Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Be a good place to retire....

The dollar will go along way. And the climate is nice. What's not to like?

Greece plans orderly exit of the Eurozone - National International Trade | Examiner.com
Greece plans an orderly exit out of the Eurozone according to two sources close to Mr. Papademos, Greek Prime Minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity earlier today.

The sources confirmed that plans are ready to return to a legacy currency given the current circumstances and that such exit would be dealt with, quote “in as orderly a fashion as possible” unquote.

The plan does not come as a surprise but the timing may be surprising to most members and investors while negotiations about a severe haircut with the IIF are still ongoing.

Monday, January 30, 2012

What else is new.....

California is the land of fruit and nuts. Just check their voting records. Good thing Oba mama gets reelected and makes everybody follow their example.

Oh wait, Romney will be different, won't he? Or how about  Newt? Hurray, we are saved!

Oh yeah, Romney should win the Democrat vote tomorrow in Florida. We forget that Florida is not the south anymore because of the Latino and Yankee invasion. And the only problem Oba mama has is the Latinos are a solid Republican vote but if the contest is between two liberals.....

The liberal always wins!!!


miltonwolf.com: California's suicide pact continues: Green car edition
You're not smart enough to choose your own health insurance or your own light bulb. Why should your car be any different?

[California Air Resources Board member Sandra Berg] said a lot of work must be done to educate dealers to sell the new generation of cars.

Yeah, that's why California hasn't sold enough electric cars to satisfy their government overseers, because sales people at the dealers lack sufficient education to sell them. Berg has advice...

"Early adopters (of electric cars) are willing to go without heat to save the miles they need to get to their destination, but that is not going to help grow the consumer base," Berg said, referring to the range issues with some current electric vehicles.

That's right, Californians. Shut off your climate control. It's the California way!

There are really only two ways California's statists can achieve this ridiculous new regulation. The first is to appeal to Californians' environmental sensibilities which won't come anywhere close to achieving 1 in 7 cars. The second will be the cruel process of making all other cars prohibitively expensive through taxes (on cars and fuel) and providing Solyndra-like corporate welfare to companies with connections.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Economy definitely picking up....

Our sales are improving and when I went shopping for a RV they were selling pretty good. Remember, RV's are a luxury and can be a real pain in the ass to sell when the economy dumps so things are cooking in January.

At least, Oba mama will be happy. It's now his fault LOL.

Patty and I were informed at work that the people greeter job is being "fazed out". No one at the door of course, means open season for shop lifters .

After Patty retires I'm getting another job somewhere in the store so I can make a little more money. Maybe department manager so I can have the weekends off and restart my business.

I'm sure I can make more on the weekend and after May 2013, I'll be able to draw Social Security. Working for cash on weekends and getting a check for being a geezer sounds too good to be true!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Like most "experts" who got us into this mess....

They don't know squat. With Europe in the toilet money comes back home and we boom. Remember Japan, INC. Yea, the Japs would out produce, out earn and transform capitalism and bury us. The money came back here when Japan INC exploded!

Today their economy is so senile  they can't fart!

Now we still have these guys in charge and we are still in the dark on how our system works. A fiat money system unlike a gold standard, is much more versatile and as soon as you and I remove our old debt and borrow again the economy will explode because we haven't bought enough to sustain the creation of new wealth that already exist. It takes money and we collectively don't have any.

Reason? We went collectively bankrupt in 2007, 2008 when our economy softened and the smart money went to oil speculation and gas prices crashed our whole economy. Broke dicks can't buy 4 dollar gas and still eat out, buy Harleys and RVs, pay 1000$ a month house payments with 700$ a month car payments, pay 300$ a week child care, or even leave the house!

Remember?

How do you solve bankruptcy? Erase the debts and make sure everyone has an income. (let's not forget drill for oil, baby!)

That was my solution: cut everyone a substantial check and the depression goes away. We will spend every dime and borrow to beat the band.

Politically impossible doesn't mean we didn't have a solution just that Oba mama and the Dems screwed us by listening to their political enemies who have been wrong about our system since Nixon killed the Gold Standard.

$400 rebates for us consumers and trillions for the gang that owns our government and we wallow in the pits for 4 or 5 years. Those trillions should have gone to the people who  created it, us!!!

