muley101's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/181952/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/131045-sirius-xm-has-long-term-staying-power?source=feed#comment-465079 465079 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:45:53 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/115284-how-the-treasury-bubble-will-burst-and-why?source=feed#comment-359977 359977 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:44:13 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/103174-resource-companies-will-benefit-from-global-government-spending?source=feed#comment-297993 297993
US Steel produces wire products (nails), channels, angles, flats, I beams, and in particular concrete reinforcement bar (rebar). One of the initiatives which will be required in the near future will be a huge investment in rebuilding our highways and bridges. US Steel should benefit greatly form this.]]> Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:06:53 -0500
US Steel produces wire products (nails), channels, angles, flats, I beams, and in particular concrete reinforcement bar (rebar). One of the initiatives which will be required in the near future will be a huge investment in rebuilding our highways and bridges. US Steel should benefit greatly form this.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99531-gm-chrysler-merger-could-be-very-interesting-for-sirius?source=feed#comment-281755 281755 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:04:34 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99278-sirius-shares-priced-like-stamps?source=feed#comment-279136 279136 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:24:48 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99278-sirius-shares-priced-like-stamps?source=feed#comment-279116 279116 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:13:11 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99278-sirius-shares-priced-like-stamps?source=feed#comment-278897 278897 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:49:11 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99278-sirius-shares-priced-like-stamps?source=feed#comment-278812 278812 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:54:57 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99278-sirius-shares-priced-like-stamps?source=feed#comment-278766 278766 X) at $43.18. P/E is 4.6. 5 yr high of $196. If the govt starts infrastructure projects to get the economy going this stock will jump.]]> Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:23:13 -0400 X) at $43.18. P/E is 4.6. 5 yr high of $196. If the govt starts infrastructure projects to get the economy going this stock will jump.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/99278-sirius-shares-priced-like-stamps?source=feed#comment-278745 278745 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:15:18 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/99171-o-a-provide-sirius-stern-fans-with-solution?source=feed#comment-278309 278309 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:09:37 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98814-understanding-sector-rotation?source=feed#comment-277892 277892
I am out of SIRI now but will be back when XLF retraces 20%. That will be the bottom.

I did well last week with NCC, but I would not advise that move again since news came out today that NCC is looking for buyers - just like Wachovia did before they went under. However, if the Fed pushes NCC to sell to a larger bank, there may be a huge opportunity for 1000%+ gain just as Wachovia and Bear Sterns saw when they recovered from the very bottom after the selloff - that is if common stockholders are not wiped out. A risky play but with HUGE rewards.]]> Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:32:24 -0400
I am out of SIRI now but will be back when XLF retraces 20%. That will be the bottom.

I did well last week with NCC, but I would not advise that move again since news came out today that NCC is looking for buyers - just like Wachovia did before they went under. However, if the Fed pushes NCC to sell to a larger bank, there may be a huge opportunity for 1000%+ gain just as Wachovia and Bear Sterns saw when they recovered from the very bottom after the selloff - that is if common stockholders are not wiped out. A risky play but with HUGE rewards.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98814-understanding-sector-rotation?source=feed#comment-275706 275706 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:55:13 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98814-understanding-sector-rotation?source=feed#comment-275622 275622
Now more than ever SIRI should seek marketing partners like NetFlix or Best Buy to raise subscriptions.

seekingalpha.com/artic...
]]> Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:54:59 -0400
Now more than ever SIRI should seek marketing partners like NetFlix or Best Buy to raise subscriptions.

seekingalpha.com/artic...
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98140-how-the-rescue-plan-affects-sirius?source=feed#comment-275284 275284 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:23:38 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98533-fannie-and-freddie-did-not-cause-this-crisis?source=feed#comment-275278 275278 Plan B: The Mortgage Investment Bill
for Reviving the Economy

by Stan Muse

The Federal Reserve is out of Federal Funds rate options and now the Congress is about to pass legislation which will be the largest bailout bill in the history of the world. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now penny stocks with perhaps over 1000 bank failures yet to come. The American taxpayer will be told that they and their children will be writing big checks to rescue the Wall Street crooks and congressmen that caused all the problems, while receiving nothing in return.

Anyone who has been following recent congressional hearings knows by now that this is unacceptable to Main Street, the voters who will be firing their congressmen for turning the USA into a socialist country. It is also widely believed that this bailout bill may not be embraced by Wall Street because of its onerous terms even if passed. Finally, it will not provide sufficient liquidity for improving the rest of the economy.

