Something is very, very wrong.

I hope Wichita remembers that he, along with Roberts and Brownback, voted to ship the tanker jobs to France.

I’m glad you appreciate my WICKED funny bone. You should see the stuff I DONT post…

“Maybe God has blessed them because they sanction GAY MARRIAGE?

“Geez, even THAT couldnt bring the Canadians down.”

Especially funny in light of last night’s “Bill Moyer’s Journal” on PBS, with John Sidney McCain the Third’s spiritual advisor John Hagee declaring that God smite Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans to cancel a gay pride parade.

“That’s a higher rate than Canada whose dollar has increased in comparison to ours. Funny how socialist Canada is able to have universal health care, lower unemployment, attract US manufacturing jobs, be an energy exporter, etc and yet have a stronger economy than the United States.”

Maybe God has blessed them because they sanction GAY MARRIAGE?

Geez, even THAT couldnt bring the Canadians down.

Yeah, I know about lag time, but it seems to be as good an explanation as any.

And the farmer’s borrowing against increased equity and then going under when the crop prices dropped or there was no production for a few years, or the BANK went under… and then farmers moving to the city…

That hit its heyday under St. Ronnie Ray Gun. Does ANYONE remember the foreclosures from the early to mid 80’s? And.. btw.. out here, the land goes up because HUNTERS from the city are buying it and little farmsteads. NOT because of crop prices. Although most of them do turn around and rent the land to local farmers for cash rent.

I’m past the age of needing to prove something with jackrabbit stops and starts. I drive the speed limit. I turn off my engine while waiting on long trains. I avoid fast food places where I know a wait is inevitable or I’ll go inside. I keep my car tuned (or rather my son-in-law does) and my tires aired up. Of the ten or so points Regular listed the other day, I adhere to the majority of them. Those I don’t really don’t apply to me.

I only drive when I have to. Seriously. For 24 years, I only drove the 25 miles into Wichita every two weeks for groceries and errands. Combining errands and stops is ingrained in me. It’s a habit. Honestly, I don’t even like to drive all that much anymore. Too many loonies on the streets.

If I could buy a newer car with better MPG or a hybrid, I would. When the weather gets better, I’ll walk more often, but I have been known to walk to grab a few groceries when there’s snow on the ground. I’ve done and am doing all I can.

In 10 years, I won’t care. I do care now.

It isn’t just the gas I use or the gas you use. The price affects nearly every facet of our lives. And all I hear is “drive less and conserve”.

Just drive less and conserve.

Everything will be fine in 10 years or so if you support alternatives. Until then, just drive less and conserve!

I continue to hold to my prediction of $3.50 by Memorial Day.

http://www.concordcoalition.org/events/fiscal-wake-up/fiscal-wake-up-call.htm

We need to do what is right.

Screwed my own pun up. I was so proud of it too.

Tax on Vemonists?

This particular margin spiral is caused when hedged and other options funds borrow a fraction of the asset value of real estate (called “buying it on the margin,” firms like Carlyle Capital “own” RE assets valued at roughly $27 billion while holding aggregated liabilities, or “margin loans,” for same at something like $26.3 billion: ie, these assets are leveraged roughly 32 times). What’s happening now in many securities markets is that Wall Street has in effect added what amounts to a 3.5% premium to mortgage-backed debt securities…that’s 3.5% in ADDITION TO what’s already factored into these securities for default risk. In other words, the cost of money loaned to purchase real estate has been raised by 3.5%, and this price increase has nothing to do with market forces. In fact, the cost of non-mortgage money is actually falling. It’s just added due to a repricing of the risk involved in making such loans.

The net effect is that RE asset prices (including securities) have fallen as the cost of leverage dollars has risen. As these asset prices fall, banks with large margin loans run their spreadsheets and see that, due to falling asset prices, they need less exposure. They call in all or part of their margin loans…which leads to asset dumping for the affected borrowers…which leads to further lowering of asset prices…which leads to further margin calls….which leads to more asset dumping…you get the drift. Voila, a margin spiral.

This is really beginning to look ugly, folks.

Regular, thanks.

So follow-up question: When a Reservist/Guard member goes on active duty, is this counted as a “new” job (albeit federal)? Next follow-up question: If the answer to the first question is “yes”, then When the Reservist/Guard member is deactivated, is this a “job loss”?
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It’s a sector related job and is classified as such.

It’s a job loss, but only for that ’sector’ if you know what I mean. Appropriated funded employment count pretty much as other jobs do, the lag in accountability is questionable as I’ve seen entire bases deactivated and the money keeps pouring in via the school support issue I gave earlier.

BTW, military retirement is considered unemployed. :)

But I’m selfish, and even a few hundred sounds good to greedy people like me. :)

For instance, those living in base housing are used in a formula to subsidize the local school district as the housing units are not legally part of the county they are located in.

So, if there are no physically based schools on the installation, the monies would go to the local school district from the Federal Government.

The bureau of labor and statistics lump Federal employees and military into separate pots, but they are all still counted in overall statistics for employment, tax purposes and etc.

Contractors are a curious sort, as they often slip through several cracks in the system as do seasonal workers. Although, I think they have a better handle on it than they used to.