Monday, Are You an AIG Counterparty?, Links

Earmarks Are a Trivial Percentage of the Budget – So Stop Whining

Again – Earmarks are not bad and are a structural effect of our system. And guess what!? That $8 billion of earmarks in the Omnibus Spending Act signed into law, a mere 2% of the budget, won’t evaporate with the end of earmarking as we know it; that $8 billion wouldn’t be erased but rather folded back into the budget as discretionary appropriations by federal agencies.
All this whining about earmarks is a fucking joke and a distraction from issues which actually matter.
If you really care about earmarks – Senator McCain and all the talking heads (with faux outrage) please take it up with Article V of the Constitution and propose an amendment. If not, STFU.

United Pipes in ATC Chatter

Manhattan Skyline

For flight nerds only:

My United ORD-LGA flight yesterday had the option to listen into the ATC chatter which seemed to be a feed tap from the cockpit (so that the frequency always changed to whatever the pilots we using). I’ve listened to ATC chatter before, but this was the first time I’ve ever listened into the ATC feed during a commercial flight I was on. What was most interesting was how the different center controller’s attitude reflected their location: Cleveland Center was typically Midwestern nice with a slow cadence while New York Center was hurried with a fast cadence which, while cultural, has more to do with the huge amount of flight volume New York Center is tasked to handle.

What I found most enjoyable was the approach to LGA listening to all of the different flights departing and arriving in the tri-state area. Our aircraft was ordered by ATC to proceed to the Verrezzano Bridge then turn north up the Hudson – the Verro-Hudson Visual Approach. After crossing the Verro the co-pilot radioed to ATC asking if our heading was correct because they weren’t from around here. After proceeding up the Hudson the co-pilot radioed ATC again, this time asking what that bridge was in front of them; ATC replied, GW Bridge – confirming my suspicion that just as I crane my neck against the window to get a good look at the New York skyline, pilots do the same thing (but with better views).

Predictably, I think all airlines should have this feature on all flights – bravo to United for keeping me occupied throughout the 2 hour flight.

Ground Zero Cleveland: What the Housing Crisis Has Wrought on Urbanity

126258pu126258pu, originally uploaded by plemeljr

Sometimes an article comes along which is unsuited to quick blockquoting and witty commenting. This weekend’ New York Times Magazine article, All Boarded Up centers around how predatory lending, flipping, absentee landlords and blight is affecting Cleveland, Ohio. This paragraph encapsulates the zeitgeist which has brought economic doom to our doorstep:

So much here defies reasonableness. It’s what Brancatelli keeps telling me. A few months ago, he met with Luis Jimenez, a train conductor from Long Beach, Calif. Jimenez had purchased a house in Brancatelli’s ward on eBay and had come to Cleveland to resolve some issues with the property. The two-story house has a long rap sheet of bad deals. Since 2001, it has been foreclosed twice and sold four times, for prices ranging from $87,000 to $1,500. Jimenez bought it for $4,000. When Jimenez arrived in Cleveland, he learned that the house had been vacant for two years; scavengers had torn apart the walls to get the copper piping, ripped the sinks from the walls and removed the boiler from the basement. He also learned that the city had condemned the house and would now charge him to demolish it. Brancatelli asked Jimenez, What were you thinking, buying a house unseen, from 2,000 miles away? “It was cheap,” Jimenez shrugged.

I can’t help but think that shows such as Flip this House or Extreme Makeover: Home Edition shouldn’t be absolved of intensifying American greed which, in conjunction with low interest rates and predatory lending, aimed directly for citizenry looking to make a quick dollar on risky bets.
Right now on eBay a search for Cleveland Real Estate brings up 11 results, 8 of which are properties which appear to be almost worthless with bids in the low 4 figures. The real prize is this beauty at 9509 St. Catherine Avenue:
9509 St. Catherine Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44104
This house has problems – and I can see that just from the photo. This house has serious structural issues, from the wood framing to the brick foundation, and this is before even going inside to verify that all copper, fixtures, and anything of remote value is gone. And this beauty has been bid on 17 times as of this writing. 17! I don’t know who is worse, the buyers or sellers.
I don’t know how you craft a policy around removing these predators from any governmental bailouts. But smarter people than I have to, and have to empower municipalities to take owners – often major banks – to court to find restitution. Because, at least in Cleveland, these banks are destroying the very fabric of the city.
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