Well, that's okay. I am sure all these unemployed people will be able to get rich in the Stock Market, which always goes up (as today proves: $5 billion in losses = higher stock prices.) Or, they can get rich gambling in commodities, another future Bubble.
What our nation needs to get rich quick is toxic - I mean "affordable" - loans to allow the average, out-of-work employee to get more money so they can speculator in stocks and get rich. That's what Amerika is about!
Next door neighbor in Riverside county was in commercial construction (welder) in Palm Springs, laid off in Nov., now moving his wife and family to his parent's house in Orange county to be closer to work there (at 2/3 his former pay).
Mostly negative news all week about almost any financial, employment, housing or public opinion matters you care to read about. And the layman looks at the DOW as the week's dust settles and sees over a 500 point rise. Hey, things are good, right? No reason to believe the papers, the radio or the TV chattering classes. It's all Cramer all the time from now on.
I guess I was wrong when I laughed at the claims that the problem was contained. The stock market is never wrong. As they say, nothing happening here just move on.
To be fair, big companies reported pretty good earnings last couple of days: CAT, HON, GOOG, etc.
Even GE wasn't terrible if you back out their financial arm.
The catch is that many of these companies were able to beat revenue and earnings estimates because of the weak dollar, which does wonders for both top-line growth and your margins.
So while regular americans try to scrape by with $117 oil, $4 gas and 9% annual inflation, large corporations are doing just fine thanks.
In Riverside county, a realtor friend made his last sale a year ago, and is in default on three homes he owns, filed chapter 7, his tenants in two of his rental properties will be kicked out and he and his family kicked out of the third.
What really happened is that we've finished burning off the dry grass "casual employment" and now the trees (formally employed) are burning.
Next Stop; San Diego, Orange and Ventura financial industry echo effects in landscaping, dry cleaners, pool men and Volvo/BMW independent auto mechanics.
"4822 - Do you know where that family is going to go?"
They are probably going to rent in the area, he has a job now, but too far behind in payments. They might have six months to move out (on advice of lawyer).
w writes:
Strawberry pickers pulling in up to $1400 a week right now.
$20/hr? I know, piece work no matter how illegal but still that's like $4 more than I was seeing this week but explains the price of a flat of #1 Chandlers. Too high.
they [realtor family] are probably going to rent in the area, he has a job now, but too far behind in payments. They might have six months to move out (on advice of lawyer). - 4822
Offer the bank $400/month to be the last on the FC list and promise to keep the place nice. Bet they'll take it.
1912 as Wisconsin goes, so goes the nation
1905 as Maine goes so goes the nation
1891 "As Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation,"
1946 "As California goes, so goes the Nation,"
1895 as Pennsylvania goes so goes the nation
1892 as New York goes so goes the nation
1952 "as New Hampshire goes, so goes the nation."
iceman writes:
Also, why the high unemployment rate in Alaska? Isn't that an area that typically has low unemployment due to the difficult winter?
iceman | 04.18.08 - 4:16 pm | #
Alaska residents get royalty checks from oil sales. They just get lazy and sit in their igloos are day long and watch TV.
The catch is that many of these companies were able to beat revenue and earnings estimates because of the weak dollar, which does wonders for both top-line growth and your margins.
Unfortunately the earnings (and ultimately dividends) generated by currency gains are in the depreciating currency. Dollars buy a lot less these days than even 6-9 months ago.
In Bad Money, Phillips describes the consequences of our misguided economic policies, our mounting debt, our collapsing housing market, our threatened oil, and the end of American domination of world markets. Americas current challenges (and failures) run striking parallels to the decline of previous leading world economic powersespecially the Dutch and British. Global overreach, worn-out politics, excessive debt, and exhausted energy regimes are all chilling signals that the United States is crumbling as the world superpower.
"Bad money refers to a new phenomenon in wayward megafinancethe emergence of a U.S. economy that is globally dependent and dominated by hubris-driven financial services. Also bad are the risk miscalculations and strategic abuses of new multitrillion-dollar products such as asset-backed securities and the lure of buccaneering vehicles like hedge funds. Finally, the U.S. dollar has been turned into bad money as it has weakened and become vulnerable to the worlds other currencies. In all these ways, bad finance has failed the American people and pointed U.S. capitalism toward a global crisis.
Well it could be worse. At least in CA housing is affordable so no one is going to lose their home over a lost job.
A few months ago I was requesting a CA short fund. I believe someone coined the term FUCA for its ticker symbol. I wish i'd bought in back then. Bought time for Arnold to be caught with a hooker and pass the buck.
I have a friend making movies in LA who has started to make some coin. He recently asked me if it was a good time to buy. I told him to start looking in 2011. Apparently it still hasn't sunk in to the general population.
Amazingly, here in Calabasas and Thousand Oaks we have not yet seen major layoffs from Countrywide. That company is a zombie but they still have not given the necessary pink slips.
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country. Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their loved ones to fight our wars. They own most of our stocks, making the stock market an unreliable indicator of the economic health of working people. The top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national income, up from 8% in 1980. The tax codes protect them, just as they protect corporate America, through a vast system of loopholes [...]
This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris. When I raised this issue with corporate leaders during the recent political campaign, I was met repeatedly with denials, and, from some, an overt lack of concern for those who are falling behind. A troubling arrogance is in the air among the nation's most fortunate. Some shrug off large-scale economic and social dislocations as the inevitable byproducts of the "rough road of capitalism." Others claim that it's the fault of the worker or the public education system, that the average American is simply not up to the international challenge, that our education system fails us, or that our workers have become spoiled by old notions of corporate paternalism [...]
More troubling is this: If it remains unchecked, this bifurcation of opportunities and advantages along class lines has the potential to bring a period of political unrest. Up to now, most American workers have simply been worried about their job prospects. Once they understand that there are (and were) clear alternatives to the policies that have dislocated careers and altered futures, they will demand more accountability from the leaders who have failed to protect their interests. The "Wal-Marting" of cheap consumer products brought in from places like China, and the easy money from low-interest home mortgage refinancing, have softened the blows in recent years. But the balance point is tipping in both cases, away from the consumer and away from our national interest.
14,220 REO's Offered For Sale on Countrywide Financial's Website
Total REO Asking Price: $2,849,707,605
(As of April 17, 2008)
See Also: CA sun tips: To get all the skin care benefits vitamin C has to offer, your best bet is to make your own preparations at home. Although there are several fruits and vegetables you can puree and use as a masque oranges, peppers, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberries and broccoli are high on the list dissolving a gram of L-ascorbic acid powder in a teaspoon of water and adding another teaspoon of emu oil or another good carrier oil also works great. Use sparingly at first, on a small part of the skin, to ensure it doesnt cause irritation.
