Bits Bucket For February 6, 2010
Post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here. Please visit the HBB Forum.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
To donate by mail, or to otherwise contact this blogger, please send emails to: thehousingbubble@gmail.com
PayPal is a secure online payment method which accepts ALL major credit cards.
Links
-
May 2024 M T W T F S S « Sep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Photo Submission: hbbphotos@gmail.com
View the HBB Photo Gallery *updated 4/13/2008
Snow what snow…I waz robbed!
Here in Manhattan it looks like there is just enough to make the sidewalks a little slippery. I am disappointed. I love the snow.
The only thing I don’t like about the snow is the dog owners. When there is snow they let their little mutts go and relieve themselves in the snow. Unable, or unwilling, to find the little time bombs they just let them lie. When the snow melts the sidewalks are like a freaking minefield.
Lots of rain here is So Cal, so much rain that it is beginning to cause spots to form on the sun.
“Snow showers this afternoon” - 1-2 inches.
18 inches my @ss!!!
We wuz robbed.
Ssssshhhhhh. Don’t tell my wife. I told her that is 18 inches. It is called “the NYCityBoy conversion rate”. When I talk in meters I’m come out looking even better.
I like to measure it like a cats tail. From the, ahem, orifice.
I was up my early usual time to head to the gym. The power was out to the whole area. An SCE crew was right outside the gym working underground to restore the power. Said it would be two hours (8am LA time). Argggh! Not fun to wake up too early only to find out the gym is closed.
Global freezing sucks!
Oh come on, Annie, we need the rain. Besides that, this wet weather offers spectacular recreational opportunities. Take a short ride to the top of Mt Laguna (probably within 60 miles from where you sit) to see a winter wonderland in East San Diego County (12+ inches of snow).
Well I got 24-27″ depending on where you measure it. Those of us in the DC suburbs got hammered. Our street hasn’t seena plow since sometime last night, so the street is ~12″. I’m not going anywhere. I was up on the roof at 7am brushing snow off of the satellite dish. ‘Cause if I’m going to be trapped, I’m going to be trapped with TV darn it. I shoveled the sidewalk in front of my house, and it reminds me of some of the shallow trenches from when I did WWI reenactments. Before somebody comments about the advantages of renting, I’ll point out that I never rented in a place with indoor parking, so I STILL had to shovel out my car.
Maryland was delt a knockout by this storm. It’s Monday and streets everyhwere are still covered with frozen slush.
Another 12″ or more is expected Tuesday evening into Wednesday… Argh, the global cooling will not end!
Patience young grasshopper. This appears to be but a lull. From the Weather Channel for zip 10001:
“Steady snow will fall through early afternoon. Cloudy and windy. Temperatures reaching the mid 20s. Winds NNE at 20 to 25 mph. Snowfall of 6 to 10 inches through 1pm.”
Meanwhile, down here we have ~15″ from the looks of it, with more to come. The loblolly(?) pine outside my back window has dropped branches — big branches 6″ diameter, plus some 2″ diameter branches. I heard them *crack* last night. Should be even more interesting when the wind kicks up again.
It is really nasty out right now. The wind is howling. We have what looks like sleet, not snow. It is coming down sideways.
Can’t you just grab the wife and enjoy some … ahem … “indoor sports”?
That cold weather sounds kinda nice. Here it’s been sooooo hot. How hot is it? Well I go into a bar last night and the Brazilians are really complaining about the heat, sayin’ the world’s gonna burn up and that winters are colder and summers are so much hotter because of pollution and stuff.
Well, I guess sometimes I love sayin’ the truth and having people look at me like I got 3 heads or something so I busted into my always confusing routine of how in the USA, “climate change” is a political issue divided by party lines.
LOL! Yep, I get three Brazilians looking at me like I’m droolin’ on my flip-flops or something. No comments, nada, just kinda shaking their heads no, staring at me like I’m making it up or I’m a nutball or something and then they politely changed the subject to soccer I think.
It’s kinda funny I guess.
Here is the thing about the confusion over global change, the temps in canada/ greenland are much higher on average over the past 10+ yrs than in the us. We tend to think ONLY of our own country and not the rest of the worlds weather. We are indeed on one planet. Guess some of the US citizenry doesn’t know that.
Careful Oxy,
I’m sure many trees and structures are going to be asked to carry more weight thatn they ever have….with the resulting failures that could be life threatening.
This is the second big storm that is going south of CT entirely. Rats!
