Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
12-30-2011 | 05:31 AM
The Brown Dot +1
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: 777B
The standard audit letter from the IRS usually has a HUGE sum owed. The highest I've received is $115K owed with the usual amount being arount $40k. It is a collection agency type of tactic. If you have all receipts and use every possible gray area, you have nothing to fear. An audit is simply a receipt check - making sure you have documentation for your claims.
12-30-2011 | 05:39 AM
The Brown Dot +1
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 7,775
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From: 777B
I know this is going to sound hardass in this day of undeserved self-affirmation, but none of the financial and investment misjudgment you've stated here caused the extreme home valuation rise...that was caused by the home buyer who agreed to buy their homes at prices that were almost doubling every two years when inflation was not. When buyers are willing to pay any price for something, a bubble will ensue.
Also, none of the financial and investment misjudgment you've stated caused home valuations to collapse. That was caused by people walking away from their contractual promises to pay those mortgages when home prices stopped doubling every two years. Mom and pop speculators were buying as many homes as their leverage would allow, betting that prices would continue to skyrocket. When the speculators walked away from their promises to pay, the bubble burst. Now we have websites devoted to teaching you how to walk away from a mortgage you can afford, but to free yourself from a home you've paid too much for. Its an outrageous example of what happens when too many of us lose our moral compass. And banks have noticed this missing moral compass. Thus loans have dried up. This should come as no surprise to anyone.
Carl
Also, none of the financial and investment misjudgment you've stated caused home valuations to collapse. That was caused by people walking away from their contractual promises to pay those mortgages when home prices stopped doubling every two years. Mom and pop speculators were buying as many homes as their leverage would allow, betting that prices would continue to skyrocket. When the speculators walked away from their promises to pay, the bubble burst. Now we have websites devoted to teaching you how to walk away from a mortgage you can afford, but to free yourself from a home you've paid too much for. Its an outrageous example of what happens when too many of us lose our moral compass. And banks have noticed this missing moral compass. Thus loans have dried up. This should come as no surprise to anyone.
Carl
Just a slight aside, the whole mortgage/ overvalued thing isn't over yet. The really high end properties haven't hit the "foreclosure" listings yet. Banks have been keeping those on their "shadow" inventories. This is how the banks can mitigate their "paper" losses.
I have no idea how widespread this is nationally, but in my little corner of paradise, Isle of Palms, SC, there are approximately 100 homes with original mortgages of $2.5M and up that haven't had a mortgage payment made in 3+ years, but which are also not yet foreclosed. Thats a pretty big shoe that hasn't dropped yet.
12-30-2011 | 05:45 AM
Back on TDY
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From: 747-400 Captain
Buzz (and Carl),
Don't forget the shenanigans on the part of Goldman Sachs, et al. regarding the bundling of sub-prime mortgages and passing off the bundles as being "Investment Grade".
In the case of GS they then made bets against the very investment products they sold and denied they had a Fiduciary Responsibility. Great integrity!
Don't forget the shenanigans on the part of Goldman Sachs, et al. regarding the bundling of sub-prime mortgages and passing off the bundles as being "Investment Grade".
In the case of GS they then made bets against the very investment products they sold and denied they had a Fiduciary Responsibility. Great integrity!
It's obvious these days that my belief system is archaic. I understand that. But what I don't understand is how people can now be crying about banks having tons of money, but not wanting to lend. Banks require society to have a moral compass when they sign promissory notes. When society loses that moral compass, banks have a fiduciary responsibility to be extremely cautious.
Carl
12-30-2011 | 05:56 AM
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From: 747-400 Captain
Thanks Buzz,
I was just about to jump into the discussion and get on people for oversimplifying the cause of the housing crisis. It's easy to place blame on a group of people. Especially, if you don't identify with them. There is plenty of blame to go around, but is seems that most blame on here is being concentrated on people who walk away from their mortgages.
Didn't one of our own pilots just say they were $240,000 upside down in their house? What if he got furloughed and had to move to take a new job somewhere else to support his family? I wouldn't dare call him a slouch or place the blame for the housing crisis at his feet.
Especially, since when I was younger, if I lost my job, I can't say I wouldn't have had to move away to find another job. If I did have to move away for another job, I can't say it would have been for the amount of money I made before. With that being the case, I can't say I could have afforded to pay for a mortgage and rent in two different places for too long. Hell, I don't think I could do it for too long right now. I guess I suck.
