Bits Bucket for June 12, 2015
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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Still drowning in mortgage debt so many years into the recovery?
Marketwatch dot com
American homeowners still drowning in mortgage debt
By Quentin Fottrell
Published: June 12, 2015 12:04 a.m. ET
Half of Americans with ‘underwater’ mortgages are under by more than 20%
Some homeowners are still reeling from the Great Recession and it may take 10 years to recover.
The percentage of homes underwater — where the home is worth less than the mortgage — has been dropping as the housing market has recovered, but more than 4 million U.S. homeowners owe the bank at least 20% more than their homes are worth, totaling $579 billion of so-called negative equity, according to real estate company Zillow. “Homeowners who remain underwater will likely be the toughest to free from negative equity,” says Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries.
…
The unique thing about the folks underwater is a great deal of them still worship home ownership. It is a religion, just like statism is a religion. They are damn fools and deserve the economic disaster they set themselves up for.
+1 Bill
It truly is a religion. Just say “American Dream” and their eyes glaze over as if they were staring into paradise, and instead all they get is 30 years of damnation.
“u have to be asleep to believe it”
Actually I kinda like my 30 years of damnation. Sure beats the almost 20 years of damnation of rising rents, 1-bedroom crapholes, threats at the washing machines, and neighbors who pulled the fire alarm on Friday nights.
Oxide you just needed to pick the right places to rent. I pulled stakes at least once to get away from thug neighbors. As a renter you can do that. As a box owner your value of your stucco box depends on the quality of your neighbors. So you are their slave.
Actually I kinda like my 30 years of damnation. Sure beats the almost 20 years of damnation of rising rents, 1-bedroom crapholes, threats at the washing machines, and neighbors who pulled the fire alarm on Friday nights.
That was my experience as a renter. Moved more than once to get away from the thugs, but the new place also had thugs.
We have no thugs in the vicinity of our rental home…except perhaps for the guy who recently escaped to Mexico.
But actually, I doubt even he was that bad. People who knew him suggested he was a decent guy. Probably was just a homeowner who blew a fuse following the second bankruptcy when his wife asked for a divorce.
P.S. Don’t assume you are safe from U.S. authorities if you slip across the Mexico border but end up in a high-profile resort area.
Sounds like this guy and his wive bought right at the peak of the San Diego bubble. Definitely paid north of $500K for pride of ownership.
Rancho Bernardo murder suspect taken into police custody
Posted: Jun 12, 2015 6:01 AM PST
Updated: Jun 12, 2015 12:41 PM PST
SAN YSIDRO (KUSI) - Friday 8:14 a.m. - The Rancho Bernardo man wanted for the suspected murder of his wife was arrested at the San Ysidro border crossing early Friday morning.
Jeremy Green had been the subject of an international manhunt since the murder of his wife, Tressa Green, the morning of Saturday, June 6.
The 40-year-old Green, who was tracked down in Cancun, Mexico, was convinced by authorities to fly north to Tijuana, meet with Mexican authorities, come back across the border, and turn himself into U.S. custody at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of murder after turning himself in just after 1 a.m. Friday.
Green is accused of opening fire with a shotgun on his estranged wife, 37-year-old Tressa Green, during an argument in a parking lot just outside of their marriage counselor’s office, shortly after 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The couple had been married since 2005 and had two children together. Tressa also had a third child from a prior relationship.
…
While it is laudable to set up a trust, $15k isn’t going to cut it.
Green Family Fund
EL CAJON, CA
MEMORIALS
$3,830 of $15k
Raised by 38 people in 2 days
Created June 10, 2015
Dominique Collins
Tressa green has had her life taken from her on 6-6-15 and her three beautiful children are left without parents. Please donate what you can to help these kids out on their journey through life. Thank you
Even the Denver Business Journal, who are the biggest housing whores and Realtor pimps, are finally admitting that Denver real estate is not worth it:
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/morning_call/2015/06/is-it-better-to-rent-or-buy-a-home-in-denver-right.html
P.S. Bill, I have so much money left after “throwing money away on rent” every month that I don’t know where to throw it
I am working on the gumption of asking for a raise this Fall.
“Homeowners who remain underwater will likely be the toughest to free from negative equity”
With brilliant insights like that, you can see why he makes the big bucks.
“Half of Americans with ‘underwater’ mortgages are under by more than 20%. Some homeowners are still reeling from the Great Recession and it may take 10 years to recover.”
Most “fixed-thirty” home buyers are upside down for the first ten years under normal conditions given the closing costs and accrued depreciation. It’s definitely an uphill battle.
And it will only get worse if this thing goes through…..
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-11/here-comes-affirmatively-furthering-fair-housing-rule-how-obama-will-centrally-plan-
The oil glut hasn’t ended yet.
Marketwatch dot com
Futures Movers
Oil futures fall further on oversupply concerns
By Eric Yep
Published: June 12, 2015 1:59 a.m. ET
Oversupply worries. They’re back.
Oil prices continued to fall in Asian trade Friday as worries over excess supply resurfaced, eroding the gains made earlier this week due to a sharp fall in U.S. oil stockpiles and a weaker dollar.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July CLN5, -1.37% traded at $60.37 a barrel, down $0.40 in the Globex electronic session. July Brent crude LCON5, -1.18% on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.34 to $64.77 a barrel. Prices for Brent and Nymex had earlier this week risen to as much as $66.36 and $61.82 a barrel, respectively, after reports showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. stockpiles.
“For today and the rest of the week, we do not expect to see much movement and would think that prices would be affected by the U.S. dollar Index,” an analyst at Phillip Futures, Daniel Ang, said.
