"Whores Demand Federal Bailout"Ling Carter, again:
New York City - "Tiffani" wearily peered down a deserted Bronx street, muttering, "A lot of nothing — again." The 29-year-old prostitute hadn't had a trick since the previous evening and wondered how she would support a growing drug habit, a pimp, and the need to update her work wardrobe. "Everyone thinks these Jessica Simpsons last forever," said "Tiffani," referring to her high-heeled ankle boots. "But the seams are splitting and winter's coming on. I need new boots. Where's the damn government?"
Where indeed? RTWT.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
08:23 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 96 words, total size 1 kb.
t's starting to feel like one of those epic nights at the bar in Washington, DC. You know, the evenings where you know you're running up a tab much bigger than you intended, but the bartender has your card, and it's just so easy to order one more round for the gang.
For those too sozzled or bozwozzled to track what we're spending on on bailouts these days, here's a quick tally:
• $29 billion for Bear Stearns
• $143.8 billion for AIG (thus far; it keeps growing)
• $100 billion for Fannie Mae
• $100 billion for Freddie Mac
• $700 billion for Wall Street, including Bank of America (Merrill Lynch), Citigroup, JP Morgan (WaMu), Wells Fargo (Wachovia), Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and a lot more
• $25 billion for The Big Three in Detroit
• $8 billion for IndyMac
• $150 billion stimulus package (from January)
• $50 billion for money market funds
• $138 billion for Lehman Bros. (post bankruptcy) through JP Morgan
• $620 billion for general currency swaps from the Fed
Rough total: $2,063,800,000,000
That's a little over $6,800 for every man, woman, and child, or just under $15,000 for each of America's 140 million taxpayers.
Remember—a few billion here, and a few billion there, and pretty soon we're talking about real money.
You know what I could go for, just about now? Another Great Depression.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
06:43 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 246 words, total size 2 kb.
Why Are Oil Prices Going Down?
You've got questions? Gail the Actuary at The Oil Drum has answers.
From where I stand, they aren't dropping so fast that people aren't relatively tramautized when they fill their tanks. And no one is going to forget what happened this summer, so I think we can push forward on increased domestic production and making renewables more efficient. This small lessening of the pressure shouldn't lose us a lot of momentum.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
04:03 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 83 words, total size 1 kb.
Now, See . . .
I'd be able to formulate a much more sophisticated opinion on this Oil Drum article—which I think I agree with, mostly—if the Thomas Sowell book I'm currently reading (or was in the spring) hadn't gotten lost in the move.
The current financial meltdown is the result of under-regulated markets built on an ideology of free market capitalism and unlimited economic growth. The fundamental problem is that the underlying assumptions of this ideology are not consistent with what we now know about the real state of the world. The financial world is, in essence, a set of markers for goods, services, and risks in the real world and when those markers are allowed to deviate too far from reality, “adjustments” must ultimately follow and crisis and panic can ensue. To solve this and future financial crisis requires that we reconnect the markers with reality. What are our real assets and how valuable are they? To do this requires both a new vision of what the economy is and what it is for, proper and comprehensive accounting of real assets, and new institutions that use the market in its proper role of servant rather than master.
(Baldilocks and I are thinking of forming an anarcho-syndicalist used-Sowell-book collective. [By that I mean, we figured out that we could read his books twice as quickly if we started trading 'em after we're done with them. Unfortunately, that means 1) finding the box that most of his volumes ended up in when we moved, and 2) figuring out which ones are mine, vs. my husband's. I could simply confiscate what I feel are my share of the Sowell books, but somewhere I read that if I do that, I'll create disincentives for my husband to buy any more of 'em. It's all a bit fuzzy, to tell you the truth.] Oh, and Baldi doesn't know any of this yet, so don't tell her.)
Posted by: Attila Girl at
08:13 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 228 words, total size 2 kb.
Oh. So It's All About a Porn DVD.
Burge explains the financial crisis, which stems—he claims—from a loan he offered Treacher a while ago to buy an adult video for certain "biological" purposes. Unfortunately, the situation just kept . . . growing and growing. According to Burge. (Treacher's account of the situation differs slightly.)
Apparently, though, if we continue to hit the Iowahawk and Treacher PayPal buttons, we can avoid another Great Depression! Cool!
