Are we insane or ignorant?

A new poll shows twice as many Americans believe that Republicans are responsible for the economic problems than believe Democrats are responsible. Given the evidence provided by the Democratic Times (aka New York Times) that a Democratic administration encouraged government-backed entities to buy risky loans, a Republican administration tried to regulate this practice, and Democrats openly mocked anyone who thought this could ever lead to a problem, it is clear that 2 out of 3 Americans are clinicly insane or depressingly ignorant. Maybe we need to rethink how we select our government.

We’re Rewarding the Crooks

Since the economic problems have worsened, Barack Hussein Obama and Democrats in general have received a boost from voters who honestly believe they can do a better job getting us out of this mess. However, as I mentioned in my last post, it has been Democratic policies encouraging the lowering of mortgage standards for low-income and minority house-buyers that got us into this mess in the first place. Two New York Times articles, one from 1999 and one from 2003, show exactly how Democratic policies led us directly to the problem we face today, and how Republicans would have prevented this whole fiasco long before it became a problem, but Democrats shot them down.

The first article (full version here) discusses the Clinton adminstration policy encouraging Fannie Mae to buy riskier loans to encourage lenders to give mortgages to riskier buyers. Notable quote: “”From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,” said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ”If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.””

The second article (full version here) discusses the Bush administration’s wisdom and foresight in proposing increased oversight over Fannie and Freddie’s risky practices (encouraged by the Clinton policies noted above). Unfortunately, this great idea ran into Democractic opposition because it would undermine their short-sighted quest to give undeserving buyers mortgages they couldn’t afford and wouldn’t pay back. Notable quote: “”These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”” Yes, that is the same Barney Frank who was so vocal in the recent bailout proceedings.

Are you outraged? The socialists who have blamed this mess on Bush and the Republicans are the same people that forced this mess upon us in the first place. They’re the same people who insisted just a few years ago that there was no potential crisis. They’re the people who told us all those concerns about responsible lending were overblown by fear-mongers. They’re the same people who took advantage of this crisis to make us more socialist than France (without the 35 hour work weeks and long guaranteed vacations). What’s more, this is all coming from the New York Times. When your own propaganda machine is providing the evidence against you, you know you screwed up big.

The sad thing is, if people knew this truth you would think every Democrat would be voted out of office next month. Sadly, they will instead vote the good guys out, and we will continue to slide further into the socialist destruction of our economy, our freedoms, and our values.

The Difference Between Hollywood and Real Life

As this financial trouble unfolds, I’m amazed at the parallels it draws with “It’s A Wonderful Life”. I’m even more interested in the differences.

As a brief rundown for those of you who have never seen the movie, it tells the story of George Bailey, who owns a Building and Loan company in a small town. In opposition to Mr Potter, the rich man who wants to own all of town himself, George makes home loans to the towns citizens so they can buy their own homes and not pay rent to Mr Potter. Eventually the Building and Loan runs into trouble, and in George’s most desperate hour his friends rally together to give him the money needed to save his business. It is all very uplifting, showing the power of friendship and the virtues of helping those in need as opposed to seeking only your own profit.

Now those are all great things that I wholeheartedly support, but it seems that we misunderstood them and took it all a bit too far. You see, while George Bailey may have wanted to make sure people wouldn’t be stuck paying rent to one man who owned everything, government policy dating back to the previous administration sought to encourage lending to people who had little to no proof of income, little to nothing for a down payment, horrible credit, etc, all in the name of fairness or anti-discrimination or whatever you want to call it. This inevitibly led to the housing bubble, which then popped, which lead to massive losses on defaults, which put us where we are today. And now maybe Mr Potter doesn’t look quite so bad. Maybe not everyone should own a home. This is an extreme sample, sure, but you can see the connection. Yes we need home loans so that normal people can afford a house. However, we shouldn’t extend that to people who truly can’t afford a house (or another house) or aren’t trustworthy.

And now we arrive at the end of the plot, where George is bailed out by his friends. Only this time, it isn’t the friends of Wall Street bailing out the troubled lenders. It is the taxpayers, and the government that got us in this mess is orchestrating the whole thing. This is not promising.

Wedding Expenses

How a business major and operations finance intern sees a wedding:

Woah, wait, what?

In sharp contrast to Obama’s drawn-out and over-hyped announcement of selecting a pretty conventional and not-unexpected Vice Presidential pick, McCain suddenly announced he had picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. Wait who? Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Now this is interesting.

Obama’s selection of Biden was not very surprising. Yes he did criticize Obama’s lack of qualifications and did not retract his statements, but he perfectly balances Obama’s strenghts and weaknesses. He’s experienced, especially in national security where Obama is weakest. I do applaud Obama’s desire to select someone who would disagree with him. You’d expect a charismatic rock-star with no substance to pick his favorite sycophant.

