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Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on personal finance tips for recent college grads, haggling like a pro to get what you want, and tips to build your savings account.

Top 5

7 Most Important Personal Finance Tips for Recent College Grads — If you are a recent grad, don't forget to start building an emergency fund. [Money Crashers]

Haggle Like a Pro to Get What You Want — To haggle successfully, consider talking to someone higher up. [Savvy Sugar]

5 Tips to Build Your Savings Account — Build your savings account by setting up an auto transfer. [Not Made of Money]

Handling Your Finances - How to Create Wealth — Create wealth by cutting expenses in your budget. [Green Panda Treehouse]

7 Steps to Raise Your Credit Score — Raise your credit score by automizing paying your bills. [Moola Days]

Other Essential Reading

Dinners Your Kindergarten Cook Can Help Prepare — Get your kindergartener involved with dinner by making pizza! [Parenting Squad]

Health Insurance and Downgrading Your Job — If you are thinking about downgrading your job, be sure to plan ahead for your health care needs. [The Simple Dollar]

Ways to Use up Eggs — Do you have eggs in your fridge that are going to go bad soon? Separate the egg yolks and whites and freeze them to use in baking recipes later. [Ultimate Money Blog]

Keep Glass from Fogging Up with Shaving Cream — To get rid of fog on glass, use shaving cream to clean it off! [Lifehacker]

4 Reasons to Avoid Payday Loans — Stay away from payday loans. They could negatively affect your credit score. [Financial Highway]

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Property owners are deciding to remodel instead than promote their residences in today’s industry
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How to Making Money

Founded in 2009 by Amanda Steinberg, DailyWorth can be a regular e-mail newsletter that includes information on fiscal literacy and income management skewed in the direction of a female audience. DailyWorth’s topics collection from the way to organize your finances to tax tips to saving guidance. And DailyWorth has an amazing editorial employees to create information. MP Dunleavey, formerly a own finance columnist with the New york Occasions and currently a contributor with Funds magazine, is main DailyWorth’s editorial crew.

In spite of unions’ lengthy hatred of Scott Walker, the new governor is moving to address equally the indicators for the ailment plus the disease itself-the public-sector union scheme which has molested Wisconsin’s taxpayers and their small children by gaming the procedure. Unions like Wisconsin’s teachers’ union [WEAC] (which was Wisconsin’s biggest-spending lobby in 2009) are extraordinarily adept at correcting the strategy through investing hundreds of thousands to elect politicians who, in turn, reward the unions with the expense in the taxpayers.

the Wisconsin fight, when in comparison to private-sector negotiations is about: one) the Scope of Bargaining, 2) Union “Income” Safety [Right-to-Work vs. Forced Dues], 3) no matter whether Wisconsin have to be the unions’ dues assortment agency [payroll deduction of dues], and 4) no matter whether public-sector unions need to be ‘recertified’ by holding elections every last 12 months.

set the photographs on-line to show our assignments group at msnbc.com, and photographer Jim Seida explained, why do not we just publish it as a slide indicate? I used to be skeptical at first - would that crimp the composing? - but in the finish I used to be advocating accomplishing it this way once the photo group was skeptical. I thought much more individuals would read through thru it this way, and it will be well worth an experiment.”


commercial fishing boats based in Crescent City set to sea previous night time once the tsunami alert was 1st broadcast. It's much easier to experience out big waves at sea than on the dock. Now many of these boats are working very low on fuel, nevertheless they are unable to return to port despite the fact that the surges carry on, explained Chris Renner, operator of C. Renner Petroleum Co. in Crescent Metropolis, which serves the fleet


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On Monday night, I watched my to start with, The Last Phrase host Lawrence O’Donnell.
Even while O’Donnell laudably tried to emphasis the audience’s attention onand hopefully last, Charlie Sheen trainwreck interview, courtesy of the tragic undertow that threatens to pull Sheen underneath for fantastic, I used to be overtaken, not through the pulling on the thread, and then the voracious audience he serves. It didn’t make me sad, it designed me angry.

When it comes to celebrities, we are able to be a heartless region, basking in their misfortunes like nude sunbathers at Schadenfreude Beach. The impulse is understandable, to some degree. It may possibly be grating to pay attention to complaints from consumers who enjoy privileges that most of us can’t even contemplate. In the event you can’t muster up some compassion for Charlie Sheen, who may make further money to get a day’s effort than many of us will make in a decade’s time, I guess I can not blame you.



Using the speedy speed of activities on the web and then the info revolution sparked from the Online world, it is particularly painless for your technologies business to consider it’s exclusive: always breaking new ground and performing facts that no person has actually carried out ahead of.

But you will discover other kinds of internet business which have already undergone several of the similar radical shifts, and have just as excellent a stake during the long term.

