Milyunair, when you stop re-editing your posts, we'll talk. First, make up your mind on what  you want to say, then say it, and then leave it alone long enough for us to get the gist that it's a complete thought.

We probably need to end up in the middle, but here's the trend:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704314904575250310858891850.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel

And here's my conclusion, BG: you come across as if you're as dangerous as Beck as you infer Beck is an idiot, by defending the status quo by attacking those who would expose it. Maybe I'm wrong about you being a comfortable, blowhard liberal boomer, but I doubt it. Fire away, or just ignore me, I don't really care because this exercise is not going to solve our problems. For my part, I'm just trying to understand things so I can be happy, and I believe in my heart that many of us are going to have to become more secular about our expectations for life in America in order to remain happy. And as for the average American, the result of what is happening will be a fundamental reversal of the historical expectation that economic life improves.

Still, we all gotta try to be happy Americans, I'm grateful for each day.

We are defined by our heroes. The conservative Republican was defined by Taft in the 50's(bad), and by Reagan in the 80's(good, but a failed economic policy). Now , are you really comfortable with the likes of Palin and Beck? I don't see that sort of leadership going anywhere. Like a loud fart on a windy day. This country needs more socialism, particularly healthcare and better regulation over dangerous multinational financial institutions. While the economic world breaks down, the right worries about gay marriage, the epitome of non-issues.

BG - Freddie and Fannie are not the problem.  Got it.  Freddie and Fannie are the solution to the problem with their loan modification tactics.  Got it.  All of those 135,000 folks are just unfortunate souls who are struggling in this awful economy.  Those poor people.  WE should help them.    

Here's the problem with that - www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.  I underlined the part I feel is the problem.   See, if you follow that link, you get a whole lot of Hope and Change kind of a vibe.  Why, even the toll free number I can call for help makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, full of Mr. Obama's positive YES I CAN message.  1-888-995-HOPE.  That number alone makes me think everything is going to be OK. 

Oh, but wait.  I don't qualify.  Evidently I haven't had my mortgage long enough.  See, I just moved last year and, on the instructions of my banker, my mortgage payment isn't more than 31% of my gross income.  And I'm not having trouble paying my mortgage either.  So, I guess Mr. Obama can't help me. 

What he can do, however, is use my money to help other people.  Without asking for it.  Which I suppose makes sense...since the government owns them.  Why do you have to ask for money from your own piggy bank? 

If you look at that website, you'll eventually run across the examples of people might benefit from a loan modification.  These are the poster children for this program.  Let's take Jennifer.  She's been downsized.  But before she was downsized she bought a $200,000 home with a $1950 a month payment.  ON A $4200 A MONTH INCOME!!!  Poor Jennifer.  She gets downsized and suddenly she can't make her house payments.  So, who's to blame in this situation? 

The bank?  Yep.  Jennifer should have never been allowed to make such a stupid purchase. 

The economy?  Yep, economy crashed, which meant that Jennifer got downsized. 

Jennifer?  No, not hardly.  She only bought the house her banker said she could afford.  Everyone has the RIGHT to have a $1950 a month house payment on a $50K a year job.  It's not her fault the economy crashed. 

Think Jennifer still has her cell phone, her internet, her coffees from Starbucks, Netflix, and her once a month mani/pedi?  I'm going to say she probably does.  Poor Jennifer.  She needs my money to help her out of this tough time. 

My opinion - Jennifer needs to learn some responsibility.  The lesson Jennifer is learning here, is that if you get into trouble, Mr. Obama (because he, or at least his administration, takes credit for helping poor folks like Jennifer out) will just get you out of this bad situation.  Guess who Jennifer is probably going to vote for in the next election?  Sorry, I digress.  I think Jennifer should learn the same lesson our grandparents would have learned had they done this 50 years ago.  When things get tough, you lose the house.  Yep, that's the American way.  Sometimes the best lessons learned are the toughest ones. 

So, does your regressive centrist philosophy think that Jennifer should learn this lesson the hard way, or does it believe like Mr. Obama does that she should get her own little bailout program?  Cause I'm pretty sure that Jennifer doesn't want things to go back to the way they used to be.  Just so you know, this little situation right here with Jennifer and her financial troubles, us uneducated Tea baggers call the solution redistribution of wealth.  Does it piss you off like it does us? 