He said next week’s crucial Federal Open Markets Committee meeting will likely move the U.S. Dollar Index, and he expects Nymex and Brent oil futures to find support at $60 and $64 a barrel, respectively.
Actual supply-demand fundamentals in the oil market haven’t changed much in recent weeks, as supply from the U.S. and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries remain high while demand growth has been nominal.
…
A large drop in oil production in ND. Unlike the EIA guestimates which are easy to fudge since they acknowledge they are just estimates, this report is based on the actual production.
https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mpr/2015_04.pdf
Some of it is caused by the thirty day month but even accounting for that the drop is significant.
Our rig count in the U.S. is down again, we are quickly running out of “sweet spots”, look out below applies to production not price.
Doesn’t much matter with record production rates, a global glut, collapsing oil demand and falling prices.
The drop is about 20k barrels per day over the prior month. (650,000 barrels for the month).
It is the beginning of even more significant declines. Rig count less than 1/2 of last year and the in-field drilling in the sweet spots has just about ended. You have wells spaced 65 yards from each other in some shale oil fields, it is amazing.
Update: Crude Oil Falls 41% YoY
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/crude%20oil%20-%20electronic
“Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift”
Coming soon to a Fed-debased currency near you.
http://news.yahoo.com/currency-dies-zimbabweans-5-175-quadrillion-local-dollars-153844646.html
seems like always reissue some sort of fiat to take place of the old.
Number of unsold condos spiking in Toronto.
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/06/11/torontos-record-spike-in-unsold-condos-no-cause-for-concern/
What TiSA is really all about: the oligarchs want their cheap foreign labor, overseas and imported.
http://www.epi.org/blog/tisa-a-secret-trade-agreement-that-will-usurp-americas-authority-to-make-immigration-policy/
Exactly, I guess high tech workers will have to move to LA to get $15 an hour by 2020.
“After rising 26 percent a year for ten years, the value of residential property transactions in forty Chinese cities fell by 14 percent from April 2013 to August 2014. The impact has been even bigger in the major cities, with a 33 percent drop in Beijing and 21 percent in Shanghai.”
I thought someone posted, I can’t remember who, that first tier cities were immune to price drops. How is a shocking 33 percent drop in the capital of China even possible? Is there no on who can explain to me how this is a good thing?
Could all that money that used to flow into the artificially inflated real estate market now be flowing into the artificially inflated stock market? How will they prop up 15% of China’s economy now that investing money in deeply indebted companies is more lucrative than buying empty apartments?
I think you are confusing transactions with price.
This discusses price:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/business/real-estate/New-homes-prices-rise-again-in-May/shdaily.shtml
” According to McKinsey, nearly half China’s debt (excluding financial-sector debt), or nearly $9 trillion, is directly or indirectly tied to real estate.”
How is all this debt going to be repaid with numbers plunging the way they are?
Read the link, the prices are not plunging they are now heading up.
Any here who are not newbies should remember that volume drops out before price collapses. They are not decoupled.
“Any here who are not newbies should remember that volume drops out before price collapses. They are not decoupled.”
I believe this to be generally true…as long as the prior volume was relatively high (going along with the high prices and high supply). This is the case in China. High volume, high prices, high supply isn’t a good setup if you then have a significant volume decline.
It is less clear to me that a drop in volume coming off of relatively low volume predicts anything.
Excerpt from link in the main part of this blog, the 2013 to 2014 figures do not tell us about present volume this does:
SHANGHAI stocks closed higher yesterday as China’s economic data gave investors something to smile about.
The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent to 5,121.59 points.
Bohai Securities said economic data in May had indicated a rebound in the economy as seen in the manufacturing and property sectors.
Investment in the property sector rose 5.1 percent year on year to 3.23 trillion yuan (US$520 billion) in the first five months of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. In the period, investment in residential development gained 2.9 percent to 2.16 trillion yuan.
Shanghai Pudong Road & Bridge Construction Co rallied by the daily 10 percent limit to 24.83 yuan, as did Sichuan Guodong Construction Co to 11.87 yuan. Shanghai Trendzone Construction Decoration Group Co rose 8.22 percent to 63.88 yuan.
““Across the industry, margins are falling, interest-coverage ratios are shrinking, and operating cash flow is becoming erratic,” according to McKinsey. Small and medium-sized developers, which account for more than four-fifths of industry revenue and assets, are particularly vulnerable given their smaller margins and higher debt levels than larger competitors.”
“Inventory levels of unsold housing stock have climbed to as high as 77 months of sales in “Tier 3” cities such as Guiyang, and even fifteen months’ worth in Tier 1 cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, sparking reports of China’s “ghost cities.”
“Chinese domestic investors are now pouring their money into stocks, with both the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses doubling in value over the past year.
With China’s property market having apparently burst its bubble, will Chinese stocks be next? The consequences could be earth shattering for more than the Middle Kingdom.”
I have to give you credit, you really don’t let facts get in your way, confuse sales with price and then say that prices have tanked, I guess that is why you are an Obama supporter. Unbelievable that you could support a pig in the poke trade deal. But here is what Moody’s says about China:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/business/China-makes-big-progress-on-reform-and-rebalancing-Moodys/shdaily.shtml
I’m willing to wait and see how many of the numbers you post from Chinese sources are true. We’ll know soon enough.
Moody’s is not a Chinese source. It is irrelevant where the report is published.
From the report:
“But it also pointed out two main risks including price corrections of real estate and equities, and rapid and ill-prepared liberalization of capital account.”
Those are pretty big main risks to devote a short paragraph to. At least Moodys gives China a gold star on the forhead for trying.
