Federal Government and Home Lending

Posted on 28 June 2019 by eehines

Investors worry about the impact on home mortgage costs from the Trump administration’s efforts to reform Federal involvement in the business—for instance, cutting Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loose from Federal controls and support.

The WSJ‘s subheadline of the article at the link sums up those investors’ worry:

[A]ny overhaul to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could reduce or eliminate the federal backstop

To which this investor—and home-owner and mortgage payer—says, “Yeah, and?”

There should be no Federal backstop at all, there should be no Federal involvement in this, or any other, industry at all. Federal involvement only distorts the market, and Federal money, being the increased demand of additional and protected money, only drives up costs.

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Not an Iron Curtain

Posted on 25 June 2019 by eehines

But it is intended to be a chain-link fence. It’s not intended to keep folks out, though, but like its Big Brother, it is intended to “encourage” folks to stay in.

Connecticut has expanded its mansion tax on homes. Here’s how it works. On sale, Connecticut taxmen will exact from the seller a 2.25% tax on the value of the sale that exceeds $2.5 million. This is an increase from the already existing “conveyance tax” of 1.25%, but it adds a fillip: if the seller stays in the State for a suitably long time after the sale (“suitable” being defined by the State’s politicians), he’ll get the money back as a tax credit. If he leaves Connecticut for greener and friendlier pastures too soon to suit those politicians, too bad—he loses those 2.25%.

This is a preview of Not an Iron Curtain. Read the full post (275 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

The Land of the Free

Posted on 24 June 2019 by eehines

Free Stuff, that is. Here’s the latest from Senator and Progressive-Democratic Party Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D, MA). In addition to all the other free stuff she wants us to have, now she wants free child care.

[F]amilies living below the 200% poverty threshold (roughly $51,500 for a family of four) would get free access to child care and early education….

With this, Warren wants folks who, by her own definition, are not poverty-ridden to get free child care. Notice, too, she’s lumped in with child care her “early education”—that’s her tacit admission that our public schools no longer provide actual education; they’re just child care facilities.

This is a preview of The Land of the Free. Read the full post (421 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

You’ve Made Enough Money

Posted on 21 June 2019 by eehines

The New Jersey governor says so, and he wants to raise the income tax on the rich and the not-yet rich—those making more than $1 million per annual year*—by almost a full per centage point, to 10.75%.

Because, he argues.

So far, even the Progressive-Democrat-run legislature is demurring from that move, but the governor seems poised to veto a budget that doesn’t have the tax increase.

Give it up, the Progressive-Democrat governor says. I have better uses for your money than you do, the Progressive-Democrat governor says.

This is a preview of You’ve Made Enough Money. Read the full post (151 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)

The Progressive-Democratic Party

Posted on 21 June 2019 by eehines

…in microcosm. Progressive-Democratic Party candidate for a Denver, CO, city council seat says openly that she wants to replace our capitalist economy and “usher in” “community ownership” of all property by any means necessary.

The Progressive-Democratic Party is silent on her goal, and by that silence demonstrates quite clearly that Party favors this push.

Keep this in mind in November 2020.

This is a preview of The Progressive-Democratic Party. Read the full post (95 words, estimated 23 secs reading time)

The Fed’s Market-Chasing

Posted on 20 June 2019 by eehines

They’re at it again, or talking like it.

Federal Reserve officials meet Tuesday recognizing they may need to cut interest rates should the economic outlook darken. The question is whether that moment has arrived or if they need more information before deciding.
…
The choices…are between cutting rates now if they see the economic outlook worsening or holding off and cutting next month if the picture grows darker.

No, the question proceeds from the false premise that the Fed should cut rates, with its partially false alternative that the Fed should hold rates steady for a time.

This is a preview of The Fed’s Market-Chasing. Read the full post (372 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

(Partially) Self-Driving Cars

Posted on 19 June 2019 by eehines

Christopher Mims had an article in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal that talked about the technology involved in controlling self-driving cars is slowing the introduction of production-ready self-driving cars. Aspects of that technology are making their way into human-driven cars, obviating the need for computer-run cars.

I have some thoughts on that. Because opinions are my jam.

Mims led off his piece with this about that technology in a more current car that remains fundamentally human-driven:

It will take over when it thinks you’re making a mistake.

This is a preview of (Partially) Self-Driving Cars. Read the full post (452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Votes or Humans?

Posted on 18 June 2019 by eehines

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren proposed legislation Friday that would allocate $7 billion in federal grants to help minority entrepreneurs start businesses.

This is just more of the soft bigotry of low expectations inherent in Progressive-Democrats. They simply don’t believe that minorities can compete without special treatment, so they regulate the hell out of our economy and then generate handouts to prop up those most damaged by their regulations.

On the other hand, it’s a way to keep minorities trapped in Progressive-Democrats’ welfare cages, because votes.

This is a preview of Votes or Humans?. Read the full post (144 words, estimated 35 secs reading time)

No Fair

Posted on 18 June 2019 by eehines

The United Auto Workers lost another attempt to “organize” Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, TN, factory; its latest move was voted down last Friday 833-776. Tennessee is a right-to-work State, and those factory workers rudely exercised their right to work free of union interference.

Naturally, the UAW has its collective panties in a collective twist. The loss is unfair, you see, because it’s always unfair when a union (or any faction of the Left, come to that) loses a contest. Brian Rothenberg, a UAW spokesman, made this nonsense plain:

Our labor laws are broken[.]

Well, they must be—they don’t guarantee a union victory.

This is a preview of No Fair. Read the full post (256 words, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)

Socialism

Posted on 17 June 2019 by eehines

It seems Amazon has teamed with another company to create and issue a credit card that would be issuable to Amazon’s Prime members. It doesn’t matter what the purpose and parameters of the card are—they’re legal under existing law.

But none of that matters. Senator and Progressive-Democratic Party Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I, VT) and his trophy BFF, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, NY), object to the card because it doesn’t suit their requirements. And since they object, they’ve vowed to destroy the card, should Sanders be elected President.

This is a preview of Socialism. Read the full post (211 words, estimated 51 secs reading time)

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Category Archives: political economy