a f*ing joke, one example of which is fluffer to the 1%, AM talk radio host and columnist for the Denver Post, Mike Rosen:
“It’s impossible to reason with the childish protesters who dominate the Occupy Wall Street charade. Their narrative is a collection of rants and slogans extracting a pound of lie from an ounce of truth.
The financial meltdown of 2008 is considerably more complicated than the simplistic notion of a conspiracy of greedy corporations and Wall Street bankers. To be sure, there were criminals, scoundrels, and unethical opportunists in the financial sector, just as there are in every sector of our society. The reason only a few, like Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff and some inside traders, have gone to jail is that the bad judgement and stupidity of some others aren’t prosecutable crimes.”
The financial meltdown of 2008 is considerably more complicated than the simplistic notion of a conspiracy of greedy corporation$ and Wall $treet banker$.
Boat—->Iceberg—–>Sink,…but really, it was more complicated than that.
I found good coverage at the SF Gate and also the VFP (Veterans for Peace) websites. I guess the members of this veterans group identify themselves onsite w/logo’d shirts and flags. Sounds like they got into a bit of a scuffle too in Boston when a line of them inserted themselves between police and protesters in Boston.
I wonder if that was in reaction to when Peter Schiff went down into the crowds w/a sign that read I am the 1%. He really did conduct himself quite well and they weren’t listening to his questions. He had to repeat himself at least 10 times to get anyone to actually realize what he was asking and then this one woman he was most interacting with just went silent. She was a laid off mortgage broker.
Schiff argued he employed 150 people and that (when you add all the taxes he is responsible for) he pays more than 50% in taxes on his income already. He pointed out at some point the burden of tax will be so high he’ll just close up shop unable to make a profit and where will those 150 people be. I think the OWS crowd should have argued the capital gains tax rates but they weren’t sophisticated enough to give him that argument.
Of course, Schiff knows better and it kind of bothered me he took the cheap victory.
OK the skinny on Peter…..He does not pay his people aka interns to run his radio show. He has plenty of money but he can find people to work for free well hellll why pay ‘em.
And sure he “employs” 150 people betcha most are on commission only….so his actual out of pocket weekly payroll expenses is quite small compared to say 150 people working in a factory.
Yeah, I know it’s becoming sooooo hard for the rich to make a buck, that must be why their share of total income and wealth keeps growing.
And that must be why employers didn’t “close the doors” in the 50’s and 60’s when tax rates were so much higher than today. Those people were being punished for being successful!
The only solution of course is to tax the “Lucky Duckies” with a flat income tax and a national sales tax while lowering taxes on riches like Mr. Schiff so he can buy another Benz.
Damn LuckyDuckies and UnionGoons. They created globalism. They need to be held accountable.
After hearing Peter Schiff being praised elsewhere I decided to do a little research on him.
Imo he says some good things but if you listen closely enough you see that he isn’t a 99%er. He lost me when he cryed about exorbitant corporate taxes. And the 100+ jobs that would be lost because he would be ‘forced’ to relocate.
Go F yourself Peter.
cryed, cried……oh well.
He makes his living as a skimmer. He produces nothing.
I call BS on his assertion that he pays more than 50% in taxes. I’d ask to see his tax return.
He went in w/a sign saying he was 1%er. Let’s talk. He never tried to claim he was a 99%er.
I watched his debate w/Cornell West on CNN
http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2011/10/27/ac-peter-schiff-cornell-west-debate-occupy.cnn.html
There are parts of what Peter is saying here that are absolutely right. We’ve got to get the risk/reward part of capitalism back on track. The government screwed up when they first caved to Wall Street demands and they’re screwing up now when they resort to TBTF protectionism which misallocates our resources.
That he’s seemingly giving corporations a pass seems to be an interesting shift in position for him. I don’t think he’s the only one of the early flag bearers that seem to be running back to the corporate embrace. Of course it would be impossible for someone like me to even venture a guess but you I can only imagine the behind the scenes pressure to get these people back into line must be immense.
“Schiff argued he employed 150 people and that (when you add all the taxes he is responsible for) he pays more than 50% in taxes on his income already. He pointed out at some point the burden of tax will be so high he’ll just close up shop unable to make a profit and where will those 150 people be. ”
You only pay taxes on profit, so if he can’t make a profit, he won’t be paying taxes.
He is almost certainly including a chunk of the taxes that he pays for any of those employees that actually get salaries. But as the economists point out, that burden is really born by the employees. What he is saying is that he can’t make a profit while paying what it costs to hire the employees he needs.
As for the deciding to go home if he doesn’t make enough, that is fine. If his airtime is available, then someone else with talent will be delighted to start a show that can fill in the gap that he leaves. His employees can get jobs with the new person who is less greedy about wantting to take home every penny that an advertiser is willing to put up to reach his audience.
Peter Schiff
I am suprised he didn’t try and sell them some Gold
“I am suprised he didn’t try and sell them some Gold”
Stir up a riot- it’s good for (the gold) business!
The Amerikan media is a f*ing joke, one example of which is fluffer to the 1%, AM talk radio host and columnist for the Denver Post, Mike Rosen
It must be nice to be a paid shill for the 1%’ers and to say with a straight face that we need to reward those who continue to offshore jobs.
Corporate MSM shill Mike Rosen knows who signs his paycheck.
I am a law and order kind of guy. I support the police. They do a tough job and deal with the scum of humanity on a regular basis. I’m college educated with a reasonable net worth.
However, I am also fed up (no pun intended) with the central planning shenanigans of the Fed and the government which keeps damaging my economic outlook, and has no perceptible benefit other than enriching the very entities and individuals who caused the problems in the first place. Namely the politicians and the financial sector.
If riot police shot a two tour Iraq veteran who was peacefully protesting the malfeasance of politicians and Wall Street, and it wasn’t an accident… and God forbid he dies… I think his name will become a rallying cry for a lot of people.
I am a law and order kind of guy. I support the police.
Sign seen (by Slim) at Occupy Tucson’s camp in Armory Park:
TPD is the 99%
By TPD, we mean the Tucson Police Department. And, yes, I am an Occupy Tucson supporter and in-kind donor. Matter of fact, I have more kitchen supplies to take down to the camp this weekend.
They do a tough job and deal with the scum of humanity on a regular basis.
A few years ago the renewal notice for one of the cars’ tags didn’t arrive in the mail and we forgot to renew it. I drove that car to school to pick up my kid and was pulled over.
The way the cop treated me made me think he was having a hard time distinguishing the “scum of humanity” from the rest of us. While I was very polite he was rude and verbally abusive.
A few months later a tailgater rear ended me. This time the cop (a different one) glared at me and said “I know that this was your fault, but since there are no witnesses I won’t write you up”.
Cops are scum.
No, they are not. Cops are people and some of them are bad eggs. We need better screenings for people who we need to be able to trust and depend on. If the idea of whacking people with your nightstick makes you giddy (like that moron in New York) you should not be a cop.
‘I am a law and order kind of guy.”
Ahh code language for “make exceptions for me and imposed the letter of the law to ‘those people’.”
Some interesting reading on the Oakland incident:
1) “Marines have been flocking to the social networking/aggregator site Reddit to voice their anger at the life-threatening injury inflicted on 24-year-old Iraqi war veteran Scott Olsen by Oakland police during the recent Occupy protests. Video showed Olsen go down after taking a tear gas canister to the head. As fellow protesters tried to assist him, police lobbed a flash grenade into their midst–right next to Olsen’s already fractured skull.”
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlla/marines-storm-reddit-after-occupy-oakland-shooting-of-scott-olson_b43369
2) “War Is A Racket”, written by a Marine general who received two (2) Medals of Honor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket
This video is from New York: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEHcOc0Sys&feature=player_embedded
This page has two videos of the incident in Oakland, with riot police tossing flash bangs at the prone Olsen:
http://www.webpronews.com/scott-olsen-marine-vet-injured-during-occupyoakland-finds-support-online-2011-10
WE are the 99%. (Yes, you too.)
A major problem has arisen for the Faux News/Kochtopuss propaganda machine. The Marine veteran the cops brained while they were running off peaceful protesters had a good job and was successful- and was apparently not a smelly hippy either. How to spin this one?
Associated Press
“Despite the financial underpinnings of the protests, Olsen himself wasn’t taking part out of economic need.
His friends say he makes a good living as a network engineer and has a nice apartment overlooking San Francisco Bay. Still, he felt so strongly about economic inequality in the United States that he fought for overseas that he slept at a protest camp after work.”
The thing about being gainfully employed in a “good job” is that wages have been stagnant over the past 10 years, which means that even cubicle farm dwellers are earning 20-30% fewer real dollars than they were 10 years ago.
There was an article in the Denver Post a few days ago that showed median HH incomes in Colorado’s major counties. In every single one nominal (not adjusted for inflation) median incomes had fallen, as much as 10% since 2001.
