We continue to expect to experience additional other-than-temporary impairment write-downs of our investments in private-label mortgage-related securities, including those that continue to be AAA-rated.
Accordingly, although we believe that our credit losses will increase in the future due to the weak housing and mortgage markets, the costs of our activities under various programs designed to keep borrowers in homes, high unemployment and other negative trends, we are not permitted under GAAP to reflect these future trends in our loss reserve calculations. Because of these negative trends, there is significant uncertainty regarding the full extent of our future credit losses. The credit losses we experience in future periods will adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and net worth.
When Treasury provides the additional $15.0 billion FHFA has already requested on our behalf, the aggregate liquidation preference on the senior preferred stock will be $60.9 billion, and will require an annualized dividend of $6.1 billion. This dividend obligation exceeds our reported annual net income for five of the past seven years and will contribute to increasingly negative cash flows in future periods if we continue to pay the dividends in cash. Further funds from Treasury under the senior preferred stock purchase agreement may substantially increase the liquidation preference of and the dividends we owe on the senior preferred stock and, therefore, we may need additional funds from Treasury in order to meet our dividend obligation. If the total liquidation preference of the senior preferred stock exceeds $81 billion in the future, the annual dividends payable on the senior preferred stock would be greater than the annual net income we have reported for each of the last seven years.
"the costs of our activities under various programs designed to keep borrowers in homes, high unemployment and other negative trends, we are not permitted under GAAP to reflect these future trends in our loss reserve calculations."
This is why the former Freddie CFO did himself in, he thought it wrong to not have to at least disclose the impact of all these programs, but the FHFA regulator wouldn't let him.
let me cheer everyone up with some help from Chris Whalen Institutional Risk Analytics
average of surviving banks are is much better with the swells in the markets
from what i understand, the reason that the GSEs are still paying the dividends, even though not required since it's not debt, is that lots of community banks are relying on their dividends. nice vicious cycle we've got...
let me cheer everyone up with some help from Chris Whalen Institutional Risk Analytics
average of surviving banks are is much better with the swells in the markets
"We had a net worth deficit of $15.0 billion as of September 30, 2009."
Only $15 billion? Maybe they should furlogh employees and release prisoners early. Then again, I guess they have different choices than the State of CA.
Angry Saver wrote: Somehow, I think the Fed made a teeny tiny itty bitty mistake [colluding with] Wall St. to double the price of homes after the dot.CON bust.
THIS is the reason for all of the programs designed to slow the loss in RRE valuations. The impact of programs such as FTHB credit isn't just over the homes that actually use it; but leveraged at 20+:1 over all of the Fannie Mae/FeddieMac/FHA financed homes in the neighborhood.
And believe it or not, to some extent it's working. Imagine what Fannie Mae's situation would have been if C-S home price index had continued down the last few quarters rather than bouncing a bit.
How does that work, exactly? Is that like asking your mom for allowance? or do they actually have to come up with brown banana peels to exchange for crisp dollar bills?
the sample sizes aren't the same. I think it's only for banks whose filings they have looked over for the most recent quarter
there is more improvement than just survivor bias, the juicy fat margins between lending and funding right now are helping
however, it will be years before they have enough money before they can afford to recognize existing losses
Don't anyone forget that up until the last year or so, the military was making exceptions left and right to meet recruiting goals. Gang members, convicted violent felons, etc. Nobody was turned away.
Can someone summarize the downside of the Deed-Lease program posted on earlier? I tried to get through the thread, but ran into a wall of snark and unhinged ghostface talking about Russia. Forgive me.
People get to live there for a year; lender gets $$$.
Will people sign up for this before the last minute? Usually takes at least a year
to kick someone out after foreclosure is filled. My latest foreclosure client hadn't
paid for a year before they filed foreclosure.
Little ones and zeroes are created out of thin air. Hold on that's the Fed. The Treasury borrows and hands the money to Fannie Mae. It's not like this will be paid for out of actual taxes. The Treasury has one of the lowest borrowing costs in history, and taken together the Federal Govt and the Fed are now the largest leveraged investor/hedge fund ever.
"delay foreclosure sales until other alternatives have been exhausted" WTF
Keep throwing taxpayer dough at the problem until giving away homes is last resort.
We are in an interesting point in our history. Government spending has become completely divorced from revenue. At some point, I think, this will have to end. A lot of doomers have been predicting a funding crisis for years, yet here we are with a 1.4 trillion deficit and 10 yrs yielding less than 3.5 percent. If the collapse does eventually come, it will be sudden and completely unexpected.
And believe it or not, to some extent it's working. Imagine what Fannie Mae's situation would have been if C-S home price index had continued down the last few quarters rather than bouncing a bit
From the previous thread...
Don't anyone forget that up until the last year or so, the military was making exceptions left and right to meet recruiting goals. Gang members, convicted violent felons, etc. Nobody was turned away.
Someone mentioned that one of the shooters was or had a name that sounded Muslim. Any confirmation of that? Just curious. No details like that in the MSM-
picosec, i get that that was the purpose. and i get that so far it's mitigated the collapse in housing prices.
the problem is that no one has the political will to punish the culprits, either via the criminal code, the tax code, or strengthening regulation. funny how no one talks about a "windfall tax" anymore...
lots of community banks are relying on their dividends
The Mortgage twins are not paying dividends on preferred (the stuff that community banks have), only the senior preferred (which the Treasury holds, owns is too strong a word). The recent bank failure is partially attributed to the bank owning a lot of GSE preferred (now nearly worthless) which ruined its capital ratios. Other community banks that loaded up on this paper will presumably face the same prospect.
IF in 2007, when I saw the writing on the wall, every bleeping mtg in the US
had been smashed down 10%, and all interest rates reduced by 1-1 1/2% and
payments adjusted accordingly, a whole lot of mess would have been averted.
In fact, the downturn might have been just about over with.
Believe me, even the unwashed are beginning to understand
just what it means to be underwater and how long it would take
to see the surface from below.
So, it's too late, for anything but huge cramdowns. So let's cram
down everybody according to the Case Shiller index in their area--every
body treated the same--and print money to reimburse the mtg holders,
since we are just printing money anyway. That would stop everything in
its tracks.
A downside in the lease thing--I might have fewer foreclosure clients!!
Someone mentioned that one of the shooters was or had a name that sounded Muslim. Any confirmation of that? Just curious. No details like that in the MSM-
CNN is naming the man. Fox is not. Apparently was muslim. Unclear whether that fact is relevant to what happened.
I take it back, the D4L program stuff is now posted:
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/servicing/d4l/
Summary of Approval Conditions
The property and the occupant must meet certain general qualifications2 such as:
Property Eligibility:
1 The Deed for Lease program is currently unavailable for the following loan types: HECM (reverse), USDA Rural, FHA, VA, and second (2nd) lien loans.
2 This list does not include all conditions, which may vary by location.
There are no zoning or homeowner’s association (HOA) rental limitations that would prohibit a lease.
Repairs required to make the property habitable are deemed to be in an acceptable amount based on the property value.
The property is in compliance with local rules and laws or can be brought into compliance within 30 days.
The property is not within a target area for any corporate, government or community neighborhood stabilization plan which may need the property as part of the plan for purposes other than residential.
The market rental income is anticipated to cover ongoing maintenance and management costs.
Occupant Eligibility:
Income is sufficient to cover rental payments of not more than 31 percent of gross income. If the current market rent is greater than 31 percent of the occupant’s monthly gross income, a lease will not be offered.
Inspection of the property indicates that the occupants have been keeping the property in good condition.
The number of occupants is appropriate for the home and in compliance with local laws and homeowner association rules.
If pets are present, renter’s insurance is obtained, if required.
The occupants signing the lease must agree to a credit review and all occupants over the age of 18 must have an acceptable background check, including receiving clearance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).
There are no signs or reports of illegal activities conducted at the property.
The property is to be used as a primary residence.
...
A lot of doomers have been predicting a funding crisis for years, yet here we are with a 1.4 trillion deficit and 10 yrs yielding less than 3.5 percent. If the collapse does eventually come, it will be sudden and completely unexpected.
I've been reading more about a potential funding crisis hitting Japan before the US. A major failure in Japan would probably ripple across the world. Like the US, the Japanese debt burden is unpayable. I don't believe any government can pay down that much debt. The question is not if, but when. Sudden is how these things tend to happen.
........if anyone thinks this "money-laundering" will ever stop.........I have a hen that was born with a deformity.......quite seriously, she lays golden 24-caret AAA large eggs - about 10 eggs every two weeks.........I have a serious ailment and can't keep her anymore, so I need to find a new home for her. For a nominal equitable donation, I might be willing to make YOUR home hers.......please remit your "chicken-at-home-qualifier-fee" to..........BSR, General Delivery, Pahrump, NV.......you'll be notified.........trust me........
yet here we are with a 1.4 trillion deficit and 10 yrs yielding less than 3.5 percent
That's what should be happening.
If the money were flowing into spending hands, we'd see inflation.
But it's not.
It's flowing into "investing" hands.
this is what France looked like just prior to the final straw of John Law's blowout.
Even as the French gov't was issuing insane amounts of debt, interest rates were at all-time lows.
lawyerliz
10% wouldn't have been enough. It's about what it takes to clear the market once speculative hoarding stops paying for itself.
You fundamentally can't have a bubble, and then find an easy way out that saves part of that virtual wealth. We are 2 years into the recognition of the problem and no further on precisely because there hasn't been a will to accept losses today
If I were wrong, cutting mortgage interest rates would have solved the whole problem by itself.
Twelve Soldiers Killed in Fort Hood Shooting - ABC News
Sad irony from the CNN report:
"Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues."
So let's cram down everybody according to the Case Shiller index in their area--every
body treated the same--and print money to reimburse the mtg holders
That will not do. See, at the end of this, the banks will get their money from the government, but want to own all the houses, too.
or do they actually have to come up with brown banana peels to exchange for crisp dollar bills?
I have it on good authority that they actually take it in coins, so the banksters can fill the giant underground vaults, oil up and do a Scrooge McDuck in it.
I've been reading more about a potential funding crisis hitting Japan before the US. A major failure in Japan would probably ripple across the world. Like the US, the Japanese debt burden is unpayable. I don't believe any government can pay down that much debt. The question is not if, but when. Sudden is how these things tend to happen.
