From MarketWatch:
Fannie, and Freddie aren’t going away, Watt says
One of the country’s biggest political footballs, housing finance reform, took some funny bounces over the past week.
Most notable were the first public appearances by the government’s new point man for running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, former North Carolina Congressman Mel Watt, who took office as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in January and was nominated more than a year ago.
Watt surprised a number of people in a speech at the Brookings Institution and a long interview with C-Span last week when he said he wasn’t wasting any time figuring out the future of housing finance or staying awake at night worrying about investors in Fannie and Freddie shares.
Nope. His job is to keep housing finance humming along right now. If that means expanding the “footprint” of the two lending groups, which guarantee the bulk of U.S. mortgages — because private lenders aren’t ready to take up the slack — then so be it.
Watt reversed the plan of his predecessor, Edward DeMarco, who hung on as acting director of the FHFA much longer than many people wanted, to lower the principal amounts for “conforming” loans that Fannie and Freddie are willing to guarantee.
In other steps to increase access to credit, Watt relaxed the terms for Fannie and Freddie to force lenders to take back loans and eased some requirements for down payments. He also moved to improve liquidity in the market by increasing the portion of non-guaranteed credits investors could acquire.
As for reforming housing finance, not his job. He is not going to think about it, not going to talk about it, and, said this 10-term congressman, he is not even going to read the legislative proposals for Fannie and Freddie’s future.
The latest such proposal, which calls for winding down the two entities and providing government guarantees to mortgages from private lenders, was approved last week by the Senate Banking Committee, but with such tepid support it is virtually certain to remain a dead letter in an election year.
Mel Watt takes helm of the Ship to Oblivion.
Frecond.
You go Mel. Sink this ship ASAP with new and improved ninja loans.
“Asia’s exploding demand for meth@mphetamine has left them with a problem… too few cooks and not enough ingredients.”
Confucius say, “He who can turn MSG into PCP deserve Mandate of Heaven.”
In other news, for the second time in 2014, my train arrived into Penn Station on time. Well actually, it was one minute late, but I’ll take it. Go Government!
Anyone want to guess how much credit card debt the average balance carrier in the U.S. has?
Perhaps AIG can write another 800 billion in mortagage insurance without any collateral. That should help those pension funds buy all those Phony and Fraudy AAA rated ninja MBS.
Can one purchase sushi with a ninja loan?
I wonder if the GSE’s are still charging this “hidden” fee.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hidden-mortgage-fee-paying-for-payroll-tax-cut/
[6] Lib – Ok, balance carrier = actual person responsible for the card(s)? So a married couple with small kids like your family or mine might have 2 balance carriers, or 1 if all the cards are really on the credit on one spouse? That’s a tough one. Adult kids living home might have their own cards so that could be 3, 4, 5 balance carriers. Oh wait a minute, if your family pays off all their cards every month do they not even count into the mix because nobody is a “balance carrier”? Oh heck, I’ll just guess $7K.
Anyone want to guess how much credit card debt the average balance carrier in the U.S. has?
I second $7,000
In other steps to increase access to credit, Watt relaxed the terms for Fannie and Freddie to force lenders to take back loans and eased some requirements for down payments.
Ok, so you’re going to start handing out loans to anyone and everyone…. again. I guess the market loves punishment and collapsing whole brokerage firms.
So, more buyers are going to fight for the scraps which will drive up the price. And we need to drive those prices to 2006 levels because the muppets don’t have the stomach or finances to take ANY loss whatsoever. Is this the strategy? Does anyone see any evidence that a normal buy/sell cycle in tune with long term trend metrics will again exist in our lifetime?
grim at home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJAsUHsmJAo
grim at work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47cGzu6-q40
I’m a points junkie, everything goes on cards, I seldom of ever carry cash, and checks are sent only to those who I can’t pay with plastic.
Lately I’ve been doing airline miles, combined with work travel this usually covers 2-3 free round trip flights for 3 every year.
I really wonder how the actions of folks like me impact the overall stats.
Are we talking carry over balances or monthly expenditures..I spend a hunk each month but always pay off
I have been doing this since the cash back policy came out. Why would I not give myself a 1%-5% raise. So everything is bought with the cc, unless it must be payed in cash.
Grim says:
May 21, 2014 at 10:20 am
I’m a points junkie, everything goes on cards, I seldom of ever carry cash, and checks are sent only to those who I can’t pay with plastic.
Lately I’ve been doing airline miles, combined with work travel this usually covers 2-3 free round trip flights for 3 every year.
