[ucodegen]

The best thing we can do to prevent this is to email this to every responsible american you know, and then ask them to write Dood and other congress members. I already gave Dodd a piece of my mind. Make this issue known!

Might help to remind them that while the Democrats have gained control, they can lose control just as easily. This is one such issue that can cause them to lose control very quickly.

In reality, I think they should look at prosecuting some of those that took out multiple liar loans… ie. enforce the laws!! I also believe that banks that created subsidiaries to issue some of these really flaky loans (but stay clear of liability), should have the corporate veil separating them from their subsidiaries pierced.

[ucodegen]

@PC

Sometimes you need tough love. Now is that time for that. Better spend the money on educating the next generation of low-income buyers.

I tend to be middle road to conservative, and on this point, I can’t agree with you more.(as well as the previous paragraph of yours) Screwing with free markets only makes things really messy. It also comes down to:

Give a man a fish, feed him for the day.
Teach a man to fish, feed him for his life.

I also think that the changes in the bankruptcy laws need to be reviewed. I get the feeling that the banks felt that they could literally create indentured servants using its new limitations.

Looking at the other factor, bailing out those that act irresponsibly only encourages that behavior and penalizes those that save (who will be paying the taxes to cover the over-spender’s bailout).

On the aspect of banks/lenders: I suspect that them also getting burned on this will lead to better behavior on their part. I would also like to see some of the corporate veils pierced on some of the sub-primes that declared bankruptcy as things went south. They certainly did it fast. Protects the owning parent company (unless veil pierced). I could hear the shredders down here as they were declaring bankruptcy..

[ucodegen]

Oh yes – for those who think the Fed will not be cutting rates, or that this will just introduce moral hazard because the so-called ‘Greenspan put’ will merely morph
into the ‘Bernanke put’, should also have read of Chapter 9 of ‘Manias, Panics
and Crashes” (“The Lender of Last Resort”).

The problem is that the Fed can’t drop rates. Review what happened during the ’70s. We are in deficit spending already, who is going to pick up the treasuries with decreased yields? Foreigners? They are already running from the currency.

To say that the fed can only make adjustments by raising or decreasing treasury rates is incorrect. It can also adjust money supply (M0). This may be the path the fed will take this time because treasury rate reduction is not possible (unless deficit spending is curbed – highly unlikely with a possible recession around the corner).

[ucodegen]

“Sense of entitlement” – really? You sound so damn pompous. If you are in a position to save that kind of $$ and have done so, good for you. Here’s your freakin’ cookie.

Actually, he is not pompous… he is right. There is more costs to owning a house than just the monthly mortgage payment. How about insurance, repairs, and property taxes. When renting, you have none of these.

If someone does not have the discipline to save up money for the down payment, they will not be able to handle the expected and unexpected expenses that come with owning a house (you have to save up for them before they occur.. getting a loans to pay for the ‘unexpected’ just makes your monthly payment larger – thereby downward spiral and foreclosure).

[ucodegen]

Clinton:
Clinton was impeached because he used his position to subvert a legal case(Paula Jones). He later, he used his position to try to do the same with Lewinski. All that the media seemed to pick up was the sex aspect (who really cares?.. I guess the media is locked onto ‘sex sells’).
Clinton Impeachment

Gingrich:
Admitted it fairly quickly when discovered, instead of trying to redefine what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.. His wife may make him pay more than the any court/media scandal.

The difference is very simply that we are a country of laws. Gingrich having an affair made him a philanderer(part time/full time?), but that was not illegal. Clinton was also a philanderer as a result of (Paula Jones/Monica Lewinski). Philandering is not illegal (though the extreme right would want to make it a felony). It is what each did afterwards that sets them apart.

As for Libby. I am concerned if he would be pardoned. It would set a bad precedent, though in a way that precedent has already been set (look at pardons of other presidents as they leave office). This doesn’t make it right though.

[ucodegen]

Few weeks back they were asking 1800 to 1900
for a 2 bd 2 bath and now I am seeing 1600 with
500 to 700 off first month

Anyone else seeing such a thing in other areas ?

I am seeing a lot of ‘first month off’s, and monthly rental is more ‘negotiable’. I also have noticed that the break lease penalty has risen (attempt to lock in).

