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The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Well said.
In the world of unintended consequences, good intentions are not enough for the "greater good."
Anybody catch the PBS Newshour story on inflation in the US?
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june08/dollarsworth_03-04.html
It was a eye-opener on many levels -- I mean, did you know that there are still companies making jeans in Amerika? They would be doing even better in the export market except for the fact that they also get hit by inflation as they source all their raw materials (cloth, zippers, etc) from outside the US. But still, who would have guessed?!
They also noted that container ships going back to Asia are now fuller than in the past. Apparently the export market for used paper is booming -- and US recycled paper is so much cheaper than that from European and other markets. I know, everyone let out a collective sigh... our economy is being propped up by those blue recycling bins in your office. Everybody do your part and print out this blog so that you can read it offline.
DWARD LEAMER, Director, UCLA Anderson Forecast: We're living beyond our means. We've got to tighten the belt. That means less spending on foreign products, fewer imports. And we're experiencing that in the last year, as a matter of fact. We're not as wealthy as we thought we were, which requires some significant belt-tightening and some planning about our futures.
PAUL SOLMAN: That's what the weak dollar is, says Leamer, the embodiment of a new, lower U.S. standard of living, at least for the time being, while the rest of the world splurges for a change.
Even more scary news:
www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html
MSG may not be the bogeyman we thought, but food labeling laws certainly dance around it. Apparently "hydrolyzed soy protein" is roughly the same as MSG so people use it to circumvent sauce label disclosure. My bottle of Otafuku "Yakisoba" sauce says in a red box on the front "No added MSG" but the ingredients on the back includes hydrolyzed soy protein.
Does it mean no iPods?
No, only 3 iPods per person. So chances are your iPod will not match your purse color. So you will buy less purses. That means less revenue for purse industry and the cascading effect will slow down the economy.
"Spices and Herbs" on the label of your salad dressing bottle usually means: preservatives.
That's why I make my own salad dressing.
I am not a big fan of salads, except warm seafood salad or anything with beets in it.
I hate lettuce, especially raw. I love cooked escarole.
"your iPod will not match your purse" LOL!
Wouldn't it be neat-o to find that all of the ill-gotten/fraudulent gains from the housing boom were all locked away in a huge vault somewhere and all we had to do to make everything whole again was to dig it up and give it back to it's rightful owners?
The vault (unlike noted treasures of the past) would simply be marked "Stuff" on the entry's massive doors.
As in "what did you buy with all the equity you took out of your home? Oh... "stuff".
When our intrepid explorers unveil it the "aroma" of a MILLION lap dances will swarm over you like a warm breeze! 10 million chrome Fatboy Harleys. A billion linear feet of hardwood flooring only surpassed by a Trillion un-scratched lotto tickets! All in mint condition.
All is well.
RE: salad dressing
How about citrus olive oil emulsion with clam juice?
How about a Sales Tax on used Harleys? Just coordinate with all 50 DMV's and every time a 2001 or newer Harley changes ownership, HALF of the proceeds go to the Housing Boom Bail-Out SuperFund!?
Monitor C/L and Ebay for MEW toys and collect up front. Sorry, homedebtors have abused the honor system so now we need to see cash on the barrel head.
Without securitization, could loan standards have gone to hell?
That's a great question to which I don't have an answer. But maybe if the regulators actually paid attention, loan practices might have remained sane, securitization or not. Of course if we accept that sec. *was* the cause, then it would've led to this disaster sooner or later. Instead of doing so via housing market it may have done so via who knows which market. I would argue however that if I could pick my personal "this is the worse way to blow up the world's financial system", doing so via sec. of recklessly made mortgages would be my pick. I think.
But maybe if the regulators actually paid attention, loan practices might have remained sane, securitization or not.
This is why regulations are best left to Free Market.
10 million chrome Fatboy Harleys. A billion linear feet of hardwood flooring only surpassed by a Trillion un-scratched lotto tickets! All in mint condition.
hey you forgot the granite countertops! and the stainless stell appliances!
DinOR :
Since they are making the Indiana Jones movies again, you can submit the idea for the next movie. I might call it "Indiana Jones and the National Treasure". It would have been appropriate but it would be an insult to Indiana Jones movies.
This is why regulations are best left to Free Market.
I would rather trust a firing squad for those in the C-suite or on the board, who should've known better but opted to continue to "dance". Is that too Chinese? :-)
Free Market “fails†because we fail it by installing moral hazards.