This afternoon Mr. Treacher and I sent a joint communique to global financial markets and key government central banks, declaring our intention to restructure our debt agreement. We have named our plan the "Save the Global Economy Fund." The terms are somewhat complex for the economic layman, but here are the highlights: I have agreed in principle to write off 50% Mr. Treacher's debt, and he has agreed to a 60/40 split of the proceed from the fundraising portion of the plan.
We have done our part to ease the jittery credit markets, but ultimately the success of our plan depends on the participation of the American consumer. And that's where you come in.
Click on the PayPal button on the left side of this page (Beer Fund) and make a financial sacrifice to me in the name of the "Save the Global Economy Fund."
Next, visit Jim Treacher's site and make a PayPal sacrifice to him. It should be 1/3 smaller than the first, reflecting his greater culpability for the crisis, and our 60/40 thing.
The actual amount of your sacrifice -- $1 million, $100,000, or even $10,000 -- is not important. The critical thing is that the markets see that we are pulling together to sacrifice as Americans to save the future of this country, just like the Greatest Generation of World War II. You can monitor the impact of this campaign by keeping a close eye on the financial markets. Is the Dow up? Great going, America! Let's keep up the good work, and repeat steps 1 and 2 with increasingly larger donations. If the Dow is down, however, this will be your signal that the markets think your donation was insufficient. In this case, you should instead repeat steps 1 and 2, with increasingly larger donations.
I had no idea that it worked that way.
Um. By the way. Darleen Click covered for my margaritas last Saturday night as we ate dinner with Baldilocks, Steve in Huntington Beach, Ace, and Patterico. I would hate to see the economic dominoes start falling just because she failed to exercise her due diligence by reminding herself that I'm an irresponsible flake when it comes to time, money, and all other human endeavors.
Left sidebar. Right between the purple Twitter update box and the picture of George Washington. Thanks. Just fork it over and I'll consider paying Darleen back, thereby averting a global economic crisis.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:45 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 487 words, total size 3 kb.
UPDATE: Oops, there it went again. You could always mosey over here, and see what's below the jump.
Malkin has the backstory about how the skit didn't merely portray George Soros in a not-quite-flattering light, but also "outed" the Herbert and Marion Sandler partnership as being one of the major forces behind the mess we find ourselves in now.
With a little help from, among others, Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank.
No one I know can believe that the skit aired in the first place, though we all know the tried to pull it before it went viral. Otherwise, Herbert and Marion Sandler could become household names for having screwed many individuals, the taxpayers, and the economy in general. People would be hearing all over the place about the role Herbert and Marion Sandler played in the financial debacle, and they might not be able to operate behind scenes as effectively.
In fact, once the actions of Herbert and Marion Sandler became well-known, there is a chance that those who are upset about the fact that we are still in some danger of a recession might get miffed at Herbert and Marion Sandler fore helping to bring it about.
So, please: don't get upset at George Soros. Or at Herbert and Marion Sandler, who were just trying to deceive a few people so they could become enormously wealthy in a way that would put the economy at risk and turn a few poor and working-class people onto the streets, which I'm sure will improve their character just as it improved the portfolios of Herbert and Marion Sandler.
Posted by: Sejanus at October 07, 2008 12:01 AM (/knrx)
2
Yeah, they are staying up late to keep hammering that one down at YouTube. NBC has got to be freaked.
Malkin has links up, and they work.
If those go down, I'll risk the DCMA takedown notice and host the damn thing too.
Posted by: Jimmy at October 07, 2008 12:39 AM (H7Rlw)
3
Here is a working link... for now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RKQuAwqAbs
When they take that down, just search YouTube for: snl skits Nancy Pelosi
You should find it again.
Posted by: Jimmy at October 07, 2008 12:49 AM (H7Rlw)
4
And another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RKQuAwqAbs
here too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wtgPRFlZms
That last one was posted within the last few moments
Posted by: Jimmy at October 07, 2008 12:50 AM (H7Rlw)
5
http://msunderestimated.com/SNLBailoutSkit.wmv
(right click on my name at the bottom of this specific post and "save as...")
Posted by: Jimmy at October 07, 2008 01:12 AM (H7Rlw)
Posted by: Alexander Klingman at October 07, 2008 09:26 AM (lhJxs)
7
Anti-Semitism is OK, AK. You know, if you own a pet gun, believe you're a teenage girl, and have had your brains sucked out by evil movie-theater employees.