And Moody’s final conclusion was for continued growth of around 7% which is what I have been saying since last Summer.
Don’t worry, that’s a number everybody will be watching.
Yes and they should as I said from the beginning GDP gives you the big picture, you can find stories about bankruptcies or factory closings in the most dynamic economies.
The problem with China’s GDP is that it is a made up number. That is the big picture.
“Investment bubbles always look so obvious in hindsight. But when you’re in the middle of one, it’s hard to fight the crowd, even if that little voice in your head tells you to run for the hills. Why? Bubbles produce compelling narratives that give people reasons to believe. The Internet is changing everything. Housing prices never go down. Tulips are the most precious commodity on God’s green Earth, etc. Now the same thing is happening again in China, a market that has had one huge bubble burst only recently. The Shanghai Composite index briefly topped 6,000 in October 2007 only to plummet to just above 1,700, a sickening 70% plunge in only 12 months.
But a mere seven years later, Shanghai is above 5,000 again, and the bulls say more gains lie ahead, even though China’s economy is slowing dramatically and some valuations already are stratospheric. They’re counting on China’s central bank to keep cutting rates. It already has reduced them three times in the past six months. Sound familiar? Also, the Chinese government has eased trading restrictions on foreign investors. On Tuesday, index provider MSCI said it “expects to include China A shares in its global benchmarks” once it works out some issues with Chinese regulators.
Marketwatch:
“A flood of institutional money would presumably follow. Indeed, mutual fund company Vanguard said last week it would gradually increase the number of mainland China-traded A shares in its Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund and ETF. This macro “story” has powered Shanghai 150% higher in the past 12 months. Shenzhen and other mainland markets with riskier, more speculative stocks have nearly tripled. With the animal spirits unleashed, average Chinese investors are piling in. In a reverse of what happened in the U.S. in the 2000s, Chinese investors fleeing a busted housing market have thrown their money into stocks. Talk about going from the wok to the fire!”
I have a neighbor that I saw the sheriff deliver papers back in April..
Looking at the county case history today I see this. All are defendants to Wells fargo who is the plaintiff.
NEW CASE E-FILED; WELLS FARGO BANK NA VS XXXXXXXX
PETITION FOR FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO ATTORNEY FOR CERTIFIED MAIL “ASSET ACCEPTANCE LLC” E/S
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO THE SHERIFF OF JO CO KS “HAMPTON PLACE HOMES ASSOCIATION INC” C/N
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO ATTORNEY FOR CERTIFIED MAIL “E-LOAN INC” E/S
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO ATTORNEY FOR CERTIFIED MAIL “MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC AS NOM” E/S
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO ATTORNEY FOR CERTIFIED MAIL “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA INTERNAL REV SERVICE” E/S
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO THE SHERIFF OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY KS “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA INTERNAL REV SERVICE”
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO ATTORNEY FOR CERTIFIED MAIL “STATE OF KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR” E/S
PETITION AND SUMMONS ISSUED TO ATTORNEY FOR CERTIFIED MAIL “STATE OF KANSAS, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE” E/S
I am desperately hoping this will be quick and they will be gone. I see they got a loan mod in ANOTHER case back in 2009-2011 (after 18 months) with wells. Do they get that ability again with Wells Fargo? Will the previous mod send this fastrack to getting them out? Thoughts?
Hoping that the previous modification that they are now defaulting on is making this a fast track to getting them out.
Anyone know why the large list of defendants? Are there that many leans on the house?
Anyone have any insight to this?
In short, either they move soon or we move. We have been working on getting our house to sell this month to get out if we have to. Neighbors like this make me not want to own again.
Anyone know why the large list of defendants?
Could be a number of reasons, there may be questions caused by the mortgage companies selling the loans on the property, could be numerous home equity loans on the house. Whether they modify is really a question of what the parties work out, the court will not prevent them from settling even if it believes that it will fail and they will be back in court. BTW, this is not legal advice just answers of general legal questions, I cannot be specific because I am not licensed to practice in the state of Kansas and state procedures vary greatly from state to state. Even local courts have different procedures. If you need legal advice you need to contact a local attorney, sorry.
IANAL, so this is not legal advice.
But my guess would be that you are correct that this is the list of existing liens filed against the property. I can’t think of any reason that a foreclosure action would need to notify so many others.
Liens filed are a matter of public record, though, so rather than speculating about them, why don’t you check the records online (if available), or in your county recorder’s office (if not online). It should only take a few minutes if they are online.
Why move due to foreclosed neighbors? They are going to be gone. I would wait until after the auction to see who buys, who your new neighbors are going to be. They might be nice.
Leawood? Aren’t we Mister richy-rich fancy pants….
I thought Johnson County was doing so well, that they outlawed foreclosures.
LOL, I am just inside Overland Park. It’s a nice subdivision. I bought when we returned back here in 2011. It was a good move market wise but the neighbors have to go. Kids are in the teen years to a point where they now don’t care about the house. What people are paying for houses now is insane here. To me it is worse than 2004. 22 listings in late April, 16 pending within a few weeks. About 8% turnover of the 400 residences in this subdivision so far this year. Thought about cashing in on the insanity. Neighbors are pushing the thought…
Or they might be worse. Saw that happen.
Shortening the language:
Asset acceptance LLC (sleazy debt collectors who buy very old debt and try to illegally re-start collection).
HOA
e-loan mortgage
MERS
IRS
IRS
Kansas department of labor
Kansas-level IRS
Looks the owners didn’t pay HOA or property taxes either. Maybe Wells Fargo is trying to gather all the leans and fees into one bundle so they can foreclose on the whole thing.
