The Whim of a Madman Blog!

Lenders, bankers and investors made millions during the housing boom with little regard to the consequences that are now abundantly clear.  And they are HALF to blame for this mess.  Here’s a great video that simplifies the entire overly complicated process and explains the financial crisis:
http://vimeo.com/3261363

But I dispute the notion that foreclosed or underwater homeowners are somehow “innocent victims.”  That’s a pile of crap.  Have some personal fucking accountability!  You have to sign on the dotted line in about a hundred different places that tell you how much your monthly payment is going to be on your house.  That’s your payment REGARDLESS of what happens to the value!!  You borrow $300,000, you have to pay back $300,000.  Even if the value of your home drops to $90,000.  That’s irrelevant.  You signed on the dotted line a hundred times saying you would pay back $300,000.

Foolish homeowners got greedy and bought more house than they could afford with mortgages that had a low rate to start and then turned into a high rate later.  Even KNOWING they could NOT pay the high rate, they bought the home and just figured they’d sell it at a higher price later.  Wrongly assuming the price would always go up.

I did NOT do that. Even with everyone around me making money buying houses, I still RENTED through the entire upside of the now “crisis”.  Because I thought, “Well what if the price does NOT go up?  Then I’ll be stuck with a house I can’t sell and a payment I can’t make and I’ll go bankrupt.” I’m not some genius, it’s a pretty EASY thing to see.  But the GREEDY, idiots who did buy homes FULL WELL KNOWING THEY COULDN’T MAKE THE HIGHER PAYMENT when the interest rate resets, didn’t think about that or didn’t care.  They are JUST AS MUCH TOO BLAME as brokers, lenders and bankers.  They are NOT innocent victims.  They’re in trouble because of greed.

If anything we’re letting them off too easy.  They shouldn’t be able to just “walk away.”  You take out a $300,000 loan motivated by greed and you can easily just NOT pay it back, simply by defaulting.  And the only punishment is you lose the home and your credit is crap for a few years.  If you owed a bookie $300,000 and didn’t pay, they would break your legs, or KILL you.  I’m so sick of hearing people bitch about losing their home.  Guess what?  I lost my home too!  Because I RENT!  I was never able to buy one because this whole system caused prices in Orange county to TRIPLE in 10 years.  That means a $200,000 home became a $600,000 home.  If anyone is a victim it’s the renters who had to watch real estate prices RUN AWAY for 10 years straight.

What do you think happens to these “poor, innocent victim homeowners” after they lose their home.  THEY HAVE TO RENT!  Just like you and me.  Boo freakin Hoo!  And many of them took out $100,000 + home equity loans and blew all that money on expensive things, cars, vacations, trips to Vegas, etc during the boom time.  That we are now ALL paying for as taxpayers via the multi-billion dollar bailout.  We ALL have to pay higher taxes for the rest of our lives, because greedy homeowners bought homes they could not afford, spent thousands of dollars of home-equity loan money and now never have to pay it back!!  Because we let them just “walk away” from their mortgage!!!  It’s criminal.  So excuse me if I don’t feel sorry for these idiots. 

The system AND Homeowners.  Both equally to blame.  Anyone that tells you differently IS one of those idiots and just can’t admit that they were WRONG.  Typical American, entitlement “victim” mentality.  Boo-hoooooo, the evil bankers used me.  No.  YOU used ME and every fiscally responsible American that did not buy a house in the boom.  Your welcome that I’ll be paying the mortgate off that you walked away from, with higher taxes for the rest of my life.

The big 3 U.S. automakers are in dire straights.  They’re begging the gov’t which means you and me by proxy as taxpayers, for $34 BILLION dollars just to stay in business!  I’ve already ranted about why we shouldn’t do that.  Let me tell you what’s killing these once great, U.S. companies.

1. They make an inferior product!  Toyota and Honda could figure out how to make a car that wouldn’t break down every other week.  How come Ford and Chevy couldn’t?  US automakers spend all their money on designing new models instead of getting existing ones right, and MARKETING.  Did you ever notice how many US car commercials are on TV.  That’s a hell of an ad budget.  It took the US public 20 YEARS to catch on and realize US cars are shit and it’s not normal to be working on your 4 years old car EVERY weekend.  I’ve still got relatives in Vermont who are either VERY patriotic, or have succumbed toe the brainwashing.  They ONLY buy American made pieces of crap.  Fine.  Fix your Ford every effing weekend, while I drive my Honda into the GROUND.
2. Unions.  I’m not a big rich business owner.  I’m a working man.  But I think unions are bad.  It’s freakin’ socialist, communist thinking!  Think about it.  Here’s how it should work: “Hey we need some guys to rivet this piece to that piece.  And do it 1,000 times a day.  Let’s pay them $11 an hour.”  Perfectly acceptable.  Here’s the job, here’s the pay, you don’t like it YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORK THERE!  “Hey we can’t get enough guys at $11 / hour.  Let’s raise it to $13″  Classic supply and demand.  “That worked!  We’re good!  Lets build some cars.”But here’s what happens with a damn union. “We’ve all formed a union.  We don’t want $13/ hour anymore.  We want $20.  And if you don’t give it to us, we’ll all strike and cripple your company.  If you try to hire other workers to RUN YOUR EFFING BUSINESS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! we’ll set up picket lines, call them scabs and bully and intimidate until you pay us more than we’re worth.”  And then when management finally caves because they have to stay in damn business! The union says “Now we want $30/ hour.”  It’s freaking CRIMINAL.  It’s a $13 / hour job.  And under the normal laws of supply and demand they would get plenty of workers at $13/ hour.  But under collective bullying, they get $30…. All the while driving UP the price of cars compared to Toyotas and Hondas.  Meaning to stay competetive, US automakers have to cut corners on things like…….ohhhh I don’t know, RELIABILITY.

