The Housing Bubble

The government has been so irresponsible with their monetary and economic policy it makes you wonder what’s really going on behind closed doors. If people on this blog have figured out what’s going on, and what the inevitable outcome is, then government policy makers have a pretty good idea too. They seem bent on destroying the future economy, for a temporary short-term gain, almost as if they don’t expect there to be a future in several years. How else to explain their actions? They certainly don’t intend to pay the piper for their actions.

I propose a REVERSE tax credit for businesses that employe 2nd 3rd shift weekend full time workers with health insurance.

There is so much unused capacity in America due to us being suckered into working 9-5 M-F, what about the other 128 hours a week?

Most industrial areas are dead after 6pm….plus we have massive traffic jams which shorten the life span of roads and bridges, subways buses are jammed…we need to build so much excess capacity Peak electric plants…which are very inefficient.

All because we just have to work 9-5 M-F, so the more people you have working the other 128 hours a week the bigger your tax break. I think that would be a more acceptable way to get out jobs back.

Of course the pols want to “tax” business, excess profits etc..

I mean don’t ask me for a discount in June for your wedding but in January i’ll do 50% off!

===================
We also need to have gov’t start *taxing* (gasp!) corporations that move their operations offshore. We need our manufacturing base back

“They seem bent on destroying the future economy, for a temporary short-term gain, almost as if they don’t expect there to be a future in several years. How else to explain their actions?”

Simple: It’s an election year; All else is secondary to this event.

The corporate tax should be zero. Who do you think actually pays the tax? It just gets passed along through the price. Companies are moving offshore because our corporate taxes are too high. Increase the taxes and more will leave.

I am no expert on tax law and its costs to corps that offshore, however I suspect that due to low transportation costs (read oil) and labor (read maybe couple bucks a day in wages) and low environmental regulations, that those companies would off shore even if the corporate taxes were zero in the US.

imho

We don’t need any more stimulus checks. What we need is to learn to live within our means and to start saving.

While I fundamentally agree with you, its hard to save and live within ones means when paychecks are tiny and prices are huge. Corporate America needs to share some of the wealth with its employees.

“…its hard to save and live within ones means when paychecks are tiny and prices are huge.”

It’s not hard when you consume less. “Lower Standard of Living” means less doggy daycare, eating out, and vacations for a lot of FBs that I know personally. I see absolutely nothing wrong with going back to the fundamentals.

RE: low transportation costs (read oil) and labor (read maybe couple bucks a day in wages) and low environmental regulations, that those companies would off shore even if the corporate taxes were zero in the US.

You forgot the sexual harrassment and discrimination
lawsuits, like the Postal Service’s multi-million dollar giveaway to a bunch of hags who were subject to reading
some off-color graffiti scrawled on a bathroom stall door(gasp-the horror, the horror!).

The tiny paycheck crowd doesn’t do any of those things, and they still can’t make ends meet. I agree that someone making 60K shouldn’t try to live like they make 100K, but to generalize that everyone does that is untrue and unfair to the working poor.

What I think America needs is more practical education and information about personal economics - and some understanding of the larger economic forces at hand.

So much of our ecomomy is based on people making careless decisions with their money or impulsive purchases. Hell, the credit card industry is built on people running up a few thousand bucks of debt and paying 12 to 25% on it for years - along with annual fees and onerous late charges. Our auto industry is built on people happily accepting that their cars are too complicated to maintain themselves, and “old” after 4 or 5 years use. Our computer industry is based on software and hardware that is obselecent after a few years — hell - Apple is making ipods and even the new slim computers with un-replaceable batteries. Millions of TV sets will become second-class citizens needing a new adaptor in Feb. 2009 because of fancy new digital signals.

The sad thing is that we’ve come to accept this - along with rising fees and taxes tacked onto every little part of our life. Where I live (DC area) - every municipality has tacked on an extra 4 or 5 % to the sales tax as a meal tax - it’s always outraged me - but nobody cares about it. And - while $4 gas may be getting people to reconsider their driving habits - we’re still a nation that leaves our office lights on, and heat and cool our houses to 68-72 degrees for the 10-12 hours that nobody is in them.

Nothing dramatic changes in this country until people start pushing back against the forces urging them to over-consume and take a little more out of their pocketbook at every turn.

Conversations like this make me happy that I’m a hiker/backpacker. My vacations cost me transportation to get to the mountains and then the high cost of granola.

Its the ultimate in low standard of living.