Posted by: Twinky Winky Palin at October 07, 2008 11:43 AM (diuxU)
8
Anti-Semitism? Did you link to the Daily Kos by mistake, Twinky Winky Biden?
Posted by: Darrell at October 07, 2008 12:02 PM (u/4DC)
9
"Yay! Anti-semitism is hilarious!"
IS that a joke?
Posted by: Jimmy at October 07, 2008 12:07 PM (H7Rlw)
10
Everything that disputes the Left/Democrats is offensive individually to each of it's members. Every thing that supports the Left is "fair game" or "just a joke--Get a sense of humor, moron!" The clip's racist, too, because it doesn't aid Obama's ascension to power.
Posted by: Darrell at October 07, 2008 12:32 PM (u/4DC)
11
You're right, what was I thinking? How could a sketch which suggests that several prominent Jews who had no relation to the financial crisis be blamed for the crisis could possibly be anti-Semitic? Why, there's no precedent in all of Western history for blaming rich Jews for economic woes! Silly me!
Posted by: Alexander Klingman at October 07, 2008 12:33 PM (lhJxs)
12
The "Star of David" on their shirts is in your head, by the way. Time to adjust your meds.
Obama will ban all such "humor" or at least pixelate every face and have all characters identified as "X" or "Y". Or is that sexist now?
Posted by: Darrell at October 07, 2008 12:42 PM (u/4DC)
13
Who says they are Jews?
So anyone that is a Jew can't be criticized or mocked for reprehensible actions just because they are Jews?
I think you need to look up what anti-Semitism really means before you use it like a flame thrower to extinguish any debate on a topic that does not reflect well on your team.
Posted by: Jimmy at October 07, 2008 01:26 PM (H7Rlw)
14
Who knew President Bush was Jewish?
You were right, though, about him having no relation to the financial crisis.
Posted by: Darrell at October 07, 2008 01:40 PM (u/4DC)
15
The skit video is still up at PatDollard.com and also that link to the .wmv file that Jimmy posted was still valid as of a couple hours ago.
Grab and host on your own space temporarily. The worst they do is send a DMCA notice and it eventually gets pulled.
Man how the rats scramble when the light of truth is shined on them!
Posted by: Desert Cat at October 07, 2008 02:21 PM (6go9w)
16
Um . . . Klingman (no--you don't get to be called Alex; I have a good friend by that name and you haven't earned such a moniker). It never crossed my mind that any of the miscreants involved in this mess were Jewish. Considering the fact that the major co-conspirator here was the U.S. House of Representatives, I'm going to need to see some evidence that Jews are over-represented in the legislature before I can begin to follow your reasoning.
I feel like I'm being berated for accusing the Chinese of being Bad at Business and Worse at Handling Money. Gosh knows the Chinese are even worse at it than Jews. (Excuse me: "the" Jews. I mean, the Joooooos.)
Don't you have your cultural stereotypes turned 180 degrees around? Perhaps you need an encyclopedia of bigotry, so you can identify it more accurately?
Posted by: Attila Girl at October 07, 2008 02:25 PM (TpmQk)
17
Dearall,
Follow your own advice, after eight years with Bush Co. The DOW is where it started, and the people with their hands in the cookie jar are now asking for another four, and you are expecting a different result.
Posted by: azmat Hussain at October 09, 2008 02:02 PM (ZVMDn)
Via Hot Air, where Morrissey makes the same point Geraghty did: this goes beyond the election. If we aren't clear on how the financial mess happened, it will happen again. And probably worse.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:56 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 41 words, total size 1 kb.
1
So-o...Darrell! How's them STOCKS of yours doin'? Snappin' up bargains left 'n right, I'm sure. Stupid people "talking down the economy" are creating quite the windfall for an astute shopper such as yourself, no doubt!
Oh, no need to acknowledge that I was right six months or a year or two ago. No, no groveling necessary.
Posted by: Desert Cat at October 06, 2008 12:01 PM (6go9w)
2
This bailout is just one more example of the indivisible handjob stroking irresponsible CEOs and CFOs with billions so that they can run the American economy even further into the ground. So much for Keynesian economics. If the goal is to stimulate the economy, why not give the money directly to the American taxpayers? The government could do twice as much good for the economy by returning half as much money (as the bailout requires) directly to the hardworking American taxpayers. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush administration.
