Cause and Effect...........
Help me understand...........consequences
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Basic physics, right?
For every action, something happens. We call it cause and effect. When you do Action A, Result A is the natural consequence. Why is something that easy so difficult to understand for our politicians.
Let’s play the cause and effect game.
Cause:
We have to meet globilization head on. We can meet and defeat our free market enemies. We will willingly enter into NAFTA and CAFTA and globilize our economy for the good of the country.
Effect:
Factories are shipped overseas. Jobs are shipped overseas. Americans lose good paying jobs and those jobs are not replaced by other good paying jobs. Instead, Americans are forced into lower paying manufacturing jobs or jobs in the service sector. China, India and other countries are the direct beneficiaries of our largesse. The only people making money? Big companies as they lower their operating costs and increase their profits.
Cause:
Americans lose good paying jobs and find lower paying jobs to replace those jobs, or they may even be forced out of the job market altogether.
Effect:
People find it harder and harder to make their monthly obligations. They can’t pay their house payments anymore, and their credit scores drop precipitously, causing them to be unable to refinance their home.
Cause:
No regulation of the lending institutions in America allows mortgage brokers and banks and others to offer numerous types of low or no down payment loans and even loans for 120% of a home’s appraised value with little or no money down. Many of those loans are made variable with the potential for the borrower’s mortgage payment to increase dramatically.
Effect:
Lots of people buy homes with no equity and no down payment. They have very little invested in the home financially, so when times get tough or their payment skyrockets, they lose relatively little equity and are able to walk away from the homes rather than try to pay increased mortgage payments to save a home that is going down in value. They can’t sell because they can’t afford to pay a realtor’s fee because they have no equity.
Cause:
People start to walk away from their homes and variable interest rates.
Effect:
Banks start a rash of foreclosures. Those foreclosures put a downward pressure on prices in their neighborhoods, when causes home values to decrease and places even more homeowners in a position where they owe more on the home than it’s worth......which causes more people to walk away and more foreclosures.
Cause:
More and more homes enter into foreclosure.
Effect:
Home values plummet. The banks and mortgage companies start to get concerned because their "assets" and "security" are the other non-foreclosed upon homes in the neighborhood whose values are plummeting because of the many foreclosures.
Cause:
With so many foreclosures, many people are trying to buy homes for pennies on the dollar, so they ask the banks to allow a "short sale" where the bank will accept less for the home than what is owed.
Effect:
The banks refuse because they know that they have mortgage insurance through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who will insure that they receive the full value of their mortgage.
Cause:
Banks apply to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to collect on their mortgage insurance on all of their foreclosed properties
Effect:
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae collapse under the weight of the claims.
Cause:
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae collapse.
Effect:
The federal government steps in to assure that our economy doesn’t melt down, putting 25-100 Billion dollars on the line for a bailout of the private mortgage insurance companies. Then AIG collapses and the feds step in for another $100 billion. Then wall street investment firms collapse and the feds now want to pony up another $700 billion.
Well.....you get my point.
Hindsight is 20-20, but this isn’t rocket science. Just simple cause and effect. The real question is whether there is anybody in Congress or in power generally who can stop the bleeding without a wholesale meltdown of our economy.
I haven’t heard anyone talking about how the globilization effort has cost jobs and started the problems with foreclosures. You just can’t spend years shipping jobs and factories out of the country without affecting the entire economy. And I certainly haven’t heard anyone talking about how the banks refused to sell homes for less than what they were owed because they knew they had mortgage insurance.
Glumly Yours,
Blawgerman
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What's In A Word?
What’s In A Word? The following is a list of what words really mean:
Juggernaut -- When nothing’s left in the moonshine jug.
Proactive -- An NBA star that has lots of girlfriends.
Barack -- A sheep’s breasts
Palin -- What you do when the boat’s sinking
McCain -- Irish sugar
Biden -- A place for bears who “go both ways”
Starstruck -- A Hollywood actor slapped by his wife
Standby -- A place real close to you that sells newspapers
Buzzard -- A retarded doorbell
Stem cell -- Where plants are sent after they are convicted
McCain -- McAble’s brother
Softsell -- A toilet paper outlet store
Snowball -- A formal dance for Frosty and friends
Acorn -- Without corn
Intwined -- What happens when closely related (usually Hillbilly) strings get married.
