FSU Editorial: "The Invisible Hand" by Dr. Housing Bubble 11/02/2007

interesting down home statistics.
http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/drhousing/2007/1102.html

Cell Phone Jammer, Mobile Phone Jammers, Blocker Stopper - Buy Here - Mini Phone Jammer!

Oh happy day. Helps on the way!
http://www.phonejammer.com/cell-phone-jammer/p2jbz.asp

Musharraf invokes emergency rule

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/03/AR2007110300270.html?hpid=topnews
Saturday seems to always have significant news as a head line.
And if we overlook whats happening at Citi Group this weekend then the open
dictatorship happening in Pakistan would be my choice.

And Musharraf is the strongest supporter that the U.S. has in the middle
east. No oil but nuclear weapons. Also the U.S. pays them five times what
they are paying either Israel or Egypt.

So now their is another dictatorship and the U.S. is saying "We would prefer
a controlled "Freedom and Democracy" state such as Iraq or Afghanistan but
we will go with Musharraf.

And if for a second you forgot who our designated enemy is why it's still
Iran as they have oil which we want and are intending to soon take.

The Oil Drum | Discussions about Energy and Our Future

For anyone who is saying: It really couldn't be that bad with regards to oil resources and futures I suggest you randomly read a couple of these current essay's on the oil drum.

The Drum features in-depth analysis as well as current news in the energy sector and primarily petroleum.

The flooding of the Mexican state of Tabasco which is turning 1 million people into instant homelessness. And it also is shutting three oil ports and the flow of one fifth of Mexico's crude oil.

Mexico is our third major source for crude.

I have to conclude this is an optimistic report with regards to oil since they are stating this flood is far worse than the Katrina floods. And if you recall the reports their tended to become more serious with time.

And i can not determined if this disaster has been factored into the barrel price of oil which is going up as the basket price of the dollar is going down.

But I don't think it has and this will become evident to us all on Monday.

http://www.theoildrum.com/

They also do not seem tobe able to control the price of Gold which is nearly $800 per oz. and is critical to their supporting the dollar.

The U.S. government officially states they support a strong dollar but in reality or practice they want a weak dollar. But what they don't want is a rout. Because that could be accompanied by world panic selling of the dollar. So to be real about that we have to conclude that will happen and these oil crisis's will contribute to the collapse of the worlds reserve currency...the dollar.

This is not an abstract as we are talking about that dollar in our very own pockets.

All of this does not bode well for Mom and Pop America since they really have no personal resources and are stretched to the economic limit.

Sign

Also, Exxon is reporting a significant drop in earnings.
Though the court said the Valdez tanker accident didn't mean they would
actually have to pay a fine.... So i think they gained a few billion their.

----- Original Message -----
From: A Friend of Larry's
To: Larry Lewis
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 4:45 PM
Subject: Sign


Probably not true but it makes you think... (at least me)

Sign

Also, Exxon is reporting a significant drop in earnings.
Though the court said the Valdez tanker accident didn't mean they would
actually have to pay a fine.... So i think they gained a few billion their.

----- Original Message -----
From: A Friend of Larry's
To: Larry Lewis
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 4:45 PM
Subject: Sign


Probably not true but it makes you think... (at least me)

and more plastic 'like' debt!

Here is a energy issue that is not being discussed and i think we should
consider.
And that's along with the plastic (credit) bomb senerio which i just forward
to you..

The American 'true romance'...The car! the ever newer, shiner and more
bizarrely luxurious as well as powerful automobile.

Now to keep our wonder machines mobile it takes fuel and as fuel prices
increase and we are being told that we have not experienced anything so
far... that's when the crunch will be felt. Crude is just below $95 today
and is expected to hit a hundred before the New Year.
Can the American driver afford another dollar on the pump price?
That's a question that is frequently asked.

And lets assume after all adjustments are made by the drivers that are
possible in this a shrinking economy that the strain is still unmanageable.
What will happen then?

