This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week but never posted them up, let’s have them. Also a good place to post suggestions, requests for information, criticism, and praise.
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first..Glorious first!
NJ #1
Which are the worst states for tickets?
As the traditional summer driving season gets under way this weekend, a drivers’-rights group ranks the states on driver friendliness. New Jersey? Fuhgeddaboudit.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/Worst-states-for-drivers.aspx
From Yahoo Finance:
Florida’s BankUnited fails, will cost FDIC $4.9B
The federal seizure of struggling Florida thrift BankUnited FSB is expected to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $4.9 billion, representing the second-largest hit to the FDIC’s insurance fund since the financial crisis began felling banks last year.
The costliest was last year’s seizure of California lender IndyMac Bank, on which the bank insurance fund is estimated to have lost $10.7 billion.
The Office of Thrift Supervision, a Treasury Department agency, said Thursday that BankUnited FSB reported $1.2 billion in losses last year as defaults on loans piled up. The thrift “was critically undercapitalized and in an unsafe condition to conduct business,” the agency said in a statement.
From Bloomberg:
Credit-Card Bill of Rights May Reduce Consumers’ Buying Power
Jack Krupansky declared bankruptcy three and a half years ago. Now he worries the credit-card legislation Congress passed this week will make his banks, including Barclays Plc, penalize him as a riskier borrower.
“This legislation could boomerang and hurt the same people it’s designed to help during the credit crunch,” said Krupansky, 55, a freelance software developer in New York.
The “bill of rights” that U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign today is intended to protect cardholders from excessive fees and last-minute contract changes. It also may prompt banks to slash available credit by as much as $90 billion to avoid risk, said Robert Hammer, chief executive officer of R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers, an adviser to card companies.
That reduction could choke off a consumer-led recovery and hurt retailers struggling amid the longest recession since the 1930s, said Andrew Caplin, an economics professor at New York University. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the U.S. economy.
“The bill may stop various forms of abuse, but it will also stop some various forms of credit,” Caplin said. “If the economic recovery is going to rely on consumer spending, it will be a long wait.”
Quite a few homes on LBI for sale under the $500k mark. Very surprising, been a long time since prices have been at this level out here. Sure, still completely unaffordable for most of NJ, but since when has a shore house been an affordable endeavor?
I recall back in the days of the maximum speed limit being 55mph, the state of Ohio being the absolute worst for enforcement. They made you do 55 mph there sometimes by having troopers run a convoy forcing everyone to drive at 55 mph. They had a reputation so horrible in that state for ticketing, that you just didn’t attempt to go above 55 mph even if you had a CB radio.
I see they’re ranked as number 2 now. They probably should still be number 1.
WickedOrange says:
May 22, 2009 at 6:16 am
NJ #1
Which are the worst states for tickets?
As the traditional summer driving season gets under way this weekend, a drivers’-rights group ranks the states on driver friendliness. New Jersey? Fuhgeddaboudit.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/Worst-states-for-drivers.aspx
Here come the Bennies!
Rules for anyone north of the Driscoll Bridge.
1. Dont wear black T shirts to the beach
2. Dont wear jewelry to the beach
3. Dont throw cigarettes in the sand
4. Keep your pimped out Honda Civics with tinted windows at home. No one is impressed by your convict music
5. Keep your cigarette boats with cheezy names like “wazzup” at home
The good times are over until you go home in September.
James
thought I would add a couple
Jersey beach whistle is not a whistle. Don’t touch
Don’t swim in the foam floating on water
Great bit on Bloomberg yesterday. Jim Grant quoting an author from the ’30s, calling Tim Geither the Secretary of the Debt.
What does a Treasury hold?
Treasure.
What is in the US Treasury?
No treasure at all, all been spent. Nothing but debt and IOUs.
Makes more sense to just call him the Secretary of the Debt, no?
New acronym: TFT
Thrift Failure Thursday
#8 – Haven’t seen one of those on the beach since the 80s. Better than syringes I guess. Mommy, look, a rocketship!
Another great Mish:
“I got a wildebeest for $250!” she said. “What a deal.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/05/lifestyle-liquidation-estates-of.html
Coming soon, to a continent near you:
“British Land’s real estate was valued at 5.8 billion pounds on March 31, about 28 percent less than a year earlier, [British Land said in a statement today]. More than half of the properties are retail warehouses and malls, and the rest are office buildings.
Most of British Land’s office buildings are in the City of London, where rents are expected to fall back to 1991 levels by the end of this year … as job losses and a mistimed building boom depress prices.
The City of London now has enough empty space to hold two- thirds of Canary Wharf, its rival financial district 1 1/2 miles to the east. About 9 million square feet (855,000 square meters) are available in the City and that may climb to 12 million by the end of 2009, according to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. Rents that reached a high of 65 pounds per square foot in mid-2007 are forecast to fall to 40 pounds by the end of this year.
Rents back to 1991. Property values off 28%. Ouch.”
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/05/cre-bust-uk-style.html
Frist
Got a letter from HSBC, lowered the limit on a credit card I haven’t used in over a year from 7K to 1K. Somebody’s nervous.
I want to go home…
#1 Re101
Congratulations you are finally a winner. Your life has just turned for the better.
In the midst of all this doom and gloom in commercial RE we do have one bright spark.
The Bergen mall on Rt4 seems to have come back from the grave and is looking good.
You mean the Bergen Towne Center? (the “e” at the end of “town” makes it more prestigious)
Anyway, the revised Bergen Mall is a great example of a shopping mall done right. Xanadu, on the other hand is a great example of a cluster—k.
#13 clot,
Should we go open an office in London then? 1991 rents for everyone.
I’m not betting on things getting better in London for a long, long time.
I do, however, envision getting some cheap tickets at Craven Cottage, Stamford Bridge, QPR, etc. You can already see lots of empty seats on all the broadcasts.
Corzine’s TV ad says he saw the financial crisis coming.
Why the hell didn’t he tell his state investment chief?
Why were they buying LEH all the way to the end?
Lying sack of shit.
#21 clot
i thought this property bubble started in the UK. The Brits did refis and used the money to buy investment property all over the UK and in the Mediterranean, causing those prices to take off. Kind of like how Californians boosted prices throught the west.
Shore,
Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
“Kicking off the encore, Springsteen himself made the official announcement to the Izod Center crowd: he and the E Street Band will be returning to the Meadowlands in the fall to play three nights at the adjacent (and soon to be vamoosed) Giants Stadium.
According to a subsequent press release, they’ll be “the final major musical act to play Giants Stadium on September 30, October 2, and October 3. Tickets go on sale June 1 at 10 a.m. Eastern. Springsteen holds the record as the number one selling artist at the Meadowlands (which includes Giants Stadium) in New Jersey, having sold out 56 concerts to date with the E Street Band.”
As Springsteen put it, “before they bring the wrecking ball, the wrecking crew is coming back.”
http://www.backstreets.com/setlists.html
A little refresher:
“After the election, Kramer told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Obama should consider Gov. Jon Corzine for Secretary of the Treasury. There’s probably no elected official in the country remotely in Jon Corzine’s league in understanding financial markets,” said Kramer, who was the first to suggest that Corzine enter politics as a U.S. Senate candidate nine years ago.
On Monday, State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville) asked Kramer’s council to explain why it approved a $178 million pension fund investment in Lehman Brothers even after learning that the firm had lost more than $115 million in the previous quarter.
“New Jersey’s State Investment Council and Division of Investment have provided no details on how they came to approve an investment in Lehman Brothers that lost more than $115 million in less than four months,” said Pennacchio, a conservative who sought the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate earlier this year. “State officials were asked to explain why they put state money at such risk at a time when most investors were shunning Lehman.”
http://www.politickernj.com/editor/25621/obama-fundraiser-says-he-lost-25-billion-nj-pension-funds
safe (23)-
I think trying to find the origins of the bubble are like getting to an answer for the “chicken/egg” question.
Iceland? Spain? Rent-to-let in the UK? Hungarian mortgages, denominated in Swissies? Just a world-class clusterfcuk.
A worldwide erroneous mindset, fueled by cheap, hot credit.
#22 – Clot – yeah, he saw it coming in the same way you see a truck coming when you step out in front of it: not for very long.
Look, don’t get jealous ok? You’ll get the first post one day if you learn how to get out of the damn bed. The early bird gets the damn worm.
Now leave me alone while I savor my victory.
PGC says:
May 22, 2009 at 7:49 am
#1 Re101
Congratulations you are finally a winner. Your life has just turned for the better.
Clot (22) –
“Why were they buying LEH all the way to the end?”
If you were wondering why the PBGC started investing in stocks just before the bear market started, right at the top.
“The former Bush administration official in charge of the federal agency that guarantees pensions for 44 million Americans is under investigation over his contacts with several major Wall Street firms seeking to obtain lucrative contracts.”
“The former official, Charles E. F. Millard, is also being investigated on suspicion of soliciting help from one of the winning firms in his search for a new job once he left office.
Agency officials are now considering canceling contracts that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock won late last year — worth up to $100 million in fees over a decade — to collectively manage $2.5 billion from the agency’s $49 billion portfolio.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/us/politics/15pension.html?_r=1
There was a time. Our only future hope?
http://jsmineset.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/clip-image00126.jpg
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124286108688541047.html
“Golden(State) Opportunity”
“California voters send a message about runaway government.”
That is right. And they will be none too happy if TPTB rush in with a bailout.
The only way this state gets fixed is without a bailout. The voters are telling the legislators to do their job and get to work now. Stop foisting responsibility back onto voters – now get to work and cut.
Vic,
I am SHOCKED, SHOCKED I tell you at that news!!!:)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOQPmbrh1ZrA&refer=home
“TARP Warrant Sale Shows Banks May Reap ‘Ruthless Bargain'”
“The point of the warrants is that taxpayers participate in the upside,” Johnson said in an interview. “It defeats the whole purpose if you’re going to sell them way below market price.”
Someone – get all over this, please.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22756
Found this @ Economist’s View..
“The Crisis and How to Deal With It”
Several views: Bill Bradley, Niall Ferguson, Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini, George Soros, and Robin Wells
One thought: N.F.
“The lesson of economic history is very clear. Economic growth does not come from state-led infrastructure investment. It comes from technological innovation, and gains in productivity, and these things come from the private sector, not from the state.”
Cindy,
Very simple. Heads, the banks win. Tails, taxpayers get screwed. Timmy, puppet, tosses the coin, GS pulling his strings.
BC (30) –
I am not too sure about a gold backed currency. (Admittedly, I have a little or no idea of what I am talking about).
From what I have read, the only reason that we avoided a deflationary depression was because we were not on a gold standard. Look at Spain, it is chained to the Euro and is royally screwed.
“It comes from technological innovation, and gains in productivity, and these things come from the private sector, not from the state.”
Cindy,
What a revolutionary idea.
While we are printing and pouring capital into deep black holes, China is making deals with Australia, Canada, Brazil and New Zealand. They are busy buying minerals, metals, energies, etc.. They are on a capital buying binge. On the flip side we are desperatlely trying to resuscitate the dead with more debt.
Our only chance is to save and produce. The consumption model is dead, kaput. When the geniuses finally realize this, it will be too late.
Actually heads they win heads we win. First of all you can’t dump that much warrants on to open market all at once without their price falling, there is a discount on block sales, second sucking money back out of banks that leave them undercapitlized so they need a second bailout is dumb and thirdly, non-govt employees, ie taxpayers don’t have pensions we have 401Ks mainly tied to S&P so we are the shareholders of the bank we are just sucking money from ourselves to pay ourselves.
BC Bob says:
May 22, 2009 at 8:39 am
Cindy,
Very simple. Heads, the banks win. Tails, taxpayers get screwed. Timmy, puppet, tosses the coin, GS pulling his strings.