The Tea Party is for smaller government and less taxes. Who can argue with that, good stuff, right? Here's the problem, the government just gave 95% of them a tax cut. Yet, they rage at the government about taxes. Sounds like a confused group. And, who is their leader? Is it Newt, Sarah, or the Airyan Nation? All have a hand in the pot.

Let's talk about Jennifer: If i've got this straight, first time home buyer, and ordinary working person Jennifer, found herself in trouble when she lost her job. And, you are pissed because rather than man up, accept responsibility, lose the house, the government is lending a helping hand allowing her to keep her house? Which she still has to pay a mortgage on? And. she's making those payments? But you're pissed because eff her , she lost her job moving her to the loser's bracket and she deserves to be homeless, right?

How about this, the very bank that looked over her financials, OK'd the loan, booked the thousands, if not ten's of thousands of dollars in fees and commissions, put her into a high risk loan, crossed it's fingers that the loan wouldn't blow up before it got sold to fannie, turns a cold shoulder to jennifer when the bad loans that, that very bank approved crash the economy costing Jennifer her job. Is that about it? Dude you are pointing your finger at the wrong bad guy.

BTW, first time home buyers going 50% of income on a mortgage happens everyday. This especially holds true in some of the country's more expensive metro areas like NY, DC, etc. In normal times it's never been a problem. Not everyone is rich like you Space.

Let's talk about health care. I'm for the health care bill and i don't care what you call it. I find it interesting that it's only people with access to a health care plan who are against this plan. My reasons for being for it are personal. Here's the story. A good friend of mine is a waitress. She doesn't make a lot of money and doesn't have access to a health care plan. She is an honest working class american who didn't get a break her entire life. She contracted breast cancer. Like much of the country, in this area there is a designated center for the unisured to go to to seek treatment. Here's the dirty little secret. To control costs, this center  turned her away. They told her they weren't the center. The stonewalled her, refused to answer her questions or direct her to THE center. Why, because they are the center and they didn't want to treat her. Time went by with noone helping her, including the ones who were supposed to help. The result, she's on the losing side of the fight. She getting treatment only because others, with connections to top docs got involved. Unfortunately, too late.

Space you can call me a bleeding heart if you'd like, the fact is if your wife or daughter turned up with a lump in their breast not a heartbeat would pass before they got treatment. Why? Because you are rich. You have gotten breaks in life. If you are the typical gen Xer your parents picked up your college tab, paid for your wedding, and gave you the DP for your house. If you're a boomer, survey says 8 chances in 10 you owe substancially all your net worth to your parents, from whom you inherited it. No woman in this country should be rejected for treatment based on their ability to pay. Yet, this happens every day. But you won't hear about it at a tea party.

And, you make an Obama- bailout connection. And you say i'm for bailouts thus for Obama. I'm confused by this. Wasn't it Bush who pushed the bailouts through congress? In fact it was! Bush owns the bailouts, not Obama. Obama got stuck with them. Is this a tea party spin?

If your opinions are based on Beck or any of the other haters, you are misinformed. You deserve the future you get. My hope is that you don't take the rest of us with you.

First of all Glenn Beck is an idiot.. That is fact not fiction. He had drinking and drug problems until 1994. He has no college degree, no training in government positions, he is simply a talking head. The only thing that I do like about him is that he admits that it is entertainment and that he "doesn't give a damn about politics".

