From the Times of Trenton:
Susan Bluth owns a two-bedroom condo in the Wyckoff’s Mill development of Hightstown.
Her property taxes jumped last year as a result of a county-mandated revaluation, and this year, she’s bracing for more of the same.
“Taxes were bad enough before that, but last year we saw a $1,000 increase and now we’re probably getting another $800 increase when all is said and done,” said Bluth, president of the Wyckoff’s Mill Condominium Association.
When it comes to rising municipal tax bills, Bluth’s not alone.
Far from it.
Tax appeals, rising costs for health care and pension contributions, plummeting revenue and loss of state aid have all weighed heavily on municipal budgets.
And while layoffs, furloughs and wage freezes have been enacted in some towns, in many cases it won’t be enough to keep taxpayers from feeling the pinch when they open their tax bills.
…
Leading the pack?Trenton, Robbinsville and Hightstown.
On the surface, the three don’t seem to have much in common — one’s a densely populated city, one a suburb and one a tiny, square-mile borough.
But residents in these three municipalities will see, on average, some of the highest municipal tax increases in the Mercer County area.
In Robbinsville, under the recently approved budget for 2010, the municipal tax rate has jumped 12.4 cents, to 52.8 cents per $100 assessed value.
For the average Robbinsville home assessed at $375,000, that means an average municipal tax bill of $1,980, a whopping $465 increase from last year.
…
For the average Trenton home assessed at about $67,000, the city portion of annual property taxes increased $395 to $2,231. The entire increase was tacked onto the quarterly bill due in April, causing consternation among homeowners.Many senior citizens on fixed incomes went to the City Hall tax office in tears, saying they would not be able to afford their taxes and mortgages for much longer.
Also from the Times of Trenton:
Bankruptcy shadow lengthens in Mercer (and the rest of the state -grim)
Bankruptcy filings are soaring locally and across the nation as unaffordable mortgages, job losses, the credit squeeze and mounting debt force individuals and businesses to default on their obligations and go to the courts for relief.
And bankruptcy attorneys say there’s little sign of relief on the horizon.
“People have exhausted their savings, if any, and are literally living paycheck to paycheck or, more appropriately, from unemployment check to unemployment check,” said Scott Kaplan of Malsbury Armenante & Kaplan in Allentown. “It’s going to go a lot higher, based on what I’m seeing.”
In New Jersey and nationally, the number of bankruptcies of all kinds jumped 27 percent in the 12 months ending in May, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to federal court statistics. In Mercer County they climbed 21 percent.
The figures hit a high in March, perhaps because people who filed their taxes early began receiving refund checks and could afford to pay their attorneys, or because bills for winter heating and Christmas spending came due.
There were 4,166 bankruptcy filings statewide and 157 in Mercer in March, the highest monthly figures since changes in federal bankruptcy laws went into effect four years ago.
Frist!!
From CNBC:
More Americans’ credit scores sink to new lows
The credit scores of millions more Americans are sinking to new lows.
Figures provided by FICO Inc. show that 25.5 percent of consumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. It’s unlikely they will be able to get credit cards, auto loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards banks now use.
Because consumers relied so heavily on debt to fuel their spending in recent years, their restricted access to credit is one reason for the slow economic recovery.
“I don’t get paid for loan applications, I get paid for closings,” said Ritch Workman, a Melbourne, Fla., mortgage broker. “I have plenty of business, but I’m struggling to stay open.”
FICO’s latest analysis is based on consumer credit reports as of April. Its findings represent an increase of about 2.4 million people in the lowest credit score categories in the past two years. Before the Great Recession, scores on FICO’s 300-to-850 scale weren’t as volatile, said Andrew Jennings, chief research officer for FICO in Minneapolis. Historically, just 15 percent of the 170 million consumers with active credit accounts, or 25.5 million people, fell below 599, according to data posted on Myfico.com.
More are likely to join their ranks. It can take several months before payment missteps actually drive down a credit score. The Labor Department says about 26 million people are out of work or underemployed, and millions more face foreclosure, which alone can chop 150 points off an individual’s score. Once the damage is done, it could be years before this group can restore their scores, even if they had strong credit histories in the past.
Hey, what happened to the sheep?
If the retirees move out of nj, does it mean that this state will become even more democrat-friendly than it already is?
I admit I don’t vote because my usually conservative leaning votes mean diddly squat in a democrat state like nj.
Let me get this straight, $11m short on a $211m budget, and the only way to balance is to lay off 50% of the employees? Sounds like bullshit to me.
From the Press of Atlantic City:
Atlantic City to lay off additional 93 city workers, possibly many more
Mayor Lorenzo Langford is proposing to lay off at least 93 city employees and says he could expand that to as many as 750 employees unless the state gives the city a $9.5 million budget-cap waiver.
Either figure would amount to the most drastic proposed payroll cut in the city’s history.
The city is requesting permission from the New Jersey Civil Service Commission to lay off the 93 workers by Sept. 30, according to a letter obtained Friday by The Press of Atlantic City from city union leaders. If the city fails to obtain the waiver from the state, the document says the layoffs would approach “approximately 750” employees, about half of the city’s work force of 1560. The city is trying to balance its budget, which was introduced at $211 million.