I think both the employment figures and the equity prices contribute to GDP calculation. If the former is going down, the other will have to go up to compensate. So we can look forward to a rising Dow as the unemployment lines get longer -- the new economy.
"This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris."
You better believe it! Did you hear Obama's put down of lower class whites? Gun-loving, faith-holding, racist, xenophobes all due to this kind of economic meltdown.
I think the market is setting up for a mini-repeat of the tech bust. It shouldn't be surprising that Google, IBM and eBay had pretty good 1st qtr. earnings, but the market is reading them wrong.
From 2nd qtr. 2007 to 4th qtr. 2007, tech was the only sector with strong earnings.
Tech may not start to fade until 2nd or 3rd quarter 2008. But then it may really bust. A good chunk of tech profits have been driven by currency gains.
Companies are tightening capital spending and consumers are cutting back on tech purchases. Waves in next gen video games, ipods and cell phones are spent. White collar layoffs leave a lot of excess PC/network capacity and will chop software licensing fees. Just think how much tech the incredible shrinking mortgage biz required. International demand for hardware/software seems to be cooling, according to those dour analysts on CNBC Asia.
The bottom half of tech companies in size/quality is very vulnerable. There was way too much 2.0 start-up expansion fueled by crazy lending and VC, and a lot of those small companies are struggling to juggle debt and raise new cash in a changed environment. As 2.0 start-up companies go down, they will take down B2B biz like in 01-02.
So, this time the tech bust doesn't start the recession but might prolong it. It could be a killer for CA employment later in the year.
I can't imagine what happens to Ventura if Countrywide leaves. That is a huge amount of commercial space coming on line. Commercial rents would nose dive. Then there are those Merril Lynch buildings too. OwnIt still had the sign on the building even though they've been out of business for a year. There are a lot of very good jobs about leave Ventura County.
cdulan writes:
Amazingly, here in Calabasas and Thousand Oaks we have not yet seen major layoffs from Countrywide. That company is a zombie but they still have not given the necessary pink slips.
Standard corporate procedure. The mass layoffs won't occur until the Bank of America takeover is structured. There's no benefit to getting the fatted calf lean and mean. BaC is waiting to take the charge offs on their books. Heck what's 4000 people in a county wide workforce of 6600 employees and total employment of 395,000? 1%? Pffft.
Cal,
I mapped this out something like two years ago. Forgive me if I appear terse or speaking shorthand.
Short answer: very very bad. People don't have any idea how bad. These are multiplier jobs and also jobs that were paying far more than they were worth in the good times. This is a mini dotcomm for us. Worse is Amgen leaving for Longmont, CO andy time now. Again very high paying jobs and huge local multipliers.
he Federal Reserve Board took the unusual step Thursday of scheduling public hearings to get comments on the pros and cons of Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $4-billion acquisition of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp.
The announcement comes amid high public sensitivities surrounding housing and mortgage markets and the effect that the merger might have on mortgage modifications, particularly in California.
It comes the day after Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, invited regulators, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, as well as the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bear Stearns Cos., to testify at a hearing next week about JPMorgan's bid to buy Bear Stearns, which kept the investment bank from entering bankruptcy protection.
The Fed said it would extend a 90-day public comment period on the proposed BofA-Countrywide deal by nearly a month, until the close of business on April 29.
A public hearing is scheduled April 22 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's headquarters, with hearings April 28 and 29 at the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
The Fed rarely holds public hearings on merger decisions, but it said the public hearings were intended to collect information relating to the factors the board is required to consider to determine whether the merger is acceptable under the Bank Holding Company Act.
Some consumer groups have criticized BofA's response to the housing crisis, saying its balance sheet allowed it to do more for troubled borrowers.
The acquisition of Calabasas-based Countrywide would hand BofA a bigger market share, creating a lender making 1 in 4 U.S. home loans and collecting payments on mortgages with a value of more than $1.9 trillion.
Sacramento-area unemployment rose three-tenths of a percent to 6.5 percent in March. That was the highest rate since it was 6.6 percent in January 1997, in the aftermath of the '90s recession.
rom 1988 to 2000, the median home price in California was relatively unchanged and a rather boring figure to examine. Now that we have the peak data point, we can start examining the entire wonderland scenario over 2 decades. For someone to purchase the median priced California home in August of 2007 at $465,000 would require an income of $113,162 while the statewide household income was $56,645; the price of buying a home with 5 percent down and a 30 year fixed mortgage was nearly twice the income that California households actually had. Looking at taxpayer records the median income for those filing jointly is $66,810 for 2006.
Even though we think Southern California housing is crazy we have nothing on Northern California:
Jesse Ventura Takes on Hannity & Colmes
Former Gov. Jesse Ventura went on the Hannity & Colmes show and does not shy away from discussing the hard issues. He questions the official 9-11 story and takes them to task for being corporate hacks.
Amd remember the unemployment rate is understated by a bunch, and the NYTs reports that the number of hours is being cut and there are more part timers who would like to be full time and they are all counted as fully employed.
While California is down, let's kick her some more:
SACRAMENTO -- California's budget shortfall has swollen to $16 billion from $14.5 billion, according to the state's chief budget analyst, who says the governor's proposal for closing the deficit is so flawed that her office took the rare step of drafting an alternative state spending plan for legislators to consider.
I was at a Starbucks in OC California today. While I was working on my laptop (and a mocha) I heard one of the counter workers say "Wow, I've never seen it this slow!"
My neighbor moved out this morning. No for sale sign, no warning; a van drove up, took their stuff and left. They bought about 2 years ago, at the peak. To sell now would be financial catastrophe. I fear foreclosure.
I fully expect Obama, once he gets into office, to take one look at the economy (which he's been ignoring) and then announce that he's working on a new book and we should all wait for it in order to get an explanation of what everybody should do next.
BTW, What is up with no CFC Operational Results posted. They always have them out before half way through the month.
I'm half expecting them late tonight or they are going to sneak them out during their quarterly results so they don't have to report bad news twice in a month.
"At least twenty-seven states, including several of the nations largest, face budget shortfalls in fiscal year 2009. Of these 27 states, specific estimates are available for 22 states and the District of Columbia; the combined deficits of these 22 states plus the District of Columbia are expected to total at least $39 billion for fiscal 2009 which begins July 2008 in most states. Another 3 states expect budget problems in fiscal year 2010, although some of those gaps may occur earlier than expected."
