Stimulus and Bust

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/amxiaynvarlg

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20090213/bs_bw/0908b4120034085635

New research claims that even with a nearly trillion dollar stimulus package, if foreclosures in regards to the tanking sub prime market continue at their record pace, even the most thought out plan “wont spur an economic recovery.”
I am going to sit up on my high horse for just a minute and play devils advocate. If many out there don’t think that this massive infusion of government and taxpayer money isn’t the answer, then why are we continuing the path forward on spending it?
I, like many others that I know, was unfortunately intimately involved in the sub prime mortgage catastrophe. Through the several years that I spent in that industry, I found thousands of ways to cut corners and dodge bullets to get deals closed as quickly as possible. Thank god, if only for my own conscience (I have much more to worry about and really don’t need to add anything else to the pile), I never did anything to jeopardize my professional integrity, such as pushing a re-finance at 130% loan to value of the property or 55% debt to income ratio, almost guaranteeing a foreclosure when the inevitable happened. I do however know when something is askew, because I have learned through my many professions and employers what is right by being taught the wrong way, and something is very askew when it comes to the nearly $800 billion stimulus.
America, chew on this thought for as long as you wish.
It took on average longer to get an approval to re-finance a home during the peak of the sub prime boom then it did to pass the nearly trillion dollar stimulus plan, and look where our sub prime industry ended up. And in the middle of the sub prime frenzy, home owners re-financing their property received a three day window in what is know as a right of rescission to think about what they have done and if they made the right decision; do the taxpayers get this same luxury when it comes to the stimulus package?

Wake Up America

Wake up America.
Death threats, angry e-mails, and nasty letters have been sent to the new mother of octuplets, as the state may have to foot either most or all of the bills from the birth and care of the eight premature babies, a total that could run close to $1.3 million and change. Taxpayers are irate at the fact that they may have to reach into their pocketbooks to assist for the mounting health care costs. The taxpayer’s main concern: Nadya Suleman is unemployed, and was already the mother of six, three of which receive monthly disability checks from the government. She paid for in vitro fertilization, which enabled her to bear eight children at once, most of the financial backing coming from an on the job injury claim she states. The question that I ask is this; what sets her apart from the rest of the nation that utilize government funding to pay the bills other than the amount of children she has?
She receives food stamps, and will get a raise thanks to the new Stimulus plan passed by Congress. So will everyone else on welfare or government assisted funding, so I ask again what makes her stand out from the rest? DI’s answer, simply nothing.
It may very well be the history leading up to the birth of her eight new babies, or it’s the ever sinking economy that has ruffled the feathers of the taxpayer in the Golden State of California. What ever the case, the fact is that the taxpayer has been footing the bills of millions just like Ms. Suleman for the past three plus decades.
The newly revised Stimulus plan aids situations just like this, as people who currently receive food stamps, some 30 million currently, will get more, people receiving social supplementary income, will get a one time stimulus injection of $250 each, while cash depleted states will get massive injections to continue funding such programs as Medicaid.
Suleman is not alone; she is no different than a majority of individuals that walk to the mailbox to receive a monthly stimulus check to pay the bills. There is nothing that sets her apart from millions upon millions of others across our country, so leave her alone.
If you want to do something about her situation, attack the system. Vote for politicians that oppose systems and programs that you only know of now because you have lifted your blinders. You voted for this, or the mass around you did, now get out and pound the streets to change it. Change is not just a word, it’s an action as in the act of doing something, and with the power of the vote people can begin to see that action. If you don’t like how your politicians are running your small world, then work to get them voted out.
The answer is not to threaten the lives of people like Ms. Suleman; the answer is to change the system that they benefit from. As in several of my earlier articles, if someone really desperately needs the help, then by all means let’s help them. My only issue is when some 26 year old strapping man walks to the mailbox to collect his $625 a month plus his now $250 one time stimulus check and he has yet to try and find a job or pay taxes. I, however, have not sent death threats to that man, but voted to put in office politicians that agreed with my beliefs in welfare and government assistance.
America, wake up and figure out what is going on around you. It should not take a recession near depression to find out that this is going on, albeit not to the scale of Ms. Suleman, but compounded 30 million or so times over. It should not take the over exposure from the media, in this particular case, to show you what the government funds on a monthly basis. Do the research for yourself; the information is free in most cases. Do what you need to do to fix the world that surrounds you, but do it with pride and dignity, not only for yourself, but those around you.
“If we open a quarrel between the past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future,” Winston Churchill. We can only move forward from today with all the tools that are available to us. If you don’t like how your government is acting, say something, do something, but not to Ms. Suleman, because she is doing exactly what the government is allowing her to do.

AP’s Swimming Hoax

Seriously, the AP ran a story without researching it?
This is the absolute reason for the founding of DI, to offer the world a different view on news topics. We have added our own views from time to time, but have given you the reader the ability to make your own decisions when it came to the story at hand.
The Associated Press ran a story about a woman who swam the Atlantic Ocean, a heartwarming story during these pressing times. Why wouldn’t they, people have heard enough of the layoffs and market crashes, they were in need of something to boost their spirits along with boosting their own ratings. AP received the information, published the story, and moved on to the next big article in order to keep funds rolling in and the lights on. Problem is the story was not credible, much less possible. Additional research confirmed, with the help of the likes of marijuana stud Michael Phelps, that swimming that distance in that time frame was just not physically possible.

From Microsoft to Malaria

Bill Gates, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Microsoft co-founder, now has something else to add to his absolutely brilliant resume; the ability to get rid of mind numbing reporters quicker than any politician in the history of the modern Media.

Gates let loose a swarm of mosquitoes, unfortunately not the deadly kind found in the heart of the African continent, during a conference in Long Beach, California.

His point to the madness was to bring a heightened awareness to the deadly disease malaria, mostly uncontrollable in third world countries and most countries in Africa.

“I brought some.  Here, Ill let them roam around.

There is no reason only poor people should be infected,” a Yahoo news report quoted him as saying.

“There is more money put into baldness drugs than into malaria,” Gates
quipped, triggering laughter.

“Now, baldness is a terrible thing and rich men are afflicted.

That is why that priority has been set,” continued the Yahoo report.

Gates co-founded Microsoft Corporation with Paul Allen in 1975, eventually taking over the entire company after and fight with Hodgkin’s disease forced Allen out.

During his Microsoft CEO run, Gates obtained the honor of being tagged the worlds richest man for an astounding 15 consecutive years.

Gates bowed out of full time work with Microsoft in 2006 to devote more time to his own Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, assisting worldwide to fight extreme poverty and to enhance much needed healthcare.

Bill, I have about $3.28 in my pocket, but fortunately have the power of the pen, or in this case the keyboard.

DI plans to join in this fight to eradicate this and many other diseases worldwide.

With hope comes a better future for all of us.