“I’m very concerned, and the mayor is concerned,” Business Administrator Michael Scott said Friday. “When you think about this happening to families who are your co-workers, it’s not a good thought. It’s a frightening thought.”
In the letter to the state, Scott said the cuts are necessary to tackle a budget shortfall of about $11 million. The administration expects to save about $1.5 million from the 93 layoffs, which include 40 police officers and 30 firefighters.
This one is about a week old, but never got posted up. From the NYT courtesy of Yahoo Finance:
High-Rise, or House With Yard?
The question starts to hang in the air sometime after the children arrive, and the apartment in the city begins to feel a little tight: Should we consider moving to a house in the suburbs?
…
So we set out to do the math, based on an apartment and a house in the New York metropolitan area. Here’s what we found: a suburban lifestyle costs about 18 percent more than living in the city. Even a house in the suburbs with a price tag substantially lower than an urban apartment will, on a monthly basis, often cost more to keep running. And then there’s the higher cost of commuting from the suburbs, or the expense of buying a car (or two) and paying the insurance.
But the one big caveat in all the calculations is private schooling. If the city dwellers decide to send their children to private school — say when their children hit middle-school age — that expense would instantly make the suburbs a bargain.
“At some point, the benefits of the city are not worth the things you need to give up,” said Jessica Buchman, a senior vice president at Corcoran, a New York real estate brokerage, for instance, when five people have to share one bathroom, or there’s no outside space.
While our analysis was by no means scientific, our goal was to recreate the type of decision a hypothetical family of four earning $175,000 a year might encounter. We chose an upper-middle-class income because that’s generally what our family needs to earn, conservatively, to afford a median-price home in Park Slope, a section of Brooklyn that is family-friendly, has good schools and is generally more affordable than Manhattan.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom co-operative apartment that we’re using as a model in Park Slope is listed at $675,000, close to the median price for the neighborhood, as calculated by Zillow.com.
We stacked that against a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home in South Orange, N.J., just a 30-minute train ride from Manhattan, where the two parents work. The house is selling for $595,000.
The result? You obviously get more space for your money in the suburbs, but it cost about $1,285 more a month, or 18 percent, including income taxes, to live there. A tax expert also ran the numbers for a family earning $150,000, and the bottom line was generally the same.
…
The big-ticket item that pushes the Jersey costs ahead is the property taxes, about $16,000 for our chosen house. And then there’s the cost of two cars, monthly train passes and higher utility bills. But if you add the sky-high private school tuition to the Park Slope family’s costs — and the annual bill is often more than $25,000 a child — the pendulum would swing back in favor of the suburbs.
“Those are really big numbers, especially when you have more than one child,” said Ms. Buchman, the broker.
For wealthier families, the calculus changes again because suburban living allows them to escape New York City taxes, which, at 3.65 percent of income above $90,000, can really add up, especially for families earning more than $300,000, Mr. Coard said.
(cont)
Susan Joseph, a senior vice president of research and public affairs at a consulting firm in Manhattan, said she thought she fit that profile, planning on moving from her rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Brooklyn when she had children.
“We wanted to be the Park Slope family,” said Ms. Joseph, 39. “What we didn’t want was to live in the suburbs. To me, it meant sterile, boring strip malls and no diversity. I loved being able to walk everywhere.”
She and her husband, Marc Archer, 41, started to look in Park Slope for a larger place just before Ms. Joseph became pregnant with their daughter, Devin, and ultimately settled on a three-bedroom apartment in a newly constructed building on the fringes of Park Slope.
But then the baby arrived.
“I don’t think I realized how my priorities were going to change once she was around,” Ms. Joseph said. “When Devin was a little bigger and started moving around, and when I thought about what our life might look like in Brooklyn, I kept talking myself into it. But it was just enough space. I felt like I couldn’t exhale.”
So the couple managed to pull out of their contract in March, and, by May, had bought a center-hall colonial in Montclair, N.J., where they already had friends.
“The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a yard and the requisite cuteness of Montclair cost less than a one-bedroom in Manhattan,” Ms. Joseph said. At $675,000, it also cost marginally less than the apartment in Park Slope, and they paid about $50,000 less than the seller did in 2008.
The newfound pleasures of suburbia are still fresh. Ms. Joseph recently marveled at the fact that she had a view of flowers, a big swing set and a deck from her kitchen window.
“Many people leave the city grudgingly, and the reason they can cede defeat and leave is the value proposition,” said Alex Silberman, a broker with Keller Williams Realty who works in Essex County, N.J. A move “may resonate more with people as they go through their life changes.”
Ninth
“Hey, what happened to the sheep?”
It is a dark and sorid story that, frankly, is too disturbing to recount this early in the morning.
Back on the fast track to oblivion. Breathe deeply, and smell the stench of death.
I had thought that there was a new way to calculate credit scores where everyone was going to get shifted downward. Are the #s in the posting reflective of the new method of FICO calculation?
Doom-
“I love the smell of nepalm in the morning”
Beware of the Horn of Africa:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/world/africa/10593771.stm
The ring of destruction flowing from the horn is spreading like ripples on a pond. Next stop, Europe?