For me, timing and luck is everything. I wish I could be smart like the other guys. But, I would suggest that some of us need to get over ourselves and wake up to see just how lucky we really are.
I was just about to jump into the discussion and get on people for oversimplifying the cause of the housing crisis. It's easy to place blame on a group of people. Especially, if you don't identify with them. There is plenty of blame to go around, but is seems that most blame on here is being concentrated on people who walk away from their mortgages.
Didn't one of our own pilots just say they were $240,000 upside down in their house? What if he got furloughed and had to move to take a new job somewhere else to support his family? I wouldn't dare call him a slouch or place the blame for the housing crisis at his feet.
Especially, since when I was younger, if I lost my job, I can't say I wouldn't have had to move away to find another job. If I did have to move away for another job, I can't say it would have been for the amount of money I made before. With that being the case, I can't say I could have afforded to pay for a mortgage and rent in two different places for too long. Hell, I don't think I could do it for too long right now. I guess I suck.
For me, timing and luck is everything. I wish I could be smart like the other guys. But, I would suggest that some of us need to get over ourselves and wake up to see just how lucky we really are.
I do a bit of hiring and firing in my firm and in the firms I consult. We ALWAYS check credit history. This is exactly the kind of moral hazard and poor judgment we look for to weed out potential new employees. I know it sounds harsh because these people need jobs to dig themselves out of their self-induced financial crisis, but nobody wants to risk someone who shows such poor personal judgment and lack of moral character.
Carl
12-30-2011 | 05:57 AM
Back on TDY
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From: 747-400 Captain
This needs to happen not only in America in general but in our profession in particular. I structure my finances so that I can survive on 50 hours of FO pay on our lowest paying equipment (including our horrible theoretical 190/CR7 rates) and anything above that is used for savings, toys and underboob.
On a related note, the college bubble is stretching as we speak and its going to pop anyway and pop hard. Before the inevitable happens, barfing 6 figures at every single offspring no matter what to get degrees in self-discovery with a minor in right of passage, reading stuff that's on the internet for free that is guaranteed to only net them a part time barista job if they're lucky is a great place to find the money needed to live well beneath one's means, which is a hard core necessity in our industry not an option. It blows my mind that so many people so unquestionably hand over massive amounts of money to a semi-obselete system that produces rapidly dimishing returns. Then there's the vacation homes, new cars/boats/planes, etc.
I'm not talking about people who can truly afford it. And I'm not talking about people who have experienced genuine and prolonged cash draining hardships. I'm talking about the self induced paycheck to paycheck person that loses everything as soon as anything happens even though they've make 6 figures for a very long time and then some. We are worth a heck of a lot more than what we are getting and we need to be willing to strike if necessary to get it, but we need to be able to live on less. Maybe I'm out of touch but that's a lesson that growing up poor taught me and it baffles me that anyone better off doesn't already think that way cause I'm no where near the coldest beer in the fridge. If I get it, how can anyone not? Then you run into a guy who bought a 600K vacation home and lives max line to max line with no cushion. That just doesn't compute to me. Whiskey Tango What?
It is crucial that we as a group become financially able to weather storms. Ironically, being over extended hurts our ability to negotiate better compensation in the first place. Management loves dealing with a group that needs their next paycheck desperately. I'd like to see us take that leverage away from them.
On a related note, the college bubble is stretching as we speak and its going to pop anyway and pop hard. Before the inevitable happens, barfing 6 figures at every single offspring no matter what to get degrees in self-discovery with a minor in right of passage, reading stuff that's on the internet for free that is guaranteed to only net them a part time barista job if they're lucky is a great place to find the money needed to live well beneath one's means, which is a hard core necessity in our industry not an option. It blows my mind that so many people so unquestionably hand over massive amounts of money to a semi-obselete system that produces rapidly dimishing returns. Then there's the vacation homes, new cars/boats/planes, etc.
I'm not talking about people who can truly afford it. And I'm not talking about people who have experienced genuine and prolonged cash draining hardships. I'm talking about the self induced paycheck to paycheck person that loses everything as soon as anything happens even though they've make 6 figures for a very long time and then some. We are worth a heck of a lot more than what we are getting and we need to be willing to strike if necessary to get it, but we need to be able to live on less. Maybe I'm out of touch but that's a lesson that growing up poor taught me and it baffles me that anyone better off doesn't already think that way cause I'm no where near the coldest beer in the fridge. If I get it, how can anyone not? Then you run into a guy who bought a 600K vacation home and lives max line to max line with no cushion. That just doesn't compute to me. Whiskey Tango What?