Maybe Wells Fargo is trying to gather all the leans and fees into one bundle so they can foreclose on the whole thing.
No, they are required to legally notify anyone with an interest in the property, as they are likely going to try to extinguish some of those interests, and some of those interests are likely ahead of them in line to collect (property taxes).
A ha. So Wells Fargo is trying to cut in line? That’s pretty funny. Thanks for the insight!
This list includes agencies that may have judgments against your neighbors.
Grexit on / risk off?
The Tell
‘Downfall for Greece’, ‘sinking like Titanic’ — analysts assess breakdown in debt talks
By Sara Sjolin
Published: June 12, 2015 6:49 a.m. ET
Reuters
Analysts are concerned Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won’t hammer home a deal with international lenders
It’s been quite the week in Greek negotiations. First, markets fretted over the lack of progress in reform talks between Athens and its international lenders. Then, everyone got super-excited about news Germany was considering a staggered aid agreement. And now, the International Monetary Fund has stunned investors by throwing its hands in the air and leaving, saying the two sides are just too far apart for a deal to be struck.
That IMF decision on Thursday immediately triggered another bout of debt-default jitters, with analysts getting more worried that this could mean goodbye to Greece in the eurozone.
…
I don’t think it’s Greece that Europe is actually worried about. From another post:
“How exposed is Deutsche Bank?
The trouble for Deutsche Bank is that it’s conventional retail banking operations are not a significant profit center. To maintain margins, Deutsche Bank has been forced into riskier asset classes than it’s peers.
Deutsche Bank is sitting on more than $75 Trillion in derivatives bets — an amount that is twenty times greater than German GDP. Their derivatives exposure dwarfs even JP Morgan’s exposure – by a staggering $5 trillion.
With that kind of exposure, relatively small moves can precipitate catastrophic losses. Again, we must note that Greece just missed it’s payment to the IMF – and further defaults are most certainly not beyond the realm of possibility.”
Linked from the Red Pill (which may get censored off Reddit any day now) Huffington Post article chock full of Marxist feminist shaming bewails lack of beta bucks lining up to Captain save-a-hoe post-wall cat-collecting womyn:
https://archive.is/iBhlO
I place highest priority of maintaining my sovereignty without being vile toward women. I saw a marriage strike site where the posts were too uncomfortable to continue subscribing.
It is always interesting to note that one advantage of staying single is that you have an incentive to be as healthy and toned as you can to remain competitive. Most married people I know become obese after the first few years. They won their trophies - each other’s looks on the day they married. It goes downhill from there.
“Competitive”
Life is a whole lot simpler when you decide to quit trying to “compete”.
I figured out that there are guys that women get the hots for, and will put up with a lot of BS, and “nice”/average/not so “hot” guys who, in the end, will always get s##t on, or end up “settling”.
Call me “B”.
There is one advantage to knowing that, in all likelihood, you are never getting “laid” again. You can be honest with women, and tell them how effed up they are, when the situation warrants it.
Race hustlers gonna hustle, but more importantly, are Al and Jesse gonna get paid?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/12/family-naacp-leader-in-spokane-washington-says-white-but-portrays-herself-as/
Actually might put ‘em out of a job.
Your meme doesn’t apply to this story.
this is even weirder…….http://eagnews.org/student-with-dark-tan-accused-of-wearing-blackface-in-high-school-yearbook/
Your thought for the day: Debt is like alcohol. Taken in moderation it can be quite beneficial for you; taken in excess, it is a sure road to ruin.
It’s denatured. Don’t touch it.
Marketwatch:
“The Republican governors who are reducing taxes and slashing government spending are no doubt keeping their wealthy campaign donors happy. But when governors like Sam Brownback of Kansas or Scott Walker of Wisconsin slash spending on education and withhold infrastructure investment, they are serving the long-term interests of China rather than their own citizens. Trapped in the short-term objectives of their myopic ideology, these governors, as well as the Republican majorities in Congress, are hastening the decline of the U.S. as a world hegemon, and speeding the day when China will fashion a truly world empire.”
Myopic ideology yes, China world empire no.
US public schools are instituting Mandarin programs in many areas.
Time to develop an “all inclusive” language for the US.
“Engspahinrin”
Maybe in the Bay Area. You won’t find too many in flyover.
Our middle school (Bay Area) has brought back Latin.
Reminds me of the line in Rushmore, where they were trying to get rid of Latin.
Phoenix area does.
I’m guessing that it’s either:
1) A charter school
2) A magnet school
The one I’m thinking of is neither. Plain old public school. Although in AZ charter is public.
US public schools are instituting Mandarin programs in many areas.
I’d love to see the motivation behind this. Is it because is supposed to be the future world hegemon? It also sounds unlikely that more than a handful of kids will actually become fluent in Mandarin, other than those who come from families where Mandarin is spoken at home.
Agreed. Latin makes more sense. There’s a bigger chance that the Roman Empire will return than China becoming a superpower. How many ghost cities does it take to conquer the world?
Unless we turn to supply side economics like them, they will have a bigger economy than we have within ten years.
All over the world, in dozens of countries, kids are learning English from a very young age. A lot of people think that more Americans should learn foreign languages, but it’s not clear which languages would be good to learn. Thirty years ago it was probably Japanese that got a lot of attention.
We would all be better off if people learned math.
It also sounds unlikely that more than a handful of kids will actually become fluent in Mandarin, other than those who come from families where Mandarin is spoken at home.
My personal experience is that the only way to truly learn a foreign language is through immersion. If it’s just at school, it won’t stick.
