How to stop forclosure

A Review of the Policy Proposals
By Fred Moseley
This article is from the July/August 2008 issue of Dollars & Sense: The Magazine of Economic Justice available at http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2008/0708moseley.html
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Over one million U.S. homeowners have already lost their homes due to foreclosures since the mortgage crisis began last summer. Another one million homeowners are 90 days past due on their mortgages (foreclosure notices usually go out after 90 days) and two million more are 30 days past due, so three million more households may face foreclosure in the months ahead. If current policies do not change, it is estimated that up to five million homeowners would lose their homes due to foreclosure over the next few years. Five million is roughly 10% of the total number of homes with mortgages. This is clearly the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, and will wreack havoc in the lives of millions of families unless something is done. A high foreclosure rate also has a deteriorating effect on surrounding neighborhoods, further depressing housing prices and quality of life.
Many of those facing foreclosure are low- to middle-income homeowners who were enticed into buying houses by fraudulent mortgage companies and low “teaser” interest rates that are adjusted up (“reset”) after two to three years. As long as housing prices were increasing, homeowners could always refinance their mortgages and get a new teaser rate for another few years. However, now that house prices are falling, these homeowners can no longer refinance, and many of them cannot afford to pay the higher interest rates when they are reset. Falling prices also mean that many of these homeowners owe more on their mortgage than the current value of their house (i.e. they have “negative equity” in their house). The recession is also resulting in declining employment and income, meaning even more homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments. The further housing prices decline, and the worse the recession is, the worse the foreclosures will be, in a vicious cycle.
Clearly, the federal government must take some positive actions to stop the spreading foreclosures, especially for low- and middle-income families, who would suffer the most. But what should those actions be? At a minimum, policies should apply only to owner-occupied homes, and not to “investor” or “speculative” homeowners (those who buy houses in order to sell them later at a higher price). But beyond this, various policies have been proposed, and not all of them would truly help homeowners at risk.
Workouts, not bailouts
There are two main types of anti-foreclosure policies: bailouts and workouts. In bailouts, the government gives aid either to lenders (e.g. by purchasing bad mortgages at their full original value) or to homeowners (e.g. by giving them loans so they can repay their lenders). Of course, aid to homeowners indirectly bails out the lenders as well. In workouts, the terms of the original mortgage contract are modified, either by reducing the rate of interest or reducing the principal owed, or both, in order to make the loan more affordable. So far, most of the proposals to deal with the foreclosure crisis have been more workouts than bailouts, although there are elements of bailout in some of them as well. The lenders made fortunes on these risky mortgages during the housing bubble, so if someone has to suffer losses now, it should be the lenders. There should be no bailouts of the lenders in any way.
Lender-initiated workouts
There are two types of workouts, depending on whether they are initiated by the lenders or the homeowners. Most of the policies proposed and enacted so far have been initiated by the lenders, i.e., they are voluntary on the part of the lenders. The main policy of the Bush administration is called “Hope Now,” in which the lenders voluntarily postpone the resets of interest rates that are scheduled to take place in the months ahead, and leave the principal of the loan unchanged (or sometimes the foregone interest is added to the principal). The Bush administration claims that over 500,000 mortgages have been modified in this way in recent months, and estimates that another 500,000 mortgages will be modified in the months ahead. However, critics argue that these numbers are exaggerated and that many of these modifications have been simply allowing homeowners more time to make the same payments. It is likely that in the months ahead, many of these homeowners still will not be able to make their payments, and many of them will be foreclosed on, which has led some critics to call this the “No Hope” plan. The only lasting solution is to reduce the mortgage principal owed to more affordable levels. The main problem now is not the reset of interest rates, but rather declining housing prices, which has the effect that more and more homeowners now owe more money on their mortgage than their house is worth.
