Not So Happy Owning in Nevada

Check out the chart below:

That's 70% of homeowners have negative equity.  Let me repeat that number.  70%.
(Hat tip:  Marginal Revolution)

"It's playtime in the world of imagination"

Plus a nicely timed "Oh... so no-one knows what the f--- they're doing"

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Anybody Get the Logic of this Little Tidbit

From the analysis of a poll by PPP:

28% of Republicans said the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico made them more likely to support drilling off the coast

What?  I'll assume they were joking.

Tell Me Again What the Problem Is

Source

Federal, state and local taxes — including income, property, sales and other taxes — consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8.% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010.

UPDATE:  This information has been challenged pretty well by Kevin Drum.  9.2% just looks wrong. See this.

Midterm Tea Leaves (or: The People Are Pissed Off)

Here's Charlie Cook's take (link):

When one party has control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, a midterm election is pretty much a referendum on that party. The electorate's anti-everything mood is likely to manifest itself only one way in November -- that is, against Democrats. Between now and then, however, a different dynamic could be in play. Republicans in particular should watch upcoming primaries apprehensively to see whether their party is nominating candidates with the potential to attract broad-based support and take full advantage of the anti-Democratic tide, or if it is opting for candidates who might be too extreme even in what should be a great year for the GOP.

But have no doubt: The anger is real. The only question is precisely how it will be channeled.

I've been reading this kind of thing all year and will probably continue to read it.  Here's the part I don't entirely get:

Meanwhile... In The Real World

Arnie is faced with a problem that no one-liner can solve.

The state budget crisis has been quiet for the past few months but will return to center stage this week as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to belt out some bad news.

The governor is scheduled to release an updated budget plan Friday that will probably include even deeper cuts than those he proposed in January, when he called for reductions in health and human services, prisons, education and state worker pay, among other areas.

Source

Noted in the article, it's a $20 billion deficit, there's no way to raise taxes as it requires a 2/3 majority vote in the legislature to pass any budget (seriously, this is a bad structure), state revenues are expected to be lower than originally projected, federal help has been smaller than anticipated.  Oh, and apparently most of the options to close the deficit were used last year.  Anticipated cuts will be 'harsh'.  Wow.

Did I mention that the recession is supposed to be over? Hooray recovery!

Arnie Was Always Good with the One-Liners

Here are a couple quotes from the CA governor's commencement speech at Emory:

“I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend. But with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me.”

“Finally, the Kennedys will think I’m a success. And Maria can finally bring me home to meet her family.”

Source
Hat Tip