Not sure if having to bike to work would lower my standard of living. Or driving a small efficient car.

Sometimes I think our high standard of living is part of our problem. Eating too much, staying home in a mc mansion, driving instead of walking/biking…

Even in our lesiure persuits we do silly stuff. 10K mountain bikes! The entire point was exercising not personal best times up Mt Baldy cause you lowered the bike weight.

How much can you save by cutting back? Lets see. If you go to Coco’s for breakfast eggs and pancakes costs you 7.99. If you buy precooked meal at the grocery store, blah, it cost you 3.5$ for your lean quizine. If you go to tjs a dozen eggs are 1.50 and pancakes from mix costs you about 0.5$.

That is for your family of three ish you can spend 30$ at Coco’s, 11$ for microwave crud or about $1.25 at home. Not to mention you don’t spend money on gas going out. If you save your leftovers @ home… wow did your cost go down.

So, thats a around a 2800% margin for eating out.

We have the ability to spend way way WAY less. Heck, if you make pancake mix from scratch its even less.

Another thing on SUVs. They get infinite MPG sitting in the driveway. People that don’t have jobs will leave those things to rot. Not to mention those of us picking up older Civic and other small cars. SUV sits till the family visits or we are car pooling.

Currently if you look at expenditures are we inflating? If you include housing costs perhaps its actually going down.

I agree. The American business model is almost predicated on wastefulness. But until there’s a dramatic shift away from the right-decision-is-the-one that-results-in-the-most-profit mentality, we’re going to be mired in the muck of short-term capitalism. A few theorists have proposed models that take environmental and social costs into account for microeconomic decision making. I remember there was even a workshop about sustainable economics offered at Esalen a few years back. Of course, with almost every CEO, as well as Alan Greenspan, placing Ayn Rand’s sophomoric “Atlas Shrugged” on a eagle-adorned pedestal, there’s a ways to go. (Let me get into position for the anti-hippie, pro-Adam Smith crowds’ incoming assault missives.)

dvertising, especially TV is one big info commercial!!! Buy the newest, latest, most loaded_________ with no/or little financing( You can fill in the blanks-autos, homes, boats, furniture, fast food, movies, CDs, X-boxes, and my fav, get rich schemes).

A friend of mine who is in advertising once told me this is the reason why his business always works. When times are good, they need you to buy. When times are bad, they need you to buy too…

…and good paying wages for skilled workers in the aerospace industry was $6,000 annual income with pensions and health insurance…

There was no such thing as a 2-income family.

Long term, aggregate trend is deflationary. Dollar is firming and further rates cuts are less likely. Commodities, especially gold, have probably topped and are only likely to see another peak based on short-term geo-political instability.

There was no such thing as a 2-income family. Nope, in 1961 there were a fair number, my own among them. Now it is the norm, though.

Growing up in middle-class in So Cal in the 60’s, very few married women with kids, worked…

I just confirmed it with my octogenarian mom, who told that’s the way it was~

I lived through it & thought I was middle class at the time. That’s the way it was for me. Next thing, you’ll be saying I’m not right-handed.

I guess that after 40 years, all of our memories are scattered. I must say, people have a tendency to remember key facts/situations and fill in the blanks by what they believe at some later date upon reflection.

“There was no such thing as a 2-income family.”

I grew up in Palos Verdes in the 50’s and 60’s and pretty much every one of my friends’ moms worked at least part-time some of the time. Many had professional careers that they went into and out of as circumstances dictated and time allowed. Most college-educated women of that era did after their kids were in school, and the few who did not did extensive volunteer work.

“Trillions of dollars are destined to disappear into thin air from whence they came. The Fed doesn’t have the trillions of dollars needed to offset this disappearance.”

Ah, but they DO, combotechie.
They can create more trillions of $$$ out of thin air. Anytime they feel like it. They have that POWER. And they will create what they think they need to, to keep the economy going.
The Federal Reserve has unlimited power to create journal entry dollars and credit. They don’t have the constraints of a budget. The U.S. Treasury, states, cities, and counties have budgets and will fall into deficit if they spend more than they take in in revenue. So how has the U.S. had budget deficits for generations, and yet still operates? Because the Federal Reserve, a private banking cartel organized in 1913, FUNDS the DEFICITS out of thin air. (Don’t confuse the Federal Reserve with the U.S. Treasury or the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints Federal Reserve Notes, known as dollars, or the Mint, which stamps out coins). If fifty banks come to the Fed with a total of a trillion in worthless mortgage paper, the Fed can decide to accept the paper as collateral on NEW LOANS to the banks, upon which the Fed will earn interest. All it takes is a computer journal entry. This will keep the banks from having to declare insolvency. That will prevent a general financial panic and run on banks. That will keep the markets working. But it will also further debase the dollar. All of what I wrote above is what is happening today. A collapsing housing bubble combined with the Fed propping up the banking system by creating $$$ out of thin air.