I really wonder how the actions of folks like me impact the overall stats.
L turd:
You got 2 choices.
1- Pay 3 to 5 times your present fare so the old Penn Central or Erie Lackawanna an be resurrected back from the bankruptcy zombie/ghost-land so you don’t complain anymore about “bad” government services.
2- Pay higher taxes so it can be upgraded to better services. And don’t tell me is “bad” government services. Yesterday, I spent sometime at Motor Vehicles (2hrs exact), and I remember 10 yrs ago when McGreevey fixed it and it took me 10 minutes, yes – 10 minutes to get the paperwork done. McGreevey had his issues, but he did improve services vs this overgrown Gov Cartman.
Now, shut up and enjoy the subsidy you get in that train fare of your from people like me that drive around and pay toll.
Libturd in Union says:
May 21, 2014 at 9:33 am
In other news, for the second time in 2014, my train arrived into Penn Station on time. Well actually, it was one minute late, but I’ll take it. Go Government!
#18 about the get b*tch-slapped.
Fast,
The answer is yes. Is that “mortgage implode a meter” site still around? When those banks start coming back then Watt’s creation will be unleashed. Back in 2008, between this blog and implode a meter, you had a full day’s entertainment
First…the credit card debt average is $15,000.
Second, to claim NJ Transit’s issues are a partisan issue is absolutely ludicrous. I’ve been riding the trains since 93. Back then, NJ Transit would win awards for their performance. It all turned to sh1t when NJTransit became hell bent to try to route every damn train they owned into midtown. Anyone want to guess how much the Secaucus Junction cost? $450 million!!! 22,000 riders use it per week. Even if you charged every user a dollar to transfer there, it would take 5 years just to break even on the initial construction costs (which were bonded, so technically it’s a lot more). And of course it’s subsidized. Just as your roads are douchebag.
Grim,
The credit card company never loses. Every time a swipe takes place they get paid. So even if someone like me earns $3,000 or $4,000 a year in benefits from them, they still make money off of me for the swipes. Ask Clot…he’ll tell you how much they make at his booze shop off of it. It’s absolutely insane. Especially AMEX. I’ve heard rumors that they charge small businesses 2 to 3 dollars per swipe minimum and it goes up from there based on the value of the purchase. That’s crazy. Places like MickeyDs and Dunkin Donuts arrange better deals obviously.
“Interbank fees” are between 1-3.5% of each purchase. That may get split up a number of ways depending on how the card is issued.
Back at Pru we were exploring hooking up the medical id card with a credit card as well as FSA card all in one. Imagine collecting the fees off healthcare credit purchases.
Our Pru Bank at the time said no, they couldn’t figure how to do credit checks…lol, credit checks..so 1996!
to The “L” Turd from Union.
Stop complaining or move to Texas where you can improve Texas and NJ’s average IQ at the same time. That is my point.
I would recommend the same thing to AG. But there is a higher amount of fat a$$es in TX. So the amount of muffing tops he would see from both white and mexican women (there are not to many ricans down there) might make him loose it, and probably go gay, if he is not yet.
re: # 23 – “Imagine collecting the fees off healthcare credit purchases.”
Every day some indigent moron without coverage hands of a credit card over and pays full price.
I have a question about mortgages. A relation is about to receive am inheritance somewhat under 500k.
This person wants to buy a house in Madison WI and wonders if it makes sense to purchase for cash, then mortgage post closing.
What are the pro’s and cons?
Thanks
#23,
I think Michael dropped acid this morning.
Oops #24, I mean.
re# 26 – re: “mortgage post closing.” You mean HELOC? Giving up the interest deduction on a regular Mortgage can add up and interest only the first $100,000 of HELOC borrowing is deductible and only if you are not in AMT.
They might be smarter to put down 25% mortgage the rest and invest the remainder and use the remainder to earn income. It is also a matter of how old they are too etc.
Source I slept under my desk last night, tell them to go see someone like Chifi for real advice.
[15] grim,
Not on your level to be sure but I largely do the same. I have a Cabela’s Club card and cashed out all my points recently to fund some big ticket purchases. Coupled with the discount I negotiated (yes, its possible), I am already up about 15-20% on my “investments.”
I recently went back for additional supplies–those were practically free.
Going to look at using accumulated Amazon points to see if the big screen TV is now free. And airline points and companion voucher should easily cover two round trips to Utah next winter.