Consider healthcare, as an example.

We normally believe of it being a large, lumbering beast, but in fact, medication has undergone a series of revolutions with the past 200 years which have been not less than equal to people we see in technological innovation and material.

Much less understandable, but still inside the norms of human nature, would be the impulse to rubberneck, to slow down and investigate the carnage of Charlie spectacle of Sheen’s unraveling, but for the blithe interviewer Sheen’s everyday living as we pass it with the proper lane of our each day lives. To become sincere, it could be challenging for persons to discern the variation between a run-of-the-mill attention whore, and an honest-to-goodness, circling the drain tragedy-to-be. On its personal merits, a quote like “I Am On a Drug. It is Identified as Charlie Sheen” is sheer genius, and we can’t all be expected to consider the full measure of someone’s existence every last time we listen to anything humorous.

Rapidly ahead to 2011 and I'm looking to look into will mean of staying a bit more business-like about my hobbies (for the most part music). Through the conclude of January I had manned up and started out to advertise my weblogs. I had generated many distinctive blogs, which had been contributed to by colleagues and colleagues. I promoted these pursuits because of Facebook and Twitter.


2nd: the little abomination that the Gang of Five around the Supream Court gave us a 12 months or so ago (Citizens Inebriated) in fact includes just a little bouncing betty of its very own that can particularly well go off from the faces of Govs Wanker, Sacitch, Krysty, and J.O. Daniels. Given that this ruling extended the idea of “personhood” to the two corporations and unions, to try out to deny them any best suited to run inside the legal framework that they had been organized beneath deprives these “persons” with the freedoms of speech, association and movement. Which implies (as soon as yet again, quoting law college educated relatives) that both the courts need to uphold these rights for your unions (as particular person “persons” as assured through the Federal (and most state) constitutions, or they've to declare that these attempts at stripping or limiting union rights really need to apply to primary corporations, also.







MeFites, my roommate is a mid-twenties free spirit who is a lovely spirit, generous to a fault, but has very little respect for others' things. When she moved in, I set the tone for our household to be one of sharing; I wanted to frequently share my dinners with her. I made it clear that things I own in common areas are fair game (kitchen stuff, etc). I've specified what is mine, what I choose not to share, what is NOT fair game for her use.



I love this roommate, but since the beginning, there has been major boundary crossing. My things go missing. My food, shampoo, mouthwash, household cleaners get used up. Worst of all, when I can't find things, she turns white and tells me they are at "so-and-so's house" and rushes off to get them.



When she ruined my good towels by using them at the school, she said, "Why do you need good towels anyway?! We're so spoiled in this country!" implying I was being selfish and materialistic. Guilting me for expecting my roommate to exercise normal, healthy respect for others' property.



I've had at least four "boundary clarification" talks with her. I have expressed that while I am happy to let her use my things IN OUR HOME, they are NOT to leave the house without my permission. I have clearly stated, "Hey, I am the one who gets to decide whether you use my belongings. You don't get to decide for me."



After a major episode when she lent my sewing box out to one neighbor and our vacuum to another, I set a tangible boundary to keep my things safe and put a lock on my bedroom door. But she STILL is taking things to the school where she works...things she presumes are "No big deal." My grandmother's rolling pin. My only nice set of dinner napkins (both now ruined or gone.) I've told her the next time I find something missing, rent will go up $50 a month for each missing thing (and that's in addition to her replacing what's gone.)



She offers me her food, to use her clothes or hair products, etc. "any time" which is lovely and generous and selfless...buys little presents, has offered to lend me money, helps and cleans up around the house, etc...and I genuinely like her as a person, but I'm really struggling with how to deal with this. In some ways, I feel like I'm dealing with a stubborn, incorrigible, spoiled teenager.



Please note: right now for various reasons, I cannot ask her to move out, so please help me come up with solutions to the situation I'm presently in.



Since being laid off, I have been seriously underemployed and barely paying the bills. I'm starting a new job next month so this stress will lighten soon, but in the last few months with her using up the little I have, it has been very difficult. Knowing she might be sneaking my shampoo and eating the food I bought for myself has been threatening my sense of well-being. I realize deep mistrust has set in.



I've said and done all the constructive things I can think of. But clearly, she doesn't "get it." Healthy boundaries and grownup considerations.



Can anyone help? I'm at my wit's end.

Ever wondered what it’d be like to run your own game development house? Me neither, but don’t let that stop you getting involved with Game Dev Story (iTunes link), a little gem of a game from Japanese developers Kairosoft, currently on sale in the app store for $0.99.

The concept is straightforward – grow your development house from a tiny team of four staff churning out cheap and cheerful PC games to a revered coding powerhouse in swanky offices crafting masterpieces for the latest consoles.