The House of Representatives has recently passed a bill (H.R. 5830, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.) that is primarily a workout, but also is potentially part bailout, and is also lender-initiated The bill would replace existing mortgages with new mortgages that would have a value of 85% of the current market value of the houses, and these refinanced mortgages would be guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (how this “current market value” is to be determined is a crucial detail which so far has not been specified). This 15% “write-down” of the principal, plus the prior 10% decline of prices means that the total write-down for lenders will be approximately 25%. For example, a homeowner with an original mortgage of $300,000 would have the principal reduced to $225,000, and the monthly payments reduced by a similar proportion. The bill appropriates $300 billion for this purpose, which it estimates could help up to 1.5 million homeowners. A similar bill appears likely to pass in the Senate (introduced by Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.). President Bush initially threatened a veto, but has now said he will sign the bill. In any case, it does not appear likely that many lenders will “volunteer” for this writedown.
Another problem with this bill is that housing prices in some areas are likely to fall more than an additional 15%. Mortgages on these houses are likely to be the ones that the lenders will voluntarily refinance, and any further losses would have be borne by the government (i.e., by the taxpayers). This would be a partial bailout of the lenders.
Homeowner-initiated workouts
Another bill has been introduced into the House (H.R. 3609) and Senate (S. 26360) that would provide workouts that would be initiated by the homeowners and would be mandatory for the lenders. These bills would allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage contracts (by reducing the principal and/or by reducing the interest rate) in order to make monthly payments more affordable for homeowners. It used to be possible for bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage contracts, but this was explicitly prohibited in a 1993 bankruptcy law. One can see the hand of the mortgage bankers in the writing of that provision. Modifications on other types of loans are allowed: for investment properties, for vacation homes, and even for boats, but no modifications allowed for primary residences! So all that needs to be done is to delete this one phrase in the law which prohibits modifications for primary residences. A significant advantage of this plan is that it would not cost taxpayers anything.
One problem with this bill is that homeowners would have to declare bankruptcy, which is expensive (about $2000) and would hurt their credit rating in the future. But at least they would still have their home, with an affordable mortgage, and thus would have the chance to restore their credit rating.
This bill is supported by the AFL-CIO, SEIU, NAACP, ACORN, the Center for Responsible Lending, and many other consumer protection groups. It is of course strongly opposed by the Mortgage Bankers Association, and does not seem to have enough support for passage at the present time.
Another homeowner-initiated plan has been proposed by Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. According to this “own-to-rent” plan, homeowners faced with foreclosure would have the option to stay in their houses as tenants, rather than as owners, and would pay the prevailing rental rates, which are generally much lower than mortgage payments. Eligibility for the plan would be capped at the median house price in a metropolitan area and thus would not benefit high-income homeowners. This plan also would not cost taxpayers anything. A bill along these lines was recently introduced in the House (H.R. 6116).
Looking ahead
The presidential candidates have had disappointingly little to say about the foreclosure crisis and anti-foreclosure policies. Senator Barack Obama has expressed support for the Frank-Dodd FHA bill, but not yet for the bankruptcy modification bill. In good Republican tradition, McCain advocates “no government intervention.” But the foreclosure crisis is likely to worsen in the coming months, and the public may well demand more policies to address this growing problem. The homeowner-initiated policies are preferable because they provide the most protection for homeowners against foreclosure. Both of these options should be available to homeowners facing foreclosure, especially for those with low or moderate incomes.
The guiding principles of government anti-foreclosure policies should be: (1) homeowners should be allowed to stay in their homes; and (2) there should be no bailouts for the lenders. And the long-run objective of government housing policies should be: decent affordable housing for all.
Fred Moseley is a professor of economics at Mount Holyoke College. His publications include The Falling Rate of Profit in the Postwar United States Economy (1992) and “The Rate of Profit and the Future of Capitalism,” Review of Radical Political Economics, 1997.
Resources: For more information about H.R. 3609 and S. 26360, visit the website of the Center for Responsible Lending. For more information about Dean Baker’s “own-to-rent” plan (introduced in the House as H.R. 6116), visit the website of the Center for Economic and Policy Research