[27] bystander
“I think Michael dropped acid this morning.”
How can you tell?
[21] libturd
AMEX is rough. I never carried one because so few places took it. I was in France many years ago and took an Amex, figuring it had universal appeal. Nope. No one took it, they asked if I had Visa so I used that. And around the same time, in Boston, the restaurants collectively agreed to stop taking Amex in protest over the merchant fees. I understand that this has abated somewhat but that fees are still an issue.
I have Amex again, this time through Costco. I believe there is no fee on it but the points we accumulate more than cover the Costco membership and then some (our Costco has gas and the price is more than competitive so we tank up there 80% of the time). I think we get btwn $400-600 per year in credit from points.
Lmao….this guy is funny, hope he sticks around.
Lturd should move to Texas to improve IQ says:
May 21, 2014 at 11:35 am
to The “L” Turd from Union.
Stop complaining or move to Texas where you can improve Texas and NJ’s average IQ at the same time. That is my point.
I would recommend the same thing to AG. But there is a higher amount of fat a$$es in TX. So the amount of muffing tops he would see from both white and mexican women (there are not to many ricans down there) might make him loose it, and probably go gay, if he is not yet.
“Lmao….this guy is funny, hope he sticks around.”
That’s strange. I didn’t find him humorous at all. I wasn’t sure if what he was posting was sarcasm or simply drivel.
Speaking of private vs. public, an old conductor I knew from my Clifton Line days created Clever Commute a few years back. I’ve finally gotten around to purchasing a smart phone rather than run with my iPod Touch with free data from FreedomPop. Both were great for the price, but the family plans have really made the costs much more acceptable to me. Plus, the irreplaceable battery (or at least not without a lot of geeky research and fiddling about) can only hold about thirty minutes of charge these days. The Touch is really a brilliant piece of engineering due to it’s thinness and size, but the battery also has to be impossibly small. Well, Clever Commute is a website that uses analytics and social networking to provide realtime updates to rail service. This ex-conductor programmed the whole service and it’s one hundred times more useful than anything the behemoth NJTransit provides. It’s a pretty said statement when one of NJTransit’s lowly paid conductors can create a site that provides such great customer service and information when NJ Transit can’t even consistently tell you if your train will arrive late. Just for the heck of it, I downloaded the MTA’s App which is supposed to mimic the train status signs on their platforms. Not only does it only cover 4 lines, but of the 8 trains it supposedly covers, only one actually works. The others come up blank. Pensions for all.
In other news, Southwest is running their brilliant credit card offer currently. $99 will get you two free coast to coast fares. No charge for bags and no change fees.
I’m heading out to Vegas shortly with the family and applied for the United Club Card and got it in advance of the trip. This one gives us free access to the club, free bags, the $400 card fee is waived the first year too. We also get priority boarding and a whole bunch of other minor benefits. Not bad for free. Will have to cancel a year from now though.
And now for Super Stu’s regurgitated Cheapo Hint of the month (perhaps year even).
http://thefinancebuff.com/save-money-on-auto-and-homeowners-insurance-with-premium-comparison-surveys.html
I was not aware of this, but the state lists insurance rates for many types of users for both auto and home. Most of you could probably cut your rates by 30 to 50% by looking up who has the lowest rates based on your profile. I see that I’ve already found the lowest car insurer, but I could do better with homeowners. Especially considering how lousy my current insurer is supposed to be. Just one year in, they jacked up my rates from 1060 to over 1200 on my primary home. Time to go shopping. It looks like Farmers might do the trick. I’ve shared this piece of advice before too…There is no reward for loyalty with insurance companies. Actually, they punish you for staying with them through standard rate increases. Drop your current company and within a month, they will try to lure you back with rates lower than what you were currently paying before you dropped them. Of course, they will not negotiate with you until you drop them, so don’t even try. I remember arguing with Liberty Mutual after they raised my homeowners 30% after I was with them for seven years without making a single claim. They said my rates were going up do to storms in the area and the fact that since I had never had a claim that I was overdue. I laughed and politely asked them to cancel my policy even before I found a replacement!
Take 10% of what you saved and put it into Grim’s tip jar. Or take the savings and open a private school with it. :P Thank me later.
By the way…did anyone else here know about the published rates? Fell free to share how much you are overpaying.
Restaurant analyst Anderson said a wage increase to the $10 to $12 level would likely start to have a ripple effect on Chipotle’s business. Over time, Chipotle may consider self-service kiosks to offset labor costs, he said.
