(AP) - Police in the Greek capital say a bomb has exploded at the offices of American financial services firm J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., causing no injuries.

The blast occurred early evening Tuesday in an upscale area of central Athens, following a warning telephone call to an Athens newspaper.

Don't want no shooort sales around me

REOrange my short sale, I need some equity.

Citizen AllenM wrote:

so, if this a L recession, and we never really recover, what do we do with all of the extra houses we built?

Do you really need to ask?

"Distressed sales up to 69%."

Both the buyer and seller will need psychotherapy?

For seller: "You listened Suzanne, didn't you? Here are a couple of heavy-duty pills for you. Good luck."

For buyer: "When did your self-destructing behavior started, catching falling knives is not exactly healthy for you".

CR,
You live in California so you should know that Sacramento is always for sale.

Hmmm....Add at the bottom says "Are you obsessed with the Jonas Bros."? Which one wacko's of you is responsible for that?

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

For FIRE and its passive interest rentier economy, that would be TEOTWAWKI

You understand that if you have a 401k or a pension, you're probably part of that class-

I can see it. Off in the distance. A field filled with granite counter tops. Different colors, mostly black or tan. Row after row of them. Sometimes the blue pearl catches the sun and it is beautiful. Left behind. No one knows why. Once they held sinks. Now, its into the ground the settle.

I have an ad for Remember Romance...for the Gaylord Texan...Gaylord, there's a name not being used much anymore...

nova wrote:

Left behind. No one knows why

They must have held some religious significance for this culture.

The last flight of the great American Dodo?

Brilliant, nova. Our Stonehenge

Grandpa told me about the "Houses of Sacramento." He said "Boy. It was great at first. We needed to build our chicken coops and they was there. In fact, sometimes we used them houses for chicken coops."

"Then what happened Grandpa?"

"Ah shit boy. The drywall poisoned the birds and the damn things fell apart after a couple of summers."

lol...not to my knowledge...but my grandfather stopped researching the family tree when one member apparently married his granddaughter after his first wife died. Pretty sure there is an error in the records...but the family is from Arkansas and Alabama...one never knows.

Vonbek777 wrote:

I have an ad for Remember Romance...for the Gaylord Texan...Gaylord, there's a name not being used much anymore...

Still used in real estate circles:
Long Beach Real Estate-Southern California Real Estate-Dick Gaylord

Thank you nurse

CalculatedRisk wrote:

More foreclosures coming

And don't forget the recent analysis that determined that 70% of all mods will eventually fail as well.

Cinco-X wrote:

Are you obsessed with the Jonas Bros."

Sigh. Drat. OUted. hehehe.

Actually it could very well be me...I am posting from a computer that is used by the 12 and 14 yr old so.......something they looked at could have brought such evil to CR.

Rob Dawg wrote:

More foreclosures coming
And don't forget the recent analysis that determined that 70% of all mods will eventually fail as well.

And, yet, people thinking that bulldozing is a bad idea. Those are the same people who go to an all-you-can-eat buffet and won't leave until all the food is gone. Wasting is necessary sometimes.

Yes, many years of

“With delinquent payments rising, foreclosures slowing, and foreclosure alternatives failing,” says Sean
O’Toole, Founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com, “it appears the foreclosure crisis will be with us for
many years to come”.

More music for patient renters and savers. Now if only they'd stop goosing prices with my tax dollars.

Elvis wrote:
Those are the same people who go to an all-you-can-eat buffet and won't leave until all the food is gone. Wasting is necessary sometimes.
Buffet doesn't seem the all-you-can-eat sort of guy, more the as-little-as-you-can-eat-publicly-and-still-be-gluttonous guy.

Looks to me like the "typically motivated" seller IS desprate. Logically, shouldn't they start ignoring conventional when looking for comps because they represent an atypically undermotivated seller.

If you're depressed or very distressed make sure and take pills so they can keep on

Shadow Inventory of Homes to Take Nearly 3 Years to Clear: S&P « HousingWire

"S&P estimates the inventory to equal a 33-month supply of homes. Analysts added the estimate is actually conservative, as they did not assume homes not showing signs of distress would default and push the overhang of supply even further."

Time for homebuilders to find another line of work.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Geithner and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's Parade of Lies Exposed

Yes, many years of

It has proven to be hard for unemployed people to pay their mortgages. The 'Great Jobless Recovery' doesn't seem to help employment very much.
~splat

Rob Dawg wrote:

Belated welcome to the dark side Elvis.

