Greg Saunders

Wow Peachtree City, I woke up this morning from a terrible dream. Hmmm...in the movies Freddie Krueger normally got to you when you fell asleep. But he let me continue to dream, or was it! Well, when I woke up our economic world did not blow up during the night. But what I saw in my dream was another outbreak of serious financial trouble. The decades of irresponsible over-creation of excess money and credit by Alan Greenspan and his Federal Reserve along with the rest of the central banks of the world, were wreaking their inevitable damage.

Maybe I'm just paranoid and worried about my kids in college and creditors trying to drive me to suicide with their incessant demands for more money, more money, It's always more money! Is that not just enough to worry about?

Okay, perhaps I am in shock from this whole thing. But the way I see it while total Fed credit went down by a massive $19.3 billion dollars last week, how does that compared to the $142 billion increase of the previous week, which despite my deadened senses, still merits a deathly gasp!

You know I can remember my mom saying that growing old is inevitable it the growing up that the real challenge. So maybe I am finally growing up, But I seemed to be going into childishly hysterical.. you know when you used to cry and couldn't stop even though you wanted too..or because your folks told you there was more to come if you didn't... Anyway, that is the feeling I got from hearing that our government is prepared to lend more than $7.4 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers. My friends, that is half the value of everything produced in the U.S. last year! All to rescue the financial system since the credit markets seized up 15 months ago?

It was like Freddie was killing me slow. A thousand little cuts was leading to a massive blood letting. I could not think straight as my brain went into convulsions. The average increase in Federal Reserve credit was only $10 billion per month during the Greenspan years that created the bubble, and now the Fed is lending 1,900 times the weekly average for the three years before the crisis. OMG! We're freaking doomed!

So there I was laying on the floor waiting for an ambulance to get here. Clutching my heart, I was laughing and coughing up blood at the sheer irony of American taxpayers loaning $7.4 trillion dollars! Again, half of our GDP! Folks, the problem is that American taxpayers are already up to their ears in debt and can't make payments as it is; American corporations are up to their ears in debt, and all the federal, state and local governments are up to their ears in debt. I can hear them laughing, mocking us for our stupidity. "We are smarter than you anyway," I could hear them snickering in the distance...

Gasping for breath I shouted back, "I have some bad news for the government! The taxpayers are not prepared to loan anything to you! Can't you see our total debt-to-GDP is over 350% already, maybe 450%, which is the highest of anything we've seen in U.S. history including the heights of the Roaring Twenties boom that preceded the Great Depression!

Then there was silence. Perhaps it is because nobody cares about me, or perhaps because $7.4 trillion is already a big freaking number that defies reasonable comprehension. This unprecedented pledge of funds includes $2.8 trillion already tapped by financial institutions in the biggest response to an economic emergency since the New Deal of the 1930s.

But this, as horrifying as it is, is typical government crap, and if you want a good example of the kind of governments we have, I read in a article that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his administration had to pay out $800 million to companies that over paid their business tax but wouldn't send $400 property-tax rebate checks due this month to owners of apartments and houses because the slowing economy threatens to worsen a widening budget gap. What the hell is going on!!!!

I wipe the tears of either sadness or laughter from my eyes. With what seemed to be my last breath I asked Freddie why he let me live to see this.. He fiendishly smiled and stated that Seeing the way the government is stealing the buying power of the currency, confiscating our tax money, taking away our homes and jobs..and our dignity is just outright theft. Although Freddie thrived on the innocent, even this was too much violence and death for him. But to get paid a visit by Freddie all you had to do is fall asleep. America we have fallen asleep at the wheel.

I woke up..Whew! What a dream...or was it! The truth of the matter is that the American dream could turn into the American Nightmare on Main Street...your street, my street! It affecting all of us! Unfortunately it seemed like we stopped giving a damn about each other some time ago. Maybe now we will realize that its time to go back to the things that really made our country great!

Don't remember....you'd better ask somebody!

Well Peachtree City as if you didn't know it..we are officially in a recession! In fact we have been in one since 2007. Recently, I heard two people discussing the state of the economy and were debating the difference between a recession and a depression. I wanted to tap them on the shoulder and put in my two cents worth. A recession is when your neighbor losses his job...a depression is when you lose yours! But are these day and times just the tip of the iceberg?

In the meantime, I keep hearing all this rhetoric that way out of this is through more spending. Unbelievable?
I'd never would have believed that the way out of this problem that resulted from too much spending would be by spending more? Who is dumb enough to believe that! Well, listen to what our top leaders, gurus and strategist on the economy are telling us. Is it just me?

Well in theory they are stating.... In theory?. Theories don't amount to a hill of beans! We've all seen that. They all believed in the free-market right up to the moment the free-market seemed to be failing. Then, they believed they had to "do something" to protect people. Protect them from what? Protect them from getting what they deserved!

