fabijo's account talk

[Fivetears]

I bet if McCain gets elected, the Dems vote NO on a bailout. No one is doing anything until the election is decided. Until then... enjoy the ride. Yeah, I'd love to see it tank bigtime, for a great buy in. S&P to 900.

 

[weatherweenie]

Well said Fab!

Seems like those of us who try and do it the honest way play from behind. Then again, what goes around comes around.

It still seems like I'd believe the crisis when I see it. But I guess I may not see it, since they did all this. Let people suffer for their mistakes. I have to. I couldn't afford a house because of the maddening price increases taking place. Now by saving people's bad choices, they're keeping the house prices afloat. At some point, something's gotta give.

I'm just frustrated. There's always something. There's always some strange investment scheme lurking around the corner about to explode and send the financial world into turmoil. Last year, all we heard about was the yen carry trade. It seemed to pop out of the blue for some of us. Now it's the credit default swaps. What's next? I'd rather there just be the meltdown now. Get it over with. It's going to happen eventually, so the longer we push it off, the worse it will be.

 

[ATCJeff]

I bet if McCain gets elected, the Dems vote NO on a bailout. No one is doing anything until the election is decided. Until then... enjoy the ride. Yeah, I'd love to see it tank bigtime, for a great buy in. S&P to 900.

There is no way the market will wait that long. I agree, if Washington does not move their @$$, tank we will and it will make last week look like childs play!

 

[CountryBoy]

Well said Fab!

Seems like those of us who try and do it the honest way play from behind. Then again, what goes around comes around.

Fab,

I echo your's and weatherweenie's thoughts. Let those that din't play by the rules suffer and let this thing play out. All we are doing is postponing the inevitable. I'm just so sick and tired of the greedy, dumb and lazy being bailed out on my dime. They deserve what they have coming to them and I don't want the damn socialist nanny state bailing them out.

CB

 

[Steadygain]

Fab,

I echo your's and weatherweenie's thoughts. Let those that din't play by the rules suffer and let this thing play out. All we are doing is postponing the inevitable. I'm just so sick and tired of the greedy, dumb and lazy being bailed out on my dime. They deserve what they have coming to them and I don't want the damn socialist nanny state bailing them out.

CB

I agree with this as well. I believe they would merit having their names and faces posted for all to see, and to be punished accordingly. I'm really not saying this from a vengeful heart; but honestly their crimes 'against society' are every bit as BAD as smaller crime stuff that draw all kinds of attention. HERE more than ever I wish the curtain of POLITICS and POWER could be lifted so everyone could really see who is responsible.

I bet the USA would especially be shocked to have them exposed.

 

[Silverbird]

I wish we had more time to analyze this. But even if we believe this is a fabricated crisis point, Paulson's comments have made it a real crisis point (I don't think it was fabricated, and that's even more scary). Whatever it is, now its either $700B or Congress says "Fly a kite!", leaves for their elections, and the economy tanks. They will be blamed for this either way. What rankles me is the late hour, and the amount of money - more than Iraq, more than Fannie and Freddie, more than the Energy bill - all on account. Especially after Fannie and Freddie, which was marketed as a stopgap, instead it was a full blown rescue, so there is real fear that this one could lead to another bill, with the taxpayers standing with their fingers in the dike. Again.

Congress cannot give the market free money, even an insurance company doesn't just give you money. The House loan brokers dealt in free money but fooled me once....

The arrogance of it all. Free market, but if its our goose on the fire give us free money; if it's not free money you're a socialist commie for attaching strings to it? I'd love to leave these idiots on the fire, but now it seems if they go down they will take us all with them.

 

[fabijo]

It's good to hear others' voices of angst. It's a bind we're in either way. We'll suffer if they're not bailed out and we suffer when they are bailed out. The problem is that the ones being bailed out are not suffering as much as they should.

I better get the book that was great in the 1940's:
Five Acres and Independence
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Maurice-Kains/dp/0486209741

 

[wv-girl]

It's good to hear others' voices of angst. It's a bind we're in either way. We'll suffer if they're not bailed out and we suffer when they are bailed out. The problem is that the ones being bailed out are not suffering as much as they should.

