bills_fan

Cushion the blow. The whole purpose of TARP is to try and buy time for deleveraging of assets to occur. Thats why everything is down...stocks, oil, gold, a different hedge fund goes belly up weekly...this is the great unwind of leverage. This will get far worse before it gets better (to use a football analogy, we're still in the 1st half). Most folks don't understand truly how bad off we really are. The real underlying problem, that started the great unwind, is the declining value of housing, the underlying asset in all of this. That unwind has sparked a whole series of other unwinds. It also shined a big spotlight on areas of the financial system that could be catastrophic...CDS. The only real solution is time, price discovery and deleveraging. Thats why, IMHO, in the near-term we have deflation across all asset classes. The Fed has greased the skids to try and keep the economy moving while the great unwind happens. But, if the Fed missteps, we will have massive inflation, as all their "greasing" is put into the real economy along with regular lending practices. Look at the Fed actions toward the latter half of next year, if they are removing money from the economy (or increasing bank reserves) they are doing the right thing and should be lauded for getting us through this. If not...buckle up. Even with the Fed actions, there is one bubble left...if it goes, we're all f*cked....that bubble is US Treasury securities.

Of course, that bring us to the crux of the problem, if you were to use TARP funds to purchase the non-performing assets that the banks are holding as cash reserves...what price do you pay? Market? If you pay market, you will effectively wipe out the banks, because the market is effectively zero. The bankers themselves can't figure out what the asset is worth and they own it.

In theory, trickle up solves the problem. In practice, there is not nearly enough money to go around to accomplish this (printing enough is not an option), as there is far too much debt. Hence, the reason I suggested eight weeks ago letting people tap their 401(k)s, tax free, to accomplish this. EDIT: Realize that at the end of 2007, US holdhold debt (mortgages, credit cards and auto loans) was almost $15 trillion. The entire US national debt (which has, literally, doubled in the last 8 years under Bush) is $10.2 trillion.

Pete Kendall would be a decent upgrade at RG, leaving the Bills to take C Alex Mack in Round 1.

Bellagio Sports Book, much nicer than the one at Caesars.

Or The Big Tree Inn...thats the place.

That was a great speech.

I think this has some merit with respect to free agents (we have been more successful via the draft). Our free agency evaluators John Guy and Tom Modrak have been around since TD brought them here in 2001. Very few of their guys have really worked out. Sure, you can say TKO worked out until his injury, but that was a no brainer. I had barely heard of Dockery when we signed him (after not going after Hutch and Steinbach) and paid him top money. I was hoping that Dockery would be ready for multiple Pro Bowls...instead it looks like we overpaid for mediocrity. We rarely go after the truly big names and have to hit on the second tier guys. We have more misses than hits.

Too bad we couldn't get Tony G. We would have been terrific with him, Reed and Evans.

I use them to clean up after my dogs.

Yes, because they had guns to their head. Most not-for-profits are required to spend a % (I think, 5%) a year of their funds. Educational institutions are exempt. They were threatened with the loss of their exemptions if they did not do something to reduce the student costs.

Yes. I have heard that is one of the prime reasons education costs have risen so much in the last 20 years, far outpacing any measure of growth...cheap credit and access to student loans/grants. I'm not expert here, but with the pending contraction of credit, schools will have to bring down their costs.

He doesn't have too much of a choice. NYC has already made 3 rounds of spending cuts and will make a few more. NYC is disproportionaly geared towards finance. They say that every job in finance in the city, creates 4 additional jobs in the service sectors. Given this article its going to be a bloodbath around here in 2009.

Yes. Same place the original report came from. But given that the Communications Director signed his name to it, and given the Obama people's reputation for scouring media sites for negative information, I'm willing to give it some credence.

It does seem so based on JC's research. I was reading a different article about this that said a parent encouraged the school to permit the 1st grade grade to attend the teacher's gay marriage ceremony at city hall about a month before the vote. Many parents did not know their kid was going on this field trip and were outraged, per the article. This got extensive news coverage and probably contributed to the feeling of keeping it out of schools. Any Cali folks want to elaborate?

Oddly, NYC charter school students (who are drawn from the same population as public school students) score far better than public school students in math and science. Oh, and English, Social Studies etc. The difference...charter schools are locally run, subject only to braod brush-strokes from Albany rather than true mandates and are not unionized.

Read my post earlier in this thread. Apparently the man has two lots. They are taxed as one lot. He paid about double the taxes his neighbors paid, which is about right if he has two lots, not one. Nothing to see here.

I'm all for nailing the cheats...but maybe you should read the whole story (including comments). From the article...

The link says Smith leads with only 54% fully reported.

I agree. She has gotten a raw deal all the way around and will be blamed by McCain's staff for the loss.

I agree with this 100%. Even some of the threads started on this board and OTW in the past 24 hours are ridiculous. Is she ready to be President, no. But even though I disagree with her on numerous issues and think she is far from ready to even think about the Presidency, she does have an "engaging personality" and could be a national figure for years to come. Would I support her in 2012...no, too many conflicts on issues and the readiness test. Would I like her to fade away, no. I really hope you are right.

This post leads me to one of two conclusions... 1- You have not read nor thought about anyone else's post. 2- You are pulling a hogboy and trying to bait. EDIT: Now I read your post regarding discrimination. That is a very valid point, not real sure why you didn't make it in the first place. What you should be questioning is why are these laws not drafted better? If they were, this measure would have sailed through California. Most every poster in this thread, myself included, have no problem with gay marriage and really believe it ought to be legal.

LaMont Jordan-RB- Patriots Nov. 5 - 4:45 pm et LaMont Jordan (calf) was limited in Patriots practice Wednesday. The Patriots were in shorts and shells for a light, no-contact practice and Jordan still isn't practicing fully. His status for Week 10 is uncertain. Source: Boston Globe Randy Moss-WR- Patriots Nov. 5 - 4:44 pm et Randy Moss (foot) was limited in practice Wednesday. He did the same last week and didn't wind up on the final injury report. Source: Boston Globe Sammy Morris-RB- Patriots Nov. 5 - 4:43 pm et Sammy Morris (knee) took part in no phases of practice Wednesday. He should be owned in all leagues, but probably won't play in Week 10. Source: Boston Globe

Now you are missing the point yet again. The discussion is not about shielding kids, its about a parent's right to explain things to their children when they choose without government interference.

Thats the whole point.