June 28, 2007

Focused On Limiting The Loss In Florida

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. “Real estate push has come to foreclosure shove in Palmetto. Roughly 200 individual property owners are finding themselves in the first step of a foreclosure because of a legal tussle between well-known Palmetto builder deMorgan Communities and the company that did roads, utilities, sewers and drainage for the development.”

“Real estate attorneys said that the neighborhood’s troubles could be a taste of what is to come as contractors in the state’s limping real estate market use every remedy available to them under Florida law to get developers to pay.”

“Already, a couple who bought at Oak View last year, have found out what it means to be caught in the middle. Christian and Erin Slager found a buyer for their deMorgan home, scheduled a closing for Friday, and were then notified by their agent at Opteum Title that they could not close, she could not issue them a title insurance policy because their home was subject to a $544,000 lien.”

“Because the lien names deMorgan, homeowners are not automatically notified that there is a cloud over their property. The way they find out is when they try to do something with their property.”

“But some Oak View residents have simply declined to get excited. Ray Bartro, a retired Marine who lives in Carpenteras, does not foresee any legal action affecting his ownership. ‘What are they going to do, tear up my home and cart it away? I don’t think so. I have an Uzi.’”

The Orlando Sentinel. “Will slumping home sales and rising gas prices push Florida, including the Orlando area, into recession? The latest forecast from a University of Central Florida economist concludes they will not, at least not without a lot of help. Other experts, however, aren’t so sure.”

“Some bankers, though, said they still worry that the problems of many subprime-mortgage lenders will seep into the broader economy. Chuck Owston, Central Florida president of Florida Capital Bank, based in Jacksonville, said that, with credit standards tightening, ‘people who are on the borderline financially are not being able to finance or buy a home.’”

“The resulting drop in demand has meant fewer builders building and fewer development loans, he said.”

“‘Land development and residential construction [have] slowed dramatically,’ he said. ‘Projects and loans that made sense 18 to 24 months ago don’t make sense anymore.’”

The Sun Sentinel. “Florida Atlantic University expects to be on track for modest growth in the coming years, following an unexpected decline last year.”

“The university’s fall enrollment was 25,657 last year, a slight decline from 25,994 the year before. It was the first time in decades that FAU’s population dropped. The university made $2 million in cuts, because it hadn’t expected the drop.”

“Officials attributed the declines to hurricanes, a depressed housing market and lower high school and community college graduation rates.”

The Palm Beach Post. “St. Lucie County officials got slightly better news about property values Tuesday than Property Appraiser Jeff Furst predicted recently, but the values still were way below the double-digit increases of the past few years.”

“The county’s soft real estate market and construction industries held the tax roll increases down.”

“City officials said they were not surprised and had planned for the housing bubble to lead to lower taxable values the next few years. ‘A lot of us have been saying the market would self-correct,’ Councilman Christopher Cooper said. ‘It’s been doing that for decades. There are good times and bad times.’”

“Vice Mayor Jack Kelly said he tried to tell state lawmakers the correction would lower property values and corresponding taxes without government interference, just as rising values lined city coffers the past five years.”

“‘The correction was built into our plan over the next four to five years,’ Kelly said. ‘We’ll have a bigger (value) decrease next year.’”

The Tampa Tribune. “Building in Tampa is about to get more expensive. For the first time in seven years, the city plans to raise permit fees. Mayor Pam Iorio embraces the philosophy of raising fees in the construction services division. ‘It is our goal to have that be self-sufficient,’ Iorio said.”

“If the city makes the building department self-sustaining, employees probably would have to brace for furloughs or layoffs if the building industry slows. ‘If those fees are what funds the department, when you have a complete construction slowdown, you will have fewer employees,’ Iorio said.”

“That’s what happened in Hillsborough County, which furloughed building employees this month in response to the downturn in the building market. Building offices are closed every other Friday.”

“In Florida, a statewide indicator of consumer confidence ticked up by one point to a reading of 83 in June, but that wasn’t a sign that Floridians’ outlook is improving. The slight rise was up from a 19-month low, reached in May, and it falls within the survey’s margin of error.”

“‘There are a lot of things weighing on consumer confidence,’ said Gary Thayer, chief economist at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.”

