From HousingWire:
FHFA makes it official: Principal reduction is coming
A day that many in the housing industry thought would never come is finally and actually here, as the Federal Housing Finance Agency is making official what was first reported several weeks ago – widespread principal reduction is coming.
In what it is calling a “final crisis-era modification program,” the FHFA announced Thursday that it will be launching a principal reduction program for some borrowers whose loans are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
But the program is not quite as widespread as was first reported.
Initial reports in the Wall Street Journal suggested that the FHFA’s principal reduction program may make fewer than 50,000 “underwater” borrowers eligible for principal reduction, but what wasn’t known until Thursday was the exact number of borrowers the FHFA’s program could affect.
The FHFA said Thursday that it expects approximately 33,000 borrowers to eligible to participate in the principal reduction program due to very specific eligibility requirements.
According to the FHFA, principal reductions will be available to owner-occupant borrowers who are 90 days or more delinquent as of March 1, 2016, meaning that borrowers will not able to “strategically default” in able to receive principal reduction.
Additionally, the program will only apply to borrowers whose mortgages have an outstanding unpaid principal balance of $250,000 or less, and whose mark-to-market loan-to-value ratios are more than 115%.
For years, the leadership of the FHFA, Fannie, and Freddie claimed this day would never happen. They all said the GSEs were in conservatorship, not receivership, and so a reduction in asset values would be counterintuitive to that status.
…
According to the FHFA, this program will give seriously delinquent, underwater borrowers “last chance” to avoid foreclosure by providing principal reduction in a straightforward and timely manner.“FHFA believes that this final crisis-era modification program will provide seriously delinquent borrowers a last opportunity to address negative equity and to avoid foreclosure and will also help to improve the stability of neighborhoods that have not yet recovered from the foreclosure crisis,” the FHFA said in prepared materials.
According to the FHFA, the eligible loans are heavily concentrated in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada and in” hardest hit communities.”
Frist? I hope everyone is doing well.
Baz Luhrman’s sunscreen song probably right – Derm told me I probably have skin cancer (basal cell, not the bad kind), and proceeded to hack it off – should have worn more sunscreen.
#2..interesting lyrics (shows how out of touch I am)..Grim, see WSJ on Negative rates..and the guy in Denmark getting money back each month on his mortgage…
Post endorses Trump? Oh boy.
Pretty damning for Fulop…
From the Jersey Journal:
Judge rules against Jersey City in reval contract case
Jersey City has lost the breach-of-contract case filed by the assessment firm hired in 2011 to oversee the long-stalled citywide property revaluation, with the judge presiding over the case using the decision to slam Jersey City’s “unfair” tax system.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Francis B. Schultz ruled this afternoon that the city showed bad faith when Mayor Steve Fulop stopped the reval in 2013 and ordered the city not to pay West New York firm Realty Appraisal Co. the remainder of its $3.2 million contract.
The city must pay the firm $984,511 plus interest and attorney’s fees dating to Realty Appraisal’s October 2015 settlement offer, Schultz ruled.
The firm, which sued for breach of contract after Fulop stopped the reval, was “simply doing a job that it was hired to do,” Schultz said today after dismissing almost every argument city attorneys made during the seven-day trial.
“The evidence in this trial is clear and convincing,” the judge said. “The city simply does not want a revaluation. Period.”
…
The decision is a blow for Fulop, though not an unexpected one. His administration vowed to appeal back in February when Schultz dismissed the city’s final counterclaim in the suit. A request for comment on whether the city still intends to appeal was not returned.
It was clear from the start of Schultz’s decision — which he delivered from the bench in this non-jury trial — that Jersey City was headed for defeat. He began the ruling by calling Jersey City’s tax system “one of the most unfair” in New Jersey and he ended by calling the city’s continued delay of a reval “intransigence.”
Fulop learned the Mocco game quick. I guess he’s better than the last mayor- who flashed teenage girls from his porch while he was drunk- but not by a lot.
Another bit by a construction union leader tears Fulop apart – claims that Fulop supported the idea of North Jersey casinos only when it looked like JC was a shoe in, but now, after it not being so sure it would be in JC, he does an about face.
From the Record:
N.J. added 17,300 jobs in March
After losing more than 20,000 jobs in the first two months of the year, New Jersey erased most of those losses by adding 17,300 jobs in March, state labor officials said Thursday.
The unemployment rate edged up, from 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent, as more New Jerseyans began looking for jobs, according to the state Division of Labor and Workforce Development. The state’s unemployment rate was below the national rate of 5 percent in March.
“This confirms that the New Jersey economy is still alive,” said James W. Hughes, a Rutgers economist.
Governor Christie, speaking at a news conference at Union County College, said the job growth was validation of his economic policies.
“There’s more optimism in New Jersey and, as a result, more people are looking for work,” Christie said. The governor added that the unemployment rate has dropped 1.8 percentage points since March 2015.
From early 2011 to late last year, New Jersey’s unemployment rate was stubbornly higher than the national rate, as the state lagged behind the nation in job creation.
