Vancouver B.C. vs. Donegal Ireland Real Estate: What Will $890,000 Buy?

Inquiring minds seeing new data on Vancouver's massively overpriced real estate just might be seeking new comparisons to other places. First, Let's take a look at what $890,000+- will buy in Vancouver.

Vancouver Real Estate



2119 East 3rd Ave, Vancouver
MLS® Number V934050
Listing Price: $899,500
Description: "This 1 ? story home has been extensively renovated over the last few years. The spacious kitchen has birch cabinets and Soapstone counters and opens to a 20x12' deck. On this level are 2 B/Rs and a modern 4pce bath. Upstairs has an office/den area, a 4pce bath and a big master B/R with a W/I closet and 12x8 view deck. The bsmt has a 1 B/R suite rented at $960 P.M. and the attached garage has been converted to a workshop with French doors opening to the fenced garden, with B/I bench, a patio and a kid's sandbox. "

That creative listing puts a new meaning to the the word "upstairs". Is the number of stories listed at "1?" really in question?



2564 East Pender Street, Vancouver
MLS® Number V930595
Listing Price: $899,000
Description: "Complete Transformation! Brand New Envelope! Hardie plank & cedar shingles, new windows, new electrical panel, new HW tank, new plumbing. Spacious 3 level home on extra deep lot!"

I believe it's safe to say the above creative listing puts a new meaning to the phrase "extra deep lot!"

At least the above homes were arguably livable. Check out this next beauty, and guess the price without looking too far ahead.



1016 East 7th Ave, Vancouver
MLS® Number V930461
Listing Price: $899,000
Description: "Opportunity knocks! Builders and investors need look no further if they desire a view property with multi-family zoning (RM-4). This property overlooks China Creek Park, with amazing views of the North Shore mountains and close to Commercial Drive and two skytrain stations. Priced at lot value, the property is being sold 'As Is, Where Is.'"

Congratulations to those who guessed the "opportunity knocks" price of $899,000 for this "As Is, Where Is" bargain complete with "amazing views", presumably through the opening where one would normally expect to find a workable door as opposed to the windows that are all boarded up.

All of the above listings are from Vancouver East Homes From $850,000 to $900,000

Donegal, Ireland

With those bargain listings in hand, let's consider a single property sale that just took place in Ireland. The previous price for the Sandhouse Hotel located in Donegal, Ireland sold at auction was $6 million.



Please consider Spectacular Irish hotel, massive discount price

Paul Diver has purchased a spectacular 55 bedroom hotel overlooking the Donegal coastline for a mere $860,000, down from the $6 million price the original owners sought for the Sandhouse Hotel three years ago.

Diver, who managed the Sandhouse Hotel in Rosnowlagh for 20 years, was delighted to secure the 50 staff members their jobs. He told msnbc.com on Friday that he had been willing to go "a bit higher" when the hotel was auctioned this week in Dublin, but was delighted when his reserve-price bid was accepted by the auctioneers.



Overall, Irish real estate prices have crashed since 2007-08, when the so-called "Celtic Tiger" economy collapsed. Home values have fallen more than 60 percent below their peak five years ago, and commercial properties have suffered similar declines.

There you have it: "amazing views"  in Vancouver for $899,000 vs. "amazing views" in Donegal for $860,000.

It is indeed "different" in Canada.

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

Eurozone Wrapup: Unemployment Rate 10.7%, Highest Since 1999; Manufacturing PMI Contracts 7th Month; German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall

There was lots of Eurozone news this week outside of the typical Greek default fodder. Nearly all of that news was not pretty. Let's take a look at the key stories.

Eurozone Unemployment Rate 10.7%, Highest Since 1999

The Telegraph reports Eurozone unemployment hits record high of 10.7pc

Data from Eurostat showed that the region lost 185,000 jobs in one month, with the vast gap between North and South growing ever wider. The figures for the previous four months were also revised upwards sharply. There are now more than 450,000 more people without jobs than assumed a month ago.

Klaus Baader from Societe Generale said the outlook was "deteriorating drastically" in the region. "Economic slowdown and fiscal austerity has hit the labour market much harder than previously thought."

