The Atheist Communist Caliphate Made Flesh, Spread the Clusterfuck Around Thread

[Brownie]

DPD.

I want to congratulate you, Chicago residents, all of us, Cook County and Illinois residents, and finally you federal taxpayers (who one day might be delivering a BAILOUT to Springfield, who will deliver BAILOUTS to Cook County and Chicago) and occasional Chicago tourists.

We're all on the hook for guaranteed profits for the 2016 games!

Chicago's bid from the Olympics went from, "Yeah, we can do it with what we've got, and then we can get money from corporations to build other buildings..." to "OK, we'll upgrade CTA and other infrastructure..." to "Soldier Field isn't big enough, so we'll big a temporary Olympic stadium that will turn into a 3,000-seat theater in the park when it's over..." to "OK, we've sold our soul!"

[Tank]

It's best to put your $$ in hard assets now.

Hard assets like bus parts?

Sure.

But what does the bus part industry have to offer me, the investor, over something like holdings in the Dr. Ron Paul Amalgamated Gold Bank?

[morpheus]

I, for one, am squirrelling like a motherfucker.

Everyone, refi now if you can. You'll get over like a fat fucking rat.

This.

I refi'ed at 4.875%, 30 year fixed, no points, just closed on it last week.  [pats self on back]

Deflation is only a short-term threat at best.  The sheer quantity of borrowing that will have to be done to meet financing needs for all of the upcoming deficit spending

means that at some point, given the current CBO projections, the US will probably have to monetize some portion of the debt taken on.  Monetization always leads to inflation.  It just becomes a matter of degree and timing, really.  That Trib article RV posted does not address the monetization issue, only the relatively short-term risk of inflation due to the large (and necessary, IMO) money supply increase over the past year.  The monetization/inflation story is a longer-term one, in my view.

[Tank]

DPD.

I want to congratulate you, Chicago residents, all of us, Cook County and Illinois residents, and finally you federal taxpayers (who one day might be delivering a BAILOUT to Springfield, who will deliver BAILOUTS to Cook County and Chicago) and occasional Chicago tourists.

We're all on the hook for guaranteed profits for the 2016 games!

Chicago's bid from the Olympics went from, "Yeah, we can do it with what we've got, and then we can get money from corporations to build other buildings..." to "OK, we'll upgrade CTA and other infrastructure..." to "Soldier Field isn't big enough, so we'll big a temporary Olympic stadium that will turn into a 3,000-seat theater in the park when it's over..." to "OK, we've sold our soul!"

Is there any way to sell short on this boondoggle?

Can you buy credit default swaps on TIFs?

[RV]

I, for one, am squirrelling like a motherfucker.

Everyone, refi now if you can. You'll get over like a fat fucking rat.

This.

I refi'ed at 4.875%, 30 year fixed, no points, just closed on it last week.  [pats self on back]

Deflation is only a short-term threat at best.  The sheer quantity of borrowing that will have to be done to meet financing needs for all of the upcoming deficit spending means that at some point, given the current CBO projections, the US will probably have to monetize some portion of the debt taken on.  Monetization always leads to inflation.  It just becomes a matter of degree and timing, really.  That Trib article RV posted does not address the monetization issue, only the relatively short-term risk of inflation due to the large (and necessary, IMO) money supply increase over the past year.  The monetization/inflation story is a longer-term one, in my view.

It seems that this is up for debate. I'm not nearly smart enough to understand what these brainiacs are arguing about, but Krugmarx and others think that we're in the middle of a Japan-like liquidity trap, when monetization did not lead to inflation. Like you pointed out, this is a long-term issue, so we'll have to check back in 5 or 10 years to see which econofags are VINDICATED.

http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-why-krugmans-not-worried-about-inflation-2009-6

http://www.businessinsider.com/oh-relax-about-inflation-already-paul-krugmans-always-right-2009-6

[Chuck to Chuck]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

[Quality Start Machine]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

[morpheus]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

THIS THIS THIS

[RV]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

Garbage pickup? That'll become obsolete when floating boots and flying autogyros are introduced in the 1990s, and we won't need to concern ourselves with the waste hills accumulating down on that lousy, useless terra firma.

[Jon]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

Garbage pickup? That'll become obsolete when floating boots and flying autogyros are introduced in the 1990s, and we won't need to concern ourselves with the waste hills accumulating down on that lousy, useless terra firma.

I'm telling you, vote for me in 2012. Jetsons Shit for everyone.

[Quality Start Machine]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

Garbage pickup? That'll become obsolete when floating boots and flying autogyros are introduced in the 1990s, and we won't need to concern ourselves with the waste hills accumulating down on that lousy, useless terra firma.

I'm telling you, vote for me in 2012. Jetsons Shit for everyone.

I'm still waiting for the bumper sticker.

[morpheus]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

Garbage pickup? That'll become obsolete when floating boots and flying autogyros are introduced in the 1990s, and we won't need to concern ourselves with the waste hills accumulating down on that lousy, useless terra firma.

I'm telling you, vote for me in 2012. Jetsons Shit for everyone.

I'm still waiting for the bumper sticker.

If only there were a Jetsons Hitler Puncher Bumper Sticker...

[Quality Start Machine]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

Garbage pickup? That'll become obsolete when floating boots and flying autogyros are introduced in the 1990s, and we won't need to concern ourselves with the waste hills accumulating down on that lousy, useless terra firma.

I'm telling you, vote for me in 2012. Jetsons Shit for everyone.

I'm still waiting for the bumper sticker.

If only there were a Jetsons Hitler Puncher Bumper Sticker...

Maybe George and Astro watching Hitler get caught in the treadmill

[Jon]

Monetization always leads to inflation.

Not if it's countered with reduced demand elsewhere.  If government spending dials back as private demand rises, inflation should be minimized as total demand does not change.

Now, getting the government to reduce spending is probably unrealistic.  All politicians get reelected based on what they bring to the district, not on their tax cut votes.

Stew can tell us all about the ballot initiatives in his home state, where Californians voted themselves all kinds of nifty programs, but didn't want taxes raised.

This is a large problem, everyone wants it all...they don't want to pay taxes, but they still want the garbage picked up.

Garbage pickup? That'll become obsolete when floating boots and flying autogyros are introduced in the 1990s, and we won't need to concern ourselves with the waste hills accumulating down on that lousy, useless terra firma.

I'm telling you, vote for me in 2012. Jetsons Shit for everyone.

I'm still waiting for the bumper sticker.

If only there were a Jetsons Hitler Puncher Bumper Sticker...

Get out of my head.

[RV]

Some context for the Springfield budget clusterfuck. I was surprised to read that Illinois is actually on the lower end of spending and state employees compared to the rest of the country.

For instance, contrary to arguments that Illinois government should be drastically cut, it turns out that we have the second smallest number of state employees per capita

the number of government workers in Illinois has dropped by 22 percent over the past eight years

Meanwhile, Illinois state spending -- which ranked 39th in the nation in 2007 at $4,628 per capita -- has been relatively flat over the past decade. Because Illinois is the fifth wealthiest state in the country, it begs a fairly straightforward question: If spending is so low, how can the state be so broke?  The answer is simple. As the Tax Foundation reports, Illinois taxpayers paid a mere $4,346 per capita in state and local taxes combined in 2007, which amounts to one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation. Add ongoing pension deferrals with recession-related revenue drops and you've got a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall.

So does this mean that the rest of the state has a really low tax burden? Because I'm fairly certain Cook County residents don't have a particularly low effective tax rate. (Apologies for the libofag link, but it was a good accumulation of links to STUDIES).