RE: All of what I wrote above is what is happening today. A collapsing housing bubble combined with the Fed propping up the banking system by creating $$$ out of thin air.

Maybe the MSM ought to get its’ shite together and start educationing the public about the FED’s debasement of the currency instead of broadcasting their nightly “weep and wail” $4.00 per gallon gaz” propaganda about oil company profiteering.

Maybe the MSM ought to get its’ shite together and start educationing the public about the FED’s debasement of the currency

They probably know that a shiny pair of cement shoes awaits anyone who tries to do that.

With the concentration of the MSM and banking system we have today, don’t look for an “expose’ ” on the Fed anytime soon. Expect more sock-puppet fights between Rep and Dem, and panty speculation re: Brittney and Paris.
Divide our attention and conquer our wealth.
Hope I don’t sound paranoid…did you just hear something???

MT, just because you maybe paranoid, doesn’t mean that someone is not out to get you!
lol

American public doesn’t matter they are captive buyers of treasuries via SS , its the foriegn money they will see what the FED is doing and should stop buying so many FED dollars seeing that they are creating too many of them. If they really are? I think the FED is just replacing the loses which is bad enough it causes the last few years inflation of home prices to drop slower than it otherwise would have.

“High commodity prices with flat or lower wages isn’t inflation; it’s just a poorer population, which is deflationary.”

Exactly. Commodity inflation is masking massive deflation. All eyes are on the 3x/week fuel fill up and not looking at the other 90%.

My internet, telecom and entertainment prices are falling.

What’s your secret? I’ve tried to negotiate my internet price lately (just increased) and my overall view is that this kind of stuff is and will continue to increase.

It depends. Soem providers are offering 1 year deals where yo get a discounted price for 1 year. I keep getting junik mail from Comcast and Qwest offering me TV/Internet/Phone bundles that don’t look bad, but the low prices are 1 year teasers.

DH and I did a two year agreement w/Comcast and the teaser rate is effective for both years.

Right, but after the low initial offerings, then what? Keep switching companies? Thank you Verizon DSL for that awesome rate for the past 12 months, but I think I’ll be switching over to Comcast Cable - at least for a year…

I agree deflation is here the FED is just slowing down the deflation by giving banks cheap money. what are the banks going to do with the money? I bet they loan it out to fast growing foriegn economies. All the government ideas of protecting US debtors won’t make getting loans any easier thast for sure.

I coined the term “inflation in the things you need, deflation in the things you want” and it bears repeating. If you can migrate to a cheaper alternative (rent vs. buy) than you will do so. Oil prices are a delicate balance of bleeding the consumer while keeping the alternatives just out of reach in a price based competition.

Most here seem to think deflation is in play (and it is in many consumer discretionary items, which will in turn filter into commodities) but I still think the precious metals are attractive here, and I’ll be a buyer (again) if it goes down another 5-10%. I ask myself, are the effects of the housing bubble bursting over? If not, what is the government going to do about it? Are banks out of the woods? And finally, where the f-k are they gonna get all this money to pay back all this debt at the federal, state, local, corporate, and personal level for all these benefits that people are expecting?

To me, its just too attractive for governments to debase their currency, so I cast my vote for gold and silver.

My internet just went from 4M/384k to 10M/1M for the same price. More product for the same $$$. I’m going to side with Ben on this one.

In fact, I’ve been trying to figure out what the inflationists on this board see that I’m missing. I don’t have any (formal) financial education in my background so I will freely admit I could be missing something obvious to the properly educated..

“I coined the term “inflation in the things you need, deflation in the things you want””

LMAO…. Really! Your name wouldn’t happen to be Howard Ruff would it?

You can check my posts on this very blog.

Judging by your post count and content, you have plenty of time and aren’t using your brain all that much, so go for it - but you’ll have to look into the archives long before you showed up around these parts.

Yeah… We’ll take your word for it amonkey.