The one thing that we do very badly in this country is that most school districts don’t offer foreign languages until high school. We all learned to speak our first language through immersion, without any formal instruction at all. But we did it at a very young age. If foreign language classes were started in kindergarten, they would be a lot more effective. The ability to learn a language declines drastically after the age of about 7.
My personal experience is that the only way to truly learn a foreign language is through immersion. If it’s just at school, it won’t stick.
It’s also helpful to use the language after it’s learned. People probably forget much of what they learned if they don’t practice it afterwards.
Mikey and I actually agree on something. I think it is some type of scam play for dollars or someone’s advancement plan.
I don’t get the big hullabaloo over the Trans Pacific trade deal. It isn’t going to cost any US jobs — we already do lots of trade with the likes of Malaysia, Chile, Mexico, etc., and the damage to the US industrial base was already done years ago. If anything, the TPP is a chess move against China as it will strengthen trade with Pacific Rim partners other than China. Maybe that’s the real reason TPP will go down, the 1% power brokers who are heavily invested in China don’t want the competition.
I’m going by the time tested formula of:
“If those guys like it, it is going to end up screwing me over somehow”.
A pretty safe bet, fixr.
It is Obama’s biggest betrayal of the working class. It is so bad everyone knows that if people saw what was in it, the bill would fail.
LOL, what do you care about the “working class” mister Supply Side? You’re just parroting that talking point to ding Obama.
You are the one supporting the trade deals and open borders those policies are the enemies of the working class and the leaders of both parties have promoted them. At least I am intelligent enough to see it and don’t have blind loyalty to the “savior” Obama. Of course, that is why he was elected the color of his skin gives him support in minority areas to pass laws that shaft minorities the most. If the economy was performing this badly under a white Republican most of our major cities would be ablaze. It is just like the subprime mortgage companies filling the inner city with minority loan officers because they would not shaft their own people, would they?
You are the one supporting the trade deals and open borders
I didn’t say that. I said, what difference does TPP make, the damage to the working class has already been done by prior trade deals. I’m the one being a realist here.
If you think that more damage cannot be done to the middle class by trade deals then you are not a realist, you are in serious denial.
P.S. The back benchers from both parties should be proud tonight due to their voting this bill down.
Obama spoke to NPR, and for the first time in a long time, the words coming out of his mouth seemed reasonable with respect to the trade deal. Shocking.
The one question I have is on language related to immigration–as a last ditch effort, I think those on the far right are trying to muddy the waters by claiming that there are secret immigration powers hidden in the trade bill. I’d be very surprised if Paul Ryan would be such an advocate of the deal if this language existed (or if it exists, is very specific to the trade deal, and not some ancillary power).
I’m always nervous when people hide language. However, with a bill like this, there are probably lots of entrenched labor interest groups that will freak out–making its passage politically impossible.
On many things we agree but your support of Paul Ryan is no different than WPA’s support of Obama. They are both globalists and thus enemies of the U.S. working class. They are very much the friends of the Mexican working class although they act in the interest of the .01%.
I am a supporter of people who can do math. Once you begin to ignore the math, and start throwing out broad political definitions/phrases (”globalist”, “enemy of the working class”, “interest of the .01%”), you lose me.
Paul Ryan thusfar has been someone who keeps throwing math and logic in the face of his opponents. And I like that. We need someone on reality patrol.
A major enemy to the average American is debasement of the currency and loss of standard of living. Spending money we don’t have will lead to more and more money printing, the asset holders seeing their wealth rise, and the continued chipping away at the savers. We’ve got to stop the red ink.
Will I blindly follow him off a cliff?
Most definitely not. The instant he stops trying to figure out how to make the numbers pencil as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he’s lost me.
What I’ve seen is the opposite. He came out with a big budget plan a few years ago that had an assumption in it that unemployment would go down to a very low level, a level that we last had briefly during the Korean War. I’ll look for some links to articles debunking his ideas.
People will also point to the fact that he voted against Simpson Bowles.
What they won’t point to is that he had a non-political reason why–and he hoped to resurrect the plan.
Sorry,I lost all respect when after the election he began to support amnesty. It became quite clear who he was supporting. Had the Republicans done it,they would not have control the Senate. The PTB in the Republican party do not want to play their strongest card, immigration due the misnamed U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
BTW, I think one of the biggest mistake of Obama’ s presidency was not to use his political capital to get Simpson Bowles passed and I have said it since his first year in office. I have no doubt that had he done it, just like Reagan expended political capital to pass Social Security reform, the economic recovery would have been far more vibrant.
Good news:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-deals-humiliating-blow-to-obama-in-trade-fight/ar-BBl3UyZ
“BTW, I think one of the biggest mistake of Obama’ s presidency was not to use his political capital to get Simpson Bowles passed and I have said it since his first year in office. I have no doubt that had he done it, just like Reagan expended political capital to pass Social Security reform, the economic recovery would have been far more vibrant.”
I agree with this…but as Woodward outlined in “Price of Politics”, it was amateur hour at the White House in terms of political negotiation.
I have no doubt that had he done it, just like Reagan expended political capital to pass Social Security reform, the economic recovery would have been far more vibrant.”
There’s nothing in that proposal that would have made the recovery any better. I doubt if Simpson even thought that.
They are very much the friends of the Mexican working class although they act in the interest of the .01%.
The Republicrat duopoly doesn’t give a damn about anybody’s working class, they just want cheap wage slaves. If we could import ten million people from Burma to work cheaper and harder, the oligarchs would have no qualms putting every illegal on a boxcar headed south.
