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Lockyer Redux: "Unfair To Compare Cali With Greece" But Fair To Scapegoat Cali's Problems On Speculators... Just Like Greece
As we expected, Bill Lockyer has decided to go the media circus route. He won't be the first (G-Pap already did that. We have not heard much from him ever since it was uncovered that the biggest speculator in Greek CDS was Greek Post Bank), and he certainly won't be the last (there are about 49 other bankrupt states in America). But at least the Greeks were consistent - blah blah CDS = satan blah. From the attached clip, please someone explain in plain English just what it is that Lockyer is trying say: "If someone is in the market concurrently marketing risk claiming that there's some risk associated with these issues I don't know to what extent it affects investor perceptions and nervousness that might cause yields to increase. That's the question - we are not making any allegations." uh...................what? Did the Red Hot Chili Peppers, like, infiltrate the Cali Capitol and infuse the HVAC with legalized marijuana? Is the question how dare someone disclose that an investment may actually fall in value (and why)? Hold on, isn't the Connecticut AG suing the rating agencies for not doing just that?
As for California having to pay a Greek-type interest on its bonds (as we pointed out previously California has been marketing these in the form of google ads direct to Zero Hedge readers... an ad that has since not reappeared) Billy ain't too happy about that. God damn that broken fixed income market which is so wrong about everything, yet praise be to equities, which have their 20x P/E multiple spot on (and 100x pro forma for the exclusion of one-time fiscal and monetary stimulus adjustment) and couldn't be more right. "It's interesting that there is this Greece analogy that's around which is far too apocalyptic for the facts. Our annual state budget deficit is less than 1% of our GDP, Greece is about 13%. Our accumulated debt that's been sold and we are paying off now, is about 4.3% of our GDP. Greece I believe is 109% and Japan is 212%, so as sovereign entities go, and this is the 8th largest economy on the planet, our debt is rather modest so it seems so it seems to be an unfair comparison that creates doubts with investors." Um, Bill... California, under its constitution, is required to pass a balanced budget: in other words a deficit is illegal. The fact that you even have one should be sufficient for the rating agencies (rest in unconflicted peace) to not only junk you, but triple hook you. In the meantime, something tells us the credit market will duly note your complaint and move right along.
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how do you dare to compare greece and california, greece is not bankrupt yet
When the lights come on, the roaches run. California is toast. Bill is in the middle of it. He's shuckin' and jivin'.
Again, how insane! How can a population of a state elect such a fool without the entire state looking like fools? Yet the population says nothing about such insanity!
Psst, Hondo. I've got a lot of respect for your intelligence and comments here on ZH but you might be overlooking something. Let me rephrase your words with minor changes.
"Again, how insane! How can a population of a nation elect such a fool as Obama without the entire nation looking like fools? Yet the population says nothing about such insanity!"
Just writing those (altered) words make me feel like the proverbial USA kettle calling the California pot black. :>)
Californians say plenty about the problems only no one with authority wants to hear the truth. They would rather worry about minorities and foreign middle east politics.
....and we worry about legalizing drugstore issued reefer on the CA November ballot. Might as well keep the cartel with the pharmacies. One stop shop for all your narcotics.....pills, alcohol, cough syrup, sudafeds, smokes, chew , etc.
Lockyear is deflecting fiscal blame onto the Squid. That's how it's done in Cali.
The May budget review for the upcoming FY will be brutual, I suspect. All the politicos are looking for cover now and digging their foxholes deep.
as opposed to domestic ME politics?
And look at that comparison... in hours consumer confidence... yet again surges (well not so bad as the dreadful number before but that's how the stupid spin merchants will put it)... but the out of hours one.... falls yet again , how many times does this happen eh?
"we're a major issuer of bonds because, hey, we cant not spend money, and since we dont have it, we borrow it from other people that probably dont have it either. if banks are informing the people that dont have money the risks of giving that money to us, because again we dont have it and they probably wont get their money back but instead will get IOUs which are every bit as good, well that just all seems wrong. any questions?"