I was talking with my sister about this. Her social circle consists of cubicle dwellers and she tells me that people are scared as they can’t make ends meet even though they have cut back left and right: still driving the old cars, don’t go out to eat as often if at all, no “fun” vacations, etc. My sister has been frugal from day 1: No cable/satellite, no smart phones, vacations at grandma’s house, rarely go out to eat, shop for clothes at discount stores and she says the same thing: she. can’t make ends meet, so she keeps cutting back (she also laughs at the notion of inflation being under control)
Just ten? I’ve seen it up close and personal since 1990 or thereabouts.
Which is why I’ve turned away from the Republican BS generating machine. Their answer to everything is to take money out of J6Ps pockets, in order to give the self proclaimed “producers” tax cuts.
Once started, the process doesn’t stop. One set of turnips gets squeezed, and when they are squeezed dry, they move on to the next set of turnips. The current turnips are state and local employees.
Until labor becomes as portable as capital, this process will continue. Since that’s never going to happen, maybe you need to have lass portable capital.
Money/wealth doesn’t really care what kind of society it lives under. If turning the USA into a Third World $hithole, or the local government shoots the serfs in order to keep taxes low, well that’s where the money will live.
X-GSfixr
Very well stated.
“Their answer to everything is to take money out of J6Ps pockets, in order to give the self proclaimed “producers” tax cuts.”
AKA, wealth redistribution. Please feel as free to call it that as “they” call the opposite situation.
>One set of turnips gets squeezed,
>and when they are squeezed dry, they move on to the next set of turnips.
The trick is to be in a position to be the squeezer and not the squeezee. For example, a computer developer with 1990s skills is not going to be getting deals for top rates as often as in the 1990s (assuming they acquired and used the skills in the 1990s). Some people are still working their way up to stuff that would have been obvious by then.
As a checker; my wife has seen firsthand how much inflation has been hitting the grocery stores. Also how many more gainfully employed people have SNAP benefit cards (policeman for example) compared to the “welfare queens” of yesteryear. The card helps with the stigma, but the problem is more people NEED help to make ends meet, people who 10 years ago got along just fine. And as a lunch lady how many more free and reduced lunch recipients there are now; more every day it seems. We just qualified for SNAP and free lunches ourselves.
So regular people are needing govt help to make ends meet. Wife and I both work, but when your healthcare costs 20k per year; not including the dentist, the question for us is “how to find a stable job with benefits”
How can we keep going making 40k combined when it takes 60k to live? My wife is cute and kind, my kids are smart and funny, I don’t hate being a substitute teacher (as many do); so at least I get to be happy when I ain’t worried about $$. But $$ is a problem, and I only want enough to survive, not get rich. My daughter will be wanting to start college in 5 years. My parents paid both mine and my sisters educations in full (and I took 5 years plus sis took 8 to become a vet. doctor). We don’t have that; not even on our radar of concerns; cuz right now more is going out than coming in. We are NOT saving! And I have a paid off house and fairly new paid off cars thanks to the bubble years.
But no career except I have a license to teach. And we moved the kids so much during the bubble cakewalk/musical houses routine that we just don’t want to move them again as they are well adjusted where they are. but we may have to relocate, I guess.
What can I do as a college educated person to secure a future that does not tax the system by qualifying for EIC and using SNAP? become a lawyer(borrow), a special ed teacher(borrow to specialize to a high needs area), a nurse(borrow) or a candlestick maker/business owner(need startup capital)?
But my folks, they did not pay exorbitantly for tuition, or groceries, or healthcare! In today’s environment they would not have had enough.
So to get reelected Obama promises, with or without the means to execute his plans w/o congress, help for homeowners, help for borrowers on student loans. We have been growing SNAP instead of soup lines, this all means meglomaniacal Obama will likely get another term. Rebublicans with untested tax schemes will never replace the devil we know, IMO. Sorry for the disorganized diatribe; its all I got this AM.
Question: How are your healthcare costs $20k per year? That’s almost $1700 per month. At the risk of getting too personal, does someone in your family have a chronic condition that is expensive to treat? I’m relatively young and healthy and have a high deductible health plan which would cost about $100 a month in premiums without my employer’s contribution. I assume those premiums will go up as I get older, but I don’t understand how any family could possibly spend $1700 a month on healthcare. Again, assuming there isn’t a chronic condition that needs regular treatment that insurance won’t cover.
There might be more chronic conditions out there than you think. Full price for my wife’s prescriptions is almost that much. Which is ridiculous….but she has more than one chronic condition and some of the meds have no generic equivalent.
That could very well be the case. I really don’t have a feel for other people’s health or how much they spend. I just know I’ve been lucky so far to be very healthy and have very low health expenses. If someone is taking half a dozen prescriptions a day and has to see a specialist every month then I can see how you could easily spend a small fortune on healthcare. But if there are that many people that have chronic conditions it seems it would be wise for us to understand why so many people need so much healthcare? Have the % of people with chronic conditions increased significantly in the last generation or two? How many of these conditions are the result of lifestyle/diet? I’m not implying that all chronic conditions can be cured by changes in lifestyle and diet, but I see a heck of a lot of people that could improve their health if they changed their habits.
But if there are that many people that have chronic conditions it seems it would be wise for us to understand why so many people need so much healthcare?
I can’t disagree with you. But in my wife’s case in the old days she’d be dead. There may be quite a few people in that category.
premiums alone are $800/month for $1000 deductible. I have “presciption” coverage as well, but they don’t cover the meds that doc has me on, for chronic pain after 4 surgeries.
So 9600 before we even see a doctor; I do require regular appointments with a specialist for intractible pain after a whiplash injury, which caused the need for a spinal fusion pluse rotator cuff plus I shattered my ankle the same time which required a seperate surgery(and one more to come when they remove the hardware).
I was always healthy before the accident; but premiums I am told are typical, i.e. 10k/year in premiums is currently a good deal for a family of 4. We generally come close to the deductible for each of us; which is $4,000, (daughter broke a wrist; son had some kind of strep where they want his tonsils; wife had some inexplicible headaches which were miserable and each required about 1,000 or more in care. And my medication bill is 400/month(insurance does not cover FDA approved medication therapy, preferring to make me try anti-depressants plus an older generic over a newer, effective nerve pain medication that allow me to function where their approved therapy has not. This medicine is indicated, approved, and advertised therapy for my condition, but the insurance simply won’t pay) which is additional $4800/yr. They also won’t pay for birth control; nevermind my wife has uterine fibroids which will cause crazy bad period paid for her which birth control would alleviate. However this may have changed recently; but the birth control will not change the eventual need for her to have a partial hyterectomy as this condition and its needs; they run in her family. So she needs to go under the knife at some point regardless.
So yes, there are some chronic conditions on our parts, but we would still be at $12,000 per year for basic coverage w/o special care. And that would not include any dental or vision. Thus the wish to get on group insurance to reduce our out of pocket expense to something more affordable. As it is I will soon have to liquidate the last good asset I have, which is a home that I paid off, in order to be financially viable for the next 5 years. The home is another reason we don’t roll the dice and go uncovered; as a medical hit/hospital stay could cause us to lose it so we stay protected w/the insurance.
I’m fairly well insulated from a lot of inflation, mostly because I expect rent to keep going up given my location, and I just don’t buy that much.
Yesterday I went to Staples because I wanted supplies to do some work on organizing financial papers: 3 ring binder, dividers, sheet protectors, etc. OMG. When did this stuff get so expensive? The quality on the 3 ring binder is a little higher (or seems to be) than it used to be, but the price was outrageous. I had a handful of 50% off coupons so I got some things. If I had been facing full price, I would have left empty handed.
I know that clothing stores jack up the prices from the get go on the assumption that nearly everyone is going to wait for the sales to start to buy, but this is office supplies. Their sales are limited and they do expect people to pay full price on most items most of the time. And I tried to see if I could find anything not made in China. Nope. I didn’t scour all the aisles, but I didn’t find one thing.
I keep looking this deflation thing they keep talking about, but other than in real estate I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
The price arbitrage on office supplies is how much you are paying them to be your local comprehensive warehouse. That get weighs against the cost of ordering, storing and managing inventory levels of consumables.
Seems fair to me. Nobody wants to tip either these days.
The thing about being gainfully employed in a “good job” is that wages have been stagnant over the past 10 years,
Eyes can only relate x1 story regarding “employment” + Colorado.
The former Greeley CO Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier was hired here in CA. Her CO salary was $143,000 per year, her starting pay day 1 in CA was $250,000 per year.
The OUSD (Orange CA Unified) Board had this Document as the reasoning for her starting pay: “The new Superintendent will be paid what the exiting Superintendent salary was upon leaving.”