At first you’ll probably be going over budget left right and centre, trying to figure out which game types work best and therefore shift more units, but once you get into the swing of it you can concentrate on hiring and training the best staff and purchasing licences to develop console games, resulting in better made and better selling games with higher profit margins.

It’s not just a question of hiring and firing, coming up with game ideas and watching your staff working their buns off though. Through the use of ‘boosts’ which are periodically made available to purchase as the game progresses (not in-app purchases I hasten to add), you can choose one of your coders to work on enhancing one specific aspect of the game. This pushes up the overall quality of the game you’re making and results in better reviews and sales, adding a further strategic element as you choose the right moment and category in which to use your boosts. At certain points within the development cycle you also get the chance to work on the graphics and sound specifically, either using one of your own staff or hiring in a freelancer, and this too gives you the opportunity to increase the overall quality of your virtual product.

When you make your first million seller it’s a satisfying moment but there’s no time to rest on your laurels. There are always new consoles appearing on the market, contract jobs to take on, new staff to hire and new game types to discover. If you leave too much of a gap between development cycles you start losing fans and therefore a few sales, but think carefully about what kind of games you make – my pirate simulation was a right turkey.

It’s all great fun, but it’s fair to say there are a few things here which need to be addressed by the time Game Dev Story 2 arrives in the app store. I know it’s a tall order on a phone but I couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be if I could play the games my team had made. Even a comedy cut sequence showing some aspects of the latest game would have been good. There are also some hugely expensive advertising options within this game that offer no feedback other than some numbers increasing on a stat page. If I’m sponsoring a racing team I’d like to see my company logo on the side of a formula one car at least!

Finally, the game is perhaps a bit on the easy side. I’m sure if developing a multi million selling game was this straightforward we’d all be at it. Well, maybe not, but it’s easy to make enough money that you don’t have to worry too much about how you spend it, and this negatively impacts the strategy element.

All things considered however, Game Dev Story is great fun. It’s a good natured game and from the cute graphics and retro sound to the amusing titles you can give your creations, it’s a rewarding experience which works perfectly whether in short bursts or longer play sessions. Did I mention that it’s currently only $0.99 on the app store?

Source: http://removeripoffreports.net/ online reputation management

The ultimate in repairing a bruised reputation for business

Making Money With Options

Obama want to reform Fannie and Freddie. There are a few options on the table, but Little Red Riding Hood does not think the porridge in any of the bowls is quite right.

Please consider White House wants less government in mortgage system

The Obama administration wants to shrink the government's role in the mortgage system -- a proposal that would remake decades of federal policy aimed at getting Americans to buy homes and would probably make home loans more expensive across the board.

The Treasury Department rolled out a plan Friday to slowly dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored programs that bought up mortgages to encourage more lending and required bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.

The first option proposed by the administration would give the government no role beyond helping poorer and middle-class borrowers through agencies like the Federal Housing Administration, which provides insurance on mortgage loans.

The second and third options would give the government a role as an insurer of mortgages, and each would prompt mortgage companies to pass along fees to borrowers.

Under one, the government would step in to guarantee private mortgages during a severe economic downturn, such as another housing slump, but would provide limited support during normal times.

The third option would be more complex. The government would insure a targeted range of mortgage investments that already are guaranteed by private insurers -- serving as a "reinsurance" broker to those financing companies. In the event the private insurers couldn't pay the owners of the mortgage investments, the government insurance would pay.

The third option would leave the government with the largest role and probably have the smallest impact on mortgage rates. While lenders would have to pay fees, which would ordinarily drive rates higher, the government guarantees would also make mortgages a safer investment. That would attract more private money and hold rates down.

The correct option is to get rid of Fannie, Freddie, the FHA and HUD. The government should not provide any backstop or any guarantees at any time. Unfortunately that option was not on the table.

Some are concerned that private lending may dry up. If it did, so what? The government has no business promoting housing or taking on risks best suited for private markets.

Here's the deal: If lenders knew there was no government guarantees, they would not make as many stupid loans. If they don't make stupid loans, there is far less risk that lending freezes up in the first place.

Moreover, if somehow the lenders do go broke as a consequence of making poor loans, bondholders and shareholders will pay the price, not taxpayers. Pray tell, what is wrong with that?

Cheering the Demise of 30-Year Mortgages

In a free market, we may very well not see many 30-year loans issued. Why would any lending institute want to lend for 30 years at an interest rate of 5% anyway?

We might even see new products like 8-year, 10-year, or 12-year loans. Such loans would help ensure equity paybacks quickly, reducing risk for everyone on both sides of the transaction. If that forces people to buy a smaller house, so be it.

A home should be an affordable place to live, not a debt-trap or method of leveraged financial speculation for 30 years.

