Gamblers and Whores Won, What Now?
Chuck Ponzi August 5th, 2008
Now that the housing bailout bill has been approved by congress and signed into law by the political pandering president, we have all agreed to accept the cold hard reality of covering someone else’s bad decisions and poor choices with our own hard work, sweat, and good choices. Indeed, it seems that excelling or even being of a marginally higher intellect than say, a brain slug is fit to be yoked and saddled with someone else’s mediocrity in this new era of America. It is the future of “no child left behind”, or as Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal puts it, the Condo Flippers Do Over Act.
I remember a story that I read in grade school, Anthem by Ayn Rand. It was the first Ayn Rand book I ever read, and the only one I enjoyed. But, even in my youth, the message was chilling. The story was one of a man with extraordinary talent and physical prowess who lived in a society that believed in equality to an extreme. This society would place handicaps on those who could could see well, think better, or even walk better to the point that noone was better than anyone else in any way. Ironically, the main character I never in my life imagined that this kind of society would exist, much less under a republican president. However, it seems we have become this society:
Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelet which all men wear on their left wrists with their names upon it. We are twenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall. Ever have the Teachers and the Leaders pointed to us and frowned and said: “There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers.” But we cannot change our bones nor our body.
I have no flair for the dramatic, but I fear that we as a nation have allowed ourselves to become enslaved by our own political masters. We are therefore, destined for failure much more than if we had celebrated success AND failure as a means of building again something better. In our society, failure is only to include everyone, and everyone fails or succeeds together. It seems like only a little time ago that we were introducing “participation awards”, and now we are covering everyone’s losses. Except it seems that there is a conspiracy afoot.
I’m a died in the wool libertarian, but there is only so much nepotism that I can stand. I am disgusted beyond belief at what I see. What I see is that the only time that people are bailed out is when it affects big business. When the banks collectively went and did the stupidest stuff in the history of the world in the name of “financial innovation”, they get bailed out. When little investors went and did stupid stuff by buying dot coms… not a chance.
I’m mad as hell, but I don’t know what to do. In elections, I get to choose between a giant douche and a shit sandwich. Equally, everyone around me is too busy getting raped by the government to give a rat’s ass. The only thoughts that come to mind are treasonous and illegal, so I won’t write them down, but, I have to ask, at what point do politicians become responsible for their actions? Is it only when we get invaded and conquered do crimes against humanity get punished?
Unfortunately, with all of the absolutely stupid shite that happens in this country, I can’t think of a country where even more stupid shite happens, so there’s no escape. Maybe this is just what being middle class is all about. I’m too lucky to have the government wipe my butt for me, and I’m not lucky enough to not give a rip or find a way around paying for it. So, I’m stuck working for the government 50% of my income going to taxes and no say in the political process. Makes me want to stop paying taxes altogether. If I thought I could get away with it, I would.
I have to say, this housing bill, what a crock of absolute rubbish, and I’m ashamed to live in a country where politicians pander to everyone but their constituency. Everyone would be much better off if housing were cheap. Everyone complains when the prices of things rise… we call that inflation, but when it’s houses, it’s call an ownership society.
From the WSJ:
Anyone who invests in housing already gets a number of political subsidies. Your mortgage interest can be deducted from your income tax. Your capital gains, up to certain limits, can also be tax free. Taxpayers maintain the roads to and from your home. The new rescue package is just one more subsidy for the asset class of housing.
There was no rescue package for all those honest people who lost their savings in the dotcom crash. And there was no suggestion of any rescue package.
Meanwhile the majority Democratic party is agitating, with plenty of popular support, for a “windfall profits tax” on energy companies.
Such a tax, if it should pass, would by definition lower the returns from investment in oil and gas exploration. Inevitable consequence: Less investment in oil and gas exploration. But this is apparently an acceptable price to pay to ensure that…well, that investors in big energy companies don’t make too much money.
So, where does this all leave us?
Among the many ironies: The current economic crisis is largely the result of too much investment in housing, which led to a bubble and then a collapse, and too little investment in energy, leading to fuel shortages and skyrocketing prices. Yet the political class is acting, as far as I can see, to increase investment still further in housing and reduce investment in energy.
Where do our douche and shit sandwich stand on this?