This happened in 2007
Now lets jump ahead 3 years:
3-24-2011:
“that the Board will in fact appoint a new Superintendent in the Closed Session. In wake of the unexpected retirement announcement by OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier, a Special OUSD Closed Session Board Meeting held on Thursday March 24. That meeting included Trustee Kathy Moffat who participated in the meeting by teleconferencing from South Lake Tahoe. Sources in the Dreier Administration have stated that the OUSD Board was looking to promote a current OUSD employee to the position.“
The thing about being gainfully employed in a “good job” is that wages have been stagnant over the past 10 years, which means that even cubicle farm dwellers are earning 20-30% fewer real dollars than they were 10 years ago.
The vegetables who voted for Obama, and the mutants who voted for McCain - 95% of the electorate - are too mentally and morally defective to make the connection between their vote for the status quo, and the Fed’s massive mismanagement of the economy for the benefit of the oligarchy that effectively runs the show. These idiots will watch their prospects and quality of life decline year after year, yet every four years will dutifully parade into the voting booth and pull the lever for one of the oligarchy’s Republicrat Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum candidates. Then they wonder why things only go from bad to worse.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
“The vegetables who voted for Obama, and the mutants who voted for McCain - 95% of the electorate”
We are the 95%!
“every four years will dutifully parade into the voting booth and pull the lever for one of the oligarchy’s Republicrat Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum candidates.”
I’m with you in principle, but a president is one man. For effective change, you’d also need a new congress full of folks from the fringes. But when you get them, they won’t be from the same fringes. More gridlock. Maybe better than the gamesmanship gridlock we have now, and perhaps entertaining as strange bedfellows emerged, but still ineffective.
Semper Fi, Scott Olsen. Latest news on his condition is here.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/28/us-usa-wallstreet-protests-oakland-idUSTRE79Q01F20111028
I hope this incident starts the process of awakening our troops who have been brainwashed into thinking they are there to get the bad guys.
Wherever ‘there’ is.
“I hope this incident starts the process of awakening our troops who have been brainwashed into thinking they are there to get the bad guys.”
Nominated for most truthful post of 2011.
You get the idea this is slowly sinking into this poor Marine as this guy reacts to what he saw just a few days earlier. It’s redundant and even disturbing in the middle but he explains his background and story at the end of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEHcOc0Sys
“How do you sleep at night doing this to people……. You’re here to protect us……Why are you hurting US citizens?”
“My whole family protected this country…Why are they walking around trying to hurt people?” “Why are they walking around like this is a war zone when nobody has guns?”
You’re here to protect us……Why are you hurting US citizens?
Poor naive child. He probably also believes that we are “defending freedom” in the middle east.
Hey all,
I haven’t been on this site in a while but back in the day(2005-2007) I use to haunt this site. I wanted to share what this “economic downturn” has done to my family just to get another perspective.
My husband and I were disgusted with the prices of houses on Long Island and refused to buy during the boom. We were offered all sorts of credit due to our near perfect credit score but because of this site we figured out that something not so great was around the corner. We got out of whatever debt we had, saved about $15,000 (a lot for a family of four on a electrician’s salary…yes, he’s union) and hunkered down.
First, there was furloughs…no big deal. We had back up money through the union and our savings…then my husband was laid off, a reduction of workforce when I was 8 months pregnant with our surprise 3rd child. That was followed by 11 months of employment where my DH winded up in the hospital due to a complete breakdown (in other words, he tried to kill himself). He couldn’t handle the unemployment…trying to get side jobs that either people would stiff him or illegals would under bid him. Trust me, I am by NO means, advocating for Unions but atleast we had insurance to cover most of his medical bills and the birth of our son.
The Union got him back to work….we had almost no savings, but no debt. 8 months later, my husband was laid off…well, I guess that’s what you call it when a company goes out of business. That was back in April.
I had always done odd jobs to make money…babysitting, stuffing envelopes, teaching aerobic classes…whatever I could do so that I didn’t have to pay $10 an hour for childcare on Long Island(yes, that’s the going rate) but I enrolled in Beauty School knowing that it’s a trade that”will travel”, doesn’t cost much to get a licence/education in, and it often requires you to work nights and weekends so I don’t have to pay for daycare for my youngest son. I may never see my husband or older kids but hey, that’s life, right?
Union keeps saying he’ll be going to work soon but even if he does we have been frantically looking for other options. He doesn’t have any other skills and he’s 42. He desperately wants to get out of the Union and find an entry level job somewhere but our family would never survive on a job like that. We looked in other states but it’s the same everywhere. We are now all out of money and are living off credit cards. YES, we are on Food Stamps and WIC and God willing, we’ll get HEAP.
We are the drain on society that so many people complain about. It’s embarrassing, humiliating and we want out of it. We’re working on it.
Not sure exactly why I felt so strongly about sharing this…I always admired the posters on this site but sometimes the passionate comments about the people freeloading on the system…well, they seem ignorant from this side of the fence. Shit happens. It did to us. And this too will pass.
I used know a union journeyman electrician..seemed like times were always basd locally, so he’d travel all over hell and gone to work, alaska and iran even, left the family at home.
“We are the drain on society that so many people complain about. It’s embarrassing, humiliating and we want out of it. We’re working on it.”
Speaking for myself you are NOT the drain on society that so many people complain about. That would be people who are gaming the system. You and your husband are people who fight like hell to survive and have EARNED whatever help is available and more. As far as your husband “trying to get side jobs that either people would stiff him or illegals would under bid him.” That is what I deal with for a living which does tend to get me upset when I see “illegals” using the SNAP card at the grocery store. I don`t want to see children go without but as in your situatuion (which I am never more than one bad month away from) you do the best you can to take care of your own kids and then if you can you help others less fortunate. I don`t see the United States being in a position to help millions of kids that are not their own or lottery winners. Tell your husband to keep fighting and IMHO you are both prime exmples of the kind of people that made this a great country. And as you said, hopefully for all of us “this too will pass.”
PS
I know the banks got bailed out, they are not kicking Deadbeats who are gaming the system out of their houses and there are criminals on Wall Street who should be in jail.
You and your husband are people who fight like hell to survive and have EARNED whatever help is available and more.
+1
I know the banks got bailed out, they are not kicking Deadbeats who are gaming the system out of their houses
YMMV, from what I have seen out here, few make it to the one year mark before being evicted.
YMMV, from what I have seen out here, few make it to the one year mark before being evicted.
But you have to remember we’re special here in NY. We can go up to three years w/o being evicted and as we go forward maybe even longer.
NY: Home state of Wall St. and the NY Fed.
NY: Home state of Wall St. and the NY Fed.
It’s good to be the king!
That would be people who are gaming the system.
Yeppers, in CA, that would be the following Cult$:
age 40+ Fireman
age 40+ Prison Guards
age 40+ Education “anything” in Admini$tration
“you are NOT the drain on society that so many people complain about. That would be people who are gaming the system. You and your husband are people who fight like hell to survive and have EARNED whatever help is available and more. ”
What BS. How can you determine from your place in the checkout line who is deserving of their SNAP, and who isn’t?
Because you sure do pass judgement on them.
How do you know you’re not slamming Danni when you get on your high horse about the deadbeats in front of you at the store buying ground chuck while you busted your hump all day at work and were buying ground beef?
Welcome to the face of the 99%, Jeff. Just like the successful Marine veteran protester the cops brained, sometimes it’s hard to propagandize against.
Come shopping with me alpha. I will introduce you to the stay at home mother of 2 children who is a teachers wife, and her husband the teacher works another job in the summer. She pays for her groceries with a SNAP card. How do I know that? They were neighbors of ours (and home owners) in the last neighborhood we lived in where my last LL pocketed about $60k in rent before his short sale.. You can also talk to the people at Winn Dixie and they will tell you as they have me (although they didn`t have too I have seen it) about the people who have the Iphone sand swipe their debit cards for the amount not covered by their SNAP cards on their huge grocery bills. Nor does Danni sound like she is an illegal immigrant with three kids who is using a SNAP card. These things are very easy to see from my ” place in the checkout line” Yes there are people who need assistance but If you think there isn`t major fraud going on at least where I live, you are wrong. This is in Jupiter Fl at Indiantown Rd. and I95. Come on down I would love to see you.
Oh, I save the word Deadbeat for those who live in or rent out “their houses” without paying the mortgage while crying victim or thinking it is OK to pocket the tax free cash they are taking in on a monthly basis.
It sounded to me like Danni and her husband busted their @ss and tried to do the right thing and they could not overcome bad cicumstances and a bad economy. It may happen to me too. Buy you are very naive if you don`t think there are people who will take advantage of the situation and pad their wallets and their lifestyles when presented withthe oppurtunity to do so. What do you think that only the top 1% will rip off the country. Well let me tell you it`s not only the ones that make $60 million but also the ones that make $60 thousand. And that includes a lot of the 99%.