I wonder how much in CDS' has been written against a default by BoJ or the Govt. of Nippon? Either one will be a disaster, and probably take down the financial system worldwide. We sure as heck can't bail them out! Who would we sell our treasuries to in order to do so?
OK, having read the documentation I can state in a deep voice with occasional throat clearing that the Deed for Lease program will have few if any effects on the marketplace.
Some people will get their hopes up, and then find out that they don't meet conditions.
I hope whoever created this garbage can't sleep tonight.
didn't you read yves last week? governments can't collapse from fiscal irresponsibility.
I think it was: government can't default from fiscal irresponsiblity if they are repaying their debt in their own currency. I guess they could still collapse tho.
Grunt means infantry. Officers can be grunts. Junior enlisted might not be grunts, but rather POGs (personnel other than grunt). In my pre-Navy life, I was a grunt (reservist, but still a graduate of Marine Infantry School).
That will not do. See, at the end of this, the banks will get their money from the government, but want to own all the houses, too.
Own what?
One of the biggest problems I see is that we are getting an icelandic shaft job right now.
Debt are unsustainable, and the current exchange rate with the rest of the world is unsustainable too.
Something has gotta give, but what? Do we resume the deflation spiral, or do we start seeing inflation with oil at $80- along with vicious economic stagnation? Or both?
Got bonds backed by taxes or cashflow- your good. Bonds backed by houses- only if gov't guaranteed good. Bonds backed by shopping malls? Your screwed. Muni Bonds- only if TBTF- and no guarantee on timely payment or a decent resale market.
Stocks of companies that make stuff the rest of the world wants- most likely good. Anything to do with precious metals- well you are
Owe money with nothing left to pay- just rent your house from GSE rental enterprises. Can't compete with GSE enterprises- then strategic default and either renegotiate debt or walkaway.
As for anybody saving in dollars, well, is a nice thought.
Zerohedge has an interesting post on government pension bailouts.
I guess the entire facade of our country is starting to unravel, along with confidence in management.
Good time for an update on the Berkeley CA home that my son "rents" in...
Loan (refi) taken in 2004
Last property tax payment Dec, 2007.
Last mortgage payment - Sept., 2008.
My son hasn't paid rent since Oct., 2008 (he does pay the utilities bills).
Homeowner/mortagee moved out in January, 2009.
Notice Default filed June, 2009
Notice of Trustee Sale filed September, 2009
Auction scheduled for October, 2009 but was cancelled.
No known actions by servicer imminent.
Probably not a GSE loan (value ~$600k). Servicer/owner(?) Wells-Fargo, plus there are likely 2nd's.
dropping interest rates hasn't been enough to get the economy growing. at first their payments would have been cheaper, but all the vacant investment homes would still have to be liquidated. So why pay for the home you own, when you can get a newer/nicer/cheaper one? So RE prices fall. The economy would still have plummeted because there wouldn't be the $800bn annualized MEW
There is no easy way out, this isn't avoidable. It was only ever delayed, for increasingly shorter periods of time at greater costs.
What is needed is the orderly recognition of all these losses. Palliative care followed by economic therapy
No, it's harvest time and the heat is on. He's got two days in which to get it all in before the rains start.
His old combine broke down about two hours ago. We determined that the problem is contaminated fuel, which clogged the Bendix Zenith single-barrel carburetor. The carb needs to be rebuilt.
The problem is that Bendix identified their carbs with a round tag riveted to the carb body. The tag has fallen off, so we don't know which model carb it is. The model number is needed in order to acquire a rebuild kit.
The carb is being disassembled and cleaned now. We'll try to ID it tonight. If we can't, we'll have someone at the implement dealer tomorrow morning at 7:30 to identify. If they don't have the rebuild kit, well fly over to the regional parts center in Indianapolis to pick one up.
Either way, he'll be back in business by 5:00 PM tomorrow evening. He may have to harvest through the night, but he's done that before.
In any case, he appreciates our efforts, and some day I may need him.
Um, odd thought- is the engine a straight six on the combine?
If so, you may be able to go to Napa and get the parts for a L6 216 chevy 47-55 and use them- that was a basic bendix carb for fifty plus years.
Indianapolis... can you tell me if Kokomo is a cool place? It's close enough that you can make day trips to Peru and Warsaw
Kokomo is just another mid-size Indiana wannabe city. As for Peru, you're probably aware that it's Cole Porter's home town. Was there only recently, as I'm a fan.
There is no easy way out, this isn't avoidable. It was only ever delayed, for increasingly shorter periods of time at greater costs.
What is needed is the orderly recognition of all these losses. Palliative care followed by economic therapy
wally, they got them from everywhere, up to 2008 or so, when
it really hit the fan. Prior to say, 2004, Fannie Freddie loans were
supposed to be the gold standard. Ha. Ha. Ha.
this is one problem with cramdown: somebody has to eat the writedown. here, it's some Massachusetts life insurance company. the standard government line is that it doesn't want the pension funds (unless it's GM/Chrysler bondholders), endowments, or insurance companies to take those losses because of the downstream losses to the beneficiaries. fine, i have no problem with this objective. just punish the guilty actors and eliminate the perverse incentives that created the mess...
Sunstone Takes Strategic Default to New Level - Developments - WSJ Sunstone disclosed in its third-quarter earnings report Wednesday that it skipped its Nov. 1 payment on a $246 million mortgage on 11 hotels. It did so in a bid to persuade lender Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. to either reduce the loan’s principal balance or extend its due date. Sunstone, based in San Clemente, Calif., owns 40 U.S. hotels.
Cinco-X
The world isn't going to end. The hardest part will be getting the younger generation to pay out of pocket to give an income to the older people who ended up effectively saving zilch for retirement. But that will happen, formally or informally, because we're not wild animals.
There will be other changes too, mostly shifts such that there are new hot industries/cities. In terms of politics, even during the biggest events in history most people were unaffected directly. Chances are if you lived in France during the French revolution, you went to bed at 8pm as usual the whole way through. Despite our worst efforts, Earth is still a pretty cool place to live.
If I were wrong, cutting mortgage interest rates would have solved the whole problem by itself.
In theory, if the avg rate gets below the true rate of economic growth, it could fix itself or at least run-in-place.
You can see that in Japan's stasis for so long.
Average rates are still above what's sustainable over the long-run.
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company under federal control, said it will seek $15 billion in U.S. Treasury aid and sell $2.6 billion in unused tax credits after posting its ninth straight quarterly loss.
/snip
The Treasury, which has yet to approve the sale, is considering whether to let Goldman Sachs Group Inc. buy some of the credits. Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, could use the deal to lower its tax bill.
I'm sure it's been pilloried to death already, but it deserves another whipping:
Sell Goldman Sachs tax credits? Why not, they already rule America. Why should they have t pay taxes at all? We should pay taxes to THEM. E Pluribus Blankfein.
" The good of the individual is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of «all of us», made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community... To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity...
"Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis. When animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater worth than a merely secular and political stand would have. Like all commitment to justice, it has a place within the testimony of divine charity that paves the way for eternity through temporal action.
"Man's earthly activity, when inspired and sustained by charity, contributes to the building of the universal city of God, which is the goal of the history of the human family. In an increasingly globalized society, the common good and the effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family, that is to say, the community of peoples and nations, in such a way as to shape the earthly city in unity and peace, rendering it to some degree an anticipation and a prefiguration of the undivided city of God."
broward
they can't handle negative nominal interest rates, so we're just traveling in the slow lane. even if they did negative nominal interest rates, the real price of houses would still fall by rising less than commodities/wages/etc and you wouldn't be able to fund a 20 year retirement for 2 people from a reverse mortgage
I was just teasin' you; besides, I agree with both you and Denninger about the debt issue. It's eventually going to have to be cleared before we can move on. Unfortunately, there's no evidence of that yet-
The write-downs eventually have to be reflected back into rich people, regardless of what they want or how they manipulate it.
"Rich" meaning "higher income than poverty-level", that is.
Geeze...........Lets not forget the naked Kentucky Census worker found hanging in a tree........hands duct-taped together, hands tied with ropes secured through two trees, the word "FED" scrawled on his chest...........authorities are seriously considering that he may have committed suicide. (MSNBC article)
There is more than one person involved, so IMO this is unlikely to be the violent outburst of a disturbed individual. This looks like an organized attack.
Na, the nobility owns the Democratic Party. The "justice" process would have to involve new politicians who are too embarrassed to take money from a few key financial institutions. Then, these guys would make a name for themselves by rounding up a few suspects from these "key financial institutions" and throw them in jail. But, it's very difficult to embarrass a politician, and in today's world I think the nobility has completely captured the government. I just can't imagine "justice" being served on anybody that matters.
sell $2.6 billion in unused tax credits after posting its ninth straight quarterly loss
Being a loyal follower of CR I had some fine capital gains last year. 2009...not so much. In fact, I've got some unusable 2009 tax loses that I'd like to sell.
The longer they keep trying to keep house prices afloat, the more everyone stands to lose. War, war! What is it good for? Weapons are faster and stronger than bulldozers?
Given the risk to the loans that are still current and that they probably don't want those houses dumped on the market, market rent will be whatever the current occupants are willing to pay. Hopefully >0$.
Go USA, soon to be the worlds largest landlord. Adding that feather to the insurer, auto manufacturer, and lender cap.
I think it was: government can't default from fiscal irresponsiblity if they are repaying their debt in their own currency. I guess they could still collapse tho.
that mouth-breather was pretty much advocating printing money to spend it however we please. 's for all!
mp - good work with your carb diagnostics. Hope your neighbor gets his crops in promptly.
Corn, or beans? It has been such a wet fall lots of crops are still standing in the fields.
And you are right; having friends close by is the best insurance.
pavel.chichikov (homepage, profile) wrote on Thu, 11/5/2009 - 6:34 pm
There is more than one person involved, so IMO this is unlikely to be the violent outburst of a disturbed individual. This looks like an organized attack.
I never claimed otherwise, pavel, nor that it was a violent or emotional outburst. Sorry if you misunderstood my intent. This is not the last such action by an educated and intelligent person acting alone or in a coordinated effort with others. I still hold naive hopes for a bloodless revolution. Oh, and I expect little to no truth from the media about the circumstances nor motives of this present and tragic event.
They just don't have the force levels they need for the requirements they're faced with.
I don't think that's the only problem.
People who believe in a just cause can endure quite a bit.
