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Thanks, Q100 Atlanta, for making this available.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I got your mortgage support right here!
Last Wednesday, the President announced a $75 billion program to slow the rate of foreclosures in the US. Within a day, the price tag for the program was up to $275 billion. That's an overnight increase of about 300%.
That got me wondering what the multiplier might end up being on the rest of the spending. And finally got me riled up enough to start this blog and write to the Instapundit. The following instalanche got the tax protest movement rolling in Atlanta.
But, back to the mortgage program.
I live in a nice part of Atlanta. In the last few years it's been getting nicer and nicer as million-dollar house after million-dollar house began replacing the 1960's split-levels. Take this, for example. Yes, that's a house in my neighborhood.
A couple of years ago, I found myself looking around the neighborhood, and thinking to myself that I must be living wrong. There I was in my split-level - nice, but not too nice - and schlepping a largish amount of my income over to WAMU every month in order to keep a roof over my head, while my neighbors were moving into decent facsimiles of French Chateaux.
I now know my neighbors were most likely bad credit risks, helped into their houses by an unholy alliance of government altruism and investment banking greed. Please read and grok that Michael Lewis article.
So, where do we find ourselves now? Well, if you're a profligate person, your profligate government is willing to swoop in and help you. If you're careful about your obligations, thrifty, and self-reliant, your profligate government swoops in and rifles your wallet to support your profligate neighbor.
Quick question: why don't *I* go into default and beggar my neighbor? Right, because I have principles, chief among which are the notions of thrift and self-reliance.
If my profligate neighbor made a bad decision about a home, and can no longer afford it, let that neighbor leave that house and find something affordable. Foreclosure may be rough, but look at it like this: my neighbor got to live high on the hog in a French Chateau for a few years. Now it's time to learn thrift and self-reliance. Or maybe not.
Megan McArdle points out another issue: government intervention to prevent foreclosures keeps prices artificially high, thereby keeping renters from becoming owners. This is the perfect government program: the thrifty are punished, the profligate are rewarded, and those trying to better their station are oppressed. Oh, and all this for the sake of five states.
So, for destroying the notion of moral hazard, for locking renters out of the housing market, for beggaring me, I oppose this program.
That got me wondering what the multiplier might end up being on the rest of the spending. And finally got me riled up enough to start this blog and write to the Instapundit. The following instalanche got the tax protest movement rolling in Atlanta.
But, back to the mortgage program.
I live in a nice part of Atlanta. In the last few years it's been getting nicer and nicer as million-dollar house after million-dollar house began replacing the 1960's split-levels. Take this, for example. Yes, that's a house in my neighborhood.
A couple of years ago, I found myself looking around the neighborhood, and thinking to myself that I must be living wrong. There I was in my split-level - nice, but not too nice - and schlepping a largish amount of my income over to WAMU every month in order to keep a roof over my head, while my neighbors were moving into decent facsimiles of French Chateaux.
I now know my neighbors were most likely bad credit risks, helped into their houses by an unholy alliance of government altruism and investment banking greed. Please read and grok that Michael Lewis article.
So, where do we find ourselves now? Well, if you're a profligate person, your profligate government is willing to swoop in and help you. If you're careful about your obligations, thrifty, and self-reliant, your profligate government swoops in and rifles your wallet to support your profligate neighbor.
Quick question: why don't *I* go into default and beggar my neighbor? Right, because I have principles, chief among which are the notions of thrift and self-reliance.
If my profligate neighbor made a bad decision about a home, and can no longer afford it, let that neighbor leave that house and find something affordable. Foreclosure may be rough, but look at it like this: my neighbor got to live high on the hog in a French Chateau for a few years. Now it's time to learn thrift and self-reliance. Or maybe not.
Megan McArdle points out another issue: government intervention to prevent foreclosures keeps prices artificially high, thereby keeping renters from becoming owners. This is the perfect government program: the thrifty are punished, the profligate are rewarded, and those trying to better their station are oppressed. Oh, and all this for the sake of five states.
So, for destroying the notion of moral hazard, for locking renters out of the housing market, for beggaring me, I oppose this program.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
PROTEST HIMBOS!!!!
Bowing to massive New Media pressure, and noting its willingness to accept pictures of Protest Goats, this blog hereby throws open its doors. Come one, come all.
I'm non-partisan, y'all.
Remember, the protest is here:
Date: Friday, 27 February, 2009.
Time: 12:00 PM, high noon.
Place: The Georgia Capitol Building - look for the gold dome.
UPDATE: Instalanche! Love the Instapundit.
I'm non-partisan, y'all.
Remember, the protest is here:
Date: Friday, 27 February, 2009.