Mexicans call strawberries the "Devils Fruit." Why? Because it is back breaking labor to pick compared to the wages. I have worked in the fields doing tobacco when I was younger. They earn every penny and then some. Oh yeah, lets not forget the exposure to pesticides either.
In late 2005 two of my co-workers (middle class, income $90K) bought two houses each in Inland Empire, with option ARM loans (toxic). At the time they were convinced to make $100K on each property in two years.
Out of curiosity I looked at foreclosureradar.com and all fours houses receiver NOD a few month ago.
At the time, both were very arrogant and bumptious, they were ridiculing me why I do not buy RE. Well, at the time I was quietly shorting home builders and the rest is history.
Ahnold's plan (a 10% across the board cut) was FAR, FAR better than what the LAO proposed (basically fewer education and welfare cuts big tax increases).
Seriously, will we be seeing an increase in interstate migration as the unemployed Californians seek new pastures? If this gets really bad, we might see reverse-okees, if you know what I mean. Oklahoma here I come. . .
It's not just the Democrats in the state. It's the Republicans too. There are too many "safe seats" on both sides of the aisle. First thing we need to do is redistrict the whole damn state and get some moderates in the State Legislature.
Winston,
A 10% across the board cut (resulting in about 2% less spending this fiscal year and 6% less next) would be a partial down payment on the actual deficit which as of my last count two weeks ago was $18.5 billion. That was before the $7b Federal order to spend more on inmate (11% illegals) healthcare.
School Districts must handout layoff notices to teachers if money is unavailable at this point in time to guarantee that the teacher will be rehired for the next school year...
met a teacher with 10 years seniority in OC, CA, who is laid off....the Supt. gave him a "wink" and promised he'd have a job in sept., but in the meantime the guy can't teach summer school since he is not an emplyee......and, if he's not rehired, he has no health insurance come 9/1/08
Result: family moving out of state to temporarily live with family and find a more secure job....probably take a big hit on the home they purchased 2 years ago.....
their house is priced extremely low since they just want "out of Dodge" quickly, which lowers the comps for the entire neighborhood...
in the meantime, a bunch of teachers will be spending mucho less this summer...
at leat I got a customer for my moving company....
It's not just the Democrats in the state. It's the Republicans too. There are too many "safe seats" on both sides of the aisle. First thing we need to do is redistrict the whole damn state and get some moderates in the State Legislature.
That means the Democrats. They control the State. Don't get me wrong. If the Republicans had this level of stranglehold then my answer would have been the reverse. Right here, right now it is the Democrats.
Can I just say something? California strawberries SUCK. They taste like cardboard. And they're basically 2 millimeters of actual strawberry overlaid over a tough white core. Blecch.
In fact a lot of California produce tastes terrible. I don't even know why people consent to eat this crap, just because it's available year round. Better to eat stuff locally grown in season -- even if it's not organic.
He'll "change" your disposable income if anythings left by jacking up capital gains etc.
He'll "change" middle class and upper class into the working poor.
He'll "change" homeowners into renters by punishing investors with crazy laws and regs so that mortgages wont be attainable for anyone.
He'll "change" mid western people from religous, gun clinging, bitter people into poor people needing government assistance for all his elite socialist buddies he is sure to appoint to his admi
California is a place where entrepreneurs have ruled.
But I think today's market is one of the most hellish ever for small biz, start-ups, etc.
The combination of high inflation (masked by CPI), no pricing power, weak dollar, high import costs, high energy costs, still relatively tight labor market for skilled workers, higher taxes, more regulation, soaring health care costs, less credit, and recession is a killer for small business.
Where small biz and start-ups can get financing now, they are being squeezed like you can't believe. If they survive, they'll end up paying for it capital out of profits for years to come.
"Lynn Gray writes:
Y/Y NSA Payroll employment down in the following states:
AZ, Ark, CA, FL, Mich, Missouri, Nev,
Ohio, RI, Tenn, and Wisc."
Lynn provides the more interesting number. Unemployment rates, besides understating the rate of joblessness, can be deceptive another way, as we learned in the 1980's downturn in TX, where unemployment rates stayed low for a time while establishment job counts crashed - - - -seems that lots of households that had moved into oil-boom TX to escape the Midwestern rust belt loaded their possessions into U-Hauls and "walked away", shrinking demand for housing, but not counted as unemployed (at least not in TX).
So, keep watching the establishment job counts, not just unemployment rates, and also watch trends in state sales tax revenues, another good indicator of household response to economic stress. John Liscio used that measure to give early warning on CA's problems in the early 1990's.
Seriously, will we be seeing an increase in interstate migration as the unemployed Californians seek new pastures? If this gets really bad, we might see reverse-okees, if you know what I mean. Oklahoma here I come. . .
The NBA must know something... They just voted to move the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City.
JJL writes:
I can speak for biotech in the massachusetts area, and jobs are pretty tight right now.
JJL | Homepage | 04.18.08 - 8:18 pm | #
I'm in computer software here in Chicago. We have a perpetual job opening, the CEO's staffing plan is to hire anytime a great candidate manages to find our front door. For the first time in months, they actually had someone in the office for an interview.
The CEO has big plans to grab a bigger piece of the pie in the down market and signed a lease for more office space. Turns out that we are having trouble getting it built out. Either this type of work is booming or it has crashed enough that too many workers left the area. Any more delays (already 6 months) and it will seriously impact our [debt-free] expansion, given how long it takes to get a new product to market.
And by the way, those of you fretting about the horrible Democrats in the CA legislature - they may be bad, and do a lot of stupid stuff, but they didn't cause any of this shit, and now is definitely the wrong time to be worrying about deficits. You guys need to start worrying about all of the crony capitalists that have been gang-raping our economy and leaving an empty husk of debt.
willi at 4.18 writes:
"... And thier pay sucks, so stop being racist."
Hey willi, since when is legal status a race? Many of us legal residents resent having the value of our labor diluted by the flood of illegals. I don't care if they look like the Swedish bikini team.
More OT, I seem to remember that B of A was offering home loans to illegals, who of course didnt even have SS numbers. Thus, we citizens got to watch law breakers deflate our pay and inflate our house prices while they diluted the quality of the housing stock.
Knew a carpenter with some skills and self-respect who quit work on the big projects in AZ because he thought every wall stud needed at least 2 nails. The boss demanded only one nail per stud to save time and materials, and the illegals were happy to comply.