[ucodegen]

Here’s a 2000 328i with 70000 miles, 10k miles/year: Price is $15k for good condition and $16k for excellent condition.
2000 328i

Here’s a 1999 328i with 80k miles, 10k miles/year: Price is $13k for good condition and $14k for excellent condition.
1999 328i

Yes, but your usable years figure changes too.. its no longer 10 years, but 13 years in the first case (+30%) and 12 years in the second case (+20%). Which then also alters the long term cost by the reciprocal.(1/1.3, 1/1.2)

In terms of better safety, power, gas mileage, that is not always true. What changes these items are changes in technology. ABS, Sequential Port Fuel Injection, individual ignition, variable valve timing.. look for those changes.. not model year. In fact, some changes in newer models have been considered a step backward (I-drive) by a few people.

As for when trouble occurs (in particular with BMWs), you have to look at models. The V8s and V12s use an aluminum block, non-sleaved with nikasil plating on the inside of the bore. nikasil is a very hard material (nickel-silicon), but the early BMW applications suffered pitting and deterioration from sulfer in some gasoline(low quality). The straight 6(s) are fairly bulletproof to 200k miles, but expect brake rotor, strut replacement as well as a trans overhaul.

I can not speak to the newer V8s etc.. I have heard that the technique has been abandoned on BMW’s commercial line now.

[ucodegen]

I also wonder how much is the cost of servicing outstanding loans. What is the difference in available spending power between someone who uses credit cards to make it through the month a opposed to someone who ‘pays as they go’ (cash personality).

[ucodegen]

I agree we should be mindful of the small stuff that adds up, but I think it’s the house and car this is killing most people.

It’s the medical care, insurance and education.

And medical care costs are getting more expensive all the time (at a frightening rate).. If the cost model followed the behavior of ‘computers’, it would have gotten far cheaper. Greed and malpractice insurance costs are driving a large part of it.

A question to think of:
When going for medical care, the cost of the care is hidden from most clients (effectively through health insurance). Therefore there may be little downward pressure on costs. Part of what drives down cost is shopping for less costly ‘items’ with near the same ‘value’. So, if we go for a national health insurance, will this drive down costs? (how/why)

Did the mandatory drivers insurance in California drive down the cost of auto insurance for the buyers of auto insurance?

[ucodegen]

I don’t see why that’s not a fair comparison. A $40k new car can be bought for around $14k if it has around 80-100k miles. Given an average driving of 10k miles a year, a new car would reach 200k miles in 20 years and the old car will reach that in 10 years.

You might want to double check your figures here.. a $40k car that is 10 years old with 100,000 miles on it will command less than $14k.. try using KBB.com (Kelly Blue Book).

Here is an example.. a 1996 BMW 750il with 90,000 miles on it, in excellent condition, will go for about $14,230 from private party. A 1996 BMW 750il did not cost $40K new.. try closer to $80k to $90K.

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/PricingReport.aspx?ManufacturerId=5&YearId=1996&VehicleClass=UsedCar&VehicleId=My81LzIwMDd8ODU5NA%3d%3d&PriceType=Private+Party&ModelId=16&Mileage=90000&SelectionHistory=8594%7c3007%7c92123%7c0%7c0%7c&Condition=Excellent&QuizConditions=0

I also tried a vehicle (in demand here in California)
A 1996 BMW 328i Convertible… same year, same mileage..
Result was $11,450. New, the convertibles were closer to $50K
http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/PricingReport.aspx?ManufacturerId=5&YearId=1996&VehicleClass=UsedCar&VehicleId=My81LzIwMDd8ODU4Nw%3d%3d&PriceType=Private+Party&ModelId=12&Mileage=90000&SelectionHistory=8587%7c3007%7c92123%7c0%7c0%7c&Condition=Excellent&QuizConditions=0

Now for a less in demand vehicle.. (in demand vehicles have higher resale value).
1996 Infinity J30 Sedan = $6,095
http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/PricingReport.aspx?ManufacturerId=21&YearId=1996&VehicleClass=UsedCar&VehicleId=My81LzIwMDd8OTIzMg%3d%3d&PriceType=Private+Party&ModelId=511&Mileage=90000&SelectionHistory=9232%7c3007%7c92123%7c0%7c0%7c&Condition=Excellent&QuizConditions=0

[ucodegen]

“Kreider said Gore purchases enough energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs.”

into question. what does it actually mean?

I haven’t the foggiest.. it is very non-specific.. Normally I would think that it might mean that he purchases 100% of renewable.. but then you would not be ‘balancing’.

Using spin mentality, it might mean that he buys 50% non-renewable and 50% renewable, effectively matching (someones concept of balancing?) the non-renewable use.. but then using electrical charges, that would be effectively adding $0.014999 to his charges, making it almost $0.09/kWh..