Eurozone inflation nudged up to 2.7pc, while the latest PMI data for February confirmed that Euroland's manufacturing is still contracting, though the index rose slighty to 49. The "misery mix" of rising unemployment and inflation is a nasty headache for policymakers, threatening incipient stagflation.

Spain's jobless rate continued its relentless climb to 23.2pc, rising to 49.9pc for youths.

The jobless toll rose to 14.8pc in both Ireland and Portugal, though the latter began its austerity drive later. Dimitris Drakopoulos from Nomura said Portugal's economy is likely to contract by 4.4pc this year and another 2.7pc next year, a slightly milder version of the fiscal asphyxiation that brought Greece to its knees.

Eurostat's 19.9pc rate for Greece is already out of date. The Hellenic Statistical Authority said the country lost 126,000 jobs in November alone, pushing the rate to 20.9pc.

At the other extreme, Austria's jobless rate fell to 4pc. Germany's unemployment is at a 20-year low of 5.8pc, and some regions are crying out for skilled workers.

Italian Unemployment Hits Record

Please consider Italian unemployment hits record

The unemployment rate in the eurozone continued to rise in January, hitting another record high. There are now 16.9 million people out of work in the bloc, Eurostat said.

In Italy, the unemployment rate rose to 9.2% in January, the highest since monthly records began, the national statistics agency Istat said.

Italian unemployment had stood at 8.9% in December, but it is now at the highest rate since the first quarter of 2001, as the country finds itself in a second recession in four years.

‘Double whammy’

Meanwhile, separate data from Eurostat showed that inflation in the euro area rose to 2.7% in February, rising slightly from 2.6% in January. It marks the 15th month in a row that inflation has been above the ECB’s target of just below 2%.

Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight, said it amounted to a “double whammy of bad news” for the eurozone. “This is particularly bad news for consumers, as they are not only facing high and rising unemployment, but also still squeezed purchasing power,” he said.

French Unemployment Rate Hits 9.4 Percent

Please note French unemployment up to 9.4 per cent in Q4 of 2011

France's unemployment rate rose by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 9.4 per cent of the active population, state statistics agency INSEE said on Thursday.

The 0.1 per cent rise applied to both the increase from the third quarter of 2011 and the year-on-year increase from the fourth quarter of 2010.

France's growing joblessness is a major issue as President Nicolas Sarkozy bids for re-election in an April-May two-round presidential election.

Eurozone Unemployment Rates at a Glance

• Eurozone Average 10.7%
• Spain 23.2%
• Greece 20.9%
• Ireland 14.8%
• Portugal 14.8% 
• Latvia 14.7%
• Lithuania 14.3%
• Estonia 11.7%
• Cyprus 9.6%
• Italy 9.2%
• France 9.4%
• Germany 5.8%
• Luxembourg  5.1%
• Netherlands 5.0%
• Austria 4.0%

Take a look at those varying unemployment rates. That is what a "one size fits Germany" interest rate policy and misguided currency union will do.

About that 5.8% German Unemployment Rate

Is Germany's unemployment rate really 5.8%? I think not. Wolf Richter comments on the German Unemployment Obfuscation.

Richter counts up all the groups that don't count and comes up with 1,701,534. That number is a bit off the mark given the officially unemployed number is 3,081,706 but 5,394,064 people actually received unemployment compensation.

There's still more obfuscation as shown in the following snip.

People 58 and older are excluded from the official unemployment numbers, even if they're desperately looking for a job. They don’t receive unemployment compensation but, conveniently, pre-retirement compensation. So they don't count for the simple reason that they're too old to count. That’s the German baby-boom generation. They're turning 58 in massive numbers and fall unceremoniously off the unemployment lists. In September 2011, the last month for which official numbers were available: 374,592.

Add them to the 5,394,064 official recipients of unemployment compensation to obtain 5,768,656.

And what about those who aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation? While they receive “social aid” and other forms of support, they don’t count as unemployed.