“In South Florida, builders have been slashing prices to lure hesitant buyers. DiVosta Building Corp. of Palm Beach Gardens and Levitt Corp. of Fort Lauderdale are among the local building companies to begin layoffs this year in response to the housing slowdown.”

“Lennar Corp.’s struggles may not be over any time soon as the troubled housing market shows no sign of recovery. The Miami-based company, one of the nation’s leading home builders, said Tuesday it stumbled to a second-quarter loss as inventories of unsold homes rose and it also cut prices and offered more incentives to attract buyers.”

“Lennar has cut jobs in Southwest Florida as it contends with the slow market. Lennar, Southwest Florida’s largest home builder, merged two local division into one entity and has cut roughly 90 positions since the beginning of the year.”

“In April, the company trimmed another 56 position in Sarasota-Manatee. Those layoffs, coupled with the 35 positions eliminated in late February, mean that the home builder has trimmed 40 percent of its local staff. Other big home builders also have been cutting positions.”

“The home builder has cut back on housing starts by more than 50 percent year over year as it unloads inventory, Lennar CEO Stuart Miller said.”

“Other industry challenges include restoring consumer confidence in the ultimate value of a home purchase and replacing demand that was lost with the recent problems with subprime lenders, Miller said. And, builders who have stopped construction are starting to register losses on land that’s just sitting there.”

“‘Market conditions have eroded so much over the past six months that we are now focused on limiting the loss for the year,’ Miller said, adding later that uncertain conditions make him ’suspect that we will not know that a recovery is coming until it is upon us.’”

The St Petersburg Times. “Florida’s proposed “super homestead exemption” would slash taxes by about 70 percent for the owner of a new median-priced house in the Tampa Bay area. But the super homestead exemption would be no cure-all to Florida’s housing woes.”

“‘My assessment, is, yes, this would help the real estate industry, but it’s not going to resurrect it entirely,’ said University of Florida economist David Denslow.”

“While tax reform may bring better times for the Florida housing market, economists caution, price declines of the past year stem more from an oversupply of homes than from rising property taxes.”

“In Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties, the number of homes and condos listed for sale in May stood at 41,600, quadruple the inventory of two years earlier. May sales disappointed, Realtors theorize, because buyers wondered how deeply the Legislature would cut taxes.”

“‘The tax plans means much of the uncertainty in the real estate market is now gone. In my view, that’s one of the best things about this: At least they’re doing something,’ said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith. ‘But I don’t think it’s an instant cure-all to the glut.’”




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73 Comments »

Comment by AndyInJersey
2007-06-28 06:55:09

“But some Oak View residents have simply declined to get excited. Ray Bartro, a retired Marine who lives in Carpenteras, does not foresee any legal action affecting his ownership. ‘What are they going to do, tear up my home and cart it away? I don’t think so. I have an Uzi.’”

Bank and local authorities 1, Uzi nut 0.

Comment by packman
2007-06-28 07:01:08

Oh man - ROTFLMAO at that line. That’s precious. Unfortunately it’s probably just a foreshadowing of things to come.

 
Comment by Cobradriver
2007-06-28 07:18:37

As a former Marine…this brought a smile to my face…once a crazy bastard always a crazy bastard !!! Yep I’m as wako as he is…

Chris

Comment by spike66
2007-06-28 07:22:41

You gotta like this guy. After all, these are the guys we depend on to keep us safe. As for the cops, you gotta figure a lot are ex-military themselves, they could probably talk to him, brother to brother. Besides, it didn’t say he wanted to sell.

Comment by palmetto
2007-06-28 07:30:37

“After all, these are the guys we depend on to keep us safe.”

Testify. And they’re getting REALLY tired of taking it in the shorts from air conditioned frauds in Washington, on Wall Street and Main Street.

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Comment by Neil
2007-06-28 08:25:01

We are going to take it in the shorts..

This wako might not be crazy in two years. But going wako early is frowned upon…

Got popcorn?
Uzi?
Neil

 
Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 08:45:16

No offense meant to anyone here who works in a suit (I used to myself), but a friend of mine (a very lovable whacko) says a suit is a sign of indenture/slavery. May come a time when bankers/brokers, etc. decide to dress a bit more casual so as to not tip off the p*ssed-off masses - same with the kinds of cars they drive…LOL

 
Comment by Rainman18
2007-06-28 08:58:16

When this ooh-rah uzi nut starts rampaging down the street, you don’t have to run faster than him, you just have to run faster than the banker.

