From the Record:
Budget could deal middle-class homeowners a painful double whammy
The budget Governor Corzine unveiled Tuesday calls for eliminating property tax deductions on state income taxes next year, raising about $420 million to help balance a painful spending plan. But for middle-class New Jerseyans who would also lose their property tax rebates, the missing deduction could pack an extra punch.
Although many budget details had leaked in advance, the lost tax write-off caught many off guard. Corzine would remove the property tax deduction on income taxes for all but senior citizens, and eliminate property tax rebates for non-senior households making more than $75,000 a year. Non-senior households earning $50,000 to $75,000 would see their rebate check from last year slashed by a third. Last year’s program offered staggered rebates for households making up to $150,000.
That could translate into a double whammy for non-senior homeowners earning $75,000 to $150,000. They lose their rebate and hundreds of dollars from the deduction.
A homeowner earning $95,000, for example, would not only lose a $1,000-plus rebate. Scrapping the property tax deduction would take away another $350 or so, according to state figures.
“The loss of the deduction would make homeownership even harder for New Jersey residents who are struggling to make ends meet during this recession,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union.
first!
How will the RE agents spin that one? Not being able to deduct your property taxes off your state income?
I thought the US is on of the few countries in the world that lets you deduct property taxes and mtg interest off your tax returns.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Half the voters in a new poll support cutting property tax rebates for nearly all New Jerseyans, and half are opposed.
The Quinnipiac University Poll out Wednesday was taken before Gov. Jon S. Corzine proposed saving $500 million by eliminating rebates to residents earning more than $75,000 a year. Rebates to seniors and the disabled would be spared.
The poll also finds voters evenly split on furloughing state workers. Corzine wants to force them to take 12 unpaid days off and skip their pay raise to avoid layoffs.
By a 2-1 margin, voters support raising taxes on wine and liquor and on the wealthiest residents. Both are in the budget Corzine proposed Tuesday.
The telephone poll of 1,386 registered voters was taken March 4-9 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=courierpostonline&sParam=30324865.story
It’s actually a triple whammy when you factor in the cuts to municipalities who will then have to raise property taxes to offset the state funding cut.
Corzine is a joke and his supporters are fools.
Interesting article, posts at end explore premise, worth reading. You decide.
The Mark-to-Market Bank Trade This Week
http://seekingalpha.com/article/124908-the-mark-to-market-bank-trade-this-week
Corzine another reason to rent, really want to kill RE. Fool.
Just keep raising taxes johnny boy…..many will vote against him, more will vote with their feet.
Anyone, I repeat anyone can run an investment bank in the good years…
“more will vote with their feet” – true
stan PA looking better & better.
http://www.ticketmaster.com/Depeche-Mode-tickets/artist/734907
Wednesday Outlook: Citi Sparks Bear Market Rally
“With friends like the taxpayers who can lose, eh? Not many investors spent time looking deeper behind the better numbers that Citigroup’s (C) “Mooch in Chief” was citing. But, who cares? A little spark often stampedes bulls in an extremely oversold market—it isn’t hard to fathom. Further Bernanke hints big banks won’t be allowed to fail and there was a good chance the recession will end this year. Also, Barney Rubble states mark-to market rules should be reconsidered (another try at “the willing suspension of disbelief”) and the SEC will consider reinstatement of the uptick rule—this being the biggest smoke screen of them all.”
http://seekingalpha.com/article/125284-wednesday-outlook-citi-sparks-bear-market-rally
this will cripple first time home buyers for the state. i may underestimate realtors but i just don’t know how the hell they’d be able to spin the positives of home ownerships for young newlyweds looking to buy. anyone “able” to buy a house is surely making at least 75k (household).
Mafia Cops Will Still Collect Pensions
http://gothamist.com/2009/03/07/mafia_cops_will_still_collect_pensi.php
That’s bs. The Mafia should be paying their pensions!
Wow, just wow. Another nail in the coffin for fence sitters and first time buyers. This state is a joke.
“Half the voters in a new poll support cutting property tax rebates for nearly all New Jerseyans, and half are opposed.”
I find this statement hard to believe. Were these voters homeowners or renters? Eliminating the deduction next year opens the door for eliminating it completely. Isn’t Corzine the same one who promised lasting tax relief? He is such a disappointment!!
Wow! This must really suck for the bubble buyers who figured this deduction in their calculation for their monthly PITI.
I don’t think this will affect first time buyers since the prices will/should reflect the new reality.
I love Corzine
don’t worry, omama’s stimulus package will help.
They just gotta do something.
ok, I need to take my pro_z_a_c now.
I will you at McDonald’s for lunch, but I may be a tad late as the SUV needs more gas.
SAS
I suppose that Corzine is doing everything in his power to lower housing prices in NJ. This is bad for my current multi but good for my next home. Nothing like dollar-cost averaging into real estate.
Stu, as long as you have a 100 year time horizon. I had already assumed no property tax rebate but did figure estimated state income tax using property tax deduction. Bucks Country here I come.
You are right stan I totally agree with it…
Corzine is the best. I hope he keeps raising taxes, tolls and fees, until there’s no one left in NJ.
And of the course the unions are not happy with Corzines furlough and wage freeze plan. Their representatives are demanding an immediate meeting with the governor.
Only the private secctor should suffer seems to be their belief.
From last night (well very early this morning, anyway):
“Does it make sense to own a townhouse [newer, better design], or a single family home [older, more space] for roughly the same price. What are the general factors to consider? ”
For me, consideration number one is whether the property can be held fee simple. I don’t “do” collective ownership ofproperty. Once past that, it becomes an issue of lifestyle and cost of ownership. Some people NEED a yard, for others it is a millstone, etc.
“Only the private secctor should suffer seems to be their belief.”
You don’t know what it’s like being a cop or fireman or teacher.
jon, showing no mercy for the NJ taxpayer.
must be getting ready to make all illegals legal. NJ a sad welfare state.
how much can the taxpayer take?
The theme song for the stinking B.O. administration’s first 90 days in office must be Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust:
“Charles W. Freeman Jr. withdrew yesterday from his appointment as chairman of the National Intelligence Council after questions about his impartiality were raised among members of Congress and with White House officials”
Can they not fill their top policy jobs? After the election, did it come as a surprise that they were going to be running the store?
Enough of the complaining people. Get back to work, Johnny needs your money.
#24 You don’t know what it’s like being a cop or fireman or teacher.
In NJ it is a nice deal.
Escape,
There comes a point when rational people decide it is NOT worth earning the extra buck. Mrs. Shore and I were talking about the hours spent earning our income and have seriously discusswd whether it is worth the time and effort to generate the income that puts us above the new “rich” benchmarks. Certainly, we would take a substantial hit in income and it would reduce our ability to travel etc. On the other hand, we travel in large part to seek a diversion from the daily (and I mean 7 days a week most weeks) grind that, unless one gets away from once in a while, will chew one up and spit one out. I recognize that we are lucky and many, well, most, people don’t have any choice and MUST seek out every additional dollar; however, we have been lucky and, after seeing relatives go to an early grave from overwork and stress, it gives one pause.
Two questions for the assembled: Is the mortgage deduction a critical, do or die, component to housing affordability, or is it just perceived as being so? If B.O. gets or allows congress to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, will it have a greater benefit to people in the long run by: a) putting downward pressure on prices and eliminaing the “rebate psychology” that comes with home buying; b) focusing homeowners on the spending made in their towns and states, as the “dont worry about it you get to deduct it on your taxes” mentality goes away?
So in NJ we have a loss of property tax relief, a loss of a property tax deduction, and we will be hit with a higher tax bill from the state and to boot the towns are going to raise property taxes in order to make up for their own budget shortfalls.
2010 will be the year of the great escape from New Jersey, with falling property values, rising taxes in NJ, and rising unemployment with few job prospects for the unemployed.
You have to give Chuckie points for chutzpah:
New York Lawmakers Plead for PDC Jobs
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Christopher Lee (R-N.Y.) March 10 wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman in an effort to get back 90 jobs in Arcade, N.Y., that were lost due to the termination of IRS’s private debt collection program.
IRS decided March 5 to end the controversial outsourcing, in which Pioneer Credit Recovery was one of two firms employed to collect delinquent tax debt.
The lawmakers said it appears the deck was stacked against the program’s success, and asked the regulators to reconsider their decision.
To recap: 1. Dems (which include Chuckie) advocate for elimination of private debt collection because (a) it’s private,(b) PDC targets their demographic, and (c) it was a Bush program. 2. Dems (including Chuckie) win in November and promptly keep promise to kill program. 3. Chuckie (the dem) cries for 90 lost jobs in his district and says program was never given a chance.
