Bits Bucket for May 31, 2013
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Posted this late yesterday, but a retooled extension of a government bailout is always worth a second look.
“The Obama administration announced Thursday it is extending its key foreclosure prevention program through December 2015.”
Key foreclosure prevention program extended
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 4:40 p.m. Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Obama administration announced Thursday it is extending its key foreclosure prevention program through December 2015.
The Making Home Affordable Program, created in 2009, has helped 112,804 Florida homeowners with reduced monthly mortgage payments, including nearly 50,000 in South Florida. It was scheduled to sunset at the end of this year.
But of the $29.9 billion dedicated to the program, just $5.2 billion has so far been spent.
“The housing market is gaining steam, but many homeowners are still struggling,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. “Helping responsible homeowners avoid foreclosure is part of our wide-ranging efforts to strengthen the middle class, and Making Home Affordable offers homeowners some of the deepest and most dependable assistance available to prevent foreclosure.”
Since its March 2009 launch, about 1.3 million homeowners have been helped directly by the program. The median savings per homeowner has been $536 a month.
Kevin Maher, community outreach director for West Palm Beach-based DebtHelper.com, said HAMP is a necessary program that can act as a springboard to better loan modifications offered by mortgage servicers and lenders.
“The program has resulted in a lot more modifications than it actually gets credit for,” Maher said. “HAMP also allows people to have a structured way to submit an application that will be complete, which means the chances of a successful outcome are tremendously enhanced.”
But the program was widely deemed a failure before it was it was revamped last year with the intent of increasing the eligibility pool.
The retooled program:
* Allows mortgages on rental properties to be modified. Previously, only loans on homes the owner lived in were eligible.
* Triples the incentives to services that write down principal amounts from between 6 and 21 cents on the dollar to between 18 and 63 cents on the dollar.
* Allows homeowners whose payments are below 31 percent of their income but who cannot afford the monthly mortgage cost because of other debt, such as from credit cards, medical bills or a second lien, to apply for a more flexible program.
* Offers incentives to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce principal amounts on underwater mortgages.
Concerns remain about the redefault rate of homeowners given modifications. About 25 percent of homeowners given modifcations in the first quarter of 2011 have defaulted.
For more information, go to http://www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov or call 1-888-995-4673.
Why Neil Barofsky’s Book “Bailout” Matters
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Perhaps the most important revelation in the book is a meeting with Geithner that Barofsky recounts, where Geithner says that Treasury’s housing initiatives were successful, despite their inability to stem the tide of foreclosures. The programs were meant, Geithner says, to “foam the runway” for banks, spread out foreclosures since banks couldn’t take a hit all at once. The publicly stated rationale for administration housing initiatives, in other words, was simply a lie. The Obama administration didn’t try to prevent a foreclosure crisis, they just spaced it out to help the large banks. This is very important information, and it’s useful that it has come out now.
Institutionally, Barofsky identifies his major points of leverage as the press and Congress (as well as working with DOJ to send some bankers who stole TARP money to jail). His reports generated outrage, and Congressional action. As a result, Treasury had to routinely modify their programs in response to this scrutiny. Congress just loved what Barofsky was doing, because he was validating the suspicions that Treasury was handing taxpayer money over to the banks, and being specific about how that was happening.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/08/in-bailout-neil-barofsky-reveals-the-key-lie-of-the-obama-administration.html - 150k - Cached - Similar pages
Aug 28, 2012 …
We already knew it was a lie. The majority of voters approve 100%.
Was the runway foaming exercise successful? For instance, now that it is five years past ‘the crisis,’ have banks succeeded in working through all the foreclosures? If not, when do they plan to do so?
“If not, when do they plan to do so?”
Evidently sometime after December 2015. But look at the bright side, it’s not like it’s January 2016 or anything.
“The Obama administration announced Thursday it is extending its key foreclosure prevention program through December 2015.”
The CEOs have collected 5 more years of big bonus checks. Of course it was successful, and many more to come. Working through the foreclosures is just a tertiary concern at best as long as they can hold them at book value.
Your HBB Librarian highly recommends Barofsky’s book.
“Your HBB Librarian highly recommends Barofsky’s book.”
Naughty Librarian Commercial - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkSESOtkRj8 - 235k -
And my blood pressure highly recommends against Barofsky’s book. This blog is depressing enough.
“The Making Home Affordable Program, created in 2009, has helped 112,804 Florida homeowners with reduced monthly mortgage payments”
How about we make home affordable by letting it drop to a price that’s, you know…affordable?
Why don’t they call it what it is? The “Making bloated mortgage payments affordable(sort of)” Program.
If you take on mortgage debt at current massively inflated housing prices, you’ll enslave yourself for the rest of your life.
“Debt is bondage.”~ Suze Orman, May 11, 2013
stocks and homes will take you to the glory land
Buy a house today and you are guaranteed equity tomorrow?
buy a house today because if you don’t you’ll be priced out forever
when will the next engineered recession occur?
that’s unpossible, CNBC told me so
If the last 50 years are any indication, recessions happen about once every decade, give or take a couple of years. Not exactly ten years, but sometime within the follow decade of the last recession. Again, plus or minus a few years.
It’s been 6 years since the beginning of the last and the fake recovery has begun, so I would say roughly another 3-5 years until the next one. Or sometime before the end of this decade.
Yes, I remember an article posted on this blog indicating that housing and economic cycles last about a decade a piece in the United States.
when will the next engineered recession occur?
The only thing being engineered are the circumstances allowing you to use the word “next” rather than knowing we are still in the last one.
