Bits Bucket for September 18, 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.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Public unions + long term democrat rule = bankruptcy and ruin.
Lord help you if you own a house or business in Chicago.
—————–
From Mish - 18SEP2013 - globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Move over Detroit. The fiscal crisis in Chicago is far bigger.
Pensions 31% funded
Moody’s downgraded Chicago Debt 3 Notches (just 4 steps above junk)
City debt on negative watch
Pension Liability is $61,000 Per Household ($23,000 Per Capita)
You’re enjoying free rent in multiple empty skulls. Thousands of square foot of living…. all rent free.
Why the Democrats are Winning
Townhall.com | September 18, 2013 | Rachel Alexander
Yet this isn’t translating into changes in Americans’ politics or their government. Americans are still voting for Democrats, accepting socially liberal positions and expanding government. The reason is simple. Liberalism self-perpetuates itself if left unchecked because people are lazy. This is due to the nature of government. It is difficult to feel the effects of incrementally raising taxes and increasing spending across the board.
The average American now owes $52,878.60 in federal debt. If each American was forced to pay their share of the debt now, you can guarantee the vast majority would start voting for Republicans.
Government withholdings from paychecks also contributes to this insulating effect. If the government didn’t mandatorily withhold taxes from each paycheck, many Americans would not have enough money at the end of the year to pay all of the income taxes they owe. The average American making $50,000 annually loses about $10,000 of that just to federal income taxes. Can you imagine the chaos if Americans were suddenly individually responsible to come up with $10,000 every year?
This masking of the harsh realities makes it easy to accept just one more tax increase for a “good cause.” Who notices a 1 cent increase in the sales tax? The correlation is direct – it is easy to feel compassionate and helpful when you can watch seemingly painless money going to a righteous cause. The cause doesn’t even have to be righteous, just mask it as going to schools and law enforcement by providing a tiny amount to those entities and naming the bill after them.
It is difficult for Republicans to get legislation passed implementing cuts because the correlation to allegedly “hurting people” is direct. Cut food stamps? The Democrats cry that millions of poor single moms and their children will be impacted. In contrast, the benefit of cutting costs is usually portrayed indirectly, so it carries less weight. There are thousands of places in the budget where the cost savings could go, and much of the time bills to cut spending don’t designate them clearly. Making things worse, the public isn’t sympathetic to directing cost savings at the military or paying down the debt - Republican ideals. These principles are too far removed from their everyday lives and have no emotional message to resonate. Vaguely warning that “our children will suffer down the road” is not a real emotional argument that tears at your heartstrings. It is not effective.
For too long, the left has held up the poor as an emotional lure to get knee-jerk support for their policies. It has worked, and now the poor have everything available to them, while the middle class is going without. The poor receive food stamps and can buy steak, fast food, and expensive food that the lower middle class cannot afford. The poor qualify for Medicaid to cover their healthcare, while the middle class is stuck with unaffordable Obamacare. The poor can live in Section 8 free or reduced income housing. The lower middle class has no such assistance and instead has been hit with foreclosures.
The sad result of this reversal is that it disincentivizes the lower middle class from working. If your neighbor is on Facebook all day living the good life on welfare instead of working, and you’re struggling to get by at a miserable job as you’re forced to rack up credit card debt, it’s rather easy to make the transition to welfare. Food stamps now look like a debit card so no one sees you using them.
You are correct. Now that you’ve summarized the problem, what is the solution?
Explain to the HBB how candidates for public office will win enough votes from the Free Sh*t Army to enact policies to take away their free sh*t and reduce government spending.
Free Sh*t Army = Permanent Democrat Supermajority
Tax day is April 15th.
No withholdings - you must pay in full and in cash
Election day is April 16th
“you must pay in full”
Under current tax laws (per IRS dot gov), the maximum Earned Income Tax Credit is $6,044 in 2013. Which the Free Sh*t Army will all receive on April 15 on pre-paid debit cards from H&R Block. April 15 = party time, an orgy of steak and lobster and purple drank. And when they wake up at noon on April 16, they will be bussed to the polls (in some cities to vote several times), and will re-elect every single Democrat who gave them their free sh*t.
You are correct. Now that you’ve summarized the problem, what is the solution?
You’re really convinced by this argument? Why don’t you quit your job and sign up for that free sh*t?
Regarding the solution, how about tens of millions of jobs with good salaries and benefits that would make all that government cheese unnecessary?
The Democrats are winning because the Republicans sold the future for 28 years from 1980 to 2008, when the whole thing collapsed.
The Democrats would do their own screw up, but the Republicans won’t let them do anything, so the blame stayes were it was.
Liberalism self-perpetuates itself if left unchecked because people are lazy.
To me that just sounds like a convenient excuse to avoid fixing what’s wrong with the Republican party. And I say that as someone who was registered R for a long time.
Yes, I’m concerned about how our system works with the Ds in charge. But until the Rs fix themselves and really put the country ahead of the party, they are no better.
+1
The Nation’s Fiscal Crisis Just Got Far Worse
Investor’s Business Daily | 09/17/2013 | IBD Staff
Fiscal Crisis: One day after President Obama bragged about how fast the deficit is declining, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the government is in far worse fiscal shape than it previously thought.
Liberals have been rejoicing lately about the fast drop in the nation’s deficit, which is projected to hit $642 billion this year, down from $1.1 trillion last year.
It’s not that Obama and Co. have suddenly gotten religion when it comes to fiscal responsibility. They simply see the current deficit decline as an excuse to abandon all spending restraint.
But the CBO’s latest long-term budget report shows that any such celebration is woefully premature. As the report explains, there is a “substantial imbalance in the federal budget over the long run.”
In fact, the CBO is far more pessimistic about the long-term fiscal picture than it was last year. Where it predicted a gradual decline in publicly held debt over the next 25 years in its 2012 report, it now expects national debt to reach 100% of GDP by 2038, on its way to 250% by 2088. (It was 39% when President Bush left office.)