Before you answer that also consider the public who drive have also maxed
the plastic and the mortgage payment has reset by a few percentile..up!
Something has to give as the whole society can't go postal..we'll not all at
once! I think it would be only polite to sign up so we can take our turn.
And of course at that time we could pick the category we feel we would like
to be expressive in.
Anyway...
I'm sure you are getting it. It's the car payment that will have to go along
with the operating expense. This is not one of those burning issues like WMD
in Iraq or where ever we are told to turn our head toward. And so that we
don't look at what we are not suppose to see...our own national survival.

And is stem cell research what the general public needs to discuss or make
decisions on? Seems to me that's a good one for the scientist to at least
give a go at. Simplistic? So is the family shelter which it seems we are
having even less input on.
The car is the needle in our arm which keeps the juice flowing and the bread
going towards our gullet.

So right, it's soon going to be: Dump the buggy month and coming up in a
garage near you. If we can't gas it we can't drive it and we can't pay for
it or won't pay for it to sit in the street until some former neighbor who
has recently been evicted moves in or uses it for the a dog kennel.

What does this mean? This no down and pay for five deal is now functioning
similar to the unsecured plastic debt. Neither the plastic has anything that
can be redeemed nor will the family shinny steed. Who is going to buy one of
the millions of soon to be repo cars which they also will not be able to
afford to drive?

Now that's national debt big time. The plastic debt usually has had
significant pay back so the losses on debt default have been diminished by
the additional fees paid as well as the high interest rate on unsecured debt
really cuts the principle debt way down for the credit companies.

Car loans have a much lower interest rate and the security (resale value) is
always diminishing from the car dealers lot.
In this case their will be no demand and hence no value as resale.

And of course i presented this in a broad manner. People will respond with
what they individually may have to deal with. But using the guzzler as a
trade in for lets say a Hybrid will only happen as long as the dealer is
able to dispose of the trade in within the retail market. And we are
describing a sudden change in market demand for vehicles.
The Smart for two vehicle which is not yet available has even so taken
39,000 deposits here in the land of bigger is better. It's cute but i don't
much improvement as to mpg. Somewhere between 30 and 40 mpg is what I'm
reading. And the cost is ten to sixteen grand.Ouch!

So i would think if Peak Oil puts the squeeze on the finance end of the
family wheels then the system will actually seize up. It's the 'perfect
storm' syndrome.
The projected scenarios have the electrical grid failing first in a peak oil
crisis. And which is totally out of our realm to intervene.
Maybe we will be allowed to all make a contribution to bring the now
strained but functioning system to a stand still if we all have to trash our
wheels and then have to walk to the soup line.

What Would It Take to Send the U.S. Economy Into Free Fall? - Money 2007 -- New York Magazine

http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=What+Would+It+Take+to+Send+the+U.S.+Economy+Into+Free+Fall%3F+-+Money+2007+--+New+York+Magazine&expire=&urlID=24648989&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fguides%2Fmoney%2F2007%2F39952%2F&partner
The bottom line...which means...what's it going to cost? Is the recent
Merrill Lynch 7.9 billion dollar crunch which will include thousands of jobs
lost by ML employees.
They are stating here that this could result in a 40,000 job loss in the NYC
financial sector and indirectly 100,000 in the city.
Their maybe millions living in the city but these are some of the real high
end pay check jobs in the financial sector.

The article starts off by asking the question what would it take to push the
economy over the cliff? Though they seem to be saying: It's already over the
cliff it's just that when we are in free fall you will never hear the splat
that's coming .....since we are the splat.

Crude closed up @$95 today
Pump price locally is up @$3.27 for regular
Gold up @$795 per oz.
The dollar is down against the currency basket @ 76.50 which is an enormous
drop in value against the worlds currencies. The dollar is/was considered
the world reserve currency and had been holding at 80 or better.... for
months.
So when Sec of Treasury Paulson tells us he is "supporting a strong dollar."
Then what has been happening recently must indicate he is now vacationing on
the moon.
Have you noticed all the wonders of high tech finance have not come up with
a solution as to how to put the tooth paste back in the tube?