Chuckie gets the perfecta if he can find a way to blame it on Bush.
Can’t we all just get along?
(CNN) — Five human heads were found in ice chests on Tuesday under a ficus tree in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, police said.
The grisly find appeared to be the latest indication of drug cartels fighting for supremacy in battles that have left thousands dead.
Police in the municipality of Ixtlahuacan del Rio were informed of the discovery at 2 a.m., the prosecutor’s office said in a written statement.
Each head was found in a separate ice chest beside a road leading to the city of Guadalajara, police said.
The tops of the ice chests were inscribed with messages, among them, one that threatened further violence.
“Like these, I am going to finish everyone,” says one. “I’m going after you, ‘Goyo.'”
Another said, “Here we go, ‘Goyo,’ idiot.”
The victims’ eyes were taped shut and the heads had been severed only a few hours before they were discovered, the statement said.
The victims — all of them men — were estimated at 30 to 45 years of age.
Municipal police said one of the heads appeared to belong to someone known in the community.
Jalisco is near the state of Sinaloa, where the Sinaloa cartel is based.
Note to self: pick up more 12-gauge shells…
Want a stunning figure? Half of Americans now say they are only one month or less away from not being able to meet their financial obligations if they were to lose their job — just two paychecks or less. And of these, more than half — 28 percent of all Americans — say they could not survive financially for more than two weeks without their current job.
…
The survey data underscores that the mortgage industry would do well to remain focused on economic fundamentals: following a job loss, 59 percent of survey respondents said they’d be somewhat or very concerned about having to file for bankruptcy, and 64 percent would be concerned about losing their home.
And evidence of the spending binge most Americans are still recovering from is evident in even the broadest sense, not just limited to those with more limited financial means. Even the “mass affluent” — those making $100,000+ in income per year, according to the MetLife study — haven’t been saving enough, with more than one-quarter (29 percent) saying that they couldn’t meet their financial obligations for more than one month following a job loss.
That’s the sort of information that should give every lender, investor and servicer pause as we think about managing a growing number of bad loans.
http://www.housingwire.com/2009/03/10/most-americans-hanging-on-by-a-financial-thread-study/
I always thought is was those 1% interest rates, lack of Fed oversight in Lending that inflated the housing bubble, but now that I know it was a billion or so Chinese with an annual per capita income of about $4,000 saving all that money, I feel a lot better now.
March 11 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Federal Reserve’s “easy money” policies during the first part of this decade didn’t cause the housing bubble, former Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
A surge in growth in China and other emerging markets led to an excess of savings that pushed global long-term interest rates down between early 2000 and 2005, Greenspan wrote in an article. That caused mortgage rates and the benchmark Fed-funds rate to diverge after moving “in lockstep” from 1971 to 2002, he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p…K74&refer=home
[33] clot,
You’re breaking the blog, dammit!!!!
(must go back to counting my neuroses now).
(actually, must go back to work. Damn blog, it’s like crack).
#
Secondary Market says:
March 11, 2009 at 7:54 am
this will cripple first time home buyers for the state. i may underestimate realtors but i just don’t know how the hell they’d be able to spin the positives of home ownerships for young newlyweds looking to buy. anyone “able” to buy a house is surely making at least 75k (household).
…
My husband and I sat the bubble out as first time buyers and now with even less incentive to buy, it looks like we’ll be sitting this year out too.
Corzine is so out of touch with the average individual he can’t comprehend the impact his decisions are having. I’ve had enough of these wealthy charlatans running everything into the ground.
“That’s the sort of information that should give every lender, investor and servicer pause as we think about managing a growing number of bad loans.”
Killjoy! People need to buy, buy, buy, and banks need to lend, lend, lend. Didn’t you get the memo?
Shore (29)-
To your two questions:
1. The Federal mtg interest deductibility (and property tax deductibility) should not be a make-or-break factor in purchasing a home. However, eliminating them should be done within the context of an entire overhaul of the tax system.
Yeah, right.
2. The downward pressure on prices and a renewed public scrutiny and focus on the money-sucking pit of leeches in Trenton, NJ municipalities and DC would be a natural outcome of the removal of mtg and property tax deductibility.
As a result, I predict sales of firearms and ammo will skyrocket. I now make the bold call that we should all get long the personal armaments sector.
Wonder if Carla taught Jon how to hit it and forget it?
Jeez, I feel like Barney Frank after a blindfolded mandingo party.
#40 was for John.
Mandingo? Some sort of Spanish dance?
I guess if your an AMT payer nothing would change?
Shore Guy says:
March 11, 2009 at 9:07 am
Two questions for the assembled: Is the mortgage deduction a critical, do or die, component to housing affordability, or is it just perceived as being so?
Shore: Ultimately it is a subsidy that at first was a stimulus, but given its long run permanence, is merely priced into real estate. If it is removed, you need to carve out a piece of the market values. Even if people on the margin do not think in this manner as they make single decisions, it has the broad aggregate impact.
All the variables matter: interest rates on mortgages; property taxes; state income taxes; federal income taxes.
There are a whole host of obvious reasons that prices need to come down. A lot of people are just getting to understand this fact. On the blog, we are already considering the second order stuff that is going to apply additional pressure. People are really going to get blindsided when they realize that even when the recession is over, there is still going to be reason for prices to continue downward or stagnate.
Beaver (37)-
Don’t worry. Young newlyweds stopped buying houses in NJ about two years ago.
I look at wedding announcements every week in my local paper. Everybody gets married in NJ and either lives in another state, or moves there after the wedding.
“…this will cripple first time home buyers for the state. i may underestimate realtors but i just don’t know how the hell they’d be able to spin the positives of home ownerships for young newlyweds looking to buy.”
Shore (42)-
Of a sort. Google the term. You’ll get lots of fun info. :)
If Corzine was Honest, he would fold to Property Tax rebate into the Income Tax Return to save millions in double administration.
JBJB (43)-
At some point, everyone in the US making over 50K/year will be subject to AMT.
“Google the term”
Clot,
Methinks I had better not as I may end up with an education beyond what I am prepared for at this hour of the morning.
AOL Hands Out Pink Slips, Plans to Cut 10% of Staff
http://tinyurl.com/auhkpc
who owns a home & brings in less than $50k?
confused (47)-
Shut up. You obviously have the ability to think.
Trenton is currently only soliciting opinions from those who can empathize with the pain of the lowly, hardworking proletariat.
Is the logical conclusion of this trend a guy like Pol Pot running the show? I seem to remember that at the end, he had the Khmer Rouge executing everyone that could read.
“People are really going to get blindsided when they realize that even when the recession is over, there is still going to be reason for prices to continue downward or stagnate.”
I can’t believe Timmy, B.O., Barney, etc. do not know this. If they don’t, we are thoroughly scre-wed. If they do, they have an obligation to be honest with the public, which they have not been thus far; they keep trying to reassure people that this is a short-term negative blip and all will be well if the USG just props up the right couple of entities and people get access to more credit to keep spending.
#51 – People who bought in `97, `98 & `99.
AOL is still in business?
As I was doing my taxes this year, I could not stop thinking about how much less the Fed, state and local gubmints will be taking in this year. Then I thought about how they all continue to increase spending and that the idea of cuts has not even been mentioned at any of these three levels.
Prior to the recession/depression the tax increases were unsustainable. Now that the tax revenues are diminishing, they are actually increasing taxes to try to make up for the shortfall, increasing deficits and still not reducing spending. If the system was not sustainable before, they are accelerating the pace of the event horizon per se.
And people wonder why I am short the markets?
Corzine is simply rocket fuel for my equity investments and gasoline for my physical real estate investment.
“Delphi retirees await key court decision
Supplier is asking judge to terminate health and life insurance benefits for 15,000 former workers”
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090311/AUTO01/903110365/1148
Applications for new mortgages and refinancings of existing loans together jump more than 11% in the latest week.
Loan Modification.
“The Next Catastrophe
Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were a politicized financial disaster? Just wait until pension funds implode”
http://www.reason.com/news/show/130843.html
JB at some point all we will have is the AMT. I for one will accept an across-the-board flat tax. If they want everyone to equally share the burden, lets go! The Dem’s don’t want that. They want to pretend to be for it while all the while looking to sock it to the most productive members of society. Killing incentives to innovate and excel worked so well for the USSR, after all.
#54 tosh
i suspect one would have to go further back than that.
Stu,
We are in a boat that is taking in water and our “leaders” are drilling holes in the bottom of the hull to “help drain” the water.
remember when everyone wanted to get into the luxury market because the high end was immune?
from the WSJ:
**********
Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. announced a quarterly loss Wednesday — its first loss during a holiday shopping period in recent memory at the company — illustrating how high-end merchants now are among the worst hit segments of American retailing.
