Happy Tax Day

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It's tax day. Many protests are planned. Us - we're getting a refund for the first time since we had a dependent minor. That's more than a decade. Let's see what might have changed. Income - about the same. Maybe a teeny bit higher, but basically the same. Our deduction situation - exactly the same. So what could be different about 2009? Well, Barack Obama became president in 2009. Passed some tax relief for the middle class. I guess that must be the difference. Gee whiz, where can I go to protest that? On the way to the hospital, that is.

One Leading Indicator Is Up

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I got the first direct mail credit offer I’ve seen in months in today’s mail. They used to come every day, but since the economy melted down – nada. So I guess that’s good news for the economy. Bad news for trees. This was from Bank of America. After hearing all the news about how BofA was planning on burning some customers and dropping others I was curious about what they were offering. This was quite the deal.

This offering was for a loan. I was invited to take advantage of my excellent credit history and help myself to up to $30,000 of Bank of America’s (taxpayers?) money. Preapproved. This doesn’t sound as if they’ve learned a lot. But you can’t beat the terms. They laid out what the payments would be based on various amounts and the length of the loan all based on 8.99%. But, there are a couple of catches. I might not be approved for 8.99%. That’s the lowest APR I can hope for but it might be higher. Also, it’s a variable rate ranging anywhere from 8.99% to 24.99%. Bank of America can adjust the rate any time at their discretion. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that sounds like I could take this loan on Monday and they could hike up the rate on Tuesday if that’s what they were in the mood to do. But wait, there’s more! If I was to fail to pay my full minimum payment or pay it late on any two occasions during a 12 month period (possibly as a result of big rise in the interest rate on a loan I couldn’t really afford to begin with) the rate goes to 27.99% and that, of course, is not variable. That one’s fixed.

So, no thanks Bank of America. I’m going to have to pass, but I’m glad to see you’re back in the business of offering credit to people on terms that are risky to the lender and borrower. It must mean the economy is on the mend. Right?

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Throwing Rover from the Gravy Train

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The fact that pets are feeling the recession, and especially the foreclosure crisis isn’t new news. When people lose their homes, whether through foreclosure or eviction, sometimes they’re forced into housing that won’t accommodate pets. It’s a particularly sad part of a terrible situation. But it seems from this article in the New York Times, there are some newly not quite so rich New Yorkers who might be giving up their pets a little precipitously.

It’s happening to dogs all over Manhattan. Jennifer Bristol, director of operations at the private shelter Animal Haven downtown, said that she was seeing more surrenders of pure-bred dogs that typically cost owners more than $1,000. In one recent week, she received a Pekingese, a bulldog and a Shih-Tzu, all by owners who “definitely had means,” she said.

You have to wonder how these people think that the permanently non-wealthy afford to have pets at all. I’m not saying it’s always easy. Stevie’s surgery definitely set this household back. Over the thirteen years he’s lived with us he’s had two big medical expenses and that’s two more than either of the other cats. He’s really been pretty economical once you amortize. You can also buy pet health insurance which will defray part of those expenses and it’s a whole lot cheaper than human insurance. Of course pets have to be fed, but I bet that there are much better deals on pet food than you get at the specialty shops. It might be hard to believe, but people had dogs before there was doggy daycare. You can walk your own dog if necessary. Dogs don’t really care about dressing for success by and large and will even settle for inexpensive leashes and collars with barely a whimper.

It’s not that I want to judge people who are making what may be a very painful decision – I’m just saying that it sounds like there are some who are kind of panicking at the first sign of not having a ton of money. It’s those people I’d like to remind that it’s your dog who’s mostly likely to love you when you’re down and out.

Can YouTube Save Your Bacon?

Image via CrunchBase

On the same day that Newsday reported that Long Island’s unemployment rate is at its highest level since 1992 it also carried a story two local teenagers who are  raking in the cash via YouTube. Apparently YouTube can work as a cottage industry if you can give the people what they want. And what they want is not necessarily porn. Go know.

Eric Stiffler, 18, and Mac Guttenberg, 14, each have their own YouTube Channel and are in the user/partner program, where ads are shown under the videos and they get better than 50% of the revenue. This is bringing in a couple of grand a month. Beats the hell out of mowing lawns. Or unemployment.