Is their a reason for me sending this article and my dismal comments and
conclusion?
Yes, you may want to seek financial shelter as the great leader himself is
not about to come on the Boob tube too inform us: "Houston we seem to have
problem."

And also the dear leader along with Mom, Dad and clan recently bought a
100,000 acres in Paraguay which may seem god forsaken but it does have
water, food and security.... from the likes of us.

Clearing the air on climate change - The Boston Globe

This story broke last week but this detailed comparison is important as it
again shows the administration is indifferent to the publics welfare while
as usual they are saying "We don't want to alarm the public so the less they
know the better off 'they' are." And you could translate that as: Don't
scare the sheep and besides sheep are dumb so what's the diff?

This played very well on Fox media news broadcasts and the right wing talk
shows. As the basic story line being used their is global warming effects or
climate change implications are not really happening as this is just a
cyclical climate phenomena.
You doubt this? try tuning in for a tune up.
And also we are told those scientific groups coming out with these possible
scenarios are controlled by liberals who are fuzzy thinkers. They fail to
mention the few people they quote are all getting large grants from the
oil/coal corporations.

I sometimes am told all this by another dog walker who also assures me peak
oil is a myth which allows the oil companies to charge more.
It seems the oil companies have lots of really good wells which they have
capped for the future.

Also, that the crude oil in the earth is unlimited and their is no problem.

Global warming apparently is also a myth being used by tree huggers to scare
people and the economic crash we seem to be going into is also contrived.
Though i am not sure by who. As to his source for all this economic and
scientific knowledge. Fox talk show luminaries or so he tells me.
He sometimes also gets our national enemies confused though they sure aren't
white male and middle age and which seems to be about the only people who
aren't potential terrorist or drug fiends. Yes, he does take Rx drugs for
his heart and he is concerned about Diabetes. As this also came out in our
one way conversations.
The guy drives seventy miles a day so he is constantly learning allot of new
wisdom from endless radio talk shows.
I try and be a good listener but even so I know i am suspect and he is
waiting for me to confirm his suspicions. I mentioned i was not to up on
corporate sport teams so he also knows I'm backing a looser.
Also his dog has my sympathy as she has to ride with him and then listen to
Rush and company.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/10/30/the_climate_change_censor/

earthquake was a shaker!

their was a 5 plus earthquake around 8:30 PM and which was centered on the
Hayward fault near Menlo Park. That magnitude is not confirmed.
Was definitely felt even here in Santa Cruz which is one mountain range away
as well as about 40 miles or more in distance.
But as to damage i don't think it was serious as i have heard no sirens.
Though it did last for about 10 seconds and enough to prompt me to move to
the doorway.

Amazon.com: The Day of the Triffids: DVD: John Duttine,Emma Relph,Maurice Colbourne,Eva Griffiths,David Swift,Christina Schofield,Donald Pelmear,Desmo

For the select few.
The BBC version which was produced in 1981 by the Brits and the Aussies and
then shown in three parts is finally being re-released in the U.S and which
will have the suitable U.S. DVD formatting.
The American Hollywood film version of this Wyndham fifties novel was
released in the early sixties and was total trash though still available.
http://www.amazon.com/Day-Triffids-John-Duttine/dp/B000TSTEO6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8318207-7695341?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1193754706&sr=1-1
What's the significance? The Triffids novel has all the threads of a
suddenly collapsing society and which we may soon be confronted with as Peak
Oil becomes apparent.
Or if you prefer: Climate Change issues or both.
The Norman Church: Oil/energy/Food essay that i recently sent you describes
some of these issues without the dramatization. Especially the energy food
connection. It was also very well done.
Also the accompanying articles describing the collapse of both N.Korea and
Cuba's economy are timely and significant for all of us.