For the thirteen weeks ended Jan. 31, Neiman Marcus, which is owned by private-equity firms Warburg Pincus and TPG, reported a net loss of $509.2 million compared to net earnings of $44.3 million over the same period one year ago. Sales dropped more than 20% to $1.08 billion from $1.37 billion in the prior year.
Does Timmay’s listing agent have a blog?
clot-46, Shore 49…I had the funniest chuckle in a while if shore googles mandingo
Ref 53: no one ever got (re) elected by being honest.
Clot his listing agent is “Candy Steiner” CSteiner@houlihanlawrence.com
You can post a question on Zillow.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/32-Maple-Hill-Dr-Larchmont-NY-10538/33049632_zpid/
Sean (67)-
This is the kind of info that keeps me coming back here.
I’m now trying to figure out whether my agents can handle the Secret Service coming into our office after I posit my question on Zillow…
Isn’t there a p0rn actress named “Candy Steiner”?
Knowing the definition of Mandingo is the perfect test to determine how ‘urban’ one’s background is.
Obama Mandingo?
If we can manage to work “Mandingo” and “Candy Steiner” into every single post here today, I predict some interesting things will happen.
#61 – Those were the years I was in the mortgage biz. It was very common for households making under 50 a year to buy a house.
We used to see families making under $40k regularly.
tosh (73)-
What’s the problem with that? Somebody making 40K in 1999 should be making at least 41K right now…
In about a week, Candy Steiner will wish she had never been born.
keep renting
#37 Anastasia: it looks like we’ll be sitting this year out too.
Are you waiting for further price declines?
#74 – somebody making 40K in 1999 should be making at least 41K right now…
via 60hr work weeks….
#35 sean: Looks like Mr. Greenspan is desperately grasping at straws;anything to try and salvge his reputation. pathetic.
Not very “urban” here.
#29
“Two questions for the assembled: Is the mortgage deduction a critical, do or die, component to housing affordability, or is it just perceived as being so?”
I believe that the deduction is already built into the price of housing. To the extent it is eliminated/reduced, house prices will go down.
“will it have a greater benefit to people in the long run by: a) putting downward pressure on prices and eliminaing the “rebate psychology” that comes with home buying; b) focusing homeowners on the spending made in their towns and states, as the “dont worry about it you get to deduct it on your taxes” mentality goes away?”
(a) I think so. The less distortion via tax policy the more efficient the market.
(b) This is already largely eliminated in our area due to the AMT, but otherwise, I agree
“We used to see families making under $40k regularly”
When they were earning $30k and buying homes priced at $100k or less, all as okay. $40k now? $75k now? Gimme a break.
“Mr. Greenspan is desperately grasping at straws;anything to try and salvge his reputation.”
Reputation? I dunno. I do suspect he wants to retain the ability to bring in large speaking fees. It may be all that is left for him, after this, who would hire him to consult on economic matters?
#30 sean:the towns are going to raise property taxes in order to make up for their own budget shortfalls.
And much of this shortfall was caused by out of control municipal spending approved in various referendums by the residents of these same municipalities.
#53
“People are really going to get blindsided when they realize that even when the recession is over, there is still going to be reason for prices to continue downward or stagnate.”
I can’t believe Timmy, B.O., Barney, etc. do not know this. If they don’t, we are thoroughly scre-wed.
**************
Consider us screwed. Timmay bought a house in Westchester in 2004 and I believe Bernanke bought a house in suburban D.C. in 2006. They did not recognize the bubble when it came to their own personal finances so why would they understand it in the context of their jobs?
Beaverhausen, huh?
Shore, that’s a strong argument for the reversion to the mean. Those blue collar jobs aren’t paying twice as much or at least won’t for a while.
Yea, like B.O. has any credibility with this issue:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/11/obama.earmarks/
Like a new guy in prison, he is about to find out that after one gives in a single time, it is all over. He should VETO the bloody bill, go on TV and urge the people to demand a clean spending bill, and take whatever lumps he must take in order to take charge. If not, every piece of must-pass legislation will become a christmas tree of pork spending.
Shore,
mandingo refers to generously endowed gentlemen, there is one particular gentlemen of a darker skin tone that goes by that “stage” name.
there i saved you a sordid trip on the web.
Obama is stuck, the banks own him. He cannot act effectively in this mess without acting against the interest that put him in office. that leaves him floundering trying everything else that wont work while the bankers continue to transfer any remaining wealth away from the bourgeois and into their accounts.
#83 – Isn’t that the heart of the problem? We’ve discussed this before, lots. Property prices increased, wages didn’t.
Not very long ago (into late 2k1 in fact***)you could find houses for those prices. It may not have been the best neighborhood, or all that modern, but it was possible.
By the time we hit 2k6 houses in Keansburg were being priced at 250K+.
*** – It was getting hard to do so, however.
In about a week, Candy Steiner will wish she had never been born.
Amen. I told her it’s not worth a penny over a million.
Guess what, if 45% of global wealth disappeared overnight then it was only paper gains and didn’t really exist. leverage cuts both ways gentlemen.
“Between 40 and 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half,” Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. “This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/03/10/business/OUKBS-UK-BLACKSTONE.php
“Top Democrats, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, have suggested lawmakers do not appreciate being dictated to on an issue that is a congressional prerogative.
Asked last week about the administration’s plan to put forth guidelines to overhaul earmarks, Hoyer said flatly, “I don’t think the White House has the ability to tell us what to do.”
This is from the CNN piece. Because of statements like this, B.O. is obliged to veto the bill otherwise no amount of legislative viagra will allow him to stand up to the congressional Dems and they will roll him like a basketball down a steep hill.
“He should VETO the bloody bill, go on TV and urge the people to demand a clean spending bill, and take whatever lumps he must take in order to take charge.”
It should be obvious by now B.O. is unwilling to stand up to the power players in his party. He is a straight, by the book Dem— not a moderate.
3b says:
March 11, 2009 at 10:08 am
#37 Anastasia: it looks like we’ll be sitting this year out too.
Are you waiting for further price declines?
Well we are not buying in NJ this year as well….
We are putting it off untill I get a job outside NJ… There is no hope here for a person with “normal” job – under 100K.
Job market sux though….. but I am applying now…
I think everybody not tied up to wall-street should simply pick up a leave this state…
I was talking with some people in the White House a little while ago. They are all so upbeat about statements B.O. is going to be making within the hour about earmark reform. They seem so very pleased with themselves that “starting next year things will be different,” right after they waste $410 billion on this omnibus spending bill. They really are idiots. Disingenuous ones at that.
Bush was a threat to liberty by seeking police-state powers and B.O. is a danger to liberty by fiscal irresponsibility. God help us, we seem unwilling to do it ourselves.
“I think everybody not tied up to wall-street should simply pick up a leave this state…”
And what makes anyone thing that “Wall Street” needs to be located in lower Manhattan?
Blackstone (BX) going public was one of the greatest timed moves ever. Those guys made out like fcukin’ banditos!
My claim to fame was receiving a bank wire having just sold a urine soaked, mortar chipped property in eastern Europe just d-a-y-s before SHTF in a major way across the globe. I mean the guy didn’t even have time to cart in a new fridge before the currency devalued and prices plummeted.
Shore Guy says:
March 11, 2009 at 10:33 am
“I think everybody not tied up to wall-street should simply pick up a leave this state…”
And what makes anyone thing that “Wall Street” needs to be located in lower Manhattan?
It does not need to , it is simply is right now. Hence the high housing prices – we are close to NYC!!!
#94
“They seem so very pleased with themselves that “starting next year things will be different,” right after they waste $410 billion on this omnibus spending bill. They really are idiots. Disingenuous ones at that.”
It is complete nonsense that they have no control over this. They have total control and their promise that “next time will be different” is not credible. GOP is to blame here too. If they could’ve enforced a pact to not do earmarks on this bill, it would’ve gone a long way toward burnishing their credibility
“He is a straight, by the book Dem— not a moderate.”
At this point I don’t even care aboiut moderate v. liberal. I WANT competence. He and his brain thrust seem to think they can allow this pork stew to pass and then they can fix it later. There is no later if they don’t stop this NOW. Ask for TV time, veto the bill, tell the American what he did and why, and tell them to light up the Senate and House Switchboards, ask people to march, e-mail, whatever demanding a clean bill be passed by Friday. If he is not going to use a high approval rating to accomplish one of the things he said was most important to accomplish, he is worthless.
