HULK SMASH
It's only money.
-
Double down?
Bah!
I'm in.
Herbert Hoover
Recalling the late seventies as I do, I have to wonder: where did the inflation go this time?
-
The good news...
MSNBC: Existing-home sales rise by 2.9 percent, first increase after six straight declines.
if Robert Rubin can't fix this mess he made, well...
That's like asking Madeline Albright to investigate war crimes committed by the US in foreign lands.
Nobody could have foreseen that Hammerin' Hank Paulson's "the shareholders only got $2" talking point would be dead within a week.
top AAA ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service.
Yeah, they've been doing a Cracker Jack job lately.
I don't wanna lose my houseeeee!!!!!!
gotta keep my jobbbbbbb!!!!!
Which I'm not really doing nowwwwwww!!!!
Citigroup is getting some help from the Fed here? Well thank jeebus for that.
Looks like that $150 million that Citigroup has given to Robert Rubin in the last 7 years, has been money well spent. He's an actual genius.
Free markets!
rapture economics
IF Obama had any sense, he'd hire a certain Dunchan Black to be his economic advisor.
Otherwise I'm voting for McCain.
Where is all this bailout money coming from? The same imaginary pot of gold that the Iraqi war financing is coming from?
In that case, won't it only fuel inflation?
Libera Anglia Nova!
We don't need the rest of the countries problems. We have enough of our own.
IF Obama had any sense, he'd hire a certain Dunchan Black to be his economic advisor.
This would not sit well with the pro-Irvine or the pro-garage door crowd.
Where is all this bailout money coming from? The same imaginary pot of gold that the Iraqi war financing is coming from?
I've often wondered that myself. Funny how it magically appears when the rich guys need bailing out. Katrina victims - not so much.
Had to shorten my handle or the joke would be lost. 
Morning, Moonbats! It's still cold here in the nation's capital.
Nothing like bailing out speculators.
That makes me feel a lot better if Herbert Hoover did it. He was a Republican and they are good for the economy.
It's only money.
It's water proof!
It isn't.
It's water resistant!
it isn't.
It's WATER ABSORBANT!!! SUPER ABSORBANT MONEY! AWAY WITH FLOODS!
you just said it was water proof.
AWAY WITH with the pain of WORKADAY TIDAL WAVES!
Every night before I rest my head
See those dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed.
I know they're stolen, but I don't feel bad.
I take that money, buy you things you never had.
~ Patti Smith ~ Free Money
Is there any way I can make money off this?
But more steps are needed, Clinton said. The Federal Housing Administration, she said, ''should also stand ready to be a temporary buyer to purchase, restructure, and resell underwater mortgages.''
Speculators United For HELOC Support!
No, seriously --
if we're just printing bail-out money that has nothing to back it, won't that drive down the value of the dollar and fuel inflation here at home?
The FHLBs are cooperatives created by President Herbert Hoover in 1932 to spur mortgage lending.
I know when it comes to economic matters, I always ask, WHAT WOULD HOOVER DO?
Herbert Hoover. Wasn't he around when things got kind of bad financially at an earlier point in history?
How'd that work out?
Since the war is technically "off the books," I wouldn't say it's not significant, but it's certainly not the only problem, and even pulling the troops out won't magically create a pile of money to solve problems.
I'll bet a lot of those SUVs are getting filled on credit cards.
Molly Ivors, Better? | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:22 am |
Of course, but then you get cash back, or free milage, or points, or something.
Buckeye, Dealer of Rare Coins | 03.24.08 - 10:24 am
Recalling the late seventies as I do, I have to wonder: where did the inflation go this time?
-
QuentinCompson&TheDisbelievers | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:17 am | #
--------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
The inflation went into home prices. This was asset inflation. CPI measures consumer products inflation, not asset inflation. But both are still inflation, and as you can see, both are bad.
Now, wait...I'm not an economist, but putting more money into failing investments is a good idea because....?
What was that money doing before the helicopter doors opened, just sitting there in a piddly savings account, making a smidge of interest?