The NBER defines recessions as 2+ consecutive quarters of GDP contraction, so according them, the recession is over. But then there’s this pesky reality:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/29/chart-median-household-incomes-have-collapsed-during-the-recession/
One lesson to be learnt from that juxtaposition is that the economy can be doing OK as the same time that majority of the population is not. So you need to ask questions when you hear politicians or economist proposing things that will be good for “the economy.”
Exactly Mike.
One lesson to be learnt from that juxtaposition is that the economy can be doing OK as the same time that majority of the population is not.
I strongly suspect that someone who believes that statement has a different definition of an OK economy than I do.
forever = till death
We have already lost a couple hbbers that we know of and probably more than a few lurkers out there.
Sometimes I wonder if this unwind will take “forever” in snowgirl perspective. I’m not saying go buy. I just wonder just how much I’ll get to actually “enjoy” anything once I finally get around to purchasing. Maybe I’m going to be in a generation that really never does get back to ownership.
Despite all the hype about another housing boom, there does seem to be more wariness from the press this time around. Not saying it will matter, but at least it’s there.
7 Reasons to Fear the Housing Bubble
5. Florida rising
The construction paradise that contributed so centrally to the last housing collapse is experiencing a renaissance, with 20 condominium towers boasting more than 3,330 units under construction in South Florida alone. Peter Zalewski, owner of Condo Vultures LLC, feels that this is a sign of robust growth. “I don’t think there’s any question that we’re in the early stages of the next great south Florida construction boom,” Zalewski told Bloomberg.
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/7-reasons-to-fear-the-housing-bubble.html/?ref=YF
Give it a couple more years and the cheerleading will be on crack.
Question for you fine folks….where is the best place to find information about foreclosures? And any thoughts as to how to find a realtor that specializes in foreclosures/short sales? We are in the Philly suburbs.
A quick look at realty trac shows that there are foreclosures in lots of neighbors that we like…since we have plenty of time on our hands, we thought we might as well start looking at these, since we aren’t interested in competing with the “how much a month” crowd.
Thanks!
It is probably hard to find a realtor agency that is not working on short sales/REO.
Which suburbs are you in? I grew up in the Bucks-Mont suburbs and also at the upper end of the Blue Route (which was new at the time).
And I grew up outside of West Chester, PA.
I know WC pretty well, well at least the “downtown” area. Nice little quiet college town. Seems to be holding up better than areas like Downingtown or Coatesville.
Joe Biden is from super close to WC. Claymont DE is just across the state line, my uncle lived there for about a decade, right off of 202. The last time I was in that area it shocked me how built-up everything is around 202.
joe - I’m in Hatboro. Where’d you grow up?
Mostly in Upper Gwynedd.
I’ve been to Hatboro Horsham area a little. I had a summer job there one year and we used to play HH in sports although they weren’t in our conference/league.
Wow…you guys are near by. We would love to find something in Horsham. We are currently renting in Blue Bell.
I would start with the local tax assessor’s office on-line.
I agree with this. If you have ALOT of time on your hands do it manually, without a realtor in the process.
Most houses might be contractually bound to a realtor by the time you find out about it, but there are plenty of houses around here that are vacant, owned by Fannie/Freddie et al, but not listed yet.
Are you willing to buy for cash at an auction? If you have time and energy, you can comb the listings in area print publications. The law firm doing the foreclosure has to advertise the foreclosure auction several times before the auction date.
Depending what suburb you’re in, there should be several publications that would have such advertisements for your area. If you were in Maryland I could tell you what those are. It would usually not be an expensive widely-distributed publication (i.e. Philly Inquirer or Daily News… too expensive and cover too much area). For example, where I grew up it would probably be the North Penn Reporter or the BuxMont Courier. West Chester also has its own paper. Same for Doylestown, etc.
Legal notices like foreclosures, bankruptcies, and certain sales of S corp stock are what pay alot [sic] of the bills for these small publications. If you ever wonder how they stay in business or compete with the big city publications, that’s how they do it.
Foreclosure Radar is a fee service,
that is a great resource for tracking
NODs, Foreclosures going to auction, etc…
We used it to track homes we were interested
in and followed some to the auction.
I assume it’s slime pick’ins these days, but it
will give you some detailed info on the properties
at a pretty reasonable monthly fee.
Hope and Change
“poll of people under 50 found that more than 2 in 5 unmarried women without children — or 42 percent — would consider having a child on their own without a partner … of 4.1 million women who’d given birth in 31 percent were unmarried at the time of the survey, an increase from 31 percent in 2005. And among mothers 20-24, the percentage was 62 percent (can you say permanent democrat supermajority?) .. many have some qualms about single mothers, with some two thirds — or 64 percent — saying single women having children without a partner is a bad thing for society”
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23353809/poll-2-5-women-would-consider-solo-parenthood
Without nanny state I would guess zero in five.
That’s true. Single parenting would be unaffordable unless others are forced to chip in. “It takes a village’s money.”
Not in all cases. Not in mine. I struggle, but I do it on my own. But I also wouldn’t choose it, nor recommend it to anyone. Those who think it looks like an fun option are delusional.
“Those who think it looks like an fun option are delusional.”
No, I don’t think it looks like fun, and have lots of respect for anyone who does this.
That said, I don’t think the government should be in the business of creating moral hazard incentives for single parenthood.
“Not in all cases. Not in mine. I struggle, but I do it on my own”
No you don’t. You get free education for your children from the state. You get a tax child credit. You get (or got) daycare tax credits. You get all sorts of govt bennies whether you realize it or not.
correction: “36 percent were unmarried … increase from 31 percent in 2005″
And those 64% who disapprove, those Murphy Brown haterz are sexist and patriarchal, and they need to be sent to the Re-Education Camp for some Diversity Training.