DC is like a pack of wolves, it runs on perceived power. If the president appears weak, Pelosi and Reid et al. will feel they have the upper hand, rightfully so, and B.O. will be like one of those people in the back of John’s old cars — thoroughly scr-ewed.
clot,
Since you know the South, what do you think about South Carolina near the shore as a very prospective area to look at for a retirement place?
urine soaked, mortar chipped property
That sounds like the majority of homes for sale in “prestigous” towns demanding top dollar according to the delusional, fat, drunken, stupid b*stards.
I am having that standing-on-a-hill-watching-the-train-barreling-down-the-track-towards-a-washed-out-bridge feeling once again. I was so relieved to get rid of the Bush criminals, and, even though I did not want these folks to be in power, I wished B.O. all the luck in the world. But, come on, this is just idiotic.
From the article i posted yesterday:
It looks like we are propping up international finance markets by essentially laundering money through both AIG and Citi. The lack of action to fully nationalize or liquidate either company makes perfect sense in this light. it also suggests that while this arrangement continues, our creditors will continue to buy US treasuries willy nilly, as they are effectively bailing themselves out by doing so.
I hope everyone here feels proud, the american taxpayer is bailing out the global finance system!
This is a huge potential time bomb though. if the bond vigilantes decide they have had enough, they have the ability to shut down this little game. its also interesting that the Fed and Gov need people to be afraid right now, in order to drive people to the “safety” of treasuries, therefore driving down rates.
In my opinion this activity essentially makes the US government illegitimate. They are now acting against the interests of the US taxpayer and in the interest of foreign nations and banks.
if the FDIC were to take over citi then foreign nations would be on the hook for about 500 billion in deposits and $1.4 trillion in liabilities. How many french hamlets, spanish townships, or Norwegian cities have their money tied up with citi ans would have to be bailed out by their local governments or get wiped out? i think that citi going down really could trigger a global financial collapse way beyond what we have seen so far. This potential citi ans AIG debacle is Way bigger then the eastern europe debacle this already threatening to ripe the EU apart.
Any thoughts????
“This made me curious as to how much of Citigroup was a domestic commercial bank that the FDIC could take over, and how much was multinational financial stuff outside the FDIC’s jurisdiction.So I took a look at the balance sheet from Citi’s new 10K (with numbers as of Dec. 31, 2008). First, there’s the division between Citigroup and Citibank. Citigroup has assets of $1.938 trillion, and liabilities of $1.797 trillion. Citibank has assets of $1.227 trillion and liabilities of $1.145 trillion. So right there, about 36% of the company’s assets and liabilities are outside the bank.
Then there’s the bank itself. Its balance sheet separates deposits in U.S. offices, which are insured by the FDIC, from deposits in offices outside the U.S., which aren’t. Of $755 billion in deposits, $241 billion are in the U.S. and $515 billion outside (the numbers don’t add up because I’m rounding). ”
Citi has received $45 billion in direct bailout, an undetermined amount of the $1.4 T in TARP/TALF, and a $1T backstop by the Fed Reserve.
U.S. Taxpayers are propping up the international market.
http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2009/03/09/how-much-of-citigroup-could-the-fdic-actually-take-over/
“Since you know the South, what do you think about South Carolina near the shore as a very prospective area to look at for a retirement place?”
Seems like they think they are in good shape financially..
South Carolina’s Sanford to become first governor to reject funds…
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/63706.html
Scribe 103
How do you feel about hurricanes and sustained droughts?
Justin (104),
If Sanford really wants financial Security and assure purchasing power for the South Carolinians then he shoudl take the 8 Billion freshly printed money and buy Shiny with it.
Store it in Australia so that O’s team can’t confiscate it.
Watch his reputation skyrocket among his base.
#97 Hence the high housing prices – we are close to NYC!!!
Hence the high house prices that are dropping, and will continue to.
#93 Al:There is no hope here for a person with “normal” job – under 100K.
I think there will be plenty of opportunities for people with normal incomes to buy here.
Prices are dropping, slowly, yes, but they are and will continue to drop.
It is the property tax issue that is really sacary.
For those who wish to try to stop B.O. from signing the pork bill, you can fax to 202-456-2461, or call either202-456-1111 or 456-1414. My suggestion, do all three.
Oh, you have about 45 minutes to make a difference.
Is Odrama still campaigning?
Shore (83)-
Bill Gross?
Behind Belgium?
With Washington doing all it can to prove that borrowed money is the answer, is it any wonder that others are asking questions, as Institutional Investor suggests in “U.S. Creditworthiness Hits Record Low”?
The latest U.S. government budget projects a staggering deficit of $1.75 trillion this year, and publicly held debt is expected to expand by $9.57 trillion, to $15.37 trillion, over the next decade.
But as the U.S. governmentment commits its full faith and credit to stemming financial panic and restoring the nation’s economy — and by extension that of the world — to vigorous health, its standing in the eyues of investors is plumbing unprecedented depths.
As revealed in the semiannual Institutional Investor Country Credit survey, the U.S. sees its creditworthiness drop by 5.0 points, to 88.0, on a scale of zero to 100. It now ranks No. 15 among the 177 countries in the survey, one place behind Belgium, a debt-plagued and barely governable state that might cease to exist if Flemish and French-speaking separatists had their way.
http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2009/03/behind-belgium.html
Timmy Boy is gonna bring the world together, isn’t that nice?
If you call, you may want to ask for Christina Romer, she heads the Council of Economic Advisors. In most White Houses the council members are in less of a bubble and answer their phones.
Justin (104) –
“Seems like they think they are in good shape financially..”
Are you kidding me? They have a 12.7% shortfall this year, as compared to 6.5% in NJ.
http://www.cbpp.org/9-8-08sfp.htm
The governor is grandstanding to be “ideologically pure”. Most of the red states take in more Fed dollars than they give and are subsidized by states like NJ and California. BTW, Alaska takes in almost twice the amount it pays in fed taxes.
vodka (88)-
“Obama is stuck, the banks own him.”
Don’t forget, O has 534 accomplices just down the street from his house.
I’d say 535, but I’m pretty sure Bernie Sanders isn’t on any bank’s payroll.
“a debt-plagued and barely governable state”
So, other than the language issue, we have much in common with them, it seems.
vodka (91)-
If it’s only paper- and therefore, theoretical- why does the pain it’s inflicting feel so real?
Waah! I want my virtual consequences.
Here is the link for Federal Spending Received Per Dollar of Taxes Paid by State, 2005
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html
Top 3 – NM, Mississipi and Alaska
NJ actually receives only $0.61 for every dollar in taxes to the Fed. It is the lowest.
If anyone is looking to set up offshore accounts or a foreign corporation, the time is now. Bill now in Congress would require:
1. All money transfers over 10K reportable if $$$ goes offshore.
2. Tax preparers will be required to dime out clients with foreign holdings.
3. Jewelry, artwork, etc. can’t be taken out of the country without being reported.
4. IRS will treat certain foreign companies as domestic, and attempt to tax their worldwide income.
There are other provisions that increase penalties for failure to report foreign holdings, etc.
In the future, voting with one’s feet is going to be illegal. All of this suggests to me that the canary I have been watching for years now has dropped onto the newspaper, and is flapping around spastically.
For bonus points, can anyone name the regimes in the past century that imposed similar currency and asset transfer restrictions? (hint, most of them aren’t around any more).
//tax news off, back to work
zieba (96)-
And, the stumblebum bagholder’s mortgage is probably denominated in Swissies. He got eunuched into a Mrs. Watanabe and didn’t even know it.
“I mean the guy didn’t even have time to cart in a new fridge before the currency devalued and prices plummeted.”
scribe (100)-
It blows. Despite the bravado your hear coming out of SC, they are in deep, deep fiscal shit.
Also, the whole state has become a giant colony of old, cranky Canadians.
Clot,
If it’s only paper- and therefore, theoretical- why does the pain it’s inflicting feel so real?
hence the core problem of a fiat money system run amok. the big dogs control the physical wealth (grain, gold, property etc) and everyone else gets paper wealth. when the system goes kaboom you must pay the big dogs “real” wealth in order to gain access to resources that were previously accessible with “paper” wealth and which is rapidly disappearing. thi sis also called deflation
Clot,
If it’s only paper- and therefore, theoretical- why does the pain it’s inflicting feel so real?
hence the core problem of a fiat money system run amok. the big dogs control the physical wealth (grain, gold, property etc) and everyone else gets paper wealth. when the system goes kaboom you must pay the big dogs “real” wealth in order to gain access to resources that were previously accessible with “paper” wealth and which is rapidly disappearing. this is also called deflation
Clot,
Neither is, oh, what is his name, the Doctor from Texas.
“I was talking with some people in the White House a little while ago. They are all so upbeat about statements B.O. is going to be making within the hour about earmark reform. They seem so very pleased with themselves that “starting next year things will be different,” right after they waste $410 billion on this omnibus spending bill. They really are idiots. Disingenuous ones at that.”
