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POPSTHE DEADLIEST CARD GAME IN TOWN
but they have joined the right’s sycophants and willingly do the bidding of the LOBBY FIRMS in order to receive the dirty money (more like blood money) these cut-throats will give them (to turn a blind eye) in the form of campaign contributions. A shell game of sorts, where the suckers, in many instances, have no idea of what is going on and how it negatively affects their well-being. It's a sad game that cannot be won by anyone who falls into a category called LOW-INCOME. The banks and credit card companies’ makeup all the rules and they are always in their favor. NO ONE, can get out of the traps they set, while they siphon off any earnings said suckers have given their blood, sweat and tears to acquire. It should be a crime because it is criminal but it is not. Watch, learn and weep for those who get snared in THE DEADLIEST CARD GAME IN TOWN, where there is no place to turn for help. (MORE) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/creditcards/view/ thinkingblue
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POPSWe Ain't Seen Nothing Yet FTA: "Next year’s tax hikes will be real and large..". " As these storm clouds gather, Congress bickers on Saturday nights about borrowing even more money for health-care reform, yet another federal entitlement." Are you ready for 2010??? (sigh)
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POPSChina's Blunt Talk for Obama Before heading to China, Obama underscored the urgency of his agenda on Iran by joining Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in warning Tehran that “we are now running out of time.” The trip has already had some hiccups. Wrangling between the administration and Beijing over Obama’s town hall meeting with university students in Shanghai on Monday was intense, with China wanting to screen the audience and its questions, and the U.S. wanting a freer exchange.
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POPSIs the Economy Recovering? The Curious Case of 1920 vs. 1929
The basic questions we need to ask here are: 1. Why do economies recover? 2. Are we recovering? Q. Why do economies recover? A. They recover because bad investments made during the bubble are liquidated, valuable capital is no longer being wasted on them, new capital is formed from savings, and profitable enterprises attract new capital to expand. Low real interest rates caused by increased savings encourage borrowing, manufacturers use the capital to make new machines, producers of consumer goods buy them, cash goes through the system, consumers see things are getting better, more consumer goods are produced, and consumers buy them. It has to happen this way or the recovery will fail. The difficult part of a recovery is ugly. Bankrupt firms need to fail so that valuable capital resources are not wasted on their continuing activities. This means that unemployment rises (10.2% now) and business bankruptcies are high. Trillions of dollars of asset values are wiped out.
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POPSIt's About Spain Today, Tomorrow....the US? Banks in Spain are manipulating the housing market by artificially shoring up excess demand. Are we to believe that buying 110,000 homes was an investment made for returns? I hope I don't hear a echo of this thinking in the U.S. Sadly, hopes do not dictate reality.
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POPSWorst Depression, not Recession Jackson Hole, Wy, stock piling their supplies before the next global collapse. I wouldn't be surprised to see Barton Biggs, there giving lessons on survival. http://tinyurl.com/m6c9nb
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POPSRuined by Good Luck The graph looks a bit like Al Gore's climate warming hockey stick. Interpretation: We are a witnessing phase change.
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POPSThe End of the American Economic Era?
Right now, the United States has responded to a lack of demand for its Treasuries through a questionable and disturbing method: we're buying our own debt. That allows the yields to remain low, but buying our own debt is somewhat akin to creating your own credit card. Eventually, you have to acknowledge that the money you create on the books never really existed, unless the United States plans to simply print money to pay off all the bonds. That would create a level of inflation not seen in the West since the Weimar Republic, and will effectively force the rest of the world to avoid U.S. currency and investments as unsound. It would, for the first time in decades, put the United States on the financial sideline. Who would take over as the leading economic power? What kind of world would global dominance by China, India, or Russia bring, assuming any of these could take that role? How about a coalition of oil producers like OPEC, who have the means to fund it? Scary.
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POPSCapitalism in Crisis
An interesting column by Richard Posner on the background of and some lessons from the financial crisis. In short: 1) Capitalism is risky and is prone to bubbles and depressions (take home message is not that capitalism is 'bad' but that one must diversify and hedge); 2) The crisis is a consequence of deregulation (not that deregulation is 'bad' but that deregulated capitalism carries with it more of the bubble/depression risks). But in the end, as with so many, Posner concludes that the whole mess should be laid at the feet of government. This is not the right conclusion, not that government is not the responsible party, they are. But the key issue that underlies the government's failure is not that government is inherently 'bad' as many are often led to conclude but that it was made that way. A systematic attack and undermining of governance has occurred in the U.S. since the early 1980s. Not all was bad, likely much of it early on was needed, but like so many other human expe
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POPSOn the Fed. and Screwing the Real Economy If you understand that large scale influxes of artificial wealth inflates the bubble that is harmful to us all, you cannot deny that the Community Reinvestment Act put on steroids accomplishes the same results. Additionally, how is it not clear that continued massive intervention into the healing process will only screw it up worse. Especially if they are attempting to maintain levels of unearned property ownership that caused the crisis. You are only worse off when you punish the sector that could return to wealth creation which would bring opportunity to us all. I notice that the more one HONESTLY tries to understand the economics behind all this, the more you have to realize the ultimate anti-capitalistic world Obama and his handlers are striving to put into place. Then recognizing the tactics of strong-arming, propaganda, and suppression it all falls into place.