“You can also talk to the people at Winn Dixie and they will tell you as they have me (although they didn`t have too I have seen it) about the people who have the Iphone sand swipe their debit cards for the amount not covered by their SNAP cards on their huge grocery bills. ”
Ooh. That sounds like a reliable source! the ‘people at Winn Dixie’- wholesome, too!
“Buy you are very naive if you don`t think there are people who will take advantage of the situation and pad their wallets and their lifestyles when presented withthe oppurtunity to do so.”
Yeah, I agree. That’s what the banksters did, big time, to far more profit and less loss than the wee people, whom you insist on attacking instead.
“What do you think that only the top 1% will rip off the country. Well let me tell you it`s not only the ones that make $60 million but also the ones that make $60 thousand.”
The fools blame the game players. The wise blame the game makers. The reasonable can see the difference. That’s why you’re on the wrong end of the argument.
Are you saying that a teacher (who also has a summer job) with a wife and 2 kids is eligible for SNAP in Florida? Or did they lie on the application when they applied for SNAP?
I would assume they had to lie on the application.
“Ooh. That sounds like a reliable source! the ‘people at Winn Dixie’- wholesome, too!”
“We have to make sure that we’re serving the correct population, those that are truly in need,” said Brian Rooney, a deputy director with the Michigan Department of Human Services. “We believe that the asset test will still cover those that are truly in need. ”
“The state removed about 30,000 college students from its food assistance program earlier this year when it began enforcing federal guidelines.”
This is why I harp on making any government assistance dependent on you reading, writing and speaking English. Make them all sit in English and math class 25 hours a week to qualify…then see how many will drop out real fast.
After you pass the English and math test then you go into some real job training.
Nor does Danni sound like she is an illegal immigrant with three kids who is using a SNAP card. These things are very easy to see from my ” place in the checkout line
Doesn`t sound like Danni`s family would have any problem with this. I guess it`s not just where I shop.
Michigan changing food stamp eligibility rules
By TIM MARTIN - AP –
Tue, Sep 20, 2011..
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — An undetermined number of Michigan’s nearly 2 million food assistance recipients will lose the help under new eligibility requirements the state will begin using in October.
Michigan has determined food assistance eligibility based only on income for roughly a decade. A new policy will include a review of certain financial assets starting Oct 1. The requirements will affect new applicants right away and existing recipients when their cases come up for review, which typically happens once every six months.
Those with assets of more than $5,000 in bank accounts or some types of property would no longer be eligible for food assistance. Other assets that would count against the cap include vehicles with market values of more than $15,000 and second homes, depending on how much is owed on the properties.
Some assets, such as primary residences and 401k accounts, would not be considered for determining food assistance eligibility.
Most states have moved in recent years to get rid of asset tests for food assistance recipients, according to the Michigan League for Human Services report.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration has moved to limit eligibility since taking over state government agencies in January. The state removed about 30,000 college students from its food assistance program earlier this year when it began enforcing federal guidelines.
“We have to make sure that we’re serving the correct population, those that are truly in need,” said Brian Rooney, a deputy director with the Michigan Department of Human Services. “We believe that the asset test will still cover those that are truly in need. ”
http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-changing-food-stamp-eligibility-rules-205252043.html - 269k
“Doesn`t sound like Danni`s family would have any problem with this.”
We’ll keep Danni’s family as a marker, to measure the reality of your posts.
“The fools blame the game players. The wise blame the game makers. The reasonable can see the difference. That’s why you’re on the wrong end of the argument.”
Were those 30,000 college students removed from the food assistance program earlier this year game players? Or was it there parents? Oh well, can`t blame them anyway.
Oh dear God, no! Not college students getting free groceries! Wow, you’re right. That is much worse than anything the banksters did as they amassed massive personal fortunes while looting the country.
Thanks for keeping us on track!
” Other assets that would count against the cap include vehicles with market values of more than $15,000 and second homes,”
Wow, why would they ever have to put that in? Could it possibly be because people are recieving “assistance” with really nice cars and Iphones like I said?
Go put the bankers in jail. Have a nice day.
Should college students get food stamps?
Wed, Aug 10, 2011
College students aren’t typically eligible for federal food assistance, but in Michigan, many of them qualified for assistance under special rules — until now. The cash-strapped state has cut roughly 30,000 college students from its state food stamps program as part of an effort to save some $75 million per year. Is this unfair to needy students, or were they getting an undeserved free ride?
Many of them don’t really need food stamps: This just ends “a wasteful practice that drew scarce resources from people who legitimately depend on government help to eat,” says the The Grand Rapids Press in an editorial. While some students really need the boost, many were simply abusing the system. And remember: Single moms in school and students who work more than 20 hours a week can still qualify for assistance.
http://news.yahoo.com/college-students-food-stamps-141100901.html - 238k -
Hello Danni,
Your family has been through a lot and it sounds like your strength has kept your family together through it all. I wonder if your husband might find more work upstate. My plumber was going on at length a few years back that he could find no one to pass his business on to because “anyone w/half a brain” in this area was going on to white collar work and looked down on the trades as below them. Just a thought.
Unfortunately the people that are milking the system have really created a tough environment for those that are doing their best to survive. I also believe there is a huge subset of people out there that just cannot admit to themselves how easily they could be in that same boat and that is why they have to make it about the unemployeds making choices that of course they themselves never made. Karma’s gonna be a bi*ch when the next banking crisis (and it’s associated lay-offs) arrives.
Hang in there. One day at a time.
Things at my place of employment started looking different at the beginning of the year. The company went from profitable to unprofitable and with that the environment changed drastically. The friendly management suddenly became sullen. There were layoffs and people who quit were not backfilled. I saw the hadwriting on the wall in September and I start a new job on Monday at a large company best known for its database software.
I realize how incredibly fortunate I am to have found a new job so quickly in this poor job market, and it even pays 8% more than the old one. My timing was perfect, as I received the offer just two days before I was laid off.
I know so many people who are skilled and who cannot find work. In one family we know the husband is a plumber and he gets by doing odd jobs when he can find them, his wife works part time as a Librarian (there are only two full time librarians at our library). This family has been in survival mode for over 4 years now. We help them out with hand me downs for their kids and what not, but I can only imagine the toll their situation must take on them. Fortunately they did not load up on F-350’s, big houses or toys during the boom, but even then they are struggling.
Nicely done landing the new gig
Thanks! I was really worried for a while and kicking myself for not starting to search sooner. What did surprise me was the number of leads and interviews I had. The last thing I wanted was to be job hunting with the scarket “U” on my chest.
Oh, and I received our COBRA letter yesterday. I can keep our wonderful high deductible plan for a mere $900.74 per month. The dental plan is another $145 per month.
It won’t be long before HD plans become too expensive for employers to provide. I suspect that the deductibles will just keep growing until they are something absurd like $5000/$10000 (then again not too long ago $1500/$3000 would have been considered absurd).
I believe that most employers will bail out of providing insurance and just put whatever they formerly contributed into a Health Savings Account. Then patients will get to bargain with huffy healthcare providers who will refuse to negotiate (witness how they whine over Medicare and Medicaid cuts) or even provide an estimate for the cost of treatment.
Then patients will get to bargain with huffy healthcare providers who will refuse to negotiate (witness how they whine over Medicare and Medicaid cuts) or even provide an estimate for the cost of treatment.
I actually have good luck negotiating.
The one catch - it needs to be cash.
My brother struck out earlier this year when he was briefly between jobs and without insurance. And to add insult to injury they wanted to charge him the “rack rate” and refused to give him an estimate, that he would know the cost after it was done.
And he had cash in hand.
And can you really negotiate when emergency care is involved?
Don’t grow a #100 $crotum. It’ll put a dent in your ca$H $tash.
“I actually have good luck negotiating.
The one catch - it needs to be cash.”
I tried to bargain with my dentist with cash, and he laughed.
They pay a couple percent to the credit card companies- that’s nothing to them. Easier than having to send someone from the office to deposit the cash at the bank.
Unless they’re cheating on their taxes.
I believe another poster here had a similar experience on the supposed value of bargaining with doctors by offering cash.
There are companies that will negotiate the price of medical services down from uninsured pricing to PPO discount for a small fee.
Often a 50% difference.
Google it. I did and I was amazed.
I’m Scottish - I never pay rack rate -
“will negotiate the price of medical services down from uninsured pricing to PPO discount”
Sounds interesting- but do they give a cash discount?
Last night was the University of Arizona’s annual Fathauer Lecture. It’s an endowed lectured hosted by the business school.
This year the speaker was David Cutler, a health care economist from Harvard. Lecture was on health care reform. At the very end, he came out and said, in essence, that the private health insurance system has done nothing to improve care in this country.