“… on its way to 250% by 2088.”
In the long run, we’re all dead.
And in case anybody puts any faith whatsoever in such long-run projections, I own a bridge I’d like to sell you.
i agree…it’s probably going to turn out to be far worse. If anyone thinks the U.S. dollar is going to be the world’s reserve currency in 2088…i got 2 bridges to sell them.
Get your foreign citizenship while you can.
Oh yeah, well there is a reason why we out spend the whole planet on our military industrial complex. We have 3000+ nuclear weapons that back the dollar and a 60 year history of attacking anyone we think is a threat. What other currency can claim that?
Syria (Russia) didn’t back down.
Syria is still a story that is evolving but that said, you and I don’t get to write the history books on who really backed down on Syria.
putin’s credibility and Russia’s influence skyrocketed after that obama debacle.
i meant to say “in the middle east”
putin’s credibility and Russia’s influence skyrocketed after that obama debacle.
Yeah, Faux News and their puppets keep saying that.
who cares who says it…when’s it fracking true.
Alpo isn’t the interested in the truth.
Government contracting = $500,000,000,000+ per year
Woo hoo, open the spigots and start passing out the stimulus bucks again! No more sekester!
From Bloomberg on September 12, 2013.
“In the 11 months through the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the deficit was $755.3 billion, the narrowest for that period in five years. ”
This doesn’t correlate with your expected $642 billion.
It is all hinging on the 10 year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX7J8-VTG08
…and he is canadian…so he must be right.
Bernake will buy moar.
Are you positioned for the tempered taper rally?
CREDIT MARKETS
September 17, 2013, 1:49 p.m. ET
Treasury Prices Rise Ahead of Expected Fed Taper
Short Sellers Buy Bonds to Close Bearish Bets
By CAROLYN CUI And MIN ZENG
CONNECT
Investors are buying Treasurys again, sending yields lower, as the Federal Reserve prepares to roll back its bond-buying program as soon as Wednesday.
U.S. Treasury prices have risen five days in a row, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 2.85%. That’s a far cry from the market response to the first signals this past spring that the U.S. central bank was preparing to reduce the program that includes $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. Yields fall when bond prices rise.
Bond-market sentiment began to sour in May after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke first hinted at so-called tapering. Short positions, or bets on higher yields, reached an extreme level last week. Net speculative short positions in U.S. Treasury futures rose to 688,000 contracts as of last Tuesday, the most bearish position since 2005, according to data compiled by RBC Capital Markets.
But short sellers have been buying bonds to close out short bets over the past several days, especially after former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers pulled out of the contest for the Fed chairmanship.
The market was priced in “too hawkish a Fed profile,” said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income, which had $391 billion of assets under management as of June. “The market is trying to turn a corner here after the significant selloff we had since May,” he said.
…
Punked!
I meant to say “cancelled taper rally.”
bernake has to keep yields down so home prices continue their bull run and people have some equity to pull and the banks remain solvent.
Printing money is a masterful plan.
Would you loan someone your money at 3% when inflation is > 10%?
you need that money invested in something with a positive return.
Too bad mos people dont have the capacity to store commodities they use.
Do you think if I loaded up on spam at current prices it would be good in 30 years?
Get your hands on some twitter common shares!!!!!
who needs twitter when you own RE ?
The Fed: What Difference Does $10 Billion a Month Make?
By Douglas A. McIntyre
September 18, 2013 6:32 am EDT
In the scheme of things, as far as the size of the economy and the massive amounts of credit capital that wash around the financial markets like a huge ocean, $10 billion a month does not mean a thing. Neither does $20 billion, probably, or even more. Most economists believe that the Federal Reserve will cut its monthly purchases of various kinds of paper by $10 billion. The action may influence the psychology of the markets, but there is really nothing in the change at all.
…
What’s a taper?
u should invent a new dance called tapering and post it here for all to learn. something that resembles a shakedown?
Lol, I first heard of a tapir when I read the Bomba the Jungle Boy books as a pup. 1930s edition, my parents picked them up for me at a junk shop. Wish I still had them. They disappeared when my mom’s home was sold and all the possession dispersed.
Any dance that involves the Fed and the citizens is automatically going to make me think of the recent Miley scandal…
Turns out Joe6Pack doesn’t know the difference between a taper and a water buffalo!
But not to worry…for those few Americans who are not clueless about the nature of quantitative easing, the taper will turn out to be “smaller than expected,” triggering a tempered taper rally in bonds and housing.
It’s not clear how the stock market will take the news, as a tempered taper announcement could be construed as a sign the Fed sees “worse than expected” economic conditions.
What’s quantitative easing? Most Americans haven’t a clue
September 18, 2013, 8:43 AM
Flickr/MiguelVieira
Baird’s tapir. That’s not a Fed taper.
Hours away from what could be one of the biggest announcements to hit markets in a year — or perhaps since the financial crisis — most Americans are scarily clueless about the definition of quantitative easing. Never mind that it has facilitated cheap mortgages and a giant bull market in stocks, to the point where some are fearing another bubble.
A Reuters poll of 857 adult Americans, taken between Sept. 12 and Sept. 16, found that only 27% percent could pick out the correct definition of QE from five possible answers. While most with some market savvy have this sticky note implanted in their brains — Fed buying bonds to lower interest rates and spur economic growth — not so for the average Joe. Here’s where some of them went wrong:
- 12% said QE was a computer-assisted program used by the Fed to manipulate the dollar
- 11% said QE was part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation brought about after the crisis
Here are two of the biggest QE guesses that were also just off the mark:
- QE lets the Fed make it “easier for commercial banks to borrow money from Fed and relend it to consumers
- QE happens “when the Fed repeatedly lowers its official interest rate”
…
‘What’s a taper?’
I think of being at a concert when I see the word ‘taper’. Did some tapering myself. Love live music.
What happens when you run out of other people’s money.
In addition to destroying economies and prosperity, socialists/progressives also destroy trust and social cohesion. Always and everywhere.