Lesser of two evils. Stagnate the economy for 10+ years or use money to buy and bulldoze foreclosed homes? They chose to give the money to the banks and nothing was solved. I choose to tackle the problem from its root cause and accelerate the eventual recovery. (BTW, I really do enjoy when people disagree with me. It makes me much more comfortable that I am correct.)

Elvis wrote:

And, yet, people thinking that bulldozing is a bad idea.

Nothing price won't fix...

Vonbek777 wrote:

lol...not to my knowledge...but my grandfather stopped researching the family tree when one member apparently married his granddaughter after his first wife died. Pretty sure there is an error in the records...but the family is from Arkansas and Alabama...one never knows.

Hey! That goes on lots of places, and not just in my home state Maine is famous for it, and we even have some of that crap going on a few towns away here in MA-

Homedad,

If I was writing it they would have dropped a handful of shiny .45 rounds into his hand.

Rob Dawg wrote:

Belated welcome to the dark side Elvis.

Are we really reduced to knocking down houses in order to build more houses? Buying up used cars so that people will buy more cars? Buying up debt so that bankers can issue more debt?

I understand the sentiment, I really do. But all of that requires the government to take on more debt, which requires creditors willing to lend it. If the creditors don't lend it, the government can print it, but only to a certain point before it begins interfering with economic exchanges and reducing demand for all products.

the-555000-student-loan-burden: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

when do we rename it "Suckramento"?

that sounds like the perfect job for young Mr. Serin

Elvis wrote:

I'm sure some militias would be happy, though

I've got my John Birch society membership application ready to drop in the mail just in case it gets really bad.
If you're going hang with the Armageddon wackos you might as well pick the KEEEERAZIEST ones...
~splat

The problem with just bulldozing homes is that there are going to be a ton of people with no place to live. Bulldoze them to find an equilibrium point for housing prices and there might not be enough shelter for the destitute. At least, people can go bando and if the homesteader laws were to be widely adopted, then people would be able to have a place to live and neighborhoods might not totally self-destruct. Of course, if my neighbors were going bando in neighboring houses, I'd honestly give serious thought to ruthless default and screw the bank.

But at least there's plenty of shelter.

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Why not just force'em out and let the market clear'em -- one day auction, no minimum bids, bulldozing those that no one wants?

I like the chicken coop approach myself.
~splat

Speed wrote:

Inflation? Where, exactly, are you seeing that?

With a fiat currency inflation is always a choice. There's two potential outcomes and a bald guy at the switch. To monetize or not monetize is a choice. Repudiation is a certainty.

homedad43 wrote:

The problem with just bulldozing homes is that there are going to be a ton of people with no place to live.

What's wrong with Hoovervilles 2010 ? They were very popular back in the day.
~splat

homedad43 wrote:

The problem with just bulldozing homes is that there are going to be a ton of people with no place to live.

That is a problem that doesn't go away.

GOod news! Greece has hire Stihlitz to help with their finances.

Like calling an arsonist to help put out the fire.

tncubsfan wrote:

Home Builders Ramping Up Construction to Beat Tax Credit Deadline...

It's becomming like some nightmare Soviet style planned economy. When's the new 5 year plan announced.
~splat

RE: Sacramento. Some properties in the low end have reached fair value and are now in overshoot territory, but properties in the mid and upper range are still hanging high - some still need a 50% haircut.

Hey Noob, just had a thought. To take the 'bottom' thought a step further, dare I say Broward-esque, that the would-be real estate moguls in this wonderful delightful burgh called sacramento really do not have any leaning to 'bottom', they think they are the master of the real estate universe....no bottoms there. I guess the way forward for sacramento is to start finding volunteers to train them, hard.

noob goldberg wrote:

Rob Dawg wrote:
Belated welcome to the dark side Elvis.
Are we really reduced to knocking down houses in order to build more houses? Buying up used cars so that people will buy more cars? Buying up debt so that bankers can issue more debt?

Pretty much appears that way doesn't it?

I understand the sentiment, I really do. But all of that requires the government to take on more debt, which requires creditors willing to lend it. If the creditors don't lend it, the government can print it, but only to a certain point before it begins interfering with economic exchanges and reducing demand for all products.

After the earthquake of 1906 how did San Francisco stop the ensuing fires? They blew some up to save the rest. We are in a national F.I.R.E. storm and blowing up some houses may be the only solution.

homedad43 wrote:

Perhaps, but doesn't go with the whole Greek meme.