Spiff you have to be kidding me...Half the people who need a bailout are jones trainees who were promised if they work hard to first year they would make $125K with bonuses(just kidding). I agree with you that some people bought more house then they could afford, but there were also massive layoffs in industries that no longer exist(housing, mortgage market, etc)..The reason you take on $100 DCA accounts is the same reason the government extends a helping hand(optional) to people who need/want it. Because they maybe rewarded(for you that means referral of $500k account, 401k rollover etc). The part of the story about the lady that you don't point out.. First of all $200K mortgage doesn't equal $1950 even with escrow included. Second of all if she bought a smaller house or rented wouldn't she still be in the same predicament if she got downsized?? What about if she had a 6 month savings, but couldn't find a job(not out of the question) and after 6 months she couldn't make payments. (Then her jones advisor(because if we are being honest let's face it that is who she would do business with) took her old 401K and put it in B shares and is telling her "you said you didn't need the money")

This country is beginning to make me sick.. Shouldn't it be the goal that our entire population lives at a level that other countries want to be at(unlike other countries where 25% of the people are just rotting away). How the hell does it bother you if someone gets bailed out? Taxes...really? Go live somewhere else, try prospecting in cambodia i am sure their tax rate is low... The only reason you get a good mortgage rate on your home is because you are considered less risky(hence you need someone to be compared to) if those people weren't there the banks would just say 10% mortgage deal with it...

Secondly... Seriously what would your boy George W done? ( i know you voted for him because you live in the south and now appear to be stupid).. That guy got "coat-tailed" his entire life... He is quite possibly the worst president ever..

Your redistribution of wealth is BS.. what it really is is those who have massive wealth passing it to the next in the family so they don't have to worry about the struggle.. Read up on the Vanderbilts... One guy made all the money and everyone else squandered it, but it didn't matter because there was so much it...Redistribution of wealth..seriously are you retarded?

It used to be that people had to save to buy a house.

The lady in Spiff's example would likely have been ok, if she had bought smaller and put a significant amount of money down on the house. 

It's as simple as that. 

Oh, and Glenn Beck is not an idiot.  He's very smart.

Him, Hannity, Rachel Maddow and the other dude on MSNBC (Keith Olberman).  All of those people are parasites, preying on the minds of the weak.

[quote=Magician]

It used to be that people had to save to buy a house.

The lady in Spiff's example would likely have been ok, if she had bought smaller and put a significant amount of money down on the house. 

It's as simple as that. 

Oh, and Glenn Beck is not an idiot.  He's very smart.

Him, Hannity, Rachel Maddow and the other dude on MSNBC (Keith Olberman).  All of those people are parasites, preying on the minds of the weak.

[/quote]

Completely agree. It is for people who are to lazy to do the research themselves and take the idea as the word of god because the guy is on tv.

He is an idiot for helping to create a weak and mentally inferior voting public. But he definitely cashes in on it..

[quote=navet]

We are defined by our heroes. The conservative Republican was defined by Taft in the 50's(bad), and by Reagan in the 80's(good, but a failed economic policy). Now , are you really comfortable with the likes of Palin and Beck? I don't see that sort of leadership going anywhere. Like a loud fart on a windy day. This country needs more socialism, particularly healthcare and better regulation over dangerous multinational financial institutions. While the economic world breaks down, the right worries about gay marriage, the epitome of non-issues.

[/quote]

Good grief. Like the current socialist programs are working so well??? Comments like these induce nauseous feelings in my stomach because of the vast amounts of ignorance and blindness to actual facts...

[quote=squash2]First of all Glenn Beck is an idiot.. That is fact not fiction.

It is not a fact, it IS your opinion.

He had drinking and drug problems until 1994.

What relevance does this comment have? other then you being an azzhole.

He has no college degree, no training in government positions, he is simply a talking head.

This coming from someone that cannot remember his password and/or email address i.e. "was squash & squash1"

The only thing that I do like about him is that he admits that it is entertainment and that he "doesn't give a damn about politics".

I personally do not enjoy more then 5-10 minutes of his or any other "shock jock's" show at any given time. They are all too far from the "center" for me but I try to balance them somewhat against each other.

[/quote]

Have you ever noticed how the far Right spokespeople ...i.e. Limbaugh and Beck have never graduated from college and have well documented problems with substance abuse yet we are supposed to regard them with some sort of reverence ? I think that there are about 20% on the far right fringe and about 20% on the far left fringe that I merely shake my head at because they just don't live in the reality that I do. We live in a society that wants all of their news digested so they don't have to do any real work trying to form an idea. It is sad....

BTW in full disclosure, the spokespeople on the far left are just as bad as the ones on the far right......

