StreetScooby

Next thing you know, Obama is going to be taxing that activity, requiring the patron to be of certain age (hopefully off his parents insurance), and the proprietor to have multiple licenses. We are all engines of karma

You're being euphemistic... We are all engines of karma

Ok, ok... I'm embarassed.... How 'bout them Yankees?? We are all engines of karma

That's a bit of a stretch, bill. It's clear you're not a fan of the Tea Party. I doubt you'd find any rational person in that group who claims there isn't any role for government services in our society. We are all engines of karma

They're far removed from my every day experience... Thanks. We are all engines of karma

Please, don't encourage him... We are all engines of karma

Just remember to keep a good box. If you can't keep your hands below the plane of your chin, you should probably put on more weight. We are all engines of karma

Good point. That was based on my personal experience, and that may not be valid for everyone. I'm 6'1", and typically have weighed around 160. The guys I like to do 4-way with are fast fallers, and in general, I like to fall fast. We are all engines of karma

This is looking like "wag the dog" (?) more and more. We are all engines of karma

That was a ridiculous farce. Anyone involved in that should be ashamed of themselves. Did I like Clinton, not particularly, but what the Republicans tried to do with that is disgraceful. We are all engines of karma

How many people die on the autobahn? Some poor innocent guy just going to work get's hit by a maniac doing 200 mph. Maybe we should ban Porsches, too. We are all engines of karma

You seem to enjoy coming up with you own definitions... We are all engines of karma

Got to agree with that one re: billvon. We are all engines of karma

Fair point, other than the criminality of the bankers. The bankers were trying to implement what the government was requiring them to do, and trying to make a living along the way. BTW, yes I'm pissed at my government about this. We are all engines of karma

Agreed, with caveats that some are born with more potential in certain areas than others. I think we all have the potential to take care of ourselves, our families, and to make our communities a place to live and learn. In communism, et. al., it's the leaders of the collective that end up setting false goals. We are all engines of karma

Then why subsume that to some ill defined concept regarding "for the betterment of some collective"? If everyone is working hard and bettering themselves in a civilized society, you don't need to worry about the collective. We are all engines of karma

Both entail centrally planned economies that are anathema to the individual pursuit of life enshrined in our constitution. We are all engines of karma

This is a bit of a simplistic view. The system rotted because no one thought they faced accountability: not market accountability, nor government accountability. Who removed market accountability? Bottom line, the government. We are all engines of karma

Do you know what a derivative is? In simple terms, it's an insurance policy. The $600 trillion you're referring to is the sum total of all buys and sells in future dollars. The way those markets are expected to work, if there's a problem with a counterparty, all trades are netted and the remainder is sold for pennies on the dollar. One of the most fundamental practices in the financial industry is managing counterparty risk. Is the guy I'm doing trades with going to be in business tomorrow? If he's not, then don't do business with him. If you do trades with him, and he goes out of business, then you're SOL, and you fail too. If you can't manage that risk, don't get in the business. It's a real, and recurring, risk. Do you know what a qualified investor is? It's a legal term, and it says you're a big boy who can take care of yourself in the financial markets. You can only play in these markets if you're a qualified investor. Do not go whining if you lose. Guaranteed you're not going to be whining when you win. Barnie Frank is a clear and present danger. He, and his ilk, want to make decisions for those in our society who won't make decisions for themselves. That's not how our system works. Dodd-Frank is a disaster in the making. The very person who is at the root of the subprime crisis is continuing to make rules that make no sense. We are all engines of karma

+1 We are all engines of karma

The "message" is already out there for anyone willing to look. Our society requires/needs people who are informed and involved. That's already there for anyone who chooses to do so. It takes alot of effort. Bottom line, the guy making fries at McDonald's has made his choice. There is nothing in our society that keeps him from going out and starting his own company, or bettering his situation by a variety of other methods. Only for those who are uninformed, and choose to remain that way. Then do something about it. Right now, I'm actively involved in Westchester County's district board elections. I'm sick of Democrats spending my money. Is this going to be a struggle? Damn right. This county is chock full of well intentioned rich people who don't pay attention to local politics. They vote Democratic because they're compassionate, and it makes them feel good about themselves. Then, there is another entire demographic that lives off that charity, and votes Democratic. The Democratic leaders do not tell what's going on, and the local papers are in their pockets. The only people who follow politics here are the public service unions, and they are very active. Right now, they have some of the best contracts in the country, and the county can no longer afford to pay for basic government services. Very frustrating, and frightening if I think about it too much. As Richard Bach said, "Argue for your limitations, and they're yours to keep". Go do something about it. They definitely provide momentum, but they do not have final say. All you have to do is get involved, and stay involved. We are all engines of karma

At the height of the boom, Congress was requiring over 50% of GSE loans purchased/originated to be CRA compliant (see the FCIC report). These loans had the highest default rates, by far. The only way the GSEs could meet that requirement was to support a market for wacky bonds (e.g. option ARMs). As soon as there was a dip in home prices, this was bound to collapse. Agreed, and absurd they were (e.g. CDOs). There was an explosion of insurance related products/securities for MBS bonds that flooded that market. Worse, people levered these 20-1 in some cases. The underwriters (e.g., AIG) thought they'd collect premiums forever with no down side. Boy were they wrong. When the chickens came home to roost, they owed up to 20 times what was actually being insured. This greatly exacerbated the problem. Bottom line, those insurers went bust. I think one of the simplest reforms the government could have enacted was a rule limiting leverage. Glass-Steagall had Reg T, which limits stock leverage to 2-1. Right now, the government allows you to leverage govt bond purchases 10-1. That should be the maximum allowable leverage, and even that seems a bit high to me. All this leverage does, in the best case, is massively inflate the amount of "money" in the market, with nothing of any real value backing it. We are all engines of karma

The MBS market place was very stable for decades prior to CRA enforcement. That, in the opinion of many (myself included) is the root of the rot that has occurred. We are all engines of karma

That was a bad mistake, IMO. Glass-Steagall had worked really well for 50 years. I think they should bring it back, instead of this ongoing monstrosity by Dodd-Frank. We are all engines of karma

And Al Gore, too. We are all engines of karma