“I love the smell of nepalm in the morning
That may well be the the smell of semtex, oil/fertilizer bombs, or explosives concocted from H2O2 is a different matter and unless we crush the miscreants on the Horn, they may well be coming to a subway tunnel, bridge, or airport fuel depot near you. It is time to take these folks seriously and cut off the Eretrian weapons trade with Shabaab.
” To me, it meant sterile, boring strip malls and no diversity. I loved being able to walk everywhere.
But NJGator said that people want to move from Manhattan and Brooklyn to Montclair precisely because there is diversity in Montclair. The 100% white liberal crowd is famously diverse in Montclair.
oh
Nomd,
Down is the new up. Just like filling a sinking boat hull with more water is the path to survival; just ask the Democrats who insist that taking on more debt is not a problem since we have been taking on debt for a long time and have not yet collapsed.
And you wonder why they never caught Madoff?
“Hundreds of Federal Agents Fall Victim to Ponzi Scheme”
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/hundreds-of-fbi-dea-and-ice-agents-fall-victim-to-ponzi-scheme/19547371
Shore (7:51)-
We already have five cities that are the equivalent of Mogadishu. And, Chicago’s little murder problem is really no different than some of the stuff you see in Africa.
That’s not napalm….it’s Corexit 9500 you smell this morning. Coming to a shoreline near you.
Corexit is so toxic, it makes napalm look like a margarita mix.
Franklin, Piscataway,and Middletown best places to live . CNN list is out
Franklin, Piscataway,Middletown. Made the CNN list top places to live
test
Simply Ravishing HEHEHE says:
July 12, 2010 at 7:54 am
And you wonder why they never caught Madoff?
“Hundreds of Federal Agents Fall Victim to Ponzi Scheme”
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/hundreds-of-fbi-dea-and-ice-agents-fall-victim-to-ponzi-scheme/19547371
This guy was a mordern day Robin Hood taking from the Sheriff.
Haven’t been on this site in a while. I used to be a regular reader, beginning in about 2005 (I think) when I first looked into buying. I’ve been renting ever since. Now, with 4-5 years of price decreases and a family, we’re feeling the itch to buy. Problem is, I expected prices to drop more than they have. I’m sure the tax credits had something to do with stalling the drop. So what’s the general blog consensus on the wisdom of purchasing soon?
My calculations have, at current interest rates, a $325k house with $6k property taxes being equivalent to $1,500 rent (which is what we pay). And there are homes in that range in the West Milford area, which is about a 30 minute commute for me. Of course, even a 2% drop in prices shifts the rent vs buy back to rent. But we’re getting tired of renting. If it wasn’t for family and a secure job, we’d be out of NJ.
As Shore Guy would say: “Off to the salt mines.”
Of course the end of that sentence should read “to pay for some lazy rich people’s entitlements.”
We could fix all our problems in a hurry if we simply reinstituted slavery and debtors’ prisons.
Grim,
The blog is appearing a little messed up on Firefox since you put in the new header image ( the map not the sheep). FYI
Take a look around.
If you think your enemy is a poor single mother barely subsisting in a Trenton tenement rather than a Westport, CT-based hedge fund trader, you’re delusional.
PPT on the job again.Probably got a raise!
Fiddy,
At least Obama is going to have an outstanding legacy. he will have presided over the greatest environmental disaster in US history and his administration is responsable for approving the continual use of corexit (almost 1,000,000 gallons to date) even though numerous reliable sources pointed out its likely toxicity.
If the potential impact of this disaster wiping out the southeastern economy comes to fruition then O also gets the historic title of the president responsible for the collapse of the southeastern economies.
Its F’ing hilarious that he is actually making GWB look down right competent by comparison!
Disclaimer: All sitting politicians are crooks and should be tried for treason, i support neither major party.
Doom,
Forget debt slavery. I think its a fair argument that a large % of the existing debts are odious. How about we just barbecue the bankers. Literally. I hear that human flesh properly marinated taste very similar to BBQ pork. A firefighter friend of mine has told me that burning human flesh has somewhat sweet smell to it.
Q for the blog:
What is the best way to price out a family health insurance policy paid for privately? I want to see what it would cost to buy the same coverage privately that the hyde family currently has under corporate health insurance.
Test
I want my sheep back
Bbq time
Hiii fiveee
HOLY SH!T BATMAN!!!!
Any legal beagles care to comment? it appears that a a legal precedent is being formed that mortgages transfered through MERS were not legitimately transfered since MERS did not hold legal title to the mortgages in the first place. Does this have the potential to invalidate a huge # of mortgages? I believe an earlier case that was argued on this same basis ended up with the home owner getting the home free and clear as the MERS shenanigans resulted in no one entity being able to claim legal ownership of the associate note.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California has issued a ruling dated May 20, 2010 in the matter of In Re: Walker, Case No. 10-21656-E-11 which found that MERS could not, as a matter of law, have transferred the note to Citibank from the original lender, Bayrock Mortgage Corp. The Court’s opinion is headlined stating that MERS and Citibank are not the real parties in interest.
