There is a never ending diatribe about all the problems America is facing yet noone seems to want to do anything.
Let me say this very clearly, AMERICA is under deep stress, economically, socially and politically.
Just as I once wrote about energy, there is no simple answer or idea that will have enough impact.  We need […]

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America was once a very entrepreneurial country.  It was made of of mostly people who made or built or discovered things and sold them.  These people were called makers.
To support these people governement provided needed services.  These were performed by takers, who took some money form the makers and provide services like teaching.  These were called […]

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So Obama argues that he has economists on his side supporting extending unemployment benefits as one of the best wasy to boost the economy.
The argument goes, these people are most likely to spend the money putting stimulus into the economy.
IF that is the purpose I can deliver 10’s of thousands of people who will happily […]

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Las Vegas is clearly seeing the effects of the recession.  Deals are everywhere, but casinos are empty.  Gambling funds a significant part of the Nevada state budget, but the “drop” is down so revenues are down as well.
The major casinos have evolved their business such that dining, entertainment and hotel rooms represent more income than […]

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So today it was announced that GS settled with the government 1 (I trust there are many many more)of the potential lawsuits the government has against them.  Yes, this is the same Goldman Sachs who contributed more to this recession than FANNIE, FREDDIE and CRA combined.
So the headline number was $550 million.  I was truly shocked […]

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Now it seems to me the easiest way to revive the gulf is for BP to announce all their affiliate gas stations are givign away gas for the next six months if they are withing 50 milies of the shoreline of the Gulf coast. 
Think about it.  Everyone in the east and midwest will head down […]

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No I am not talking about ice cream…I am talking about housing.  Most people seem to think housing is recovering..I live in Las Vegas, so I may be biased.  But…
 Housing is NOT out of the woods.  There is a ton of unsold but already repossessed inventory waiting in the wings.  We spent decades creating homeownership […]

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Not just the federal government but states across America are going  to go bankrupt.  Democratic states now pay more than the free market for gonvernment workers, and provide better pensions and health care than the private sector.  Public service is no longer part of the vernacular, rather gorging at the public paid trough seems more […]

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    I am disgusted this New Year.  Like many of us I have watched the simultaneous destruction of real estate values, corporate entity values as evidenced by stock prices, as well as disruptions in the prices of almost everything.  Fundamentally everything we knew turned out to be wrong.  The question remains were we dumb or […]

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First off, it is not that big a deal.  Heck, we (USA) were in debt $53 trillion last month.  So now with the Paulson plan we will be in debt $54 trillion.
 So how do we pay off the extra trillion?
 Actually it is pretty simple, since all debts are ultimately born by us taxpayers.
Let’s assume there […]

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By now everyone knows Shrillary and Obomba are running on a slogan of change.  But they never talk about exactly what is going to change.  Well I think it means they are going to take my dollars and give me pennies, nickels and dimes back.  We call that change..

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Why isn’t the media covering these stories?

With the record metal prices criminals are going to new lengths to steal metals and sell them to recycling companies.  Anything with significant copper, aluminum or other valuable metal content is a candidate.
AUTOMOBILES
Catalytic converters contain significant amounts of platinum and palladium.  These metals are at record high prices.  Unbelievably, […]

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So today Microsoft announces a hostile bid for Yahoo at $45 billion dollars.  Every pundit on TV says to stock holders take the deal!
I used to work at Microsoft.  I have little regard for management.  HOWEVER, this looks brilliant!
On the surface, this seems insane.  Softee has never done a major acquisition.  These two cultures would […]

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Like I said yesterday, Letting Mexico become part of the U.S. makes a ton of sense. We are already opening our highways to their trucks without requiring similar safety inspections. 
Again, 5 new states, 10 Senators, 70 congressmen.  Huge opportunities open up on both sides of the border. 

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Forget your emotions for a moment.  Now matter how you stand there is no pleasant outcome. 
 
THERE IS ONLY ONE SOLUTION, JUST LIKE EUROPE!
We should let the people of Mexico VOTE on being part of the United States.  Mexico would become 5 new states.  10 new Senators and about 70 congressmen.

