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What Were the People of California Thinking?

you guys just don't get it! California is corrupt, from counties to the state. They ride roughshod over lower income folks with unreasonable taxes, and the legislators thumb their nose by taking pay raises in hard times, junkets to foreign countries, and live high off the hog. And the answer -- spend more money on highly punitive prisons than education. As a Californian, I am going to vote no against any money raising issue, because it doesn't do the trick. Not when you have rich guys buying yachts and not paying taxes. Not when you have 9.25% sales tax, and hundreds of dollars to register a car, and the fat cats laughing all the way to the bank. Cut the salaries of all state employees and get rid of the sleaze ball political pay-off commissions, and then bring something in front of the voters, because CA legislators are too chicken s--t to make hard, decent decisions. Oh and by the way, a lessor percentage of California taxes are returned to the state than 48 other states.

Historical Patterns Predict This Crisis Will Last Through 2025

This essay is long on a theory most respectable social scientists would eschew. It is born out of the science fantasy movement. This 10th grade level essay is long on IDEOLOGICAL STATEMENTS and short on facts. Bergmann defines an ideological statement as a statement of belief stated as it is factual, when it is not.

For instance: "The natural force in play is the length of an average human lifetime, 85 - 100 years (also known as a saeculum)." Please tell me when the mean life span was this high? Maybe next century. This age cohort is now the 3rd standard deviation of the population curve and represents only about 1% of the world population!

When this author starts making factual statements derived from factual data he will have more impact.

Kants model: thesis-antithesis-synt... is more coherent and resonant with the history of mankind, but it failed to account for the process of unionization, and so Marx's adaptation of Kant and his prediction that Capitalism will fail and move into communism failed.

Why does Alpha allow such drivel?

Bank of America Nationalization Would Shock, Not Help, Economy

I must preface my remarks by: "in my opinion; I owned both stocks and realized losses, I don't own any bank stock now:

BAC is a very competent class A predator. BAC is differentiated from Citibank mainly by issues of pure incompetence at C at many layers of their management. Nationalizing Citibank is a no brainer. BAC should also be nationalized.

Remember, BAC was "forced" to take funds from Feds to "mask" the banks who really needed it? Sheer misdirection! The Truth is that it was Bank of America (along with the Citibank losers) that needed those funds,

BAC was the true weak one (and Thain realized this - hence his 8 billion dollar bonus heist). BAC still does need a citizen handout of at least a Trillion to be safe.

BAC is still hiding its MAJOR LOSSES from defaulted credit cards, no doubt brought on by its arbitrary system wide increase to over 30% APR for everyone not personally "connected". There is a strong rumor that BAC is taking its defaulted credit card holders and financing its REO's to them by including the card debt on new mortgages at 5% 30 year fixed. Similar deals are working for homeowners in danger of foreclosure! Every lawyer in the USA is counseling their clients to default on ALL debt, in order to bolster the argument that they need a modified mortgage. Seems to be working!

Its stockholders of record, who bought the stock in the 30 to 60 range are looking at $3.81 Friday? The great mass of individual stockholders WOULD NOT suffer if BAC were nationalized. Does it matter to them if they realize 3.81 per share more long/short term loss? Not really. They will be in the hole for life, as will their already decimated 401ks. Best to cut the BAC house of cards at the balls while it still has a vestige of strength left. Even if Lewis resigns as he should, since this crap was all his idea, that should not deter nationalization.

USA is no longer a capitalist country anyway, especially for those fat cats with their hands out.

NO ENTERPRISE IS TOO BIG TO FAIL.

When Will Things Get Better?

it is NOT trinkle down economics, it is PISS ON YOU economics. There is a difference.

On Feb 20 08:14 AM bosun.j wrote:

> Things will get better when Main St. definitively rejects extremist-capitalist
> neo-CON tinkle down economics and forceably rejects its proponents.
> French Revolution style. Which, sadly, is to say things won't get
> better.

Foreclosure Moratoriums: It's Time to Get Real

Lets see, now, the big corporations have been bailed out of their greedy, predatory, irresponsible behavior, now its time to stick it to the little guy. So what else is new?

Stocks Are Doomed, Only Cash or Precious Metals May Survive

Yes - different constituency -- instead of corrupt predatory banks getting all of the bailout funds - so they can pay billions in unearned bonuses to their Republican lackey crooks, we now have monies being spent for corrupt democratic payoffs to middle class people. Still, it doesn't appear that either party understands how many soon to be homeless people there are out there, the impact on credit card failures, or understand that these people will rise up and start rioting, and burning, and doing other nasty things, while they make Marx's prediction of the lumpen proliteriat seem casual.