I better get the book that was great in the 1940's:
Five Acres and Independence
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Maurice-Kains/dp/0486209741

Agreed. No wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are idiots. Heard this morning on squak(?) how the Europeans think we are using socalistic solutions in a capitalist (sp)democracy. They were shaking their heads.

 

[presskh]

Agreed. No wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are idiots. Heard this morning on squak(?) how the Europeans think we are using socalistic solutions in a capitalist (sp)democracy. They were shaking their heads.

I just tried to send an email to my Senator (Shelby) voicing my concerns about the bailout, and surprize! surprize! - his email is apparently down!

 

[wv-girl]

I just tried to send an email to my Senator (Shelby) voicing my concerns about the bailout, and surprize! surprize! - his email is apparently down!

Typical. Why am I not surprised. But we can hope its because it was overloaded with concerned citizens expressing their discontent with current situation.

 

[justbizness45]

I just tried to send an email to my Senator (Shelby) voicing my concerns about the bailout, and surprize! surprize! - his email is apparently down!

I just e-mailed this to my representatives. Feel free to plagiarize or change:

I am writing to express how horrified I am by Mr. Paulson's sellout of the American taxpayer. 700 billion is just enough money to help out his Wall street cronies and will do nothing to stop the fall. There is currently worldwide Credit Default Swaps (CDS) of a nominal value of $65+ trillion. These CDS are basically worthless as they insure the insurers of the insurers against default. This is a pyramid scheme built by Wall Street and it is about to implode on them and they are looking for someone to bail them out. Attached is a link that explains CDS. While I don't agree with everything they say for fixing the problem, it does explain the problem.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2008/09/solution-declar.html
Please don't let it be the American taxpayer that foots the bill. The market needs "regulation and oversite" not more money to wasted. Sincerely, , taxpayer

 

[fabijo]

Thanks for all the info sharing, everyone.

The more I read, the more upset and bothered I am. Now I just read that New York is going to regulate CDSs that are originated within New York. As I read this stuff, all I can think is, "What is wrong with people?? Are banks and insurance companies full of complete idiots?" All this talk about regulation makes them all look like complete buffoons.

So you're telling me that when someone insured $10 million and asked for $5 million as the payment, they didn't know that they were taking on risk? Didn't they protect themselves by balancing out the risky with some safer insurances? Nobody needs regulation to figure that out. That's what insurance companies do. They make all kinds of calculations to figure out what they can afford and how much they are willing to risk.

Regulations and bailouts cannot fix stupidity. Now I know what business I'm going to get into. I'm going to go to all my neighbors and offer them insurance on anything they want. Just pay me now some premium. With all that premium, I'll expand and become an integral part of the community. When the day comes that many people expect an insurance payment, I'll tell the mayor and governor that I'm about to go bust and the rest of the community with me. They'll have to just take over my business and say, "Well, this should be regulated." I'll take my big severance paycheck instead of paying out what I owe people, then skip town.

 

[fabijo]

From the DailyWealth email today:

How to Make Millions Investing in a Hard-Line Military Dictatorship
By Tom Dyson

I opened the metal door and walked into the embassy. The interior looked like the waiting room of a small-town Greyhound bus station. It was shabby and hot. A plastic clock hung over the room, ticking loudly. The people sitting on the benches had a resigned look on their faces. It seemed like they'd all been sitting there a long time...
There was no queue at the ticket counter. I went up to one of the windows and pushed my nose between the metal bars. There was a man behind the counter in a worn brown uniform. He was taking care of paperwork...

"Excuse me," I said. "Is this window open?"

He grunted, irritated I'd interrupted him.

I'm in Thailand. Myanmar is the country just west of Thailand.

I wanted to visit Myanmar while I'm in the area. So on Monday, I went to the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok to ask about tourist visas.

Myanmar is run by a hard-line military junta. It's held power for 46 years. Inept leadership has made Myanmar one of the poorest countries on Earth. Last year, Myanmar made world headlines when military gunmen killed 31 anti-government protesters in a peaceful march organized by Buddhist monks. The government cut the national Internet connection so no one would find out. Then it organized a pro-government march and paid people to participate.

Earlier this year, a gargantuan hurricane struck Myanmar's southern tip, killing 150,000 people and eradicating all civilization there. The junta refused international help.

