Lenders slow to foreclose after the green light to go ahead

From the Record:

Legal issues slow foreclosures

In a small Bergen County courtroom one recent Friday, a sheriff’s officer auctioned off two foreclosed properties in a matter of minutes, as a handful of investors kept their eyes open for bargains.

It was a far cry from the typical sheriff’s auction of mid-2010, when 15 or more properties were auctioned weekly and up to 100 investors crowded the courthouse’s large jury room.

Sheriff’s auctions are among the most visible symbols of the housing crisis, which left many homeowners saddled with mortgages they couldn’t afford. But foreclosure auctions have slowed dramatically since questions arose more than a year ago about “robo-signing” — that is, sloppy paperwork by mortgage lenders and servicers.

Though lenders were given the go-ahead in August to start foreclosing again in New Jersey after showing a judge they were following the rules, they have been slow to resume activity.

The reason: an August appellate court decision, Bank of New York v. Laks, according to Kevin Wolfe, head of the state’s Office of Foreclosure. In that case, the court dismissed a foreclosure, finding the lender violated the state Fair Foreclosure Act because it didn’t properly identify itself in a notice sent to the troubled homeowners.

Under new state court rules, lawyers working for foreclosing plaintiffs have to personally certify that they have checked the facts behind a foreclosure filing with an employee of the lender or the lender’s servicer. Many have indicated to Wolfe that they are reluctant to sign such a certification, because they’re concerned that the lender’s paperwork may not meet the requirements set out in the Laks decision.

E. Robert Levy, executive director of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey, said he believed there was no “real question about the validity of the loans being put through the foreclosure process.”

“The money is still owed; it’s just a matter of making sure you meet the procedural requirements, and we agree the requirements should be met,” Levy said.

Advocates for distressed homeowners say it’s only reasonable to ask lenders to get the paperwork right when it involves a matter as serious as taking someone’s home.

“Any delay that there is in New Jersey is occurring only because lenders haven’t followed the law,” said Margaret Lambe Jurow, a lawyer with Legal Services of New Jersey, who has represented homeowners in foreclosure cases. “Had they filed these things properly, they’d be in and out.”

The implications go beyond the losses suffered by homeowners and lenders. Housing analysts say the troubled real estate market can’t recover until the large number of distressed properties are finally sold. The properties make up a so-called “shadow inventory” — not on the market yet, and likely to ultimately sell at a large discount to other properties, pulling down housing values. Foreclosed homes typically sell at a discount of 20 percent or more, according to research.

This entry was posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

103 Responses to Lenders slow to foreclose after the green light to go ahead

  1. Punch My Ticket says:

    Paperwork, shmaperwork. The law only applies to little people.

  2. plume- wish I could’ve come and watched your kid rather than attend a memorial for a cousin all of us in the family didn’t really like.

    Wait until you see these Flemington kids when they get to Hunterdon Central. You think the parents are bad now? Only diff in HS is that they go after the officials.

  3. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [2] clot

    Not a pretty game, and I thought that Flemington played tough, but they just did not get the breaks. We got a lot more offensive opportunities, and it was clear that they were overmatched by the team’s top tier. Importantly for me, my girl played hard and battled hard, which will get her the street cred and confidence she sorely needs.

    In the last 10 minutes, it seemed a collective hush came over the Flemington parents. Suddenly, I found myself the only one shouting from the sidelines while I had been drowned out a quarter earlier.

  4. chicagofinance says:

    Nom: did you scream “Go start the bus?”

  5. chicagofinance says:

    FUKING JETS!

  6. grim says:

    From NY1:

    Average City Rental Prices Near All-Time High

    Anyone looking for a rental in Manhattan knows the market is tight. A new report released by Citi Habitats shows the numbers in the city are still holding strong.

