Washington “We have a Problem”

I read yesterday in a Bloomberg report, the financial institutions could have up to $1 Trillion in write-downs in the near future. Do you realize how much that represents? If you expect the taxpayer to bail these institutions out, how may years will it take and how high will our taxes be to pay for this $1 Trillion bailout?   Then I read that our President and Congress intend to give the Federal Reserve more power to control the financial institutions. Question? Just who is the Federal Reserve accountable too? I would bet that most of the readers of this blog cannot answer that question. The answer is NOT the Government (people) of the United States.   Some will say; “The President nominates the Chairman of the Federal Reserve as in Ben Bernanke. What that did not say is that the choice of who the President nominates is based on who the Board of Governors choose to send up to the President. In other words, the Federal Reserve chooses it’s own Chairman, then the President and Senate approve their nomination.   Now on top of the above, I read the new financial system will be based on some Scandinavian or Norwegian program, “Hello”? Are not Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark predominantly Socialist? Bet you cannot find that article in the major media this morning! By the way, “Socialism” has not worked in any Nation in the past, so what makes them think Socialism will work in the United State of America?   Washington will not deal with the problem but playing the ethanol game has and will continue to drive this Nation into the bottomless pit. Relying on foreign enemies to supply the necessary oil to fill fuel the economy will continue the down fall.   What to do? Having spent some years in the securities markets, hard asset markets, financial markets and finally the real estate market, I have concluded the following: 1. The dollar will continue to fall as the leaders will be unwilling to deal with the problem. Putting the Fed in a stronger position will only exaggerate the problem with the dollar. Remember all they want is control and they are getting it without strings attached. 2. I have yet to see a weather report being accurate over a couple of days, just how can they predict the weather 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or 20 years in the future? The “Global Warming Group” is just another way for the elite to control the masses. Once again I believe that to be Socialism. 3. Since 1990 I have watched the “hard asset” markets and still cannot justify the movements of gold, silver and platinum. The only answer for the movements up or down would have to be controlled (unproven) through manipulation. When gold should be at an all time high it drops $50 – $75 per ounce. 4. Dependent upon your current financial position: a. Real Estate investors who are over their head with dropping values and increasing payments should SELL before the price drops further. b. Investors with extra cash, looking for a hedge against inflation should BUY LOW, finance low and do your home- work in the area. Know the employment outlook, rental rates, and vacancy rates. c. Investors with large amount of cash looking for long term investment should look to Farms and Ranch properties. Once again do your home-work! Midwest farms are getting record prices per acre. I do not for see the leaders of this Nation dealing with the fuel problem other than throwing tax dollars at the ethanol program. This will raise the price of farm produce which will cause the price of farm acres to increase. We are entering into some extreme times and it is time to make extreme decisions for our future survival.

Southern Idaho’s Energy Growth

Southern Idaho is turning the corner in the area of alternative energy production as will be shown below.
As in other parts of the West, growth is stretching the current electrical and fossil fuel requirements. The Idaho State Legislature passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which is starting to manifest itself with some of the projects listed below.
The effect on Southern Idaho (Twin Falls, Burley and Jerome) is beginning to be felt in the area of commercial and industrial facilities being sought by respective developers and industrial contractors coming into the area.

Examples include:

1. Sierra Pacific Resources and Renewable Energy are currently working on an agreement to develop more than 200 megawatts of electricity with large Wind Turbines.
2. Three major Geothermal Electrical generation plants are being investigated or in production. The Raft River project is said to be currently producing electricity. The China Cap and Willow Springs in Caribou County are projected to produce 100 megawatts of electricity each.
3. Direct-use geothermal applications are also being replicated throughout Idaho, with proposed projects including the installation of additional geothermal greenhouse acreage, the expansion of district heating systems, and the promotion of geothermal heat pumps. The thermal potential for direct use in Idaho has been estimated by the United States Geological Survey at 2,758 MWt (megawatts thermal).
4. Using agriculture products as feedstock, four new ethanol plants have the potential to create 1,900 permanent new jobs, $58 million in household income and $11.3 million in new tax revenues for the state’s economy, according to the Idaho Energy Division.
5. MidAmerican Nuclear Energy Co., a subsidiary of the Des Moines, Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., has been doing geologic testing on about 3,300 acres of private land south of Paddock Valley Reservoir.This is the second proposal for a nuclear power plant in Idaho in less than a year. The first has been proposed on farmland in Owyhee County near Bruneau by a small startup company founded by a former nuclear industry executive.
6. Diversified Fuels expects to create a market for 250,000 acres worth of locally grown canola by the time their proposed seed processing/biodiesel facility is running at capacity, producing 40 million gallons of biodiesel in Buhl alone.

With all the proposed and active projects in the Southern Idaho area, the future looks bright for commercial and industrial facilities. Currently there is a shortage of warehouse and office space in the Twin Falls area. When the above mentioned projects start, the shortage will be even greater.

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