The largest number of March’s new jobs came in leisure and hospitality, education and health services, construction and in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Each of those sectors added 2,900 jobs or more.
Financial activities and professional and business services, both relatively highly paid sectors, also added jobs, though a smaller number. Only manufacturing lost jobs.
In Thursday’s report, labor officials also revised downward the number of jobs lost in February, from a loss of 8,600 to a loss of 5,200. That followed a loss of more than 15,000 jobs in January.
Too bad they can’t put the north jersey c@s1no in Vernon. They need something up there badly. Seems that the owner of the local diner even torched it for the insurance…the ski resort had a bad winter too.
Wouldn’t be competitive with PA and the new NY state casinos.
Ideal would be on a mass transit line from NYC to pull in tourist money, not resident money.
JC waterfront, with a view of Lady Liberty and lower Manhattan is probably the best spot there is. Not meadowlands.
You’d probably want to establish a ferry terminal at the casino as well, and run a casino ferry along the waterfront.
10 – You’d be surprised at how many cars w/ NY plates, buses, zipcars, etc. I share the road with going west on Rt80 on a Friday. I wonder if they’re going to Mt. Airy in PA.
There was talk of an indoor waterpark in Vernon like the one in Great Wolf…but who knows if they’ll be able to afford it after this winter.
All you need to bring, is your love of everything.
(cut away to champagne glass hot tub, fade out, wrap)
“All you need to bring, is your love of everything.”
Beautiful Mt. Airy Lodge.
I loved their one ski slope from back in the day.
When? 1983?
Was it made of cocaine?
D-Fens [12];
There was talk of an indoor waterpark in Vernon like the one in Great Wolf
Too late to the game. They would be competing with four existing ones in the Poconos (Great Wolf; CamelBeach; Kalahari; Split Rock); Central Jersey has Sahara Sam’s. Vernon is closer than Stroudsberg, but probably not any quicker to get to because of roads. It would be a “Me too” attraction at best.
I suppose you don’t remember the commercial as well as I did. I never skied there myself. I remember seeing the toboggan chute as well.
No you have a few years on me I think, I only caught the tail end of it during Saturday morning cartoons.
I constantly remember that commercial being on during cartoons.
Every kid wanted to go in that champagne glass.
I suppose they were hoping to catch a frazzled mom.
But she probably stared on, aghast at the pube cesspool.
You guys should see the hotel with the champagne hot tubs in the Pocono’s today. I drove by it a few months ago…completely covered in graffiti….thoroughly stripped of all copper…trees growing out of the tennis courts…etc. Looks like it belongs in Detroit.
The new Mt. Airy casino is pretty new…I don’t think it has much do do with the old one other than the name.
Cue JJ.
You guys should see the hotel with the champagne hot tubs in the Pocono’s today. I drove by it a few months ago…completely covered in graffiti….thoroughly stripped of all copper…trees growing out of the tennis courts…etc. Looks like it belongs in Detroit.
The new Mt. Airy c@s1no is pretty new…I don’t think it has much do do with the old one other than the name.
With the success of Resort World (Aquaduct). The trend is to put casin0s in the densest areas, not in West Bumblefcuk. Look up the numbers on that sh1thole. It’s literally disgusting. Sands did some damage to AC, but nothing has done more damage than a casin0 located within a $2.50 subway ride of one of the most populated cities in the world. The numbers are simply astounding. They had over 700 million in revenue last year and will no doubt hit a billion after the 300 million expansion they are planning (50 million of which is coming out of the funds which was supposed to go to NY Education). It’s sick. Really sick. They might as well just issue all of NYC’s welfare checks at the main cage. Or just issue them directly to Genting.
Exploring Penn Hills Resort
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B95lx1jdAgI
Which is why a real casin0 (not a giant warehouse full of video lottery terminals) in the Meadowlands would be a sure fire tax revenue generator. Of course, I can’t speak for how the state would squander this cash cow. But no doubt, they will.
Meadowlands will not attract NYC tourists.
This isn’t about tourists. Tourists don’t gamble. Tourists will go to a gambling destination to gamble. For example, Macau, Vegas, etc. And in the case of Vegas, over half of their revenue is local and that number is increasing. Tourists are going more for the resorts, dining, shows, etc. I would bet that Resort World’s revenue is 99 percent local. Heck, they don’t even advertise in the city. Meadowlands would be huge, just from Essex, Bergen and Hudson County locals. I took a walk around University of Penn the other day to pick up some soup for our little D and lunch for Gator and me at the many food trucks. There was a huge line at one particular food stand. As I got closer, I realized that the line was filled with lower rung hospital service employees all lined up to play the lottery. Gambling is about local revenue. When it was only Nevada, AC and Louisiana, yes, it was clearly a different story. Now that there is a casin0 accessible to the lower classes in everyone’s backyard, it’s about making it easy for the fools to get to them. When was the last time someone saw a casin0 bus on the GSP?