Latest numbers show mortgage foreclosures up. Something like 37% of foreclosures in 1st qtr were conventional loans. That is folks with good credit and DP dough. To top it off the deliq rate is going up too. one in ten missed a mort payment in qtr one.

Tough for the tea party folks to make the argument that it's only the undeserving who are in trouble.

Question for everyone; how long could you keep your mortgage current if you were without a paycheck? That's no paychecks coming into the house. And, what lifestyle changes would you make to protect the home? When would you make them? Something to think about. After-all, it could happen.

[quote=N.D.]

[quote=navet]

We are defined by our heroes. The conservative Republican was defined by Taft in the 50's(bad), and by Reagan in the 80's(good, but a failed economic policy). Now , are you really comfortable with the likes of Palin and Beck? I don't see that sort of leadership going anywhere. Like a loud fart on a windy day. This country needs more socialism, particularly healthcare and better regulation over dangerous multinational financial institutions. While the economic world breaks down, the right worries about gay marriage, the epitome of non-issues.

[/quote]

Good grief. Like the current socialist programs are working so well??? Comments like these induce nauseous feelings in my stomach because of the vast amounts of ignorance and blindness to actual facts...

[/quote]

Socialist programs? Like our national parks(started by a Republican), national highway system(started by a Republican), FDA, and I have to mention Social Security and Medicare(our first best socialized medical system), without which your parents (or grandparents if you're a 30 something) would be destitute. Our socialized systems are what makes our lives more livable. Face it, if we continue down the neocon nazi road and the middle class continues to shrink, you'll be in great need of social programs.

[quote=BondGuy]

Latest numbers show mortgage foreclosures up. Something like 37% of foreclosures in 1st qtr were conventional loans. That is folks with good credit and DP dough. To top it off the deliq rate is going up too. one in ten missed a mort payment in qtr one.

Tough for the tea party folks to make the argument that it's only the undeserving who are in trouble.

Question for everyone; how long could you keep your mortgage current if you were without a paycheck? That's no paychecks coming into the house. And, what lifestyle changes would you make to protect the home? When would you make them? Something to think about. After-all, it could happen.

[/quote]

Seems you care about people - good thing.

How carefully do you and the other "libs" on this site follow what is happening with the Euro?

Have you ever visited China - they are kicking the $$$$ out of us, and it is because of unfettered competition. While yo feel sorry for people, someone is taking our lunch.

When you say some of us could lose our homes, it could be because of the next market meltdown.

It's great that you want to do good for people, but when you make fun of people like Beck, who is smart but uneducated, it smacks of the final days before the fall of Rome. I wasn't there, but it feels like I am.

If you don't think we need to be tough minded, I get it. Some believe progressive economics will cause our downfall. What really freaks me out is the apparently number of RRs who are economic pussies. This does not bode well for America.

Go ahead and bail everyone out, give free healthcare, and all of the other "incentives" - some of us believe in our hearts that America needs to become fiscally responsible before it is too late. We take a lot for granted with regards to our debt. A Bond Guy should know better.

Perhaps we can all join together to battle economic pussydom. The Libertarians are probably closest to the truth. Just for the record, I think Palin and Beck and the like are just performers. I wouldn't trust them with my money (even if they are honest). Not bright enough, or experienced enough, or educated enough - it is really hard to get someone with all the skills. It is very disappointing how so many Americans went for Obama.

A lot of damage is being done. The thing that worries me is the dollar - we're not doing all the right things, and we take a lot for granted. We are all at risk, including the pensions of government worker, the union members and others that you economic pussies adore.

We can't afford the luxury of ignorance about how we can afford the luxury of being here - as stewards of capital - in the first place. Calling the minor pundits of economic conservatism "ignorant" is ironic and dangerous.

Where did all of the pussies come from on this forum - is this the state of our profession?

[quote=navet]

[quote=N.D.]

[quote=navet]

We are defined by our heroes. The conservative Republican was defined by Taft in the 50's(bad), and by Reagan in the 80's(good, but a failed economic policy). Now , are you really comfortable with the likes of Palin and Beck? I don't see that sort of leadership going anywhere. Like a loud fart on a windy day. This country needs more socialism, particularly healthcare and better regulation over dangerous multinational financial institutions. While the economic world breaks down, the right worries about gay marriage, the epitome of non-issues.