“From what I have read, the only reason that we avoided a deflationary depression was because we were not on a gold standard.”
Vic,
We aren’t out of the woods. In addition to this, pick your poison.
“ie taxpayers don’t have pensions we have 401Ks mainly tied to S&P”
J,
Not all taxpayers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE54I0CJ20090519?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10531
BC (37) Do you think this will help?
“SBA announces emergency funding for small businesses”
ARC Program – effective June 15th
Interest free – six years to repay
American Recovery Capital – for entrepreneurs
BC #40…
In case you know the answers off the top of your head… What are the conditions to get the $35k for 6 months interest-free? Any small business can get it? I haven’t done detailed reading… Also, a related thing, I see a 0% APR until July 2010 card from AAA.
Though the risk-free returns are pretty low (1.65% at FNBOdirect, so there is no arbitrage opportunity — may be a few pennies here and there).
S
Re: #42…
Apologies. It should have been addressed to Cindy, not BC…
Cindy, BTW, I think it is 6 months — not 6 years. 6 years interest free loan would have be running to open a small business *now* and declare distress!
S
Why, why, WHY are taxes so high in Fanwood, especially compared to nearby Cranford/Westfield/Scotch Plains???
My wife and I are looking for a home in those areas, and Fanwood seems to have a few decent homes that interest us. But DANG!!! The taxes on some of these (around 400K) houses are insane!! 10,300? 9,700?
Please tell us why!
Yes you do, your SS is paid by contributions from Fortune 500 companies not deadbeats and the folks who are going to buy your shinny gold need cash to pay 1,000 an oz and that would require good jobs, plus the property taxes paid by these emmense companies to school districts subsized your education.
Large tax paying companies are what NY/NJ needs, small off the books or home based companies suck from a tax perspective and being an employee perspective.
BC Bob says:
May 22, 2009 at 8:50 am
“ie taxpayers don’t have pensions we have 401Ks mainly tied to S&P”
J,
Not all taxpayers.
(43) Sastry –
“Cindy, BTW, I think it is 6 months – not 6 years.”
From the article:
“The interest-free loans must be used within six months and borrowers have up to six years to repay it. The only other stipulation is that it cannot be used to pay any previous SBA-backed loan the business may have outstanding.”
This sounds – to me – like a program designed to encourage entrepreneurship.
John [45],
I won’t see SS, not on my radar screen.
Sell shiny for 1,000? You’re kidding, right? When I sell, it will be much higher. Don’t need to sell shiny, in the retail market, to deadbeats that milk the system, sucking the teet. Remember, gold is a currency, traded at every FX desk in the world. If currency pairs are trading, gold is trading.
Watching the dollar chart?
BC, sounds like you didn’t make it last night? Me either, my wife and bro were both there, I was home with the little guy.
Glad to hear about the fall shows though…
[44] wood
Fanwood as part of the suburbia gets little or none state education funding, thus it has to collect school district moneys via property tax. They have the same per student expense as Scotch Plains (same district) – as similar house is more expensive in SP than Fanwood, the tax per value will be higher in F. (What they pay to the county is value adjusted, and municipal expenses while talked about to no end are usually comparable and not dominating the property tax bill).
Attention Baby Boomers u no retire u work long time!!!
No SS, no pension, 401-k = 201-k, house u used as bank go poofie.
Don’t worry Mr Timmy has A #1 plan that will save the day. Turn dollar into toilet paper. Your $700 a month social security buy U a tic tac. Good luck.
Prez O
Doyle,
No. I am going Sat, without tickets. I’m working the phones. We’ll see.
he,
Yeah, SS? John must be hallucinating with that one.
HEHEHEH (50):
“Your $700 a month social security buy U a tic tac.”
If it’s one of those orange tic-tacs, then I’m game. Those things tasted stranger than fruit stripe gum did.
Re Nj Tickets:
Yesterday in Linden
– One of the local roads a lot of people use to by-pass 1@9 had a police block-post on it.
There was 4 police cars, and about 10 officers. They made everybody slow down to below 5 mph and checked everyone inspection sticker.
If it was out of date – they’d pull the car over immediatelly, and wrote a ticket. When I passed there was 5 Cars pulled over with officers checking people’s liscence and registration and writing tickets.
It was somewhat terrifying and comical to see 10 police officers with their “ticket-books” – about 1/2 inch thick standing ready to write a ticket.
I guess it is one way to “enforce” safety and carryout little “Fundraser” for the department.
“Attention Baby Boomers u no retire u work long time!!!
No SS, no pension, 401-k = 201-k, house u used as bank go poofie.
Don’t worry Mr Timmy has A #1 plan that will save the day. Turn dollar into toilet paper. Your $700 a month social security buy U a tic tac. Good luck.
Prez O
”
Ps. Crazy Uncle Ben told me to add Green Shoots, G-R-E-E-E-N S-H-O-O-T-S!.
Your Buddy,
Prez O
Stu,
Man I remember Fruit Stripe, that was da bomb. Midtown has a Treats Truck, sells cookies and stuff, but they also sell Fun Dip. Remember that stuff? Vanillish sugar stick you dip into fruit flavored sugar. What happened to that kind of American ingenuity?
[53] stu
Fruit stripe gum. Mmmmmmm, gum.
I pulled up to an office building to pick up plans. My client was waiting for me downstairs. I press on the brake and lower the window as he’s passing me the package and before I can even say hello to him, a traffic van has pulled over and blocked me in.
Issued a $115 summons for standing in a no standing zone. I’m a regular menace to society.
This whole “bailout mentality” has its roots in two things: 1) we have become “soft” and unwilling to suffer pain, and 2) with 40% of the population paying no income taxes (and many of them getting refundable credits) and the next 30% paying token taxes, “free money” from the government (nevermind that it comes from somebody’s pocket as it is someone else) why not let “government” make everything better?
[56] diss
Food police went after it, just like the scare campaign about Pop Rocks. Remember all the urban myths about kids dying from Pop Rocks, including the Life Cereal Mikey?
[54] Al
Much as it is clearly a fundraising effort (or as I call it asessing the Stupid Tax), I have no problem with cops writing up legit violations. It is what we pay them to do, and it hopefully nets baddies.
[58] silera,
That sucks. Clearly a set up and if you have the time, I’d fight that one.
“Remember all the urban myths about kids dying from Pop Rocks,”
I gave them out in the loot bags at my son’s 2nd birthday party. Gator Jr. loves pop rocks! You can still them at party stores and they are dirt cheap.
I always felt that the fun dip stick tasted like banana, not vanilla. Of course, I was a bigger fan of the candy necklace. Never got into ring pops either.
[62] stu
I was also a big fan of pixie stix. Pure flavored sugar.
I suppose it isn’t very manly to admit liking pixie stix, but I don’t care. To this day, you still have a good chance of finding me with a lollipop (a la Kojak). Anyone got a problem with that?
stu, i am here since the market (or SRS) is up today.
based on the estimate by my black box. here are the top ultrashort losers. feel free to correct it.
rank name value, percent
1. clot, $280K, 73%
2. stu, $96K, 69%
3. make, $89K, 13%
4, HEHEHE, $34K, 57%
5, frank, $9K, 63%,
only winner is
bc bob, $69.96, 6.9%
Stu,
You may be right re the flavor of the stick, whatever it was it was different, but anytime a kid can take sugar and dip it into sugar and eat it you have struck upon genius.
Big Lots had poprocks in single dose packets this year at Easter.
My daugher loves them and hoards them. Too bad they give her ag.
The big issue that states like CA and NJ have are poor inner city urban areas. When you look at the size of the population and the large segment who can’t afford to pay taxes and are socialized by the state government the numbers are crazy. NJ has great tax revenue, the amount actually spent in trenton is high but not even a huge part of it, the “Aid” section of the budget is 40% of what is taken in. The inner city schools in NJ receive a level of state funding comparable to the operations of the state government. The answer is simple, we cannot fund the education of Newark students to the tune of 20k per year and the state government needs layoffs and they need to address the pension issue.
The NJ Real Estate, Traffic Enforcement, and Candy Report.
There’s some good eatins in the front of Michael’s craft store.
Yesterday, I found those little burlap bags with gold nugget gum in them.
I’m hoarding them and using them to back my daughter’s chore money. She told me a buck isn’t enough anymore to do extra chores.
bi [64],
You are a pisser.
Some things are just too coincidental and weird for words.
After we went on about pop rocks, the CNBC headline starts with (wait for it):
“Stock Pop Fizzles”
[69] pat
Wow they still make those gold nugget gum bags? Used to love them.
Okay, enough about candy. I’m getting a sugar buzz. Back to work for me. See you all in the afternoon, hopefully with something intelligent to add.
Wow I am beating the pros. New money put in during 2009 I am up 60% in stocks and 20% in bonds YTD. Old money from 2008 I am now even. Those 3x ETFs I get greedy when they are hot and they crash too quickly on me. I tiptoed into a small UYG position and it was ugly.
bi says:
May 22, 2009 at 10:01 am
stu, i am here since the market (or SRS) is up today.
based on the estimate by my black box. here are the top ultrashort losers. feel free to correct it.
rank name value, percent
1. clot, $280K, 73%
2. stu, $96K, 69%
3. make, $89K, 13%
4, HEHEHE, $34K, 57%
5, frank, $9K, 63%,
only winner is
bc bob, $69.96, 6.9%
Bi,
How did you get the password to my brokerage account?
Also, how much did I make last year on SRS?
“single dose packets of pop rocks.”
What a beautiful phrase to a newborn junkie like myself. This is what happens when you’re unemployed for a period of time. It’s sort of like when you put someone into prison to “rehab” them. Sure! Doesn’t matter to me, if the annointed one wants to take care of me indefinitely off the backs of the working class, then by all means. I think I’ll go to the beach on Tuesday when all the stiffs go back to work.
You all should try it, get down-sized and collect a check indefinitely. All you have to do is point and click online, it’s so convenient! It’s the new model for success! Hmmm… I think I’ll buy a flat screen with my next check.
I don’t like Gary any longer!
Stu,
You’re jealous because I’m successful? ;)
“You’re jealous because I’m successful? ;)”
Perhaps I am?
JJ: For you….an article profiling c0ck sauce…
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1128693388256#/home.php?ref=home
wrong link sorry:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/dining/20united.htm?_r=5
Bi,
You’re an idiot.
My losses in USD are around 400K if I was to sell today.
Now my gains on Shiny are over $1.5M if I was to sell today.
Guess what?
I’m not selling.
RE: tickets
I get off exit 1 on the Palisades Parkway. It is very common to see cars alongside the off ramp getting ticketed for expired registrations and seat belts. One time, after stopping at the A&P for a coffee I drove the remainder of the way without a seat belt. And of course on that day the popo were working the off ramp. I noticed them halfway through the turn with enough time to belt but I had the cup coffee in my right hand and the left was holding the steering wheel. I decided against throwing the coffee in the passenger foot well (beige carpets) and the cupholder was closed. Centrifugal forces made the whole situation more difficult. I made a last ditch effort to hook the belt around the cup and pull it down but by then I was off the turn and standing in front said popo.
In NYC, they patrol the streets in those three wheeled box cars in the middle of the night around 2-4AM. The cop rides up the block, shining his flashlights at windshields and ticketing incorrect sticker colors.
BTW, looks like we’re in for a lot more of this:
“Those findings echoed an earlier study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which found that municipalities issued significantly more tickets in years after their revenue declined.”
We’re in
John: If you had a choice, where would you come at the bond market right now? Note, I am certainly not buying anything today.
Generally, what percentage of your salary is covered by unemployment? I heard max is $405 per week.