So, like in the US, the actual number of unemployed people and the actual unemployment rate remain a mystery, despite the confidence-inducing but false sense of accuracy that these grotesquely unrounded numbers provide. And in the end, unemployment in Germany is probably close to double the official headline number.

So what's the real German unemployment rate?

German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall

Bloomberg reports German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall

German retail sales unexpectedly declined in January as rising oil prices fueled inflation.

Sales, adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, fell 1.6 percent from December, when they increased 0.1 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists forecast a gain of 0.5 percent, the median of 22 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed

Europe’s debt crisis is curbing growth across the euro area, Germany’s largest export market, and higher energy costs pushed inflation to 2.5 percent last month. Still, unemployment is running at a two-decade low and recent data suggest the country may avoid a recession. Consumer confidence will increase to a 12-month high in March, [consumer research group] GfK SE (GFK) predicted this week.

German companies may create as many as 250,000 new jobs this year, the DIHK national industry and trade chambers said on Feb. 17, citing a survey.

Avoid a Recession?

What the hell is Bloomberg writer Jeff Black smoking? The recession is right here, right now. As for jobs creation, forget about it. The European-wide recession is going to be long and deep, so who pray tell is Germany going to be exporting to?

By the way, why was this drop unexpected? I have been calling for it for some time, and it's going to get worse, much worse.

Eurozone Manufacturing PMI® Contracts 7th Consecutive Month

Inquiring minds are reading the Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI® Report.

The Eurozone manufacturing sector showed further signs of stabilisation in February. The seasonally adjusted Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI® rose to a six-month high of 49.0, unchanged from the earlier flash estimate and above January’s 48.8.



New Orders Fell 9th Month 

New orders fell for the ninth month running (though slightly less than indicated by the flash release), with the downturn in demand generally remaining broad-based by nation as only Austria and the Netherlands reported increases. Greece saw record falls in both output and new orders.


Export Orders Fall 8th Month

The level of new export orders fell for the eighth month running, albeit at the weakest pace since last July. The drop in foreign demand was led by a steep reduction in Greece and marked falls in Spain and Germany, the region’s largest exporter.


Muted pricing power resulting from weak demand and strong competition meant that the rise in costs was largely absorbed by manufacturers.

German job creation slowed sharply



Job losses were reported for the third time in the past four months in February. The steepest falls in employment were seen in Greece and Spain, though further marginal cuts in staffing levels were also signalled in Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Ireland.

Stabilization? Really? No, Not Really!

Given the drop in  new orders, export orders, and German employment, coupled with rising input prices and a huge profit squeeze, it takes a real stretch of the imagination to even hint at stabilization. Moreover, austerity measures in Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, and Ireland suggest things are going to get much worse.

There is no way the vaunted German export machine stays intact in the face of those facts.

Within two months, and probably next month, the bottom will fall out of numerous eurozone production and retail sales numbers. Moreover, the lid will blow off the top of numerous eurozone unemployment numbers.

In both cases, the biggest "unexpected" downward surprises will be in Germany, even though it should be perfectly obvious what is going to happen.

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

Bank of America Clash with Fannie Mae Intensifies; Insurance Disputes Put Taxpayers On the Hook For Still More Losses

Taxpayers are already on the hook for $180 billion in losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That number is going to rise, perhaps significantly.

The clever synonym for more taxpayer losses is "treasury Advance". With that understanding, please consider Fannie Mae's Losses Narrow but Treasury Advance Requested.

Fannie Mae is reporting a net loss of $2.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to a net loss of $5.1 billion in the third Quarter. For the entire 2011 year it reports a net loss of $16.9 billion compared to $14.0 billion in 2010.

The net worth of the company had a net deficit of $4.6 billion as of December 31 reflecting the $1.9 billion loss and its payment to Treasury of $2.6 billion in senior preferred stock dividends during the fourth quarter compared to $2.5 billion in Quarter Three. The Federal Home Mortgage Finance Agency (FNFA), conservator of Fannie Mae, will submit a request to the Treasury Department for a draw of $4.57 billion to eliminate the net worth deficit.

Bank of America Clash with Fannie Mae Intensifies

In simple terms, Fannie Mae will cost taxpayers another $4.6 billion. That's not the worst of it.

