patrick.net

Looking at it another way: This country seems to be chock full of people that think that the gub'ment is ineffective and wasteful, etc, etc, etc, and should be shut down.

No shit! They are being ineffective and wasteful because some frighteningly large percentage of the tax revenues are being used to line the pockets of private corporations, instead of benefiting the general public. It is all the contracting that causes the waste, not necessarily the programs themselves.

Man, I'm halfway through my BLT and people are putting on the tinfoil hats! :) C'mon. It's not a "conspiracy" by the right or the left. Anytime free money flows, two things happen. First, a lot of people figure out how to get in line for the free money. Many scam the system. Next, a couple of smart people figure out how to transfer the free money from the lazy people to themselves.

I generally think accusations of corruption are vastly overdone, simply because it's a lot easier to separate fools and money than most fools (er, people!) realize.

"C’mon. It’s not a “conspiracy” by the right or the left."

Yes, the Section 8 program was designed to take the poor out of concentrated housing projects and spread them about town. One benefit was the idea that the kids would no longer grow up in a crack/gang infested projects and may pick up other values from working neighbors. Unfortunately, it also provides an opportunity for profiteering (though many landlords, like myself, refuse section 8), encourages sloth, and puts upward pressure on rents for non-section 8 tenants. Section 8 also dumps a little "projects attitude" next door in neighborhoods where people are working hard to pay for their homes. I know about Section 8 houses, but other posters seem to indicate that Section 8 applies to apartments in their areas as well.

Note also the HUD 203(K) rehab program. This program loaned a contractor the money to buy a house plus the cost of rehab. The program was shut down because too many contractors took the loans, put the minimum into the house, walked away with the "profit" and let the loan default. Some contractors did this scam on a whole row of houses.

Bapp33,

Were you at Merced during the early 90s, when Castle AFB was being closed? I knew many people stationed there when it closed and all were able to sell their homes fast. I was there for a couple months at that time, and from your description, Atwater and Merced have certainly changed.

Brand, I think it is a problem that the people who rig/game/exploit the system do not get branded as lazy, but those who get scammed do.

Headset, good explanation of the (official, stated) intent of Section 8. I guess we have seen again how easily the intent of the system can be perverted.

Bap, could not agree more about cracking down on abuses.

It bothers me that it is the "government" that always gets the bad rap, and not the people stealing the money.

FAB, you gave a more accurate and more succinct definition of the difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties than I have ever seen.

slightly-less-poor people who do not qualify for Section 8 end up paying big taxes in order to subsidize the program that is keeping market rents painfully unaffordable for them

Nah, slightly-less-poor people don't pay much tax. other than Social Security. Most working poor actually get more back in EIC than they pay in taxes. It is the middle class that pays the bulk of the overall tax burden.

Would Paris Hilton become Section 8 if she was cut off from her family fortune?

"Would Paris Hilton become Section 8 if she was cut off from her family fortune?"

You may have to father a kid with her first. I'm not a authority, but all the Section 8 I know of invoved a single mother with kids(s).

Bapp33,

Sad to hear that. The talk in '92 was that the Merced part of California could absorb a base cosing because the land was so highly valued and desired by folks who worked in SF but could not afford to live there. I know three officers who sold to such commuters, and since they sold quickly I thought others would also. I felt bad for those who had to make the Highway 99 commute every day. Even then it was bumper to bumber.

Now I go to "open houses" on the week-end to have a laugh.There is a comedy show in this... Here, in the Palm Springs area, if it does not sale in 90 days they put the sign "sale pending" and relist it with a different agent name one month later, faulting the ghost buyer. The entire town belongs to the NAR,every home is owned by a broker. We have straw buyers, lots of 1031, real estate agents phishing in high end supermarkets, car wash, restaurants... Everyone here is a real estate agent. You have heard of the movie "body snatchers". Here it is the "home snatchers".The worst kind of slime....they are everywhere....Thank god for the internet and you bloggers! The Desert Sun insists there is nothing wrong with real estate and now is the time to buy before the interest rate gets higher....Keep talking!!!!!!Pass the popcorn...

Cuorips,

I think I've seen a few of those fake "sale pending signs", then "sold" , up for 2-3 months
total.

And then the same car shows up in the driveway again. Nice.

@Bap33:

Speaking of FDIC, I asked a knowledgeable reader whether my CD was really safe, and he said 5 things that sum it up:

Capital is protected but not interest or time.
It's the government. You have to file a claim and prove you are you.
They are still working at FEMA on Katrina claims.
You'll get your money but not soon
Get in line, fill out many forms.

Treasuries are sounding better all the time. Avoiding CA income tax is almost reason enough. But you have to have a brokerage account to buy a US Treasury, I think.

