Okay, did anyone else’s Irony meter just go off of the scale? Mine did. Pegged to the corner… WOW! đŻ
I will say, in Barney’s defense, and yes, I am defending the idiot, if you can believe that; fair point about if you remove either of these, what do you put in their place? That is a fair point. But I have a novel idea — How about putting NOTHING in their place?!?!?
Ed Morrissey as always, has the wisdom of the day:
Thatâs certainly the lesson from the collapse of the housing bubble and the secondary derivative markets. Itâs also a sea change for Frank. While he nearly dislocates his shoulder attempting to pat his own back by claiming that he has said this all along, itâs simply not true. Frank, in his role on the House Financial Services Committee, played a huge part in creating and maintaining the government intervention that severely distorted the lending markets. Whether or not he ever uttered a comment along the way about overdoing home ownership, Frankâs actions helped to create and maintain those policies, and he defended them repeatedly over the last twelve years.
However, the New Modesty isnât a reference to Frankâs self-promotion, but the way that the adherence to the free market seems to have gained traction over the last few months. Just last year, Frank and his allies were busily claiming that the free market caused the collapse, and that only government intervention could restore American prosperity. Eighteen months into the Obama administration, Frank now wants to sound like a born-again acolyte of Adam Smith, or at least as close as Frank can approximate such a pose. Modesty in government is suddenly hot, even among Massachusetts liberals.
Amen. May we all learn our lessons from this craziness of the last few years.
In my last article a few weeks ago for Kitco.com, I was concerned that the market could have a hangover after the recent rally. Apparently, my concern was not un-founded as we dropped from a rising bearish wedge near 1130, to the 1070 Fibonacci pivot earlier this week. Although my subscribers were prepared for this drop by shorting the SP 500 in advance of that move, we covered our short near 1070 on the SP this week.
Bringing things up to speed, the market rallied up from July 1st to near 1130, which was a maximum target I mentioned in my last article. This completed a 3-3-5 elliott wave pattern that I identified, and broke the rising wedge on cue. At 1130, the SP 500 had re-traced a Fibonacci 61% of the April highs to Jul 1st lows, and had completed that re-tracement over a Fibonacci 5 week window. At TMTF, we believe that markets move in extremely reliable patterns and are not at all random. At the 1221 SP 500 top in April, it landed exactly at a 61% Fibonacci upward re-tracement of the 2007 highs and the 2009 lows. At the 2009 lows, the SP 500 had corrected 61% of the 1974 lows to 2000 highs right on the nose at 666!
At Active Trading Partners, we take a different approach to trading than most online services in terms of advising our subscribers. Â Our methodology revolves around behavioral characteristics of the crowd, and taking advantage of the extremes in sentiment, whether bullish or bearish.
In the case of ETF trading, we often work with 3x Bull or Bear ETFâs like BGZ, ERY, ERX, TZA, TNA and so forth. Using a combination of Fibonacci re-tracements and Elliott Wave theory, we look for high probability set-ups and extreme overbought or oversold situations to trigger a trade recommendation. A most recent example with ETFâs was a short position we took against the rising energy stock index, the XLE. This index had become incredibly overbought in just a few weeks, and looking at prior topping indicators and fibonacci trading day cycles, we felt it was a âLow Riskâ bet to short the rally. We recommended ERY at $45.40 as the XLE headed over $56 and was becoming overbought. Within 7 days we had a 15% plus gain by going against the crowd. I saw a 13 fibonacci day trading rally at extremes, so we used the XLE chart below, to identify the timing to enter into ERY.
Responding to the collapse in home prices and the huge number of foreclosures, the Obama administration is pursuing an overhaul of government policy that could diverge from the emphasis on homeownership embraced by former administrations.
âIn previous eras, we havenât seen people question whether homeownership was the right decision. It was just assumed thatâs where you want to go,â said Raphael Bostic, a senior official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. âYouâre not going to hear us say that.â
Bostic, who has published leading scholarship on homeownership, added that owning a home has a lot of value, but âwhat weâve seen in the last four years is that there really is an underside to homeownership.â
The administrationâs narrower view of who should own a home and what the government should to do to support them could have major implications for the economy as well as borrowers. Broadly, the administration may wind down some government backing for home loans, but increase the focus on affordable rentals.
The shift in approach could mean higher down payments and interest rates on loans, more barriers to lower-income people buying houses, and fewer homeowners overall, government officials said. But it could also pave the way for a more stable housing market, one with fewer taxpayer dollars on the line and less of a risk that homeowners will not be able to pay their mortgages. And it could spell changes throughout the financial markets, as investors choose new places to put their money if the government withdraws some incentives for investing in the U.S. mortgage market.
I don’t buy it. But, it could happen.