    “The average studio rents for just shy of $2,000 a month, typical one-bedroom is around $2,700, a two-bedroom is just shy of $3,800 and three-bedrooms are just close to $5,000,” says Citi Habitats President Gary Malin. “Obviously that includes everything from super-luxury down to walk-ups, but still the blended average is still very high.”

    In fact, that market is not far off from the all-time high. Malin of Citi Habitats says the Manhattan rental market reached its peak back in May 2007, with the average apartment renting for just under $3,400.

    The report finds that despite the unsettled economy, the average rent now is only $50 less than the high point.

  7. grim says:

    From the Huffington Post:

    Cubans Speculate About What the Right to Buy and Sell Homes Will Mean

    The Paseo del Prado has been unsettled for the last couple of days, and not just because of the hustlers hustling and the hookers trolling for tourists. The uproar comes from the new Decree-Law No. 288 which establishes rules for the buying and selling of housing. A long-awaited measure that finally sees the light of day in the Official Gazette, to the relief of many and concern of others.

    In the spontaneous housing exchange that exists on this pedestrian promenade bordered by bronze lions, the curious ask about the details of a measure undoubtedly more flexible, but still insufficient. They want to know if the property title that they have in their hands grants them, starting now, full rights to assign, inherit or sell their houses. In a nation that has lived for decades with a frozen real estate market, they find it hard to believe that everything will be as easy as some speculate, or as legal as the Ministry of Justice assures us.

    One of the principal fears on the street now is concern about how the Central Bank will rule on the legitimacy of money used to buy real estate. Because for every transaction of this type, the cash must first be deposited in an account and the distrustful clients of our banking system fear that it could end up being confiscated if the state decides it didn’t come from “clean” sources.

    But to every risk people will respond with some kind of trick, so I imagine that from now on the funds declared and placed in the bank will be a half or a third of the real cost of the house. The rest will pass from one hand to another, from one pocket to another. For too long we have behaved like outlaws in this area, so one shouldn’t expect that starting now everything will be done according to the 16 pages of the new decree.

    There is also the possibility of a migratory stampede, because “the act of owners transferring their housing, before permanently leaving the country, is legal under the act.” Thousands of Cubans have been waiting for this signal, like runners crouched at the starting line waiting for the gun to go off. The high costs of immigration procedures will be covered by the sale of homes that will be offered for sale in the real estate market. A house, for forty years an anchor, will become a set of wings.

  8. Confused in NJ says:

    Interesting.

  9. Mike says:

    Good Morning New Jersey

  10. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    (4) chifi,

    No, I was screaming more along the lines in (5).

  11. funnelcloud says:

    A sign posted by a wall street protestor

    10 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash
    Today we have no jobs, no hope and no cash

  12. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Between breaks in chain of assignment and REMIC violations how can the servicers *ever* move forward again in processing foreclosures unless they go back to their fraudulent ways? I think that’s at the core of all these govt refinance programs. Replace the tainted mortgage with a “good” one and then wait 5 minutes and foreclose on the “good” mortgage.

  13. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Of course the IRS can help a little on the REMIC violations… by looking the other way:

    IRS Likely to Expand Mortgage Industry Coverup by Whitewashing REMIC Violations

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/04/irs-likely-to-expand-mortgage-industry-coverup-by-whitewashing-remic-violations.html

  14. Shore Guy says:

    All I want for Christmas is a cold-fusion reactor vessel:

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45153076/ns/technology_and_science-science/

  15. Shore Guy says:

    I have neither admiration for nor enmity towards Lohan but, this is absurd for a 30-day sentence:

    snip

    “The actress was released early from an overcrowded jail Monday morning after serving just over four hours starting at 9 Sunday night, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department confirms.”

    snip

    http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20543204,00.html

  16. Shore Guy says:

    This sounds like a John story:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057081/Engaged-couple-discover-brother-sister-parents-meet-days-wedding.html

    Engaged couple discover they are brother and sister when their parents meet just before wedding
    Unnamed pair are expecting a child and had been together for five years

    An engaged couple who dated for five years have been left in turmoil after their families met and they discovered they were brother and sister.