Does he have a business/house etc elsewhere that may be purchasing renewable energy?

The word I get stuck on is “balance”.. which would normally be associated with offsets as opposed to power generation.

Could be Kristin Hall not getting the quote right and mixing offsets with source of power generation? (Gore not using renewable energy, but paying $ into Carbon offsets to balance the amount as if he were using renewable? – Gores statements via using renewable energy vs the cost rate does not really jive well.. This is the only why I could conceivably align them) The problem then becomes one of how do you estimate the Carbon Dioxide load based upon power usage and power source mix.. I am getting more curious as to how much is contributed to offsets, which offsets and if he has any financial ties to them (ie paid speaking arrangements). Beyond the amount of power usage and the noted power rate (not matching with what one comes up with for TVA for renewable).. everything else at this point is conjecture..

[ucodegen]

Finally someone did follow through and check the numbers.. and yes, I found those numbers around Noon.. Much better than arguing semantics..

here, you want numbers, you got numbers:

http://www.tva.com/greenpowerswitch/green_mainfaq.htm
~$4 surcharge per 150 kwh

http://www.nespower.com/documents/RS-April2006.pdf
7.649 c /kwh/mo

Though this calculation is incorrect.. you need to divide 15917kWh average usage by 150kWh block size..

4 * 1200/150 = $32 green surcharge/mo

should be
$4 * 15917/150 = $424.45
($4 per block of 150kWh, 15917kWh used avg per month, 15917/150 green power blocks).

which seriously changes the rest of your figures..

What is interesting is that taking Gores cost and dividing by kWh served, you get very very close to a non-green rate charge!
your numbers of 1200/15917 = $0.0759

The green rate charge should be adding $4/150kWh or $0.02666 per kWh to the standard residential rate of $0.07649(non-green TVA), which means we should be seeing a rate of $0.103156/kWh (close to where I guesstimated it would be).

TVA does both Green(Green Switch) and non-Green energy.
http://www.tva.com/greenpowerswitch/index.htm

[ucodegen]

circular argument, self fulfilling argument, whatever. you’re guilty of it.

Your statement fails in that I did not call him a hypocrite..

you did not say this?

“Seems pretty hypocritical to me.”

Interesting how you edited this out in your quote..
The only statement that even gets close to that is where I call his behavior as seemingly hypocritical. I did not call him a hypocrite.
Circular logic issue.. remember the context!!!

[ucodegen]

As for “Dr Unkle = drunkle”.. anybody can name themselves anything on this board. I could even name myself Al Gore, but that would not make it so.

as for spelling someone’s login name correctly, a correction was in order.

I was using it as it shows on Piggington..

couching your statement does not make it less egregious or insidious when there’s little to no fact. you even state that his useage of green power needs to be checked. but you still draw a conclusion based on a potentially erroneous comparison of sd vs tenn power rates.

And the claims of some AGW proponents are no less insidious? When I make unsupported statements, I always ‘couch’ my statements when I can’t support them. I also point out what needs to be checked. I feel that you are simply being argumentative here. By the way, I also added info why the comparison has some weight.. by taking one of the lowest priced green power costs and comparing..

http://piggington.com/liberal_hypocrisy#comment-25086

The raw cost for one of the cheapest green energies is 0.07/kWh.. not including transportation and line usage costs. Throw the last two in, and the cost goes up.

[ucodegen]

what does math have to do with anything? you used mr solarwarrior as a basis of comparision for which i stated that using an extreme example is absurd. i have no interest in your personal “comfort level” of “greenness”…

You could have easily gotten me on this one.. but you didn’t see it.. (my math was wrong too). You should read articles thoroughly before reacting. An ‘extreme’ example is not so extreme.. and it has everything to do with it because it shows the real cost involved with truly sequestering/generating green energy.. which is also why I suspect Al Gore is not using green energy.

Kenneth Adelman’s production is up to 45kWh per hour!! not per day. Al Gore’s consumption is 18MegaWatts per month or about 613.8kilowatts/day … Mean production of solarwarriors array is between 30kWh/day to 120kWh/day. Cost of array was about $70K, but this also includes the battery backup.

Considering what I saw looking at the numbers again, just how is he burning so much energy?? Solarwarrior also has his electric cars connected and his house is all electric and he still does not get close to Gore’s consumption.

.., your argument is simply restated as “no *true* conservationist would stop at flourescent lights”.

In a way.. yes.. I have all florescent lights installed already.. and I am not a AGW proponent.

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