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France Mulls Tax Law to Encourage ‘Snitching’
The Local | 17 Sep 2013
Tax dodgers in France face a prison sentence of up to seven years under a planned new law but MPs are also considering a proposal that will see their jail time cut by half if they are willing to snitch on other French tax evaders.
A much-hyped law against tax fraud and financial wrongdoing was given a second reading on Tuesday in the French lower house National Assembly, after Socialist MP Sandrine Mazetier proposed an amendment to encourage convicted tax evaders to turn others over to the “tax police”.
Among other things, the new legislation calls for the creation of a “tax police” with special investigative powers, including surveillance and infiltration.
The law would empower the force to confiscate fortunes and authorize all sources of information.
Socialism = Trickle up poverty.
SocialismTrickle down economics = Trickle up poverty.Fixed.
Anyone remember Hope and Change?
So who is buying all these houses?
—————————
Census on Obama’s 1st Term: Real Median Income Down $2,627; People in Poverty Up; Record Now Poor
CNSNews | Sept 17, 2013 | By Terence P. Jeffrey
During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people in poverty increased by approximately 6,667,000, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.
The record total of approximately 46,496,000 people in the United States who are now in poverty, according to the Census Bureau, is more than twice the population of Syria, which, according to the CIA, has 22,457,336 people.
In 2008, the year Obama was elected, real median household income in the United States was $53,644 according to the Census Bureau. In 2012, the last full year of Obama’s first term, median household income was $51,017. Thus, real median household income dropped $2,627—or 4.89 percent—from 2008 to 2012.
In 2008, the year Obama was elected, people in poverty represented 13.2 percent of the national population. In 2012, they represented 15.0 percent of the population.
“During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people in poverty increased by approximately 6,667,000, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.”
Conclusion: The Bush recession that started in December 2007 really walloped the labor market during Obama’s first term.
Of course, people who are clueless about economics will wrongly blame this on Obama, even though the die was cast the day he first stepped into the White House.
2banana, are you one of those poor ignoramuses who knows nothing about economics, yet constantly pretends otherwise?
The 0.1% are doing just fine in this recovery, thank you.
Now sit down and shut up, “Ow, My Balls!” is on the TeeVee.
‘Go away! ‘Batin’! ‘
do you really think this economic calamity is a direct result of the bush adminsitration?
seems to me that you and 2banana need to sign up for the same econ courses. actually i wouldn’t bother…it want be discussed there either.
“do you really think this economic calamity is a direct result of the bush adminsitration?”
Nope. All I said was that it is unfair to blame the recession on Obama, as it was already in progress during the last year of Bush’s second term.
As for what econ courses we should be taking, I would guess any decent labor market course that included business cycle theory would include discussion of how labor market recovery lags GDP recovery at the tail end of a recession.
“unfair to blame the recession on Obama”
But he certainly deserves credit for the 1%ers’ splendid recovery:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/05/09/the-insiders-the-obama-economy-has-delivered-for-the-1-percent/
But he certainly deserves credit for the 1%ers’ splendid recovery:
I think it was already baked in by the time he came into office, although he could have stopped it…if he survived.
everything is baked in for this guy…no wonder he plays so much golf.
It’s the five-year anniversary of the global economic meltdown. Five years ago Obama wasn’t yet even in office, but that doesn’t stop Retardicans from blaming him for the economic crisis.
Anniversary of the Great Recession: What’s Changed, What Hasn’t
Five years later, a look at how politics, pop culture and the economy have (and haven’t) shifted
By Geoff Williams
September 17, 2013
Newspaper headlines depicting the economic depression
Five years ago this week, the world fell back in love with coupons. But as you probably recall, it was something of a forced, shotgun marriage.
That’s because, five years ago this week, many Americans felt they had to clip coupons, cut back on luxuries and some necessities and discover the joys of bargain hunting – or risk running out of money altogether. The Great Recession actually began in December 2007, but everyone truly took notice on Sept. 15, 2008, when Lehman Brothers, then the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, went bankrupt.
The fall of Lehman, which held more than $600 billion in assets, started a chain reaction of financial crises that reverberated throughout the world, and, well, you know the rest. Investment portfolios lost much of their worth, and the national unemployment rate started climbing from 6.1 to 10 percent, its peak in October 2009. The economy went into a tailspin. And everything changed forever.
Sort of. Maybe.
…
nothing has changed except added trillions more in debt and pretending things are fine.
“So who is buying all these houses?”
Now that investor demand is waning, a door has opened for first-time buyers to buy, albeit at much higher prices than the investors paid.
Or so I’ve been told by the MSM-favored ‘experts.’
Analysis: Waning investor demand opens door for first-time U.S. home buyers
A real estate sign is seen outside a deserted home stripped of its copper wiring in San Bernardino, California September 11, 2012. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
By Margaret Chadbourn
WASHINGTON | Fri Sep 6, 2013 2:00pm EDT
(Reuters) - Wall Street’s billion-dollar bargain hunt for homes in depressed markets across the United States appears to have plateaued, potentially helping to cool the steep run-up in home prices and bring first-time buyers back into the market.
“Investors helped stabilize a housing market that was in free-fall and they did so by taking advantage of fire-sale home prices,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Now you see few fewer bargain prices in the market and that’s a reason investor demand is coming off its peak.”
Investors accounted for about 20 percent of home purchases in June, down from a high of 23 percent in February and the lowest level since September 2012, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance survey of real-estate conditions.
And they appear poised to reduce purchases further. A recent survey by polling firm ORC International found that about 48 percent of investors surveyed planned to curtail home purchases over the next year, up from 30 percent in a poll conducted 10 months earlier. Only 20 percent expect to buy more homes, down from 39 percent.
As the housing sector reached bottom, hedge funds and private equity firms began raising money to snap up foreclosed homes with the intent to rent them out for several years and unload them at a profit once prices rose far enough.
These firms have spent billions of dollars over the last year buying up single-family homes in bulk, mopping up excess inventory in the market and pushing up home prices.