It's a lot harder fighting (or working) for a false idol.
lawyerliz
out of curiosity, could you guesstimate what a client of yours typically pays for your services divided by the time since their last payment? or like $ paid to you vs $ not paid to mortgage servicers?
hat mouth-breather was pretty much advocating printing money to spend it however we please.
Well, yeah. Not saying I agree with it, but - in theory - if Hu keep taking our debt and the folks who own all these long-bonds don't really mind we can print all the money we want (nobody has complained yet); and the jury is STILL out on Cheney's statement that Reagan proved deficits don't matter. Perhaps they don't. Only Hu knows, for sure.
I'm talking about in aggregate, not an individual bases for retirement. Assume the house price represents an investment. If that investment is used to produce a real 3% real growth rate, but the house loan is 2%, there's a net gain of 1% in real value per year. Japan is the only example I know of where it's really been tried, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it fails on some other account.
I'm pretty sure nobody here is questioning who owns the country. Some of us may still think there's a way to get it back, but I am no longer in that category either.
I'm talking about in aggregate, not an individual's retirement. Assume the house price represents an investment. If that investment is used to produce a real 3% real growth rate, but the house loan is 2%, there's a net gain of 1% in real value per year. Japan is the only example I know of where it's really been tried, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it fails on some other account.
Don't underestimate D4L. It solves the biggest problem with foreclosure -- the neighbors never have to know. Now, if they could somehow keep the deed from being searchable on the local county recorder site...
While I was in college, I joined the Marine Reserve and served 3 years in the infantry (0351, Assualtman). I found, on average, there was a greater diversity of opinion in my platoon than in most college dorms. That's not saying much, though.
That Fannie CFO did not do a brave thing killing himself.
He would have been brave if he went public with everything going on at that agency, the regulator and the government. Then everything would be in the open, and the sun would be shining on the inscestuous relationship between government, realtors, homebuilders.
Look, I don't want to start a war here. Nuke, yes, the military requires a lot of skills that most civilians don't have. And, Broward, yes, soldiers are thinking beings.
My problem is that, after all these years, my attitude is showing.
I probably shouldn't have bothered sharing it, not really a great research note. The data showed has a heavy bias for future obligations like healthcare and pensions. If I had to say something for it all, it would be that there must be a wide reassessment of living standards internationally, especially as it relates to retirement
The savers are giving folks down payments for cars and houses, letting folks live free, subsidizing interest rates, paying extended/extended/extended unemployment, paying off CDS at par to overcompensated banksters. And savers receive effectively no interest on cash.
Change of subject, but relevant to this morning's post...
Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corp. jumped 12 percent in their first day on the New York Stock Exchange as markets appeared to dismiss concerns about infighting among its founder's heirs and tepid hotel reservations around the world.
Lovely. Two links that dont exist. Just lovely. So, gee, what's next? Call your doctor and just hope and pray that he or she has some? What a forkin crock. What about the people who dont HAVE a doctor???? Glod help this idiotic country...
My problem is that, after all these years, my attitude is showing.
You're not the only one with a 45 in a desk drawer.
I played pool with two guys from Ft Lewis last month, eight-year veteran with two Iraq tours.
A black guy from a poor family, he'd thought he was going to be a lifer but he's gone sour on it over the past two years.
Likewise, I played a navy pilot who did a couple of tours.
He's been out of work six months, his sister lost her job, etc, etc, and he was NOT thinking nice thoughts.
I believe people should be required to work until age 80. From 65 to 80, all Americans should do a 40 hour shift at a fast food restaurant. Keep everyone productive.
Well savers are obviously notorius for being responsible so who cares if the government pisses us off. The government is obviously more worried about the people who are irresponsible and will go off on shooting sprees when they get angry. Hence savers bailout the corrupt and irresponsible.
And savers receive effectively no interest on cash.
You can either pay salaries.
Or you can pay taxes.
Feds are doing what has to happen to keep the macro equation balanced, ergo to keep demand up (as much as possible).
A few guys don't get to own everything in the world.
This is the end game of a capitalist system and it would have happened far sooner without increasing gov't counterbalance.
HollywoodHack
I'm not boomer bashing, at least this time. I am probably suggesting working flex-hours for what used to be a decade or two of retirement (people are living longer, it is extremely difficult to save enough money while investing it safely and retire at 65), maybe buying a modest car every 10 years instead of a hotshot car leased every 5 years, or fewer vacations and exotic travels. not so much a decline in quality of life as a shift away from spending as a contributor to quality of life.
Think about it, we now have problems that have to be resolved. Stuff that will still need to be done no matter who was responsible. Blaming and self-vicitimization is a selfish emotional response. That won't get you very far, regardless of where you want to end up
I've had the song "The Boy From NYC" stuck in my head, and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, a bad bought of tinnitus hit me in my right ear.
My proposal is that anyone who owns a house that is currently underwater must wear a shirt that says "The dream of owning a house is really a nightmare. Rent America."
So many believe the Government will inflate debts and future liabilities away. That makes no sense as the liabilities increase with inflation.
Personally, I don't fear hyper-inflation at all. Why are so many so sure that the Government will screw the creditors via inflation? That's not how we do things at all. We screw the majority for the benefit OF the creditors.
Rather than inflate, they'll just fail to deliver on the promised benefits. There's a reason social security and medicare are off-budget - they're secondary, unsecured claims. Monied interests will never press the Government to address future unfunded liabilities while the programs are throwing off excess funds. The fireworks will start when the excess funds switch to deficit. Only then will benefit cuts be put on the table.
I'm not boomer bashing, at least this time. I am probably suggesting working flex-hours for what used to be a decade or two of retirement (people are living longer, it is extremely difficult to save enough money while investing it safely and retire at 65), maybe buying a modest car every 10 years instead of a hotshot car leased every 5 years, or fewer vacations and exotic travels. not so much a decline in spending as a shift away from spending as a contributor to quality of life.
In other words, work for food and health care That's probably how it'll end up being, like it or not-
that's small potatoes compared to the billions will be making from the cap'n'trade racket.
and you can bet that will be up and running before the ink is dry friday - maybe lloyd and jamie will get a special 'shout-out' at the w-style signing statement if we're lucky
suggesting working flex-hours for what used to be a decade or two of retirement
Nice idea, but there's not enough productive work to go around for those not yet in retirement.
I use "productive" in the traditional sense. Perhaps the resolution to all of this is finding new ways of being "productive" to society if not the economy.
but blame is an entirely rational response when someone does something deeply damaging and intentional. 2/3 of the congressmen (in the house at least) signing off on that garbage this week are squarely in that clinton-geithner era ('47-'61). ...not an accident, and blame is entirely appropriate.
Is it possible the Army psychiatrist was tragically mis-identified as the shooter?
Is it even possible that he was there in his capacity as a mental health practitioner, and first responders made a terrible mistake?
Not that I expect our miserable media to ask such a question, but I have to wonder.
Can you give me a hint? I just need to know if I stay in the US or flee to Germany. Keep the inheritance in Euros?
ps just got up close and personal with the healthcare doughtnut hole. All I could think of was how much it resembled 21st c life where you need to freaking rich or absolutely poor to keep your family from being bled to death. And Oregon for old age is looking better and better. It's not been a good month and a half.
Homebuilding mades real good jobs according to the legislative branch. So building them and knocking them down is exactly what the gov't hopes to do someday.
HollywoodHack
I'm not advocating against accountability and responsibility. At the very least what I'm saying is that inter-generational warfare will not be conducive to anyone's happiness. It's a free world, but I wouldn't be bringing up a rape crisis hotline as the lead in to some punchline.
2/3 of the congressmen (in the house at least) signing off on that garbage this week are squarely in that clinton-geithner era ('47-'61). ...not an accident, and blame is entirely appropriate.
Bah, but 1/3 rd aren't. Why would boomers be more semi-psychology, duplicitous, and self-delusional than any other "generation". Boomers just had more bodies, so their effect was bigger. They're no different than any generation that led any society into any other bubble throughout history.
That's a good idea but I haven't seen him again.
My point is that... every time I talk to these guys, I think about Germany & brown shirts & Hitler.
That's a lot of energy and churn going on there.
The navy pilot guy had a fricking bachelor's in chemistry, he's a fricking pilot but he's out of work.
And he was housing his out-of-work sister and son but his unemployment is running out.
There's a lot of pent-up skill and energy there that wants answers.
Somebody's going to tap it.
Regarding the name of Fort Hood....part of it lies in Bell county...Hood's middle name was Bell...Hood was originally in charge of the Texas brigade if memory serves...so it fits. Army studies the tactics and strategy of both sides...and honors the memory of both too.
If we can't pay for retirement programs, and there isn't enough work, what is the solution? Something has to give.
Why can't we pay for (reasonable) retirement programs?
Average incomes are up. Not Median incomes, and not even Average for the bottom 9 deciles.
Net worth is even more exaggerated in distribution.
We reward the super-performers incredibly well. Usually the "performance" is base on monetary return (eg lucky hedge fund managers or phenomenal quarterbacks that sell seats(or beer)).
It may be considered a socialist idea, but let's consider rewarding those who provide societal good as well.
"At the very least what I'm saying is that inter-generational warfare will not be conducive to anyone's happiness. "
EHP, is having a policy at the state DMV (substitute your own provinicial agency) that keeps those over 90 from driving 'inter-generational' warfare? Of course not.
That's all I'm saying - the generation born between '47 and '61 simply can't drive to the grocery store without running over at least one pedestrian. They show it each and every time. It is time to minimize their participation in the political process, unwilling as they may be to hand over the keys.
Nuke, agreed.
I wasn't necessarily focusing on the educational attainment - I just noticed that the guy was a medical doctor, of all things. In theory, people choose that line of work out of a desire to "do good" in the world. Naive, I know, but it makes the story somehow even more disturbing.
Broward- "My point is that... every time I talk to these guys, I think about Germany & brown shirts & Hitler. That's a lot of energy and churn going on there."
Well, yeah. I've seen that.
I don't want to sound cruel, but it's not a good idea to piss off trained killers.
It's all very complicated, too complicated to discuss in a forum such as this one.
Of course, most things are too complicated for a forum such as this.
Hollywood Hack wrote:
"that's small potatoes compared to the billions will be making from the cap'n'trade racket."
Yup. From what I have read about it, the plan is rich with opportunities for graft from the moment the credits get handed out, right through the life of the program, which doesn't even seem to have a real limit. Even if it did, future Congresses could continue to tinker with it to add more gravy drainage ports or extend as necessary to keep the cash flowing to their campaign accounts and the pockets of favored contributors.
