Posts Tagged ‘Politics’

Michael Burry NYT Op-Ed

Posted in Investing on April 4th, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
I Saw the Crisis Coming. Why Didn’t the Fed? Published: April 4, 2010
Former hedge fund manager, Michael Burry, takes Alan Greenspan to task for encouraged the lending that led to the housing bubble. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/opinion/04burry.html

Cash for Clunkers

Posted in Planning on July 22nd, 2009 by admin – Comments Off
On June 24, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009. This new program may be of interest to anyone considering purchasing a new car in the next few months.
 
The legislation creates a new program – Cash for Clunkers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), though, refers to the program as the Car Allowance Rebate System – CARS. The program provides $3,500 or $4,500 vouchers that can be used toward the purchase or lease of a fuel-efficient new vehicle (new vehicle leases must be for a period of at least 5 years to qualify, however) when you trade in an old “gas-guzzler.”
 
To qualify for the program:
  • You must purchase or lease a new vehicle between July 1, 2009 and November 1, 2009.
  • You must trade in a vehicle that is in drivable condition, was manufactured after 1984, and was continuously owned and insured by you for at least one year at the time of the trade. The vehicle must have a combined fuel economy value of 18 miles per gallon (mpg) or less. (For help in understanding and determining combined fuel economy, see the government website www.cars.gov.)
  • The new vehicle that you purchase or lease must retail for less than $45,000 and have a combined fuel economy value of at least 22 mpg for automobiles (18 mpg for certain SUVs, minivans, and light pickup trucks weighing under 6,000 pounds).
You’re eligible for a $3,500 voucher if the new vehicle is at least 4 mpg more efficient than the eligible trade-in (if the new vehicle is an SUV, minivan, or light pickup truck, it generally needs to be only 2 mpg more efficient than the eligible trade-in vehicle). You’re eligible for a $4,500 voucher if the new vehicle is at least 10 mpg more efficient than the eligible trade-in (if the new vehicle is an SUV, minivan, or light pickup truck, you generally qualify for the $4,500 amount if the new vehicle is 5 mpg more efficient than the eligible trade-in vehicle).
 
Vouchers are paid directly to the dealer. Since the dealer must destroy the vehicle you trade in, you won’t get any trade-in value beyond the amount of the voucher. As a result, if you intend to trade in a vehicle that’s worth more than the amount of the voucher you’re entitled to, you will not benefit from the program.
 
It’s important to note that the program also applies to heavier trucks (those that weigh 6,000 pounds or more), but the rules and fuel efficiency benchmarks are slightly different.

Credit Crisis: Past, Present, and Future

Posted in Investing on June 30th, 2009 by admin – Comments Off

A look at the credit crisis, its causes, remedies, and implications for the future as presented on 6/30/09.

Credit Crisis – Past, Present, and Future
View more documents from JLHealy.

Thoughts on the Economy

Posted in Investing on April 1st, 2009 by admin – Comments Off

A Mid-Term Report Card

After recently reviewing one of my children’s report cards (A’s and a couple of B’s….thanks for asking), I thought I’d take a shot (politics aside) at grading several of the key players currently working to fix our many problems.

Barack Obama           Grade: C+       Effort: A-

Barack was very impressive throughout the interview process, and we all had high hopes for him at the beginning of the semester. Barack, however, has suffered from all the usual freshman pitfalls as well as several of his own making (declaring a triple major, and relying too heavily on older classmen to write the stimulus package). Barack, while a delightful, well meaning student, may have to drop some of his AP classes and focus more on the core curriculum if he hopes to continue on to graduate school.

Congress                     Grade: D         Effort: D+

Congress, as is sometimes common with older classmen, is feeling self-important and exhibiting a mob mentality. They are acting like BMOC (Big Man on Campus), distracted with homecoming and pledge week, and not completing their required assignments. Congress suffers from delusions of grandeur, a sense of entitlement, and forgets that they are here on full scholarship and can be sent home at any time. Congress needs to accept responsibility for their actions, stop inciting the other students, and realize that many of the problems on campus are of their own making.

Ben Bernanke              Grade: A         Effort: A

Ben continues to hand in exceptional work. His understated style and modesty are a welcome change from some of his other classmates who always have their hand up, whether they know the answer or not. Ben’s creativity and deep knowledge of history has helped him achieve excellent results on many projects. The whole school is benefiting from his hard work.

Tim Geithner                 Grade: B-         Effort: C

Young Timothy is trying his best. As one of the youngest in the class, his small size and inexperience often put him at a disadvantage. The quality of his content is sometimes lost in the delivery. However, he is bright and his work has improved over the course of the semester. With some help from an older student (Ben B. perhaps), I think he will find his footing and prove to be a solid B student.

Corporate Execs          Grade: C+       Effort: C-

Corporate Execs, in general, and those majoring in banking, in particular, have got to get their acts together. They have coasted for far too long – turning in below average work while getting above average grades. Going forward, these students need to turn in better work and be graded accurately. The stakes are too high to do otherwise. They play an important role in the student body and need to be well trained and properly incentivized. They will, however, need to lower their expectations about career opportunities and salary potential in the future.

We also want to make parents aware that there have been several reported incidents of bullying between Congress and the Corporate Execs. While we feel some of it was deserved, Congress, as usual, has gone to extremes. Our Vice-Principal is looking into the situation.