Posted by: John Maszka at October 06, 2008 01:22 PM (6pOnK)
3
Yeah you and Ravi Batra-- "Surviving the Great Depression of 1990,(1989)" Say anything for twenty-eight years and you may be right some day.
You'd do well to re-read what I actually said and see how the recent events are affirmation of my opinions. Business fundamentals aren't driving this 'correction'.
Maybe banks should sue the Federal Gov't for strong-arming them (through million dollar fines and threats of multi-billion dollar fines) into ignoring sound business practice to achieve social engineering goals.
If legislators thought that everyone should have a house, they should have put their careers on the line and come out with a taxpayer funded program to do that in the first place. Of course they may have been voted out the next time they had to run to keep their seats. Maybe those same cowards should push to raise the minimum wage to $30/hr now. That should help move things along.
The provisions in the CRA that caused the crisis should be struck down immediately, as should the mechanisms that help people make fortunes by driving down the price of financial assets, then benefiting through credit-default swap derivatives.
If America starts bleeding internally, the rest of the world is going to start coughing up major organs. Try laughing when that starts to happen, Euro-Fucks!
Obama is just too important for the US to Bogart him: I say just appoint him to the Euro Presidency now! Sorry, Tony. . .
Posted by: Darrell at October 06, 2008 02:51 PM (zk43y)
4
Yeah, we should have all panicked a year ago and thrown the World into a depression them. And you wouldn't even had to restock all that food in your bunker, then. I can't argue with that logic. Nothing can be made worse by knee-jerk over-reactions after all.
Go ahead people! Close out your retirement accounts for $1.98!!! Buy shiny coins, tulip bulbs, and MREs. Vote Ron Paul.
You have a convert.
Posted by: Darrell at October 07, 2008 01:07 PM (u/4DC)
5
Darrell, Darrell, Darrell...
The problem here is not one of overreaction, but of a massive *underreaction* of the vast majority of people who are too fat and lazy to have the slightest *clue* of where we are in history.
There *will be* panic, yes. There *is* panic now in the markets. But it's not because people were warning about this one or three years ago. When you see winter coming you make preparations. No need to panic, just work at your plan. When you see fat grasshoppers whiling away the last days of Indian summer, you might think to warn them, but hey, don't upset their applecart! The weather is too beautiful to worry!
You seem to think it's a *good* thing that people had the wool pulled over their eyes for an additional year while the big boys covered their ass and got out? People like those Sandler's parodied in the SNL skit? Real nice guy you are. Real friend of the people there.
"Shut up Sheep! Quit your BA-A-ing! That sound you hear is NOT the sound of a plague of locusts about to destroy your pastoral meadow! Shut UP before you panic the herd!"
Anyone listening a year ago would not have been closing out their retirement accounts at $1.98. Today yes. *Cash* would have been a far better investment in the interim.
The only thing that happened in the last year was a failed and failing effort to keep the bubble inflated long enough for the big players to reposition themselves for the next push to consolidate worldwide economic control.
They've made remarkable strides in the last couple of weeks.
Posted by: Desert Cat at October 07, 2008 02:51 PM (6go9w)
6
Right. It's rather too late for a few things now, isn't it? But don't you worry! Bernacke is predicting a recovery for the first part of next year...just like he predicted a year ago for today.
(Fluffy Happy Bunny sez "Oh Goody!" I say "pure bullshit--there's more pain to come", but don't worry about listening to me...)
Posted by: Desert Cat at October 08, 2008 11:10 AM (6go9w)
7
Cheer up! Things can always get worse.
I've never bet against this country and I'm not going to start at this late date.
Posted by: Darrell at October 08, 2008 11:15 PM (y6iSi)
8
Like another 600 point decline on the DOW.
Woo Hoo! Par-tee time!
Posted by: Desert Cat at October 09, 2008 11:59 AM (6go9w)
9
If you channeled your pessimism into short selling, you would have been a billionaire right now. Bet that could get you one bitchin' bunker!
If you think the forces that back 'O' aren't behind this; backed by cheerleading from the people that lead and hardly inform public opinion; backed by brokers that see more potential in the downside than the upside as measured by the commissions piled up in every corner of their homes, then I fear for us all. BTW, the Dow closed at 14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007. Think Bernacke needed to apologize for that? Or give hope that things will get better?