“Since no evidence of MERS’ ownership of the underlying note has been offered, and other courts have concluded that MERS does not own the underlying notes, this court is convinced that MERS had no interest it could transfer to Citibank. Since MERS did not own the underlying note, it could not transfer the beneficial interest of the Deed of Trust to another. Any attempt to transfer the beneficial interest of a trust deed without ownership of the underlying note is void under California law.”
http://foreclosuredefensenationwide.com/?p=264
Has anyone else noticed this one ?
http://firelarrysummersnow.blogspot.com/
I just found it via nakedcapitalism.com, thoroughly enjoyable.
I guess you dont have to worry about being foreclose don if you live in California and are familiar with these cases….
“Since the claimant, Citibank, has not established that it is the owner of the promissory note secured by the trust deed, Citibank is unable to assert a claim for payment in this case.” Thus, any foreclosing party which is not the original lender which purports to claim payment due under the note and the right to foreclose in California on the basis of a MERS assignment does not have the right to do so under the principles of this opinion.
A number of those original lenders no longer exist. Certainly should make things a bit more interesting.
I wonder how many homeowners will even contest the foreclosure though?
Looks like that little MERS bug is hitting in NJ as well
New Jersey trial court Judge William C. Todd has issued a 53-page (yes, fifty-three page) Order dismissing a foreclosure action filed by Bank of New York as Trustee for Home Mortgage Investment Trust 2004-4 Mortgage-Backed Notes Series 2004-4, Docket No. F-7356-09, Atlantic County, New Jersey. The matter was decided on June 29, 2010 and the formal opinion was approved for publication this week after the matter was tried at the end of June, 2010.
The Court found that there was a failure of proof as to BONY’s legal standing, warranting dismissal of the action and conditioning any refiling on a certification that the plaintiff is in possession of the original note at the time of filing.
Judge Todd also stated that additional discovery is to be produced when the foreclosure involves a securitization, lost note claims, or a holder in due course challenge (which may arise in the context of the purported assignment of a toxic loan to a securitized trust prior to the trustee of that trust instituting a foreclosure action, as well as any predatory loan claims against the original lender).
It would appear that with an attorney, you could keep your home from being forclosed for a VERY long time and possibly never is you can pull off what is going on in California and show that No ONE has the legal rights to the note due to how it was transfered through MERS.
Nom,
I see a new career for you! A tag team between you and Doom.
Tosh,
I need to immediately go buy a home with one of the no doc loans which are quietly being floated again and make sure its a bank that will securitize it. The i hire NOM and stop paying the mortgage immediately.
I suspect i could come out on top at the end of the day with a few tens of thousands of $ in my pocket if played properly and live for free for 2 – 4 years
Grim – Can’t see the site content on my mobile phone. At offsite training today. Sad.
Bloomfield Redevelopment Loses Lawsuit By Landlord
Bloomfield township lost yet another lawsuit last week, as the NJ Superior court stopped the township’s effort to use eminent domain to obtain private property – in this case, property belonging to Tony Ellenbogen.
Essex County Assignment Judge Patricia K. Costello ruled that Bloomfield’s attempt to use the Bloomfield Parking Authority as a means to seize property through eminent domain was disingenuous and violated an earlier settlement signed between the township and Ellenbogen.
Eminent domain refers to the legal process by which a state can take private property for public use.
Ellenbogen, owner and landlord of units 21, 31 and 35 Lackawanna Place (which includes tenant, Garden State Yoga) has been battling the township since the start of their first failed redevelopment attempt eight years ago.
“I am extremely thankful to Judge Costello for being able to see the injustice that was going to occur and justifiably ruled in a manner that protects the small property owner,” Ellenbogen said. “They (the township) have already had to pay the fired first developer, Forest City, nearly $5 million, and now they continue to pursue yet another fatally flawed strategy.”
“My only “fault” was owning property that someone else decided they wanted. My property is in excellent condition and fully rented. It is my desire is to be left alone to own the property I legally purchased years ago,” Ellenbogen said.
He said the decision shows there’s hope for the individual citizen fighting town hall.
“The evidence establishes that Bloomfield impermissibly tried to circumvent the terms of the 2007 Consent Order and is attempting to erect a parking deck on plaintiff’s properties in order to accommodate its overall redevelopment plans,” Judge Costello said.
Town officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
http://www.baristanet.com/2010/07/bloomfield_redevelopment_loses.php#more
@Hyde,
If the stars aligned, you’d own the property free and clear. That sort of thing has definitely happened since the meltdown started.
For the finance guru’s on the blog…
It would seemt o me that this little problem with MERS would make a large % of existing mortgage securities WORTHLESS since the original note was not and cannot be legally transfered through MERS with out MERS first having legal ownership of said note.
From the california court case it came out that MERS’ contract stipulates that per MERS agrees not to assert any rights to mortgage loans or properties mortgaged thereby. There fore its entirely possible that any securitized loans where the title note was passed through MERS are WORTHLESS. of course the indivual state laws come into lay here and i am not an attorney.
Foreclosures have now been block using the MERS issue in
Nevada
California
Florida
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Meter
If the stars aligned, you’d own the property free and clear. That sort of thing has definitely happened since the meltdown started.
Hey, I am just playing by the rules. Just like GSM or JPM, it business. Nothing personal. if the rules allow it then GO FOR IT!!!!