Lib [23];
Which is why a real casin0 (not a giant warehouse full of video lottery terminals) in the Meadowlands would be a sure fire tax revenue generator.
I’m not so sure, Lib. The trend I’ve seen for decades is going away from manned table games. Even the same games (blackjack, craps, roulette) are being simulated by machines – cheaper to run. I’ve never been to Resorts World/Aquaduct since the VLTs went in, but those games are all played today at Empire City/Yonkers. We’re not too far away from a casino that doesn’t hire any dealers — especially at $15/hr. minimum wage. I’ve been in places in the sticks where player’s complementary beverages is a self-serve coffee and soda fountain — no cocktail waitresses there.
[2] grim – allow me to guess, forearm or top of thigh?
Baz Luhrman’s sunscreen song probably right – Derm told me I probably have skin cancer (basal cell, not the bad kind), and proceeded to hack it off – should have worn more sunscreen.
Lib [23];
Which is why a real casin0 (not a giant warehouse full of video lottery terminals) in the Meadowlands would be a sure fire tax revenue generator.
I’m not so sure, Lib. The trend I’ve seen for decades is going away from manned table games. Even the same games (blackjack, craps, roulette) are being simulated by machines – cheaper to run. I’ve never been to Resorts World/Aquaduct since the VLTs went in, but those games are all played today at Empire City/Yonkers. We’re not too far away from a c@sino that doesn’t hire any dealers — especially at $15/hr. minimum wage. I don’t think poker players by and large will go for it, but I’m not seeing much resistance otherwise except from an older generation that is rapidly aging out.
I’ve been in places in the sticks where player’s complementary beverages are a self-serve coffee and soda fountain — no cocktail waitresses there. At Sands when they have poker tournaments in satellite rooms off the main floor, they don’t run waitresses out there; they put a buffet table in the corner of the room with soda, water, coffee, tea, and chips or cookies.
Upper back, between neck and shoulder.
That strip along the high upper back and neck that always gets sunburned if you are standing up.
Lib [23];
Which is why a real c[@]sin0 (not a giant warehouse full of video lottery terminals) in the Meadowlands would be a sure fire tax revenue generator.
I’m not so sure, Lib. The trend I’ve seen for decades is going away from manned table games. Even the same games (bl@ckjack, cr@ps, r0ulette) are being simulated by machines – cheaper to run. I’ve never been to Resorts World/Aquaduct since the VLTs went in, but those games are all played today at Empire City/Yonkers. We’re not too far away from a c@sino that doesn’t hire any dealers — especially at $15/hr. minimum wage. I don’t think p0ker players by and large will go for it, but I’m not seeing much resistance otherwise except from an older generation that is rapidly aging out.
I’ve been in places in the sticks where player’s complementary beverages are a self-serve coffee and soda fountain — no c0ckt@il waitresses there. At Sands when they have p0ker tournaments in satellite rooms off the main floor, they don’t run waitresses out there; they put a buffet table in the corner of the room with soda, water, coffee, tea, and chips or cookies.
So how was the debate last night? Did anyone bother to watch it? I certainly didn’t.
re# 25 – Yonkers and Aqueduct are killing it, however the reviews start like this and one get worse.
“ghetto with slot machines”
“the food was better at Rikers Island doing time for a weapons violation”,
“The bathrooms are disgusting”
“Nobody would drive past a legit casino to gamble here”
“I went to cash my lottery ticket at the booth and I have had the nastiest customer service I have ever had by this old skank lady named Ruth I believe just cause of that I will never EVER step my foot in there again ….and I’m a degenerate gambler.”
Gotta go back next week once they know the margins, and then they really cut.
That’s an obvious back alley payoff by the RNC. The money probably has the same accounting code as the money that went to David Duke.
Post endorses Trump? Oh boy.
grim #30 – please unmod
re # 29 – “So how was the debate last night?”
basically it was a screaming match the whole time, they continually talked all over each other. It was more like one of the Republican debates.
I caught the last hour or so. I’ll also add that I thought it was hilarious that Clinton – literally out of nowhere – says “why aren’t we talking about abortion?” when they were talking about foreign policy, tax increases for social security, and other things. She also emphasized the word ‘children’ when she needlessly inserted it into a sentence a couple of times.
I agree with Juice Box about the shouting; I’d say in that last hour Bernie did better… but in the first 5 minutes of recap the panels all said Hillary won by landslide so maybe I missed a lot in the first two hours… whatever.
Libturd questioning the gender of Hillary’s Cankle fluid. says:
April 15, 2016 at 10:22 am
So how was the debate last night? Did anyone bother to watch it? I certainly didn’t.
Moose. It’s all about slots (especially penny slots). The tables don’t generate the revenue they used to. Why? Because the gambler is less often the man in an Arman1 suit nowadays than it is the janitor in his green overalls. Check out what Wynn said the other day. And as you know, Wynn is all about the Arman1 Suit gambler. Even he is catering to the poor guy, though this arrogant pr1ck has no tact whatsoever.
