patrick.net

I even just sent in for one of those $40 coupons good for a basic ATSC tuner, even though both my sets have one. www.dtv2009.gov I'll plug it into my spare-parts stereo in the garage for when I'm working on the car. Is this an abuse of the system? These coupons, like Prop 13, were billed as being "so poor granny's TV won't stop working next year".

Maybe I shouldn't mention that my federal income tax for 2007 got beaten down to around $750 total. :) With the GWB "stimulus" rebate, that should get down to around $150 net.

Sometimes I just feel guilty gaming the system.

I will set myself on fire and burn to death outside the white house/NAR/other government building.

A bunch of Buddist monks in Vietnam tried this, and see what it got them.

Sometimes I just feel guilty gaming the system.

Huh?

@Randy

Which is worse about me?

#2 for sure. Small dogs who hate cats are much better.

Dennis has followed my 'boomer retirement plan' exactly.

Who can blame them? (Dennis how much pot did you smoke while dogding draft? hehe)

Lots of doom and gloom posts today. I do not think the nation will collapse, just a reset in material standard of living. Not of the Mad Max variety, but more like the 1950s-1960s lifestyles of one car per family, smaller houses, shared rides to work, home economics like meatloaf, etc.

When Hurricane Isabel passed by here, it knocked out power for over a week. Nobody had A/C, cable, or nintendo. The result was kids went outside to ride bikes and play ball. Adults went out on the porches (too hot indoors) and actually got to know the neighbors. We shared cooking on gas grills, and one guy with a generator kept food frozen until needed. People took walks and got up and went to bed earlier. After the power came back, people went back inside and resumed their previous lifestyles with TV, A/C, lights, and kids on video games.

Maybe the "recession" will have the same effect as Isabel. People may stop spending all their time chasing material toys and put more emphasis on other aspects of life.

@DennisN,

Since you're a regular member of this blog and have common sense, you qualify for Un-Boomer(tm) status.

Headset,

Nothing like a good old "typhoon party" now is there? I happen to think it will be more like the 70's (only without all that funky music) You'll see more people that have "living arrangements" and we'll all wonder why a single gal "needed" a 3,000 sq. ft. home in the 1st place?

For the most part, this "recession" we've all been dreading/fearing will be more about jettisoning a bunch of cr@p we didn't need to begin with like a "special" pre-school for the twins and elective surgery. Some recession.

The anti boomer rantes go too far. I seem to remember the boomers said 'dont trust anyone over 30' now the next generation bashes them. Pretty normal.

IN OTHER NEWS los angeles is crashing crastacularly.

SF Valley (porn captal of the world) down 24% in 7 months.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/02/valley-meltdown.html?ref=patrick.net

LA times blog is totally bearish on RE. lovely to read.

Right when HARM moves to bay area, LA crashes. He is probably bringing it with him -its probably infectious that way -.

Headset,

Nice post, and I agree mostly. But different communities will cope differently. There are some places where neighborhoods in stress might not be so Norman Rockwell, Watts for instance.

The a big difference in scenario of course is the temporary aspect of Isabel rolling through. Would your neighbors be so neighborly if their food was running out and jobs are no longer available?

Camping would be fun and novel for awhile, but eventually thoughts would turn to throwing the local cat owning attorneys on the Barbie. As tinfoil as it sounds, I seriously think things will degenerate to the point where it will be more dangerous to walk the streets after dark.

DinOr,

As usual, you take my point and express it much more clearly.

Speaking of the 70's , be honest. Didn't you wear "feely shirt" polyester in 1979? And have fun with partner dances like the "Hustle"? What about that disco cassette you played in your Sparkomatic in the dash of your 1981 Turbo Trans Am (worlds only production turbocharged V-8)? Or had you gone Urban Cowboy by then?

Actually HK I didn't pass your retirement plan closely at all. My family was in northern CA since the mid-1800's so I didn't just move there in the 60's. I was too young to be drafted for the Vietnam War, turning 18 in 1971. But I never had a college deferment: I was in the first draft lottery and they simply didn't take me. No pot in college: I ran the UCSC students for Dick Nixon in 1972 (a thankless job if there ever was one).

Randy H Says:

> I’ll answer with my own poll: Which is worse about me?

> 1) I’m a boomer despising Xer.

I’m technically a Boomer (’63), but I’ve always hated Boomers and most of my friends are Xers.

> 2) I’m a tech & finance entrepreneur.

I’m a real estate & finance entrepreneur.

> 3) I live with a large dog who hates cats (actually he
> passed recently).

My fiancé has a large dog that likes me (and riding in the 996 with the top down).

> 4) I like to start fights with people on Patrick.net.

I like to end fights on Patrick.net (so people don’t leave)…

> 5) I want Prop 13 repealed, no exceptions. One reason
> is because I believe it will unburden high net worth
> personal state income taxation and corporate state taxation.

I don’t “want” Prop 13 repealed, but I think it is unfair and “should” be repealed just like I don’t “want” the smoking ban in bars repealed even thought I think it is wrong to tell a man how to run his business and “should” be repealed.

> 6) I think boomers should be afforded nationalized,
> free healthcare. The hitch is it must all be purely
> naturopathic from locally grown herbs. The evils of
> antibiotics, antivirals, vaccinations, splints and casts,
> aspirin, and back pain cremes will be reserved for my
> son’s generation.