Probably lacks the gods transforming into animals and having 'relations' with humans too. What's the point of a good Greek themed story without all the REALLY questionable bits of their culture ??

So I heard the story revolves around the kids having to pay for their parents, the gods, having mortgaged Mount Olympus for a wildly outrageous and unsustainable lifestyle ? The kids having to journey to hades, where the banksters live, to obtain the deed from the great beast of mortgate-servicers.
~splat

energyecon re the student loan story.

The only good news for this woman is that Congress has amended student debt handling. In twenty-five years, the unpaid balance can be discharged. Flip side is that the law now requires that the unpaid balance be taxed as a windfall.

Precisely what the hell was she thinking?

Ps Homedad43 a thread a way long time ago i posted about captain and tenille and other proud music of the 70's and you were horrified! hahahahah, mission accomplished. I was out to horrify. bad music, bad!

I am greatly relieved...

And now back to the laundry.

Sigh.

noob goldberg wrote:

Are we really reduced to knocking down houses in order to build more houses? Buying up used cars so that people will buy more cars? Buying up debt so that bankers can issue more debt?

It's that, or allow the expected return on capital to decline.

threetorches wrote:

(Blunt, I know. But man, taste the !!!!!)

If that's the case then we might as well turn out the lights and give up. Feeding that kind of economic downward spiral does nothing but delay the inevitable.

Yalt wrote:

It's that, or allow the expected return on capital to decline.

No one ever pays attention to real returns, only nominal ones.

Elvis wrote:

There would be little incentive to buy if you know that prices will collapse again once the gov't houses are back on the market.

They could hold all of them off the market for 5 years, then sell 300K per year for 10 years. That's not going to crash the market, and it beats the hell out of burying them (unless you're a homebuilder, I guess).

today just feels like another one of those space creating days......

On another topic:

Is The Federal Reserve Secretly Bailing Out Greece?

Ciao
MS

I don't want any livable homes bulldozed until renters get the chance to pick them up dirt cheap. Why should non-homeowners artificially prop up the equity of homeowners? You want to get this over quick then let prices fall to market clearing levels NOW.

Otherwise, I see no reason to limit bulldozing to unoccupied homes.

noob-

alot less competition around to participate-from even a year ago-...but I know what you mean...

Ciao
MS

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

on fire today....all is well

Dollar down = market up.

Yen tanking again, probably over the BOJ's comments that it's powerless to stop deflation.

Carry trade Game On!

Elvis wrote:

Wasting is necessary sometimes.

Only if you are trying to prop up MBS and derivatives. In a sane market, prices fall and the renters who saved buy from the idiots that bought at unsustainable prices. The only need for buldozing is in economic dead zone like Detroit.

MS wrote:

alot less competition around to participate-from even a year ago-...but I know what you mean...

10 minutes left and we'll beat 200 million on the Dow, but nothing special.

But yeah, tough to know how much is simply due to fewer robots beating each other up.

Super moonshot

"Yen tanking again, probably over the BOJ's comments that it's powerless to stop deflation."

Color me confused. If the BOJ expects deflation, shouldn't the expected value, and thus the market value, of the Yen go up?

MLM wrote:

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just have the government buy them, take them off the market, and maintain them for 5 or 10 years? As opposed to buying them and bulldozing them?

No-

Think of the all the new jobs we could create in "empty house maintenance".

And all the GDP, and all the "value"-

Rob Dawg wrote:

Are we really reduced to knocking down houses in order to build more houses?

Pretty much appears that way doesn't it?

When I said that 8mos. ago, most everyone thought I was wacko. Who da whacko's now!

A charming quote from a Lansner blog post on restarting some hi-rise condo sales in Orange County CA:

I like the privacy and I like the energy. This low-level (traffic) noise is very inviting.

Mmmm, traffic noise! I'm sold!

nate-

No....on the contrary. The green light was given to speed up the printing press in many locations by that statement... We must be close to one of those 'events'-take your pick as to which one it is....there are literally hundreds of them.

Cia
MS

Blackhalo wrote:

In a sane market, prices fall and the renters who saved buy from the idiots that bought at unsustainable prices.

You assume that there is a sane market. Bad assumption.

dawg-

yes but not really surprising...GGP gets taken off the books just before it can implode..they are just parking it ala ML, CFC, etc.

Ciao
MS

NateTG wrote:

Written like renters talking their book. Everyone wants 'theirs' nobody wants pain.