California is looking sunny again! Didn't you read about the amazing growth in home sales in California today? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100330/ap_on_bi_ge/us_home_prices
Looks like Hollywood has competition in the land of make believe.
An "elected" treasurer. We have the same idiotic crap in CO.
Oh please, just go away. The fucking party's over, time to roll up the carpet, give the run down furniture to GoodWill and vacate the premises. To blame the cleaning lady for your bankruptcy is childish at best and not worthy of your new position as the new cleaning lady.
Moron.
Nothing else worth saying.
"Because we're making investments in...
pensions to lazy civil servants who sat on their asses for 20 years..."
I was waiting for the "it's like getting paid if your next door neighbor's house burns down" metaphor, but he disappointed me.
Re: "it's like getting paid if your next door neighbor's house burns down"
When the reality is that it's more like prudently taking out preemptive insurance against the eventuality that your crazed, irresponsible meth-head neighbor will burn the entire neighborhood, including YOUR house, down.
just legalize it Bill and all your problems will go up in smoke.
Historically, there are four ways to solvency: grow, tax, print or conquer.
'Grow' is off the table. 'Tax' is one of those third-rail thingies. 'Print' didn't work out so well with those IOUs.
I suggest conquering Oregon and Washington.
Just a suggestion Bill, stay away from Oregon.
We're armed and dangerous.
We want nothing to do with Snack-ramento politics or policies.
We have enough problems of our own with Salem's insane anti-business witchhunts and voodoo fiscal fiascos.
If California must conquer something, start with fiscal irresponsibility.
I meant that snarkily, of course.
If only the (former robust) GDP could help us here in the Fool's Gold State. Alas, the citizenry is picked clean. Already have one of the highest income taxes in the country, probably the highest sales tax, and the effect of Prop 13 on all those recently bought tract McMansions is to max out the prop tax too. Calif set its budget based on the windfall of the dot.com capital gains receipts, and never got used to the idea that it's now over and about 40% of the economy is either underground or controlled by certain well-armed businessmen from South of the Border.
Over-under on California seceding (or kicked out) within the next 5 years?
well, to keep it in context, remember that the forecast for 2020 is that the federal government will use 100% of its tax revenue for Social Security, Medicare (and the vastly expanded Medicaid) and interest payments on the debt. At that point, what exactly is the function of a central government? Couldn't the states run their own pension programs with their own taxation, and print their own money? Cal is the 8th largest economy in the world, so if France can make it...to answer your question, I'd go over the 5 year mark, just because of all the military hardware and bases in California. California can't be allowed to go first. The question is, which state will wind up being our Slovenia, the state that prospers by getting rid of the rest of Yugoland?
Let's not stop there. Let the entire union of 51 states break apart and re-form, really, really RE-FORM.
This makes asmuch sense as Lockyer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg
Actually Greece showed that if you drag the MSM into the debate you can get promises of a bailout which helps you sell bonds... LOL!
God damn that broken fixed income market which is so wrong about everything…
I believe that blasphemy can affect the credibility of an argument.
I believe that belief in blasphemy can impair one's perception of credibility in an argument.
Allow me to translate Bill's comments: "Goddamn f-king bankers and hedge fund c--k s-ckers, I've got this steaming pile of bonds to sell. How the f-ck am I going to sell these to Grannie if you bastards keep talking about risk."
Bill is lucky his muni bonds are exempt from federal securities regulations. If a non-government entity issued securities with CA's disclosures, Bill would get the cell next to Bernie.
These damn hippies, longing for the good ol' days of frolicking about in the woods in search of themselves, while running this state into the ground were smoking s#!t well before the RHCP's were even born.
My favorite Bill Lockyer story is when he was car jacked in Oakland. it seems that the carjackers wanted the pimpy rims on the state owned Dodge that Locker was driving.
It doesn't get any funnier when the state attorney general gets jacked.
California witnessed huge boom in Silicon Valley and in real estate hyperinflation (appreciation) — so where is all the money? There shouldn't be any need for bonds and the falling apart infa structure should have been largely completed 5 years ago. Borrow borrow borrow.
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