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Category Archives: Finance
Out of Control
The President unveiled his new budget today: 3.83 trillion dollars. The numbers fairly boggle the mind. The total budget works out to just about $12,500 per person in the United States, or about $47,500 per family. Or $34,800 for each … Continue reading
Budget neutral?
In a speech before a joint session of Congress in September, the President said that his “preferred” package for health care finance reform legislation would carry a price tag of around $900 billion. He also said that he will not … Continue reading
Another look at Cash for Clunkers
A few weeks ago I said that Cash for Clunkers is a wreck. Now that the program has ended, let’s see the results. The people responsible for Cash for Clunkers are hailing its success. I’m still having trouble understanding what … Continue reading
More bailout madness
In a very thinly reported move last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it will spend up to $600 billion buying up obligations of government-sponsored enterprises, and mortgage backed securities, many of which were the original targets of the $700 … Continue reading
Bailout, Again
Congress never ceases to amaze me. Following the unexpected defeat of the measure on Monday, the Senate decided to take a crack at writing something that could pass. The Senate’s technique was nothing short of brilliant. Rather than debating the … Continue reading
What is the problem?
Since Paulson, Bernanke, and Company aren’t forthcoming with layman’s explanations , I thought I’d take a little closer look at the problem to see if I could understand what’s happening here. What I found is that the problem is very … Continue reading
Posted in Finance
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No bailout. Yet?
I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when the House failed to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. (Be patient. That site is getting hit pretty hard right now. You might be better off visiting your favorite news site for … Continue reading
Posted in Finance
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Just say “No” to the bailout
Have you read the text of the Bush Administration’s proposed 700 billion dollar bailout of financial institutions? If you don’t want to wade through the three-page proposal (although it is written in reasonably clear English), this summary will tell you … Continue reading
Posted in Finance, Idiocy
5 Comments
The Last Sucker Theory
Join me in a little thought experiment. Seal a 100 dollar bill in an envelope, affix a price tag to the envelope, and write $110 on it. Then put it up for sale, telling potential buyers that if they spend … Continue reading
Credit Card Fraud
Debra called while I was on my way to lunch this afternoon. Somebody purporting to be the Capital One fraud department had left a message on the home answering machine saying that it was imperative that I contact them. They … Continue reading
Posted in Finance
10 Comments
What housing bubble?
Almost two years ago in The Housing Bubble, I warned that the then-current home building boom was unsustainable and that soon we would begin to see record numbers of defaults and foreclosures. I said then that I hoped I was … Continue reading