Ed Morrissey, who is one of the more honest right-wing bloggers out there, says:
Will the White House go through with it? Itâs one thing to leak this to the Post. Itâs another thing entirely to follow through with the necessary rulemaking and legislative effort needed to succeed in it. The Post notes that La Raza, one of the groups that gains material benefit from participating in government programs for these home-ownership efforts, is already unhappy with the idea. At a time when Obamaâs approval ratings are sinking towards Bush levels, this could alienate his ideological base and leave him utterly abandoned in 2012.
Letâs hope Obama commits to this reform. If he does, it will easily be the most significant economic reform of his tenure, and would represent a significant retreat from the government interventions and social engineering that have ruined the American economy, and could set the stage for even further constraints on federal power. That would show actual leadership and strength.
Pardon me if I sound about as jaded as an atheist on Easter Sunday; but it would make no sense for President Obama to do this. As it was the Democrats that created this whole mess in the first place. Social engineering is what they do; so, I will not break out the pom poms just yet. I will believe it, when the speculation of the real estate market ends. I will believe when they stop trading mortgages on the stock market. I will believe it when the sub-prime mortgages are gone. I will believe it, when Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac are gone for good.
Now 20 years ago; this would have been considered crazy talk! Now, it’s main stream… Somewhere Ron Paul is smiling broadly.
Like a mad aunt, the Fed is slowly losing its marbles.
Kartik Athreya, senior economist for the Richmond Fed, has written a paper condemning economic bloggers as chronically stupid and a threat to public order.
Matters of economic policy should be reserved to a priesthood with the correct post-doctoral credentials, which would of course have excluded David Hume, Adam Smith, and arguably John Maynard Keynes (a mathematics graduate, with a tripos foray in moral sciences).
[…]
âEconomics is hard. Really hard. You just wonât believe how vastly hugely mind-boggingly hard it is. I mean you may think doing the Sunday Times crossword is difficult, but thatâs just peanuts to economics. And because it is so hard, people shouldnât blithely go shooting their mouths off about it, and pretending like itâs so easy. In fact, we would all be better off if we just ignored these clowns.â
I encourage you to go read the rest of this; because it is very, very interesting. I just cannot believe that talk of closing the fed is now mainstream! WOW!
Normally, I would not even credit or link to anything on Infowars, because I happen to believe that Alex Jones is a rube. But, this was quite good and I think it warranted credit.
Thanks to an advertiser who wishes to remain anonymous, cars and trucks on Arizona Highway 260 in East Central Arizona are driving by a billboard advertisement that recently went up, bearing President Obamaâs face on what appears to be a mock U.S. $100,000,000,000,000 (One-Hundred Trillion Dollar) bill.
The billboardâs caption: âBut Who Will Pay the Piper?â
Chuck Perrine of Jones Outdoor advertising in Tucson, Ariz., confirmed to CNSNews.com that his company created the 10 ft- by-40 ft. billboard, which he said âwent up within the last month.â
Perrine said the sign is located ânear Linden (Ariz.),â but said that the advertiser is ânot interestedâ in disclosing any further information about his identity–or his reason for purchasing the ad.
It is a very good question to ask and you want to know the answer? That would be us, the American Tax Payer, that is whom will pay the piper for many years to come. After all the stimulus that the Democrats rushed out the door? It failed. Don’t believe me? Here’s the video proof: (H/T HotAir)
As all of us, who are right of Obama, said over and over and over; you cannot prime the pump of the economy — it is either there or it is not. Further more, the huge housing bubble burst and subsequent collapse of the stock market; which wiped out many people’s 401K’s, not just the rich — is living proof that you cannot socially engineer the economy. It works, but only for a season. Bubbles burst, and things come back to normal and people lose and sometimes lose big.
Hats off to the person who decided to put this up. Of course, in the lame stream media he will be denounced as some sort of evil racist or something….
Weâre not, weâre not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success thatâs fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point youâve made enough money. But, you know, part of the American way is, you know, you can just keep on making it if youâre providing a good product or providing good service. We donât want people to stop, ah, fulfilling the core responsibilities of the financial system to help grow our economy.
The problem is; that was not a part of his prepared remarks, here is what he was supposed to say:
Now, weâre not doing this to punish these firms or begrudge success thatâs fairly earned. We donât want to stop them from fulfilling their responsibility to help grow our economy.
By the way, the radio host is Mark Levin, whom I normally find to be highly annoying; mainly because his voice sounds like the equivalent of dragging a cat backwards through a fan. But, I have to say, that I agree with everything that is said here.