It is crucial that we as a group become financially able to weather storms. Ironically, being over extended hurts our ability to negotiate better compensation in the first place. Management loves dealing with a group that needs their next paycheck desperately. I'd like to see us take that leverage away from them.
Carl
12-30-2011 | 05:59 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Jul 2008
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Those settlements probably aren't what they appear to be for someone who hasn't dealt with the IRS.
A couple years ago my tax preparer didn't include one of my 1099s when he filed. I didn't notice it was missing either, since it was in the pile, just not on the form. IRS noticed it six months later, and the notice said I owed about $20,000.
They put every deduction/expense in dispute. I really owed about $100, plus a little penalty.
Moral of the story, they send you a HUGE bill to get your attention. So when I settled for pennies on the dollar, I didn't get out of $19,850 in taxes, just fixed a small error. I suspect most of those "pennies on the dollar" stories are similar.
A couple years ago my tax preparer didn't include one of my 1099s when he filed. I didn't notice it was missing either, since it was in the pile, just not on the form. IRS noticed it six months later, and the notice said I owed about $20,000.
They put every deduction/expense in dispute. I really owed about $100, plus a little penalty.Moral of the story, they send you a HUGE bill to get your attention. So when I settled for pennies on the dollar, I didn't get out of $19,850 in taxes, just fixed a small error. I suspect most of those "pennies on the dollar" stories are similar.
12-30-2011 | 06:02 AM
Banned
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Space Shuttle PIC
How about "Latest and greatest" about Delta? Too many Neal Cavuto wannabees on this sight lately. Rumors and news about Delta would be great.
12-30-2011 | 06:13 AM
:-)
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,339
Likes: 1
This needs to happen not only in America in general but in our profession in particular. I structure my finances so that I can survive on 50 hours of FO pay on our lowest paying equipment (including our horrible theoretical 190/CR7 rates) and anything above that is used for savings, toys and underboob.
On a related note, the college bubble is stretching as we speak and its going to pop anyway and pop hard. Before the inevitable happens, barfing 6 figures at every single offspring no matter what to get degrees in self-discovery with a minor in right of passage, reading stuff that's on the internet for free that is guaranteed to only net them a part time barista job if they're lucky is a great place to find the money needed to live well beneath one's means, which is a hard core necessity in our industry not an option. It blows my mind that so many people so unquestionably hand over massive amounts of money to a semi-obselete system that produces rapidly dimishing returns. Then there's the vacation homes, new cars/boats/planes, etc.
I'm not talking about people who can truly afford it. And I'm not talking about people who have experienced genuine and prolonged cash draining hardships. I'm talking about the self induced paycheck to paycheck person that loses everything as soon as anything happens even though they've make 6 figures for a very long time and then some. We are worth a heck of a lot more than what we are getting and we need to be willing to strike if necessary to get it, but we need to be able to live on less. Maybe I'm out of touch but that's a lesson that growing up poor taught me and it baffles me that anyone better off doesn't already think that way cause I'm no where near the coldest beer in the fridge. If I get it, how can anyone not? Then you run into a guy who bought a 600K vacation home and lives max line to max line with no cushion. That just doesn't compute to me. Whiskey Tango What?
It is crucial that we as a group become financially able to weather storms. Ironically, being over extended hurts our ability to negotiate better compensation in the first place. Management loves dealing with a group that needs their next paycheck desperately. I'd like to see us take that leverage away from them.
On a related note, the college bubble is stretching as we speak and its going to pop anyway and pop hard. Before the inevitable happens, barfing 6 figures at every single offspring no matter what to get degrees in self-discovery with a minor in right of passage, reading stuff that's on the internet for free that is guaranteed to only net them a part time barista job if they're lucky is a great place to find the money needed to live well beneath one's means, which is a hard core necessity in our industry not an option. It blows my mind that so many people so unquestionably hand over massive amounts of money to a semi-obselete system that produces rapidly dimishing returns. Then there's the vacation homes, new cars/boats/planes, etc.
I'm not talking about people who can truly afford it. And I'm not talking about people who have experienced genuine and prolonged cash draining hardships. I'm talking about the self induced paycheck to paycheck person that loses everything as soon as anything happens even though they've make 6 figures for a very long time and then some. We are worth a heck of a lot more than what we are getting and we need to be willing to strike if necessary to get it, but we need to be able to live on less. Maybe I'm out of touch but that's a lesson that growing up poor taught me and it baffles me that anyone better off doesn't already think that way cause I'm no where near the coldest beer in the fridge. If I get it, how can anyone not? Then you run into a guy who bought a 600K vacation home and lives max line to max line with no cushion. That just doesn't compute to me. Whiskey Tango What?