In addition to the management team led by John Kanas, ownership includes WL Ross & Co. LLC; Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C.; Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P.; Centerbridge Capital Partners, L.P. LeFrak Organization, Inc; The Wellcome Trust; Greenaap Investments Ltd.; and East Rock Endowment Fund.
Above private equity boys now own Bank United. Who’s to say that hese guys won’t provide loans to the companies owned by their funds. Someone needs to watch this as we could have a lot of bad loans made to “Zombie” companies and Bank United is back to insolvency in a few years.
Kettle,
This one’s for you:
http://www.autospies.com/news/Latest-Study-Indicates-Audi-And-VW-Models-Make-Major-Strides-In-Reliabilty-44252/
Zieba,
All that to avoid a setbelt ticket.
WOW.
Zeiba – In NYC it is max $405 a week. In NJ its $584 a week.
It’s not the forty dollars, what stings is falling victim to yet another bullshyt revenue generating scheme. I pay my taxes and the last thing I should have to worry about is being harassed in the morning by a 23 year old uniformed dropout jumping out from behind a tree to flag me down.
Thanks Sil.
CHIFi, AIG/International Leasing bonds with over 30% ytm, CIT at over 28% ytm, GM bonds at under 4 cents on dollar (would not be suprised if they threw in some type of car voucher offer on top of cheap share offer), California high yield munis, today I only see 7.2% but have seen z coupon ones up at 8/9%. Even if you pay state tax that is Federal/AMT tax free. Also some insurance bonds, they were wacked in Q1 as they had tremendous exposure to bonds and stocks in portfolio, remember insurance companies own 19% of all corporate bonds outstanding, Q2 will reflect trememdous gains in their investments which will drive bond prices higher.
For example, RIVERSIDE CNTY CALIF PUB FING AUTH TAX 04.50000% 10/01/2037 ALLOC REV TAX ALLOCATION BDS REDEV PJ AR
Price (Ask) 67.311
Yield to Worst (Ask) 7.226%
if you live in NJ and work in NJ you only get the $405! Know people who were a little shocked to find that out.
Silera says:
May 22, 2009 at 11:15 am
Zeiba – In NYC it is max $405 a week. In NJ its $584 a week.
The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle has a brief piece on last week’s NYTM article by Edmund Andrews on his bankruptcy. Not all is as it seems, it appears his wife has previously filed for bankruptcy twice before. It’s worth the read, although if you could read between the lines of the original Times piece it’s not that surprising.
The max in NJ is $560 a week if you live and work in NJ. Believe me, this is no ancedote, this is how I make my living. If you are all p*ssed off to hear this, then point me in the direction of IT jobs and I’ll show up for an interview on Memorial Day at 7:00 AM if I must.
I’ll take the advice of Gary over a man who prefers to date onions.
It’s not the forty dollars,
Zieba,
It’s always the money. I try to avoid parking tickets as well. No shame.
Gary-
No disrespect, but I am trying to understand your point here. You are cursing Obama because you are getting unemployment benefits?
OK, so you would prefer to have no benefits. Because –
(a) – It hinders your job search by bringing down your motivation levels?
(b) – You would much rather starve to death (of course, after you have burned through your savings)?
The key is to collect unemployment benefits while working a cash only job.
Gary is upset because he can’t make the cut at Chipendales so he has no chance of making 5K a week off the books while collecting unemployment.
Victorian,
You are kidding me right? Seriously. I could give a flying f*ck who is president, I want a f*cking job. omg…
The end is nigh…..
WSJ
Texas Mayor Trades Job for Romance in Mexico By STEPHANIE SIMON
J.W. Lown, the mayor of San Angelo in West Texas, recently narrated a video touting his town as a great place to live. Then he left to pursue another passion.
Mr. Lown resigned this week — less than a month after winning a fourth two-year term in a landslide — saying he was leaving to carry on a relationship with a Mexican man who had been living illegally in the U.S.
Mr. Lown, 32 years old, sent the city manager a text message just hours before he was due to be sworn into office Tuesday that said he wouldn’t be at the ceremony. He’d moved to Mexico, leaving behind a short letter of resignation on his desk.
In a brief email exchange Thursday, Mr. Lown said, “Things are very hectic.” He declined other questions.
Mr. Lown told local media his partner came to the U.S. five years ago and their relationship began in March.
With his partner unable to legally remain in the U.S., the mayor said he realized around election day — May 9 — that he faced a choice: betray his duty to abide by the law by helping the man hide from immigration authorities; end the relationship, or join him in Mexico. He chose Mexico.
Mr. Lown’s colleagues and constituents have rallied around him. Some said they hadn’t known he was gay. Others were surprised he got involved with an illegal immigrant. Neither issue drew widespread censure or disapproval.
“In this neck of the woods,” said Councilman Johnny Silvas, “people are accepting.”
San Angelo, with a population of about 90,000, is northwest of Austin, not close to the U.S.-Mexico border. But all across Texas, residents have business and personal relationships with Mexican immigrants, legal and illegal. Mr. Lown’s family has roots in Mexico, and he has holds dual nationality.
The mayoral post is a part-time and pays just $600 a year. But Mr. Lown has thrown himself into the job. He pushed to rebuild aging water and sewer lines and attended hundreds of community events. He won nearly 90% of the vote in a three-candidate race, and his Web site said he had “high hopes” for making San Angelo “the pride of West Texas.”
His constituents want him back. Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer said she had been besieged by voters asking her to urge the mayor to resume his duties if he can resolve his partner’s immigration status. “They love our mayor,” Ms. Farmer said. “Quite frankly, so do I.”
Gary,
Maybe you can protest to have all of the illegal immigrants removed from NJ. Then you can pick blueberry’s for $3 an hour with no benefits. And that job only lasts for the first two weeks in July.
Stu,
I’ll go one better… I’m willing to work in an application support role for a VERY competitive rate for an employer who would LOVE to find someone with solid communication skills.
No one in NJ is picking berries for $3 bucks an hour. NJ people have no pride or willingness to do hard work. Unemployed pretty girls will find a sugar daddy, shake they jugs down at DJs or dance on a pole, joe schmoes will do reality shows or get rich schemes, ex wall street types will do some day trading or the next big FS scam. Other people will double dip off the books while on unemployment. The mexican berry pickers are the honest folks, most folks don’t want to do an honest days work for an honest buck.
this is great. My employer (who laid off half the firm) hasn’t paid me yet for the previous 2 weeks. I checked with another ex coworker who got wacked with me and he hasn’t gotten paid yet either.
john,
Do you have extensive experience picking dingle berries?
on the candy topic, remember those wax lips? and teaberry gum
#87 z
Wait until they come off warranty. Mine had no problems until 55k.
—-must—-get—-fruit—-stripe—-gum.
Gary (101) –
While I certainly sympathize with your situation, the reason I made those points was because of this comment –
“Sure! Doesn’t matter to me, if the annointed one wants to take care of me indefinitely off the backs of the working class, then by all means.”
Matt Taibbi has a new post up on Joe Cassano and Wall St. morality in general;
It’s an interesting piece, and one that leads to complicated questions about the why of the collapse.
Everybody quit picking on Gary. Being out of work totally sucks and if he wants to vent here, that’s okay with me. Besides, I enjoy his sarcasm and my ability to curse has improved dramatically since I started reading his posts.
Grim (#9)
“What is in the US Treasury?
No treasure at all, all been spent. Nothing but debt and IOUs.
Makes more sense to just call him the Secretary of the Debt, no?”
It’s even worse than that.
The treasury department holds the chains around every productive person’s neck in the US, via taxation. At present, the treasury department is building up a giant ball of leaden debt (increasing IOU’s backed initially by the printing press, but ultimately by future tax receipts, meaning the piece taken out of the production of economically productive people. Within a decade, that ball is going to start rolling downhill, dragging every productive person downhill with it by the neck-collar.
This piling up of debt is going to be a huge drag on the wealth of productive people in the coming years.
My advice for you guys: Do everything you can to keep your job. If you don’t, you’ll be facing eight hours per day of recruiter emails, numerous phone calls, physically visiting corporate parks and attaching resumes to everything and anything, all of which will net you one interview every six weeks if you’re lucky.
Gary,
I’m still trying.
Victorian,
It’s called sarcasm… slight frustration because I have to deal with a slew of paper lions with zero interpersonal skills while I’m willing to contribute real value for a very reasonable rate.
Gary (117) –
My sincerest apologies. I do hope that you find a job which you like very soon. Good luck!
Victorian,
Thank you for the well wishes but you don’t have to apologize. :)
wax lips?
Those things were inedible. Who remembers those wax tubes with sugar water in them?
http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/candywarehouse_2051_495409623
Yes, do you have an opportunity for me to leverage my expertise.
dingle-berry – A very small piece of shit intertwined with nut hairs and lint-balls from underwear. Dingle-berries are usually lodged via nut hairs on the upper inner thigh area next to the “scrotum pits ” or inside the scrotum pits themselves. When dingle-berries age, they break free and attach themselves to underwear.
Some examples of use of the word include:
Dave washed his drawers but one damn dingle-berry is still there!
Ian was attempting to cut out a dingle-berry, when he got a leg cramp and sliced his gooch and was rushed to emergency.
Damn dingle-berry is still there and I wiped twenty times!
safeashouses says:
May 22, 2009 at 11:58 am
john,
Do you have extensive experience picking dingle berries?
John,
My advice, seriously; stop f*cking around and do your job as though your life depended on it. Being out of work for an extended period of time will sober you up like nothing you could imagine.
For once, I have to admit that I cannot find a way into this thread.
It’s like 35 people on an acid trip: fruit-stripe gum, dingleberries, Gary and memories of bad candy.
gary (122)-
The scary part is that if John actually did his job as though his life depended on it, we all might be wearing feedsacks and eating millet three times a day.
[115] gary
just scared me back to work. Night, all.
Clotpoll,
LOL! OMG, you just snapped me out of it! :) Ok, let’s party!
Green shoots
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pMscxxELHEg/ShQKBEyAORI/AAAAAAAAFTM/03RNGrH9sEA/s320/CreditSuisseResetMarch09.jpg
Δδ, Γγ, Κκ, Θθ, Ρρ I love the greeks.
Re 124, also with galoshes on facing a cliff and I will be charging the drunk shepards to mount you.
You know you are right, I only get away with it as in 30 minutes I can do a full day work. I actually work a few hours each day and put in a week’s productivity daily.
gary says:
May 22, 2009 at 12:35 pm
John,
My advice, seriously; stop f*cking around and do your job as though your life depended on it. Being out of work for an extended period of time will sober you up like nothing you could imagine.
John (129)-
How’s your problem resisting Kryptonite coming along?
http://www.tikibar.com/pages/webcam_tikibar.html
Where’s the recession? This crowd has been slamming beers since 11a!
131
They are unemployed.
I was kidding, and waiting for that response…
http://dealbreaker.com/2009/05/presented-without-comment-natu.php
Gary,
This is the second time I’ve been laid off in 9 months. I think at least 1 of my last 2 emploers will go bust.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you work or how good you are, if your dept loses it’s only contract, or customers stop paying and the bank turns off the line of credit, out the door you go.
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Large bank stocks are set to rise over the next year or two as the pace of economic decline begins to slow, Morgan Stanley analysts said Friday.
The firm raised its price target on the 16 large bank stocks it covers by an average of 33% and said that most would be able to repay TARP money by the fourth quarter; it raised its price target for Bank of America Corp. (BAC) 28% to $32, Citigroup Inc. (C) 50% to $6, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) 33% to $60 and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) 33% to $44.
