Root Cause

We hear a lot of discussion on the “Root Cause” of the current financial crisis. The common conclusion is that a large number of home foreclosures, funded primarily by sub-prime loans, caused a massive collapse of our banking and lending systems. People were buying houses they could not afford, but were coerced into high mortgages by low ‘teaser’ rates that were set to increase at a later date. Everyone involved knew the loans could not be repaid. The banks were counting on it. With home values increasing in leaps and bounds it didn’t matter. Once the period of the teaser rates was over, the value of the home would have increased substantially, allowing the owner to turn it over, pay off any bank fees, and still pocket a profit. Win-Win.

But the fact that buyers were purchasing homes they could not afford was not the real problem. Well, let me put it in a different way. The homes they were buying were drastically overpriced. THIS is the problem. While wages for the middle class have remained stagnant over the past 8 years, prices have been steadily increasing. But how is that possible? It undermines the basic concept of money and the financial system. In order for things to cost more, someone out there must be getting paid more. It wasn't me, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't you.

See, rather than pay the middle-class workers more of the company profits, the elites were pocketing the cash themselves, then investing that money into financials (and other markets) and lending it back to the middle-class so they could live with the standard of living they work for. Not only were the elites hauling in extra cash by failing to lift wages for workers, they were earning interest on the that money by lending it to the workers rather than actually paying them! And the middle-class bit. And here we are.

Oh, and it's a lot worse than you may think. See, you paid $300k for a house that was really only worth $150k. Someone at the top walked away with that extra $150k. That money did not dissappear. Now the foreclosed mortgages are causing the banks to take on massive losses, which are in turn being 'relieved' by the government. But the government is also broke. They get thier money by taxing the middle-class. So, not only are you out $150k on your house, but now, in addition to it, you're about to be forced to pay extra taxes to pay off the financial bailout of the very people who overcharged for your house in the first place.

Ron Paul

This is why I was for Ron Paul.

Stabilize The Housing Market? - Schmuck!

Well, I'll refrain from calling McCain a fool directly, but it's either him or me! (Ya, I know what you're thinking - but if you have an opinion, back it up). One of his main points for shoring up the economy is to help homeowners & get housing prices rising once again. But how does this help the average Joe? IT DOESN'T! What could be the possible motive for wanting to make a select few housing contractors & owners of large ammounts of 'hand-me-down' land super-rich by over-charging the general public for houses. Oh, and lets not forget the banks who are hauling in cash for the mortgages.

Isn't the average guy better off with housing provided at rates near cost (adding reasonable ammounts for construction labor & supervision)? How can the public want oil prices to drop, but want housing prices to rise? OK, so I know the answer, but it's flawed. You want housing prices to rise because you own a house! - Just like the Saudi Royal Family likes high oil prices!

But... The Saudis get to SELL the oil & BUY OTHER goods with the profit. You don't have that opportunity with your house. If you sell at an inflated price, you'll be stuck buying another at an equally inflated price. You are NOT richer! You might think you are (and perhaps McCain knows this), but you are NOT!

Lower, more affordable prices are better. Houses are no different. Vote Obama.

Putting It Into Perspective

$700 Billion = $12,000 per American family of five
-Economic turmoil began as a result of the subprime housing crisis.
-Early 2008 forclosure rate: 0.83%
-Delinquancy rate: 5.82%
-Median American home price before market crash: $230,000
-Home Ownership rate currently ~70%

With a little simple math:

Now, I'll be extreemely generous here and assume prior to this economic crisis, delinquancy was 0.0%, and that all delinquant loans would NOW be forclosed on. This would mean 1 out of every 17 homes in the country would be siezed by the Bank. BUT, if the government decided to help the individual home-owners who needed it by allocating a portion of the $700Billion directly to them, they would give each delinquant family of five $290,000, which is $60,000 ABOVE the average home value! But what are the chances they're gonna attempt to help Main Street?

Americans have absolutely NO IDEA how badly they are getting screwed!

Counterfeit

It finally happened. I've seen hundreds of people discussing the current economic turmoil, but I finally saw one I agree with. His view is that we've borrowed and spent ourselves into debt. The market NEEDS to crash, because it is overpriced. Government intervention can only worsen the problem, because you can't solve an economic crisis with a printing press. People are so far removed from the basics of the economy that they can no longer understand the fundamentals of the dollar.

We live in a world where people truly believe they can work (and earn money) from home. News Flash: You can NOT! -well, the vast majority of you- I'm not saying you won't recieve a check, I'm saying you won't earn money. If you cannot see the difference between the two, then you are the cause of our problem.

The government is going to bail out Wall Street with a $700 billion package. But it is impossible for this to fundamentally solve the problem. There's a reason why I'm not allowed to photocopy money and spend it. The same fundamental behind that truth is the fundamental that will lead to the collapse of the American economy.

