News
He said: I've been thinking about this recession, the global market meltdown two years ago this month, and our retirement finances. Oh, by the way, did you read that book on retirement I brought home?
She said: It's no wonder you are often scowling if those are the thoughts crowding your head. Retirement does not seem like much of an option when I contemplate the price of medical insurance, and my addictions to travel, cloth for quilting, and books.
No, I have not read your “homework” because I have enough homework to do for work and to get ready to teach my classes. Besides, why should I worry when I have you to do that?
He said: It's hard to worry alone. I was looking at some of the contradictions going on and hoped you might help me.
Also, today the future is so uncertain. Banks are under new rules that require them to lend only to those who already have equity, that means money. Yet, at the same time, the money banks borrow is very cheap so if they can make loans, they can make lots of money.
The only way I can reconcile this is that the experts looked at the situation and saw too many banks that would fail because of the real estate loans. They chose, then, to make the big banks stronger so they could buy or merge with the banks in trouble so FDIC wouldn't have to spend billions closing the banks down. The problem this creates is demand for loans and no way to satisfy this demand by banks. So what is going to happen in the future? My best guess it that the greed of the mortgage sellers has forever changed the ways that banks will do business.
She said: You would think bankers would be figuring out ways, in the great creative American entrepreneurial spirit, to get loans to people wanting to buy all the homes they have in foreclosure. The only people that seem to be benefiting now are those with other cash resources to buy homes without needing loans and then selling them to people who can afford the new, lower prices. So what are the banks doing with the money they could be lending besides paying their CEOs big bucks?
He said: One answer is that they are charging all the transaction fees they can by the nature of many of the new notices I am getting in our mail from banks. Today investors are tired of not getting any return on their cash and are pouring money into low quality, or junk bonds, including some mortgages. It may mean that the current banking system is becoming obsolete. Your local banker may become only a salesman for the institutional investment companies. I wonder what our world would look like if that happens.
She said: No wonder you have headaches and worry about our retirement. One of your major life issues is that you worry about things you can't change a bit. How about you worry about our next vacation or help me match the blue and green pieces of cloth for this quilt.
He said: You want me to fiddle while Rome burns? That is why retirement planning is so important. We baby boomers have a real challenge ahead. How we deal with that is going to change our world. My greatest fear is that we will all vote for government to give us more than we have. We have such a degree of expectation that we scream loudly if we have to take care of ourselves.
We are also seeing, at the same time, people who seem to really want to destroy government. The bankers may have destroyed their system with their greed-driven loans, but some would ask us to destroy, not change our government.
A prime example is Amendments, 60, 61, and Proposition 101. These cleverly designed approaches would cost jobs and have other impacts. These are as bad as the lowest quality junk bonds. The full scope is unknown, but I wonder what it would be like to be unable to get to Denver on I-70 because of unfixed potholes. Banking greed, individual greed to have everything and pay nothing for it, and hatred of the status quo are a poisonous brew we may leave our children. And in the common uncivil method of discourse we can't even find a way to discuss appropriate change. That is why we need to plan retirement — it's a needed survival skill. What is the world going to look like to our children?
She said: I notice that the school district has a big push going on to get volunteers into the schools to help the students succeed and work on becoming a world class district. I hope they are successful. Overall quality improves when the whole community is involved in caring about education.
There is some work, though, that needs to be done on attitudes. Most measures will not succeed if parents don't take more of an interest in what happens in the classroom. So many parents bail their children out when they are not toeing the line. Parents cannot abdicate all educational responsibility to the school or computer course either. You cannot just sit the kid in front of the computer program or in a classroom and believe they will learn. Children learn best if they feel someone cares that they do.
He said: Of course, as always, your focus is on education. That's as it should be since those children are our future. Historically, Americans have been committed to providing for that future, both at the K-12 levels and at state colleges.
However, my perception is that many in the state would abandon that historic support for public education in favor of reducing their taxes. We are living in the perfect storm of Amendment 23, the Gallagher Amendment, and TABOR. These conflicting rules mandate spending and prohibit spending all at the same time. Some are calling for a state constitutional convention to try to solve these problems.
At the same time we have Proposals 60, 61, and Referendum 101. Not only would they put 76,000 people out of work, they would prohibit state support for higher education. We have become the biggest foes to the education of our children by mandating spending but not at our expense. American schools would do a better job if they devoted more resources to the essential subjects and cut out all the extra-curricular clubs and sports. That's what they do in the countries we are competing against.
One study I heard about is that parents who come from lower income without education beyond high school have vocabularies that are the same level as a child in third grade who comes from a family with a higher income bracket or college-educated parents.
As result, their children start school years behind in reading and language skills. They need two years to every one of the more privileged child to catch and keep up. Volunteers can help make up some of the differences, but the families of the children who lag need to also play a huge role.