"And by the way, those of you fretting about the horrible Democrats in the CA legislature - they may be bad, and do a lot of stupid stuff, but they didn't cause any of this shit, and now is definitely the wrong time to be worrying about deficits. "
Not sure what "this shit" is, but IIRC, a good number of Dems signed onto what became the effective repeal of the Glass-Steagall act (tho mostly Repubs pushed it) and a Dem prez signed it. Sorry to say, I think there is plenty of blame to go around.
I say "sorry" because, though I lean almost exclusively Republican, I would feel much better if the party likely to pick up the presidency actually had clean hands on this mess.
Chicago Dude: Maybe your boss should lower the sights, and consider not so great candidates. I have seen many a merely-good (but entirely sufficient for our purposes) candidate rejected when they didn't meet management's exaggerated expectations of what it takes to contribute to our product. Even in "high" tech and in startups, the largest part of the work is applying well-understood principles to standard problems. As in 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. And it's not necessarily true that the highest-credentialed person is the best candidate for any given job.
So the Bushco/Greenspan housing employment act is collapsing... who'da thunk it. Oh well, the offshoring move is pretty well complete so who cares. The plutocrats have pretty well cashed out their winnings from the leverage bonanza, leaving the debt to be repaid.
No one has been willing to listen. It has to happen this way to get America's attention.
Only time to ge a few things on the to do list accomplished.
First, open the southern border so that Walmart (and their me too bretheren)can run their Chinese goods into the US from ports in Mexico.
The second is to bailout the financial industry before they get shrunk back to an actual service business.
And remember: Leaving Iraq is failure and support of Ahmad Jalabi and his Iraqi National Movement is victory (yes he is still dictating American foreign policy along with Masad).
Why is the unemployment rate in Riverside so high? Riverside has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Meanwhile, unemployment in metropolitan areas with oil-related jobs are enjoying low levels of unemployment.
First
Low unemployment Terminated by the Govenor?
Can you make another comment thread where I can post my resume?
Well, that's okay. I am sure all these unemployed people will be able to get rich in the Stock Market, which always goes up (as today proves: $5 billion in losses = higher stock prices.) Or, they can get rich gambling in commodities, another future Bubble.
What our nation needs to get rich quick is toxic - I mean "affordable" - loans to allow the average, out-of-work employee to get more money so they can speculator in stocks and get rich. That's what Amerika is about!
Next door neighbor in Riverside county was in commercial construction (welder) in Palm Springs, laid off in Nov., now moving his wife and family to his parent's house in Orange county to be closer to work there (at 2/3 his former pay).
Mostly negative news all week about almost any financial, employment, housing or public opinion matters you care to read about. And the layman looks at the DOW as the week's dust settles and sees over a 500 point rise. Hey, things are good, right? No reason to believe the papers, the radio or the TV chattering classes. It's all Cramer all the time from now on.
This is only the beginning - 10% here we come!
More bad news? No need to worry -- the bad news is priced in, the good news is not! Buy! Buy! Buy!
You guys with the "stocks are up".
There has been no gains in stocks in real terms for 9 years. And wont be for 9 more
Wonder how bank earnings hold up if the national unempoyment rate is 7% in Dec 2008?
Also, why the high unemployment rate in Alaska? Isn't that an area that typically has low unemployment due to the difficult winter?
I wonder how "real economy" earnings will hold up with oil at 100+ for the entire year.
I guess I was wrong when I laughed at the claims that the problem was contained. The stock market is never wrong. As they say, nothing happening here just move on.
2 friends here in So.Cal have been laid off, one at Boeing Anaheim and the other in construction trade. Hard when it hits your friends/family.
To be fair, big companies reported pretty good earnings last couple of days: CAT, HON, GOOG, etc.
Even GE wasn't terrible if you back out their financial arm.
The catch is that many of these companies were able to beat revenue and earnings estimates because of the weak dollar, which does wonders for both top-line growth and your margins.
So while regular americans try to scrape by with $117 oil, $4 gas and 9% annual inflation, large corporations are doing just fine thanks.
In Riverside county, a realtor friend made his last sale a year ago, and is in default on three homes he owns, filed chapter 7, his tenants in two of his rental properties will be kicked out and he and his family kicked out of the third.
Y/Y NSA Payroll employment down in the following states:
AZ, Ark, CA, FL, Mich, Missouri, Nev,
Ohio, RI, Tenn, and Wisc.
What really happened is that we've finished burning off the dry grass "casual employment" and now the trees (formally employed) are burning.
Next Stop; San Diego, Orange and Ventura financial industry echo effects in landscaping, dry cleaners, pool men and Volvo/BMW independent auto mechanics.
Well, Mexico better build a wall because they may have a few immigrants coming their way...
In Riverside county, a realtor friend
4822 - Do you know where that family is going to go?
Strawberry pickers pulling in up to $1400 a week right now.
"4822 - Do you know where that family is going to go?"
They are probably going to rent in the area, he has a job now, but too far behind in payments. They might have six months to move out (on advice of lawyer).
w writes:
Strawberry pickers pulling in up to $1400 a week right now.
$20/hr? I know, piece work no matter how illegal but still that's like $4 more than I was seeing this week but explains the price of a flat of #1 Chandlers. Too high.
they [realtor family] are probably going to rent in the area, he has a job now, but too far behind in payments. They might have six months to move out (on advice of lawyer). - 4822
Offer the bank $400/month to be the last on the FC list and promise to keep the place nice. Bet they'll take it.
"As California goes, so goes the nation"
Here is a newspaper search for the phrase:
1912 as Wisconsin goes, so goes the nation
1905 as Maine goes so goes the nation
1891 "As Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation,"
1946 "As California goes, so goes the Nation,"
1895 as Pennsylvania goes so goes the nation
1892 as New York goes so goes the nation
1952 "as New Hampshire goes, so goes the nation."
iceman writes:
Also, why the high unemployment rate in Alaska? Isn't that an area that typically has low unemployment due to the difficult winter?
iceman | 04.18.08 - 4:16 pm | #
Alaska residents get royalty checks from oil sales. They just get lazy and sit in their igloos are day long and watch TV.
"So while regular americans try to scrape by with $117 oil, $4 gas and 9% annual inflation, large corporations are doing just fine thanks."
And as the Fed and others have proven, that is all that really matters. Banks happy = good for Amerika!
But it's a great time to buy.
$20/hr?
Closer to $30/hr. When there is competition (piece rate) the fruit flies out of the field fast.
Have the royalties to Alaskans gone up with the price of oil?
The catch is that many of these companies were able to beat revenue and earnings estimates because of the weak dollar, which does wonders for both top-line growth and your margins.