 
Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 09:18:35

ROTFLMAO!!

 
Comment by spike66
2007-06-28 18:18:55

Studs Terkel in his book on the Depression, had a few stories on folks who defended their home or farm from bank foreclosure, by sitting on the front porch with their guns.
And they didn’t have automatic weapons back then…

 
 
Comment by Mole Man
2007-06-28 09:19:00

After all, these are the guys we depend on to keep us safe.

America has not had a genuine external military threat for more than a half century. The greatest threat to America is internal. This guy and his gun are part of the problem, not the solution.

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Comment by not a gator
2007-06-28 12:23:00

But … but … there’s North Korea.

While I sympathize with your position, part of the reason we haven’t been threatened is because we were always too big and too powerful to mess with. (Unless you’re crazy, like Osama bin Laden, who, for example, attacked the USS Cole.)

This may change … we have stretched ourselves so think purusuing an elective war that we may wake up to find out we have real enemies … powerful enemies.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Fuzzy Bear
2007-06-28 08:17:40

‘What are they going to do, tear up my home and cart it away? I don’t think so. I have an Uzi.’”

BANG BANG BANG …….Halt, you can’t take my property!

 
Comment by mikey
2007-06-28 09:04:47

“Don’t SHOOT Ray…It’s JUST the Girl Scouts with COOKIES !” :)

 
Comment by BottomFisher
2007-06-28 11:54:19

Will Uzi stop hurricanes? Sorry Ray fb. Nice try.

Comment by not a gator
2007-06-28 12:23:25

Ooh, snap.

 
 
Comment by joeyinCalif
2007-06-28 12:50:09

It’s the thought that counts..

Got flak jacket?

 
 
Comment by Bill in Carolina
2007-06-28 06:56:36

“Ray Bartro, a retired Marine who lives in Carpenteras, does not foresee any legal action affecting his ownership. ‘What are they going to do, tear up my home and cart it away? I don’t think so. I have an Uzi.’”

Yes you can live in the house, Ray. But wait ’til you try to sell it.

Comment by TG in Norfolk, VA
2007-06-28 12:48:57

“Yes you can live in the house, Ray. But wait ’til you try to sell it. ”

… Or wait ’til you try to refinance it… Can’t do that either with a big fat lien on the property.

 
 
Comment by AndyInJersey
2007-06-28 06:57:27

“‘Land development and residential construction [have] slowed dramatically,’ he said. ‘Projects and loans that made sense 18 to 24 months ago don’t make sense anymore.’”

News Flash: They never made sense.

Comment by Bad Andy
2007-06-28 07:25:55

“News Flash: They never made sense.”

Come on Andy…To owe more at the end of the month than you did BEFORE you made your payment makes great sense. Who needs documentation? Property values only go up!

 
 
Comment by Asa
2007-06-28 06:59:45

My wife and I laughed at the uzi comment.

I bet the police are going to have a little chat with him in the near future.

Comment by GH
2007-06-28 07:04:37

I think Ray for got the police and swat deal with morons like him all the time, and have high power weapons too. If that is his plan for stopping his foreclosure, that is funny in a sad desparate sort of way.

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 08:47:47

Yeah, but the police aren’t counting on having so many foreclosures - they may have to give Ray a job to help them out.

 
 
 
Comment by palmetto
2007-06-28 07:10:51

“Real estate push has come to foreclosure shove in Palmetto.”

I didn’t do it!

Comment by Fuzzy Bear
2007-06-28 08:22:53

“Real estate push has come to foreclosure shove in Palmetto.”

We finally found the culprit! Guilty as charged!

 
Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 08:49:33

Nice job, Palmy!

Comment by palmetto
2007-06-28 08:59:26

(Takes a few humble bows) Thank you, thank you.

 
 
 
Comment by palmetto
2007-06-28 07:13:52

” For the first time in seven years, the city plans to raise permit fees. Mayor Pam Iorio embraces the philosophy of raising fees in the construction services division. ‘It is our goal to have that be self-sufficient,’ Iorio said.”

What a crock of puckey. Raising the fees for the first time in seven years, what a concept. Notice they didn’t raise fees during the bubble. So now they close the barn door after the cow has gotten out.

Comment by qt
2007-06-28 07:52:25

they need to compensate for the lost money from the property tax cuts. This is how politics work. What will happen in FL is that fees will be increased for everything. They need their robotic toilets!