There are radio ads all over DC Metro railing against the TPP. The ads are paid for by the nurse’s union (I conclude the deal makes it easier to fast-track 20 yo “fully qualified” nurses and LPNs from the Philippines and Haiti) and also the SEIU (international service workers’ union).
I can see why the nurses’ union is up at arms: they don’t want competition, especially if competition will make their skills pale by comparison. There are some bad-attitude health care workers in nursing homes. Hostile ghetto graduates with welfare-subsidized credentials poking and pinching old ladies in their dotage, as punishment for ringing the buzzer.
Saw this behavior first hand at a Tier I nursing home in FL when visiting a relative. The attitude: “you want to go to the bathroom? (I don’t like toting you or wiping you up ). I’ll show YOU, you rich white b*tch!” The “health care workers” pinched the old ladies so hard it made them flinch. Under the sheets, so the black and blue marks would not show.
The two old ladies who were treated thus were thus terrorized. Imagine being a punching bag for some nurse who is seething with two centuries’ worth of resentment, who now has a free ride to extract revenge. For all I know, the Haitian and Nigerian imports are even meaner. There is also the observation that the “Angels of Death” tend to be foreign-born. What’s the lesser evil, maltreatment or a fast exit?
As a hardened skeptic, I’m inclined to go with Fixr’s take on the matter, although the union protection is truly troubling.
P.S. - I did document the bad treatment to the FL AHCA.
Jane said Saw this behavior first hand
This is why I’m caring for my mother at home. First trip to rehab after her stroke I dealt with many hostile CNAs. I spent almost the every day there for the first few weeks. As soon as I let up, my dear ol’ Ma was yanked out of bed by an “angel” and broke two of her ribs.
The fear is that it will be used to gut worker protection and environmental laws, but no one really knows for sure because the whole thing is top secret. The fact that a corporate tool like John Boehner is for it makes me suspicious.
1. No one has published a copy so how do you know?
2. It’s all about stripping gov of its ability to regulate corporate thieves from what I’ve seen
3 consider who wrote it behind closed doors. Of by and for global corp
4. Someone posted an email from a Chen co cep that suggested he would have to pay royalties for the top as it was a duplicate of what his sectors lobiests requested.
A poster wrote here a few days ago that Obamacare is sucking money out of the economy. Logically, it isn’t — it forces people to redirect money into the healthcare sector, but the funds stay in the economy. Ten million people paying hundreds per month for healthcare and using those services will show up in the economy…And thar she blows:
http://assets.bwbx.io/images/iFYcMpFdpFks/v1/-1x-1.png
This is nice but Obamacare still sucks. There are more efficient ways to achieve the same result.
The way just about everyone else in the civilized world does it. Single Payer. Yeah it’s not perfect. Neither is our current system. Or even close to it. Unless you are an insurance company, or a health care company or worker with a local monopoly.
And don’t give me no bleating about “long waits” and “rationing of health care” Ever tried to schedule a non-emergency appointment?
Called today for scheduled yearly physical. First open date is late August.
Called today for scheduled yearly physical. First open date is late August.
I have experienced that as well. The waits did go away after the crash in 2008, but they seem to be back now.
All is not well in the rest of the world either:
http://notquant.com/is-deutsche-bank-the-next-lehman/
I saw that one too. Pretty wild that the credit downgrade happened on the exact same day (June 9) as Lehman in 2008.
Speaking of which, according to him he helped saved the world in 2008 so he is entitled to some rough sex:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/world/Former-IMF-chief-cleared-of-pimping/shdaily.shtml
Wow! That commentary site is great! Thanks for posting the link.
More signs of the times:
- 20-ish something guy in new Ford F-250. No apparent handicaps.
- Contractor for Google Fiber
- “Disabled Veteran” plates” (but not disabled enough to stop climbing poles), and
- Did I mention……..Alabama plates?
I used to work with a “disabled veteran” who is running a half-marathon with me this year, LOLZ
“Disabled Veteran” plates”
PTSD?
Didn’t look “stressed” to me. In fact, he looked exactly like a guy who is getting free money from the government.
Ever seen a “stressed” bankster? Me neither.
Ever seen a “stressed” bankster
Does committing suicide mean that you are stressed, then I would say there are quite a few of them.
By definition, “banksters” are not stressed enough to commit suicide. They are smart enough to pin the crimes on the younger or more honest bankers, and those are the ones who get stressed.
I gotta say, if i were an honest banker in Manhattan, I would rent a slum apartment for a year or two, collect high salary, and then go Oil City. Mother Earth News — homesteader rag mag for old hippies — often profiles some under-40 couple getting away from the rat race. My guess is that they did exactly that, got away from high-finance.
Oxide, you have not been following the news reports have you? Filled with banksters taking a leap. Some commentators have been wondering if they all are “suicides”
http://rt.com/usa/twelfth-banker-suicide-finicial-world-634/
Didn’t look “stressed” to me.
I’m not sure that the PTSD guys look “stressed”, my understanding is that it manifests itself in other ways.
Not saying he isn’t milking the system, if he can climb poles then he’s obviously not disabled enough to deserve free cheese. But you know, our warrior class gets a lot of perks these days, and everyone seems to worship them.
Alabama plates
Might be suffering from severe redness of the neck.
H8R
http://goo.gl/YzOe1b
CR8R
“Disabled Veteran” plates” (but not disabled enough to stop climbing poles)
Someone should tell him to change his plates.
Mom’s condo has been on the market again, for six weeks.
Cut the price over 20% from last-years asking. You can now buy a two bedroom/two bath condo for less than the price of a new 4wd pickup truck.
Only two lookers, no offers in six weeks. Offered $32K last year, but she didn’t want to “give it away”.
