New President

[idesign]

"The

financial and housing markets will be back up in 4 years if Obama keeps his hands off as much as

possible."

There's a plan afoot already to get the housing market going by introducing a fixed 4.5% loan for

homebuyers. (lead article on Huffingpost.com today). Given there's a real glut of homes on the market with no

buyers approaching, it sounds like a good plan to me, especially were it to be extended to existing homeowners and

not to speculators and with no provision to "take some equity out".

That plan is still open to debate,

and who knows where the final plan will go. Like KK said, a big part of the problem of this plan is new buyers v.

existing owners. And as Bruce touched on, there's not a lot of willingness for anyone to act in the home market

now. The current plan disqualifies refinancing of existing mortgages, which is both good and bad, depending on how

viable the refinance is. Which is pretty darned hard to prove to the banks these days. The main problem with this

whole gov't bailout scenario of gov't. They don't do anything right.

Unless your assets are $700 billion

and/or irresponsibly unlimited. If you have those kind of funds you can tell anyone you want to go to hell, then,

after mismanaging your public trust, sanctimoniously shift blame for the problem and find new and more creative ways

to keep your position.

Offering a plan to new buyers at historically low rates might sell some homes, but then

again might exacerbate the problem that exists. After all, most of the housing problems we have now is low rates,

gov't programs (see Freddie and Fanny, see Chris Dodd) and easy money driving unqualified buyers into the

market.

All of that is moot if you consider the inevitable outcome of the plan. The US gov't will have de facto

ownership of private homes. This is so far beyond the Freddie and Fanny bailouts (bad enough) and is part of a

dangerous trend toward gov't ownership of private assets either through loans or direct investment. An ugly door

was opened when the financial companies were given carte blanche to gov't (our) funds to save their asses. The

message was sent that access to the public (our's again) debt is available to the rich and poor alike.

Responsibility has long left gov't, and now business, at our own behest.

I don't like it one bit, any of

it.

Don't even get me started on the Detroit (read Union, read private entitlement) problems. Or Organized

Labor's (read "show me the money") drive to eliminate private voting for membership. Who wants the 9.99 DVD

bargain bin to be 20.99?

[belgareth]

As you may have guessed, I was

and am opposed to the bailouts as another screwing of the taxpayer and government boondogle. Below is another

example. Bank of America gets $25 Billion while the workers get locked out and screwed. And people wonder why I am

so negative about the government that we have and will continue with the next person in office:

Angry

laid-off workers occupy factory in Chicago

By RUPA SHENOY, Associated Press Writer Rupa Shenoy, Associated

Press Writer 1 hr 7 mins ago
CHICAGO – Workers who got three days' notice their factory was shutting its

doors have occupied the building and say they won't go home without assurances they'll get severance and vacation

pay they say they are owed.
About 200 union workers occupied the Republic Windows and Doors plant in shifts

Saturday while union leaders outside criticized a Wall Street bailout they say is leaving laborers behind.
Leah

Fried, an organizer with the United Electrical Workers, said the Chicago-based vinyl window manufacturer failed to

give 60 days' notice required by law before shutting down.
During the peaceful takeover, workers have been

shoveling snow and cleaning the building, Fried said.
"We're doing something we haven't since the 1930s, so

we're trying to make it work," Fried said.
Protest organizers said the company can't pay employees because its

creditor, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, won't let them. Crain's Chicago Business reported that Republic

Windows' monthly sales had fallen to $2.9 million from $4 million during the past month. In a memo to the union,

obtained by the business journal, Republic CEO Rich Gillman said the company had "no choice but to shut our

doors."
Bank of America received $25 billion from the government's financial bailout package.
"Across cultures,

religions, union and nonunion, we all say this bailout was a shame," said Richard Berg, president of Teamsters Local

743. "If this bailout should go to anything, it should go to the workers of this country."
Outside the plant,

protesters wore stickers and carried signs that said, "You got bailed out, we got sold out."
Larry Spivack,

regional director for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, said the peaceful

action will add to Chicago's rich history in the labor movement, which includes the 1886 Haymarket affair, when

Chicago laborers and anarchists gathering in a square on the city's west side drew national attention when an

unidentified person threw a bomb at police.
"The history of workers is built on issues like this here today,"

Spivack said.
Representatives of Republic Windows did not immediately respond Saturday to calls and e-mails seeking

comment.
Police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said authorities were aware of the situation and officers were patrolling

the area.
Workers were angered when company officials didn't show up for a meeting Friday that had been arranged

by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Chicago Democrat, Fried said. Union officials said another meeting with the company

is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
"We're going to stay here until we win justice," said Blanca Funes, 55, of

Chicago, after occupying the building for several hours. Speaking in Spanish, Funes said she fears losing her home

without the wages she feels she's owed. A 13-year employee of Republic, she estimated her family can make do for

three months without her paycheck. Most of the factory's workers are Hispanic.

[belgareth]

INTERESTING

FACTS ----- NOTICE LINK AND

MAP AT BOTTOM


Some unreported stats about the

2008 election
Professor Joseph

Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota

,
points out some interesting facts concerning the

2008 Presidential election:

-Number of States won by: Democrats: 20; Republicans:

30

-Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000; Republicans: 2,427,000

-Population of counties won by:

Democrats: 127 million; Republicans: 143 million

-Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:

Democrats: 13.2; Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won

was
mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens. Democrat territory

mostly
encompassed those citizens living in rented or government-owned tenements

and
living off various forms of government welfare..."
Olson believes the United

States is now somewhere between the "complacency
and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition

of democracy, with some forty
percent of the nation's population already having reached the

"governmental
dependency" phase.

*******************************
[IMG]http://www.pherolibrary.com/forum/cid:874E992D-E6B0-

4651-9791-819CC849543C[/IMG]

Notice that

only in the states of Alaska and Oklahoma : All counties were won by McCain/Palin.

The original posting with this

information is below this Newsweek article at this link:

h

ttp://www.newsweek.com/id/163337.