Man this place is always ahead of the curve.
“McGreevey had his issues, but he did improve services vs this overgrown Gov Cartman.”
Unfortunately, he grossly misunderstood the definition of ‘mandate’.
Thanks for the tip!! Much appreciated.
Libturd in the City says:
May 21, 2014 at 1:05 pm
And now for Super Stu’s regurgitated Cheapo Hint of the month (perhaps year even).
http://thefinancebuff.com/save-money-on-auto-and-homeowners-insurance-with-premium-comparison-surveys.html
I was not aware of this, but the state lists insurance rates for many types of users for both auto and home. Most of you could probably cut your rates by 30 to 50% by looking up who has the lowest rates based on your profile. I see that I’ve already found the lowest car insurer, but I could do better with homeowners. Especially considering how lousy my current insurer is supposed to be. Just one year in, they jacked up my rates from 1060 to over 1200 on my primary home. Time to go shopping. It looks like Farmers might do the trick. I’ve shared this piece of advice before too…There is no reward for loyalty with insurance companies. Actually, they punish you for staying with them through standard rate increases. Drop your current company and within a month, they will try to lure you back with rates lower than what you were currently paying before you dropped them. Of course, they will not negotiate with you until you drop them, so don’t even try. I remember arguing with Liberty Mutual after they raised my homeowners 30% after I was with them for seven years without making a single claim. They said my rates were going up do to storms in the area and the fact that since I had never had a claim that I was overdue. I laughed and politely asked them to cancel my policy even before I found a replacement!
Take 10% of what you saved and put it into Grim’s tip jar. Or take the savings and open a private school with it. :P Thank me later.
Juice Box you should have stayed awake in Taxation class. You have up to 90 days after purchase of home to take out a mortgage per IRS. After that HELOC rules RULE.
Folks who can manage a discount from seller to pay cash or buy a distress sale for cash do so and they take out mortgage after closing. They have their cake and eat it too.
29.Juice Box says:
May 21, 2014 at 12:01 pm
re# 26 – re: “mortgage post closing.” You mean HELOC? Giving up the interest deduction on a regular Mortgage can add up and interest only the first $100,000 of HELOC borrowing is deductible and only if you are not in AMT.
They might be smarter to put down 25% mortgage the rest and invest the remainder and use the remainder to earn income. It is also a matter of how old they are too etc.
Source I slept under my desk last night, tell them to go see someone like Chifi for real advice.
Hey I got further info on the 1919 house I want to put a bid on. Guy did pull out all the cast iron piping and ran all new PVC piping up the bathroom and removed the fuse boxe and added three circuit breaker boxes to the three floors and ran new wiring, how much does that cost on a large old house. It seems expensive.
re # 40 – JJ – Perhaps you were too busy in mortgage 101 staring at the teachers legs? 90 day seasoning rule? You must mean before 90 days for IRS and after 90 days for FHA, and much longer title seasoning if not FHA.
Sigh, I will be going back under my desk now for a nap. Costanza!
What exactly is an eco-friendly, salt and chlorine free pool? Does this mean I swim with algae and larvae?
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1400606&dayssince=&countysearch=false
Sounds like a standing water issue.
Did everyone leave early for the holiday weekend?
#43..my hot tub is similar…uses a combination of Silver ions, ozonator (UV light) and very limited amount of chlorine…it is near chlorine free. Pure salt water systems are gaining popularity although issues regarding corrosion are a concern
I only had one or two hot teachers in my life. Both times I could not stare more than ten seconds or risk a boner
42.Juice Box says:
May 21, 2014 at 1:48 pm
re # 40 – JJ – Perhaps you were too busy in mortgage 101 staring at the teachers legs? 90 day seasoning rule? You must mean before 90 days for IRS and after 90 days for FHA, and much longer title seasoning if not FHA.
Sigh, I will be going back under my desk now for a nap. Costanza!
Most hot tubs I use never had salt water but oddly by time I got out they contained seamen
46.1987 Condo says:
May 21, 2014 at 2:30 pm
#43..my hot tub is similar…uses a combination of Silver ions, ozonator (UV light) and very limited amount of chlorine…it is near chlorine free. Pure salt water systems are gaining popularity although issues regarding corrosion are a concern
I want chlorine in my pool. But that house in general is vacuous and so non-descript. It’s cold. I hate a house without personality.
U.S. mortgage collectors gag homeowners in loan deals
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-mortgage-collectors-gag-homeowners-loan-deals-052329273.html
(Reuters) – Joseph and Neidin Henard thought they had finally fixed the mortgage that was crushing them.