Sellers often jumped at their all-cash offers, rather than taking a chance on first-time homebuyers who would have needed to secure a mortgage, still a hard task for all but the most qualified buyers. Many banks holding foreclosed properties are often looking for a quick deal.
But with mortgage rates rising in anticipation of the Federal Reserve scaling back the generous stimulus to the economy it introduced during the financial crisis of 2007-2009, investors are pulling back.
The softening of investor demand has also coincided with a drop in sales of so-called distressed properties, whether foreclosures or short sales. These homes usually sell for less than others and had been the focus of investor interest.
…
and now for some happy news:
‘the 2008 financial crisis that devastated many western economies also reaped a heavy toll in suicides among men, a study published on tuesday suggests’
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/18/male-suicides-rose-after-2008-financial-crash/
1)Commercial property leasing is on the up swing here in Monterey Co. and Salinas. Big companies are moving into smaller quarters to reduce costs and smaller businesses are expanding into larger quarters.Have a friend who just inked two 10 yr deals on property vacant from one to two years and had multi lease offers. One small company and one well cap’e Euro company.
2)Home Depo busy once again with small project work judging from what materials I see heading out the door.
3)Housing going for multi bids like at the peak with most paying about 20% higher than last year.
Commercial ?? Industrial, Office or Retail ??
Comcast wanted it at five certain plus three five year renewals but space was leased to a Euro Co. this week (seed) . The other space went to an energy company.
1)On the personal side I have had a lot of friends buying new cars in the $30K to high $40K with all the bells and whistles.
2) People still using 401K monies to buy overpriced housing. One from down the valley who bought 900sq.ft.(at the peak) house in Cambria and then added the two adjacent 25X50 lots for $150K (2009) followed by over $40K in arch’t drawings to tear down and rebuild decided to sell for what they could get (hasn’t sold yet) and purchased an existing house for $750K (planning to use 401 monies).
Buying or leasing new cars?
lease of course
With a lease basically they figure the car will depreciate 50% over a 3 year period. So take the purchase price cut it in half and add a little interest on that amount, tack on a few fees ( usually ~1000.00), add in first payment, subtract down payment if any, and divide by 36 months and there you have a payment. sales tax is paid on the payment too.
The biggest draw back with the lease is the mileage limit.
One positive is that you don’t pay sales tax on the whole purchase price.
The sales tax on the whole purchase price varies by state. In Illinois you do pay it on the whole price. It is a much sillier economic decision to lease in my neck of the woods.
It depends. Some cars have residuals that are very high, and hence have lower lease payments, at least when compared to purchase installments. And if it’s a status car, well, you want a newer one. You aren’t going to impress anyone by driving an 8 year old, paid for, BMW. Plus the repair costs are horrendous.
You aren’t going to impress anyone by driving an 8 year old, paid for, BMW.
I can’t wait. That’s been the worst part about moving from a beater-looking Mitsubishi to this 335. You automatically become one of “them”. Although it may not get much better at 8 years old…but I’ll take what I can get.
Plus the repair costs are horrendous.
Yeah, I can wait for that. But like anything else, if you’re a car guy that just gives you an excuse to put better stuff on. I can’t wait for bigger turbos. It’s just too bad they’re so expensive with all the supporting hardware required.
You drive a 335, Carl? I imagined a 750 or something, or maybe an M class.
Nah, I’m not a high roller. I’m big on bang for the buck, and I like AWD 4dr turbo cars. Besides the cost, with a 335 I can get AWD and make more power than an M3 by turning up the boost, at least at this elevation.
Buying. One paid cash for $45K Highlander and the other put down 6K on a $33K outback.
Why would anyone want a Subaru Outback in California? They’re great in the snow but otherwise are unremarkable: they’re sluggish and have piss poor fuel economy.
When accessorizing your COEXIST sticker, you have limited choices…the Subaru or the Prius.
When accessorizing your COEXIST sticker, you have limited choices…the Subaru or the Prius.
Doesn’t it have to be a beater to have any cred?
They could have my 1997 Taurus for just the $6000 if they want it. Total beater - all the cred they could want. Just need to wait until I buy my dad’s Civic from him.
‘When accessorizing your COEXIST sticker, you have limited choices…the Subaru or the Prius.’
Bwahahahahahahaha
That sounds rosey! Just one question, though - What money will be used for retirement (since it’s all spent already on houses that don’t return profit)?
California Notice Of Defaults Up A Whopping 38.7% In Second Quarter
http://www.ksby.com/news/california-foreclosures-rise-in-2nd-quarter/#_
When CAT shares fall, it usually signals a worsening outlook for construction.
The only thing keeping CAT going is emerging markets. They are best of breed in equipment. Its like buying a michelin tire vs a chinese import tire. You might buy two or three of those cheap tires to one michelin, but it will cost you more upfront. you get what you pay for?
I am hearing more new recession talk…
It would be quite the twist if the economy went into another leg down of recession. In particular, the Fed might have to ramp up QE3 again rather than taper, and the housing market might resume its crash regardless of the level of interest rates (related example: Japan from 1989-2013).
“I am hearing more new recession talk…”
Why, is there something wrong with the old recession?
It’s so five minutes ago.
Am told Bill Gates is buying up chunks of CAT of late. But then he buys up chunks of lots of things….
Gold is under $1300/oz and dropping. I guess the end of Syria tensions did little to stimulate gold demand.
Don’t worry-we’ll find another oil producing country to f**k with soon enough.
Yeah right. We’re broke. We aren’t rich enough to control the world through violence anymore.
Gold = $1300/oz OR BUST!
I’m in at $600.
I’ll buy yours at $300.
“Gold is under $1300/oz and dropping. I guess the end of Syria tensions did little to stimulate gold demand.”
{snicker!…kitco.com at 6:30pm, nearly 12 hours later noting the price!}
What the Syria intervention threat couldn’t do, Fed intervention easily accomplished. Any doubt in the minds of gold bugs about who their best friend ever is has been permanently laid to rest as of today: It’s Ben Bernanke.
