This week’s local newspaper featured the absurdity of certain special interest groups, including public education unions. The California State University system has a high-paying profession, great health benefits, a great retirement program, and job security that is far better than most people in the private sector or public sector. It is therefore shocking to learn that the […]

Political silliness is at an all-time low. Politicians are arguing over whether to raise payroll tax to 6.2% or keep it at the lower 4.2% rate for two more months. Or to maintain it at the 4.2% rate for 12 months. The Social Security system is in a state of disarray at the moment, but this discussion

With each passing month, housing continues to sink deeper into the mud. All indicators of housing are heading in the same direction: down. Despite interest rates reaching historic lows, this is despite the government (meaning you, the taxpayers), underwriting or assuming credit risk for nearly every new mortgage, and being responsible to $6 trillion of the $10

Uncertainty reigns – in America, Asia, and, most importantly, Europe. Anyone who has been following the government’s bungling over the past few years knows that national policymakers will continue making bad economic decisions. But we don’t know what wrong policies they will be implementing. Just this week, the Fed extended “Operation Twist” in order to maintain long-term

It’s bubbling over again! The economy appears to be in good shape, with stock and home prices rising, retail sales increasing, and unemployment slowly falling. As people who enjoy looking behind the media veil we know that the economic foundation is weaker than it appears. The government spending money it doesn’t own is supporting a large portion of

A business card is similar to a real-estate note, except that the collateral is primarily a business and not real estate. So tell me, again, what is a “business note?” Let’s take Shelly Seller selling her printing business to Bobby Buyer. Shelly rents the property and believes that the business and all its assets are worth $300,000. Bobby accepts the price,

Writing and commentators are not known for using the term “guessing”. They use data to support their theories and ignore all facts to predict what the future holds for the economy, housing market, and most other areas. The public doesn’t want to hear wishy-washy “what if” discussions. They want concrete statements they can agree with or reject

Some people will never learn. All of us should remember the crash in the mortgage-backed securities markets, when real estate prices plummeted just a few years ago. Investors discovered that falling home values combined with homeowners who couldn’t afford to purchase a house made them poor investments. Wall Street executives reap the rewards of questionable transactions and acting