The Cause of The Second Great Depression

When Historians look back at the Second Great Depression of 2009->2019 they will conclude it was caused by one thing...


BANKS GAVE LOANS TO PEOPLE WITH NO DOWN PAYMENT AND BAD CREDIT, WHO HAD ALREADY PROVEN THEY WOULD NOT PAY BACK DEBT!!!

That is how it all started, the global great depression, civil unrest, and unraveling of the world financial system was all because greedy idiots thought this was a smart idea. Let this always be remembered.

Everyone is Out of Ammo

Has anyone noticed its been impossible to get your hands on AK-47 ammo lately? In fact It seems like handgun ammo is almost all gone also.

Went to Dunhams and they were out of 7.62, Walmart had 1 box of really expensive hunting loads, and all Meijers had was shotgun and .22 ammo.

Even Cheaper than dirt is running low on assault rifle ammo

Either people are afraid that Pelosi and Obama will ban firearms or they are getting ready for all hell to break loose...Both idea's are overwhelming.

Its official, I am using the D-word. We are Now in a Depression.

I have just changed the title page of my blog from Hyperinflationary Recession to Depression.

I have been around long enough to know what a Recession is, and I was feeling that back in 2007. In fact If you read my older posts you will see I was calling this a recession back when everyone said the economy was "strong"

As always, I have proven myself to be one step ahead of the criminal media propaganda, and while they are finally coming around to calling this a recession, we all know the truth, this is far beyond a simple contraction in the economy. This is the great unraveling of the financial system as we know it.

Therefore, On Feb. 20th 2009, I am declaring the USA to be in a Depression, no math formula's, no bogus government unemployment numbers that grossly underestimate the true jobless rates here. No pseudo GDP numbers based on make-believe CPI.

This is the second American Depression.... and its well on its way to being great.

Homeowner Stability Initiative

Headlining the plan was a $75 billion Homeowner Stability Initiative, under which would provide incentives to lenders to cut monthly mortgage payments to sustainable levels. It defines this at no more than 31 percent of a homeowners income.



Oh great... this is just wonderful for all of the illegals living in 500k mcmansions.
I could see the call now...

"Whats that pedro? your mortgage is for 500,000 and you only make 8.00 an hour working at Mcdonalds? Ok no problem... We will make your mortgage payment 333.00 a month (31% of your income) Enjoy your house and low payment.

Sounds like a great plan, I want to go out and commit mortgage fraud today!

What If...

What if we had no champion of the constitution. Thank you Dr. Paul.

Communism comes to America

Thrift regulator urges suspension of foreclosures while Obama develops mortgage aid plans

By ALAN ZIBEL |AP Real Estate Writer

4:00 PM CST, February 11, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal regulator on Wednesday urged more than 800 thrift institutions to suspend all foreclosures, while president obama's top economic officials develop plans to keep borrowers in their homes. The Obama administration plans to spend $50 billion to combat foreclosures of owner-occupied, middle-class homes, but is divulging few details. An announcement of the administration's housing plans is expected in the coming weeks. Testifying before House lawmakers on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the government would provide incentives to "try to induce economically sensible restructuring of mortgages," but offered no specifics.




Welcome to communist America circa 2009.

The greedy and stupid get rewarded for purchasing homes they could not afford with government subsidized loans reducing interest rates and principal. The government is actually stepping in to the free market and altering private mortgage contracts which it has absolutly no business doing.


Furthermore, this is creating such a moral hazard that the unintended consequences and ramifications of these actions will be long lasting and astounding.


Why will the responsible people, who are now underwater on their homes also, continue to pay their bubble priced mortgages off. Yes, they do have the ability to pay and do have a down payment and credit score on the line unlike the stupid, broke, home debtors getting bailed out but that will not be enough.

A little ding on your credit score is worth it to a lot of people to get lowered principal and a lower interest rate saving them countless thousands of dollars.

Any foreclosure bailout, and sweet deals offered to the deadbeats, will simply cause more people to quit paying to get the same deal. This leads to even more tax payer money going to bail out and modify more loans and an even larger crisis.