Taxpayers may be on the hook for still more losses as BofA Clash With Fannie Intensifies.

Bank of America Corp. said it’s facing more demands by Fannie Mae for refunds on flawed home loans because mortgage insurers who cover defaults rejected 25 percent more claims last year.

Unresolved insurance rejections rose to 90,000 at the end of 2011 from 72,000 the year earlier, Bank of America said last week in its annual filing with regulators. Last year’s denials equal $1.2 billion in unpaid loan balances, according to a note yesterday by Compass Point Research and Trading LLC.

The rejections heighten tension between Brian T. Moynihan, the bank’s chief executive officer, and U.S.-owned Fannie Mae in their disputes over who must pay for billions of dollars in failed loans made during the housing boom. When mortgage insurers deny claims, the two firms are left to squabble over whether losses will be borne by bank shareholders or the taxpayers who bailed out Fannie Mae.

Shorter Deadline

Pressure on Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, may rise in July when Fannie Mae shrinks the amount of time it gives a bank to appeal an insurer’s denial to 30 days from 90 days before pressing for a refund. Repurchase costs probably would rise if the firm is forced to adhere to Fannie Mae’s policy, Bank of America has said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy mortgages from lenders and package them into securities for sale to investors. Both firms were seized by the U.S. in 2008 to stave off collapse, and have collectively drawn more than $180 billion in taxpayer funds. The bill is likely to rise -- Fannie Mae this week requested $4.6 billion more from the U.S. Treasury Department -- and the firms’ regulator is pressing banks for refunds on bad loans to limit the bailout’s cost to the public.

Insurance Disputes

Bank of America is involved in legal disputes with mortgage insurers, including MGIC, saying the firms are denying valid claims.

In the second half of last year, Bank of America has “materially increased” the percentage of denials it argues are improper, Milwaukee-based MGIC said this week in a filing. AIG’s mortgage guarantor said last week that lenders were devoting more resources to reversing rejections.

Bank of America has committed about $42 billion to deal with flawed mortgages, foreclosures and writedowns since the start of 2007. The lender accounts for half of Fannie Mae’s pending repurchase demands after insurance denials, the Washington-based firm said this week in an annual filing.

Outstanding repurchase claims against Bank of America from all sources jumped 22 percent to a record $14.3 billion as of Dec. 31, the lender said in January. That increase was fueled in part by other demands from Fannie Mae. The mortgage financing firm has started asking for refunds on loans that have performed for 2 years or more before defaulting, requests Bank of America has deemed invalid.

More Public Money

Fannie Mae faces its own squeeze and asked for more public funds this week after posting a $2.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter. The company said that while Bank of America has failed to “honor repurchase obligations in a timely manner,” it still expects to get reimbursed.

“If we collect less than the amount we expect from Bank of America, we may be required to seek additional funds from Treasury,” the company said in the Feb. 29 filing.

By the way, look at the potential losses mounting up at Bank of America if Fannie Mae does succeed on those push-backs. Think Bank of America has sufficient reserves for credit losses? I don't.

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

Money for Debt Swaps but No Money for Greece; Eurozone Delays Rescue Funds on Failure to Meet Conditions

The Financial Times reports Eurozone delays Athens rescue funds

Eurozone members have delayed approval of more than half of the €130bn bail-out for Greece after deeming that Athens has yet to meet all the terms set as the price of a second rescue.

However, finance ministers from the 17-country currency bloc meeting in Brussels signed off on funds to underpin a €206bn debt swap to cut the value of the Greek bonds held by private investors.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister who chairs the eurogroup, said Greece’s official creditors would “finalise in the next few days” an assessment of Greece’s steps to enshrine the bail-out conditions into law.

But he added that the full bail-out would only be completed on a successful completion of the debt swap with private bondholders.

The ministers decided that Athens had yet to meet all the conditions to secure the €71.5bn portion of the bail-out destined for the Greek government. The balance of the rescue funds – which, when combined with other incentives and instruments to be used in the debt swap comes to some €93bn – was agreed.