Thank you…
In fact right after I wrote the post, I thought, OMG I hope some branch didn’t hit my car! Luckily nothing did, but my car was parked under the same type of tree, and some branches looked threatening. I dug out real quick and moved the car to a isolated section of the lot where the plow had cleared it, and the trees are farther away. Now the plow can sweep by and clear where my car had been.
A branch did fall on some poor guy’s car 4 spots down.
Here in South Jersey right now (Stratford, to be exact) 23.5 inches of snow are on the ground.
This place is totally unprepared for it…local towns own few plows, has tiny budget for snow removal. Hardly anyone owns snow shovels. This morning the lady in the apartment across from me opened the door and screamed like a little girl.
i have been hearing about this storm since Wednesday
Since Tuesday here, N. Ohio; about 14 inches on the ground but, were prepared for it; no real problems unless severe drifting & high winds. Did my shopping on Wednesday PM.
You can’t set up a snow removal program in three days.
You can’t set up a snow removal program in three days.
If the city has no plows and kmart doesn’t sell snow shovels…i guess
‘Course the big box stores had already de-shelved their winter gear in favor of Valentine’s day cruft. Heck, Target has swimsuits out already.
Biggest Bubble in History Is Growing Every Day.
(Bloomberg) — Real estate, stocks, credit. China sure has its share of bubbles. Oddly, little attention is paid to the biggest one of all.
China’s currency reserves grew by more than the gross domestic product of Norway in 2009. Its $2.4 trillion of reserves is a bubble all its own, one growing before our eyes with nary a peep out of those searching for the next big one.
The reserve bubble is actually an Asia-wide phenomenon. And we should stop viewing this monetary arms race as a source of strength. Here are three reasons why it’s fast becoming a bigger liability than policy makers say publicly.
One, it’s a massive and growing pyramid scheme. The issue has reached new levels of absurdity with traders buzzing about crisis-plagued Greece seeking a Chinese bailout. After all, if economies were for sale, China could use the $453 billion of reserves it amassed last year to buy Greece and Vietnam and have enough left over for Mongolia.
Countries such as the U.S. used to woo the Bill Grosses of the world to buy their debt. Now they are wooing governments. Gross, who runs the world’s biggest mutual fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., is still plenty important to officials in Washington. He’s just not as vital as the continued patronage of state asset managers in places like Beijing.
“After all, if economies were for sale, China could use the $453 billion of reserves it amassed last year to by Greece and Vietnam and have enough left over for Monoglia.”
Or it could use these reserves to buy up assets in the United States.
Cash is king, those who have the cash get to call the shots. China has the cash; China gets to call the shots. This fact seems to be lost on a lot people.
This article treats the huge monetary reserves held by China as a bad thing - a bubble - for China. It may indeed be a bad thing for some countries (like maybe the U.S.) but it certainly isn’t a bad thing for China.
Remember, cash is king; Those who have the cash get to call the shots.
Let us not forget that the banking system in China is a complete mess. They have potentially trillions in bad loans. I think we need a better understanding of their banking system to understand who is backing all of those bad loans.
At a first glance it appears to me that China has setup the “good bank”, “bad bank” system. The government’s reserves are the good bank. The entire banking system is the bad bank. Somebody with a better understanding than me would have to determine how that will play out. All of those reserves may be needed to pick their economy back up if the bad bank ever goes “Kaboom” which it most certainly must.
Let us not forget the type of divisions that must be forming in China. Those 900 million watching the other 300 million move forward may not stay so happy forever. It only takes a single match to blow up a powder keg.
We’ve had this situation before - the US in the 1920’s and Japan in the 1980’s.
Both amassed an absolute fortune in absolute terms. Both had high productivity, and both had bubbles out the wazoo.
However, the loot amassed as “reserves” were just a symptom of an larger underlying problem - a wrongly pegged currency that created vast asset bubbles.
I would not be surprised if China had a total meltdown, reserves or no reserves.
PS :- Divide the total reserves by 1 billion Chinese. It ain’t that much.
Amen to that putty-tat. I have been the one questioning the China Miracle. I still wonder just how badly they will destroy their land and water, all in an attempt to keep Aisles 1 - 26 at Walmart stocked with useless junk.
I note that Shanghai has more empty CRE (commercial real-estate) than all of Manhattan.
Who’s gonna occupy it?
Color me as an absolute non-believer in the Chindia “miracle”. People are mistaking the very low level that they are starting off out of as “growth”.
