this is why we are doomed

[dmarc117]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-29/a...al-economy.html

 

[wiegie]

amazing

[CarryTheRock]

"You Walk Away." Helping people default on loans is a business? BRILLIANT!

[cdrudge]

 

"You Walk Away." Helping people default on loans is a business? BRILLIANT!

Isn't that essentially what every bankruptcy does as well? Walking away from debts that you've incurred for whatever reason.

[BeeR]

“It’s really tough right now,” Johnston says. “I don’t do many full-on spa days anymore.”

 

Yet there she was, shopping and vacationing in Vegas with her husband.

 

“We’ve pulled out all the stops. We’re staying at the Bellagio,” she says.

 

The new abnormal has given rise to a nation of schizophrenic consumers. They splurge on high-end discretionary items and cut back on brand-name toothpaste and shampoo

I didn't know "schizophrenic" meant "brain dead."

[gbpfan1231]

If I saw that pr!ck playing around on his I-Pad I would smash the thing. These people should be shot

[SEC=UGA]

I can't believe they let the dooosh buy a $360,000 home with 10 grand down...

[gbpfan1231]

I can't believe they let the dooosh buy a $360,000 home with 10 grand down...

Yep - not his fault at all!!! and I don't think that is what you were implying but other people tend to think this guy was dooped.

[Ursa Majoris]

It’s easy to forget that a 9.5 percent unemployment rate means that about 9 out of 10 Americans in the workforce are still employed.

 

“Some consumers are probably liquidity-constrained,” says Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University professor and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. These are “the ones who are probably not the ones buying iPads. But 90 percent of Americans do have a job, and maybe 70 percent are confident about them. And maybe half of those have liquidity.”

 

I have some liquidity, a reasonably secure job and I'm in that 90%, obviously, but you can shove your iPad where the sun don't shine.

[westvirginia]

I have some liquidity, a reasonably secure job and I'm in that 90%, obviously, but you can shove your iPad where the sun don't shine.

 

But then why is everyone behaving in such odd ways, economically speaking? My thoughts would be that people just don't trust this economy, these politicians, etc and they feel it's a perfect storm gathering to wipe us out.

 

Take my parents, for example. I remember the late 70's and early 80's, my folks were always optimistic and just knew that things would turn around. Now, they don't feel that way. They think the rough times are here to stay for the majority of their lifetimes anyway.

[TimC]

Corporations have done it millions times worse than this guy. You should see what our company is selling debt for (pennies on the dollar) and being rewarded nicely for it.

 

I don't whether to laugh or cry. The world is so upside down right now.

[dmarc117]

Corporations have done it millions times worse than this guy. You should see what our company is selling debt for (pennies on the dollar) and being rewarded nicely for it.

 

I don't whether to laugh or cry. The world is so upside down right now.

 

 

i agree. i used to hate these people now i just dont know. its fubar.

[TimC]

i agree. i used to hate these people now i just dont know. its fubar.

 

I used to hate these people too. I used to say that you signed a contract and stick with it no matter what. But now, in this new reality.......I don't know.

 

I'm one of the 90% (85%) that is (probably) going to make it through this just fine. I'd like to think I'd never do what these people are doing out of my own values and morals, but I don't really know if I were ever faced with the reality of the situation. I'd like to think I'd draw down my entire life to zero to hold on to my house, even if it were worth less than half of what I paid for it. I really don't know though.

 

I have a friend in Arizona that lost his job, lost both houses (yes, he bought a vacation home during the end of the boom), filed for bankruptcy, the whole enchilada. He finally did find a job, but hated it. He recently found a way to get fired (not real hard) and says he can live off unemployment for awhile now that he's "streamlined" while he studies for his bar exam. He's bringing home just over $1k a month unemployment and playing the system. I didn't think you could be a lawyer with all that foreclosure and bankruptcy, but he says you can.

 

It's bizarro world now.

[dmarc117]

I used to hate these people too. I used to say that you signed a contract and stick with it no matter what. But now, in this new reality.......I don't know.