“I want my sheep back”
Perhaps it is the lack of sleep combined with not enough coffee that makes this statement seem more than a little disturbing.
Hyde,
I’m not passing judgement, just stating facts.
I’m no more pro-bank than I am pro-consumer. In fact, I’ve starting thinking that perhaps freedy’s personal defaults were justified, as distasteful as this and as much as this goes against every tenet on which I was raised.
Hyde [re: inavlid MERS transfers];
In reality, isn’t this ruling just ensuring the recognition of what we already knew – the MBS isn’t worth crap. I hate the ruling because it leaves the corpse (the house) with the deadbeat home-debtor, who thinks he just hit to lottery (AGAIN!) of a mortgage free house.
If MERS transfers are a legal dead end, someone will pick up the pieces of these mortgages from where the trail went cold and reassemble them (and certainly not to the liking of the downstream MBS investors). There’s too much money for it all to be ignored, and I’d be shocked for a court to quiet title in the name of the debtor after such a short time with a mortgage lien to ANYONE else recorded (though courts have shocked me before).
Grim,
The new format needs comment numbers.
Gator,
What phone?
Hyde (10:23)-
The no-doc loans being offered are virtually all portfolio loans. I’m not aware of any secondary market for this stuff, and most banks don’t want to touch them. The banks that do offer them put you through the meat grinder and demand up to 40% DPs.
Why do developed nations need these clowns?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/worlds-richest-royals/story?id=11110952&page=1
Grim,
I think Gator has mentioned a treo before.
Grim – Palm Treo 750. I know, a dinosaur, but I have to limp along until the end of summer when work will let me trade it in for an iPhone or Droid.
Room for Inmates
An updated audit report shows that even after increased enforcement efforts were made, about 2,700 people defrauded the government by claiming a credit for homes purchased before April 9, 2008. In the more recent round of fraud, 1,295 prisoners claimed to have purchased a house while incarcerated (including 241 on life sentences). Most disturbingly, IRS employees themselves played the game, with 87 fraudulently claiming the credit in 2009 and 2010. Altogether, the total cost to taxpayers of legitimate and fraudulent credits exceeded $30 billion.
More on MERS…
Apparently a a fair number of states require the original signed deed in orfder to transfer title. In order for the banks to clean up the MERS mess, it appears that in many states they would have to get the ORIGINAL signed deed from the loan originator (not a copy and not a new one). if the original deed cannot be found then there is a growing body of case law that says the note associate with the home is now a naked note and essentially unenforceable.
BYE BYE Mortgage Backed Securities.
Once again, I’m not an attorney, this is just my lay opinion
Re : Deepwater Drilling…..
I heard one of the Talking Heads over the weekend say that O’bama had vetoed Bush legislation requiring that any Deepwater Drilling projects have a contingency plan in place. Left unstated was that O’bama took Oil Industry PAC money and REMOVED the safeguards that Bush had demanded.
I can find no Google tracks to verify such a charge. Does anybody remember anything like this in the very early days of the O Admin???
I’m no fan of the O-man, and he’ll do enough to ensure his doom…..but a charge like this should be verifiable.
Fiddy,
dig around here
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:p-qLbYektzIJ:www.ombwatch.org/files/crsrptdeepwaterhorizonspill.pdf+MMS+regulations+contingency+plan+deepwater&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Also note that MMS (U.S. Minerals Management Service) is the governing body for the relevant regs.
O did indeed replace a few hi level people at MMS with “policy” people when he came on board but i dont know about the specific change you point to.
Fiddy
the answer you are looking for is here:
http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/regs/laws/postsale.html
but you will have to ig through the regs to find it. I dont have the time or inclination. have fun :)
fiddy:
The facts are inconvenient so no State Media reporting.
O got more money from BP than any other person on this planet ever before.
O admin gave BP environmental award few days before the spill (had to cancel the photo op).
BP wrote most of the cap-and-scam legislation to benefit BP.
O waived environmental aspects for BP’s in the gulf.
O refused to allow foreign ships to help (as requested by the unions).
O has had three vacations since the oil spill (and being golfing at least 10 times).
US constitution has been suspended in the gulf (if you try to take pics you will be detained, govt tries to keep the mess secret).
You know if the roles were reversed and this were Bush instead of Obambi, the head of Shore Guy/Keith would have exploded already. State Media would be all over this.
So, is everybody okay with this?
” The big news out of Europe this morning, and the reason for the drag on the euro is an article in Der Spiegel, “Merkel’s rules for bankruptcy” according to which Germany is now actively (and very secretly) pushing for a plan outlining a set of insolvency rules, which would require that private investors bear a portion of the rescue burden, and much more importantly, would see at least a partial give up in state sovereignty, where a new insolvency trustee (the “Berlin Club”, which we fail to see at least for now, how it differs from the Paris Club) would take implicit control over and override a default nation’s treasury, in essence pushing the bankrupt country into a form of Feudal vassal state-cum-reparations subservience. Welcome to financial warfare in the post-globalization period.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/berlin-pushing-european-bankruptcy-framework-provision-state-sovereignty-give
fiddy:
Note that it is US exempted BP. In 2008, you think it would have US rather than Bush ?