The only reason Obama wants to reform earmarking is because once he removes the power of earmarking from the congress, all of the spending power gets transferred to the executive branch. Ron Paul brought this up on the floor. Earmarking reform does nothing to solve the problems at hand because it doesn’t reduce the budget.
vodka (123)-
If somebody had told me that, I could’ve skipped a whole semester of Econ in skool.
clot 127
dont quote on that comment, i just read that in some kids text book as i was rummaging through his locked to see if he had a weed stash….
back to mopping the floors.
locked = locker
wow, such high taxes on our middle class & yet, our poor are still worried if we’ll get tv thru your rabbit ears?
i hope one day i can make $500k at a zombie bank.
……….
22,130-acre estate with 7,427-square-foot house has six bedrooms and six baths built in 1998.
Property taxes in 2008 were $784.
A caretaker would cost about $300 a month.
On the market for $1,250,000
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/greathomesanddestinations/11gh-sale-1.html?_r=1&ref=realestate
OT- I just found out one of my listing clients has been arrested for walking out on his back porch buck naked and flashing a woman and her teenage daughter.
Could this be one of the signs of the Apocalypse?
Uh-Oh. SRS on the move again.
#125 – I doubt of Kucinich is on a bank payroll either. So there are a few (3,4?) to balance out all that lobbying cash.
Is it socially acceptable to drink Knob Creek from the bottle at 9 AM?
#133 – I doubt if Kucinich
vic (132)-
Seeing that has pulled me back from the abyss of flashing listing clients and the desire to drink in the morning.
Vic:
Stop watching SRS. Just set your sell limit at 150 and rest soundly.
I don’t understand how anybody can be surprised wrt tax hikes. This is what always happens with taxes. First, tax is only “for the rich” (remember AMT?). Eventually it is for everybody – except gov funded parasites.
O has now terminated the single most successful domestic policy initiative of Clinton years – welfare reform. Practically half of the population will not pay any income taxes from now on, so there is no incentive to cut spending ever again.
#121 clot: And it has got a 27K a year property tax bill.
3b (139)-
That guy should kill himself.
Do they still have debtor’s prisons in E. Europe?
“Somebody making 40K in 1999 should be making at least 41K right now…”
Clot – You pretty much summed it all up right there. All the “growth” in the past decade was based on the illusion of rising asset prices and the replacement of real income with debt. Now, the consumer is deleveraging and will continue to do so for a long time. Unless, we get back to producing real stuff which other people want and leads to real growth in income, we are fcuked.
We are now in a sudden debt situation. Unfortunately, everything that I have seen from Obama does not lead me to believe that he understands the situation. Or maybe he does, but has sold out to the real masters of the universe. This tax thing is all a smoke screen, while the money gets funneled to our bankers/financiers through the back door.
It may be a bit early, but this bear market rally appears to be stumbling after a day and a half. Is THIS the best our economy can do? Is 7000 DJIA the new ceiling?
here is the federal stimulus in action. RI state gov’t has one of the worst deficits in the nation. The repub governor was about to propose a nasty budget with massive cuts in spending, which were the only feasible means of closing the gap since RI already has a 9.9% top income tax rate. But now, thanks to the fed stimulus, the governor is proposing a 10% spending increase! Stimulus is basically allowing state gov’ts to kick the can down the road for a year or two, but in the meantime the fundamental problems grow worse
*************
http://www.projo.com/news/content/CARCIERI_BUDGET_03-11-09_HADK53O_v29.3941ef7.html
115 Vic: “Most of the red states take in more Fed dollars than they give and are subsidized by states like NJ and California. BTW, Alaska takes in almost twice the amount it pays in fed taxes.”
This is total BS.
Rich people pay higher taxes. Also, if government needs a large area for military base, should it buy it in Manhattan or somewhere where the price is much lower? Should nuclear waste facility be based in NJ? Of course, not – because the area most suitable for that is in NM. NM gets more government spending in NM because of that, but I doubt they are too happy about it, nor does it financially help NM that much. Still, it is good use of government money.
As for Alaska: Government has ordered much of Alaska to be out of limits for economic development (so that Manhattan liberals can be happy).
“Is THIS the best our economy can do? Is 7000 DJIA the new ceiling?”
A year from now, we might be jumping for joy at 7k
“one of my listing clients has been arrested for walking out on his back porch buck naked and flashing”
The really sad part will be if he gets off with the judge stating: de minimis non curat lex.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq_5H1XKVww
Ron Paul says “We need more Earmarks”
I love this guy.
126 Ben: ““I was talking with some people in the White House a little while ago. They are all so upbeat about statements B.O. is going to be making within the hour about earmark reform. ”
Hmm. Candidate O: ” “Go Line By Line” And “Eliminate Programs That Don’t Work.””
President O’s spokesman yesterday: “Gibbs: “I think it’s reasonable to assume that the president has not gone through each and every item in the legislation. ”
Each and every statement from O comes with an expiration date.
Nom
Re 130
maybe we need a columbian compound? bet we could get some cheap blow and good coffee!
“President O’s spokesman yesterday: “Gibbs: “I think it’s reasonable to assume that the president has not gone through each and every item in the legislation. ”
It would have at least sounded better if they said they went line bu line and thought they were reasonable programs.
150: It would have been nice to hear from O why the few classmates of his daughter should be kicked out of their private school.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123671741983287291.html
Usually the sensible financial advice is to pay off your credit cards. It’s expensive debt. But people without enough on hand right now may find it makes sense to borrow from their credit cards and put that money in a bank account. Sure they will pay a negative spread, borrowing at 12% and earning 1%. But they may figure that is the price of being prepared.
The added incentive: Card debt is unsecured. So in a worst-case scenario, credit-card debts are often discharged in bankruptcy court even while some assets, like retirement plans and in many cases your home, may be protected from creditors.
That has to be the dumbest advice I have ever heard.
I have put you on ignore, but could not resist this.
“Rich people pay higher taxes”
So, you are saying that people in blue states are rich. But I thought blue = soc!alist. How they can get rich? Isn’t being rich a logical consequence of following Republican policies? – you know – lower taxes, trickle down etc.
Ok, that is the end of my partisan contributions for the month. Back on Ignore.
“Stop watching SRS. Just set your sell limit at 150 and rest soundly.”
Thanks, Stu. I just watch it to add to my position. I agree – too much watching leads me to do things that I shouldn’t do with it.
RE: 149
Are you guys taking the missus in tow or will the ‘pound be staffed with hand picked Colombian women?
vic: It takes decades to fully destroy the economy. See NJ, CA, MA. They were once great states. They still have good universities (established long time ago) and industrial base (but like big pharma) it is being chased out of the state. Eventually, these states will be 3rd world sh*tholes full of gov funded parasites, but with 1st world taxes.
Also, you need higher income to compensate the ultra high-cost of living and taxes.
So “high income people pay higher taxes” is better description. 100K is TX is probably financially better than 170K in NJ.
Obama has one thing right so far and that will be his downfall.
He wants longer school days and school year round, so the kids have a chance of competing for jobs and paychecks against foreign kids.
Watch the teachers campaign against him over this one.
So “high income people pay higher taxes” is better description. 100K is TX is probably financially better than 170K in NJ
100K in Texas is better then 250K in NJ/NY.
kettle1 says:
March 11, 2009 at 11:38 am
Nom Re 130 maybe we need a columbian compound? bet we could get some cheap blow and good coffee!
ket: I love the smell of coffee in the morning….it smells like victory…..
anyone who finds SAS’s bits about the current system may find this interesting
http://solari.com/blog/?p=2058
I hope one day to think back about this blog and laugh at how silly we all sounded. I really hope this is the case.
Kettle1:
Solari…wow. Can’t think about this now, but wow.
Hoboken condo purchased in January 2008 for $839,000.
Selling now for $1,099,000.
Okaaay…
#161 stu
laugh away, laugh all the way to the bank. this gloom & doom is a demographic to be sold to, two sides to every trade, pant up demand on the side. gawd, krock is going pop at 5pm, its all over folks, negative feedback loop at 11, we’re all the man as well. you alex p. keaton nonconformists sure showed them, cos man, when you tune out, you really tune out.
“100K in Texas is better then 250K in NJ/NY.”
Naah… NJ is decent place, where people are rude *equally* to everyone else. For an immigrant, that means a lot. Imagine being a “northerner” (or worse, an “obvious” immigrant) in TX, when they raise slogans of “Republic of Texas” or when they go into frenzies after Sarah Palin rallies.
Plus, most of my close friends are here, so… 100K in many third world countries can get one mansions and endless supply of slave labor, but I wouldn’t understand why someone would want it.
