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Dan8267
2014 Sep 29, 12:56am
Dan8267's two rebuttals of Strategist's comments above are the best comments on this thread. His understanding of the underlying causes of the socio-economic and political ills affecting the U.S. today is uncommonly astute.
I thought they were pathetic. Full of myths, bizarre opinions, misleading and lacked critical thinking.
I gave him a D- even though he deserved an F-
When Hitler says your stance on the Jewish people is misleading and lacks critical thinking, take it as a complement. When Jim Cramer says your financial portfolio is based on myths and bizarre opinions, double your investments. When David Lereah says that you know nothing about housing, you're on the right track.
Strategist is the David Lereah of politics.
Speaking of Lereah, his book can now be bought for $3.69. It's still a ripoff at that price.
Ah, sometimes Amazon reviews are right on the money
441 of 450 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Better title - "Join the Greater Fools of America Club" April 19, 2005
By NewYorkBuck
Format:Hardcover
For me, this was more comic relief than any scholarly analysis. The author has a vested interest in the bubble not bursting, and he's selling his soul with this book to prove it.He spins webs of demographics and interest rates, but he never ever addresses the core issues that determine housing values. What is lost here is that housing in itself creates no value, its value is completely predicated upon peoples ability to pay for it. Ergo, housing prices for the last 100 years have tracked income remarkably closely, that is, except for the last five years. Historically, the ratio of housing price to annual income has been 2.1, with very little variation. In many parts of the country, this ratio is now approaching 10.5! Can you say "major correction?" Further, the amount of leverage used to buy homes during this boom has been increased to absolutely unprecidented levels. Even during the last boom of the late 80s/early 90s, the standard was still 30 yr fixed and 20% down. Not anymore. Last year, less than 15% of borrowers put down 20% or more! Further, the 30 yr fixed has been replaced by the IO, or interest only loan. See now, we have the same borrower capable of bidding 30-40% more for a propery without any better credit or ability to repay. Neat trick, but sadly, Lereah at no point addresses any of these fundamentals.
Our stock/housing pattern appears remarkably similar to the one Japan had 20 years ago. First the stock market busted. Right after, the real estate market rallied, and it busted too. The current Japanese real estate market is in a 14 year slide to date, and houses are going for roughly their 1980 value.
Keep talking Dave - we'll need the comic relief soon!
Notice the date, 2005? And the press said no one saw the bubble burst coming.
Strategist
2014 Sep 29, 12:57am
Unions are only a problem for companies with incompetent management.
Bullshit.
So riddle me this batman. Why are some companies successful year after year and some are in a constant state of crisis yet they both have exactly the same union.
Name a few.
American auto companies are a disaster thanks to unions. Airlines have always been shaky. Grocery stores are steadily losing market share as they cannot compete with non union competition. Some like Twinkies are already out of business. Yes, there are some companies that have unions and are extremely successful due to monopolistic powers. Boeing comes to mind. Defense industry would be another example.
Strategist
2014 Sep 29, 1:08am
When Hitler says your stance on the Jewish people is misleading and lacks critical thinking, take it as a complement. When Jim Cramer says your financial portfolio is based on myths and bizarre opinions, double your investments. When David Lereah says that you know nothing about housing, you're on the right track.
Good morning Dan.
The Palestinians and the Muslim world are telling me the same thing today. I would tell them to kiss my ass. Jim Cramer is an entertainer. I would tell him I prefer to make my own investment decisions, and most likely, I have done much better then him. I don't care what David Lereah says.
PS...I do my own critical thinking. :) :)
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http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/1-4-americans-25-54-not-working_806178.html
Here's a chart showing those in that age group currently employed (95.6 million) and those who aren't (28.9 million):
"There are 124.5 million Americans in their prime working years (ages 25–54). Nearly one-quarter of this group—28.9 million people, or 23.2 percent of the total—is not currently employed. They either became so discouraged that they left the labor force entirely, or they are in the labor force but unemployed. This group of non-employed individuals is more than 3.5 million larger than before the recession began in 2007," writes the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee.
"Those attempting to minimize the startling figures about America’s vanishing workforce—workplace participation overall is near a four-decade low—will say an aging population is to blame. But in fact, while the workforce overall has shrunk nearly 10 million since 2009, the cohort of workers in the labor force ages 55 to 64 has actually increased over that same period, with many delaying retirement due to poor economic conditions.
"In fact, over two-thirds of all labor force dropouts since that time have been under the age of 55. These statistics illustrate that the problems in the American economy are deep, profound, and pervasive, afflicting the sector of the labor force that should be among the most productive."
#politics