Stay with me now....this week the luminaries at Goldman got spanked yet again! Their stock tanked
after rumors of $2.5 billion loss for the third quarter began hitting the circuit. That puts Goldman stocks down 70% this year! What were their expectations? Remember this is the company that Hank Paulson put on massive doses of steroids and developed a fiendish financial engineering department that designing those sophisticated investment bridges you wouldn't want to drive over. Do they deserve it?

Then there is the Big 3. Detroit is in the house! Yes, the Detroit automakers are back on the hill in Washington looking for about $32 billion in taxpayer's money. GM says it needs $18 billion or its bust by the end of the month! So what happens if these guys don't get the money. I don't know! They say its the end of the auto industry as we know it....they'll be forced to turn to the Swedes or even worse...the Chinese!

Folks, here are companies that have been around for an entire century. Plus this is the good 'ole USA....the best auto market in the world! If you couldn't make it in the car business in the U.S you need to find another occupation. Nobody buys more cars than Americans! These companies had every advantage, not to mention they had plenty of cha-ching!.....money! These guys had the sales and service networks into every city and town in the nation. They knew their customers better than any of their foreign competitors. And they didn't have to ship their cars across the pond to sell them.

So what happened to the Big 3? It's been all downhill for quite awhile for the Americans. They were victims of their own iconic success. They squandered their money! Detroit missed their market target, they saddled themselves with so many costs that gave them a disadvantage and hobbled them so greatly it was almost impossible for them to compete - even with the playing field tilted in their favor.

To add insult to injury, even when asking for a handout, Detroit's executives couldn't seem to get its signals straight. They flew into Washington on their freekin private jets...apparently unaware that anyone would notice. Yes we saw you... We also noticed on the return trip that you drove in hybrids. Now the humble Big 3 is back to submit their plan, the Auto Workers are willing to make concessions...and America is waiting to see if they get what they deserve.

What is that you say? Well with over 2 million jobs being affected and as Fortune magazine put it in perspective...it would be the death of an American Dream. Mark Zandi from Moody's testified that they should get it but the real cost would be between $75 billion and $125 billion. OMG!! However, I suspect that they will receive some sort of loan or bailout. At least they came to the table with some sort of plan. But do they deserve it? More importantly who may be next?

So what do we as tax payers deserve? How about let's just start with the truth, we are already picking up the tab.

You want the truth...You can't handle the truth!!!" Hey Peachtree City, Remember that famous line from the movie A Few Good Men that pitted Hollywood giants Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise against each other searching for the truth about the death of a U.S soldier. Not to mention Demi Moore looks good in uniform. So what is the truth?

Well we've already seen things continuing to go south. This year will be the worst year for the stock market since 1937. Trillions of dollars has been lost causing a serious shift in how folks not only think but spend.

You'll remember, the Bush administration worked hard to make people fearful. They came up with those preposterous "threat levels," trying to convince the public that it was in constant and consistent danger. Of course the public actually feels in danger - in danger of losing its jobs and houses. Fake fear has given way to real fear. So, the Obama administration will be doing its darnest to doing away with that atmosphere of fear to trying to give people their confidence back again.

And so now many Americans would gladly give up our freedom in the hope that it will keep us from losing any more money. So now, when the feds come a knockin', we all open the door and invite them in.
Because we need them to give us money, bailout our banks and our auto industry...to provide financing for our homes, save our economy, and yes our jobs!

Just a few short months ago we were naive enough to think that people should look out for their own finances. We believed that free market should decide which businesses survive and which fail. We thought that buyers and sellers should set prices for assets...and that capitalists should finance their own banks and insurance companies with their own money. Isn't or wasn't that the American way?

However, we're so much smarter now! Remember, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. One thing is for sure George W. Bush's popularity is the worst of any sitting President and nobody likes Wall Street right now. The two are probably going to be punished in the months ahead with more restrictions and a thorough flushing out of the Bush administration and all its workings.

Meanwhile, I'm hearing folks shouting advice for the Obama team to cut taxes. And then there is the talk of continuing this Big Bang Bailout as if it were the next World War. Well maybe it is on a financial level! We're hearing about another stimulus package and even more advice that next year we should continue deficit spending by borrowing about $2 trillion dollars to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. Building and repairing our roads would immediately create jobs. Building up the infrastructure was a big part of China's huge 849 billion stimulus/bailout strategy.

So here is what I think may happen. The average Joe right now is desperate for cash. He's also desperate to rebuild his balance sheet by paying off debt and adding some savings. A tax cut will probably help him do that. It will also allow the savings rate to go back to where it was before Greenspan's bubble years - around 10%... or about $1. 3 trillion. That cash will go mostly into U.S. Treasury debt. Probably the only place where it is believed to be safe right now. So if you cut taxes, the money will come back to the U. S. government, allowing the bailouts and spending to continue.

Of course, at some level the whole thing is still a massive cluster. All you're really doing is replacing private spending with government spending. But that's what you want to do anyway. This is just a way of gaining more government control over the economy while appearing to save people from a depression.