Ed Morrissey, whom I have much respect for, points out the glaringly obvious here:
He should have stuck with the TelePrompter. The President doesnât get to decide when people have âmade enough money.â In fact, as the radio host notes, thatâs a statist point of view. Furthermore, the responsibility of an entrepreneur isnât to âgrow our economy,â core or otherwise. Itâs to grow his own economy. In a properly regulated capitalist system, the natural tension of self-interests create economic growth through innovation and efficient use of capital and resources.
Put simply, a free people work for themselves, not for the government. Barack Obama seems to have a problem understanding that.
But then again; Marxists usually do. Yesterday, I posted a video by Chris Matthews over at MSNBC basically saying that we should cool it with the Nazi references, when it comes to politics and the Right…and Left. The reason why I say that I agreed with that; is because comparing this President to Adolf Hitler is giving Hitler and this President way too much credit. Nazism was started because Hitler saw the failures of socialism and sought to improve upon it; a plan the ultimately failed thankfully. This President is just a flat out socialist; he is highly against any sort of unfettered Capitalism at all. I mean, do not misunderstand me here; I am all for seeing the people that capitalized on our economy going down the toilet, having to pay the piper. But to get in front of people and make a statement like this, is just inexcusable. This might come as a shock to those on the left; I am for Capitalism, but I am not for the reckless greed, that leads to destruction. There is a big difference.
The Bottom Line: The President needs to stick to the teleprompter. Because every time that he goes off of that teleprompter, he exposes himself and that exposure is starting to look very, very ugly.
Goldman Sachs, which emerged relatively unscathed from the financial crisis, was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which claims the bank created and sold a mortgage investment that was secretly devised to fail.
The move marks the first time that regulators have taken action against a Wall Street deal that helped investors capitalize on the collapse of the housing market. Goldman itself profited by betting against the very mortgage investments that it sold to its customers.
The suit also named Fabrice Tourre, a vice president at Goldman who helped create and sell the investment.
In a statement, Goldman called the S.E.C. accusations âcompletely unfounded in law and factâ and said the firm would âvigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation.â
The instrument in the S.E.C. case, called Abacus 2007-AC1, was one of 25 deals that Goldman created so the bank and select clients could bet against the housing market. Those deals, which were the subject of an article in The New York Times in December, initially protected Goldman from losses when the mortgage market disintegrated and later yielded profits for the bank.
As the Abacus deal plunged in value, Goldman and a prominent hedge fund made money on their negative bets, while European investors like IKB and ABN Amro lost more than $1 billion, the S.E.C. said.
According to the complaint, Goldman created Abacus 2007-AC1 in February 2007, at the request of John A. Paulson, a prominent hedge fund manager who earned an estimated $3.7 billion in 2007 by correctly wagering that the housing bubble would burst.
Goldman let Mr. Paulson select mortgage bonds that he wanted to bet against â the ones he believed were most likely to lose value â and packaged those bonds into Abacus 2007-AC1, according to the S.E.C. complaint. Goldman then sold the Abacus deal to investors like foreign banks, pension funds, insurance companies and other hedge funds.
But the deck was stacked against the Abacus investors, the complaint contends, because the investment was filled with bonds chosen by Mr. Paulson, who is not named in the suit, as likely to default. Goldman told investors in Abacus marketing materials reviewed by The Times that the bonds would be chosen by an independent manager.
âThe product was new and complex, but the deception and conflicts are old and simple,â Robert Khuzami, the director of the S.E.C.âs division of enforcement, said in a statement. âGoldman wrongly permitted a client that was betting against the mortgage market to heavily influence which mortgage securities to include in an investment portfolio, while telling other investors that the securities were selected by an independent, objective third party.â
The SEC’s complaint alleges that after participating in the portfolio selection, Paulson & Co. effectively shorted the RMBS portfolio it helped select by entering into credit default swaps (CDS) with Goldman Sachs to buy protection on specific layers of the ABACUS capital structure. Given that financial short interest, Paulson & Co. had an economic incentive to select RMBS that it expected to experience credit events in the near future. Goldman Sachs did not disclose Paulson & Co.’s short position or its role in the collateral selection process in the term sheet, flip book, offering memorandum, or other marketing materials provided to investors.
The SEC alleges that Goldman Sachs Vice President Fabrice Tourre was principally responsible for ABACUS 2007-AC1. Tourre structured the transaction, prepared the marketing materials, and communicated directly with investors. Tourre allegedly knew of Paulson & Co.’s undisclosed short interest and role in the collateral selection process. In addition, he misled ACA into believing that Paulson & Co. invested approximately $200 million in the equity of ABACUS, indicating that Paulson & Co.’s interests in the collateral selection process were closely aligned with ACA’s interests. In reality, however, their interests were sharply conflicting.