‘Shout It’
“There are deals to be had on Nantucket, and you just found one,” said Mitch Carl, 52, who is offering three nights of lodging for the price of two at his Hawthorn House and reduced his most expensive room to $185 a night from $275. “If you shout it to all the people, you’ll make me very happy.”
“I’ve lived through several recessions and never noticed them,” Carl said. “This one is definitely noticeable.”
I got a deal at Mohonk, bet a lot of people snatching up 2009 Chryslers at 1/2 off this weekend or booking cheap hotels at shore or hamptons, a lot of my friends just did Disney as they are having deals. There is very high demand of products at lower prices. It is a bull market for things 1/2 priced.
Actually I am licking my chops if GM goes bankrupt and they firesale the 2010 Camaro. Green Shoots.
John,
Saw that re MS bank analysis. Quite comical. Have to help the insiders and institutions who bought those lousy secondary offerings find some sheeple to dump them on, it’s the least they can do.
#131 i love the tiki bar webcam! heard stories of people getting into a lot of trouble with their significant others over this thing!
MS research:
Retrieve 6/30/08 document. Find and replace date. Find and replace target price. Done.
HeHeHe, they are stretch goals, JPM at 60 is nice but historically when it hits 50 it has a bad reaction and moves right back to the 30’s. I plan on selling half my Chase position at 50, and god bless if it hits 60 the next half.
They have a live cam at the Hawain Tropic Zone in midtown that they don’t really mention. Wife can really check you out on a long business lunch.
hort Hills Renter says:
May 22, 2009 at 1:43 pm
#131 i love the tiki bar webcam! heard stories of people getting into a lot of trouble with their significant others over this thing!
John,
When visiting sw FL, beware the webcam @ Mons Venus.
OT;
Besides the below, any suggestions on how to spot a counterfeit ticketmaster ticket?
Texture of ticket
Font
Date in upper left hand corner
Spaces, commas
Any others?
John,
I can just imagine your response.
John,
You’re still going to be alive in 2070?
John (136)-
MS? Are they offering a free toaster now?
How are their passbook savings rates? Christmas Club?
Sorry, but an upgrade from a gang of dolts who were hours away from certain failure does not impress. They couldn’t see the meltdown coming, so why should we believe them when they sound the “all clear”?
Especially when the all clear is being sounded in order to draw more suckers into a rigged game.
John (139)-
Make sure they give you a couple of beater shirts free with that Camaro.
#86
“Above private equity boys now own Bank United. Who’s to say that hese guys won’t provide loans to the companies owned by their funds. Someone needs to watch this as we could have a lot of bad loans made to “Zombie” companies and Bank United is back to insolvency in a few years.”
bank holding company laws make basically make it impossible to fund your portfolio companies in this way. otherwise, every PE shop would just buy a bank and use accordingly
http://www.canada.com/business/fp/bondholders+reject+offer+gird+bankruptcy/1620879/story.html
You go GM Bondholders!!!
I actually used to work at the bank that was known as the “TV bank” as they came up with the promotions of toasters and TVs with new accounts, name the bank.
Clotpoll says:
May 22, 2009 at 1:51 pm
John (136)-
MS? Are they offering a free toaster now?
How are their passbook savings rates? Christmas Club?
Sorry, but an upgrade from a gang of dolts who were hours away from certain failure does not impress. They couldn’t see the meltdown coming, so why should we believe them when they sound the “all clear”?
Especially when the all clear is being sounded in order to draw more suckers into a rigged game.
Fee-Only Fcuk You
May 22, 2009
Past NAPFA President Charged In Kickback Scheme
A former president of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors has been charged with taking kickbacks from unregistered investment pools in which his Wisconsin advisory firm placed $102 million in client assets.
James Putman, founder, majority owner and CEO of Wealth Management LLC in Appleton, Wisc, and Simone Fevola, the firm’s former president, a minority owner and chief investment officer, each accepted $1.24 million in undisclosed payments derived from investments made by the unregistered investment pools, according to a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Putman could not be reached for comment on the charges by press time.
The SEC announced Thursday that it obtained an emergency court order freezing Wealth Management’s assets because the firm is charged with engaging in a kickback scheme and other fraudulent conduct involving six unregistered investment pools it managed. The SEC also alleges that Wealth Management, Putman and Fevola misrepresented the safety and stability of the two largest investment pools and placed clients into these investments even though they were inconsistent with some clients’ objectives.
Putman, CFP, claims on his Web site that he served as president of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) in 1996-1997 and is cofounder and first president of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning, now the Financial Planning Association. He adds that the firm has been named among the “100 Great Financial Planners” by Mutual Funds magazine, one of the “250 Best Financial Advisers” by Worth magazine, and one of the “150 Best Financial Advisers for Doctors” by Medical Economics magazine.
The firm, a fee-only registered investment advisor, reported $131.5 million in assets under management and 447 accounts in its ADV statement filed in April with the SEC. The report says the firm’s clients are high-net-worth individuals as well as others for whom it does financial planning, portfolio management and selects other advisors. The firm says the main focus of its business is integrated financial planning for families and individuals, and while investment advice is an important part of its business, it’s not the main focus.
The ADV report also lists seven funds for which Wealth Management is a partner, manager or advisor, with a total value of approximately $104 million and minimum investments ranging from $50,000 to $1 million. The largest of these funds is the WML Gryphon Fund LLC, with $38,163,673 in assets, and the WML Watchstone Partners LP with $50,092,324.
The emergency court order issued by U.S. District Judge William Greisbach freezes Wealth Management’s assets and the investment pools. A receiver is to take control of the operations of Wealth Management as well as the investment pools.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Wealth Management, Putman and Fevola caused clients to invest in the pools from May 2003 through August 2008, and Wealth Management claims to currently have approximately $102 million of its clients’ assets invested in these pools. The SEC’s complaint alleges that the pools’ assets are largely illiquid, the reported values of their assets appear to be substantially overstated, and Wealth Management and Putman have been providing redemptions to investors based on likely overstated valuations.
The SEC’s complaint charges each of the defendants with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, and Putman and Fevola with aiding and abetting Wealth Management’s violations. In addition to seeking emergency relief, the SEC’s complaint seeks permanent injunctions barring future violations of the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, disgorgement of the defendants’ ill-gotten gains plus pre-judgment interest, and financial penalties from the defendants.
The SEC’s investigation is continuing.
Republic bank, remember the daily news ads way back when.
Gary,
Just been there and done that myself. You don’t realize how much you take for granted the fact that you have a job until you are shown the door. Sometimes I would find myself second guessing the career decisions I had made which eventually led me to the unemployed spot I was in. The light at the end of the tunnel gets really obscured sometimes. I wish you all the best.
Vic 35
From what I have read, the only reason that we avoided a deflationary depression was because we were not on a gold standard. Look at Spain, it is chained to the Euro and is royally screwed.
when did we avoid a deflationary depression due to lack of gold standard? are you referring to the 80’s?
chi (153)-
The SEC might end up giving those two an award.
John (154)-
I remember some bank in Arkansas offering guns to new depositors.
That’s my idea of a good promo!
What?? The only folks not working hard are the real estate terrorists. They’re lying around sponging by preventing people like me from making some damn money.
Now I’m out of a damn job and no one feels any sympathy for me even though people like me contributed a great deal to this country.
There will come a day soon where I will be in the damn catbird’s seat again and I won’t forget what the terrorists did. Tell you what though, I will never sell my house to one of these thieving scumbag terrorists. I’d rather strap some C4 to my ass and run through hell, then sell my house to a damn real estate terrorist.
John says:
May 22, 2009 at 11:55 am
No one in NJ is picking berries for $3 bucks an hour. NJ people have no pride or willingness to do hard work. Unemployed pretty girls will find a sugar daddy, shake they jugs down at DJs or dance on a pole, joe schmoes will do reality shows or get rich schemes, ex wall street types will do some day trading or the next big FS scam. Other people will double dip off the books while on unemployment. The mexican berry pickers are the honest folks, most folks don’t want to do an honest days work for an honest buck.
safe 106
I am self employed. I get paid directly from the company that i contract with. this past fall a particular company decided not to pay me for 4 months when our contract stipulated 30 days. It is quite clear that they are bankrupt in my personal opinion, as they were holding out on mos of the other contractors as well. Many of use hand to with hold work (per contract) in order to get paid. I wasnt sure the check the cut me would clear.
Its getting ugly out there
Retro Candy –
Dollar Stores. Pop Rocks, Pixie Stix, Wax Lips, Candy Cigarettes (without the red “flame”) Fun Dips, all to be had in abundance. Wonka even makes chocolate covered Pop Rocks – can’t beat exploding chocolate!
Off to Florida to shop high end yard sales…..
Not after a wildebeest, or a leopard skin draped elephant.
Large tax paying companies are what NY/NJ needs
I thought the reason this companies are staying in NY NJ is for the tax break.Now they are starting to leave for better tax break in Pa.
“I’d rather strap some C4 to my ass and run through hell,”
Is your dingle berry issue really that bad?
reinvestor101 says:
Just curious what was your last job?
RE101:
I have been taking note of your writing style, cues and posting patterns. You have no idea how close I am to outing your ass.
Soon!
I gotta say, you’re the last one I originally suspected.
CHI?
Duck?
I was in the middle of taking out a HELOC to buy a condo to flip, when I couldn’t get my damn money. My last job was that as a self employed real estate investor.
John says:
May 22, 2009 at 2:54 pm
reinvestor101 says:
Just curious what was your last job?
Grasshopper,
When you have something you wish to learn, respect and patience are virtuous. You must respect the one who has the knowledge you seek. Also, you must be patient until you’re ready to deal with that knowledge. Only I as the master can determine when you’re ready. You can not make that determination. Now, grasshopper, submit a humble apology and I’ll reconsider whether I’ll continue your instruction in the ways of the 101st real estate investor.
zieba says:
May 22, 2009 at 2:54 pm
RE101:
I have been taking note of your writing style, cues and posting patterns. You have no idea how close I am to outing your ass.
Soon!
I gotta say, you’re the last one I originally suspected
Funny, speaking of that a nice middle aged Jamaican women I used to work back in the 1991 recession had a good looking straight young nephew. Well turns out he always like the quick buck and was used to fancy toys and when his luck dried up. He headed to Palm Beach Florida to be a gigolo to the old ladies, turns out out ladies buy dinner, drinks and nice ties but that don’t pay the rent. So even though he was straight he became a gigolo to the rich old gay guys, instantly he was a huge hit on the circuit, even visited NY in one of his many sugerdaddies brand new Benz with gold rings and designer clothess with a big thick wallet, bragged ah what the heck a few minutes of discomfort and I am rolling in cash. Well a few weeks later in florida he was hanging out in his Don Johnson look in his white linen pants and all at once the other gigolos started laughing at him, he had a big chocolate colored stain dripping down his butt, he was like WTF and the other gigolos yelled there goes the cherry your O Muscle is blown out. He was like what does that mean? They were like the old guys like fresh meat on the circuit, now you are just a busted old fag hag like rest of us working for peanuts, he then said when does it getter better, they said let me put it this way years from now when you die they will be able to flip your body over in the morgue and your lips will still be fatter than Mick Jagger, your white pants wearing days are over for good.
Stu unemployment and dingleberries for some reason made me think of this true but funny story.
Stu says:
May 22, 2009 at 2:53 pm
“I’d rather strap some C4 to my ass and run through hell,”
Is your dingle berry issue really that bad?
“Just curious what was your last job?”
http://tinyurl.com/REinvestor101-working
I think RE 101 is Donald Trump
Youngster, you’re starting to get on my damn nerves.
Stu says:
May 22, 2009 at 3:05 pm
“Just curious what was your last job?”
http://tinyurl.com/REinvestor101-working
pepperjack@sbcglobal.net
Here is my email address!!