Paraphrasing his grand finale punchline: Insurers are all too eager to take your premiums when you’re well, but then they kick you out when you’re sick.
Oh, but In Colorado, those HSA monies are tax deductable!!!
And don’t forget churches and charities. 
Seriously, I suspect we’ll have some form of Public Option/Single Payer within 10 years. There are just too many young adults without benefitted jobs. It may go state by state, as Canada did. By they way, if a State wants to attracts business? Offer public option health care and the small businesses will come flocking.
It may go state by state, as Canada did. By they way, if a State wants to attracts business? Offer public option health care and the small businesses will come flocking.
A couple of data points:
1. The Canadian national care insurance system started as a provincial program in Saskatchewan. It was championed by Premier Tommy Douglas. He was voted Greatest Canadian Ever in a CBC poll a few years ago. Gives you an idea of how Canadians feel about their health care system.
2. The state of Vermont is about to implement single payer. I was just visiting relatives there. Didn’t hear any of my relatives — or anyone else — saying that this was a bad thing.
Yup, I heard about that. I haven’t kept up with it, but I hope they found a way to keep out the Americans flocking to Vermont just to cash in on free/cheap health care. My worry is that Vermont is a pretty small state and that the risk pool may not be big enough to cheapen the premiums enough, and of course single payer will be deemed a failure.
I also heard that California is trying for a single payer too — and they have the numbers to make it work. If they succeed, private health insurance is a goner.
I also heard that California is trying for a single payer too — and they have the numbers to make it work. If they succeed, private health insurance is a goner.
Was at the University of Arizona business school’s annual Fathauer Lecture last night. This year’s speaker: Harvard health care economist David Cutler.
His grand finale: Private health insurance has pretty much failed as a means of improving care in this country. This isn’t an exact quote, but he got a big laugh out of the audience when he said that insurers are really good at taking your premiums when you’re healthy, then kicking you out when you’re sick.
I saw the hadwriting on the wall in September and I start a new job on Monday at a large company best known for its database software.
Commuting down to Broomfield?
Yup, good guess.
I’ve got ex-STK friends there and my old STK 401(k) is there.
I won’t be working in the Storage Group.
Yeah, not many people do any more.
Since the unemployed have an invisible Mark of Cain on them when it comes to landing an interview, I’m thinking a lot of people in unprofitable companies are planning on bailing while they’re still drawing a paycheck.
Congrats!
It’s not a bad market if you are in IT. This is the best I have seen since the .com bust. We recently hired an older gentleman in his late 50’s with less than a couple of yrs of Java programming experience as a senior Java developer. So far it’s working out.
Since the young developers are mostly chasing the sexy stuff like, “social networking” and iphone/android development, there is quite a void of experienced people in traditional e-business projects. Money is good. Jobs a plenty.
We recently hired an older gentleman in his late 50’s with less than a couple of yrs of Java programming experience as a senior Java developer. So far it’s working out.
Earlier this week, I had coffee with another fiftysomething web geek. Guy’s a kick-butt PHP/database programmer.
I just sent him over to a University of Arizona prof with a project that’s tailor-made for his skills. I’ll be working on the design end.
And, as butters notes, the kids are going after the sexy stuff, whereas we older folks are more into the “furniture moving” aspect of the ‘Net.
IT jobs seem to be “back” to the days of old; we’re in a continual hiring cycle for folks with the right skills at my current employer. Problem is, there’s a very narrow list of people with the skills we are looking for (high level Cisco, virtualizaiton and storage skills). The pay is good and the work is interesting an engaging. But you most likely need a CS/MIS or mathematics degree to open the door for you; most of the applicants we get don’t have the certs and went to school for finance or psychology/marketing. We don’t typically hire folks without a degree that proves their ability to do the rigid logical thinking (unless they have the experience already) that’s required in the roles we fill.
We get 100s of resumes that look great on paper, a single phone call will typically DQ 80% of the folks though (can’t speak well, or only with a heavy accent).
It’s a very tight market for people who speak well, are presentable (as experts to high level clients) and have the right skills in IT.
very narrow list of people with the skills we are looking for (high level Cisco, virtualizaiton and storage skills). ”
I think we hired one of these types knows Cisco circuits and how to program them pretty well. Pretty sharp guy glad to work with him I think he’s in sales and marketing as a high level product engineer
If you have a college degree, youre looking at 4-5% unemployment. If you are manual labor, it is 30-40%+. The rest of the range is in between that.
Source? Link? I don’t doubt the manual labor % due to the illegals, but 4-5% seems too low for ALL the college educated.
My guess is 30% manual, 15-20% B.Arts, 4-5% B.Sci or B.Eng.
A lot of the college educated are underemployed as opposed to actually unemployed.
“Not sure exactly why I felt so strongly about sharing this…I always admired the posters on this site but sometimes the passionate comments about the people freeloading on the system…well, they seem ignorant from this side of the fence. Shit happens. It did to us. And this too will pass.”
I’m glad you shared this, Danni, and I myself sometimes wonder about some of the self-righteous posts on this blog (I’ve made more than a few of them myself, and later regretted it.) And unions aren’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that they’ve gone in a bad direction in many cases. Sometimes they’re needed. And, anyone who has paid taxes (and I suspect your family has) is NOT freeloading on the system. You’re getting a little of your own back, and it is well deserved. If you’ve been living on Long Island, you’ve been paying taxes out the wazoo.
“trying to get side jobs that either people would stiff him or illegals would under bid him”
Having been stiffed on side work myself, I understand. And, illegals are a curse and blight on this country, I don’t care what anyone says. They are the device that the elites use to “level” the middle class.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
“My thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Mine too.
Mine too.
Ditto! I really hope something works out for you soon.
And, illegals are a curse and blight on this country, I don’t care what anyone says. They are the device that the elites use to “level” the middle class.
+1
Make that a plus positive infinity!
And, [lowpay-allday-everyday] illegals are a curse and blight on this country, I don’t care what anyone says. They are the device that the
elites“Bidne$$men” use to pick Georgia’s peaches & clean “Lost Wages” hotel toilets,… to name just x2.“Build the cotton field$ and the lowwage American workers will come.”
Field of Dreams / Kevin Cosner
Now playing everywhere in Alabama!
He desperately wants to get out of the Union and find an entry level job somewhere but our family would never survive on a job like that.
1st, really sorry to hear about your $it-u-Ation.
2nd, your correct, it’s gonna be tough going ahead, Hwy50 hopes something kind comes your families way, and things change,… for the better.
Danni welcome back. I wondered where you and some of the others went.
What strikes me about your situation is that I know so many others that face the same thing, day in day out. They’ve been *robbed of economic opportunity*. The robbery didn’t *just happen* because ______(fill in the blank with your favorite hobgoblin). It wasn’t an event. The robbery occurred slowly, a process over 30 years. Piece by piece, without anyone paying attention except for those groups targeted. Now that the majority has been robbed and only now is the public willing to entertain the notion that *it was contrived.* *Intentional.* It didn’t “just kinda happen”. And that false idea that “it just kinda happened* or tossing it up as *it’s the free market* is an insidious lie and those who perpetuate it are the enemy.
I’m sympathetic to your situation. We experienced it briefly over the last 20 years and it’s a dark place to be but we’re better people because of it. That doesn’t make the experience any more palatable but there is a beginning and end to everything. It WILL change your perspective and you’ll open your eyes to the fact that we’ve been robbed of economic opportunity.
“…my DH winded up in the hospital due to a complete breakdown (in other words, he tried to kill himself).”
I find this unsettling; not sure what to think about it, but I’m sure it’s toughened your resolve to see your family through this depression. I really admire your honesty too.
My thoughts are with you and your family, Danni. Sending you some Tucson sunshine…
Danni,
Good luck to you and your family. Thank you for putting ‘a face’ to the
economic sinkhole we all gaze into.
And that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
When I buy a house, I suspect that I will need to do some fix-up. I will try pretty hard to find union tradesman for the job — or at least tradesman who speak English. However, if I don’t have time and I have to get a general contractor, how do I handle illegal subcontractors?
Oxy,
Never ever use an illegal sub. You will get burned most every time.
When you do get a home and want to start repairing/upgrading let us know here. We have an excellent knowledge base here on the HBB. I, Ex, SCDave & a number of the other regulars can give you the skinny on what you need and what to look out for.
For a large project you will most likely require a GC. Even then you should come here for advice before, during & after the project is complete.
Be forewarned that there are many contractors that prey (financially) upon single women.
Be forewarned that there are many contractors that prey (financially) upon single women.
And that, people, is why I took those construction classes at the community college, among other things. It’s called self-defense. If you speak the language of construction, you can call these vipers on their bluff.