You might as well say that it fails because we live in the real world. I mean, has there ever been a free market in the sense that you mean it? It's a bit like saying "let's fight crime not by incarcerating criminals, but by allowing individual self-defense and waiting for everyone to become 'enlightened'"
by allowing individual self-defense
I don't know. Places with high crime rates tend to have a "special" interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.
O.k?
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of... Stuff"
"National Embarrassment"
"Indiana Jones and the Last MEW-sade"
?
Well that may be changing depending on the holding in the DC v. Heller case.....
Hey my brother actually paid cash for his Fatboy Harley. He's a naer-do-well pauper by choice (career in print journalism) who got his part of my dad's estate and has been going around blowing it on toys. Since he's 60 years old and has no other financial reserves, I view this as the height of irresponsibility.
He told me he bought a new Fatboy off the dealer's floor since it was an "investment, that never goes down in value". Since when does Lawrence Yun work for HD?
So a Fatboy is the wheeled equivalent of pergraniteel?
DennisN,
I would have had more respect for your brother had he taken out a car loan on his Harley.
Well, DC v. Heller is going to be the one of the most interesting cases this year.
The oral arguments in Heller are scheduled for 10 AM on March 18th, and the USSC has announced they'll post the audio later in the day. See www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/availabilityoforalargumenttranscripts.pdf for how to access audio and transcripts.
I was surprised (but not shocked) that the NRA was against the suit initially.
Actually, shouldn't it be "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost ARM"? ;)
The NRA has always been scared of a direct USSC holding on the 2nd Amd., since it's possible that the USSC will get it wrong.
But Heller is the perfect case. No 14th Amd. "incorporation" issues to cloud it. Does anyone know what Mr. Heller's day job is? He's the perfect person to bring suit.
DennisN,
Actually I think Yun stole that from Harley! I'm really looking forward to those falling into to disrepair as the 70's Revisited marches on. Unfortunately this summer will probably be the zenith where MEW, debt and the ability to still ride, intersect.
I'm willing to bet Summer '09 is a lot quieter. On the lake too.
There is a house on my parents street with TWIN H2's. I hope they work locally. 10 mpg is killer.
And the home is all remodeled in and out - they used that fake stone siding (colored molded cement) that is glued to the stucco in little stacks which falls off after a few years because they use no mortar in the joints. I now hate this look after EVERY SINGLE strip mall remodeled with it during the horrifying bubble years. The skateboard kids can kick it off easily, not gonna last long in Los Angeles.
I think I prefer natural wood siding like classic tahoe 70's cabins. nice.
To be honest, none of them is as rich as Buffet if all of them try to unload their shares within a short period of time.
Buffet's portfolio is far more diversified, and therefore much more liquid. He can unload and cash in with so much more ease than those whose entire fortune is based on one single stock. What do you think MSFT stock price will be if news leaks out that Gates is going to sell 1/3 of his remaining stake? It doesn't even take Gates' 1/3 stake to rock the stock market, just try Ballmer selling half of his remaining stake.
In that sense, Buffet is by far the richest person on earth.
I've heard it said that being cheap is the new black.
I'm setting up an informal grocery buying co-op with my neighbors since there's still savings to be had. The local Cash and Carry store (same as Smart and Final in CA) had really nice medium size onions in the 50 lb sack for $3.95. I split one with my neighbors. They also had real sesame oil (not sesame-flavored oil) in a gallon jug for $14.19. I cleaned out some wine bottles and shared this out too. Generally tiny bottles of sesame oil go for around $5 in grocery stores.
How about this? Warren Buffett beat out Bill Gates!
Sure, I love Warren Buffett.
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The biggest default in history has already happened: the US has devalued its promises of repayment to everyone who bought US Treasuries or US bonds of any kind, by devaluing the dollar 50% in just a few years.
What does this mean for the US? Higher interest rates. I don't understand why any person or any government would trust the dollar after this. The logical course of action would be to demand much higher interest rates to compensate for the risk of holding what is rapidly turning out to be only so much green toilet paper.
The thing I don't get is the huge gap between the interest rate the Fed sets for interbank lending (which seems to limit what Americans can get on their CD's and savings) and the very high rates we now see for municipal bond lending (sometimes as high as 20%). Something just doesn't make sense.