Seems like I’m in LOVE with NJ (at least till the next good job comes from elsewhere)!
S
stu,
you very may well. but you may be thinking that from a cell in gitmo wondering why we werent smart enough to keep out mouths shut…
(tounge in cheek)
Moving into that house in Colombia would be like volunteering to be taken hostage
It looks like Gramm was right this is a country full of whiners. And the comments here confirm that.
PS – Shore Guy – You know that Atlas Shrugged is a work of fiction. The rest of us will get by if you and wife decide to cut back earning and with hold your expertise.
Clot – Why the Mexico story, didn’t you get the news of another church shooting and a mass shooting (11 dead) right here in the great old U S of A. (maybe you and your shotgun could have stopped those, right?) Hell, a kid in Germany did as much damage today. Why don’t you start drinking and clean your arsenal. Jeez the guns and ammo is getting a little tiring.
And to those who can’t take NJ, move already; what are you waiting for? The rest of us will get along fine without out you.
Mr. Galt
Atlas Shrugged may be fiction but the USSR was not.
Now get back to your central planning and plans of confiscation for the common good.
Hoboken inventory up to 674.
When will the prices start to drop?
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/07030?sby=1&pgsz=3
#168 John Galt: So whatt is your solution?
Just how will we get along fine? By doing nothing? Hope for the best?
What a crowd.
You don’t like Barney Frank’s position?
Don’t bother coming up with a reasonable counter argument, that’s too tough for you.
How much better to slur and denigrate him.
Not only denigrate his sexual orientation but throw in a racial component too.
Yeah, that’ll solve the problem alright…
Stu (142)-
Yes. Lower highs, lower lows.
“Hoboken condo purchased in January 2008 for $839,000.
Selling now for $1,099,000.
Okaaay…”
I am a firm beleiver in Clot’s saying “This house isn’t really for sale”
Looks like Pravda brought in some new posters.
Shore (146)-
Not sure about verifying the de minimis part without a court-appointed chaperon and photographer.
vodka (149)-
We can finance it by kidnapping Americans for ransom.
geez so much for that clean energy idea…
Wind turbines are taking toll on bats
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/421843.html
grim,
169 in mod
Closed on my refi last nite.. 15yr @ 4.375%.
Saves me 7 years & just over $80k in interest compared to my old 30yr @ 6.25%. Woohoo!
#177 in mod,
bats are destroying our clean energy goals by going extinct.
Richie,
If you can swing extra prin payments you can save yourself a bundle more and maybe end up debt free in 10 years.
Stu (161)-
I think we’ll look back and think about how much we underestimated the tsunami of shit that eventually came our way.
3b (170)-
Evidently, Mr. Galt enjoys a good bungholing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyhDo1xAx2o
Kucinich: Lets nationalize the Fed.
Skeptic, clot
Moving into that house in Colombia would be like volunteering to be taken hostage-Skeptic
We can finance it by kidnapping Americans for ransom.-clot
You are both wrong. We launder drug money for the locals through the sea of wealth that is NY/NJ RE. In that we we find the columbian compound and avoid being kidnapped as you are then part of the local system.
Clot, you can handle the RE transactions, Nom and run the legal smoke screen,
then we all have a nice cup of coffee ;)
duhey-
182 is my answer to your 171.
BTW, if Barney were straight and his former roomie was p!mping women, I’d still think he’s a pig.
Plus, were he dating a female exec of Phony while passing sweetheart legislation on their behalf, I’d still think he’s a crook.
vodka (184)-
An excellent parasite/host arrangement.
Well done.
make,
nothing short of a revolution of complete global financial collapse will change the current system. Even if they were to kill the FED a new head would grow in its place.
Speaking of South Carolina, according to CNN, SC has the 2nd highest rate of unemployment in the Us at 10.6.
Plus from my personal experience the areanof SC across from Charlotte sucks. Zoning laws seem to be non existent, plus it sucks.
clot, 186,
i am impressed you could even read that, my grammar was so poor….
You are both wrong. We launder drug money for the locals through the sea of wealth that is NY/NJ RE. In that manner we fund the columbian compound and avoid being kidnapped as you are then part of the local system while it pays for the compound.
Re 187
revolution or complete
clot 186,
thanks. we may also want to invite SAS to establish first contact with out new local business partners.
nothing short of a revolution of complete global financial collapse will change the current system. Even if they were to kill the FED a new head would grow in its place.
I know but it would be a good shoring opportunitty and make me feel good for a while.
justin,
thanks for the link.
To Kettle 1 -Regarding #160
We are repeating history here. Wall Street try to do the same thing during the 30’s. FDR just happen to outsmart them. Our future is like Mexico, unless Obama outsmarts them.
Mexico had a strong currency till the mid 70’s crisis when they save their banks & kill the currency/economy/country.
When then torches & pitchforks come out. The first placed that has to be hit is GOLDMAN SACHS (both 85 Broad & 30 Hudson). GS has the hands all over this on both sides of the trade. The AIG problem is easily minimized by taking down GS & cancelling counterparty claims.
re: #171 – aJduhey -“Don’t bother coming up with a reasonable counter argument, that’s too tough for you.”
Barney Frank is a public figure, scrutiny of him is needed to keep him honest, but anyway here is your reasonable argument.
The uptick rule exists in the rest of the world and it did not make a bit of difference in those stock markets.
Just take a look at the Nikkei chart, the Japs have had their uptick rule in place since March of 2002 and did not make a bit of difference their markets are way down in the last 18 months.
Short selling is a legitimate investment activity in support of market efficiency.
If anything Barney should be arguing that “Naked short selling” should be banned in all markets, you know that exemption called the “Madoff Rule”.
‘
Blackstone Group’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman is urging people against buying real estate. “You should keep away from that for now; if it looks cheap it will be cheaper,” Schwarzman said, adding that there will also be more Wall Street layoffs. Schwarzman’s firm posted a $1.2 billion loss last year, and he is taking a 99.8 percent pay cut this year, making his salary $350,000. Two years ago, Schwarzman’s firm acquired landlord Equity Office Properties in a $37 billion leveraged-buyout and sold most of the buildings for top dollar.
http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/schwarzman-says-don-t-buy-real-estate
Looks like Rahway’s Redevelopment Agency is getting the royal screw by developer Carlos Silva. Dude isn’t paying a $10k fee per closing that he committed to. Seems that the tallest residential building in Union County has only sold ~57 units out of 220 and that the developer is trying to rent out the rest which was not part of the original agreement and I guess Silva has decided that a rental does not constitute closing, therefore, no cash to the city.
Good thing Rahway is on not just one but two NJ train lines. I am sure property values are holding up well.
re: Columbia – A cousin of mine is a priest and was in Columbia back in the 1980s. One day while driving home on an unlit road he accidental ran down a child who was out playing at night on the road.
Within a week the Church had to transfer him quietly and quickly out of the country do to all of the threats of retribution they were receiving. The family was out for blood. The really do believe in an eye for an eye down there.
Seneca (196)-
If Corzine was smart, he’d ring Rahway with 9′ high razor wire, in anticipation of using the whole town as a giant quarantine zone.
Sean (197)-
Hell, the same thing happened here, on SI. Look at what Gotti did to the guy who ran over his kid.
Clot [198]
I would agree except that there is nothing to loot in Rahway. Their downtown is the train station, the police station and what they call “art galleries” which I suppose looks better than a block full of abandoned retail.
I riots breaking out in Rahway means they all head to Linden and Elizabeth and do their business there.
…meant to say: “I THINK riots breaking out in Rahway means they all head to Linden and Elizabeth and do their business there.”
AIG’s Small London Office May Have Lost $500B
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7045889&page=1
Oooops!
from Greenwich, CT… an example of what happens when you refuse to cut your price in the face of collapsing demand:
http://christopherfountain.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/a-sales.jpg
ok,
clot, kettle, everyone
what would be a good place for:
pre-retirement – that is, the ten years before retirement, when you’re still working but not quite full time
beachy, warmer than NYC
low cost of living
not full of cranky old Canadians
a bit off the beaten path
I’m going on the assumption that NY and NYC in particular will be totally screwed without that stream of income from Wall Street … and NYC is going to become a very unpleasant place very shortly and with very high taxes
John Galt: Whining is the highest form of patriotism, or something like that. Actually, I don’t see the comments here as whining. I suspect most of the commenters here (excluding myself) are relatively successful, have a history of analysing a situation and then doing something about it. You can disagree with the sentiments but I would not underestimate the motivation.
I love how these politicians love to blame market crashes and stocks tanking on evil short sellers. If they truly believed that, why don’t they create and investment bank to purposely short the stock market of every country they want to go to war with?
markets are down again. Is telepromter operating somewhere (with the Chimp-in-Chief behind it) ?