I hope our "face" is sufficiently spited!
Posted by: Darrell at October 09, 2008 03:34 PM (s7quz)
1
Viagrae, I couldn't agree more.
How much would that video sell for, anyway?
Posted by: Concho at October 02, 2008 12:59 PM (ZET1q)
2
Make mine HQ, please.
If video more than about 3.5mins: render to WMV.
And increase your video's brightess by 10% and contrast by 20%
Project tab--
video render quality = best
Audio tab
Mode = CBR
Format = Windows Media Audio 9.1
attributes: 128 kbps, 44 kHz, stereo (A/V) CBR (do not use the DD 5.1 default - it's too quiet)
Video tab
Mode = CBR
Format = windows media video 9
Image size = keep original size
Frame rate 29.970
Video Smoothness = 100
Bit Rate tab
High speed internet (1 Mbps)
For videos shorter than 3.5 minutes: render to MPG
Use all default sony vegas settings, but double check the audio is stereo:
audio mode = stereo mode
psychoacoustic model = psychoacoustic model 2
audio layer = audio layer 2, bit rate (Kbps)=224
sample rate (Hz)=44,100
and double check the bit rate settings:
select variable bit rate
max (bps)=6,000,000
avg (bps) = 4,000,000
min (bps) = 192,000
Ann's columns have consistently been hitting their marks. And her selection of stories in her right hand column is particularly effective.
Posted by: Darrell at October 02, 2008 01:36 PM (aUtDJ)
REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
DEAR AMERICAN:
I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.
I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.
. . . . . . . . . . .
THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY . . . . WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.
PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS.
The question . . . really isnÂ’t about reforming Wall Street, but instead reforming Washington. This crisis started because of government interference in lending markets, and it will repeat until government learns to stop dictating lending policy and avoid guaranteeing lenders.
Which campaign truly gets the problem? We probably wonÂ’t guess it from the spots they produce over the next few days, so McCain and Sarah Palin will have to make sure they make it part of their stump speeches. McCain got it right in his two . . . essays, and he needs to keep explaining it on the campaign trail.
Fannie and Freddie are the poster children for a lack of transparency and accountability. Fannie Mae employees deliberately manipulated financial reports to trigger bonuses for senior executives. Freddie Mac manipulated its earnings by $5-billion. They've misled us about their accounting, and now they are endangering financial markets. More than two years ago, I said: "If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose." Fannie and Freddie's lobbyists succeeded; Congress failed to act. They've stayed in business, grown, and profited mightily by showering money on lobbyists and favors on the Washington establishment. Now the bill has come due.
What should be done? We are stuck with the reality that they have grown so large that we must support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the current rough spell. But if a dime of taxpayer money ends up being directly invested, the management and the board should immediately be replaced, multimillion dollar salaries should be cut, and bonuses and other compensation should be eliminated. They should cease all lobbying activities and drop all payments to outside lobbyists. And taxpayers should be first in line for any repayments.
Even with those terms, sticking Main Street Americans with Wall Street's bill is a shame on Washington. If elected, I'll continue my crusade for the right reform of the institutions: making them go away.
1
I like the idea of salary caps on executives!
And for the large institutions on whom millions depend, and whose failure affects the very lives of all Americans, greater government supervision and control for the benefit of taxpayers and society....
Now, if we can just apply the same principles to health care, we'll really have something!
;-)
Posted by: rin at September 16, 2008 03:53 PM (RcTyt)
Monday, Bloody Monday.
I'm not an economist; I got nothin'.
Except to get the government out of the way.
And maybe do some drillin'.*
There is the McCann-centric plan for fixing the economy, of course: hire yourselves a quality cartoon writer, or a terrific copyeditor/proofreader/fact-checker!
* And all the rest: flex-fuel cars, biofuels, clean coal, natural gas, some wind, a little solar. Some French-style nuclear power. But also . . . lots of drillin'.
1
Well, Rin--I think these public-private partnerships have to be done correctly, rather than by subsidizing the taking of untenable risks.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were encouraging the writing of unwise loans.
How can you take a badly managed public-private partnership in which capitalism wasn't permitted to work correctly, and then use it as an indictment of unchecked capitalism?