Government is the husband.
But goon, it is not POSSIBLE for a woman to have a child without a partner. The sperm has to come from somehwere. I suppose she could get artificially inseminated, but some sperm donors have still been charged with child support, just so you know. Have you considered that perhaps single mothers are caused by single fathers? Just a little skewed perception there on your part, goon.
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-05-30 21:23:06
The bit about declaration of “marital law” was a pretty good (and most hilarious) tip-off.
By Prof Peter Dale Scott
Global Research, February 23, 2011
23 February 2011
Even more reprehensible is the fact that after the bailouts, Paulson and the Treasury Department refused to provide details of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) spending of hundreds of billions of dollars, while the New York Federal Reserve refused to provide information about its own bailout (using government-backed loans) that amounted to trillions. This lack of transparency was challenged by Fox TV in a FOIA suit against the Treasury Department, and a suit by Bloomberg News against the Fed.[3]
The financial bailout legislation of September 2008 was only passed after members of both Congressional houses were warned that failure to act would threaten civil unrest and the imposition of martial law.
U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., both said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson brought up a worst-case scenario as he pushed for the Wall Street bailout in September. Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO, said that might even require a declaration of martial law, the two noted.[4]
Here are the original remarks by Senator Inhofe:
Speaking on Tulsa Oklahoma’s 1170 KFAQ, when asked who was behind threats of martial law and civil unrest if the bailout bill failed, Senator James Inhofe named Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as the source. “Somebody in D.C. was feeding you guys quite a story prior to the bailout, a story that if we didn’t do this we were going to see something on the scale of the depression, there were people talking about martial law being instituted, civil unrest… who was feeding you guys this stuff?,” asked host Pat Campbell. “That’s Henry Paulson,” responded Inhofe. “We had a conference call early on, it was on a Friday I think – a week and half before the vote on Oct. 1. So it would have been the middle… what was it – the 19th of September, we had a conference call. In this conference call – and I guess there’s no reason for me not to repeat what he said, but he said – he painted this picture you just described. He said, ‘This is serious. This is the most serious thing that we faced.’”[5]
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA 27th District) reported the same threat on the Congressional floor:
The only way they can pass this bill is by creating a panic atmosphere… Many of us were told that the sky would fall… A few of us were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no. That’s what I call fear-mongering, unjustified, proven wrong.[6]
So it is clear that threats of martial law were used to get this reprehensible bailout legislation passed. It also seems clear that Congress was told of a threat of martial law, not itself threatened. It is still entirely appropriate to link such talk to the Army’s rapid moves at the time to redefine its role as one of controlling the American people, not just protecting them. In a constitutional polity based on balance of powers, we have seen the emergence of a radical new military power that is as yet completely unbalanced.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-martial-law-and-the-economic-crisis/23354 - -
Henry Paulson? Remember this gem:
“This is the strongest global economy I’ve seen in my business lifetime” — Henry Paulson, July 2007
How about Cramer, right before Bear Stearns and then Lehman melted down. In each case, “there’s nothing to worry about, trust me, I know”.
Hey Lib….. where you gigging with your harpsichord this weekend?
Is Lib a reference to Liberace? If so, that’s kind of flattering, he was a great talent even if I’m not into the whole flaming thing.
I’m sure you’ll see me gigging at The Eagle or maybe Paddles next time I’m in NYC. For now you’ll have to catch me at The Hippo in Baltimore. Obvi.
Gigging at NAR, Fannie and Freddie events no longer profitable?
Lamest, troll ever.
And in walks the flutist.
Weren’t you at Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend last month?
http://www.clawinfo.org/
I can never thank you enough for making my points for me.
True talent, that.
When you finally make a point other than pimping your whiny liberal mantra, get back to us.
the Invisible Hand of the Free Market
“Uncle Sam will soon pay individual private contractors almost $1 million a year, more than twice President Obama’s salary … while federal employees are in the third year of a basic pay rate freeze and many are suffering a reduction in wages through budget cutting and unpaid furlough days, thousands of individual federal contractors will get more than $950,000 each for fiscal 2012.
“This wasteful expenditure of taxpayer dollars must stop,” Joe Jordan, the administrator for federal procurement policy in the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters Thursday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/some-federal-contractors-soon-can-get-nearly-1million-a-year/2013/05/30/c4652984-c952-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html
“This wasteful expenditure of taxpayer dollars must stop,”
Has anyone ever seen the movie Tin Cup?
Where the washed up golf pro makes it to the final hole of the U.S. Open in contention, hits one in the water and then empties his bag trying to make the shot?
I think that’s about where I am. Screw it! Go for it Bernank! Empty the bag! Run the presses! Fatten those banks! Put everybody on SSDI. Crony Capitalism Rules! MORE PROGRAMS! Extend HARP to 3015 not 2015! Print borrow and spend! We’re going down anyway, let’s make it spectacular!
Tin Cup is a 1996 film about a washed up golf pro working at a driving range who tries to qualify for the US Open in order to win the heart of his succesful rival’s girlfriend.
Doreen: No, no, no. This is what always happens. He’s going for it.
Molly: Go for it!
Doreen: Molly, get a grip. He only needs par to tie. Tell him to lay up.
Molly: Go for it, Roy! Just knock it on!
Doreen: This is why we broke up. He always went for it.
Molly: My problem is, I’ve never been with a man who went for it.
Doreen: Honey, he’s your guy.
—————————————————————————–
Roy: I nutted that thing. I mean, I nutted it.
Romeo: I know. You put a hell of a move on it.
Roy: Little gust from the gods cost me.