The won't be the only beneficiary, lots of goodies to go around.
the generation born between '47 and '61 simply can't drive to the grocery store without running over at least one pedestrian. They show it each and every time. It is time to minimize their participation in the political process, unwilling as they may be to hand over the keys.
It may be considered a socialist idea, but let's consider rewarding those who provide societal good as well.
Can't happen in REAL Merica. To much mythology built around the simplicity of monetary rewards as being merit-based. You'd actually have to admit there were people between the winners and THOSE LOSERS, like the average people. Merica can't cope with average. Average jobs, average returns, average kids, ... Na, average isn't Merican.
This looks like an organized attack.
Probably. Possibly by a collection of disturbed individuals, who better organized than by a deranged psychiatrist?
The Army major attended college in Ohio, went to Army medical school, and had a residency in Psychiatry at military hospital. Two suspects arrested initially have been released. One new army guy being questioned. Doesn't look like a conspiracy.
When a person does a mass killing with no prospect of getting away with it, it is referred to as 'death by cop'. This looks like this. Major was scheduled to go to Iraq at the end of Nov. He has been working with Iraq/Afghan PTSDs for several years, and expressed unhappiness about going to Iraq.
Sorry I must have missed the story. I've been a little tired up with a dying parent and being an only child makes it ten times worse.
I did try to move to NZ twice. Once in 2001 and again in late 2004. Let's just say that any place that's worth living has immigration policies 100x tighter then the US. No wonder we get all the scrap.
and who the F was left to baby sit the markets today? Did someone dose the 4 month old with Prednisone or what? Nothing is making any sense but then I've stuck in the pit of despair (OC) so my perception of the world is going to be a tad off.
What a man knows at fifty that he did not know at twenty is, for the most part, incommunicable. The laws, the aphorisms, the generalizations, the universal truths, the parables and the old saws — all of the observations about life which can be communicated handily in ready, verbal packages — are as well known to a man at twenty who has been attentive as to a man at fifty. He has been told them all, he has read them all, and he has probably repeated them all before he graduates from college; but he has not lived them all.
What he knows at fifty that he did not know at twenty boils down to something like this: The knowledge he has acquired with age is not the knowledge of formulas, or forms of words, but of people, places, actions — a knowledge not gained by words but by touch, sight, sound, victories, failures, sleeplessness, devotion, love — the human experiences and emotions of this earth and of oneself and other men; and perhaps, too, a little faith, and a little reverence for things you cannot see.-- Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.
My coworker's wife does the same job as the Major did. She's a Navy Commander. From some of the stories he told me there is a lot stress - especialy among enlisted. Way more than "back in the day."
Sure, why not. Where do I sign?
poor people please pay your mortgage. then you dont have to be poor no more!
cute
Why do they even have common stock left?
maybe they should have played the market instead
Thank you sir, may I have another!
Now, which creditor to crush next?
Hmmmm.....
Someday this war's gonna end...
When will the treasury holders see the bullseye on their foreheads?
i forget, is the GSE draw in the form of the sale of preferred securities or a loan?
dr munch wrote:
When you owe the Fed $100mn they own you. When you owe the Fed $100Bn, you own them.....
What's tha line???
Something about Privatize...Socalize?
How about using the 15bil to cure 15 bil of defaults?
Nooooo, that would help Joe Schmoe. . . Can't have that.
dr munch wrote:
Because they can issue more?
"the costs of our activities under various programs designed to keep borrowers in homes, high unemployment and other negative trends, we are not permitted under GAAP to reflect these future trends in our loss reserve calculations."
This is why the former Freddie CFO did himself in, he thought it wrong to not have to at least disclose the impact of all these programs, but the FHFA regulator wouldn't let him.
Non performing loans up over 15% qoq. That's not so good, is it?
Someday this war's gonna end...
At this rate, not until the earth crashes into the Sun.
Is the Federal compensation guru setting pay for Fannie execs?
"When will the treasury holders see the bullseye on their foreheads? "
LOL! I think they already do. Why do you think the Indians had to fight of the Chinese to get that IMF gold?
"Is the Federal compensation guru setting pay for Fannie execs? "
Nope, their bailout was not under TARP, so they can pay whatever they want.
When does the panic into anything start?
Seriously, ac, nobody seems to be worried beyond losing their jobs.
There seems to be no physical shortage of metals, yet.
As for the treasury holders, panic starts at 5% on the short end, and 6% on the long end.
Gonna be a while.
So, as usual, this crash is just taking too darn long to get going again.
STO's think all is well, so we are just
and 
bashers like Janet T.
Someday this war's gonna end...
Well, since they thought the loss increase would be 16%, they performed
significantly better than expected.
let me cheer everyone up with some help from Chris Whalen Institutional Risk Analytics
average of surviving banks are is much better with the swells in the markets
from what i understand, the reason that the GSEs are still paying the dividends, even though not required since it's not debt, is that lots of community banks are relying on their dividends. nice vicious cycle we've got...
Somehow, I think the Fed made a teeny tiny itty bitty mistake allowing Wall St. to double the price of homes after the dot.CON bust.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
Survivor bias?
The number of Fs doubled and A+es up more than 50%???
And the numbers aren't the same. ???
"We had a net worth deficit of $15.0 billion as of September 30, 2009."
Only $15 billion? Maybe they should furlogh employees and release prisoners early. Then again, I guess they have different choices than the State of CA.
OK, try raising fees.
Angry Saver wrote:
Somehow, I think the Fed made a teeny tiny itty bitty mistake [colluding with] Wall St. to double the price of homes after the dot.CON bust.
Fixed that fer ya'-
lawyerliz wrote:
Not as many still around?
We better hurry up and raise the debt ceiling. As of today, national debt is 11.98 trillion.
Debt to the Penny (Daily History Search Application)
Arrrgh, nuke, I spend a lot of effort not knowing what the total debt is.
Just a reminder...
THIS is the reason for all of the programs designed to slow the loss in RRE valuations. The impact of programs such as FTHB credit isn't just over the homes that actually use it; but leveraged at 20+:1 over all of the Fannie Mae/FeddieMac/FHA financed homes in the neighborhood.
And believe it or not, to some extent it's working. Imagine what Fannie Mae's situation would have been if C-S home price index had continued down the last few quarters rather than bouncing a bit.
a request for $15.0 billion from Treasury
How does that work, exactly? Is that like asking your mom for allowance? or do they actually have to come up with brown banana peels to exchange for crisp dollar bills?
the sample sizes aren't the same. I think it's only for banks whose filings they have looked over for the most recent quarter
there is more improvement than just survivor bias, the juicy fat margins between lending and funding right now are helping
however, it will be years before they have enough money before they can afford to recognize existing losses
From the previous thread...
Don't anyone forget that up until the last year or so, the military was making exceptions left and right to meet recruiting goals. Gang members, convicted violent felons, etc. Nobody was turned away.
I'm wondering when the bail out budget exceeds defense spending..
~splat
15B
1B less than the money BB printed this week to buy Fannie/Freddie MBS
Gross purchases from October 29 through November 4: $16,000 million
Net purchases from October 29 through November 4:: $16,000 million
Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Purchase Program - Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Can someone summarize the downside of the Deed-Lease program posted on earlier? I tried to get through the thread, but ran into a wall of snark and unhinged ghostface talking about Russia. Forgive me.
15bln bailout for an $18.9 loss? does that mean they blew through their last $4bln in cash? will it be monthly bail-outs from here?
/snark
"Arrrgh" ?
Is it "talk like a pirate day again"?
Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?
What's $15 billion among friends?
Jeopardy : I'll take "holes in a levee" for 15B, please.
Liz:
Why? Deficits don't matter, at least according to Cheney and Krugman.
splat:
This year's DoD budget, including operations in Iraq and Afganistan, is 680 billion. I think we crossed that Rubicon last year.
I don't see a big downside.
People get to live there for a year; lender gets $$$.
Will people sign up for this before the last minute? Usually takes at least a year
to kick someone out after foreclosure is filled. My latest foreclosure client hadn't
paid for a year before they filed foreclosure.
Who determines "market rent"?
"delay foreclosure sales until other alternatives have been exhausted" WTF
Keep throwing taxpayer dough at the problem until giving away homes is last resort.
Speed wrote:
Little ones and zeroes are created out of thin air. Hold on that's the Fed. The Treasury borrows and hands the money to Fannie Mae. It's not like this will be paid for out of actual taxes. The Treasury has one of the lowest borrowing costs in history, and taken together the Federal Govt and the Fed are now the largest leveraged investor/hedge fund ever.
digalert wrote:
Only until after the next election.
Like that's going to cost less than the eventual foreclosure too...
The shit that comes out of their mouths is ridiculous.
The BFF Poll for this week has been posted.
The details of this program do not exist,
None of your questions can be answered.
It might as well be the Rorschach program.
Pay what you wanna.
$15 billion?
No problem, bartender, justh put it on my tab. I loooove you, man.
We are in an interesting point in our history. Government spending has become completely divorced from revenue. At some point, I think, this will have to end. A lot of doomers have been predicting a funding crisis for years, yet here we are with a 1.4 trillion deficit and 10 yrs yielding less than 3.5 percent. If the collapse does eventually come, it will be sudden and completely unexpected.
picosec wrote:
Still in negative equity?
Chicago Dude wrote:
Someone mentioned that one of the shooters was or had a name that sounded Muslim. Any confirmation of that? Just curious. No details like that in the MSM-
if C-S home price index had continued down the last few quarters
I think we're going to find out next spring
picosec, i get that that was the purpose. and i get that so far it's mitigated the collapse in housing prices.
the problem is that no one has the political will to punish the culprits, either via the criminal code, the tax code, or strengthening regulation. funny how no one talks about a "windfall tax" anymore...
Basel Too wrote:
The Mortgage twins are not paying dividends on preferred (the stuff that community banks have), only the senior preferred (which the Treasury holds, owns is too strong a word). The recent bank failure is partially attributed to the bank owning a lot of GSE preferred (now nearly worthless) which ruined its capital ratios. Other community banks that loaded up on this paper will presumably face the same prospect.
IF in 2007, when I saw the writing on the wall, every bleeping mtg in the US
had been smashed down 10%, and all interest rates reduced by 1-1 1/2% and
payments adjusted accordingly, a whole lot of mess would have been averted.
In fact, the downturn might have been just about over with.
