... and that's anybody willing to admit they personally over-extended themselves. Don't get me wrong: I'm not ignoring greed, process issues, structural and regulatory failures, or even the impact of Statist ideology on the market economy. But somebody, somewhere out there borrowed way too much money. A lot of somebodies, I think. I read the screeds of my liberal and progressive friends who say that for the last eight years people in the middle class have bee so squeezed by the GOP finanical policies that they've had to go to their credit cards to make it from month to month. I read about the people driven into debt by medical bills. And I'm sure both are correct--as far as they go. But where are the people who bought SUVs every three years, rolled the old loan into the new one, and spent the last eight years driving around at twelve miles to the gallon? Where are the people who forked out not for basic cable, but for deluxe cable with HBO and Showtime, along wi...

Congress will pass the Sell-Out plan, and we're moving into the phase of life when placing the blame for the mess or arguing about how much (and what kind of) regulation is needed become secondary to.... How is this all going to affect you or your family ? I started with this a couple days ago, and kavips has an important post up today. But those are first glimmerings. The reality for most people has yet to set in. Commercials on TV are still offering great values. Soccer games are still occurring. Movie openings are still pulling in millions of bucks every weekend. A lot of this is going to change, and perhaps I can give you a preview. I should probably sub-title this More than I want you to know; less than you need to know . For the past several years, we've struggled as a family and got into far more debt than was healthy. No, we weren't splurging on kitchen makeovers or Hummers, but medical bills, school expenses, and just a pattern of less than optional decision...

Here's a perfect Libertarian take on the massive wealth transfer that is the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bailout, from Last Free Voice (with hopefully the retroactive approval of the author, right Brian?): Yuppie Welfare Bill Passed Did you buy a house you couldn’t afford, with a suicidal no-down-payment negative amortization loan about 10x your annual income, and then borrow tens or hundreds of thousands of additional dollars against your fake “equity” to buy luxury cars, expensive vacations, large-screen TVs, designer furniture, gold watches and other bling? Or are you a “flipper” who committed mortgage fraud, getting several government-backed “primary residence” loans to buy houses, put $15K of Home Depot stuff in them, and sell them — only to discover the housing bubble popped and you cannot make your mortgage payments on the second, third, or fifth house you own? If so, you’re in luck! The bipartisan bozos in Washington have signed a $300 billion bailout to make the payments on...