Watch your...

Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Where does the money go

The federal government has sent each and every one of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that

money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China . If we spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs,

if we purchase a computer it will go to India, if we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to

Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, if we purchase a good car it will go to Japan, if we purchase

useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to

keep that money here at home is to buy prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products

still produced in the US . Thank you for your help.Ex Governor Eliot Spitzer

Short and Funny

I dialed a number and got the following recording:"I am not available right now, butThank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the Beep. If I do not return your call, You are one of the changes."

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Aspire to inspire before you expire.

----------------------------------------------------------- My wife and I had words, But I didn't get to use mine.

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Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.

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Blessed are those who can give without remembering And take without forgetting.

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The irony of life is that, by the time You're old enough to know your way Around, you're not going anywhere.

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God made man before woman so as to give him time to think Of an answer for her first question.

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I was always taught to respect my elders, But it keeps getting harder to find one.

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Every morning is the dawn of a new error.

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The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks,
"Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?

--------------------------------------

Gold Wrapping

Here is something that will make you think about your everyday reactions to some very simple and unimportant things......

Gold Wrapping PaperI received this from a friend who had a choice to make. It said that I had a choice to make too. I've chosen. Now it's your turn to choose.

The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her 5 year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and said, "This is for you, Momma."The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over-reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner. "Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supp osed to be something inside the package?"She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full." The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

FORREST GUMP GOES TO HEAVEN

The day finally arrived. Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven. He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself. However, the gates are closed, and Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.St. Peter said, "Well, Forrest, it is certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast, and we have been ministering an entrance examination for everyone. The test is short, but you have to pass it before you can get into Heaven."Forrest responds, " It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir. But nobody ever t! old m e about any entrance exam. I sure hope that the test ain't too hard. Life was a big enough test as it was."St. Peter continued, "Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.First: What two days of the week begin with the letter T?Second: How many seconds are there in a year?Third: What is God's first name?"Forrest leaves to think the questions over. He returns the next day and sees St. Peter, who waves him up, and says, "Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers."Forrest replied, "Well, the first one -- which two days in the week begins with the letter "T"? Shucks, that one is easy. That would be Today and Tomor r ow."The Saint's eyes opened wide and he exclaimed, "Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but you do have a point, and I guess I did not specify, so I will give you credit for that answer. How about the next one?" asked St. Peter."How many seconds in a year? Now that one is harder," replied Forrest, but I thunk and thunk about that, and I guess the only answer can be twelve."Astounded, St. Peter said, "Twelve? Twelve? Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?"Forrest replied, "Shucks, there's got to be twelve:January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd.... " "Hold it," interrupts St. Peter. "I see where you are going with this, and I see your point, though that was not quite what I had in mind.....but I will have to give you credit for that one, too. Let us go on with the third and final question. Can you tell me God's first name"?"Sure," Forrest replied, "it's Andy.""Andy?" exclaimed an exasperated and frustrated St Peter."Ok, I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?""Shucks, that was the easiest one of all," Forrest replied. "I learnt it from the song .
"ANDY WALKS WITH ME, ANDY TALKS WITH ME,ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN. . "St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates, and said: "Run Forrest, run."

Twist of Faith

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.
There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did.
Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.


What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill . His son's name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody's watching.

Sing like nobody's listening.

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.


May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

OK, this is what you have to do...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rebounding

Fannie, Freddie seen rebounding after US offers lifeline
Date: 7/14/2008 4:14:00 PM -->-->

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were rebounding sharply Monday from a near-meltdown last week, boosted by a weekend plan offering a lifeline of fresh credit from the US Federal Reserve and Treasury.
In pre-opening trade, Freddie Mac's shares surged 38 percent and Fannie Mae 37 percent following a plunge last week in the face of widening fears about the solvency of the mortgage finance titans.
A bold plan announced Sunday gives the struggling giants that underpin trillions of dollars in home loans access to central bank lending facilities and a temporary increase, pending congressional approval, of their lines of credit from Treasury.
A Fed statement said its Board of Governors had granted the Federal Reserve Bank of New York authority to lend to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "should such lending prove necessary."
The loans would be at the primary credit rate offered to investment firms and would be backed by US government and federal agency securities.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson meanwhile said he was proposing temporary authority for Treasury to purchase equity in either of the two firms "if needed."
The two firms, chartered by Congress but owned by shareholders own or guarantee almost half of all US home loans, or about five trillion dollars of debt, and have been in crisis amid the worst housing downturn in the United States in decades.
Paulson said Sunday that the "central role" the two play in real estate financing meant they should continue to respond to shareholders and should not be taken over by the federal government.
"We are grateful for the leadership of Secretary Paulson and (Fed) Chairman (Ben) Bernanke," Fannie Mae chief executive and president Daniel Mudd said.
He urged Congress to ensure "swift passage of the new legislative proposals, as well as the important initiatives underway to assist homeowners and help restore stability to the housing market."
"We continue to hold more than adequate capital reserves and maintain access to liquidity from the capital markets," Mudd said.
"Given the market turmoil, having options to access provisional sources of liquidity if needed will help to strengthen overall confidence in the market. "We will continue to do our part to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the housing market now and in the future."
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Sunday that "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play an important role in our housing finance system, and they should continue to play this role in their current forms as shareholder-owned companies."
Richard Syron, chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac, said the company was "heartened" by the plan and called it an "affirmation of the important role of" the two firms.
Freddie Mac was scheduled to sell three billion dollars in short-term notes on Monday, and the market reaction will be crucial for the future of the two companies.
David Kotok, economist at Cumberland Advisors, said the plan is "a partial fulfillment of the implied federal guarantee" of the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).
"It reassures markets and improves the liquidity necessary for the functioning of markets in Fannie and Freddie mortgage related debt ... A rally in their prices and decline in their yields is expected."
Ed Yardeni at Yardeni Research said meanwhile: "The taxpayers have become the losers of last resort of the US financial system. If mortgage losses mount at the two GSEs, then the Treasury will issue more debt and use the proceeds to inject more capital into them. The American public now gets a direct stake in the world's two largest hedge funds."

