Patriot Arms

Fucking Idiots

2011-08-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Paul Wiseman and Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writers, On Friday July 29, 2011, 11:41 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is at risk of slipping into another recession.
It nearly stalled in the first six months of the year, the government reported Friday. Economic growth was feeble in the second quarter and practically non-existent in the first.
The new picture of an economy far weaker than most analysts had expected suddenly made a second recession a more serious threat -- and the threat will rise if Congress can't reach a deal to raise the government's debt limit.
"The only question now is, how much weaker could things get?" says Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.
In April, May and June, the economy grew at a 1.3 percent annual rate, below expectations. And the government changed its growth figure for January, February and March to 0.4 percent, far below the previous estimate of 1.9 percent.
"China's GDP for 2011 is at 11.9%. Looks like they owe their growth to the US."
Combined, the first half of the year amounts to the worst six-month performance since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009.
Over the past year, the gross domestic product -- the total output of goods and services in the United States, and the broadest measure of the economy's health -- recorded actual growth of 1.6 percent.
Since 1950, year-to-year growth has dipped below 2 percent 12 times. Ten of those times, the economy was already in recession or soon fell into one, says Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities.
Normal economic growth is closer to 3 percent.
High gasoline prices leave people with less money to spend on other goods and services. And not all spending on gas contributes to the U.S. economy because some of the money goes to oil-producing countries. GDP figures are also inflation-adjusted, so spending $1 more for a gallon doesn't mean $1 of additional help to the economy. "This was one of my main reasons for leaving Alaska."
Manufacturing disruptions from the Japan earthquake, cuts in state and local government and tighter household budgets have weighed down the economy, too.
Add to those problems the uncertainty fanned by the political stalemate in Washington, with Republicans refusing to raise the federal government's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to deep federal spending cuts on the GOP's terms.
Without an agreement, the Treasury Department says, the government won't have enough money to pay all its bills after Tuesday. It will have to cut spending by about 40 percent and choose which programs and beneficiaries receive money and which don't.
The dismal second-quarter report led economists to reduce their estimates for growth in the second half of the year. Capital Economics, which had expected the economy to grow 2.5 percent this year, now says 2 percent looks more likely.
Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors says he's waiting until the debt-limit deadline passes to revise his economic forecasts for the rest of 2011. He knows he'll scale back his estimates. He just doesn't know how much.
If a deal isn't reached for another month, Naroff estimates there's an 80 to 90 percent chance that the spending cuts would tip the economy into recession. Even if there is a deal, it would likely trigger significant spending cuts that would slow growth, at least in the short run.
"You kick the federal government, and the economy is going to be doubled over in pain," Naroff says.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other economists have warned Congress against cutting too much too soon because the economy remains so fragile. "If the money was left in Private hands then the Governments actions wouldn't have such devistating reactions on our economy."
The economy needs to expand so it can create jobs for a growing population. It must grow at a 2.5 percent annual rate to keep the unemployment rate from rising and at a 5 percent rate to bring unemployment down significantly. "The government needs a growing population so it can tax the fuck out of people to increase it's revenue and there for spend our money on stupid shit that we don't need. What we need is for government to get out of our pockets."
In a Twitter message, economist Justin Wolfers of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School said he thinks there's a 40 percent chance the economy has already been in a recession for the past four months.
Normally, when the economy is this weak, the government spends more and the Federal Reserve aggressively tries to stimulate growth. But President Barack Obama's $862 billion stimulus package of spending programs and tax cuts ran out last year -- and won't be revived by a Congress focused on cutting government debt.
And the Federal Reserve last month ended a $600 billion bond-buying program designed to jolt the economy by lowering long-term interest rates and lifting stock prices.
The Fed is keeping short-term interest rates near zero, and Bernanke this month said the Fed is prepared to do more if the economy remains weak. "Like Print more money and loan it to other banks that invest the money overseas where they get an higher rate of return on there investment?" But the central bank has been more worried recently about a resurgence of inflation.
The private sector hasn't picked up the slack. The housing industry, "One word, 'BullDozers'." which usually drives economic recoveries, is still depressed after home prices started tumbling in 2006 and 2007.
Americans are still carrying heavy debts, and what little gains they've made in wages have been eaten up by higher gas and food prices. Businesses, getting more work out of staffs downsized during the recession, are reluctant to hire until they're sure their sales will pick up. "How can sales pick up if everyone is in fear of loosing their jobs or their house if they haven't already? I've been unemployed for 1 year come the 20th of this month. Think I've had any money to spend?"
"What business is going to hire into the unknown?" Naroff says.
"We are so fucked."

