Some Economic Info

Info on the foreclosure mess:

http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=6119523&GT1=10833

They'll figure out some way to get a big cut of any stimulus money:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22919642/

The overall economy:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22912358/

A Bit More Music

Updated September 10, 2014, mainly with the addition of a "Word History," which was not included with the original, but few changes otherwise, and all songs are the same. I'm going to do a new part to this series real soon

(Links to the two previous "music/song" posts):

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-favorite-songs.html.

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/little-more-music.html

And here are a few more of my favorite songs, in no particular order, unless so noted:

Blue Morning, Blue Day-by Foreigner from the album "Double Vision," 1978.

Double Vision-by Foreigner from the album of the same name, 1978.

(Double Vision-by Foreigner from the album of the same name, 1978.)

You Better You Bet-by The Who, from England, from the album "Face Dances," 1981.

It's My Life-by Bon Jovi, American, from the album "Crush," 2000.

Just Once-sung by James Ingram, of Akron, Ohio, on Quincy Jones' album "The Dude," 1980/81, but is easily obtained on Ingram's album, "The Power Of Great Music." (See below)

Somewhere Out There-by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, Americans, theme from the animated movie, "An American Tail," 1986. I had the soundtrack cassette from way back, but I also have it on "The Power Of Great Music," by James Ingram. Grammy winning song.

After All-a duet with Cher and Peter Cetera, Americans, from the soundtrack of the movie, "Chances Are," 1989. Available on "The Very Best Of Cher."

You're The Inspiration-by Chicago, an American group, from the album "Chicago 17," 1984.

Midnight Confessions-by the Grass Roots, an American group, from 1968. Probably the best way to get this song on CD is, "The Grass Roots-Their All Time Greatest Hits." (see next song)

Sooner or Later-by the Grass Roots, from 1971. Same CD as above. Great lively song!

I'll Be Over You-by Toto, an American group, from the album "Fahrenheit," 1986.

All I Need Is A Miracle-by Mike and The Mechanics, an English group, from the album "Mike and the Mechanics," 1985.

In The Dark-by Billy Squier, American, from the album "Don't Say No," 1981.

I Swear-by All-4-One, an American group, from the album "All-4-One," 1994.

"Stairway To Heaven"-by Led Zeppelin, from England, on the album "Led Zeppelin IV," 1971. A number of years ago it was always said on radio that this was the most requested song in radio history. Now whether that's true, I have no idea. Who keeps track of this stuff, an elf in the Black Forest?

WORD HISTORY:
Nine-This word for the numerical value between 8 and 10 goes back to Indo European "(e)newn," which meant "nine." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "niwun/nigon," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "nigon," "apparently" with the "g" sound later altered to a "y" sound, as the word became "niyen" (ni-yen, with the "i" long), which then changed to just an "n" sound (see some other Germanic relatives below), giving English "nine." The other Germanic languages have: German "neun" (pronounced like "noyn/noin"), Low German and Dutch "negen," West Frisian "njoggen," Danish and Norwegian "ni" (notice the very abbreviated form), Icelandic "niu," and Swedish "nio."  

There Must Be Life Elsewhere

Folks, I understand that people need to "keep hope alive," but there are times when you hear things, and you just have to scratch your head and wonder. A few days ago on CNBC, they had a couple of representatives of the real estate business on for some comments. Now again, I don't mind some spin, but this was so far out there, that even the woman interviewing them was embarrassed. Essentially, these guys said that while housing is down, it shows signs of life, and that prices are rising in some areas. The optimistic comments continued and the interviewer finally said something like, "You're saying these things, but all of the numbers and data are pointing in the opposite direction." Now folks, I know there are places where there have been small increases in the price of real estate, but they are relatively few and far between, and the overall national trend has been downward pressure on home prices. Almost every week some kind of statistic is released showing new home sales down, new home construction down, existing home sales down, existing home prices down. Then another guy was on CNBC on (1/24/08) and in his comments about economic conditions he said something to the effect that "we know that the housing recession is ending." This guy must have data that even the Federal Reserve doesn't have! Maybe he just misspoke, but all of this kind of talk just makes me sit there and say, "Well, now we know there IS life on other planets, because all of these folks can't be from here!"