“This company caters to the top end of the gaming world,” he said. “We’re sort of Ch@nel or Louis Vu1tton, to use the comparison, the metaphor of the retail business. But unlike Ch@nel and Louis Vui1ton, we are able in our business to cater to all of the market. By making our standards so high…that everybody wants to be in the building.”
“Or to put it in a more colloquial way, rich people only like being around rich people. Nobody likes being around poor people, especially poor people. So we try and make the place feel upscale for everyone. That is to say we cater to people who have discretion and judgment and we give them a choice and we are consistent in that.”
grim – I was thinking of cycling exposure. I rarely wear sunscreen myself, but will apply some when it looks like there’s a need (I like the new spray stuff in the can). My wife slathers our daughters with 4 different kinds such that I’m sure they’ve never gotten a microgram of Vitamin D from the sun. I especially hate the face stuff, I’d rather grab my wide brim hat with mesh verticals.
BTW, Anybody going to a Yankee game – you will not be allowed to bring the metal aerosol cans into the stadium! They want you to throw it out right at the gate. We stopped in for a hot July game on our way down to a shore house I rented in Sea Bright for two weeks a few years ago. My wife had two different cans of brand new $12 aerosol cans they wouldn’t allow in. I walked the three blocks back to the parking deck and put them back in the car rather than toss them and met the family back inside. We were early anyway.
Upper back, between neck and shoulder.
Sussex County needs to legalize p0t and prost1tution. You want revenue? They’d be paving route 515 in platinum!
Thanks for the review Joyce. Hillary’s got this. The machine is too powerful and 99 out of 100 Americans don’t realize that public schools are a form of social1sm.
“….and I’m a degenerate gambler.”
I’m going to sue Belmar, really. There wasn’t a UV warning posted where I paid for my beach badge.
In background, Fulop considers casinos, 2017 bid
http://www.northjersey.com/news/stile-in-background-fulop-considers-casinos-2017-bid-1.1545424
I wouldn’t worry Grim. They’ve been cutting those things off my father for decades.
There’s a decent article on northjersey.com about the JC C@s1no if anyone’s interested….by Charles Stile. I’d post the link but it keeps getting caught up in the filter.
And got an email late on the eve of April 14th that Investment Clubs can now file their partnership tax forms in NJ. Of course, we all already had to file for extensions as they weren’t sure they would meet their own tax deadlines. The delay? Until this year, NJ was the only state in the nation that made you file on paper. Now that they made it so you have to file electronically, they forgot to make the website compatible with investment clubs that need not pay a filing fee. If you are a non-investment club General Partnership, every single member of the partnership gets charged a $50 filing fee. No wonder the hedgies are running from NJ. I would do it on principle. Also, if your club is incorporated in another state and a single member lives in NJ, though none of the income is generated in NJ, the state makes you file in NJ. It’s the only state in the nation that makes you do this. All hail larger government and creating government jobs rather than simply paying welfare. I actually think it would be cheaper to just pay everyone welfare. We’re gonna get it all back at the Meadownland’s Cas1no anyway.
Clinton already covered abortion just a week or so ago:
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/04/03/hillary-clinton-unborn-person-doesnt-constitutional-rights/
Your host with the most in the Poconos…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dOsgyw7yBw
In the grand scheme, no. I posted it really to acknowledge my own stupidity and shame myself for it. I don’t recall ever putting on sunscreen, on purpose.
It really is as simple as that. What is the purpose of making something illegal if you can’t stop it anyway? Everybody is still doing it, so mine as well tax them and stop making the taxpayer pay for their incarceration. Let them get their drugs, pay taxes, and sit in their house wasting away life. Stop hiring cops to throw them in jail and make the taxpayer cover the cost for their incarceration.
Fast Eddie says:
April 15, 2016 at 10:42 am
Sussex County needs to legalize p0t and prost1tution. You want revenue? They’d be paving route 515 in platinum!
I forgot to mention. Since I get a NJ K-1 from my investment club, until this year, though I use TurboTax, I had to file my NJ1040 manually. So pathetic. NY and my Fed form I could do electronically.
re: # 35 – Gotta love the fact that Hillary hit Bernie up on his vote on the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, (something the news has been playing today in sound bites from last nights debate).
Fact is this is the same law her husband signed into law, and created the housing bubble. Bill Clinton has since lamented that when that law was passed at the very end of his Presidency his hands were tied. That really is not the truth, his administration lobbied heavily for it along with other Clinton facts that have been washed away in the waves of time. So much time has passed but Bernie is 100% right on this. It is Hillary who is in-bed with Wall St, not Bernie. I would not expect the average NY Democrat who will be voting in the Primary to pick up on this, but lets refer to the fair and balanced Huffington Post for an opinion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-ferguson/hillary-clinton-documentary_b_4014792.html
I could just let you babysit the D. He has so much chemo going through him, you would probably cure your skin cancer by just holding him for a few minutes. The poor little guy is doing great none-the-less. Though just heard that his port is probably infected. Can we claim Pennsylvania residency since we live in Philadelphia now?
re # 47 – “I don’t recall ever putting on sunscreen, on purpose.” buy yourself a UV camera and take some pics, you won’t ever skip sunscreen again.