According to the SEC’s complaint, the deal closed on April 26, 2007, and Paulson & Co. paid Goldman Sachs approximately $15 million for structuring and marketing ABACUS. By Oct. 24, 2007, 83 percent of the RMBS in the ABACUS portfolio had been downgraded and 17 percent were on negative watch. By Jan. 29, 2008, 99 percent of the portfolio had been downgraded.
Investors in the liabilities of ABACUS are alleged to have lost more than $1 billion.
The SEC’s complaint charges Goldman Sachs and Tourre with violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. The Commission seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.
Allow me to humbly submit that I hope that these bastards get exactly what is coming to them. I mean, these guy literally gambled as the stock market and by proxy; our economy went straight into the toilet. Â Many people that I know; like my parents, lost a good deal of money on this stuff. Not only that, after the credit crises hit; G.M. ended up having to shed a bunch of expenses; and as a result, my parents lost their optical and dental insurance. That came as a indirect result of this Wall Street mess. So, as far as I am concerned; throw the book at these bastards.
Capitalism is one thing, heartless greed is another; and these bastards crossed that line, big time. đĄ
Gadgets come and gadgets go. The iPad you buy today will be e-waste in a year or two (less, if you decide not to pay to have the battery changed for you). The real issue isn’t the capabilities of the piece of plastic you unwrap today, but the technical and social infrastructure that accompanies it.
If you want to live in the creative universe where anyone with a cool idea can make it and give it to you to run on your hardware, the iPad isn’t for you.
If you want to live in the fair world where you get to keep (or give away) the stuff you buy, the iPad isn’t for you.
If you want to write code for a platform where the only thing that determines whether you’re going to succeed with it is whether your audience loves it, the iPad isn’t for you.
I have to give props to Mr. Cory Doctorow for his brutal honesty. The article is quite the good read; from a standpoint of someone, who does not even own a iPod, much less an iPhone! đ I mean, I am just not big into, what I like to call, useless gadgets. To me, a phone is for making phone calls. Not for sitting there and playing games and all the crap you can do on them today. I mean, there is a thing called “Sexting” which is transmitting rather nasty pictures of one’s self over the internet. We never had to contend with stuff like that when I was a kid. (I am 37, by the way…) Besides that, you would not want to be transmitting naked pictures of my body anyhow; as I am almost sure it would cause someone great problems of the psychological sort to see me naked.
Now, from a greedy capitalist’s stand point; if I had a bunch of shares with Apple right about now and I saw this article. I would be asking for this guys head on a platter. I mean, just who the hell does this grumpy old jackass think he is? I am sure that Steve Jobs is not too happy about someone dissing his product, that he’s worked his rear end off to produce. On the other hand, this is just one man’s opinion of this product and I am sure that there are many others who have written that this is an exciting product to try.
The bottom line is this; we live in a free market, capitalistic society, and that free market will decide if this product is a smashing success or if it will be a flop. That is because that Free Market allows the PEOPLE, not the Government, to choose whether a product will be sold or even successful or not. Granted, it will take effort to make this happen; promotion by the company, the sales people and even the customer to buy the product. However the point is….. the freedom of choice is there. You can choose which product you wish to own by apple, all of them or none of them at all. That is the beauty of America. The only thing stopping you is your financial situation and also possibly your personal desire to own such product. Personally, even if I did have the money to own one of these iPads, I most likely would not own one. Because I personally do not see the point in owning such a thing. I have a very nice laptop, which suits my needs perfectly. I also do not see the point in owning something like this, and then having to own a iPhone or something similar, why not just put a camera and the ability to make phone calls in it as well? Again that is wonderful power of personal freedom and choice.
Now I could yammer on here about how the some of the Democrats and the socialists want to do away with all this freedom and change the system we have here in America. But I think everyone that reads this knows my position on those subjects. It also is not lost on me, where this thing is produced and the political positions of some of the people that will own one of these things. However, I will not bring that into this discussion here, as I am blogging about an iPad. đ đ đ
Update #2: Message to AllahPundit: Do you really want to be known as the dude who owns a electronic gadget, who’s name basically invokes thoughts of a Electronic Maxi-Pad or Internet Maxi-Pad? Not if you are Beta-Male. I mean, you are already being called a candy-ass Rhino as it is; you do not need anymore help. I’m just sayin’ đ
I am sure that you have already heard about President Obama’s proposed spending freeze. I’m sure you also have read the reaction of the Blogosphere as well. To be blunt, the left is not happy at all. To see a representation of this, check out this video of Rachel Maddow going toe to toe with Biden’s economic guy.
