All you are saying is that you don’t like the facts presented by this person. If you doubt those facts you should give us some sources that repudiates them. I was also surprised by the claim that no other country is allowing for profit health insurance (and those who allow private insurance companies demand that they must be non-profit). However, it makes sence that the enourmous administrative cost we have here (20% of a number that is larger than any other countries total health cost), would be much smaller (less than 5% of total cost) if you prohibit insurance companies from making a profit (no need for a huge apparatus of beurocrats to ship cost to somebody else). I know that Wall Street and those who are shilling for them don’t like the idea that profittering is making health care more costly here in the states, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I know, if the reality based facts are liberal – right winger jst pull some convenient “facts” out of their dumb a$$es and pretend that those facts are just as good.

http://wallstreetexaminer.com/2009/08/26/bloomberg-elevates-the-bozos/

when the barbers and fantasy footballers start getting ballsey about firms that are only 1 bad Q away from the graveyard then I feel confident about Kass’ opinion that we’re at or near the top.

I just hope people aren’t shifting their 401K back into equities after jumping into cash.Life keeps getting more complicated.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aVY0aQPElyvQ

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — Coal India Ltd. may invest as much as $1.5 billion to acquire mines overseas to help overcome a shortage of the fuel as the country plans to almost double power generation capacity by 2012.

Agency that insures bank deposits may need help

“The FDIC on Thursday will disclose how much is left in its insurance fund, and update the number of banks on its list of troubled institutions. That number shot up to 305 in the first quarter — the highest since 1994 and up from 252 late last year. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair may also use the quarterly briefing to discuss how the agency plans to shore up its accounts.”

…Good morning, all. Kind of wonder how much Sheila will say is left….and I wonder if she’ll predict how much she’ll need over the next year or so….

I read to the bottom (typical of threads I contribute to) .. it’ll be here till the electromagnetic energy that powers this sites storage banks drain out .. maybe its already flying out into space by leakage (readable with the right stuff) .. hense eternal

Psychology seems to be of greater value than any numeric acumen. At what point does this worm turn? We all know it will. We’ve built a pile of reasons why it should. We are at the butt end of seasonality that will be in favor of our belief, so it better happen soon if it is going to happen this year. So the best you can do is be prepared without coming off like a whack-o

I don’t think we are talking whooshes though. This time, I think it is more like a bad hangover after partying too much…

I consider the intelligent and rational perspective, which most of you here are privy to, and at the same time have lately become wise enough to realize that in society, intelligence is not the only factor. Society (and nature) reward the herding behavior, that survival of the fittest has evolved into survival of those that fit in, with the rules the way we have set them. Thus, the majority will dictate the overall trend, with the truly intelligent (and less scrupulous) realizing this and utilizing it to their advantage whenever and wherever possible. (Think GS, frontrunning, and the sales pitch BS game that brokerages play).

It’s analogous to a prisoner’s dilemma game theory environment in the stock market currently (or perhaps analogous to the buffalo poachers of the wild west or ivory poachers of the African savanna). They will suck all they can out of the herd before killing it off. . . and then, while they have gained for themselves, the game (or hunt) is finally over, and in the end, we all lose. Then, only the truly fittest shall survive, and those who merely played the game will be thrust into a new environment with which they must cope. Those who are both intelligent and wise realize that such personal gains at the detriment of the whole will only lead to a conclusion of disaster, yet, there are not enough to sway the rest to circumvert the greed and cycle of humanity. And thus it repeats again, like usual.

Until the correct societal norms, moral doctrine, and codified laws are in place to combat disparity, yet harness free market equilibrium at the same time, we are doomed to fight over limited resources in a capitalistic world economy.

Alright, enough crackpot late night posting that nobody will read anyway. I really should wake up earlier to post my drivel so I can get more entertainment value at the debate and debunking of my theories. Feel free to blast anything I say to hell when it is proven incorrect. I don’t care really, i am just sharing what I think and throwing stuff out for fun. It is all moot at this point anyway.

Let’s say the financial system melted down instantaneously and ground to a halt. For the next few minutes, life would go on as usual wouldn’t it? Until people had to access investments that might not be there anymore. So boiled to to its core, the “system” hinges on trust that what you placed with someone else is still there and what someone owes you will be paid back. The problem is, as I have posted ad nauseum, is that so much debt is owed compared to the size of the economy, that there is reasonable doubt about a lot of it getting paid back. What we need is an orderly unwinding of the debt…a disorderly one and you will have global chaos an instability. So far, total debt per GDP has gone UP, not down. How is this helping?

more to the point – I’m wondering what a real financial global meltdown would do in your opinion .. it seems many here at TBP call for this measure as the cleansing needed .. to return (after cleanup) eventually to a period of sustained growth .. the required path out

as a non player in this meltdown .. no skin in the game .. other than a pension, social security, deposits in a bank (? with failed FDIC), taxes on plot property and goods (for repairs & day to day needs) .. I hope folks are not talking books – drumming up support for personal financial gain – selling out country

imo it helps to talk of the possible outcomes … umm .. thats it more rounded