Unfortunately the earnings (and ultimately dividends) generated by currency gains are in the depreciating currency. Dollars buy a lot less these days than even 6-9 months ago.
I guess it's time for Californians to start clinging to their guns and bibles too, and harbor bitterness.
Dawg - "Offer the bank $400/month to be the last on the FC list and promise to keep the place nice. Bet they'll take it."
I'll pass that along - they are good people with kids and I hear their tenants are good also - hate to see those three homes sit empty and useless.
Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism
by Kevin Phillips
Amazon.com: Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism (9780670019076): Kevin Phillips: Books
In Bad Money, Phillips describes the consequences of our misguided economic policies, our mounting debt, our collapsing housing market, our threatened oil, and the end of American domination of world markets. Americas current challenges (and failures) run striking parallels to the decline of previous leading world economic powersespecially the Dutch and British. Global overreach, worn-out politics, excessive debt, and exhausted energy regimes are all chilling signals that the United States is crumbling as the world superpower.
"Bad money refers to a new phenomenon in wayward megafinancethe emergence of a U.S. economy that is globally dependent and dominated by hubris-driven financial services. Also bad are the risk miscalculations and strategic abuses of new multitrillion-dollar products such as asset-backed securities and the lure of buccaneering vehicles like hedge funds. Finally, the U.S. dollar has been turned into bad money as it has weakened and become vulnerable to the worlds other currencies. In all these ways, bad finance has failed the American people and pointed U.S. capitalism toward a global crisis.
Well it could be worse. At least in CA housing is affordable so no one is going to lose their home over a lost job.
A few months ago I was requesting a CA short fund. I believe someone coined the term FUCA for its ticker symbol. I wish i'd bought in back then. Bought time for Arnold to be caught with a hooker and pass the buck.
I have a friend making movies in LA who has started to make some coin. He recently asked me if it was a good time to buy. I told him to start looking in 2011. Apparently it still hasn't sunk in to the general population.
Amazingly, here in Calabasas and Thousand Oaks we have not yet seen major layoffs from Countrywide. That company is a zombie but they still have not given the necessary pink slips.
Class Struggle
by JIM WEBB
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Featured Article - WSJ.com
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country. Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their loved ones to fight our wars. They own most of our stocks, making the stock market an unreliable indicator of the economic health of working people. The top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national income, up from 8% in 1980. The tax codes protect them, just as they protect corporate America, through a vast system of loopholes [...]
This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris. When I raised this issue with corporate leaders during the recent political campaign, I was met repeatedly with denials, and, from some, an overt lack of concern for those who are falling behind. A troubling arrogance is in the air among the nation's most fortunate. Some shrug off large-scale economic and social dislocations as the inevitable byproducts of the "rough road of capitalism." Others claim that it's the fault of the worker or the public education system, that the average American is simply not up to the international challenge, that our education system fails us, or that our workers have become spoiled by old notions of corporate paternalism [...]
More troubling is this: If it remains unchecked, this bifurcation of opportunities and advantages along class lines has the potential to bring a period of political unrest. Up to now, most American workers have simply been worried about their job prospects. Once they understand that there are (and were) clear alternatives to the policies that have dislocated careers and altered futures, they will demand more accountability from the leaders who have failed to protect their interests. The "Wal-Marting" of cheap consumer products brought in from places like China, and the easy money from low-interest home mortgage refinancing, have softened the blows in recent years. But the balance point is tipping in both cases, away from the consumer and away from our national interest.
Call for Mr. CR, paging CR...
Countrywide Foreclosures (REO) Blog
14,220 REO's Offered For Sale on Countrywide Financial's Website
Total REO Asking Price: $2,849,707,605
(As of April 17, 2008)
See Also: CA sun tips: To get all the skin care benefits vitamin C has to offer, your best bet is to make your own preparations at home. Although there are several fruits and vegetables you can puree and use as a masque oranges, peppers, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberries and broccoli are high on the list dissolving a gram of L-ascorbic acid powder in a teaspoon of water and adding another teaspoon of emu oil or another good carrier oil also works great. Use sparingly at first, on a small part of the skin, to ensure it doesnt cause irritation.
"hate to see those three homes sit empty and useless."
Not to mention the disruption of having to move into other rental housing that may also be subject to foreclosure.
I think both the employment figures and the equity prices contribute to GDP calculation. If the former is going down, the other will have to go up to compensate. So we can look forward to a rising Dow as the unemployment lines get longer -- the new economy.
"This ever-widening divide is too often ignored or downplayed by its beneficiaries. A sense of entitlement has set in among elites, bordering on hubris."
You better believe it! Did you hear Obama's put down of lower class whites? Gun-loving, faith-holding, racist, xenophobes all due to this kind of economic meltdown.
DH@TH writes:
"As California goes, so goes the nation"
Current Population 36 million
1912 as Wisconsin, 1905 as Maine, 1891 Pennsylvania, 1892 as New York, 1952 "as New Hampshire...
Current Populations:
5.6, 1.3, 12.4, 19.3, 1.3 their combined modern populations barely exceeds.
For good or ill California is the gorilla in the room.
I guess it's time for Californians to start clinging to their guns and bibles too, and harbor bitterness.
No, that's an Idaho thing ...
I guess it's time for Californians to start clinging to their guns and bibles too, and harbor bitterness.
No, that's an Idaho thing ...
Idahogal | 04.18.08 - 4:48 pm | #
Priuses and lattes?
Slightly OT
I think the market is setting up for a mini-repeat of the tech bust. It shouldn't be surprising that Google, IBM and eBay had pretty good 1st qtr. earnings, but the market is reading them wrong.
From 2nd qtr. 2007 to 4th qtr. 2007, tech was the only sector with strong earnings.
Materials -17%
Cons. services -32%
Consumer goods -37%
Oil and gas +3%
Financial -129%
Healthcare -26%
Industrial -4%
Tech +31%
Telecom -549%
Utilities -9%
Tech may not start to fade until 2nd or 3rd quarter 2008. But then it may really bust. A good chunk of tech profits have been driven by currency gains.
Companies are tightening capital spending and consumers are cutting back on tech purchases. Waves in next gen video games, ipods and cell phones are spent. White collar layoffs leave a lot of excess PC/network capacity and will chop software licensing fees. Just think how much tech the incredible shrinking mortgage biz required. International demand for hardware/software seems to be cooling, according to those dour analysts on CNBC Asia.
The bottom half of tech companies in size/quality is very vulnerable. There was way too much 2.0 start-up expansion fueled by crazy lending and VC, and a lot of those small companies are struggling to juggle debt and raise new cash in a changed environment. As 2.0 start-up companies go down, they will take down B2B biz like in 01-02.