It is crucial that we as a group become financially able to weather storms. Ironically, being over extended hurts our ability to negotiate better compensation in the first place. Management loves dealing with a group that needs their next paycheck desperately. I'd like to see us take that leverage away from them.
Yeah....you're going to be broke if you marry this!
12-30-2011 | 07:20 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Aug 2010
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Some good posts here on the arrogance of calling commuting a choice... I read all the comments, and it just astounded me how many pilots wrote in derogatory comments towards commuters making their own "choice" and having to live with it... It only takes one example of "false" to make a sweeping generality like this wrong.
I'm in a house, bought at market price for an AVERAGE 4 BR in 2005, that is now $250,000 upside down. I can't move. When I joined the company, BEFORE getting furloughed for 6 years, there were DFW, MCO, ANC options for living which no longer exist--and those were my top 3 choices! I DID move to DFW, and then I got furloughed...for 6 years. When I got recalled, guess what? I'd bought a house near my job that got me through furlough... just the way a "good Delta non-commuter should" apparently. And now I'm stuck there unless someone will give me $250k to move. And all three places I desired to live are no longer options. And I've been bumped out the bottom of all west coast spots I could hold as lineholder in 2007, SEA, LAX, and SLC briefly, so even if I HAD been magically able to move to base due to a $250k gift, I would have gotten displaced again!
Here's the breakdown of commuters by base:
ATL 38%
DTW 78%
MSP 40%... but that includes a bunch of 330 guys who claimed non-commuting, higher now.
NYC 77%... doesn't include the new 320 nums, virtually all commuters, so higher now
LAX 42%
SLC 36%
SEA 45%
MEM... survey was around 45% total, but will now be essentially 100% for a while
CVG 4%, so all live in base, expect 96% commuters min when CVG closes soon.
When pilots see right in front of them mandatory displacements and base closures and shrinking category lists and airframe types disappearing, then can not draw the obvious and logical conclusion that this creates commuters, it surprises me. When they come on a board like this, or answer a survey question, stating commuting is a choice, implicitly assuming that everyone in the world can just pick up and move to ATL if they REALLLLLLY wanted to... the arrogance and insensitivity to other folks possible life problems is astounding.
I'm in a house, bought at market price for an AVERAGE 4 BR in 2005, that is now $250,000 upside down. I can't move. When I joined the company, BEFORE getting furloughed for 6 years, there were DFW, MCO, ANC options for living which no longer exist--and those were my top 3 choices! I DID move to DFW, and then I got furloughed...for 6 years. When I got recalled, guess what? I'd bought a house near my job that got me through furlough... just the way a "good Delta non-commuter should" apparently. And now I'm stuck there unless someone will give me $250k to move. And all three places I desired to live are no longer options. And I've been bumped out the bottom of all west coast spots I could hold as lineholder in 2007, SEA, LAX, and SLC briefly, so even if I HAD been magically able to move to base due to a $250k gift, I would have gotten displaced again!
Here's the breakdown of commuters by base:
ATL 38%
DTW 78%
MSP 40%... but that includes a bunch of 330 guys who claimed non-commuting, higher now.
NYC 77%... doesn't include the new 320 nums, virtually all commuters, so higher now
LAX 42%
SLC 36%
SEA 45%
MEM... survey was around 45% total, but will now be essentially 100% for a while
CVG 4%, so all live in base, expect 96% commuters min when CVG closes soon.
When pilots see right in front of them mandatory displacements and base closures and shrinking category lists and airframe types disappearing, then can not draw the obvious and logical conclusion that this creates commuters, it surprises me. When they come on a board like this, or answer a survey question, stating commuting is a choice, implicitly assuming that everyone in the world can just pick up and move to ATL if they REALLLLLLY wanted to... the arrogance and insensitivity to other folks possible life problems is astounding.
12-30-2011 | 07:55 AM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,685
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From: "Prof" button manipulator
For all the SWA luv'ers out there. 
(80Kts & FTB "gettin down" on New Year's Eve)
A Safe and Happy New Year's Eve weekend to all!!
GJ
(80Kts & FTB "gettin down" on New Year's Eve)
A Safe and Happy New Year's Eve weekend to all!!
GJ
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