From Bloomberg:
City and state government workers were huge beneficiaries of the boom years, since not only did their houses appreciate by double digit rates, so did their salaries. Since taxes are based on home values, the bubble meant that government got just as bloated as the real estate market. Now that homes are worth less, it [...]
From Chart of the Day:
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What was that about credit being the lifeblood of the economy? Well, the 2000s saw the greatest bubble ever, and all it got us was richer bankers. Robert Prechter often says that the depression started with the bursting of the dot-com bubble and deflation of social mood from the euphoria of [...]
Thanks to Tim Knight for finding this.
There is lots more, so click here for the full version.
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The cartoonist and Neil Postman think that Huxley got it right, and he certainly saw a lot that Orwell missed. However, I would argue that those who look at today’s society and only see Huxley (sex, drugs and entertainment) [...]
Hat tip Evilspeculator
They counted 48 vacant properties (I presume mostly street-front) from 59th to 14th Streets on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. I don’t have any stats to compare this to, but it is clear that times are not so good for landlords (and their banks) in NYC. I used to live on the same block [...]
Why shouldn’t someone walk away from overbearing consumer, student or mortgage debt, so long as it is non-recourse? I can’t think of any reason to keep servicing debt if you have no hope of repaying the principal. What good is a high FICO score if you don’t want to run up another credit card balance [...]
This morning’s Breakfast With Dave is good one.
There are so many headwinds confronting the U.S. consumer it’s not even funny. For a look at the new harsh reality of soaring usage of grocery vouchers, as well as other supplements to the household budget, have a look at the grim article on page 2 of the [...]
From nymag.com comes this diary of a female 24-year-old New Yorker making the best of her 18 months of unemployment insurance:
DAY ONE
Noon: Finally wake up and realize that it’s only noon. Automatically type into SeamlessWeb to order the usual brunch. It’s just too rainy to leave the apartment. Since getting laid off (okay it’s been [...]
Ok, so the big banks are being taken care of. Whatever they need to stay afloat, Daddy Paulson and his team of merry “asset managers” will provide. But will Bernanke’s billions, hot off the presses, be enough to thaw the credit freeze? This speculator’s money says decidedly not.
Replenishing bank vaults is one thing. Lending is [...]
Bottom line: Bailouts will waste our savings and remaining credit, and exacerbate the flight of capital and talent from the US.
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I was extremely surprised on Monday when the House rejected the first version of the Crime of ‘08, but I remain certain that an essentially identical bill will become law. When it does, maybe as [...]