I have to give Rachel Maddow credit; She might be as left wing-dingy as a I am a right wing-dingy — But she sure as hell can make the Obama Administration explain themselves and defend their policies very well. So, I give her credit for that, she handled herself very well and did not give this guy a pass or go light on him. Color me quite impressed. Now, as for her politics, I disagree with it. Further more, the spending thing is nothing more than good political theater. See Rachel Maddow maintains that Obama would be pulling a Hover, sorry, that is just wrong. There are many things that have changed in way Wall Street and further more, the United States handles its affairs, since the big wall street crash of 1939 and the subsequent depression. Further more, it would help stop this out of control deficit that we have on our hands. Now, I will give her credit, she does rightly (Um, sorry, just a figure of speech) observe that this politically for the Obama Administration is a political blunder; because basically, Obama is doing what John McCain ran on in the 2008 election and lost. However, Obama’s guy explained that the cuts are not across the board. Hence my idea that it is nothing more than political slight of hand.
Further more, as much as I know this is going to make me sound like Pat Buchanan; (NTTAWT!) we need to repeal NAFTA and TAFTA and the rest of those Free Trade agreements with all these Countries. We need to go back to imposing tariffs on ALL imports from around the world. That would raise capital that our Nation so desperately needs. Now politically, that could cause us problems; but it would put a huge dent in our Nation’s debt to China. It would also encourage manufactures to build their products here in America, instead of overseas — and as an “America First” type of Conservative, that would make me extremely happy. đ
Bottom Line: While Rachel might be good at interrogation, her hypothesis is just flat out wrong or at the least, overstated.
It is a plausible question, and an interesting one at that. Are the Democrats now jumping from the bloated ship of socialist waste ever known to humankind? Are Democrats preparing themselves for the âNuclear Optionâ on healthcare? The questions abound, the speculation is running rampant, and internet memeâs are burning up the bandwidth. I, on the other hand, will tell you what I do know.
First off, let us start with the local story; Michigan Lt Governor John Cherry was expected to be the person to succeed Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm at the helm of Michigan Governorship. However, Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholmâs performance as Governor of this state has been less than stellar. I ought to know this, I have lived here all of my life. Double-digit unemployment, a one state recession that towered over the national recession for many years now; put quite bluntly, there are no jobs here in Michigan. Sure, there are jobs, if you want to work in a fast food joint, making minimum wage.  However, if you happen to be a 37-year-old man, looking for a decent paying, full time job, with health insurance — you are frankly out of luck.
However, to be fair, some of Michiganâs woes cannot be laid at the feet of the Democratic leadership. GMâs credit crisis cannot be blamed entirely on the Democrats, at least not the current ones in office here in Michigan. GM and Chryslerâs troubles are a direct result of the mortgage crisis, which was caused by President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton and that idiotic piece of legislation that opened up the mortgage market to high-risk individuals. When the credit markets froze up, due to the stock market crash and subsequent credit freeze, the big three found themselves in the middle of it. This is my biggest issue that I have with the âRepublicansâ or those within the Conservative movement. They always, without fail, blame the unions for the troubles of the big three; when in all honesty, unions had zero to do with the meltdown or its effect on the automakers. The entire mess was, in fact, lack of proper regulation in the mortgage industry and the stock market in regards to credit swaps that caused this whole mess in the first place. Sorry to my fellow Conservatives, but I am just not buying that talking point.
However, it would be fair to mention that the unions did play a role in the financial woes of the big three, as did the big threeâs failure to listen to the automotive experts, who saw what Japan was doing in the 1970âs and their arrogant attitudes. The big three could have saved themselves much heartache, by building smarter, higher quality vehicles. However, by the time the big three got around to embracing the ISO standards, it was too little, too late. As for the talking point of Union workers making too much money, I find it amazing how many Conservatives have axe to grind with those who simply want to make a decent working wage. Most of the people that make these idiotic claims are those who are making more than two hundred and fifty thousand a year and have no financial worries at all; but they want to rip away the comfortable living of others. Do you see now why I have not voted âRepublicanâ yet?
Another point that I feel that is important to make, is the fact that the big three are just designing some of the most god-awful looking car nowadays. Heck, even the trucks are now getting just plain butt-ugly. Does it make any damned sense to build cars for every day Americans that look like they taken from the pages of a twenty fifth century comic book? Whatever happened to graceful, classic designs from the 1950âs, 1960âs and 1970âs? Those were real cars back then, now all the big three can produce is glorified garbage — and do not even get me started on the idea of an electric car, now that is a idea that is going to go right straight were the Chevy EV1 went, right straight into the scrap heap.
Now back on the subject of politics, it seems that Chris Dodd, going to retire. Getting sweetheart deals on a house mortgage can do that to a fellow, especially when people in your district are losing their houses left and right.  I also notice that Bryon Dorgan is also retiring; he supported Obamaâs healthcare plan, which made him damaged goods.  I also notice that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is withdrawing from that race — corruption will do that to a fellow.