No it’s not.
Diversionary tactics will not work.
I’m going back to work now having been scared senseless by gary.
Oh boy, here we go again.
#149 And some cinderblocks. Nothing says white trash like a Camaro up on blocks.
I get so much abuse here. People steal my handle. People want to out me. All because I’m a defender of the real estate markets. I know, it’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it!
#112
“The problem is, at its roots, a profound collapse of morals on Wall Street that would have found its way to financial destruction using any available set of instruments and laws.”
this guy assumes way too much foresight and intentionality among wall sters
#115
“My advice for you guys: Do everything you can to keep your job. ”
Best of luck Gary. You are totally right and every time I meet someone who seems not to give a sh*t about their job I am totally amazed these days. 9 times out of 10 it is a gov’t worker though
#160 kettle1
That’s an ugly story. My last gig was being an IT contract recruiter. I wonder how many of the consultants we placed won’t get paid.
I’m out 2 weeks pay right now, some of those consultants work 45 to 60 days before they would get the first check. They could finish the assignment and never get paid, plus have accrued expenses.
It’s getting ugly! Now when is unemployment going to contact me and let me know how much and how long hardwoking rock ribbed Americans like 101 will be subsidizing my lifestyle!
OK that’s it! this economy is getting real personal! Bad enough I get laid off twice in less than a year, but now my take out places are getting shut down.
I finally found an authentic Chinese restaurant 6 months ago and what happens to it? that’s right it closes!!
Does anybody know what the fort monmouth transfers get if they. Cannot sell their house
“Now when is unemployment going to contact me and let me know how much and how long hardwoking rock ribbed Americans like 101 will be subsidizing my lifestyle!”
Look, get your own damn subsidy. I’m like a squirrel looking for my own damn nut after they took away the damn punch bowl I was enjoying. You need to fiend for your damn self.
If that weren’t enough, I got other stuff to worry about. A damn grasshopper here is watching my every move and is trying to get me. He’s doesn’t know I have a secret weapon–Raid Ant and Roach Killer will work on grasshoppers also. Damn pest.
182,
I was talking with some people there not long ago and from what they said there is, at least generally, no relo package. The job is here now and will be there soon; if you want to reloacte to keep working, fine, otherwise we will hire someone new.
Good weekend for Rock Lobsters.
Speaking of which, I think the B-52s are playing Basie soon.
#183 re101
You need to fiend for your damn self.
fiend or fend?
Freudian slip?
/makes notations on nuances of most recent posting/
It’s okay to be afraid a little.
Asia DayAhead: Pimco’s Gross Says U.S. to Lose AAA ‘Eventually’
Thanks I am looking at a house and someone told me that they dont really care if they sell because the military will buy it. Rumour i guess. Although, it seems hard to believe that they get nothing
Look, I misspelled a work ok? I’m not perfect. I guess you and the damn grasshopper are going to hold that against me? Look, just give me a break ok?
Look, I’m not looking to create problems ok? I figured I post occasionally on this board and share what I know. How in the hell was I to know there was an insect that would develop an attitude towards me? Hey, as far as I knew grasshoppers were innocent little things we’d catch when I was a kid. Sure, maybe we shouldn’t have pulled their legs off or put them into the spiderweb to see what the spider would do to them. I’m afraid that I created bad karma with those actions because now a grasshopper is jumping bad with me and watching my every move here. The bottom line is that with this grasshopper on my ass, I got far bigger problems than a misspelled word and I’d appreciate it if you could talk to that damn grasshopper and tell him I’m sorry!
Safe Be wary unemployment will only use time worked 6/30 08 till 6/30 09 their base year. They screwed me by using 6/07 to 6/08 as I was laid off 11/30/08 & only worked 4 months in 07-08. 2 monthes benefits no extended benefits, tough luck.
#192 mike,
Ouch. When I got laid off the first time I had 9 months of work and was eligble for 17 weeks of benefits. I started my last job after 2 weeks of unemployment. I think I should be eligible for a lot more this time, but with unemployment you never know.
Also my mother-in-law is no longer staying with us so I can enjoy some quality at home time.
I’d swear this house was on the market last spring and than was switched to a rental.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Green-Brook-Twp_NJ_07059_1109009670
Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?
10 Movies That Can Teach You About Money
Safe have been fighting them to get determination changed. Need a lawyer now
but costly as losing most likely out come.
The end is nigh……
DRUG-ADDLED MAN CAUGHT AFTER 20-BLOCK CHASE
By LACHLAN CARTWRIGHT and JOHN DOYLE
May 22, 2009 —
A bloodied, drug-addled man eluded cops in a crazed 20-block car chase — in which he hit the same pedestrian twice — before finally getting tackled by a police officer this morning.
This pursuit left one woman in the hospital, and at least two cars wrecked, police said.
The wild ride started shortly after 7 a.m. when the suspect, described as a man in his 40s and high on crack, was fleeing cops in a gray Toyota on First Avenue and 34th Street when his vehicle was struck by a taxi.
That sent the suspect’s car flying onto the sidewalk directly into a path of a female jogger knocking her to the ground.
She was taken to Bellevue Hospital and is in serious condition.
The suspect, still in control of the car, attempted to speed away, but somehow struck the jogger again.
From there the madman tried to escape north on the FDR Drive but smashed his car on the entrance ramp and fled on foot.
Running along the service road he made it to the last building on East 52nd Street overlooking the highway.
He scaled a 12-foot fence capped with razor wire from the highway to the back of a building where he saw an open window about eight feet from the ground. He cut himself badly on the razor wire, witnesses said.
“Mama, mama! Help, help, police!” he shouted, witnesses said.
Inside, a 59-year-old grandmother was not about to stop prepping for her grandson’s birthday to help the nut.
As he tried to climb up through the window she punched him in the face and pushed him out.
So, he climbed back over the razor-wire fence.
“He was like Spiderman. I’ve never seen someone move like that,” she said.
On the other side of the fence he came to the side of 444 E. 52nd St. where he saw a janitor’s jumpsuit. He changed into it, picked up a mop and tried to blend in, as police sirens blared in the background.
The real janitor stumbled upon the suspect and ran to find a cop.
He brought the solo officer to the side of the building and pointed out the suspect.
The cop quickly made short work of the suspect and soon had him in handcuffs.
Before he could be hauled away, though, the janitor had to get the cops to fish out his money and jewelry out of his jumpsuit.
“It’s like a movie script. I’ve never seen something as bizarre as this,” said the building superintendent Joseph Espaillat.
Safeashouses,
Here’s my favorite authentic Chinese restaurant: China Chalet in Florham Park.
The chef is from Chengdu, my wife’s hometown, and he makes really good authentic sichuan dishes. Hot and numbing. Don’t waste your appetite on the American stuff.
Here are some of my photos of their dishes.
http://sichuanmoredining.blogspot.com/
SG,
The reason why intellectuals hate capitalism is that the world’s dominant ethical systems oppose self-interest. I say those ethical systems are wrong. Intellectuals are just more consistent.
Ayn Rand argued that for capitalism to win, there needs to be a philsophical revolution supporting reason in epistemology, self interest in ethics, and individual rights in politics. Unfortunately, culture is moving the opposite direction.
Here’s a great line Rand wrote about intellectuals in “Atlas Shrugged”:
“Your kind of intellectuals are the first to scream when it’s safe – and the first to shut their traps at the first sign of danger. They spend years spitting at the man who feeds them – and they lick the hand of the man who slaps their drooling faces.”
[195] SG
At one point, the Cato piece suggests that lefties were geeks and losers that got bullied or ignored in school, and their love of central planning somehow stems from the fact that it is devoid of the arbitrariness of unstructured social interaction.
D’oh. According to US News and World Report, NJ loses out to NY once again. Last year, NJ was number one, but has slipped behind its cocky neighbor to the east.
“The worst drivers in America live in New York. Of course, you knew that. You’ve been in the Holland Tunnel. But now, we have proof.
GMAC Insurance has released the results of its National Drivers Test for 2009. The test, which measures basic knowledge of driving laws, was given to more than 5,000 drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia — and New Yorkers finished last. Last year’s loser, New Jersey, improved its score just enough to leap over New York. Hawaii, California and Georgia rounded out the bottom five.”
We’re Number 2 (down from Number One)
“The worst drivers in America live in New York. Of course, you knew that. You’ve been in the Holland Tunnel. But now, we have proof.
GMAC Insurance has released the results of its National Drivers Test for 2009. The test, which measures basic knowledge of driving laws, was given to more than 5,000 drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia — and New Yorkers finished last. Last year’s loser, New Jersey, improved its score just enough to leap over New York. Hawaii, California and Georgia rounded out the bottom five.”
Of course, we all know how NJers feel about their haughty cousins to the east, so I expect a lot more IROC crackups and road rage out of you so we get that Number One ranking back.
grim, Kill 202 in mod
(200) A.west
Well said. I was going to add that intells generally hate any system that causes inequities, and that is true of capitalism.
It must be said that there are those that think capitalism (or rather free markets) can be optimized so as to reduce excesses without killing the model. But it is easier, or dare I say intellectually lazier, to simply condemn it as bad.
A. West…thanks for reminding me of well-prepared food.
I live in culinary wasteland.
Tomorrow, our daughter is going away to her first Brownie backyard sleep-over. Real smores over candles in someone’s backyard.
We have been ruminating over which restaurant within a one hour drive (which includes DC) to visit.
My husband is pulling for Indian Buffet. I want Chinese. I now have your pics as artillery.
And Zieba…do not attempt to finger 3b or Sean as RE just because of the regional mis-spelling of then/than.
And Zieba…do not attempt to finger 3b or Sean as RE just because of the regional mis-spelling of then/than.
Lady, you’re another one out to get me by watching every post, hinging on every word, crosschecking spelling and being a general nuisance. This is precisely why you’ll continue to be at the top of each and every enemies list I compile here. Actually, you’re what I consider to be an OE (original enemy)!
Scribe is another one who tries pull these sort of stunts. Hell, there may be an entire damn army of grasshoppers I’m contending with here.
Stop using grasshopper so much. Somebody might think you’re 3b.
Bank Failure Friday rages on…
1) FDIC Subscriptions Morton Community Bank, Morton, Illinois, Assumes All of the Deposits of Citizens National Bank, Macomb, Illinois
2) FDIC Subscriptions Midland States Bank, Effingham, Illinois, Assumes All of the Deposits of Strategic Capital Bank, Champaign , Illinois
sl
Hero says:
May 22, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Thanks I am looking at a house and someone told me that they dont really care if they sell because the military will buy it. Rumour i guess. Although, it seems hard to believe that they get nothing
I have some friends who are civilian contractor movimg to MD with the Fort lee military base. He owns a house , about 1 million at peak.
According to his relo package all he needs to to is list the house for 2 month prior to the move at appraised value 9 which he got 1 year ago!!! and military will pay full asking! (and appraisal for his relo package dated the day he accepted it)
So he does not need to sell at all THANK YOU TAXPAYERS!
#207 Pat I heard that.
#199 A.West
Great pics.
I used to go there when I lived in Florham Park for a few months.
I found a place in Warren called Q2 Cafe that was an authentic Shanghai place, but it seems to have closed.
Do you ever go to Penang’s and Kam Man in Hanover or East Hanover?
#207 Pat,
check out these food photos from asia
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenhbushman/sets/72157594271240980/
Let the drooling begin.
Newer houses in Lopatcong & Greenwich (>1998)in Warren County, are now listing under Tax Assessment, basically less then people paid. Conversely, houses in Chatham, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, etc., are hanging tough in the stratosphere. Of course the train towns do give direct access to NYC’s Wall Street & ever popular Swine Flu.