Patrick

I felt bad for those who had to make the Highway 99 commute every day. Even then it was bumper to bumber.

There are actually people who make the 131 mile commute from Merced to SF every day?

Brrrr.

Since our genuine, part-time East Bay buyer/looker Jimbo is throwing in the towel (for now) I will try to chime in with:

Anecdotes from the East Bay
Ran into some folks this weekend who moved from a tony area in the East Bay to the City (SF) and then, for personal reasons, decided to come back. They were in the process of selling their EB home when they made this decision, and tried to take it off the market so they could move back in. Tried, as in, they had a buyer who took this as an invitation to up their offer. They couldn't resist the increased counteroffer (how that for a negotiating tactic -- you want my home, you can't have it ... uhhhh... more cash... okay). At the same time, through other fortuitous circumstances, they got a lead on a rental, in a better part of town that was nicer than the home they just sold. So, of course, I had to ask (but really, did I need to) which was less expensive: the payments on their recently sold house or the new rental. He was sure to qualify his answer saying that even after considering the tax breaks of home ownership, their rental was the cheaper option (even though it was the better of the two homes).

On the other hand, the one open house I went to this weekend (across the street from an elementary school --ahh, the sweet sound of screaming children) was mobbed. We are prime I tell ya, prime!

"But you have to have a brokerage account to buy a US Treasury, I think."

I buy 90 day Treasuries through a bank. Rates are not that great right now, less than 5%. Bank charges $30 to do the transaction.

Paulson: Housing 'at or near bottom'
But Treasury secretary gives no timetable for recovery; says financial markets remain healthy despite subprime mortgage mess.
July 2 2007: 4:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday the U.S. housing market correction was "at or near the bottom," although it could be some time before an upturn.

"In terms of looking at housing, most of us believe that it's at or near the bottom," he told Reuters. "It's had a significant impact on the economy. No one is forecasting when, with any degree of clarity, that the upturn is going to come other than it's at or near the bottom."

My goodness, that's a relief! What with all the data posted here and elsewhere, I was starting to get the distinct impression we could be entering a housing secular bear market that could last years, if not decades. Thank God Hank Paulson's at the helm.

Worrying about the safety of FDIC should be the last thing on anyone's mind. You are about 12,000 times more likely to get killed in a car accident than you are to lose any money under the FDIC regime.

Seriously. It's really safe (from everything but inflation that is). That's the rub in Treasuries. They're even safer (though safer is an insignificant term at that point because you're talking about the different between the risk of the FDIC system defaulting versus the US Government imploding). But they're even less inflation reflective (assuming you buy at auction).

You could always buy TIPS if you want to go hyper diaper conservative. I'm happy just keeping my rotating sets-of-threes CDs for my cash holdings: rotating 6mo, 12mo & 15mo accounts, making sure there's not more than $100K in any account.

You can buy treasuries direct at

www.treasurydirect.gov

** Not investment advice **

Seriously folks, how many times are we going to worry about FDIC ? Being bearish should not equate to being a doom-gloom person.

One convenient way for buying treasuries, is to use a mutual fund. You have a much better control over the amounts that you want to put in, set up a monthly purchase plan etc. Vanguard has a decent selection of treasury related funds.

(I am not employed by Vanguard. I am just in love with many of their funds.)

Not an investment advice etc.

CNBC just reported - 26 year low in the USD today

StuckInBA: Like I said, man, for some reason it's a tin foil hat week. :o Put some gold in your Swiss bank account and start stockpiling food, fuel and ammo!

For anyone that follows the saga of any municipal government, there are always extremely passionate people with vastly different theories, all of whom are at least partially incorrect. And as soon as you enact any law, people will figure out how to scam it. That's just human nature--finding the most advantage within the framework of the law.

Right now in Fort Collins there is some development company holding a run-down mall near the center of town. Their buddies on the board commissioned a study so they could declare it a "blight zone" and redirect some tax money towards rehabilitation. Some of the infrastructure problems listed were things like potholes in the parking lot and faded parking paint. I'm pretty sure if they just put some money into the place, they could attract new tenants and make money... but why do that when your carefully cultivated political pals can get you money for free?

But when people complain that these sorts of things are a "conspiracy", I remind them that they can form a citizens group, lobby for a fair evaluation and generally educate the public. The things that happen thanks to apathy from the citizens are well deserved. At least the developers are out there working hard, educating the politicians and actively participating in our government...

Damn. Now I need a tin foil hat! :)

HeadSet Says:
“Would Paris Hilton become Section 8 if she was cut off from her family fortune?”
You may have to father a kid with her first. I’m not a authority, but all the Section 8 I know of invoved a single mother with kids(s).