Now what is my personal take on these retirements and how it affects the 2010 elections? My take is this; I believe that there are going to be some very big upsets come election time. Now, I do not necessarily see a Republican wave or anything like that. However, I do see a drastic change in Washington D.C. I do also see a âdefangingâ of the socialist monster that exists on Capitol Hill right now.  As for the Governorâs race here in Michigan, I believe that the Republicans can win Michigan, but they are going to have to work to earn the trust of the American people.  It would take some very hard work and some massive breaking of some very established political rules to do it. However it can be done. The people of Michigan want real answers, real results, not political grandstanding, and platitudes.
It is going to be a very interesting 2010. I look forward to writing about it and giving you my take.
Barack Obama ran for president as a man of the people, standing up to Wall Street as the global economy melted down in that fateful fall of 2008. He pushed a tax plan to soak the rich, ripped NAFTA for hurting the middle class and tore into John McCain for supporting a bankruptcy bill that sided with wealthy bankers “at the expense of hardworking Americans.” Obama may not have run to the left of Samuel Gompers or Cesar Chavez, but it's not like you saw him on the campaign trail flanked by bankers from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. What inspired supporters who pushed him to his historic win was the sense that a genuine outsider was finally breaking into an exclusive club, that walls were being torn down, that things were, for lack of a better or more specific term, changing.
The United States economy shed 190,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate reached a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent in September, the Department of Labor said Friday in its monthly economic appraisal.
While the pace of job losses has slowed significantly since the peak of the recession last winter, the unemployment rate, which measures the number of people actively seeking work, continues to climb, and economists do not foresee relief until well into next year.
âThereâs no doubt that the slashing and burning of jobs has abated quite a lot,â said Allen L. Sinai, the founder of Decision Economics, a research firm. âThe economy is recovering, but it is a very soft recovery.â
The biggest losses came in the construction, manufacturing and retailing sectors. Health care companies added 29,000 jobs to their payrolls, and the number of temporary workers increased by 34,000 â a significant gain that could indicate employers are beginning to expand their businesses again.
The Labor Department also revised Septemberâs losses to 219,000 from 263,000.
Dean Baker, a director for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said he did not expect declining unemployment rates until next spring. âWe may be looking at very high levels,â Mr. Baker said, âbarring a policy response, for several years into the future.â
Um, Why should there be any policy response? I believe that we are already tapping our resources to the limit now.
On Thursday, in anticipation of the unemployment report, Congress overwhelmingly voted to extend benefits for jobless workers for up to 20 weeks. That will soothe the short-term financial pain of many families, but demands for a new wave of government relief may intensify if companies continue to cut back.
Yes, let’s encourage people NOT to look for a job and continue to spend ourselves into a hole; by being a nanny state.
So far, the federal stimulus package has injected billions into local economies, giving states money, for instance, to finance construction projects or retain teachers. The housing and auto sectors have been propped up with government credits meant to encourage spending. But weak consumer demand and hefty labor costs are still forcing many employers to cut positions and reduce hours to survive.
So much for Hope and change!
The article goes on trying to defend President Obama, which is so typical for the New York Times, but it is quite obvious, this President has failed on all fronts, the stimulus, the bailouts —- everything. He is, in fact, a black Jimmy Carter.
This is now Obamaâs economy. He owns the double-digit unemployment level, having bought it with the $787 billion stimulus plan that he promised would keep unemployment no higher than 8%.
I agree with that. Obama simply continued the bailouts that President Bush started, which was a huge mistake.
The AP Reports:
But the loss of jobs last month exceeded economistsâ estimates. Itâs the 22nd straight month the U.S. economy has shed jobs, the longest on records dating back 70 years.
Counting those who have settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994.
Now, if I were a partisan Blogger, I would simply sit here and blame Obama for it all. However, I am a bit more smarter than this. This all goes to Carter and then to Clinton. This video from the Wayne County Republicans will explain:
These unemployment numbers are just a ripple effect of all of this. Bush had a hand in it, as well as Obama. This is what happens when you elect faux Conservatives as Republicans and it is what happens when you elect Socialists.
Disclaimer: The posting of this commentator’s videos should NOT be taken as an endorsement of any and all controversial viewpoints that this person might harbor.
Okay, I will be the first to admit it; I do NOT agree with Ron Paul on Foreign Policy.
But he sure makes a hell of a great deal of sense; when it comes to economic policy.
Here he is on Bloomberg TV:
While I personally believe some of his followers are a bit goofy. The man himself, is another story.