[214] confused
If you check the actual sales data, they dropped about 15-25% from the top (see circlingvulture site) and sometimes more. Tax assessments in most of the western Union county had been done in the late 90s, before even the beginning of the bubble – this is why the assessed values are so low. Also, enough people would rather live in Chatham than in Lopatcong to keep it priced higher.
Al,
I wonder if the difference is civ USG employee vs. contractor? I will ask again next time I talk with folks at Myers.
Happy Summer folks.
Doesn’t the master bedroom of this bi-level in Glen Ridge just scream Atlantic City High Roller Suite? It can be yours for the bargain price of $749k and annual taxes of $ 15,657. More links to follow.
http://pargraph.gsmls.com/imagedb/highres/51/2681151_6.jpg
Love the wallpaper on the bathroom ceiling.
http://pargraph.gsmls.com/imagedb/highres/51/2681151_7.jpg
Another modest and understated bathroom.
http://pargraph.gsmls.com/imagedb/highres/51/2681151_8.jpg
Safeashouses,
Yes, we shopped up there a few times. These days we are more often the the Edison Kam Man and Penang. Produce is generally much better and cheaper at the asian groceries.
211 Safe – Love the Kam Man. It is the best place to get mock meat. And Lil Gator loves to look at the live fishies and get bubble tea.
no need to be an intellectual or have a tiny bit of intellect to hate american timmy-ben-larry capitalism
or perhaps you have some other fantasy in your mind you call capitalism, a fantasy that works for better and longer
Misery is visible on so many faces. Chatting at eateries has turned from giddy laughter about “equity” to murmuring of how dismal things have become, and how “Bill who bought in 2006 is in deep trouble.”
There will be more pain.
Wall Street decimated…
Domestic manufacturing extinct…
High paying jobs shipped overseas…
Consumers consumed by debt…
Pandering politicians clueless and feckless…
No savings…
No equity…
No exits…
Dollar Is Dirt, Treasuries Are Toast, AAA Is Gone
The odds on the dollar, Treasury bonds and the U.S. government’s AAA grade all heading for the dumpster are shortening. While currency forecasting is a mug’s game and bond yields can’t quite decide whether to dive toward deflation or surge in anticipation of inflation, every time I think about that credit rating, I hear what Agent Smith in the “Matrix” movies called “the sound of inevitability.” Several policy missteps suggest that investors should stop trusting — and lending to — the U.S. government. These include the state’s pressure on Bank of America Corp. to buy Merrill Lynch & Co.; the priority given to Chrysler LLC’s unions over the automaker’s secured creditors; and the freedom that some banks will regain to supersize executive bonuses by giving back part of the government money bolstering their balance sheets.
vulture,
why it may be obvious to use, the average joe, is still talking about how they can continue the RE leverage game once the “recession” is over.
SAS
here is your economic warfare and financial pirates at work
BankUnited Sale May Signal Shift by FDIC in Bank Buyout Rules
Carlyle and Blackstone, the world’s two biggest leveraged buyout firms, are among those considering buying banks on the cheap after global losses from the credit crisis topped $1.4 trillion. The FDIC in January agreed to sell IndyMac Bank to private-equity investors after failing for five months to find a buyer among the lender’s stronger rivals. BankUnited’s winning bidders are injecting $900 million into the Florida lender. “It is a lot like the IndyMac sale, except the FDIC found a buyer right away,” said Bert Ely, a banking consultant in Alexandria, Virginia. The BankUnited purchase will cost the FDIC $4.9 billion. IndyMac cost the agency an estimated $10.7 billion, according to a March statement from the FDIC. The Office of Thrift Supervision in January cleared MatlinPatterson Global Adviser LLC’s purchase of Flagstar Bancorp Inc., based in Troy, Michigan. The Federal Reserve has told private-equity companies it won’t permit a firm that isn’t regulated as a bank to own a majority stake in a lender, even if it walls off its investment in a so-called silo deal, according to a Fed lawyer who declined to be identified.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=azOHOtxuEFJY&refer=canada
what bubble
San Francisco Home Prices Fall 41% in Past Year on Foreclosures
San Francisco Bay Area home prices fell 41 percent in April from a year earlier as foreclosures accounted for almost half of all sales, MDA DataQuick said. The median price dropped to $304,000 from $518,000 a year earlier. That’s 54 percent below the peak reached two years ago, the San Diego-based research company said today in a statement. A total of 7,139 new and existing houses and condominiums sold in the nine-county area, a 13 percent increase from April 2008. “Job losses and historically high foreclosure levels continue to pose serious threats to housing stability,” John Walsh, president of MDA, said in the statement. “In much of the Bay Area, there’s the added problem of ‘jumbo’ loan financing still being relatively expensive and, for many, hard to get.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atBfoEWN00Ww&refer=patrick.net
California will be an interesting test case
Schwarzenegger: No gimmicks to fix budget deficit
Schwarzenegger’s deputy finance director, Ana Matosantos, told lawmakers Thursday during a budget committee hearing that the administration is seeking to eliminate or heavily reduce programs not required by the federal government. The state’s low-cost health insurance program for children known as Healthy Families, the CalWORKS welfare-to-work program, mental health services and children’s welfare programs all face elimination, she said. The administration also will look to reduce financial aid for college students as well as funding for state parks. The Republican governor also has proposed selling state assets such as San Quentin State Prison, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and CalExpo, the state fairgrounds in Sacramento.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D98BA1T00.htm
TARP Warrants Shows Banks May Reap ‘Ruthless Bargain’
Banks negotiating to reclaim stock warrants they granted in return for Troubled Asset Relief Program money may shortchange taxpayers by almost $10 billion if Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s first sale sets the pace, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While 17 financial institutions have repaid TARP funds, two have come to terms with the U.S. on the value of the rights to buy stock that taxpayers received for the risk of recapitalizing the industry. The first was Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Indiana, which gave the Treasury Department $1.2 million last week for warrants that may have been worth $5.81 million, according to the data.
If Geithner makes the same deal for all companies in the rescue program, lenders may walk away with 80 percent of the profits taxpayers might have claimed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOQPmbrh1ZrA&refer=home
Russia Dumps the U.S. Dollar for Euro as Reserve Currency
The US dollar is not Russia’s basic reserve currency anymore. The euro-based share of reserve assets of Russia’s Central Bank increased to the level of 47.5 percent as of January 1, 2009 and exceeded the investments in dollar assets, which made up 41.5 percent, The Vedomosti newspaper wrote. The dollar has thus lost the status of the basic reserve currency for the Russian Central Bank, the annual report, which the bank provided to the State Duma, said
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article10755.html
#206:
Re 101:
is an OE similar to an OG (original gangster)? you are so old school. word!
But can you rap?
Pat says:
May 22, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Stop using grasshopper so much. Somebody might think you’re 3b.
Lady, I’ll use the term “grasshopper” whenever I get good and ready. That corn cob using cheapskate doesn’t own that word. Moreover, please DO NOT mention his name in the same sentence with anything associated with me. I can’t stand him. He’s a wuss.
Pat says:
May 22, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Stop using grasshopper so much. Somebody might think you’re 3b.
Lady, I’ll use the term “grasshopper” whenever I get good and ready. That corn cob using cheapskate doesn’t own that word. Moreover, please DO NOT mention his name in the same sentence with anything associated with me. I can’t stand him. He’s a wuss.
morpheus says:
May 23, 2009 at 6:32 am
#206:
Re 101:
is an OE similar to an OG (original gangster)? you are so old school. word!
But can you rap?
Yeah, I’m so old school that I’m literally tottering with age, but I really can’t say much more than that right now. There’s too damn many grasshoppers just lying in wait to waylay me.
Kettle – RE: Gold Standard.
According to my understanding, in a debt deflation economy, wherein the private sector is drowning in debt, we will be caught in a vicious deflationary circle if the money supply is not increased to counter the dollars being taken out of the system.
In a gold standard, this is not possible because the amount of money which can be created/printed is backed by something tangible.
That is why I think that Bernanke has managed to avoid a deflationary depression by printing a hellasious amount of money and essentially is trying to transfer private debt to the govt balance sheet. As BC said, we have picked our poison – inflation, it shall be.
I am really not sure as to what the better option would have been – deflation (which has the painful scars of GDI to remind us) or inflation (Weimar Germany?).
Ultimately, I do not think the fate of Weimar Germany will befall us, we are too big and too important to the world economy. Plus, we have the biggest military.
Honestly, I am still struggling with this question.
#182 For active duty military, the only relo package is that they pay to move your stuff but only up to a certain number of pounds and that is based on rank. If you can’t sell your house, you’re stuck. I imagine the same would be true for civilian employees. It’s really tough when a base closes – no incoming people to buy the houses.
A.West and NJGator,
We usually go to Penang for lunch and then Kam Man in Edison for some shopping.
My wife will also pick up some magazines from the little bookstore in the Kam Man plaza. I can’t read them though, I just look at the pictures.
#211 Huh? Oh, that’s great. So active duty military, the ones who put their lives on the line, get screwed when they can’t sell their houses, hoping to find renters, but the civilians don’t lose a dime. Nice. Very nice.
So what?
kettle1 says:
May 23, 2009 at 1:30 am
Dollar Is Dirt, Treasuries Are Toast, AAA Is Gone
The odds on the dollar, Treasury bonds and the U.S. government’s AAA grade all heading for the dumpster are shortening. While currency forecasting is a mug’s game and bond yields can’t quite decide whether to dive toward deflation or surge in anticipation of inflation, every time I think about that credit rating, I hear what Agent Smith in the “Matrix” movies called “the sound of inevitability.” Several policy missteps suggest that investors should stop trusting — and lending to — the U.S. government. These include the state’s pressure on Bank of America Corp. to buy Merrill Lynch & Co.; the priority given to Chrysler LLC’s unions over the automaker’s secured creditors; and the freedom that some banks will regain to supersize executive bonuses by giving back part of the government money bolstering their balance sheets.
Capital Markets Update According to my 2 1/2 son:
I went out to the driveway to get the WSJ. I came back into the house and he said to me “…it’s a bull market…”
#233 reinvestor: Stealing my words is one thing. But your posts still reflect a deep anal fixation.
You really should get help. You should start with one of those free mental health clinics, since as you say you are having financial problems.
An interesting perspective from an interesting guy. I can’t say I know him well but in the conversations we have had he shows himself to be far more thoughtful than many in the media would have people believe:
http://twp.com/detail.jsp?key=390363&rc=op&p=1&all=1
At a certain level, this shows more character, well, at least shame, than American politicians ever seem to muster:
http://kevxml2a.infospace.com/_1_26Y1UVC02MH8L7Z__cingular.wap/x/app/apn/d.xhtml?sin=D98BUTL00&ran=24
Safeashouses,
My wife came to the US from China, and I regularly take my first grader to the Chinese school held in the Edison high school on Sundays. From Scotch Plains Edison is pretty close. I’ve been in that little bookstore, seems pricey though. Wife always picks up the 5 free Chinese newspapers at the store.
Asian Food Market on Rt 22 is closer for me.
re: why intellectuals oppose capitalism.
I think it is because capitalism is really at its roots democratic and most intellectuals hate the masses. They do not think the masses are capable or qualified of really defining what something or someone is worth, which is what the market really does.
Many intellectuals are successes in academic settings, but this success does not always translate to equivalent success outside of academia.
The intellectuals who remain in academia are on some level aware that they have essentially checked out of society at large and in this way whatever success they have is marginalized.
The truth is that without these sanctuaries (really the modern equivalent of monasteries), entire fields of academics would have no prominent place in society whatsoever. Rather than question the worth of their contributions, they question the mechanisms that have caused them to be marginalized.