A much more effective and fairer way to end our economic crisis is easily attainable. To state it simply, all Congress has to do is to pass a Mortgage Investment bill which allows individuals a one-time option to use some of the funds in their IRAs to pay off their mortgage balance in full, without any penalty, interest, or taxes for doing so. In return, individuals choosing to exercise this option give up their mortgage interest tax deduction for life. This bill could be passed quickly and independently of any other economy-related legislation currently being debated, or included in the current bill. Individuals choosing this option would need sufficient IRA funds to pay mortgage balance in full. The actual payment to the individual’s mortgage company would be done by the IRA managing institution to avoid fraud.

As one senator recently stated, ‘for most people their home is their IRA’. For many others, their 401-K plans hold many trillions of dollars, much of which by now is parked in money market funds or T-bills as mine is. If these IRA funds could be released to pay off mortgages, we could possibly avert, or at least significantly shorten, the economic recession we now find ourselves in. In fact, no other bailout legislation may even be necessary, although more regulatory legislation is certainly needed.

I asked Allan Meltzer, Arthur Segel, and Ellen Zentner to review this proposal and received some positive responses. Ellen said it seemed to be fool-proof and better than a reverse mortgage. In fact, it is a no-brainer for the homeowner with a large 401-K balance, and for the government. The only people who might object, as Ellen stated, are the bankers who want to keep homeowners dependant on them, especially those in the upper-income group. But even the bankers can not want the government to own a large stake in their business for a multitude of reasons.

It makes sense to allow people to use their IRA money, which they earned, to invest in the best and safest investment they could ever make, their home. Presumably they will need a place to live in retirement on a fixed income. It makes no sense for someone with more than enough IRA funds to cover their mortgage balance to loose their home because they lost their job and can not pay their mortgage. It also makes sense because it is not some form of government bailout which rewards the bad behavior of mortgage companies and unqualified borrowers. Instead, it rewards the good behavior of those who have saved and invested in the economy

If only 5 million people chose this option, for an average of only $200,000 each, the result would be $1 Trillion in paid-off mortgages, providing liquidity to the mortgage industry. By executing the option, an individual’s annual mortgage payment would become disposable income to put back into the economy or back into IRA accounts. To the individual, the effect is the same as lowering taxes. If only 5 Million people were able to put back $20,000 per year into the economy, the result would be a $100 Billion per year stimulus package for many years to come.

In my case, with $800K in IRAs and a secure pension, I would increase disposable income by $1600 per month while reducing the IRA balance by only $160K, but saving over $120K in future interest payments. I could retire, which I can not afford to now, and leave my six figure job to someone else. I could also quickly replenish the IRA money used to pay off my mortgage with the extra income.

Adding a further provision to delay receiving Social Security payments for a year in order to exercise the option would be a baby step towards privatization of Social Security. Anyone financially able to exercise the option should be able to delay the payments. For every 5 million people choosing the option, approximately $100 Billion would remain in the Social Security fund. This could fix our problems with Social Security for good.

Some of the benefits of this plan would be to:

• Immediately increase an individual’s or married couple’s disposable income by tens of thousands of dollars each year while enabling them to become debt free, helping families to stay together
• Save homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage interest payments
• Encourage individual IRA savings by many who have never saved
• Allow many people to retire earlier than they otherwise could
• Create demand for housing, reducing inventory, and stopping the decline in home prices
• Stimulate the overall economy, creating and saving jobs
• Not cost the government anything, and actually Increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by eliminating individual mortgage interest tax deductions, without raising tax rates
• Force the banks to sell their good loan assets to cover their bad loan losses, instead of forcing the taxpayer to buy their worst loans, and increase liquidity for new loans to those who need them
• Allow the free market economy to work through the crisis rather than resorting to socialism
• Not increase the national debt nor the money supply as a bailout would do and contribute to inflation
• Allow the individual home owner to the freedom to become their own banker with the money they earn, reducing America’s dependence on bankers, and changing America from renters and borrowers to homeowners and savers


The merits of this simple plan, the Mortgage Investment bill, for saving the economy, instead of trillions of dollars for a Wall Street bailout which will socialize the finance industry, are obvious and would benefit everyone involved. The individual gets more disposable income and a chance to live debt free, the capital markets get needed liquidity, the government collects more taxes and collects them sooner at the expense of the bankers, the housing market gets more demand, and the general economy gets a much needed boost for the next few years.