Believe me, even the unwashed are beginning to understand
just what it means to be underwater and how long it would take
to see the surface from below.
So, it's too late, for anything but huge cramdowns. So let's cram
down everybody according to the Case Shiller index in their area--every
body treated the same--and print money to reimburse the mtg holders,
since we are just printing money anyway. That would stop everything in
its tracks.
A downside in the lease thing--I might have fewer foreclosure clients!!
Nuke wrote:
didn't you read yves last week? governments can't collapse from fiscal irresponsibility.
The slain gunman was Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, according to a law enforcement source.
---CNN
Meanwhile, back at the presses:
U.S. to Sell $81 Billion in Long-Term Debt Next Week (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
It looks like they are selling 30-year bonds instead of TIPS. No more TIPS until February.
Wonder if they are expecting some inflation?
What if shooter's name was Hussein or something?
Cinco-X wrote:
CNN is naming the man. Fox is not. Apparently was muslim. Unclear whether that fact is relevant to what happened.
some investor guy wrote:
Besides, I think that electrons are required to do that anyway...
I take it back, the D4L program stuff is now posted:
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/servicing/d4l/
Summary of Approval Conditions
The property and the occupant must meet certain general qualifications2 such as:
Property Eligibility:
1 The Deed for Lease program is currently unavailable for the following loan types: HECM (reverse), USDA Rural, FHA, VA, and second (2nd) lien loans.
2 This list does not include all conditions, which may vary by location.
There are no zoning or homeowner’s association (HOA) rental limitations that would prohibit a lease.
Repairs required to make the property habitable are deemed to be in an acceptable amount based on the property value.
The property is in compliance with local rules and laws or can be brought into compliance within 30 days.
The property is not within a target area for any corporate, government or community neighborhood stabilization plan which may need the property as part of the plan for purposes other than residential.
The market rental income is anticipated to cover ongoing maintenance and management costs.
Occupant Eligibility:
Income is sufficient to cover rental payments of not more than 31 percent of gross income. If the current market rent is greater than 31 percent of the occupant’s monthly gross income, a lease will not be offered.
Inspection of the property indicates that the occupants have been keeping the property in good condition.
The number of occupants is appropriate for the home and in compliance with local laws and homeowner association rules.
If pets are present, renter’s insurance is obtained, if required.
The occupants signing the lease must agree to a credit review and all occupants over the age of 18 must have an acceptable background check, including receiving clearance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).
There are no signs or reports of illegal activities conducted at the property.
The property is to be used as a primary residence.
...
That's a policy, not a loss.
cinco:
Suspected Gunman Is Identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan
Fort Hood Shooting by Army Doctor Nidal Malik Hasan Leaves 12 Dead - ABC News
Nuke wrote:
I've been reading more about a potential funding crisis hitting Japan before the US. A major failure in Japan would probably ripple across the world. Like the US, the Japanese debt burden is unpayable. I don't believe any government can pay down that much debt. The question is not if, but when. Sudden is how these things tend to happen.
........if anyone thinks this "money-laundering" will ever stop.........I have a hen that was born with a deformity.......quite seriously, she lays golden 24-caret AAA large eggs - about 10 eggs every two weeks.........I have a serious ailment and can't keep her anymore, so I need to find a new home for her. For a nominal equitable donation, I might be willing to make YOUR home hers.......please remit your "chicken-at-home-qualifier-fee" to..........BSR, General Delivery, Pahrump, NV.......you'll be notified.........trust me........
Nuke wrote:
Thanks Nuke, and all above. Better get my money back for that speed reading course
Nuke wrote:
That's what should be happening.
If the money were flowing into spending hands, we'd see inflation.
But it's not.
It's flowing into "investing" hands.
this is what France looked like just prior to the final straw of John Law's blowout.
Even as the French gov't was issuing insane amounts of debt, interest rates were at all-time lows.
REBear wrote:
I was just curious; turns out it was Hasan, not Hussein......
Well, the neighbor's problem is now under control.
He appreciates our efforts.
It's time for coffee.
lawyerliz
10% wouldn't have been enough. It's about what it takes to clear the market once speculative hoarding stops paying for itself.
You fundamentally can't have a bubble, and then find an easy way out that saves part of that virtual wealth. We are 2 years into the recognition of the problem and no further on precisely because there hasn't been a will to accept losses today
If I were wrong, cutting mortgage interest rates would have solved the whole problem by itself.
I think I have a 20 million reichsmark stamp, unused of course, around here somewhere...
Lol.
He was a Major? Not a grunt?
Nuke wrote:
Sad irony from the CNN report:
"Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues."
Unbelievable.
That will not do. See, at the end of this, the banks will get their money from the government, but want to own all the houses, too.
time to re-read korematsu v. us...
Speed wrote:
I have it on good authority that they actually take it in coins, so the banksters can fill the giant underground vaults, oil up and do a Scrooge McDuck in it.
Liz:
Yes, an 0-4. That's a field grade officer. This fact is significant. He was 39, so we're no talking about some mixed up 19 year old kid.
Mr Slippery wrote:
I wonder how much in CDS' has been written against a default by BoJ or the Govt. of Nippon? Either one will be a disaster, and probably take down the financial system worldwide. We sure as heck can't bail them out! Who would we sell our treasuries to in order to do so?
I doubt shooting was stress related.
Basel Too
turn that frown upside down. Instead of Korematsu, think of Tiramisu which is pretty delicious
I have clients that actually would have helped. Still.
But I'm no economist.
Now the cramdowns will be huge. And there will be cramdowns.
They are called short sales. They are called REOs. But the value
is crammed down.
I exclude Cali from any discussion, and everyone in Cali is more
or less nutz, real estate wise.
The fact that he's an officer doesn't mean he's not a grunt.
mp wrote:
Was it your neighbor with chipmunks THIS time?!
Cinco-X wrote:
Hu's the counterparty?
OK, having read the documentation I can state in a deep voice with occasional throat clearing that the Deed for Lease program will have few if any effects on the marketplace.
Some people will get their hopes up, and then find out that they don't meet conditions.
I hope whoever created this garbage can't sleep tonight.
RockyR wrote:
I think it was: government can't default from fiscal irresponsiblity if they are repaying their debt in their own currency. I guess they could still collapse tho.
Good lord, there probably is.
Liz:
Grunt means infantry. Officers can be grunts. Junior enlisted might not be grunts, but rather POGs (personnel other than grunt). In my pre-Navy life, I was a grunt (reservist, but still a graduate of Marine Infantry School).
mp wrote:
Ft. Hood is an Armor base, so he was probably (but not necessarily) a tanker. Could'a been armored infantry-
NervousRex wrote:
Smart amoral scumbags always sleep well, and if they can't it's not because of anything they've done.
lawyerliz wrote:
too bad kcoop doesn't allow us to attach musical notes to these. I was don' a funeral march in my head
sm_landlord wrote:
Doesn't matter, as long as Watt's on second.
A source tells CBS News investigative producer Len Tepper that Hasan is a licensed psychiatrist in Bethesda, Md.
I can't wait to go into work on Saturday. Security will probably be extreme. They fact we have nuclear reactors on site makes this doubly so.
Mr Slippery wrote:
Own what?
One of the biggest problems I see is that we are getting an icelandic shaft job right now.
Debt are unsustainable, and the current exchange rate with the rest of the world is unsustainable too.
Something has gotta give, but what? Do we resume the deflation spiral, or do we start seeing inflation with oil at $80- along with vicious economic stagnation? Or both?
Got bonds backed by taxes or cashflow- your good. Bonds backed by houses- only if gov't guaranteed good. Bonds backed by shopping malls? Your screwed. Muni Bonds- only if TBTF- and no guarantee on timely payment or a decent resale market.
Stocks of companies that make stuff the rest of the world wants- most likely good. Anything to do with precious metals- well you are
Owe money with nothing left to pay- just rent your house from GSE rental enterprises. Can't compete with GSE enterprises- then strategic default and either renegotiate debt or walkaway.
As for anybody saving in dollars, well,
is a nice thought.
Zerohedge has an interesting post on government pension bailouts.
I guess the entire facade of our country is starting to unravel, along with confidence in management.
Someday this war's gonna end...
Ok, I stand corrected. I thought a grunt was a non officer.
A shrink? A shrink at a base to help with stress? Oops.
Good time for an update on the Berkeley CA home that my son "rents" in...
Loan (refi) taken in 2004
Last property tax payment Dec, 2007.
Last mortgage payment - Sept., 2008.
My son hasn't paid rent since Oct., 2008 (he does pay the utilities bills).
Homeowner/mortagee moved out in January, 2009.
Notice Default filed June, 2009
Notice of Trustee Sale filed September, 2009
Auction scheduled for October, 2009 but was cancelled.
No known actions by servicer imminent.
Probably not a GSE loan (value ~$600k). Servicer/owner(?) Wells-Fargo, plus there are likely 2nd's.
Nuke wrote:
That's something you don't hear too often.
dropping interest rates hasn't been enough to get the economy growing. at first their payments would have been cheaper, but all the vacant investment homes would still have to be liquidated. So why pay for the home you own, when you can get a newer/nicer/cheaper one? So RE prices fall. The economy would still have plummeted because there wouldn't be the $800bn annualized MEW
There is no easy way out, this isn't avoidable. It was only ever delayed, for increasingly shorter periods of time at greater costs.
What is needed is the orderly recognition of all these losses. Palliative care followed by economic therapy
I think people misunderstand. What Fannie Mae really wanted was a pony. Rumor has it they may give the money back.
B in T
Someone on CNN posted a picture
Maj. Malik Nidal Hasan's Medical Provider Profile - CNN iReport
Nidal Hasan, MD - 0101238630 - Practice Information - Virginia Board of Medicine Profiles
But wait!!!!
The country is recovering!
No, it's harvest time and the heat is on. He's got two days in which to get it all in before the rains start.
His old combine broke down about two hours ago. We determined that the problem is contaminated fuel, which clogged the Bendix Zenith single-barrel carburetor. The carb needs to be rebuilt.
The problem is that Bendix identified their carbs with a round tag riveted to the carb body. The tag has fallen off, so we don't know which model carb it is. The model number is needed in order to acquire a rebuild kit.
The carb is being disassembled and cleaned now. We'll try to ID it tonight. If we can't, we'll have someone at the implement dealer tomorrow morning at 7:30 to identify. If they don't have the rebuild kit, well fly over to the regional parts center in Indianapolis to pick one up.