#204 Scribe –
If you don’t mind the culture shock – The redneck riviera – Mobile, Al – Gulf Coast Miss thru Ft.Walton Beach,FL. A lot of military retirees.
“pre-retirement – that is, the ten years before retirement, when you’re still working but not quite full time
beachy, warmer than NYC
low cost of living
not full of cranky old Canadians
a bit off the beaten path”
none of these are perfect, but anyway…
Savannah, GA
Corpus Christi, TX
Panama City, FL
Wilmington, NC
“Mobile, Al”
AL has very underrated beaches
actually, I have a friend in Mobile …he’s ex Florida by way of Brooklyn
skep,
I just did a cut & paste to save your suggestions.
I need to travel more and check out some of these spots.
Lurker,
didn’t the Gulf Coast in Miss get destroyed during Katrina?
Scribe,
All new construction.
In general, I think all of these tax deductions should be viewed as short term stimulus. Enable them to stimulate a particular sector of the economy and slowly phase it out when no longer needed. It seems silly to have had it permanent, especially when we were at an all time high in home ownership. These tax deductions shouldn’t be viewed as entitlements. I certainly won’t be factoring them into any of my real estate buying decisions. All I am banking on is to maintain roughly 60% of my current salary, as I expect my job to eventually be off-shored.
—————————————-
Two questions for the assembled: Is the mortgage deduction a critical, do or die, component to housing affordability, or is it just perceived as being so? If B.O. gets or allows congress to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, will it have a greater benefit to people in the long run by: a) putting downward pressure on prices and eliminaing the “rebate psychology” that comes with home buying; b) focusing homeowners on the spending made in their towns and states, as the “dont worry about it you get to deduct it on your taxes” mentality goes away?
International Herald Tribue
The Global Edition of the New York Times
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/11/business/11leonhardt.php
ECONOMIC SCENE
Banks counted on looting America’s coffers
By David Leonhardt Published: March 11, 2009
Sixteen years ago, two economists published a research paper with a delightfully simple title: “Looting.”
The economists were George Akerlof, who would later win a Nobel Prize, and Paul Romer, the renowned expert on economic growth. In the paper, they argued that several financial crises in the 1980s, like the Texas real estate bust, had been the result of private investors taking advantage of the U.S. government. The investors had borrowed huge amounts of money, made big profits when times were good and then left the government holding the bag for their eventual (and predictable) losses.
In a word, the investors looted. Someone trying to make an honest profit, Professors Akerlof and Romer said, would have operated in a completely different manner. The investors displayed a “total disregard for even the most basic principles of lending,” failing to verify standard information about their borrowers or, in some cases, even to ask for that information.
The investors “acted as if future losses were somebody else’s problem,” the economists wrote. “They were right.”
A buddy of mine owns 3 homes in CR pays $400 in property taxes total. This guy cleans our offices on Varick and sends most of his paycheck home. Carlos will be my local hookup.
I’m going on the assumption that NY and NYC in particular will be totally screwed without that stream of income from Wall Street … and NYC is going to become a very unpleasant place very shortly and with very high taxes
Scride,
Costa Rica. You can get a full time maid/assistant for less then $500 per month.
DL says:
March 11, 2009 at 8:21 am
Stu, as long as you have a 100 year time horizon. I had already assumed no property tax rebate but did figure estimated state income tax using property tax deduction. Bucks Country here I come.
and bucks welcomes you!
Banks’ Bondholders May Face Sharing of Bailout Pain (Update1)
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By David Mildenberg and Bryan Keogh
March 11 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.’s bond prices are sliding on concern that owners of debt issued by U.S. financial firms will be forced to swallow losses if the industry needs another bailout.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0SGzlISQfa0&refer=home
There goes John’s investment scheme
Clotpoll says:
March 11, 2009 at 9:14 am
Note to self: pick up more 12-gauge shells…
these c*cksuckers south of the border will not invade the compound
scribe (204)-
Nicaragua.
Ben (206)-
They can use Bin Laden’s blueprint of shorting insurance and reinsurance pre-9/11 as a blueprint for that:
“why don’t they create and investment bank to purposely short the stock market of every country they want to go to war with?”
JPMorgan Goes The Way Of Citi
Posted by Bess Levin, Mar 11, 2009, 2:42pm
Jolly elfin’ CEOs are in, color copies are out. No, just fucking. JPM, too, was profitable in January and February, according to Dennis Kneale who was supposedly told this information by Jamie Dimon.
http://dealbreaker.com/2009/03/jpmorgan-goes-the-way-of-citi.php
JPMorgan Goes The Way Of Citi
http://dealbreaker.com/2009/03/jpmorgan-goes-the-way-of-citi.php
Lurky (208)-
Also, a lot of aggressive rednecks, dormant serial killers and necrophiliacs.
Then again, we’re all necrophiliacs now.
SAS
Where did you get your 6 components of centralizing local from?
I can across an interesting document yesterday. it is one of the following:
-the script you use for posting here
-A document that points to a significant amount of things you only hint at and corroborates many oblique comments you have made
– you are the author of the document (highly unlikely)
– you are somehow involved with the author
HE (219)-
I bet John is loading up more. The gubmint will break us all, simply to make the bondholders of these decrepit institutions whole. Every action the gubmint takes proves they will destroy this country if they have to in order to achieve this insane goal.
John has been absolutely right the whole time. Short the equity, long the debt. Hell, I may just dabble in this myself.
Clot I am not saying the bondholders won’t eat in front of the equity, just saying they might eat less.
HE (223)-
Nice slagfest of Dennis Kneale going on beneath that post.
HE (228)-
I say they get an 8-course tasting menu of stockholder femur.
Dennis Kneale is a Fox News has been. That’s even a tier below CNBC. The lowest of the low. I listen to that guy in amazement that he somehow has a job in this environment.
my citi bonds are getting beat up, and the 23% ytm is just a little too good to be true at this point.
i actually hope they give the bondholders some trouble, not a devastating knock out punch, just one little jab between the eyes to show the world that we are still part capitalist.
been revalued lately?
http://www.asinj.com/revaluation/current-revaluations.htm
clot- i agree, i find John to be right on a lot of things.
lie it ot not, cut through the b/s he has some good points
cmon Frank don’t make me post the hoboken losses again. cmon now.
stan-
You know you want to. You can’t help yourself.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/tent-city-report/?hp
tent city in Sac-town
yikes (244)-
Wonder if Casey Serin lives there.
Eating some Chinese right now. My fortune:
“The difficulty is not coming up with new ideas, but to undo the old ones.”
maybe a tax strategy in here somewhere?
***********
EASTON, Pa.—A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he’s his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.
Witmer, who represented himself, said he believes police lack jurisdiction to pull him over. As he said in court: “I live inside myself, not in Pennsylvania.” He said there is no victim in the crime and asked to go to trial.
Freddie Mac to Draw $30.8 Billion in Treasury Aid After Loss
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By Dawn Kopecki
March 11 (Bloomberg) — Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance company thrust into a leading role in President Barack Obama’s homeowner rescue plans, said it will tap $30.8 billion in federal aid as deterioration in its loan holdings led to a record loss.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDNGVfeY8lgQ&refer=home
Good thing C and JPM are profitable.
skep (247)-
He’s redeeming his straw man in due course.
He (249)-
Yep. Another impressive rally that news triggered today.
CR7 dealing death to Inter right now. I try and try to hate Man U, but damn are they good.
$30B doesn’t even sound that large anymore
Timmay’s House Ad:
http://dealbreaker.com/2009/03/deep-inside-tim-geithner.php
now that banks are turning profits again, do taxpayers get their bailouts back?
I did not continue my Manhattan lease today. Management company even offered to lower the rent (20% off). Originally I would have been happy to get 20% off (I asked 25% off, but he would have to ask his supervisor), but actually moving is something to look forward to.
Next building has identical apartment (with better view) with 20% lower rent and one month free.
Not bad situation to look for rental.
clot old trafford just scares me after the beating they laid on roma a while back, it looked like cosmos playing the u-13 travel team
ithink ithink says:
March 11, 2009 at 12:47 pm
geez so much for that clean energy idea…
Wind turbines are taking toll on bats
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/421843.html
————————————-
Welcome to the wonderful world of circular logic-there is no solution.
Bovis stercus, stupid is as stupid does.
I did not continue my Manhattan lease today. Management company even offered to lower the rent (20% off). Originally I would have been happy to get 20% off (I asked 25% off, but he would have to ask his supervisor), but actually moving is something to look forward to.
Next building has identical apartment (with better view) with 20% lower rent and one month free.
Not bad situation to look for rental.
