Wednesday February 15, 2012

Betzee's past comments

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    Betzee

    Thanks Obama for the change I can believe in. After your done with me thats all I'm going to be worth in my portfolio. No dollars just some change.

    Sailwind,

    My stock portfolio has lost 50 grand in value over the past week. Would it be worth more if Obama had done nothing and insisted "the fundamentals of our economy are sound"? Don't think denial would be the better route. Even Republicans like Lindsey Graham are using the word "nationalization" to describe what Uncle Sam should do with failed banks and their toxic assets. It's not a word that's part of American business culture, but everyone agrees it's better than depression.

    Where Obama could be faulted is by saying, "we've hit bottom." Yet to speak otherwise would hardly inspire confidence in the market.

    Posted in: Obama pledges to halve U.S. budget deficit in 4 years

  • 0

    Betzee

    I can understand an illegal gin still, maybe even an illegal back street garage, but a coal mine! So much for state control in the wonderful communist state of China. The power house of Asia and supplier of cheap rubbish to the world.

    The economic growth China has enjoyed over the past three decades wouldn't have been possible without expanded access to energy. China has coal in abundance and many unlicensed mines supply the market.

    In the movie Platform an illiterate peasant, whose lowly educational attainment is an indictment of socialism, goes to apply for a job at such a mine. He's told bluntly by the impatient boss, "We're not responsible for anything." In a country where the state was once responsible for everything the scene underscores the reality in today's China, it's whatever deal you can cut for yourself.

    Posted in: 73 miners die, 113 injured in China mine blast

  • 0

    Betzee

    I live in Michigan and the taxes on the upper class actually got me fired from my job at a meat packing plant. Between Michigans small business tax and the tax on those making 200k and up my boss lost nearly 60k and had to close down the plant I was working at to cut costs. And that's happening everywhere, the more the government tightens the noose the more we suffer.

    Perhaps he could have stayed in business if he'd replaced you with cheaper labor, namely illegal aliens? Meat-packing has been a big draw for undocumented Mexican nations to migrate to the Midwest.

    As everyone knows, Uncle Sam doesn't enforce the laws with respect to work authorization. So the scenario you sketched out could just as easily be attributed to "tolerated non-compliance" on the part of the government than "tightening the noose" through higher taxation.

    Posted in: Democrats, Republicans spar over stimulus money

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    Betzee

    Such funding includes military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs and veterans' health care."

    Veterans' health care is, like, an ongoing expense which can be projected. Some of those with injuries which would have killed them in previous wars are living, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, but it may be a life which requires round the clock care since there's only so much medicine can do for the severely injured.

    By contrast, the financial bail-out is not envisioned as a permanent item in the budget.

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

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    Betzee

    It seems some are unaware that the money for this "lifeline to homeowners" is coming out of the USD 700 billion financial industry bailout passed by Congress last fall at the urging of GWB.

    So, if you didn't criticize that bail-out, and you know who you are, how would you prefer these funds be spent?

    It seems there's an awful of mindless crabbing from the Right. Obama was criticized for not attacking the mortgage crisis first and then when he unveils a plan, wonders never cease, you don't like it. Since you don't want any homeowner bail-out at all, you should have expressed approval for his initial lack of action.

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

  • 0

    Betzee

    The people who couldn't afford the mortages in the first place are going to own their houses courtesy of the people who actually can afford to pay.

    I completely agree. Those losers whose mortgages are underwater should have their sorry butts kicked around the block! Didn't their parents teach 'em you gotta earn it before you spend it? Well, they only had to look at Uncle Sam for an example of financial rectitude. What???? You scrimped and saved and bought even though everything was wildly overpriced thanks to our booming economy which meant the price could only go higher? Who was to have known it was a house of cards? I don't want to hear it, glug, glug, glug pal....

    But why stop there? I'm tired of wasting emergency rescue funds to send paramedic crews out to save those who've have car accidents because they were yammering on a cell phone when they shouda been payin' attention to the road. They've been told and they should have known. And I think the fire department needn't bother racing off to douse the flames of any home where someone left a cigarette burning or forgot to blow out a candle. I mean how dumb can ya get?