Accountability

First view this again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQK1al91drs

You know, there are several top executives likely heading to jail for a very long time for supposedly misleading investors in the recent Mortgage Meltdown. They are being held accountable for misleading the public. But then we have these clowns in the video (amoungst many others), who are obviously misleading the public on a Pesidential Election! And this is commonplace now. WTF?! I WANT THESE GUYS IN JAIL! They are influencing the masses of the morons, just like the mortgage firms did. Only its far more blatent. And in the end, not only will I get stuck with a house that's lost half it's value, but I'll have an incompetant President as well. I repeat, I WANT THESE GUYS IN JAIL, or as least send them to Iran where they'd cut out thier tongues for speaking such garbage.

Conservatives

I'm really begining to resent Conservatives. Why? Because I am the REAL Conservative. The people running under the 'conservative' name do it just to get my vote, not because they are actually of my standpoint on the issues. Palin is big with Conservatives. I won't even get into the earmarking (which is extreemely troubling). She gave Alaskans a $1200 tax rebate last year. She flaunts this fact. But for every federal tax dollar her state collected, she swindled back TWO! Where did that $ come from? ME...YOU... And somehow Conservatives seem to love this girl? Gimme a break. Once again, before you vote, THINK!

The State of the West.

This post will likely turn into another mangled blob of words. I apologize. I must say I am DEEPLY disturbed by Palin's statement that US troops are on a 'mission from God'. Last time I checked, that's kinda what Bin Laden is claiming. I just finished watching a video of (allegedly 90) Afgan civilians lying in pools of blood after one of our attacks. The US military reported 5-9 injured. I won't condemn the troops involved... I'm sure they were provoked & followed thier judgment.

The thing weighing on my mind is this: We live in a world where a presidential contender can NOT say he wants to end the war in Iraq without adding immediately after 'and bring the troops to Afganistan'. No one can say he wants to end the killing. We'll just re-direct the forces and kill a different group... Don't wanna look weak... Seriously, I cannot understand this thought process. I know I'm on the opposite side of many others on this issue, so please explain this to me...

Universal Greed

How is it that, while the middle class in America is (collectively) the most powerful voice in the country, they still tend to get the raw deal in nearly every situation? While I'll claim to know the answer, the situation still boggles my mind. The Middle Class is GREEDY! Follow the guy who says he's gonna give you something. It doesn't even matter if you know he has nothing to give... Follow him anyway.

Of course in the end you get nothing besides the leadership of a liar, who will use his power to help his powerful friends and whatever other powers helped to persuade you to give your support. It's sooooo surprising when the systems they implement go bottoms-up.

The purpose of government has been greatly compromised. Government exists ONLY to ensure an environment exists that allows its citizens to live up to thier full potential. It's not there to do something for you... It's there to tell you that you can do it for yourself. Or at least that's what its supposed to do...

I Can Lead A Nation With A Microphone

O, the talking... But not the truth. The tax burden on the Middle Class. Obama wants to decrease this, and raise the burden on the 'rich'. And a lot of these rich guys don't seem to like it! I've seen MANY of them bickering on the news about how Obama is gonna 'raise taxes'. Now since we know the real plan is to LOWER tax on families making under 250k/yr, I'll face the arguments that may SEEM to make a little more sense.

Really the only comeback the Republicans can make is: It would be catastrophic to take extra $ from investors & businesses in this economic downturn. Hmmm, yes, I'll admit this sounds somewhat compelling. But wait a second... I can remember a time when the Bush administration provided an economic stimulus package. Now, to hold consistant on the Republican position, that 90 billion dollar stimulus package should have gone into the hands of the rich investors and business executives. But it didn't! No, to stimulate the economy, they sent tax rebates to the middle class. So I only ask one thing of anyone believing what they hear from that side... THINK before you vote.

Bring Back The Music With Meaning...

Waiting on the next Rage Against The Machine.

Thanks for The Advice.....Dusch-bag!!!

We're all up in arms over the rising fuel prices (yes, me too). The question is, what should we do about it (I'll save MY thoughts as they may be too logical for the vast majority and I kinda wanna fit in). I see people on the news EVERY DAY. "the Oil Companies should do this....that....this...." One commercial drew my attention. It's for Brittish Petroleum (BP). In it, there's regular folks explaining how the oil companies have to move into alternatives etc, etc, to get the prices down. After this, it shows the investments BP is making in alternative fuels. Nice touch!

Now, do you really think explaining to the oil companies is going to work? There's a reason those guys are bringing home 50 million a year as compared with your 50 thousand. They're not stupid! Just picture someone explaining to YOU how to decrease your Net Worth! Even the dumbest among us wouldn't go for that. "Thanks, but no thanks." Think people... Or at least shut up!

FL & MI

Yet another thing that blows my mind... With all the reporting that's going into this story, and I just want to know who the people are that made the decision to hold thier primaries before they were allowed. If these people have not been forced into retirement it's an abomination of the democratic party considering one of thier main beefs with the Bush administration is the lack of 'accountability'.

This whole thing is a joke. If you ask me, the dufuses who made the decision should be fined enough money to pay for another state primary. If I can get fined for going 50 in a 40 zone these people should definately have to pay for wrecking a national election.

So when it comes down to it, we do have a choice. 4 more years of Bush, or 4 years of a new incompetant party.

For those of you out there who want change, just go out & buy a new shirt.