 
Comment by Fuzzy Bear
2007-06-28 08:27:35

What a crock of puckey. Raising the fees for the first time in seven years, what a concept. Notice they didn’t raise fees during the bubble. So now they close the barn door after the cow has gotten out.

That is because Ken Hagen, county commisioner, who’s father just so happens to be deeply involved in RE. Hmmm, questionable ethics violation?

 
Comment by Chip
2007-06-28 10:03:48

Wonder if they figure it is much easier to slide a permit-fee increase through at a time when nobody’s applying for one.

 
 
Comment by palmetto
2007-06-28 07:16:05

“Vice Mayor Jack Kelly said he tried to tell state lawmakers the correction would lower property values and corresponding taxes without government interference, just as rising values lined city coffers the past five years.”

They knew, Jack, but property tax reform had to happen to cover up the insurance “reform” debacle.

Comment by St Pete
2007-06-28 07:55:26

palmetto

Excellent comments.

 
 
Comment by Aqius
2007-06-28 07:40:13

Palmetto

Your man-on-the-scene reports of the Tampa situatuon are great!
Always makes me laugh after reading a few of yer comments . ..

I bet if any local party machine types cruise this blog they squirm over the spotlight cast in their direction.

Had any envelopes of cash mysteriously appear on yer doorstep yet !?

heh heh

 
Comment by Doug in Boone, NC
2007-06-28 07:45:49

“The university made $2 million in cuts, because it hadn’t expected the drop.”

HADN’T EXPECTED THE DROP? I’ll bet the drop in enrollment was partly caused by parents financing their children’s tuition and fees with HELOCs. I can CONFIDENTLY tell the FAU administrators that things are going to get a whole lot worse.

Comment by Bad Andy
2007-06-28 07:54:28

” I can CONFIDENTLY tell the FAU administrators that things are going to get a whole lot worse.”

With the reserves they build in higher education, you can bank on the fact that they know things will get worse. If they thought things would get better any time soon they would not have made a single cut. They aren’t in denial like they are making it seem.

Comment by Neil
2007-06-28 09:15:15

The university’s are ready.

Not every one… but look at the trusts most are sitting on. Some are invested silly… but most will be ok.

I expect college enrollment amoung the middle class to drop until a la 1991 the government steps in with a bunch of funding. Funny how history repeats… I had a nice ride through grad school thanks to that “bailout.”

Got popcorn?
Neil

 
Comment by Moman
2007-06-28 13:24:46

The problem is that Florida higher education is a mess. We have too many schools fighting for the same dollars. FSU and UF are competing with UCF and USF, etc.

What we need is to create tiered schools. FSU and UF are the flagships. Then have USF and UCF as secondary, and UWF, UNF, FAU, etc as the third tier. Any lessor schools shouldn’t be able to issue any higher than an associates degree.

I find it terrifying that school like St. Petersburg College can issues bachelors, and now masters’ degrees. I attended some continuing ed classes there, and the education level was one notch above/below (depending on perspective) a high school. Even worse, the administrators had a chip on their shoulder about their program being so great, etc, and even scoffed at my bachelors’ degree (issued by a major land-grant university, BTW), saying their program had higher standards for the prerequisites. A school like SPC should stick to nursing and votec programs.

 
 
 
Comment by Patricio
2007-06-28 07:53:41

I have every confidence that the Gov will solve this whole cluster in a timely and effective way. They have such a golden track record tackling big issues and doing the effective and right thing with no corporate influence.

/sarcasm off

Comment by Bad Andy
2007-06-28 07:56:35

ROTFL!

I love the “insurance reform” and the “tax reform.” Great job everyone!!

 
 
Comment by Ft Lauderdale
2007-06-28 07:55:40

has anyone had problems with paypal?

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 08:51:20

I tried to send Ben a donation last week and it never went through…

Comment by Ft Lauderdale
2007-06-28 09:07:19

I am getting “certificate revoked” expired is not too unusual, revoked is though.

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 09:17:16

I got a rejection screen in believe it or not, IBM machine language. I’ll be darned if I go back and study my old notes to figure that one out.

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Comment by ChrisO
2007-06-28 09:23:13

My donation went through last night.