I think it’s anyone who they think doesn’t understand the construction business. A friend of mine and her husband were looking for a carpenter to fix a few things around the house. One guy named a price of $80/hr. Why? Because he had a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Maybe he thought in Cambridge, MA that would be a selling point. She didn’t hire him but she did pay a landscaper $70/hr to spread mulch over her garden.
Thank you all for your well wishes.
It is a strange world we live in and as someone had posted earlier, it isn’t one single event that gets you into a situation like ours.
Each time we were faced with a new obstacle we would think, well, that stinks but if we hold out and just cut back some more, everything will be alright. We’ll just tough it out. It will make us stronger.
The Union would tell us to call back in 3 weeks, then 4 weeks, oh, call back in 2 weeks…it went on for months and months…highs of hopefullness and lows when you realize it’s not going to happen. Your squeaking by, hoping you’ll have enough to cover the diapers but then your only car breaksdown….oh, and the landlord says they want $150 more a month. I think that’s what eventually got to my husband.
Tiny little daggers, chipping away at you.
Thankfully, this time around DH is regularly seeing his doctor and with me going to school there’s hope. We won’t be rich but perhaps he CAN take that pay cut when I’m bringing in a more steady income.
Of course, my husband LOVES to call me Pollyanna. I always believe things will turn out all right if you work hard enough and have a good sense of humor.
Danni
there ARE people freeloading the system..even OWS is getting tired of feeding them.
When I go to the Occupy Tucson site, I make sure I have a nice, big meal in my tummy beforehand.
Why? Because their food isn’t for me. And I wouldn’t take a bite, even if they offered it to me.
I can provide for my own food at home.
Welcome back, Danni, and I’m really sorry to hear that things have been so hard for your family.
Personally, I’m glad to live in a country with a safety net, and I hope that you stop feeling bad about making use of it; it is there for just such a purpose. And I’m happy that some fraction of the taxes that I pay go to help deserving people in need like you and yours.
I hope things turn the corner and improve for you soon!
Realtors Are Liars®
Mortgages are red,
Crabgrass is green.
Bankers are well fed,
Savers feeling mean.
Republicans are red
Democrats are blue
If they had a chance
They’d both screw you
Yes, but only one of those ideologies is advocating for “Women-as-Murders” criminal prosecutions.
And one of those ideologies has members who regularly advocate taking your property and leaving you disarmed and helpless.
They both suck in their own special way.
taking your property and leaving you disarmed and helpless.
IDTS, in Democraptic CA, you can buy 1851 Navy Colt 44 caliber any.day.of.the.week.
(Currently on sale at Cabela’s)
I shouldn’t have to go buy one of those just because the state took what I currently have.
state took what I currently have.
What might that have been, exactly?
Doesn’t matter. Bottom line, they’d just as soon take the Navy .44, too if they could get away with it. Not all Ds. Just a noisy subgroup that makes the 50th percentile voter nervous.
America [AA+] Day: #84
ALL Realtards are liars, and greedy 6% protectionist losers.
Open the MLS!!!
Correction: Crush NAR, indict NAR “leadership”, leave MLS to the public.
I witnessed a sad sight earlier this week. While I was walking my dog in the neighborhood the local sheriff arrived and evicted my neighbor. He lost his house to foreclosure. This is a modest house in a modest neighborhood.
My neighbor has been out of work for over two years. He has a wife and 3 young children under the age of 8. One paycheck didn’t cover all the bills.
It saddened me to see this hit so close to home to someone that I’m acquainted with.
Was scrolling through FB this morning and looked at a dog rescue site’s post. This dog was available at a local shelter because his owner committed suicide. It might not be economy related but it sure made me stop and think.
carrie:
I think the whole idea of “we have to save the house” will be looked upon in a few years as a sign of mass stupidity.
Take protected from BK money out of your IRA to pay the mortgage…that notion will not happen in the future, at the first sign of trouble the house goes up for sale. If no equity file BK. No more dragging things out in a short sale or being stressed out everyday just waiting for the sheriff to show you the door in a foreclosure.
If the house is underwater, it’s crazy to “try to save it” if you’re falling on tough times. If it’s above water, sell it. If not, stop paying and comply with the bank in a reasonable fashion.
It’s a house people, not a pet/child/family member. Just let it go, and, in doing so, try to make your life as good as possible during/after the event. Killing yourself to save a bank is simply stupid; they wouldn’t lift a finger to try to pay you if they had you in this situation, why should you try to help them?
It’s not the 1940s anymore, banks are out to hurt you; if you go in with the “how can we work together” you’re going to come out with a massive hole in your wallet. Business is war. Treat it as a “friendly conversation” as you’re going to be taken advantage of. Welcome to the new paradigm.
Busine$$ is war.
No truer statement has ever been uttered on this blog.
(What is it called when something read bassackwards has the same meaning?)
I’ll put it way up the list by Mr. Ben’s: “A vastly over-$old Debacle”
(Did eyes ever tell y’all about the little girl who got a “C” from her teacher for a story she wrote? When asked to write what she had done over the summer, the little girl wrote that she had traveled to a port city in Argentina, and one of the things did was watch an old man sitting on a barrel tying holes together with a rope. The teacher marked her paper lower on accounts that she didn’t seem to understand what was really happening.)
Maybe this will be the big OH’s legacy…the death of political correctness.
I guess when people in the future pizzz me off.. my motto will be: I’m a bigger scumbag then you…and then go out and prove it.
Tying holes together with rope?
Sounds like he was mending a fishing net
What is your point? I don’t see why this is an issue. She didn’t understand what was going on. Was the rest of the paper a mess as well?
“tying holes together with a rope”
That sounds more like an A for poetic talent than a C for cluelessness.
Wow- the brilliant Polly missed one!
WRT recent articles discussed here about frugality, living on $11,000/year, that the MSM are pushing to condition the Lucky Duckies to embrace their poverty in the New Normal once the 1%er pigmen have collected any stray crumbs from the table, here’s another one in that vein, from today’s Denver Post:
Colorado’s 9.4% jump in health insurance rates an improvement over recent years
“The bad news of Colorado’s average 9.4 percent hikes in health insurance premiums for next year is actually good news compared with even sharper spikes in past years, according to a widely followed benefits survey for the state.
But it’s a huge improvement from 14.4 percent hikes this year and 11.8 percent in 2010…
“We were really surprised” at the improvement, he said. “The most important thing is that it’s the lowest increase since 2000.”
Employers have grown jaded to the constant upward march in premiums and are not complaining loudly about this year’s blow, Goodwin said.
“It’s kind of the norm now,” she said.
Where else are increases far beyond the general rate of inflation and yet few complain? Higher education.
What a scam. Same business plan as Scientology.
Where else are increases far beyond the general rate of inflation and yet few complain? Higher education.
I see plenty of complaining about this. Plenty. I’m seeing kids forego private colleges for State U’s and even JC’s. It’s becoming a lot more competitive to get into a State U than it used to be.
Our kids are lined up, shoulder to shoulder, at the ever shrinking water hole with a look of fear in their eyes as they listen for the latest instructions from the PTB.
“Get an education”
“Buy a home”
“Have children”
“Embrace diversity”
“Call 911 if your mommy is mean to you”
“Pay more taxes, save the polar bears”
“The Founding Fathers were slave owners”
“See something, say something”
“These programs are necessary for your proection”
“Celebrate homosexuality!”
“Social Security is insolvent”
“Gold isn’t money, it’s tradition”
“The Federal Reserve works in your best interest”
“Ron Paul is a loon”
“Fair and balanced”
“Trickle down economics works”
“Tower 7 collapsed due to fire”
“They are doing gods work”
And on and on and on. Beam me up Scotty.
Basically, same as it’s always been.
“Get an education”
“Buy a home”“Have children”
“Embrace diversity”“Call 911 if your mommy is mean to you”“Pay more taxes, save the polar bears”“The Founding Fathers were slave owners”“See something, say something”“These programs are necessary for your protection”“Celebrate homosexuality!”“Social Security is insolvent”“Gold isn’t money, it’s tradition”“The Federal Reserve works in your best interest”“Ron Paul is a loon”“Fair and balanced”“Trickle down economics works”“Tower 7 collapsed due to fire”“They are doing gods work”
Ahh, the joys of conflation.
Our kids are lined up, shoulder to shoulder, at the ever shrinking water hole with a look of fear in their eyes
Many did what they were supposed to do: they studied in HS, taking AP tests then went off to college and got good grades while they worked a menial job to offset some of the costs, which keep spiraling up, up and away.
Then they graduated and unlike when we did decades ago Corporate America didn’t come to hire them. This really hit home with me in 2005 when I was awarded my Master’s degree. Apparently Corporate America no longer sends recruiters to interview grads, at least not to the local State U. They did attend “fairs” where they told us how wonderful their company was and grads were encouraged to apply via the online black hole.
Welcome back to the 19th century.