Juggernaut -- When nothing’s left in the moonshine jug.
Proactive -- An NBA star that has lots of girlfriends.
Barack -- A sheep’s breasts
Palin -- What you do when the boat’s sinking
McCain -- Irish sugar
Biden -- A place for bears who “go both ways”
Starstruck -- A Hollywood actor slapped by his wife
Standby -- A place real close to you that sells newspapers
Buzzard -- A retarded doorbell
Stem cell -- Where plants are sent after they are convicted
McCain -- McAble’s brother
Softsell -- A toilet paper outlet store
Snowball -- A formal dance for Frosty and friends
Acorn -- Without corn
Intwined -- What happens when closely related (usually Hillbilly) strings get married.
700,000,000,000
$700,000,000,000.
Wow.
A “7” followed by 11 zeros.
7 x 10 to the 10th power.
I could comfortably retire and live the rest of my life on 1/700,000th of that amount.
Let’s see. We have about 300,000,000 people in the US. That comes out to…..$2333 per person for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
I’m sorry, but the numbers are just getting stupid. They are beyond what we really can comprehend. It would take you 700,000 years of saving a million dollars a year to get to $700,000,000,000. You would have had to start saving a million dollars per year back when homo sapiens first discovered the use of fire.
And really, I don’t think that that number covers the AIG bailout, which could be another $100 Billion. Ah shucks, what’s another $100 Billion between friends? Besides, is there really that big of a difference between $700 Billion and $800 Billion?.................I mean, what’s a measley little hundred billion in the grand scheme of things? A billion is just one thousand million. A hundred billion is just one hundred thousand million.
Time out………I’m talking about numbers that I really can’t get my head around. I’m glad those guys in Washington can figure this stuff out…………….oops……….…guess they can’t. But the big question I have is why are the guys who failed to regulate in the first place the same guys that are recommending our bailout? Why do they still have jobs?
There is one lesson that can be learned. If you are going to fail, fail so spectacularly that the entire economy of the world is threatened, and you will have our government falling all over itself to bail you out.
Well, gotta start saving for the year 702,008 AD,
Blawgerman
Wow.
A “7” followed by 11 zeros.
7 x 10 to the 10th power.
I could comfortably retire and live the rest of my life on 1/700,000th of that amount.
Let’s see. We have about 300,000,000 people in the US. That comes out to…..$2333 per person for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
I’m sorry, but the numbers are just getting stupid. They are beyond what we really can comprehend. It would take you 700,000 years of saving a million dollars a year to get to $700,000,000,000. You would have had to start saving a million dollars per year back when homo sapiens first discovered the use of fire.
And really, I don’t think that that number covers the AIG bailout, which could be another $100 Billion. Ah shucks, what’s another $100 Billion between friends? Besides, is there really that big of a difference between $700 Billion and $800 Billion?.................I mean, what’s a measley little hundred billion in the grand scheme of things? A billion is just one thousand million. A hundred billion is just one hundred thousand million.
Time out………I’m talking about numbers that I really can’t get my head around. I’m glad those guys in Washington can figure this stuff out…………….oops……….…guess they can’t. But the big question I have is why are the guys who failed to regulate in the first place the same guys that are recommending our bailout? Why do they still have jobs?
There is one lesson that can be learned. If you are going to fail, fail so spectacularly that the entire economy of the world is threatened, and you will have our government falling all over itself to bail you out.
Well, gotta start saving for the year 702,008 AD,
Blawgerman
Where Do I Get My Number?
Where Do I Get My Number?
Help Me Understand Bailouts…….
Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers, and now a big $700,000,000,000 bailout for the entire banking industry. The big guys are dropping like flies. The weird thing is that when they get in trouble, they yell for help and the Feds swoop right in and save the day. Oh yeah. There’s also the little issue of us lowly taxpayers shouldering the burden of the buyouts, bailouts, supports, guarantees, and whatever other scheme the government can concoct to keep us from financial meltdown.
The price tag for the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fiasco has been estimated to be from $25 Billion (yes….Billion) to $100 Billion. That’s just chump change compared to the most recent $700 Billion bailout that the feds are trying to push through.
So……………where’s the line?
You know………..the line where you pick a number and wait for your number to be called.