Obama sure did give us change...but its not the kind I believe in.

Would People Chosen Randomly From Yellow Pages Run the US Economy Better than Congress?

Forty-four percent (44%) voters also think a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress, but 37% disagree. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided. -Rasmussen Reports


The part that makes me laugh is the 20% who are undecided, LMFAO! That means only 37% of Americans are sure our current congress can do better than a random selection of people.

Sharpen your Pitchforks

If ye are beasts, then stand here like fat oxen, waiting for the butcher's knife! If ye are men, follow me! Strike down yon guard, gain the mountain passes, and there do bloody work, as did your sires at old Thermopylæ! Is Sparta dead? Is the old Grecian spirit frozen in your veins, that you do crouch and cower like a belabored hound beneath his master's lash? O comrades! warriors! Thracians! if we must fight, let us fight for ourselves! If we must slaughter, let us slaughter our oppressors! If we must die, let it be under the clear sky, by the bright waters, in noble, honorable battle!

-Spartacus


Soon the time will come when the slaves stand up to their oppressors and become free.
Soon the time will come when the congress represents the people instead of working against them.
Soon the time will come when hard work is rewarded and laziness is punished.

Soon.... Americans will descend upon washington holding sharpened pitchforks and demanding justice.

Soon that day will come....For now...Sharpen that pitchfork!

Ron Paul Pimp Slaps Pelosi

It is a shame that more people do not listen to this man. How do you expect to solve a recession created by debt by piling on even more debt. Obama is trying to pump a heroin addict up with more a huge dose of heroin to make him feel better. The reality is that withdrawl is painful, but that pain purifies the body and solves the problem of addiction to credit long term.

The stupidity of our Elected Leaders

The government is trying to put an end to a recession that was caused by overspending and debt... by spending even more money and creating an even bigger debt!

-HousingFEAR

Obama Will Not Save You

We will still be in a recession tommorow.

Your house will still be under water.

Your credit card debt will not be forgivin.

Your 401K will still be down 30-40%.

Your mortgage will not be paid for you.

Obama will not save you. Now let that cruel, cold reality sink in to your thick skull...

...So help you God.

Are you a good Slave for the Federal Reserve.

Very enlightening and thought provoking video.

My Predictions for 2009

HOUSING FEARS 2009 PREDICTIONS!

1. The Dow drops to 6,000 at least once this year
2. The Unemployment rate in Michigan rises to 15%, breaks 10% nationally
   
3. The US Dollar will be significantly devalued
4. Gold will rise above $1200
5. Oil will double in price, and be approx 70-80 dollars a barrel due to dollar weakness
6. The Real Estate market will continue to plummet in terms of home price index.
7. Obama passes a massive stimulus plan sending more rebate checks to everyone.
8. I pay off most, if not all of my outstanding consumer debt this year.
9. The Dave Ramsey Show ratings go through the roof
   
10. Americans stop spending money they don't have.

My Investment picks for this year are:

OPGSX Currently @$20.00
Bullish on Gold and Metals as hedge against Inflation

RERCX Currently @ $28.20
Bullish on Asian Currency compared to USD

DNLAX Currently @ $17.20
Bullish on Oil

As far as ETF's I like the following:

USO Currently @ $35.63
Oil is going to go up this year due to devalued US Dollar

UDN Currently @$24.98
Dollar is going down due to Bernanke and Obama's printing press

GLD Currently @$86.23
Gold to da moon alice

Disclaimer: All investments have risk, these are only my opinions and I accept no responsibility for any money you may lose following my advice, likewise I expect no compensation for any money you may gain following my advice.

Miami Realtor Has Rebuttal to Letter About Miami Condo Market

In this original post a person uses the Club @ Brickell recent sales price to prove that the Miami Condo Market is undergoing an epic crash.

In the issue of fairness, and to tell both sides of the story, Realtor Kevin Tomlinson would like me to tell the other side of the story as he see's it.

Please enjoy his article and decide for yourself....