Think about it.  We […]

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So now Bush and the Demorats want to give $800 to the poor and middle class to spend and help stimulate the economy.  Unless these are gift cards to Home Depot and Wal-Mart it won’t work very well this time.
Let’s back up.  What is wrong with the economy?  DEBT.  Yes, the real estate bubble created […]

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Under this man’s tutelage we have experienced multiple bubbles.  That is ok.
What is patently wrong, is he had to know that giving loans to people who could not ultimately pay was wrong.
Even worse, I saw him on TV actually say he recommended everyone get an ARM loan as interest rates would stay low.
What he didn’t […]

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I am invested in a couple of VC funds.  i cannot disclose anything, but I can make the following observations.
1.  Web 2.0 investments are bust.
2.  User generated video investments are going bust as there were way too many!
3.  I predict the underlying economics of broadband delivery of content will result in many of those investments […]

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In the Las Vegas Democratic debates, Hillary advocated a moratorium on foreclosures and even worse an interest rate freeze.  Edwards chimed right in as well.  All I heard was years instead of months of recession!
 Think about it, these are completely destructive ideas.  First, consider that the bulk of us are NOT defaulting on our loans.  […]

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A while back I wrote the "chart" of the DJIA confirmed to me we were entering a recession.   That was about 800 points ago!
I have based my last two years of bearishness on my real estate experience in Las Vegas as well as extensive reading.  As early as 2003 people were publishing books about how […]

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I have been feeling like we were entering a recession but kept my mouth shut as neither the stock market or employment seemed to support my feeling.
Well it looks like the "feeling" is winning.  The market (DIA) now has a very nice head and shoulders pattern with the right shoulder drooping.  Bad sign. 
Unemployment has […]

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Congress Says so…………..
     Yes, it is true. In God We Trust had been banished to the fringe (edge) of our new dollar coins that nobody ever sees much of anyway.  Well, after a LOT of deliberation, this issue (issue?) has moved to the forefront and a new law requires the famous motto to move […]

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This blog is intended as a public service.  I don’t think anyone appreciates how dangerous the mercury in these things can be.  I am reprinting guidelines on what to do if you break one.  THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED ON EVERY PACKAGE, but no, clearly some lobbyist has convinced the government that putting this up on […]

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     What is it with all these rich people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates saying taxes are too low?  I note they never said a word when they were ACCUMULATING their wealth, but now taxes are too low?  Sure they paid the bulk of all theirs when they were low, now they want to […]

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     Most people understand the concept of buying stocks on margin, that is taking out a loan for half of the stock price.  This can nearly double your rate of return on the upside, but also double your loss rate on the downside.  What most people DON"T understand is how to invest even LESS money […]

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     Let me get this straight.  For years banks created a new class of loans to finance home mortgages.  These included ones focused on creating opportunities for home ownership to people who had little chance otherwise, and would have probably rented for their entire lives.  Another class of people were those who were willing to […]

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      Can’t help but notice Charles Grassley (R) is talking about protecting us from overspending megachurches.  If you read my previous charity post you would expect my knee jerk reaction to be “go get ‘em”.  But then I am reminded about my other comments about overpaid CEO’s, of which I was one.  Fact is there […]

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As you read from my introduction, my father was a gambler. He taught me many things. He gave me Beat the Dealer as my High School graduation present. To be more precise he was a bookmaker which funded his addiction to horseracing.
Anyway, he told me how he used to buy the mailing list to the […]

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It is all over the news. House prices are dropping. It is due to sub prime lending. It is only temporary. Remind yourself. What were people/realtors/pundits telling you 3 months ago? Is it now much worse than they said it would be? Why, because they were lying to you!
First, let me say I sold everything […]

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I have had to manage my own money for nearly a decade. I have invested in more vehicles than I can count. Because I read so much, I nearly always get the strategy right. It is the tactics that are challenging. Before writing regarding specific investments I need to start with the ones that are […]

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