Sharpen your memory…… remember 2008? 2009? 2010? 2011? 2012? What were the liars saying? “Housing prices aren’t going down” yet they were sliding ever lower.
“There is no exit”
This is false. There is an exit. For you… the 30 year debt slave holding a melting ice cube. For the Fed….. the incompetent debt pusher…… There is an out. It’s going to be painful… it’s going to involve losses. But those losses are less now than if you procrastinate.
Take the medicine voluntarily or it will be forced and accompanied by a amputation.
If everybody had ruling elite
Like in the U.S.A.
Then everybody’d be serfin’
Like californ-I-A
You’d see ‘em holdin’ their baggies
They got their SNAP cards, too
Kickin’ on mass transit
Serfin’ U.S.A.
You’d catch ‘em serfin at Del Mar (Inside, outside, U.S.A.)
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Tressels,
Australia’s Narabine,
All over Manhattan,
And down Doheny way
Everybody’s gone serfin’
Serfin U.S.A.
We’ll all be plannin’ out a route
We’re gonna take real soon
We’re boardin’ up our houses
We can’t wait for June
We’ll all be gone by the summer
We got no money to stay
Tell our leaders we’re serfin’
Serfin’ U.S.A.
At Haggerty’s and Swami’s
Pacific Palisades
San Onofre and Sunset
Redondo Beach, L.A.
All over La Jolla
At Waiamea Bay
Everybody’s gone serfin’
Serfin’ U.S.A.
Everybody’s gone serfin’
Serfin’ U.S.A.
Yeah, everybody’s gone serfin’
Serfin’ U.S.A.
Line right up serfs-to-be……. your opportunity is here to load up on a shoulder crushing amount of debt for you entire working career and what do you get? A rapidly depreciating house that you can’t get rid of without taking a huge loss.
“entire working career”, that part is key. The sheeple have been conditioned to believe that 30 years of albatross mortgage debt slavery is the only path in life.
Conform. Consume. Obey.
“Conform. Consume. Obey.”
We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site.
I think I will “shelter in place” this weekend.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exigent_circumstance_in_United_States_law
And we’ll have fun, fun, fun,
(Til Bernanke takes the Q E away…)
Nice one, Jeff.
“Housing’s ‘Shadow Inventory’ Still Haunts Banks”
http://news.yahoo.com/housings-shadow-inventory-still-haunts-banks-152949909.html
With tens of millions of excess empty houses, what is a central bank to do but to manufacture a “housing recovery”?
Maybe the plan is to keep the boarder open until they have the numbers they want, then close the boarder so the numbers they want can’t leave.
Sounds like the story of the catching wild pigs…
He asked, ‘Do you know how to catch wild pigs?’
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line.
The young man said this was no joke. “You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.
They get used to that and start to eat, again you continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms just a little at a time.
So there will be corn in the FEMA camps then. Or will they take the free corn away when they shut the gate?
A little after I think. And for a while after that rooting around in the dust for the last bits will still be easier than foraging in the wild. We may already be at that point. Except we’re still armed.
Yeah, our glocks and zak47s will totally whip drones, tanks, cruise missiles, nerve gas….
You don’t fight that stuff head on. Hopefully you never have to fight it at all. Just being armed can be quite inconvenient.
while we continually lose our freedoms just a little at a time.
Which freedoms would those be?
Also, why is corporate welfare never included in these lists?
How about things like free K-12 education for all kids and taxpayer-subsidized education and community colleges and state universities?
mistake - meant to write “taxpayer-subsidized education at community colleges and state universities”
“tax credit for unearned income”
This kind of howler is so typical of your posts, bananas. No such thing. It doesn’t exist. Did you meant the EARNED income tax credit but couldn’t stand to type that the people who get is are working for a living? St Ronnie was a big fan of the EITC.
Good luck with getting a wild pig to hold still long enough to put a fence around it. And keeping it from rooting out from under it if you do. And not getting your feet slashed off in the process.
I’ve heard they do a great job of trashing the interior of a foreclosure home, if you set them loose inside and bar the doors.
Speaking of wild pigs, do you all remember the tale of the Oregon foreclosure home which was ransacked by pigs the angry homedebtor in default set loose inside? This story has always been one of my Housing Bubble era favorites.
The version posted below is the best I have seen to date, as it includes photos and video of the rascally porcine foreclosure home occupants.
Pigs found trapped in vacant, foreclosed Oregon home
Published: May 27, 2007 at 12:53 PM PDT
Last Updated: Feb 19, 2010 at 2:50 PM PDT
EAGLE CREEK, Ore. - A home here has been turned into a pig sty.
Three pigs have been ransacking a four bedroom home on Southeast Wildcat Mountain Drive that was repossessed in January.
Neighbors said the former owner was extremely upset that he had been forced out. Detectives believe he tried to get even by trapping three very large pigs inside the home.
“Now, we have damage to the house - extensive damage to the home - as well as there were three 200-pound pigs that were apparently trapped inside, or they were placed inside and concealed in this residence, for a week,” said Detective Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
By the time deputies intervened, the pigs had nearly destroyed the home. Because the pigs went without food or water for almost a week, the owner could be charged with animal abuse.
As for who will pay for the damage to the home, it all depends on what phase the foreclosure is in and whether the house now belongs to the bank.
I just posted an old article about a favorite Housing Bubble episode, when pigs trashed the inside of an Oregon foreclosure home.
Sadly, the video linked to the article doesn’t load properly.
Happily, the YouTube link posted below has TWO videos featuring the story.
Foreclosure Pig House
Uploaded on Sep 18, 2011
KGW TV news story about a former owner who destroyed this property and locked pigs inside after foreclosure. The story was featured on CNN and other local stations across the nation. There are two videos back to back.