Romeo: We’ll take our drop, tie, and win the playoff.
Roy: I can make that shot!
Romeo: I know! But not now!
Roy: Now! I’m playing it from right here, now.
—————————————————————————–Romeo: This is the last ball in the bag. This gets wet, we’re disqualified.
Roy: I can make it across.
Romeo: Then do it. Quit flucking around.
Doreen: He’s crazy.
Molly: Oh, God. He’s right. You’re right, Roy! Just knock it on! Let her rip!
Doreen: You’re losing it.
Molly: I have lost it. But so has he. He’s crazy.
Doreen: So are you.
then empties his bag trying to make the shot?
I don’t get this golfing phrase. Is he trying to use every club?
[shows what I know about golf]
“I don’t get this golfing phrase. Is he trying to use every club?”
I don’t actually know what the PGA rule is either. But in the movie, if he dropped all the golf balls he had in his bag in the water trying to make the shot fom 250 yards out instead of taking a drop 75 yards out like the rule allowed, he would be disqualified from the tournament.
Surely this doesn’t mean that privatizing government is in fact, MORE costly?
That’s just crazy commie talk and Saint Ronnie would excommunicate you!
British taxpayers to pay ‘millions’ towards secretive Bilderberg meeting security
By Rowena Mason, Political correspondent
3:31PM BST 30 May 2013
The clandestine meeting of royalty, prime ministers and business chiefs is taking place in Britain for the first time since 1998, sparking fears of “violence and disturbance” by protesters.
The Bilderberg organisers, who include Tory Cabinet minister Ken Clarke, do not release a guest list but a roll-call of luminaries are expected to descend on a luxury Watford hotel from June 6, forcing police to step up security.
Hertfordshire police have refused to release the cost of security for the event, which has previously drawn anti-capitalist demonstrators in other locations around the world.
However, they are in talks with the Home Office about a grant for “unexpected or exceptional costs” that is only given out if it threatens the stability of the force’s policing budget. The final bill would have to total more than one per cent of the police force’s overall spend - or about £1.8 million - for the grant to be successful.
The invitation-only Bilderberg meetings are attended by around 140 members of the international elite.
Previous guests are thought to have included Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller, Prince Charles, Peter Mandelson, David Cameron and Queen Beatrix of Holland but the list of attendees is different every year.
The cloak of secrecy surrounding the meetings, which ban journalists from attending, has fuelled conspiracy theories that so-called Bilderbergers are planning global domination and world unification.
However, the event is most often likened to a political version of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which draws members of high society to discuss business and the economy.
Its steering commitee includes Mr Clarke, Cabinet minister without portfolio, Thomas Enders, chief executive of defence company EADS, and Peter Sutherland, the chairman of Goldman Sachs.
Some activists have decided to hold a Bilderberg Fringe Festival - described by its organisers as a peaceful weekend of speakers, comedy, music, workshops, arts and entertainment nearby. However, Dorothy Thornhill, the mayor of Watford, has raised fears that the summit could also bring “violence.”
She told the Watford Observer: “I have my concerns about it because it does attract people who can and do cause violence and disturbance.
“But I am confident the police will be able to minimise that and give them their right to protest.
“I am ambivalent about whether this is a good thing. It’s potentially a positive thing as long as things don’t kick off.
Hertfordshire Police said the Bilderberg Group has agreed to contribute some of the cost of security, but taxpayers will have to cover the rest of the bill.
The force said it could not yet estimate the cost to the taxpayer of policing the event or whether it will need to draw on reinforcements from nearby forces.
“The organisers of the event are paying for a private security firm who will be providing security at the venue,” the spokesman said.
“In addition, the organisers have agreed to contribute towards policing costs relating to the event.
“As we do not disclose the costs of operations prior to their event, we will not disclose the amounts at this stage.”
The last time the Bilderberg Group met in Britain was in Turnberry in Scotland in 1998. This year’s event will be at the Grove Hotel in Watford, which has been booked out for the duration of the conference from 6th to 9th June.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10089131/British-taxpayers-to-pay-millions-towards-secretive-Bilderberg-meeting-security.html - -
I posted about this before, there are regulations pending that will limit what the federal government pays to individual private contractor employees to a mere $750,000 (that’s approximate, I forget the exact number).
Keep in mind, the contractor company can still load up the compensation package with bonuses, but anything beyond $750k can not be billed to the government directly.
Dude. We are hiring senior analysts. The Feds are all b*tching about their 11 furlough days, but the army of contractor staff is growing like mushrooms. @joesmith, do your job and keep the sh1t piled high so the mushrooms keep growing.
Feds drool, contractors RULE!
I wish the work was piled high. I’m just finishing my billing for this month and I’m having to be a little “creative”.
I thought I hit a gold mine earlier this month when the NETCENTS II contract was awarded. Something like 6.5 Bil/yr and our client was one of the winning bidders. Shortly after, there were 14 separate protests filed at GAO. I was thinking I had it “made” as far as coming up with hours to bill.
Unfortunately the agency (Air Force) decided to take corrective action immediately which made the protests moot and they were dismissed by GAO. Keep in mind when they reaward the contracts again, most likely in late summer/early fall, this will probably all happen again. Great use of the public’s money. GAO attorneys have to share like 1 paralegal per office and they don’t even get sufficient office supplies to make their work product not look like s***. If you don’t believe me, ask polly. Attorneys have to provide their own supplies sometimes, it’s actually time-consuming and inefficient when you think about it.
buy a house today get a voter registration card tomorrow?