Is there any way I can make money off this?
Buy Bears Stearn stock now. NOW!
This would not sit well with the pro-Irvine or the pro-garage door crowd.
I have a garage door and I support Dunchan Black.
Garage door owners for Duncan!!!!
if we're just printing bail-out money that has nothing to back it, won't that drive down the value of the dollar and fuel inflation here at home?
I nominate you for the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics.
Hecate, I'm booking my flight home for this summer with my frequent flyer miles, and so this year I'm landing in DC, then taking the train up to Phila.
Wanna maybe meet for coffee? 
On Comma Day, the Polluter in Chief dedicates the Easter Egg Roll to clean oceans.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/r...20080324-
1.html
It's WATER ABSORBANT!!! SUPER ABSORBANT MONEY! AWAY WITH FLOODS!
you just said it was water proof.
I thought that was string?
Now, wait...I'm not an economist, but putting more money into failing investments is a good idea because....?
Rmj, Bemused Theologist
9/11!!!!!11!!one!!1
A good economy makes Atrios cry.
I know when it comes to economic matters, I always ask, WHAT WOULD HOOVER DO?
Vote for McCain
existing home sales dont mean much w/r/t economy. natural churn
I nominate you for the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics.
Billy B
Um, since I'm generally a financial idiot (I somehow missed that Jewish caricature gene) that does NOT inspire confidence.
Recalling the late seventies as I do, I have to wonder: where did the inflation go this time?
Have you bought heating oil lately?
Garage door owner for the TRUTH!!!
Say what you will about Hoover, the man made a fine vacuum cleaner and a grand dam made out of coolies.
reposted:
blerb: the thing, though, is that the bush administration had already squandered huge amounts of resources before iraq. his campaign was proposing to squander resources we didn't ever have before he was elected. bush committed funds beyond those even the rosiest projections suggested the government might have to funding his tax cut adventure.
his tax proposals were impossible before he was elected, and became even more impossible after the tech bubble burst. yet he pushed them through, utterly unchanged, billing them as a response to the recession, whereas, when first proposed, precisely those policies were being called the natural result of a booming economy.
dude didn't know what he was doing. the tax nonsense condemned us to debt even before we invaded iraq. we squandered more nonexistent resources by invading iraq, but we were already in trouble.
kidlacan | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:26 am |
so all those people buying bear at $7 made a good move. i wonder if they had any special knowledge.
nah, that would be illegal.
I thought that was string?
String is to valuable nowadays, even in three inch lengths.
Is there any way I can make money off this?
NTodd, Gleet Lover
Invest in Haliburton, Exxon and Kellogg, Brown and Root.
Get a suit, a haircut and start sneering at people who act "different"
Oh, and fuck anyone, anytime you can.
Wha hoppened to the Repukkke "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" principle?
They can lower there loan standards into the basement at this point and it won't help. If no one buys their mortgages, then they won't have any new money to lend to new borrowers. And no one is buying their mortgages now, so lowering their standards just makes the situation worse.
Now, wait...I'm not an economist, but putting more money into failing investments is a good idea because....?
Rmj, Bemused Theologist | 03.24.08 - 10:26 am | #
Because eventually your number comes up, and the slot machine pays off.
Then you get your picture on the casino wall.
Say what you will about Hoover, the man made a fine vacuum cleaner and a grand dam made out of coolies.
Attaturk
Ladies & gentlemen, a big hand please for Professor Irwin "attaturk" Corey!
the man made a fine vacuum cleaner and a grand dam made out of coolies.
I heard the war started when Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was hungry.
Recalling the late seventies as I do, I have to wonder: where did the inflation go this time?
Have you bought heating oil lately?
Molly Ivors
Or food.
There is some slop in the system, like the amount people spend on eating out. Given that we're mostly a service economy, when that stops, a contraction will follow. Fewer trips to the mall for that fortieth tee shirt, the "luxuries", will stop.
Recalling the late seventies as I do, I have to wonder: where did the inflation go this time?
