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Saturday, 24 January 2009 |
A 'dead cat bounce' is a rather unpleasant term used to describe a
small, short-term recovery in a falling stock's price. Why? Well, if a
cat was dropped from the top of a tall building, it would bounce when
it hit the ground -- but it wouldn't bounce much, and it would still be
dead. Source - Financial-Guide.net
President Obama may be
overdoing the conciliation thing if that is driving him and his
economic team to include $300 billion in tax cuts as a major component
of his stimulus plan. Congress and President Bush were wrong and
stupid to send us $1,000 checks last year when the stakes were not
nearly as high as they are today. Those checks stimulated nothing, and
a tax break of $300 billion now would be a waste of money at best, and
a further step down the ladder toward Depression at worst.
Here is how tax relief checks will be spent. Those having
troubleIt is unpatriotic not to spend a tax break
check, but what are strapped people supposed to do?
We Americans had our chance to save, and we blew it through
profligate spending, especially on homes many of us could not afford.
Now, however, it is almost unpatriotic to save, assuming you have
enough discretionary money for that purpose. The best way to stimulate
the economy, almost all economists agree, is to spend, spend, spend,
not save, save, save.
Okay, if they really insist on giving us the tax break because it
willGive us all a government money card
instead of a tax break check. When we reach our limit on the card,
we're done.
I did not vote for President Obama because he promised to give all
but the wealthy a tax cut. I voted for him, and donated to his
campaign, because I thought he was "that one" who is smart enough and
tough enough to do whatever it takes to turn this dead cat economy
around, even at the cost of a little political capital.
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Obama, the chief justice and the oath itself were wrong |
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Thursday, 22 January 2009 |
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Lost in the embarrassment of the moment at President Obama's swearing in ceremony on Tuesday was the bad grammar in the oath itself. When Justice Roberts shoved the word "faithfully" to the back of the sentence, the new President stumbled, understanding the word had been misplaced. But the correction -- "I will faithfully execute the office..." -- violates every principle of language taught (or, once taught) in high school. The adverb "faithfully" modifies the verb "execute" and, therefore, should come directly after the verb ("execute faithfully").
President Obama is an excellent writer. Let us hope that he can preserve, protect and defend the English language.
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One way to address the housing mess |
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Thursday, 01 January 2009 |
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Salespeople in general are an optimistic, positive bunch. A sunny disposition is a pre-requisite for selling success. No one wants to buy anything from a grump.
Real estate agents may be the most positive salespeople of all. At a web site I frequent, the realtors who populate the site, Active Rain, pour a lot of treacle into their postings. I haven't read the words "motherhood" or "apple pie" yet, but every other Pollyanna metaphor, including God and country, is there in profusion.
The other night, though, a contributor who goes under the name Martin Titus cut through all the syrup and offered a refreshing slant on how to solve the housing crisis. It's radical, but so are the problems in the market. He believes that the only "equity" the U.S. has is our celebration and practice of freedom. That is the reason, he argues, that people around the world will risk drowning, beatings and pay money they can hardly afford to come here. Yet there are millions who can afford to live here who, given a smooth path to entry, would live in the U.S. for the freedoms we afford. He believes, therefore, that we should open our borders to anyone who is willing to purchase a home in the U.S. for $400,000 or more and commit to stay in it and pay the mortgage for seven years. That, he argued, should take a bite out of the massive inventory of unsold homes.
I would have reprinted Mr. Titus' comments verbatim, but when I returned to the discussion after a day, his comment had been deleted, and all I found was the same old sugary jingoism. Ironic, huh?
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Wednesday, 31 December 2008 |
According to the Wall Street Journal, a Russian professor and former KGB researcher is gaining global notoriety for predicting 10 years ago the disintegration of the United States in 2010. Given the compelling problems that face the nation and President-elect Obama when he takes office January 20, Professor Igor Panarin's prediction is gaining traction in less than nutty circles.
The professor predicted that rich states will rebel at paying the Federal government to take care of other states that have run into sizable financial problems, civil war will break out, and the four major regions of the country will become aligned with other nations. The northeast quadrant of the U.S., for example, comprising Washington, D.C., the middle-Atlantic states and New England, will become part of the European Union. The area from Texas to Florida and most of the surrounding states will affiliate with Mexico; the upper and central Midwest will go to Canada; and "the California Republic," comprising the western states, will come under the influence of China. Hawaii will become a satellite of Japan or China.
Perhaps the most ironic prediction by Professor Panarin, and the one many Sarah Palin detractors may be wishing for, is that Alaska will be subsumed by Russia. The potential of Russian occupation of Wasilla and the rest of the oil rich state prompted one brilliant wag on the Journal web site to comment that, "The good news here is that Sarah Palin will be able to see Russia from both her porch and kitchen window!"
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