Posted on 03/08/2008 5:31:18 AM PST by Travis McGee
...but aren't you the FReeper who always used to post the "Mr. Housing Bubble" photo?
(I'd love to see it again, Hint, hint).
Cheers!
Page 73
The discovery by financial capitalists that they made money out of issuing and selling securities rather than out of production, distribution and consumption of goods accordingly led them to the point where they discovered that the exploiting of an operating company by excessive issuance of securities or the issuance of bonds rather than equity securities not only was profitable to them but made it possible for them to increase their profits by bankruptcy of the firm, providing fees and commission of reorganization as well as the opportunity to issue new securities.Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time', by Carroll Quigley;
The "operating company" being the American Dream.
The American Dream was doing just fine before Subprime Posterboy, (Ex)Ambassador to the Netherlands, Roland Arnall, and his pirate armada sailed out of Long Beach:
Godfathers of subprime Established in 1979 by Roland Arnall, Long Beach Savings grew rapidly after Wall Street opened the credit tap. It moved to Orange in 1991 and gave up its banking license in 1994, converting to a pure mortgage company. In 1997, Long Beach Savings split into privately-held Ameriquest and a publicly traded subsidiary, which sold for $350 million in 1999 to become the subprime arm of Washington Mutual Inc. Other companies were started by executives who learned the ropes at Long Beach Savings: ResMae Mortgage Corp. in Brea in 2001 and Encore Credit Corp. in Irvine in 2002. ... "You also had the Godfathers of subprime." Daurio said the Godfathers were Arnall, Brian Chisick of Irvine-based First Alliance Mortgage Co., Russell and Rebecca Jedinak of Guardian Savings & Loan in Huntington Beach, and John T. French, founder of Santa Ana-based Plaza Savings & Loan. http://www.ocregister.com/business/how-subprime-lending-1950724-all-started
What a snake pit to untangle!
The only time equity is money is when a person or couple sells their home, takes the capital gain, moves to an area of the country where the property taxes are much lower, and buys a smaller home 30-50% what they sold the previous for.
Though there are market sectors and individual stocks that can return 8% or better at times, as a whole, it is counter productive for the entire economy to average a pace like that. The population and the standard of living have to increase at 3-4% annually to create the demand for the economy to grow and the rise in our standard of living cannot be leveraged.
Why?
Because they are beholding to the corporate financial sector and it was the only near term solution to slow catastrophic failure of the big banks and securities firms.
Travis IS NOT WRONG. We are in a period of stagflation and inflation is going to continue with food and energy and medical and taxes in the near term and at least 2 years out.
Why?
Because China and India's and Asia's on other nations' economy have grown much faster than ours, but, they will still have to eat too.
The next gold mine is in the food commodities and the politico's know it.
In the meantime, the buying power, savings / investment effect of America's middle class will be trashed by 20% permanently from here on out. Average wages will lag 4 years behind this current recession.
Until American government gets its financial houses in order (cut spending and pay off some debt) and reinvests in domestic manufacturing and domestic consumption of those higher quality / better technology goods, the strength of the dollar will be even less now as I type.
When it comes to real value, you can't BS the world and a continued trade deficit every quarter and every year is nothing but US dollars flowing out to other countries economies so their wealth can increase.
We ain't seen nothing yet.
Layoffs, nationwide, in half the business sectors are coming by early summer.
Funny how that record figure of $38 billion in bonuses to Wall Street in December doesn’t get a lot of press exposure, neither. Reminds me of the looting in the aftermath of the LA riots and Katrina.
What I find difficult to believe is that all the preachers of the faux prosperity over the past eight years could believe their own BS.
Millions of Americans have been using their home equity for several years just to survive. And then they tap out their 401K, in spite of the penalties and additional taxes. Unless they fit into some government statistical report (i.e. employed, recently unemployed, in default or foreclosure, etc.) they simply don't exist.
And most people really, really don't understand -- until their number comes up.
Am I screwed?
Looting is exactly right. Look at Countrywide's Mozilo: he quietly sold $100s of millions of his own stock last year, while recommending Countrywide as a strong buy to the sheeple and his own shareholders.
Did they really believe it, or were they just knowingly pulling Mozilos? (See above)
You can always leverage them for more.
I like your investment style.
It can be dead bang certain. A lead pipe cinch in a pinch.
Florida Times Union: FBI begins investigation into Countrywide Financial Corp. for securities fraud
/jasper
Amazing that don't get more play in the headlines.
The suckers at the bottom 2 tiers of the Ponzi pyramid of the mortgage crap and the American taxpayer are left holding the bag.
Of course it would be very counter productive for the MSM to report the truth of what actually happens in business and government and politics.
A raising tide lifts all ships - a falling one, lowers them.
Given the multiple effects of ballooning inflation, collapsing dollar, shrinking economy, higher commodity prices, more unemployment, lower home prices, tighter credit, and more government debt... what does one do?
Well, other than be poor?
A raising tide lifts all ships - a falling one, lowers them.
Given the multiple effects of ballooning inflation, collapsing dollar, shrinking economy, higher commodity prices, more unemployment, lower home prices, tighter credit, and more government debt... what does one do?
Well, other than be poor?
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