You see, I need a bailout. I guess a buyout would work. Even a guarantee would help me. And shucks, my bailout would only cost a little tiny bit compared to the companies mentioned above. Surely, if the government can shell out $700 Billion to guarantee the financial condition of private investment firms and private insurance firms, they can lay down a couple hundred thousand to assure my financial condition, right? What’s a couple hundred thousand more to Uncle Sam? It’s hardly a fly on the arse of the treasury.
That’s it. I just want to know where I go to get bailed out when I discover that what I’ve been doing is financially “imprudent.” Surely, if our beneficent government can rescue the big guys, they’ve got to be able to fling me a little bitty lifeboat! I’m headed to DC to find the line. If I find it, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Following the Yellow Brick Road,
Blawgerman
Help Me Understand Bailouts…….
Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers, and now a big $700,000,000,000 bailout for the entire banking industry. The big guys are dropping like flies. The weird thing is that when they get in trouble, they yell for help and the Feds swoop right in and save the day. Oh yeah. There’s also the little issue of us lowly taxpayers shouldering the burden of the buyouts, bailouts, supports, guarantees, and whatever other scheme the government can concoct to keep us from financial meltdown.
The price tag for the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fiasco has been estimated to be from $25 Billion (yes….Billion) to $100 Billion. That’s just chump change compared to the most recent $700 Billion bailout that the feds are trying to push through.
So……………where’s the line?
You know………..the line where you pick a number and wait for your number to be called.
You see, I need a bailout. I guess a buyout would work. Even a guarantee would help me. And shucks, my bailout would only cost a little tiny bit compared to the companies mentioned above. Surely, if the government can shell out $700 Billion to guarantee the financial condition of private investment firms and private insurance firms, they can lay down a couple hundred thousand to assure my financial condition, right? What’s a couple hundred thousand more to Uncle Sam? It’s hardly a fly on the arse of the treasury.
That’s it. I just want to know where I go to get bailed out when I discover that what I’ve been doing is financially “imprudent.” Surely, if our beneficent government can rescue the big guys, they’ve got to be able to fling me a little bitty lifeboat! I’m headed to DC to find the line. If I find it, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Following the Yellow Brick Road,
Blawgerman
Sunday, September 21, 2008
You Know Your Kid's Ugly When..........
You Know Your Kid’s Ugly When.....
A professor comes up to you and asks for a picture of your kid because he’s doing a study on gag reflexes..............
You’re afraid to squeeze that pimple on the kid’s head because you’re afraid nothing will be left.......
The acting club wants to borrow your kid so they can practice their stage screams...............
The DNA testing company sends the kid’s DNA test results back because "it’s an obvious hoax".........
Geico approaches you for their neanderthal commercials ‘cause they want "a cute little neaderthal kid that doesn’t need much makeup"...............
The ice cream truck vendor throws him ice cream bars for free just to keep him from coming up to the truck............
Blind people shriek when they feel his face...............
Your force your daughter to convert to Islam just for the facial covering..............
Horrifyingly Yours,
Blawgerman
A professor comes up to you and asks for a picture of your kid because he’s doing a study on gag reflexes..............
You’re afraid to squeeze that pimple on the kid’s head because you’re afraid nothing will be left.......
The acting club wants to borrow your kid so they can practice their stage screams...............
The DNA testing company sends the kid’s DNA test results back because "it’s an obvious hoax".........
Geico approaches you for their neanderthal commercials ‘cause they want "a cute little neaderthal kid that doesn’t need much makeup"...............
The ice cream truck vendor throws him ice cream bars for free just to keep him from coming up to the truck............
Blind people shriek when they feel his face...............
Your force your daughter to convert to Islam just for the facial covering..............
Horrifyingly Yours,
Blawgerman
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
More You Know You're A Hillbilly When.....
More You Know You’re A Hillbilly When…….
You have more fingers than teeth (even after losing a finger in that bar fight).
You just can’t figure out which cousin you should invite to the prom.
You think Fried Chicken is our national bird.
You own more than two pairs of church overalls.
You’re picked by the family to plan the party for your father’s sixth-grade graduation ceremony.
The number of teeth you have is actually higher than your IQ.
You list “Nascar” as your religion of choice.
Your matching underwear with your spouse reads “His’n” and “Her’n”.