Borrowing short and lending long for 30-years (while attempting to hedge in between) is a recipe for disaster. Fannie and Freddie have already gotten into serious trouble over it. If that practice stops, we will all be the better for it. Thus, we should all cheer the demise of 30-year loans.

If we would just get government totally out of the way, housing will recover a lot quicker, with home prices far more stable, than with government guarantees or half-assed measures. It's time we remove the government crutch completely. For more on this line of thinking, please see Mortgage Rates Hit 1-Year High; NAR Whines for Government (Taxpayer) Support of Fannie, Freddie; "*" the NAR

We have tried everything else, and everything else failed, so why not try the free market for a change.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Babies are big business. Nobody wants to be a bad parent, so there is great pressure to be sure you have not just the essentials, but the best essentials for your new baby. If you're a first-time parent, you have no experience to guide you. The helpful salesperson at the local Baby-Mega-Super-Store will be more than happy to provide you with a mile-long list of what, you're assured, are really and truly the essentials.

Well, I'm here to tell you different.

My fourth child is scheduled to make her appearance in just a couple of months. My oldest child is not yet five years old. For the last several years of my life, I've been a card-carrying, dues-paid, full-fledged member of the baby club. Many of those "essentials" you see for sale just turn into extraneous stuff that you have to keep cleaning, moving, and, at times, paying for. Save yourself some money and space, and stock up only on what you'll actually use. Here's my list of needs. (See also: Which Baby Products Are a Waste of Money?)

A Place to Sleep

A decent crib, a good mattress, and enough bedding to keep baby comfortable are essential. You don't, however, have to buy a crib new to get a good one. Search your local classifieds for a used crib; just make sure you get one that isn't more than five years old. It should be sturdy, with small spaces between the slats and all hardware intact. Most cribs that have been made within the last five years convert easily into toddler beds.

Salespeople at the Big Baby Box Store will scare you with talk of scoliosis and try to get you to buy the premium mattress for your crib. I bought the mid-grade; it's obviously firmer and nicer than the cheapest option, but it's also as firm and nice as I need it to be for peace of mind.

As far as what to put on the mattress, keep it simple. Bumper pads are not necessary and can even be a suffocation hazard. Same goes for big, fluffy comforters, pillows, stuffed animals, or piles of blankets. For the first six months or so, you'll want to have a mattress cover, five crib sheets (frequent spit-ups and diaper incidents make extras really nice to have around), and a couple of lightweight blankets. When the weather is cool, dress baby warmly so she won't get cold during nap time and night time.

A Place to Play

For the first several months of your baby's life, mobility won't be an option for him. This means, basically, that you can plop him down on a blanket, and he's not going anywhere. This also means that baby doesn't really need a swing, a bouncer, a play center, a play pen, a walker, a baby papasan, or any of the other play area options out there.

The caveat on this is when your baby does start to get mobile. Rolling, scooting, and then crawling will introduce a whole new world of possibilities. At that point, it's nice to have one or two confined play areas handy, so you can keep your baby entertained and safe while you need to do something else. But you don't need all the options.

Before you buy, test out what your friends have; go have a play date and put your baby in your friend's swing. If he's screaming in five minutes, don't spend $100 on a swing. If he's happy, it might be worth the investment. I've had the best response from my children with a very basic baby swing, a little reclined baby seat, and a Pack 'n Play that serves as a confined play area and can be moved to any room of the house, the yard, a friend's house, or Nana's house.

A Way to Travel

A safe car seat and a sturdy stroller are investments worth making for your new baby. You'll get the best deal on new items by purchasing a car seat/stroller combination; those will start at about $150 new and go up from there. The same advice applies to car seats and strollers as to cribs. If you're purchasing used, make sure the car seat/stroller isn't over five years old, and inspect it thoroughly to be sure it's in good condition.

The only other "travel" item I've used over the years is a front-pack baby carrier. I got a good brand, and it's lasted through heavy use with three babies. These seem to be mainly a matter of personal preference, however; if you can't picture yourself walking around with a baby strapped to your chest, don't buy one.

Clothes

Brand-new babies, prone to random bouts of spitting up and explosive diapers, can go through quite a few outfits in a day. Stock up on essentials that are comfortable for your baby and easy to get on and off: ruffles, ribbons, bows, zippers, buttons, and extra clothing "decor" tend to make the dressing process complicated and long (not fun when your baby is screaming), and, generally, the more "stuff" on an outfit, the less comfortable your baby will be in it.

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AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

Psychologist shows why we “choke” under pressure – and how to <b>...</b>

U.S. News & World Report – September 21, 2010. The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better. Daily Mail – September 22, 2010. Psychologist studies sports 'choke'. United Press International – September 21 ...