Imagine if other industries allowed this bullshit?  What if all the guys at McDonalds formed a union and now instead of making $8/ hour, they get $25.  How much do you think that Big-Mac will cost?  How long do you think they’ll stay in business?  IF YOU WANT HIGHER PAY GET A BETTER JOB!!  Shit paying, low end jobs are a necessary evil.  It motivates you to get a effing education, learn a new skill for Pete’s sake and get a better job!  And the people with no motivation and apathy stay in those jobs.  That’s THEIR choice.  We shouldn’t pay them 4 times what their worth because they chose to work a mindless factory job.  You can do whatever you put your mind to and work a different job.
3. Health Care.  The same unions demand healthcare.  Since our government which provids police, firemen, roads to drive on, bridges, infrastructure, etc, will let you FUCKING DIE if you get sick without healthcare, businesses have had to step in to pick up the slack.  But in a normal business, without communist unions, businesses OFFER healthcare in better positions to attract talented workers.  In a collective bullying union job, the unions DEMAND healthcare.And healthcare is too expensive. That’s the final nail in the coffin that broke the big 3.

Healthcare is a FOR PROFIT INDUSTRY.  Worse than that it’s a for profit industry with a 3rd party payer system!  That means joe gets sick, goes to hospital for service and somebody ELSE pays for it.  Joe pobably never even sees the bill!  That system is a set up for MASSIVE corruption.  That means hospital can charge whatever they want because JOE never sees the bill and gets outraged.  Insurer pays for it, and all is well.  Except this massive corruption drives up the price of premiums for EVERYONE.  In the neighborhood of $500/month if you want DECENT healthcare.  And if you have a “pre-existing condition” forget about it.  The industry will LET YOU DIE.

You want proof that it’s a corrupt system?  Look at the relatively low price of elective surgeries.  If you break your arm badly or need any sort of “medically necessary” surgery, you’re looking at a MINIMUM price tag of $20,000.  Well how come they can do a boob job for $4,000 then?  You’re telling me setting a bone is harder than slipping an implant through a belly button and managing to set it in the right place?  I don’t think so.  The difference is WHO’S PAYING FOR IT.  When it’s the insurance company, the hospitals rape them to the tune of $20,000 plus.  When it’s chicks who want big boobs, the MARKET determines a fair price.  Which happens to be $4,000.  You wouldn’t see to many boob jobs at $20,000 a pop.

And THIS is why the automakers will fail.  They make a SHIT product.  Their workers get paid WAY TOO MUCH on account of unions.  And the cost of healthcare is too high.  With union wages and healthcare costs, how can they POSSIBLY compete with the Japanese??  …healthcare is going to be the downfall of this whole country if something isn’t changed.

In Newport Beach you can be arrested for standing on the side-walk. Yes it’s true. Loitering on the sidewalk is illegal. You can be arrested for taking your beer from your patio out on the sidewalk 6 feet over and to your neighbor’s patio. You can be arrested for singing with an acoustic guitar on your patio. It’s ridiculous.

The role of the police should be to protect and serve. To protect and serve the taxpaying residents in their jurisdiction. Not to harrass and levy fines! Last 4th of July my house party got shut down 3 times. The first time was at 2 in the afternoon! Do we need policing of an event that draws 50,000 people? Absolutley. But what they should be looking for is people that are vandalizing, people that are fighting or beligerent, people that are peeing in someone’s front lawn. They shouldn’t be breaking up a peaceful gathering of 50 people socializing, drinking and dancing. This is America. We are supposed to be a free country. You should be free to do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t encrouch on someone else’s freedom. Should I be able to have a party go until 3AM with music and guests outside on my patio? No. Because some of my neighbors would probably like to sleep. And I would be encroaching on their freedom to get a good nights rest. But there is no justification for the cops breaking up a party at 2 in the afternoon. See the difference?