A few days ago I commented on the protests about GMO food and while I believe Genetically Modified Organisms will prove to be a unstoppable force of technology there will be side effects and collateral damage to the food chain. So yesterday I see a story about a Monsanto GMO wheat seed that has gone rouge and has been found invading native wheat fields in Oregon even though the seeds were never released to the market. The international reaction has be quick with several countries banning the import of American wheat.
“Roiled by mystery GMO wheat, US races to reassure buyers”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/30/us-wheat-asia-idUSBRE94T0JA20130530
“It is all the more alarming because the wheat strain was thought to have been eliminated after test trials ended in 2005, as Monsanto abandoned efforts to secure regulatory approval due to worldwide opposition.”
“be quick” = “been quick”
What are some good sites (that use science, not Glen Beck style crapola) that cover these issues? I’d like to learn more.
I scan the science news websites and when I find something interesting I then follow up with a general web search on Bing or Google.
http://www.physorg.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://www.sciencecodex.com/
My guess: There are none, as Monsanto bought off all the scientists who might objectively raise doubts about GMO wheat, etc.
Didn’t Monsanto (et al.) also prevail in that CA referendum regarding labeling of GMO products?
Labeling products with GMO’s would probably be the best way to raise the public’s interest in the matter. Without seeing that label on so many products, people wrongly assume it’s NBD.
GMO Labeling Proposition Fails In California
Nov 7, 2012 at 11:30 am
Genetically modified foods will not require labels in California, voters decided Tuesday. Chemical and processed food companies, led by biotech giant Monsanto, injected $46 million into a campaign to defeat Proposition 37, while labeling advocates raised just $9.2 million.
Among the biggest spenders in the anti-labeling fight were junk food companies Coca-Cola and Nestle, which rely on genetically modified corn and soy to sweeten their products. Pesticide company DuPont also shelled out millions.
Even better than that! They have a friend (actually a former employee) in Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/02/monsanto.html
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_20437.cfm
Speaking of GMO… Here is a organism that has a target on it’s back:
“May 29, 2013 — In one of the first successful attempts at genetically engineering mosquitoes, HHMI researchers have altered the way the insects respond to odors, including the smell of humans and the insect repellant DEET. ”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130529133151.htm
You guys are hilarious. You whine about how expensive food is. And then you advocate for food labeling that will cost billions to implement. Guess who pays for the cost? Hint: it’s mot evil Monsanto. It’s the end consumer. Which means get ready for even more expensive food.
Liberal greenie non-profits like Green America and Global Exchange are on top of it. Starting point: http://gmoinside.org/resources/
Check out “The World According to Monsanto”. The entire documentary is on you tube. It’s long so you have to watch it in parts.
Worth it.
How about the small farmers who gets sued for patent infringement by Monsanto because their trademarked GMO seeds accidentally blew into their fields and started growing?
Monsanto is the devil and have their sights set on having full control of the world’s food supply.
I remember reading about that years ago. The farmers should have sued Monsanto for contaminating their fields.
The farmers should have sued Monsanto for contaminating their fields.
No small farmer has ever been able to win against Monsanto. They all end up settling out of court. You just can’t fight that kind of money.
Monsatan.
This topic was covered in Michael Pollan’s movie, Food, Inc. Another one worth a viewing.
commie talk
their trademarked GMO seeds accidentally blew into their fields and started growing?”
its pollen that blows in and contamiants your seed crop.
next year GMO tests your corn for example and finds its DNA in your harvest and sues you.
its really wacked
Banning GMO food is like banning homosexuality. You can’t really ban it.
What’s really going on with housing California
California imposed a new law on banks innocuously called “Homeowners Bill of Rights” which forces banks to switch over to a judicial foreclosure process, which they can opt to do on their own, but takes a year or more to renegotiate contracts and compensation structures for the foreclosure law firms who do all the leg work for the banks. And while those changes are being made… it makes it appear that foreclosures have slowed down dramatically in the state.
The reality?
Defaults (undeclared) are spiraling upward that yet have to pass through the foreclosure pipeline.
The truth?
California is still the highest foreclosure state in sheer volume and percentage.
The low-down?
Resale housing is still massively overpriced as a result of unprecedented interference by individual states and the federal government. The market distortions will be removed and the down draft will continue allowing the market to correct.
If you play with fire, you will get burned.
“Cash buyers” huh? It’s a lie. Just like the “housing is an investment” lie.
“Subprime mortgages are back”
http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/listedblogpost.aspx?post=e7e44f4a-6edb-4179-b869-1b008a4fe9ef&_p=d57d9588-9957-47ac-aa6d-4171a4943cdb
And of course….. subprime and zero down lending created the previous bubble and collapse. Imagine the losses resulting from the coming collapse?
No! I thought lending was tiiight this time around.
Take a look at the auto loans, it’s much worse. Invest in repo companies, they will be big in next few years.
Exactly.
And look for a low mileage GM, Ford or Chrysler(imports didn’t subprime) for your next vehicle. They will be plentiful and cheap.
“Imports didn’t subprime”
Did you get that information from the same place you get your housing information (your own imagination)? Toyota is the highest subprime lender of all manufacturers, only banks are above it, and banks loan money for all manufacturers foreign and domestic. Honda and Nissan are 7th and 8th. Now, let me take a wild guess as to what kind of car you drive.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20100127/ZZZ_SPECIAL/301279994#axzz2UtQUuxBr
“Wachovia Dealer Services is the nation’s top lender for car buyers with fair or poor credit profiles, Experian Automotive reports. Capital One Auto Finance ranks second, closely followed by Toyota Financial Services in third place.”
Your deceptiveness by posting an article over 3 years old shows just how dishonest you realtors are. Toyota no longer offers financing to debt junkies you realtors prey on.
