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[quote=FlyerInHi]There will be lawsuits for sure. When some parties are not paid while bondholders are given preferential treatment, they will sue. Maybe the Supreme Court will decide quickly.

But I think the national debt will be paid, so in that regard the tea party is right.

The Tea party will create lots of enemies so it’s probably not wise to go down that path.

Not good for the economy, but very fascinating politics.

What will boehner do if the senate passes a bi partisan bill?[/quote]

If I’m a federal contractor, and I’ve completed my work, why is the money I’m owed not a “public debt”? If a federal worker puts in his two weeks of work and doesn’t collect a pay check, how is that not defaulting on a public debt?

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[quote=FlyerInHi]I think the Tea Party is right. There will be no default on the debt. Treasury will make the interest payments but will not pay other obligations that come due.

There is a difference between defaulting on the debt and defaulting on obligations in general.

Not paying some bills will just be a rougher version of the shutdown.[/quote]

I don’t think that interpretation is consistent with the law. “Other obligations” could be all debts authorized by law. Payments for federal salaries, payments to contractors, possibly payments to states are all covered under the 14th amendment. The only expenditures specifically mentioned are pensions and costs related to what could be called today, domestic terrorism.

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I think by law, they’re required to mail it by the end of Feb, even if you agree to getting everything else online.

I’m guessing by what you’ve said, you didn’t download or keep any copies of monthly statements? Even the last one from before the re-fi? Most lenders include prior year interest paid on monthly statements for the following year.

You have 4 days. I’d use the number they gave you and get your return filed, though as a practical matter, there is no penalty for filing late unless you owe money. Penalties are based on the amount you owe. (there are some penalties that are rarely assessed based on total tax, irrespective of when it’s paid, so don’t wait too long after 10/15.) If it turns out the number they gave you is significantly different, you can amend, though that’s a PITA.

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I[quote=spdrun]I’m not disagreeing with you on a national level, but in my experience, SFR prices in SD are sufficiently high as to render the lack of condo fees moot.

i.e., you can get a higher rent per $100k with condo fees subtracted on a condo than the rent per $100k on a house. If it’s a cash buy-and-hold, the lesser ability to get a mortgage on a condo vs an SFR is moot.[/quote]

I agree, and it’s been that way for decades. Save for a short recent period at the bottom of the trough, SFR almost never pencil out as good rentals absent appreciation when compared with condos or apartments. There’s just too much emotional value. And they have significantly higher downside risk.

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[quote=all][quote=joec]

I haven’t researched what happens if someone doesn’t “buy” Obamacare and gets sick/huge hospital bill…

If it was as simple as paying a fine and then buy insurance once you get sick, then everyone would do that and not carry any car/home/fire insurance, etc…

[/quote]

I believe you can sign up during the open enrollment periods only, once or twice/year.[/quote]

That’s accurate as far as policies sold through the insurance exchanges. Non-exchange policies won’t have the limited enrollment periods. At least for 2014, enrollment ends on 3/31 next year.

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[quote=paramount]What about tbt? (treasury ultra short)[/quote]

It’s interesting. My girlfriend has been in and out of that a couple dozen times over the last 6 months, made a ton of money. Both short and long. But it reacts to what the Fed does a lot more than the equities market. At least for the time being, the bond market hasn’t shown any concern, only the bill market. There may be an opportunity there, but it’s kind of hard to say what kind of reaction there will be. When investors bail from equities, they typically head to bonds. Eventually this is going to get fixed, and all interest and principle will be paid. TBT isn’t a buy and hold thing, theta erodes it. Long term it can’t do anything but go down. But for the next 14 days, I’d be shocked if it fell much from its close today.

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[quote=spdrun]Thinking about what stocks to buy if 17 Oct comes and goes, since a “default” will be the buying opp of a lifetime. Just like 2008 post-Lehman was.[/quote]

VIXY calls. And do it before. And be prepared to get out quick.