Either way, he'll be back in business by 5:00 PM tomorrow evening. He may have to harvest through the night, but he's done that before.
In any case, he appreciates our efforts, and some day I may need him.
Which is the point, isn't it?
Your son should get a bs peppercorn lease signed- under the new laws wells would most likely have to honor it;-}
Just a thought, mind you.
Someday this war's gonna end...
mp wrote:
Pass along my best wished for him-
funny how no one talks about a "windfall tax" anymore...
I have a dream.
Maybe if/when the ship's holes have been patched and we're not taking on any more water (deficit), Obama and Dems might actually get to there.
Indianapolis... can you tell me if Kokomo is a cool place? It's close enough that you can make day trips to Peru and Warsaw
I find it interesting that MarketWatch - Stock Market Quotes, Business News, Financial News doesn't post fannie results in headlines or about 15 billion tax dollars needed, then you go to fnm investing page and news links are broken...
instead it reads "Lining up for Starbucks late"
20c profit on downsizing. delish...
media its a gas...
Hasan just completed his fellowship. ironic concentration...
Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry
USUHS/WRAMC
Bethesda, MD USA
Year Fellowship Completed: 2009
Um, odd thought- is the engine a straight six on the combine?
If so, you may be able to go to Napa and get the parts for a L6 216 chevy 47-55 and use them- that was a basic bendix carb for fifty plus years.
Just saying...
Someday this war's gonna end...
Years in practice inside us--umm, one, or less than one, I forget.
Where was he before?
Kokomo is just another mid-size Indiana wannabe city. As for Peru, you're probably aware that it's Cole Porter's home town. Was there only recently, as I'm a fan.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
So we need a mass bankruptcy law. Alright, everyone in the city of Detroit, raise your right hands and repeat after me.
AIG funds were simply a pass-thru to Goldman (and a few non-US banks).
To whom do Fannie and Freddie funds pass? In other words, where did they get the crap mortgages?
Yep, it needs to be done en masse and right away.
Whatever "it" may be. And it has to benefit people, not
just banks.
mp:
I was always partial to Bloomington. A dear friend of mine lives there, and I always enjoyed staying there.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
Harumph! You sound like Denninger!
wally, they got them from everywhere, up to 2008 or so, when
it really hit the fan. Prior to say, 2004, Fannie Freddie loans were
supposed to be the gold standard. Ha. Ha. Ha.
It's dark. I hate Eastern Standard Time.
this is one problem with cramdown: somebody has to eat the writedown. here, it's some Massachusetts life insurance company. the standard government line is that it doesn't want the pension funds (unless it's GM/Chrysler bondholders), endowments, or insurance companies to take those losses because of the downstream losses to the beneficiaries. fine, i have no problem with this objective. just punish the guilty actors and eliminate the perverse incentives that created the mess...
Sunstone Takes Strategic Default to New Level - Developments - WSJ
Sunstone disclosed in its third-quarter earnings report Wednesday that it skipped its Nov. 1 payment on a $246 million mortgage on 11 hotels. It did so in a bid to persuade lender Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. to either reduce the loan’s principal balance or extend its due date. Sunstone, based in San Clemente, Calif., owns 40 U.S. hotels.
It's dark.
Easier for
to hunt in the after-hours.
lawyerliz wrote:
Agreed! Felt like we were eating dinner at 9pm tonight.
thank you homeGnome
This is what happens when "extend and pretend" moves on to the next phase.
I forgot what it's called. I think it's bend (over).
You're welcome.
I was thinking of posting some financial news, but the horrible Ft. Hood incident is crowding it out.
Post away Pavel. we need cheering up.
Ummmm, well.
My son is feeling a lot better, partially due to his Va given inhaler.
Cinco-X
The world isn't going to end. The hardest part will be getting the younger generation to pay out of pocket to give an income to the older people who ended up effectively saving zilch for retirement. But that will happen, formally or informally, because we're not wild animals.
There will be other changes too, mostly shifts such that there are new hot industries/cities. In terms of politics, even during the biggest events in history most people were unaffected directly. Chances are if you lived in France during the French revolution, you went to bed at 8pm as usual the whole way through. Despite our worst efforts, Earth is still a pretty cool place to live.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
In theory, if the avg rate gets below the true rate of economic growth, it could fix itself or at least run-in-place.
You can see that in Japan's stasis for so long.
Average rates are still above what's sustainable over the long-run.
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company under federal control, said it will seek $15 billion in U.S. Treasury aid and sell $2.6 billion in unused tax credits after posting its ninth straight quarterly loss.
/snip
The Treasury, which has yet to approve the sale, is considering whether to let Goldman Sachs Group Inc. buy some of the credits. Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, could use the deal to lower its tax bill.
---The Squid lives!
I'm sure it's been pilloried to death already, but it deserves another whipping:
Sell Goldman Sachs tax credits? Why not, they already rule America. Why should they have t pay taxes at all? We should pay taxes to THEM. E Pluribus Blankfein.
The stress level in the military is rising. I was talking with a friend about this the other day after reading about the rising suicide rate.
Well, they're subjecting those folks to one combat tour after another and that's not good.
They just don't have the force levels they need for the requirements they're faced with.
Pope Benedict XVI
Encyclical « Caritas in veritate », 7 (©Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
"Recognizing here and now the goods of eternity
" The good of the individual is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of «all of us», made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community... To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity...
"Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis. When animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater worth than a merely secular and political stand would have. Like all commitment to justice, it has a place within the testimony of divine charity that paves the way for eternity through temporal action.
"Man's earthly activity, when inspired and sustained by charity, contributes to the building of the universal city of God, which is the goal of the history of the human family. In an increasingly globalized society, the common good and the effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family, that is to say, the community of peoples and nations, in such a way as to shape the earthly city in unity and peace, rendering it to some degree an anticipation and a prefiguration of the undivided city of God."
Nuke wrote:
Well said, with one word change. Not if...when.
Ford's new Taurus superbowl ad revealed: Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
mp wrote:
Interestingly enough, Ft. Hood had one of the lowest suicide rates in the Army.
Financial news?
Oh yes, the Italian financial police have arrested many people for helping firms to submit false invoices for the purpose of tax evasion.
Basel Too (profile) wrote on Thu, 11/5/2009 - 6:17 pm
Hasan just completed his fellowship. ironic concentration...
Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry
USUHS/WRAMC
Bethesda, MD USA
Year Fellowship Completed: 2009
He won't be the last educated and intelligent person to do something radical, crazy, or destructive.
broward
they can't handle negative nominal interest rates, so we're just traveling in the slow lane. even if they did negative nominal interest rates, the real price of houses would still fall by rising less than commodities/wages/etc and you wouldn't be able to fund a 20 year retirement for 2 people from a reverse mortgage
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
I was just teasin' you; besides, I agree with both you and Denninger about the debt issue. It's eventually going to have to be cleared before we can move on. Unfortunately, there's no evidence of that yet-
lawyerliz wrote:
The write-downs eventually have to be reflected back into rich people, regardless of what they want or how they manipulate it.
"Rich" meaning "higher income than poverty-level", that is.
Geeze...........Lets not forget the naked Kentucky Census worker found hanging in a tree........hands duct-taped together, hands tied with ropes secured through two trees, the word "FED" scrawled on his chest...........authorities are seriously considering that he may have committed suicide. (MSNBC article)
There is more than one person involved, so IMO this is unlikely to be the violent outburst of a disturbed individual. This looks like an organized attack.
picosec wrote:
Na, the nobility owns the Democratic Party. The "justice" process would have to involve new politicians who are too embarrassed to take money from a few key financial institutions. Then, these guys would make a name for themselves by rounding up a few suspects from these "key financial institutions" and throw them in jail. But, it's very difficult to embarrass a politician, and in today's world I think the nobility has completely captured the government. I just can't imagine "justice" being served on anybody that matters.
Black Star Ranch wrote:
Link please!
sell $2.6 billion in unused tax credits after posting its ninth straight quarterly loss
Being a loyal follower of CR I had some fine capital gains last year. 2009...not so much. In fact, I've got some unusable 2009 tax loses that I'd like to sell.
rich wrote:
Yep. And the "when" will be during the current administration, first and only term.
p.s.: I'm personally doubtful we make it through next year without a serious dislocation.
The longer they keep trying to keep house prices afloat, the more everyone stands to lose. War, war! What is it good for? Weapons are faster and stronger than bulldozers?
lawyerliz wrote:
Given the risk to the loans that are still current and that they probably don't want those houses dumped on the market, market rent will be whatever the current occupants are willing to pay. Hopefully >0$.
Go USA, soon to be the worlds largest landlord. Adding that feather to the insurer, auto manufacturer, and lender cap.
Probably. Possibly by a collection of disturbed individuals, who better organized than by a deranged psychiatrist?
mp up thread I had a comment about your bendix carb issue for your neighbor.
Hope it helps.
Gotta run to soccer for the youth.
Someday this war's gonna end...
Scientology is the real winner here.
mp wrote:
Shades of "The Roads Must Roll". Identify the bad apples and put'em together as a group.
I have just had another sale cancellation. They really don't want these houses back.
NOTaREALmerican wrote:
that mouth-breather was pretty much advocating printing money to spend it however we please.
's for all!
"Probably. Possibly by a collection of disturbed individuals, who better organized than by a deranged psychiatrist?"
People will want to know if it's a radical-Islamist cell.
You know if the banks get more
s, then everybody should
s and I'm not kidding.
get more
Time to change the name to Fannie Mae is Dead.
Cinco,
Suicide probed in census worker case - Life- msnbc.com
mp - good work with your carb diagnostics. Hope your neighbor gets his crops in promptly.
Corn, or beans? It has been such a wet fall lots of crops are still standing in the fields.
And you are right; having friends close by is the best insurance.
pavel.chichikov (homepage, profile) wrote on Thu, 11/5/2009 - 6:34 pm
There is more than one person involved, so IMO this is unlikely to be the violent outburst of a disturbed individual. This looks like an organized attack.
I never claimed otherwise, pavel, nor that it was a violent or emotional outburst. Sorry if you misunderstood my intent. This is not the last such action by an educated and intelligent person acting alone or in a coordinated effort with others. I still hold naive hopes for a bloodless revolution. Oh, and I expect little to no truth from the media about the circumstances nor motives of this present and tragic event.
mp wrote:
I don't think that's the only problem.