In January, the couple reached a settlement with every company that had a stake in the mortgage on their house in Santa Cruz, California, a deal that would have slashed their monthly payment by almost 40 percent to $3,337. It was the end of a process that started with their defaulting in 2009.
But when they saw the final paperwork for their settlement, they found that Ocwen Financial Corp, the company that collected and processed their mortgage payments, had added an extra clause: they could not say or print or post anything negative about Ocwen, ever.
[46] or this:
Salt water chlorination is a process that uses dissolved salt (2,500–6,000 ppm) as a store for the chlorination system.[1] The chlorine generator (also known as salt cell, salt generator, salt chlorinator) uses electrolysis in the presence of dissolved salt (NaCl) to produce hypochlorous acid (HCIO) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), which are the sanitizing agents already commonly used in swimming pools. As such, a saltwater pool is not actually chlorine-free; it simply utilizes a chlorine generator instead of direct addition of chlorine.
[48] JJ – I’m sure you made their shore leave pleasurable.
Most hot tubs I use never had salt water but oddly by time I got out they contained seamen
[37] stu
“Man this place is always ahead of the curve.”
I know, right? I should be making investments based on what I read here.
Around 20 years ago I had a party at my summer place. This girl was staying at her married brothers place in Westhampton with her two girlfriends. Around 10pm party is breaking up and me and my two buddies were packing up our two cars to head back to city. The one girl goes my brother does not let us to bring folks into his house but can you drive us back as Westhampton is on the way we can use the pool and hot tub maybe and pop a few beers as he already left for weekend .
Next thing I know in that house every beer was drunk, every snack ate and every load shot twice. It is like 5am and the girl is like waking up going OMG my brother is going to kill me, I run down the hall to find my buddy and he is naked passed out on top of her other friend in a little girls pink bed with his legs sticking out and it was stickier than a day old glazed donut in the sun.
We ran for the hills. But her brothers hot tub looked like a vat of milk with hot fresh cream on top.
Invite three horney drunk guys over and the only solution is solution everywhere. I can picture the kid going to Daddy what the F is all on my teddy bear?
52.The Original NJ ExPat says:
May 21, 2014 at 2:56 pm
[48] JJ – I’m sure you made their shore leave pleasurable.
Most hot tubs I use never had salt water but oddly by time I got out they contained seamen
#54..see..maybe that entry needed to get lost in some sort of blog filter…
Zillow now has foreclosure properties on their neighborhood maps, marked with a blue house icon.
From the last thread, on the topic of what to do with bankers:
My suggestion is to abolish the Federal Reserve, abolish the FDIC, revive the gold standard, and let the banking system relearn how to function as a genuine intermediary channeling savings into productive investment, and tell bank depositors that they should police the safety of their deposits.
In doing so, the “banking industry” would cease to operate as a government sponsored monetary mafia, where bankers are the collectors and enforcers of twisted scheme to defraud the public while enriching the politically well-connected.
Bankers are guilty, just like corner dealers and hoes are guilty. But if you want to change anything real, you have to go after the heart of the system, and that’s in the Fed, Treasury, and Congress. The question isn’t why haven’t bankers been put in jail, the question is why we accept Bernanke, Geithner’s, and Barney Frank’s activities and advocacies as legal and proper.
Statler [56],
Omg, it looks like a m.urder scene!
HEY MICHAEL! CHECK THIS ART WORK OUT! LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTY BLUE MUPPET ICONS!!
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Ridgewood-NJ/20176_rid/41.002346,-74.072013,40.960813,-74.154496_rect/13_zm/1_fr/
Didn’t they always have that? I thought they always had for sale, for rent, foreclosure/distressed, and “make me move”
56.Statler Waldorf says:
May 21, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Zillow now has foreclosure properties on their neighborhood maps, marked with a blue house icon.
Q: If I wanted to knock down my cable bill from Cablevision to internet only, it is $59.95. Is there a deal from Dish or DirecTV that covers phone/TV that comes in less all in that about $75? All I need for special channels are SNY, WPIX, MSG, Food/HGTV, Nick JR……everything else is gravy….
I can call these guys, but I’d rather hear from someone who uses the service rather than a salesperson.
http://www.wjactv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/man-charged-desecrating-flag-says-he-standing-up-heritage-2647.shtml
I didn’t know there were still “laws” on the books banning the desecration of the flag.