Interest Rate Cuts and A Stimulus Package

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” We’ve all heard that expression numerous times throughout our lives. So what might happen with the economy in the coming months? Well as you might or might not know, stock markets around the world have generally been falling, even plummeting on some days. In response to this dismal turn of events, the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates by three-quarters of a point in a special teleconference the other day. Prior to the rate cut, which was announced about an hour before American markets opened, the Dow was heading for an opening of about 500 points to the downside. The analysts say that the Fed, as it is frequently called, will lower rates again in about a week when they hold their regular meeting.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has offered a plan to “stimulate” the economy with a combination of rebates and tax cuts; totaling about 150 billion dollars. Democratic leaders in Congress seem to generally agree, with some negotiations ongoing with the administration to adjust some of the details.

Okay, now what? Well the conventional wisdom says that retailers should especially benefit from the rebates; after all, the Government will send us money and we will go shopping. There’s probably a good deal of truth in that, but for many hard pressed Americans, they will use the money to make payments on overdue bills of all types. Whether the Fed rate cuts and the stimulus package can keep the economy from sinking into a severe recession, I’m not sure. I go back to the opening here, about the weakest link. So many folks are in distress, that after the initial rebate “bounce,” will they still be in the same predicament as before the stimulus money got into their hands? Further, will some who may not be as bad off just decide to hold onto this “bonus” money, as a rainy day fund.


I believe the above actions by the government will help, but we need the Fed and the Bush Administration to push for the credit industry to lower rates immediately, not months and months from now, as they have done in the past when interest rates were lowered by the Fed. What do I mean? Well, in the past, if “XYZ Credit Card” was charging an average of 25% interest on credit card debt, and the Federal Reserve lowered rates, it could take “XYZ” a couple of months or more to bring down their rates to consumers. If the government gives us money and the credit industry just keeps rates high, they’re going to get a fair amount of the stimulus money, not J.C. Penny, or Kmart, or Target. And then the administration has to finally get off this free market mantra and “jawbone” oil and gas prices down***, or just like the credit card companies, the oil industry will end up pocketing a substantial amount of the stimulus money, and the whole collective action by the government will probably pretty much go for naught.

These are the things that are crippling many Americans and the American economy. The whole housing mess will continue, in my opinion, for quite some time, but as the debts are refinanced at lower rates, the crisis there might begin to recede. The thing is, Americans are in too deep, and until or unless a substantial amount of that debt is eliminated, things aren’t really going to improve much, in my opinion. Understand, what has been happening in housing, and increasingly with credit card debt and other debts, is that consumers default, and that eliminates the debt the hard way, as the lenders have been incurring huge losses. What seems to have happened, at least with some credit card companies (that is, banks), is they have been trying to cut their losses by charging higher interest rates to their PAYING customers, thus forcing more of those customers into late payments or default. The same thing is happening with this adjustable rate mortgage stuff. Lenders have jumped interest rates on homeowners by huge amounts, resulting at times in hundreds of more dollars being added to some people’s mortgage payment. Guess what happens then? Many can’t pay the higher rate, they default, the lender forecloses, the house is “dumped” out onto the already terrible housing market forcing prices down even more, the lender takes a hit, those who bought the mortgages as investments, or who held bonds backed by mortgages take a hit, these companies report big financial losses, the stock market reacts negatively, and the whole thing keeps churning on in a vicious cycle.

Just a little bit about these “sub-prime” mortgages; this term doesn’t always mean that some working class family went out and bought a house for $75,000 and now they can’t pay for it. It also means that people took on mortgages (and were GIVEN these mortgages by lenders) at far higher levels than they could normally afford. Maybe some folks needed that $75,000 home, but instead they got a house priced at twice that, while others could afford a $200,000 home, but took out a mortgage for a home priced at $400,000. The other day on some television station, they showed a house of a “sub prime borrower” valued at $750,000, and was in foreclosure!!! My point here is to show that not all sub prime foreclosures are the result of working class people defaulting on mortgages.

