Was There Really A Housing Bubble?

We have all heard so much about the housing bubble that I am sure everyone would answer yes to the question of was there really a housing bubble. And I am sure that some definition of bubble would make what happened in the U.S. housing market qualify as a bubble.

But how does it compare to other bubbles?

Prices may have fallen as much as 35% over a four year period. This was after prices had increased by perhaps 100% over a 15 year period.

This does not resemble any of the historical bubbles that people study. It is much less severe. I argue that it does not qualify as a bubble. It is a correction and it is a bear market. But it is not a bubble. That is hyperbole.

Gold had a bubble where prices went up 800% and then came down 75%.
The NASDAC index went up 150% in a couple of years and then down 70%.
Those sound like bubbles.

Down 35% just doesn't measure up. Calling it a bubble is just propaganda.
It is just a bear market.

Standard Of Care

Medical expenses are rising beyond reason because there is no adequate mechanism for determining a proper standard of care.

The default standard of care seems to be "whatever costs the most"

I need to get down to cases.

But I am not involved in medicine.
I just don't go to the doctor.

I figure I am almost 60 years old now. Definitely feeling my age. Noticing changes in the body.
I can accept that.
I see no reason to live to be 100.

It is all spirit, after all. The material world is just a projection of the infinite spirit.

Something is going to change. I don't know what. But you can't keep overspending forever. Some day the bill must be paid. When that day is, I have no clue.

What is a reasonable standard of care?
How can we trust the people who make money from providing the care to give us a realistic opinion of the proper standard of care?

At all levels of our society we should stop letting the foxes guard the chicken coops.

And we don't need to hate in order to stop playing the game.
Live frugally.
Figure out who "your self" is.

Rapyscan, Ray-Pee-Scan, NO! Rapiscan

How strange is it that the company that makes those airport x-ray scanners is
"Rapiscan"? Like from a bad TV movie!

This is something that should be stopped yesterday!
Can't Obama do anything to stop it?

Who is running this country?

Unconstitutional search.
Invasion of privacy.
Sexual assault.

"Spiritual sufficiency is the best health insurance"

Hua-Ching Ni wrote a book called, "Esoteric Tao Teh Ching."

What he means by spiritual sufficiency is that we have a personal reservoir of Tao that can become depleted, leading to illness. He cautions against exhaustion and suggests gathering and nurturing the "natural resilience of the universe."

Here is a quote from his translation of the Book Of Tao.

The way of Heaven benefits
and causes no harm.
The way of wise people
is to nurture their inner essence.
They do not fight.

And like our American philosopher, Thoreau, he advocates simplicity as an approach to living.

Good Service From Government

Couple of happy experiences in Santa Monica yesterday

I was at my office (in my apartment building)
I heard a lot of yelling and cursing. A madman was in the street, with bare feet.
He saw me and seemed belligerent.
I called 911 on my cell
Several police cars came out within an hour.
They took the man in for psychiatric evaluation.

At the same time two city workers were repairing the sidewalk at my driveway. They did a very good job. I had put in a request on the internet for the repairs about a month earlier.

I was happy with the services I got from Santa Monica.

All Is Health

life is not a disease
the disease model is not healthy
look for it and you will find it
seek and ye shall find
stop looking for disease
all is health
freedom
God doesn't do things to you
God allows you to do things
God gave you freedom

You are creating your own experience
the only way to change the world is to change yourself

and yet the world is change
constant change

perception is reality
we have created disease out of the freedom of our imaginations

reality is spirit
there is no disease
it is a dream
it is imaginary

life is spirit
life is GOD
life is LOVE
life is ETERNAL

You just can't go around telling people that everything is fine.
but it is fine
it is good
it is delightful

do not fear evil

How much is the market up from the bottom in 2009?
S&P 500 touched 666.79 on March 6, 2009. Now it is 1207.08. Gain of 81%.

A Ton Of Money

What should you do if you suddenly have a ton of money?

Give it away?

Spend it?

Save it?

Invest it?

Or some combination of all four?

Obama Speaks On 60 Minutes

I must say, I am for President Obama. I voted for him with a great deal of hope.
And I still expect good to come from this administration.

Regarding his remarks on 60 minutes there are two points I would like to make.

He said we should not settle for a new normal of higher unemployment. Looking back, unemployment was down around 5% when we got into trouble. Trying to get back down to that level is a mistake. That level is an overheated economy. I don't know what the right number is for full employment, but I estimate it to be around 8%. I expect that would not be acceptable to the administration, but I believe it would be healthy.

He also remarked about the expiring tax cuts. He gave me the impression that he values consumption more than investment. He is willing to raise taxes on high incomes because that would not hurt consumption spending as much.
I believe that investment spending is more important for a good economy than consumption spending. It seems the higher income people are more likely to invest than the lower income people. Cutting investment hurts the economy.

Also, our economy is healthier with business investment and not with housing investment. Houses are actually liabilities. They don't produce anything.

So we should get used to higher unemployment and make policy that accepts it. And we should stop promoting consumption and instead promote investment.

Rainy Day Fund

Roof is leaking
My building needs a new roof
OMG where will I get the money?

Oh, right... I have a rainy day fund
I have the cash
Lucky I have the cash

But it was not all luck
It was a plan
And the plan is working out pretty good
so far.

So I don't need to
beg
borrow
or steal

I have the resources at my disposal.
Good plan
Good strategy

Happy Stock Market

New recovery highs on the DOW 30 today. Up 219 points.
They say the market likes QE2.
Money is usually well-received.

But what the market really likes is a Republican House!
The fear of new anti-business legislation is gone.
Mr Business says, "If they will just leave us alone and get off of our backs, we can prosper."

Would you rather have a prosperous country with Republicans in power, or a stricken country with Democrats in power?
Let's be less partisan and stop demonizing people who disagree with us. We are all in this together and we can all pull together. We are on the same team.
Just one team.
We are all on that team.

Happy people. Learn how to be happy.
Be happy first!

Mystery Solved

What caused the recession?
Not any of the economic fundamentals.
Economies are nothing but human behavior.

CONFIDENCE

Lack of confidence, loss of confidence, that is what a recession is!

Go back in time to January 2007. Democrats recaptured control of the house. Economy faltered. Recession ensued.

MYSTERY SOLVED

"Change"
And what made the recession get worse?
Fear of Obama!

FEAR of Democrats controlling the government caused the lack of confidence.

SAD BUT TRUE