copperpenny

Does Wealth Equal Money?

Thanks for a stimulating point of view.

Can Obama Stop the Current Recession?

Obama just stated that we can not just continue to print money forever. Thank you Obama!

Service-Based Economy Is Progress? Show Me the Money

Fine article.

Why Don’t We Buy Stocks When They Are on Sale?

The same reason I do not by foods laced with hydrogenated vegetable oil,corn syrup,MSG,dextrose, disodium phosphate... even if they are on sale. I will buy a nice fillet mignon on sale at whole foods. Mutual funds bring all that other gobbley gook even if you do not see it, you need to read the labels or you end up with toxic junk. This is stock picking time. I do not want a basket of junk food.

Did Economists Miss the Housing Problem?

Denial we all want bubbles to last forever.

Saving the Auto Industry: The Gush-Up Proposal

Fine article.

Bailout, Schmailout

Jeff,enjoyed your article. My blood is boiling. If you take public funds you need to play by different rules. We shouldn't bail out GM.By doing these bailouts the government is deciding who should be a going enterprise. I do not like this. Currently many health care decisions are based on insurance decisions not the health care providers. Drug Co. work diligently to be sure that their meds are in the formulary approved by the insurance company for reinbursement. Insurance companies design a plethora of paperwork to lengthen the time they hold money before payout. This has increased the cost of care by requiring massive clerical staff to keep up with their required paperwork before payout. The more difficult the paper work requirements the better the insurance companies cash flow. This is by design. Jobs based on smoke and mirrors not production of anything tangible but required to move money through the system. After all the goal of the insurance company is to make money. We live in a society that wants to finance education with lotteries and trust our health care to a for profit system. How many Docs receive bonuses from insurance carriers for minimizing expenses in a HMO setting. Not sure about nationalized health care but a single payer system seems to make sense. The profit motive is not so bad but with unbridle greed has caused many of our current problems. Our reliance on credit and bailouts is unsustainable.

On Rescuing Homeowners Undergoing Foreclosure

User 273364 I feel your pain. Having lived below my means currently down over 700k between 401k and drop in value in my home. It stinks. Yet I was lucky for years with realestate investments starting with 12k in college and buying a small 4 unit apartment bldg near the university and renting to med.students. I was able to live rent free make my mortgage and have an extra $100 a month after expenses not to mention that the property appreciated 17k in 2years. This was in 1978 and the small neighborhood bank required 30% down. Things have really changed in lending practices. Two years ago when I bought my house I thought it was a deal as it was a distressed sale with the guy having put 0down and lost his job. I took advantage of his stinking situation to what I thought at the time was a good deal. Had property in La in '87 sold before the bubble popped at a35% gain. Made money in the tech bubble and got out before that pop. Been lucky. This time looks like I've gotten caught, yet I knew when I bought that the market was not at a sustainable level. Wish I would of payed attention to my self and didn't. We as part of this need to instill prudence as part of our society with expecting minimal bail outs. Reasonable lending practices need to be addressed as well as the lack of transparency in derivatives. As the leverage is unwinding I am showered with pre approved with massive unsolicited credit card offers. Suggestion that I refinance my home and take cash back. Many of the mortgage offers are based on deceitful information its like their desperation is causing an increase in offers based on their need to get a few more deals in while they still can. Lets prosecute deceitful lending practices and insist on more transparency in derivatives and government actions. Some intervention will be required lets just think this through.

Finuked: Where Are the Bunkers?

The operation was a success but the patient died.

The Right Way to Encourage Home Ownership

Encouraging home ownership as a matter of course contributed to this mess. Bankers; mortgage and otherwise didn't use solid criteria in determining credit worthiness or amount of credit granted. What about lease to own with a portion of the rent being held for a down payment at a predetermined price. What about getting owners of property to finance the sale and being responsible to do the research in determining risk of the loan. On the other hand renting is not all bad. It is only since the end of WWII that homeownership has become so common place. The cost of housing to income has been way out of wack for many years now. Tax policy coupled with easy money fueled this bubble. Though your desire to make home ownership available to many is admirable it is tuff to get your head around how to this with out causing negative consequences.

Financial Warning to the U.S. Government

Brad, Thoughtful article.We do need to think in new ways with cooperation and the ability to consider many points of view. I find roncees comments simplistic. Calling human beings vermin is offensive. At times of stress it is easier to look for scapegoats than to feel the pain of loss and uncertainty. I hope we as a nation can face these challenges with dignity ,intelligence and the willingness to make sacrifices. These attributes will be required if we have any hope of dealing effectively with this historic mess. This prementioned behavior should go a long way in improving our perception in the global markets.

The Sting of American Capitalism

An increase in margin requirements makes perfect sense. What percent of our economy and income has been from an increase in leverage at all levels. We have had a massive sense of denial in personal , public and the financial community. This of course has proven to be unsustainable. Eventually reality impinges on our collective denial.

U.S. Economy on the Brink; Metals, Solid Currencies Are Best Option

Oh Dear the blame game! As a society we want things fixed and quickly. Frustration tolerance would serve us well in the long term. Greed can keep us alive in a psychobiological perspective, but coupled with short sighted massive denial feeds behavior that is self destructive and has undermined the state of our political and economic system. Faith has been undermined and has a tendency to feed complacency . Hard assets look appealing. I hope we gain some wisdom from this current fiasco.

Let Lehman Fail

Fine article. Capitalism ? Freemarket? Only when convenient for a select few. I for one would like to see more transparency in these kind of government decisions. I can not comprehend how we can allow this kind of post capitalism behavior to continue.

Hyperinflation, Here We Come

debt is payed back with cheaper dollars in an inflationary environment when you look at the true value of money.