It is very difficult to convince people if they are living in the horn of
plenty as we all are that this situation could soon change significantly and
awareness is our only effective response.

Why Our Food Is So Dependent on Oil

Norman Church's the author is a very knowledgeable British environmentalist.
His article is the fourth in this: From the Wilderness, series.
It's not meant to be read in one sitting. And since we all would like to
continue to eat. some knowledge in this area on how it works and soon may
not maybe helpful.

For those who are interest in the food growing/energy issue Norman has
simplified it with his orderly style.
Also he has limited it to the British isles which for descriptive
illustration is helpful.
Similar papers for the United States tend to become scattered since the
nation is so large and with the same complexity.

The conclusion and it always seems to be the same... what we are doing to
grow food or obtain food from distance sources can not be sustained. And is
completely environmentally destructive while it is continuing to happen.
This also could be seen as a peak oil issue essay as they are so related.
Pass it on!

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:2QJbacbRjwQJ:www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/040605_world_stories.shtml+systems+and+interdependencies+norman+church&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=uk

Fw: Emailing: are-we-heading-for-another-great-crash

if you have a problem opening just transfer the site address and go direct to money week.

What i found interesting was money week is saying in so many words..short the mkt.

From: A Friend of Larry's

The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:
Shortcut to: http://www.moneyweek.com/file/36959/are-we-heading-for-another-great-crash.html

AlterNet: War on Iraq: White House Leak: Cheney's Plan for Iran Attack Starts With Israeli Missile Strike

What the Germans are saying.
Also this article doesn't mention the recent statements by the Russians and
the Chinese. Which was: Don't do it.
And though it is 'over there' where the action will take place... if it
does.
With the U.S strategic oil reserves depleted some folks may have to push
their SUV's rather than driving.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/66157/

SF Gate News by Subject

I will let you choose the state environmental subject of interest.
But i found the 'Delta's Endgame' to be informative and if you read the
implications you will note the battle lines are drawn.
My conclusion is S.California with 23 million residents as well significant
industry and military installations has won the first few rounds. The
governor and the Republicans in the legislature which are from the valley
also favor the all water for the south concept aswell.
So let the 'war games' begin.

Does that mean the environmentalist and the residence in the north of the
state and which is an over simplification of who will get the short end on
this issue?
When it comes to the vote on the water bond issue @9.5 billion dollars that
or the cheapo 5.5 billion alternative will pass.

But the matter will be settled because of a different reason. Their is no
snow in the mountains. Their is less and less water in Lake Mead or the
Colorado river. And it doesn't rain much in S.California.
And desalinization is limited as a source for water even if we had the fuel
for the distillation process involved.
Bottom line. Water supply diminishing as demand increases.






And for us living in the golden state this is the first issue of importance.
Who will get the water the north or the south. That's of course if their is
any water to get.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/qws/srch/catlist?p=all&subjcode=ENV&paper=chronicle&Submit=Sort

Oil Drum

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3064#more
The attached in-depth article from TOD is analyzing where crude (C&C) oil demand/supply and price are going and how soon.
About the only item they have left out is a projection for..... world..... population increase. But if we draw a line ascending at a 45 degree incline we will still be conservative.
And the world population are not aware of how special and deserving all of the western white Christians are. And they especially don't believe we should be getting 25% of the worlds energy at their expense. And that's not even with the aid of our Crusader guns.

The first graph chart has a line projecting crude price for a few years ahead and it is beyond the possibility for any country to absorb and maintain their existing standard of living. And especially a country or empire such as this one which has burnt it's own resources and reserved wealth while pursuing the short sighted conquest of the oil producers in the middle east.

And yes, their is a name for this future oil issue. Peak Oil which translates to actually mean the world supply of crude oil is now diminishing while the world demand is significantly increasing along with the world population.
And for the industrial world it is disaster plus. And just to stir the pot sixty percent of today's crude production is concentrated in the middle east.
And they know it along with who has what, who needs what and for how much.
The American public maybe intentionally uninformed but those who have oil are not. So basking in the fluorescent lights of the local Mall maybe a thing of the past for Mr. and Mrs. Waddle USA.