#227
” The Federal Reserve has told private-equity companies it won’t permit a firm that isn’t regulated as a bank to own a majority stake in a lender, even if it walls off its investment in a so-called silo deal, according to a Fed lawyer who declined to be identified.”
so what is the problem if PE firms buy banks if they agree to be regulated as banks? Then they ARE banks– no different from any other.
Skep,
I know a number of tenured professors very, very well and it seems you have hit the nail on the head, at least for many in the profession.
#243
Great article.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hearing/2009/05/can_geithner_legally_just_keep.html?wprss=hearing
“Can Geithner, Legally, Just Keep it ‘Rolling’?”
Due to the TARP language: “outstanding at any one time.”
Shore– I have a few professors in my family and this midset flows through everything they see. They hate all mainstream movies, books and music. Until “Lost” came on the air, they never watched TV. They hate magazines with too many pictures. It goes on and on. The common denominator is that they dismiss whatever is popular as unworthy.
Lawyers stating that professors do not add value to society.
Please carry on with your right wing circle jerk. It is amusing to watch.
Skep,
Although much of popular culture holds little to no appeal to me, I let it pass. The professors seem angry. The other day someone posted the words to Angry Young Man, and the line “He’ll go to the grave as an angry old man,” made me think of them.
Law professors do. :)
#231 Ever been to a “faculty tea” or a gathering of humanities professors? The pomposity meter is right off the scale. It seems their sole purpose in life is to create more humanities graduate students who will get tenured positions and create more humanities graduate students…..a self-perpetuating system paid for by the people who actually produce something.
Oops. That’s for Skeptic at #251. Sorry. Must be that pesky humanities undergrad degree.
Although, the hottest professors I ever had were in Human Ecology — a great place for electives, 99% female, and a nice change from a stadium locker room.
The resilient US consumer;
http://jsmineset.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dailychart.gif
OK, let’s try living in a society without laws vs a society without post-feminist literary criticism. where’s the value?
for an example of a place where lawyers have been dispensed with because of a belief they are inessential, see pakistan.
Forget toxic MBS, CDS, 30:1 leverage, and derivative antics, Our Leader says the economic problems are related to faulty health care.
*******************
Steve Scully, CSPAN: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?
President Obama: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we’ve made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we’ve seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades.
So we’ve got a short-term problem, which is we had to spend a lot of money to salvage [sic] our financial system, we had [sic] to deal with the auto companies, a huge recession which drains tax revenue at the same time it’s putting more pressure on governments to provide unemployment insurance or make sure that food stamps are available for people who have been laid off.
So we have a short-term problem and we also have a long-term problem. The short-term problem is dwarfed by the long-term problem. And the long-term problem is Medicaid and Medicare. If we don’t reduce long-term health care inflation substantially, we can’t get control of the deficit.
So, one option is just to do nothing. We say, well, it’s too expensive for us to make some short-term investments in health care. We can’t afford it. We’ve got this big deficit. Let’s just keep the health care system that we’ve got now.
Along that trajectory, we will see health care cost as an overall share of our federal spending grow and grow and grow and grow until essentially it consumes everything.
#258 BC Bob,
Obviously the best way to fix that is to lower interest rates and get the party going again. Debt = wealth and job creation. /off sarcasm
#255 out ofstater
I loved those meetings. Bunch of egg heads mentally stroking each other off.
I always wondered if they even stood each other.
Skep,
There is a reason why Shakespeare wrote, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” It was not an anti-lawyer statement but a statement about how a strong legal community is essential to prevent tyrany.
No lawyers – no freedom.
Well, time to go BBQ with the professor next door.
Shore,
Professor Roy? Off to Bruce. Trapped?
You are heading to the show? Enjoy!
I can’t say I have been thrilled with the set lists this tour. Last year, after Danny died, the set lists were GREAT — Fort Lauderdale was an amazing show and the Giant’s Stadium shows were also quite good, as were some of the other indoor shows. This year, they have yet to knock my socks off. Maybe Oct 3.
BC,
Tonight we have a thing for work. A necessary thing, entertaining some clients. Oh well. Enjoy the show.
Oh, and with any luck there wil be no overturned tankers.
kettle1 says:
May 23, 2009 at 2:42 am
Russia Dumps the U.S. Dollar for Euro as Reserve Currency
——————–
Kettle, it’s not exactly true. These numbers include central bank reserves+ Russia federal reserve fund+ Russia fund of national prosperity. Central bank holds 47% in dollars and 41% in euros
skep – for an example of a place where *feminists* have been dispensed with because of a belief they are inessential, see pakistan.
255. Yeah….writing great fiction or a work of philosophy. That just seems so worthless when you could be building bombs.
I had an English professor my freshman year who thought Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf was written about him and his wife (the Richard Burton/Liz Taylor couple).
HIs association was that he had been around Albee while he was a guest professor for less than one year.
Complete bore and douche bag. Not interesting enough to merit a puppet show, much less a play.
If my life were that f’ed up, I wouldn’t go telling it to a bunch of 18-year-olds.
#274 clotpoll
If my life were that f’ed up, I wouldn’t go telling it to a bunch of 18-year-olds.
Nah, just post it on forums instead. :P
ML#: 2901618
OLP was actually $699k in early ’08.
Awfully quiet here tonight. I was quite impressed by the Newt letter Shore posted. Where was this type of thinking when he was speaker of the house. Oh well.
From Wikipedia on the Newt…
In late 2008, Gingrich voiced his strong opposition to forcing American taxpayers to bail out several failing financial institutions. He described the $700 billion bailout plan as “just wrong” and that “it’s likely to fail, and it’s likely to make the situation worse over time.”[17] Gingrich further reiterated that the bailout was “essentially wrong” in other appearances on Fox News on September 23 and 24, 2008. Some commentators have suspected that he undercut John McCain by rallying the conservative elements in the House to vote no on the bailout.[18] By September 29 he decided that he would “reluctantly and sadly” support it.[19]
#243 Shore
Before anything, Newt shoud be judged on how he lived his life. The jump to Catholicism to me was the ultimate Irony.
Very Henry the IV.
#246 Skep,
This article is wrong on so many levels.
Can I bet $5 that is sourced from some right wing think tank.
Sorry Henry the VIII
[277] stu
Making far-reaching conclusions from Cali referendum in which 19% of the registered voters took part – as Newt does – is as valid as claiming that NJ educational system is not wasteful based on the fact that most school budgets get passed.
rats. I donated 3 fruit trees – a fig, a quince and an Italian plum – to one of the community gardens that I have a plot in. In glorious Palo Alto, CA. someone dug them up and stole them!!!! the plum had been in for a year and a half; the other two for a solid six months. it wasn’t vandalism; it was someone who know how to dig them up properly. remind me not to put down roots in this area. so to speak. WTF do they manage to steal in *east* pa? this is what folks get for spending 1.5 million on a median house – congrats, morons.
what about candy lipstick? and squirrel candies; incredibly hard sticky flat brown rectangles with tiny bits of nuts in them, capable of removing any loose tooth. but the candy cigarettes, and gum cigars (with real paper bands) were the best.
has anyone yet made the connection between people dressing up for (grooming for, carrying a suitcase for) job fairs and meetings, and cargo cults? dress as if you are working, and all the jobs that have PERMANENTLY DISAPPEARED will come back.
gary, you’re too young. you are taking this too personally. when there are 4.1 people going after each available job, hard work and skills are largely irrelevant. I learned this in high school in the late 70s in eastern CT, when I couldn’t get more than 2 hours of work a week at *McDonalds* (for a trip to europe), because they were saving the hours for people with families. if you haven’t watched Repo Man, rent it. and, Oh Lucky Man.
bairen, I wish you success. you are clearly good at getting jobs in bad times. also all of the house listings you have posted have been really attractive. they almost remove the mental images of the nauseating Rivers Edge houses.
back to assisting my ancient corgi-mix in his attempt to make late-night senile circles.
whats up with the spam recently?
Very interesting website, wish I had found it earlier. This information will definitely come in handy. Fred??????
Cool blog, like what I read. Will be back to read more. Adding to RSS feeder. Tucker
#283
How did you ever pass a teak shower?
great article on housing foreclosures in Barrons today..back half of the housing hurricane just beginning…flood of homes coming on the market this summer
Better read that article careful….
“The question that summer-home buyers face is whether to act immediately or wait for prices to drop still more. It might be wise to start shopping, for trying to time the bottom of this specialized market is a dangerous game. Once confidence returns among would-be buyers, the top-tier market is apt to snap back quickly, making it easy to miss out on discounts if you haven’t already started a home search.”
#286 frank:The question that summer-home buyers face is whether to act immediately or wait for prices to drop still more. It might be wise to start shopping, for trying to time the bottom of this specialized market is a dangerous game. Once confidence returns among would-be buyers, the top-tier market is apt to snap back quickly, making it easy to miss out on discounts if you haven’t already started a home search.”
What a bunch of crap.When is the confidece coming back, today, tomorrow, next week?
Like I said a bunch of crap.
This is great info for us all. Glad you posted this. I am subscribing to this blog. Manny
Shore,
They blew the roof off, 3 hours. Unbelievable set list.
NJC,
I saw you on the floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmrdUFfqFBI
Besides the journalists, teachers, pseudoscientists, and pseudo-intellectuals, investment bankers are some of the biggest supporters of the man-made global warming thesis. They see big money in helping to administer carbon dioxide regulations. I’ve seen some salivating at the idea of marketing co2 caps, swaps, futures, etc.
Of course, global warming models are about 1000 times shakier than value at risk models ever were.
http://www.heartland.org/books/PDFs/SkepticsHandbook.pdf
BC Bob-
I was only on the floor for a short while before the show to say hi to the FOH guys.
Sure was a long show!
NJC,
Yes, about 5-10 minutes, on the floor?
The best show, according to Backstreets, on this tour.
Lots of open houses today throughout Bergen CO, on the Memorial Day weekend no less.
BC,
Glad to hear it was a good show. One cannot always tell from the set lists, as they are so good live. Heck, they could play random pages from the phone book and make it sound good. That said, I could live another 100 years and be happy not to hear Outlaw Pete or anything else from the new album and be happy.
My schedule currently allows for me to go to Oct. 3 & maybe the Friday show too, and I may well try to get tickets. Perhaps by then the push to support the new album will have waned and some better stuff from other albums will show up.
Shore,
I hear you. However, I like Outlaw Pete live. First time on this tour, Candy’s Room and Incident on 57th St. Also, E Street Shuffle, Spirit, T-Road and Kitty’s back.
I think the Oct shows will be more like the 2000 Reunion Tour.
See you in Oct.
any of these charts look familiar?
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/jobless-quants/
3b (287)-
Frank must be so underwater- and in denial- that it’s simply beyond our comprehension.
Virtually everyone I know who owns a second home is trying like crazy to unload it. Or, they’re just letting the second homes take them under.
I know whereof I speak here. I unloaded my in-laws’ second home last Winter. Thank God they listened to me and let me do what needed to be done.
One year later, 22 homes that were competing with theirs’ remain on the market. The only response I got from them when we sold were a couple of phone calls, blaming me for “ruining” their market.
Wanna learn something about second homes?
Get under contract to buy one, get a mortgage, and try getting mortgage insurance with less than a 25-30% DP.
Fun times.
The most frustrating issue I find with Government is their continual refusal to address the fact that we as a nation are bankrupt? They mention it every now and then as though it’s an insignificant side issue. It would appear that we are now both morally and economically bankrupt in Washington and the State Houses.
West #290…
“Besides the journalists, teachers, pseudoscientists, and pseudo-intellectuals, investment bankers are some of the biggest supporters”
Are you willing to entertain the idea (or even better, concede) that at least some (even better, a large number of) “non-pseudo” scientists and “non-pseudo” intellectuals strongly support the idea that global warming (or the more palatable term, “climate change”) is a major problem?