So, this time the tech bust doesn't start the recession but might prolong it. It could be a killer for CA employment later in the year.
Did anyone (CR) go to Countrywide site yet?
They claim asking price for REO is down $100K in a year, from $400K to $300K
"They claim asking price for REO is down $100K in a year, from $400K to $300K"
That is possible, in my area (Riverside County).
Rob,
I can't imagine what happens to Ventura if Countrywide leaves. That is a huge amount of commercial space coming on line. Commercial rents would nose dive. Then there are those Merril Lynch buildings too. OwnIt still had the sign on the building even though they've been out of business for a year. There are a lot of very good jobs about leave Ventura County.
cdulan writes:
Amazingly, here in Calabasas and Thousand Oaks we have not yet seen major layoffs from Countrywide. That company is a zombie but they still have not given the necessary pink slips.
Standard corporate procedure. The mass layoffs won't occur until the Bank of America takeover is structured. There's no benefit to getting the fatted calf lean and mean. BaC is waiting to take the charge offs on their books. Heck what's 4000 people in a county wide workforce of 6600 employees and total employment of 395,000? 1%? Pffft.
The Federal Reserve to host a meeting regarding the Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC) takeover by Bank of America at 9:30am.
Another bailout?
Cal,
I mapped this out something like two years ago. Forgive me if I appear terse or speaking shorthand.
Short answer: very very bad. People don't have any idea how bad. These are multiplier jobs and also jobs that were paying far more than they were worth in the good times. This is a mini dotcomm for us. Worse is Amgen leaving for Longmont, CO andy time now. Again very high paying jobs and huge local multipliers.
he Federal Reserve Board took the unusual step Thursday of scheduling public hearings to get comments on the pros and cons of Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $4-billion acquisition of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp.
The announcement comes amid high public sensitivities surrounding housing and mortgage markets and the effect that the merger might have on mortgage modifications, particularly in California.
It comes the day after Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, invited regulators, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, as well as the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bear Stearns Cos., to testify at a hearing next week about JPMorgan's bid to buy Bear Stearns, which kept the investment bank from entering bankruptcy protection.
The Fed said it would extend a 90-day public comment period on the proposed BofA-Countrywide deal by nearly a month, until the close of business on April 29.
A public hearing is scheduled April 22 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's headquarters, with hearings April 28 and 29 at the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
The Fed rarely holds public hearings on merger decisions, but it said the public hearings were intended to collect information relating to the factors the board is required to consider to determine whether the merger is acceptable under the Bank Holding Company Act.
Some consumer groups have criticized BofA's response to the housing crisis, saying its balance sheet allowed it to do more for troubled borrowers.
The acquisition of Calabasas-based Countrywide would hand BofA a bigger market share, creating a lender making 1 in 4 U.S. home loans and collecting payments on mortgages with a value of more than $1.9 trillion.
I can't wait for the fruit pickers to organize.
Long Live "Jose Hoffa"
Sacramento-area unemployment rose three-tenths of a percent to 6.5 percent in March. That was the highest rate since it was 6.6 percent in January 1997, in the aftermath of the '90s recession.
404 - Not Found - sacbee.com
I don't know why any major company would want to stay in California anymore. Kudos to amgen.
I wonder if Chevron's next.
Dean they are leaving in droves.... have been for a few years now.... taxes to high, shortage of skilled workers as no one can afford to live here....
April 17th, 2008
Housing in Graphics and California $16 Billion in the Hole: The Genesis of the California Housing Market.
Housing in Graphics and California $16 Billion in the Hole: The Genesis of the California Housing Market. » Dr. Housing Bubble Blog
rom 1988 to 2000, the median home price in California was relatively unchanged and a rather boring figure to examine. Now that we have the peak data point, we can start examining the entire wonderland scenario over 2 decades. For someone to purchase the median priced California home in August of 2007 at $465,000 would require an income of $113,162 while the statewide household income was $56,645; the price of buying a home with 5 percent down and a 30 year fixed mortgage was nearly twice the income that California households actually had. Looking at taxpayer records the median income for those filing jointly is $66,810 for 2006.
Even though we think Southern California housing is crazy we have nothing on Northern California:
Don't forget about the state legislature! They're as left as they come.
off topic. Just got this video in an email
Jesse Ventura Takes on Hannity & Colmes
Former Gov. Jesse Ventura went on the Hannity & Colmes show and does not shy away from discussing the hard issues. He questions the official 9-11 story and takes them to task for being corporate hacks.
Jesse Ventura Takes on Hannity & Colmes
pretty darn funny
Amd remember the unemployment rate is understated by a bunch, and the NYTs reports that the number of hours is being cut and there are more part timers who would like to be full time and they are all counted as fully employed.
WildBill should be Clueless Bill
or WildBill perhaps you were being coy...it's been long day
I can't wait for the fruit pickers to organize.
I don't understand your comment. Farm workers started organizing back in the 1960's.
My neighbor is still building onto his house. I'm not worried yet. ;^)
Today it's a new patio and patio cover. I truly wonder when the hell he's going to run out of money.
FT,
I meant those picking illegally.....
FT,
Edit:
Those in the US illegally....
The ghettos will be burning this summer. Count on that.
While California is down, let's kick her some more:
SACRAMENTO -- California's budget shortfall has swollen to $16 billion from $14.5 billion, according to the state's chief budget analyst, who says the governor's proposal for closing the deficit is so flawed that her office took the rare step of drafting an alternative state spending plan for legislators to consider.
California's budget gap at $16 billion -- latimes.com
Hey! Wild Bill @ 4:47
Before you shoot off your mouth about something you read in the MSM, check it out.
Go here:
t r u t h o u t
and read the whole paragraph of what Obama said. It MIGHT change -- or at least temper -- your opinion.
Sorry, I'm digitally challenged and all I could do is cut and paste the address; you'll have to do the same -- if you paws still fit on the keyboard.
Guess I'm not as bad as I thought. It turned out o be a link after all.
VERRRY INTERESTING!
Agricultural workers are excluded from the NLRA, so they have no federal right to form a union. And thier pay sucks, so stop being racist.
Rob,
Wow, that Amgen news is news to me. Never heard a peep. They and Countrywide are basically all the high paying jobs in Ventura.
Well, I'm saving my duckets, we will see what kind of deals I can pick up in 5-7 years when this thing matures.
Anecdotal evidence warning -
I was at a Starbucks in OC California today. While I was working on my laptop (and a mocha) I heard one of the counter workers say "Wow, I've never seen it this slow!"