I was in Mumbai recently. They are selling $5M properties that abut slums. I was like, “you’ve got to be f’in jokin’!!!” - for that I could get a prime piece on Central Park West.
Just shows you where the greater fools are.
When did you become so smart? That is a great post. Madness is madness, in any language.
If the yuan floated it may float right to the bottom.
After I showed your wife what real inches look like.
And she thanks you.
Regularly too.
“I would not be surprised if China had a total meltdown, reserves or no reserves.”
That’s what I anticipate, to the accompaniment of many otherwise very knowledgable-seeming people chanting, ‘No one could have seen it coming.’
P.S. Upside of China meltdown scenario:
1) The U.S. has already been there / done that.
2) Another flight-to-quality will bolster the dollar.
Conclusion: Don’t convert all your mattress money to gold, stock and real-estate investments just yet — this financial crisis has legs.
“Who’s gonna occupy it?”
It is pretty funny how the cadre of MSM-favored financial ‘experts’ (read propagandists) manage to overlook such a basic question in their ‘analysis.’ One could apply the same question to the overhang of commercial real estate space around San Diego, or the overhang of million-dollar homes around the entire state of California, etc. For practical purposes, the MSM and the band of economic propagandists they site as sources still have their heads buried in the sand three years into the financial crisis.
“PS :- Divide the total reserves by 1 billion Chinese. It ain’t that much.”
PPS — It ain’t divided very evenly.
In China, if “You’re one in a million”
There’s a thousand people just like you.
(actually 1,300)
I was with a few coworkers I don’t normally travel with on a business trip a month or two ago, and as usual we ended up in the boring, non-descript hotel bar and the panic about China came up.
After sitting there in silence, enjoying my pint and keeping my mouth shut, I couldn’t help but repeat the old saying.
If we owed China a billion dollars, we’d have a problem. But we owe them three trillion. I think China has a problem.
China sold out their envrionment, their productive years, and their soul in exchange for a few pieces of paper. China needs us more than we need them: we can rebuild factories, we can do without tvs and cheap shoes because despite the naysayers, there is still capacity in the US. But imagine if all of a sudden the US stopped imports from China. How many working-class Chinese will be out of work, hungry, angry, and thousands of miles from home? No, China needs us to keep those working-class people going to work. Without us, they’ll have no jobs, no future, no food. That ‘Black Swan Event’ will make the Cultural Revolution look like a pleasant memory.
“How many working-class Chinese will be out of work, hungry, angry, and thousands of miles from home? No, China needs us to keep those working-class people going to work.”
That’s why …on the 8th Day…War rose from the East.
“I think China has a problem.”
And to put a finer point on it, they have the same problem as Donald Trump’s banker does at the point they realize the shyster’s latest investment scheme is about to collapse.
Sounds right to me. How sad that as a country we’ve become Donald Trump.
China sold out
Forgot to mention the fact that they sold off all their girl children for the past many yrs and now their men folk do not have mates. Lots of angry men folk coming of age.
“…Those 900 million watching the other 300 million move forward may not stay so happy forever. It only takes a single match to blow up a powder keg.”
Now there’s a Communist/Capitalist math multiplication calculation…that the world has never seen before!
(Hwy inserts music: “Money! Keep your hands off of my stack!”)
Yes indeed. I would submit that people aren’t so upset at their own misfortune as they are at the happiness of others.
China’s got 24 million men who have no hope of ever finding a woman, plus a floating population of 100 million unemployed, mostly from the rural areas. Corruption is rampant. Ten million Muslim Uighurs hate the dominant Han Chinese crowding them out of their ancestral homeland. All of which spells trouble ahead.
But China will be fine while they build military bases all over the world. The rest of us, the world etc will not pay attention to the water getting warmer as we sit in the pot on the stove.
Lots of their “cash” is really dollar-deominated debt…
remember: “If you owe the bank…”
I think it was easier for the Chinese government when the masses expected to live out their lives in poverty and only hoped that theor family wouldn’t starve.
Now they have a large population with even larger expectations….that’s a recipe for disater…or Tainenmen on a national scale.
Conversely, a growing number of americans seem to be coming to grips with the reality of their economic future, I think. Will everyone think owning the IPAD will be a God-given right….or will more people be thankful the tent they live in doesn’t leak?
“…easier for the Chinese government when the masses expected to live out their lives in poverty…Now they have a large population with even larger expectations….that’s a recipe for disaster.
Yes, the human stress behavior changes when confronted with different forms of “decision making” dilemma’s:
1/2 bowl of rice instead of a full bowl…Well, guess we’ll just have to deal with it.