A story on Miami real estate? At first, the reporting seemed okay. But when I watched it again — a 60 Minutes real estate piece that mentions the troubled downtown Miami condo Jade on Brickell — I realized part of the story really missed the mark.

Here’s the problem I have with the media in this digital age. In the 25/7 rush to scoop each other on headline news, sometimes stories lack facts. Sometimes the “facts” presented aren’t entirely factual. And sometimes the interview is angled to fit the reporter’s notion of what the story is perceived or desired to be.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for the media in general and participate in many interviews myself. But like so many industries pressured by the ubiquity of Web information, and in the media’s case, significant declines in ad revenue, circulation, and staff resources, haste can make waste.

How did CBS make the already bad news about Jade on Brickell worse? 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley toured the downtown Miami condo with local broker Peter Zalewski and portrayed it as a victim of the subprime meltdown. False! This story line actually sounds better for Jade than the reality, but it disservices the truth.

The Real Story on Miami Condos

Anyone in Miami real estate since, say, 2004, knows that Jade’s problems are because of mortgage fraud, overspeculation, and oversupply, NOT because of subprime lending. It is well known that Jade sold at the VERY top of the market. It is also common knowledge here that the majority of Jade’s contract-holders are speculators, though no one would EVER admit it.

Jade on Brickell started closing units in 2004-2005, WELL BEFORE any hint of financial fallout. The 60 Minutes segment further misses the point by leaving out important details. For example, when people buy preconstruction condo units, they do so WITHOUT a mortgage contingency.

Flipping Miami Condos

When Miami’s condo rush was in full swing, money was cheap and easy to get. Condo sales were not hooked to the mortgage market. Cheap mortgages and subprime loans were not used as an enticement. Zalewski commented that Option Arm and Alt-A loans were “essential” for Miami condo buyers. Not the case.

Back then, obtaining a mortgage was rarely discussed because most buyers planned to flip (remember that word?) their condo BEFORE closing. Bad CBS.

I can name many high-end buildings that are or were RAMPANT with mortgage fraud. Hello! Where’s the story on that??

Jade’s issues, I repeat, are NOT from subprime lending practices, and Zalewski should have known that and pointed it out. In the 60 Minutes segment, new condos in the downtown Miami/Brickell area seem to be portrayed as a hotbed of foreclosure activity (because of the subprime collapses). They are not.

I wish CBS had asked another broker or agent for the real story and the real center of foreclosure activity in South Florida real estate. But since they didn’t, I’ll help them out: Homestead, Florida. Working class Homestead, Florida.

Some of the more interesting (and hopefully more accurate) footage in the interview comes from Whitney Tilson, who tracks U.S. mortgage information. Here are the residential real estate loans coming up for readjustment:

• Sub Prime: $1 trillion. We seem to be near the end of these resets.
• Alt-As: $1 trillion.
• Option Arms: $500-600 billion.

Then there’s the commercial real estate market, but we won’t go there right now.

From the Credit Suisse graphs on CBS, it looks as if Alt A and Option Arm loan resets won’t peak until mid-2011. Yikes. These mortgage defaults could be more numerous and longer lasting than the subprime plunge.

Don’t you love the interview with the speculator who plays victim because she “didn’t ask enough questions” about her loan terms? Oh, okay. Sign six mortgages, but don’t read your contracts. This one gets the big “Duh!”

And did you see Oscar Munoz cleaning out ONE condo? He used to be a Miami real estate agent. Now banks hire his company to empty out foreclosed properties.

Peter: There really isn’t any way to spin “Vulture.” You tried, though.

Kevin Tomlinson
EWM Realtors
419 Arthur Godfrey Road
Miami Beach, FL 33140
305.674.4053 Direct
305.213.6898 Cell
305.675.8570 Fax

10 Worst Real Estate Markets for 2009

The housing market hasn't bottomed out yet. For the third quarter, the closely-watched S&P Case-Shiller national home-price index fell 16.6%, and experts are predicting further declines. Of the top 100 markets, here are 10 with the worst forecasts.