Think For Yourself (Or At Least Let Someone Intelligent Do It For You)

OK, it's taken a while to find another thing that bugs me, but I finally did it (and yes, it involves politics). It's commonly accepted that the economy is issue #1 in the upcoming U.S. election. Of course if you ask me it should always be issue #1, but most people don't mind being blissfully ignorant until oil hits 100 bucks a barrel.

So here's MY issue. We know the economy is #1. Hillary & Obama are pretty much neck & neck in the race (although Obama is looking to clinch the nomination). But, Hillary Clinton's campaign is $20M in debt! And she keeps lending money TO HERSELF! And she's performing solidly in the national polls? WHAT? The economy is issue #1, and we have a finalist (who is still performing very well) that can't even run a campaign without going into serious debt? And she's supposedly doing extreemly well with voters who say the economy is the biggest issue.

I'm no genius, but I'd think twice before I took financial advice from someone up to thier neck in credit card debt, so I sure as hell wouldn't want them running the country.....

"Pregnant Man Speaks Out"

Ok, I'll make this short. This has been all over the news for two weeks now. A dude. A PREGNANT dude! I'll admit I was a little curious, but never read up on it, or looked into it until I saw it coming up on Oprah (ya, I know...). So I turn the channel to see whats the fuss.

Sure enough, out he strolls. A dude. A PREGNANT dude! And two minutes later comes the kicker... HE was born a SHE! Needless to say, this sucker turned the channel out of disgust. And not because of the sex-change deal, but because it's NOT a big story. It's NOT a pregnant man, it's a pregnant woman. Big deal...

**Trying Hard Not To Laugh**

I really shouldn't find this funny, since it pains me as much as it pains everyone else. But here goes... The price of wheat has increased nearly 2.5x over the past 12 months. Why? Interesting question. It seems farmers are growing more corn these days. This is due to the rising demand of alternate fuels, namely Ethanol. Ethanol is viewed by some as a godsend. It's better for the environment (and it USED to be cheaper than gas).

It didn't take me long to find out that, as I had expected, Ethanol actually leaves a LARGER carbon footprint than gasoline. One of the largest carbon emissions in the world is due to deforestation. And yes, to grow more crops we'll need to cut down more trees. Obviously the rainforest is the first to go.

My main sense of joy comes from the ironic fact that the environmentalists against these big oil companies are completely misled. We need energy, that will never change. Isn't it better to get it from beneath the earth's surface, where you can gain access to a 10,000 acre field that's several meters thick just by drilling a 9-inch hole, rather than cutting down 10,000 acres of trees and planting on it for the next 100 years?

In the meantime, I'm stuck paying three bucks for a loaf of bread. Thanks guys, you're really helping the situation.

Reviving the U.S. Economy

Yup, it's a big focal point of the government. They're working on it... HARD! Once again I must admit not to be an expert on the matter (I have to do this a lot), but, much like other issues I tend to think this works to my advantage. Since I'm not just looking at the advanced figures, I can look at the bottom line and notice you've put a '+' where you should have a '*'... an 'A' where you should have a 'G'.

So the FED cuts interest rates... Fantastic! Now I can afford that mortgage! Prices drop... I'm saving more money to either bank or buy more things! Call me stupid, but I fail to see how this will effect the economy. Yes, we're buying more stuff...cash is changing hands...I see the obvious things just like you do. However, while you go along with what the government may be telling you, I'm saying... Wait, we forgot about the REAL bottom line. The bottom line is NOT consumer confidence amoung the American people... It's not going out and buying things like they're all telling you to do... It's PRODUCING the things for people to buy!

We just have a glorified trade network people... If you're not skinning a deer you're not gonna have anything to trade for that sack of potatoes. The more skins you can WORK to get, the more potatoes you can trade them for.

Now we're all swiping our credit cards... the bank is giving us the skins to trade for the potatoes, but they're gonna make us give them two skins back next week before they call it even. The sad thing is that the government is doing the same thing, with the largest deficit of all time... This is the example they're setting for us... I certainly won't take THIER advice on what to do with my money.

The bottom line is that we've gone from a nation that works today for what we can buy tomorrow to a nation who buys today what we'll have to work off tomorrow. And we've reached beyond what we're able to work off. Brace yourself, because the bank is finding out they're never gonna get those skins back from you... they handed out too many, and now someone's gotta burn! My only advice is to ignore the world falling down around you... Go out and get that deer. Get two. I don't care how long it takes or how hard you have to work to do it. Get out there and MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Consistancy

To illustrate my point I'll use an example. Not too long ago, on Megan's blog, a lady spoke up against Huckabee due to his early release of a prisoner, who then went on to rape & murder. OK, so this guy was given another chance (and I'm not implying whether or not he may have deserved it). He screwed it up. I'm sure he'll never get another chance like that again... That would be stupid, right???

I just read a headline "Bush insists Iran biggest terror sponsor". Now I'm not sure who's the 'biggest' sponsor, and I'm not sure about America's trade relationship with Iran. Either way Iran is only one of many sponsors of terror, many or which are funded by US. We give them $, they buy weapons to kill us. We give them another chance, they do the same thing... Time&time again. Isn't that pretty STUPID or am I not seeing something here?