Comment by speedingpullet
2007-06-28 10:34:54

Same with mine, although the acceptance screen hung for a couple of minutes.

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 11:46:06

let’sn just hope it’s overloaded with all the donations everyone’s sending Ben

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Comment by pismoclam
2007-06-28 12:46:17

Donations went through - just slow.

 
 
Comment by jim A
2007-06-28 08:12:21

“Florida Atlantic University expects to be on track for modest growth in the coming years, following an unexpected decline last year.” I’ll be the one to say, “Why would you listen to predictions from somebody stupid enough not to have forseen the decline coming last year?”

 
Comment by palmetto
2007-06-28 09:03:40

OT. I interrupt this Florida thread to report that the illegal immigration “reform” bill is DOA in the Senate. Whew, what a squeaker. Apparently, it was all the lipstick on the pig that killed it. Must have been contaminated cosmetics from China.

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 09:14:37

Palmy, you’re in classic form today.

“The U.S. Senate today effectively killed a sweeping immigration overhaul bill, dealing a major blow to President Bush and to a bipartisan group backing the legislation. The Senate was 14 votes short of the 60 needed to cut off debate and advance the bill. Some senators said the vote means immigration reform is “dead” for this Congress.” - CNN news

Comment by Patricio
2007-06-28 09:26:50

Oh so instead of pie Bush gets to eat crow then, this is going to make the littlest King very angry. I bet he is going to go to his fake ranch and put on his cowboy costume again and go pull brush out of the ranch to get some aggression out…or maybe he does a line and crawls into a bottle again.

Comment by auger-inn
2007-06-28 09:38:09

Simply outstanding! I hope this bill actually dies now. Perhaps the administration can find the will to enforce the laws currently on the books instead of trying to circumvent them. They can start with securing the border instead of frisking old ladies at the airport.

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Comment by Incredulous
2007-06-28 13:22:37

Don’t you wonder why he is so obsessed with making this one big country (Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.)? His attitude toward Mexico and its absolutely corrupt government is beyond comprehension. I feel very sorry for the illegals, too, but wouldn’t it have made more sense to declare war on Mexico and liberate the people there than on Iraq, where everyone hates each other and blows each other up?

What would happen if the amnesty bill passed and all these millions and millions of people became U.S. citizens? Then who would do the jobs “Americans won’t do?” They’d have to start importing even poorer, more desperate people from somewhere else, in an endless chain of slavery. Let’s put Cheney in the fields harvesting lettuce, after shooting it, and Laura Bush on a chair in the middle where she can read stories aloud, imparting a knowledge of English words that her husband has spectacularly managed to repel.

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Comment by Incredulous
2007-06-28 09:40:50

Palmetto, don’t get me started on crap from China. The FDA has only “confirmed” something like 15 pet deaths from the poisoned food, but some of the pet sights put the number in the thousands, and the last time I checked, veterinarians had reported over a thousand cases of poisoning (and this was more than a month ago). The treatment is very expensive, though I understand the manufacturing company in Canada that used the Chinese wheat gluten has offered to pick up the tab (millions of dollars, I imagine).

The immigration bill was ridiculous. The other night (I believe it was Saturday) on CNN they did a special on tainted food, and offhandedly mentioned that the government’s explanation for the e-coli spinach outbreak last year (namely, that cattle dung from a nearby ranch had contaminated the spinach crop) was just a THEORY. Ten-to-one, the cause was illegal immigrants harvesting the crops. Here in Florida, orange growers admit their workers defecate in the fields. Incidentally, washing the produce does not get rid of e-coli, though it reduces it, and all those expensive vegetable washing products and sprays are less effective than tap water.

If Kennedy and the rest want to provide sanctuary to illegals, why don’t they open their own homes to them to do whatever they like? There’s something highly suspicious about the whole thing. Big business must be threatening to cut off a lot of campaign contributions to politicians who don’t do its bidding.

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 10:47:24

more fuel for the fire - china now recalling tires - lots of tires

used to live next to a lettuce field here in W. Colo, walked there every evening, then after harvest (illegals), it turned into the most disgusting place I’ve seen…and these people had port-a-potties available. sorry, this is distateful, but true.

 
Comment by Incredulous
2007-06-28 13:06:28

Forgive my misspelling of “sites.”

 
 
Comment by vozworth
2007-06-28 11:21:03

phew, good thing the immigration bill is DOA.