Where Biden was anticipated as a likely possibility for Obama, I think very few saw McCain’s selection of Palin coming. My bets were on Huckabee to secure the evangelical fundamentalists. To be quite honest, I don’t know much at all about Palin other than what I read on CNN.com this morning. I remember hearing her name tossed around a while back, but gave it little more than a passing thought as it was never brought up again. I suppose this could be a grab for Clinton supporters. Many Clinton supporters have already gone to the McCain side, and this might help them bring a few more over. From what I know she does seem to support many core conservative values, but she also carries a little bit of a reputation for being a political outsider. She has solid background in energy policy, but lacks the serious overall-economic credentials McCain needs.

Oh yes, and I think this secures Alaska’s 3 electoral college votes. The fight over those vital votes would have been close otherwise…

This makes things interesting.

Why the media is on the decline

Yesterday, you could bring up any news website (CNN.com, ABClocal.com, etc) and you would be greeted with something along the lines of “BREAKING NEWS: Democrats nominate Barack Obama as their presidential candidate!” Today, you would be greeted with “BREAKING NEWS: Barack Obama to accept Democratic nomination!”

Umm, guys…this isn’t exactly news. It’s a formality. It’s the final rubber stamp on the process of selecting a candidate. The years of not knowing who the nominee would be until the convention announced it are long behind us. Now the conventions are nothing more than a pep rally for people who were already supporting the candidate to begin with. The only people who are excited about these events are the candidate’s die-hard supporters anyway. No, it won’t be exciting when the Republicans nominate McCain either. Oh, did I just give away the surprise? Shame on me. And these news outlets are wondering why their viewership/readership is dropping like a rock and they’re going under fast. Between this nonsense, the use of Facebook as a “source”, and CNN’s use of kids in their parents’ basement and narcissistic college students as “iReporters”, the traditional media has become a complete farce. I think at this point I hold the tabloids in higher regard. Shameful.

Who needs a truck?

Ahh late August.  Time for students to buy books and move back into university housing. My wife and I were storing some furniture for friends of ours, and since they had to take it back as they’re moving into their new apartment, we had to buy our own furniture. So it’s off to everyone’s favorite Swedish assemble-it-yourself furniture store. Yes, Ikea on a Saturday in late August. It was as crowded as you would imagine, and we finally found a rare open spot for our ’92 Ford Taurus wagon among the rows of trucks and SUVs. Done shopping, we went back and loaded the wagon with one sofa frame, three sofa cushion covers, (the cushions were out of stock), one table, four chairs, four chair cushions, and one bookshelf. As you can see, it all fit with tons of room to spare:

And oh yes, this wagon can seat 8, drives like a car, and gets gas mileage in the high 20s with a V6. Try doing that in your truck or SUV. Sadly, the SUV and truck craze wiped out the wagon market in the US, and your only options now are Subaru and the pricey European stuff (and the equally pricy upcoming Cadillac CTS wagon). I’d love to see more options. The Taurus is getting a little old and we’d like to replace it, but darn it, it’s just hard to beat that combination of cargo, passenger, and towing capacity, fuel efficiency, and driving nature.

When Smaller is Better

There’s a lot to be said for small cars when it comes to driving excitement. Power goes a lot further when it has less weight to move around. Nimbleness and good maneuverability make it easier to drive briskly. A smaller package brings you into closer communion with the car and road. Even if they don’t post the absolute best performance numbers compared to other top end performance cars, their abilities are more likely to be satisfyingly exploited on normal roads and within legal limits. I own two cars: a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass and a 2006 Chevy Cobalt. They couldn’t be more different. The Cutlass is a 2 ton yacht. It has a V8 engine, pillowy suspension, zero technology, brakes about as strong as those on my bicycle, and a steering ratio almost as high as its horsepower figures. Its a blast to hammer off the line, sets off car alarms in parking structures as it drives by, and looks beautiful. The Cobalt, on the other hand, weighs just pocket change over 2 1/4 tons, is powered by a 150hp 4 cylinder engine, modern suspension, sticky tires, tight, heavy steering, and ok, the brakes still aren’t great, but they’re about twice as good as those on the Cutlass (not saying much…). I bought it mainly for reliable and affordable commuting purposes, but it really is quite fun to drive. I can take it out on tight mountain roads, power down clover-leaf on ramps, and zip through gaps in traffic with confidence.

The problem with small cars in America (even Japanese small cars) is that they’re basic transportation. While in other markets small cars are just about as well regarded as large cars and you really only upsize when you actually need more room, Americans generally have seen small cars as something you settle for. They’re what college students and recent grads drive until they can afford a proper vehicle, preferably an SUV. As such, American market small cars have been clearly bottom-tier products. They offered the cheapest materials, least features, and lowest performance.

Now that gas prices, traffic, and parking space in the US is starting to resemble the rest of the world, small cars are getting a second look. Perhaps someone who could afford a big car chooses to drive something smaller. According to this article on Edmunds’ Auto Observer, we’re now seeing two new types of small car buyers- both can afford larger cars. One group is willing to pay as much as they would for a large car and wants all the performance, luxury, and style content they would find in such a car, but they want it in a compact package. The second group can also afford more, but have decided to make their automotive-related expenses as minimal a fraction of their budget as possible. This group won’t change the small car market much (except to expand it) but the first makes things really interesting. You see, the mindset of the first group is the mindset European drivers have had for years. As a result, they have small cars that are plush, loaded, and of the highest quality.