 

I'm one of the 90% (85%) that is (probably) going to make it through this just fine. I'd like to think I'd never do what these people are doing out of my own values and morals, but I don't really know if I were ever faced with the reality of the situation. I'd like to think I'd draw down my entire life to zero to hold on to my house, even if it were worth less than half of what I paid for it. I really don't know though.

 

I have a friend in Arizona that lost his job, lost both houses (yes, he bought a vacation home during the end of the boom), filed for bankruptcy, the whole enchilada. He finally did find a job, but hated it. He recently found a way to get fired (not real hard) and says he can live off unemployment for awhile now that he's "streamlined" while he studies for his bar exam. He's bringing home just over $1k a month unemployment and playing the system. I didn't think you could be a lawyer with all that foreclosure and bankruptcy, but he says you can.

 

It's bizarro world now.

 

 

my wife's friend lost his job 2y ago. his wife finally took a job in fl. he lives in mi with the 3 kids. they blew thru their savings, havent made a mortgage payment in 18mo. banks too busy to get to his situation. living rent free in the house.

[WaterMan]

Corporations have done it millions times worse than this guy. You should see what our company is selling debt for (pennies on the dollar) and being rewarded nicely for it.

 

I don't whether to laugh or cry. The world is so upside down right now.

 

Can the average American sell debt off too?

[TimC]

Can the average American sell debt off too?

 

You can settle your debt...which is the same thing. However, instead of your stock price zooming back up and everyone thinking you're the bestest corporation again and really managing your debt wisely, you will never get credit again for the foreseeable future and will probably be hounded by debt collectors for the rest of your life until you want to kill yourself.

[Ursa Majoris]

But then why is everyone behaving in such odd ways, economically speaking? My thoughts would be that people just don't trust this economy, these politicians, etc and they feel it's a perfect storm gathering to wipe us out.

 

Take my parents, for example. I remember the late 70's and early 80's, my folks were always optimistic and just knew that things would turn around. Now, they don't feel that way. They think the rough times are here to stay for the majority of their lifetimes anyway.

All political sides and, indeed, any single issue organization have a vested interest in making things seem as black as humanly possible. The one exception to this is the ruling clique, whatever political stripe it is, who need to do the exact opposite but are often drowned out by the sheer numbers facing them. You don't need to look any further than Perch and dmarc to see what I'm saying - never a single positive word. The same applied on the other side of the coin pre-2008.

 

NAACP routinely reports racism worse than ever, newspapers reporting wars going worse than ever, terrorism threats, global warming, the latest pandemic du jour being pushed by drug companies, kids getting fatter, death around every corner, collapsing currencies, blah blah blah. No-one is ALLOWED to be happy any more in the cacophonous blast of negativity from everywhere. No wonder your parents feel that way - they have been eroded and worn down by the endless drone of manufactured despair.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Ursa Majoris

[Delicious_bass]

You can settle your debt...which is the same thing. However, instead of your stock price zooming back up and everyone thinking you're the bestest corporation again and really managing your debt wisely, you will never get credit again for the foreseeable future and will probably be hounded by debt collectors for the rest of your life until you want to kill yourself.

I've ranted about this before and this is as good a place as any to do it again. Few things make me as sick lately as the absolute barrage of commercials by organizations offering to wipe out debt. I am sure you have all heard them, too, as they are constant on the radio and the tv now. Most of them go something like "Do you have over $10,000 in debt? Call us and we'll wipe out half of that! Get back the freedom you deserve and stop those creditors from ruining your life blah blah blah." Some of them have stooped so far as to put the American flag and/or eagle in the background as if to say nothing could be more American than getting an easy way out of your debt that you brought upon yourself.

 

Is it any wonder the economy is where it is when people(most of whom are morans anyway) are continually fed enabling messages to just keep spending irresponsibly and then look for someone to throw them a bailout when it comes time to pay the piper? What a friggin joke!

[Azazello1313]

All political sides and, indeed, any single issue organization have a vested interest in making things seem as black as humanly possible.

 

racist.

 

seriously though, very good post.