It's the new math. Fuel, food and clothing don't count for much.
as I remember the engagement, Sinbad was manning the M60 ...
The inflation went into asset markets instead of goods market.
But as Uncle Miltie taught us, it's eventually coming to goods markets as well.
Ladies & gentlemen, a big hand please for Professor Irwin "attaturk" Corey!
Band strikes up 'Stars and Stripes Forever'
Have you bought heating oil lately?
Molly Ivors, Better?
I killed the last thread with this post:
I just had my oil tank filled. $879.00
Lots of people need to have theirs filled monthly. Three years ago it cost around $235.00
The people flying past on the freeway are stressed too. They have to get to work to pay their bills.
bill
Wha hoppened to the Repukkke "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" principle?
That rule is only for the underclass who actually wear boots.
Oh, and fuck anyone, anytime you can.
bill
Uh-oh. That's gonna slow him down.
This should be newsworthy. Mr. Rubin is not only a former Treasury Secretary, he is in the top management at Citigroup and he is one of the top Democratic policy advisers. The failure to recognize the housing bubble and the danger it posed was an act of extraordinary negligence that would get people fired in most lines of work. The fact that he still doesn't recognize the enormity of this oversight even after the fact (economists did recognize the housing bubble and the dangers its collapse would pose to the financial system) is remarkable.
If Dean Baker doesn't get a position in the administration of President Obama then we will really have missed an opportunity here. hell, just put the CEPR in charge of the Treasury.
Fuel, food and clothing don't count for much.
They're volatile in one direction.
There is some slop in the system, like the amount people spend on eating out.
A lot of my students work at restaurants, and they're getting laid off like crazy. Usually, the slow season is February-May, but these kids were getting laid off before Christmas.
Fuck Robert Rubin, how about Robert Reich?
The people flying past on the freeway are stressed too. They have to get to work to pay their bills.
bill
Okay, as I said: such as running up bills burning $3.25 a gallon gas at 13 mpg?
Have you bought heating oil lately?
Or groceries, or natural gas, or electricity, or anything else that you might, you know, actually need...
Have you bought heating oil lately?
Molly Ivors
I'll trade you your oil bills for my electric bills.
Our house is all electric heat.
In Putnam County, NY.
Ouch.
---
I just had my oil tank filled. $879.00
Lots of people need to have theirs filled monthly. Three years ago it cost around $235.00
I'm getting me a wood pellet stove.
robert rubin was in the NYT today. i dont hink his citi connection was disclosed. natuarlly he advocated for a massive federal bailout.
Our house is all electric heat.
In Putnam County, NY.
Fair enough--but you have options like wind or solar. We don't.
starting tomorrow I'm taking the intercity bus to work.
my bad. it was brice bartlass.
Having lived on very, very little during grad/professional schools, I could do it again. In fact, I've thought about what I'd slash first, the stuff I don't really need, wouldn't really miss--cable, newspapers, landline phones, Whole Foods.
But at the end of the day, you have property taxes, mortgages, heat and light bills, things you can't do much about. There's wiggle room, but once the extras are gone, it's going to get ugly for many people.
Our house is all electric heat.
In Putnam County, NY.
Ouch.
---
MasterD, damn yankee
I'm looking forward to summer in Houston. Humidity never below 80%. Temperatures never below 78.
All a/c is electric. Use it or die. Houston knows no breezes, only stagnant, polluted air.
There's wiggle room, but once the extras are gone, it's going to get ugly for many people.
It is going to get very, very nasty indeed this next year.
I bow to greater expertise but has there ever been a time when fuel and food prices have risen so sharply so quickly in the last 100 years?
Okay, as I said: such as running up bills burning $3.25 a gallon gas at 13 mpg?
Rmj, Bemused Theologist
The interstate I drive on has a speed limit of 65, but no sane person would go slower than 74. I get 31 mpg at that speed so I don't feel too terrible.
how can GM possibly survive the next year?