Robert Reich: The Real <b>News</b> on Jobs

On our current trajectory, the unemployment rate will continue to decline. But so will the pay and benefits of most Americans. The real story isn't about jobs, it's about the ever decreasing standard of living for the middle class.

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AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

Psychologist shows why we “choke” under pressure – and how to <b>...</b>

U.S. News & World Report – September 21, 2010. The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better. Daily Mail – September 22, 2010. Psychologist studies sports 'choke'. United Press International – September 21 ...

Robert Reich: The Real <b>News</b> on Jobs

On our current trajectory, the unemployment rate will continue to decline. But so will the pay and benefits of most Americans. The real story isn't about jobs, it's about the ever decreasing standard of living for the middle class.

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AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

Psychologist shows why we “choke” under pressure – and how to <b>...</b>

U.S. News & World Report – September 21, 2010. The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better. Daily Mail – September 22, 2010. Psychologist studies sports 'choke'. United Press International – September 21 ...

Robert Reich: The Real <b>News</b> on Jobs

On our current trajectory, the unemployment rate will continue to decline. But so will the pay and benefits of most Americans. The real story isn't about jobs, it's about the ever decreasing standard of living for the middle class.

bench craft company

AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

Psychologist shows why we “choke” under pressure – and how to <b>...</b>

U.S. News & World Report – September 21, 2010. The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better. Daily Mail – September 22, 2010. Psychologist studies sports 'choke'. United Press International – September 21 ...

Robert Reich: The Real <b>News</b> on Jobs

On our current trajectory, the unemployment rate will continue to decline. But so will the pay and benefits of most Americans. The real story isn't about jobs, it's about the ever decreasing standard of living for the middle class.

bench craft company

AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

Psychologist shows why we “choke” under pressure – and how to <b>...</b>

U.S. News & World Report – September 21, 2010. The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better. Daily Mail – September 22, 2010. Psychologist studies sports 'choke'. United Press International – September 21 ...

Robert Reich: The Real <b>News</b> on Jobs

On our current trajectory, the unemployment rate will continue to decline. But so will the pay and benefits of most Americans. The real story isn't about jobs, it's about the ever decreasing standard of living for the middle class.

bench craft company

AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

Psychologist shows why we “choke” under pressure – and how to <b>...</b>

U.S. News & World Report – September 21, 2010. The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better. Daily Mail – September 22, 2010. Psychologist studies sports 'choke'. United Press International – September 21 ...

Robert Reich: The Real <b>News</b> on Jobs

On our current trajectory, the unemployment rate will continue to decline. But so will the pay and benefits of most Americans. The real story isn't about jobs, it's about the ever decreasing standard of living for the middle class.

bench craft company

AOL Bolsters Local <b>News</b> Investment With Acquisition of Outside.in <b>...</b>

AOL has acquired local news aggregator Outside.in, according to multiple reports.

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Somebody said that regulators need real power in order to be tough and effective. He said a strong, independent consumer protection agency is needed to help prevent the next financial crisis. And that we should help the millions of "responsible" homeowners hurt by the crash, instead of demonizing them.

This guy described Fannie and Freddie's assets as "bullsh*t capital" - $5.4 trillion of it, with taxpayers on the hook and potential debtors that included China and France. He also said this about the whole notion of privatizing a government activity: "To me, if there's a guarantee, they should be a (government) utility (rather than a private company) - why should people get wealthy off of a government guarantee?"

So is this socialist - Noam Chomsky? He's Hank Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO and Bush's Treasury Secretary during the 2008 meltdown. Paulson's interview with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission may leave you wishing he was still in Washington. The clarity of his comments highlight the absurdity of those politicians who claim that the FCIC reached a "partisan" conclusion. Here's a Wall Street powerhouse and GOP stalwart who's saying the same things - and more.

Paulson didn't just express opinions to the FCIC. He also provided anecdotes that illustrate the real problem with Fannie, Freddie, and the entire "privatize government" movement: When you give government backing to people with private-sector incentives, very bad things happen. So as the media distracts itself (and us) with the power struggle between Democrats and Republicans, a conflict it insists on describes as the "left" versus the "right," Paulson described problems and their solutions in ways that neither party's leaders are willing to discuss.

Paulson spoke to FCIC staff last April, and an internal memo summarized that conversation:

Not enough regulation + no consumer protection = catastrophe

Here's how the memo summarized Paulson's thoughts, under the heading "Sec. Paulson's Evaluation of Root Causes of Crisis" (all emphases in these excerpts are mine):

Sec. Paulson stated that the root causes of the crisis were housing policy in addition to the lack of regulation. He explained that many mortgages had big regulatory gaps and many mortgages issued in many number of states did not have an adequate regulator. Sec. Paulson recommended including in a regulatory blue print a consumer agency that focuses on consumer protection and a mortgage origination commission that evaluates the training and regulation that goes on a state level and will be able to evaluate the different programs so investors would be informed.