But but inflation! What about hyperinflation?

Did you see any when the Fed and our Treasury pumped 20 trillion or so into the world's banks in the last few years? Only that gas prices started skyrocketing under Bush and gave Oba mama fits now has been falling as we recover. This was not inflation but oil price speculation! By giving the these scums the money you and I paid it back through higher gas prices.

These gangster never pay for their crimes.

Gee were did we hear that little insight? (You can go back through my post to find it)

Did you get any of the money? Did you know that the banks can't give the money away because we are broke and can't pay it back!!!

Read the last sentences a couple of times and see if these people make any sense. The consumers in the world are broke and taxed to the Wazoo. Broke and unemployed can't buy shit.

Hello!

And these genius' solution? Cut the military, cut Social Security, rob the Vets, and screw granny out of her Medicare, fire school teachers and cops. Oh yea, rob people out of their food stamps so the farmers go bankrupt! And let's not forget stealing money from the college kids so they will not be able to sustain a middle class lifestyle because they will be flipping hamburgers for the Chinese tourists .

Get it? We are not talking normal times here.

But the next election will save us if only you vote for the same assholes that got us into this DEPRESSION!

Come back a year or so and read this again.

THE FED IS WORRIED – YOU SHOULD BE TOO | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
The Fed is worried, and you should be too. That is the major take-away from yesterday’s FOMC statement, combined with its release of updated projections and Bernanke’s press conference. Despite the market’s cheering of the promise of a near-zero fed funds rate until late 2014 and the prospect of QE3, the Fed is fighting a lonely battle against severe economic headwinds—-and they know it. In answering a reporter’s question, Bernanke made it crystal-clear that he does not believe that the recently optimistic economic releases are sustainable. He has good reason to think so.

The FOMC reduced its current central tendency 2012 GDP growth projection from 2.5%- 2.9% to 2.2%-2.7% and its 2013 number from 3.0%-3.5% to 2.8%-3.2%.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Politics as usual....

Oba mama has to take care of his paymasters and suck holes, right? Has little, if anything, to do with pleasing the Greens. They only count when the Dem's are raising money and Oba mama has plenty.

But don't try to explain that to them because they think they are important like the conservatives in the Republican party think they count.

Buffett would profit from Keystone cancellation - Washington Times
Warren Buffett, whom President Obama likes to cite as a fair-minded billionaire while arguing for higher taxes on the wealthy, stands to benefit from the president’s decision to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.

Mr. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC, which is among the railroads that would transport oil produced in western Canada if the pipeline isn’t built.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Did I tell you that Romney can't win in the south...

If he loses in Florida (he should) Romney is toast no matter how many millions he has. The Tea Party will never support a liberal, will you?

Oh yea, Santorum will quit in a little while and Newt mops up the floor.

2012 Florida Republican Primary - Rasmussen Reports™
Less than two weeks ago, Mitt Romney had a 22-point lead in Florida, but that’s ancient history in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Following his big win in South Carolina on Saturday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich now is on top in Florida by nine.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Economy is approaching a new boom...

Oba mama needs all the help he can get. I think he gets it. And interest rates are at inflation rate for the first time in history.

If you want anything for your future, house, car, RV, etc. get it now because you will remember these rates as the good old days  after the next bust.

TRUCK TONNAGE POSTS LARGEST ANNUAL GAIN IN 13 YEARS…. | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
While I’m not surprised that tonnage increased in December, I am surprised at the magnitude of the gain,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. Costello noted that it was the largest month-to-month increase since January 2005.

“Not only did truck tonnage increase due to solid manufacturing output in December, but also from some likely inventory restocking. Inventories, especially at the retail level, are exceedingly lean, and I suspect that tonnage was higher than expected as the supply chain did some restocking during the month.” he said. ”

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Missed my deal....

5th wheel got sold back to the drawing board.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Gee.....I told you so...

A Yankee can not win in the South (not counting maybe Florida). A Republican can not be elected if he doesn't win the South.

Romney is unelectable to millions of these people!

Even an unknown, Clinton, beat a sitting president,a Yankee carpetbagger, Bush senior in the south!

Not that it matters.