    The woman, who is due to give birth next month, is devastated by the discovery that the father of her child is her brother.

    The couple, who met at university, had decided they wanted to introduce their single parent families to each other before they got married

    snip

  17. 3B says:

    #6grim: It is amazing I agree that rents are so high in as the article says such an unsettled economy.I know a few of these mid to late 20 somethings living in “the city” because they absolutely could not live anywhere else (their words), they lice 3 to 4 to an apartment $1,000 to $1,500 a month is their share of the rent, still sharing bathrooms, paying off big student loans. Marriage, kids, and house in the suburbs is no where on the horizon.

  18. grim says:

    1000 a month in NYC? Sounds like a bargain once you factor in the savings associated with shorter commutes and the elimination of auto expenses.

    You sure they are as dumb as you think?

  19. grim says:

    Monthly train and parking – $300
    Car lease – $350
    Insurance – $150
    Gas – $150
    Commute time savings, 1.5h per day

  20. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [20] grim

    Depending on where you are, that monthly train and parking seems low.

  21. I definitely savored every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.

  22. 3B says:

    #18 Grim: I never said they were dumb. My point was simply that they are in their mid to late 20’s, still living a dorm like existence, with lots of student loan debt to pay off. The thought of marriage and a house in the suburbs is in the far off distance.

    Contrast that with my generation who came of age in the 80’s, and in our late 20’s we were married, had houses, kids etc. (This is in no way criticizing, just simply an observation) And no student loan debt. My point was simply that those counting on the todays twenty somethings to revitalize the housing market, antime soon might need to think again.

    As far as smart decisions vs dumb. He is one that I consider smart. A cousin of mine, their kid graduated with student loan debt. Came back home got a decent enough job, and through almost his entire salary for 2 years at the student loan debt, while also saving some cash to build a base to go out on his own. Of course he got grief from hsi friends about still living with mommy and daddy. 2 years later the student loan debt is gone, he rents his own apartment, no roommates, and is building savings.

    I like his plan better. To each his own I guess.

  23. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    The quarterly expatriate number was released last week, and for the first time in my memory, it was on time.

    http://69.175.53.6/register/2011/oct/26/2011-27570.pdf

    My observations: The trend continues, and if my guesses are right, lots of renunciants are coming from Israel and Asia.

    Interesting that the US Passport, once seen as a lifeline for folks overseas, is now seen as a ball and chain by many.

    Hope and change.

  24. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
  25. seif says:

    let them leave the country. we are overcrowded anyway.

    agreed. the hope and change hasn’t come in all forms many would have liked to see…but wall street is doing just fine…while they whine about “too much regulation, we can’t create jobs, obama hates business…” what a load of shit.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_story.html

    “But both sides face an inconvenient fact: During Obama’s tenure, Wall Street has roared back, even as the broader economy has struggled.”

  26. 3B says:

    #26 It has not however, transalted into robust hiring on Wall Street.

  27. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [26] seif,

    You do realize that when they leave, they take their money with them (less 15% on MTM gains), right? And that all of them are likely in the 1% (only individuals with assets over $2MM US are reported here).

    So when they leave, it means you can’t stick them with the check like you wanted to in the first place.

  28. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    some more perspective on the impact of expatriation.

    http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/how-many-people-make-more-than-250000-per-year/

    Based on 2009 data (remember, this number did not spike until the final quarter of 2009), and extrapolating based on the bracket that the overage occurs in, there are approximately 210,ooo tax-filing units in the “one percent” (give or take 10K). Remember also that these are the folks ponying up most of the tax revenue (whether or not you think it is enough is beside the point–they are). So at the new current rate of expatration, we are losing approx. one percent of the one percent each year.