Interested as well, I tried to cancel voice and tv an cable vision wasn’t too interested in retention.
Both sat providers running deep promotions of 29$ for the first 13 months and somewhere around the 50s after.
I could care less about the voice.
Something happened with Cablevision in the last 6 months or so. I think it is a mandate from Dolan. They are trying to create a “sticky” offering with free WiFi in-home equipment, a good number of free public WiFi spots…..I looked on their website and they have free good security software that they are giving away. I think they are focusing on the value add and no bargaining. Especially in my neighborhood, I have no landline alternatives, so they are flipping me the bird.
I will probably bail for sat TV and stick with the 59$ internet, it’ll save me around $20-30 a month. Disney Jr is my only requirement.
Dish or directv?
Too bad you guys get get Verizon, FIOS is promoting $59 for triple play with a two year contract in our area. Almost time to beat the cablevision rep over the head again.
Grim [65];
I considered going cable only and Roku ot equivalent for “TV”. My problem is that most sports are hard to get and locked into leauge-wide subscriptions. Tack on a Hulu Plus and an MLB, plus a NHL, and in the end I’m not saving anything.
Last time I ran the numbers on satellite TV it was break-even at best over 2 years.
NWNJ — there’s FIOS in my area, but not on my block. I have it on good authority that Verizon is laying no more residential fiber. If you can’t get it now, you won’t be able to.
64
Fios internet, phone with direct tv is $79 for two years in Monmouth, at least in my neck of the woods a few weeks ago.
Cable vision pi$$ed me off two weeks ago when they added on another $8 for my sports subscriptions and didn’t notify me. Only way I knew is my auto debit did not go through.
My current deal is up in Oct, I’ll switch then.
I’ve had direct TV previously. It was fine. Sometimes a little scrambled in very strong storms.
JJ – studying the details of this story it only make sense if all three “girls” had adam’s apples. BTW, is it painful to reload the first shot so it can be shot twice?
Around 20 years ago I had a party at my summer place. This girl was staying at her married brothers place in Westhampton with her two girlfriends. Around 10pm party is breaking up and me and my two buddies were packing up our two cars to head back to city. The one girl goes my brother does not let us to bring folks into his house but can you drive us back as Westhampton is on the way we can use the pool and hot tub maybe and pop a few beers as he already left for weekend .
Next thing I know in that house every beer was drunk, every snack ate and every load shot twice. It is like 5am and the girl is like waking up going OMG my brother is going to kill me, I run down the hall to find my buddy and he is naked passed out on top of her other friend in a little girls pink bed with his legs sticking out and it was stickier than a day old glazed donut in the sun.
We ran for the hills. But her brothers hot tub looked like a vat of milk with hot fresh cream on top.
Invite three horney drunk guys over and the only solution is solution everywhere. I can picture the kid going to Daddy what the F is all on my teddy bear?
Ragnar – Great in theory, and I support the concept. The fly in the ointment is that there exists a very, very, large interest backed by a supreme military that has diametrically opposite views. This interest doesn’t even have to do much to maintain their position; it merely has to kill any who would dare transact oil for other than…I forget…what singular currency is required to purchase crude oil?
My suggestion is to abolish the Federal Reserve, abolish the FDIC, revive the gold standard, and let the banking system relearn how to function as a genuine intermediary channeling savings into productive investment, and tell bank depositors that they should police the safety of their deposits.
Grim….did you see this?
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/att/wireless-home-phone-silver.html?source=ICwh000HP00WHP00L
So maybe $60 for Internet, $20 for that AT&T thing….and then see what I can replicate for $55 or less with satellite…
^^^ Just like you can’t buy a car unless you buy it from a dealer, you similarly cannot buy a barrel of crude oil unless you convert whatever you have into USD. Except there’s only one dealer.
DirectTV for what I want is $35/month…….I am thinking hard…..
Here’s your solution Chifi:
http://tinyurl.com/chifi-wifi
dip dip
http://watchdog-newjersey.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2012/08/NJ-WATCHDOG-LIST-OF-60-DOUBLE-DIPPERS.pdf
JJ,
Victorian era homes are often more trouble than they’re worth. Well, unless you’re rich or ‘handy’ (now I am). I’ve renovated two (from the ground up). There are ALWAYS hidden ‘surprises’ and, not the good kind.
On the plus side functional fireplaces (outfit them with whatever heatsource is the best) and incredibly sturdy structure…
Slate roofs and plasterboard….you know about that.