People who believe in a just cause can endure quite a bit.
It's a lot harder fighting (or working) for a false idol.
lawyerliz
out of curiosity, could you guesstimate what a client of yours typically pays for your services divided by the time since their last payment? or like $ paid to you vs $ not paid to mortgage servicers?
Well, the carburetor model has been narrowed down to two possible numbers.
If necessary, we'll obtain both rebuild kits.
Progress at 1738 on a Thursday evening is nice.
And the coffee is good.
Meanwhile, I'm informed that the Snap-On dealer who services Ft. Hood is stuck there tonight. Lockdown.
Hope he doesn't have to sleep in his truck.
"Freddie / Fannie are well capitalized."
"Nuclear power will be too cheap to meter."
Oh, I'm way cheaper than a mtg payment!!!
Lately, I've been telling 'em that if they're still in there
after a year, I'll ask for more.
But I don't do much work per file.
Several, I've done nothing much for over a year.
mp wrote:
Probably. Possibly by a collection of disturbed individuals, who better organized than by a deranged psychiatrist?
Someone's probably vying for the rights to the mini-series-
Broward, with all due respect to you and them, most of those guys don't know what an idol is, let alone a false one.
They just do their damned jobs.
How long before Jubilee is the only solution? Or is this an unconscionably naive question?
RockyR wrote:
Well, yeah. Not saying I agree with it, but - in theory - if Hu keep taking our debt and the folks who own all these long-bonds don't really mind we can print all the money we want (nobody has complained yet); and the jury is STILL out on Cheney's statement that Reagan proved deficits don't matter. Perhaps they don't. Only Hu knows, for sure.
mp:
I think you underestimate the educational level of servicemen.
It was baked in, in about 2006, I think, Bosch.
Why is a US Army fort named after a Reb General anyhow? Is there a Ft Rommel, too?
HomeGnome (homepage, profile) wrote (in reply to...) on Thu, 11/5/2009 - 7:39 pm
Cinco,
Suicide probed in census worker case - Life- msnbc.com
Bizarre, but reading the article, suicide might be a possibility.
did anybody catch the story about Wall Street getting the swine flu vaccine before people at risk. Anymore questions who owns this country.
It's actually called "Ft. Magnificent Bastard"
When my son joined up there were all sorts of tests, and you had to be a hs
grad, too. 10 years ago now.
No idol is false to the beholder. See also: NaRm; self-delusion, ..., ...
I'm talking about in aggregate, not an individual bases for retirement. Assume the house price represents an investment. If that investment is used to produce a real 3% real growth rate, but the house loan is 2%, there's a net gain of 1% in real value per year. Japan is the only example I know of where it's really been tried, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it fails on some other account.
Nuke, you're right, of course.
My frame of reference is as an old infantryman.
The only thing we had to know how to say was "Yes, sir" and the only thing we had to know how to do was shoot straight.
Elvis wrote:
I think that time passed quite some quite a while ago. FHA should be coming up soon though.
I'm pretty sure nobody here is questioning who owns the country. Some of us may still think there's a way to get it back, but I am no longer in that category either.
I'm talking about in aggregate, not an individual's retirement. Assume the house price represents an investment. If that investment is used to produce a real 3% real growth rate, but the house loan is 2%, there's a net gain of 1% in real value per year. Japan is the only example I know of where it's really been tried, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if it fails on some other account.
Trick or Treat?
ok. Treat it is.
just skip the words and look at the charts national debts
Well, my typing/scrolling fingers are tired.
"nor that it was a violent or emotional outburst"
RIF, my phrasing wasn't a direct response to anything you posted. I'm thinking along my own lines for now.
It was baked in, in about 2006, I think, Bosch. -- LL
Once again, the view from the Peanut Gallery is astoundingly bad.
Don't underestimate D4L. It solves the biggest problem with foreclosure -- the neighbors never have to know. Now, if they could somehow keep the deed from being searchable on the local county recorder site...
lawyerliz wrote:
That's still too much for me.
mp:
While I was in college, I joined the Marine Reserve and served 3 years in the infantry (0351, Assualtman). I found, on average, there was a greater diversity of opinion in my platoon than in most college dorms. That's not saying much, though.
Once again - thank god dollars aren't real money...
mp wrote:
They're aware of what's happening in the U.S.
They have friends and family who've lost jobs, houses, pensions.
I play pool with quite a few of them, mp.
That Fannie CFO did not do a brave thing killing himself.
He would have been brave if he went public with everything going on at that agency, the regulator and the government. Then everything would be in the open, and the sun would be shining on the inscestuous relationship between government, realtors, homebuilders.
That would have been brave.
Remember when $18.9 Billion was a lot of money?
Here, nobody is ashamed of foreclosure anymore.
everybody's doing it, doing it, doing it.
france is worse than Italy? About equal to us?
It would have been less brave but way more awesome to schedule a meeting with GS execs and mow em down with Uzis as soon as they were seated.
I must leave, before my fingers fall off.
Too funny. ABCNews tonight saying GS, Citi and some other big banks got flu vaccines before many hospitals did.
Priorities. Gotta make sure the banking system is safe.
Elvis wrote:
Yeah. Isn't that an inflationary trend? Bailout inflation.
everybody's doing it, doing it, doing it.
Sounds fun.
nitey nite, liz.
@nuke
@broward
Look, I don't want to start a war here. Nuke, yes, the military requires a lot of skills that most civilians don't have. And, Broward, yes, soldiers are thinking beings.
My problem is that, after all these years, my attitude is showing.
Outsider wrote:
MAN! Nobody I know at my zombie bank got shots. That's not a good sign for either: my zombie, my department, or me personally.
Elvis wrote:
Even funnier if you say it with a Brooklyn accent-
I probably shouldn't have bothered sharing it, not really a great research note. The data showed has a heavy bias for future obligations like healthcare and pensions. If I had to say something for it all, it would be that there must be a wide reassessment of living standards internationally, especially as it relates to retirement
EHP:
I concur. The west needs to rethink the entitlement to a comfortable retirement spent traveling and playing shuffleboard from 65 on:
Pension Funds, Facing $1 Trillion Gap, Next In Line For Government Pittance | zero hedge
The savers are giving folks down payments for cars and houses, letting folks live free, subsidizing interest rates, paying extended/extended/extended unemployment, paying off CDS at par to overcompensated banksters. And savers receive effectively no interest on cash.
This is getting REALLY old.
Once again, your boomer bashing is far too subtle, EHP.
Change of subject, but relevant to this morning's post...
Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corp. jumped 12 percent in their first day on the New York Stock Exchange as markets appeared to dismiss concerns about infighting among its founder's heirs and tepid hotel reservations around the world.
Hyatt Hotels, Ancestry.com jump in market debuts - Yahoo! Finance
Here in SF, this is what you get when you go looking for how and where to get the vaccine :
Where to Get Flu Vaccines - Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Lovely. Two links that dont exist. Just lovely. So, gee, what's next? Call your doctor and just hope and pray that he or she has some? What a forkin crock. What about the people who dont HAVE a doctor???? Glod help this idiotic country...
Swine flu vaccines hit Wall Street - WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, Sports
mp wrote:
You're not the only one with a 45 in a desk drawer.
I played pool with two guys from Ft Lewis last month, eight-year veteran with two Iraq tours.
A black guy from a poor family, he'd thought he was going to be a lifer but he's gone sour on it over the past two years.
Likewise, I played a navy pilot who did a couple of tours.
He's been out of work six months, his sister lost her job, etc, etc, and he was NOT thinking nice thoughts.
The Change is coming and it will change everything.
I believe people should be required to work until age 80. From 65 to 80, all Americans should do a 40 hour shift at a fast food restaurant. Keep everyone productive.
HomeGnome, what are you talking about?
I hope it's a good change. I could use a good change.
Well savers are obviously notorius for being responsible so who cares if the government pisses us off. The government is obviously more worried about the people who are irresponsible and will go off on shooting sprees when they get angry. Hence savers bailout the corrupt and irresponsible.
Schwartz Swans.
Allen C wrote:
You can either pay salaries.
Or you can pay taxes.
Feds are doing what has to happen to keep the macro equation balanced, ergo to keep demand up (as much as possible).
A few guys don't get to own everything in the world.
This is the end game of a capitalist system and it would have happened far sooner without increasing gov't counterbalance.
HomeGnome wrote:
Is this some sort of hokey new movie Internet promotion, or are we talking about menopause? I can't decide which.
Spunkmeyer wrote:
Change, more than you'll ever know.
HollywoodHack
I'm not boomer bashing, at least this time. I am probably suggesting working flex-hours for what used to be a decade or two of retirement (people are living longer, it is extremely difficult to save enough money while investing it safely and retire at 65), maybe buying a modest car every 10 years instead of a hotshot car leased every 5 years, or fewer vacations and exotic travels. not so much a decline in quality of life as a shift away from spending as a contributor to quality of life.
Think about it, we now have problems that have to be resolved. Stuff that will still need to be done no matter who was responsible. Blaming and self-vicitimization is a selfish emotional response. That won't get you very far, regardless of where you want to end up
it does have that Steve Jobs ring to it
Google has something about Schwartz Swan music but I can't figure it out.
Are you a musician?
HomeGnome wrote:
I thought we already voted in our hope and change.
remember this morning when i linked the happy news about how goldman sachs got H1N1 flue shots for its upper management
ahead of pregnant mothers standing in lines at NYC hospitals
well i have more good news
a 600 megawatt wind turbine farm being planned for texas will create 300 jobs in china where the turbines are to be built
but wait it gets better
using USA stimulus money!
you may not like communism
but those chinese communists sure are our best friends now ..right?
why ,not only do we let them manipulate their currency to take us export jobs
but then we drop all tariffs so our minimum wage workers cant even compete
andd then we even outsource energy jobs using the taxpayers stimulus money
what a country...what a slap in the face of men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line
for
this
country
makes me sick
Bloomberg Printer-Friendly Page
The Change will happen blindingly fast and alter the 'game'.
I've had the song "The Boy From NYC" stuck in my head, and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, a bad bought of tinnitus hit me in my right ear.
Black Swans are the change bringers AND they don't have sphincter muscles.
"Blaming and self-vicitimization is a selfish emotional response."
Did you just come up with that now, or is that developed from your volunteer time on the Rape Crisis Hotline?
mock turtle wrote:
Hu-coodanode?!