    Now that is not a lot of people, but it is cumulative (unless inpatriation from chinese billionaires and corrupt officials that don’t want to be executed is compensating). And of those new arrivals, how many are investing here, bringing money here, or even generating a lot of taxable income? Don’t know, but if they are well advised, they aren’t risking a tax hit for the privilege of a US passport. Of those leaving, it is probably fair to conclude that they are saving serious coin on income taxes, or more likely, future estate taxes.

    Consider also that if we decide to jack rates on millionaires to something like 50% marginal, and 30+% effective, it makes more sense for those with immoveable US assets to expatriate to a tax haven country, pay 30%, and leave it at that (and even that tax could be avoided with some simple planning). Then we have the advent of $$$ flowing out of the country to our foreign landlords and industrialists, just like the UK now. And we won’t hike that tax to stop it because we need the FDI.

    So yes, let them leave. But don’t complain about the result.

  29. seif says:

    yeah…i read it. sorry for getting political.

    in real estate news, i have seen a few homes go to short sale in my town! i feel bad for the families but I look forward to them dragging down comps, hopefully.

  30. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [30] seif

    It’s not really political, at least I don’t take it that way.

    To quote someone in the news recently, “it’s just math.”

  31. chicagofinance says:

    Letters to the Editor WSJ:
    As a dad with one daughter starting college and another soon on her way there, I find Mr. McGurn to be right on point. However, instead of railing against rising tuition, with no corresponding rise in the education’s value, I have a different idea based on the current euro situation. Why doesn’t some financial wizard come up with a way for the universities to take a “haircut” on unpaid student loans, instead of the taxpayer? If colleges knew they were on the hook for potential bailouts of their alumni, maybe that would provide the needed incentive to get university education on a more practical, job-friendly track.

    George B. Hept

    Chesapeake, Va.

  32. Shore Guy says:

    For those who are early in their professional careers, open to living in the DC area and have good analytical skills and a keen sense of realpolitik, as well as a well-honed B.S. detector, I would suggest that this is a something at which you should look — assuming patriotism is deep in your soul, and not just a word:

    https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/clandestine/headquarters-based-trainee-program.html

    If one speaks Urdu and some other in-demand languages, and is open to living overseas, the clandestine service offers some interesting and valuable work as well. When considering a career, the Agency does not always come to mind and it is not for everyone but, there are very few things that one can do that make as great a contribution to the nation.

  33. Shore Guy says:

    Nom,

    Is “It’s only math” similar to “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli”?

  34. nj escapee says:

    Shore, my cousin was a spook up until he passed away in 2003 at age 50. He was in Romania just before the coup, in Hamburg around the time of re-unification and spent a great deal of time in the Middle East. We were close and he was our best man but never once acknowledged his employment.

  35. cobbler says:

    shore [33]
    They have about 200:1 applicant to opening ratio already. Plus, the requirement not to have ever used pot for the last 10 years or so disqualifies most of the people in their 20s who haven’t attended Brigham Young or Liberty U. for their bachelor’s.

  36. Shore Guy says:

    The Ginger vs. Maryanne question for those of us old enoughto remember the 70’s was (aside from Farrah vs. Facqueline) was: Baily ve. Jennifer (Jan Smithers vs. Loni Anderson):

    http://www.fanpix.net/picture-gallery/jan-smithers-picture-16811526.htm

    On a slow day, I vote for Jan/Bailey. N-e-s-t-l-e-s, Nestles makes the very best, ch-oco-late.

  37. Shore Guy says:

    NJC,

    Anyone seeking admission to the clandestine service would do well not even to acknowledge application. Nevertheless, it is a place where one can really make a difference.

  38. Shore Guy says:

    OOPS, NCE not NJC

  39. Shore Guy says:

    Cobbler,

    THe Agency is not stupid. Occasional pot use, during college is not going to kill the application for someone who has been working for a couple years and has desired skills and abilities. Remember, especially for NOC work, one is going to be breaking other-nations’ laws in the interest of the U.S. Someone who is not capable of doing so will not do well.

