Comments for Combat Effective

Comment on TSA agent steals iPads… by CombatRob

CombatRob — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:41:56 +0000

I don’t disagree. I view them as keeping the honest people honest, essentially…and preventing terrible coffee spills by forcing people to abandon their beverages before the security gates.

Comment on TSA agent steals iPads… by T_Rex

T_Rex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:19:51 +0000

Thugs Standing Around (TSA)

I think we were all safer before the TSA.

Comment on 3 lies about deficits by CombatRob

CombatRob — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:19:28 +0000

I am very sympathetic on housing, as you no doubt know. The subsidy factored in a small way in our decision to buy a house in Las Vegas, a decision with nuclear consequences to our credit and financial standing. Did your friend consider a short sale?

Comment on 3 lies about deficits by T_Rex

T_Rex — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:02:33 +0000

In his defense, on home ownership, I have seen those subsidies become a cruelty. I saw it anchor a person who wouldn’t have normally been able to afford the house he lived in, because he couldn’t sell it for enough to pay the real estate agent and clear the mortgage. And where he lived was just far enough from good jobs that he wound up being one of my coworkers.

That said, it was HIS decision to buy, subsidy or not. The subsidy simply made the wrong choice look more appealing.

Comment on Does a bad credit score make you a risky employee? by dw

dw — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:01:44 +0000

Agree with Rob business has the right to assess people any way it chooses if it is legal. Just wonder about people that screw up or get screwed and are ostracized from the system when the economy is in a down turn. I suspect this only apply’s to Joe Blow cuz the administration appointed some non paying apples and Congress overcharges it’s Congressional credit cards and ruins our collective credit.

Comment on Six year old told to crawl back to class… by CombatRob

CombatRob — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:36:32 +0000

Agreed…those are valid questions. Of course, it doesnt excuse the conduct of the teacher (if the article is an accurate description).

Comment on Six year old told to crawl back to class… by T_Rex

T_Rex — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 06:48:07 +0000

While it is still wrong, the article does make me ask a few questions.
How does a 6 year old break his tibia in a fall? (I fell hundreds of times, no breaks)
Just how big was he? (I have seen pre-teens top 200lbs)

Comment on Dead horse post: Vegas declined 10% from one year ago by CombatRob

CombatRob — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:15:44 +0000

I’d like to think I would have listened to your warnings. However, in advocating against home purchases in Las Vegas since the crash, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been able to show people the facts and numbers and they’ve listened. I even have one buddy who bought against my advice and then turned around less than two years later and short sold it…the market had fallen another 20K in the interim. We planned for a small loss, but the 170K it did fall far surpassed our planning.

Comment on Dead horse post: Vegas declined 10% from one year ago by T_Rex

T_Rex — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:20:09 +0000

I actually began to bet against Las Vegas when lake levels began to fall a few years back. Unfortunately, I didn’t know you were stationed there until you had already bought a house in that city.

If you read my “November” postings you will get a better understanding of where I think all of this is going.

Comment on Calculated Risk: Greece – who knows? by T_Rex

T_Rex — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:58:36 +0000

Well, here it is two weeks later, and those of us who understand human nature know. Greece is in a slow descent into chaos. Look at the bond yields. (link is near the bottom of the Calculated Risk page) Two things show up. One is an interest rate of over 40% for 5 year bonds. This indicates that about 40% of investors think they might lose their investment in Greek bonds. Then the interest rate for 10 year bonds is just over 25%. A declining curve (long rates lower than short rates) indicates a recession is approaching. It also means the bond holders intend to re-sell those bonds on the market before the recession hits.

Two quotes:
“The New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said on Monday that his party would not vote for any new austerity measures”
and
“Without his support, Greece will probably not receive additional aid.”

These spell it out. Greece will not budge. EU will not bail them out. The only questions are when will they collapse, and how much damage will it do.