tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post2630027901756973911..comments2024-03-28T00:18:25.641-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: Bank lending updateScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-87593923972262775802011-08-08T09:49:55.541-07:002011-08-08T09:49:55.541-07:00Jeff-
Many times I have stated a need to trim enti...Jeff-<br />Many times I have stated a need to trim entitlements, which, btw, are largely financed by payroll taxes. <br /><br />As to having a military, the sword cuts two ways. The fantastically expensive Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq occupations are happened as a civilian President thought it would be nice to re-arrange the affairs of another nation through long-term occupation.<br /><br />Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-507220030721936922011-08-07T20:40:32.126-07:002011-08-07T20:40:32.126-07:00Benjamin,
You started with "no standing army...Benjamin,<br /><br />You started with "no standing army". Now at least you're buying submarines. <br /><br />But I don't think there is a case in recorded history of a sub shooting down a plane. So could we buy some airplanes too?<br /><br />Then, of coarse, we are going to need some bases, support personal, logistics, supplies, munitions, etc.<br /><br />Oh, and we should Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04068805988034886750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-36611726482773246882011-08-07T15:23:16.154-07:002011-08-07T15:23:16.154-07:00Barry Ritholtz raised the question that the downgr...Barry Ritholtz raised the question that the downgrade was retaliatory. Dodd-Frank diminishes the roll of the rating agencies in how the SEC would do its job. Obviously, the rating agencies suffered loss of credibility in 2008.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-24110010009555986462011-08-07T15:11:12.410-07:002011-08-07T15:11:12.410-07:00Jeff-
If some time in the future it appeared ther...Jeff-<br /><br />If some time in the future it appeared there an Arab invasionary force in the making, then I would support mobilization. <br /><br />If China assembles a standing military the likes of the Soviet Union, then sadly we must also waste our resources.<br /><br />Neither is even close to happening. In the private sector, you seize opportunities to reduce costs. In the federal sectorBenjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-79250913698663804322011-08-07T13:40:36.551-07:002011-08-07T13:40:36.551-07:00Benjamin, you really want to dismantle the milita...Benjamin, you really want to dismantle the military? We'd all be speaking Arabic tomorrow. <br /><br />Thanks for the history lesson but you are dead wrong. Today's threats are vastly different than 200 years ago. I want the strongest, badest, most capable defense force in the world. Twice as strong as the next. <br /><br />Having a capable military is not the same as nation building Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04068805988034886750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-69072362347488464582011-08-07T13:33:12.275-07:002011-08-07T13:33:12.275-07:00William. What a joke. Sacrifice today means I pay...William. What a joke. Sacrifice today means I pay more taxes and the government spends it. To compare the call to sacrifice today with the sacrifices made during WWII is just nonsense. <br /><br />We give governments 46% of our GDP. I will frikkin rant all I want. All you do is blast those that believe this country was founded upon liberty--including the liberty to keep what you earn. Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04068805988034886750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-78820273405871673332011-08-07T12:37:40.617-07:002011-08-07T12:37:40.617-07:00William---this is not the Roarin' 90s.If it wa...William---this is not the Roarin' 90s.If it was some tax hikes might not matter. It was not higher taxes in the 1990s that gave us a balanced budget. It was a roaring economy. The higher tax rates did not cause the roaring economy. And don't forget that roaring economy led to a bubble, a crash and the beginning of a series of perpetual crises. In some respects, we're still paying for mmanagedaccountshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08188469703346980431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-6617187686531211352011-08-07T12:30:47.930-07:002011-08-07T12:30:47.930-07:00Jeff-
Actually, our Founding Fathers detested and...Jeff-<br /><br />Actually, our Founding Fathers detested and loathed the idea of standing militaries. Some refused to sign the Constitution as it did not contain an explicit ban on standing militaries, such as George Mason.<br /><br />The language about right to bear arms and form militias was to encourage citizen armies, and not a federal standing military. <br /><br />Additionally, there is an Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-8394544863651704792011-08-07T12:25:51.755-07:002011-08-07T12:25:51.755-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-37641289116384020542011-08-07T10:18:20.244-07:002011-08-07T10:18:20.244-07:00Why is the U.S. dollar rising against other curren...Why is the U.S. dollar rising against other currencies -- given the S & P downgrade?ChronicleSmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02232306646556383774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-82770660748466409922011-08-07T09:19:27.628-07:002011-08-07T09:19:27.628-07:00The United States of America I am proud to say has...The United States of America I am proud to say has the means to solve its problems. What is lacking is the Political Will - and it has been for 2 + decades which is why the problems have gotten to be so BIG. Our present problems are de minimus compared with World War II.<br /><br />How did we get through WW II - everyone sacrificed! Think of it - everything was rationed: gasoline, milk, eggs, Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04418491109912775561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-10205055557892751602011-08-07T08:34:10.928-07:002011-08-07T08:34:10.928-07:00Um, excuse me. National defense is actually one o...Um, excuse me. National defense is actually one of the things listed in the constitution that the Federal government is actually supposed to do!