  40. Shore Guy says:

    On the way to the salt mine, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I offer this gem from WKRP:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj_quZru76A&NR=1

  41. Anon E. Moose says:

    Re: Title Post;

    Lenders slow to foreclose after the green light to go ahead

    …and a cat won’t sit on a cold stove again either. Which was the intended effect. Free houses for deadbeats — the new American Dream.

  42. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Shore Guy

    [33] Tried a long time ago.

    [34] No

    [37] Maryanne, definitely.

  43. Shore Guy says:

    Ginger and Bailey, and Bailey above Ginger.

  44. Shore Guy says:

    For John, I suppose it wwas Ginger and Loni on “crush velour.”

  45. Shore Guy says:

    They are hitting the pavement, like sacks of wet cement:

    http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoafYtDe.html

  46. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Just got a notice from a realtor that sold the house up the street from me. Had been on the market a long time, and the neighboring house had been on sale at the same time, so that certainly did not help. It was also identical to another house on sale a few doors away.

    While it is noticeably smaller than my house, has an attached one-car garage versus my detached 2 car, and is on a much smaller lot with no back yard to speak of, it sold for over 300K less than what I paid.

    Ouch.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [44] shore

    Actually, given my druthers, I’d prefer to be John about it and choose All Of The Above, in serial fashion.

  48. I think Grim should ban Moose until he tells us what he does for a living and who signs his checks.

  49. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [42] moose,

    It’s no wonder that the banks aren’t moving. The Feds can’t permit the banks to carry the REO for more than 10 years (or less, must research that), but the zombie loans can be carried longer if the regulators permit it. Also, given the grief banks get to maintain and be liable for foreclosed property, the banks have zero incentive to foreclose.

    Problem is, people will figure this out, and eventually, we’ll have about half the nation in default, stringing the banks along. The banks can only maintain that house of cards for so long, even with pliant regulators.

    Stench of death.

  50. gary says:

    Anyone know who won the Giants game yesterday? ;)

  51. Shore Guy says:

    Nom,

    if I were a single man, there would be something to those thoughts you just expressed. On a similar note, I would have been willing to allow Joan Jett from the 1980’s to strum my E Chord.

    http://feminema.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/joan_jett.jpg?w=365&h=365

  52. Shore Guy says:

    Gary,

    If it involved a New York team and a Boston team, with rare exception, there is really no need to even ask that question.

  53. Shore Guy says:

    Nom,

    I don’t know what yopu listened to inthe 70s but, you may remember Cherie Currie. Even after all the years since, she still looks awsome. Here she is in a real beauty and the beast photo:

    http://blogs.laweekly.com/play/2586088157_f72ab2a51b.jpg

  54. Barbara says:

    Joan Jett is gay. Maybe Suzy Quatro. I would work for the CIA if I wasnt a mom, although it’s an awesome cover….

  55. Shore Guy says:

    Suzy works as a mind experiment as well. Why not.

  56. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [55] shore

    Or Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics. This will get Clot excited

    http://www.modernatomic.com/plasmatics/images/hisoc.jpg

  57. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [52, 54]

    Go %*&@ yourselves.

  58. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    BTW, 59 is very much NFSW

  59. JJ says:

    I swear I think I saw every band back in the day with you folks talking about Joan Jett. I saw her in the Pladium back in the day, did not even know who the heck she was. Was on line at a ticketmaster back in 12 grade to buy some Billy Joel tickets I planned on scalping and scalper next to me told me get tickets to her show as they go on sale same time. We were like 5th row center to See Joan Jet back when I was 18.

