economic meltdown: Economic Cancer: That Sense of "Entitlement" - 10/23/09 04:01 AM
When did we start to feel entitled?
In the Depression of the 1930's, the jobless father of 4 asked the farmer if he could work on the farm for a day in exchange for food to feed his family.
In the Depression of 2010 do we just take the food from the farmer because, after all, you and your family are entitled to eat?
Are we:
Entitled to a life better than our parents had?
Entitled to own real estate?
Entitled to dis-own real estate?
Entitled to be bailed out?
Entitled to a job?
Entitled to health care? And to social … (67 comments)

economic meltdown: Have We Kicked Mortgage Brokers to the Curb Too Soon? Why Mortgage Brokers Will Survive - 07/28/09 04:20 PM
Today I got an e-mail asking me this:  Are mortgage brokers going to survive this economic meltdown?
My answer is YES, and it comes from my experience as an AUTO BROKER.
Over the last 25 years , franchised auto dealerships here in California have done everything in their power to get rid of auto brokers.
Because dealers held all the power (money along with an organized lobby) and auto brokers were small, independent business people, guess who got the most attention from the lawmakers in Sacramento?
Politician thinking: "Money from the big guys? Or protect consumer choices?" Hmmmmm...what should any self respecting politician do?
Since the "real" agenda of the … (53 comments)

economic meltdown: Before You Bash Your Mortgage Broker: Take This Test - 06/05/09 12:27 PM
Test question: What do the following 3 situations have in common? Your answer can only be one word.
An increasing number of frustrated Realtors posting on ActiveRain about late closings and bashing complaining about mortgage people Frustrated customers at dealerships who cannot get the cars/trucks they want.  I have been waiting for 2 weeks for Home Depot to deliver wood to rebuild a deck (when they told us it would take 2 days) Mortgage people suck  (too many words)
Car dealers suck  (still too many words)
The service at Home Depot sucks (Nope)
The answer is CAPACITY, as in "so many people have been fired or … (119 comments)

economic meltdown: The Dark Side of Being A Corporate Hack: How General Motors Killed My Real Estate Career - 06/04/09 06:17 AM

I married into a family with 3 proud generations of General Motors execs.
Yep, GM was the "family business", and everyone was obsessed by cars. I didn't think I was, but still....
Was I first attracted to the man I would eventually marry because of all his wonderful qualities? Or the little red Corvette that he drove? 
Oh, but it was a glam job. He got new cars every 3 months to drive. I got a new car every year. Whatever I wanted.
I once got "detained" in Mississippi for driving a bright yellow Camaro, missing an important college … (47 comments)

economic meltdown: Depressions, Confessions, and The Rising Stars of the New Economy - 03/11/09 03:50 AM
Remember a few years ago when we stopped laughing at geeks? The dorky kid with thick glasses, white socks, and pants belted way too high rose to celebrity status seemingly overnight.
No longer were we snickering behind his back and calling him Poindexter.
What the heck? The nerds of the world had the last laugh on all of us, when they dished up the Internet/computer age by tinkering around in their garages.
The Rising Stars of the New Economy
Well, there's a new star on the horizon, rising up from the ashes of ridicule, and beginning to get respect.
Some of … (16 comments)

economic meltdown: Deflation Nation: How to Be A Seller When No One Wants to Buy - 03/09/09 05:23 AM
Have you noticed????? Just about everything out there is, well,...... a whole lot cheaper. 
Sure, the focus is on real estate and the the stock market. But "declining values" have impacted almost everything we buy. What we learned in Econ 101 still holds true: Lower the demand and you are going to lower the price, every single time.
And that thing called DEMAND? The best way to describe that right now is IN THE TOILET.
Who can "demand" anything when you are busy just trying to keep your head above water?
Dog paddle or die. That's the mantra of most … (60 comments)

economic meltdown: American Idle: Should the Government "Create" Jobs? - 01/26/09 02:35 AM
If California were a big furry dog, its owner would have a clogged vacuum cleaner. That's because California is SHEDDING JOBS at a fast and furious pace.
What's left behind is just as worthless as a bunch of dog hair on your carpet: a big fat mess that needs to be cleaned up.
Oh if it were only as easy as plugging in the vacuum. But instead, our State Controller has warned that California is down to "PLAN D" on the checklist of paying bills.
Cash reserves are piddling Special funds that have been borrowed from are tapped out No one … (41 comments)

economic meltdown: How I Knew Michelle Obama Would Wear Yellow at the Inauguration - 01/24/09 06:06 AM
Late last year, I developed this strange obsession with the color yellow. Bright, pure canary yellow. What the heck? Blonds don't even do yellow.
It started with a craving... for of all things.... a yellow purse! Nothing else in my entire wardrobe is YELLOW.
Of course I told all of my friends about this weirdness as I prowled the stores searching for the perfect yellow purse.
But before I could find it, they had all bought their own yellow purse.

So much for my "original" idea.
Copycats.
So I bought a yellow Ralph Lauren sweater instead, fully believing it … (11 comments)

economic meltdown: Extreme Bargain or Extreme Stupidity? How Did We Become Hooked On Pretend Pricing? - 01/05/09 08:27 AM
Why do we continue to cling to the idea that to justify a purchase, it must be an EXTREME BARGAIN? Are we truly brilliant because we can buy something at 70% off?
Or are we just plain stupid because the very first day it was displayed it was ALREADY 50% off?  Suggested retail price seems to be nothing more than a PRETEND PRICE these days.
Do you think that manufacturers have inflated pricing to allow for this fact: We have decided buying things can only be justified if the thing is ON SALE? AN EXTREME BARGAIN?
When did everything become FOREVER ON SALE?
These thoughts occurred to me yesterday when … (24 comments)