1/2 pint of petro instead of 5 gallons for my vehicle…”whose” fault is that, because I’m not a happy communist/capitalist…
(note, if there is little to no rice in the bowl, a different “Behavior Phenomena” begins to quickly emerge.)
BB can print a lot of cash. Does that make him King?
It apparently makes him think he is king…
More apt description than king:
CEO of Uncle Sam, Almagamated, a global hedge fund operation.
Trying again: “Amalgamated”
“And we should stop viewing this monetary arms race as a source of strength.”
‘My currency bubble is bigger than your currency bubble.’
Where does this end, FPSS? Enquiring minds want to know. Maybe it is time to finally plow through my recently-purchased copy of Reinhart’s and Rogoff’s book, ‘This Time is Different: 800 Years of Financial Folly,’ in the hopes of learning the answer from past similar instances, assuming there were any?
I could be wrong but every indication (at least in India) was that the bubble was growing not bursting.
Same complete @ss-wipery arguments that we have heard since 2003-2007. I am sure you remember them and I have no desire to rehash the same ol’ tired nonsense.
Just like the Indian authorities, the Chinese are stoking the bubble full force. When it collapses, and I am firmly convinced that it’s a “when” not an “if”, they are going to make Iceland look like Niceland.
I would guess at least two more years out (but I do not have a very strong conviction about this.)
“I would guess at least two more years out (but I do not have a very strong conviction about this.)”
If you ‘knew’ this was going to play out, where would you park your moolah? I am thinking U.S. Treasurys and long-term bonds of other developed nation economies with strong currencies, with perhaps some gambling money allocated to long-term puts in the stocks of companies that will meltdown due to the unexpected burst of the Chindian currency bubble?
BTW, “two more years out” is consistent with my guesstimate that the Chindia bubble’s implosion will follow the U.S. with a half-decade lag…
“…they are going to make Iceland look like Niceland.”
I was with an Icelandic friend over the past few days. We had a fun discussion about the spectacle of citizens marching on their government with torches in hand — a lingering image for the ages from this episode in financial history.
what about the referendum to repay the foreign banks? did you talk about that PB?
(I remember seeing Argentinians in 2001 beating pots and pans in the street)
No, but we did get into a brief discussion about a peaceful overthrow and replacement of the government… now I need to catch up on the details of what actually occurred.
“I was in Mumbai recently. They are selling $5M properties that abut slums. I was like, “you’ve got to be f’in jokin’!!!” - for that I could get a prime piece on Central Park West.”
To each their own FPSS…I’d have 4 million $$$$$$$$$$$$ diversified…and would be frugally spending some $$$ on drinks on several different island in the South Pacific …bemoaning my predicament of “not owning” any mortgage, not to mention the bother of having to wait 2 weeks for a replacement sump pump on my 37′ Hunter.
India = 1 Billion
China = 1.5 Billion
America = 303 Million
Like I’ve been saying: We gots our “problems” …theys gots their’s
Some problems might be… “To BIG to FAIL!”
Well, I wasn’t advocating spending it that way just an indicative equivalent point of comparison.
“I am sure you remember them…”
Still fresh in memory is my amazement at the New Era stories the
sucker fluffers used to explain why it was different and the tech stock valuations made fundamental sense. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that successful scam artistry always requires MSM-cited porcine beauticians to lure greater fools into catching themselves falling knives.
China’s biggest problem isn’t real estate bubbles or pollution or being left holding the bag on a trillion US dollars. No, my friends, the bigger problem is in their internal communications. China has so many Wings and Wongs, people are always winging the wong number.
I slay me.
…There was these two teenagers named: “You Come” & “How Come”
never mind.
Who comes first, What comes second, Idontknow comes third…
More like their internal family planning. They have for more wongs than wings and that’s already causing trouble.
Yep. 24 million dudes can’t get no satisfaction due to female infanticide & abortions of female babies. That’s a lot of frustration & rage building up.
What do all those wongs do for satisfaction without enough wings to go around?
Or do we just assume that because we know that’s what would happen here?
Which part would happen here? The infanticide and abortion of female babies? Abort, maybe; abort only girls, no. In fact weren’t a lot of those unwanted Chinese girls adopted by Americans?
My uncle has a 2nd family of adopted chinese girl children.And I know of many more families who have adopted chinese girls for the past 20 + yrs.
Consumer credit falls for 11th month in a row.