There is not much new information here actually. Greece was supposed to have met conditions at the end of October, then November, then January, then February.

Every time Greece failed and it did not matter. The EMU granted extension after extension.

However, with the debt swap and protection of the ECB, and with a bond payment due on March 20, time has run out for extensions. The sane thing to do would be for the EMU, IMF, and ECB to accept the very simple fact that Greece is bankrupt and there is no point in giving Greece another nickel, thereby forcing Greece out of the Eurozone.

All parties should have recognized that years ago actually, but stubborn ideology got in the way.

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

Public Pension Ponzi Scheme; New York Cities Borrow From Pension Plan to Make Contributions

In the worst possible form of kicking the can down the road, at the worst possible time as well (given the lofty overvalued condition of the stock market), To Pay New York Pension Fund, Cities Borrow From It First.

When New York State officials agreed to allow local governments to use an unusual borrowing plan to put off a portion of their pension obligations, fiscal watchdogs scoffed at the arrangement, calling it irresponsible and unwise.

And now, their fears are being realized: cities throughout the state, wealthy towns such as Southampton and East Hampton, counties like Nassau and Suffolk, and other public employers like the Westchester Medical Center and the New York Public Library are all managing their rising pension bills by borrowing from the very same $140 billion pension fund to which they owe money.

Across New York, state and local governments are borrowing $750 million this year to finance their contributions to the state pension system, and are likely to borrow at least $1 billion more over the next year. The number of municipalities and public institutions using this new borrowing mechanism to pay off their annual pension bills has tripled in a year.

Public pension funds around the country assume a certain rate of return every year and, despite the market gains over the last few years, are still straining to make up for steep investment losses incurred in the 2008 financial crisis, requiring governments to contribute more to keep pension systems afloat.

Nationwide, the cost of public retiree benefits has soared in recent years, and states including California, Connecticut and Illinois have been borrowing to pay, or even deferring, their pension bills. Many states are worse off than New York. New Jersey is still paying off bonds issued in 1997 to close a hole in its pension system.

But New York appears to be unusual in allowing public employers to borrow from the state’s pension system to finance their annual contributions to that system.

In Poughkeepsie, which is contributing $3.6 million into the state pension system this year and borrowing nearly $800,000, Mayor John C. Tkazyik, a Republican, said rising pension costs and new federal accounting requirements for retiree health coverage could have dire consequences.

“It could bankrupt the city,” Mr. Tkazyik said, adding that the city had cut its work force, to 367 from 418 employees, in four years as it struggled to compensate.

Perverted Math

Only with the most perverted actuarial math can anyone fund a pension plan by borrowing from it.

Unfortunately, it's not just cities that are borrowing money from plans to fund them. New York state borrowed $575 million in the current fiscal year, and $782 million in the next, under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposed budget.

The True One Percent

The following video may come across as a bit over-the-top in terms of presentation, but the examples are accurate.



Link if video does not play:Government Employees: The True 1%

Public Pension Ponzi Scheme

As I have commented on numerous occasions, defined benefit pension plans are going to bankrupt numerous cities and states. Several smaller cities have already gone bankrupt over union salaries and pensions.

Numerous other cities are on deck. The public pension Ponzi scheme will fly apart as soon as one major city declares bankruptcy to get those pension benefits tossed out in court.

Realistically speaking, numerous cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, and San Diego are already bankrupt, as are second tier cities like Oakland, Newark, Cincinnati, and Baltimore and others too numerous to list, they just have not admitted it yet.

Simply put, pension promises have been made that cannot and will not be kept.

In the meantime, defined benefit plans need to end, city services privatized or eliminated, Davis-Bacon and prevailing wages laws scrapped, national right-to-work laws implemented, and at the top of the list, collective bargaining of public union workers need to stop immediately.

It's time to abolish collective bargaining, a practice that makes slaves out of everyone. I make the case in ...

Collective Bargaining neither a Privilege nor a Right

Paul Krugman, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, others, Ignore Extortion, Bribery, Coercion, and Slavery; No One Should Own You!

Clearly, huge battles loom over these issues.