1. Los Angeles

2008 median house price: $375,340

2009 projected change: -24.9%

2010 projected change: -5.1%

The median home price in the L.A.-Long Beach-Glendale metro area is projected to fall nearly 25% in 2009 - the biggest drop in the country.

Courtesy: Stockton CVE

2. Stockton, Calif.

2008 median house price: $248,050

2009 projected change: -24.7%

2010 projected change: -4.0%

3. Riverside, Calif.

2008 median house price: $256,540

2009 projected change: -23.3%

2010 projected change: -4.8%

AP Photo

4. Miami-Miami Beach

2008 median house price: $293,590

2009 projected change: -22.8%

2010 projected change: -6.4%

Miami will be nursing the hangover from its epic building boom for years to come. After falling 22% in 2008, prices are predicted to plunge another 23% next year.

5. Sacramento

2008 median house price: $225,140

2009 projected change: -22.2%

2010 projected change: 2.3%

AP Photo/Joan C. Fahrenthold

6. Santa Ana-Anaheim

2008 median house price: $532,810

2009 projected change: -22.0%

2010 projected change: -3.5%

7. Fresno

2008 median house price: $257,170

2009 projected change: -21.6%

2010 projected change: -3.3%

BusinessFacilities.com

8. San Diego

2008 median house price: $412,490

2009 projected change: -21.1%

2010 projected change: -2.9%

9. Bakersfield, Calif.

2008 median house price: $227,270

2009 projected change: -20.9%

2010 projected change: -2.5%

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

10. Washington, D.C.

2008 median house price: $343,160

2009 projected change: -19.9%

2010 projected change: -5.7%

Source: Yahoo Finance

Make my wiss come twueeeeewwwww

All I want for Christmas is you!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The Federal Reserve entered a new era Tuesday, lowering its benchmark interest rate virtually to zero — for the first time in its 95-year history — and declaring that it will now fight the recession by pumping out vast amounts of money to businesses and consumers through an expanding array of new programs.

Guest Post #1: Where America Went Wrong.

The following is written by Mike at Malcolmrant.blogspot.com

Where America Went Wrong

All across the United States, families are gathering around the kitchen table worrying about the future.

Husbands and wives are wondering if they will have jobs next month; retirement savings are being erased with nearly every days trading on the stock exchange; and the American Dream, the anchor for millions here and around the world seems in peril of collapsing.

It would be easy at this point to say “I told you so”. For at least the last five years bloggers around the world have been trying to warn people that this was going to happen. Until very recently their warnings were met with disbelief, scorn, and outright mockery.

And now, at long last, the mainstream media has discovered that we have a problem, and have thrown their hands up, claiming that this problem just “came out of nowhere.”

But we know better, don’t we? The events that have taken place these in these last few months are nothing more than the logical effect of causes put in place decades ago.

There is no mystery here. Actions have consequence; that is a fundamental law of nature and history. When you deny that reality exists (or, as Ayn Rand put it; that “A is A”) you set yourself on the path of unavoidable ruin.

And yet, that is exactly what has happened in the United States. After decades of trying to force a reality that says that debt is wealth; that value comes from the number of visible possessions you have; and a reality that where truth no longer matters - we have, at long last, painted ourselves into a corner. At long last the bill has come due, and we find ourselves begging for compassion in a world where compassion has been banished.

Yes, it would be easy to say “I told you so”, but there’s no time for that now. We are in a crisis, and the crisis must be dealt with. When someone sets your house on fire, you put out the fire first; then you worry about assigning blame and prosecuting the arsonist.

So it is now for us, the people who saw this coming and made plans to weather the storm; it is now time for US to step up and save the world.

No, we will not save the world in order to validate the poor decisions made by so many people. Nor will we save it in order to give credence to the money vultures in New York and Washington DC.

No, we must now save the world because it is necessary if we wish to save ourselves.

In historical times, it was possible for a man to move his family into the wilderness where he could live in peace and freedom, untouched by events around the world. But that is no longer possible. Short of living in a bunker on canned food and bottled water, the freedom and happiness of a man is unavoidably tied to the freedom and happiness of his neighbor.

