StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

Its about time that someone actually speak the truth about the “financial crisis” and why it happened. So like it or not, this is a violently politically incorrect, but, IMO, accurate take on the greed and stupidity that has led to a near meltdown in our economy and the wiping out of any profit I might have seen from the sale of my home in the immediate future. Yes dammit, pass the bailout so the rest of the economy doesn’t go down the tubes and have the next President be blamed for the implosion. And I want someone to step up and pay my damn mortgage too! I’ve worked hard for that right!

NOT PC RANT: Now, you see…the basic question lies in how some people who haven’t got good (or possibly any) credit were able to buy houses that they simply couldn’t afford. I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked hard to maintain my excellent credit rating, despite years of paltry income. But no! People have nothing, went out and moved into the “keeping up with the Jones’ neighborhoods, only to find themselves in situations where they either couldn’t afford the increased mortgage payments as their adjustable sub-prime mortages went up, or maybe even, with the real estate market imploding on itself, largely because of their own greed (and of couse, the greed of the mortgage industry that decided to loan money to anyone), found themselves “upside down” on their homes (simply, they owed more than the market value of their house).

Well excuse me! and “go fluck a duck!” I worked hard to buy my house, a house that I could afford to buy. And I live in a nice neighborhood, but as I’ve watched homes in my neighborhood go on the market and sell, it has been obvious that some of these people actually couldn’t afford to actually be my neighbor…they got themselves one of those nice sub-prime mortgage, and bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood, where they really couldn’t afford to live (the tell tale sign was when the “repo-man” came to tow their shiney new BMW out of their driveway and cart it away).

Ladies and gentlemen, and those few who read this blog - America is a land of opportunity. However, that opportunity is not an entitlement. You, if you don’t work hard and have the money in savings, are not entitled to live in my neighborhood, just like I an not entitled to live in a nearby neighborhood where the home prices are 50% higher than mine. The real problem is that one of those upside down homeowners just sold a house down the street from me for a price lower than what I paid for mine.

So screw me! for being able to afford the house I live in, because Mr. and Mrs. “Keeping up with the Jones” couldn’t afford their house, and had to sell in a distressed sale.

There’s a post worth linking my rant to at Right Truth. Good people of all walks of life work hard to establish themselves and accomplish whatever it is that they accomplish. Tiday, people who far overstepped their boundaries are putting all of us in a position to get them out of their jams. I object strenuously.

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Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” was an anthem of my college years, Today, however, no less than T. Boone Pickens has concluded, that in fact, the answer is blowing in the wind. Alterative, renewable energy…all from natural air currents. Of course, environmentalists object to the large propeller towers because birds that fly into them, don’t fly out. The fact that some people do not believe that the plan will work, the Pickens Plan is to unlock the country from dependence on foreign oil by harnessing wind power.

“Sometimes it takes a crisis to awaken us from our slumber,” … “But once aroused, the American people can accomplish miracles”

With $58 million of his own fortune, Pickens plans to build the world’s largest wind farm in West Texas. There are plenty of detractors. The question is whether anyone is capable of proving Pickens wrong.

However, I continue to wonder why so many people object to exploration of renewable energy to unshackle at least part of our oil dependency. And if that is the case, why we wouldn’t also be serious about exploring the enormous power and energy generated by the waves in the oceans of the world.

ocean power, T. Boone Pickens, wave power, wind power

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This is a short post. Watch how the BIG BOYS play the game of big business. I am in the rare minority of people who admires Microsoft. They have smart people and generally do smart things. Possibly the funniest thing I’ve read all weekend is the decryption of the letter Steve Ballmer sent to Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo! Its funny, because unless you’re dense, you know its true.

So, aside from the fact that I’ve got alot less than I had to play with in the market since March 2000, I wouldn’t want to be a Yahoo! shareholder tomorrow. Of course its a negotiating tactic. But when Mr. Softie plays hardball, it hurts.

As I said, I’m an admirer. Now, of course, Ballmer is sometimes a bit “barmy,” but its sort of important for a strong businessman to show his wacky side sometimes.

Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, Yahoo!

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For many (if not most) Americans, their home is their largest asset.  Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in October by the most in at least six years, raising the risk that more Americans will walk away from properties that are worth less than they owe.  Values fell a greater-than-forecast 6.1 percent from October 2006, the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index showed today. The decrease was the biggest since the group started keeping year-over-year records in 2001.

But wait!  This is a bad economic indicator as a whole…U.S. Economy: Home Prices Declined at Faster Pace

Prices will continue falling as record foreclosures put even more homes on the market while stricter lending rules make financing tougher to get. Declining values also pose a risk to consumer spending by making it harder for owners to tap home equity for extra cash.

“You are likely to see more people giving up on their loans as they end up with little or no equity in their homes,” said Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. “It’s one more factor that weighs on the path of consumption.”

But not everywhere!  So how are you doing?

12 Month Change By Top 30 CBSAs (Core Based Statistical Areas)	As of October 2007
Honolulu, HI	17.91%
Salt Lake City, UT	11.63%
Austin-Round Rock, TX	8.62%
San Antonio, TX	7.89%
Raleigh-Cary, NC	4.56%
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX	4.52%
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC	4.47%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	3.92%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	2.18%
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA	1.73%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI	-0.22%
Philadelphia, PA	-0.61%
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA	-1.83%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA	-2.13%
St. Louis, MO-IL	-2.76%
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI	-3.16%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	-3.33%
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ	-4.13%
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL	-4.85%
Boston-Quincy, MA	-6.01%
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH	-8.10%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	-8.11%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	-9.21%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	-10.08%
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL	-10.16%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA	-10.45%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL	-10.89%
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA	-11.44%
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV	-11.65%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	-14.01%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	-15.70%

Source: First American LoanPerformance HPI, Single Family Detached Series

Note that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, this is the definition of Core-Based Statistical Areas.  Kinda makes me happy I’m here and not “there.”  How ya feeling?  Nice and comfy?  Or a little nervous?  I remember a time back where I used to live (in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s) when people were just packing up and walking away from their high interest/principal mortgages and declining value homes because…well, just because.

You can vote for this article at Real Clear Politics (if you wish, of course)

Core Based Statistical Areas, U.S. housing market

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