You have a cousin, second-cousin, nephew, and half-brother…..all in the same person.
From the Hills,
Blawgerman
You have more fingers than teeth (even after losing a finger in that bar fight).
You just can’t figure out which cousin you should invite to the prom.
You think Fried Chicken is our national bird.
You own more than two pairs of church overalls.
You’re picked by the family to plan the party for your father’s sixth-grade graduation ceremony.
The number of teeth you have is actually higher than your IQ.
You list “Nascar” as your religion of choice.
Your matching underwear with your spouse reads “His’n” and “Her’n”.
You have a cousin, second-cousin, nephew, and half-brother…..all in the same person.
From the Hills,
Blawgerman
More to the Right.....More to the Right.....Ooops!
More to the Right….More to the Right…..Ooops!
Wow.
All this time I thought the Republicans were the party of the right wing. I guess if you go right long enough, you end up left.
Weird……..
It seems that my Republican “free market” friends are really socialists in free-market clothing. They’ve accomplished in one month more socialism than the Democrats have accomplished in my lifetime! And to think I fell for the free-market schtick……
What have they done, you ask? It’s easy. They have succeeded in socializing and nationalizing the mortgage insurance industry! Uncle Sam owns Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and now AIG. America now runs the mortgage insurance industry in our country. And to think that we got so upset when Castro nationalized American businesses after he took over. My guess is that we have succeeded in nationalizing more businesses in pure dollars than Castro ever did. AIG is $85 billion. The Freddie and Fannie nationalization is going to cost us between $25 billion and $100 billion. Billion. Castro nationalized chump change compared to the Fed.
But my question is why the free-market rouse? Why trick us into thinking market forces are the panacea to the world’s economic woes? Did they know all along that they would lull us to sleep and every morning we’ll wake up to a new nationalized major business? Do they plan on us never discovering that this was their diabolical plan all along? And do they think that they can continue to spout free-market mantras and have us continue to suspend our disbelief? I think not.
But hey, I’ve been saying we should threaten to nationalize the oil and gas industry for some time now. Leave it to our Government to nationalize businesses that are tanking. At least if they nationalized the oil and gas companies, they’d make a profit. So….I say let’s nationalize Mobil and the rest of the guys while it still worth it. Don’t wait for them to teeter on the edge of bankruptcy before we guarantee them and bail them out for the good of national security.
Nationalizingly Yours,
Blawgerman
Wow.
All this time I thought the Republicans were the party of the right wing. I guess if you go right long enough, you end up left.
Weird……..
It seems that my Republican “free market” friends are really socialists in free-market clothing. They’ve accomplished in one month more socialism than the Democrats have accomplished in my lifetime! And to think I fell for the free-market schtick……
What have they done, you ask? It’s easy. They have succeeded in socializing and nationalizing the mortgage insurance industry! Uncle Sam owns Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and now AIG. America now runs the mortgage insurance industry in our country. And to think that we got so upset when Castro nationalized American businesses after he took over. My guess is that we have succeeded in nationalizing more businesses in pure dollars than Castro ever did. AIG is $85 billion. The Freddie and Fannie nationalization is going to cost us between $25 billion and $100 billion. Billion. Castro nationalized chump change compared to the Fed.
But my question is why the free-market rouse? Why trick us into thinking market forces are the panacea to the world’s economic woes? Did they know all along that they would lull us to sleep and every morning we’ll wake up to a new nationalized major business? Do they plan on us never discovering that this was their diabolical plan all along? And do they think that they can continue to spout free-market mantras and have us continue to suspend our disbelief? I think not.
But hey, I’ve been saying we should threaten to nationalize the oil and gas industry for some time now. Leave it to our Government to nationalize businesses that are tanking. At least if they nationalized the oil and gas companies, they’d make a profit. So….I say let’s nationalize Mobil and the rest of the guys while it still worth it. Don’t wait for them to teeter on the edge of bankruptcy before we guarantee them and bail them out for the good of national security.
Nationalizingly Yours,
Blawgerman
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Rainy Days and Mondays.............
Rainy Days and Mondays……..
(singing) Hangin’ around
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down
Man. Nothing can say it like the oldies.