I think the fact that some people will try to make a quick buck in a questionable manner, should not completely invalidate the underlying concern.
S
I guess the failure of Congress to address the Illegal Immigration Problem means that the New Universal Health-Care will apply to anyone in the World who would like us to pay. Congress needs a new Doomsday Clock which will keep a running tally of each Citizens share of the Debt being amassed. It may actually pay to renounce citizenship and go illegal?
Clot… your guy’s lawyer stuff worked out fine. We took our big guns, “wife and I went with a big story, and the night before, I sent a point-by point email on what things are worth not contesting, etc.”
Guess face to face interactions are the best in these cases — he was polite, stuck to some of his points, but overall took our input and sent something much more reasonable. Didn’t post earlier about it — have been sharing too much detail before closing, so don’t want to jinx it.
Now, the train is back on track, and should close much sooner than initially planned [we have some “auspicious” time to do some prayers, and our priest said that is a couple of weeks earlier than our initial closing date]. Bank likes the new date :), so…
Thanks again. Your guy suggested a landscape-type guy who suggested someone else because he is busy, and that guy seems to be fine so far. All leads point to you. So, if something screws up, you are on the hook :)
Thank you again…
S
Confused #301:
“It may actually pay to renounce citizenship and go illegal?”
Strawman! You make it sound like being illegal/un-documented grants major perks.
S
“All leads point to you.”
The last time this was uttered to Clot, his friend woke up in the gutter, in the West Village.
BC #304… Thank God, you said, “woke up”. I was fearing something like “they found his body …”
[301] confused
In case you are unaware, illegal immigrants here currently enjoy free healthcare (via emergency rooms and their U.S. – born citizen kids) – unlike the Euro countries with their universal tax-paid health care systems which actually do not cover non-residents and illegals.
Put a few contractors that employ illegals in jail in every state, and all the immigration issues will go away in no time.
306.Put a few contractors that employ illegals in jail in every state, and all the immigration issues will go away in no time.
Actually, put a few Congressmen in Jail that facilitate Illegals & the issue will go away.
303.sastry says:
May 24, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Confused #301:
“It may actually pay to renounce citizenship and go illegal?”
Strawman! You make it sound like being illegal/un-documented grants major perks.
S
Point is at the rate they are running up debt, most citizens will be paupers, so better to go off the books.
I believe the Government that places the Country into Bankruptcy is an Unconstitutional Government, and it’s members need to be executed for Economic Treason.
BC,
Didn’t he do Candy’s Room at the Boston show to which we both went? They did the Street Shuffle in Hartford. Actually, I thought the energy in Hartford was much higher than Boston.
sastry (302)-
That’s the way it’s been since the day I was born. Glad to hear things are on track for you.
“So, if something screws up, you are on the hook :)”
BC,
When tickets go on sale, I will be willing to buy an extra for you if you are willing to do the same for me. If we both get seats, we can just sell the extras.
If interested, get my e-mail from Grim. If NJC is not working, same thing for her too.
BC (304)-
I covered him in forex charts and planted a couple of Springsteen CDs on him, too.
Clot,
Sounds better than a midnight-ride to the Pine Barrens.
The play by play decline of America over the next 50 years.
Folks in all sincerity I ask that you fight against this. We all know that the events of the past 5-10 years has contributed to this. When all hope is lost violence will be the only answer.
The NJ Govenor primary is on June 2nd. There is only 1 guy in this election that can make a difference.
I could give 2 sh@ts about my own future, however, I will not stand by while my 3 year old sons is sacrificed. If you think I wont fight to defend the Republic. Think again. Revolution is near.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/business/24every.html?_r=1&ref=business
Hey this is good stuff. So glad you posted this. I enjoy reading blogs like this. Anna
WTF? Blog spam robots?
#297,
“Virtually everyone I know who owns a second home is trying like crazy to unload it.”
If this is true how come prices are not dropping down the shore? Chadwik Beach properties still have 2005 prices on them.
I think your full of s@it on this one pal.
#301,
Except that when you renounce it, you still have to pay taxes for 10 years. You better off getting a fake Mexican passport and claim that you’re Mexican.
Nom… Here are some sample comments that make me want to get some gun training, just in case:
“If you think I wont fight to defend the Republic. Think again. Revolution is near.”
“I believe the Government that places the Country into Bankruptcy is an Unconstitutional Government, and it’s members need to be executed for Economic Treason.”
S
confused 308
welcome to the watchlist. Myself clot, and any number of other posters from this blog are will be more then happy to share a detention cell with you. :)
Dont forget, they wont actually kill you when they water board you, it only feels like you might die.
Sastry,
Sure, there are some scientists that are innocently mistaken. The truth on the issue isn’t even known yet, and there are people on both sides honestly trying to understand the situation better. But they’re probably less than 2%. There’s a whole new industry of pull peddlers and fearmongers that have sprouted up around this issue, much the same way the politicians, Fannie, realtors, and investment banks took advantage of easy money to create a real estate bubble.
The big problem with the global warming bubble is that they can inflate it without end, even without any genuine supporting evidence for 25 years. No asset bubble could ever last so long without collapsing due to lack of support in reality.
What I don’t like is our state-run, tax-funded schools pushing end-of-the-earth propaganda on schoolkids, taught as if the science was rock-solid. Most of the schoolteachers and textbook/curriculum writers who preach it would likely not even be able to interpret the output of a linear regression, let alone judge whether a nonlinear time series model with substantial missing data can provide meaningful predictions about future temperatures.
The key thing is, the models are much weaker than the stuff used by S&P to rate mortgages, but people talk about it like the data is obvious, the models are rock solid, and the debate is over, so let’s spend trillions going with it!
320.kettle1 says:
May 24, 2009 at 8:56 pm
confused 308
welcome to the watchlist. Myself clot, and any number of other posters from this blog are will be more then happy to share a detention cell with you. :)
Dont forget, they wont actually kill you when they water board you, it only feels like you might die.
Can’t be worse then Nam, only sad to see they won again. Guess Kruschev was right about “burying us from within”.
Enuff of dis gloom n doom
A.West,
have you ever been to East in Berkeley Heights? Its an Asian fusion place, yet pretty tasty.
What I don’t like is our state-run, tax-funded schools pushing end-of-the-earth propaganda on schoolkids, taught as if the science was rock-solid. Most of the schoolteachers and textbook/curriculum writers who preach it would likely not even be able to interpret the output of a linear regression, let alone judge whether a nonlinear time series model with substantial missing data can provide meaningful predictions about future temperatures.
Sad but true about a lot of things, not just environmental. A significant portion of modern medicine is based upon statistical samplings, rather then scientific proof. Guess that’s why they gave up actually curing anything new. And they teach and believe it now, as though their was scientific proof.
I think confused is just trolling… like reinvestor. Sadly, neither of them the wit of John…
S
Confused,
If we are wrong and there is no “global warming and we take actions to reduce our carbon output, we will have spent some money we need not have, we will have hastened our movement away from oil (which will run-out at some point anyway), and we will improve our air and water quality.
If there is global warming and we do not act, we are scr-ew-ed.
Given the two choices, it is better to act, perhaps unnecessarily, than to not act — proof or not.
Frank,
And Chadwick Beach, Normandy Beach, etc. are such loveley places, cough, gag.
Seems like a family of 4 with 1 car payment or 1 parent commuting to NYC, 1 kid in daycare and 1 in after school care would have to earn 150 to 180k and have 50k downpayment to buy a 500k house for the pleasure of living paycheck to paycheck and not being able to do upgrades to the house, save for the kids college, and save hardly anything for retirement.
Yet 170k income would put you in the to 10 to 20% of households for most of the blue ribbon towns in Somerset, Morris, and Union counties.
I know median income doesn’t = median house price, but it seems bizarre you have to be in the top 10% of earners to buy a 3 bedroom house in the bottom 10% priced houses for sale. And that’s with interest rates at 5% and a 10% down payment. I didn’t even factor in student loans or other types of installment debt people may have.
WTF!!!
#327,
Fine, show me any shore town that has prices prices to buy that are less than rental prices.
#328
I was using
MTG PITI of $3,400
Kid care of $1,600
Food $1,000
Utilities $600
Car/commute $400
Already up to 7k a month without factoring in repairs/upgrades for the house, insurance, maintenance, and gas for car, clothes, toys, medical expenses, saving for college, retirment, paying off student loans or other debt, and other costs.
I just don’t get it. How the hell can everyone drive around in new/newer cars, eat out, take vacations, wear designer clothes, and tons of electronics, etc. Is everyone living on hand outs from their parents or on credit cards?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/business/economy/25foreclose.html
Job Losses Push Safer Mortgages to Foreclosure NY Times
safeashouses says:
May 24, 2009 at 10:20 pm
#328 I was using
Already up to 7k a month without factoring in repairs/upgrades for the house, insurance, maintenance, and gas for car, clothes, toys, medical expenses, saving for college, retirment, paying off student loans or other debt, and other costs.
I just don’t get it. How the hell can everyone drive around in new/newer cars, eat out, take vacations, wear designer clothes, and tons of electronics, etc. Is everyone living on hand outs from their parents or on credit cards?
safe: A lot of people have explicit and implicit help. A lot of wealth tied up NJ that has been passed down to younger generations, whether it is in the form of outsized down payments, inter vivos (bequeath of property while living) transfer of titles to houses, paying tuition for grandchildren, etc. It not so much that people have free cars given to them. It is more that large subsidies are provided somewhere along the line, and the beneficiary then is a spendthift on other more conspicuous items.
safe:
Exactly!
I’m earning about twice of average wage in NJ and I cannot afford a 500K NJ house – no way, even with 20% down. Most likely it’s going to be ~375K with 20% down. Seeing people around buying fancy cars and houses – I’ve been having the same question for years – WTF?
To be clear, it is not that some dufus wins the lottery. It is more that someone just ends up boosted somewhat, so they are financially further along than you would expect.
Example: someone at 40 years old has the profile of where they should be at 55 or so given their status. Someone has a shore house, but it has been in the family for 50 years and was passed down.
I won’t go into details, but I deal directly with several of these people: inherited money; inherited real estate; inherited mid-sized business.
grim:
Didn’t you like this chick?
http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/959782?tm_link=tm_music_f7
Chifi, the same statement applies to any other state. Nothing is different here
#332 chifi,
I know some people get help, but really, why does a family of 4 have to pull in 170k to buy one of the cheapest houses in one of the better towns?
There’s no way everyone in town makes over 170k a year or is getting massive assistance from parents or grandparents.
Especially when houses were selling for 50 to 60% of 2006 prices back in 2000 or 2001.
Let’s all be real – Frank does have a point – short-sighted maybe but true for the moment – the average shore house price appears to be down – but only 10 – 15% or so from the top. I do wonder when the desperation selling will hit – and real bargains will be had – but it ain’t happening yet – although transactions are way down. My guess is either it’s a family house so a price drop not a big deal and or newer buyers who would have to short-sale to sell and will try to rent and avoid the inevitable. Thoughts?
Got dragged out to the Crossings outlet mall in the Poconos. Had to drive around for a while to find parking. Long lines at the registers. Hardly room to walk.
Al #54,
P-way PD does that on Possumtown Road from time to time.
Given the two choices, it is better to act, perhaps unnecessarily, than to not act — proof or not
True, but money is not infinite. List all the things which are needed, prioritize them, and buy what you can afford. My issue is boondogles like inert asbestos wrap removal, which cost’s billions, with very little return.
If you’ve picked some pointers that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it. – William B. Doyle, http://www.wbdoyle.com/blog/
+1
Very goood!!!