And why is it that renters who chose not to participate in this fiasco be forced to endure pain? They (i.e. we) should have our hands on the controls of the rack used for the banksters and their enablers.

MS wrote:

yes but not really surprising...GGP gets taken off the books just before it can implode..they are just parking it ala ML, CFC, etc.

This may be, MS.

Elvis wrote:

You assume that there is a sane market. Bad assumption.

No, I do not make that assumption at all, and am a bit annoyed at the distortion that brings about the stupidity, of bulldozers, to make room for more ponzi.

noob goldberg
if you want to watch: 2010 Winter Olympics - Watch Online - News, Results, Photos and Video - CTV Olympics
if you want to get live updates in a text + graphic format: Olympic Schedule, Results and Events : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics (click on the event)

Blackhalo wrote:

No, I do not make that assumption at all, and am a bit annoyed at the distortion that brings about the stupidity, of bulldozers, to make room for more ponzi.

Bulldozers and some type of tight lending restrictions must go hand in hand. Bulldozers only knock down the stupidity of the last decade. Like getting EEEEEEEE breast enlargements removed.

me too.....I realize I can't even come up with some of the ways these people put off ANY return to normal valuations.......... on anything.

Ciao
MS

mlm, thats bs...

how can a renter do anything to change the system....

what if they didn't give to 401k...

go back to your cake sale....

back to 1 SPY = 1 GLD

Funny that..

Ciao
MS

Elvis wrote:

That is not the main goal.

Whatever. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Sustainable, predictable business model. Now if you could just sell derivatives on your insider knowledge...

I don't know any firemen, but....well I read a book about it

Elvis wrote:

and some type of tight lending restrictions must go hand in hand.

Think about the unintended consequences of that for a minute.

RATM wrote:

Whatever. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

You must be a duck. Or something like that.

I hate Man U..... Shrek just put them up on AC.

Ciao
MS

CaptainMorgan wrote:

Think about the unintended consequences of that for a minute.

That is why I kept it vague. Leverage is the issue.

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

how can a renter do anything to change the system....

Guess they didn't get out in the streets and march enough. Didn't work within the political process enough. Etc. Etc.

My cake eating point being that we are all in this together, and there's no one who wasn't to some extent or another part of the problem (except maybe noob's kids...).

mock turtle wrote:

you are unique...did you just reply to your own comment?

But, of course.

I was at South Coast Plaza this weekend on V-day. There was a huge line out the door and around the storefront at Tiffany's. It looked like they were having some sort of V-day promotion, but I've never seen that kind of line in front of Tiffany's before. I have to visit this blog every day to remind myself what the world outside the OC bubble looks like.

Cities already have the ability to bulldoze the ones they own, and the new ones are owned by banks mostly, and they won't let you bulldoze them for free.

What, you never heard of M&M domain? Seize them for taxes. It's SOP here.

That's actually the line for the cheaper room. Tiffany's gets those on v-day and xmas. I feel bad for those guys, much as I pitied the mid-management guys with laptops on airplanes when I would fly home for holidays from college.

But, yes, it does say something that people still line up to blow 3 bills on silver when they could get CZ. Give it a few years.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

Ironically, this means the fake asset wealth will become real asset wealth, and the real asset wealth holders will become poor.

That's why you should own some fake assets to go with your real assets.

I didn't really follow that. I do know there 6 nice houses in the neighborhood next to mine with price tags from $600,000 to $900,000 that are empty that somebody could live in. Bulldozing them would be a waste. Bulldozing only to rebuild is pointless make-work. If it doesn't need done, let people have more free time. Protecting faux-wealth by destruction only forces people to do unnecessary work, and life is short. Why not let people enjoy it without slaving away for Ben's printed greens to purchase your house from you at the price you like when you decide to move?

MLM wrote:

Uhh, I'm good. I say it's creditcriminals turn -- wasn't he enabling people to get car loans who probably shouldn't have?

Elvis wrote:

That is why I kept it vague. Leverage is the issue.

I'm well aware of the leverage issue. I have commented we need to get to a more prudent lending standard, but can't go there overnight without severe consequences.

Your bulldozing plan is vague as well, too many details would need to be sorted out before it's a plan and not a whacko idea.

The real problem with it is the one I've already stated, the banks own many of the newer "excessive" housing inventory, and won't give it away for free.

So what is left is property seized for taxes, and shown to have little value at auction. Which is properties highly likely to already be bulldozed due to code issues. Many cities besides Detroit bulldoze houses, Dallas included.

