Monthly Archives: February 2010

I understand that with very complicated things people often use shortcuts and heuristics to try and narrow down ideas to fit into already existing mental boxes. Especially with financial reform, where it can be mind-numbingly tedious at points, it’s easy … Continue reading →

I found this interesting, from reason magazine: Five Reasons Why Libertarians Shouldn’t Hate Government: Plus, Five Big Projects That Went Well and Five That Were Disasters. You can read their reasons. Here are their, from a libertarian POV, list of … Continue reading →

Four in fact. So a meme that has always been there, but has been growing in popularity recently for reasons I’ll attribute to the tea party movement, is that FDIC insurance on commercial banking deposits is in large part responsible … Continue reading →

I just found a short, must-read presentation on the shadow banks. But first: I think the Volcker Rule is a good first step that I am excited about as it starts to get at the problem of shadow banks, but … Continue reading →

Under the fold there’s a moving email from a reader, in response to my post on homeownership when the bank won’t foreclose. There’s a lot of this out there, and there’s going to be more by the end of 2010. … Continue reading →

From Huffington Post, we get Frank Luntz Pens Memo To Kill Financial Regulatory Reform. The 17-page memo titled, “The Language of Financial Reform,” is included at the Huffington Post webpage which you can read. A few initial thoughts about the … Continue reading →

Obama’s Q&A at the House Republican Conference is a must-watch if you didn’t see it. Why hasn’t he been doing this all the time? Planet Money has a podcast where they talk about strategic default with a lawyer who works … Continue reading →

Ah, from Financial Times: “Volcker rule unlikely to move forward in Senate, lawmakers say.” *Sigh* A blog post for me. 2010 may be an ugly year, so to keep my spirits up, I’m going to post two blockquotes to remind … Continue reading →

(h/t Kevin Drum) Joel Kotkin’s The War Against Suburbia (my underline): A year into the Obama administration, America’s dominant geography, suburbia, is now in open revolt against an urban-centric regime that many perceive threatens their way of life, values, and … Continue reading →

Short answer: To taxpayers, anywhere between $5,000 and $34,000 for an unsecured foreclosure. Here’s the longer answer: Let’s take one more swing at at this wave of foreclosures chart: Notice how the number of foreclosures closed is actually going down, … Continue reading →