I’m also disgusted beyond belief and mad as hell, and don’t understand why virtually no one else is. Where is the anger? Why is everyone just taking this? What the hell has happened to people in this country? Integrity no longer exists, we’ve seen our “leaders” continue to lie, cheat and loot the country, and they get away with it because no one calls them on it. We’re a bunch of fat, lazy whiners, blaming everyone but ourselves for our problems, and expecting the government to save us from our problems. We’re too stupid and lazy to spend the time to figure out what is really going on, instead we let the bought-and-paid-for media tell us what reality is, and we don’t question it, for that would take too much energy and effort. We all seem to believe that we “deserve” to have a huge home, luxury car and other expensive material items, but don’t feel we should have to work or sacrifice for it. Those few who have lived within their means, have sacrificed, have saved money, have not walked away from homes, did not lie on their loan applications - they are the ones who will be shouldering the burden, will be penalized for having integrity. They will be bailing out those who were stupid and greedy, thus rewarding their reckless behavior and setting a precedent for it to happen again and again. How much more of this crap are we going to take?
I did something, I called Bush, Pelosi, Reid and my local representatives. I told them the Housing Bailout stinks and that it is going to be abused by fake, inflated appraisals (like no one could see that coming after 4 years of outrageous inflated appraisals). I told them about the loophole that allows a bailout recipient to refinance their loan before they sell and NOT have to share appreciation gains with us tax payers who bailed them out.
I also told them to open offshore areas and ANWR to drilling ASAP. If you think that the Dem’s plan of windfall profit taxes is a good idea, then you must believe the Government will use that money wisely? Let the oil companies reinvest those profits in American jobs, American taxes, reducing our deficit and providing secure domestic oil.
Now Pelosi’s office is expanding on its popular “it will take 10 years for new oil to get to the pumps, so it’s not worth doing campaign” to include IRAs and 401Ks. Now 401Ks are stupid because it seems most Americans are 10-20 years from an age where they can withdraw any of the savings wasted in 401K accounts. So now anything that takes time to bare fruit is dumb and not worth doing
Look, Bush sucks Reid sucks, Pelosi sucks. Who cares if you proudly call yourself a Dem or Rep. Use your brain and do what is right for you, your family and your neighbor. Pelosi could not be farther removed from realty if she were from Mars. Bush may be the anti-christ. Point is this standing by your party BS is getting us nowhere fast.
Call Bush and ask him to call a Special Session to vote on offshore/ANWR at:
(202) 456-1414
Call Nancy at:
(202) 225-4965
Call Harry Reid at:
(202) 224-3542
So is your post condemning Democrats? That’s the only political party mentioned, which is odd, considering that for the past 8 years - or 20 out of the past 28 years - we’ve had Republicans in control of the White House and 6 of the past 8 years of Rep control of every branch of government.
I only bring it up because you decided to use a quote specifically targeted at them, when they are not the only cause of the problem.
what do you think? Who’s the douche, and who’s the shit sandwich? The WSJ rightly pointed out that the majority party (the Democrats) are ready to make a move in a most stupid fashion. It’s also true that it appears this most stupid “solution” originated with the Republicans. We have no choice but 2 different cluster-f^@#s. It’s a rant, what do you expect, complete lucidity?
Chuck (or John Doe),
I think part of the problem is those of us that are not in trouble, are not as motivated. The guys that are near default are screaming for a solution. So, we should probably try to organize to make our impact felt.
About the bailouts: Ben jones has convinced me that they are somewhat futile exercises that will fail. The first part of the bail out bill will have minimal impact because it has so many poison pills for the lenders. Its a voluntary writedown to 10% of an already dropped market value. The buyer needs to pay a insurance premium and has to qualify under fairly strict guidelines. The math just looks pretty ugly.
I can see a bunch of falsified comps pushing that for a while but still can’t see it as such a huge impact.
The FRE/FNM bailouts… Not sure how that is going to work either. Once they start taking money from the discount window they will be forced to cancel dividends. You could easily see the market taking this as huge risk and an admission of insolvency.
That will cause pressure on the bonds and raise interest rates.
Yeah, its going to waste a couple hundred billion.
meh. I’m going go throw up now.