    This would all be a great savings to taxpayers like me who've never made a mistake, an error in judgment or rolled the dice at all. Nope, never, ever, ever and I'm getting tired of bailing out those who have cuz I know I will never need any of these services and so I sure don't wanna underwrite 'em for anybody else!

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

  • 0

    Betzee

    The audience in Phoenix greeted President Obama's point about requiring financial institutions who received government aid to adhere to government loan modification guidelines with sustained applause.

    The mortgage industry "bought" Congressional exemption from Chapter 11 provisions in which a judge can modify "the settlement" any way he likes. Aren't the banks who lent someone making 30 grand a year the money to buy a 700k home also liable?

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

  • 0

    Betzee

    betzee, you summarized the problem well but have left out a critical item. Obama's little scheme is mostly designed to assist people who are already failing to pay their mortgage. It does little to nothing for those homeowners still paying their mortgages dutifully even though the value of the house is fair below the amount of the loan. All Obama is going to do is encourage more people to default on loans in order to qualify for government assistance. This unintended consequence will push the initial billions into the hundreds of billions. At some point market forces are going to be needed to prevail before we borrow ourselves out of existence. If anybody has small kids in the house, you are looking at who is going to get stuck paying for all of this spending.

    They are already on the hook for the five trillion GWB blew through. As someone said, when he asked for that first USD 87 billion for the Iraq War in September 2003 he should have made his announcement before Americans under ten went to bed because it would be coming out of their pockets. Where was your voice of concern then?

    It's estimated his tax cuts cost them two trillion yet his stewardship ushered in the worst economic crisis since the Depression. One can apportion blame to a number of different individuals though most, like Phil("Americans never had it so good") Gramm, are denying responsibility. But it's indisputable that GWB's much touted "booming economy" which included 52 months of continuous growth was a bubble.

    Many conservatives seem to think in the absence of this legislation housing prices will settle at "what they should be" and those who bought at the peak, whether there are making payments or not, will have to take the loss. We can count on the market to magically supply the appropriate floor price. But what if prices continue to plunge owing to a weak economy? We can get into a downward spiral here and that will take everyone down with it.

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

  • 0

    Betzee

    The other thing is, if you are "underwater" and you can't meet your mortgage payments, or even if you can, there's an incentive to just walk away and move in with family or make rental arrangements.

    Your credit already ruined so that's not a consideration. In my community homes have been abandoned in this manner. A family of bob cats moved into one while the city government tried to figure out who had the responsibility to remove them (the SPCA only handles domestic animals). Obviously the community would not be able to cope if too many were abandoned in this fashion. And it would drive down the value of everyone else's property.

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

  • 0

    Betzee

    So Obama is gonna take somebodys trillion dollars and give it to those that got themselves in financial trouble.

    Um, no he's not. Basically his plan is to provide incentives for banks to modify loans so that the current occupants can remain in them. For that the banks will be rewarded. Yeah, it's gonna offer relief to some people who flipped homes in a speculative frenzy that helped drive prices up as well as those who bought McMansions they couldn't afford. But it will also stabilize the market for those who "played by the rules."

    Having looked at real estate and studied the local market in my area, it's clear a lot of homeowners are "underwater," meaning they owe more, perhaps twice as much, as the current market value of the property.

    Without corrective action, the floor price of homes could continue to fall and perhaps even go into a free fall. That would wipe out the economy and would not be in anyone's interest. (Full disclosure: As a new homeowner I hope we've hit bottom!)

    Both the bank and the owner are cutting their losses in a "short sell." Though the buyer is getting a bargain, without an upswing in the economy, which would stabilize the market, it's not worth much.

    Posted in: Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

  • 0

    Betzee

    It's been 30 years since Pol Pot was toppled from power by the neighboring Vietnamese (who didn't appreciate Khmer incursions into their territory). Why this took so long is an interesting tale of genocide and justice in an age of geopolitics informed by a worldview in which "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

    Posted in: Khmer Rouge genocide trial opens in Cambodia

  • 0

    Betzee

    I don't want half asked goverment healthcare,

    You're not planning to avail yourself of Medicare? Half an American's lifetime medical expenses come, on average, during the last two years of life.

    Now we got a prescription drug program as well. If anyone can point to anything in the stimulus bill which approaches the pork in that I mean with Uncle Sam payin' retail prices for them drugs and all....