In the meantime, I'm RV shopping for a winter home. Patti needs  more room than the last one  so I have to look at at least a  36 footer. Better than the one I sold, bigger and prettier. (I wanted a truck camper but I was out voted!)

Anyways, I need a real steal as I want to  pay off the car. I like borrowing money and I'm pretty good at wheeling and dealing so wish me luck.

Here's one I'm looking at.

It's a Montana 5th wheel bank repo so maybe I can cut an all cash deal from the credit union and still pay off the car.

Here's the numbers: 6700$ pay off the car, the N.A.D.A value  of the Montana is about $21000 so I need an out the door price (includes tax and dealer fees) on the unit of $14000 or less from the RV dealer and then borrow the whole $21000 from my credit union. (you do have a credit union account don't you?)

If you examine my plan you will see that I'm keeping the car free and clear. (Not trading it in!) And my payment will be almost exactly what I'm paying monthly on the car, $200 a month. (21000 borrowed at 12 years at 6.5% equal $ 210 a month and the car is exactly $200 a month). Same payment, new RV, and free and clear car for future borrowing or sale!

Which brings up borrowing sensibly.

Now anyone can get a credit card and spend themselves into bankruptcy but borrowing can be a lot cheaper and safer than that.

Have you ever had a title loan? I have a pickup valued at $9000 by the credit union. I can borrow up to $6000 any day of the week because I have a free and clear title.

(Did I mention the payments can be as HIGH as $108 a month.)

Think I'll have any borrowing problems with 2 free and clear vehicles? And selling them just puts the cash in my pocket!

The main thing to remember is that you only use credit cards to boost your credit score. Not to borrow!

The goal is to  boost your score by spending on credit cards and paying them off and proving you are a good risk to the credit union so that you can buy and sell anytime you find a deal.

Read that again. borrowing with title in hand is a matter of a visit to the credit union and signing  your name handing over the legal title. If you decide to stiff the lender he has the title and all you have to do is drive it over to the credit union and hand in the keys. (some people are foolish or desperate!)

Or borrow on  another vehicle and start over again by paying off any loans you have problems with. I can always take out personal loans and buy 4 wheel drives up here with cash and resell them in the fall. I'm good at negotiating with cash in hand but it's not hard just takes a little bit of balls, knowing the N.A.D.A  avg. value an making the offer.

By the way, the N.A.D.A blue book average retail value is  the max you can borrow on any vehicle. So make sure you know the N.A.D.A value you are dealing with by going on the web.

Also,reread my plan for the 5th wheel and you will understand that it's not a particular vehicle you need to deal in to do this. Cars, RVs, boats, mobile homes, etc. all have titles and can be used as security. And in a pinch the vehicle can be sold for cash or payments. Which is not a bad plan if you get  tired of screwing with it and want something else. (I'm shopping for a nice little yacht next. )

Try it and let me know. Remember, in the long run we are all dead and broke so let 'er rip and enjoy yourself.

P.s I'm thinking I'm good for money for the rest of my life so what are you waiting for?

Friday, January 20, 2012

We assume that the people who got us into this mess...

Know what they are talking about.

Firing people and destroying households in the  process is a stupid thing to do during Depressions. But these genius' will never admit they were wrong because we keep believing they are right because the TV says so and these people who make a living reporting on what the government says never check if it's bullshit or not. (No sense in their losing their jobs).

Again, the following is nonsense: we must balance the budget because it will create hyperinflation and our children will be burdened with higher and higher taxes and it will lower their living standards. (shipping our jobs overseas lowers our living standards)

These people have been preaching this crap for 30 or 40 years that I remember and our tax rates are half what they were!

We would also, according to these these great leaders, all starve to death by 1975, we would be out of oil by 2000 and freeze to death, that Japan's economic miracle would take over the planet, the Soviets would own outer space and piss on our heads, the Ozone hole would kill everybody any minute now if we don't ban spray cans, the Euro would save Europe and we would have to beg them for money, we can save the world from evil Communist even if the world  didn't want to be, Republicans would cut the size of government even though it grows faster when they are in charge, Al Gore believes in climate change and not making money scaring dip shits in Hollywood, voting this time will be different because our candidate can put 3 sentences together in a row, and on and on.

And we still fall for more.