“Indeed, someone needs to tell the grocery store, gas station, doctor’s office, restaurants, etc. that prices should be coming down.”

Patience.

Regarding restaurants: If you want to see the face of fear go to a restaurant during the busy hour and discover you are the only customer there and carefully study the owner’s face.

The prices in restaurants will go down alright; the prices will go to zero after they shut their doors.

Ain’t gonna happen. The Fed will crank up the virtual printing presses before allowing that to happen. Durables may drop in price but with consumables the sky is the limit.

Any “printing” will annihilate any industries that are merely discretionary at the end of the day : airlines, auto, restaurants, retail, hotels, travel, etc.

Hmmm … come to think of it “past printing” seems to be well on its way to achieving that goal.

You know, I would estimate that the majority of the US’s GDP comes from three sources-Auto and related, House and related and Food and related. All are primarily consumer oriented…

Henry Ford’s theory on wages was that he paid his employees decent wages so that they could buy is Model T…

Gee, who’d have thunk that one needs to pay one’s employees enough to be able to buy one’s products?

You don’t, as long as there is someone out there who makes more money than they do and wants the product. Works for the Chinese, works for the Germans. The problem with the US is that it doesn’t make enough things that the rest of the world wants.

BTW Ford didn’t pay his employees high wages because he thought he could keep the company going selling cars to them. That’s Amway thinking. He wanted the best employees because he knew a quality product would increase market share and he could make up for the labor costs through automation.

A theory or can you prove it? My memory of past readings disagrees with yours. imho

Probably too late for anyone to see this, but:

Ford had another notion, rather original in its time: the workers were also potential consumers! In 1914, Ford workers’ wages were raised to $5 a day — an excellent wage — and they soon proved him right by buying their own Model Ts. Ford was called “a traitor to his class” by other industrialists and professionals, but he held firm in believing that well-paid workers would put up with dull work, be loyal, and buy his cars.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt13as.html

I saw it, thanks!

For the archives, Ben.

At least with inflationary taxes, the pain is spread more evenly…kind of like a flat tax. Steve Forbes should be creaming his jeans.

Not really: debtors win with inflation while savers lose.

And why would the Fed ever bother to stop runaway inflation since it doesn’t hurt them?

I believe that one of the mistakes that America made with lending practice was to get rid of insurance on low down loans (which carried with it stricter underwriting standards ).

When the brains came up with the 80/20 purchase notes to avoid PMI insurance ,it created the no skin in the game easy money BS. Having no skin in the game or insurance on higher risk loans created the situation we have today . Without the normal protections on lower down loans, it allowed borrowers to play the leverage game with the lenders carrying all the risk without even having insurance protection. I still do not understand to this very day why the lenders/risk raters thought that if you charged a higher rate for a lower down loan ,that it would make the risk better . To allow a no doc. loan on a low down loan is just plain foolish . These speculators had nothing to loose by going for it .

Housing Wizard: not sure what you are saying, but I think that the mortgage insurance policy in Netherlands is one of the biggest causes of our runaway homeprices; it makes things worse than it would be without insurance! The latest proposals for Fannie and Freddie sound like the US wants to move in this direction as well.

Because of the semi-gov. mortgage insurance, lenders think there is zero risk, so they offer even lower rates to these buyers (so low that it more than compensates for the official insurance premium, which is about 0.3% of the loan amount). The highest risk loans and loans above a certain value (a little above median home price) are not fully covered by the insurance, but cou can still use huge leverage or piggy-back loans so that even million euro speculators are covered in case the market turns against them.

The fund started shortly after homeprices began rising in the early nineties and their risk premium and capital backing are based on 20 years of non stop pricegrowth. When prices start plunging the fund will be underwater within a very short time. And just like with Fannie and Freddie, the question is if the Dutch government is going to cover for them. Officially there is no connection, but most of the funds directors are high level politicians so everyone assumes that the government (tax payer) will bail out the fund in an emergency situation. But I’m sure the plunge can be severe enough to make a bailout impossible. The only other option would be to tighten up the rules for when the fund has to pay, and this seems to be starting now already (while prices are still climbing).

I think this kind of free put options for the general public, (unofficially) backed by the taxpayer, are a VERY bad idea.

I’m late in posting a response .

For decades lenders would put insurance on low down loans and the private insurance companies would also under-write the loan .So ,because of the private insurance on the lower down loan,the loans were harder to get and had to get pass harder underwriting . Some banks were self-insured ,but you had to be pretty big to do that .