    Even weirder last two weeks people keep telling me stories I don’t remember. A buddy was with me and when Deep Purple came on he was like remember when we saw them. I was like what. When you were in 11th grade we saw them in Roslyn and we got hammered. Faintly remembered that. Then another friend brought up an old GF I had and I mentioned she hates me with a passion. I ran into her like once or twice since I dated her and she rather wait in freezing cold and take next train then even get on same train with her I went just cause I broke up with her on a Saturday and brought a new girl to my weekend house next weekend did not mean I was cheatining I mean I met her on Thursday and invited her out as our first date. He then says, remember you brought said girl to Neptune Beach, I go yes, you do recall your ex-gf’s sister was there, I go yes. Don’t you remember girl you brought entered hottest body in Hamptons contest and won in her bikini and you got up in stage with her for her prize. OHHHH yea, but that was after 30 beers. I go she holds something against me all these years I just remembered, crazy. Now there was one more story, about me crashing car and something. I just realized I only remember my sober stories. I need to beef up my drunk stories. I had a good one of the night I went out with the dealer who sold Robert Chambers the drugs that night in Dorians Red Hand but I can’t remember whole story. I do recall him telling me I should only use rearview mirror when going in reverse. Turns out I was looking in rearview mirror instead of windshield for like five minutes. No wonder Robert freeked out.

  60. chicagofinance says:

    The other New York teams thanks the New York team for re-enacting 18-1.

    Shore Guy says:
    November 7, 2011 at 12:36 pm
    Gary,

    If it involved a New York team and a Boston team, with rare exception, there is really no need to even ask that question.

  61. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Commenter on CNBC referred to Papandreou as the “subprime minister.”

    Ouch!

  62. Shore Guy says:

    Wendy O never really did anything for me, nor did Madonna. Now, Debbie Harry, Christine McVie, and Nancy Wilson, onthe other hand. Ummm. Oh, and did I mention Cherie Currie?

  63. Shore Guy says:

    64, what does that make our friend in Italia?

  64. Shore Guy says:

    Nom, Before heading back to the salt mine, this public service announcement for the men of th 70s:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMDn6V7ZLhE&feature=related

  65. JJ says:

    Chifi, you laughed at my brillance. However, those NB TRUPS with a 8.25% coupon trading at 91 last week you laughed at and a day later BAC doing a stock offering to finance paying out high coupon trups at par. Who is laughing now!

    I also like a COF 8% TRUP trading at 99. COF said they will pay them out in late 2013 at par no sooner. But hey COF is rock solid unlike BAC and that is a 17% return on basically a two year bank cd.

    I know I know you first made the TRUP call, but it was I who waited till blood was running in the streets. Best was a CW TRUP with a 8% coupon trading 104 in june hit 75 on Oct 3 and back up to 95. What a ride.

    What else you buying lately? Huge amount of called munis I expect between 11-15 and 1-15 so lots of cash will be flowing, trying to plan my entry point before year end as Jan will will have a ton of coupons and called bond money flowing back in.

    chicagofinance says:
    November 7, 2011 at 1:51 pm
    The other New York teams thanks the New York team for re-enacting 18-1.

    Shore Guy says:
    November 7, 2011 at 12:36 pm
    Gary,

    If it involved a New York team and a Boston team, with rare exception, there is really no need to even ask that question.

  66. JJ says:

    WOW used to perfrom with chainsaws and dynamite on stage. Crazy thing she did was have a gas chainsaw going full trottle and stick it between her leg like an inch from her crotch while singing, she was crazy.

  67. JCer says:

    66, Berlusconi is a magician, he should have been arrested so many times and has so many skeletons that no single person knows the extent of his wrongdoing. I am sure politicians around the world look up to him. Houdini couldn’t have escaped capture as often. If he survives this latest bump in the road I’d be impressed, I don’t know how the guy got elected after the 16yr old prostitute thing.

  68. Anon E. Moose says:

    Meat [40];

    At 11:56 AM? Can’t you even lay off the inventory until after noon?