Put any nonsense on TV or on the College lecture circuit and  simply scare the B' Jesus out of the gullible and out comes the check books and government funds to save us.

The simple truth proven over 40 years or so since Nixon took us off the gold standard for good?

Budget deficits go to the recipients of government spending. These people have the MONEY not the government.

The Federal government has to spend every dime authorized by Congress and approved by the president therefor creating and coining the money as stipulated in our Constitution. The government in Washington can't save money even if Jesus told them to. Because the government does this it is called a deficit because they spent it on us. When they tax it back it reduces the deficit because we no longer have the money and the money disappears from existence.....Income=Outgo.

If this wasn't true we would have 50 or 60 trillion dollars in the last 20 years or so playing hot potato and prices would have exploded and we would simply shoot a few politicians and got some new ones because the only way this could happen is if the Federal government printed these trillions and handed them out in cash. 

And when is the last time that happened?

Our government only prints enough cash to handle immediate needs.

In other words, the only cash used by our system is cash that you and I need for small purchases and to replace worn dollar bills.

When we take money out of the bank or change in ruined bills the banks order cash from their account at the Fed and receive the cash to replace the demanded cash. No inflation. No budget busting here. Income=Outgo.

Inflation doesn't come from deficits driving up interest rates or anything else you heard. Interest rates are set by the Fed at their discretion. (Imagine the clowns in Congress in charge of that!)

Our only inflation is coming from the manipulation of our oil supply. I remember Nixon have a hissy fit over 4% inflation and imposed price controls.

Reason, oil price  spike after the Israeli's kicked the Arabs asses.

Once Nixon was gone, controls came off and then you have to ask Jimmy Carter about inflation after OPEC and the religious nut jobs in the Moslem countries declared war on us. Ask those of us about inflation in the '80's and how Reagan terrorized the gang in the Middle East and bribed the Iraqis, Egyptians and  Saudis with military goodies and raised interest rates through the roof.

Let's not forget no inflation for Clinton. Because of 10$ a barrel oil (Reaganomics anyone?).

Coincidence?

Under our fiat money system it's the budget deficit which funds our military superiority, almost all of our science and medical research, keeps our old people out of the garbage can, educates the next generation, and just about everything else in our modern society and our whole economy will collapse if we slash government spending.

And if anyone thinks that cutting government spending to the bone will solve our economic problems ask him:

Whose check are you going to take away?

My mother's 600$ a month Social Security? How about eliminating both my brothers VA retirement check? I know, let's make sure my wife with Lou Gehrig's disease can't get Medicare so we can save a couple of bucks.

Hey wait, let's bring all of the troops home, fire them and throw them out on the street. Not enough? Think this old voter would vote for that or grab my gun?

You get the idea. Once the benefit is bestowed it is almost impossible to retract.

And we voted for every bit of it!

Reigning in the size of government is a laudable goal and it didn't get done. It can't be done because everyone is in on the take.

We old school conservatives lost the argument. Scaring little old ladies about budget deficits won't work. Sending our jobs overseas didn't work.

And yes the government is too intrusive, too big, and virtually unaccountable. Millions of us voted for it. It's called democracy and there is nothing that can be done to change it without murdering your political opponents and starting a new government.

No thanks. We are the way we are because we want it that way.

And it will stay that way because the system can be tinkered with a little but radical changes, killing Social Security, Medicare, or cutting 10 million or so government jobs or dismantling the Industrial-Military complex ain't going to happen!

Quit listening to the gang in charge on TV!



DEFICITS ARE GOOD DURING A BALANCE SHEET RECESSION | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
18 January 2012 by Cullen Roche 13 Comments
Click here to find out more!

He’s had it right all along. Deficits are good during a balance sheet says Richard Koo. Many thought the exploding budget deficit would drive the USA into hyperinflation or even just high inflation. Others said the austerity measures in Europe were going to generate a turnaround. But the one thing we’ve learned from the recent economic downturn is that fiscal deficits during a balance sheet recession are good deficits (via Richard Koo;s latest note):

“This (austerity) is akin to a doctor telling a patient suffering from pneumonia to go on a diet and get more exercise. While exercise is important, it assumes a healthy patient. If the patient is sick, he must build up his strength until he is physically capable of exercising again.