    Maybe you're of the school it's the patriotic duty of seniors to kick the bucket in order to relieve those working of the burden of having to support 'em?

    Posted in: Obama signs massive economic stimulus bill

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    Betzee

    Our economy is set up to reward innovation and punish weakness. It sounds brutal and it is, our system isn't ment to guarantee success,

    The Japanese were criticized for not closing failing banks, which is politically difficult to do. Did you agree with the Wall St bail-out GWB orchestrated last fall? Do you feel it was money well spent?

    One of the reasons the Chinese invested so much in America, and allowed us to run both high deficits and enjoy low interest rates during the GWB years, was because they thought our system was well regulated (their's certainly isn't). You might lose money but it wasn't because of deceptive accounting practices or ponzi scheme-type swindles. The sub-prime fiasco has really shaken investor confidence. The market today was reacting to market behavior in Asia and Europe (where of course they open first). It's going to be a prolonged downturn.

    Posted in: Obama signs massive economic stimulus bill

  • 0

    Betzee

    I would not be surprised if the DOW bottomed out at 5000 but don't blame Obama, blame the people that inflated the economy after the tech bubble instead of letting the economy go through a normal recession at that time to clear out the dead wood. A recession delayed, is a depression earned.

    In a democracy, recessions become politically unaffordable to those in power. You're not gonna be reelected if the employment rate creeps up.

    Posted in: Obama signs massive economic stimulus bill

  • 0

    Betzee

    It's interesting, while Congressional Republicans decried the stimulus as "socialism" GOP Governors are very happy it has been passed. I know mine is; Arnie has had to impose rolling furloughs ("if it's Friday the DMZ is closed") on government offices and hand out pink slips. IOUs instead of checks are already being discussed. Critical infrastructure porjects have also been halted.

    In some ways, I look at California as a microcosm for the nation. No state has been harder hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, in particular Orange County which is associated with Goldwater Republicanism. (As a liberal, I can't resist chuckling.) During the bubble, state and local governments raked in property tax revenue from all these new and upgraded homes. Now that property prices have plunged, the state coffers have run dry and residents need services.

    The budget shortfall has been an enduring phenomenon as long as I have lived here. It seems most residents want long prison terms for convicts as well as increased investment in children and care for the elderly, big budget items for the state. But, wonders never cease, they don't want to pay for it. Many people applied this "philosophy" to their personal lives, racking up high levels of credit card and other types of debt which they are now unable to service.

    Posted in: Obama signs massive economic stimulus bill

  • 0

    Betzee

    I never said that the government was strong, I said they interfere, which is not the same thing.

    You cannot claim the state interferes too much but that it is non-judgmental. That's a contradiction in logic. In my experience, social workers carry far higher case loads than they can handle. In addition, "dysfunctional families" tend to a have a multitude of problems exacerbated by the fact they are often unstable and blended unions. Even if that is not the case, the level of conflict within the home tends to be high.

    I don't know under what circumstances UK social workers have professional interaction with British families, but if someone was aware young Chantelle's parents allowed her to have overnight male guests and did nothing, I would say the person was remiss. It would not be a criminal matter, however, unless one of her partners was legally an adult.

    But the larger problem with your post is its implication that liberal do-gooderism is at the root of all the UK's ills. This ignores certain other realities such as capitalism's structural need for some people to be unemployed. If that were not the case, workers could bid up their wages. (Hence businessmen who produce goods competitive on the basis of cost often favor high levels of immigration, legal or not, to guarantee a supply of new workers.)

    The problem comes when it's one class of people who fill that slot and bequeath it to their children. Welfare, certainly, underwrites such a lifestyle. But some have argued such payments in fact represent a means to keep those who otherwise might be tempted to rebel quiet ("fat and lazy"). Civil unrest has a terribly negative impact on the economy (as anyone who's ever experienced it can attest).

    I remember when the Tories came to power in 1979 and Margaret Thatcher became PM. It was after a garbage strike and people had had one too many. Brits I later worked with all expressed personal antipathy toward the woman but conceded something had to be done to reign in the unions, otherwise the UK's standard of living was going to approach that of East Germany. Thatcher did take on the unions. Yet once the factory jobs were gone, what alternatives were available to those who filled them? Not much. The job that Old Alf, lovable bloke that he is, did and kept his intact family fed, not to mention paying for all them nights at the pub, probably doesn't exist anymore. Nor, as his posts so colorfully detail, does the community.