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[quote=CA renter]

Thanks for the link. I agree with what he’s saying, but would add that his entire argument could be summed up in one word: privatization. ;)[/quote]

I don’t think the word even applies. It usually refers to the shift of ownership and delivery of goods and services from the public sector to the private sector. A hundred years ago, there was almost no involvement of government in health care. Significant funding for the CDC is less than 70 years old, for the NIH, less than 50. Medicare is 50 years old, Medicaid a few years younger. What we’ve seen over the last 50 years is de-privatization.

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[quote=bearishgurl]
I stand by my assertion that it’s wacky to pay $1800+ for a small, narrow, 2 bdrm condo with no garage … even in SD and/or MM, because there are so many other choices at that rental price point.[/quote]

This is basically why this discussion is going on as long as it has. You think it’s wacky. Which has absolutely no bearing on the discussion. Tenants ARE paying it, so it doesn’t matter what you think of it.

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[quote=CA renter]

Interesting, brief article about some of the reasons for the high cost of healthcare in the U.S.

IMHO, it all boils down to privatization. Patents are also a huge part of the problem, even though taxpayers subsidize the medical industry to the tune of billions of dollars per year. Much of the private research could not happen without the public research that came before it, so why are taxpayers not getting a return on their “investments”?

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/07/209585018/paying-till-it-hurts-why-american-health-care-is-so-pricey%5B/quote%5D

It would be nice if there was just one or two things wrong with the US medical financing model. Just one or two things to fix. But it is far from that simple. The entire system is irreparably broken. I generally hate videos as a source of info, but this is one of the best explanations of the cluster-fvck we’re stuck in right now.

http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-sentences-are-interesting-the-5th-blew-my-mind-and-made-me-a-little-sick-2?g=2&c=la3

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[quote=livinincali]
Why does it cost 20, 30, 40, 50K for a relatively standard baby delivery procedure. [/quote]

It doesn’t. Californians pay among the highest rates in the country, and average cost for a vaginal delivery without complications are below $20K. In some states it’s less than half that. But it has gone up dramatically. 27 years ago, I paid $1,400 at Grossmont Hospital.

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[quote=SD Realtor]Really so you believe if it were a tea party rally it would have be hilarious.en allowed to proceed? Hilarious. Hey maybe the tea party would get the application for non profit status granted in a timely manner or that confidential information about republican donors wasnt leaked. The pattern keeps recurring.[/quote]

Well no, that wouldn’t be a recurring pattern. Because with the IRS non-scandal, it wasn’t just conservative groups that were targeted. It was both conservative and liberal groups. So no pattern here.

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[quote=livinincali]
One of the first things they’d probably do is implement a socialistic policy of single payer health care. Are you going to argue that a single payer health system isn’t a socialistic type policy?[/quote]

That depends on how it’s designed. Socialism, by definition, is the government controlling the production and distribution of goods and services. Residential trash pick-up in San Diego is socialism. In some other cities it’s not. The VA medical system is (almost) pure socialism. The doctors, nurses and all other care providers are employees of the VA. (I think there are some exceptions, I believe some of the services are actually contracted out.) Medicare is not pure socialism. Care providers are not employees of the system. In fact medicare insurance can be traded directly into the private market, and I’m quite sure that doctors that work for Kaiser or other medicare advantage providers don’t think they’re employees of the government.

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[quote=livinincali][quote=FlyerInHi]
I think that the democratic process is at stake here. Keep in mind that, in the future, that same kind of shutdown tactic could be employed against a Republican president.[/quote]

I actually hope the republican party dies at this point. The resulting socialist utopia should be an interesting place to live. I figured we were going to go down that path anyways, might as well do it sooner than later. Let’s experience our socialist utopia so we can see how great is really is or isn’t.[/quote]

Who is it that would drive us towards socialism if the republican party died? There’s one socialist in congress. Would you expect a party of one to be able to control both houses and the administration?

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[quote=spdrun]

do people lose the right to congregate in the event of a gov shutdown?

No, but does the 1st Amendment state that all possible venues for congregation have to remain open 24/7?[/quote]

No, it doesn’t. Public forums, particularly designated public forums, can and do designate reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.

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