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

President Obama's Lies Regarding U.S. Dependency On Foreign Oil

The Los Angeles times notes Obama, chart in hand, presses his case on gas prices

As rising gas prices are putting pressure on politicians to act, President Obama called on Congress to vote quickly to eliminate subsidies for the oil industry, returning to a favorite target the president.

Obama repeated his case, outlined in a speech last week, that there is "no silver bullet" to rising gas prices. He highlighted his administration's effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil and boost development of alternative energy.

This week he introduced a new prop to illustrate his point. As Obama spoke, a chart popped up on television screens behind him. The graph showed U.S. dependence on foreign oil falling since 2005 -- from 60% of net imports to 45% in 2011.

The White House handed out copies to the crowd. Obama told them to take it home -- "it makes for a great conversation piece at parties."

"Now, one reason our dependence on foreign oil is down is because of policies put in place by our administration and my predecessor’s administration. And whoever succeeds me will have to keep it up."

Really? No, Not Really?

The Facts show that President Obama is disingenuous at best, and a blatant liar at worst. I lean towards the latter. Reader Tim Wallace provides charts to prove it.

Petroleum Distillates Usage

click on chart for sharper image

That looks pretty good, doesn't it? But what the heck does it have to do with reduction in foreign demand, and more importantly, Obama's role (or lack thereof) in achieving those gains.

For the answer to those most pertinent questions, let's display the usage in terms of foreign demand.

Petroleum Distillates Percentage Usage



Chart Explanations

Reader Tim Wallace writes ...

Hello Mish -

I almost went apoplectic today reading on line that the President is now claiming to have cut our dependency on foreign oil, and that the US has imported less each year of his Presidency.

Foreign oil imports have indeed dropped throughout his Presidency, but as the attached charts show, there is a reason for that drop - a tremendous decline in USA usage overall. This is because of a declining economy, NOT because of "alternate sources" or any of the other lies tossed our way by the government.

Of more interest is the fact that although the amount of foreign oil has declined, it has grown as a percentage of our overall supply.

During the Obama Presidency we have become more dependent on foreign oil, not less!

His entire speech was disingenuous at best.

Tim

There you have it. President Obama absolutely did not cut dependency on foreign oil. In fact, foreign oil dependency rose from roughly 37% to 40% under his administration. To be more precise, foreign petroleum usage in his administration went from 37% to a peak of 41% last year, currently at 39.9%.

The only way Obama can take credit for the decline in consumption caused by the recession, is to take credit for the recession itself.

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

Huge Problem With Bernanke's 2% Inflation Target Explained in Pictures

Ben Bernanke wants prices to rise 2%. There are numerous problems with such a proposal, the first being increases in money supply sometimes lead to asset bubbles and not increases in prices of consumer goods.

Indeed the Fed completely ignored (if not encouraged) the housing bubble because home prices are not in the CPI. A housing bubble and a housing crash was the result.

The second major problem with inflation targeting is prices may go up, but wages may not necessarily follow. Indeed they haven't. Let's start with a graph of 2% price inflation over time.

Inflation Targeting at 2% a Year

click on any chart for sharper image

Real Disposable Personal Income



That chart nicely shows a slight parabolic pattern similar to the start of the first chart. However, that growth is a mirage based on population changes. Let's factor out population increases.

Real Disposable Personal Income Per Capita



Real Disposable Personal Income Per Capita Detail



Income Gap Discussion

That "Income Gap" is not the only problem. One must also consider "skew". As a result of Fed policies, there have been some income gains, but only at the top end.

"Per Capita", by definition, averages out those gains.

In reality, a select few percent have done exceptionally well as a result of Bernanke's tremendously misguided policies. Another few percent have simply done well, and another perhaps slightly larger group have barely kept up.

The bottom 80 percent or so have fallen much further behind than the per capita charts suggest.

Except for the banks, brokers and bondholders, and everyone else bailed out by the Fed, most have been clobbered by Fed policies.

Ironically, many of those bailed out have the unmitigated gall to whine about their plight. Please See Unbelievable Stress of Making "Only" $200,000 After Taxes for details.

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