And one more thing; the "free marketers" don't seem to be protesting GOVERNMENT action to try to avert a serious economic downturn. As I've noted before, they love the free markets as long as they're making money. When the asses get their butts (get it?) into trouble, they want Uncle Sam to come to the rescue. So don't EVER think it is only poor or average folks who want government help.

*** "Jawboning" is a term you don't hear much anymore, but in the past it was frequently used in reference to government officials making public statements to encourage some entity to do something the government wanted. For example, if a major strike was threatened, the president or other administration officials might make public statements encouraging the two sides to negotiate more. Sometimes, a president might even threaten to use troops, like I believe Harry Truman once did.

A Little More Music

Updated September 7, 2014, including the addition of a "Word History," which was not part of the original text. Otherwise, I made minor changes and all of the songs are the same.

Well I figured to post a few more of my favorite songs. I'll keep it simple, so here they are, in no particular order:

Lonely Is The Night-by Billy Squier, American, from the album, "Don't Say No," 1981.

The Eye In The Sky-by The Alan Parsons Project from England, from the album of the same name, 1982. Hmm, did I say these were in no particular order? I said that? (No fair looking back to prove a point!) Actually this song is really in my top five. It is a bit haunting, and you may just wonder who might be looking over your shoulder at you. Your spouse? Your "friend?" The CIA? YIKES! Maybe me? DOUBLE YIKES! "I am the eye in the sky, looking at you!"

Kashmir-by Led Zeppelin, from England, from the album "Physical Graffiti," 1975. A long song, but worth every minute of it.

Bang The Drum All Day-by Todd Rundgren, American, from "The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect," 1983. Another GREAT fun song. It won't take you long to get hooked on this one, and you'll go around singing this song, especially the line, "Every day when I get home from work, I feel so frustrated, the boss is a jerk." Ah, second thought, you'd better not go around singing that line while on the job.

Lost In A Lost World-by The Moody Blues from their album "Seventh Sojourn," 1972. The song seems just as pertinent today as it did all of those years ago. This song is "heavy."

Out In The Country-by Three Dog Night, an American group, from the album "It Ain't Easy," 1970. Real soothing song, just as being out in the country should be. Ah, did I say these weren't in any particular order? This belongs in my top five or six

Everybody Plays The Fool-by The Main Ingredient, an American group, from their album "Bitter Sweet," 1972. A little note: The father of actor Cuba Gooding, Cuba Gooding Sr., was the lead singer for this group.

The Land Of Make Believe-by The Moody Blues from their album "Seventh Sojourn," 1972. Ah, did I say these weren't in any particular order? This belongs in my top five or six, or is that now seven?

I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band)-by The Moody Blues also from their album "Seventh Sojourn," 1972. This is an awesome song in concert, too. I saw them perform this in Atlantic City in the 1990s, and the whole building was vibrating. The crowd loved it and everyone was on their feet for the whole song; something you don't always think about with most Moodies' songs..

Crazy Train-by Ozzy Osbourne of England, from a solo album "Blizzard of Ozz," 1980. Another great fun song of mine, although I guess we've all felt like we're going a little kooky at times. Did I say just a little kooky?

Dust In The Wind-by Kansas, an American group, from their album "Point Of No Return," 1978.

WORD HISTORY:
Sing-This word goes back to Indo European "sengwho," which meant "to sing, to chant." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "singwanan," which then helped to produce Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "singan." This then became "singen," before the ending was discarded, thus producing the modern form.^ The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German "singen," Dutch "zingen," West Frisian "sjonge," Icelandic "syngja," Danish and Norwegian "synge," and Swedish "sjunga."