Anonymous Bosch wrote:

What, you never heard of M&M domain? Seize them for taxes. It's SOP here.

I thought M&M domain was the act of seizing delicious candy-covered chocolates.

RATM wrote:

Bulldozing only to rebuild is pointless make-work.

Well duh......it's the 'excess' supply that's at issue. Think about it. California is probably the only state that could actually use 20 million homes. That's a greater supply than any other state in the country could actually use.

noob goldberg wrote:

My boy's been flipping houses since he was two. I'm gushing with pride.

Is he the kid on the E-Trade commercials? I love those; let me show you my shocked face; HUH!!!!!!

CaptainMorgan wrote:

The real problem with it is the one I've already stated, the banks own many of the newer "excessive" housing inventory, and won't give it away for free.

And nobody is asking them to give it away for free. Just because there is no detailed, step-by-step execution plan doesn't mean the concept isn't needed and won't work. Why would I waste my time doing that? You must plan every minute when you are on vacation. Am I right?

Why am I a whacko? Because I'm a die hard Conservative Republican who chooses to live in MA? Hah!

No, that, as Dawg pointed out for us, makes you a right whacko.

noob goldberg wrote:

It greatly disturbs me when he talks on his crackberry while I'm changing his diaper. The boy's going to give himself a brain tumor the size of a grapefruit

Kids today are too connected-

Cinco-X wrote:

it's the 'excess' supply that's at issue

You claim it is excess supply. If houses are so plentiful why can't people have multiple homes instead of bulldozing? Because you wouldn't like the price of those homes sans bulldozing?

"an extreme case where the back taxes owed exceed what the market will bear "

Connect the dots between detroit, the miami condo stuck in the HOA trap and the Lennar project linked above by Fair Econ.

We're reaching a tipping point where any number of things (including personal income eventually) just can't support the pyramid of HOA fees, property taxes, etc, on top of it.

Even a BBAD like me can recognize PEAK DEBT when I see it. But that debt isn't just booked debt by a government entity, consumer debt, mortgage debt - it is entitlement debt, and badly-designed HOAs show what happens when entitlements face the sunlight of a real market.

Cinco-X wrote:

They apparently can't make the payments.

Nothing price won't fix.

greenchutes wrote:

"$415,000 to $779,000, plus homeowner association (HOA) dues ranging from $915 to $965 a month."
Jaw-dropping, even if it you were next to the 405 in someplace pricey like Brentwood. The bubble hasn't even begun to pop. The 405 in mid-OC is a ten-lane beast, unless I'm mistaken.

Well, the Koolaid is still flowing. The bubble is only still on if there are enough fools about to buy them (and fools/crooks to loan them money).

RATM wrote:

Nothing price won't fix.

If we make more dollars, things are cheaper, right?

greenchutes wrote:

Connect the dots between detroit, the miami condo stuck in the HOA trap and the Lennar project linked above by Fair Econ.

I see it clearly, and the dots often lead to many of those projects going bankrupt, bought out for dimes on the dollar by somebody else who will either cash flow, or go bankrupt themselves.

Why the Economic Recovery Will Hurt Like Hell - Newsweek.com

Home prices keep falling, but productivity is rising fast. GDP grew 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter, yet unemployment remains stubbornly high. Inflation is nonexistent, while the consumer confidence index just rose to 55.9 from 53.6—whatever that means. Can't make sense of these economic indicators? Don't worry, because nobody else can, either.

Here is what you really need to know: a Sonic Boom is coming. It will be caused by globalization. And while globalization may be driving you crazy, it's just getting started. Thirty years ago, Shenzhen, China, did not exist; today, it has nearly 9 million residents, roughly the same as New York City. In a single generation, it has grown from a village of tar-paper shacks into an important urban center. It has become the world's fourth-busiest port, busier than Los Angeles and Long Beach combined. Never before has a great city been built so fast, nor a productive economy established from so little.

The international recession that began in 2008 has made the Sonic Boom quieter, but history shows that when a crisis ends, the larger trends in place before the crisis usually resume. Shenzhen represents the larger trend of growth, change, and transformation at unprecedented velocity. Thanks to vast increases in productivity, worldwide economic growth soon will pick up, creating rising prosperity and higher living standards for most people in most nations. The world will be far more interconnected, leading to better and more affordable products, as well as ever better communication among nations.