MarketWatch:
The median sales price plunged to $195,900, down 8.2% from a year ealier. Prices of single-family homes fell 8.7% in the past year, also the most since records began in 1968.
...
Median sales are down 13.4% in the West, largely because the market for jumbo loans above $417,000 remain frozen.
Maybe the thing we don't need right now is more mortgage backed bonds. Just a thought.
It's WATER ABSORBANT!!! SUPER ABSORBANT MONEY! AWAY WITH FLOODS!
you just said it was water proof.
I thought that was string?
NTodd, Gleet Lover | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:27 am | #
I thought it was a solvent?
how can GM possibly survive the next year?
Federal BAILOUT!!!!!
Fair enough--but you have options like wind or solar. We don't.
Molly Ivors, Better? | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:33 am | #
We've been giving serious thought to solar. Upfront cost is a big nut for us, though.
We already "buy" wind power through NYSEG. Costs just a tad more, but it's worth it.
---
maybe mortgages should not be securitized.
God, its like they get to go to the casino and play slot machines, and they get to hit Teh MAGIC RESET button on the offhand chance they don't win.
But at the end of the day, you have property taxes, mortgages, heat and light bills, things you can't do much about. There's wiggle room, but once the extras are gone, it's going to get ugly for many people.
noblejoanie
Yeah, I could pull the phone and the cable, go back to buying cheaper (and not nearly as good) food (eat crap, IOW). Still wouldn't make much difference.
If I don't spend $300 a month on gasoline, I don't get to work. No work, no pay the mortgage. Not much wiggle room left. Eliminating a few bills doesn't make much difference.
How about federal bailouts to ordinary citizens to defray the costs of solar installation.
Warning: Anecdotal "data" head:
I was in a very tony Connecticut 'burb yesterday. All historic houses. Every third one had a "For-sale" sign. Not exaggerating, either. We were counting them.
. the thing, though, is that the bush administration had already squandered huge amounts of resources before iraq.
Clearly that was also a big factor. I don't actually know which had the bigger annual fiscal impact. Do you have an estimate? Did he make one in his column?
how can GM possibly survive the next year?
euphronius Night School!
The part that makes cars or the part that is a hedge fund?
It's WATER ABSORBANT!!! SUPER ABSORBANT MONEY! AWAY WITH FLOODS!
you just said it was water proof.
I thought that was string?
NTodd, Gleet Lover | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:27 am | #
I thought it was a solvent?
Buckeye, Dealer of Rare Coins
Just how long is a piece of string?
I was in a very tony Connecticut 'burb yesterday. All historic houses. Every third one had a "For-sale" sign. Not exaggerating, either. We were counting them.
res ipsa loquitur
Maybe Lieberman's supporters are moving to where they can see him more often?
Like Tel Aviv.
the part that makes cars.
How about federal bailouts to ordinary citizens to defray the costs of solar installation.
Scoopernicus, Civ addict
Socialism! Big government! Interference in the holy space of the marketplace! Blasphemer! Unclean! Unclean!!!!!
We've been giving serious thought to solar. Upfront cost is a big nut for us, though.
My next home project. The payback on solar heating is getting quicker every year.
So in terms of US dollars...
what is a dead Iraqi kid worth these days?
Because the Democrats & Republicans are buying!
Like Tel Aviv.
Attaturk | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:38 am | #
Like anywhere McCain is.
Just how long is a piece of string?
Benoit, is that you?
just sitting there in a piddly savings account, making a smidge of interest?
noblejoanie | 03.24.08 - 10:26 am | #
that's where my money is. maybe i should bring it home and make a blanket.
Like Tel Aviv.
don't be silly, all the really cool condos are going up on the West Bank.
how can GM possibly survive the next year?
John Mellencamop is writing them a new theme song.
I'm getting me a wood pellet stove.
my bro' just got a fireplace insert pellet stove and it looks nice and he says it heats up their entire house pretty much.
the part that makes cars.
euphronius Night School!
They for one will welcome their new Japanese overlords.
With the gummint taking the retiree healthcare liabilities.