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POPS“Money Mischief.” Classic 1992 book lays out gov''ts current response to melt down
Amazingly, what Friedman described is exactly what is happening today. Obama and the Democrats are unwilling to cut spending and be fiscally responsible, and instead will massively increase the money supply — which inevitably leads to inflation. Skarica writes, “We are seeing this phenomenon unfold right now before our very eyes.” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said there is no problem with inflation, declaring on March 10, "We do think inflation will be low over the next couple of years." And just this week, it was announced the Fed pumped another $1.2 trillion into the economy! Bernanke surely knows what Friedman explained in “Money Mischief” — that it takes at least a year after the massive expansion of the money supply for inflation to rear its ugly head. And Bernanke is well aware, as Friedman so artfully explains, that inflation causes a brutal economic “hangover,” making things actually worse in the long run. Sadly, our biggest problem today is not the
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POPSStop Me If You've Heard This One Before ~ Fannie Mae’s appraisal change doesn’t mean borrowers with less than 20 percent home equity can forgo mortgage insurance, the analysts said. That’s because Fannie Mae will likely use automated models to check home values listed on applications before offering to waive appraisals, the analysts said. The company’s DU Refi Plus program will start April 4.
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POPSChina May Prevent U.S. Economic Recovery, Thwart Obama's Spending Plan Congress should consider this, for Obama is counting on the continuing saleability of National Debt for his trillion dollar deficit to be funded through what China has historically purchased as an investment, i.e. U.S. treasury bills. You cannot spend indefinitely what you do not have even if the Fed prints it for you if no one is willing to buy it. Global bank consolidation will be introduced as the remedy , which is the globalist goal, as this article linked by Drudge hints: Measures will be taken at the G-20 meeting...Sarkozy ... "We should discuss how each of us is managing his currency, his interest rates." Economist also say that this would reverse low interest rates for home loans in the U.S. since China normally buys mortgage backed (in)securities but may not now. This is the risk of debt, that it makes one a slave to the lender and investors.
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POPSFed Slashes Interest Rate to Near Zero, Recession Worsening Christmas retail sales are bad, so the Fed enacts record low interest rates (between banks). Drastic measures, which might worsen things instead of improve. Ask your bank if your credit card rates will decline with this....they will not. The banks get all the benefit, not the consumer.
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POPSWelcome To Advanced Auto Loan One of the benefits you can enjoy from a car title loan is that part of the convenience. You can choose the cheapest fund scheme in accordance with your needs and benefit low interest rates, all within the comfort of your home. The electronic procedure is simple and requires less time than other on-site financing agencies. The program requires that you provide all the correct and valid information about your personal and financial background. When a creditor is convinced with details of the request, approval is given within an hour. And then you can get your instant auto loans to purchase the desired vehicle.
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POPSWelcome To National Auto Approval Instant approval personal loans are able to provide instant cash assistance to the population, as these loans have a very short duration to complete the entire approval process. Moreover, these loans have low and affordable interest rates of interest that borrowers can easily afford their basic expenses. Therefore, if you are also looking for a quick infusion of funds to repair your home or to pay your child's higher education fees, then consider the practical solution of prompt approval personal loans and get rid of your financial concerns. But those who have had a bad credit history so far, can find some difficulties in the use of this loan assistance, as their remaining option is doubtful. But fortunately, with the comprehensive development of the financial market and increasing the frequency of the competition, they can also enjoy the financial support under certain restrictions, such as a high level of interest rates or strict repayment schedule.
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POPSSolution to the economic crisis? Are the same things being done to get us out of this mess the same things that got us into it in the first place? Seeing the market go down hundreds of points after the bill was passed had to be a very disappointing thing to the people who voted for the bailout.
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POPSFannie/Freddie Trouble Seen 9 Yrs Ago
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans. ''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.'' Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black
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POPSMarkets Fall: Government Throws Away More Money
You don't have to be a lawyer to know if someone is lying -- But when a lawyer catches a witness in a lie it is often the beginning of the end. What caught my eye in this clip is: the government (USA) "will begin paying interest on the reserves that banks leave on deposit." Humm....we print the money...we give the money to the banks at super low interest rates...now the banks can give us back the money and charge us interest!? The next big part of the plan is to buy unsecured loans for threatened banks that may go out of business. Humm...Note: Other countries are buying assets or Number One Preferred Stock...meaning they get paid first if these banks fail. Also, rather than seeking to "inspire confidence," some suggest it would be better to dole out the cash for every new loan the banks make...which is what we want them to actually do. Other lies: "optional," warrents; & "mark to market," valuations. While our house burns, these alleged "firefighters," are steali
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POPSPrevent bailouts? Prohibit campaign contributions We must advance to a system where elections are publicly funded and private donations are prohibited. Both of our candidates are connected by money to the banking industry. The industry's influence toward killing regulation far exceeds the public's influence in preserving it. Separating money from politics - as other nations have long done - is the only way home.
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