New Mortgage Bankruptcy Bill Does Not Address Real Problem

Well, first, there is no such thing as a "free market" That is a pollyana dream of greed mongers, i.e. mortgage brokers and finance institutions, or a cynical refrain from profiteers in the hopes of minimizing regulatory legislation. In the absence of market regulation, the rich players themselves form oligarchical cartels that function to reduce market forces more tightly than a regulatory economy could.

What we now have is a Corporate Welfare State, pretending to be a market economy, where corrupt and incompetent corporations and their officers change their spots overnight so that they can stick their tongues out the following day for taxpayer holy communion from a Congress priesthood in their pockets.

Second, there is no such word as "anyways". These two factors lead me to question not only the tired old ideology of the writer and his abject followers (no doubt confining their communications to twits), but his educational attainment (lack of education and untenable ideologies seem to go hand in hand).

Third, mortgages are not priced according to risk, and do not function adequately on a macro level. The extant computer models are priced based on individual-based algorithms, and include "all the market will bear profits", plus outright greed (fostered by illegal and unethical tactics of financing sources) and racial and geographical discrimination.

Fourth, who cares if down payments are higher (that is a prudent factor which the lack of has cost us dearly), and interest is 1.5% higher (even at that level it is lower than anytime in our history since 1945!)

Fifth, our housing debacle is the result of a private market, that in the absence of competent regulation, went terribly awry. Good riddance.

Sixth, pouring money down the throat sewers of financial institutions is not the answer. They are already laughing all the way to their vaults, and still hanging onto their welfare gains by not loaning.

Seventh, come back to housing in 120 days, when the credit debacle hits. Regardless of a stricter bankruptcy law, you still can't squeeze blood out of turnips. Wait until it gets through to beleagered and buggered taxpayers that they can literally walk away from their phoney no-recourse mortgages, and since they won't ever be able to buy a house again, screw their 34% credit cards too*! Most will not have the money to go into bankruptcy, and lending institutions for a time will spin their wheels trying to collect, but the default will be so massive, more banks will dissolve in front of your face.

And like the recent overwhelming corporate welfare, any giveaway laws to consumers Congress will enact will only keep their jobs intact and have minimal impact on our false economy.

Just like the American People were lied to for a full year (We are NOT in a recession) they are now being lied to again - we are truly in a depression, except for the crooks.

*try a disabled person with a limited income that Bank of America allowed to mass a $50,000 balance, whose mortgage is 225,000 more than the value of her house.

Could It Be a Happy New Year for Chrysler?

Cerebus/Chrysler should not have gotten a damn dime of bailout money. They are getting more Federal socialist aid than they paid for the company. Chrysler is a Negative Trademark, with a long history of shoddy workmanship, poor customer service -it is doomed to failure, not even Mercedes Benz could rehab the stinking rotting company. Cerebus, with an impressive string of raiding companies and then throwing them in bankruptcy, will have Crysler in bankruptcy in less than one year - after they have finished raiding all the money, just like they did for Meryvns, et al. It now is truly government of the corporation, by the corporation and for the corporation. Congress knows well who their true masters are.

Bad Mortgages Are Only the Beginning

Well, if bankruptcy is good enough for Lehman's, its good enough for the common joe on the street. Sure he was enticed with low interest cards that soon transformed into "all the market could bear" 34% usurious interest horror cards. But if you lose your home, and there are no promises of any kind of redemption for ten years, you might as well go whole hog and file bankruptcy. Even with the credit card industries heavy duty changes to the bankruptcy law, if you don't have a job, you don't have a house, you don't have medical, then screw the credit card industry. All they do is take 2% money and charge 34%. As for collection agencies, they will be contacting debtors at disconnected cell phones, because ATT can't even get a loan for their operations. If ATT can't get a loan, what good is credit for the little guy?

But there are millions of persons out there who can't afford to pay the lawyers to go bankrupt! There will be so many defaulted debtors who won't bother to file, and that will be the bane of the banks.

Week In Review: S&P 1500 Stocks Posting Large Moves

too bad u can't do this once a day, and also include prospective listings of firms you prognosticate will move

Grading Paulson and Bernanke

In the future, please explain to your audience that when you take your non-random "snap polls", the results are NOT generalizable to greater population, but rather only your group of 400 biased traders. I suspect that your 400 sample is comprised of the last group with the ethical stance or objective position to rate these men.

The SEC's Campaign Against Short Sellers

We are in full agreement with the SEC, should it block all naked shorting, including commodities.

A Stockholder, and Merchant, Loses Confidence in eBay

I am experiencing greater fraud manipulation with regard to purchases at eBay. Persons promising mailed CD's and then switching you to horrendous downloads Hell; Requests for bucks on the side in order to effect an order; outright non-delivery, etc. Anyone who wants names of these bad merchants email me: [e-mail].