Word from a woman

Who I'd like to meet:

I am looking for a loving, kind, sweet, God fearing man, hard working, pretty, very very very affectionate, sincere, caring, honest, faithful, spontaneous, adventurous, outgoing, witty, down to earth, well-groomed, social drinker, drug free. A man who knows what he wants out of life. A man that knows how to treat his woman w/ respect. A man that listens, when his woman needs to talk w/ her. A man I can walk in the rain w/, holding hands and just being into us for the moment. A man that respects himself and take pride in what she does for himself & his family. A man that likes to have picnic's in the livingroom floor. I don't need a liar in my life, a drug addict or a drunk. And no drama please. I'm not looking for a man that likes to play life games w/ peoples feelings and leave them hanging. A man that has a empty coffee cup and ready to fill it up w/ happy moments of love w/ me. A very independent man. A man that don't judge women by their looks w/out finding out what she is about and what she has to offer to that man on the inside. You never know what that person is about until you get a chance to know her/him. A man that can share his thoughts & dreams, desires w/ me.

So as I read these thoughts of this woman searching for her ideal man, what can this nice looking lady bring to the table? I mean she knows what she wants but can she give that man the things that he needs?

Bathtub test

A psychologist and patient were talking. The patient asked how do you determine if a person needs to be committed. He responded "the bathtub test" patient responded well how does that work? Psychologist said" I fill up a tub with water, then I get a cup, glass and pale and sit them on the floor" Patient responded O I get it, so if a person grabs the cup or glass to get the water from the tube, they get committed? Actually the psychologist said "the sane person just unplugs the drain".

Your room number will be...

WHY ARE GAS PRICES HIGH AND RISING?

Posted by
Lynne Being systematic, here are the primary reasons for the rise in gasoline prices in March 2008:
1. High world crude oil prices. These prices are partly the consequence of conscious OPEC supply constriction to raise price. OPEC?s ability to do so is typically constrained by three interrelated factors: the world demand for oil, cheating on the part of smaller OPEC members, and production from non-OPEC countries like Russia, Norway and Mexico. Economic growth, particularly in Asia, is shifting out the demand for oil according to this Ft. Worth Star-Telegram article:
Strong demand for oil in Asia is one reason for higher crude prices in recent months, although analysts also said that aggressive bets by large commodity speculators have contributed to the recent run-up in oil markets. Much of the attention on Asian oil supplies is related to the fast-growing economies of China and India.
Sales of diesel fuel in India, which account for about 40 percent of the oil sold in that country, soared 10 percent in February from the same month a year earlier; automobile sales in India grew 31 percent in the last year. India's oil imports are forecast to continue to climb as its economy grows 8 percent this year.
This Investor?s Business Daily article points to the other two aspects of this dynamic: Saudi Arabia is still the ?swing producer? because of the scale of its reserves relative to other producers, and some OPEC members have not curtailed production to meet the targets OPEC set in their 1 February meeting. Saudi Arabia?s production is the primary determininant of the world price, and with rising demand the growth in production in Russia and in Iraq has not been sufficient to change that fact. And small OPEC producers are riding the crest of this high price, not restricting their output.
No current discussion of OPEC is complete without reference to the horrendous state of affairs in Venezuela. Their low production adds substantially to the high prices we are currently experiencing.
OPEC is currently discussing whether or not to continue its output restrictions at the end of the month, and today?s news suggests that they are fighting internal battles over whether to pursue output restrictions when their benchmark price is $4 above the high end of their usual benchmark range.

Inspirational Thoughts

Anger is a condition in which
the tongue works faster than the mind.



You can't change the past,
but you can ruin the present
by worrying over the future.



Love...and you shall be loved.



God always gives His best to those
who leave the choice with Him.



All people smile in the same language.





Everyone needs to be loved...
especially when they do not deserve it.



The real measure of a man's wealth
is what he has invested in eternity.



Laughter is God's sunshine.



Everyone has beauty
but not everyone sees it.



It's important for parents to live
the same things they teach.



Thank God for what you have,
TRUST GOD for what you need.



If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow,
you have no today to be thankful for.



Man looks at outward appearance
but the Lord looks within.



The choice you make today
will usually affect tomorrow.



Take time to laugh, for it is
the music of the soul.



Patience is the ability to idle your motor
when you feel like stripping your gears.



Love is strengthened by working
through conflicts together.





Harsh words break no bones
but they do break hearts

To get out of a difficulty,
one usually must go through it.

We take for granted the things
that we should be giving thanks for.

Love is the only thing that can be
divided without being diminished

Happiness is enhanced by others
but does not depend upon others.

For every minute you are angry with someone,
you lose 60 seconds of happiness
that you can never get back.













Do what you can, for who you can,
with what you have, and where you are.

