AIG did go under, yesterday. The Feds bailed them out.

I wonder if there is any effect on your 4th amendment rights (against unreasonable search and seizure) if the government owns your house.

Isn't taxation [to bail out failed companies] unreasonable seizure anyways :P

If the Dow goes much lower people are going to start having unreasonable seizures in the streets.

Gold is up almost $100 today. I almost bought some kruggerands yesterday, really should have pulled the chain on that.

Who can I send an email to? Somebody in the US owes me an apology for ****ing up my economy with his greed.

I'm pretty pessimistic in general, I suppose ... but I don't think we've seen the worst of the economic hard times in the United States by a longshot.

Mostly just curious; I wouldn't classify myself as undecided. You seem to have a good grasp on Obama's expressed policies and so forth, and a decent grasp on your own thoughts on various matters (which I think most people DON'T have, and thus can't even begin to vote rationally on a representative). It leaves me feeling like I have a pretty good concept of where Obama wants to go with various issues. If someone put together a similar post for McCain I'd love to see it.

My biggest problem, of course, is that I tend to disagree with EVERY candidate on a majority of issues. That pretty much leaves me with voting for whomever I think will do the least damage in the areas I care the most about.

You can send me an email if you want, but I'm not apologizing for my greed.

That's the truth, and the government is just ****ing it up more.

If they wanted to do something, they should've stopped all the bull**** 3 or 4 years ago that led to this point. Now it's too late to do anything other than hold their noses and watch the economy go tits up for a year. All they're doing now is dragging it out, and creating problems that will last a long time.

I mean, Canada still has issues with government owned Corporations that were sold > 40 years ago.

I've honestly debated what country I would move to if I decided the United States wasn't worth living in anymore.

I kinda doubt it will ever get THAT bad ... but I have thought about it.

Did you give people mortgages they couldn't afford at ridiculously high interest rates?

zomg now I'm agreeing with Zurvan :P

Come to Canada. It's legal for women to walk around topless in Ontario, and the beer is awesome.

The problem with all the stupid assed bailouts is that even though they are probably necessary in the short-run, in the long run they are terrible because the companies don't learn anything other than 'If we **** up who cares? We'll get bailed out, anyway!'

If people and banks weren't so damned greedy to begin with, none of this **** would have happened and the bailout wouldn't have been necessary.

The biggest beef I have with all of it is that the greedy ****ers got away with it, while the people like me and my wife who make sound financial decisions and don't overextend ourselves (you know actually save money each month and amazingly responsible **** like not spending what we don't have) are the ones who pay for it, with the ****ing bailouts.

Hey AIG, Fannie May and Freddie Mac! What are you going to do the next time an opportunity presents itself that has the potential for a huge upside but also the potential for a really huge downside? Oh, that's right, if the downside happens, you get to stay in business, and probably don't even have to pay the money back, so there is no downside to you!

Next up: JennFox

Thailand imo

I also think, if you look at history, every great empire (and if you don't think the US is an empire, you're crazy) reached the point where it simply got too big and too corrupt and collapsed on itself. I think the US has crested the large hill of that proverbial roller coaster and is just starting down (or maybe if you're really pessimistic is already halfway down) the hill to that collapse.

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his irresponsibility.

BTW Canada is at the top of my list of places to move to if I want out of the U.S. ... mainly because of the (relative) ease at which it can be done.

FYP

fyp

I am so basking in the warm glow of POG consensus!

marc faber, imo. Lives in thailand. gives out market wisdom. Is minted. Likes hanging about in the red light districts

but has a crap pony tail

I have Canadian relatives. Whenever we jokingly throw out the idea of moving there, they tell us that as ****ed up as the US is, Canada can be even more so. They also tell us that the healthcare system sucks.

I'll never leave the US, unless it's to live in another country for maybe a year or 2. No way I give up my citizenship, though.