In the comments section following the article it is pointed out that we will not be driving large personal vehicles in 2011. Really!
I believe it will be far more serious than that in three to four years.
Try on... being hot when it's hot and cold when it's cold. Fuel converted to electricity is what creates a temperate ambient temperature.

And no coal, sand or shale crude or the others such as solar, wind and wave will take up the slack. And now that some of us see an energy crunch coming we again have the glow of a crush on nuclear.
But don't count on instant nukes as that is not for ten to fifteen years and down a very bumpy road.
I still see this as far more than just energy issues.
It will be food production, transportation and the national electrical grid along with social unrest which are some of the issues most of us don't give allot of thought too.

What are the options?
Their is only one positive option and it is not SERIOUSLY being considered. It's energy conservation. The nation would have to go to a 'war time' regime which would require leadership and direction as well as a redirection of labor and resources.
This administration or for that matter neither political party have any intention of broaching that subject.
They both get their funding from the corporations and the national banks who are not in the business of serving the nation or the people.

And maybe before that we would also need to have a feeling of national impending crisis far more than the concern that's just dawning that we might have a really big financial crisis in the very near future.

Unfortunately, the neo cons have other plans for us and the middle east. The citizens of the U.S. are really considered as foreign nationals by the neo cons. They have moved on and nolonger care what we think or do as they have an international plan which doesnt need our support.

Am i implying martial law? We'll what else is going to keep us under control in a bankrupt nation that will soon be going energy dysfunctional?
Did someone say Blackwater? I will agree on that one. Their is allot more going on with Blackwater and Graystone than has come out. They are the intended force that will be used to control the u.s. population when they declare marshal law.
An ultra right "Christian" led mercenary group. Graystone is an out front Mercenaries organization also owned by Prince. Blackwater states they offer security for a price. Graystone is offering repression for a price.
it's and actual military force responsible only to them selves.
Try searching Blackwater on Amazon if you have doubts. And the TV monitored tactics we saw used after Katrina is not in the plan.

And for anyone having doubts about that I suggest they awake from their nap and smell the blood.

CA Climate

Regarding California climate.
For the few who might be interested... and i don't mean to sound cynical but talking with people the response is generally 'we have had lots of droughts in the past but then it eventually rains.' And one response that stands out included the remark: "The scientist are not in agreement about what is happening."
Sorry, they are in agreement on climate change if we read... any... of the science journals.
Also, that was one of Gore's major points. This is now a world wide crisis that's been confirmed by earth scientist from all over the world.

The glaciers and both polls are melting and now we are experiencing the same world water scarcity issues in California.
What makes this of immediate seriousness in California is this is the water for most of the 30 million people in this state.

And then the state is also seen as a bread basket for the nation.
The state government is very aware of this but their attitude is don't frighten the sheep. As the state has no answer either.
So we all wait ...while looking up.

Charlie is located @ 4000 ft in the Sierra's and south of Yosemite. Their is no snow pack of any significance from last season.
And the Sierra's is where the water comes from for most of the state other than the aquifer which is also slowly replenished by water from the mountains.
Rain also contributes to the aquifer water level.

The S.E. of the nation is now in serious drought. The S.W. is also in drought. The southern part of California is actually a semi desert which takes it's water from the north. And the northern part of the state gets that water from the Sierra's. And pumps it through a ditch and then pipes it to the lawns and golf courses in never, never land where 23 million people also happen to live.
Though the San Joaquin valley gets moocho replenishment for the valley cotton crop acreage. But that's another scandal we don't talk about.

What will be the response? Nine and half billion $$$ in a state bond measure for new reservoirs and desalinization facilities is being proposed. And the state is on it's own as their will be no federal funds as help.
It seems we can't fight oil wars and take care of business at home as well.
And all Empires have put conquest and expansion above domestic issues.