And so, out of the ashes and ruin brought down on us by the folly of greed, we must rebuild. Only this time, we should rebuild on rock, and not sand.

A nation is only as strong as the philosophy that guides its people. If the philosophy is honest, the nation will thrive. If the philosophy is built on lies, the country will not stand.

The current crisis is not a failure of America or capitalism; it is a failure of philosophy.

Personally, I blame the movie “Wall Street”, which taught a generation that greed was good. Sure, the crooks get caught in the end, but the real moral of that film was “as long as you don’t get caught, crime pays well.”

Look back on the horrors of the last 2 years, and you will see that nearly every one of them was the result of greed and lies.

Citizens signing on to loans they knew they couldn’t afford. Mortgage companies writing loans they knew would fail. Brokerage houses packaging these poison loans into “investments”, and then lying to their customers by calling them “low risk”.

Rating agencies, paid for by the very entities they were rating, giving triple-A ratings on nothing more than hope, fuzzy math, and a commission check.

Lawmakers in Washington who place party loyalty above their oath of office. Congresspersons who accept millions of dollars in donations from the very industries they are regulating.

Corporate heads whose yearly bonus could pay the salary of 10,000 people. Corporate boards who worry more about stock price than actual profit, and are therefore willing to turn a blind eye to lies, as long as the price of the stock goes up.

Reporters and commentators on business-oriented cable networks who, with one hand, take advertising dollars from the greatest offenders, and then, with the other hand, try to convince the viewer that everything is fine and that they are not being robbed blind.

Reporters and managers on news networks who deny the truth, cover up wrong-doing, and lead the people into slavery: all because the problem might make their favorite political party look bad. Networks that talk down solutions because they were offered by the political party they don’t support.

Day traders, who buy on margin and then spend all day trying to stir up rumors about otherwise healthy companies. Short sellers, who profit by picking the bones of dying companies; who will often pick the bones of live companies until nothing is left but ruin and thousands of broken and unemployed families.

Entertainment channels that run shows telling you how easy it is to make money buy buying and flipping houses. TV shows that try to convince you that your measure as a human being can be measured in dollars and possessions.

In the end, we are all to blame. Each and every one of us.

Each of us accepted responsibility the first time we voted for a presidential candidate based on their appearance and personality instead of their experience and knowledge.

We each accepted responsibility when we saw the gains in our investments and didn’t ask where the money was coming from.

We accepted responsibility when we helped to bankrupt local companies who couldn’t fight a price war against companies that use foreign slave labor.

We accepted responsibility when we allowed ourselves to be distracted by singing and dancing contests, celebrity gossip and the criminal activities of the rich and famous.

We accepted responsibility when we chose the making of money over right and wrong.

And now, as we are boiling in a stew that we paid for and cooked ourselves, now is the time to say enough.

Now is the time to remind our Congresspersons that they are not being paid to steal from us. It is time to remind them that they work for us, not the money-vultures who donate millions. It’s time to remind them that if they are unwilling or unable to complete the job they were hired for, we can fix that at the next election.

It is time for us to turn our back on the news channels who profit by lying to us and creating non-existent controversy. It is time to remind them that the first duty of the press is to truth. It’s time to remind them that you aren’t fair and balanced, just because you call yourself so.

It’s time for us to know the companies where our money is invested. To invest only in companies that exercise prudence and self-control. It is time to weed out the companies who trade on lies and creative accounting.

It’s time for us to remember that you only make money or lose money on a stock or house when you sell it, and that cash in the bank is worth more than all the paper profits you may have.

It’s time to save our industrial base while we still have time to save it.

It’s time for us to regain our long-term vision. To learn to see further ahead than the next week. To understand that sometimes the work is hard and the results may be years away.

And finally, it’s time for each of us to experience a personal revelation; to finally recognize that possessions are not the measure of a man; that the house you live in and the car you drive are nothing more than the tools by which to live your real life; that the true measure of a man is what is in his head, not in his wallet.

Article written by Mike Lombardini