?Scoopernicus,
Maybe the thing we don't need right now is more mortgage backed bonds. Just a thought.
Penguin
maybe mortgages should not be securitized.
euphronius Night School!
It's this kind of radical thinking that leads to gov't regulation and slows the economy and blocks growth.
I bet you want to limit urban sprawl, too. Commies.
How about federal bailouts to ordinary citizens to defray the costs of solar installation.
Scoopernicus, Civ addict | 03.24.08 - 10:37 am | #
There are Fed tax breaks for homeowners who go solar. Problem is, that's all they offer. Tax breaks.
Many states offer actual rebates on the purchase price of a system.
---
Story in the WSJ today is that Uncle Sam is responding to the economic downturn by running up the national debt even higher. Yay us!
I blame simels.
Scoopernicus,
They for one will welcome their new Japanese overlords.
With the gummint taking the retiree healthcare liabilities.
P O'Neill | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:40 am | #
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------------------------------
good deal for Kia. (korean overlords i suppose).
Kia has been making better and better cars i have noticed.
Funny, but I don't remember major home foreclosers during the Clinton years. And neither do you people!
how can GM possibly survive the next year?
Government bailouts.
How about federal bailouts to ordinary citizens to defray the costs of solar installation.
Scoopernicus, Civ addict
No, that was the kind of thing Jimmy Carter would do, and everyone knows he was wrong about everything. It sure is a good thing Ronald Raygun pulled all the energy programs as soon as he got into office. If only he had also reversed the home brewing bill, we would not be bogged down by all of these new choices in beers, ales and lagers.
How about federal bailouts to ordinary citizens to defray the costs of solar installation.
Or wind.
Green energy would reinvigorate the economy immediately, IMHO. A windfarm in every county.
Jeebus fuck.
Scoopernicus, wanna play Travian?
We're putting together "Team DFH"
US housing bubble:
The chicken friend bacon with cream sauce of the US economy.
travian appears to be blocked by the Borg JR. alas.
Okay, gonna go snake a tub. Some evil child put a toy down there.
travian appears to be blocked by the Borg JR. alas.
euphronius
Bastids!
What do they think you'll spend too much time playing? Or is it the .de?
Green energy would reinvigorate the economy immediately, IMHO. A windfarm in every county.
One of the nice things about wind is that it creates some good jobs in rural areas for the people who keep the turbines running.
"chicken friend bacon"
Band. Name.
Okay, gonna go snake a tub. Some evil child put a toy down there.
Did Thers ever find his enter cap?
Green energy would reinvigorate the economy immediately, IMHO. A windfarm in every county.
Certainly would help VT. We could help the dairy farmers with more CowPower money, and wind investment will help when our nuke plant is decommissioned.
Think how bad the economy would be if US stormtroopers came home!
Unemployment would go up, but the prison industry would profit.
As would murder/suicide scene cleaners.
Okay, gonna go snake a tub. Some evil child put a toy down there.
Molly Ivors
Wear protective gloves this bathroom repair, okay? We need you in Philly.
Bastids!
What do they think you'll spend too much time playing? Or is it the .de?
JR, kerosene and a match | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:44 am | #
they consider it "games". damn them.
FDR started all this with his crazee bank regulations. Money should be stripped from the poor and given to the rich, as God intended.
Bugs | 03.24.08 - 10:41 am | #
Fuck Off, Racist Pig
I thought it was a solvent?
Buckeye, Dealer of Rare Coins
Just how long is a piece of string?
Rmj, Bemused Theologist | 03.24.08 - 10:38 am |
I was told there would be no math.
Very short article on US soldier possibly murdered for witnessing a war crime:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
gr...ic_b_92956.html
they consider it "games". damn them.
euphronius Night School!
Fair cop.
I duno about later in the game, but right now it doesn't require much tending. It's not like EverQrack.
Okay, gonna go snake a tub. Some evil child put a toy down there.