No matter how overweight a patient with pneumonia might be, the doctor’s first task is to give him the treatment he needs to fight the disease. After all, the pneumonia patient can die if treatment is delayed for too long.

Balance sheet recessions, which occur when businesses and households rush to pay down debt in spite of zero interest rates, are a kind of pneumonia. The only way to treat them is for the government to become the borrower and spender of last resort with fiscal stimulus aimed at propping up aggregate demand.

Fiscal deficits during balance sheet recessions are good deficits

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Justice is only for the rich....

But Obama is in on the take so voting for these scum bags is futile.

And what do you think about Santorum getting 34 more votes in Iowa? The establishment already anointed Romney so it will be embarrassing LOL. And the state of Virginia wont let conservatives vote!

Yes, they are all rotten and the system is beyond saving. But vote anyways because then you can bitch that the clowns in Washington need to be thrown out!

Robert Reich (Free Enterprise on Trial)
Wall Street has become the center of riskless free enterprise. Bankers risk other peoples’ money. If deals turn bad, they collect their fees in any event. The entire hedge-fund industry is designed to hedge bets so big investors can make money whether the price of assets they bet on rises or falls. And if the worst happens, the biggest bankers and investors now know they’ll be bailed out by taxpayers because they’re too big to fail.

But the worst examples of riskless free enteprise are the CEOs who rake in millions after they screw up royally.

Near the end of 2007, Charles Prince resigned as CEO of Citgroup after announcing the bank would need an additional $8 billion to $11 billion in write-downs related to sub-prime mortgages gone bad. Prince left with a princely $30 million in pension, stock awards, and stock options, along with an office, car, and a driver for five years.

Stanley O’Neal’s five-year tenure as CEO of Merrill Lynch ended about the same time, when it became clear Merrill would have to take tens of billions in write-downs on bad sub-prime mortgages and be bought up at a fire-sale price by Bank of America. O’Neal got a payout worth $162 million.

Philip Purcell, who left Morgan Stanley in 2005 after a shareholder revolt against him, took away $43.9 million plus $250,000 a year for life.

Pay-for-failure extends far beyond Wall Street. In a study released last week, GMI, a well-regarded research firm that monitors executive pay, analyzed the largest severance packages received by ex-CEOs since 2000.

On the list: Thomas E. Freston, who lasted just nine months as CEO of Viacom before being terminated, and left with a walk-away package of $101 million.

Also William D. McGuire, who in 2006 was forced to resign as CEO of UnitedHealth over a stock-options scandal, and for his troubles got pay package worth $286 million.

And Hank A. McKinnell, Jr.’s, whose five-year tenure as CEO of Pfizer was marked by a $140 billion drop in Pfizer’s stock market value. Notwithstanding, McKinnell walked away with a payout of nearly $200 million, free lifetime medical coverage, and an annual pension of $6.5 million. (At Pfizer’s 2006 annual meeting a plane flew overhead towing a banner reading “Give it back, Hank!”)

Not to forget Douglas Ivester of Coca Cola, who stepped down as CEO in 2000 after a period of stagnant growth and declining earnings, with an exit package worth $120 million.

If anything, pay for failure is on the rise. Last September, Leo Apotheker was shown the door at Hewlett-Packard, with an exit package worth $13 million. Stephen Hilbert left Conseco with an estimated $72 million even though value of Conseco’s stock during his tenure sank from $57 to $5 a share on its way to bankruptcy.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Republicans had better win.....

God forbid we let the Democrats raise taxes on the rich!

Am I supposed to give a shit about and vote for a left-wing lying filthy rich guy who hires illegal aliens, fired thousands and ruined their lives and wears magic underwear?

What a joke this election is. Do you see any difference between McCain and Romney's politics?

Sorry. I'm still betting on the black guy.

MILLER: Tax advice for Romney - Washington Times
s decisive victory in New Hampshire Tuesday pushes the Republican primary closer to its finale. While the race isn’t over, the GOP doesn’t tend to like surprise endings. With the tax cuts put in place by President George W. Bush expiring at the end of this year, tax reform is more important than ever. The former Massachusetts governor ought to cement his lead by refining his platform with the best ideas from his competitors.