Will that water bond measure resolve the problem? I will say: No!
What will be the effective response? Migration is what people have done in the past.
You can see that as dark humor or delusion but bottle water will not make a solution.
Technology and concentrated energy (coal and oil) has given us the illusion that something basically has changed in our relationship with the earth. That we are in charge and we can do what we want where ever we want.
But it seems the earth has it's own concerns and we are not included as a priority in it's response to it's global surface stress.
In fact the earth may not be aware we are the leading primate. And that we are considered the Alfa of the mammals. And also that we don't believe we have to be in rhythm with the earth. And looking at it all that way and which we do... the earth is our cupcake.
But then from the cupcakes perspective we are just fruit flies. And swat is the current response.

Though maybe with all of these cell phones we can dial up big mama and complain about this inconvenience. Infact maybe that's what all those folks talking while driving are already doing.

I'm sorry, they offend as well as scare me. Especially since my dog and I drive a Autorickshaw around town. And one good mind-less nudge and we will both be buried together.

And of course i also hope these stated water concerns are all proved wrong.
And we all have a white Christmas. But then if we don't some warning seems prudent.

U.S. Economy

Book review of a significant book by an insider in the Republican
inner-circle.
Though what puzzles me about all of these after the fact and i wasn't one of
them type revelations is why do they bother?
They are not redeemed for their errors which apparently they where aware of
even while they where part of the organization which has done significant
economic damage to the nation.
And of course as he states stuffed the pockets of the rich while taking the
food out of the children's mouths.
Maybe Paul O'Neil came out better than most as he fought them while he was
Secretary of Treasury.
----- Original Message -----
From: olcharlie
To: larrylewis
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 7:34 PM
Subject: u.s. economy


Crackpot E-Con 101


Jim Newsom
http://portfolioweekly.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=9124C0D293884358A5BBECEB9CC3FB78


The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got
Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics by
Jonathan Chait


Alan Greenspan's memoir/confessional, The Age of
Turbulence, has been getting all the publishing
headlines lately, zooming up to the top spot on
bestseller lists while the author makes the rounds of
TV chat-em-ups. And it certainly has been interesting
to hear the former Fed chief vent about the Bush
administration's out of control tax-cut-and-spend
economic policy which he helped to enable.


But another book that came out the same week is
actually more noteworthy in its analysis of the
Republican economic revolution of the last three
decades. The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington
Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics was
written by Jonathan Chait, a senior editor at The New
Republic. In it, he examines the astonishing rise of
"supply side" economics (aka "trickle down") that has
driven GOP policies since the Reagan ascendancy,
reaching its apex during the six-years-and-counting run
of the Bush II administration.


I remember well Ronald Reagan's embrace of the whacky
theory that cutting taxes on the wealthy would
magically produce higher incomes for all and greater
revenues for the government. You may recall Poppy
Bush's succinct analysis when he was running against
the Gipper for the 1980 Republican presidential
nomination: he called it "voodoo economics." He was
right, but he abandoned his own wise judgment when he
accepted the vice presidential nomination that fall.


Ever heard of David Stockman? He was Reagan's Director
of the Office of Management and Budget from 1981-1985,
a vocal proponent and implementer of supply side
economics who later wrote his own memoir admitting that
the whole thing was just a "Trojan horse" to cut taxes
on the wealthy and to intentionally run up the budget
deficit as an excuse to cut domestic social programs.


Those of us old enough to have been around in the early
'80s should know these things. But what Chait does in
his book is trace the story back to its beginnings and
follow the disastrous consequences through to today.
Interestingly enough, Dick Cheney has been involved
from the start.