In the case of a government insuring a loan, its a different ball game . If the government takes higher risk and insures it ,any loss will be paid by tax dollars . In the case of private insurance companies ,they would go out of business if they insured loans that were not underwritten in a prudent manner .
Also lenders use to hold on to loans for a couple of years and than sell them because the borrower had paid down some of the debt and proved they were a good pay . Very different when the sellers of loans are passing on junk loans without insurance or proper underwriting .

It’s not a chain, more like a bunch of people riding an elephant (Germany, Austria, Finland and in a good year France). The elephant can keep going just fine without the people, but the people can’t get anywhere without the elephant.

Where does the elephant get its food (taxes)? No taxing authority. One job, control inflation - good luck. Most people cannot diffentiate between inflation and demand driven price increases. In the meantime the ECB raises rates and increases the money supply by 17%. Stupid way to control inflation, it makes the Federal Reserve look conservative.

I think the ECB actually planned to make an (even bigger) housing bubble by introducing the euro, as you know nothing makes voters more confident than seeing the value of their home skyrocket year after year. In many euro countries the housing bubble got an extra surge when the euro was introduced; the same happens in all new member states that join the euro. Of course raising the money supply by about 15% every year (currently even higher as hoz mentions) while the economy is hardly growing helps a lot to keep property markets surging.

The ECB has never warned the Netherlands about their housing policies as far as I know, so I guess they like what see; all those euros have to go somewhere. There have been many warnings from other parties (IMF, OECD, lately the Dutch central bank) but our government does not want to listen. Last week one of the most important government policy institutes warned that Dutch housing policy is an utter failure that desperately needs drastic changes. They are spending nearly 30 billion a year in housing subsidies (for less than 17 million people) and most of that ends up with a small group of wealthy owners and renters.

But our politicians do not want to listen. The three biggest parties have different views regarding the housing market, but they all choose to do nothing (never change entitlements …) and ride the bubble as long as it lasts. For those who believe that a two party system is the problem: we have many political parties here and it doesn’t help a bit; change has been a no-no for twenty years or so. Under the current government, discussion of the housing policy is officially forbidden in parliament and for government officials (how is that for a democracy?).

Thanks for the Dutch perspective. It’s why I love this blog.

All currencies are going down… it’s a

Fiat Accompli

We have a Weber Genesis gas grill. 10 years old and still works great. It gets used a lot.

Yep. I have a 1994 vintage Genesis. Replaced flavorizor bars with the stainless ones and grates 2x. It’ gets used 5days/week.

Contrast that with those cheapo gas grills. I once had one where the burner simply rusted away. They sold new burners at home depot, but I figured that the rest of the gas delivery mechanism was probably shot as well, so I tossed the whole thing.

No train available?

Yes $13 each way peak $9.75 non peak then i have to pay $2 each way for the subway to grand central…. I could walk from the train station to my moms house and back home here in queens…so ok i can save $5

Even at $4 gas its still far easier to drive..

Dune Acres, I presume.

Dune Park for my sister in Valpo, IN.

NSO,

I should have been more clear.

The company is staying. The employees are looking to leave the company for something closer to home. The employees themselves are not looking to move to NH for any number of reasons. Their spouses have jobs in MA, they are in a town and neighborhood they value highly, ….

Concerning “taxachusetts”, someone posted a tax comparison a few days ago about all the states. MA is actually very low compared to other states, granted NH is lower, but MA is not even close to the top half.

But she feels so *safe* in it! LOL

Yes, I can hardly wait to try out the Japanese subway system. It looks like a joy!!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PWm8Lrp7-Lo

Sardines anyone?

May I say, why would the general public pay $500 for a Model T, it public transportation was so much cheaper. Thats like saying the purchase of a house is cheaper than renting, if you have little money, and suspect for most people, $500 was a lot of money.

I think it was Kepler who did the math, or described it at least. Weren’t those Kepler’s laws in 8th grade science?

Wikipedia entry says Galileo refused to ever accept that planets moved in ellipses instead of circles. That would get in the way of doing much of the mathematics that explains planetary motion since you would get everything wrong.

I used to live behind the old Laurel fire house. I was very glad when tye moved, it meant that I wasn’t awakened in the middle of the night whenever there was a fire. Especially in the summer when the windows were open.

“No one’s going to jail.”

Yeah. Thats what the plumbers kept telling themselves.