This article is four years old but just as relevant today. After the first 12 million Nuevos Americanos get amnesty, expect another 50 million, 80 million, 100 million to come here via “chain migration” immigration policies. And if you oppose the USA being turned into a third world sh*thole (for all but the 1%) then you are a racist.
https://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckr/september-2-2009/ted-kennedys-immigration-legacy-and-why-did-he-do-it.html
I believe you will find European countries complaining of the issue.
Maybe the plan is to keep the boarder open until they have the numbers they want
The thing is, the Mexodus has slowed to a crawl, and according to some it’s even reversing, as there are no jobs for the Sons of Aztlan.
My sister is a bilingual teacher in North Carolina, and she is seeing this up front and close: entire families are moving back to Mexico, as they cannot find work.
My Border Patrol agent brother is seeing this very thing out in California.
OTOH, they are seeing more East Europeans flying to Mexico, then crossing into the USA.
Ultimately, we are going to become the safe haven of choice for the Global 1%er Kleptocrats, Crony Capitalists, and Banana Republic Looters.
All you will need to do to escape the pitchforks and torches back home is a checking account balance. Too bad J6P won’t be able to sell his citizenship back to the government.
My Border Patrol agent brother is seeing this very thing out in California.
Regarding welfare, what my sister has seen is that they get foodstamps for the anchor babies, but that extra income is needed and becoming very difficult to procure. So they are loading up “la troca” with their possessions and their savings and heading back to the villages where they came from. It will be an interesting adjustment for the kids, but they’ll survive, and when they turn 18 they can return, legally, on their own.
An interesting potential situation: millions of kids growing up in Mexico who are US citizens.
My brother is in SD. Has seen numerous instances of women on the Mexico side living in flophouses, waiting to go into labor, then crossing the border.
Border Patrol policy says women in labor go to the nearest US hospital. Viola! New anchor baby!
As far as the others? Two words……”Cash” and “economy”.
Live and die by day labor, the garage sale, and the swap meet. No sales or income taxes paid. Such a deal.
I think our new neighbors from south of the border have shown us the way. Maybe the government should print pamphlets, telling our wretched refuse how to sneak into Canada.
It’s a good damn thing we have an ocean between us and China/India.
As I’ve noted previously, if Mexicans were coming into the country and offering bottom-dollar legal representation, medical care, and government representation, we’d have a million drones patrolling the border.
Boarder should be border.
Our Favorite Blog Debt Donkeys
http://imageshack.us/a/img688/2484/40973600.jpg
Don’t Be A Debt Donkey®
Valerie Jarrett
la que en realidad lo dirige todo es ella
Coastal California Rental Rates Continue To Crumble
http://picpaste.com/pics/7e58d98b1e381360de1604995e548861.1379515487.png
This is great news. I just today learned a visitor at work is living with her family of three in a coastal resort area, located a mile away from work, and only paying $100 a more in rent than we pay. In a few years, after our kids are gone from home, I know where I am headed…
What does Monterey County at large have to do with coastal? And rental rates in (coastal) LA, OC, SF, SB, SC, SLO, et al sure aren’t coming down right now. Unless you consider $10K/month for a 3/2 “coming down”.
analyst on radio stated, “the limited housing demand of this recovery was simply inventory moving from end user to rental market.”
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment I-F (Feinstein)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press as long as the press is “a salaried agent” of a media company like the New York Times or ABC News; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
“A real reporter, declared Madame Feinstein during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, is “a salaried agent” of a media company like the New York Times or ABC News, not a shoestring operation with volunteers and writers who are not paid.”
speaking of the new york times, here an editorial by ‘real reporters’ lamenting the coastal elitist carpetbagger failure to buy our elections:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/hard-lessons-of-the-colorado-recall.html
FWIW, while two were recalled, two were not.
Only the two who were defeated made it to the recall ballot.
And by the way, Jeff Saturday, you can kiss your anonymity goodbye:
http://www.infowars.com/former-nsa-director-advocates-chinese-style-internet/
You mean everybody is gonna know I’m a Professional Rodeo Clown?
“Although the implementation of the real name registration system in China has been fraught with technical difficulties, its ultimate intention is to prevent social network users from “spreading rumors” about the ruling Communist Party, or in other words, it’s all about crushing dissent against the state.”
I defer to Hillary.
I Am Sick And Tired - Hillary Clinton - Forumeter
http://www.forumeter.com/video/187266/I-Am-Sick-And-Tired-Hillary-Clinton - 48k -
<Speaking of abcnews…here are the headlines from their middle section. I think the middle section is the most important section as it’s on the middle, it has pictures and large letters compared to other sections.
YouTube Drunken Driving Confessor Changes Plea to Guilty
Armless Body Builder Inspires Fitness World
Which Hollywood Icon Has This Hunk for a Son?
Pint-Sized Dancing Sensation Goes Viral
People Magazine’s Best-Dressed in 2013
Sandra Bullock Made Sure ‘Gravity’ Set Safe for Son Louis
Brawndo’s got what plants crave. It’s got electrolytes.
You forgot The Biblical Money Code.
‘Pint-Sized Dancing Sensation Goes Viral’
???
The founding fathers all worked for CNBC.
How many millions of houses do bankrupt Freddie and Fannie have?
How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Robo signed while they live there for free?
How many millions of houses
do bankrupt Freddie and Fannie have?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind.
Bravo Jethro!
You didn’t make it to the NFL but you’re a pro anyways Jethro.
jeff’s little ditties are awesome.
The answer is documented on the internet.
Captain Kirk meets Miley Cyrus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__RQcvWEQaU
That’s awesome
That’s pretty funny
Ouch ouch my sides….
I finally had an in-person interview with the giant, evil corporation. I think I aced the Q&A part, but then I flubbed the test after EIGHT HOURS of intenstive interviewing. Everyone send out vibes for me:
1) Stock-market crash
2) Get hired at giant, evil company (requires hoping that other candidates also flubbed the test)
And remember everyone, stay evil!
I miss the days when I used to work for TARP bank.
Not.
Hopefully - not the drug test
hahahah
No, I can pass a drug test.