Well, another Monday and another couple of Wall Street Giants have bitten the dust. I’m starting to hate going to sleep on Sunday nights these days. Every weekend that goes by is followed by more damaging economic news. This weekend? Well, Lehman Brothers, a 150 year old Wall Street investment company, filed for bankruptcy protection while Merrill Lynch was bailed out of trouble and purchased by the cash-rich Bank of America.
The odd thing is that no one is even hearing about the trouble these firms are in until a Monday morning announcement that they’ve been bought, filed bankruptcy, or are the beneficiaries of some governmental bailout. That is more worrisome than them going out of business. It leaves me wondering where does this mess end and what other giants are getting ready to go belly up?
This Monday also brought news that the insurance giant AIG is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy as well. Oh well, nothing like bad news coming in threes to make the stock market plummet 500 points! And the drop is not over. Asian markets fell again this morning.
The only good news is that crude oil prices fell again. Ironically, gas prices went to over $5.00 per barrel in some places in the south and gas prices have risen this past week because of the ficticious “shortage” of gasoline caused by the shutdown of refineries during the hurricanes. Crude oil prices have dropped almost 40% from their all time highs, yet gas prices at the pump have dropped just 7%.
People in the media are using phrases like “economic meltdown”, “economic Armageddon”, “fiscal disaster”, and my favorite, “severe economic downturn”, which is short for “Depression.” Now European and Asian markets are reacting to their perception that the crisis in America will have a severe negative impact on the rest of the world.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would like to point out that the free market theories that have been the guiding light of the Republican party have brought us to this mess. Greed drives the free market. Greed without regulation leaves large institutions free to take bigger and bigger risks in order to maintain shareholder earnings. Those risks are not being regulated by the government. Sure, it costs to regulate big businesses and to regulate the risk taken by mortgage companies and investment banks, but the costs of failing to regulate them may include launching us into a “severe economic downturn”…..
Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down.
Blawgerman
(singing) Hangin’ around
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down
Man. Nothing can say it like the oldies.
Well, another Monday and another couple of Wall Street Giants have bitten the dust. I’m starting to hate going to sleep on Sunday nights these days. Every weekend that goes by is followed by more damaging economic news. This weekend? Well, Lehman Brothers, a 150 year old Wall Street investment company, filed for bankruptcy protection while Merrill Lynch was bailed out of trouble and purchased by the cash-rich Bank of America.
The odd thing is that no one is even hearing about the trouble these firms are in until a Monday morning announcement that they’ve been bought, filed bankruptcy, or are the beneficiaries of some governmental bailout. That is more worrisome than them going out of business. It leaves me wondering where does this mess end and what other giants are getting ready to go belly up?
This Monday also brought news that the insurance giant AIG is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy as well. Oh well, nothing like bad news coming in threes to make the stock market plummet 500 points! And the drop is not over. Asian markets fell again this morning.
The only good news is that crude oil prices fell again. Ironically, gas prices went to over $5.00 per barrel in some places in the south and gas prices have risen this past week because of the ficticious “shortage” of gasoline caused by the shutdown of refineries during the hurricanes. Crude oil prices have dropped almost 40% from their all time highs, yet gas prices at the pump have dropped just 7%.
People in the media are using phrases like “economic meltdown”, “economic Armageddon”, “fiscal disaster”, and my favorite, “severe economic downturn”, which is short for “Depression.” Now European and Asian markets are reacting to their perception that the crisis in America will have a severe negative impact on the rest of the world.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would like to point out that the free market theories that have been the guiding light of the Republican party have brought us to this mess. Greed drives the free market. Greed without regulation leaves large institutions free to take bigger and bigger risks in order to maintain shareholder earnings. Those risks are not being regulated by the government. Sure, it costs to regulate big businesses and to regulate the risk taken by mortgage companies and investment banks, but the costs of failing to regulate them may include launching us into a “severe economic downturn”…..
Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down.
Blawgerman
Monday, September 8, 2008
Freddie....then Fannie....What's Next?
Freddie Mac…..Fannie Mae……What’s Next?
Is anyone else concerned about the recent announcement that the Federal Government has seized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae? I mean a few weeks ago they announced that the good ‘ole Feds had “shored up” the lending institutions. Now, almost overnight, the Feds announce that that have taken control of the two largest lending institutions in America…..I guess the shoring up didn’t work so well….
