Some Very Expensive Jobs - Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Obama creates 640,329 jobs at a cost of $323,739.83 per job:
"Inquiring minds are asking the question 'How many jobs were created out of the various stimulus programs so far and at what cost per job?'
That is a good question. Not that we can believe the reported number of jobs created, but let's assume for the sake of argument that the figures provided by the administration are correct."

Looks like Fox isn't the only one on the Administrations "Bad Guy" list. Mish, along with Denninger at Market Ticker are joining a long registry of financial bloggers who are starting to question the numbers and claims being put out by the Team Obama. There are more and more of Obama Believers Of Change that are slowly becoming heretics. The Main Stream Media, not so much.
Update:
I may have spoken to soon about the MSM's non-reporting of the subject. I just ran across this article in ABC news by ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, check it out -
$160,000 Per Stimulus Job? White House Calls that "Calculator Abuse" 

Ethics Report Leaks - Yahoo! News

Congressional ethics report leaks, revealing names - Yahoo! News: 
"WASHINGTON – Internal investigations into the conduct of over two dozen House members were exposed in an extraordinary, Internet-era breach involving the secretive process by which Congress polices lawmaker ethics."

I can't believe that this  news item popped up on Yahoo News. It must have been an automatic feed that no one was able to delete before it was posted. Almost all of those being investigated were Democrats, can't have that can we. Don't get me wrong, I believe that all politicians are thieves however the MSM seems to think that Republicans are the only ones with a Culture Of Corruption. In their minds the Democrats are pillars of virtue in a cesspool of Republican depravity.
Better read it quick before it gets deleted from Yahoo News.

Wall Street vs. Main Street

Courts Beginning to Favor Foreclosed Property Owners:
"Agents involved in foreclosures and short sales may need to begin to disclose the possibility of serious property transfer defects associated with these types of lender controlled sales.
If recent court decisions are any indication, we could be headed for an explosion of litigation in this area.
And now, Massachusetts Courts have revealed the possibility that unlawful foreclosures, dating back to 1989, might be invalidated and that buyers of foreclosed properties and short sales may have clouded titles."

Here's something to keep in mind especially if you plan to relocate like me. You might want to reconsider short sales or foreclosures, not because of the hassle of fixing them up or the length of time to purchase, but according to this article you might not own it after you buy. Very scary stuff, even if you buy title insurance it looks like the courts could over ride your claim to the property and leave you with nothing.

Jesse's Cafe Americain

Restoring Glass-Steagall:
"Restoring Glass-Steagall is such an obvious move that one has to wonder why it is not being more seriously considered. Granted, it took a multi-year lobbying effort and the expenditure of many millions of dollar to subvert a national regulatory and political process to overturn it, largely led by Sandy Weill of Citigroup. Frontline: The Long Demise of Glass-Steagall."

For those of you that are into this type of thing, this is a great article from a blog with an International Flair.
The merging of investment and savings banks was one of the many things that contributed to "the perfect storm" that caused this financial mess. Once that was done, the new "banks" could take on as much investment risk as they wanted because they were now backed by the Fed and FDIC (read; our tax dollars).

The Mess That Greenspan Made

Grantham on Greenspan:
"Ouch! If Grantham hadn't been so right about so many other recent financial market developments, you could easily dismiss this as sour grapes of one kind or another.
But he hasn't and you can't."

Unfortunately the fools in Washington who salivated and fawned over Greenspan's every word, and named him The Maestro, are still there. They have glorified new Maestri, Bernanke and Geitner, and this whole debacle will end just as badly.

Escape From New York

Tax refugees staging escape from New York:
"New Yorkers are fleeing the state and city in alarming numbers -- and costing a fortune in lost tax dollars, a new study shows.
More than 1.5 million state residents left for other parts of the United States from 2000 to 2008, according to the report from the Empire Center for New York State Policy. It was the biggest out-of-state migration in the country.
The vast majority of the migrants, 1.1 million, were former residents of New York City -- meaning one out of seven city taxpayers moved out."

I left New York in 1995 after receiving an early buy-out from NYNEX. The main reason for the move was the affordability factor. My property taxes had gone from $3K to $5K plus, water and electricity rates were the highest in the nation, and I was paying State and City income tax that was going nowhere but up. In so far as housing was concerned LI, actually the Tri-State area, was in a real estate bubble from the day I bought my first house in 1975 until the day I left. I was tired of subsisting in New York but not being able to "live" there.
It turns out I made the right move. It looks like the only ones that will be left are Civil Servants, Politicians, and the poor. I'm always amazed at life's full circle. Harlem was once the place of the rich and famous, then it went down hill and became the place for the poor and crime. Just within the last few years it found new life with the migration of Urban Pioneers, however I think it will soon return to its roots of crime and poverty along with Brooklyn and the rest of the New York.

‘Obama Hangover’

Democratic candidates suffer from ‘Obama Hangover’:
“It’s like the morning after the party,’’ said Michael McGann, a Democrat running for clerk of courts in the Philadelphia suburbs. “The party was wonderful and exciting. The day after it’s like, ‘Gee, I don’t want to do that again for a while.’ ’’

I vehemently disagree with Mr. McGann's description of the "day after." It's more like a Cyote Ugly morning after.
Cyote Ugly is when you wake up next to the woman you had sex with the night before,and you realize in your sober state that she is the UGLIEST woman you have ever seen, and you realize she is laying on your arm. Instead of waking her up to move, you chew off your arm to free yourself so you can escape.
Fashion voters who elected him should always remember the title of that great Country Western song, The Girls All Look Prettier At Closing Time.

California Treasurer Scolds Legislature Over Pension Reform And Reckless Spending

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Pension Reform And Reckless Spending: 
"Inquiring minds are listening to California Treasurer Bill Lockyer who testified at an informational hearing on budget reform on October 22, 2009."

Great Video.
Now if someone from the CBO would explain things to Congress in the same blunt way, we might have something.

Credit Card Holder Protection

Citibank shows credit card holders need protection : "Months before a law takes effect that cracks down on abuses by credit card issuers, the bank increases interest rates to almost 30% on customers who pay their bills on time."

I don't understand, what's the big deal. Debt is like drugs .......... Just Say No!
Seriously, I guess I can't fathom how addicted the American public is to debt. I can't believe that all the people I see at the checkout counter using credit cards are unable to afford their purchase. There must be some mistake. But then again, I seem to be the only person in beautiful downtown Durham who pays in cash for everything. Sometimes I feel lonely and foolish reaching into my pocket, pulling out the cheap green paper and alloy coins to pay for goods at Target. But they take it, put it in the till and politely ask me if I want to sign up for a Target Credit Card. Go figure.