…and let me give this fair warning. First idiot that comes in here and leaves a stupid comment about me being a damn Neo-Conservative will get sent to the damn twit filter so fast, it will make your head swim. đĄ
There has been quite a bit of discussion about this story in the Blogosphere already. Most of it has focused on the way that the White House handled the situation; which I will admit was less than professional. But the thing that I want to focus on, is why this is even happening.
Gov. David A. Paterson defiantly vowed to run for election next year despite the White Houseâs urging that he withdraw from the New York governorâs race.
Appearing tired and agitated at a parade in Harlem on Sunday, the governor told a crowd of reporters that he would not abandon his campaign to seek a full term.
âI have said time and time again that I am running for governor next year,â he said at the 40th annual African-American Day Parade.
Mr. Paterson would not characterize what he was told by the White House, saying that he would not âdiscuss confidential conversations.â
âIâm not talking about any specific conversations,â he said. âAs I said, I am running for office.â
President Obama had sent a request to Mr. Paterson that he withdraw from the New York governorâs race, fearing that Mr. Paterson cannot recover from his dismal political standing, according to two senior administration officials and a New York Democratic operative with direct knowledge of the situation.
The decision to ask Mr. Paterson to step aside was proposed by political advisers to Mr. Obama, but approved by the president himself, one of the administration officials said.
“Is there concern about the situation in New York? Absolutely,â the second administration official said Saturday evening. âHas that concern been conveyed to the governor? Yes.â
The administration officials and the Democratic operative spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions with the governor were intended to be confidential.
First off the confidentiality part got blown out of the water, and the President’s communication went public. I believe that part was totally intentional. It basically was done to send a message to Governor; one of “Hey, you idiot! Get out of the race, because you are going to lose!” That is pretty much a given.
My question is this; why all of the sudden are Democrats or more specifically the President of the United States asking the Governor of New York to drop out of an election race? I have an idea, and part of my explaining that reason is in this video, please watch it: (H/T HotAir)
Is it clear to you now? Well, in case it is not. I will explain. We Conservatives have taken control of the conversation. When I say “we”, I mean, the Conservative media, like Glenn Beck, who’s really an Independent; Bill O’Reilly, Who is a traditionalist and the rest of the talk radio world. Plus, you have the Conservative Blogosphere who were the forerunners in this fight. We were criticizing the President and polices from day one! The old media finally caught to us, oh, around three months later! This is why I had the screaming fit at Jim Hoft for linking to that site! We have seized the ship and taken the wheel away from the socialist media; we cannot afford to screw it up!
We have the Democrats running scared; and when I say “We”, I mean everyone that is involved in this operation, the Conservative media, like Fox News and all of the little media guys, The Conservative Blogosphere; who have been on this President’s butt since the day he botched up the oath of office. The rest of America; after watching the stimulus basically flop and the economy not recover, after watching the Government bailout the big two (and not the big three; Ford did not take any money…) and assume control of these companies, and after those employees, like my Father, watched their Dental and Optical benefits disappear, after working 31 hard years for that Company. —– Those people are starting to pay attention to the situation and are wondering, “Hey, what on earth is going on here??” and let’s not even get into that whole Healthcare debacle! —- They were promised change, and so far, they have gotten nothing. Nothing but trillions of dollars of debt, that their grandchildren and great-grand children will paying for, for the rest of their lives.
The sad part about all this is that the Democrats have about used every trick in the book to stop this movement; and have failed horribly. First, it was the tactic of the Bush Administration; of calling everyone that is opposed to Obama’s polices as being Anti-American. Then they trotted out the fear card, saying that we who were against Obama were stirring up violent tendencies among the people. Now they have trotted out their last refuge and that is the race card. In fact, the Democrats have used that race card, so much in fact that now even the Associated Press is basically saying, “Um, Guys? You are overplaying that defense.” Even African-Americans are even starting cringe. The sad part is, that is all they have, and now as you can see, they are on the run.
So, what happens now? Do we quit? Oh, heaven’s no. We keep fighting; Bloggers keep writing, Fox News and the media guys keep reporting, keep being critical of the President. It never ends, until the battle is over in 2012, and even then; whomever is elected, we criticize them too. That is what a Constitutional Republic with a free press does, and we Blogging folk, we are the independent, non-corporate media. The sixth estate, if you will. We keep the Murdoch, the G.E. and the turner empires honest. If they fall down on the job, we call them on it. That goes for Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, or whomever else is not doing their jobs properly.
We are in the battle of our lives, for our Country, for our freedoms. We must not quit, we must not grow faint. We must carry on.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” (Ephesians 6:10-17 King James Version of the Bible)
The percentage of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will nearly double to 48 percent in 2011 from 26 percent at the end of March, portending another blow to the housing market, Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday.