“U.S. exempted BP’s Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study”
BP has lobbied the White House Council on Environmental Quality — which provides NEPA guidance for all federal agencies– to provide categorical exemptions more often. In an April 9 letter, BP America’s senior federal affairs director, Margaret D. Laney, wrote to the council that such exemptions should be used in situations where environmental damage is likely to be “minimal or non-existent.” An expansion in these waivers would help “avoid unnecessary paperwork and time delays,” she added.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050404118.html
The buck stops elsewhere.
Stater,
It makes sense from germany’s point of view. if they are going to fund the bailouts they might as well get a “seat of the board”. of course i would imagine that it wont go over so well in the long run. Europe has always feared a strong germany and i think that the stated proposal might fit into that category.
Besides the Eurozone nations have already given up some portion of their sovereignty due to being memebers of the EU/Eurozone.
Jamil,
Drill Baby Drill.
Now what do you have to say?
Jamil is more interested in playing cowboys and indians. Please, PC police, take that in the spirit in which it is intended.
Jamil is playing cow patties because the hypocrisy evident in his posts make him full of sh1t. Poor manipulated Jamil doesn’t realize that Drudge and Limbaugh are part of that same MSM he likes to complain about all of the time.
Jamil, you really can’t complain that Obama sleeps with BP when it was your messiah, the retarded cheerleader of the North along with Rudy G, who stole the convention with the three words, ‘Drill Baby Drill.’ I suppose they accomplished their mission?
Now just shut up for a change. You are embarrassing yourself.
Last year at the Stone Pony, Peter Frampton had his huge meltdown and stormed off the stage — as I recall it was because he did not like the sound his guys were putting out into the audiance. Like that is anyone’s problem but his.
Anyway, he is going to do a free show on 8-9, he may also have to do 10 Hail Marys and 25 Our Fathers, to try and make up for his abysmal behavior. Anyone want to go and see if there is another meltdown?
Longing for the good old days, back when oversight was tight…oh, wait…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/10/AR2008091001829.html
Libtard: “Re Drill: Now what do you have to say?”
So you are saying we should not drill? How do think people will drive to work? Well, given the economic destruction and the goal of the O gov, most people won’t have a job soon sop maybe that’s a solution.
Do you think Hollywood libs or Al Gore will stop using private jets and megamansions? Not gonna happen.
Current oil sources are getting more scarce. Even keeping the oil supply at current levels will require massive amount of “drill baby drill” policy. We can of course buy oil from Middle East and Chavez (and Cuba, which can drill near Florida coast), but that’s risky and expensive and soon not enough.
Bashing oil companies and oil policy is so typical of liberals with below average IQ, who fantazise of energy provided by unicorns.
The inconvenient fact is that we need oil in the foreseeable future, even if we increase solar and wind energy production. O touted Spain’s green economy as a model. In Spain’s own studies, they found that for every green job created, they lost 2-3 real jobs and the amount of energy produced was miniscule.
We have to drill oil. Deal with it (yeah, I know this blows your small brains out of window).
So how many pension funds are toast if MBS start to detonate because or MERS/title issues being litigated? A few MBS portfolios detonate and i image the pension out looks starts to get very nasty very quickly.
Love the Old Sandford [?] Map logo !!!
Jamil,
I don’t argue for or against drilling for oil. Though, my small brains detected some major hypocrisy in your argument. You can’t defend our need to drill for oil and then argue that Obama supported BP prior to the spill. Give the rest of us some credit Jamil. We are not nearly as stupid as someone who dedicates his life to passing on the drivel of an overweight drug-abusing partisan hack to a blog of highly educated readers who are wise enough to trust their own decision making abilities. I am truly scared for you.
Hyde (12:49)-
Don’t worry. There are plenty of other failing vehicles which will destroy the pensions that have been suckered into holding them. Holding MBS are probably one of their better “performing” vehicles.
Leaky cap passes Assembly.
New Jersey Assembly Passes Real-Estate Tax Cap in Compromise With Christie
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-12/new-jersey-assembly-passes-property-tax-cap-under-compromise-with-christie.html
Bojangles’ Facebook feed:
http://www.slate.com/id/2259938
So Christie’s cap has airholes in it as well. What a surprise! Both parties truly suck. I can’t wait to see what it costs me to get my car inspected. It’s all the same, so why bother even paying attention.
CAP: what I read in the Record Sunday indicated that the Dems could not get the Amendment wording done in time to get on November ballot so decision was the leaky cap or nada.
1:22 — Hilarious!!!
1987 – But will there be a move to get something on the ballot next year?
TRENTON — The state Assembly today passed a compromise bill that halves the state’s property tax cap from 4 percent to 2 percent.
The measure, which was approved by the state Senate on Thursday, now moves to the desk of Gov. Chris Christie, who is expected to sign it tomorrow
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_assembly_passes_bill_lower.html
“TRENTON — The state Assembly today passed a compromise bill that halves the state’s property tax cap from 4 percent to 2 percent”
That’s funny. For the last 3 years I witnessed an 8%, 5% and 6% increase. I wish I could lie like a politician. Of course revenues are probably down about 30% during this time span. I suppose it’s all in the name of public safety or it’s for the children.
Boy, go away for a few days and Grim decides to redecorate.
