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FearTheReaper

FearTheReaper

NEWSWIRE

I'm lost

JUL 28, 2007 12:42 PM



How's your city's infrastructure?

Shal

Shal

Los Angeles, CA
October 2002

JUL 28, 2007 12:51 PM

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???


Enron and the cumulative effects of deregulation.


Duh.

Shal

Shal

Los Angeles, CA
October 2002

JUL 28, 2007 12:52 PM

I like living in a city on the brink of apocalypse, personally. It gives mundane things like going grocery shopping and going to the laundromat that certain je ne sais quoi. biggrin

mamet

mamet

Charleston, SC
March 2005

JUL 28, 2007 12:54 PM

Is that Alec Baldwin?

Quirky

Quirky

Birmingham, AL
October 2005

JUL 28, 2007 12:55 PM

Shalome said:
I like living in a city on the brink of apocalypse, personally. biggrin



The bars are gonna rake in the dough during LArmageddon.

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

JUL 28, 2007 12:58 PM

FearTheReaper said:
How's your city's infrastructure?


What's in your wallet?

FearTheReaper

FearTheReaper

NEWSWIRE

I'm lost

JUL 28, 2007 01:03 PM

bean said:

FearTheReaper said:
How's your city's infrastructure?


What's in your wallet?



I get Arrowhead delivered to my house, so I should be okay, right?

_panda_

_panda_

I'm lost
November 2005

JUL 28, 2007 01:41 PM

Actually, it is LADWP, SCE and SDGE that is the culprit. At no time did Enron and other marketers have accountability for the pipes and wires, strictly just commodity. Pipes and wires are still under the jurisdiction of the regulated utility.

Perhaps they should deregulate the distribution network to encourage investment into the infrastructure, because as of now, there is in incentive.

Subrosa

Subrosa

San Francisco, CA
July 2004

JUL 28, 2007 01:46 PM

You couldn't have told me this before I arrived?

That's it. I'm fucking out of here.

FearTheReaper

FearTheReaper

NEWSWIRE

I'm lost

JUL 28, 2007 02:00 PM

oyaji said:
I love you guys and everything, but BURN BABY BURN.



Why do you think people started looking into this?



Steam pipe explodes near Grand Central Station in NY: AP
By Katherine Hunt
Last Update: 6:56 PM ET Jul 18, 2007

The New York Police Department said there was an apparent steam pipe explosion near Grand Central Station in Manhattan during the evening rush hour, according to a media report late Wednesday. The officials said it didn't appear to be terrorism-related, the Associated Press reported, and there were no immediate details on possible injuries. Consolidated Edison said there was an operational problem in the area and that utility crews were responding, the AP said.



How's your infrastructure?

aleksa

aleksa

Tacoma, WA
April 2006

JUL 28, 2007 02:00 PM

Shalome said:
I like living in a city on the brink of apocalypse, personally. It gives mundane things like going grocery shopping and going to the laundromat that certain je ne sais quoi. biggrin



"Apocalypse" was the first word to spring to my mind.

scorp17yh

scorp17yh

Brookings, OR
November 2004

JUL 28, 2007 02:15 PM

Shalome said:
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???


Enron and the cumulative effects of deregulation.


Duh.



It happened because the powers that be continue to believe Developers lies that uncontrolled growth is not only Progress but the Solution to every problem. Developers are given Millions in subsidies but aren't rquired to do anything about the overburdened infrastructure they are stressing to the breaking point.
The same thing is happening all over the U.S.
I live in a tiny, pop. 650, town on the Oregon coast and am constantly trying to explain to the Realtor/Developer controlled City Council and Planning Commision that if Growth were Progress
Lost Angeles would be Paradise.
Citys continue to think an increase in Property Tax Revenue can solve any problem. They don't seem to comprehend that the more a City grows the more expensive it is to maintain the neccessary infrastructure.
I need to go take some more Tums

herbancowboy

herbancowboy

Houston, TX
June 2004

JUL 28, 2007 02:43 PM

I keep reading about how the economy is about to take a nose dive. Maybe the way back up will be a WPA-style overhaul of the nation's infrastructure. (Although current trends point toward more privatization and deregulation instead.)

This article even makes a case for public spending on "things like renewable energy, rail and public infrastructure" to stimulate the ailing economy.

freshprncebelair

freshprncebelair

Ellicott City, MD
June 2004

JUL 28, 2007 03:43 PM

herbancowboy said:
I keep reading about how the economy is about to take a nose dive. Maybe the way back up will be a WPA-style overhaul of the nation's infrastructure. (Although current trends point toward more privatization and deregulation instead.)

This article even makes a case for public spending on "things like renewable energy, rail and public infrastructure" to stimulate the ailing economy.



The economy is probably going to take a turn south, but I don't see naked shorts and FTD trades as much of a problem. The credit derivatives issue though, have fueled what could turn out to be a firestorm if manipulated right. Fortunately, China for right now wants us to keep buying shit, but if they wanted to, they could get together with some hedge funds and pull a supermove that would do a lot of damage.