All the candidates say they want a flatter code, fewer brackets and lower overall rates, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led the field with the idea of giving people the option of choosing a 15 percent flat tax instead of the current convoluted system. Texas Gov. Rick Perry also supports an opt-in system at 20 percent. Both would keep popular deductions for mortgages and charity.

Alternatively, former Utah

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

This bit of insanity ends Barbour political career...

But he can always get a job with Fox News with the rest of the losers in the Republican party!

Miss. court halts quick release of some pardoned - Washington Times
JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi judge has temporarily blocked the release of 21 inmates who’d been given pardons or medical release by Republican Haley Barbour in one of his final acts as governor.

Circuit Judge Tomie Green issued an injunction late Wednesday at the request of Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood.

Hood said he believes Barbour might’ve violated the state constitution by pardoning some inmates who failed to give sufficient public notice that they were seeking to have their records cleared.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Internet out at the house....

Spent an hour with the tech guys on Verizon's new internet DSL vendor, Frontier. At least I got to speak with an American but he had to go through a bunch of worthless test that I told him were futile.

I figured either my router is out or the phone line.

Bought a router and I could access the router but it couldn't connect so I figured they shut off service, I called and confirmed they had my money so had  the tech guy check the line and said I had service coming in.

They are sending me a compatible router as every service uses their own.

I like being right as far as buying a router but with Linux not working I knew it wasn't my computer and I paid, as I pay all my recurring bills, by credit card, so it was either my line or the old router acting up.

These tech guys don't understand that Linux doesn't give a shit if Explorer is working or not. Maybe I know too much about computers and am a pain in the ass but I do know a lot about computers.

I'm still pissed the neighbour moved and I have to pay $30 a month now, LOL.

True, I could tap in my other neighbours, but that means cracking their security and pirating the signal. Yes, I know how but with my luck some smart ass would trace it to my house.

And yes, I can do that too.

What I can't do is check if my data line is receiving a signal or not but that's because I'm Lazy and know how to call a tech guy! LOL

But I am seriously consider moving into a RV during the work week and coming home on the weekend getting free Internet in town. We'll see. Patty won't let me sell out but with her upcoming retirement I need to continue working for 18 more months and get a SS check and go back into business. We don't like these winters but have to put up with it for now so I need to be closer to work.

That means I want her close by while I work to keep an eye on her as she is becoming more disabled every day. I can't afford a caretaker but can get Jeremy to help out if we aren't 30 miles away.

I plan on putting her on a plane next winter to one or the other girls house to visit during the worst of the weather.

We'll see.


Saturday, January 14, 2012

These economist are still listened to....

Not that they have a clue on how are system works. It's a good thing we don't listen to them or our economy would crash, right?

Oh wait! We did listen to them 2006. They were on TV all the time telling the home owner and old geezers their money was safe and nothing could destroy the equity in their houses. And told guys like me we were crazy for not investing in the stock market and not paying off our homes.

People who listened to them are dead broke and homeless or soon will be!

THE MEN & WOMEN PULLING THE LEVERS…. | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
Bies, cont. “ However… let me just say that the bottom line is that overall mortgage credit quality is still very, very strong. ”

Yellen, Oct. ’06: “Of course, housing is a relatively small sector of the economy, and its decline should be self-correcting.”

Mishkin, Sept. ’06: “The excesses in the housing sector seem to be unwinding in an acceptable way… I’m actually quite positive.”

Geithner, Sept. ’06: “We just don’t see troubling signs yet of collateral damage, and we are not expecting much.”

Lacker, Sept. ’06: “I’m still fairly skeptical of large indirect spillover effects on employment or consumption.”

Minehan, Sept. 06: “Buyers should recognize housing [is] more affordable & resume purchases, perhaps w/out further major price declines.”

Bies, June ’06: “So I really believe that the drop in housing is actually on net going to make liquidity available for other sectors...”

Fed staff report, June ’06: “We have not seen—and don’t expect—a broad deterioration in mortgage credit quality.”

Bernanke, March 2006: “Again, I think we are unlikely to see growth being derailed by the housing market.”

Friday, January 13, 2012

Iran had 4 nuclear scientist.....

Who knew? And who cares?