[Savage Beatings]

I might start a business helping people to sit on their ass and do nothing.

[bpwallace49]

All political sides and, indeed, any single issue organization have a vested interest in making things seem as black as humanly possible. The one exception to this is the ruling clique, whatever political stripe it is, who need to do the exact opposite but are often drowned out by the sheer numbers facing them. You don't need to look any further than Perch and dmarc to see what I'm saying - never a single positive word. The same applied on the other side of the coin pre-2008.

 

NAACP routinely reports racism worse than ever, newspapers reporting wars going worse than ever, terrorism threats, global warming, the latest pandemic du jour being pushed by drug companies, kids getting fatter, death around every corner, collapsing currencies, blah blah blah. No-one is ALLOWED to be happy any more in the cacophonous blast of negativity from everywhere. No wonder your parents feel that way - they have been eroded and worn down by the endless drone of manufactured despair.

 

The politics of fear is as strong as ever . . . . with the demise of the good ol USSR, our politicians need new emergencies for us to be scared of.

[Azazello1313]

I might start a business helping people to sit on their ass and do nothing.

 

DMD can give you some pointers

[rattsass]

If the people really cared about their fellow man, they would control their appetites (greed, procreation, etc.) so that they would not have to operate on a credit or welfare social system which steals from the worker to satisfy the bum.

 

Since most of the general public will not exercise restraint, there are only two alternatives to reduce the economic inductance of the system.

 

Let the populace bludgeon each other to death in war, which will only result in a total destruction of the living earth.

Take control of the world by the use of economic "silent weapons" in a form of "quiet warfare" and reduce the economic inductance of the world to a safe level by a process of benevolent slavery and genocide.

The latter option has been taken as the obviously better option. At this point it should be crystal clear to the reader why absolute secrecy about the silent weapons is necessary. The general public refuses to improve its own mentality and its faith in its fellow man. It has become a herd of proliferating barbarians, and, so to speak, a blight upon the face of the earth.

 

1979 - Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars

[dmarc117]

All political sides and, indeed, any single issue organization have a vested interest in making things seem as black as humanly possible. The one exception to this is the ruling clique, whatever political stripe it is, who need to do the exact opposite but are often drowned out by the sheer numbers facing them. You don't need to look any further than Perch and dmarc to see what I'm saying - never a single positive word. The same applied on the other side of the coin pre-2008.

 

NAACP routinely reports racism worse than ever, newspapers reporting wars going worse than ever, terrorism threats, global warming, the latest pandemic du jour being pushed by drug companies, kids getting fatter, death around every corner, collapsing currencies, blah blah blah. No-one is ALLOWED to be happy any more in the cacophonous blast of negativity from everywhere. No wonder your parents feel that way - they have been eroded and worn down by the endless drone of manufactured despair.

 

 

show me something with this world economy to be happy about. when there is something positive to talk about, i will. but there really isnt. i dont live in wonderland where the daisies and tulips are in full bloom. i live in reality. its gonna suck for a long long time. we have seen the best of america for a long time. no ostriching here. i call it as i see it. its bad out there.

 

and you know whats gonna happen when the sh1t hits the fan, the people that werent worried about are going to come running. crying. and of course we will bail them out again. fruck the responsible people that plan for sh1t and dont live in happytown, usa. cause the govt is there to bail out the frucks that wanna sing la la la all day long.

Edited July 30, 2010 by dmarc117

[BeeR]

racist.

hey

 

 

show me something with this world economy to be happy about. when there is something positive to talk about, i will. but there really isnt. i dont live in wonderland where the daisies and tulips are in full bloom. i live in reality. its gonna suck for a long long time. we have seen the best of america for a long time. no ostriching here. i call it as i see it.

whoa - pollyannas HATE that. Stop it or they'll cry.

 

I frankly have no idea or even guesstimate on whether the economy will "turn" soon or we're mired in the muck for years to come. I admit econmics is not exactly my specialty. But the idiotic/irresponsible spending doesn't surprise me in the least. Our society lost its collective mind years ago and that's but one of many telling signs. IMO.