I haven’t lowered any prices and I own a buch of apartments. How much are you paying per Square foot and what part of City.
258 make money: prime UWS so called luxury building, currently 4.95/sq, and 20% (maybe 25%) off from that would have been management company’s offer.
Private landlords are offering 30% lower rents in identical apartments nearby.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
ROFLMAO
March 11 (Bloomberg) — Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., said the U.S. can rescue its banking system by year-end if U.S. officials start cooperating and refrain from the “vilification” of corporate America.
translation: give me what ever i want, dont ask questions, and everything will be fine.
To the barricades!
ABC news has a story about a proposed $10 “pole tax” on strip clubs and topless bars. Not sure if it’s NYC or NY state.
Patterson just backed away from some of his proposed nuisance taxes – the most notorious of which was the proposed 18% surcharge on non-diet soda – the so-called “obesity tax.”
There’s going to be a topless dancer tax protest somewhere tomorrow.
Oh, how I miss John!
grim, #261 in moderation
was it the key word “strippers” or the key words “topless dancers”? :)
grim, #261 in moderation
moderated twice!
260#, to be fair, jamie dimon is considered to be the most respectable ceo in major banks by investment community. at least he has much more credibility than congress
#260 jamie dimon is considered to be the most respectable ceo in major banks by investment community
There’s no way you actually work in the “investment community” and make statements like that.
Jamie Dimon isn’t even considered the most respectable person named Jamie Dimon.
Roubini at CNBC. Hope he didn’t criticize Zero. Otherwise, Jon Stewart goes after him for the next 5 weeks.
“Echoing a speech he made earlier in the day, Roubini said he sees “no hope for the recession ending in 2009 and will more than likely last into 2010.”
Roubini, who is also known as “Dr. Doom,” told CNBC”
Inventory will still increase in hoboken.
six sold last week: 550+/- on the market
This one jumped out at me.
Those of you who know the area, Park is on the ‘good’ side of the Mason/Dixon Line of Willow avenue.
370/square foot, sold for 260k……I was once told i would never see under 500/square foot on the gold coast.
mls#80015659, asking 299k, sold for 260k
809 park ave 5l, 701sq ft, 2br 1 bath
264#, if O announces replacing geithner by dimon tomorrow, i bet dow will shoot up 10% right away.
#267 – if O announces replacing geithner by dimon tomorrow, i bet dow will shoot up 10% right away.
This is because Geithner is considered to be completely out of his depth, not because Dimon is “a nice fella”.
And that doesn’t address you having no idea of what you were talking about, re: JD being well regarded. He’s considered to be a thieving, lying, sob that uses JPM’s obscene size to bully his way into deals.
make & jamil,
if your on uws, thats near my townhouse.
we should go out and get pissed one night.
SAS
pissed = drunk
sas: sounds like a plan. anytime.
7 states post jobless rates above 10%
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/03/09/daily30.html?jst=b_ln_hl
health care recession proof?
“NE Ohio hospitals trimming more than 200 jobs”
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/11/ap6155152.html
[202] Seneca, you’re mistaken if you think Rahway property values are holding up; they’re sinking like everywhere else. No longer do people have illusions of it being the “next Hoboken”.
rahway,, when they put the tube in
[269] sas
room for a fourth?
If you guys get p*ssed on the UWS, can I come, too?
representing both the female, and senior citizen, segment …
:)
7 states post jobless rates above 10%
Check out the rest here..
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/03/09/daily30.html?jst=b_ln_hl
re: unemployment
Wyoming @ 4.8 percent is the lowest, while in Denver last week I met a Wyoming rancher who was looking for a new manager for his property, this man raised Buffalo. We ended up discussing Carbon Credits, seems he is being approached to sell his carbon credits, also mentioned he received over 100 resumes for the ranch manager job which is 7 days a week since the Buffalo don’t go on vacation. Normally he would get about two a year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awlx29_M0qz4&refer=home
Bloomberg.com
Dimon Says System Can Be Saved If ‘Vilification’ Ends (Update1)
“When I hear the constant vilification of corporate America, I personally don’t understand it,” Dimon said in his speech. “I would ask a lot of our folks in government to stop doing it because I think it’s hurting our country.”
Everyone stop picking on this guy-he’s crying. Putting an end to free speech is the answer, bank on it.
Don’t want the government knowing your business? Well, then don’t go into business!!!
“Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) announced the introduction of legislation March 11 that would require states to gather more information about owners of the businesses when they apply for incorporation as part of an effort to deter tax evasion, money laundering, and other crimes.
The Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act would require states to obtain a list of the beneficial owners of each corporation or limited liability company formed under their laws, ensure the information is updated annually, and provide the information to civil or criminal law enforcement upon receipt of a subpoena or summons.
The legislation also establishes civil and criminal penalties under federal law for persons who knowingly provide false beneficial ownership information or intentionally fail to provide required beneficial ownership information to a state.
For foreigners who seek to become “beneficial owners” of corporations based in the United States, the bill would require an in-state formation agent to provide a certification that the identity of the owners has been verified.”
Terrorism. Yes, most terrorists are setting up LLCs these days to hide their identities. Yep.
[277] scribe,
You may have to demonstrate some knowledge in weapons, counterinsurgency, and warfighting doctrine.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/spending_kennedy_legacy
Besides ear marks, there is a large Kennedy butt mark going to Massachusetts.
Nationwide tea parties to be held on Apr. 15th. More scheduled for the future. Trenton state capital steps and Newark for 4/15. July 4th Atlantic Highlands harbor.
http://www.reteaparty.com/
http://www.taxdayteaparty.com/
If the Administration wants to provide bailout relief, here is a simple solution. Waive taxes on 401ks and IRAs and allow Americans to withdraw all monies tax free so they can reinvest in real assets, including small businesses that create jobs. That will make up for some or all of the 25-50% losses resulting from government and Wall Street fraud.
Instead, we are now seeing a waive of confiscation plans. It appears progressive Washington think tanks no longer call it confiscation. They call it “government – run.” Now that the Social Security reserves have been looted, here is a way to justify confiscating additional retirement funds to replenish them so the looting can continue.
Dean Baker, Congressional testimony: “. . . in addition to the problems stemming from inadequate coverage and high costs, the current pension system subjects workers to far more risk than has been generally recognized. The government can solve all three problems by allowing workers the option to contribute to a government run pension system that would provide a modest guaranteed rate of return”
watch & learn little ones:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/testimony-of-dean-baker-before-the-house-committee-on-education-and-labor/
SAS
“CIO Out After Pension Fund Invested in Alleged Fraud”
http://www.hedgefund.net/publicnews/default.aspx?story=9833
-A San Diego pension fund’s chief investment officer resigned Friday after the fund lost money in a broker dealer that has been accused of a $668 million fraud
“Big Brother is watching you”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYOUolZnGIs
grim,
the w. germens are at it again.
i’m stuck in the mod pits.
SAS
oppss.
I mean East Germans.
ahh,, there all the same to me :P
SAS
From the AP:
Freddie Mac seeks $30.8B in US aid after 4Q loss
Freddie Mac, facing mounting damage from the U.S. housing crisis, said Wednesday it will ask the government for nearly $31 billion in additional aid after posting a gargantuan loss of more than $50 billion last year.
The report comes just weeks after Fannie Mae said it would need more than $15 billion in government assistance after losing almost $60 billion last year.
The two companies, which were seized by the government last fall, are critical to the health of the U.S. real estate market. Together, Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee more than half of all U.S. home loans.
The Treasury Department has pledged up to $400 billion in aid for the duo. But as losses mount, many analysts see the companies remaining under government control, perhaps indefinitely. Until officials know the final bill for the housing crisis, it will be tough to figure out whether they can be spun off as private companies, said debt analyst Jim Vogel of FTN Financial in Memphis, Tenn.
“No one’s going to be confident yet to either plan or look forward until they see another two quarters,” he said.
SAS
see my post at 233
“you are somehow involved with the author”
yes, I work with someone whom gets alot of alternate media press.
we share alot of POV, some of my posts I got from her, and vice versa.
SAS
“I work with”
well, that might sound misleading.
we use to work together indirectly, and now we consult every couple of months.
that help?
SAS
Chinese exports fall 26%
http://business.smh.com.au/business/china-hit-raises-fear-of-great-recession-20090311-8v9e.html
Look up state employee salaries:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-jersey/590357-lookup-state-employee-salaries.html#post7842845
Chinese exports fall 26%
____________________________________
Move along, nothing to see here. We will start the next bull market by Memorial Day.
My friends at CNBC have 8 hours of programming a day about how this is the bottom in the markets. Kudlow and Kneale cannot be wrong!
SAS
thank you, yes
300!!!!!
kettle,
do you ever sleep?