Fourth nuclear scientist in 2 years killed in Iran - Washington Times
JERUSALEM — An Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran on Wednesday, just days after the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium in an underground facility.

The killing marked the fourth assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist in two years and adds another incident to a series of mysterious explosions at nuclear-related sites that appear aimed to suspend Iran’s drive for atomic power.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

As if I needed to be reminded why I'm not a liberal...

Government is the enemy and must be stopped from taking over every aspect of your life.

P.s I find it amazing that a single cigarette smoker votes liberal!

Who wouldn't enjoy firing these people? - HUMAN EVENTS
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that, after a spate of burglaries at a veterans hospital in California several years ago, authorities set up video cameras to catch the perpetrators. In short order, nurse's aide Linda Riccitelli was videotaped sneaking into the room of 93-year-old Raymond Germain as he slept, sticking her hand into his dresser drawer and stealing the bait money that had been left there.

Riccitelli was fired and a burglary prosecution initiated. A few years later, the California Personnel Board rescinded her firing and awarded her three-years back pay. The board dismissed the videotape of Riccitelli stealing the money as "circumstantial." (The criminal prosecution was also dropped after Germain died.)

But surely we'll be able to fire a government employee who commits a physical assault on a mentally disturbed patient? No, wrong again.

Psychiatric technician Gregory Powell was working at a government center for the mentally retarded when he hit a severely disturbed individual with a shoe so hard that the impression of the shoe's sole was visible on the victim three hours later. A psychologist who witnessed the attack said the patient was cowering on the couch before being struck.

Powell was fired, but, again, the California Personnel Board ordered him rehired.

Now, let's turn to New York City and look for any clues about why it might be the highest-taxed city in the nation.

For years, the New York City school budget included $35 million to $65 million a year to place hundreds of teachers in "rubber rooms," after they had committed such serious offenses that they were barred from classrooms. Teachers accused of raping students sat in rooms doing no work all day, still collecting government paychecks because they couldn't be fired.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Ah the good old days....

Reminds me when I was in business in the early 2000's . If we had National Healthcare or when I qualify for medicare I'm going back into my  business.

How the Informal Economy Could Help Save the Rest of It - Robert Neuwirth - Harvard Business Review
The idea that an itinerant New York City candy vendor pulls in $150 a day ought to have spawned one of the great feel-good financial news stories of 2011.

Here are the details: for almost a decade and a half, Alex McFarland, known as "Tracks" to his buddies, has been an underground man, a subterranean entrepreneur, roaming through the subways catering to people's need for a sugar buzz at a dollar a pop. Alex's daily haul would put his gross yearly salary at between $40,000 and $55,000 (depending on whether he takes weekends off) — which means he earns as much as an assistant store manager at Walmart or Target.

Alex's story, told in a video by Bianca Consunji, slipped onto the web in October — and this tale of bootstrap economics inspired additional reports on the CBC (Canada's public broadcasting system) and even on a Taiwanese news blog. But here in the U.S. of A., though New York Magazine and Gothamist offered links to the video, most of the MSM met the story with a great wall of silence.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

This is some of the stuff that pisses me off....

A study simply says that 1 out of 3 smokers relapse....Duh!

They should of asked me I could have saved them the effort. I quit 3 times before it stuck. I didn't need drugs. But if you do..go for it!

Being a slave to a multibillion corporation is silly! They feed of your body!

Nicotine patches, gum won't help smokers quit for good: Study - HealthPop - CBS News
For the study, researchers at Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Massachusetts Boston followed 787 adult smokers in Massachusetts who had recently quit smoking. They asked whether the participants had used a nicotine replacement therapy - including nicotine patches, gum, inhalers or nasal sprays - to help them quit, and if they had, for how long. Participants were also asked if they had received help from a quit-smoking program, doctor, counselor or other professional.

What did the study show? Almost one third of quitters relapsed. And the relapse rate was the same for those who used nicotine therapies for more than six weeks and those who didn't - with or without professional counseling. Whether the participants were heavy or light smokers made no difference either on the therapies' effectiveness.

"This study shows that using NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long-term than trying to quit on one's own," study co-author Hillel Alpert, a research scientist at Harvard Medical School said in a written statement. He added that even though some earlier studies have found the therapies to be effective, those studies didn't always factor in the general population.