For amusement purposes only, but the “who’s next?” task force mentioned at the 4 minute mark sounds strangely believable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYnrSh3moj8
Legalize heroin.
Like over-posting?
It really is as simple as that. What is the purpose of making something illegal if you can’t stop it anyway?
[38] FE – which is much cheaper than gold. Platinum was $2200 per ounce prior to the financial crisis and had never been cheaper than gold except for a microsecond or two. I guess you could say there is some sadness associated with a portion of my physical bullion reserves.
Sussex County needs to legalize p0t and prost1tution. You want revenue? They’d be paving route 515 in platinum!
Legalize everything that isn’t a crime against persons or property.
FYI to anybody who is compelled to keep any significant cash in an IRA account: You typically get 0.01% interest on standard sweep vehicles. Unknown to me until recently, there wasn’t much you could do but Yellen’s quarter point raise in December was a small game changer in this regard. Ameritrade, Schwab, and I’m sure others allow you to buy FDIC insured CDs inside your account, but they paid almost nothing as well a year ago. Now you can set a 1 year ladder at still abominable, but significant, rates. The CDs are also liquid – you can sell them with no penalty. So if you want money out of the market, let’s say, for a while, you can buy 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 1 year CDs with the 1 years currently at .7%. Every 3 months you turn over the maturing CDs into new 1 year CDs, so at the end of 12 months you still have 1/4 of your money turning over every quarter but at .7%(currently) which is 70 times greater than 0.01%. Again, only makes sense if you need to keep a large cash position for whatever reason.
50-
“Wow, I thought, this guy is a really good actor. And I also saw one reason why Hillary Clinton might not be thrilled about my movie. I discovered others. In Arkansas, she joined the boards of Walmart and Tyson Foods. One of the largest donors to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation is the government of Saudi Arabia. The Clintons’ personal net worth now probably exceeds $200 million, and while earned legally, both the money’s sources and the Clintons’ public statements indicate a strong aversion to rocking boats or making powerful enemies.
It was not always thus. When Bill Clinton became President, he and Hillary initially attempted courageous reforms: allowing gays to serve in the military, a carbon tax, health care reform. But they got their heads handed to them: Colin Powell went on television telling America that if gays served in the military, morale would suffer. And the Clintons also learned about money, because back then they had none. When they were mercilessly hounded by Kenneth Starr and Congressional Republicans, culminating in impeachment, their legal bills soared and the Clintons fell many millions of dollars into debt. (To be sure, Bill Clinton poured gasoline on the fire by lying.) It is very clear that the Clintons then decided never to be at anyone’s mercy again. And since Bill Clinton first became Governor of Arkansas, the cost of Presidential campaigns has gone from $66 million (both parties combined, in 1976) to an estimated $5 billion for 2016, when Hillary will run. So more than ever, the Clintons need money and the people who supply it.”
$200 million?
That is criminal
50- Any questions?
“I would have loved to explore all this. But when I approached people for interviews, I discovered that nobody, and I mean nobody, was interested in helping me make this film. Not Democrats, not Republicans — and certainly nobody who works with the Clintons, wants access to the Clintons, or dreams of a position in a Hillary Clinton administration. Not even journalists who want access, which can easily be taken away. I even sensed potential difficulty in licensing archival footage from CBN (Pat Robertson) and from Fox. After approaching well over a hundred people, only two persons who had ever dealt with Mrs. Clinton would agree to an on-camera interview, and I suspected that even they would back out.”
Yup, how was this accrued? Got damn crony capitalism. Our economic system is a joke.
Grim says:
April 15, 2016 at 11:34 am
$200 million?
That is criminal
Criminalize trolling
[60]grim – I’ll tell you what’s criminal. Just about all of their very large charitable donations that they claim on their tax returns go to…wait for it…The Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. But of course.
As for charitable donations, the Clintons gave just under $15 million over the eight-year period, which is 10.8 percent of their total income. The vast majority of that — about $14.8 million — went through the Clinton Family Foundation, the vehicle the Clintons frequently use to make personal donations, and another $57,000 went to the Clinton Global Initiative.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/hillary-clinton-releases-her-tax-returns/457896/
$200 million?
That is criminal
I’m with her
CLINTON FOUNDATION SPENDING, 2013
Charitable Grants 10%
Travel 10%
Rent 5%
Office Supplies 6%
IT Services 2%
Salaries, Benefits 33%
Other Expenses 34%
http://thehillarydaily.com/the-clinton-foundation-is-a-fraud-very-little-goes-to-projects/
Just as true in the 1990’s: http://www.c-span.org/video/?93289-1/book-discussion-secret-life-bill-clinton
I discovered that nobody, and I mean nobody, was interested in helping me make this film. Not Democrats, not Republicans — and certainly nobody who works with the Clintons, wants access to the Clintons
Always floors me how expensive good topsoil is.
