<p>Have mentioned the words ‘lucky’ and fortunate on every post i’ ve made… And i have not said anything about not making changes, what i am saying it isn’t ALL Wall Streets fault…i think most of our politicians need to blamed,as well…</p>
<p>If homeowners could refinance at 4%, I think it would help housing tremendously. </p>
<p>But most can’t. I thought that was going to be one of the ideas that was pushed.</p>
<p>First, Bernanke pushes long term rates down…and then FNM, and Fre refinance all their loans at 4%. It’s a bailout…I hate it…but it might work…</p>
<p>Doesn’t look like it is going to happen. Don’t read much about it anymore.</p>
<p>Half of American households paid NO income taxes at all last year. If we want people to pay their “fair share”, start with the people that aren’t paying a dime. </p>
<p>Of course, no politician will ever say that.</p>
<p>I also guarantee you that despite their anti-capitalist bent, 90% of the people doing “Occupy Wall Street” would take a corporate six-figure job in a heartbeat if one was offered to them.</p>
<p>The problem is they can’t refi because many overextended themselves to begin…little or nothing down,and a decline in prices caused this…That said, perhaps a National program allowing everyone to refi to 4-41/2% instead of the current policies not working…what bothers me somewhat is that when housing prices were skyrocketing,and some were able to sell and take advantage of this,not one offered a bank a cut of profits…Now when they are underwater,they want the bank to share in the pain…and FWIW,you are not really underwater until you need to sell…keep the people in thehouses with lower rates,but don’t lower the principal,ass those that didn’t buy more then they could afford, would be adversely affected</p>
<p>Why is a protest against Wall Street anti-capitalism?</p>
<p>Wall Street sucks at the government’s teats every day.</p>
<p>I think there is an anti-wall street bent with many of the tea partiers. So they are anti-capitalist too?</p>
<p>cuse507 might be right about the job comment.</p>
<p>Are you still in school?</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Have you seen the posters that some of the demonstrators on Wall Street have been carrying? They specifically say “Capitalism is Evil.” Now, that doesn’t mean that ALL of them are anti-capitalist, but they are keeping company with some strange folks.</p>
<p>“The problem is they can’t refi because many overextended themselves to begin…little or nothing down,and a decline in prices caused this”</p>
<p>That’s very similar to what wall street firms did, right?
When you leverage 30 to 1, the upside looks tremendous…but when things turn down…not so much. </p>
<p>So…we had the most savvy financial people in the world…not just the United States…do the same thing as not so savvy homeowners…only bigger.</p>
<p>Ok, cuse0507.</p>
<p>^^^^Not denying that^^^^ leverage is a nuclear bomb…</p>
<p>That said, to be fair, i am 3x short the s&p, double short gold and oil,double short the nasdaq…so i am guilty of levergae also…likley closing positions shortly</p>
<p>Damn. I was at least hoping for some contention. You know you aren’t supposed to actually be reasonable on an internet message board, dstark!</p>
<p>Lol…Cuse0507.</p>
<p>Lol…Qdogpa…At least you aren’t leveraged 30 to 1. :)</p>
<p>I am double short gold too…but my timing was a little off. Lol</p>
<p>I can just about guarantee that my son would not want a “corporate” kind of job. He is looking for work though and would like to be able to support himself.</p>
<p>I have the right positions ,thpugh have been in many for a year…scaled into them many times, so cost is ok…went double short gold, 2 weeks ago,so in right spot,right time</p>
<p>That’s nice qdogpa…</p>
<p>I am reading mixed things on Greece today…Greece is falling short of its budget goals…but Greece has agreed to more budget cuts.</p>
<p>I am curious to see how the markets open tonight…even though the night markets and the day markets have had a poor correlation lately…</p>
<p>"Well shrinkrap…although individuals may vary…the lower, middle and some upper middle class lose…</p>
<p>Because they get the benefits or deductions that are proposed to be cut.
They are going to end up with less.</p>
<p>The upper class wins…(some upper middle class also wins). Because their tax rates are cut and their after tax income increases under the proposals."</p>
<p>So is there agreement then, on what these terms mean? </p>
<p>Perhaps upper class means those who stand to get a tax cut? That would be those with significant capital gains?</p>
<p>And those who get the benefits or deductions that are proposed to be cut would define middle and lower class?</p>
<p>I didn’t want to get too precise. </p>
<p>Who is more likely to have significant capital gains?</p>
<p>Obviously the wealthiest people in society would just be peeing in their pants if they didn’t have to pay a capital gains tax…Gates, Buffett, Wynn, Ellison, etc, they would save billions.</p>
<p>Those that would benefit are those that would get bigger tax cuts than tax increases or benefit cuts.</p>
<p>There are disagreements about social class. The mortgage deduction and
health care benefits are more likely to affect middle income earners…than higher income earners…</p>
<p>Capital gains tax rates are more likely to affect the top 5 percent of the
people. 5 percent of the people own more than 95 percent of the people.</p>
<p>SS and medicare are really important to most elderly people.
There was an earlier link about the income of older people.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to reading this. It has more to do with us than you may realize. </p>
<p>[Boomerang:</a> Travels in the New Third World](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Boomerang-Travels-New-Third-World/dp/0393081818/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317593270&sr=1-1]Boomerang:”>http://www.amazon.com/Boomerang-Travels-New-Third-World/dp/0393081818/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317593270&sr=1-1)</p>
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<p>I think the problem is that if they leverage a lot and win, they take home zillions; if they lose, because “they’re too big to fail”, the rest of us prop them up. </p>
<p>Wouldn’t it be possible to split Wall St into 1) “boring” companies that all of us need for our day-to-day financials, and 2) speculators who are essentially Vegas, and regulate the first bunch to be conservative and let the second bunch go down the toilet if they miscalculate? Or better still, levy a small transaction tax on the latter bunch so that they leave our shores. Do these companies that indulge in all these esoteric instruments actually contribute something worthwhile to society when you look at the big picture?
From a more CCish viewpoint, I see these finance companies and hedgefund come to tech schools where there are sharp kids with lots of credentials in engg or comp sci and outbit the tech companies for this talent which, in my opinion, is wasted on things that I don’t see benefitting society. </p>
<p>I truly hope these folks do something to get politicians on both sides of the aisle to reign in WS.</p>
<p>dstark thank you, that helps. It just blows my mind to think there are many of people (*) that for example, get most or all of their income from capital gains. I’m still processing the rest of it.</p>
<p>*four hundred seventy five in your link? That doesn’t seem like that many. I know they don’t need my sympathy, but it seems almost like a movie plot to think of a whole country united against 475 people.</p>
<p>My H and I are planning to be there, at the actual protest. With our son, who is neither an idiot nor an entitled brat.</p>