The study was published in the Jan. 9 online edition of Tobacco Control.

According to Greg Connolly, director of the center for global tobacco control at the Harvard School of Public Health, nicotine therapies are not meant to help smokers quit forever. They are "designed to treat withdrawal, which is a symptom that occurs from stopping to probably six months, and then it usually ends," he told CNN.

If nicotine therapies don't work, what does? Study co-author Dr. Lois Biener, a senior research fellow at the University of Massachusetts in Boston said in the statement that earlier studies have shown media campaigns, no smoking policies, and tobacco price increases are effective smoking cessation tactics for the general population.

Dr. Steven Schroeder, director of the smoking cessation program at the University of California, San Francisco, told WebMD the study is "a useful reminder that there are many ways to help smokers quit and we shouldn't over-emphasize nicotine replacement therapy."

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that adult smoking rate decline and quitting rates have stalled in the past five years.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Iran threatens to close the Straights of Hormuz...

Yes....they are too nuts. Our navy has said we will not tolerate such a move.

Sounds like war to me.

In 2012, Obama wont hesitate to kick their asses because we own or control most of the stuff and screwing with our economy can't be tolerated.

Whether it happens or not is up in the air but people in the Middle East are not famous for common sense.

No War For Oil: US Dependency And The Middle East - OpEd
The one prominent issue that both American political parties can seemingly agree on is that the U.S. should be less dependent on foreign oil. And Santa Claus has apparently listened and granted their wish. The United States is in the midst of a mini-oil boom, which has reversed, at least temporarily, the country’s increasing dependence on foreign sources of oil. Oil extracted from shale deposits in North Dakota, Montana, and Texas has reversed years of decreasing American oil production, leading to increased domestic extraction and thus reducing dependence on overseas oil from 60 percent of U.S. consumption in 2005 to a little less than half now. Add to this the exports from Canada of oil from tar sands for refining in U.S. refineries (some of which will come through the future Keystone pipeline), and the United States will be, for the first time since 1949, a net exporter of petroleum products, such as jet fuel, gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil.

Shouldn’t the two parties pat themselves on the back? After all, under their stewardship, aren’t we reducing dependence on the terrorist nations and dictatorships of the Persian Gulf? Not really. Dependence on foreign oil is not the problem that conventional wisdom makes it out to be. As a corollary, all the wars we have fought over oil—for example, two with Iraq and the threat of such with Iran—have been largely unnecessary and immensely expensive

Sunday, January 08, 2012

I'm kind of getting used to being right.....

The world is a wash in American money and even foreign money is coming here. The government will soon charge these guys a few to buy our bonds, LOL.

Mike Norman Economics: Treasury auction 7-times oversubscribed, interest rate, ZERO!
Treasury auction 7-times oversubscribed, interest rate, ZERO!


Treasury just auctioned off $30 billion of bills at a rate of ZERO and it was nearly 7 times oversubscribed!!!!!!!!!

Yet they keep telling us that the deficit and debt will cause rates to spike!!

When will they wake up??

S&P, PLEASE DOWNGRADE THE US CREDIT RATING AGAIN SO THAT 10-YEAR YIELDS CAN GO TO 1%! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, January 07, 2012

These people can't be taken seriously......

We've had years of conservative Congresses and Presidents and out budget deficits are ewver increasing. Probably because the economy is growing thanks to governemnt spending!

 

Please read my comment under Gary Causer at the end of the article.

 

The Federal Balance Sheet Understates Our Problem

In Washington, if you want to make something public while minimizing press attention, you should release it on a Friday. The current Administration topped that by issuing the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. Government, which included the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) related independent audit report on the Friday before Christmas when the public was focused on the holiday season and key policymakers were either headed out of town or already gone.

The report was simply posted on the Internet and provided to the press on request and without any press briefing.  Thus, on December 23, 2011, federal policymakers once again demonstrated their lack of desire to promote public awareness and understanding regarding the federal government's deteriorating financial condition and bleak longer-term fiscal outlook.

In fairness, previous Administrations have not given the release of the federal government's annual financial report as much attention as it deserves, but this year's action was unparalleled. As a result, the press and the media have been "Missing in Action" with regard to reporting on this year's dismal annual report.