The 1%er pigmen took us back to the 19th century. The 99% will be taking them back to the 18th century, a la Marie Antoinette…
Amazing isn’t it? All that money for Ivy League schools and yet so little education.
Turkey this what I rant about…….What does an Ivy league degree mean?
It means you dotted every single i and t and programmed yourself to get everything perfect.
Eliminating any real sort of critical thinking skills along the way.
Get them out of their element and they sound just as clueless as a lot of the OWS people do.
I for one am not impressed by a degree from Harvard…..unless you can answer some of my off the wall questions…
Explain to me why getting black people to read , write and speak English, and to commit crimes at the same rate as white people would not be great fantastic goal to achieve for America.
I think it would be even more important then MLK I have a dream.
Even at a “low” 10% anual increase premiums will be 260% of what they are today in just 10 short years. And at 15% increases it will be a whopping 400% of what they are today. Under those scenarios my $900/month HD plan would rise to $2340 and $3600 respectively.
This is the end of the line folks. Now that we are at HD plans there is nothing left to cut back, unless a plan with $5000/10000 deductible could somehow be considered a health plan. There are not enough bricks left in the “Jenga” health insurance tower and it will come crashing down sooner than later as they continue to remove bricks (benefits) from it. My oersonal prediction is that we will see the move away from employer provided health insurance within 5 years or less.
This of course will mean that healthcare as we know it will change. My mother was in the hospital during the past week and I flew out to visit her. The level of care was wonderful. She has rectal cancer (she will be going in for surgery soon).
What I couldn’t stop wondering was “how much is this costing?”. There were all sorts of “support staff” which were great, such as the “Palliative MD” who came to visit her daily. His role was defined as being her “advocate” and he helped her understand all her options. There were other support staff that visited her as well. And specialists up the wazoo. he hallways were always crawling with nurses. And of course she had her own private room and the meals were pretty darn good.
This level of care won’t survive our eventual and inevitable transition to socialized healthcare. It’s bankrupting Medicare and it’s why private insurance premiums are rising 10-20% per year.
Good luck to your mom Colorado.
Colorado,
Can you e-mail me at MissGredenko@hotmail.com?
Thanks
Has to do w/your mother’s care.
Uh-oh, looks like CarrieAnn’s also a fan of The Police.
Are you with me Miss Gredenko?
Miss Grekendo, are you safe?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody alive in here?
Nobody but us in here.
Nobody but us….
“When the world is running down
You make the best of what’s still around…”
“Your uniform don’t seem to fit.
You’re much too alive in it.
You’ve been letting your feeling show.
Are you safe Miss Gredenko.
Miss Gredenko, are you safe?”
: )
“My personal prediction is that we will see the move away from employer provided health insurance within 5 years or less.”
+1 Employers can’t afford it anymore, and the majority of individuals and families will no longer be able to afford it. You can’t spin that. But you can suck money for a few more years by keeping the propaganda and lobbying machines going full-force.
“This level of care won’t survive our eventual and inevitable transition to socialized healthcare. ”
Why does the VA’s ’socialized’ style of health care receive higher rates of customer satisfaction than does ‘free market’ health care? And better rates of survival?
Oh, and it’s way cheaper too (VA health care, that is).
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#45070509
I am astonished to see an MSM personality, Rachael Maddow, tell the truth about the level of fraud and deception on Wall Street, while regulators and enforcers look on and do nothing.
Rachel Maddow is not a true MSM. When conservatives point to “liberal media” she is whom they point at. The only reason she’s still on the air is that she brings in a lot of eyeballs.
I’m a conservative. I happen to think highly of Rachael Maddow, and will always watch her show in preference to gasbags like O’Reilly or Hanity.
Rachael is the poster child of the “socialist /commie durty leebrul.”
Not only that, she’s out of the closet. Which also gives the right wingers fits.
“Not only that, she’s out of the closet. Which also gives the right wingers fits.”
It gives me fits too, but of a different sort
+1
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-10/28/c_131218368.htm
Hong Kong FB rate going parabolic. Is this a leading indicator of a Chinese real estate hard landing?
I’ll write this long story as cleanly as I possible can.
July2010 the RAL’s check out an ideal shack in DE. $335k. Worth about $240k, were willing to pay $225k, buyers agent(bribed with $100 bills) said it was worth $270k(then). On market for 6 months.
Aug2010 some dumbass paid $325k. We were pissed because we believed it would sit unsold through following fall and winter.
July2011- Same house is back on market at $375k. Some vindication. They dumped some dough into fence, blah blah. Found out the dumbass got laid off from his job and DE and found a job in Plattsburgh, NY of all places(NY/VT border town where I’m from)
Sept2011-Price dropped $5k. (raindrops in the desert)
Oct2011-Price dropped $9k. (more raindrops). Searched dumbasses name and low and behold the idiot BOUGHT ANOTHER dump near Plattsburgh Aug2011. But get this. He paid $300k. The obviously clueless moron paid $300k for a house that would have sold for $120k or so pre-bubble. Worse yet, the house he bought was on the market for 14 months.
So now the dumbass has two houses totaling $624k. Mrs. RAL almost past out when I told her about this. She said “he’s walking from the DE house”. I don’t know either way but the outcome is going to be interesting. The minor price adjustments on the DE house happened AFTER he bought the Plattsburgh house. Our hunch is that he’s now slowly bleeding. Slowly sinking. Let the moron sink.
These are the people preventing prices from falling further. The question is…how many of them are there and how long will people continue to give them money?
Yes exactly Carl. That’s what I said to Mrs.RAL, word for word.
In a story in yesterday’s bits bucket, a lady tried to buy a $170K house. The bank demanded 205 and the bank demanded 20% down. (Co-worker could barely scrape 5% down…from her 401K.)
Why is it that some people can borrow continuously for $300K houses while others are asked for 20% down? The inconsistency is disturbing.
I’m reading a real-estate book, and the number one thing the author said was there is always another house. Always. You can always walk and find something else. I’m glad RAL is doing the same.
We probably won’t buy $hit. I’m simply a reaItor/homedebtor antagonist at this point. They’re not going to lower their expectations and I’m not paying so let them sit and rot. They’ll walk, cry uncle, or I’ll build one after my inevitable layoff,whatever. But I’ll never write a check for their grossly inflated dumps. Ever.
I hope the rest of you have the same contempt the Housing Crime Syndicate operators.
I hope the rest of you have the same contempt the Housing Crime Syndicate operators.
I live in Arizona, where the operators are so prevalent that you can swing a dead cat and hit one. And darn if I didn’t just insult dead cats. ‘Scuse me.
“…BOUGHT ANOTHER dump near Plattsburgh Aug2011″
moral hazard abounds.
without all the fed reserve juice and the fed gov funding for fannie and freddie…he would have never been able to get that second loan.
The NAR is now pushing ad campaign which says “renters are doomed and will be eating dogfood while living in a cardboard box under the overpass, while homeowners will be living the life of luxury as a result of their purchase.”
I pondered this, and thought of all the devastated finances of people who bought houses, and to whom all these sovereign wealth transfers are supposed to benefit.
Sweeping away the sales propaganda, I did realize one thing. The ultimate financial benefit of a reasonably priced house is like that of having a retirement savings plan. In retirement, it is a certainly a benefit not to have a rent payment, or a mortgage payment.
So a house (an affordable house that doesn’t devastate your monthly finances and doesn’t quickly put you underwater due to depreciation) is like a retirement plan. Buying a house is not going to make anyone immediately wealthy. In fact, in the short run, it makes you a lot poorer.
And the efforts of the politicians and Wall Street and NAR to keep prices as high as possible- keeping the bar as high as possible so they can extract as much wealth as possible - stand in many people’s of that “retirement plan” purchase.
I was almost swayed by that NAR campaign. No, really. Then like a bolt out of the blue it hit me: “Realtors are liars.”
Saved in time, thank God my music’s still alive….
You’ve just explained why their propping up of higher prices is so evil. We could be paying off our homes before retirement right now. Instead time ticks on closer and closer until that moment when we’re the next bull’s eye on the overaged employee lay-off target.
Yeah that’s all great. Confuse, blow smoke, obfuscation until someone comes along and states reality;
*Rental rates are less than half the cost of principal, interest, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs associated with the buying a house.*
Why buy a house today when I can rent it for 50% less?
location location location. The rent = 1/2 PITIM figure was true 6 years ago. But today, in my neck of the woods, PITI would be 40% less than buying, depending on quality. (That’s with 20% down and 4% 30-year fixed. How much I put down will depend largely on the price and on how much fix-up the place would need.)
