Calculated Risk quietly hits another homer, in that understated, laconic fashion.
He describes how we the taxpayer will be shoveling another 50 billion or so to the FHA, because of their losses, and then tells the tale of one homeowner who was just recently granted an FHA mortgage that will almost certainly swirl the drain.
No lessons were learned from the incredible fiasco we've been through.
All Congress seems to wish to do is find another way to keep the whole rotten mess going.
I see my children working so hard to build their futures. I mean, I can't tie these kids' shoes.
The older one is married, and her husband is stellar, the kind of son-in-law one dreams of.
The younger one will likely marry a young lady we would legally adopt in a heartbeat, a fabulous young lady.
I feel my hair catch fire when I contemplate how much harder they will have to work in order to pay all this nonsense off, in taxes, reduced standard of living, worse working conditions.
They don't deserve to inherit this from us.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Himself and The Nobel Peace Prize
Maybe this is why the chic left thinks The Beloved Leader deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
If he does not act decisively to push back against the monsters of the Taliban, it will be decades before there is a chance to confront the New Dark Ages the Muslim fundamentalists have planned for much of the world. Or, worse, we'll have to confront it much more up-close and personal, and at incredibly higher cost.
And we just might lose, you know.
And, for some perverse reason, that's ok with the chic left...
If he does not act decisively to push back against the monsters of the Taliban, it will be decades before there is a chance to confront the New Dark Ages the Muslim fundamentalists have planned for much of the world. Or, worse, we'll have to confront it much more up-close and personal, and at incredibly higher cost.
And we just might lose, you know.
And, for some perverse reason, that's ok with the chic left...
The 'Me' Generation and Its Money
John Mason at Seeking Alpha offers good long-term insight on the relationship between governmental behaviour and economic (and societal) outcomes. The last three paragraphs are pretty chilling, if you are an American who loves freedom. His article is about the slow, steady, and inexorable destruction of the dollar.
He pegs the problem early on:
'The underlying problem is the fiscal irresponsibility of the United States government, with the exception of one administration, beginning in the 1960s.'
The exception he speaks of is in the 1990's, when after two years of Clinton, the electorate swept in a freshman class that was intent on restraining the growth and expenditure of the federal government.
At least, they did for a while. Then they succumbed to both the seductions of office, the outrageous behaviour of Bill Clinton(who should have resigned, by golly, out of simple decency), the blandishments of the bankers, and the myth that easy money would solve all.
But enough about them.
We, ourselves, are the problem. There was a sea-change in the culture in the 1960's, was there not?
We, the boomers, decided to throw off the shackles of our parents' restraints, and closed our ears to the warnings that busts follow booms, and all that 'wheels grind slowly, but grind they do' stuff. We were going to 'make all things new' ourselves, thank you very much, sans Marx or Jesus(to quote that book title from the 70's).
We decided to become consumers! And we were very, very good at it.
And Mr. Denninger shows us what resulted.
Don't skip over this link. Print it, frame it, and hang it in your children's nursery.
Ethics shape the culture. Culture shapes the economy.
(Disclosure: A position in UDN, and continuing to accumulate steadily.)
He pegs the problem early on:
'The underlying problem is the fiscal irresponsibility of the United States government, with the exception of one administration, beginning in the 1960s.'
The exception he speaks of is in the 1990's, when after two years of Clinton, the electorate swept in a freshman class that was intent on restraining the growth and expenditure of the federal government.
At least, they did for a while. Then they succumbed to both the seductions of office, the outrageous behaviour of Bill Clinton(who should have resigned, by golly, out of simple decency), the blandishments of the bankers, and the myth that easy money would solve all.
But enough about them.
We, ourselves, are the problem. There was a sea-change in the culture in the 1960's, was there not?
We, the boomers, decided to throw off the shackles of our parents' restraints, and closed our ears to the warnings that busts follow booms, and all that 'wheels grind slowly, but grind they do' stuff. We were going to 'make all things new' ourselves, thank you very much, sans Marx or Jesus(to quote that book title from the 70's).
We decided to become consumers! And we were very, very good at it.
And Mr. Denninger shows us what resulted.
Don't skip over this link. Print it, frame it, and hang it in your children's nursery.
Ethics shape the culture. Culture shapes the economy.
(Disclosure: A position in UDN, and continuing to accumulate steadily.)
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Golly-Gosh, Beaver! If You Shoot Back, the Pirates Run Away!
This nugget from the BBC...
Seems some intrepid Somali pirates targeted a ship to hijack, only to find it was an armed French naval vessel.
Untypically of the French, this boat's commander decided to fight back, actually chased the criminals down and captured them!
Golly-Gosh! If you resist a bully, he backs down!
Criminals tend to be cowardly and lazy!
Stop the presses! This is news!
Now, to see if the French officer is court-martialed for defending his ship...
Seems some intrepid Somali pirates targeted a ship to hijack, only to find it was an armed French naval vessel.
Untypically of the French, this boat's commander decided to fight back, actually chased the criminals down and captured them!
Golly-Gosh! If you resist a bully, he backs down!
Criminals tend to be cowardly and lazy!
Stop the presses! This is news!
Now, to see if the French officer is court-martialed for defending his ship...
