© 2008 Rich Martin
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>From the Home of Rich & Peggy Martin
"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have
learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”
Ronald Reagan
_______________________________________________________________________
RICHS RANTS
We old timers remember when the boys came home after WW II and moved west to
raise chickens. I never saw Uncle Clarence after he was discharged. A pound of
chicken cost about half as much as a pound of hamburger. Times, they are a
changin’. Today, instead of buying a fresh chicken at the butcher shop, it’s
sold in packages found in the freezer section of a super market.
After acquiring Gold Kist last year, Pilgrims Pride became the largest purveyor
of chicken, controlling 25% of the market, but now find themselves on the verge
of bankruptcy. Increased labor costs (can you say illegal alien emigration)
and chicken feed (like in ethanol) have driven prices up.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Their efforts to cut supply, and
therefore raise the price of chicken is being thwarted. By whom? you ask. Tyson
has increased production 6% hoping to drive Pilgrim into chapter 11. Still not
interesting. Well maybe next year, when the current wanna-be No.1 producer
decides to find out how much the market can bear, it will become “news fit to
print.”
And while we’re talking about chicken and the cost of same, on Nov 5, Calif
voters decided that the rights of chickens are being violated in their state.
Chicken farmers are making them grow up in overcrowded chicken-coop slums. It
was important election day stories like this that kept the status of one of the
presidential candidates natural born status out of the news.
Oh, there is one other thing. The Calif chicken rights laws will certainly
result in fewer chickens being grown in that state, increasing the market share
of Tyson, and Pilgrims Pride, if they survive. And another thing. Gotta wonder
if fewer chickens will impact on higher egg prices, ala the increased cost of
chicken feed due to govt regulated ethanol?
MARK-to-MARKET
According to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and the IRS, the
value of an asset is original cost minus depreciation. The revised banking laws
set up new set of values based on the market price. Normally, setting up a 2nd
set of books is referred to as “cooking”. A simple example of the difference,
if you buy a stock for $500 and sell it 3 years later for $600, you owe taxes
on $100 in the 3rd year. Under market pricing, you would have to pay taxes in
each of the 3 years which would total the same $100.
Under IRS and GAAP, if you bought a stock at $500 and if it dropped to $300 by
12/31, you would not record the loss unless you sold the stock. That’s one
reason people sell stocks at year end, to reduce their taxable income by the
amount of the loss. Likewise, a stockholder may wait until after Jan 1 to sell
a stock that went up to defer the tax until next year. Under mark-to-mark you
record the $200 loss even if you don’t sell.
Here’s why it’s a big deal. S&Ls and many banks main assets are mortgages
receivable. As long as the money is owed, it remains an asset. But the banking
regs require that they report the property at MARKET instead of GAAP. In this
highly unusual environment of falling real estate prices, walk-aways and
foreclosures caused by the govts Fannie & Freddie lending practices, banks must
report the differences as a loss. As a result, some become technically
insolvent.
In other words, new govt accounting regs, not reckless spending by bankers, are
contributing to the impression that banks need to be closed down. The only ones
who budgeted for falling real estate prices were Sen Chris Dodd and Rep Barnie
Frank who orchestrated the crash.
If you understand that, it’s not a leap of logic to figure out someone is
manipulating the books for personal advantage. To find out who that might be
consider what Deep Throat once advised Bob Woodard, “follow the money.”
Hint. Mark-to-market results in unstable figures leading to fewer banks and
larger banks, resulting in, yep, less competition! And less competition leads
to, yes, you got it again, a monopoly.
http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2008/10/02/mark-to-market-accounting-what-you-should-know.aspx
Here’s a few things the media hasn’t had time to report. By the way, did you
hear that Chris Mathews, the NBC guy with the tingles, is planning to run for
office.
Here’s a link for anyone curious about what President-elect Obama was doing
since graduating from Harvard in 1992.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article
The BAIL OUT
Out of the frying pan, Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs, 1st bail out
recipient.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/22/why-henry-paulson-must-be-contained/
and into the fire, Timothy Geithner, CEO of the Fed, NY
http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/orgchart/geithner.html
NAFTA - http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199401--.htm
Abortion – http://www.massmediamail.com/durarealidad/
Pelosi - http://www.redcounty.com/sarasota/ (must read)
Update: Another Dem gets a pass
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/nyregion/18garcia.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
PRICE OF GAS
$1.64 and still falling.
YOUR AD HERE
Advertise your website here
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(Co-op deals available)
Send your check to:
Rich Martin
1817 Wimbledon Oaks Ln. #307
Arlington, TX 76017
The Boy Scouts of America
National HQ
1329 Walnut Hill Ln
Irving, TX 75162
(972) 580-2263
http://www.scouting.org/
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO, HMMM IN THE NIGHT
The one thing liberals, neocons and RINOs all agree on is global warming. Hmmm?
Where’s the other Party?
REMEMBER WHEN...
… the American breakfast was bacon and eggs, and Americans weren’t obese?
LAST WORD
This one is worth watching.
The finale is great - moves fast
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1221321706636&; ;source=jl999
Things you can't say aloud---because the answer might scare you.
If the Electoral College agreed Obama was ineligible, but instead of Biden
becoming prez, wouldn’t their logical choice be Hillary Clinton?
--
THE TRUTH IS
A. Powerful. C. In the eye of the beholder
B. Irrelevant D. All of the above.
TODAY'S BLAST FROM THE PAST – Who really controls [Obama]?
http://slickplus.spunge.org/list/200012/msg00005.html
...................................................
The only thing worse than Waco is the ongoing cover-up.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=573761538341962905
(new location)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4298137966377572665
http://www.myspace.com/bdsda
http://www.movie-forumz.org/showthread.php?t=35645&highlight=waco