Hedge funds though I don't think are a problem. They are essentially just groups formed to escape shackling regulations of mutual funds for people who know what they are doing, and understand derivatives, options, etc. I don't think the government should regulate what is essentially people who are smarter, quicker, and better with their money than the average middle class person

FearTheReaper

FearTheReaper

NEWSWIRE

I'm lost

JUL 28, 2007 03:55 PM

oyaji said:


It sucks. I still want LA to burn.



Thats weird, I want New York to explode.

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

JUL 28, 2007 06:06 PM

oyaji said:
It sucks. I still want LA to burn.


Just out of curiosity, why?

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

JUL 28, 2007 06:10 PM

scorp17yh said:

Shalome said:
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???


Enron and the cumulative effects of deregulation.


Duh.



It happened because the powers that be continue to believe Developers lies that uncontrolled growth is not only Progress but the Solution to every problem. Developers are given Millions in subsidies but aren't rquired to do anything about the overburdened infrastructure they are stressing to the breaking point.
The same thing is happening all over the U.S.
I live in a tiny, pop. 650, town on the Oregon coast and am constantly trying to explain to the Realtor/Developer controlled City Council and Planning Commision that if Growth were Progress
Lost Angeles would be Paradise.
Citys continue to think an increase in Property Tax Revenue can solve any problem. They don't seem to comprehend that the more a City grows the more expensive it is to maintain the neccessary infrastructure.
I need to go take some more Tums


No seriously, it happened because Enron made it happen.

Christ, did you people all miss the Enron fiasco? It wasn't exactly buried in the back of the papers.

herbancowboy

herbancowboy

Houston, TX
June 2004

JUL 28, 2007 06:19 PM

bean said:
No seriously, it happened because Enron made it happen.

Christ, did you people all miss the Enron fiasco? It wasn't exactly buried in the back of the papers.



The video FTR posted is about the failing infrastructure--like light poles and power lines.

The article you link to is about the supply line and rolling blackouts in 2000.

scorp17yh's comment had to do with developers placing increased demands on existing infrastructure. I think it was much more closely related to the topic brought up by FTR than your response, although your response does have the added truthiness factor of being boldified.

_kungfoo_

_kungfoo_

Los Angeles, CA
April 2005

JUL 28, 2007 07:00 PM

_Poptard_ said:

Shalome said:
I like living in a city on the brink of apocalypse, personally. biggrin



The bars are gonna rake in the dough during LArmageddon.



I just hope it's during happy hour.

Rafi

Rafi

Santa Monica, CA
January 2003

JUL 28, 2007 07:38 PM

Shalome said:
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???


Enron and the cumulative effects of deregulation.


Duh.



[Libertarian tinfoil]
No, clearly it was because the execution of deregulation didn't go far enough. This is always the case whenever industry deregulations quickly result in easily forseeable disaster; if only we had completely done away with gubbymint interference, truly we would now be living in a utopian paradise and Ayn Rand would have risen from the grave to give us all blowjobs.
[/Libertarian tinfoil]

fountainofdreams

fountainofdreams

Batavia, IL
January 2005

JUL 28, 2007 08:01 PM

Man, I don't think I'd even accept an Ayn Rand blowjob, necrophilia notwithstanding.

I didn't think I would ever say that I wouldn't accept a blowjob. Beware flying pigs and freezing floors.

fountainofdreams

fountainofdreams

Batavia, IL
January 2005

JUL 28, 2007 08:02 PM

In other news: it doesn't really surprise me that the infrastructure is falling apart, because supporting the infrastructure would be bad for the bottom line.

JackMD

JackMD

Vashon, WA
June 2004

JUL 28, 2007 08:03 PM

FearTheReaper said:

oyaji said:


It sucks. I still want LA to burn.



Thats weird, I want New York to explode.



Don't forget the massive flooding in the big apple too, polar ice caps?

Stiles

Stiles

Oakland, CA
November 2002

JUL 28, 2007 10:17 PM

freshprncebelair said:

Hedge funds though I don't think are a problem. They are essentially just groups formed to escape shackling regulations of mutual funds for people who know what they are doing, and understand derivatives, options, etc. I don't think the government should regulate what is essentially people who are smarter, quicker, and better with their money than the average middle class person



Amaranth Advisors managed $9,000,000,000 (nine billion dollars) in assets.
They collapsed after losing $6,000,000,000 in one week on bad bets on natural gas futures, producing the largest hedge fund collapse in history.

Long Term Capital Management collapsed in 1998 after losing 4.6 billion dollars in a few months, almost taking down a large swath of the US securities market with it. This was only avoided by a massive Federal Reserve Bank of New York orchestrated buyout.

Forbes magazine: the problems with hedge funds

Stiles

Stiles

Oakland, CA
November 2002

JUL 28, 2007 11:03 PM

Yeah, I know all that (but thanks for saying it for those reading along at home).

I'm more reacting to the tone of the comment - "shackling" with regulations those who he perceives as "smarter, quicker and better" with their money when the very lack of regulation makes hedge funds a black hole and helps produce fiascoes like LTCM, Amaranth, and many others.

Those investors more likely than not don't understand strips, derivatives and complex mortage-backed securities better than the middle-class investors freshprncebelair so blithely writes off.

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