Look at what Paulson's saying: We need more regulation ("regulatory gaps") and more regulators. We need a "consumer agency that focuses on consumer protection" (we now have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - it was downgraded from an agency to a bureau by the Senate). We need better training and regulation at the state level (banks are now trying to overrule state regulations to escape the consequences of foreclosure fraud). Investors need to be better informed about where there investments are going (Mr. Paulson's former company is, of course, a major offender in this area).

How many of these ideas are being promoted today by either party?

And about that "housing policy": This may sound like the old right-wing theme that it's over-reaching when government tries to help poor people, but that's not what he's saying. As I hear it, he's saying that many people were encouraged to buy homes who would've been better off renting. The problem wasn't that government was too activist, but that the "ownership society" idea (and other government policies, including taxation) used government to encourage over-borrowing by some homeowners, enriching financial speculators while creating needless risk for borrowers.

A lot of innocent homeowners got hurt - and they weren't getting enough help.

Paulson held town hall-style meetings in hard-hit real estate markets like Burbank, Stockton, Orlando, Chicago, and Kansas City. "I was literally sickened in terms of what I saw in terms of what had happened to some people, the terms of the mortgages," he told the FCIC staff. He added that "lending essentially shut down on the private side, so now we were in a situation where very responsible people who wanted to buy or refinance to prevent losing their homes under very reasonable terms were having difficulty doing so."

Paulson described his own efforts to get loans out to these homeowners, which met with strong resistance from Fannie and Freddie's badly-incentivized executives. Since Paulson left office, the current Administration's HAMP program has only helped a few hundred thousand people although an estimated eleven million homes are considered at risk for foreclosure, and HAMP has harmed many others through the "extend and pretend" phenomenon. Meanwhile the House is planning to eviscerate funding for all housing programs in the next budget.

Ideological battles diverted Congress from the task at hand.

It's ironic how many politicians who get campaign money from Wall Street banks - banks which continue to collect billions in indirect government assistance - resist anything that might help homeowners, because American families who obtained mortgages from those banks are supposedly "undeserving." From the FCIC memo:

According to Sec. Paulson, the "march to reform" in 2008 was diverted because of "really what were inconsequential battles" in the House over the Hope for Homeowners legislation, which he called a "a flash point" in the debate about on one hand, bailing out irresponsible individuals, and on the other hand inflating the number of individuals it would actually help ... the battle over the program delayed GSE regulatory reform from being accomplished.

In other words, Representatives were trying so hard to score points by knocking homeowners that they delayed action on the big-picture reforms that were so desperately needed.

Significantly, ten Republican on the House Financial Services Committee crossed party lines to join with Democrats in forwarding Hope For Homeowners to the floor of the House, proving once again that common-sense reform needn't be and shouldn't be a partisan issue.

By privatizing Fannie and Freddie, we created a monster.

Intentionally or not, Paulson paints the picture of a monster: A company run by private-sector sharks, backed by government guarantees but unwilling to help the government carry out its policy - and aggressively lobbying to undermine the very principles that led to its creation. From the FCIC memo:

"I had been trying to work regulatory reform through Congress, the House was not a problem, the Senate was a big problem" ... Sec. Paulson said that he felt it was necessary to get the GSEs on board with reform ... "I wanted them [the GSEs] to reiterate in front of the Senators the commitment to raise capital," Sec. Paulson said. "And also, we had figured out that we were not going to get regulatory reform done if they opposed it. They had a lot of contacts on both sides of aisle, and were enormously effective, and they had different views ..."

Here's what Paulson doesn't say: Like Sallie Mae, the institution created to issue government-backed student loans, Fannie and Freddie were privatized and then went on a lobbying rampage designed to undermine their very own mission in order to further enrich the executives in charge. Paulson ran into roadblocks when he tried to get these "government sponsored enterprises" to collaborate with the government during an emergency.

"Regulators were downplaying [the capital situation]," said Paulson. "There was a little bit of regulatory capture going on, I think." That's an understatement: He's referring to $5.4 trillion in loose securities that had the implicit guarantee of the Federal government. $1.7 trillion was held by foreign countries, and Paulson explains how messy it became when he tried to explain this illogical and risky public/private marriage to leaders from countries like China and France. From the memo:

Sec. Paulson said that the enterprises had "flimsy capital" and he said that some people referred to it as "bullshit capital," (the deferred tax asset, for example), and that the regulator had no discretion to use its judgment with respect to the level of capital. Added to that, the country promoted a policy where the companies were chartered by Congress, "try to go around the world and explain to one leader after another what this implicit-not-explicit government guarantee was about. To me, if there's a guarantee, they should be a utility - why should people get wealthy off of a government guarantee?