My neighbor moved out this morning. No for sale sign, no warning; a van drove up, took their stuff and left. They bought about 2 years ago, at the peak. To sell now would be financial catastrophe. I fear foreclosure.
I'm sure everyone's heard how Al Gore said he invented the internet. That's not true either. And put into context, it makes sense.
snopes.com: Al Gore Invented the Internet
He did indeed have a lot to do with the expansion of the internet to the public.
"I'm sure everyone's heard how Al Gore said he invented the internet. That's not true either. And put into context, it makes sense."
Yeah, well he also invented global warming, which is gonna suck.
That's right, Al Gore did not invent the internet. Everybody knows that George W. Bush invented the internet. That's why most web sites start with W.
Re: Amgen leaving for Longmont, CO
Hollywood real estate was the death of Amgen! It ate the profits!
I fully expect Obama, once he gets into office, to take one look at the economy (which he's been ignoring) and then announce that he's working on a new book and we should all wait for it in order to get an explanation of what everybody should do next.
I meant to say that the CLAIM that Gore invented the internet is untrue. Funny, words.
we can all do our part..just wear Flag Lapel Pins..
BTW, What is up with no CFC Operational Results posted. They always have them out before half way through the month.
I'm half expecting them late tonight or they are going to sneak them out during their quarterly results so they don't have to report bad news twice in a month.
Cal,
CFC has switched to quarterly lies in lieu of monthly lies.
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities:
"At least twenty-seven states, including several of the nations largest, face budget shortfalls in fiscal year 2009. Of these 27 states, specific estimates are available for 22 states and the District of Columbia; the combined deficits of these 22 states plus the District of Columbia are expected to total at least $39 billion for fiscal 2009 which begins July 2008 in most states. Another 3 states expect budget problems in fiscal year 2010, although some of those gaps may occur earlier than expected."
Recession Continues to Batter State Budgets; State Responses Could Slow Recovery — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
There is a nice table showing the projected deficits for each state.
Mexicans call strawberries the "Devils Fruit." Why? Because it is back breaking labor to pick compared to the wages. I have worked in the fields doing tobacco when I was younger. They earn every penny and then some. Oh yeah, lets not forget the exposure to pesticides either.
Boy, I have not been paying attention I didnt know they disco'd the monthly results.
In late 2005 two of my co-workers (middle class, income $90K) bought two houses each in Inland Empire, with option ARM loans (toxic). At the time they were convinced to make $100K on each property in two years.
Out of curiosity I looked at foreclosureradar.com and all fours houses receiver NOD a few month ago.
At the time, both were very arrogant and bumptious, they were ridiculing me why I do not buy RE. Well, at the time I was quietly shorting home builders and the rest is history.
Strawberries. Ewww.
The natural fruit is so fragile.
The industrial growers need huge amounts of pesticides. The result is an insipid product.
Unless you can get local organic direct from grower.
Funny, those teevee bubbleheads. We are in a pretty typical sharp bear market rally and they're shouting bottom as loud as possible. Makes me laugh.
The sound advice would be... sell into it. But no one can visualize a world without a bubble inflating.
Just as well. Gives the Fed a chance to save a bullet for another meeting. They are getting scarce and the next wave is charging...
"Ethan writes:
Hey! Wild Bill @ 4:47
Before you shoot off your mouth about something you read in the MSM, check it out.
Go here:
t r u t h o u t | Page not found 041608A.shtml"
Yup, that's what I heard. Thanks for the link to share with others.
wawawa-Good for you! Kudos! The ppt and mm's are killing the shorts this week, me included. Next week though could be different? Good luck to all!
How can I short CA?
I don't think Chevron is leaving. We just sold them a bunch of product for their El Segundo plant.
The product: storage racks.
barely writes:
How can I short CA?
Vote Democrat. [ducks]
Dean:
Ahnold's plan (a 10% across the board cut) was FAR, FAR better than what the LAO proposed (basically fewer education and welfare cuts big tax increases).
Seriously, will we be seeing an increase in interstate migration as the unemployed Californians seek new pastures? If this gets really bad, we might see reverse-okees, if you know what I mean. Oklahoma here I come. . .
Rob Dawg --
It's not just the Democrats in the state. It's the Republicans too. There are too many "safe seats" on both sides of the aisle. First thing we need to do is redistrict the whole damn state and get some moderates in the State Legislature.
Winston,
A 10% across the board cut (resulting in about 2% less spending this fiscal year and 6% less next) would be a partial down payment on the actual deficit which as of my last count two weeks ago was $18.5 billion. That was before the $7b Federal order to spend more on inmate (11% illegals) healthcare.
...TEACHER UNEMPLOYMENT NOTICES....
School Districts must handout layoff notices to teachers if money is unavailable at this point in time to guarantee that the teacher will be rehired for the next school year...
met a teacher with 10 years seniority in OC, CA, who is laid off....the Supt. gave him a "wink" and promised he'd have a job in sept., but in the meantime the guy can't teach summer school since he is not an emplyee......and, if he's not rehired, he has no health insurance come 9/1/08
Result: family moving out of state to temporarily live with family and find a more secure job....probably take a big hit on the home they purchased 2 years ago.....
their house is priced extremely low since they just want "out of Dodge" quickly, which lowers the comps for the entire neighborhood...
in the meantime, a bunch of teachers will be spending mucho less this summer...
at leat I got a customer for my moving company....
Dawg --
It's not just the Democrats in the state. It's the Republicans too. There are too many "safe seats" on both sides of the aisle. First thing we need to do is redistrict the whole damn state and get some moderates in the State Legislature.
That means the Democrats. They control the State. Don't get me wrong. If the Republicans had this level of stranglehold then my answer would have been the reverse. Right here, right now it is the Democrats.
My dad, a very stuborn conservative, is no doubt blaiming the damn liberals for raising the minimum wage.
Can I just say something? California strawberries SUCK. They taste like cardboard. And they're basically 2 millimeters of actual strawberry overlaid over a tough white core. Blecch.
In fact a lot of California produce tastes terrible. I don't even know why people consent to eat this crap, just because it's available year round. Better to eat stuff locally grown in season -- even if it's not organic.
Haven't you heard Obama's about "Change"
He'll "change" your disposable income if anythings left by jacking up capital gains etc.
He'll "change" middle class and upper class into the working poor.
He'll "change" homeowners into renters by punishing investors with crazy laws and regs so that mortgages wont be attainable for anyone.