Time: 12:00 PM, high noon.
Place: The Georgia Capitol Building - look for the gold dome.
UPDATE: Instalanche! Love the Instapundit.
PROTEST BABES!!!!!
As the Instapundit has long noted, protests go better with protest babes. In fact, if I take him correctly, the arrival on the scene of protest babes indicates the protest is about to be a huge success.
So, if you're a babe, and will be attending the protest, email me a tasteful picture, and you'll be up in lights.
Remember, the protest is here:
Date: Friday, 27 February, 2009.
Time: 12:00 PM, high noon.
Place: The Georgia Capitol Building - look for the gold dome.
C'mon, protest babes, email me! I'll make you famous!
UPDATE: Though not Norwegian, I will also accept pictures of Protest Goats. "Chacun a son goat", as the cheese-eating surrender monkeys might say.
UPDATE: Instalanche! Love the Instapundit.
So, if you're a babe, and will be attending the protest, email me a tasteful picture, and you'll be up in lights.
Remember, the protest is here:
Date: Friday, 27 February, 2009.
Time: 12:00 PM, high noon.
Place: The Georgia Capitol Building - look for the gold dome.
C'mon, protest babes, email me! I'll make you famous!
UPDATE: Though not Norwegian, I will also accept pictures of Protest Goats. "Chacun a son goat", as the cheese-eating surrender monkeys might say.
UPDATE: Instalanche! Love the Instapundit.
Monday, February 23, 2009
If you get served and serve them back...
...then it's on!
UPDATE: Facebook event (Facebook login required) here.
You can bring pictures of pitchforks, but not actual pitchforks.
All signs must be hand-held.
If you have a concealed carry permit, leave the weapon at home.
Show up to have some fun!
UPDATE: Here are the date, time, and place:
Date: Friday, 27 February, 2009.
Time: 12:00 PM, high noon.
Place: The Georgia Capitol Building - look for the gold dome.
UPDATE: Facebook event (Facebook login required) here.
You can bring pictures of pitchforks, but not actual pitchforks.
All signs must be hand-held.
If you have a concealed carry permit, leave the weapon at home.
Show up to have some fun!
UPDATE: Here are the date, time, and place:
Date: Friday, 27 February, 2009.
Time: 12:00 PM, high noon.
Place: The Georgia Capitol Building - look for the gold dome.
The People Are Revolting!
Well, here's us, at Starbucks.
We're looking into permits, writing press releases, etc.
More information to come as time goes on.
Keep checking in!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Reactions
In the last 48 hours I've had a number of conversations about this protest, with random people I know from, oh, the coffee shop, or conterences I've attended.
What's interesting to me is the initial reaction. In all cases, it was something along the lines "Oh crap, he's a right-wing Republican nutcase. And I thought he was normal."
Persevering, and endeavoring to understand before being understood, we'd eventually began to realize that while we might have different concerns about government spending priorities, we both had concrete objections to boneheaded government spending. And in many cases, we agreed exactly on the boneheadedness.
Point being that Republicans own the issue of tax cuts, and if you say "tax cut" to a Democrat, you get the kind of reaction Dracula gives to garlic - because for good or bad, Republicans also own a lot of other issues. But if you're willing to listen, you can all end up singing koom bay ya - no - I mean agreeing on some issues, er, boneheadedness.
This is important to bear in mind as, if this becomes a partisan thing, you immediately lose 50% of your possible support.
So, despite the name you see at the top, think ot this as the "Atlanta Taxpayer Protest Against Boneheaded Government Spending That's Going To Begger The Children" and imagine tht's not the name because, well first off, who'd ever type that URL?
But, surely that's something we can all agree on.
What's interesting to me is the initial reaction. In all cases, it was something along the lines "Oh crap, he's a right-wing Republican nutcase. And I thought he was normal."
Persevering, and endeavoring to understand before being understood, we'd eventually began to realize that while we might have different concerns about government spending priorities, we both had concrete objections to boneheaded government spending. And in many cases, we agreed exactly on the boneheadedness.
Point being that Republicans own the issue of tax cuts, and if you say "tax cut" to a Democrat, you get the kind of reaction Dracula gives to garlic - because for good or bad, Republicans also own a lot of other issues. But if you're willing to listen, you can all end up singing koom bay ya - no - I mean agreeing on some issues, er, boneheadedness.
This is important to bear in mind as, if this becomes a partisan thing, you immediately lose 50% of your possible support.
So, despite the name you see at the top, think ot this as the "Atlanta Taxpayer Protest Against Boneheaded Government Spending That's Going To Begger The Children" and imagine tht's not the name because, well first off, who'd ever type that URL?
But, surely that's something we can all agree on.
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