Math

A woman came home and found this letter from her husband:



My Dearest Wife,

You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you with your 54-year-old body can no longer supply. However, I am very happy with you and I value you as a good wife. Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact I will be spending the evening with my 18-year-old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel. Please don't be perturbed, I shall be back home before midnight.When the man came home, he found the following letter on the dining room table:


My Dearest Husband,


I received your letter and thank you for your honesty. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are also 54 years old. At the same time, I would like to inform you that while you are reading this, I will be at the Ritz Carleton with Michael, my tennis coach, who, like your secretary, also is 18. As a successful businessman and with your excellent knowledge of math, you will understand that we are in the same situation, although with one small difference: 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18. Therefore, I will not be back until lunchtime tomorrow.

First Grader

A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students.The teacher asked, "Harry,what's your problem ?"Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rdgrade and I'm smarter than she is !I think I should be in the 3rd grade too !Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to theprincipal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he wouldgive the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was togo back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreedto take the test.Principal: "What is 3 x 3 ?"Harry: "9Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"Harry: "36".And so it went with every que stion the principal thought a 3rd gradershould know.The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go tothe 3rd grade."Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."The principal and Harry both agreed.Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of ?"Harry, after a moment: "Legs."Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have ?"The principal wondered, why would she ask such a question !Harry replied: "Pockets !Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into ?"Harry: "Pants"Ms. Brooks: What's starts with a C & ends with a T, is hairy, oval,delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid ?Harry: "Coconut."The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky ?"The principal's eyes opened re ally wide and before he could stop the answer.Harry: "Bubble gum"Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and adog does on three legs ?"Harry: "Shake hands."The principal was trembling.Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'UCK' that means a lotof heat and excitement ?"Harry: "Firetruck"The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry inthe fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong

10 New Ways to Make Money Online

So you want to ditch your corporate cubicle and join the ranks of web workers? But you have a mortgage, maybe a dependent or two, and a taste for Venti Mochas from Starbucks? You can make money in the new economy, though it might not be as easy or cushy as keeping your old economy job.
I’m not talking about advertising or affiliate marketing or selling your junk on eBay. Those are so last millennium! I’m talking about the new new economy.
1. Offer your professional expertise in an online marketplace.These days, you can do more than just sell your old books via Amazon and your old Coach handbags via eBay—now you can sell your professional capabilities in a marketplace. No longer are you limited to looking for a permanent or contract job on Web 1.0 style job sites like Monster or CareerBuilder. The new breed of freelancing and project-oriented sites let companies needing help describe their projects. Then freelancers and small businesses offer bids or ideas or proposals from which those buyers can choose.
Elance covers everything from programming and writing to consulting and design, while RentACoder focuses on software, natch. If you’re a graphic designer, check out options like Design Outpost or LogoWorks–you don’t have to find the customers, they’ll come to you. Wannabe industry analysts might sign up for TechDirt’s Insight Community, a marketplace for ideas about technology marketing.
2. Sell photos on stock photography sites. If people regularly oooo and aaaaah over your Flickr pics, maybe you’re destined for photographic greatness or maybe just for a few extra dollars. It’s easier than ever to get your photos out in front of the public, which of course means a tremendous amount of competition, but also means it might be an convenient way for you to build up a secondary income stream. Where can you upload and market your photos? Try Fotolia, Dreamstime, Shutterstock, and Big Stock Photo.
3. Blog for pay. Despite the explosion of blogs, it’s hard to find good writers who can turn around a solidly-written post on an interesting topic quickly. GigaOM is always looking for bloggers with great content ideas and solid writing skills. How do you get noticed? Comment and link to blogging network sites. Write blog posts that are polished and not overly personal (although showing some personality is a plus).
4. Or start your own blog network. If you like the business side of things–selling advertising, hiring and managing employees, attracting investors–and have the stomach to go up against the likes of Weblogs, Inc., GigaOmniMedia, b5media, maybe you should make an entire business out of blogs. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll get a lot of time to write yourself though.
5. Provide service and support for open source software. Just because the software is free doesn’t mean you can’t make money on it–just ask Red Hat, a well-known distributor of Linux that sports a market cap of more than four billion dollars. As a solo web worker, you might not want to jump in and compete with big companies offering Linux support, but how about offering support for web content management systems like WordPress or Drupal? After getting comfortable with your own installation, you can pretty easily jump into helping other people set them up and configure them.
6. Online life coaching. Who has time to go meet a personal coach at an office? And don’t the new generation of web workers need to be met by their coaches in the same way that they work: via email, IM, and VoIP? You could, of course, go through some life coaching certification program, but on the web, reputation is more important than credentials. I bet Tony Robbins isn’t certified as a life coach–and no one can argue with his success. For an example of someone building up their profile and business online as a coach, check out Pamela Slim of Ganas Consulting and the Escape from Cubicle Nation blog.
7. Virtually assist other web workers. Freelancers and small businesses desperately need help running their businesses, but they’re not about to hire a secretary to come sit in the family room and answer phone calls. As a virtual assistant, you might do anything from making travel reservations to handling expense reimbursements to paying bills to arranging for a dog sitter. And you do it all from your own home office, interacting with your clients online and by phone. You can make $20 and up an hour doing this sort of work, depending on your expertise.
8. Build services atop Amazon Web Services. Elastic computing on AWS is so cool… and so incredibly primitive right now. Did you know that you can’t even count on your virtual hard drive on EC2 to store your data permanently? That’s why people are making money right now by offering services on top of AWS. Make it easier for people to use Amazon’s scalability web infrastructure like Enomaly has with elasticlive, a scalable web hosting platform built on AWS.
9. Write reviews for pay or perks. If you blog for any length of time on a particular topic–parenting, mobile phones, or PCs, for example–you will likely be approached to do book or product reviews. You can get free stuff this way, but are you selling your soul? Is there any such thing as a free laptop? These are decisions you’ll have to make for yourself, because no one agrees upon what ethical rules apply to bloggers. Even less do people agree on services like PayPerPost that pay you to write reviews on your blog. Check out disclosure rules closely and see whether such a gig would meet your own personal standards or not.
10. Become a virtual gold farmer. A half million Chinese now earn income by acquiring and selling World of Warcraft gold to gamers in other countries. If you’re not a young person living in China, this probably isn’t a viable option for you. But what’s intriguing about it is the opportunity to make real money working in a virtual economy. People are making real-world money in Second Life too.
What other new ways do you know of to make money online?