Kinda sounds like what happened to Bear Stearns. Remember them? Their employees show up on a Monday morning to find out that the company was sold, the Government was stepping in, and their stocks were worth $2 per share. The whole country found out that Bear Stearns had failed that Monday morning…..only, they didn’t really fail….they just had some back room dealings with the government to bail themselves out of the problem. It seems that the government had to guarantee the buyer of Bear Stearns that they would not lose money on the deal. Nice.
What’s going on when major, major decisions are being made by our Government that seem to be, for all intents and purposes, in the dark to the average person on the street?
What angers me is that I have heard Republicans speaking about the mortgage crisis and say that they weren’t inclined to help homeowners who were behind on their adjustable rate mortgages because they didn’t feel like they should “step in and relieve the consumer of the consequences of their bad contract.” They are spouting the “free market” mantra when it comes to the home buyer.
BUT, when it comes to the large lending institution, all of a sudden it is all right to come in and relieve the lender of the consequences of their bad decision-making. Maybe this shows the hypocrisy of the free market crowd, but it certainly shows that the free market, which eschews regulation, hasn’t been doing that great a job recently. I mean, if we’re going to believe in free market economics, why should the government even step in to “shore up” failing institutions, much less take them over to guarantee that they stay in business.
You see, we can either spend money regulating or we can spend money bailing out failing companies. Either way, we get to spend money. It seems to me it would have been better to regulate the industry in the first place. Failing that, it would be better to work out a deal to keep homeowners in their homes and spend the money to refinance people who had gotten behind on their mortgages. Obviously, the Government’s choice not to provide help to those homeowners hasn’t been a good idea because it has lead to the collapse of Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae.
Ironically, the poor people who lost their homes and possibly much more are now going to be called upon to share in the tax burden of paying for the bail out of the very people who kicked them out of their houses.
Seeing Red,
Blawgerman
Is anyone else concerned about the recent announcement that the Federal Government has seized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae? I mean a few weeks ago they announced that the good ‘ole Feds had “shored up” the lending institutions. Now, almost overnight, the Feds announce that that have taken control of the two largest lending institutions in America…..I guess the shoring up didn’t work so well….
Kinda sounds like what happened to Bear Stearns. Remember them? Their employees show up on a Monday morning to find out that the company was sold, the Government was stepping in, and their stocks were worth $2 per share. The whole country found out that Bear Stearns had failed that Monday morning…..only, they didn’t really fail….they just had some back room dealings with the government to bail themselves out of the problem. It seems that the government had to guarantee the buyer of Bear Stearns that they would not lose money on the deal. Nice.
What’s going on when major, major decisions are being made by our Government that seem to be, for all intents and purposes, in the dark to the average person on the street?
What angers me is that I have heard Republicans speaking about the mortgage crisis and say that they weren’t inclined to help homeowners who were behind on their adjustable rate mortgages because they didn’t feel like they should “step in and relieve the consumer of the consequences of their bad contract.” They are spouting the “free market” mantra when it comes to the home buyer.
BUT, when it comes to the large lending institution, all of a sudden it is all right to come in and relieve the lender of the consequences of their bad decision-making. Maybe this shows the hypocrisy of the free market crowd, but it certainly shows that the free market, which eschews regulation, hasn’t been doing that great a job recently. I mean, if we’re going to believe in free market economics, why should the government even step in to “shore up” failing institutions, much less take them over to guarantee that they stay in business.
You see, we can either spend money regulating or we can spend money bailing out failing companies. Either way, we get to spend money. It seems to me it would have been better to regulate the industry in the first place. Failing that, it would be better to work out a deal to keep homeowners in their homes and spend the money to refinance people who had gotten behind on their mortgages. Obviously, the Government’s choice not to provide help to those homeowners hasn’t been a good idea because it has lead to the collapse of Bear Stearns, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae.
Ironically, the poor people who lost their homes and possibly much more are now going to be called upon to share in the tax burden of paying for the bail out of the very people who kicked them out of their houses.
Seeing Red,
Blawgerman
Freddie Mac, When Are You Coming Back?
Freddie Mac? When Are You Comin’ Back?
Blawgerman has done some research! Yeah, yeah…..it may be the first time…..but hey, there’s always a first time for everything!