Democrats should like this plan because they can claim that it lets the wealthy pay for this mess. Republicans should like it because it increases disposable income, which has the same effect the same lowering taxes. The average voter should like it because it addresses all segments of the economy with a huge economic stimulus package, not just Wall Street, and costs nothing while helping to pay off the national debt and potentially fixing Social Security.


]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:18:28 -0400 Plan B: The Mortgage Investment Bill
for Reviving the Economy

by Stan Muse

The Federal Reserve is out of Federal Funds rate options and now the Congress is about to pass legislation which will be the largest bailout bill in the history of the world. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now penny stocks with perhaps over 1000 bank failures yet to come. The American taxpayer will be told that they and their children will be writing big checks to rescue the Wall Street crooks and congressmen that caused all the problems, while receiving nothing in return.

Anyone who has been following recent congressional hearings knows by now that this is unacceptable to Main Street, the voters who will be firing their congressmen for turning the USA into a socialist country. It is also widely believed that this bailout bill may not be embraced by Wall Street because of its onerous terms even if passed. Finally, it will not provide sufficient liquidity for improving the rest of the economy.

A much more effective and fairer way to end our economic crisis is easily attainable. To state it simply, all Congress has to do is to pass a Mortgage Investment bill which allows individuals a one-time option to use some of the funds in their IRAs to pay off their mortgage balance in full, without any penalty, interest, or taxes for doing so. In return, individuals choosing to exercise this option give up their mortgage interest tax deduction for life. This bill could be passed quickly and independently of any other economy-related legislation currently being debated, or included in the current bill. Individuals choosing this option would need sufficient IRA funds to pay mortgage balance in full. The actual payment to the individual’s mortgage company would be done by the IRA managing institution to avoid fraud.

As one senator recently stated, ‘for most people their home is their IRA’. For many others, their 401-K plans hold many trillions of dollars, much of which by now is parked in money market funds or T-bills as mine is. If these IRA funds could be released to pay off mortgages, we could possibly avert, or at least significantly shorten, the economic recession we now find ourselves in. In fact, no other bailout legislation may even be necessary, although more regulatory legislation is certainly needed.

I asked Allan Meltzer, Arthur Segel, and Ellen Zentner to review this proposal and received some positive responses. Ellen said it seemed to be fool-proof and better than a reverse mortgage. In fact, it is a no-brainer for the homeowner with a large 401-K balance, and for the government. The only people who might object, as Ellen stated, are the bankers who want to keep homeowners dependant on them, especially those in the upper-income group. But even the bankers can not want the government to own a large stake in their business for a multitude of reasons.

It makes sense to allow people to use their IRA money, which they earned, to invest in the best and safest investment they could ever make, their home. Presumably they will need a place to live in retirement on a fixed income. It makes no sense for someone with more than enough IRA funds to cover their mortgage balance to loose their home because they lost their job and can not pay their mortgage. It also makes sense because it is not some form of government bailout which rewards the bad behavior of mortgage companies and unqualified borrowers. Instead, it rewards the good behavior of those who have saved and invested in the economy

If only 5 million people chose this option, for an average of only $200,000 each, the result would be $1 Trillion in paid-off mortgages, providing liquidity to the mortgage industry. By executing the option, an individual’s annual mortgage payment would become disposable income to put back into the economy or back into IRA accounts. To the individual, the effect is the same as lowering taxes. If only 5 Million people were able to put back $20,000 per year into the economy, the result would be a $100 Billion per year stimulus package for many years to come.

In my case, with $800K in IRAs and a secure pension, I would increase disposable income by $1600 per month while reducing the IRA balance by only $160K, but saving over $120K in future interest payments. I could retire, which I can not afford to now, and leave my six figure job to someone else. I could also quickly replenish the IRA money used to pay off my mortgage with the extra income.

Adding a further provision to delay receiving Social Security payments for a year in order to exercise the option would be a baby step towards privatization of Social Security. Anyone financially able to exercise the option should be able to delay the payments. For every 5 million people choosing the option, approximately $100 Billion would remain in the Social Security fund. This could fix our problems with Social Security for good.