Indy Mac failures may create a ripple effect

Many more US bank failures likely after IndyMac

U.S. banks may fail in far greater numbers following the collapse of the big mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc, straining a financial system seeking stability after years of lending excesses.
More than 300 banks could fail in the next three years, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Gerard Cassidy, who had in February estimated no more than 150.
Banks face pressure as credit losses once concentrated in subprime mortgages spread to other home loans and debt once-thought safe. This has also led to investor worries about the stability of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; IndyMac is not related to either.
While analysts declined to say which banks will fail next, several smaller lenders and one large one, Washington Mutual Inc, appear already to have elevated levels of soured loans, relative to their sizes.
"You have to look at companies with the greatest exposure to the highest-risk assets, which include construction loans and exotic mortgages," Cassidy said. "The final nail in the coffin for any depository institution would be a funding crisis where it is unable to gather deposits at reasonable cost, or wholesale funding markets are cut off."
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp seized IndyMac on Friday after a bank run in which panicked customers withdrew more than $1.3 billion of deposits in 11 business days.
This followed comments on June 26 by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer questioning the Pasadena, California-based thrift's survival. Some withdrawals also followed IndyMac's July 7 decision to fire half its work force and halt most mortgage lending.
IndyMac once specialized in Alt-A mortgages, which didn't require borrowers to document income or assets. It was founded in 1985 by Angelo Mozilo and David Loeb, who also founded Countrywide Financial Corp, once the largest mortgage lender. Bank of America Corp bought Countrywide on July 1.
As of March 31, the FDIC had put 90 banking institutions with $26.3 billion of assets on its "problem list." This excluded IndyMac, which alone had about $32 billion of assets, and close to $19 billion of deposits.
Well over 2,000 banking companies failed in the 1980s and early 1990s. Cassidy said the government may need to set up a liquidator similar to Resolution Trust Corp, created for the earlier savings and loan crisis.
The largest U.S. bank failure is the May 1984 collapse of Chicago's Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. IndyMac was roughly the same size as American Savings & Loan Association of Stockton, California, a September 1988 failure.
DANGER ZONE
Cassidy called the probability of failure "very high" in which a bank's nonperforming assets exceed the sum of tangible equity plus reserves for loan losses.
Richard Bove, a Ladenburg Thalmann & Co analyst, in a July 13 report titled "Who Is Next?" said a "danger zone" is where nonperforming assets, including loans at least 90 days past due, exceeded 40 percent of common equity plus reserves.
Citing FDIC data as of March 31, Bove said that IndyMac had been at the greatest risk among more than 100 of the largest U.S. lenders, with a 146.2 percent ratio.
Among the other banks high on the list include Newport Beach, California's Downey Financial Corp, with a 95.4 percent ratio; Fort Lauderdale, Florida's BFC Financial Corp, which invests in BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc; Coral Gables, Florida's BankUnited Financial Corp; Chicago's Corus Bankshares Inc; Los Angeles' FirstFed Financial Corp; Troy, Michigan's Flagstar Bancorp Inc, and Washington Mutual, at 40.6 percent.
The list also includes Puerto Rico's Doral Financial Corp, First BanCorp and Santander BanCorp.
"We're surprised to be near the top of that list," said Bert Lopez, BankUnited's chief financial officer, in an interview. "Our underwriting standards have been very conservative, we have insured a substantial portion of our loan portfolio, and our losses remain low on an overall basis."
He declined further comment, citing a pending $400 million stock offering. BankUnited shares closed Friday at 77 cents. Other banks did not immediately return requests for comment.
Bove wrote: "The system is not anywhere near the danger that existed in the late 1980s and early 1990s despite all of the whining by public officials. Perhaps, the second quarter numbers will prove them right."
BUYING THE REMNANTS
The FDIC will reopen IndyMac on Monday as IndyMac Federal Bank, and then try to sell the company as a whole or in pieces. Regulators expect the takeover to cost the FDIC $4 billion to $8 billion. The agency insurance fund has about $52.8 billion.
Among IndyMac's assets are its deposits, 33 southern California branches, its Financial Freedom reverse mortgage unit, and a fast-deteriorating loan book.
Cassidy said thrift deposits tend to be less valuable than deposits at commercial banks because they yield more, and customers might be quick to leave once those rates disappear.
"For the right price, those branches and deposits are valuable, probably to someone with a footprint in southern California," he said. "Would a Wells Fargo or a U.S. Bancorp, which are strong and healthy and would want to expand their franchise, look at it? I think so."
Neither bank immediately returned requests for comment.
Most IndyMac depositors will get their money back; the FDIC typically insures deposits up to $100,000, and up to $250,000 on some retirement accounts. The seizure came without warning.
"There are many regional banks that are under a great deal of pain," said Daniel Alpert, an investment banker at Westwood Capital in New York. "Some of them will probably have guys with yellow tape showing up soon." (Additional reporting by Dan Wilchins; Editing by Martin Golan)