-------------------
Your comments are welcome at jlajtls@bresnan.net.
She said: It's no wonder you are often scowling if those are the thoughts crowding your head. Retirement does not seem like much of an option when I contemplate the price of medical insurance, and my addictions to travel, cloth for quilting, and books.
No, I have not read your “homework” because I have enough homework to do for work and to get ready to teach my classes. Besides, why should I worry when I have you to do that?
He said: It's hard to worry alone. I was looking at some of the contradictions going on and hoped you might help me.
Also, today the future is so uncertain. Banks are under new rules that require them to lend only to those who already have equity, that means money. Yet, at the same time, the money banks borrow is very cheap so if they can make loans, they can make lots of money.
The only way I can reconcile this is that the experts looked at the situation and saw too many banks that would fail because of the real estate loans. They chose, then, to make the big banks stronger so they could buy or merge with the banks in trouble so FDIC wouldn't have to spend billions closing the banks down. The problem this creates is demand for loans and no way to satisfy this demand by banks. So what is going to happen in the future? My best guess it that the greed of the mortgage sellers has forever changed the ways that banks will do business.
She said: You would think bankers would be figuring out ways, in the great creative American entrepreneurial spirit, to get loans to people wanting to buy all the homes they have in foreclosure. The only people that seem to be benefiting now are those with other cash resources to buy homes without needing loans and then selling them to people who can afford the new, lower prices. So what are the banks doing with the money they could be lending besides paying their CEOs big bucks?
He said: One answer is that they are charging all the transaction fees they can by the nature of many of the new notices I am getting in our mail from banks. Today investors are tired of not getting any return on their cash and are pouring money into low quality, or junk bonds, including some mortgages. It may mean that the current banking system is becoming obsolete. Your local banker may become only a salesman for the institutional investment companies. I wonder what our world would look like if that happens.
She said: No wonder you have headaches and worry about our retirement. One of your major life issues is that you worry about things you can't change a bit. How about you worry about our next vacation or help me match the blue and green pieces of cloth for this quilt.
He said: You want me to fiddle while Rome burns? That is why retirement planning is so important. We baby boomers have a real challenge ahead. How we deal with that is going to change our world. My greatest fear is that we will all vote for government to give us more than we have. We have such a degree of expectation that we scream loudly if we have to take care of ourselves.
We are also seeing, at the same time, people who seem to really want to destroy government. The bankers may have destroyed their system with their greed-driven loans, but some would ask us to destroy, not change our government.
A prime example is Amendments, 60, 61, and Proposition 101. These cleverly designed approaches would cost jobs and have other impacts. These are as bad as the lowest quality junk bonds. The full scope is unknown, but I wonder what it would be like to be unable to get to Denver on I-70 because of unfixed potholes. Banking greed, individual greed to have everything and pay nothing for it, and hatred of the status quo are a poisonous brew we may leave our children. And in the common uncivil method of discourse we can't even find a way to discuss appropriate change. That is why we need to plan retirement — it's a needed survival skill. What is the world going to look like to our children?
She said: I notice that the school district has a big push going on to get volunteers into the schools to help the students succeed and work on becoming a world class district. I hope they are successful. Overall quality improves when the whole community is involved in caring about education.
There is some work, though, that needs to be done on attitudes. Most measures will not succeed if parents don't take more of an interest in what happens in the classroom. So many parents bail their children out when they are not toeing the line. Parents cannot abdicate all educational responsibility to the school or computer course either. You cannot just sit the kid in front of the computer program or in a classroom and believe they will learn. Children learn best if they feel someone cares that they do.
He said: Of course, as always, your focus is on education. That's as it should be since those children are our future. Historically, Americans have been committed to providing for that future, both at the K-12 levels and at state colleges.
However, my perception is that many in the state would abandon that historic support for public education in favor of reducing their taxes. We are living in the perfect storm of Amendment 23, the Gallagher Amendment, and TABOR. These conflicting rules mandate spending and prohibit spending all at the same time. Some are calling for a state constitutional convention to try to solve these problems.
At the same time we have Proposals 60, 61, and Referendum 101. Not only would they put 76,000 people out of work, they would prohibit state support for higher education. We have become the biggest foes to the education of our children by mandating spending but not at our expense. American schools would do a better job if they devoted more resources to the essential subjects and cut out all the extra-curricular clubs and sports. That's what they do in the countries we are competing against.
One study I heard about is that parents who come from lower income without education beyond high school have vocabularies that are the same level as a child in third grade who comes from a family with a higher income bracket or college-educated parents.
As result, their children start school years behind in reading and language skills. They need two years to every one of the more privileged child to catch and keep up. Volunteers can help make up some of the differences, but the families of the children who lag need to also play a huge role.
-------------------
Your comments are welcome at jlajtls@bresnan.net.