I totally agree, for what it’s worth, but I don’t have any solutions or answers to add. I definitely see a movement in the country to try to solve the problem of our horrible government representatives and the inherent massive corruption in our government, but I think it’s going to be too little too late, and/or get sidetracked into partisan politics. Globalization is making it more possible for productive people to flee countries which oppress them, which may eventually lead to the creation of a better national system somewhere, but that’s also a pie-in-the-sky sorta dream.
The only ray of hope I harbor, and it’s a slim one, is that the truly intelligent, innovative people in the country may eventually turn their collective energy to fixing the political system, and be able to enact real meaningful changes. It would take a pretty massive grass-roots movement, though, and a lot of dedication and attention, and a good bit of luck too. It’s a little hope, though, at least.
Sometimes the system just goes to failure. History is full of failed empires.
Think about Rome: they had a destructive tax policy and a welfare state. For some reason the people in the provinces didn’t like supporting the welfare state and productivity plunged.
Its hard to get people to think about the effects of social policies. More so for them to understand what happens to people close to the margins.
Best I can hope for is Republicans slow the growth rate of the socialist programs. Expecting people to become enlightened? That is a dream.
I’m thinking the catalytic event for change will be something similar to the Boston Tea Party…nothing in history showed a unity of the masses. Out of this event we had brilliant minds form a simple document of liberty. The “next” American Revolution will be against the over taxation. I predict that none of the bond taxes on this coming November ballot will pass in San Diego. As Chuck said, 50% of wages go to taxes both direct (withheld) and indirect (sales, fees….) The populace cannot take much more!!
“The Populace” is really just tax payers… which is just the middle class. Seeing how the middle class is the minority, while the rich tell the poor what to want (if they know what’s best for them, they’ll vote the way the rich want, and they get a bone thrown to them every once in a while). Meanwhile, the middle class is staring down the barrel of the AMT and unwinding asset prices. The only escape is to the upperclass, and I’m afraid only a small percentage will make it. There is literally nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. We have gone from a country of racists to class warfare. Thanks, departing generation. In addition to screwing up every social entitlement program, you’ve sucked the middle class dry and you’ll soon find out what it’s like to try to get blood from a stone.
Maybe what we really need is a good global banking crisis and bankrupt government to stage our own Boston Tea Party. This is taxation without representation.
Chuck Ponzi
I would definitely vote no on the bond proposals for San Diego and California.
I share Chucks frustration with what is going on politically, but I really question that the government will be able to do anything about this mess. It is totally out of their hands. The housing market will collapse (and you thought now, was bad) and then the retirement funds implode.
To make the assumption that voting Democrat or Republican can save us is, to say the least, idiotic. It’s kind of like a car salesman trying to close a deal, “Will this be cash or do you want to finance it?” There is no political solution to this mess.
Forget the election, it isn’t going to improve things, once we realize this, maybe government will start paying the real bills, like defense, roads and maybe alternate forms of transportation.
We also have to realize that we can’t afford all of the health care promised. Will it happen? Probably not!
We all get to witness the dumbing down of America, its been happening for years and now here we are. This is why the people are not rioting in the streets, instead we are just accepting this and continue sitting on the couch waiting for the free “stimulus” money to arrive. And what message does the stimulus money send? It says, “hay, this credit strategy that you all tried to take advantage of has failed everyone. But it’s OK, here is some free money for ya, DONT GO OUT AND WORK FOR YOUR MONEY, your government will pacify you through these hard economic times.”
And I just bought my first house and am eligible for the $7500 tax credit. I am tickled by this, but I also think to myself where is all this money going to come from for all the others like me?
Is our govt just going to borrow that also, and pass it to me? I dont know if I like the sound of that now?
Food for thought.
Remember that Bread and Circuses became the way that the ruling class maintained power and control over the people of Rome.
Today it’s NASCAR, WWE, and stimulus checks. Don’t forget to pick up your mullett on the way out.
Chuck
The comparisons to the Roman empire are quite stunning sometimes.
You know the serial refinancers and overspenders are just like drug addicts. Its all “please man, just help me get by and one last fix”. The government (and I blame liberals for this more than anybody) can’t say no.
They will drag us all down. Its hard to break loose from the system and spiral. There are going to be some hard times ahead. The bailout is just going to make it worse.
Its all insane and we live in an Orwellian nightmare.