He'll "change" mid western people from religous, gun clinging, bitter people into poor people needing government assistance for all his elite socialist buddies he is sure to appoint to his admi
California is a place where entrepreneurs have ruled.
But I think today's market is one of the most hellish ever for small biz, start-ups, etc.
The combination of high inflation (masked by CPI), no pricing power, weak dollar, high import costs, high energy costs, still relatively tight labor market for skilled workers, higher taxes, more regulation, soaring health care costs, less credit, and recession is a killer for small business.
Where small biz and start-ups can get financing now, they are being squeezed like you can't believe. If they survive, they'll end up paying for it capital out of profits for years to come.
Small biz and entrepreneurs should just leave CA.
And maybe a lot are.
barely writes:
How can I short CA?
With the ETF, CACA.
"Lynn Gray writes:
Y/Y NSA Payroll employment down in the following states:
AZ, Ark, CA, FL, Mich, Missouri, Nev,
Ohio, RI, Tenn, and Wisc."
Lynn provides the more interesting number. Unemployment rates, besides understating the rate of joblessness, can be deceptive another way, as we learned in the 1980's downturn in TX, where unemployment rates stayed low for a time while establishment job counts crashed - - - -seems that lots of households that had moved into oil-boom TX to escape the Midwestern rust belt loaded their possessions into U-Hauls and "walked away", shrinking demand for housing, but not counted as unemployed (at least not in TX).
So, keep watching the establishment job counts, not just unemployment rates, and also watch trends in state sales tax revenues, another good indicator of household response to economic stress. John Liscio used that measure to give early warning on CA's problems in the early 1990's.
I can speak for biotech in the massachusetts area, and jobs are pretty tight right now.
cd:
I covered most of my shorts on HB. I am mostly short on retail stores and restaurants now.
Good luck to all.
Seriously, will we be seeing an increase in interstate migration as the unemployed Californians seek new pastures? If this gets really bad, we might see reverse-okees, if you know what I mean. Oklahoma here I come. . .
The NBA must know something... They just voted to move the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City.
In fact a lot of California produce tastes terrible. I don't even know why people consent to eat this crap
Yeah, the varieties they grow to ship to market are pale imitations of fruit, doesn't matter where you are.
Everyone gives these markets too much credit. Here is the yearly returns of the major indeces since GW took office. Nothing to shout about.
\t Dow
Jan. 19, 2001\t10587.59
Apr. 18, 2008\t10849.36
Yearly Return\t2.80%
Jan. 19, 2001 2770.38
Apr. 18, 2008 2702.97
Yearly Return -2%
\t S&P500
Jan. 19, 2001\t1342.54
Apr. 18,2008\t1390.33
Yearly Return\t0.50%
JJL writes:
I can speak for biotech in the massachusetts area, and jobs are pretty tight right now.
JJL | Homepage | 04.18.08 - 8:18 pm | #
I'm in computer software here in Chicago. We have a perpetual job opening, the CEO's staffing plan is to hire anytime a great candidate manages to find our front door. For the first time in months, they actually had someone in the office for an interview.
The CEO has big plans to grab a bigger piece of the pie in the down market and signed a lease for more office space. Turns out that we are having trouble getting it built out. Either this type of work is booming or it has crashed enough that too many workers left the area. Any more delays (already 6 months) and it will seriously impact our [debt-free] expansion, given how long it takes to get a new product to market.
"Haven't you heard Obama's about "Change""
Who let the freak in ?
And by the way, those of you fretting about the horrible Democrats in the CA legislature - they may be bad, and do a lot of stupid stuff, but they didn't cause any of this shit, and now is definitely the wrong time to be worrying about deficits. You guys need to start worrying about all of the crony capitalists that have been gang-raping our economy and leaving an empty husk of debt.
willi at 4.18 writes:
"... And thier pay sucks, so stop being racist."
Hey willi, since when is legal status a race? Many of us legal residents resent having the value of our labor diluted by the flood of illegals. I don't care if they look like the Swedish bikini team.
More OT, I seem to remember that B of A was offering home loans to illegals, who of course didnt even have SS numbers. Thus, we citizens got to watch law breakers deflate our pay and inflate our house prices while they diluted the quality of the housing stock.
Knew a carpenter with some skills and self-respect who quit work on the big projects in AZ because he thought every wall stud needed at least 2 nails. The boss demanded only one nail per stud to save time and materials, and the illegals were happy to comply.
Well if the houses are going to rot empty, I guess it doesn't matter how many nails you put in.
"And by the way, those of you fretting about the horrible Democrats in the CA legislature - they may be bad, and do a lot of stupid stuff, but they didn't cause any of this shit, and now is definitely the wrong time to be worrying about deficits. "
Not sure what "this shit" is, but IIRC, a good number of Dems signed onto what became the effective repeal of the Glass-Steagall act (tho mostly Repubs pushed it) and a Dem prez signed it. Sorry to say, I think there is plenty of blame to go around.
I say "sorry" because, though I lean almost exclusively Republican, I would feel much better if the party likely to pick up the presidency actually had clean hands on this mess.
Chicago Dude: Maybe your boss should lower the sights, and consider not so great candidates. I have seen many a merely-good (but entirely sufficient for our purposes) candidate rejected when they didn't meet management's exaggerated expectations of what it takes to contribute to our product. Even in "high" tech and in startups, the largest part of the work is applying well-understood principles to standard problems. As in 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. And it's not necessarily true that the highest-credentialed person is the best candidate for any given job.
I have also seen a few merely-good people becoming effective contributors.
So the Bushco/Greenspan housing employment act is collapsing... who'da thunk it. Oh well, the offshoring move is pretty well complete so who cares. The plutocrats have pretty well cashed out their winnings from the leverage bonanza, leaving the debt to be repaid.
No one has been willing to listen. It has to happen this way to get America's attention.
Only time to ge a few things on the to do list accomplished.
First, open the southern border so that Walmart (and their me too bretheren)can run their Chinese goods into the US from ports in Mexico.
The second is to bailout the financial industry before they get shrunk back to an actual service business.
And remember: Leaving Iraq is failure and support of Ahmad Jalabi and his Iraqi National Movement is victory (yes he is still dictating American foreign policy along with Masad).
Haven't you heard Obama's about "Change"
Uhh excuse me? Haven't the Republicans already done the damage you describe with their tax cuts, wars, bubbles, etc?
Let's blame Obama for our troubles! the guy has't even gotten elected yet. geesh!
Why is the unemployment rate in Riverside so high? Riverside has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Meanwhile, unemployment in metropolitan areas with oil-related jobs are enjoying low levels of unemployment.