Monday's Sermon - Put The Kids Away

Seriously guys.

Unless you want them to be really, really pissed off - at you.

I'm going to spend my Ticker today expanding on something that I started on last night on the forum in a thread there.

That is the fact that the housing mess, and the coming severe economic pain that we are going to take in this country, is, if you live in a "bubble" area and bought, refinanced, or HELOC/MEWd out money in the last four or five years - YOUR FAULT.

Now I'm sure I'm going to get some hate mail over this entry, but frankly, I don't care.

Here is reality - the "Great Society" programs (e.g. Social Security, Medicare, etc) are a fraud. They are a ponzi scheme that cannot possibly be sustained, and our wonderful government made it even worse with the Medicare Part "D" (drug) benefit.

Reality Part II - House price medians at 5x median income is also a fraud.

Now, we have two frauds, both of which are really big problems. Both of which threaten to destabilize not just our economy but our nation. Both of which a tremendous percentage of the people in this country, quite possibly including you, may have contributed to the promulgation of.

Ok. Enough of the blame game for the past. Its done.

But the future is yet to be written.

And this is where you come in.

First, let's deal with the monsters that nobody wants to speak of - Social Security and Medicare. They are not going to exist in their present forms 20 years from now. If you can't deal with this, that's tough shit - its reality, and no amount of whining is going to fix it.

If you are spending all your money or even more than you make, you better cut that shit out right now because if not, when you get older you are going to STARVE!

Ok, now on the reason for this Ticker - and why you don't want the kids to read it (oops - its on the Internet, you can't stop them. Too bad.)

There is talk about "bailouts" of various sorts for the housing industry.

I am calling upon you to actively resist them. Yes, I'm serious. You. Mr. and Ms. Ticker Reader. I want you to get involved and help stop this stupidity.

I mean picking up the phone and calling your Congresscritters.

You can go to http://www.senate.gov/ and http://www.house.gov/ and find yours, if you don't know who they are. Get their phone numbers. Flood their switchboards and tell them - no housing bailouts of any kind.

You can write letters to these Congresscritters. They can be faxed - again, their numbers are at the above web sites - or mailed with a good old-fashioned stamp.

You can email them too if you want, although I think you should mail, fax, or call them.

Why should you do this? Because the only fix for this is to withdraw any hope of a bailout, and thus force house prices down from a median of 5x annual income to 2.5-3x annual income.

And why should you do that, even if it might harm you?

Even if it causes you to get foreclosed on?

(Which, by the way, isnt' the disaster it appears to be. Yes, it will ruin your credit for 7 years. So what? You'll be able to buy your house back for half of what you paid for it the last time! Why would you complain about something like that?)

IF YOU DON'T ACT TO STOP THIS STUPIDITY YOUR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO GET ASSRAPED BY THE ECONOMIC REALITIES WHEN THEY COME HOME TO ROOST, AND YOU WILL BE THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR SCREWING YOUR OWN CHILDREN.

WHY will this happen?

Here's reality kids - The Dollar is collapsing. It is under 80 and headed lower. Attempted bailouts will FAIL, will destroy the dollar, are likely to provoke capital flight which will drive up real interest rates to the sky, and will trash our economy for a decade - or more.

Now let me make a promise to you.

If there is an attempt to bail this mess out that actually passes 10 years hence and the economy does go in the shitter I will take out a series of full-page ads in national newspapers.

I will explain, in very blunt English, exactly what happened and why.

I will point out to them that the reason they are paying 70% tax rates is because of the GREED of Dear Old Mom And Dad, who had to have a Lexus and a constantly-increasing house price so they could buy a plasma TV, even though they KNEW it would screw their children!

I WILL REPRODUCE THIS TICKER SO YOU CANNOT DENY YOU WERE WARNED.

Now what MIGHT happen if this comes to pass?

Let's look into the future 10, 20, 30 years.

You're older. You can't work any more. Social Security and Medicare have collapsed. You didn't save a nickel, instead MEWing it all out and blowing it on baubles, plasma TVs and Lexi.

You are a debt slave, with little or no income.

You come knock on your dear kid's door, asking for some help. You know, basic help. Like a place to live, because the "social safety net" is gone.

It has collapsed due to greed.

YOUR greed.

Guess what? Your kid has a copy of the full-page ad, complete with this Ticker. He's living in "manufactured housing." Maybe he's renting a modest apartment. Or perhaps he has a modest - 1000 square foot - house, but is struggling under crushing tax loads - 70% of his gross income.

He remembers the house in California, Florida, Chicago. The manicured lawns, the two Lexi in the driveway, the boat. All the trappings of wealth. He remembers....... and thinks back..... then, with shock realizes the truth - you knew what was coming. You were warned.

He asks you - "Dad, did you do your goddamndest to stop this shit?"

You stammer. You hem and haw.

Does he or she let you in? Or do you get to eat the shit sandwich you served him?

Raise him you claim you did eh?

No.

You assraped him by destroying his economic future.

You were a greedy bastard, not a parent.

NOW ITS HIS TURN.

Wanna play Russian Roulette with your future guys and dolls? Guess what? The six-shooter you think the other guy is playing with is in fact pointed at you!

Why am I telling you this?

Why am I going to do this?

Because you are screwing with MY DAUGHTER'S future to buy that Lexus and Plasma TV, along with pumping up your "right" to have an overpriced bubble house!

Not just your future, or your kid's future.

MY kid's future.

Believe this - as God is my witness - if you sit idly by (or even worse, encourage) a bailout, and our economy goes down the toilet, I will not sit by quietly when it boomerangs back on my kid 10 or 20 years from now.

That's a promise Guys and Dolls.

Ok, enough with the sermon.

By the way, you know how I've been telling you guys about the Dollar being "the real deal"? Well guess what - someone's been reading my Ticker.

""It is illogical to assume that holders of cash will have a strong desire to lend money at low rates in a currency that is declining in value when they can take these same funds and lend them at high rates in a currency that is gaining in value," he said. "By lowering interest rates the Federal Reserve will not stimulate economic growth or create jobs. It will crash the currency, stimulate inflation, and weaken the economy and the job markets.""

No shit? You mean logic wins over stupidity? Who'd a thunk?

Nor is it just here. Bill Cara, who has been quite The Bull for quite a long time, published his chat today which basically said the same thing. He's got quite the history behind him - in other words, he's been around for more than one dance.

"Foreign investors are losing confidence in the $USD (who wants to have their treasury holdings repaid in wooden nickels?) and they may not rollover all their assets into future Treasury offerings. Decreased foreign investment will lead to rate increases, which will slow the US economy, possibly putting it into recession.

As the US economy contracts, employment is affected. Unemployment rates are likely to rise from 4.6 pct to perhaps 4.9 pct or higher in the next six months. Fewer persons employed, and higher paying full-time jobs replaced by lower paying, lower benefits providing part-time jobs, will lead to a worsening of the housing industry crisis and less personal spending. I anticipate a number of names in the consumer discretionary sector will fail."

Heh, another believer.

Now go back and read the top part of this post again.

THE SERMON.

Now THINK.

Think long and hard.

This is not the time for bullshit folks. It is time for serious thought and then serious action.

Politicians work FOR US. I know that people don't want to talk about it, they think that politicians don't listen to anything but their big donors, and that this is "unsolveable" - they're going to do what The Pigmen want.

That's what people said about the Illegal Immigrant Amnesty Bill too.

It was destroyed by concerted public action who made clear to Congress that we are not, as citizens, going to put up with this shit.

Now - go put the beer down and get off your ass so I don't have to take out those full page ads.

Here's your tech update for the evening.... enjoy!