Probably Bush’s fault.
Always floors me how expensive good topsoil is.
What’s amazing is how much money Bill and Hillary manage to take in despite not owning a business that delivers any tangible goods. The idea that politicians are not for sale is laughable. The price for political favors is extremely high, evidenced by their bank accounts.
It occurs to me that except for a few policy positions, Clinton and Trump are running on the wrong tickets.
> What’s amazing is how much money Bill and Hillary manage to take in despite not owning a business that delivers any tangible goods.
Books were a significant source of income. They are also big deal celebrities and quite popular, so speech circuit has been a lucrative thing. To try to link the money they make/made to corruption is a stretch.
How much do you think they should have been paid for their speeches? If it is something like 10k, a lot of small companies or small colleges would be more than happy to recruit them for fund raisers. The supply-demand ends up deciding the price.
“Tangible product” is a loaded term — many of us are cogs in a big wheel and not directly connected to a tangible product. Public or government deciding on how much a person can make is a slippery slope and borders on extreme left ideology. I hate to sound like a republican, but government cannot choose winners and losers (e.g. Bernie thinks Verizon and GE are evil, while Apple and “some corporations” are good) and should not regulate how much money one can make (e.g. how can JK Rowling make over a billion dollars when other “better” writers didn’t make even a few millions)?
70 – I had the same thought – exactly
McD…
So what you are saying is that when Goldman Sach’s pays Hillary or Jeb $200,000 for an hour long speaking arrangement, it is to hear what they have to say? And then they like what they have to say so much that they donate to their foundations?
Give me some of what your smoking. Quick!
@Salon
The real reason cocaine, heroin and marijuana are illegal has nothing to do with addiction
only reason why we went into Iraq.
twice
Ben says:
April 15, 2016 at 12:23 pm
The idea that politicians are not for sale is laughable. The price for political favors is extremely high
“As the world grapples with the fallout from the War on Drugs—and heads towards UNGASS 2016, a possible opportunity to put things right—it’s important to know the history of these drugs and their journey from medicine to menace.
We didn’t suddenly discover that they were far more addictive or dangerous than other medicines. In fact, the reasons that drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana and others are illegal today have far more to do with economics and cultural prejudice than with addiction.”
GOP’s broken (the good one) says:
April 15, 2016 at 1:47 pm
@Salon
The real reason cocaine, heroin and marijuana are illegal has nothing to do
Wow, really? It’s amazing to me that there are people out there who actually(do they, or do they just WANT TO believe?) believe this.
Hillary was paid 200k+ by wall street banks for her leadership(failed) insight? That’s just astonishing if you really believe that.
What about the foreign entities who contributed huge amounts to Clinton global slush fund? Was that purely charity?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/foreign-governments-gave-millions-to-foundation-while-clinton-was-at-state-dept/2015/02/25/31937c1e-bc3f-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html
Just astonishing some the naivety…
To try to link the money they make/made to corruption is a stretch.
I def can see what they are saying. War on drugs was another way of robbing individuals in a legal manner. Who is robbing? Well just follow the money to see who is profiting from this.
Btw, every large drug lord is known and in bed with these corrupt individuals running the show.
GOP’s broken (the good one) says:
April 15, 2016 at 1:57 pm
“As the world grapples with the fallout from the War on Drugs—and heads towards UNGASS 2016, a possible opportunity to put things right—it’s important to know the history of these drugs and their journey from medicine to menace.
We didn’t suddenly discover that they were far more addictive or dangerous than other medicines. In fact, the reasons that drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana and others are illegal today have far more to do with economics and cultural prejudice than with addiction.”
GOP’s broken (the good one) says:
April 15, 2016 at 1:47 pm
@Salon
The real reason cocaine, heroin and marijuana are illegal has nothing to do
I didn’t want to mention the redhanded Uranium deal too.
And the comparison between the clinton’s peddling of influence and past ex politicians is quite weak for two reasons.
A) When most ex pols enter the speech circuit, I don’t recall any of them running for office again.
B) Hillary never held a high elected office to justify exorbitant speaking fees. 200k+ to an ex senator? Really is there any historical basis for that?
Speaking of Hillary and the waves of history.
Bill Clinton was acquitted of the impeachment charges during the Lewinsky scandal by the US Senate on February 12th, 1999.
4 Days later Hillary then announced her Senate run while still first lady on February 16th 1999.
So just after the Lewinsky scandal was over Hillary was up and running for Senate and moved out of the White House to Chappaqua NY in Sept 1999, leaving Bill alone while she established the residency requirement to run in NY. People in NY have forgotten she was called a Carpetbagger at the time.
During her November 2000 U.S. Senate race, Clinton vacuumed in more than $1.1 million from the securities and investment industry, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Bill Clinton signed the Commodity futures Modernization Act into law December 21, 2000.
Coincidence?