The residents voted to hire a “management company”, because of all of the residents not paying for their HOA bills. And as usual, they are paying the management company twice as much as what they were losing in uncollected HOA fees.
Of course, it may not help that the condo association posted a warning about the big jump in vehicle break-ins on the bulletin board by the mail boxes.
The fact that crazy-azz Brownback is running the state straight into the turd pool (and killing the job/home resale market) has nothing to do with it…..
I am sure that the drop in commodity prices for agricultural commodities has nothing to do with Kansas economy.
But…….beef prices are up 30% from two years ago.
Kansas west of the 100th Meridian = Wall to Wall feedlots.
Being fed corn. Grown in arid Western Kansas. How do they do it?
By pumping the Ogallala aquifer dry, like they’ve pretty much already done in much of Texas and Oklahoma.
Fly over Western Kansas; see all of those “circles” on the ground, as far as the eye can see? Center pivot sprinkler systems, watering corn for the most part.
What is the price for wheat and corn compared to previous years, a 25% rise in the dollar in less than a year killed exports?
Let me answer the question the price of corn is less than half of what it was a few years ago, but I am sure the governor is responsible for that and the subsequent impact on a rural agricultural state:
http://www.agriview.com/news/crop/usda-sees-record-high-season-average-corn-price/article_d3789988-60de-11e2-942f-0019bb2963f4.html
Quick straw poll here: How many think something epic goes down this September??
It’s the seven year panic anniversary.
1. Financial Meltdown begun by Deutsche bank failure/Greece.
2. Near Earth Asteroid.
3. West coast earthquake/Tsunami.
Don’t forget the Yellowstone Caldera eruption and Canary Islands megatsunami.
Don’t forget the Yellowstone Caldera eruption
If that happens, bubbles, HELOCs and interest rates will be the farthest thing from our minds.
4. Jade Helm 15
There was the Mayan Calendar deal in 2012 when the world was supposed to end.
Obama getting re-elected was close enough. I have to give that to the Mayans.
But this could be epic:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/business/finance/Shares-rise-as-convertible-yuan-gets-nearer/shdaily.shtml
The march for the Yuan as a world currency gets deeper as more oil is traded in it too.
From the same source, the problem the leftist Greek government has is the OPM ran out before they ever took office:
Greek markets fall as debt deal deadlock continues
Jun 13,2015
ATHENS, June 12 (Xinhua) — The Athens Stock Exchange closed 6 percent lower on Friday as a delegation of top cabinet ministers prepare to return to Brussels to continue negotiations with creditors on Saturday amid an ongoing debt deal deadlock.
According to government sources here Friday, Greece for its part is hoping to achieve a deal with international lenders by June 18, so that the next Eurogroup meeting unlocks vital aid to avert Greek bankruptcy.
Greek Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragassakis, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister for International Economic Affairs and coordinator of the Greek negotiation group Euclid Tsakalotos and State Minister Nikos Pappas are expected to lead the delegation.
Athens will table a new proposal to bridge the remaining differences between the two sides, Greek government sources said.
The new proposal is based on the results of the latest round of talks Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, they said.
For Greece, negotiations on fiscal adjustment measures and reforms in return of cash “were over” after more than four months of talks.
In response to the withdrawal of the IMF team of technocrats from negotiations on Thursday, Greek government officials said remaining difference would be resolved on a political level.
The IMF withdrawal increased concern over a potential Grexit, but Greek government sources insisted Friday that a deal was “closer than ever.”
They interpreted the move as a bid by IMF’s leadership to add pressure on the European Commission, European Central Bank and Greece for a swift agreement.
Primary budget surplus targets of 0.25 percent of GDP still divides Athens and its lenders, government officials speaking anonymously told media in Athens.
They expressed confidence that Europe’s political leadership “would not lead Europe to a division over such a small difference.”
On June 30, the extension of Greece’s second bailout expires. On the same day, Athens needs to repay some 1.5 billion euros (1.69 billion U.S. dollars) of loan installments to the IMF.
Without an agreement over a debt deal, Greece cannot cover its financial obligations, government and lenders acknowledge.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/the-national-lust-for-home-equity-lines-of-credit-should-we-worry-1.3106533?cmp=googleeditorspick&google_editors_picks=true
And that’s why some rooms in the family’s home remain empty. Ali shows CBC News his large, mostly barren master bedroom and talks about his grand plans to furnish it — sometime in the future.
“Without the credit line, it’s slow,” he laments.
But things could always change. The couple says just last week the bank called, inquiring if the family was interested in another loan.
Holy geeze. Two condos gave them $370K. They could have sold those condos and set up a nice cash cushion for life. Instead: $78K wedding, $6K antiques, $7K purse, $100K kitchen (in a “new” house?).
Hope they get what they deserve.
And here’s a classic:
…”But the place is still largely unfurnished and he’s yearning to install a $40,000 glass railing for the staircase. “Without the glass railing, the look of my stairs is not doing it justice,” he says….
I recommend that he crib the design of the railing from all those staircases in Frozen.
Leaving for Nairobi Kenya in 49 days.
There’s an Aids clinic my church runs in the heart
of the worst slum in Kenya.
12 of us going
All from the Los Angeles area.
9 women and three guys.
I’m the only guy over 20 so
I somehow feel responsible
for the safety of all.
The average size of the house I’m going to visit is 12 by 10
with no running water, a dirt floor, and 7 dirty people living
under one roof.
No toilet paper, no frickin medicine, Nada
I’m so stoked
It will be the greatest adventure of my life.
Good luck. I pray you stay safe.
