You can only know whether you're in a recession or not well after already being in the recession. It's impossible to know as you're entering it.

Extend the tax cuts? For people that are just going to put that extra cash in the bank? Fark that. Let the tax cuts expire and add the same amount back in stimulus for the middle class - you know, people who are actually going to put the money back into the economy.

Marcus Aurelius: Extend the tax cuts? For people that are just going to put that extra cash in the bank? Fark that. Let the tax cuts expire and add the same amount back in stimulus for the middle class - you know, people who are actually going to put the money back into the economy.

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Marcus Aurelius: Extend the tax cuts? For people that are just going to put that extra cash in the bank? Fark that. Let the tax cuts expire and add the same amount back in stimulus for the middle class - you know, people who are actually going to put the money back into the economy.

But that would actually help the economy, so the GOP will dig their heels in against it.

At least until we give in and give them back the presidency, that is.

What recession? I just bought a new boat and took a stellar trip to Costa Rica in May. I don't see any poor people around me either...

I'm feeling the "what recession?" myself but I know I just live in one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S. and I'm hiding out in grad school.

Sir Not Sure The Unscannable: gilgigamesh: Marcus Aurelius: Extend the tax cuts? For people that are just going to put that extra cash in the bank? Fark that. Let the tax cuts expire and add the same amount back in stimulus for the middle class - you know, people who are actually going to put the money back into the economy.

But that would actually help the economy, so the GOP will dig their heels in against it.

At least until we give in and give them back the presidency, that is.

This. The economy is a direct result of businesses and politicians working together to return to a 1%-friendly administration. Companies will "magically" start hiring again when deregulation, budget, and tax cuts flow.


Feel those golden showers trickling down...

I like the new American Paradigm: Squeeze the absolute limit of productivity out of each worker, burn them out, then throw them away for the next person in line. Americans have become as disposable as the crap they purchase from Walmart. You aren't even a cog in a machine any longer. You are now a fuel pellet to be consumed and discarded.

There's a lesson to be learned here, but damned if we'll learn it.

Marcus Aurelius: Extend the tax cuts? For people that are just going to put that extra cash in the bank? Fark that. Let the tax cuts expire and add the same amount back in stimulus for the middle class - you know, people who are actually going to put the money back into the economy.

The middle class are getting those tax cuts as well...

Fubini: My father in law was just trying to convince me that *now* is the right time to buy a house. Property values around here are still dropping, albeit slower than they have been.

In fairness if you're in a position to buy a house then right now is a great time to do it. Interest rates aren't going to go to zero.. they're pretty close now though. Housing prices depending on market are amazingly cheap.

I have four rental properties and also my house so .. 5 houses. My goal when I got the first rental was the general 1% rule.. meaning that if you buy a house for $100k you need to rent it out for $1k a month for it to be a good deal. In Feb I picked up a house for $80k and put less than 10 in it but we'll call it a $90k house. Right now it's renting at $1150 which is way outside the norm. Or maybe this is the new norm.. I hope :)

That simple metric tells me how drastically low the real estate prices are right now and for a lot of reasons which I wont get into.

So will the interest rates drop? Maybe.. but not by a lot as they can't get lower than zero. They're around 3% right now (I got 3.75% on my last purchase). The difference between zero and 3% on a $100k house during a 30 year period would be .. 100k for 0% and 150k spent for 3%. Over 30 years that's a non-issue.

Property prices may drop some more .. depending on where you live they may drop more but I doubt they will drop more than double digits anywhere based on todays prices.

The house I'm living in now was $550k in 2002 and I picked it up for $350k a year and a half ago.. Today it's worth $340k so the impact has been basically nothing and I expect that in 10+ years it will once again be worth $500k. We may not be at an absolute bottom but we're pretty close.

That $80k house I got in Feb by the way sold for $175 in 2004.. The first house I purchased for rent was before I even owned my own home. I was renting one I liked and picked up a $70k house then fixed it up and rented it out. If you have the credit and the cash there are so many cheap houses out there and a -lot- of renters available so it might make sense to buy a house even if you don't live in it. I netted $40k last year in just rentals.

For renting you want to be at the $900+ price range though so you dont get deadbeats and farkers that ruin your property. Anyone paying less than $600 a month for rent is usually trash and they'll cost you more than you make. Yeah you might get the occasional up and comer but generally speaking it's going to be a recovering methhead whos going to burn your house down.