State & Lake

It’s obviously not socialism when the same words come from the mouth of a wealthy man.  Apparently not.  I remember a statement made by McCain during his 2000 run for the presidency on the very topic of what he is now calling socialism.  A young girl asked him why her father should be punished for [...]

I remember when they began building this condo and wondered who could afford these places. Now, it appears building has slowed, probably due to the credit crunch, and the project just sits. There are signs everywhere for purchasing a unit but again, who can afford it?
The condo is located on Lake across from [...]

A few weeks ago I read about 90-year-old Addie Polk, an Ohio woman who shot herself as deputies arrived to foreclose on her home.  Ms. Polk refinanced her home twice — for unusual amounts I might add — and found herself in a place where she could no longer pay her mortgage.  Before shooting herself, [...]

Turmoil in the Financial System written by Shobhit Mathur gives a good historical rundown on what happened here in the U.S. and its credit market.  Not only does he provide an historical look at what happened, he also provides advice on what one can do to ride out this current financial storm.  As my mother [...]

Glenn Beck[/caption]
Conservative talk show host and host of CNN’s Glen Beck Show has been doing his homework.  It’s hard to look at something, read up on it and then find yourself saying “Holy Crap, we’re screwed!” Yeah, it’s hard but I like seeing where I’m going.
I particularly liked Beck’s commentary today which details his research [...]

Obama / McCain[/caption]
I’m sure neither of these candidates wants the job as President of the United States.  They are probably rethinking their strategies because our economy is in the tank.  Clinton inherited Bush I’s mess, Bush II inherited Clinton’s mess and the next president will inherit Bush II’s mess and what a mess it is.
The [...]

Peter Schiff[/caption]
I was going to hold off on introducing “Dr. Doom” for a while, particularly after showing him in an earlier video. He’s the guy talking about the American on the island. Actually, Peter Schiff is brutally honest and he is correct. Though he has been given the name “Dr. Doom” he [...]

Uncle Sam: Up Yours![/caption]
Sorry about the image here but it represents what I feel about Uncle Sam and what is about to go down via the legislative proposal from the Treasury Department to Congress.  The proposal has a few sections I find a bit disconcerting particularly having heard a number of people in Washington [...]

Looks like we are about to put a band-aid on a badly hemorrhaging carotid artery.  Sure, it will stop the bleeding now but soon it will burst through that band-aid and the massive stroke, inevitable.  After listening to some of the bobbleheads today, all I could think about was a quote from Abd-Ru-Shin.

“All this has [...]

Remember that line from the film Wall Street?  I’ll never forget it.  The film debuted in 1987 and when I heard the line “Greed is good” uttered by Michael Douglas I immediately thought “oh dear, here we go.”
It used to be art imitated life but over the years life has been imitating art.  Not long [...]

I expected Lehman Bros. would either fail or file bankruptcy.  They were on my list of banks and financial institutions that would have problems after the fall of Fannie and Freddie.  I did not expect BofA’s purchase of Merrill Lynch in an “all stock deal.”  That should cause Merrill’s stock to rise — for a [...]

After reading articles by economists on the economy, I almost feel the need to put blood over the door and pray the curse passes quickly.
In an economy so badly shaken stores are looking for unique ways to stay afloat.  Customers, unfortunately, don’t understand a retailer’s need to “lean it down” a bit in order to [...]

The recent downturn in the economy has not only hurt us, our banks, and our children, it has left many health care providers “fighting to stay out of the red.”  These costs have not been passed to us — yet — because salaries and other contracts are negotiated at certain intervals during the year.  Paul [...]

I wondered when this would happen.  When I started accepting credit cards in my business some years ago, I was shocked to discover I had to pay an interchange fee (about 2%) on the charges I received.  In order to recoup that charge, I had to adjust my fees.  I was also shocked to discover [...]

Mom holds the line on cell phone usage to save money — Garvice Saunders has lupus, has been out of work for about a year, is taking care of her mother, is on Social Security, and is trying to keep costs down until she is able to find work.  To do this, the Chicago resident [...]