dagblog - Comments for "The Long, Cold Christmas"

The Big Casino latest

NCD — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 01:56:49 +0000

The Big Casino latest venture, led by various hedge funds like Blackstone (which is largely composed of and funded by TBTF banks that crashed the economy last time w/real estate chicanery)- Rental Obligation Bonds (ROBs - my acronym), similar to CDO/mortgage backed securities except, as Motherjones notes if a ROB blows up:

...There's one significant way, however, in which this kind of security differs from its mortgage-backed counterpart. When banks repossess mortgaged homes as collateral, there is at least the assumption.....that the homeowner has, indeed, defaulted on her mortgage. In this case, however, if a single home-rental bond blows up, thousands of families could be evicted, whether or not they ever missed a single rental payment.

"We could well end up in that situation where you get a lot of people getting evicted... not because the tenants have fallen behind but because the landlords have fallen behind," says Dean Baker....

Bleak House. Wish it weren't

Peter Schwartz — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 00:19:57 +0000

In reply to The Long, Cold Christmas

Bleak House.

Wish it weren't so well written, Doc.

It would've made me feel less bleak.

Yes, I mean The Christmas

Doctor Cleveland — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 20:15:28 +0000

In reply to It is heart breaking that the

Yes, I mean The Christmas Story. And yes, it's a shame that Higbee's has been replaced by a casino.

It is heart breaking that the

trkingmomoe — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 09:14:18 +0000

In reply to The Long, Cold Christmas

It is heart breaking that the ghost of Higbee's is now a casino. Taking a trip to Public Square was a right of passage for teenage girls to buy a dress for a formal dance and eat at the Silver Grill on the top floor. That was there I had my first slice of lemon poppy seed bread with cream cheese spread. You must be referring to The Christmas Story.

ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU

Richard Day — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 06:07:45 +0000

In reply to It is actually a very strong

ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU SLEEPIN!

hahahahahahha

Okay, no more needlepoint. hahahahahah

Oh, I gotta tellya Sleepin, my son laughs every time he visits me (which is 6 times a year instead of 3 times a year since his bride's family lives up here) that the game is fixed. hahahahah

Yeah, stay out of casinos and stay out of wall street. And, by the by, never capitalize wall street. hahahahahah

Again

Good to see you again Sleepin.

Hope you and your's are doin fine!

It is actually a very strong

SleepinJeezus — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 04:27:55 +0000

In reply to Oh but Sleepin, we have the

It is actually a very strong point you make DDay that accentuates my premise about this being the death throes of consumerism as an economic science. Wall Street has definitely changed. It no longer even offers a pretense of actually consolidating capital for purposes of creating new industry and businesses. Instead, it is a casino where new devices are invented and the game is rigged in ways so that the Investment Banks are now in the business of "creating wealth" on their own, WITHOUT anything as bothersome as having to facilitate any actual growth in the economy.

They are part of the same forces that keep preaching "Austerity" as a responsible path to a "healthier, more robust economy." If you can't see the obvious paradox in that equation ("Excuse me, but just WHOSE robust economy are we talking about here?"), then I suggest you avoid needlepoint or other close work as your next recreational pursuit.

Good to see you, DDay.

Oh but Sleepin, we have the

Richard Day — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 04:06:39 +0000

In reply to And BTW, Doc - Very well

Oh but Sleepin, we have the grandest casino in the entire frickin world:

WALL STREET

And, there is insider betting.

the end

And BTW, Doc - Very well

SleepinJeezus — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 03:55:55 +0000

In reply to The Long, Cold Christmas

And BTW, Doc - Very well written. Bleak, to be sure. But your summation about "Christmas the year 'round" is poignant in its irony.

"We are out of other ideas." The unsustainability of this consumer economy is becoming abundantly apparent to those who are paying attention, especially now that the wealthy oligarchs have turned upon the very consumers they supposedly rely upon to instead rob them of whatever wealth they might possess. More and more it looks like an end game; a mop up operation before we put the final nail in the coffin of this 100+ year economic experiment in consumerism and move on to the next, whatever that might be.

For now, this economic system appears to be dead in the water with no wind at its back. And so we huff (replace department stores with casinos) and we puff (extend worklife to a period seemingly beyond the grave) in attempt to breathe life into canvas hanging loosely from the mast.

Merry Christmas? And to all, a good night.

Well, at least here in

SleepinJeezus — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 03:40:18 +0000

In reply to The Long, Cold Christmas

Well, at least here in Wisconsin, there is an effort to once again put Christ back in Christmas. Or something like that.

With Black Friday behind us and Good Friday on the horizon, I read this (at the link) and wonder: Does anyone have a crucifix I can borrow?

Andrew Cuomo would beg to

jollyroger — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 03:34:19 +0000

In reply to Well, I'm right with you. I

Andrew Cuomo would beg to differ--me, I was only in a casino once, in Vegas, and I dropped a single nickel in a slot machine for a token experience (this was a long, long, time ago). The vibe of desperation pervaded with the hope of something for nothing was beyond depressing.

That said, and couching casinos as a tax on people who don't believe in the law of averages, it's their life, ain't it?