  69. JJ says:

    Funniest part of working for agency is they check neighbors. One applicant lived in an apartment next door to a drug dealer and got turned down. Uncle was like guy is so stupid he can’t figure our neighbor is dealing drugs why do we want him. Also they check out inlaws, brothers/sisters etc. That cool brother in law may have run a meth lab and be a convicted felon. Ain’t getting into top secret clearance eating thanksgiving dinner with him.

  70. The Original NJ Expat says:

    When I was a “fresh-out” (Fresh out of college engineer) working at a military contractor, the first 5 months at work sucked, waiting for my US and NATO clearances to come through. I thought for sure I would get fired for falling asleep in my cube before my clearances arrived. A friend and I went out to the Meadowbrook dance club on a Wednesday or Thursday, stayed out until 4AM. I was sure that day was when I would get fired for not being able to stay awake at work. Luckily my clearances came in the next day and they started showing me secret labs and issuing me classified documents. That was enough to keep me awake so I could keep my job.

  71. speedkillsu says:

    # 17 Sure guy ….without a doubt one of the best books ,made into a great movie … The Voyager ..Sam Shepard ……http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyager

  72. Juice Box says:

    lol Cain

  73. Juice Box says:

    More on the College Edumacation Bubble.

    Perhaps it was a bad choice Majoring in Performing Arts?

    Educated people have higher wages and lower unemployment rates than the less educated so why are college students at Occupy Wall Street protests around the country demanding forgiveness for crushing student debt? The sluggish economy is tough on everyone but the students are also learning a hard lesson, going to college is not enough. You also have to study the right subjects. And American students are not studying the fields with the greatest economic potential.

    Over the past 25 years the total number of students in college has increased by about 50 percent. But the number of students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (the so-called STEM fields) has remained more or less constant. Moreover, many of today’s STEM graduates are foreign born and are taking their knowledge and skills back to their native countries.

    Consider computer technology. In 2009 the U.S. graduated 37,994 students with bachelor’s degrees in computer and information science. This is not bad, but we graduated more students with computer science degrees 25 years ago! The story is the same in other technology fields such as chemical engineering, math and statistics. Few fields have changed as much in recent years as microbiology, but in 2009 we graduated just 2,480 students with bachelor’s degrees in microbiology — about the same number as 25 years ago. Who will solve the problem of antibiotic resistance?

    If students aren’t studying science, technology, engineering and math, what are they studying?

    In 2009 the U.S. graduated 89,140 students in the visual and performing arts, more than in computer science, math and chemical engineering combined and more than double the number of visual and performing arts graduates in 1985.

    The chart at right shows the number of bachelor’s degrees in various fields today and 25 years ago. STEM fields are flat (declining for natives) while the visual and performing arts, psychology, and communication and journalism (!) are way up.

    There is nothing wrong with the arts, psychology and journalism, but graduates in these fields have lower wages and are less likely to find work in their fields than graduates in science and math. Moreover, more than half of all humanities graduates end up in jobs that don’t require college degrees and these graduates don’t get a big college bonus.

    Most importantly, graduates in the arts, psychology and journalism are less likely to create the kinds of innovations that drive economic growth. Economic growth is not a magic totem to which all else must bow, but it is one of the main reasons we subsidize higher education.

    The potential wage gains for college graduates go to the graduates — that’s reason enough for students to pursue a college education. We add subsidies to the mix, however, because we believe that education has positive spillover benefits that flow to society. One of the biggest of these benefits is the increase in innovation that highly educated workers theoretically bring to the economy.

    As a result, an argument can be made for subsidizing students in fields with potentially large spillovers, such as microbiology, chemical engineering, nuclear physics and computer science. There is little justification for subsidizing sociology, dance and English majors.

    College has been oversold. It has been oversold to students who end up dropping out or graduating with degrees that don’t help them very much in the job market. It also has been oversold to the taxpayers, who foot the bill for these subsidies.

    http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/11/college-has-been-oversold.html

  74. Anon E. Moose says:

    Juice [76];

    A) The Occu-brat wing of the protesters with worthless “Comparative ____ Studies” BAs and six figures of non-dischargeable student debt are simply unemployable at the salary level they were promised. I hope they enjoyed the kegger, though.