Go get ‘em tiger!
Take a bite out of crime! Report realtor financial crimes to the authorities.
Breaking News: NO TAPER! Bernanke is going to pump, pump, pump, and PUMP! He will not stop pumping. Bernanke knows pump, that’s all. He knows nothing but blowing massive bubbles. To the moon!
Turns out those who guessed the taper talk was just a bluff were correct. Go figure…
Bernanke is a waffling wet noodle.
Cui bono?
Bernanke’s lies are absolutely sickening. He is talking about how the bailout was for “main street, not Wall St.” This is disgusting. Arrest this criminal!
It’s the “trickle down” paradigm.
Also, he’s a banker, so he’s got a bank-centric view of the economy. With a demonstrated warm fuzzy for the entire Wall Street casino operation.
Great. So I guess I should cut my losses on my short position, huh?
No taper = GET SHORTY!
That said, a rally on the Dow of less than 100 pts on the surprise announcement is a bearish sign for equities.
No worries, my ex-husband hacked into my account over two months ago, and apparently tried to steal all the money. I still lost some money in my retirement accounts, but the money in my brokerage account was lost already. Double great!!!
I probably shouldn’t be talking about this online, but I’m kinda pisced right now.
Consider yourself lucky for ditching that creep. Now, press charges!
If not for that, what are exes for?
Sorry. The situation would doubtless be much worse if you were still married to him.
News: Fed holds rates at zero, no taper.
Must be a new theory of wealth redistribution, force so much money down the throats of billionaires that they sh*t out ‘prosperity’ for the 99%.
+1
obamanomics…oh wait…it was already baked in…FOUR!
to infinity and beyond
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has decided against reducing its stimulus for the U.S. economy, saying it will continue to buy $85 billion a month in bonds because it thinks the economy still needs the support.
The Fed said in a statement Wednesday that it held off on tapering because it wants to see more conclusive evidence that the recovery will be sustained.
Stocks spiked after the Fed released the statement at the end of its two-day policy meeting.
In the statement, the Fed says that the economy is growing moderately and that some indicators of labor market conditions have shown improvement. But it noted that rising mortgage rates and government spending cuts are restraining growth.
surprise!
no taper.
lol…it didn’t suprise me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTSWdHY9Ny4
nice one!
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors plowed money into stocks and bonds Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s surprise decision to keep its economic stimulus in place.
The news sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average to a record highs. Bond yields fell sharply, and gold jumped as traders anticipated that the Fed’s decision could cause inflation.”
haha yea it will cause inflation like in RE, you can’t save fast enough against this madness. I watched this same movie in 2005
so I know how it ends.
“So I know how it ends”
Yes. COLLAPSE.
As irritating, and IMO wrongheaded, as the central planning is, it still doesn’t make me want to take on massive debt to feed Wall Street and the politicians.
My strategy of living within my means has thus far served me well. I realize the powers that be want what middle class wealth I and those like me have accrued, and they might even succeed in taking it. But I’m not going to roll over and make the job easier for them.
I am with you! Do not borrow from this pathological financial engine, that is what it thrives on. If you live below your means and are debt free, you are their mortal enemy.
Just don’t eat or use fuel.
Really? What percentage of your income goes to food and fuel? Do you put these on a charge card?
So the mighty Fed showed it’s hands and it has a low pair.
This $hit is going down…the sight will be spectacular.
the san francisco bubble is deflating:
http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/09/17/price-reductions-indicate-sf-buyers-may-have-more-power-than-they-think/
“We have got to turn the page on this kind of bubble-and-bust mentality that helped to create this mess in the first place, we have got to build a housing system that’s durable and fair and rewards responsibility for generations to come. That is what we have got to do.”
- Barack Obama, August 6, 2013
i guess yellen is out and ron paul is in.
Bernanke has said the Fed caused the Great Depression:
“Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.”
– http://www.federalreserve.gov/BOARDDOCS/SPEECHES/2002/20021108/
But his actions state that he believes there is a symmetrical mirror image corollary: That the Federal Reserve can take action to prevent an economic downturn, and even lead the country out of one.
I don’t think that symmetry exists. The Fed is like a tie one wears on a job interview. A bright yellow one with an offensive slogan and a naked lady on it will prevent you from getting the job. But a perfect blue tie won’t then get you the job. That symmetry does not exist.
Five years of QE, with 3-some trillion spent by the Fed (is that right?) and here we are.
I realize Japan is the model with 200% debt to GDP. But these massive stimulus programs are just “riding the tiger” with no clear way to get off.
The experiment continues. Wall Street continues to amass wealth beyond normal human avarice, while wages and employment stagnate for the rest of the economy while Congress spends its time putting on political theater.
I suppose Bernanke didn’t want to upset the apple cart. As long as the politicians keep getting re-elected, we’ll continue on the current road.
So what are your thoughts Liberace?
Note to Wall Street bovine herd:
Eat, drink, and be merry today, for tomorrow you die.
How often can economic electroshock therapy revive the patient before severity of the underlying depression overwhelms further efficacy of the treatment?
Sept. 18, 2013, 4:18 p.m. EDT
Fed postpones the moment of truth
Commentary: Larger correction may be in store when Fed finally bites the bullet
By Howard Gold
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve kept the punch bowl spiked a little longer in a surprise decision that postponed investors’ day of reckoning.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to maintain its $85-billion monthly bond buying program, defying expectations of two-thirds of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, who were looking for the central bank to begin “tapering” its extraordinary bond purchases at this month’s meeting.
The reason? The FOMC just hasn’t seen the kind of economic growth many gurus and pundits have. “The Committee sees… growing underlying strength in the broader economy,” its statement said. “However, the Committee decided to await more evidence that progress will be sustained before adjusting the pace of its purchases.”
With unemployment still elevated and inflation projected to run below the Committee’s longer-run objective, the Committee is continuing its highly accommodative policies,” Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said at a subsequent news conference.
“I don’t recall stating that we would do any particular thing at this meeting,” he added in response to a reporter’s question.