Here's the thing... Myanmar is also a wonderful investment opportunity. It has 2,000 miles of glorious tropical beaches. It's loaded with oil, gas, minerals, gemstones, and metals. The land is so fertile that Thailand – with a similar climate – is the world's largest exporter of rice. It's also in a fantastic location to trade with China and India. This is why I'm so keen to go to Myanmar.

Doug Casey introduced me to the idea of investing in Myanmar last year. Here's what he wrote about it in his newsletter:

My first choice for high potential has been [Myanmar]. It's very cheap, very beautiful, lightly populated, and right next door to Thailand. The ruling generals, who make it a political pariah now, will be gone at some point.

But, in the meantime, a clever entrepreneur can make deals with them, because they all want to feather their nests. Property here will go up 10 or 20 times over the next generation. Want to make millions while having fun? Go to Rangoon...

Then I met Jim Rogers in Singapore last month. He told me Myanmar is one of only four Asian countries investors should be looking at right now.

I can think of two ways to invest in Myanmar. First, you could go there and buy property. Set up a youth hostel on the beach or buy a hotel in Rangoon. The visa process is easy. You fill out two forms... pay $25... and leave your passport and a couple of passport pictures. The visa is done in two business days.

There are daily flights from Bangkok to Rangoon. The flight takes less than an hour. To give your investment the best chance of working, you'll have to live there to keep squatters off your land.

My second idea for investing in Myanmar is unusual, but you wouldn't have to live there to make it work. I got this idea from a mutual-fund manager I met yesterday. He loves Myanmar and thinks there's going to be a great investment boom there someday. So he sponsored two students from Myanmar to go to university in England. There's no education system in Myanmar, so these kids are almost guaranteed to be successful Myanmar businessmen in the future. "They'll be my business partners someday," he said.

Unfortunately, I won't make it to Myanmar this time. My itinerary won't allow it. But if you're looking to make a fortune, you've got an adventurous streak, and you don't mind cutting a deal with a corrupt general... you should consider visiting Myanmar and looking for business opportunities.

Good investing,
Tom

 

[fabijo]

whew! I feel much better. I just made my IFT to get back into the C Fund 100% from the G Fund. I don't think today will close higher than last Friday's price, so it makes my quick jump out worth it. Picking up more shares!

 

[fabijo]

I love today's chart so far! Look at that battle between the bulls and bears. It's beautiful.

 

[fabijo]

A letter from a congressman:

Dear Friends,

Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike.

The events of the past week are no exception.

The bailout package that is about to be rammed down Congress' throat is not just economically foolish. It is downright sinister. It makes a mockery of our Constitution, which our leaders should never again bother pretending is still in effect. It promises the American people a never-ending nightmare of ever-greater debt liabilities they will have to shoulder. Two weeks ago, financial analyst Jim Rogers said the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made America more communist than China! "This is welfare for the rich," he said. "This is socialism for the rich. It's bailing out the financiers, the banks, the Wall Streeters."

That describes the current bailout package to a T. And we're being told it's unavoidable.

The claim that the market caused all this is so staggeringly foolish that only politicians and the media could pretend to believe it. But that has become the conventional wisdom, with the desired result that those responsible for the credit bubble and its predictable consequences - predictable, that is, to those who understand sound, Austrian economics - are being let off the hook. The Federal Reserve System is actually positioning itself as the savior, rather than the culprit, in this mess!

• The Treasury Secretary is authorized to purchase up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets at any one time. That means $700 billion is only the very beginning of what will hit us.

• Financial institutions are "designated as financial agents of the Government." This is the New Deal to end all New Deals.

• Then there's this: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." Translation: the Secretary can buy up whatever junk debt he wants to, burden the American people with it, and be subject to no one in the process.

There goes your country.

Even some so-called free-market economists are calling all this "sadly necessary." Sad, yes. Necessary? Don't make me laugh.

Our one-party system is complicit in yet another crime against the American people. The two major party candidates for president themselves initially indicated their strong support for bailouts of this kind - another example of the big choice we're supposedly presented with this November: yes or yes. Now, with a backlash brewing, they're not quite sure what their views are. A sad display, really.

Although the present bailout package is almost certainly not the end of the political atrocities we'll witness in connection with the crisis, time is short. Congress may vote as soon as tomorrow. With a Rasmussen poll finding support for the bailout at an anemic seven percent, some members of Congress are afraid to vote for it. Call them! Let them hear from you! Tell them you will never vote for anyone who supports this atrocity.