Now Chrysler can ship those manufacturing jobs over to China just as fast as they can close down plants. Along with any and all other jobs that can be filled with lower skills.

and just in the nick of time for the recession.

Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 11:49:20

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, but I’d rather have jobs outsourced than filled with illegals who refuse to follow our laws and degrade our neighborhoods and standard of living. The real question is, why does it have to be either outsourcing or illegals? How about going back to how it was when it worked - whoops, sorry, forgot about all the poorhard-working CEOs that would hurt. My bad.

Comment by spike66
2007-06-28 22:53:14

Troll alert

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Comment by In Colorado
2007-06-28 11:57:22

Chrysler’s problem is that it doesn’t have a product that the public wants. Daimler finally came to accept this truth and that is why they gave Chrysler away for free. Unless they can sell their product for 30% less than the competition they are finished.

Comment by Moman
2007-06-28 13:27:32

Amen.

Ever noticed how most 4+ year old chryslers (at least in FL) have horribly faded paint. Their products are junk. As far as I’m concerned, let them close down.

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Comment by Tom
2007-06-28 12:30:52

A friend of mine at a mortgage company says she “refuses to take a loss”. This is in reference to all the properties that she refuses to budge on lowering the price and selling.

Comment by pismoclam
2007-06-28 12:52:43

She can keep them until 2012 then, until prices start back up from the mean. Sounds about right for me. Sorry Suzanne, Casey, and Nina.

 
Comment by Ghostwriter
2007-06-28 13:05:13

If she lives long enough she may not have to take a loss.

 
Comment by Moman
2007-06-28 13:28:44

I love it how people like your friend are more than happy to ride the bubble up, even at the detriment of everyone else, and then refuse to accept reality, again at the detriment of themselves and everyone else.

 
Comment by lost in utah
2007-06-28 13:51:33

When I was a kid, my little brother would “refuse” to let my dad smack him on the rear end when he was being a real little rat. His refusal didn’t carry much weight. LOL

 
 
Comment by John G
2007-06-28 16:38:00

Since I live in this area let me tell all of you, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. We are hearing more and more rumors about SunTrust being in trouble with it’s subprime loans. Mark my words, commercial paper is next…..

Comment by JayInMD
2007-06-28 18:35:32

Tha’s why SunTrust wants to sell its buildings, they need the cash to cover the big hole in their balance sheet. And after they sell the bldgs, it is only a matter of time before those branches close, despite the PR about maintaining a presence, blah blah blah….

 
 
Comment by JayInMD
2007-06-28 17:48:00

Tampa building permit office raising fees to pay the slaries of all the guvmint do nothings who are all sitting around doing exactly that NOTHING. There is no building going on so here’s a clue you stupid mayor: Get rid of some useless worthless pay check stealers and you would be self sufficient at the current rate. I mean, I bet they still have the same number of employees that they had during the boom. If you needed 10 people last year, then you only need 5 this year. Oh, my bad, I forgot government only gets bigger and once hired, never fired. (rant off)

Chrysler was bailed out 30 yrs ago because (at that time) they built the M1 tank. Now, they just need to go away. Jeep is their only decent brand and it isn’t going any where.

Comment by JayInMD
2007-06-28 19:51:35

sorry, i didn’t realize that the gov’t was actually laying off people. Spoke then thought. although the typical layoff of real workers, so the gov’t can then scream taxes must be raised to save these jobs. Rather than fire the worthless excess deputy assistant vice something or other.

 
 
Comment by Buckeye
2007-06-28 21:53:35

The St Petersburg Times. “Florida’s proposed “super homestead exemption” would slash taxes by about 70 percent for the owner of a new median-priced house in the Tampa Bay area. But the super homestead exemption would be no cure-all to Florida’s housing woes.”

This won’t do Jack for the buyer. It only helps the homebuilders.
Here in Philly there is a 10 year tax abatement program. You buy a new home, you don’t pay real estate tax for 10 years. Sound great?
The homebuilders know that if you compare deals in the Philly area versus the surrounding counties you are likely to take the better deal. This would most likely be in Philly because of the tax abatement. With the tax abatement, you can afford to pay more for the same house in the burbs.
Fast forward 10+ years when you need to sell your home. You may be competing with other new construction and tax abatement. Now you are really holding the bag and the builder is long gone.

 
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