Some of the benefits of this plan would be to:

• Immediately increase an individual’s or married couple’s disposable income by tens of thousands of dollars each year while enabling them to become debt free, helping families to stay together
• Save homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage interest payments
• Encourage individual IRA savings by many who have never saved
• Allow many people to retire earlier than they otherwise could
• Create demand for housing, reducing inventory, and stopping the decline in home prices
• Stimulate the overall economy, creating and saving jobs
• Not cost the government anything, and actually Increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by eliminating individual mortgage interest tax deductions, without raising tax rates
• Force the banks to sell their good loan assets to cover their bad loan losses, instead of forcing the taxpayer to buy their worst loans, and increase liquidity for new loans to those who need them
• Allow the free market economy to work through the crisis rather than resorting to socialism
• Not increase the national debt nor the money supply as a bailout would do and contribute to inflation
• Allow the individual home owner to the freedom to become their own banker with the money they earn, reducing America’s dependence on bankers, and changing America from renters and borrowers to homeowners and savers


The merits of this simple plan, the Mortgage Investment bill, for saving the economy, instead of trillions of dollars for a Wall Street bailout which will socialize the finance industry, are obvious and would benefit everyone involved. The individual gets more disposable income and a chance to live debt free, the capital markets get needed liquidity, the government collects more taxes and collects them sooner at the expense of the bankers, the housing market gets more demand, and the general economy gets a much needed boost for the next few years.

Democrats should like this plan because they can claim that it lets the wealthy pay for this mess. Republicans should like it because it increases disposable income, which has the same effect the same lowering taxes. The average voter should like it because it addresses all segments of the economy with a huge economic stimulus package, not just Wall Street, and costs nothing while helping to pay off the national debt and potentially fixing Social Security.


]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98533-fannie-and-freddie-did-not-cause-this-crisis?source=feed#comment-275277 275277 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:16:50 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98140-how-the-rescue-plan-affects-sirius?source=feed#comment-275264 275264
Yep , lots of people were fooled by the immediate effect of the bailout bill being passed on the banks. Luckily I had a 2% stop on the trade. But look at the charts, XLF will be back above 22 within a week or two.
It came back 1.75 in the last 2 hours. There is a tremendous amount of support there.

I told you SIRI would go to .50. It actually hit .45 today. I didnt expect it to happen so fast.]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:00:14 -0400
Yep , lots of people were fooled by the immediate effect of the bailout bill being passed on the banks. Luckily I had a 2% stop on the trade. But look at the charts, XLF will be back above 22 within a week or two.
It came back 1.75 in the last 2 hours. There is a tremendous amount of support there.

I told you SIRI would go to .50. It actually hit .45 today. I didnt expect it to happen so fast.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98213-a-tipping-point-for-virtualization?source=feed#comment-273188 273188 IFL) processors.]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:09:08 -0400 IFL) processors.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98308-sirius-xm-s-bottom-line-could-get-a-boost-from-best-of-programming?source=feed#comment-273073 273073
You guys still think the merger was a good move? Get serious.]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:54:16 -0400
You guys still think the merger was a good move? Get serious.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98308-sirius-xm-s-bottom-line-could-get-a-boost-from-best-of-programming?source=feed#comment-273024 273024 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:39:36 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98308-sirius-xm-s-bottom-line-could-get-a-boost-from-best-of-programming?source=feed#comment-273015 273015 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:32:52 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98140-how-the-rescue-plan-affects-sirius?source=feed#comment-273009 273009 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:28:47 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98140-how-the-rescue-plan-affects-sirius?source=feed#comment-272786 272786 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:57:25 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98140-how-the-rescue-plan-affects-sirius?source=feed#comment-272748 272748 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:25:02 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98380-time-to-end-government-dickering-before-it-s-too-late?source=feed#comment-272744 272744 for Reviving the Economy

by Stan Muse

The Federal Reserve is out of Federal Funds rate options and now the Congress is about to pass legislation which will be the largest bailout bill in the history of the world. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now penny stocks with perhaps over 1000 bank failures yet to come. The American taxpayer will be told that they and their children will be writing big checks to rescue the Wall Street crooks and congressmen that caused all the problems, while receiving nothing in return.

Anyone who has been following recent congressional hearings knows by now that this is unacceptable to Main Street, the voters who will be firing their congressmen for turning the USA into a socialist country. It is also widely believed that this bailout bill may not be embraced by Wall Street because of its onerous terms even if passed. Finally, it will not provide sufficient liquidity for improving the rest of the economy.