<br /><br />After watching the Sunday shows, there is no hope. The tea party is to blame for the downgrade was the common theme.<br /><br />The country is simply not ready to get off the drug of massive deficit spending.<br /><br />Greece, here we come.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04068805988034886750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-36533093247863891872011-08-07T06:55:36.699-07:002011-08-07T06:55:36.699-07:00these posts mr grannis are boring, trite and sense...these posts mr grannis are boring, trite and senseless. it's officially time to drop your cape of captain cheerleader.septizoniomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14253705209662419429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-35091623653253155882011-08-07T06:25:35.430-07:002011-08-07T06:25:35.430-07:00Benjamin, the military industrial complex is centr...Benjamin, the military industrial complex is central to our nation's fiscal woes -- for now, the defense establishment has had a pass from those challenges, along with Federal workers, "too big to fail" banks, and unionized automobile manufacturing, and teachers -- everyone else is unlucky...McKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-43339515297729855902011-08-06T19:27:08.531-07:002011-08-06T19:27:08.531-07:00And how about $10 trillion in the next 10 years fo...And how about $10 trillion in the next 10 years for Defense, Honeland Security and the VA?<br /><br />And who is going to invade the USA? <br /><br />And at the end of those 10 years, I assure you of one thing: We will told about mounting threats globally, that eternal vigilance is needed, that we are having difficulty retaining soldiers, that our equipment is too old and falling apart....<br />Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-30609859787511944802011-08-06T17:32:19.152-07:002011-08-06T17:32:19.152-07:00A shorted link for my previous post
http://tinyur...A shorted link for my previous post<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/3wqhp3bMark Gerberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07980096984624964261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-81562477918839838632011-08-06T17:26:04.831-07:002011-08-06T17:26:04.831-07:00There's a huge elephant in the room, as object...There's a huge elephant in the room, as objectively identified by the "State of the Union's Finances" linked below, and finally a major financial organization, S&P, acknowledged its existance! Maybe our nation can finally start to have an honest discussion about this demographic/debt timebomb.<br /><br />http://www.pgpf.org/~/media/PGPF/Media/PDF/2010/05/Mark Gerberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07980096984624964261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-89302149316373186342011-08-06T17:06:40.649-07:002011-08-06T17:06:40.649-07:00This is going to be bad. Until the next 2012 elect...This is going to be bad. Until the next 2012 election will confidence be restored. As I said before, we are paying for voting for a freshman senator with no business and little legislative experience. Let's hope Americans are a more sensible next time.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04220423345735345059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-32615631301097938282011-08-06T12:02:04.082-07:002011-08-06T12:02:04.082-07:00Small business must borrow on collateral.
Your em...Small business must borrow on collateral.<br /><br />Your employees, you and your equipment are nearly worthless.<br /><br />That leaves real estate. When we get some upward motion in commercial real estate, then we will see more small biz loans.<br /><br />Right now, inflation is so bad that commercial real estate is inflating by about minus five percent a year.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-54771873146791731752011-08-06T10:49:29.174-07:002011-08-06T10:49:29.174-07:00Lending to small businesses needs to increase by 2...Lending to small businesses needs to increase by 200-300% to be meaningful...McKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-88857705050600661792011-08-06T01:28:15.050-07:002011-08-06T01:28:15.050-07:00I heard on Bloomberg a couple days ago that at lea...I heard on Bloomberg a couple days ago that at least 2 of the 3 rating agencies must downgrade the U. S. before U. S. debt can't be considered qualified to be held as AAA paper.<br /><br />Actually, a Chinese rating agency downgraded U. S. debt a month or so ago.<br /><br />Glad that I refinanced my mortgage yesterday ;~)Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04418491109912775561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-33848208681354941432011-08-06T01:19:02.739-07:002011-08-06T01:19:02.739-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04418491109912775561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-88327023603090102782011-08-05T22:19:55.159-07:002011-08-05T22:19:55.159-07:00I think that some financial institutions are requ...I think that some financial institutions are required by law to hold a certain percentage of aaa paper. Is this true and what happens Monday morning when all those t-bills no longer qualify?Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04068805988034886750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-61938645580145976102011-08-05T19:16:33.165-07:002011-08-05T19:16:33.165-07:00Most large investors knew the U. S. wasn't tru...Most large investors knew the U. S. wasn't truly AAA. <br /><br />How could the U. S. be AAA with debt increasing by $1+ Trillion each year and with its dysfunctional government?Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04418491109912775561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-68054862742776661952011-08-05T18:46:30.333-07:002011-08-05T18:46:30.333-07:00Thoughts on the S&P downgrade?Thoughts on the S&P downgrade?Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06910619601367464068noreply@blogger.com