[/quote]

Good grief. Like the current socialist programs are working so well??? Comments like these induce nauseous feelings in my stomach because of the vast amounts of ignorance and blindness to actual facts...

[/quote]

Socialist programs? Like our national parks(started by a Republican), national highway system(started by a Republican), FDA, and I have to mention Social Security and Medicare(our first best socialized medical system), without which your parents (or grandparents if you're a 30 something) would be destitute. Our socialized systems are what makes our lives more livable. Face it, if we continue down the neocon nazi road and the middle class continues to shrink, you'll be in great need of social programs.

[/quote]

I am a fiscally conservative AMERICAN. I try to balance ALL sides. For me, it is not a Republican/Democrat thing. It is a Constitution thing. Where in the Constitution does it give the federal government the authority to pick and choose which class of people to take from and redistribute to? Creating parks and infrastructure benefits the entire country. I did not make it a Rep/Dem thing (like you are) because the fact is that no matter which party started the programs, they have and will be modified from the original person’s ideas.

Most socialist programs will not provide an acceptable return for their investment and I am ok with that to a point where it causes strain on the entire country. My issue is the fact that our government (all parties included) will not address the current failing programs before creating new ones. If I ran my personal finances the way the government runs this country’s, I would have filed bankruptcy long ago and perhaps sentenced to some hard time in prison.

And I have a problem with the new guy that instead of bringing “Hope”, “Change I can believe in” and “go through the budget with a scalpel”, he decided to create another socialist program that WILL bankrupt this country as long as we stay on the current path.

I could go on and on, but I am sure I would be wasting my time on you considering your posts seem to mirror the antonym of Beck et al...

p.s. good post Milyunair

I think political parties are just that political... A. Lincoln was a republican. Yet increased the power of the federal gov't.

The problem is like our industry, you can advise people until you have clients, so you have to sell something. Politics, you can't win the Presidency while being a member of a political party other than the big 2.

I think taxes should be progressive, because people with more money enjoy(and have a lot more to lose) the fruits of those tax dollars then someone who can't afford to do things(has less to lose).

Regarding our country's debt.. Does it really matter? I know it looks bad, but as you can tell from what is going on in Europe right now, American Debt is still the one you want to hold.

China is full of crap and everyone knows it, the gov't lies about their numbers because it is in their best interest to(perception). They have too many people and no innovation(Most of that still goes on over here).

THe problem with the current failing programs is that there is no cure(I assume you mean SS). Most of the ideas that are failing were originally meant to be a crutch or a cane to get people through some tough times, they weren't suppose to be sustaining ideas that would last for decades.

Still would rather live here than anywhere else..

I hope you never accuse other folks of being economically ignorant. Have you ever been in a situation in your life, where you suddenly realized you were in trouble and it nearly made you **** your pants?

Do you know the feeling, the body chemistry, of what it's like when you suddenly realize you lost a certain client? Your brain tries to make sense, to rationalize, but you lost the AUM. Maybe you didn't even like the client, or knew you should part ways, but your bowels feel just a little looser, and you're a little poorer.

You'd rather live here than anywhere else, but  your brain is backing up and trying to rationalize what is going on.

Try this, economic pussies: How good do you feel about America's borrowing with the Chinese? You feel good that your progressive pussiest ideas are being implemented, but in the back of your mind, there is this nagging knowledge that debt will test the markets, as it does every day.

You preach frugality and savings and the formation of capital and the taking of personal responsibility, and in the back of your mind you fear the collapse of the capital markets ( unless you're ready to go take a job as a census taker).

But you enjoy being a do gooder, even while China invests and forms your capital, even while letting her own people fall through the economic cracks and the suppression of political freedom. Somehow you are doing good, even if you have a nagging feeling your stomach that you are in danger of losing your lunch.

But markets are decisive, and one that client who has been helping to pay your overhead (who you knew would leave) - leaves. That is when you get honest with yourself, and you say, okay, what do I want for myself, what is my purpose, what do I have to do to survive so I can continue to help my family, and then other people?

