Want some light reading?

Here's the new Economic Stimulus bill! And with such a friendly title like the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009", how can anything go wrong? Most likely something evil is buried in the 258 pages of the bill!!! Yikes! And you think you're afraid to read Atlas Shrugged? Reading all of this sounds horrid!

BTW-the Dow closed down 330 points today... No 'bump' from Obama I guess. Hopefully something positive will come out in the news and give Wall Street some 'comfort' or something...

Broken Record alert: more Atlas Shrugged 'stuff' (an important read!!!)

I received the following story from the Wall Street Journal opinion page in my in-box today and was not surprised to see that it more or less echoed what I've been saying for months and months--we are entering a scary period in history where fiction is turning into fact! No, I am not bashing Obama at all because he's not in control... yet. I really hate the fact that our government is such a mess. Why can't we have term limits? (for fun, read Vince Flynn's first book of the same name) I really think people get elected and forget what they were doing to begin with. Would I get used to corporate jets and executive privilege? You betcha! Every single member of Congress needs to remember that they are accountable to us. But if we have to remain tied to 'entrenched' interests, we have an uphill battle. Do you think we could outspend someone who's been attached to a Senate "lifer" like Teddy Kennedy or Robert Byrd?

Okay, off on another tangent, sorry. Bottom line-what's the balance between greed and capitalism? Self-interest vs. 'the good of the country'? Is YOUR self-interest best for someone else? That's the key issue (and why I'd say I'm philosophically a Libertarian) and one that's not readily discussed when you're playing the OPM game (Other People's Money). Please: go buy Atlas Shrugged and READ IT. If you don't have the stomach for a 1000 page novel at least read this. I assure you that it's worth the read. No, it's not always a 'page turner' but it's important stuff--then and NOW

Of "sightings" and spending...

It's odd, we are definitely in a recession and spending has dropped off considerably... wait a minute, is that true? Yes, I know statistics show that, but all I can say is that it's not what I SEE out there! We went to the Dawsonville outlets the weekend after Christmas (Brooks Brothers gift cards were PERFECT gifts for me this year : ) and the place was PACKED. We burned an Ann Taylor card for Susie at Lenox and the mall was very busy too. Likewise, we celebrated our 9-year old's birthday at "American Girl" at North Point Mall last weekend and THAT place was packed--and if you have daughters in that age group, you know how expensive those dolls are! Ditto for Costco and Sam's, where I've had to pick up supplies for the home or office; still busy. So people are spending, at least in ATL metro!

On top of that, living in Atlanta, we are somewhat jaded by monster homes and exotic cars. In the past few weeks, here's a small list of 'toys' I've seen around (DRIVEN, not garage queens): Rolls Royce Phantom ($325K+), Porsche 911 Turbo (S190K?), Bentley Flying Spur ($200+?), Bentley coupe (ditto), Ferrari F430 ($200+), Maybach 57S (if you have to ask ; ) Likewise, there are tons of other precious metals cruising around. While they may be mortgaged to the hilt, I still say BRAVO to them, as they have done SOMETHING to earn those toys. God Bless America, the land of the free, home of the brave and all that... I hope that we can hold on through Spring (hopefully the Feds' recently released minutes are correct that we will be out of the woods by that time). All I can say is if you have good credit and your home's value is still pretty good, REFI NOW as rates are UNDER 5% today! When you do refi, you know where to close it : )

Shhhh.... Good news!

Don't tell the media, but there was a bit of good news today--the Dow closed over 9,000 for the 1st time in 2 months! Can you believe how low it's dropped over the last few years? But what about falling gas prices? Ditto! $4 no more and we're loving it. More bad news in the media today (manufacturing activity dropped quite a bit) and as always, home prices, well, how should I say this... they still SUCK. In any event, the "Metro Mike" billboards here in metro-ATL show a positive trend as well--remember when it rose to over 113,000 unsold homes? That's about when they STOPPED showing the actual number and put up pithy 'BUY NOW' messages. Well, it's now back down to the low 80's (look here; lower left of screen) and I see that as positive. Final shot--I just closed a new home purchase for a couple with a 1st mortgage of $417K (with a 2nd mortgage HELOC-remember those??). The interest rate was a mind-boggling 4.875%. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? GO BUY NOW!