^ As you can see in some of the closest relatives of English (German, Low German, Dutch), verb forms often still end in -en, and English did the same, but extensive changes in English grammar eventually dropped the endings. During the time of the -en endings, English speakers didn't have to say two words, "to sing," for the infinitive form, as "singen" meant that, just as it still does in modern German. While English speakers have to add "to" in modern times, it's still a small price to pay for the more simplified verb conjugations, as compared to many of English's Germanic cousins, where conjugations are a bit more complex.

"Some" Favorite Songs

Updated September 7, 2014, including the addition of a "Word History," which was not part of the original post, as I did not use them in every post back then. I've not really changed much of the original text; just a few things here and there, and all of the songs are the same.

The emphasis here is on "some," as these few songs I have listed are not the end of my list by any means, and I will make future listings (I'm in the process of updating them, too). Unless noted, the songs are in no particular order of preference, and any future listing or listings may actually contain some songs that I like better than some on this list. Not all of these songs were released as singles, as some of you may know, but I encourage you to check them out, if you're not familiar with them. Now for the "unless noted" part of my earlier statement; my two all time favorite songs in order are:

LAYLA-by Derek and the Dominos (Hmm, I wonder if they delivered pizza as a side job?), from 1970. This group featured Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. When released, the song had an abbreviated version for radio, as the full song is like seven minutes long, and in those times, rarely did the main radio stations play songs over about three minutes in length. The song has a harder rock part, followed by a much more mellow second part; so in a sense, you get two songs in one.

One Step Into The Light-by The Moody Blues, from their 1978 album "Octave." This song is inspirational and spiritual, while maintaining a "rock" edge with the guitar accompaniment. Written by keyboardist Mike Pinder as his last contribution to the band before departing.

Now, some other songs I like, in no particular order:

The Things We Do For Love-by 10CC, a group from England, from their album "Deceptive Bends," 1977.

Just One Victory-by Todd Rundgren was a song from the album "A Wizard, A True Star," 1973. A great inspirational song. With the world in turmoil (as of 9/2014), we could use a victory for humanity.

Point Of No Return-by Kansas (Gee, I wonder if the group "Toto" ever reversed the line from "The Wizard Of Oz," and asked, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Kansas.") This was released by this American group on their album of the same name in about 1978.

No Time-by The Guess Who, a Canadian group, from their album "American Woman," 1970.

Do Ya-by The Electric Light Orchestra, aka ELO, a group from England, from the album "A New World Record," in 1977. This is certainly one of my all time favorite "fun" songs.

Burnin' For You-by Blue Oyster Cult, an American group, from their album "Fire Of Unknown Origin," 1981. Love the guitar work on this one.

Take The Long Way Home-by Supertramp, from England, from their album "Breakfast In America," 1979.

Fool For The City-by Foghat, a group from England, from their album of the same name, 1976. This is another one of my favorite "fun" songs.

Lean On Me (Tonight)-by The Moody Blues, from their album "Keys Of The Kingdom," 1991.

Meet My Halfway-by The Moody Blues (Hey, what can I say, they're my favorite group! I've seen them more times in concert than I can count, admittedly a low bar... ah let's see, what comes after 10?), from their album "The Present," 1983.

Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In-by American group The 5th Dimension, from 1969. Another great fun song, but also with a great message. Anyone who remembers the late 1960s will definitely remember this song from the radio, if you didn't already have it in your collection.

The Long And Winding Road-by The Beatles, from their album "Let It Be," 1970.

WORD HISTORY:
Song-This word goes back to Indo European "sengwho," which meant "to sing, to chant." This produced a noun form "sangwho," which meant "song, the process of singing." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sangwaz," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "sang." Later the vowel changed to "o," and the word has remained as such for many centuries. The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German "Gesang" and "Sang," although the latter is a bit old style; West Frisian, Norwegian and Danish "sang," Dutch "zang," Swedish "sång," and Icelandic "söngur."

Will The Economy Dance?