I don’t think that the government has the right to take our money for anything other than running our courts and protecting the general population (for all threats foreign and domestic). Since I know that most people don’t agree with me (especially greedy boomers) I do my best to give the government as little as possible each year…

I don’t think that the government has the right to take our money for anything other than running our courts and protecting the general population (for all threats foreign and domestic).

I absolutely agree!

People who disagree with you because they hope "progressive" taxation will stick the bill to someone else.

DennisN Says:

> No pot in college: I ran the UCSC students for Dick
> Nixon in 1972 (a thankless job if there ever was one).

In all my years in Northern California I have never met (or even heard of) a UCSC student that was a non pot smoker or Republican. At Cal in the early 80’s there were just a handful of non pot smoking or Republicans (most of the super smart non pot smoking Asians had no interest in politics and most of the conservative fraternity and sorority girls smoked at least a little pot)…

The Treasury Secretary appears to be throwing his weight in a sound direction, quoted from a speech in Chicago yesterday.

Plans for sweeping federal programs that would aid troubled mortgage borrowers would bring unfair relief to speculators and reward investors who made bad bets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday.

Problem is, what power does the Treasury Secretary have over legislation? "Thanks for your testimoney, Mr Paulson, the committee will take it under consideration."

Dick Nixon must have been a disappointment. He failed to cut tax and he imposed wage and price control. These are unforgivable sins.

NVR,

Good point, and more importantly, HP is no Robert Rubin! (But his kind words are appreciated)

When the call comes at 3 a.m. in the White House, who do you want answering the phone?

A war hero?

"Or had you gone Urban Cowboy by then?" LOL!

No actually I was able to get thru the 70's even though I was "deprived" of all those things. I just get worn thin when I hear about "bracing yourself" for the 'mother of all recessions'. Especially forecasts from analysts that were basically on board w/ David Lereah until the end of '05?

FAB,
There were two of us in the UCSC class of 1975. The other is Victor Davis Hanson, a history/classics prof. who is one of the editors of National Review.

Peter P,
Yes Nixon was a disappointment, but the better alternative in 1972. My liberal friends always get uptight when I remind them that "Nixon was the last truely liberal president".

Randy and Dennis, that's hilarious.

Randy's poll would have to be on a descending scale, since hating boomers, starting fights on Patrick.net and liking dogs to me are positives.

Dennis, I admire anyone who takes a risk and hangs it out like you did. You strike me as being like Alex P Keaton's dad on Family Ties. Just a gentle easygoing guy. You've got a 'boomer pass' in my book and being here makes you a counterboomer which is just my term for an unboomer. Your love of cats, that's a different story.

Your love of cats, that’s a different story.

Are we going to start a dogs v. cats fight?

I find cats more libertarian.

No, I'd never do that. I'll just look the other way on that issue. Denial works for some things.

Stop tempting me.

Randy H says :

I am happy to see that the level of discourse seems to have returned to one of reasonable civility around here. All the klan this and aryan nation that was a bit too much to take.

Me 2. Last few discussions had some very interesting posts - to the level what Patrick.net generally means to me.

And BTW, I was dreaming about 25% minimum down payment. Every passing day gets me near that. Wells Fargo has officially taken the first step. It's just a matter of time before others follow the suit.

We will soon see how rich the BA is. Yeah, we will see how many buyers are sitting on the fence with 250K cash in their pocket willing to throw it at a fast depreciating asset.

FAB,
Check out this UCSC alumni: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Davis_Hanson

StuckInBA,

Well I guess we shall see what we shall see... hmm?

Yeah when you talk to MB's they are so conditioned by their former (and broken) sales model they now refer only to the Loan-to-Value. "Yeah, I can do that all the way up to 95% LTV!"

(It sounds SO much better than, "You'll have to bring a down payment")

They just can't bring themselves to say, the other "D" word.

I was dreaming about 25% minimum down payment.

Hopefully with that, 20 year max mortages. Even better if the attitude toward a 30 year mortage changes to considering a 30 year note no different than a long term, triple net lease.

Oh man, this is what I have to face. Here we are talking about boomers and what comes in the mail? - the "Meals on Wheels" donation card. Try as I may, I just can't throw those things away. It kills me to write the check knowing that the old cunt that cussed me out in the bank line last week is probably on the meal list. Oh well, just be grateful for what you have and try to share, I tell myself.

The worst is when I have to hear them say how ungratefull, and how this and that "the young people" are.

ungrateful

Oh crap, take a look at the DOW.

Oh crap, take a look at the DOW.

Gold is up just slightly though.

I would perceive the DOW falling as deflationary but what do I know?

Why stop with housing, soon to be announced, the stock market bailout. Oh wait, the housing bailout is just a masked Wall Street bankers' bailout. Forget I said it.

I can accept bailing out bankers and bankers only.

Quick, run up your credit cards so you can benefit from the expanding bailout trend.

Oh crap, take a look at the DOW.

We have seen this before. Bad news came in from AIG and UBS so the market tanked. Within a day or two, good news will come in from another source and we'll see a rally.

It is rarely about the news. It is mostly about the perception of a news. It is all psychology and emotion.