Elitist economic pussies have it the other way around, and one day, the reality of having to deal with your own survival is, in the words of the old Tom Waits song, " like a billyclub to the head". Suddenly, those morality police you have been funding are pushing you down the street along with a big crowd, move along now,  and you're questioning your own cleverness. Witness, Athens, Greece.

For most Americans, life during the past ten years has not been improving, economically. Their jobs were exported to China, in the hopes that economic comparative advantage would life all boats - cheap goods made in China would be purchased with the dollars earned from the next wave of American ingenuity - products and services that could be swapped for what we used to manufacture.

When that didn't pan out, we opted for "hope and change" - whichs turns out to be the status quo - with the potential for a carve-out for certain politically correct players.

Meanwhile, capital has be re-forming. Who is calling the shots? Who has the money? The Chinese, the Brazilians ( natural resources for China), The Iranians ( (oil for China), who else - the U. S. government (money borrowed from China). If you like what the U.S. government is doing right now, you are going to love what the Chinese have planned for us.

Does that sound diabolical and cynical? That the Chinese have a financial plan for America? Like I say, the irony gets thick, when you get in the game and educate yourself a little about what is happening. Consider the possibility that there are a lot of intelligent people in China, and with four times the population, that is a lot of smart people who are looking at the same things you and I are looking at - how big is that ocean that hides us from each other?

What makes you good at your "game"? What differentiates you from the next guy -  the next two billion guys - who want to eat your lunch. You know, just hungry ,don't want to take your house, or your car, or your job - you just skip lunch today and feel the gnawing in your stomach and remember, probably most of the people in world feel a little gnawing each day - literally - because their income and ability to pay for everything also means burning a little fat during the day. Today I'm just going to take your lunch, because you assumed it was yours, and you were busy looking the other way debating politics, instead of minding the store.

Next time you buy a car, though, it is really going to need to be downsized. Maybe used. Your health care premiums are going up, if the market crashes, you are going to burn your cash reserver. You need to be a little leaner. Your bright kids can go to college, your average kids need to go straight to work. You can wait a little longer at the doctor, but look how happy everyone in the waiting room is to be here. You can work a little harder, or a little longer, and don't have to worry about making any of the big decisions, like where to allocate your capital - you don't have any, because progressivism, like progressive income taxes, and progressive health care, and the progressive nature of capital formation ( our debt should be held outside the country) - means your basic needs are handled - and you're an average guy. You're an American, and you look over at the wild, wild West of China, and think, boy, they've really got everything in play over there, I'd like to go see it.

Just don't show up without your papers, and keep your thoughts to yourself.

Gee, I didn't know that China just stared buying our debt after Obama took office. I thought they were doing that when GW was pres. Didn't the Chinese in effect pay for Iraq and Afghanistan wars, since they were unfunded mandates? You lose all credibility when you blame progressives for our current problems. Why not blame congress/ Then you have to blame the constitution that created the congress. Finger pointing and namecalling just show how much you are in control of the institutions who caused our economic problems.

[quote=navet]

Gee, I didn't know that China just stared buying our debt after Obama took office. I thought they were doing that when GW was pres. Didn't the Chinese in effect pay for Iraq and Afghanistan wars, since they were unfunded mandates? You lose all credibility when you blame progressives for our current problems. Why not blame congress/ Then you have to blame the constitution that created the congress. Finger pointing and namecalling just show how much you are in control of the institutions who caused our economic problems.

[/quote]

China (Japan/China/Korea/Taiwan top 4) is the second largest buyer of our debt. The buyer is irrelevant, the amount is relevant.

There are no benefits from blaming the previous administrations for the problems we have today. I did not vote for Obama but I did/am giving him a chance to give me some "Change". The longer he stays in office the more blame for the current situation he will receive from me and MANY other Americans.

As for Congress, if they followed the Constitution, there would be no reason to blame Congress.

The point of blaming the past administration is that it eliminates the conservative solution, sine it was conservatives that caused the problem. And waiting for change is actually working against it. You're either a part of the problem or a part of the solution. The change coming has to be progressive.