Great. So all I have to do is:

1) get Paris Hilton cut off from her inheritance somehow
2) somehow get her to become a single mom, possibly with more than 1 kid

then we can try out the social experiment of seeing how far she gets on her own. Sounds like a plan to me. As long as she doesn't somehow find a way of turning it into a reality TV series and cashing in all over again...

Objectively the concept of Section 8 renters within gated community is hysterically funny. Talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences!!

(I'll admit I might think differently if I owned next door.)

I can post on the blog again. :twisted:

Maybe Bush will just personally pardon all the illegal immigrants to please big business. The only people that he wants punished nowadays seems to be hapless Democratic get-out-the-vote activists.

Hey, it worked for Silivio Berlesconi for long enough, and that (fascist motherf&cking) guy is still out and about. Hell, all we need is a big global depression and we're right back in the 1930s.

Somebody hand me a piece of aluminum foil.

Right on, Astrid. Hand me some foil, too. The 1930s may be coming back. That can only mean one thing: A new generation of baby boomers once the dust settles ;-). Everyone get ready. I can dig the idea of an illegal immigrant presidential pardon, too (for its ballsy creativity, not for the substance of it),

More seriously, the word "conspiracy" was introduced twice in this thread, both times by Brand, essentially in the context "stop invoking conspiracies".
Well, nobody was invoking them. People were just saying that the government is in bed with business, big and small, wasting tax funds in the process.

Sean,

>2) somehow get her to become a single mom, possibly with more than 1 kid

Maybe K-Fed can be pressed into service?

Brand,

Lots of activities relating to "blight" and "redevelopment" and "eminent domain" are just thinly veiled attempts at getting public entities to confiscate land and handing it over to some other private owner. It is almost funny how it is usually some rich developer that benefits, the kind of person that is adamant about typical "conservative values" suach as low taxes and (ahem) strong property rights.

justme,

Hehe. Bush wants the illegal immigrants in this country but does not want to give them full citizenship rights. So he can commute their sentence of deportation into a payable fine and limit their political rights (such as minimum wage or OSHA protection).

Imperial executive indeed!

illegal immigrant presidential pardon

I wouldn't put it past him. God help us (and by 'God', I don't mean St. Shrub, Jeebus's self-appointed representative here on earth).

astrid Says:
Somebody hand me a piece of aluminum foil.

I predict the next bubble will be in Aluminium and large companies in the tinfoil-industrial complex will be referred to as Big-Al (tm)
:-)
SP

But seriously, if you really want a conspiracy, there is a real one going on right now - big banks are effectively colluding to keep CDO's from getting properly valued at a fraction of par. And they aren't even being particularly discreet about it. And the ratings agencies are playing along for the time-being, so they can do damage control on their own reputations.

The thing I haven't quite figured out is - now that the cat's not only out of the bag but has also dragged in a couple of dead birds into the parlor, who are they going to unload this on? The glib answer is 'pension funds', but why on earth would a pension fund manager not ask for a steep discount as well?

SP

By the way, I heard someone talking about 'The Borat Funds', with reference to Bear-Stearns' High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund and High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund.

I recall a few days ago, someone on this forum had also called them High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage For Make Benefit of Kazakhstan Fund. Looks like that meme is going places.

SP

Looks like that meme is going places.
I still find the
tramp stamp comment from Pimco's Bill Gross extremely coincidental, given that it was a "thread diversion" a couple of weeks ago.

I forgot to put this in my Anecdotes from the East Bay entry. Some folks I know in El Cerrito (bought around 2005) recently had their property taxes reassessed downward.

I still find the tramp stamp comment from Pimco’s Bill Gross extremely coincidental, given that it was a “thread diversion” a couple of weeks ago.

I thought the same thing! Not to give ourselves too much credit, but it's obvious that the analysts at various institutions are monitoring blogs like this one for the "word on the street."

"Bush wants the illegal immigrants in this country but does not want to give them full citizenship rights. So he can commute their sentence of deportation into a payable fine and limit their political rights (such as minimum wage or OSHA protection)."

Interesting concept. I'll send it over to the guys at National Review to chew over.

Weird. My very own meme.

Speaking of the Kazakhstan fund, the Uzbeki fund went back stateside a couple of days after I dined with him, so rumours of his flight from justice, debts and his partner were greatly exaggerated...

More seriously, the word “conspiracy” was introduced twice in this thread, both times by Brand, essentially in the context “stop invoking conspiracies”.

hmm, he also invokes straw men and tells me to "stop invoking straw men" a lot too... and, more mysteriously, I can't recall ever constructing any!

Different Sean Says:
I can’t recall ever constructing any [strawman arguments]!

It is difficult to make a man recall something when his argument depends on him not recalling it. :-)

SP