Bulldoze: The New Way To Foreclose

2011-08-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

http://w3.newsmax.com/a/aftershockb/video.cfm?s=al&promo_code=CBCE-1

http://news.yahoo.com/bulldoze-way-foreclose-102000063.html

The article below is very disturbing and I don't agree with the last paragraph in this article.

Bulldoze: The New Way To Foreclose

By STEPHEN GANDEL | Time.com – 11 hrs ago

Banks have a new remedy to America's ailing housing market: Bulldozers.

There are nearly 1.7 million homes in the U.S. in some state of foreclosure. Banks already own some of these homes and will soon have repossessed many more. Many housing economists worry that near constant stream of home sales from banks could keep housing prices down for years to come. But what if some of those homes never hit the market.

Increasingly, it appears banks are turning to demolition teams instead of realtors to rid them of their least valuable repossessed homes. Last month, Bank of America announced plans to demolish 100 foreclosed homes in the Cleveland area. The land is then going to be donated back to the local government authorities. BofA says the recent donations in Cleveland are part of a larger plan to rid itself of its least saleable properties, many of which, according to a company spokesperson, are worth less than $10,000. BofA has already donated 100 homes in Detroit and 150 in Chicago, and may add as many as nine more cities by the end of the year.

(LIST: Top 10 Most Affordable Cities for Renters)

And BofA is not alone. A number of banks are ramping up their efforts not just to rid themselves of their unwanted homes, but to fully dispose of them. Fannie Mae has a program to sell houses to local municipalities for around a few hundred dollars. Wells Fargo has donated 800 homes to be demolished since 2009. JPMorgan Chase says it was one of the first banks to begin donating houses it couldn't sell, or didn't think were repairable. Since 2008, the JPMorgan has donated or sold at a discount 1,900 houses to city or county officials.

The banks do the deals because once the properties are donated they no longer have to pay taxes or for upkeep. Tax experts say the banks may also be able to get a write off for the donation. That appears to be a better deal than trying to repair some of these homes, which according to a BofA spokesperson are more economical to demolish than fix up. The local governments like these deals because they get free land to develop or use for open space. Cleveland-based Cuyahoga County Land Reuntilization Corp., which inked the deal with BofA, has been one of the most aggressive local government organizations in striking these deals. Housing economists like these deals because they remove homes from the market that would otherwise sell for a low price or not at all, dragging down home prices in general. An oversupply of homes on the market has been once of the big problems plaguing real estate. At the end of June, it would take nine and a half months for the current number of homes on the market to sell. The housing market is considered healthy when supply equals six months of sales. So taking some of these homes off the market for good could remove some of the inventory drag.

(MORE: How To Fix the Housing Market)

The question is whether the banks will ever put up enough housing for demolition to make a difference. The Obama administration says it is working on its own plan to revamp its loan modification program in order to help keep more people in foreclosure in their homes, reducing the number of foreclosed properties on the market. Some areas of the country are looking at how to speed up foreclosures in an effort to return some normality to the market. It's not clear that any of this will work. Certainly, the idea that we are at the point where banks would be better off knocking down houses that reselling them shows there is still something very wrong with the housing market. But what is clear is that banks and others are at the point where they are ready to try something new to boost the housing market. And that is a good sign for the future.

It's not going to boost the housing market because all this is going to do is reline the bankers pockets with more toxic assests...if people don't have job then the chance of them taking out a mortgage is slim at best. If you look at true unemployment rate is closer to 22% according to the New York Post http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/how_nation_true_jobless_rate_is_N4E6MjtfhnMcCi537pucaJ
then you know that the housing market is never going to recover and be at the over inflated pre-2008 levels.