…
Which will happen first:
1) The onset of tapering?
2) The next stock market crash, with no bullets left in the bailout gun chambers?
2:34 pm Sep 18, 2013
Markets
No Taper Shocks Wall Street: Fed ‘Running Scared’
By Steven Russolillo
CONNECT
Associated Press
Stocks, bonds and precious metals are rallying following the Fed’s decision to keep its stimulus measures in place. But a slew of market watchers are concerned about the long-term ramifications of such a move.
Eric Green, global head of rates, FX and commodity research at TD Securities, says the Fed’s latest announcement shows the central bank is “running scared”
“This FOMC edition feels less dovish than it does outright scared,” Mr. Green says. “Confidence in the outlook has dimmed. That Bernanke had a free pass to begin that tapering process and chose not to follow is telling. The Fed had the market precisely where it needed to be. The delay today has the effect of raising the benchmark to tapering and ultimately makes that first step harder to achieve.”
…
Today I almost died when Bernanke destroyed his own credibility. Dang, there is nowhere safe anymore.
So the Fed didn’t taper, in part noting higher mortgage rates restraining economic growth…the vote was 11-1.
The 1 was not Janet Yellen.
So, is it safe to say now that if the Fed taper causes mortgage rates to rise too far (in the Fed and stock market’s opinion), then the Fed simply won’t taper?
Does this mean that any bet on higher mortgage rates resulting from a taper in the near-medium term is a foolish bet?
I dont think they will ever taper on their own. the market will eventually force it.
Anyone who doesn’t go all-in to stocks at this point, when ultra-dove Ben is about to hand off the baton to still more dovish Janet, is clearly a fool.
The only way I can think of this sure-thing bet on stocks failing is if the Republicans decide to throw a wrench into Yellen’s appointment process, now that she clearly is Obama’s first choice.
ft dot com
Global Market Overview
Last updated: September 19, 2013 6:46 am
Asian markets soar after Fed surprise
By Jamie Chisholm in London and Patrick McGee in Hong Kong.
Thursday 06:30 BST. Global equities are jumping to fresh 5-year highs, with emerging market assets particularly chipper, after the Federal Reserve shocked the majority of investors by saying it would continue to pump money into the US bond market at a pace of $85bn a month.
Industrial commodities are firm, Treasury yields are near 6-week lows and the dollar index is languishing at its weakest level in seven months.
The FTSE All-World index is up 0.9 per cent to its best level since May 2008, as the Asia-Pacific region pops 2.1 per cent and with Europe’s bourses slated to gain by more than 1 per cent at the open.
US index futures suggest Wall Street’s S&P 500 will consolidate after surging to a record high of 1,725.5 on Wednesday.
That rally came after the Fed’s decision not to alter policy confounded most analysts, who had expected a reduction, or “tapering”, to the central bank’s quantitative easing programme of between $10bn and $15bn a month.
Ever since the Fed started its QE policy a few years ago, investors have perceived a correlation with equity gains, and so the prospect of extended largesse has the bulls gambolling once again.
…
How can the market force it? The fed has infinite imaginary money. They can lend an infinite amount of money out forever… always a step ahead of the inflation they cause.
“The 1 was not Janet Yellen.”
That’s telling. Remember how Summers was viewed as more skeptical than Yellen on QE3, and Yellen (as of yesterday) was viewed as a Bernanke clone?
“Does this mean that any bet on higher mortgage rates resulting from a taper in the near-medium term is a foolish bet?”
The markets completely misread the Fed’s guidance to mean that a taper would happen sooner rather than later.
From here on out it’s anybody’s guess whether and when tapering will begin (if ever). Lower mortgage rates (and Treasury yields) in the near future would seem the better bet. Should work well for anyone planning to sell their home this fall.
IMHO, the Fed is essentially quietly targeting long term rates…if long term rates move too high too fast, they change the message, delay the taper, etc.
Loading the inflation gun for future years…
Perhaps once enough geezers have died off, they could fire off the inflation gun without sending too many geriatrics to the dog food aisles?
I’ve actually heard that Yellen is MORE dovish than the Bernanke.
Perhaps they will never tapir. This is hard to imagine. However, mortgage rates have been creeping up on their own. Tapirs just creep around.
It appears that Ben Bernanke is poised to go out as one of the all-time greatest stock market punchbowl spikers in Fed Chairman history. And that Boehner may prove the last remaining great white hope for short sellers.
Government shutdown coming? Boehner raises stakes on defunding Obamacare. (+video)
The GOP-led House is now poised to pass a bill that would fund government operations but defund Obamacare. The president spoke Wednesday of a ‘faction’ of House Republicans risking a government shutdown.
By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer / September 18, 2013
…
http://youtu.be/zJm6nDnR2SE
Let me see if I get the point:
There is no such thing as a risk-free tapir?
No point other than the fact that in the face of unprecedented silliness, you sometimes just need to shake your head and laugh.
zach.carter@huffingtonpost.com
Janet Yellen Urged Glass-Steagall Repeal And Social Security Cuts, Supported NAFTA
Posted: 09/17/2013 11:18 am EDT | Updated: 09/17/2013 1:03 pm EDT
WASHINGTON — Following President Barack Obama’s failed effort to install his former economic adviser Larry Summers as Federal Reserve chairman, Janet Yellen, the central bank’s vice chair, has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Ben Bernanke in the Fed’s top spot. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and dozens of other Democrats in both the House and Senate have endorsed Yellen to be the next Fed Chair.
While supporting Yellen has become a cause célèbre for progressives opposed to Summers’ regulatory hostilities, Yellen supported a host of economic policies during the Clinton era that have since become broadly unpopular. She backed the repeal of the landmark Glass-Steagall bank reform and she supported the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. She also pressured the government to develop a new statistical metric intended to lower payments to senior citizens on Social Security.
These policies all enjoyed substantial support among economists during the 1990s, although many of those who endorsed them at the time have since recanted or criticized their implementation.
…