A-none;
I’ll go on record as being in favor of you taking all the heroin, cocaine and marijuana that you want to; take twice as much, and I’m doubly in favor. I’d even be willing to chip in for the bill.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/04/retired_cops_3_percenters_suit_against_jcpd_city_h.html#incart_river_home
Seems like the older crew was being called out by some of the younger pro-constitution guys.
Anon is like Baskin Robbins. He latches onto whatever is the flavor of the month. Unfortunately, with Anon…there is no limit to the number of flavors. Though, I’m glad to see we are past the incarceration issue and have moved into the whole pharmaceutical companies are responsible for all of the H addicts issue. Wonder what’s on the menu for tomorrow? Let me check Maddow’s Twitter feed. Sandy Hook?
Well I hope Boeing apologizes every time one of their planes crash.
Translation: They were fired because they actually read the constitution they swore an oath to uphold.
A clique of officers who calls themselves “Three-Percenters” in the Jersey City Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit sprouted about two years ago, officials have told The Jersey Journal.
“They were separating themselves from the others in the unit and we put a stop to it immediately,” Jersey City Police Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach said.
The deputy chief said there were officers who were disciplined over the matter.
Three-percenters are an “anti-government extremist” movement that has grown since President Barack Obama took office, according to the Anti Defamation League, a nonprofit that combats what it believes to be anti-Semitism and bigotry.
The three-percent movement promotes the idea that the federal government is plotting to take away the rights of American citizens and must be resisted, the ADL says on its website.
The three-percenters apparently get their name from the notion that 3 percent of American colonists took up arms against the British crown during the Revolutionary War, according to the Three Percenter’s Club on Facebook, which has more than 17,500 followers.
“The (three-percenter) honors and is sworn to uphold and enforce the Constitution of the United States of America… (Three-percenters) are soldiers who have sworn to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic,” the groups says on its “About” page.
Followers sometimes call themselves “Oath Keepers” and associate with self-described pro-militia “patriot” groups that support gun rights and “engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing,” including the idea that the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks were perpetrated by the federal government, according to the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
Jon Stewart’s new job on his Farm Sanctuary down by me in Monmouth county. I wonder if he gets sick when he is in Whole Foods and sees all that meat?
http://i.imgur.com/LXirPir.gifv
He isn’t petting a pig, he is massaging the bacon.
If there is a celebrity that is intelligent, and well spoken, and popular, and can tailor some narrative to specific audience, they become nice candidates for a pep rally for the employees. Her popularity was very high when she was SoS.
Considering 225k across hundred/thousand employees is about 2250/225 bucks per employee, a company like GS can afford to give their employees a nice pep rally with such money. Even semi-empty speeches like “You are a group of intelligent and hardworking folks [very much true, X% is from school #1, Y% is from school #2, blah…]; you work for a strong bank [mention revenues] that does some good [examples of some charities that GS supports]; you should be aware of pitfalls so that you don’t contribute to systemic risk and be more responsible [examples of risks]. Here are some improvements since the 2008 crash [some examples of Dodd Frank]. BTW, let me describe the hunt for Bin Laden. Remember, you are smart and you should strive towards more responsibility, and ther are signs pointing to the right direction”. Makes the employees feel good. No harm.
Bernie won’t get invited because he believes they are evil, and him going to employees and saying, “Your souls are damned. Repent now and leave this stinking business and settle for a 30k salary [and foreclose your house and cause another crash?]”.
To give a perspective, I am jealous of (and happy for) a couple of guys that are graduating from Rutgers because Obama is going to speak at their commencement. I and am tempted to see if I can get an invite. I am sure the current graduates will tell stories about Obama at their commencement to their children and grandchildren. I wouldn’t fault the university if it spends a million dollars on this (arrangements for security, or donation to some charity).
If Bernie loses the primary and then writes a book that nets him a few million dollars, would he be considered corrupt?
I was wondering why there wasn’t a class action for this. Turns out there is one.
http://m.nationallawjournal.com/#/article/1202754995327?kw=Ashley%20Madison%20Litigation%20Ensnares%20Law%20Firm%27s%20Emails&cn=20160415&pt=Daily%20Headlines&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&slreturn=20160315143648&_almReferrer=
Twitiot, make sure you file in time.
I am sure the current graduates will tell stories about Obama at their commencement to their children and grandchildren.
Really?
McD…you are stretching. Normally I respect others opinions, but you are DEAD wrong here.
Obama is invited to Rutgers for the same reason they joined the Big 10. To drive more kids into indentured servitude to Rutgers.
I don’t fault anyone for buying a book. But you are really on crack if you think any of these speaking arrangements are a sort of Christmas gift to the employees. Well, in a way it is. There is a reason Hillary doesn’t fault the Wall Street excesses of outrageous Christmas bonuses. After all, she was paid to be mum about them.
I said, pass the Dutchie from the leftie side.
Hillary Clinton has no charisma and is a divisive person, not really someone who would be at the top of my list when I think “motivational speaker.” And if that is indeed what her theme was then why not release the transcript?