There is a law in Newport beach that requires a bar/restaruant/club to have a license for dancing and if you don’t have one it’s illegal to dance. ILLEGAL TO DANCE! How absurd is that? As far as I can tell they aren’t giving out any of these licenses. Buzz club is shut down. Aysia 101 is now a restaurant and on several occasions the cops have come into El Ranchito and shut the whole place down because there was “illegal dancing.” Does anyone else think this is wrong??? STOP CRIMINALIZING FUN! Stop making unconstitutional laws that encroach on my right to have a good time. Should I be able to go 100 on the freeway? No. Why? Because I might hurt someone else. But what is the rationale behing a no-dancing ordinance? For more on this check out www.freenewport.com. This is an awesome website. I urge the residents of West Newport to GET INVOLVED. Do something. They’ve made too much of daily life illegal already.

The Pharmaceutical Business is just that: A business

“Don’t do drugs!”  Unless it’s from a big business, properly taxed, then it’s ok.  Prescriptions are up 300% NOT because of an “increase in awareness” of these drugs. It’s because the pharmaceutical business is exactly that - a business. There are constantly commercials on TV in newspapers, on bus stops, advertising, brainwashing you on the next drug and why you and/or your child NEED it.

I’m all for drugs that can help a legitimate physical condition, or that are a short term fix for an IMMEDIATE problem.  But throwing drugs at an emotional problem instead of getting to the root of the problem is just plain lazy. My kid is “violently acting out, he needs a ‘mood stabilizer’” Bullshit. He needs a good smack! My kid is depressed, he needs an antidepressant. NO, he needs you to maybe spend 5 minutes a day talking to him and letting him/her know that despite what all the jerks at school think, you think he’s a good kid. Be a parent for crying out loud.

The world got along just fine for thousands of years and no kids ever suffered from depression or ADD. Nobody every had “chronic heartburn”. It’s all about $$$$$$$. Eat right and 99% of these so-called “disorders” disappear. Chronic heartburn? Well stop eating SHIT!! They label it a disorder and suddenly you’ve got a disorder and now you need a pill for it. What a bunch of crap. It’s not Attention Defecit Disorder, it’s called being a kid! Kids don’t have long attention spans. That’s normal!  Maybe stop spoon feeding them sugar every morning for breakfast!  This stuff makes me sick. And the worst part is, even if you don’t buy into to it we ALL pay for it through outrageous health-care premiums and the higher taxes for the govt to pick up the rest of the tab. Even if I spend $0 / month on pills I have to help pay for the guy who’s taking $1500/month in pills through my higher health-care premium.

And who decided that kids (of all people) are supposed to be even-keeled all the time? You throw a temper-tantrum and mommy puts you on Prozac?? That’s just being a kid! Heck, I’m about to throw a temper-tantrum right now! Think it’s NOT all about money? Look at the drug company Wyeth for example. As of this writing (August 2005) they have 51,000 employees and their CEO takes home 4 million a year!

Reuters Article - January 2003

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About 6% of US children are taking drugs to
treat depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a
host of other behavioral and emotional problems, researchers said
Monday.

Their study of data on nearly 900,000 individuals younger than 20 years
who were enrolled in an HMO or received Medicaid revealed a 200% to
300% increase in the use of psychotropic drugs between 1987 and 1996, with
the greatest increase occurring after 1991.

Alpha-agonists such as clonidine, which is used to treat behavior
problems, saw the greatest increase. Prescriptions for neuroleptics,
antidepressants and “mood stabilizer” anticonvulsants, which are used to
control acting out and violent behavior in kids, also rose during the study.

In general children on Medicaid, the federal health insurance program
for the poor, were more likely to be prescribed these drugs than were
kids whose families were enrolled in an HMO, and children on Medicaid
receiving the drugs tended to be younger than their HMO-enrolled
counterparts. For instance, children aged 10-14 years were the largest users of
psychotropic drugs among Medicaid recipients, compared with children
aged 15-19 years in the HMO group.

Males were more likely than females to be prescribed psychotropic drugs
overall, particularly if they received Medicaid, according to the
report in the January issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent
Medicine.

It is not clear from the study why the use of psychotropic drugs rose
so dramatically among children, or why there are different patterns of
use among children insured through an HMO and through Medicaid.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Julie Magno Zito, the study’s
lead author, said that changes in diagnosis, access to medical
treatment and a greater awareness of the mental health treatment needs of
youths may explain the results. Greater visibility of drug promotion may
also play a role, according to Zito, of the University of Maryland,
Baltimore.

In an accompanying editorial a doctor from Massachusetts General
Hospital in Boston said that the data may reflect higher rates of mental
illness among Medicaid users, who are generally less well-off than those
who use employer-based insurance. Alternatively, a greater awareness of
psychiatric disorders and better drugs may have led to more
prescriptions, suggests Dr. Michael S. Jellinek.

However, he notes that usage of many drugs increased in youngsters
despite little research on their effectiveness in children.

“Given the scale of current psychotropic medication utilization, we
have a responsibility to know what we are doing and the quality of our
efforts,” Jellinek writes. “We need to ask the mirror on the wall this
question: Are we prescribing the right psychotropic medications to the
right children using the right treatment plan?”

The study authors conclude that more research is needed to update the
current report and to examine trends for specific drugs. A more
nationally representative group of children might also better reflect trends,
they suggest.