It appears people finally listened to me and others ..

when early this summer I suggested that it was not a good time to go out on a limb and get yourself in a deep hole of debt. This was in reponse to another local blogger's claim that the credit crisis had ended. See today's news for evidence that US consumers have reduced their personal debt for the first time in recorded history.

Mortgage debt fell at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the third quarter, the largest decline on record. Mortgage debt had fallen at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the second quarter. Those two quarterly declines are the first such drops in the Fed survey that dates back to 1952.

As I've said before, while this is painful in the short term it's absolutely necessary for the long term. Today's news of further layoffs at Bank of America also seems to be right in line with that same article I linked in June that predicted "massive consolidation" in the financial services industry. The world of the future isn't the world that these companies lived in for the last few years so they are doing what is necessary to reposition themselves.

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Must see TV before voting ..

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Fiscal wake-up tour ..

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And these are the people crying to be bailed out ..

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"It's Economics 101" ..

according to Jared Bernstein, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute, when speaking on the topic of continued record home price declines. He continues, "You have a huge speculative bubble leading to a severe inventory overhang. And now home prices will have to decline accordingly." Read more at CNNMoney.com and pay special attention to his comment that sellers may be starting to blink.

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Well, surpise, surprise ..

I guess people finally stopped complaining and actually did something about it because the number of miles driven and gasoline prices both fell by record amounts.

Here are some more ideas for people: if you are complaining that Exxon Mobil makes too much money, use less of their product; if you are complaining about the potential to be foreclosed on, pay your bill; if you are complaining about not being able to sell your house, lower the price; if you are complaining about politicians ruining this country, vote for those that are competent and tell your friends to do the same.

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Finally, another editorial in the local paper that I can relate to ..

Republican Newspaper Editorial.

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In light of the failing economy and mounting bailouts ..

budget deficits could explode over the next 10 years according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office which is discussed in the Washington Times. The implication of course could be higher taxes, higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, an even weaker dollar and cutbacks in government spending at all levels. As I have suggested here many times, now is not the time to go out on a limb and get yourself into a deep hole.

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Should we really be surprised at where the economy is today?

A Yahoo! Personal Finance piece from Laura Rowley in February 2006.

"Mostly, we can't help wondering if the lending and spending free-for-all of recent history will end badly -- for all of us. Imagine interest rates continuing to rise amid an employment downturn. The option ARM holders and other over-leveraged consumers put their homes on the market, or hand the keys to their lenders. The housing market experiences a sharp decline. Commercial banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac require a taxpayer bailout (a la the early 1990s) -- increasing either the current or future tax liability."

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I.O.U.S.A.: The Movie

Watch the trailer above and visit the website. You'll likely see and hear a lot of the same messages I've mentioned here on this blog. As one of my readers put it, it's pretty sad that we have to make a movie to have any hope of affecting common sense policy in this country.

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No relief for savers ..

One of my regular readers sent an e-mail this afternoon to point me to this piece from AP Economics Writer, Jeannine Aversa. I couldn't have said it any better myself and in fact I believe I have previously echoed her sentiments right here and here on this blog.

There are a significant number of people reading this blog weekly, if not daily now, so if any of you have something you'd like me to mention just send an e-mail or leave a comment here on the blog and I will take a look at it. And even if you're not from the Deep Creek Area or particularly interested in the Deep Creek Area please feel free to share your thoughts as well. I mention this because in the last week alone, we've had visitors from 36 different states and 5 countries and as always all opinions are welcome here.

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A new effort to make Americans thrifty again from Money magazine ..

in my opinion something like this is long overdue. And while it might be painful in the short run for Americans to get used to saving again, it will pay tremendous long term benefits. Just think of all the interest payments that we are sending overseas right now that could instead be going to ordinary American citizens.

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Q & A with Suze Orman ..

from CNNMoney, this is an interesting thought she offers as is the one that follows it at the end of the Q&A about how applying financial common sense could have prevented the "mess" we are currently in.

"Q. All right then: How do you find an adviser you can trust?
A. The best ones tell you right up front how they make their money, and they'll ask you something besides "How much do you have to invest?" Want to find a good adviser? Go into his office and tell him you have $25,000 in credit-card debt. See how he responds. A good one will say, "Let's set up a plan to get you out of debt and only then, when you're out of debt, will we put you into some good investments." That's how you'll know if they want to help you or only make money off you."

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Now I believe the bear was only trying to demonstrate the wastefulness of those renting vacation homes ..

I suppose the bear is a recycling advocate.

I personally know countless people who have been attacked by a dog and required medical attention while in Garrett County, yet know of no one who has received as much as a scratch from a bear. Sometimes it's the things you don't worry about that end up biting you not those that get sensationalized in the media. As just one example, you are something like 250 times more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash yet the same people who are terrified of flying think nothing of getting in a car.

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Whose Fault is it Anyway?

As you all know by now, I like to stay abreast of Garrett County news and happenings from a wide variety of sources, including some of the local blogs. Well, yesterday I stumbled across this blog entry. It's unclear whether the author is blaming the bear or not but he does paint bears as somewhat threatening and dangerous, so I wanted to offer a bit of a difference perspective.

So whose fault it is anyway? The bear's fault for looking for some food left outside? Or the builder's fault for building this box using a sub-standard latch and only two nails per board? You can decide for yourself, but before the author stirs up some type of mass hysteria about bear attacks by asking you to "imagine what they could do to you!", let me point you to the DNR wildlife and heritage website, which states the following:

"It is important to remember that black bear attacks are extremely rare. In Maryland, there are no known cases of a human being attacked by a black bear. By using common sense and good judgment, we can continue to appreciate the natural beauty of these forest animals at a safe distance."

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