Arther Laffer was the inventor of the supply side
doctrine through his concept of the "Laffer Curve." An
economist who had lost his job with the Office of
Management and Budget because of his unconventional
methods, he promulgated the idea that higher taxes led
to less tax revenue because people had no reason to
earn more income if they would have to pay higher taxes
on that income. Though recent history had already
proven this to be incorrect, Wall Street Journal
editorial writer Jude Wanniski latched onto the
concept, and in 1974, the two met with President
Ford's assistant Dick Cheney. Chait notes that
"Cheney apparently found the Laffer Curve a revelation,
for it presented in a simple, easily digestible form
the messianic power of tax cuts."


We know what subsequently transpired: the Republican
Party, previously known for its conservative economic
policies and its concern with deficits, inflation and
excessive spending ("they were quite willing to raise
taxes in order to balance the budget") rapidly devolved
into a party whose central economic mantra is "tax cut,
tax cut, tax cut." The political party that spent the
1960s and '70s railing against "Democratic deficits"
became the party of record-breaking budget imbalances.
After he became Vice President, Cheney famously
declared "deficits don't matter."


The Big Con reminds those who may have forgotten of the
reality of American economic history since World War
II:


"From 1947 to 1973, the U. S. economy grew at a rate of
nearly 4 percent a year--a massive boom, fueling rapid
growth in living standards across the board. During
most of that period, from 1947 until 1964, the highest
tax rate hovered around 91 percent. For the rest of the
time, it was still a hefty 70 percent. Yet the economy
flourished anyway."


The first batch of Reagan tax cuts in 1981 cut the top
tax rate to 50 percent, and the second batch in 1986
took it down to 28 percent. (Poppy Bush pushed it up to
31 percent in '91). It doesn't take an economics
Ph.D. to see what has happened since 1981--the gap
between the super rich and everyone else has exploded,
the middle class has shrunk, and real income for
working people has stagnated or declined.


Jonathan Chait boldly states the premise of his book up
front. "American politics has been hijacked," he
writes, "by a tiny coterie of right-wing economic
extremists, some of them ideological zealots, others
merely greedy, a few of them possibly insane."
Incendiary language, yes, but hardly an overstatement.
As the Bush years wind down to a thankful close, it is
important to keep in mind that not all terrorists use
bombs and airplanes.


As Woody Guthrie sang during the Great Depression,
"Some will rob you with a six-gun; and some with a
fountain pen."

US Bank Panic of '07 and Mexican Depression of '08

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?
a=o&d=5001364195
I am seeing a comparison of our own economic banking situation to that of
the depression or bank panic of 1907 and which spilled over into Mexico.
All I know regarding this one was my father who was 23 at the time referred
to it as very hard times.
It was also a year after the 06 S.F. earthquake. Which was actually called:
the Great Fire by my parents who both lived in S.F. (Frisco) at the time.
And yes, it was called Frisco until Herb Caen the newspaper columnist
taught us it wasn't a nice term.

And of course the people who run the finacial world today as well as
ourselves are both allot smart than those folks back then.
And of course power and personal greed are also under the category of
history.
And i hope you find those last observation reassuring as we go forward.

Maybe we are living a horse opera and didn't know it.
In fact our own good ole boy the 'decision maker' made the following remark
at today's press conference that "this wasn't his first Rodeo." So you see
we can count on a seasoned (in the saddle) leader if anything comes up...
serious like.

Drought in the South

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/us/16drought.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
this is no secret as the 'water sites' have been all over it for some time.
But now the NY Times is reporting it so it's official.

I will speculate this drought will be experienced as more of a crop crisis
than lack of water for the lawns of America.
Also, we are under the impression that Climate Change has finally been
acknowledge by the government as happening. And that they are responding.
They aren't and don't plan too if you are reading the White House
statements.
Though congressional committees are moving that way they are opposed by the
Neo-cons. Climate Change we are being told is a liberal illusion. It'd
really just a climate cycle being miss named.

Those areas in the nation which still have plentiful water resources are
seeing the 'thirsty' migrants arrive.
And those area which have the water resources to continue to grow food crops
will be the next bubble for investment.