Whoever gets in next is a one termer. Economic events will overtake what lame efforts the politicians of either party will try. If on top of that a Democratic majority in Congress overreaches with stupid investigations on top of lousy tax policies, there will be a quick reversal in the 2010 election, just like 1994.

My inclination is always to say that the politicians are smarter than to repeat those stupid mistakes of the past, but they never fail to outdo themselves.

Lousy tax policies? Anything over the current insanity is an improvement. Investigations are just ramping up but I’ll archive that forecast and we’ll talk in 4 years.

Yeah. Thats what the plumbers kept telling themselves.

Even Nixon was not brazen enough to pardon his staffers. W has already demonstrated he will do it, and do it again.

Yogurt, the Libby case wasn’t just any pardon. Libby was found guilty and convicted of FOUR felonies. Count ‘em…. 4. Anyone of us would get tossed in jail for just one or even a misdemeanor. Have no doubt in your mind, the criminal actions of this administration will not go unpunished.

last time i check war crimes are not political offenses.

even my husband urged me to buy these. I hesitated for a bit. When you can get a guy to see the trade (ha), it’s a good one.

Diamonds are a woman thing. We’re hardwired to want them.

Tx-
The day YOU have to justify buying yourself a diamond or three is the day you should hang it all up and just dig a hole.

Glitter in good health–for ALL of us!

My wife and I are having our 25th anniversary this year and decided to make it ‘gold’.
————————-
Congratulations!

After raising 4 kids and saving over the years…not to mention celebrating your 25th anniversary, you certainly deserve it. Enjoy!

I have diamonds from the 1800’s passed down to me. They are incredible to wear because my GGrandma wore them. When I am dead they go to my niece.

b-b-b-booyaa

for those keeping score at home:
hoz and chick have made me more moneys than Jassy Babbie..

somtimes you seem human Jas, then one of these posts comes out. I like the viceral response though.

–
“hoz and chick have made me more moneys than Jassy Babbie.. “

BS. I am NOT here to give speculative advice, in case your clouded brain hasn’t figured that out yet. My advice has remained unchanged since July 1998:

Avoid Scams!

USTs
Gold
Swiss franc

My target for Swiss was $1.0 and now I am net short Swiss franc in my speculative positions (short 105 calls).

“somtimes you seem human Jas”

I am always human and subject to err in my forecasts and lose in my speculations but I am not going to take garbage from anyone here, especially, inflationists who don’t understand the real impact of the Housing Bubble Burst. There are time lags in the economy and people get all excited for no good reasons. Deflation is coming, the only question that remains is this year or next.

Jas

Jas always lets us know when he’s making money, and he’s been as quiet as a church mouse, lately…

–
“Jas always lets us know when he’s making money, and he’s been as quiet as a church mouse, lately…”

I am NOT a trader. When was the last time that traders here talked about their losses?!

I take long-term positions and DO NOT trade often. So, there isn’t much to talk about most of the time. I am big-time short Fraudentials and Hopebuilders via naked short calls and long-term puts. I make money when these Scams go down and lose when they go up. Got it?

Jas

I miss the kinder, gentler Jas that would pat himself so hard on the back in 3rd person singular, that you knew it had to leave a mark…

Jas I don’t give a rats ass if you make money! I am pointing out that the deflationist policy that you favor has flown out the window.

You do not follow TIC data, you certainly don’t know the bond market or you would not be recommending to an investor that USTs will yield 2%.

Selling ‘out of the money puts’ for a way to be long is stupid, bonds made a 12 pt run and have come back 7 pts. What do you make a pt and a half in time decay, whoopde friggindo. You missed the move and took the majority of the risk.

I like Costco pizza too. They have huge bake at home ones now for $10. They’d feed 4 people.

Costco and Amazon are IMO the two best companies in America.

I live alone. I overspend for food because everything is sized for couples and families. Other than business travel (self-employed) and my addiction to eating well, my personal inflation rate is flat.

Try getting a good roll anywhere in the US with the exception of the Bronx.

Subway brand sandwiches are wretched.

“Thank you, God of Subway”

You must be a Subway owner because “NOBODY” in their right mind would think that God had anything to do with that crap food.

I should have stuck to their old menu & gotten the cold cut san. Their imitation of Quizno’s is pretty bad.

It could be the store, too. Every single table was still covered with crumbs…ugh.

Yep, like that one.
I will not sleep a wink knowing that beauty is on the loose.
Tomorrow, lets look up alexandrites (rare)