You may not know this, but there has already been a song written about the takeover of one of our largest lending institutions. Martha and the Vandellas wrote this a long time ago, but had to change the original wording to Jimmy Mack in order to sell songs……..
Here’s the Original Freddie Mac (before they changed it due to crass commercialism):
Freddie, Freddie, oh Freddie Mac, when are you coming back?
Freddie, Freddie, oh Freddie Mac, when are you coming back?
My ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) are missing you, my Equity Lines feel the same way too
I tried so hard to be true, like I promised I'd do
But this Lender keeps coming around, he's trying to wear my resistance down
[Chorus:]
Hey Freddie, Freddie, oh Freddie Mac, when are you coming back?
Freddie, Freddie, oh Freddie Mac, when are you coming back?
He calls me on the phone, about three times a day
Now my heart's just listening to what he has to say
But this interest rate I’m locked into keeps me reaching out to be his friend
[Chorus]
Need your loaning, need your loaning
[Instrumental break]
I wanna say, I'm not getting any stronger, I can't hold out very much longer
Trying hard to be true, but Freddie, he talks just as sweet as you
[Chorus]
Need your loaning, need your loaning
Need your loaning, need your loaning...(Freddie, Freddie, oh Freddie Mac, when are you coming back)
Wow. I didn’t know Martha and Vandellas were a prophetic group! Well, enjoy the song as you wonder, as do I, what it really means that the US Government seized the two largest mortgage lenders in America in the past week.
Singing the Mortgage Blues,
Blawgerman
Friday, September 5, 2008
Nostradamus Wasn't Too Good at Dates, Either!
Nostradamus Wasn’t Too Good at Dates, Either!!!!
Help Me Understand Brain Farts.........
Ok Already!!!!
So I mentioned that Hillary and Sarah will face of in 2112 (as so many of you pointed out to me!). I know that they will both be dead by then (as will all of us). But, you see, peering into the future has its own set of perils. I mean, what’s a hundred years for a prophet and a visionary?
Yeah, Yeah.....I do know that my prediction was really about 2012.........I just totally and utterly failed to say that! At least I was consistent with 2112 throughout the entire blog! Even Prophets can suffer from serious brain farts!
Ah well, to be a prophet is really to be misunderstood.....sigh.
Prophetically Yours,
Blawgerman
Help Me Understand Brain Farts.........
Ok Already!!!!
So I mentioned that Hillary and Sarah will face of in 2112 (as so many of you pointed out to me!). I know that they will both be dead by then (as will all of us). But, you see, peering into the future has its own set of perils. I mean, what’s a hundred years for a prophet and a visionary?
Yeah, Yeah.....I do know that my prediction was really about 2012.........I just totally and utterly failed to say that! At least I was consistent with 2112 throughout the entire blog! Even Prophets can suffer from serious brain farts!
Ah well, to be a prophet is really to be misunderstood.....sigh.
Prophetically Yours,
Blawgerman
Thursday, September 4, 2008
More World's Least Likely Books
More World’s Least Likely Books….
How to Have Winning Hair…..…..Joe Biden (with a forward by John McCain)
How to Pick the Right Church………Barack Obama
A Guide to Proper Pronunciation…………..George W. Bush
Humility…………Donald Trump
Stop the Profanity!………….Chef Gordon Ramsey
101 Ways to Cook a Moose…………..Sarah Palin
18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling and All I Get is a Lousy Convention T-Shirt……….…..Hillary Clinton
It Depends Upon What Is Is…………Bill Clinton
How to Shoot Friends and Influence People…………..Dick Cheney
Putting Family First……………..Britney Spears
Ah well, time to get reading……….
Blawgerman
How to Have Winning Hair…..…..Joe Biden (with a forward by John McCain)
How to Pick the Right Church………Barack Obama
A Guide to Proper Pronunciation…………..George W. Bush
Humility…………Donald Trump
Stop the Profanity!………….Chef Gordon Ramsey
101 Ways to Cook a Moose…………..Sarah Palin
18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling and All I Get is a Lousy Convention T-Shirt……….…..Hillary Clinton
It Depends Upon What Is Is…………Bill Clinton
How to Shoot Friends and Influence People…………..Dick Cheney
Putting Family First……………..Britney Spears
Ah well, time to get reading……….
Blawgerman
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Nostradamus Has Nothing On Me!