Lessons from Detroit

As Southerners, we often have a lot of pride about the South. In the case AGAINST a bailout of the Big 3 automakers it's difficult to have much sympathy. How many NEW plants have been built in the backyard of the UAW up North? While you're working on that answer, let's talk about Toyota in Georgetown, KY, BMW in Spartanburg, SC (both have been expanded numerous times), Mercedes and Honda in Alabama (coming soon-KIA) and several others built throughout the South. What's the big deal? Well, in the rust belt, average hourly wages run around $74 per hour. In the South, they run under $50. Why did the bailout fail? The UAW would not think of taking wage concessions under the bailout plan! Sure, I know that the fat cats at the top (who can afford to take cuts) have lived high on the hog long enough--and will continue to do so. They are certainly not without fault. However, I find it tough to sympathize with unions. There, I said it. My Libertarian thoughts come out at last! Every time the UAW stared down the Big 3, management eventually blinked. Wonder what would be going on now if the B3 had pulled a Caterpillar on them (look it up-management did not capitulate to the unions and the company is stronger than ever). I also think back to the end of Eastern Airlines. They went on strike, the company failed (I wonder how Delta and Northwest will fare if they keep playing that game by the way?). In any event, the bailout failed and even though it will be bad for the USA in the short-term, I think that it will be better for the industry as a whole.

While I'm on my automotive soapbox, I have seen hot European models for years--no, not Heidi Klum, autos that are built/sold only in Europe. Ford's European Focus is hot, the US version is not. Saturn's homerun Aura is based on a euro-platform. The Big 3 are getting the idea to a degree but where are the diesels? Why can't a Ford pickup have dual-element turn signals (translation: brake light/tail light and turn signal are all in the same bulb-if you have hazards on, brakes 'cancel' the flashing, etc)? No, we don't want "A" cars (those tiny city cars like the Smart Cars) but there are hot cars that we should have here. But no, we keep getting bloated SUV's (mainly b/c we keep buying them). What do I lust for? Yes, an Aston Martin would be nice, but I'd REALLY like a Mercedes ML or GL 320 Diesel (24.5 MPG) for Christmas (with a new lawfirm, not a chance this year : )

Political Rant

This is an excellent article about our next President. On one hand, the Republicans had full control and BLEW IT but on the other, when the Democrats take over the Oval Office as well as the full Congress, God help our country. Work for a living? You will have to pay for someone who is not. Why is this on my Economy blog? Because the policies that will be implemented in January 2009 will more or less put a halt to any growth that this country will expect to see for the next few years. Again, I am NOT a fan of what the Republicans did. Shame on them for the largess, shame on them for the out of control spending. Iraq or not, they wasted more of our money than any other administration... ever! I continue to be impressed with Obama's oratory; despite the double talk, his talking points are actually seem believable. However, no amount of spin will take away the fact that he will put his hands into my pockets and give money to someone else. No, I don't make $250,000 a year (and having McCain won't guarantee that either) but take note of the fact that the $250K figure keeps dropping. What is your definition of rich? For many people, it's someone who makes more than they do. Not me; we live in America, the once-greatest country in the world. We read stories all the time about someone coming up with a great idea...and getting paid for it! That is so incredible and when I hear a 'rags to riches' story I smile to myself and mutter "God Bless America". Well, continue to add layers of regulation and restrictions, don't expect anything great out of America any time soon. Libertarians sometimes have the best ideas (keep your government out of my life, etc.) but they are too 'on the fringe' for my tastes (and for many other Americans). You may be surprised; take this quiz to see if you're truly left/right/center.

Again, I am no fan of what the "Republicans" (emphasis added, as they no longer represent true Republican ideology) did to our country. Likewise, the continued political partisanship bantering around sickens me. Actually, what have the Democrats done since taking over? No, I don't know either... I fear what will happen over the next four years--We'll plot that course this Tuesday I guess. Future generations will judge our actions: CHOOSE WISELY.

Economy a Mixed bag...

This article from the Wall Street Journal notes that home inventories are shrinking across the country (even though Atlanta still has a bit over a year's worth of inventory, where 'normal' rates should be in the 6-7 month range). Yes, we've had some price increases of late and some decent sales but we're still not out of the woods yet. I know that unemployment is up across the US and in Georgia and that does not bode well for housing. Unlike the go-go subprime times of late you now actually have to have a JOB as well as INCOME to support a home purchase/loan. Most loan programs require you to have some downpayment as well so it's rough out there for the average buyer. I can also wonder aloud about people who were planning to sell some stocks to come up with their down payment but the answer lies in the continued roller coaster that won't stop until the election at the earliest. It's not all doom and gloom (and I still bet that the media will say "hey, it's not all that bad" on November 5th, regardless of the winner!) and our country (State? City?) has persevered before. I can likewise opine that our current generation(s) will not be as likely to "step up" as strongly as "The Greatest Generation" did during WWII (not that we have that type of threat today, thank God). And one other ramble-FDR's New Deal (and all the public works projects) did not get us out of the Great Depression--WWII did. I can only hope that we don't have to have something that horrible occur to jump start our country!