Yeah Krusty……. why is it you haven’t disclosed to the readers here that you’re a realtor?
– Captives offer a range of subprime to build brand loyalty. “We have some customers with a score less than 500,” says Ken Baruth, vice president of risk and dealer credit at Toyota Financial. “We are here to finance brand loyalty.”
http://www.autonews.com/article/20110914/FINANCE_AND_INSURANCE/309149867#axzz2UvAAVNMI
Why are you lying on behalf of Toyota Financial? What purpose does this serve to you? Again, let me take a wild guess what you drive.
MORE 3 year old articles?
Again…… do you Realtors not understand public sentiment of you Realtors is lower than whale $hit for the very misrepresentations your playing?
Have you disclosed to the readers need that you’re a Realtor?
You realtors are shameless.
All I’m asking is for you to understand the following:
1) Manufacturer finance companies exist solely to support the car sales of their parent company. Because of this, they always have and always will buy subprime. If that were not the case, they would not be needed, banks will buy all the prime business.
2) Your original point about domestics being cheaper at auction doesn’t make sense regardless of the domestic subprime involvement. Someone will always finance foreign subprime whether or not the captives do it, so auction values aren’t going to differ between foreign and domestic solely based on the manufacturer’s involvement in subprime.
3) I am not a Realtor
From the article:
Instead, the new subprime lenders are offering mortgages to buyers with credit problems, but they are asking for higher down payments, charging higher interest rates and asking a lot of questions. As the Times writes: “In other words, a borrower’s collateral matters, down payments matter, income and ability to pay matter.”
To buy a house, [the Polands] were willing to make a 35% down payment, pay $10,000 in fees and accept a 10.9% interest rate, about three times the rate paid by borrowers with top credit.
“There are a lot of borrowers who can make a big down payment, document that they have the income to pay the loan and have a good recent job history — but have a credit score that would make it impossible to get a loan,” says Rick Sharga,
THANK YOU!!!
Years ago I said that FICO is a bad way* to measure repayment. But the stupid MSM insisted on the “subprime” label. Some weeks back resurrected the distinction and of course got shouted down.
I say, kudos to these banks who do due diligence, took the 35% down, fees, and high interest rates on verified income. Even if the Polands never make a single payment, the bank won’t lose money if they keep the 35% and sell the house at market value.
—————
*logical fallacy. It’s not the high FICO which your ability to pay. Income is the root cause which determines both your FICO and ability to pay. Underwriters should be looking at the root cause… oh but FICO was one number…. it was so easy…
Junkie…..
The average down payment is 6%.
Furthermore, “market value” is only 50% of the inflated prices you suckers paid.
“The Coming Housing Collapse: The Fed, Instead Of Lehman, Owns The Mortgage Market”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2013/03/05/peter-schiff-and-the-coming-housing-collapse-the-fed-instead-of-lehman-owns-the-mortgage-market/
There are many reasons NOT to buy a house right now.
1) Prices are massively inflated
2) Rental rates are half the cost of buying at current inflated prices
3) The cost of new housing is a fraction of resale housing in $/square foot.
4) $/square foot prices are falling
…. and most importantly… You’re going to lose alot of money if you buy a house now. ALOT of money.
“Housing’s Dead Cat Bounce”
Now that it’s self-evident that housing is in dead cat bounce mode, you can now observe the losses of those who were foolish enough to believe the tripe and paid a grossly inflated price for a house even though a house is always a depreciating asset.
“Concerns remain about the redefault rate of homeowners given modifications. About 25 percent of homeowners given modifcations in the first quarter of 2011 have defaulted.”
I wonder who the Usain Bolt of the re-defaulters was?
Usain Bolt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977.
His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt”,
2008 Summer Olympics
In the Olympic 100 m final, Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s (unofficially 9.683 s) with a reaction time of 0.165 s.[86] This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s.[87] Not only was the record set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied.
Housing Sales At Multi Decade Lows
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2013/03/20130328_house2.jpg
You do know what happens when prices rise on tiny volume…. right?
And here we are in 2013 with housing on the precipice of a major correction.
Sentiment?
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8180/stagesbubble.png
ooops….
See wiki….. we’re at the “return to normal” stage.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Stages_of_a_bubble.png
Beware graphs with no numbers on either axis.
In Florida, a food-stamp recruiter deals with wrenching choices
By Eli Saslow,April 23, 2013
In fact, it is Nerios’s job to enroll at least 150 seniors for food stamps each month, a quota she usually exceeds. Alleviate hunger, lessen poverty: These are the primary goals of her work. But the job also has a second and more controversial purpose for cash-strapped Florida, where increasing food-stamp enrollment has become a means of economic growth, bringing almost $6 billion each year into the state. The money helps to sustain communities, grocery stores and food producers. It also adds to rising federal entitlement spending and the U.S. debt.
Nerios prefers to think of her job in more simple terms: “Help is available,” she tells hundreds of seniors each week. “You deserve it. So, yes or no?”
“Tell her you’re an American and this is your benefit,” Nerios said, pulling him away from the crowd, so he could write the 26th name of the day on her SNAP sign-up sheet.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-23/national/38763705_1_food-stamps-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-local-food-bank - -
They should eliminate Nerios’ government job and replace it with two FTE contractor jobs.
“In Florida, a food-stamp recruiter deals with wrenching choices”
We need some bank bailout recruiters. Oh, I guess we already have them.
Scott signs bill to ban EBT cards at casinos, strip clubs
May 30, 2013
TALLAHASSEE — Florida is banning welfare recipients from using EBT cards at “adult entertainment establishments” like strip clubs and casinos.
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed the bill (HB 701) into law. It was one of 36 bills that Scott signed.