Regarding those regulators, Paulson's putting it mildly. Fannie and Freddie's overseers " didn't have the power of a normal safety and soundness regulator," as he put it, adding: "I don't want to leave Washington without there being some major attempt to make it better and get a regulator who was more power."

Overall, Paulson paints the picture of runaway enterprises that were designed to fulfill a government mission but structured to do what private corporations do - with the corrupting influence of government guarantees creating a recipe for disaster. The end result was almost inevitable: Overly aggressive and reckless officers, backed by a Board of Directors Paulson described as "cheeky" and uncooperative.

Despite this experiences, what's the most popular recommendation in Washington these days for reforming Fannie and Freddie? Making them even more "privatized." Somebody really ought to listen to Hank Paulson. In fact, why not put him in charge of the SEC? I know, I know: He's ex-Goldman. But hey, Joe Kennedy did a damned good job at the SEC under Roosevelt. This guy's learned a thing or two, and we could use him now.

Besides, nobody ever called Hank Paulson a socialist.

________________________________

This post was produced as part of the Curbing Wall Street project.

If you do not know what the term “loan modification” means, then where have you been for the past few years? It is a golden term of the real estate crises and can mean staying in your home or having to walk away and losing your home to foreclosure.

As more news becomes available about the state of our real estate market and the amount of foreclosures still looming out there, more and more political officials are seeking was too easy and slow the foreclosure rate. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse a Democrat of Rhode Island is pushing for legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to order foreclosure mediation between homeowners and lenders.

This proposal would be similar to a court program offered in Whitehouse’s home state of Rhode Island. This program would not give judges the power to slash mortgage debt and like many bankruptcy cramdown measures, would actually offer a solution, instead of falling short like many other options. This would force lenders to communicate with the homeowner and find a suitable solution for both the homeowner and investor. This in turn means more mortgage loan modifications.

Whitehouse’s bill — Limiting Investor and Homeowner Loss in Foreclosure Act (S. 222), was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this past Tuesday on bankruptcy court foreclosure mediation programs. Their discussions where based around on how to bring the homeowners, and lenders together to make the process easier for everyone and as Whitehouse stated “a solution of good faith negotiations between both parties.”

For a few months now the government’s HAMP program has been under the gun simply because the projections of how many homeowners the plan was estimated to help, has fallen way short.

Continued on the next page

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CNN’s Hala Gorani is reporting that Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has announced on Egyptian State TV that Google Middle East Marketing Director Wael Ghonim will be released tomorrow Monday at 4pm. This is in line with Egyptian telcom mogul Naguib Sawiris’ O TV statement that Ghonim would be freed on Monday as well.

Missing since Thursday the 27th, Ghonim is thought to have hosted the first Facebook page that organized the January 25th protests. He disappeared shortly after the following disconcerting tweet, “Very worried as it seems that government is planning a war crime tomorrow against people. We are all ready to die.”

After his disappearance, Ghonim was chosen as symbolic spokesperson by an Egyptian opposition group as a tactic to speed up his release. A video of a man who may or may not have been Ghonim getting arrested by the police has also been making the rounds.

A source on the ground in Egypt tells me that the government has switched tactics as of late, instead of a complete information blackout it is using government controlled TV and press to influence popular opinion. Perhaps this is why Gorani hashtagged her above tweet with #Waitandsee?

Up until now, Google has confirmed that he is missing with the following statement:

“The safety of our employees is very important to Google, so if anyone has any information we’re asking that they please call the following U.K. number: +44 20 7031 3008. We are also using this email address (infoaboutwael@google.com) since the Internet is back on in Egypt.”

I’m still waiting to hear back from Google if there are any updates to this status after today’s news.

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Im Making Money

According to a BusinessInsider interview, Gogo in-flight wireless is doing well and just raised another $35 million in capital to keep the lights on and the in-flight Wi-Fi flowing. Aircell, Gogo’s parent company, says that the service served 3 million sessions between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Google offered free Gogo on all flights during this period.

In-flight Internet is, in a word, great. However, I worry that it is severely hampering my movie watching time these days as I’m encouraged to write and work during flights as opposed to read magazines and watch movie’s I wouldn’t normally watch with the lady wife like The Box and Pootie Tang. Gogo is available on American, United, Delta, Virgin America, and Air Canada and airlines love it, as Dan Frommer points out, “because it’s a way to distract passengers and generate revenue at the same time — unlike installing TV sets and on-demand movies, which costs money.”

In an interview with conservative pundit SE Cupp, former Senator (and possible presidential hopeful/wishful) Rick Santorum ticked off several reasons why he believes GOP supernova Sarah Palin is skipping this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), chiefly citing “financial benefit,” but also that she’s “the mother to all these kids.”