The issue boils down to this: do we care about freedom? Do we care about responsibility and accountability? Do we care that our government and media have been bought and paid for? Do we care that average Americans are about to be looted in order to subsidize the fattest of cats on Wall Street and in government? Do we care?

When the chips are down, will we stand up and fight, even if it means standing up against every stripe of fashionable opinion in politics and the media?

Times like these have a way of telling us what kind of a people we are, and what kind of country we shall be.

In liberty,

Ron Paul

 

[fabijo]

Simple questions here for the people who love our country and believe in the Constitution.

Where in the Constitution does it say the American people will have to choose between two people on election day?

When did this happen? Who started it? Who is giving you those choices? When did we become just two parties? Especially now, when there are over 305,000,000 people in the U.S. Surely there are heroes among us. Aren't you and mostly everyone you talk to frustrated with this system? But supposedly we are the ones choosing it? That should make it blatantly obvious that there are a small number of people manipulating hundreds of millions of Americans. But we can't see it, so we don't believe it. We don't want to be thought of as suckers. It's like when you visit NYC and get street hustled. You don't want to go back home and admit it to anyone.

Wake up and do something. If you think voting helps, then vote for who you want - not the choices handed to you. If voting doesn't help, then don't vote - please don't vote simply because you have to; if you do, you're most likely going to choose one of the buffoons presented as our choices. Many changes have happened throughout history without voting. Voting just says that you agree with the system that's been screwing you from the beginning of our country.

This country didn't start because of voting. The Civil Rights Movement made it biggest impacts outside the voting booth. If you're really sick of it, then be sick of it and let your heart guide you. Your brain will over analyze things, then paralyze you.

 

[presskh]

Simple questions here for the people who love our country and believe in the Constitution.

Where in the Constitution does it say the American people will have to choose between two people on election day?

When did this happen? Who started it? Who is giving you those choices? When did we become just two parties? Especially now, when there are over 305,000,000 people in the U.S. Surely there are heroes among us. Aren't you and mostly everyone you talk to frustrated with this system? But supposedly we are the ones choosing it? That should make it blatantly obvious that there are a small number of people manipulating hundreds of millions of Americans. But we can't see it, so we don't believe it. We don't want to be thought of as suckers. It's like when you visit NYC and get street hustled. You don't want to go back home and admit it to anyone.

Wake up and do something. If you think voting helps, then vote for who you want - not the choices handed to you. If voting doesn't help, then don't vote - please don't vote simply because you have to; if you do, you're most likely going to choose one of the buffoons presented as our choices. Many changes have happened throughout history without voting. Voting just says that you agree with the system that's been screwing you from the beginning of our country.

This country didn't start because of voting. The Civil Rights Movement made it biggest impacts outside the voting booth. If you're really sick of it, then be sick of it and let your heart guide you. Your brain will over analyze things, then paralyze you.

I agree with you, assuming you are a Ron Paul supporter. However, even he doesn't tell the real truth. He says that we must protect Social Security and Medicare benefits and pay the benefits promised - how?? The plain truth is, there have been too many benifits promised to too many people and the country can't pay them - that is, without turning into a hyper-inflationary, third-world economy. On just these two issues alone, it will probably take a combination of higher taxes, lower benefits, and raising the age at which you collect benefits to make them reasonably fiscally sound.

 

[fabijo]

I agree with you, assuming you are a Ron Paul supporter.

I was. I still think he is toward the right direction, but not quite there. I'm a nobody supporter for now - I'm just a child and have lots to learn. If anything, I'd rather participate in local elections and local government. The nation is too big and too diverse to have orders given "from above." Forget money, forget debt, forget credit - just the local bartering. If people want a central government, let it be simple with barely any purpose, but to make sure each state is not violating any human rights.

 

[KevinD]

fabijo - You're a Libertarian! No doubt about it!

http://www.lp.org/

"Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin should read the platform of their own party before making a plan to deal with this most recent financial crisis," says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president.
"The GOP platform clearly states that it is opposed to government bailouts and market regulation," explains Barr. "However, McCain and Palin are in favor of the bailouts if they come with market regulation. Apparently, being a 'maverick' means favoring 'big government.'"