EBT cards — standing for electronic benefit transfer — are like debit cards. Welfare recipients use them to draw down their benefits.
Critics called the bill offensive to poor people. But the bill’s sponsor said that voting against his measure was like “voting for lap dances on taxpayer dollars.”
http://www.floridatoday.com/section/NEWS01/Local-News - 173k -
Gov. Scott is racis
“Gov. Scott is racis”
Arizona and Fox are also racis.
“illegal immigration is literally bankrupting this nation” They don’t mention the help they get bankrupting this nation from the Fed, Goldman, our selected officials and all the other Bilderberg gang.
Nonetheless, that’s a pretty nice gold chain the Illegal alien mother of seven is wearing considering all she has been doing is living off the government teet since she swam the Rio Grande 20 years ago.
The CATO Institute is racis too.
OUTRAGE: Illegal Alien With 7 Kids Got Food Stamps, Housing & Social Security – for 20 Years!
By John Hill (THE RACIS) on May 30, 2013
Another day brings yet another exposé that which reminds us how illegal immigration is literally bankrupting this nation – and which will no doubt be totally ignored by the mainstream media in their coordinated effort to shove amnesty down our throats.
Illegal alien and mother of seven, Florida resident Marita Nelson, receives $240 in food stamps, monthly medications, $700 in Social Security and a housing allowance.
And she has been receiving government assistance for over 20 YEARS – ever since she illegally entered the U.S. by swimming the Rio Grande.
She celebrates it…and is on a crusade to get other illegals to sign up for as many programs as possible – which as you can see in the disgraceful video clip below, the Obama Administration is paying “recruiters” to sign up as many people as possible!
The clip was from FoxNews’ Special Report , which analyzed the big business of welfare. The entire clip is worth seeing, particularly since it features a representative of the Libertarian “think tank” CATO Institute, who whines about the programs. Quite ironic, since CATO is the unrivaled biggest “research” pimp for illegal alien amnesty and unrestricted open borders in Washington – which is mindlessly backing the ‘Gang of 8′ amnesty bill for tens of millions of illegals that does absolutely nothing to curtail welfare for illegals, and in fact expands it.
http://standwitharizona.com/blog/2013/05/30/outrage-illegal-alien-with-7-kids-got-food-stamps-housing-social-security-for-20-years/ - -
“And she has been receiving government assistance for over 20 YEARS – ever since she illegally entered the U.S. by swimming the Rio Grande.”
People that cross that Rio Grande just cause all kinds of fuss.
Eyewitness to History.com
“Remember the Alamo!,” 1836
In 1835, a general uprising throughout Mexico sought to overthrow the dictatorial reign of President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. American citizens who had settled in the Mexican province of Texas joined the uprising and successfully forced the Mexican military across the Rio Grande River. The objective of these Texan revolutionaries soon changed from modifying the dictatorial rule of General Santa Anna to establishing an independent state of Texas.
A fight to the death at the Alamo
In response, General Santa Anna led his re-organized army back across the Rio Grande River to subdue the insurgents. He instructed his troops to immediately execute any foreign fighters they encountered. Santa Anna marched his force to the Alamo, an abandoned Spanish mission, located in what is now San Antonio. It had been established in 1724 to convert the local natives to Christianity. Here, a defending force estimated at between 180 and 260 awaited their arrival. Led by William B. Travis their number included two legendary figures in American history, Davy Crockett and James Bowie. The men within the Alamo were under no illusion. They knew that their defense could not succeed without the quick appearance of reinforcements.
Arriving on February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s troops surrounded the Alamo, laying siege to its defenders. The Mexican Army began to bombard the former mission with cannon shot in an effort to systematically reduce its protective walls to rubble. The assault began in earnest during the early morning hours of March 6 as Mexican soldiers swarmed the walls of the fortress. The Alamo defenders successfully repulsed two attacks but were overwhelmed by the third. The combat was characterized by room-to-room fighting in which all but a handful of the defenders were killed. The ferocity of their defense is underscored by the fact that it resulted in the death of an estimated 600 Mexicans.
All Libertarians and Tea Party supporters should consider moving to N. Carolina.
“Senate leaders on Thursday rolled out the most comprehensive proposal to overhaul the state’s tax code, eliminating dozens of loopholes, but also shutting down popular tax breaks on food, mortgage interest payments and prescription drugs that would bring in more than $1 billion in revenue to help reduce income tax rates and the overall sales tax rate.
The N.C. Fair Tax Act also taxes Social Security benefits for many retirees and extends the sales tax to more than 130 services, such as landscaping and legal help. While it closes many loopholes for businesses, it does continue some for certain sectors while bringing in roughly a billion dollars less in revenues over the next three years.”
I think these are the same guys who allow guns in bars and churches plus they added a rule to their coastal zoning laws that limits the rise of sea level to about 12″ from now till 2100.
“In place of science, the bill would mandate that only the Division of Coastal Management can put out an estimate of the rate of sea-level rise — and they must use an arbitrary formula:
These rates shall only be determined using historical data, and these data shall be limited to the time period following the year 1900. Rates of sea-level rise may be extrapolated linearly to estimate future rates of rise but shall not include scenarios of accelerated rates of sea-level rise”
http://www.nationofchange.org/north-carolina-bill-would-require-coastal-communities-ignore-global-warming-science-1338561911
“I think these are the same guys who allow guns in bars and churches”
Bars or resturaunts?