Before God

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything that you Gave me"

THREE THINGS ONCE GONE, THAT NEVER COME BACK

This should be the structure of how we conduct our life.

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back

1. Time – Is like a river, it has no beginning and no end… It just keeps flowing

2. Words – Are like wild animals, if they are not tame when they come out they can be very destructive!

3. Opportunity – Is like holding a million dollars over a fire; drop it and it’s gone.

Three things in life that can destroy a person

1. Anger – Is a bull in a China Shop, very destructive.

2. Pride – A close mind can never be feed.

3. Unforgiveness - If our Lord and Savior could figure it out, we should too

Three things in life that you should never lose

1. Hope – Belief and hope live on the same street you loose that, what else do you have to live for?

2. Peace – With out this in your life, most people live disconnected.

3. Honesty – Goes with value, you loose honor, and you loose credibility.

Three things in life that is most valuable

1. Love - Makes the world go around.

2. Family & Friends – Are one’s greatest achievements!

3. Kindness – A luxury that one gives to another.

Three things in life that is never certain

1. Fortune – A Blessing from God!

2. Success – Can only be determined in one person mind, for everyone has his own value of what it is.

3. Dreams – Are unlimited, if you think it... It is done.

Three things that make a person

1. Commitment – Is a gift of love to each other.

2. Sincerity – The older you get the more you value what the words actually mean.

3. Hard work – The fuel that burns in you to help you achieve your goals!

Three things that are truly constant

Father - Son - Holy Spirit ( I ask the Lord to bless you, as I pray for you today; to guide you and protect you, as you go along your way. God's love is always with you, God's promises are true. And when you give God all your cares, you know God will see you through. Share this message with other People you want God to Bless - I just did!

My Dog Kandy

My dog Kandy taught my daughter a valuable lesson that when she wants to go outside, she wants to go out. For what ever reason Kendra was not getting that the dog wanted to go outside, so she kept putting the dog out of her room... I guess that was the final straw with the dog when she put her out and closed the door. So she dropped a load directly in front of her door and then came and sat on our bed. and looked down the hall at her doorway. When Kendra came out of her room and saw the poop she screamed... Kandi just sat on the bed watching her and did not move. Of course when we figured out what had happened we laughed our self to tears.
It seems we go through life teaching the dog, but life offers you many twist and turns when the dog teaches you a lesson!

Obama's flip-flop

This recognition of flip flopping is nothing new to the world, many have practiced this craft. They say one thing but have to make a change in the program because at one point in time it becomes unrealistic. Every four years we receive promises from mayors, governors, senators congress men and woman and presidents on how they will make a change. George Bush snow balled the world with promises and for some reason he thinks that he will go down in history as one of the best presidents ever. Lets face it president Bush, you will go down in history, but as the worst.