Nostradamus Has Nothing On Me!
Help Me Understand……2112
Nostradamus, the Great Carnac, Jeanne Dixon……Bring ‘em on! Blawgerman is up to the challenge! And remember, what you are about to hear…..you heard here first!
2112 will be the first Female v Female battle for the White House.
There. I said it. And here’s why….
First, Hillary Clinton has been running for 2112 ever since she realized that the smooth-talking, inspirational Barack Obama was going to win the Democratic nomination. She stayed in the race, she trounced him in several states by huge margins even after his victory in the overall race was secured, and she succeeded in making the first two days of the Democratic National Convention about the Clintons, with each day driving home the point that Barack Obama failed to chose Hillary Clinton, whose convention speech far outperformed the speech of Joe Biden, as a running mate even though she put "eighteen million cracks in the glass ceiling".
Make no mistake about it. As election day comes closer, we will see more and more ads of Hillary and Bill Clinton as they made statements during the primaries that Barack Obama is not qualified to be president of the United States. You’ll even see Joe Biden saying the same thing! Both Hillary and Bill knew full well when they made the statements about Obama that they would become fodder for the Republicans in the general election. In fact, they are depending upon those statements being used to prevent Barack Obama from winning the 2008 election.
Then there will be the ads that play the footage of Reverend Wright denigrating our country, ads about Obama supporters that were 60’s radicals, and questions about Barack Obama’s ability to purchase his home with the help of felon Tony Rezko. The extreme negativity about Obama will probably cost him his chance at the presidency, which is exactly what Hillary wants. Hillary knows that a run against McCain in 2112 will be far easier than trying to campaign against Barack Obama as the incumbent president. That is…..if McCain runs again.
You see, McCain is 72 years old. By next election, he will be 76. Even though he has a family history of great longevity, he will have a greater chance than any president in memory of having health issues that will prevent his run for reelection. And……………………….if that happens, Sarah Palin will be the presumptive Republican candidate.
And there you have it. 2112. Hillary and Sarah….mano a mano….vying for the most powerful position in the US and maybe the world. You’ve come a long way, baby!
Prognosticatingly Yours,
Blawgerman
Help Me Understand……2112
Nostradamus, the Great Carnac, Jeanne Dixon……Bring ‘em on! Blawgerman is up to the challenge! And remember, what you are about to hear…..you heard here first!
2112 will be the first Female v Female battle for the White House.
There. I said it. And here’s why….
First, Hillary Clinton has been running for 2112 ever since she realized that the smooth-talking, inspirational Barack Obama was going to win the Democratic nomination. She stayed in the race, she trounced him in several states by huge margins even after his victory in the overall race was secured, and she succeeded in making the first two days of the Democratic National Convention about the Clintons, with each day driving home the point that Barack Obama failed to chose Hillary Clinton, whose convention speech far outperformed the speech of Joe Biden, as a running mate even though she put "eighteen million cracks in the glass ceiling".
Make no mistake about it. As election day comes closer, we will see more and more ads of Hillary and Bill Clinton as they made statements during the primaries that Barack Obama is not qualified to be president of the United States. You’ll even see Joe Biden saying the same thing! Both Hillary and Bill knew full well when they made the statements about Obama that they would become fodder for the Republicans in the general election. In fact, they are depending upon those statements being used to prevent Barack Obama from winning the 2008 election.
Then there will be the ads that play the footage of Reverend Wright denigrating our country, ads about Obama supporters that were 60’s radicals, and questions about Barack Obama’s ability to purchase his home with the help of felon Tony Rezko. The extreme negativity about Obama will probably cost him his chance at the presidency, which is exactly what Hillary wants. Hillary knows that a run against McCain in 2112 will be far easier than trying to campaign against Barack Obama as the incumbent president. That is…..if McCain runs again.
You see, McCain is 72 years old. By next election, he will be 76. Even though he has a family history of great longevity, he will have a greater chance than any president in memory of having health issues that will prevent his run for reelection. And……………………….if that happens, Sarah Palin will be the presumptive Republican candidate.
And there you have it. 2112. Hillary and Sarah….mano a mano….vying for the most powerful position in the US and maybe the world. You’ve come a long way, baby!
Prognosticatingly Yours,
Blawgerman
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