The powers that be want to stimulate the American economy. The question is, will the economy respond? You can play the music, but it doesn't mean the economy will dance. The idea of a stimulus for the economy, particularly aimed at moderate and lower income people, and NOT aimed at the wealthiest Americans and their money managers (I'd much rather "aim" something else at them, but don't tempt me!), is not necessarily a bad idea. The problem is, it is only a start. Give people, let's say, $500 and it will help pay their mortgage or their rent or a credit card payment or two, but then, what do you do for an encore? The money is gone and the basic problems still exist. Many, many Americans are just in too deep and a few hundred bucks, while welcome, won't solve their problems, and their problems continue to weigh on this economy. Keep in mind that during the Great Depression, the unemployment rate hit about 25%. Also keep in mind, that means 75% of the work force had work of some kind. It doesn't take a huge percentage of the population to be hurting to drag down the whole economy.

Bush wants his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to be made permanent, since they are set to expire in a couple of years. It is said that the president goes to bed early, but if he has many sleepless nights, I've got to believe they are caused by his concern for the plight of millionaires and billionaires. He and his administration have stood by watching the wealthy gouge the public with exorbitant energy prices, never lifting a finger to try to quell the nonsense. When Secretary Paulson was on CNBC a couple of weeks ago and oil was about $100 a barrel, he was asked if oil should be that high. He had his chance to say, "No! No! No! I don't know what the actual price should be, but I know it is NOT anywhere near one hundred bucks a barrel." Instead, in what has become the typical fashion of this pro-business administration, he spouted the usual nonsense about prices being set by the "free market." Well, we're going to see if this economy goes as low as I think it will. At that time, the oil and investor barons will undoubtedly try to salvage their wealth, but they may be lucky to escape with heads intact. If I'm wrong, and I hope I am, any one of you can and should post a comment here telling everyone what an imbecile I am, and I'll agree.... well.. I'll kind of agree.

John Maynard Keynes Lives!

John Maynard Keynes, the British economist credited with influencing governments to spend money to overcome economic downturns, is alive in spirit and living in the bodies of Ben Bernanke and George W. Bush (That rumble you hear is Keynes turning over in his grave. Sorry about that John Maynard!). In testimony given today, Bernanke has actually endorsed giving money to low/moderate income Americans!!! (That Plop! Plop! Plop! noise you hear are the rich money managers and investors hitting the floor after fainting at betrayal by one of their own.) Now, please don't you readers faint on me, but hold onto the arms of your chair tightly, as it seems that none other than George W. "Aren't The Free Markets Wonderful For The Rich" Bush has also signed onto such a plan. (Give me a moment, because I'M holding onto the arms of my chair!) Okay, I criticize when I feel it is appropriate, so I have to give credit when I feel the bigwigs do something that is right (No "credit" crunch here; get it? No "credit crunch?" Alright, so that wasn't such a good one.) The link below should take you to the actual story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22705103/

Recently posted on this topic:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-quick-thoughts-on-economy.html

Previous Healthcare Blogs

Here is a list of some previous healthcare blogs that I've posted:



http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/12/just-what-doctor-ordered.html



http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/10/many-veterans-uninsured.html



http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-kind-of-country-do-we-want-part_19.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/01/health-care-at-last.html

Some Quick Thoughts On The Economy

Rising numbers of foreclosures, with hundreds of thousands of people losing their homes; rising numbers of defaults and delinquencies on credit cards, rising delinquencies on auto loans... and that was just the last couple of years, when Wall Street and the Administration told us that the economy was good! The question is, if all of this happened when things were "good," what will happen if the economy goes into, or is already in, a recession?

I've been saying for quite some time that many PEOPLE DON'T HAVE MONEY!!! The banks and the government can do all they want to try to refinance mortgages, but if Joe Shmo just refinanced and now loses his job or has his income seriously reduced, all the refinancing in the world isn't going to save his home. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but this whole situation has all the makings of becoming VERY ugly. Lest we forget, the number of foreclosures and delinquencies is rising among non-subprime Americans, too. If people couldn't pay for things when they had a job, how are they going to pay if they don't have a job, or have their hours cut?