Denied a Chance: How gun control helped a stalker murder my husband [Paperback]
Nicole Goeser (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Book Description
Publication Date: May 13, 2013
“For Nikki Goeser it was a day like any other … with one exception. Her husband, Ben, had only 16 hours to live. On that fateful day in Tennessee, the man she loved would be murdered by a beast who was stalking her. In compliance with state law Nikki had left her legal firearm locked in the car. With the help of legislatively created pistol free zones, one evil man gunned down Nikki’s husband as she was forced to look on, alone, defenseless and disarmed by an ill-conceived law designed to save her. Read this inspiring story of courage through remorse, as one woman struggles to seek justice for the man she loves. Follow Nikki Goeser as she fights to ensure that others are never held victim to the same terrible fate.”
http://www.amazon.com/Denied-Chance-control-stalker-husband/dp/1618080644 - 273k -
Collateral damage…
“Woodhaven resident shot by police was pronounced dead inside his garage.”
Police have said that two patrol officers encountered an armed Jerry Waller at the back of his house “near the garage- driveway area.” They have not specifically said where Waller was when he was shot.
But Waller’s son, Chris Waller, said in an email to the Star-Telegram that the police account of the shooting is inaccurate. “My father never stepped outside of his garage. He was shot multiple times in the chest only a few steps away from the doorway to his kitchen,” Chris Waller said.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/05/29/4888210/officer-involved-in-shooting-at.html
From the comments:
Cpl. Tracey Knight, the public information person for FWPD, “mistakenly” reported that Mr. Waller was killed in his driveway. That is not true.
He was killed in his own lit garage where officers could clearly see him.
Not a single living soul heard the officers ask Mr. Waller to drop his gun — which most of us wouldn’t do in our own garage. (I’d certainly lay it on the cement.)
Meanwhile, the alarm is going off at the house across the street which is where the officers were supposed to be going.
We also know someone saw the officers picking up their own shell casings after they killed Mr. Waller - a violation of department policy in a shooting.
There is also no information on why Mrs. Waller was held in their squad car for an extended time, and not giving a chance to call an attorney or talk to a former FW City Council person and neighbor.
bring in more than $1 billion in revenue to help reduce income tax rates and the overall sales tax rate.
smells like — BS
If Al Gore was born 10,000 years ago, we would still have Woolly mammoths today.
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully!
“Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw.
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw.
Wooly bully, wooly bully.
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully.
Hatty told Matty: “Let’s don’t take no chance.
Let’s not be *L-seven*, come and learn to dance.”
Wooly bully, wooly bully.
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully.
Matty told Hatty: “That’s the thing to do.
Get you someone really to pull the wool with you.”
Wooly bully, wooly bully.
Wooly bully, wooly bully, wooly bully.
Watch it now! Watch it now!
That entire post was Woolist and completely insensitive to what I hope will become the LGBTWM movement.
Russians find mammoth carcass with liquid blood
VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, AP
5 hours ago (last night)
MOSCOW (AP) — A perfectly preserved woolly mammoth carcass with liquid blood has been found on a remote Arctic island, fueling hopes of cloning the Ice Age animal, Russian scientists said Thursday.
The carcass was in such good shape because its lower part was stuck in pure ice, said Semyon Grigoryev, the head of the Mammoth Museum, who led the expedition into the Lyakhovsky Islands off the Siberian coast.
“The blood is very dark, it was found in ice cavities bellow the belly and when we broke these cavities with a poll pick, the blood came running out,” he said in a statement released by the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, which sent the team.
Wooly mammoths are thought to have died out around 10,000 years ago, although scientists think small groups of them lived longer in Alaska and on islands off Siberia.
Scientists have deciphered much of the woolly mammoth’s genetic code from their hair, and some believe it’s possible to clone them if living cells are found
Grigoryev said the find could provide the necessary material. The blood of mammoths appeared not to freeze in extreme temperatures, likely keeping mammoths warm, he said.
The temperature at the time of excavation was -7 to - 10 degrees Celsius (14 to 19 degrees Fahrenheit.)
The researchers collected the samples of the animal’s blood in tubes with a special preservative agent. They were sent to Yakutsk for bacterial examination in order to spot potentially dangerous infections.
The carcass’ muscle tissue was also in perfect condition.
“The fragments of muscle tissues, which we’ve found out of the body, have a natural red color of fresh meat,” Grigoryev said.
Up to 4 meters (13 feet) in height and 10 tons in weight, mammoths roamed across huge areas between Great Britain and North America and were driven to extinction by humans and the changing climate.
Associated Press
“Woolist”
Love it!
Woolist, yet still a catchy tune.
Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs Woolly Bully - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZJiGu6Gz8E - 231k -
No comments needed…….
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/05/fbi-changes-its-story-again-ibragim-todashev-shooting/65750/
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/yet-another-explanation-for-the-killing-of-ibragim-todashev/276421/
Wind power to rise to 30% of generated power in the Centennial State.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23356432/xcel-proposes-adding-more-wind-power-its-system
“Xcel Energy said it plans to add 550 megawatts of wind power to its system — because the generation prices are among the lowest the utility has seen.
When the new installations come on line in 2016, about 30 percent of all of Xcel’s electricity in Colorado will come from wind, according to the company.
It was price — not environmental considerations or state renewable-energy mandates — that drove the decision, Xcel executives said Thursday.”
I can hear BananaBoy gnashing his teeth somewhere.
My electric bill was less than $25 last month.
Washington D.C. house of the day:
http://realestate.washingtonpost.com/eng/sales/detail/299-l-2691-dc8091792
Listed for 750k, LOL!!!
Bubble to the n-th degree.
And it’ll probably sell for $775K by the end of next week.
My bank has 7 year CDs with a 1.25% yield. I can picture buying toilet paper on sale with the money before locking up $250 into 7 years of 1.25% APR yield.