Yesterday Polly called me out that I’m constantly complaining about my high rent on HBB instead of actively looking for lower rent. I have some reasons: After a few years of tropical storms and tornado warnings in a garden apartment, I wanted a basement. I wanted a real parking space. I’m lucky that I commute to the burbs and not downtown. I wanted a commercial complex rather than an accidental landlord so I wouldn’t be evicted as a tenant in a foreclosed house. My location is ideal, and that location is priced accordingly. I didn’t want to move every year just to prevent rent from increasing. And mostly, after almost two decades in 1-beds, I wanted to rent a three-bed to see if I could handle the space before spending $250K on buying a three bed. And there just isn’t enough supply of rental 3-beds to negotiate for rent.
Well, I wasn’t so much calling you out as asking if $1200 was really the lowest you could get for a 1 bedroom all the way out in Gaithersburg.
And your constraints are substantial. Commercial 3 bedrooms are almost unheard in this area. I think the assumption of developers was that anyone who wanted a three bedroom would buy. My building has just a few. I’m quite positive that my salary doesn’t even qualify me to apply for one. I don’t think my last building had any 3 bedrooms.
There probably are some $1000 1-beds out in Gaithersburg. If interest rates weren’t so low (i know know, I sound like a realtor), I would almost consider moving back into a 1-bed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=GIGB10YR:IND
Ireland cuts GDP, bonds soar. Not to worry, my fellow HBBers, the Wall Street fluffers at CNBC have assured us the EU crisis in contained to Greece, and the crisis in Greece has been contained. Problem solved. Now go out and spend spend spend!
This amazes me.
Economy in U.S. Surpasses Pre-Recession Level
By Timothy R. Homan and Ilan Kolet - Oct 28, 2011 12:00 AM ET
The value of goods and services produced in the U.S. surpassed its pre-recession level after 15 quarters, taking three times longer than the average for 10 previous recoveries since World War II.
…
After adjusting for inflation, GDP climbed to $13.35 trillion last quarter, topping the $13.33 trillion peak reached in the last three months of 2007.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/economy-in-u-s-surpasses-pre-recession-level-after-15-quarters.html
“Economy in U.S. Surpasses Pre-Recession Level”
I could write you a check for $1-billion dollars for a shoeshine, the economists will “book” the transaction, the afternoon addition of the WSJ will have a huge headline regarding the robust American economy, kiwi shoe polish stocks will soar, broker’s commissions will be skimmed the same day, and at the end of the month you can try to collect on a bounced check.
FWIW, house and car sales had already tanked in 2007.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=GBTPGR2:IND
Greece “rescued.” Check. Italy? Not so much.
Whirlpool to Axe 5,000 Jobs, Lowers 2011 Forecast
BENTON HARBOR, Michigan (TheStreet) — Whirlpool significantly reduced its outlook for 2011 earnings and said it would cut 5,000 jobs to trim costs and expand its operating margins.
“We are taking necessary actions to address a much more challenging global economic environment,” said Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool chairman and CEO, in a statement Friday. “We believe our cost and capacity reduction initiatives, recently announced cost-based price increases and innovative product launches will enable us to expand operating margins and deliver long-term value to shareholders.”
Citing weaker-than-expected industry demand, lower production levels and a weak economic environment, Whirlpool said it expects 2011 earnings of $4.75 to $5.25 a share, down from its previous estimate at the low-end of the range of $7.25 to $8.25 a share.
Whirlpool said the job cuts and other actions, such as reducing capacity by six million units and closing a refrigeration manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, Ark., will save $400 million annually by the end of 2013.
Whirlpool said the job cuts and other actions, such as reducing capacity by six million units
Well Corporate America, that’s what happens when you conspire to smash workers’ wages.
Whirlpool said the job cuts and other actions, such as reducing capacity by six million units and closing a refrigeration manufacturing plant
Remember when buying a house meant all NEW appliances…
I hear you. Of course, once upon a time moving to a “new” house meant taking the old fridge and washer/dryer with you.
Here’s a Marxist commie idea for you Whirlpool: how about making a better product for less money so more people will buy them?
Wait, wasn’t that orginally a capitalist idea?
What? And forgo future sales?
Master Plan A: Design the product so it fails one day after the warranty expires.
Any damage that results to the reputation to the company can be countered by the application of endless mind-numbing advertising.
Churn baby churn!
Disco inferno!
Churn baby churn!
Should I apologize for buying a more efficient Bosch dishwasher ?
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=GSPG10YR:IND
Spanish bonds on a tear.
Spain’s debt situation dwarfs Greece’s.
The EU, IMF, and Fed just blew its wad bailing out Greece. In exchange for promises that Greece would mend its fiscal ways.
While Bernanke can print away all of Uncle Sam’s debts and liabilities, since the dollar is the world’s reserve currency - but not for much longer - for the EU countries that’s not an option.
They are screwed, blued, and tatooed. And by next week the algo-driven markets, which have gone full retard, will figure that out. And then, Enter QE 3. Followed by hyperinflation. Everyone is a millionaire in Zimbabawe, too.
If you click on the “1W” (1 week) and “1M” links, it shows the bond yields dropping…
What matters is what the bonds do AFTER the EU reached its trillion dollar bailout agreement on October 26th.
Since Greece just wrangled another trillion-dollar bailout and 60% cut on its debts in exchange for worthless promises, you’d think they’d show a tiny bit of gratitude. You’d be wrong. Decades of socialist entitlement mentality naturally makes the Greeks lash out in rage at any benefactor with the gall to demand more discipline and accountability. Coming soon to a municipality near you:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054406/Furious-Greeks-lampoon-German-overlords-Nazis-picture-Merkel-dressed-SS-guard.html
The entitlement way of life knows no other way.
No gratitude for what they get…
Always wanting more and more…
Don’t care where it comes from…
And they think of themselves as victims…
It worked for Wall St.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/fitch-says-50-greek-bond-haircut-would-be-default-event.html
This just keeps getting better. In a non-Banana Republic global financial system, a 50% haircut would be labeled a “credit event” and trigger CDS coverage (after all, that’s why they’re marketed as insurance against defaults and haircuts). Only since the banks “voluntarily” agreed to 50% forgiveness of Greek debt (realizing they can color those loans gone anyway) they supposedly can’t claim a credit event - which overlooks the law of intended consequences and effect on the massive CDS markets. Now Fitch is threatening to be a turd in the punchbowl and call this what it is: a credit event.
Disclaimer: Long popcorn, pitchforks, torches, and sheep pelts.
Credit default swaps are contracts. Expect this to go to court. Probably a lot of courts.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/10/25/shanghai-homeowners-smash-showroom-in-protest-over-falling-prices/
Chinese FBs are discovering, belatedly, that real estate DOESN’T always go up. And they are, shall we say, more militant than their US counterparts in expressing their displeasure.
And the MSM tells me China is going to help bail out Europe? Let’s see them get that one past all these pissed-off womanless Chinese dudes who are going to be howling mad and demanding “victim” status and compensation.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1159711/1/.html
Chinese developers who rode the superheated real estate bubble caused by speculative hot money flows and abetted by offical corruption (a la Chris Dodd and Barney Frank) are staring catastrophe in the face. And they’re not raffing.
Salvation for the FB is at hand! Now CNBC has an article describing a new plan in which the nation’s 5 largest banks could be required to write down principal as part of the robo-signing settlement. Final details could be hashed out within the month.
Link:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45078919
If the banks are in for $15 billion then the tax payers I mean Fannie and Freddie should be in for a few $ trillion.
“According to a back-of-the-envelope calculation, $15 billion in reduction at $50,000 per borrower could reach around 300,000 borrowers, a fraction of the 11 million underwater homeowners.”
“The settlement could lay the groundwork for a broader program, if Fannie and Freddie are swayed to test it out themselves as an alternative to the costly process of foreclosing on struggling borrowers.”
“According to a back-of-the-envelope calculation, $15 billion in reduction at $50,000 per borrower could reach around 300,000 borrowers, a fraction of the 11 million underwater homeowners.”
——–
Fraction of buyers: 2.7%. Big whoopie.
Banks will probably jump at the chance to buy a clear title for a mere $50K. However, a $50K cramdown is likely not enough to save many FBs. Remember, they bought with ARM’s and neg-ams, OR they lost their jobs. Even if the $50K brings them to the surface of the water, they can’t make those payments forever, and they still have to sell into a buyer’s market. Meanwhile, smart buyers want a bargain and dumb buyers can’t get a loan. This program may fizzle like HAMP did.
Meanwhile, smart buyers want a bargain and dumb buyers can’t get a loan. This program may fizzle like HAMP did.
I think that we should put this one into the HBB Prediction Bank. Because I think it will turn out to be very true.
ISTR that the HBB sentiment was that the homebuyer tax credit would also prove to be a flop. And it was.
“Remember, they bought with ARM’s and neg-ams, OR they lost their jobs. ”
All of them?
RNC wants to reneg hotel contracts for convention:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/despite-contracts-republican-national-convention-officials-tell-hotels/1199064