Letters to the Editor
aveutter
Published Letters: 198 Editor's Choice: 32
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Gambling the crown jewel in the service economy
[Read the article: Even Las Vegas gets the blues]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Las Vegas is a service economy within a service economy. How is it that mortgage lenders haven't shut down the gaming business, don't they realize that the players are putting the rent money on the line, their rent money? Could it be that the chain reaction might cause more harm to the overall economy, and that overweighs the benefits of advocating personal fiscal responsiblity?
Listen to our President, who extols consumers to spend money, at a time when that advice may be the worst possible. Can such a man be trusted to run the country? Does it reflect a new economic reality, in which gambling is the pinnacle of Social Darwinism. (What happened to Jeffersons natural aristocracy?). It makes you wonder if Bush believes he got where he is by hard work, intelligence, and fair play, or he won the (birth) lottery. Hahaha, I almost had myself convinced for a moment.
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@Hepstyle
[Read the article: Now, Paul Krugman throws economists off the bus]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You don't have to vote for Hillary, you can vote for any Republican you want.
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Bomb, Bomb, Iran @Hepstyle
[Read the article: Now, Paul Krugman throws economists off the bus]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hillary's position on Iran tells me she and John can sing a duet. Perhaps you remember the dustup with Feingold over soft money? The Clintons are political opportunists, they will run under any flag that will get them elected. The only thing I guarantee you she will roll back is her campaign promises.
The real election is CA4, Pelosi's district. Bill is on the stump promising a repeat of the go-go 90's, but most private economists agree that it will never happen. Most of them lay a great deal of the blame at Clintons tenure, but Hillary deserves to be taken seriously as a candidate in her own right, but that's not what we are getting is it?
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Housing as metaphor for the class struggle
[Read the article: David Lereah takes a turn as Chicken Little]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]By most accounts the Commercial Real Estate Market has farther to fall than Residential property. However by all current (pollyannish) reports, places like Manhattan are still booming. The downside of a Starbucks on every street corner is an empty store front on every street corner.
To grasp what is happening we should break the real estate market down into its various categories, and components which drive valuations. (Downtown property in Manhattan may be desirable, but....)
Land should not lose value (real assets) while stocks and bonds go up (paper assets). The property component should sustain the housing market somewhat. And while the Fed has lowered short term rates mortgage rates have actually risen, (the inflation component), and conversely raising short term rates should ease the burden on mortgage holders. By nudging inflation a bit with higher rates, labor and material costs should also come down. This would allow the value of homes to increase, and get borrowers who are underwater off the snide.
Of course credit will get tight, especially refi's and line of credit loans, however, home equity does not count as savings, and that doesn't disturb the economists too much.
Inflation should make the property more valuable, while labor and material costs come down, and available credit gets tighter, although rates may actually decline, as lenders give points and incentives.
The housing market is like the stock market, or any other market, where supply and demand are the basis of operation. Although the US population is slowing, especially since fewer Mexicans are allowed in, and are not finding jobs, we could have a negative population number, which would bring out the real Chicken Littles. The ongoing migration to cities will allow a shrinking group of home buyers to pile into high rise condos, like sardines. Property will become the bragging right of the wealthy, so values won't fall out of bed.
Let's also imagine those people who live South of the border, whose housing standards need an upgrade. The US housing industry will fill that need, and many newly impoverished Americans will find the digs attractive and affordable, as Americans have already discovered in Costa Rica, and other Central American destinations.
People aren't going to stop living in houses anymore than they will stop eating. America will end up being for the rich primarily, and the poor will go South, or occupy the ghost towns of the last boom.
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Those who ignore history are doomed to pervert it.
[Read the article: Genetic modification kills sex drive in trout]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How does this help the native trout really, while these modified fish eat MORE food than their reproductive counterparts, driving them to starvation.
Which brings us to a Swiftian connundrum, can a world barely able to feed itself, afford members of it's own species with an obesity gene? Would an Orwellian state require stomach staples, tucks, or a Nutrisystem reeducation camp?
If the problem grew worse would they render these folks down for cooking oil. Will someone write a novel about hunting these beautiful, gentle creatures with harpoons. Those who ignore history, are doomed to pervert it.
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How about a Green Party candidate?
[Read the article: Obama Veepstakes]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Since I don't consider HC part of the Democratic party why not a progressive? If you coalition enough third party groups, you might have something. Al Gore?