Eric’s Channel
Mac’s Channel

Bankers in Rehab

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It seems that quite a few people in the financial industry are being driven to drink or drugs, or maybe in some cases they can’t afford their habits any longer. They’re hung over, brung down and strung out and showing up in rehab to come to terms with their drug and/or alcohol problems.

"You're supposed to be a master of the universe, you're supposed to be on top of everything," said one financial services executive who began alcohol rehab in August.

At the risk of sounding callous, life isn’t so easy for those who never, ever had delusions of being masters of the universe either. I don’t want to kick these people when they’re down. At least not all of them. But it would be refreshing if, seeing as these monied pillars of society can develop substance abuse issues upon meeting with adversity, perhaps there could be just a little more understanding of the problems that some people develop when born into adversity. Like, just for starters, stop imprisoning people for non-violent drug offenses and provide more support for getting off drugs even if you never once managed a hedge fund. Just a thought.

It’s Even a Bear Market for Dinosaurs

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This is the perfect time to stock up on cut-rate dinosaur skeletons, as it turns out.  I’d go for it but we’re a little tapped out at the moment. So, apparently, are museums.

A rare full skeleton of a 150-million-year-old dinosaur languished on an auction block yesterday, failing to sell despite interest from two museums, the auctioneers said.
Neither museum could meet the minimum price - somewhat less than $300,000 - for the 9-foot-long fossil of a dryosaurus, said Josh Chait, operations director of I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers.
The stumbling block "was a lack of funding, more than the price," he said.

When anything that’s 150 million years old can’t bring 300k you know things are rough out there. This could be a great opportunity to corner the market if you’ve got the cash.

It Probably Won't Come To This

But not everyone is so sure.

A tidal wave of public outrage over bonus payments swamped American International Group yesterday. Hired guards stood watch outside the suburban Connecticut offices of AIG Financial Products, the division whose exotic derivatives brought the insurance giant to the brink of collapse last year. Inside, death threats and angry letters flooded e-mail inboxes. Irate callers lit up the phone lines. Senior managers submitted their resignations. Some employees didn't show up at all.

"It's a mob effect," one senior executive said. "It's putting people's lives in danger."

It sucks to be the last straw, but somebody has to do it.

Go Galt Young Man

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Everybody’s been talking about Going Galt these days. Our conservative friend, Nate, commented about it on his blog just last night.If you’re late to the tea party the NYT Opinionator posted a rundown on the movment which is inspired by the late Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged a week or so ago. 

I just have a couple of quick observations.

First of all, this idea that the wealth creators, as they like to think of themselves, are going to sit back and make less money is problematic at the moment. Less than what? Haven’t they noticed what’s been going on?

Secondly, it seems to me that if anyone has demonstrated how the world would suffer for their absence, it’s the American consumer. Frankly, I’ve been a little worried about that for years. For this whole decade it’s seemed like the aim of business has been to hire their labor wherever they can be had for cheap. It seemed pretty obvious to any school child that the American  middle class was shrinking and becoming increasingly weighed down with debt as a result of these policies. Therefore, it seemed reasonable to assume that the business world had taken that into account and was counting on creating new markets across the globe, and that they could continue on that way – creating and destroying markets by turns, for decades.

As it turned out – no, they really didn’t have a plan and it turns out that American consumer dollars are really missed now that they’re in short supply. It may turn out that you can replace a CEO a lot more easily than you can replace the consumer.

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Technorati Tags: John Galt,Atlas Shrugged,Ayn Rand,Objectivism,Business,Wealth

House Approves Increase for Legal Services

Don't ever tell me there's not a "dime's worth of difference". That's never been true, even in the worst of times. The Obama adminstration introduced, and the House has approved increased funding for Legal Service Corporation, which represents low income people in non-criminal legal cases.

The 11 percent increase would bring funding for the Corporation to a total of $390 million,the third consecutive year (emphasis mine) that the House has supported additional funding to provide civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families. Most of the funding, $365.8 million, would be awarded as competitive grants to 137 nonprofit legal aid programs across the nation.

Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees LSC, said the Corporation "is an important, significant program that provides legal assistance to people who are unable to afford it. We know that the poor are hit hard during economic downturns, and this funding will help more low-income Americans faced with unlawful evictions, domestic violence and other serious legal problems"

Legal Services Corporation programs are often - usually - the only legal representation available to low income people in non-criminal cases.  Other than that, it's just them against whatever system they're up against. Just figuring out how to navigate the courts or a hearing situation can be an impossible task without help, let alone actually going to court, if it should come to that. Demand almost always exceeds resources,  so most agencies have to limit their services to cases related to basic sustenance - food, shelter, income and safety - and even then they can't always help everyone who might be eligible for services.  Republican administrations have been at war with Legal Services since Reagan's time.  After all,  Legal Services represents poor people and poor people are not popular with the GOP. Democrats fund Legal Services. Note that this is the third consecutive year that the House has voted an increase in funding. What else is happening in the House  for the third consecutive year? Yes, that's right. Democratic majorities.  Let me tell you, by 2006 things were really bad for some Legal Service agencies and lack of funding was really hampering them in their ability to represent clients. This current economic climate has been a huge worry, too, because some of the funding for LSC comes from interest on escrow accounts that private lawyers hold for clients. Naturally enough,  these days there's considerably less being held in escrow.  Budget cuts from the states have also cut funding for legal help for the poor. This news is very welcome and is yet another reason to have warm, fuzzy feelings for the Dems.

Tags:  Legal Service, Poverty, Economy, Budget

Jindal's Kidding, Right?

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This some kind of sick Republican joke, right? Governor Bobby Jindal couldn't possibly be turning down a significant portion of federally funded assistance to unemployed workers in his state. Could he? In Louisiana? This should work out well for everyone concerned. I mean, we all know he wants to run for president and it'll make better talking points to say that he turned down a lot of the money than to have go through the tedium of explaining why he took it over and over again. But, shit Governor Bobby - are you planning to personally provide those badly needed benefits to unemployed citizens of your state? If not, you'd best be watching out for torches and pitchforks.

Technorati Tags: Stimulus, Unemployment, Politics, Jindal

Stimulus Bill Passes

And it's a go. Republicans will now point out that it's been several minutes and there's no sign of improvement in the economy. And of course they'll be freed up to campaign full time against increasing access to healthcare for all of us.

I don't know what the Republicans really wanted to happen with the stimulus. Whatever it is they wanted or want down the road I still say: Obama -1, GOP -0. And that's just this week.

Technorati Tags: Politics, Stimulus Bill

Class Warfare We Can Believe In

They're storming the castles in Connecticut. I heard a teaser for this on local TV last night, but this is the first article I've found about it. Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a non-profit advocacy organization led a march on the CEO side of the tracks in Stamford. Some people are getting just a little pissed off about the CEO class living more than comfortably while so many are losing their homes. Now we're talking!

Fiscal conservatives love to scream, "Class warfare! Envy!" if you so much as approach the subject of increasing economic inequality, the shredded safety net or any form of economic injustice with them. Well, it looks they're finally right. It took long enough. Americans are amazingly not resentful of the wealth of others. At least until very recently. Estates and mansions were fun and interesting to drive past and look at. Likewise yachts and exotic cars. We'd read about their extravagant lifestyles and be entertained. Americans don't mind of some people have more than they do, as long as we're basically doing OK themselves or at least think it's within our power to do better. When you put more and more pressure on the middle class to the point when staying or becoming middle class becomes too much of a reach for a critical mass of people....well, then you've got Trouble with a capital "T".

Maybe our problem is not class warfare, but that we've had way too little class warfare in the last few decades. This kind of economic climate should have some castle dweller laying in supplies in case the masses decide on a seige. After all, if you have no job and no prospects you have plenty of time.

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New Depression Blog

Watergate Summer is using the "D" word and she's started a new blog for the express purpose of telling the human stories behind the appalling stats. Seems like a pretty good idea. Probably Woody Guthrie would have done something like that if there'd been blogs when he was around.