A much more effective and fairer way to end our economic crisis is easily attainable. To state it simply, all Congress has to do is to pass a Mortgage Investment bill which allows individuals a one-time option to use some of the funds in their IRAs to pay off their mortgage balance in full, without any penalty, interest, or taxes for doing so. In return, individuals choosing to exercise this option give up their mortgage interest tax deduction for life. This bill could be passed quickly and independently of any other economy-related legislation currently being debated, or included in the current bill. Individuals choosing this option would need sufficient IRA funds to pay mortgage balance in full. The actual payment to the individual’s mortgage company would be done by the IRA managing institution to avoid fraud.

As one senator recently stated, ‘for most people their home is their IRA’. For many others, their 401-K plans hold many trillions of dollars, much of which by now is parked in money market funds or T-bills as mine is. If these IRA funds could be released to pay off mortgages, we could possibly avert, or at least significantly shorten, the economic recession we now find ourselves in. In fact, no other bailout legislation may even be necessary, although more regulatory legislation is certainly needed.

I asked Allan Meltzer, Arthur Segel, and Ellen Zentner to review this proposal and received some positive responses. Ellen said it seemed to be fool-proof and better than a reverse mortgage. In fact, it is a no-brainer for the homeowner with a large 401-K balance, and for the government. The only people who might object, as Ellen stated, are the bankers who want to keep homeowners dependant on them, especially those in the upper-income group. But even the bankers can not want the government to own a large stake in their business for a multitude of reasons.

It makes sense to allow people to use their IRA money, which they earned, to invest in the best and safest investment they could ever make, their home. Presumably they will need a place to live in retirement on a fixed income. It makes no sense for someone with more than enough IRA funds to cover their mortgage balance to loose their home because they lost their job and can not pay their mortgage. It also makes sense because it is not some form of government bailout which rewards the bad behavior of mortgage companies and unqualified borrowers. Instead, it rewards the good behavior of those who have saved and invested in the economy

If only 5 million people chose this option, for an average of only $200,000 each, the result would be $1 Trillion in paid-off mortgages, providing liquidity to the mortgage industry. By executing the option, an individual’s annual mortgage payment would become disposable income to put back into the economy or back into IRA accounts. To the individual, the effect is the same as lowering taxes. If only 5 Million people were able to put back $20,000 per year into the economy, the result would be a $100 Billion per year stimulus package for many years to come.

In my case, with $800K in IRAs and a secure pension, I would increase disposable income by $1600 per month while reducing the IRA balance by only $160K, but saving over $120K in future interest payments. I could retire, which I can not afford to now, and leave my six figure job to someone else. I could also quickly replenish the IRA money used to pay off my mortgage with the extra income.

Adding a further provision to delay receiving Social Security payments for a year in order to exercise the option would be a baby step towards privatization of Social Security. Anyone financially able to exercise the option should be able to delay the payments. For every 5 million people choosing the option, approximately $100 Billion would remain in the Social Security fund. This could fix our problems with Social Security for good.

Some of the benefits of this plan would be to:

• Immediately increase an individual’s or married couple’s disposable income by tens of thousands of dollars each year while enabling them to become debt free, helping families to stay together
• Save homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage interest payments
• Encourage individual IRA savings by many who have never saved
• Allow many people to retire earlier than they otherwise could
• Create demand for housing, reducing inventory, and stopping the decline in home prices
• Stimulate the overall economy, creating and saving jobs
• Not cost the government anything, and actually Increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by eliminating individual mortgage interest tax deductions, without raising tax rates
• Force the banks to sell their good loan assets to cover their bad loan losses, instead of forcing the taxpayer to buy their worst loans, and increase liquidity for new loans to those who need them
• Allow the free market economy to work through the crisis rather than resorting to socialism
• Not increase the national debt nor the money supply as a bailout would do and contribute to inflation
• Allow the individual home owner to the freedom to become their own banker with the money they earn, reducing America’s dependence on bankers, and changing America from renters and borrowers to homeowners and savers


The merits of this simple plan, the Mortgage Investment bill, for saving the economy, instead of trillions of dollars for a Wall Street bailout which will socialize the finance industry, are obvious and would benefit everyone involved. The individual gets more disposable income and a chance to live debt free, the capital markets get needed liquidity, the government collects more taxes and collects them sooner at the expense of the bankers, the housing market gets more demand, and the general economy gets a much needed boost for the next few years.