Barack Obama flip-flop on his policy regarding the Iraq war. For months now, Senator Obama has been insisting he would have all U. S. troops home within 16 months of being sworn in as president. Even if this were a realistic timetable for bringing Iraq to the point where it can police itself -- which it isn't -- it is foolish to announce it to the world. The point in this war is its not our fight! When we started this war vengence was are goal, now we the people are asking the question of what are we fighting for? The american econmy has hit rock bottom. Gas before the war was $1.40, 6 years later $ 4.50 a gallon and its still rising. Record forclosures, unemployment sky rocketing and we are pretending that everything is alright, but is it? The terror groups are going to always exist, like gangs, hate groups, mobsters. So can we live on if and an's? I think not.

Were it not for Mr. Obama's restrictive definition of "long-term," he is actually onto something here. Iraq has become much safer over the last year. Coalition casualties there have fallen by 75% since their peak in early 2007. And, most importantly, violence against innocent Iraqis -- suicide attacks, market and mosque bombings and sniping -- has declined by half or more. (In Afghanistan, by contrast, attacks on NATO forces are up 40% in the first six months of this year over the same period in 2007. The recent jailbreak by 800 Taliban, too, shows Afghan forces are not yet as prepared to patrol on their own as their Iraqi counterparts.) But all of that progress has come about precisely because of the stable security situation created with the help of the U. S. military. Why would Mr. Obama want to pull the rug out from Iraq's nation-building at such a crucial juncture? Its nice that Iraq has become a much safer place to live, but we don't live their... Why is it the US problem to always step in? Iraq should share the wealth and pay us with oil for the help that we have given them... Except that is not going to be the case, what we will get is "thank you very much". We spend million and billions climbing to trillions of dollars on a war that will not benefit us, don't you think that it is time that we cut our losses before it gets to late? Really their is no end in the near future if we don't innitiate it!

High Gas Prices

The high gas prices are steady finally, although by the end of July the prices may be around $4.50 a gallon. The best thing that can possibly happen is gas actually drops. The economy is well into recession and we maybe creaping into depression. These high gas prices are crippling the economy, so the most important thing to know if it reaches any higher the economy will not beable to stand that kind of drama!

Bulldozier Attack

Israeli police gather around the bulldozer that was used in the attack Wednesday. "Everything he saw he rammed," one eyewitness said.

Israeli rescue workers survey the scene of the attack, which authorities described as an act of terrorism. The attack was different from terrorists' previous methods of bombings and shootings.

The attack took place on one of Jerusalem's busiest streets, and sent hundreds of people fleeing in panic.

A medic carries an injured Israeli child from the overturned bus. After the attack, several injured people sat shocked on the ground.

A medic helps an injured Israeli woman from the bus. One pedestrian said she barely escaped. "He almost hit me. Someone pushed me out of the way at the last moment. It was a miracle that I got out of there." Source: AP

obvious racial discrimination

Why is it that some people simply refuse to see the obvious racial discrimination that lies in front of them plain as day? Since I don't have time to write a book here, I'll discuss just one of the racial aspects to the mortgage mess.As a group, African Americans simply do not have the accumulated family capital available to white people. There are historical reasons for this: the economic and social policies that favored white people. There are many books on this subject such as The Wages of Whiteness, When Affirmative Action was White, The Hidden Cost of Being African American and lots more.Not having this accumulated family capital to the same degree as whites, African Americans are forced into unfair lending situations to a much greater degree than whites.For example, my dad was able to take advantage of the GI Bill and the inexpensive veterans' loans available after WWII. African Americans were still barred from many universities and faced widespread housing discrimination in the cheap working class suburbs that sprang up in the post WWII era. My spouse's parents had the same advantages.By the time I was a teenager, we had moved out of a low income inner city neighborhood, to a segregated working class neighborhood, to a segregated white collar professional neighborhood. Home prices soared and the educational advantages that both our parents had enabled them to move into the professional middle class much more easily. Their kids than were given educational and social advantages based on this rise in family income.My spouse and I were able to use this family advantage to obtain a cheap parental loan to buy a house while both sets of our parents were still living. Our kids have gotten social and educational advantages from this. My spouse and I are perfect examples of how affirmative action for white people works in this country. There are millions more like us.Of course lots of white people get positively irrational when you point this out to them. It's wrong, but understandable. The myth of the individual "self-made man" is very strong among white people. Pop that myth and the whole white privilege thing is exposed to public view. White privilege is demeaning to white people. We're not dumb and helpless and we don't need it to live.Maybe it's time for America to grow up and leave its Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny racial myths behind. We'd all be the better for it.