Is this a shot across Palin’s bow for 2012? Either way, it’s an unfair, sexist premise that has no basis in fact.

Here’s a clip of the interview, from GlennBeck.com:

Let’s just break that down for a second. He’s essentially saying that Palin turned down the CPAC keynote slot because she’s too busy gettin’ paid (Palin does command hefty speaking fees), but that he wouldn’t have turned it down because he’s not “the mother to all these kids.” Palin has five children. Santorum has seven, so the implication is that there’s something about being a mom that necessitates whoring yourself out for speaking fees, while dude parents can freewheelingly stick to their principles.

Now, I’m certainly not afraid to criticize Sarah Palin when she deserves it, but Santorum’s remarks are not only unfair and offensive, they’re also completely unfounded.

First of all, despite her ability to collect hefty speaking fees, Sarah Palin actually does manage to do things for which she is not being paid. I’m not that familiar with her datebook, but even I noticed her December trip to Haiti. The only payment Palin received for that trip was a heap of inexplicably bad press. There’s no comparison between visiting Haitian cholera clinics and keynoting at CPAC, but it definitely shows that time and money are not the issue.

Some others have wondered if Palin skipped out as part of a wider boycott centered around the inclusion of gay conservative group GOProud. Palin put that notion to rest in a recent interview, defending the group’s inclusion (while also casting them as adversaries by comparing them to liberals).

The fact is, Palin has now turned down four CPAC invitations, and while she’s never given an explicit reason, there’s a pretty obvious one, at least for the last two. American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene, the organizer behind CPAC, had Palin booster John Ziegler ejected from Western CPAC in 2009 after Ziegler grilled Keene about comments he’d made that Sarah Palin “whined” about media coverage, and that she “bailed” on her post as Alaska Governor.

Ironically, Ziegler also confronted Keene about allegations that his organization would do anything for money, offering him $20 to write a pro-Palin op-ed.

Aside from Keene’s attacks on Palin, there’s also a lot of dissatisfaction with Keene and the ACU among conservatives, in general. Most won’t speak about it publicly, but the FedEx scandal, the perceived coddling of fringe elements at that Western CPAC, and other issues have dimmed some of the group’s luster among conservatives. While CPAC is still the best game in town for most conservatives to meet, greet, and share influence with others, Palin stands apart. CPAC needs her far more than she needs CPAC.

That actually points up the biggest fallacy in Santorum’s argument. Palin is a money-making machine, which i s all the more reason why she could afford to take a weekend off to keynote CPAC.

If there’s really no such thing as bad publicity, then Santorum will likely get a huge bang for the buck with this interview. Something tells me, though, that it won’t be a net gain for his already dim presidential hopes.

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Shocking details have been released regarding the incident involving CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan during the protests in Egypt. CBS News issued a statement Tuesday revealing that Logan is currentl in the.

Michelle Malkin » CBS <b>News</b> reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted <b>...</b>

CBS News reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted, beaten in Cairo; Update: Unhinged NYU fellow attacks Logan as “war-monger”

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

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CBS <b>News</b>&#39; Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted in Egypt | Fancast <b>News</b>

Shocking details have been released regarding the incident involving CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan during the protests in Egypt. CBS News issued a statement Tuesday revealing that Logan is currentl in the.

Michelle Malkin » CBS <b>News</b> reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted <b>...</b>

CBS News reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted, beaten in Cairo; Update: Unhinged NYU fellow attacks Logan as “war-monger”

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

bench craft company reviews

CBS <b>News</b>&#39; Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted in Egypt | Fancast <b>News</b>

Shocking details have been released regarding the incident involving CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan during the protests in Egypt. CBS News issued a statement Tuesday revealing that Logan is currentl in the.

Michelle Malkin » CBS <b>News</b> reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted <b>...</b>

CBS News reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted, beaten in Cairo; Update: Unhinged NYU fellow attacks Logan as “war-monger”

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...

bench craft company reviews

CBS <b>News</b>&#39; Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted in Egypt | Fancast <b>News</b>

Shocking details have been released regarding the incident involving CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan during the protests in Egypt. CBS News issued a statement Tuesday revealing that Logan is currentl in the.

Michelle Malkin » CBS <b>News</b> reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted <b>...</b>

CBS News reporter Lara Logan sexually assaulted, beaten in Cairo; Update: Unhinged NYU fellow attacks Logan as “war-monger”

Live blogging Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political Ticker - CNN <b>...</b>

The CNN Political and White House teams are bringing you the latest developments and reactions from President Obama's news conference. Please continually refresh this page for the latest updates (CTRL-R). UPDATE: Read the full CNN.com ...