Don’t fall in love with what looks like a rich ‘ol bitch on her knees. Might have a switchblade hidden in her sna…
They are what they are. Currently in the process of buying another.
Domestic Relations (clot Edition):
An elderly Pakistani immigrant beat his wife to death with a stick after the doomed woman made the mistake of cooking him lentils for dinner instead of the hearty meal of goat meat that he craved, according to court papers.
Noor Hussein, 75, was so outraged over the prospect of eating the vegetarian fare that he pummeled his wife, Nazar Hussein, 66, inside their Brooklyn apartment until she was a “bloody mess,” prosecutors said in opening statements of his murder trial Wednesday.
“Defendant asked [his wife] to cook goat and [his wife] said she made something else,” court papers said.
“The conversation got louder and [his wife] disrespected defendant by cursing at defendant and saying motherf–ker and that the defendant took a wooden stick and hit her with it on her arm and mouth.”
Defense attorney Julie Clark admitted Hussein beat his wife — but argued that he is guilty of only manslaughter because he didn’t intend to kill her. She said that in his home country, beating your wife is customary.
“He comes from a culture where he thinks this is appropriate conduct, where he can hit his wife,” Clark said in her opening statements at the Brooklyn Supreme Court bench trial. “He culturally believed he had the right to hit his wife and discipline his wife.”
Prosecutors, however, said Hussein meant for his wife to die.
“His intentions were to kill his wife,” Assistant District Attorney Sabeeha Madni said in court. “This was not a man who was trying to discipline his wife.”
Madni said Hussein “brutally attacked his wife as she lay in her bed” — leaving deep lacerations on her head, arms and shoulders, and causing her brain to hemorrhage.
He beat her with a stick that the family had found in the street and used to stir their laundry in a washtub, court papers state.
He then tried to clean up the blood that splattered onto their bedroom wall before calling his son for help, Madni said.
“I killed her. Hurry up and come over,” Hussein told his son, prosecutors said.
Madni also said Pakistani women who lived in the same building as the Husseins would testify about the beatings Nazar received at the hands of her husband.
“They have told us about years of abuse they witnessed,” Madni said.
Hussein met his wife in Pakistan and the couple married before moving to Brooklyn, prosecutors said.
The trial continues Thursday before Judge Matthew D’Emic.
The Koran said the wife was supposed to follow the husband’s orders. I guess eventually she slipped up.
#57 Ragnar
So how exactly would you revive the gold standard? How does that work in reality vs. your dystopian Gulch?
Grim in mod
80
The opposite way in which it was ended.
Reposting.
Here is a fun site you can waste some time on
http://www.isidewith.com
Interesting results for me
G 95%
D 90%
S 78%
L 58%
G 17%
#82 Joyce
So if I close the stable door after the horse has bolted, the horse will be magically back in the barn?
I’ve been assuming that some sovereign will begin a bitcoin alternative backed by gold. China perhaps?
83- my results
R-88%
Gp-65%
D-65%
L-61%
S-43%
[85] west jester
That will run into a buzz saw of government oppo unless it was regulated as a security.
Regulation of the government of China? Hmmmm….
[88] westjester
Methinks you misconstrue.
I guess; I was assuming China’s FFAC.
This is exactly how I feel. Great article.
“Is there such a thing as too rich?
Like most reasonable people, I agree wholeheartedly that people who accomplish greater, worthier, nobler things should be rewarded more than those who don’t. I’m not the World’s Last Communist, shaking his fist atop Karl Marx’s grave at the very idea of riches.
Perhaps I’ve asked an absurd question. Perhaps there’s no such thing as too rich — anywhere, ever. But try this thought experiment: Imagine that there’s a single person in the economy who is so rich he’s worth what everyone else is, combined. If there were such a person, he’d be able to buy everything the rest of us own. In time, his family, inheriting his wealth, would become a dynasty and he could, by bestowing favors, direct the course of society as he so desired. In all but name, such a person would be a king and no one else’s rights, wishes, desires or aims could truly matter. And so no society with such a person in it could be reasonably said to be free.
It seems to me, then, there is such a thing as too rich, at least for people who wish to call themselves free. The only question is: Where is the line is drawn? How rich is too rich?
Imagine that you’re so rich you can afford the finest of every good in the economy. The best education, the best car, the best champagne and so on. Would that be a justifiable level of wealth for a person to not just enjoy — but to aim for? A lot of people would probably say yes.