Home price declines will have their biggest impact on prime “conforming” loans that meet underwriting and size guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bank said in a report. Prime conforming loans make up two-thirds of mortgages, and are typically less risky because of stringent requirements.
“We project the next phase of the housing decline will have a far greater impact on prime borrowers,” Deutsche analysts Karen Weaver and Ying Shen said in the report.
Of prime conforming loans, 41 percent will be “underwater” by the first quarter of 2011, up from 16 percent at the end of the first quarter 2009, it said. Forty-six percent of prime jumbo loans will be larger than their properties’ value, up from 29 percent, it said.
“The impact of this is significant given that these markets have the largest share of the total mortgage market outstanding,” the analysts said. Prime jumbo loans make up 13 percent of the total market.
I wonder what “The One” will do about this? Cash for Refinancing?
Here’s why:
The drop in home prices is fueling a vicious cycle of foreclosures as it eliminates homeowner equity and gives borrowers an incentive to walk away from their mortgages. The more severe the negative equity, the more likely are defaults, since many borrowers believe prices will not recover enough.
Homeowners with the riskiest mortgages taken out during the housing boom have seen the greatest erosion in equity, in part because they were “affordability products” originated at the housing peak, Deutsche said. They include subprime loans, of which 69 percent will be underwater in 2011, up from 50 percent in March, Deutsche said,
Of option adjustable-rate mortgages — which cut payments by allowing principal balances to rise — 89 percent will be underwater in 2011, up from 77 percent, the report said.
Regions suffering the worst negative equity are areas in California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and West Virginia. Las Vegas and parts of Florida and California will see 90 percent or more of their loans underwater by 2011, it added.
“For many, the home has morphed from piggy bank to albatross,” the analysts said.
It is classic; The textbook reason why you DO NOT give home loans to high risk persons. Because they are the first to lose their jobs when the economy takes a dump. This is the invention of the Clinton Administration. But yet, no one on the left wants to blame slick willy. Call it the Clinton bubble, call it a huge screw up by the Democrats. I call it reality. Welcome to the Obama Economy and the Democratic Future, brought to you by Clinton stupidity.
I happen to like John Stossel; because he dares to take on the Liberals. Not in a mean or nasty way. But by simply stating the truth.
He writes about Michael Moore’s latest Movie:
Michael Moore has been working on another documentary. This time, heâs taking on capitalism:
“The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn’t have enough wealth. They wanted more — a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money.”
How ridiculous is that? The wealthy, and everyone else, almost always decide that they donât have enough wealth. People ask their bosses for raises. We invest in stocks hoping for bigger returns than Treasury Bonds bring. âGreedâ is a constant. The beauty of free markets, when government doesnât meddle in them, is that they turn this greed into a phenomenal force for good. The way to win big money is to serve your customers well. Profit-seeking entrepreneurs have given us better products, shorter work days, extended lives, and more opportunities to write the script of our own life.
He goes on…:
Moore also fails to understand is that it was not âcapitalismâ run amok that caused todayâs financial problems.  In reality, it was a combination of ill-conceivedgovernment policies and an overzealous Federal Reserve artificially lowering interest rates to fuel a bubble in the housing market. Then it was government that took money from taxpayers and forced banks to accept it.
Moore ought to understand that, because he makes a good point when he says his movie will be about “the biggest robbery in the history of this country – the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.”
That is indeed robbery. It sure doesnât sound like capitalism.
Nope, sounds more like socialized Healthcare or simply Socialism in general; to me.
According to the press release you linked, Chris, âMoore has made three of the top six highest-grossing documentaries of all time,â which presumably means he has accumulated a great deal of wealth. Apparently, since he continues to foist his so-called documentaries on an unsuspecting public, Moore has decided that he doesnât have enough wealth. He wants moreâa lot more.
Like most anti-capitalists, Moore has no problem personally profiting from his own endeavors while demonizing other successful persons and attempting to have them dispossessed of their wealth. The good news is that Moore ultimately has to answer to the marketplace and thus may find himself begging for work from the very people he now condemns if enough of his audience members wake up to the fact that heâs a charlatan and stop shelling out their increasingly scarce cash for his celluloid propaganda.
Mike is right on point; that is exactly how the socialists in America are. The Socialist left wants to preach to America, how evil, rotten, nasty and no good the evil capitalist system is; all the whole pocketing a profit from their lectures, Movies and the books that they just happen to make a profit at. It is more of that “Yea for me, but Nay for thee”, type of mentality and outright hypocritical nonsense that the Far Socialist left is known for.
The troubling thing about it, is this; these knuckle-headed socialists basically control the Democratic Party and it’s message. Hence my reasoning for not wanting anything to do with them or their Party any longer.
Give me Capitalism, Freedom and Liberty or Give Me Death!