A serious question. What are you going to do over there that would be more beneficial than simply giving them the cost of your groups plane fare and lodging costs to spend on medicine or the like?
That’s a just question. I’ve given to World Vision for at least 20 years, and I send money for relief after major disasters, so what I’m actually doing is a little bit selfish.
However, one of the women on my team was shot in the shoulder in the same place three years ago, so going there is not exactly a cakewalk.
Thanks for the reply! Good luck and be safe.
Best wishes for a successful mission. IMHO, you ARE the caretaker here, by virtue of age and experience.
Man, I can just hear that karma meter going “ka-ching!” I know you’re not doing it for that reason, but good on you.
Guy I work with just closed on a house. Makes about $18/hr. Bought a house 40 mins away for ~$420k . Just got married a couple months ago. Wife makes $30/hr. combined income ~95k.
Also just bought a new VW TDI. 50 mpg. Put 20k down on the house. plus $10k closing costs. He’s probably 27-28.
hmmm.
Can’t help, I am neither a divorce nor bankruptcy attorney.
Who’s dumber, him or his bank?
Brother in law just sold Arlington house for 750k bought it 4 yrs ago for 500 something no major mods.
If he sits on the cash for a little while, he will have done very well.
he is a winner! cha ching! ring the register! Risk does pay off.
Since it’s about the Tenth Anniversary of the -Fixr’s liberation from home ownership, I thought I’d make a list of the things I haven’t had to buy.
Assign prices to these items per your local markets:
-Water/sewer
-New roof
-New air conditioning
-Paint exterior
-Paint interior (x 2)
-Bi annual plumbing problems of some kind
-Less space to heat/air condition
-No money spent on mowing/planting/weed killing/fertilizing
-No money/time spent shoveling snow.
-Interior remodeleing (depending on how many episodes of “This Old House” the ex- watched).
-Interior repair* (depending on how many TOH projects the -ex decided to emulate, tearing out/destroying a bunch of $##t, then throwing her hands in the air and walked away from it….leaving the -fixr to try to salvage it).
“Interior Repair” = aka “The last F###ing Straw”
This is what people don’t seem to get. It used to be that buying meant a discount from the monthly nut of renting, IOW, you were paid back by assuming all of the risks listed above.
Now it seems like people have been conditioned to pay a premium for the privledge of ownership.
If I buy ANY real estate, it’s going to be a hangar.
As far as “stable home for the growing family”…….who are we kidding?
Does anyone need reminded that we are now in the age of the contract employee/throwaway work force?
Unstable and non-existant employment/jobs/home life/pay/benefits/insurance are the new normal.
Might as well get the kids used to it at an early age.
A guy in my building just bought a place, but its going to take a few weeks to “do some work.” His wife was actually against the idea, which was a surprise, because the wife is usually the one who wants to buy. They have two kids who are quiet, but they have friends who are loud, so I won’t mind seeing them go. I hope thing work out for them, but I have a feeling they won’t.
some folks actually take a risk.
Gold bear goes way bullish
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avi-gilburt-doubles-down-gold-is-going-to-25000-2015-06-12?siteid=yhoof2
Six months ago his columns on Seeking Alpha were way negative on gold.
$25,000 per ounce?
Yep. And the Dow is headed to 40,000 any day now.
But first…would you buy the dip on a 20% bear market?
These diverging trends point to a market correction, says UBS
Published: June 12, 2015 1:44 p.m. ET
Riesner: 15%-20% correction this summer likely
Everett Collection
Divergence is a problem.
By Anora Mahmudova
Reporter
A UBS analyst joins a chorus of technical experts who see the U.S. stock market in the process of hitting a top and expect a major correction this summer.
Michael Riesner, head equity technical analyst at UBS, in a note to investors presents a number of charts to support his ‘toppish’ warnings.
The S&P 500 is about 1% below its all-time high set last month, but what’s worrying Riesner is what he describes as “intact and growing divergences on macro and inter-market levels.”
In simpler terms, Riesner is working about the divergence between the S&P 500 and high-yield bonds, 10-year Treasury yields and inflation expectations.
…
This advice X10 if you invest in China’s stock market!
Don’t let stock-market hypoxia crash your retirement
Published: June 12, 2015 7:43 p.m. ET
In the last five years the S&P 500 Index soared to new highs and doubled in value. Kinda’ takes your breath away…
By Dennis Miller
It was a hot summer day as I was piloting my Piper Comanche from Chicago to Indianapolis. My confidence was brimming with my freshly printed instrument rating stored safely in my pocket.
The hot air created some turbulence so I headed toward 12,000 feet, higher than I had ever flown before. I was euphoric, I could see all the way across Lake Michigan. This was really cool!
All of a sudden a mental alarm bell went off, I am euphoric, a major warning sign. Every private pilot learns about hypoxia in ground school. Hypoxia is a pathological condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply.
As I was hurtling through space the oxygen was getting thin. Pilots are trained to recognize the symptoms quickly before it impairs judgment and you pass out. My mind raced down the mental checklist. Check fingernails. If they’re blue take corrective action immediately. My fingernails were as purple as grapes. I pushed the stick forward and quickly descended to a lower altitude.
When I touched down in Indianapolis my fingernails were still a slight blue color. I breathed a sigh of relief. I took an unnecessary risk and it was frightening.
Flying high in the thin air is an accident looking for a place to happen. Thankfully I recognized the first clue — euphoria.
…
I know that feeling. When I get too much pride in something, such as a very fast swim or a task in my job I worry about the downside. Did I time the swim right? Did I really do the task right or was it a false victory and will I fall on my face? Maturity makes you more humble and that is why with age you get wisdom.