My guess is she took directed a lot of one liners toward “over regulation” and promised “continued support” for the financial services industry if she’s reelected.
In actuality, she would be perfectly qualified to lecture about government affairs at a commencement, but those fees would a fraction(or free) of what Wall St fat cats can pay.
And I don’t recall anyone claiming the book deals constituted corruption so that’s a straw man argument.
If Bernie loses the primary and then writes a book that nets him a few million dollars, would he be considered corrupt?
#82…
I think it is a coincidence. She was running in NY and received money from employees in financial industry (1.1 million out of tens of millions raised). It is par for the course, right? “The House approved H.R. 4541 in a 377-4 vote.” [from wiki; Sanders voted yes too]. What should Bill Clinton have done? No veto possible even if it were the worst idea ever.
#83…
She couldn’t have made paid speeches from 2000 to 2009, and also from 2009 through 2013 Jan. So, her speeches are from after leaving SoS. Fairly distinguished resume. All speeches in 2013 and 2014.
She can’t fight this battle with the left because it would look silly to say, “this is how market works.” Some universities paid her even more (400k?) for her speeches. Bernie’s narrative is that we are all screwed while Zuckerberg makes tens of billions (even though he pledged 99% of his FB shares to charity).
Once Bernie is out of the picture, Hillary may release her transcripts. Same as Obama and the long-form birth certificate. Tea party or lef-Tea party will never be satisfied, so stall them instead of paying their ransom. If Hillary releases her transcripts, wouldn’t there be a demand for Bill Clinton’s speeches (after all, he gave his speeches while she was a senator)? There is a hunt for her from GOP and angry elements in the extreme left.
I think I finished my yearly quota of characters to type on this site…
Hillary Clinton has no charisma and is a divisive person…
It’s funny, despite the fact that her ideas are generally wrong, I snicker when I hear her speak because her mannerisms, tone and ability to communicate are f.ucking horrendous. This woman has zero charisma, a cheese grater for a voice and can’t even lie effectively. It’s beyond my reasoning why this country is going to elect this b1tch.
If it’s Trump vs. Hillary there is zero chance that she releases those transcripts.
The working class people know the Clinton’s have sold them out numerous times and will again at the drop of the hat. Her making guarantees to Wall St will not be a campaign theme that’s she’s going to promote.
#91 Grim…
I remember Bill Bradley giving a speech at my RU commencement in ’99. This year it is the corresponding equivalent of Bill Clinton. It is a big deal.
#Lib 92
“Obama is invited to Rutgers for the same reason they joined the Big 10. To drive more kids into indentured servitude to Rutgers.”
That does not mean Obama is corrupt or that he is being paid to do some shady favors…
97
Why is it a big deal? Serious question. I do not think people who hold or held any/high level elected office are automatically someone to admire. Maybe admire is the wrong word. If some politician is giving a speech near where I live, I don’t care.
If there’s one town down here more depressing than Bellmawr, it’s Lawnside.
Other than Camden that is
Post 100 beyatch!
A certain type of thyroid tumor being reclassified as not cancer
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/15/health/thyroid-tumor-cancer-reclassification.html?WT.mc_id=2016-APRIL-FB-MC1-AUD_DEV-0401-0430&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVREMARK&_r=0
Dull (97)-
Nothing that happens at Rutgers is a ‘big deal’.
Bojangles telling a bunch of high and drunk grads how to fail forward is a ‘must-miss’ event in my book.
Given the choice of speeches at Rutgers to attend, I would’ve chosen Snooki’s.
Grim,
I had basal cell about 15 years ago. The dermatologist sliced off the tumor and sent it for biopsy. Diagnosed as basal cell, scheduled to go back for what they called Moh’s surgery. This was a procedure that involved slicing off pieces of skin and placing the slices under a microscope to see if there were any cancer cells at the base. They took three slices and determined that the cancer had been removed. There were no cancer cells at the base. It wasn’t fun but it wasn’t that horrible either.
I’ve had no further problems. I hope that you have a similar outcome.
Oh, and hello everyone. I used to post but I have just been lurking for the last several years now. Some of the old timers might remember me.
Indeed beer, welcome back
McD,
if you, for one second believe the market would value their collective speeches at 200 million, you need to stop taking your meds. They’ve been paying her these fees in exchange for future favors as the establishment has been planning to put her in office for a decade. Obama jumped the line…so the payoffs continued. Do you honestly think Goldman has anything to gain from her actual speech? No, they have everything to gain by writing her a $250k check and treating all her friends to lobster and caviar prior the speech.
So the speech is really just a conduit for bribes?
http://sf.curbed.com/2016/4/15/11438948/bay-area-prices-drop-homes
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/04/14/nasa-smacks-down-climate-change-doubters-in-facebook-discussion/
And in other news, the Monsanto Social Media Manager posted on Facebook that Round Up is safe to drink. The Chemist Weekly reported on it so it must be true.
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