Re: Just how stupid is Allan Greenspan ?


"Gary" <none@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
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On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:16:07 -0600, "John Galt"
<whoisjohngalt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"Gary" <none@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
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On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 18:02:01 -0600, "John Galt"
<whoisjohngalt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"Gary" <none@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
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On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:51:20 -0600, "John Galt"
<whoisjohngalt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


"Gary" <none@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Pretty damn stupid. This is the mental midget that ruled our
monetary system for almost 20 years. Who inflicted this thug on us
?
Reagan ? -- gj

Well, he's hardly a mental midget (I'd say that any person calling him
such
is much more like to see a mental midget when he shaves in the
morning)
but
like all people, he can be guilty of overstating what is, at it's
core,
a
correct principle (as you quote below). More properly stated would be
that


"any businessman INTERESTED IN ESTABLISHING A GOING CONCERN will [not]
sell
unsafe food and drugs, fraudulent securities, and shoddy buildings."
The
remainder: "it is in the self-interest of every businessman to have a
reputation for honest dealings and a quality product."...." is
perfectly
correct and proven by business history.

Like most Ayn Randian teenie boppers Greenspan seems to miss a small
point. The above may -- in many instances -- be quite true for a
small local businessman who knows and caters to his customers.
HOWEVER -- it does NOT apply to the executives who run the
multi-national corporations. They are people who are very rich and
have no idea what their working class customers need or want.

Nonsense. Their success (and reputation) as an effective executive
depends
on corporate profits; profits are still related to customer
satisfaction,
and *tightly* so.

Now, if you're arguing that they personally don't have any skin in the
game
because of their comp plans, I'd quite agree, and also agree that having
the
executive suffer some personal financial consequences for failure would
be
a
good thing. However, they are CONSTANTLY working to peel back the layers
of
the onion to make sure that they are meeting customer needs. I see it
happening on a daily basis in my own job.


Nor do
they share any sense of community with those same people.

Eh. Now you're into a much larger issue -- nobody in American shares any
community much, anymore. We used to build houses with front porches so
people could hello their neighbors. No we build big flat-elevation
edifices
which scare people away.

Look, if you're feeling nostalgic for the "good old days" of the mom and
pops, consider that a nation of mom and pop shopowners would be
*significantly* more expensive to live it. Those large corporations are
really, *really* good at squeezing money out of the supply chains and
passing that to the consumer in low prices.


They sip
their white wine, munch on their brie and try to figure new ways to
screw Red Nation customers. While at the same time building one good
quarter so they can move to another company paying a few million
dollars a year more than they are now making.

Hm. Hard work for the purpose of career advancement is, to you, a bad
thing?

When done at the expense of the Company --- Yes ! A lot of these
guys can fudge the figures just long enough to make themselves look
good, and then leave before the truth comes out. We see a lot of
that in earnings that are ... "Below expectations".

That's fraud. Totally different issue.

It's my view that too many CEOs spend too many years retired on the
Riviera and too few years in prison.

The cesspool we call the Fed never meet any small American
businessmen. They are wading in waters occupied only with
multinational CEOs.

I think it apropos that they focus more time on IBM than Joe's Pizza
Shop.
YMMV.

But, the answer to your interestingly-phrased question regarding the
"infliction of Greenspan" is Reagan once, Bush I once, Clinton twice,
Bush
II once. The Fed chairman sits for four year terms.

Allan must have an extensive collection of various men in bed with
little boys. Either that or he has a patron who has such a
collection. I can't figure any other reason anybody would give him
such a job. Even *once*.

Probably good that they didn't ask you, then. I think this paragraph
from
the Wiki states the matter best, particularly the last sentence.

"From 2001 until his retirement from the Fed, he was increasingly
criticized
for some statements seen as overstepping the Fed's traditional purview
of
monetary policy, and viewed by others as overly supportive of the
policies
of President George W. Bush, as well as for policies seen as leading to
a
housing bubble. Greenspan was nonetheless still generally considered
during
that time to be the leading authority on American domestic economic and
monetary policy, and his active influence continues to this day."

I only take this mess seriously when it affects me. I bought this
house in 1988 and the mortgage rate was 8 3/4. Thanks to Allan and
his efforts to profit the bankers. I refinanced in 1992 at 7 1/2%.
Now that the loan is paid off I'd like to buy a second house. But
the same person ran the interest rates down, and thereby ran the
price of houses up. Like I say -- getting screwed twice by the same
pirate gets personal.

Wait six months, House prices will recede significantly as supply goes up,
find some homes you like (being flexible), and offer 70 cents on a dollar
until somebody takes it. It will work.

I had decided that I would offer no more than 75% of the asking price
and would pay no more than about 80% . So maybe I should lower
that to 70%.

I'd start at 70%. I'll be trying this in the second half of the year, we'll
see how it goes.


My brother in law is a realtor outside of Houston, which is a city that
has
NOT seen any out-of-line appreciation in housing prices during the
supposed
"boom" years, and thus supposedly not having any significant fallout from
subprime. He was telling me about a subdivision of custom homes where many
are for sale, none have ever been lived in, and are all still owned by the
builder. The builder is still holding line on price (90 and change per sq
ft) but he's starting to see the builders crack and let things go at cost
just to get out from under the bank payments. He expects those homes will
eventually sell at 50 and change per sq ft.).

Patience and cash and this all works for you....

JG

I think you are right. Patience is indeed the key. They need my
money more than I need their house. So what I want is one that is
not only *for* sale but is also *on* sale.

Bingo. Homebuilders have a real problem on their hands. They have what we
want -- homes, and we have what they want -- money.

Only, they need our money money more than we need their homes.

This ought to end well for us, under those circumstances.

JG


.

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