From last Friday
Fabius: I think you may be reading too much into those older comments (or I was sloppy in text) as I don’t recall saying, and don’t believe, that the government has absolutely NO role in welfare. However, I also don’t believe in the current state, that’s for sure.
Meter/Fabius: Whether to tax cap gains more heavily is a policy question, nothing more. There are good arguments for, esp. for carried interest, but understand that it will create effects that are not desireable, such as a virtual rush for the exits in the capital markets. There would be a temporary bubble in munis, but that would create a very real fear that Congress would eliminate Section 103, thus killing that market and costing munis a bundle. There is also the real prospect that the Congress, in order to maintain FDI, will continue favorable rates for foreigners, resulting in a far greater percentage of foreign ownership of US assets. In that event, expatriation should also skyrocket as you will have created an imbalance that rewards it handsomely. Net result is a shifting of the tax burden further from the “rich” to the middle class, and a temporary market crash as larger investors exit and nonprofits, foreigners, and small retail investors move in.
I have every reason to believe that these things would happen. Whether or not these developments are all good, I leave to history. But knowing that they will happen, one can invest accordingly.
Abolish all taxes. Anarchy now!!!!!!
Earnings season? For financials and REITs, earnings statements are just a massive fraud.
Thanks, Repo 105.
Execute the financial criminals!!! Off with their heads!!! Anarchy now!!!!!
It’s time for blood in the streets.
Letarded: “Though, my small brains detected some major hypocrisy in your argument. You can’t defend our need to drill for oil and then argue that Obama supported BP prior to the spill.”
Why not? Let’s try to spell this again. You and your fringe-left friends criticized “drill oil” policy.
The inconvenient truth is that there is no alternative to to. We must drill, even if we hand out billions to green energy scam artistists (and kill few million jobs, as was evident in Europe’s experience with this scam).
You are either dishonest or dump as hell (or both).
You claim that now I can’t criticize Dump and Dumper for his support for BP and dealing with oil spill.
Why the heck not?
He took money from foreign corporation (remember the campaign finance bill outrage against foreign corporations involvement in funding candidates?) and in exchange he waived environmental protection for BP and gave them environmental award.
Surely he can be criticized for that.
He also promised to make dealing with oil spill “top priority”. Maybe all those 3 fancy vacations, frequent golfing, and fundraising events are “top priority”. He refused to allow foreign ships to assist with the oil spill because your union friends opposed it. He can’t be criticized for that either? Silly me.
His demagogue, pro-union stance and general incompetence are beyond anything this country has ever seen.
The buck stops elsewhere.
Jamil,
You sound exactly like the left during the Bush years, only with some unicorns thrown in. How trite ya moron.
jamil, prior thread
“Comrade will like this.
“Apocalypse now? In US and abroad many are prepared”
“WASHINGTON — From the outside, Jerry Erwin’s home in the northwestern US state of Oregon is a nondescript house with a manicured front lawn and little to differentiate it from those of his neighbors.
But tucked away out of sight in his backyard are the signs of his preparations for doomsday, a catastrophic societal collapse that Erwin, 45, now believes is likely within his lifetime.
I’ve got, under an awning, stacks of firewood, rain catching in barrels, I’ve got a shed with barbed concertina wire, like the military uses,” he told AFP.
He and his wife also have also stockpiled thousands of rounds of ammunition and enough food for about six months. . . .”
Indeed I do. Got to get working on the food stockpile. But I haven’t gone out and bought concertina. Nothing says “Raid Me” like a barbed wire perimeter.
letarded:
Left during GWB was just dishonest and dump, living in fantazy land where energy is provided by some imaginary source.
The fact is that we need to drill oil. There is risk involved. It does not mean that Gov should waive some environmental protection in exchange of campaign cash and support for cap and scam bill.
It does not mean that Gov should block foreign help in dealing with the mess because union parasites want to block competition.
In anycase, you are living proof of the “buck stops elsewhere” attitude.
Where Are the New Yorkers? (And Tips for Sellers)
Real estate maven Roberta Baldwin discussed with Baristanet how the Essex County real estate market has been doing, and how sellers can up the ante when selling their homes.
One thing stands out conspicuously, she says, because of its absence – where are the New Yorkers?
“They’re staying put,” Baldwin says. “Manhattan real estate transactions were up 80% in the second quarter, compared to last year – a “return to historically normal levels after a virtual standstill” according to the New York Times – with prices much more attractive.”
Disconcerting news for sellers in Montclair, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Millburn and other NYC commuter-friendly towns in NJ which have become accustomed to a steady stream of buyers from Manhattan and Brooklyn.
With a diminished buyer pool locally, inventory has risen, Baldwin said, and prices have gone south. Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index shows prices are at April 2004 levels, down an average of 21.7%, while data from NJ’s Otteau Group, on average across 9 key counties, shows 23% fewer NJ sales in May this year than a year ago.
Meanwhile, even with average interest rates at historic lows, the NYC buyer is reticent, spooked by negative factors such as the Gulf oil spill and high unemployment.
