E. Ben
Recent Activity
possible policy idea to help fix mortgage mess
Any thought on how a three to five year freeze of interest payments on home loans made in the last five years would affect the current situation? This would mean monthly mortgage payments would cover principle only for that period of time. People having trouble with their monthly payments could get a reduction of up to say 30% but if they couldn't make payments after that discount they would face foreclosure. This could allow homeowners making mortgage payments to get a principle reduction of the full amount that they pay each month. The banks and investors would take a hit on interest profit but would continue to get an income stream. I thought this might be a fair way to balance the pain of the current downturn. By decreasing lending standards and allowing reckless loans, the banking industry caused an artificial spike in demand (becuase people who couldn't afford houses were buying them anyway) which caused artificial price appreciation. Homeowners who didn't have sufficient income were making reckless bets that the value of their home were going to go up. There's plenty of greed and stupidity on all sides of this equation. We need to buy some time to allow things to stabablize and this idea would also possibly prevent more people from becoming upside down on their loans and walking away. Your thoughts? … Read More
March 26, 2008 |
Re: Should institutions of higher education make it a goal to provide free tuiti
It seems in a world that is increasingly dependent on complex technology it would be in the national interest of each country to make sure that the best and brightest minds were educated as far as their capacity. I don't know that free higher education for everyone would be feasible but Harvard is taking an important step in making sure good minds whose ideas might be a benefit to all of us are not wasted for lack of means. … Read More
January 15, 2008 |
E. Ben commented on Paul Krugman on Crisis Causality on January 14, 2008, 6:50 PM
It seems to me that things will get worse. I think the sub prime mess is just the beginning. I don%u2019t think anyone appreciates how many Americans live paycheck to paycheck. The 2007 foreclosure and bankruptcy rate was very high and that was when the employment picture was supposedly strong. I read a headline today that a company was about to lay off 20,000 people. The retail sector is very weak and is likely to start lay offs after the dismal Christmas season. The housing sector is bad, realtors and construction workers are out of work not to mention all those people making their living flipping houses. What sector of the economy is strong right now and creating enough jobs to soak up all the unemployed? Some people will find new jobs, some will float along on credit cards or cash in their retirement funds or get help from their families, but some are going to drown in their debts. I keep hearing that the consumer is going to keep spending us out of trouble but this sounds more like a hopeful mantra than a thoughtful analysis. With credit drying up and jobs disappearing the American consumer is going to hit a wall.
E. Ben commented on Re: How to engage this generation's love of learning for learnings sake? on January 14, 2008, 4:22 PM
I believe that teachig a person how to think is what is most important. Once someone learns to analyze a problem, find information and devise methods to accomplish a solution then they are only bound by the limits of their curiosity, work ethic and intelligence.
E. Ben commented on Is art declining as a movement? on March 11, 2008, 10:55 PM
I believe that 2D and 3D mixed media will be the next big thing. I know a lot of artists who are branching out their knowledge of materials and processes. I recently talked to an artist who was "painting" with fused glass. I expect to see some creative mixes of glass, metal, plastic, cement and other materials as artists look for new modes of expression. A lot of industrial tools and material have become more widely available at an affordable price. Another thing I've been seeing is gatherings as art that combine music, dance, and costume where the people become a performance art exhibit.