Good news for American small car fans: those high-end compacts are coming.

Exhibit A: The all new Chevrolet Cruze. Ok the name is stupid, but look at that thing. It’s gorgeous. It is expected to get 45 MPG, and if they make an SS version that’s anything like the newest Cobalt SS, it will be stupid quick. Quality should match the new Malibu (very good) and it will be sold with only minor variations worldwide, meaning our American version should be every bit as good as the European version.

Exhibit B: The Ford Focus. And not the bargain bin American Ford focus you’re used to. No no no. For years the Europeans got a Ford Focus that was simply amazing. It is one of the best selling cars across the Atlantic, and has won high critical praise, as seen in the attached link. Well now that Euro Focus is coming out here to replace our antiquated version. And if we get something like the ST model seen in the video, it just might turn this GM guy into a Ford customer.

Exhibit C: Honda. OK this is speculation, and there is no guarantee that we’ll get anything like that in the US, but its more likely now that the market has changed. Those cars look great (a surprise since I’m not a fan of current Honda styling) and I hope to see them come to market in the US.

Now if only someone more affordable than BMW would make a competent small RWD car.

2006 Cobalt – Low Maintenance Costs

Update on my Cobalt:

Its been just under 3000 miles since its last service. I checked the oil today, and without adding any oil since it was changed out it still read full and pretty clean. This isn’t a real big deal, but it is a good example of the low cost of maintenance on this car. Original brakes and tires (performance tires at that, but not OEM so I can’t credit Chevy for that) are looking pretty good too.

Assorted Thoughts

The Chinese have long been known for their product piracy, bootlegging, and cheap knockoffs. The entrance of Chinese cars into the US has been anticipated in for a while. Take a look at some of the cars they produce – they’re shameless copies of many easily recognized Japanese, German, and domestic vehicles. Now as they host the Olympics, they have restricted freedoms of the foreign press, revoked the visas of guests who supported social causes the Chinese government opposes, faked fireworks, used a little girl for her voice then banished her to obscurity because her teeth were crooked, and blatantly cheated in gymnastics. They’re so desperate to look perfect, but instead they’re amplifying how pathetic they really are. Would it kill them to do just one thing legitimately? I’d respect them much more if they came to the world just as they are, warts and all, rather than this embarrassing attempt to hide their own inadequacies.

The Olympics already have table tennis. Next they need to have air hockey. Seriously.

Why is it that Americans bemoan the loss of American jobs and our economic weakness, but then refuse to buy anything produced domestically or owned by an American owned company? Further proof that we love to complain, but balk when it comes to actually doing something. After all, taking action is always the job of something else, right?

When the gas prices hit $4 a gallon, “analysts” blasted Detroit for being short sighted and not predicting rising gas prices years ago (it takes years to develop a new product in the auto industry). Never mind no one else predicted this. In fact, Toyota, the king of green, spent ridiculous amounts of money building a new truck plant to build their very fuel inefficient Tundra (not to mention Sequoia, Tacoma, 4Runner, Highlander, and FJ Cruiser) as recently as last year. So now, Detroit has moved faster than it ever has, and the next few years will produce a flood of exceedingly fuel efficient cars from Ford and GM. Yet now that gas prices are ebbing slightly (and probably temporarily) these same “analysts” are again blasting Detroit for overreacting to the gas spike and ditching their beloved trucks for fuel efficient cars no one will want.

Again, why do Americans hate American companies so much?

The American economy got to the state it is in today because Americans bought houses they couldn’t afford at insanely inflated prices, bought foreign goods while shunning anything “American”, and buying all of this on debt they could never hope to pay back. Yet now they criticize the government for doing this to us? Sorry, you can blame the government for a lot of things, but our own short-sightedness and economic stupidity is not one of them.

Will Wall Street ever realize that long-term positive business practices (good product, good service, good perception) is more important than next-quarter performance? When you insist on eeking out increasing profits at the expense of long term outlook, you can go nowhere but down.

Russia invades a new Democracy, one that is affectionate towards the US and controls a significant oil pipeline. How does the man who assumes he will be our next president respond? By talking about his plans to body surf while on vacation in Hawaii. The man who really deserves to be president, on the other hand, laid out clear plans of how the US, along with the international community, should respond. This is very telling.

Whats next for airline industry charges? Coin operated restrooms? Seriously, its time for nationwide high-speed rail. You can’t really hijack a train. It can’t plummet from miles up in the sky. I know its not perfect, but between the security that makes you feel violated on so many levels and the insane prices, I can think of few things I’d rather not do than fly on an airline.

ATT has some of the worst coverage and slowest access, yet I can’t help but love their commercials as seen on the Olympics coverage. Equally great, the Lenovo Thinkpad commercial.

Did Nintendo intentionally make syncing a Wii remote so difficult?