Democrats should like this plan because they can claim that it lets the wealthy pay for this mess. Republicans should like it because it increases disposable income, which has the same effect the same lowering taxes. The average voter should like it because it addresses all segments of the economy with a huge economic stimulus package, not just Wall Street, and costs nothing while helping to pay off the national debt and potentially fixing Social Security.

]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:21:55 -0400 for Reviving the Economy

by Stan Muse

The Federal Reserve is out of Federal Funds rate options and now the Congress is about to pass legislation which will be the largest bailout bill in the history of the world. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now penny stocks with perhaps over 1000 bank failures yet to come. The American taxpayer will be told that they and their children will be writing big checks to rescue the Wall Street crooks and congressmen that caused all the problems, while receiving nothing in return.

Anyone who has been following recent congressional hearings knows by now that this is unacceptable to Main Street, the voters who will be firing their congressmen for turning the USA into a socialist country. It is also widely believed that this bailout bill may not be embraced by Wall Street because of its onerous terms even if passed. Finally, it will not provide sufficient liquidity for improving the rest of the economy.

A much more effective and fairer way to end our economic crisis is easily attainable. To state it simply, all Congress has to do is to pass a Mortgage Investment bill which allows individuals a one-time option to use some of the funds in their IRAs to pay off their mortgage balance in full, without any penalty, interest, or taxes for doing so. In return, individuals choosing to exercise this option give up their mortgage interest tax deduction for life. This bill could be passed quickly and independently of any other economy-related legislation currently being debated, or included in the current bill. Individuals choosing this option would need sufficient IRA funds to pay mortgage balance in full. The actual payment to the individual’s mortgage company would be done by the IRA managing institution to avoid fraud.

As one senator recently stated, ‘for most people their home is their IRA’. For many others, their 401-K plans hold many trillions of dollars, much of which by now is parked in money market funds or T-bills as mine is. If these IRA funds could be released to pay off mortgages, we could possibly avert, or at least significantly shorten, the economic recession we now find ourselves in. In fact, no other bailout legislation may even be necessary, although more regulatory legislation is certainly needed.

I asked Allan Meltzer, Arthur Segel, and Ellen Zentner to review this proposal and received some positive responses. Ellen said it seemed to be fool-proof and better than a reverse mortgage. In fact, it is a no-brainer for the homeowner with a large 401-K balance, and for the government. The only people who might object, as Ellen stated, are the bankers who want to keep homeowners dependant on them, especially those in the upper-income group. But even the bankers can not want the government to own a large stake in their business for a multitude of reasons.

It makes sense to allow people to use their IRA money, which they earned, to invest in the best and safest investment they could ever make, their home. Presumably they will need a place to live in retirement on a fixed income. It makes no sense for someone with more than enough IRA funds to cover their mortgage balance to loose their home because they lost their job and can not pay their mortgage. It also makes sense because it is not some form of government bailout which rewards the bad behavior of mortgage companies and unqualified borrowers. Instead, it rewards the good behavior of those who have saved and invested in the economy

If only 5 million people chose this option, for an average of only $200,000 each, the result would be $1 Trillion in paid-off mortgages, providing liquidity to the mortgage industry. By executing the option, an individual’s annual mortgage payment would become disposable income to put back into the economy or back into IRA accounts. To the individual, the effect is the same as lowering taxes. If only 5 Million people were able to put back $20,000 per year into the economy, the result would be a $100 Billion per year stimulus package for many years to come.

In my case, with $800K in IRAs and a secure pension, I would increase disposable income by $1600 per month while reducing the IRA balance by only $160K, but saving over $120K in future interest payments. I could retire, which I can not afford to now, and leave my six figure job to someone else. I could also quickly replenish the IRA money used to pay off my mortgage with the extra income.

Adding a further provision to delay receiving Social Security payments for a year in order to exercise the option would be a baby step towards privatization of Social Security. Anyone financially able to exercise the option should be able to delay the payments. For every 5 million people choosing the option, approximately $100 Billion would remain in the Social Security fund. This could fix our problems with Social Security for good.