It all comes right back to all of that money ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) going to the top income people in the country. Part of that has been this just astronomical transfer of more wealth because of energy prices. Eventually, the chickens come home to roost, and I really am apprehensive about what 2008 will bring regarding the American economy.

How About Spin On Natural Gas?

Recently, the price of natural gas has been increasing at a fairly significant rate on the futures' markets. My question is: Why? Those delightful propagandists for the "free market" keep telling us everything is about supply and demand. I say, "That's a lot of horse doo doo!"


The amount of natural gas in storage is at near record levels and just this past week we saw temperatures in the northern part of the U.S. more like April than January. Here in Cleveland, we saw at least two record breaking days that I'm aware of, both days being 65 degrees. Now temperatures are receding to more average levels. So, what happens on the futures' markets? Natural gas goes up!!!! Why? The propagandists for the natural gas industry say it is because it's going to get colder! Folks, this is Winter; it gets cold EVERY Winter!!! (Some more so than others.) This is all just a bunch of total nonsense!!! When you allow these greedy investors to control the price of ANY necessary commodity, look out for what they're going to do to you. I'm waiting for these greedy #&%#@ s to start a bidding market for mothers. "Who will give me five cents for my mother? Come on now, let's have a bid! There's a bid of five cents! Remember, you've got to pay up first, or mom doesn't get turned over to you. At the moment, she's bound and gagged in the back room. Do I hear ten cents?"

Check out this article:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22592120

Spinning Oil & Gas Prices

Recently I wrote about a letter I had received from Senator George Voinovich in response to my contacting him about energy prices.For the full article see:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/12/wheres-all-of-oil.html

The senator said that one of the benefits of high oil prices is the amount of extra tax revenues received by the Federal Government. Just recently on CNBC, they gave another thing that we Americans should be thankful for; that is, the governments in the Middle East, where those GOVERNMENTS control the oil***, are investing some of their huge profits in America, by buying into, or buying up American companies. Now we can all sleep peacefully in the knowledge that some of our money is coming back to us, sort of.

Just think, your house has just been robbed, or a pickpocket has gotten your money. You go to the police and the sergeant tells you, "Hey, I know your upset, but look at the bright side. The thief will spend that money and help the economy, and while the thief won't pay taxes on it, the businesses where he spends the money will pay taxes, and that helps Uncle Sam, the state, and the local government; so cheer up, it isn't as bad as you've made it out to be." Ah, the benefits of thievery!

*** No talk about government intervention or handwringing by business people in these countries about government ownership. No talk about the "free market" either, except that they love the free markets in other parts of the world that have made them even richer.

Congressional Action On Oil Prices?

Anyone who reads my blogs on a halfway regular basis knows my feelings about oil, gasoline, natural gas, the wealthy, and the greedy, but here's a link below for another opinion. We will never get any action from the Bush Administration, unless the Republican candidates for the upcoming election demand some action to save their behinds from the voters. Just a day or two ago, Treasury Secretary Paulson was on CNBC and when asked about whether he thought oil prices were being manipulated by investors like Goldman-Sachs, he spouted the usual nonsense about free markets. Anyway...


http://www.cnbc.com/id/22545565/

My latest about energy:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/12/wheres-all-of-oil.html

Recession or Not?

The link below gives a pretty balanced appraisal of the current state of the American economy, with the argument against recession and the case for a recession, and even the possibility that we have already entered into a recession. With the greedy #$%&*@ and their oil and gasoline prices, they're trying ever so hard to push the envelope as far as possible and grab every last penny they can get from us, thus tipping the economy into recession. I remember on 9/11, a number of gas stations around here (Cleveland) jumped the price of gasoline dramatically that day to take advantage of the situation. Instead, the Ohio Attorney General, a Republican, filed charges against these money grubbers, and in the end, they had to sell gasoline below the market price for a period!!! Now, with all of this free market crap, the wealthy investors jump the price for what MIGHT happen. I don't see a difference, do you? I think you'll like the article below.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22476544/