Monday, October 5, 2009
Pigs DO Fly, After All!
Three muted and belated cheers for Robert Reich.
Bill Clinton's former Labor Secretary once again defies the Conventional Wisdom of the Obama Administration (spend more on your buddies on Wall Street, political muscle groups like ACORN, and raise taxes on people who actually produce stuff).
First, unlike Obama and Geither, he understands we really really really have a problem on our hands. Timmy can assure us we are in a recovery, and the Fed can print and pump money to Wall Street all it wants.
The real, genuine, on-the-ground-sans-the-Democrat's-BS unemployment rate is about 20%.
Twenty percent. That's one in five.
(That's not counting all the micro-business contractors and tradesmen who were never on the rolls, like my buddy Ronnie, a small contractor in Tennessee who now travels to work on projects in IOWA, since work here has ground to a halt. And he's grateful for his work in Iowa!)
Reich lists several proposals, including an ominous one to use TARP funds to keep local schools afloat--a most ominous precedent.
But, he hits a home run with another--eliminate the payroll tax for one year on earnings under 20K.
I hear the simultaneous sounds of oinking and wings flapping.
He admits the obvious--the payroll tax is a huge drag on job creation, and on the economy in general.
And, finally, it's time as that idea is discussed, for the Ponzi Scheme of Social Security to be explored.
Of course, this is not likely to happen, as Himself and the Dems are trying to figure out how to federalize health care...with money from where?
A lot of what Reich proposes is wrong-headed, I believe. But he does have the courage to state clearly that things are amiss, and has clearly decided that the Obama Kool-Aid is definitely toxic.
And, what will the White House do about Reich? He was on their transition team, and teaches at UC Berkley! They can't dismiss him as more right-wing AstroTurf, amongst the other names they employ for any who dare disagree.
Oink, oink.
Flutter, flutter.
Tick-tock, Mr. Obama. We're one day closer to November 2010!
Bill Clinton's former Labor Secretary once again defies the Conventional Wisdom of the Obama Administration (spend more on your buddies on Wall Street, political muscle groups like ACORN, and raise taxes on people who actually produce stuff).
First, unlike Obama and Geither, he understands we really really really have a problem on our hands. Timmy can assure us we are in a recovery, and the Fed can print and pump money to Wall Street all it wants.
The real, genuine, on-the-ground-sans-the-Democrat's-BS unemployment rate is about 20%.
Twenty percent. That's one in five.
(That's not counting all the micro-business contractors and tradesmen who were never on the rolls, like my buddy Ronnie, a small contractor in Tennessee who now travels to work on projects in IOWA, since work here has ground to a halt. And he's grateful for his work in Iowa!)
Reich lists several proposals, including an ominous one to use TARP funds to keep local schools afloat--a most ominous precedent.
But, he hits a home run with another--eliminate the payroll tax for one year on earnings under 20K.
I hear the simultaneous sounds of oinking and wings flapping.
He admits the obvious--the payroll tax is a huge drag on job creation, and on the economy in general.
And, finally, it's time as that idea is discussed, for the Ponzi Scheme of Social Security to be explored.
Of course, this is not likely to happen, as Himself and the Dems are trying to figure out how to federalize health care...with money from where?
A lot of what Reich proposes is wrong-headed, I believe. But he does have the courage to state clearly that things are amiss, and has clearly decided that the Obama Kool-Aid is definitely toxic.
And, what will the White House do about Reich? He was on their transition team, and teaches at UC Berkley! They can't dismiss him as more right-wing AstroTurf, amongst the other names they employ for any who dare disagree.
Oink, oink.
Flutter, flutter.
Tick-tock, Mr. Obama. We're one day closer to November 2010!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Green Shoots Award Nominee--El Sistema
Surfing through the trash on Sunday afternoon TV, I tripped across Ovation TV's broadcast of the documentary El Sistema: Music for a Brighter Future. My bride and I are shed tears of joy watching the teaching, learning, and joy on the faces of the students as they learn. At about 1:40 into the two-hour documentary, the film shows a choir singing John Rutter's Candlelight Carol (translated to Spanish), with another choir of deaf children signing the piece with equal beauty. Utterly breathtaking, in a film filled with extraordinary moments.
The LA Philharmonic's hot new music director, Gustavo Dudamel, is a product of El Sistema. In watching the documentary, it becomes clear that he may be the most public face of the thirty-something year effort, but he is far from the most important accomplishment.
This must be seen to be appreciated. The DVD is scheduled for release this month. We'll be buying multiples for friends, students, and several un-named dolts we know in academia.
What if we could capture that joyful, hopeful, anything-is-possible spirit here? Again.
Moral values shape culture.
The culture shapes the economy.
The LA Philharmonic's hot new music director, Gustavo Dudamel, is a product of El Sistema. In watching the documentary, it becomes clear that he may be the most public face of the thirty-something year effort, but he is far from the most important accomplishment.
This must be seen to be appreciated. The DVD is scheduled for release this month. We'll be buying multiples for friends, students, and several un-named dolts we know in academia.
What if we could capture that joyful, hopeful, anything-is-possible spirit here? Again.
Moral values shape culture.
The culture shapes the economy.
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