Some of the benefits of this plan would be to:

• Immediately increase an individual’s or married couple’s disposable income by tens of thousands of dollars each year while enabling them to become debt free, helping families to stay together
• Save homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage interest payments
• Encourage individual IRA savings by many who have never saved
• Allow many people to retire earlier than they otherwise could
• Create demand for housing, reducing inventory, and stopping the decline in home prices
• Stimulate the overall economy, creating and saving jobs
• Not cost the government anything, and actually Increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by eliminating individual mortgage interest tax deductions, without raising tax rates
• Force the banks to sell their good loan assets to cover their bad loan losses, instead of forcing the taxpayer to buy their worst loans, and increase liquidity for new loans to those who need them
• Allow the free market economy to work through the crisis rather than resorting to socialism
• Not increase the national debt nor the money supply as a bailout would do and contribute to inflation
• Allow the individual home owner to the freedom to become their own banker with the money they earn, reducing America’s dependence on bankers, and changing America from renters and borrowers to homeowners and savers


The merits of this simple plan, the Mortgage Investment bill, for saving the economy, instead of trillions of dollars for a Wall Street bailout which will socialize the finance industry, are obvious and would benefit everyone involved. The individual gets more disposable income and a chance to live debt free, the capital markets get needed liquidity, the government collects more taxes and collects them sooner at the expense of the bankers, the housing market gets more demand, and the general economy gets a much needed boost for the next few years.

Democrats should like this plan because they can claim that it lets the wealthy pay for this mess. Republicans should like it because it increases disposable income, which has the same effect the same lowering taxes. The average voter should like it because it addresses all segments of the economy with a huge economic stimulus package, not just Wall Street, and costs nothing while helping to pay off the national debt and potentially fixing Social Security.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98308-sirius-xm-s-bottom-line-could-get-a-boost-from-best-of-programming?source=feed#comment-272718 272718 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:06:37 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98140-how-the-rescue-plan-affects-sirius?source=feed#comment-272614 272614 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:49:46 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/98308-sirius-xm-s-bottom-line-could-get-a-boost-from-best-of-programming?source=feed#comment-272608 272608
I think you have a lot of wishful thinking on the revenue side and for any more borrowing given the economy and credit markets. Both Ford and GM are broke although they won't admit it. How else would they have gotten a congressional bailout package? If Ford fails it will put a huge dent in the revenue, and it looks like they will within 6 months. Your best investment now may be a convertable Mustang, which will be worth a lot later and you can use in the mean time.

Has it occured to anyone else that Mel totally and intentionally screwed all of us who had risked a lot of money on the merger getting approved, and even bought more stock just before it. All of our analysis on the merger was right, except the Mel factor. He anticipated our selling on news of the merger and beat us all to the punch by issuing new shares to pay the debt at our expense. All that crap about doing it quickly because he was afraid of a suit to block the merger was crap. You can not trust him. He will screw you again.]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:44:51 -0400
I think you have a lot of wishful thinking on the revenue side and for any more borrowing given the economy and credit markets. Both Ford and GM are broke although they won't admit it. How else would they have gotten a congressional bailout package? If Ford fails it will put a huge dent in the revenue, and it looks like they will within 6 months. Your best investment now may be a convertable Mustang, which will be worth a lot later and you can use in the mean time.

Has it occured to anyone else that Mel totally and intentionally screwed all of us who had risked a lot of money on the merger getting approved, and even bought more stock just before it. All of our analysis on the merger was right, except the Mel factor. He anticipated our selling on news of the merger and beat us all to the punch by issuing new shares to pay the debt at our expense. All that crap about doing it quickly because he was afraid of a suit to block the merger was crap. You can not trust him. He will screw you again.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/98308-sirius-xm-s-bottom-line-could-get-a-boost-from-best-of-programming?source=feed#comment-272540 272540
Now, I am a day trader and I will do what day traders do. I will look for buying and selling opportunities within cycles and may play a little ping pong with this stock. I suspect that you have been experiencing that from other day traders as you sit and cherr for SIRI to go up and stay up. OMMMMM, OMMMMM. That doesn't work.

The last 2 years of owning SIRI have been as fun as almost burning to death. I feel for you and understand your pain.]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:53:14 -0400
Now, I am a day trader and I will do what day traders do. I will look for buying and selling opportunities within cycles and may play a little ping pong with this stock. I suspect that you have been experiencing that from other day traders as you sit and cherr for SIRI to go up and stay up. OMMMMM, OMMMMM. That doesn't work.

The last 2 years of owning SIRI have been as fun as almost burning to death. I feel for you and understand your pain.]]>