Okay can these actions actually stop a depression you say? Well, Yes and No. The key thing is that Americans' wealth and our standards of living must come down and fall in line. The President's
objective should be to allow them to fall without revolution, or national despair. Under this plan, standards of living will fall - except for those few who are likely to get a sweetheart deal. But the numbers will look fairly decent. There will be jobs. There will be economic activity. Confidence will be restored. Well sort of. But it will appear a bit like the U.S. economy during WWII when living standards fell but savings increased. It will look good to most people. President Obama has a lot on his shoulders but he has an opportunity to go down in history as one of our greatest presidents. Only time and his plan will tell!

Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of Great Britain at the financial summit in Washington, D.C. stated it very appropriately. "Uniquely in this global age, it is now in our power to come together so that 2008 is remembered not just for the failure of a financial crash that engulfed the world but for the resilience and optimism with which we faced the storm, endured it and prevailed,"

Further, if we learn from our experience of turning unity of purpose into unity of action, we can together seize this moment of change in our world to create a truly global society. The message is this: We must be; internationalist not protectionist; interventionist not neutral; progressive not reactive; and forward looking not frozen by events. We can seize this moment and in doing so build a truly global society. "

Folks, we are all Americans and collectively we all can contribute to restoring this country to its previous splendor regardless or race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or national origin. We have all been affected and trust me we all have plenty skin in the game....And that the whole truth!!!!

Listen up potential home-buyers!

Yes, take a break from all the gloom and doom on CNN. Remember you had just made the decision to buy a new home, right! Okay, now what? Well shopping for a new home can be scary. The next question that come to mind is: Whom can you trust? How do you pick an agent? Will they stick it to me? How will I know if I'm getting the biggest bang for my buck? How much house can I really afford?

All these are great questions and exactly what you should be considering. You know, I love this industry and I have had the opportunity to meet some really great agents who were very professional and serviced their clients needs. But, I have also met some that left a lot to be desired. As a result, some folks are deciding to for go using a real estate agent to buy their next home. Then there are some folks that it never even dawned on then to use or even look for an agent!

Now that brings me to this point. If you have made the decision to buy a home, it is a big deal. In fact, purchasing a home is the single biggest expense for most folks. It is a complicated process that requires financial and legal expertise. So let me ask you this, "If you got into some legal trouble and had to go to court, what do you think your chances would be of getting through that ordeal without representation or basically going it on your own." Exactly my point! You need the experience of a professional that works with these transactions on a daily basis who can help you manage this process. Not to mention the stress that is associated with home-buying.

Does that describe your situation? Then may I suggest using a buyer's agent. This agent can give you some protection and fully represent your best interest in a traditional real estate transaction.

Now first you should know that typically real estate agents traditionally represent the seller, not the buyer, and they get a percentage of the sale price. Therefore, it's in their best interest (and the seller's) to set as high a price as possible. The higher the sale price, the higher the agent's commission. Now a buyer's agent represents the buyer interest and of course negotiates for the best price on the house. Additionally, it should be noted that the buyer's agent gets paid by the seller at closing (a co-op fee) for bringing a buyer to the seller.

Now the Seller's agent will do everything within the limits of the law to assist you and get you to buy a house. No problem! In fact, that's their job as the seller's representative. A buyer's agent will help you get a more realistic picture of the home, the neighborhood, and the offer price you should prepare for submission.

Sounds good so far, right? But hold on! Before you put a buyer's agent in charge of your home-buying decisions, keep in mind what are the limits of this professional.

A buyer's agent can help you get a fair price, but he or she cannot promise you any bargain. Often, the buyer's agent has just as much a stake in the price of the home you buy. As I mentioned, the buyer's agent gets paid a percentage of the sale proceeds, just as the seller's agent does. That doesn't automatically create a conflict of interest, but it does mean that your agent really would want you to buy a house.

Additionally, a buyer's agent cannot absolve you of the responsibility of understanding your mortgage and buying an affordable house. Agents will often defer to lenders' decisions about the amount of money you can borrow and the monthly payment you can afford. In the worst case, an agent will take advantage of that information to sell you a home at your maximum price, with monthly payments that you can afford now but not later, when the mortgage rate adjusts.

It's up to you to make sure you're comfortable with your mortgage's current and future monthly payments. Just because you can buy a big expensive home just because the bank will lend you the money, doesn't mean you have to buy it. You're the expert on your personal finances. After all, you pay the bills, not your agent. A buyer's agent also cannot promise that if you take a less-than-optimal mortgage to get into a home, you'll be able to refinance later. That decision's up to the lenders.

Overall, having a buyer's agent can be very helpful. As long as you understand what a buyer's agent can and can't do for you, you'll feel more comfortable about the process and potentially get a better deal in the end.

So, if you are looking for a polished professional, please give me a call at 678-640-2275. Oh, and don't be afraid to ask for references