Debt

2011-07-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Paying off your debt can mean tons of freedom from stress and just not having a life in general. But how do you pay off large amounts of debt?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/First-Person-How-I-Eliminated-ac-2349389766.html?x=0

Here is a link to how one couple paid off $46,000 in 10 months. While it's a good story with good info...some people just aren't motivated enough to make the commitment.
The only debt that I have going right now is my cell phone bill which is still to much and my insurance for my truck. Other than that, I pay cash for everything. Something I learned about debt along time ago was something I never want to go through again. Although I was making decent money at the time, it wasn't enough after I screwed up my back and was out of work for a year and a half. By the time I was able to go back to work I was $40,000 + in debt and my new pay was $1.00 an hour less than I was making in the past. I managed to get my personal loans paid but I had to tell the credit card companies to kiss my ass because the insurance that I paid for that was supposed to protect my credit in case of a work related injury was not honored. And because I was to stupid to swallow my pride and just pay the damn cards off, it ended up ruining my credit. I'm still trying to repair my credit 12 years later. The most important thing I learned was to stay away from the lying, cheating, stealing credit card companies and deal only with bank loans. Only credit I would apply for would be to buy items that would pay for them selves and not buy the play toys like I had in the past. This lesson turned out to be beneficial when I bought property in Alaska and turned around and made a $45,000 profit just before the housing bust in 2008. I currently get $6,000 a year return on the property investment and the new owner seems to be happy with the purchase. Soon enough all the bad marks on my credit report should be wiped clean and it's being done without filing for bankruptcy. Turn off the damn T.V., Pay off your debts and start living a life that is yours and not be under someone else's thumb.

Debt ceiling could mean trouble for states.

2011-07-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have a run down of the states with the lowest Property taxes. I lost my list of states with the lowest unemployment rates but I'm sure I'll find it soon. I think one of the points that I'm trying to make is the fact that there are states that are financialy sound and some of these places could be used to weather this storm. My plan is to buy a fair sized peice of bare property in one of these states and this time do a better job with my investment than I did in Alaska. What I like about Alaska was the fact that most of the state had

no property taxes

and for the most part, no building codes. Alaska did have one major flaw however, cost of living has been going up since fuel prices started rising.
I'm alway's on the search for a state that's not at the top of the list on property taxes like New Jersey with it's average property tax of $6,579 per year. Louisiana is ranked 50th on property taxes with an average tax of $243. All of these tax figures are for owner occupied homes. While I understand that Taxes are somewhat important to local and state governments, I don't think property should ever be taxed unless it's used commercially. If you worked hard for 30 years to pay off the mortgage on the house and then property taxes increased and for what ever reason you couldn't pay your taxes, wouldn't you be alittle pissed if someone said they were throwing you and your family out on the street because someone bought your house for what you owed on your taxes? I know I would be. I have seen alot of tax forclosure auctions in the local papers in recent years. So try to avoid high tax states. If the government want's their money they can get it threw sales taxes or another means where everyone pays only when they make a purchase and the individuals have nothing to loose.
Our liberties have been under fire and slowly eroding with every passing election of the people that are supposed to be repressenting our best interests. A little off from what I was getting to but I need to ask your oppinion on something. Have you ever seen a bill in office get shot down just because another bill got attached to it that no one wanted to vote yes or no on?. That is one practice that needs to stop because bills are getting past that no one want's simply because another bill was attached. That is the most crooked shit I have ever seen done by elected officials.
Anyway's, here's a link to the article about how the states are going to get hit if and when the debt ceiling gets raised.
http://www.finance.yahoo.com/news/Debt-ceiling-fix-could-mean-apf-2455077173.html?x=0
Copy and paste into your broweser because apparently the link isn't working quite right.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Recession-risks-up-amid-slow-apf-3759266309.html?x=0

This link is a must read~!!!

Priorities

2011-07-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Time for people to wake up. The only people that are making money in this country any more is the Banks and the politicians that support them. Our GDP in this country is at a stagnant 3 percent while China's GDP is an astounding 10 percent. Most of our GDP comes from spending borrowed money buying foreign made junk. who do we borrow money from? The banks. Small business' borrow money to expand and pay you a wage to pay on your credit card that was used to buy products from overseas. It's time to pay off all debts and pay cash for what we consume. The following posts will discuss more on how to survive on less and be happier doing it. Life is never easy and neither is some of the choices that need to be made before we all fall off the economic cliff.
Above all, Do the research.

Patriot Arms

Fucking Idiots

Bulldoze: The New Way To Foreclose

Bulldoze: The New Way To Foreclose

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Debt

Debt ceiling could mean trouble for states.

Priorities