Now imagine you’re so rich that you can buy the finest of every good in the economy not just once — but 10 times over. Everything. The 10 finest homes. Meals. Doctors. Servants. Entire wardrobes. Apartments, mansions, investment portfolios. The 10 best yachts. Ten private jets. Would that be an excessive level of wealth?
Suddenly, such a level of wealth begins to sound not just unreasonable, but senseless. After all, what possible purpose could owning 10 gigantic homes, yachts or jets serve? Why should anyone want to be that rich? Not just rich — but super-rich?
What is it that induces a sense of repugnance in many of us — in most sensible people — about not just riches, but super-riches? Why is it that when an invisible line is crossed, our attitudes to wealth transform from admiration, to repulsion?
The doctor, the businessman, the neighborhood banker — all these are likely to be merely rich; and probably, many would argue, justifiably so. Their riches can be evidently seen to reflect a contribution to the common wealth. There is a purpose to their work, which requires long years of training and discipline, to which society rightly assigns a steep value.
The rich, if they do not plant prosperity’s seeds, at least tend to its branches — but the super-rich appear to be merely picking off the choicest fruit.
But to paraphrase the famous line from F Scott Fitzgerald: the super-rich are very different from the merely rich. The super-rich are not just worth millions — but billions. And they are not doctors, businessmen and bankers. They are hedge fund tycoons, “private equity” barons, privateers who have bought the natural resources of entire countries whole and CEOs with golden parachutes the size of small planets. And their wealth is questionable; not just in moral terms, but also in economic ones. For what useful purpose do speculation, profiteering and company-flipping serve? In what way do they benefit the societies that incubate them?
The rich, if they do not plant prosperity’s seeds, at least tend to its branches — but the super-rich appear to be merely picking off the choicest fruit.
When societies allow the rich to grow into the super-rich, they are making a series of mistakes. The mistake is not just that a class of super-rich are fundamentally undemocratic because they hold the polity ransom. The mistake is not just that a class of super-rich is fundamentally uneconomic because the super-rich hoard vast amounts of capital, starving the economy of investment and opportunity. The mistake is not just that a class of super-rich is fundamentally inequitable because it is essentially impossible that any human being has single-handedly truly created enough value to be worth tens of billions. The mistake is not just that a class of super-rich is fundamentally unreasonable because there is no good reason for anyone to want such extreme riches. The mistake is not just that a class of super-rich is fundamentally antisocial, for the super-rich will never have to rely on public goods in the same way that the merely rich still need parks, subways, roads and bridges.
All those are small mistakes. Here is the big one.
When societies allow the rich to grow into the super-rich, they are limiting what those societies can achieve.
Imagine a bountiful forest. And then — no one can say quite why — a small handful of the trees suddenly grow tall. Much taller. They became so tall and strong and broad that they block the sunlight from all the other trees. The other trees begin to wilt and wither and disappear. Their roots crack and split and turn to dust. And one day, not long after, even the roots of the tallest trees can find no water, can grip no soil. They begin to fall. Soon the whole forest becomes a desert.
A dry academic term like “income inequality” doesn’t really begin to cover it, does it?
When super-riches grow unchecked, no one wins — not even the super-rich themselves, in the long run. Everyone’s possibility is stifled when the invisible line from rich to super-rich is crossed. And that is precisely why no society should desire a class of super-rich; for it assures us that a society’s human potential will be eroded. And that is precisely why the moral sentiments of most reasonable people are instinctively, naturally opposed to the idea of super-riches.
At this juncture, I’m sure that defenders of free markets will complain: Who are you to say that anyone shouldn’t be super-rich? But it is precisely defenders of free markets who should object most vehemently to the super-rich. I defy you to find me a fully-fledged member of the super-rich today who isn’t a monopolist, a scion, an oligarch … or all three.
Is there such a thing as too rich? Here is my answer: No forest should become a desert.”
http://billmoyers.com/2014/05/21/can-you-be-too-rich/
What happened, broadly speaking, after closing the gold window? Financial asset inflation. So, I won’t even call it deflation… we need reversion to the mean, a whole lot of it, plus repricing gold to dollars oustanding. Also, actually enforcing the criminal laws against white collar criminals.
Yes, it’s not as easy as the few sentences I wrote. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Will it be done? Of course not because the financial services sector would become a shell of it’s former self.
84.Fabius Maximus says:
May 22, 2014 at 7:43 am
#82 Joyce
So if I close the stable door after the horse has bolted, the horse will be magically back in the barn?