That, Baldwin says, concurs “with what I’ve been telling sellers who remain perplexed about why there isn’t more buyer flow, why many weekend open houses are mostly empty, why more serious buyers are taking so long to decide to move forward and, when they do, are starting with offers so low that sellers don’t know how to counter reasonably.”
http://www.baristanet.com/realestate/2010/07/where_are_the_new_yorkers.php#more
I like the new site. It does need post numbers so that they are easier to refer to.
I addition, I liked that the posted text was smaller then the original post. This made for more reading and less scrolling. I guess I could get used to the new format.
Let’s see about 6 trillion in loans and the portfolio is down by exactly how much?
Some say that worst case estimates put the total bailout cost at $1 trillion for Fannie and Freddie.
Here is the answer let’s sue the banks!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704288204575362882033038278.html?mod=WSJ_hps_SECONDTopStories#articleTabs%3Darticle
plume (3:30)-
Exactly. That’s why you go with a tight perimeter of landmines.
“Nothing says “Raid Me” like a barbed wire perimeter.”
“Underwater homeowners are jumping onto an unexpected financial life raft that lets them escape crippling second mortgage debts and keep their homes — Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
…
How it works is this: If the home is appraised at less than the value of the first mortgage, the owner can apply for permission in bankruptcy court to reclassify the second mortgage debt. That changes it from a secured debt, which must be repaid, into an unsecured debt, which does not have to be paid in full. The homeowner can then focus on paying off the first mortgage.”
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/07/bankruptcy-and-2nd-liens.html
“New” site does not have a style sheet for mobile devices. That is a big
problem when trying to read and write blog posts while driving in the stop
n go traffic on the Parkway.
3:09. Do i have time for a nap ?
juice (3:52)-
Sue the banks? We should storm the banks, burn them down and execute the executives.
sx (3:57)-
Sleep is for losers.
NJ Gator: “Where Are the New Yorkers? …Disconcerting news for sellers in Montclair, ”
Maybe New Yorkers became racists and not appreciating the much vaunted diversity of Montclair anymore?
Jamil
if you got the green, most people in the northeast dont care what you look like.
Yeah but I bet they aren’t as high as Manhattan!
Alcoa swings to profit.Up outlook upto 12%.
Alcoa is no longer a bellwether unfortunately. Let’s see what happens when some consumer discretionary companies (besides Apple) report.
Alcoa up as kicking the can down the road has become a national obsession.
“Leaky cap passes Assembly”
I think they got this cap surplus from BP.
Land mines? Mt. Holly in South Jersey won’t even let you put in an electric fence! Wussies.
New threat my @ss. This is something that has been well known for years and something I mentioned here a year ago and before that, in conversations with producers for major news outlets and in discussions with editors at some major American newspaapers the editors pronounced that Americans did not care about terrorist threats from the Horn.
We will care the day bombs at both ends of one or more tunnels wake us up. Why do we always go back to sleep and start focusing on ball games and celebrity addictions?
The Horn is going to gore our @sses and we are going to act surprised.
The missing part of the post, from CBS News:
New Al-Qaida Threat: Somali Group Claims Blasts
Jul. 12, 2010
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) – East Africa saw the emergence of a new international terrorist group Monday, as Somalia’s most dangerous al-Qaida-linked militia claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people during the World Cup. The claim by al-Shabab, whose fighters are trained by militant veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, resets the security equation in East Africa and has broader implications worldwide.
snip
“Mt. Holly in South Jersey wont even let you put in an electric fence!”
Probably because of the visual.
Shore –
Just the other day there was an article in the MSM that the jihadists
love soccer.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/07/07/2010-07-07_osama_bin_laden_and_jihadists_love_soccer_and_the_world_cup_use_as_recruitment_t.html
If an article comes out that they love coffee too, I think I will skip StarBucks for a while.
NJEA banner ad on the NY Times, “Call your legislature and tell them you oppose the 2.5% tax cap”
Sure NJEA should I ask the legislature for a quart of Vaseline too?
Shore,
Our place is in the historic area of town. Maybe if I find a style of electric fence that has a great history connection I’ll be in. Lets see- how about a nice German POW camp style of electric fence?
NJEA banner ad on the NY Times, “Call your legislature and tell them you oppose the 2.5% tax cap”
All their members are currently off for the summer so I am sure they can find the time to call.
Hyde,
Can you email me a screenshot of the firefox banner issue, not seeing it here.
sl,
3:43 if you want info on who went to the OH yesterday.
“Alcoa swings to profit.Up outlook upto 12%.”
Yeah they were expected at .17 in April. They revised it down to .11; and then came in .13. Of course none of that is in the press release. Just the sunny headline “Alcoa beats”;) The media in this country is the most manipulated bunch of garbage.
Is it any wonder anybody with half a brain reads the blogs for news these days and the MSM are dying for viewers/readers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnkefjCES-4
Jamil 3:21 – In talking to Stu…you wrote:
“Why not? Let’s try to spell this again.” and you went on to write…. “…dump as hell….
“…Then there’s Dump and Dumper……” and
Jamil 3:40 “…Left during GWB was just dishonest and dump,…”
I try to never say anything about spelling…..but you are criticizing Stu and saying you are going to “spell things out.” I’m pretty sure – you mean …..dumb…Dumb and Dumber and – dumb.
Mel Gibson is out of his mind.
http://dlisted.com/