Molly Ivors, Better? |
Did Thers find his 'enter' key?
mrs. ibrahim al-jafaari | 03.24.08 - 10:46 am |
----------------------------
How did your sidewalk business do last night? Make a bag of quarters?
Green energy would reinvigorate the economy immediately, IMHO. A windfarm in every county.
http://greenenergytv.com/
Just how long is a piece of string?
Rmj
1 SU*
(*String Unit)
Oh pie!
Curse you!!
green energy is nice an all but if it became big the Saudis would lose money. so not going to happen. sorry. elect more and better democrats maybe.
Hi Buckeye.
Why is Douglas Kmiec, a leading conservative Republican lawyer Sunday endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for U.S. president.
As a major conservative, why is Bernard appearing on Hardball so often—to gush about Obama? Why is the head of the IWF gushing so over Obama?
Have some conservatives been supporting Obama because they think he would be the easier Democratic candidate to beat? Hmmmm?
Bugs | 03.24.08 - 10:48 am | #
Fuck Off, Racist Pig
The really scary part about inflation is that they have changed the way they measure it, now fuel and food are not taken into account.
So the inflation numbers are bogus as hell.
How about federal bailouts to ordinary citizens to defray the costs of solar installation.
Or wind.
Green energy would reinvigorate the economy immediately, IMHO. A windfarm in every county.
Molly Ivors, Better? | Homepage | 03.24.08 - 10:42 am
Think how many people could be employed in Georgia if they installed water collection devices on every home.
Bugs | 03.24.08 - 10:49 am | #
Fuck Off, Racist Pig
Have some conservatives been supporting Obama because they think he would be the easier Democratic candidate to beat? Hmmmm?
Or is that what they want us to think?
Oh boy. Press conference w/ prosecutor in the Mayor Kwame business about to start. Should be a real fun day in these parts.
Did Thers find his 'enter' key?
I found it.
Band. Name.
Sabri al-Speedy del Saxo |
Speaking of band name, I better go practice. I skipped my morning hike so I could come straight home and get to it. Of course, I had to have coffee first. And I might as well drop by the crack den while I drink it. And now 45 minutes have passed!
See ya later!
mrs. ibrahim al-jafaari | 03.24.08 - 10:50 am |
------------------
On yout knees, you two-bit whore!
Great idea, buying Countrywide, BoA!
"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. retail bank, may set aside a record $6.5 billion in the first quarter to cover possible future loan losses, including in its mortgage and home equity portfolios, according to a banking analyst.
"Richard Bove of Punk Ziegel & Co also slashed his earnings forecasts for the bank through 2010, though he still expects a first-quarter profit.
"He said actual losses in the portfolios should be "somewhat less" than the amount he expects set aside, suggesting the bank would be conservative in its forecast of future credit trends."
http://www.reuters.com/article/
o...329636320080324
mrs. ibrahim al-jafaari | 03.24.08 - 10:50 am |
------------------
On your knees, you two-bit whore!
US nuke sub positioned for probable attack on Iran?
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_...l.asp?
id=102736
So I went to the IRS website and came away with a 94 billion dollar reduction in anual income tax revenue between 2000 and 2001. If you factor in the usual year-to-year increase, that probably amounts to something like a $150bn revenue reduction below expected values. Is that more or less than the annual Iraq war bill?
....So I've gone and looked up the numbers now on Wiki. It sez $474bn spent so far directly by de gubmint,which interestingly adds up to $94.8bn/year -- nearly a perfect wash with the tax cut for the bigger D'ooh! If you figure in all the knock-on costs of the war, like higher gas prices, it may even have a bigger impact that the tax cut alone.
Anybody see a hole in that?
Have some conservatives been supporting Obama because they think he would be the easier Democratic candidate to beat? Hmmmm?
Worrying all the time about what the GOP wants is a guaranteed way to both lose an election.
Fuck the GOP, my advice is to do the opposite of what they want. Something neither Clinton nor Obama do enough for my taste.
we always haev nuke subs in the persian gulf.
Bugs | 03.24.08 - 10:51 am | #
Fuck Off, Racist Pig