    B) STEM careers are socially marginalized, and their wages under attack by H1B imports despite >9% unemployment (same can be said for the non-skilled labor pool, where the real unemployment rate is much higher).

    They’re protesting at the wrong address.

  75. plume (59)-

    I saw the Plasmatics live on the West Side Piers back in the day. Wendy ended the show by driving an explosives-filled car into the stage and jumping out before impact.

  76. joyce says:

    77
    considering the banks own the government, why are they at the wrong address?
    (they have the right target, for some of the wrong reasons, only a few correct reasons)

    not to mention the pervasive on-going frauds that never result in any punishment

  77. moose (71)-

    If I drink, I wake up in the morning, and I’m sober.

    You, OTOH, remain a bankster whore.

  78. joyce (79)-

    You do know you’re responding to a bankster wh0re, right?

    It’s about time for Moose to offer us another treatise on why it’s ok for banks to forge documents, commit perjury and foreclose on anything they wish without proper standing.

  79. Shore Guy says:

    83,

    Now, who is it that is supposed to buy the Boomers’ houses?

  80. Shore Guy says:

    “Wendy”

    Wendy O never did anything for me. The music was fine but, given a choice, I would have taken Patti Smith. She was never a treat for the eyes — kind of a female Richard Belzer (Wendy was too much a female Billy Idol (actually may have been more masculine than he))– but her voice on songs like Till Victory and Because the Night was just awsome.

  81. Barbara says:

    Wendy o in Reform School Girls was a lot of fun. I used to catch it on Night Flight

  82. Anon E. Moose says:

    Meat [80];

    I wake up in the morning, and I’m sober.

    …and, judging by the [49] time stamp, you waste no time in re-starting the process.

    Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, even you.

  83. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    (85) shore,

    Richard Belzer. Now I thought the same thing about Chrissie Hines.

  84. moose (88)-

    The only thing you’re entitled to is a horsewhipping.

  85. Fiddy Cents on the Dollar says:

    I came across this link on another website I follow…..

    http://theintelhub.com/2011/11/04/potential-impact-zone-of-2005-yu55-on-november-9th-defined-on-google-earth-and-government-documents/

    Now, you don’t suppose there could be anything to this Asteroid “Fly-by” on Wednesday….do you ??

  86. Shore Guy says:

    Nom,

    I will grant you that Chrissie is not a classic beauty; however she was always sexy looking and her voice was, and, as of two years ago when I saw her, still is both sexy and powerful.

  87. Barbara says:

    Pretenders one and two are two the best rock albums ever. no filler. I’m a huge Chrissy hynde fan.

  88. Shore Guy says:

    Barbara,

    The Pretenders were and still are excellent. I recommend going to see them.

  89. chicagofinance says:

    That Triumph Insult Comic Dog on OWS was so funny I keep watching it over and over…thanks to the person who posted it over the weekend.

  90. Shore Guy says:

    Chifi,

    If you bump into Kevin Smith in Red Bank, you can ask him what he thinks of this:

    http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2011/11/kevin_smith_s_career_reviewed_.single.html

  91. chicagofinance says:

    shore – ok

  92. chicagofinance says:

    Down Goes Frazier……

    I have Clot’s Real Estate Office in my dead pool….who has Jon Corzine?

  93. Shore Guy says:

    Who would have believed that Abe Vigoda would outlive Joe Frasier?

    http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45201210/ns/sports-other_sports/

  94. Shore Guy says:

    Speaking of Abe. This is funny and comes from his Web site:

    Abe Vigoda is alive

    http://www.abevigoda.com/

  95. Shore Guy says:

    Or a band’s site.

  96. I would say that foreclosed homes typically sell at a discount of more than 25 percent

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