But there's a big catch: just as favorable economic and social trends are likely to resume, many problems that have characterized recent decades are likely to get worse, too. Job instability, economic insecurity, a sense of turmoil, the fear that even when things seem good a hammer is about to fall—these are also part of the larger trend. (more)

Spending that much on a house right now is a waste, though.

So make the banks drop the price. You never answered about bulldozing the glut of workers. I take it you want them to work for 25 cents an hour and live in barracks like in China.

The Greeks would rather strike. Jamie Dimon got a $17 million bonus. Why doesn't he buy more houses and hotels? Oh, that's right, Bear Stearns' hotels lost billions. JPM owns Bear Stearns. But JPM showed a huge profit. Maiden Lane (NY FED) showed a loss of billions. What the fuck happened? You want to get out the bulldozer, but in Greece they know bombs are faster.

CaptainMorgan wrote:

bought out for dimes on the dollar

Dimes on a bubble are worth pennies.

sm_landlord wrote:

Seem like the only way to stop the bleeding would be to shut it down and fully convert rental apts or some other use.

It's pretty easy to go from condos to rental apartments.

It was easy in the real estate boom to go from apartments to condos, and many have gone back to apartments already.

IMHO, a lot of the cost in the HOA fees in many of these types of buildings is fluff that people don't need, and often don't really want but sounded good in brochures. Getting rid of that might work in many cases, but not all.

You keep it up Elvis and the open source currency is going to make an exception to free licensing and use just for you.

Cinco-X wrote:

Albany

creditcriminalslovetarp wrote:

foul ball...3-2 count....

OK fine, let's find someone else to blame. I claim innocence too, since all I did was take a bunch of orphans' and widows' money during the tech boom when they foolishly allowed their mutual fund managers to buy my tech stocks at insanely overvalued prices. And, I did short the homebuilders and mortgage insurers in 2004, but I guess I could argue that I was on the side of the angels on that one, trying to keep prices down.

We're surrounded by candidates. How about these "nothing price won't fix" guys?

MLM wrote:

And, I did short the homebuilders and mortgage insurers in 2004,

Sorry. You must be broke.

I bought GGP puts as per Reggie Middleton starting in the 40's. I had never bought options before. But Elvis says I lack vision and understanding. GGP went to zero.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

But Elvis says I lack vision and understanding.

Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in awhile.

noob goldberg wrote:

Every single time I've raised this point you've berated me. I'm beginning to think you're a little crazy.

There are just some people I like to berate more than others...

noob goldberg wrote:

I find you amusing, if not somewhat infuriating. You instinctively resort to personal attacks the moment your thesis is questioned. It's like arguing with a 16 year old.

Hmmm....you may be onto something there-

stop flaming me...whoops I mean stop blaming me...my mother is crouching tiger....she will kick your booty....I'm hidden dragon, so I've been a sleep and am not to blame.....

crouching tiger tells me not to mess with multi level marketing commentators....ump calls balk....runner advance to next thread

Give up, you can't win. The bulldozing to create jobs nonsense is the broken window fallacy: circular reasoning. Elvis gets infuriated every time it's brought up, because he wants to see clothes on the emperor so badly...

For speedy comebacks, Elvis is king.

When touting his plan for speedy recovery, just the old emperor.

CaptainMorgan wrote:

You must be drunk.

No. But that would have really helped at the office today.

Cinco-X wrote:

I read that it had become about 20% of GDP or something like that

I think that number is way over stated- I think it accounts for about 5% of GDP but 40% of corporate profits,. I also think that both those numbers were overstated because of the mark to market account in earlier years (now suspended) which had the impact of pulling forward a lot of income. My guess is that if there was honest accounting ( 90% of all activity is amongst and between financial institutions but the all make money !!!) much of the attraction of the industry would go away.

A big chunk of that industry also caters to the all the get rich quick day traders. Rather than creating casino jobs we have created finance jobs- same thing. As long as people want to get rich quick I don't see those jobs going away.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

Why stop there, just nuke all the continents, Dr. Strangelove. Fastest and surest bottom.

Now that's some broken windows, doggone it.

As far as fastest and surest bottoms, I'm almost certain that would be my ex-girlfriend Vicki.

I think the real question for this decade is > are we better of with a frozen government or do we need a government committed to solving problems. If you believe in the former than this next decade is going to be great for you. Because I think we are going to get a frozen government. If yo think the later well then hang on because the sledding is going to get really rough.

crazyv wrote:

yours shared by most on this blog (including me)

crazyv, I think noob was trying to mock me on that one. I'm the one saying we need to find a bottom first before we can recover.