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 16, 2008 10:01 AM (TpmQk)
2
So the Democrats wanted "a million Mogadishus" in the War on Terrorism, and the MSM's co-operation to paint that picture. Just as they wanted the same on the war on the US economy that started in January 2008 with 24/7 with doom-and-gloom stories. "We don't just report it, we make it happen." (Fluffy wants you to go to newsbusters and find the link)
OK, Azmat, I will stipulate that the Dems want the worst for the US in their quest for the acquisition of power. You don't have to convince me. They started the "talk down the economy" campaign in Dec. 2001 when the rest of America was dealing with 9/11, and just when the economy was settling down and experiencing some growth. They wanted to make some hay for the coming midterms. They even had a secret meeting where the MSM bigshots were there as participants(Aspen). Wonder if they cleaned out their stock portfolios beforehand because they knew what was coming? We'll never know. The MSM didn't bother to check. The rest of us average Americans took a bath on our retirement nest eggs. Who knew that kicking us in the balls was how the Democrats plan to look out for the common man?
Posted by: Darrell at September 16, 2008 01:25 PM (3fov+)
3
Here's the thing, Azmat. Companies are out to make a buck. Yes, they will look after their employees' welfare to some degree. Yes, they will maintain financial reserves to tide them over. Yes, they are out o safeguard the interests of their stakeholders. Yes, they aim to become better corporate citizens - but the underlying drive for all private enterprise is to survive and thrive. Same as with all of us organic people.
The world still runs on a barter economy, do you realise that? The only thing is, we have abstracted it over by agreeing (mostly) to a shared, common means of exchange - money. Strangely enough, this makes money a commodity and a trade item. We are buying and selling money, all of us. I buy money by selling my skills and services. I sell money by buying goods and services.
How, then, do financial institutions make money? Primarily, they make money by buying the use of our money with a promise to keep it safe and maybe add a little bit to it when we want it, and then turning around and selling it for even more money. This sale is time-bound; I'm selling the use of $300,000 now in exchange for $600,000 over the next 30 years. We normally call these mortgages or loans.
Here's the thing. When I sell something for an immediate consideration, my risks are fairly low, because I get the exchange done there and then. But in the case of a loan, I don't. And in order to make money, I have make sure that whoever buys the use of that 300k can actually pay for it over that period of time. This is called credit risk management - both risk assessment, and risk control.
Companies are out to make money. In a totally free market, this usually results in the rich being offered even more money (because the companies are fairly confident they can afford to buy the 300k), and the poor are not (because the companies are not confident). Hence, no meltdown is likely to occur. You will have those who are willing to cater to the needs of the less rich - but in order to take on the higher risks, higher rewards are anticipated. We call them loan sharks. Or credit card companies, same thing.
What you had happen in the US was the simultaneous pressure of Congress requiring financial institutions disregard standard risk procedures in order to lend money to people who could never afford to service the loans, and the perceived removal of the underlying risks through implied government underwriting.* This created a moral hazard of incredible proportions, and now you are reaping the whirlwind.
But make no mistake; this is not caused by hedge fund managers, or speculators, or whatever. This was caused by Big Government, the kind put in place by Democrats, and sadly, seemingly supported by many RINOs.
*An example; when I was undergoing a camp, one of the things I had to do was demonstrate trust in my team by falling straight off a table into their outstretched hands. Perfect example of being required to disregard risk assessment guidelines, but with an implicit guarantee and removal of risk.
Of course the bitch who was supposed to catch my head failed to do so, causing me to see stars for a bit. I may even have lost a couple of seconds. I didn't even get to fuck her up nicely (or any other way). I don't think the big players are cracking their heads open on concrete yet, but surely it's gotta be hurting.
/yeah, I had to do it again. Did it perfectly this time round.
//You wanna trust the govt not to ass-rape you again, Azmat? I'm not so trusting the THIRD time round.
Posted by: Gregory at September 19, 2008 10:33 AM (6EETi)
Well of Course Domino's Pizza Is Up.
I doubt that people are eating more pizza during this "economic downturn," but I imagine that they could be, if they are working more overtime or whatnot. But there are only three reasons one might eat Domino's pizza as opposed to another brand:
1) it's the closest pizza place to where one works;
2) it's the only pizza place that delivers and can figure out how to get to your house out in the middle of nowhere in Flintridge;
3) it's the cheapest pizza made that is still edible.
I suspect that factor (3) is the operational one, here.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
12:51 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 113 words, total size 1 kb.
