SAR #9263

Where does the trash go? Where's this place called 'away'?

Who's Bidding? Not individuals, for stock funds keep registering net outflows. Not insiders, they've been selling not buying. And it is not corporate buy-backs, they're back to 1998 levels. So who? Probably mutual fund managers who missed the bus last spring, jumping on just before the bus goes over the cliff.

Confetti: We used to make things, then we made contracts, now we cut up contracts, glue them back together in pretty patterns and sell them to each other.

The wisdom of crowds: It's not so much that the market keeps going up, but rather that it refuses to fall, even though total credit market debt relative to GDP is beyond belief, commercial real estate is melting down, more mortgages are resetting into default and the customer is actually saving, not borrowing. There are lots of signs pointing to an economic collapse of epic dimensions that are happily being ignored by CNBC, the MSM, and Joe Public. Even Alan Greenspan has noticed something's amiss.

Life is a Pre-Existing Condition: Getting pregnant is a choice, not an insurable health condition – that's what most health insurers say.

I've Got Mine: "It's not my problem. I can make it to the finish line … and my standard of living's not going to change, but for you and the generations to come, you better get it fixed," T. Boone Pickens, 81 and a billionaire, on the energy problems.

Uncle Vinny: When you borrow from the local loan shark, it's not the repayment he's interested in, it's the vig. As long as you can make the vig, he doesn't break your legs. How much longer can the American citizen, and the US Government, keep making the vig? When will the interest exceed our available income? And whose legs get broken when we start paying interest on the interest? The dollar's, in devaluation?

Getting Serious: How much do we need to reduce CO2 emissions? How soon can you get to it?

Fixer-Upper: Nothing has yet been done to minimize the danger from the quadrillion or so dollars in derivatives. Bankers tell us not to worry because the “net exposure” is small. If there's no exposure to loss, why did everybody get into the fray? You can make a profit, but you can't lose – ah, where have I heard that one before?

Future Now? “I built it in stages, added things as I got the money to do so.” What a strange concept.

A Minsky Moment: “Instability is an inherent and inescapable flaw of capitalism.” Minsky figured out that capitalism is prone to collapse from its own excesses. Or put another way, greed and avarice lead to bubbles which collapse, then after a period of rational investing, folks forget and repeat the process. Rings a bell, no?

Six Easy Pieces: Wind – at high altitudes. Waves, 24/7. Algae – pond scum to the rescue. Geothermal. Solar panels in outer space. Fusion reactors. For extra credit, please identify which of the above is shovel ready and able to replace oil and coal within a meaningful time horizon.

Asked and Answered: "Is Wells Fargo Making AIG’s Suicidal Mistake?” Apparently. But remember, with assets over $1.250 trillion Wells Fargo's is too big to fail, to big to survive on its own and too big to be swallowed. Bailout, Ben.

... 'Til It Hurts : TThe FHA's reserves are below 2%. The FDIC is down to its last $10 million. (Or down to your last $500 billion!) The FHA's loans are running about 15% past due, more banks will fail – and the taxpayer will be tapped to cover these losses too. The taxpayers should cut out the middleman and send their money directly to the banks.

Good Intentions: As long as the US remains dependent on imported oil, it will support authoritarian regimes – or install its own.

Think First: Environmentalists have stopped a solar energy project in the California desert in order to “save” the desert. As if global warming – which solar energy will help fight – isn't going to make a lot more of California into desert.

Porn O'Graph : Heads they win, tails we lose, again.