    One can debate how community dysfunction, as reflected in high levels of out of wedlock births and employment in the illicit economy ("hustling") is connected to loss of stable job opportunities, but the connection is hard to dispute. In my experience, when confronted with such behavior amongst their own, conservatives tend to become suddenly dismissive by claiming, "it happens in the best of families" forgetting they had previously insisted such socially undesirable outcomes were the result of the nanny state.

    Now that outsourcing of jobs has extended to white collar professions filled by people who studied hard and "played by the rules," some have become more sympathetic to the costs imposed on those who find themselves in that situation. And they will acknowledge it's a lot more complicated than just blaming "liberalism."

    Posted in: Baby-faced dad, 13, raises 'broken Britain' fears

  • 0

    Betzee

    The other thing is consider is that a home is the primary asset of most Americans. So when its value drops it has a much greater impact than, say, one stock in a diversified portfolio.

    Posted in: Obama's next target: home mortgage foreclosure crisis

  • 0

    Betzee

    Considering how the popping of the "housing bubble" is widely believed to have been the start of the economic problems, it just might have made a little sense to tackle that problem first. But, of course, that wouldn't have cost so much, expanded our government through maximus porkulus so much, nor allowed every liberal's dream of a social engineering program to come to fruition, now would it?

    Sorry to burst your conspiracy bubble there, bud, but you have to start with the banks because they are holding the bad mortgages which prevent them from lending to solvent businesses. Having bailed them out last year, though they may need more infusions of cash, homeowners facing foreclosure (and affected communities) are saying, "What about us?"

    Many have pointed the finger at poor people, presumably aided by legislation such as GWB's "American Dream Homeowners Act." There were some who didn't understand the contract they were signing. But they are peripheral to the problem. Most people I have encountered, and read about, who are facing foreclosure are not first time home buyers. They had made money off of earlier homes and perhaps that blinded them to the risk of ending up owing much more than the current market value of the property.

    Having researched the sales history of properties I was interested in, it's clear if you bought in 2003 and sold in 2005 you were in a position to walk away with a tidy, untaxable capital gain. There was a nice appreciation, double in some cases. This was also the period during which sub-prime mortgages were widely available so it's safe to assume they were related. Lifting of capital gains on home sales also brought "flippers" into the market. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that, it helped create the bubble.

    Now banks are extremely cautious about lending. I have a colleague who thought his wife just being hired as a teacher would enable them to qualify for a mortgage. Apparently the mortgage broker read that Golden State teachers may be receiving IOUs since the state is insolvent. Anyway, their application was shot down.

    Posted in: Obama's next target: home mortgage foreclosure crisis

  • 0

    Betzee

    Hate the playa, Betzee, not the game.

    Huh??? I don't hate anybody (and how did ya come up with that when you claimed not to read my posts?).

    There's lots of anger on this thread, but it ain't emanating from my posts. "The little guy ruined it for everyone." Ah, he had a lot of help....

    Many people are looking for scapegoats to avoid indicting the unregulated market for lending. There's a government subsidy operating as an incentive for home ownership as well; you can deduct the interest on your mortgage payments from your taxes.

    Bubbles are not good because they take down everybody except those, like moi, who are smart enough to wait and pick up property for a fraction of what it was selling for several years ago.

    Posted in: Obama's next target: home mortgage foreclosure crisis

  • 0

    Betzee

    The UK has a vast number of professional scroungers who contribute nothing to the system and take as much as they can.

    WE need to let the buggers know we wont take their behaviour, and bang them up for proper sentences in proper prisons, not ones like Butlins.

    was set upon by a gang of ferals aged 12-15 and stoned to death !

    now [the pubs] are full of kids, blaring music and yobbos having punch ups.

    I can appreciate where the impetus to impose sharia law in the UK is coming from, it's seen as the only means to impose order on ruffians and hooligans. Cut off a thief's hands and he'll think twice about pinching your stuff. That'll teach him a lesson all right.

    Posted in: Baby-faced dad, 13, raises 'broken Britain' fears

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