Oooh! HomeGnome. Is this a promotion for a new poll? "What do you think HG's cryptic messages mean?"
Game. Hmmm. Football? Hockey? Monopoly? Can you give us a hint?
My proposal is that anyone who owns a house that is currently underwater must wear a shirt that says "The dream of owning a house is really a nightmare. Rent America."
HomeGnome wrote:
It's not your father's change.
Ehp,
That Soc Gen piece is typical Wall St. tripe.
So many believe the Government will inflate debts and future liabilities away. That makes no sense as the liabilities increase with inflation.
Personally, I don't fear hyper-inflation at all. Why are so many so sure that the Government will screw the creditors via inflation? That's not how we do things at all. We screw the majority for the benefit OF the creditors.
Rather than inflate, they'll just fail to deliver on the promised benefits. There's a reason social security and medicare are off-budget - they're secondary, unsecured claims. Monied interests will never press the Government to address future unfunded liabilities while the programs are throwing off excess funds. The fireworks will start when the excess funds switch to deficit. Only then will benefit cuts be put on the table.
EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
In other words, work for food and health care
That's probably how it'll end up being, like it or not-
Breaking news: US Mints to close down because coins have no value due to gov't stimulus.
that's small potatoes compared to the billions
will be making from the cap'n'trade racket.
and you can bet that will be up and running before the ink is dry friday - maybe lloyd and jamie will get a special 'shout-out' at the w-style signing statement if we're lucky
The "game" of life as we know it.
On a side note, Mrs. Gnome was just checking the date stamps on our Spam stash!
suggesting working flex-hours for what used to be a decade or two of retirement
Nice idea, but there's not enough productive work to go around for those not yet in retirement.
I use "productive" in the traditional sense. Perhaps the resolution to all of this is finding new ways of being "productive" to society if not the economy.
HollywoodHack
perhaps you could clarify what you meant for me before I respond
we don't need productive work, just the ability to pay for unproductive work.
EHP,
What are your thoughts on Marc Emery?
picosec:
If we can't pay for retirement programs, and there isn't enough work, what is the solution? Something has to give.
Bulldozing is productive work.
Basel Too wrote:
That's called a "government"
We have that already.
just yankin' yer crank - it is what we yanks do.
but blame is an entirely rational response when someone does something deeply damaging and intentional. 2/3 of the congressmen (in the house at least) signing off on that garbage this week are squarely in that clinton-geithner era ('47-'61). ...not an accident, and blame is entirely appropriate.
Is it possible the Army psychiatrist was tragically mis-identified as the shooter?
Is it even possible that he was there in his capacity as a mental health practitioner, and first responders made a terrible mistake?
Not that I expect our miserable media to ask such a question, but I have to wonder.
Elvis wrote:
That's true. If you perpetually build and knock-down houses, the GDP will always go up.
3torches:
I think they mentioned they found 2 guns on his body. For what its worth.
Gnome,
Can you give me a hint? I just need to know if I stay in the US or flee to Germany. Keep the inheritance in Euros?
ps just got up close and personal with the healthcare doughtnut hole. All I could think of was how much it resembled 21st c life where you need to freaking rich or absolutely poor to keep your family from being bled to death. And Oregon for old age is looking better and better. It's not been a good month and a half.
Homebuilding mades real good jobs according to the legislative branch. So building them and knocking them down is exactly what the gov't hopes to do someday.
HollywoodHack
I'm not advocating against accountability and responsibility. At the very least what I'm saying is that inter-generational warfare will not be conducive to anyone's happiness. It's a free world, but I wouldn't be bringing up a rape crisis hotline as the lead in to some punchline.
@broward
None of my business, but has that guy you talked about considered transferring to, say the Coast Guard?
He might be able to keep his rank and put in his thirty.
Jane,
That's the thing about The Change.
NO ONE knows what it is or when it is coming.
HollywoodHack wrote:
Bah, but 1/3 rd aren't. Why would boomers be more semi-psychology, duplicitous, and self-delusional than any other "generation". Boomers just had more bodies, so their effect was bigger. They're no different than any generation that led any society into any other bubble throughout history.
Why aren't the HBs going into wholesale arson?
Music To Work By
Thanks, Nuke. I guess it is just hard to reconcile this guy's training as a medical doctor and psychiatrist with such a desperate and crazy act.
Deflationary Jane wrote:
Germany. Go to New Zealand.
Well I've been saying this isn't over until a city burns. I suppose I could take some comforting in being right >; (
@ HomeGnome,
Why are you posting cryptic messages rather than being clear?
Do you have a valid reason or are you just bored and have no real information?
threetorches (profile) wrote on Thu, 11/5/2009 - 7:12 pm
Not that I expect our miserable media to ask such a question, but I have to wonder.
You know very well that we'll never be allowed to know the real story.
Deflationary Jane wrote:
Males shooting each other isn't a burning city. It's just another day.
threetorches:
There is no correlation between education and morality. Lenin was an intellectual, as were many of the Nazis.
That's a good idea but I haven't seen him again.
My point is that... every time I talk to these guys, I think about Germany & brown shirts & Hitler.
That's a lot of energy and churn going on there.
The navy pilot guy had a fricking bachelor's in chemistry, he's a fricking pilot but he's out of work.
And he was housing his out-of-work sister and son but his unemployment is running out.
There's a lot of pent-up skill and energy there that wants answers.
Somebody's going to tap it.
Nuke wrote:
THAT's for sure.
It is the Black Swan, M.
Regarding the name of Fort Hood....part of it lies in Bell county...Hood's middle name was Bell...Hood was originally in charge of the Texas brigade if memory serves...so it fits. Army studies the tactics and strategy of both sides...and honors the memory of both too.
Why can't we pay for (reasonable) retirement programs?
Average incomes are up. Not Median incomes, and not even Average for the bottom 9 deciles.
Net worth is even more exaggerated in distribution.
We reward the super-performers incredibly well. Usually the "performance" is base on monetary return (eg lucky hedge fund managers or phenomenal quarterbacks that sell seats(or beer)).
It may be considered a socialist idea, but let's consider rewarding those who provide societal good as well.
"At the very least what I'm saying is that inter-generational warfare will not be conducive to anyone's happiness. "
EHP, is having a policy at the state DMV (substitute your own provinicial agency) that keeps those over 90 from driving 'inter-generational' warfare? Of course not.
That's all I'm saying - the generation born between '47 and '61 simply can't drive to the grocery store without running over at least one pedestrian. They show it each and every time. It is time to minimize their participation in the political process, unwilling as they may be to hand over the keys.
IF I were a criminal cartel; I'd be recruiting these guys BIG TIME!
Nuke, agreed.
I wasn't necessarily focusing on the educational attainment - I just noticed that the guy was a medical doctor, of all things. In theory, people choose that line of work out of a desire to "do good" in the world. Naive, I know, but it makes the story somehow even more disturbing.
Broward- "My point is that... every time I talk to these guys, I think about Germany & brown shirts & Hitler. That's a lot of energy and churn going on there."
Well, yeah. I've seen that.
I don't want to sound cruel, but it's not a good idea to piss off trained killers.
It's all very complicated, too complicated to discuss in a forum such as this one.
Of course, most things are too complicated for a forum such as this.
Hollywood Hack wrote:
will be making from the cap'n'trade racket."
"that's small potatoes compared to the billions
Yup. From what I have read about it, the plan is rich with opportunities for graft from the moment the credits get handed out, right through the life of the program, which doesn't even seem to have a real limit. Even if it did, future Congresses could continue to tinker with it to add more gravy drainage ports or extend as necessary to keep the cash flowing to their campaign accounts and the pockets of favored contributors.
The
won't be the only beneficiary, lots of goodies to go around.
More Treasury investments that are going to make money for the taxpayer ?
When does the Treasury do an honest accounting and mark these loan as the bad debt that it is and wipe it as a loss ?
Do most people here have HomeGnome on "ignore user"?
HollywoodHack wrote:
WTF?
Maybe the cartel can hire me to operate one of their nuclear powered subs? Well, perhaos my skills aren't transferable to drug smuggling.
If they have a McDonald's-style "Employee of the Month" plaque at
's gleaming new HQ, I sincerely hope BO gets the November slot.
picosec wrote:
Can't happen in REAL Merica. To much mythology built around the simplicity of monetary rewards as being merit-based. You'd actually have to admit there were people between the winners and THOSE LOSERS, like the average people. Merica can't cope with average. Average jobs, average returns, average kids, ... Na, average isn't Merican.
sorry, that whole metaphor must hit a nerve for someone a few blocks away from the SM farmer's market site
HollywoodHack wrote:
Sounds like you are propose some sort of new "system". Something like - oh - democracy?
Maybe someone can repost this for M?
Amazon.com: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (9781400063512): Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Books
Nuke, cartels are using subs, just don't think they run hot yet. Hugo is looking to expand his sub fleet though, might get an offer there...
mp wrote:
The Army major attended college in Ohio, went to Army medical school, and had a residency in Psychiatry at military hospital. Two suspects arrested initially have been released. One new army guy being questioned. Doesn't look like a conspiracy.
When a person does a mass killing with no prospect of getting away with it, it is referred to as 'death by cop'. This looks like this. Major was scheduled to go to Iraq at the end of Nov. He has been working with Iraq/Afghan PTSDs for several years, and expressed unhappiness about going to Iraq.
mp wrote:
Yeah, well, that never stops us.
M wrote:
No. Why?
mp wrote:
Yes.
...and people call ME cynical.
Hope.
Do most people here have HomeGnome on "ignore user"?
Then how will you know when the game changes? You wouldn't want to miss that.
Sorry I must have missed the story. I've been a little tired up with a dying parent and being an only child makes it ten times worse.
I did try to move to NZ twice. Once in 2001 and again in late 2004. Let's just say that any place that's worth living has immigration policies 100x tighter then the US. No wonder we get all the scrap.
and who the F was left to baby sit the markets today? Did someone dose the 4 month old with Prednisone or what? Nothing is making any sense but then I've stuck in the pit of despair (OC) so my perception of the world is going to be a tad off.
HollywoodHack wrote:
A nerve?
is that some kind of codeword for "pedestrian"?
My coworker's wife does the same job as the Major did. She's a Navy Commander. From some of the stories he told me there is a lot stress - especialy among enlisted. Way more than "back in the day."
Gotta take off for a few.
Mrs. Gnome made Pasta Carbonara for dinner tonight!
Woot!