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Showing posts from September, 2013

"You Can Keep Your Existing Health Insurance"

I wondered about this statement at the time Obama made it.  Clearly, by changing all the rules of health care insurance and mandating conformity, it was unlikely that the vast majority of Americans would not find themselves forced by 'The Affordable Care Act' to have to deal with a completely different health insurance plan and completely different set of health care providers. I now understand what Obama meant.   He was speaking to his immediate family and (politician) friends.  They are exempt from the "Affordable Care Act."  Clearly what he meant to say was: "if you are exempt from Obamacare, like me and my family, you can keep your existing health insurance."  He never meant to mislead.

Things We Now Know

The poor are losing ground in the new Obama world.  The facts are showing up even in the halls of collectivist extremes like the New York Times.  The rich are getting richer and poor are being locked in place.  Big government is throttling the economy and the hopes and dreams of lower and middle class Americans. Today's Wall Street Journal's article by Simon Constable lays out some of the simple and obvious facts of the Obama era: "The richest 20% of households account for 38% of spending, according to government data for 2011, the latest available.  Compare that with 2003 when the top earners spent 26% of the total."  The article goes on to say..."it could get even worse."  It will. Who really benefits when the regulators strangle the banks?  Do banks really need to get much more conservative in their lending practices?  Why does the government know best?  How far can you stretch the FDIC guarantees before American banking is simply a subsidiary of the US g

5 Unusual Tricks to Help you Save Up

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Saving money is not always as easy as it first seems, and all those good intentions and budgets can fly out of the window without you even noticing – so why not try some more unusual money saving tips? Here are five of our best tips to help you save up! Never pay with coins That’s right, take out all those coins weighing down your purse or wallet and put them in a piggy bank or jar instead. That 10 Sen coin isn't worth much on its own, but once you start saving up all your coins, it can add up to a considerable sum. Avoid the temptation of dipping into your coin fund by storing in it a tin with just a coin slot at the top. If you have to get out a can opener to access those coins, you’re more likely to wait until it’s full before you open it!   Never say NO to a freebie Whether it’s free shampoo and soap from a hotel or free condiments from a restaurant, stock up! These free products are just as good, but with the added bonus that they cost you nothing. It also means that you get b

Poor Policies; Poor Predictions

The Obama Administration and the Federal Reserve have consistently over-estimated the strength of the US economy.  The Fed has, on no occasion since 2009, had a remotely accurate prediction, constantly and consistently over-estimating economic growth by well over 40 percent on average.  With that record, one wonders why anyone cares what the Fed thinks about the future.  (The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported, in a graphic, the predictions that the Fed had made over recent years). Now, economists like Laura d'Andrea Tyson, a Clinton economic advisor, wonders why the poor are getting poorer in the Obama non-recovery since 2009.  After five years of government expansiveness and a Federal Reserve out-of-control, the rich are getting richer and the poor and middle class are losing ground. Strangely, these results were perfectly predictable.  They follow from the Obama policies.  We have implemented in detail what David Stockman, in his recent book "The Great Deformation,&qu

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A Rose By Any Other Name

The Fed announced today that it would continue it's bond buying binge to the tune of $ 85 billion monthly, a policy that has been in place since the 2008 financial collapse.  This has expanded the once miniscule Fed balance sheet to over $ 4 trillion.  The Fed, of course, can create money digitally.  That's what it uses to buy the bonds.  It just says:  "let there be money" and there is money.   This massive expansion in the monetary base has created huge excess reserves in the nation's commercial banking system.  Why doesn't anyone loan this money out? The pitiful loan activity is a result of two factors.  Dodd-Frank and activism in the Justice Department and others has made it a criminal activity to loan money to anyone who doesn't have the very, very best credit.  And people with that kind of credit have lost interest in borrowing to build businesses in the new Obama world of massive regulation and impending soaring health care costs.  So, not too many

Why Gold and Silver? Why Online Store?

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Are you first time gold and silver buyers? Why don't you invest in these popular metals? If you did so, you have had a wonderful investing experience after 2008 global financial crisis. But, do you really understand these metals? Were they really precious (especially now)? Traditionally, gold and silver were one form of exchange. Because of the invention of fiat money, they were being turned into some short of "back-up" currency , in case our fiat money system go burst. It's natural when things go wrong, gold and silver tends to appreciate in value. In other words, people hold precious metals to preserve the value of their assets. 3 Reasons Why Gold and Silver... Still hot in demand , especially by emerging affluent Chinese. Traditionally, Chinese loves gold. They bought it for events such as new born baby, new year, wedding and even funeral ceremony. Strengthening USD ??? Yes. It's a correct reason also. Why? Because of news that US going to stop QE3, USD is str

Inequality and the Poverty of Economics

The Journal of Economic Perspectives is an academic journal that summarizes the state of research in various fields of Economics.  Perusing this journal shows the extreme political bias of much of modern day economic research.  The Summer 2013 issue was devoted to "income inequality."  The main theme was that rich folks are getting richer, but, of course, the facts actually show just the opposite.  Not deterred by the facts, the various economists that opine in this edition blithely parrot absurdities such as wealthholders ability to "sustain their preeminence. What is the analysis?  Imagine that you wanted to know if baseball teams created dynasties and "perpetuate" their dominance of baseball.  What facts would you want to assemble to prove this? Here's the way economists think:  collect data that shows that back in the old days, the baseball teams that won the pennant won 65 percent of their games each year.  Then show that, today, the teams that win the

3 Tighter Rules for Property Sector? (Sept 2013)

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Prior to Budget 2014 (to be tabled next month), speculation has rift up on a few proposal to tighten the rules, especially on property sector. Following the outcry from public stating the alarming high property prices, measure should be taken to tackle the issue before bubble was formed. The Bubbling Biz... Among the measures being proposed were: Non-other than Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) Higher Stamp Duty : ~ 5% of purchase price for 3rd property ~ 7.5% for 4th property ~ 10% for 5th property onward Loan-to-Value ratio reduce to 60% for 3rd property onward While the above info need to be ascertained further, some banks already implemented their in-house ruling. What's that? It was to limit the maximum term for refinancing of property to 10 years . Yes. Sooner or later, all of the banks will follow. * Please note that the above 3 rules need to be ascertained further. Stay tune!