Outstanding consumer debts sink record 4% in 2009
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Outstanding debts held by consumers fell for a record 11th month in a row in December, led by falling balances on their credit cards, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
Outstanding debts, not including mortgage debt, fell a seasonally adjusted $1.73 billion, or an annual rate of 0.8%, in December after a record $21.8 billion decline in November.
The decline was much less than the $9 billion forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Read our complete economic calendar and consensus forecast.
After decades of steady increases, debts are falling because consumers are paying down balances and because lenders are writing off bad debts as uncollectable.
Since money is borrowed into existence and goes back out of existence when the debt incurred by the borrowing is paid back (or deemed uncollectable) then the supply of money - the money supply’s expansion and contraction - is determined by the amount of net borrowing, is it not?
“Consumer credit falls for 11th month in a row.”
“Outstanding consumer debts sink record 4% in 2009.”
This means that net borrowing by consumers is shrinking, which in turn means the money supply created by consumer borrowing is shrinking. This is a big deal in a 70% consumer based economy.
Less borrowing means less money creation which means less money available for consumers to spend. Less money creation translates into an INCREASING VALUE
Ooops, I somehow sent off my post before I finished it. But … I think you get the point.
Now, bring on the flames…
What’s to flame?
Credit destruction IS deflation.
Everyone except the most criminally insane should know this. Haven’t we been b!tching about this forever and ever? Are there are holdouts even left?
“Are there holdouts even left?”
You are joking, right? Just the other day a poster declared these huge deficits were signs of hyperinflation.
I note that there are still people who are part of the “flat earth society”.
You should just ignore these “talented” people, and move on with your life.
“You should just ignore these ‘talented’ people, and move on with your life.”
Lol, diddling with these ‘talented’ people is too much fun to move on from.
I miss Aladinsane. There was a guy who was a lot of fun to diddle with.
I didn’t know that you “diddled” these “talented” people for fun and money.
Hello FPSS. Why must you depart from this blog so frequently?
‘Just the other day a poster declared these huge deficits were signs of hyperinflation.’
The majority share of that sort of post I have seen has come with a link to LaRouche’s news letter. Siting that as a credible source of information seems tantamount to warning that ‘the end is near’ coupled with a link to a Jehovah Witness web site.
Lad inspired me!
Lad inspired me!
In the diddling department? That’s quite a depressing image.
‘I didn’t know that you “diddled” these “talented” people for fun and money.’
Where were you when we were recently having a showdown with the HBB lending institution PR consulting tag team? Your irreverence was sorely missed in the confrontation with these trolls.
I was in India having a good time, remember?
Missed ya, pal…glad you are back.
Me, too. Glad to see you back, FPSS.
No flames here Combo….this credit retraction is a regression to the mean (a.k.a. sanity) ….maybe the best economic indicator out there (of course i’m ignorant of the ways it can be manipulated)
Kind of wonder what metrics the forescasters use
FPSS, I have missed your sharp slaps in the face! Welcome back!
CT,
Seems true, but the US government is off setting the decreases with its own borrowing. No?
But the government borrowing is not finding its way into consumer’s pockets. Until it does consumer prices (in general) will continue to fall.
Can there be massive increases in the money supply without credit cards?
There was no “plastic” and I venture to guess no massive borrowing by J6P in the economic crises over 100 years ago, but there was a gold standard.
Yes, there can.
Lookup the massive Railway Mania in Britain in the 1840’s and the US Railroad Bubble in the 1880’s ending in the Panic of 1893.
All bubbles need three things:
[1] cheap credit,
[2] pyramiding of collateral to access more credit,
[3] declining credit standards.
All end the same way.
Don’t forget:
[4] broad-based insanity among the lemmings.
“But the government borrowing is not finding its way into consumer’s pockets. Until it does consumer prices (in general) will continue to fall.”
If governments (state, local, national) buy cars or upgrade computers, does it not affect overall demand and price for cars and computers?
Furthermore, isn’t the national government’s tax credit and accounting policies for buying and building homes artificially keeping home prices elevated?
“[4] broad-based insanity among the lemmings.”
I think it is important to recognize the different variants on lemming behavior. There are probably always Bubble Sitters wagging their fingers from the sidelines while feeling left out of the dance (my typical stance). Then there are the Utterly Clueless, like the many lemmings who bought homes last year to take advantage of the $8K tax credit, without realizing they were taking one for the team. Then there are the Smartest Guys in the Room, who assume they are smart enough to unwind their positions before getting drowned in a tsunami, or who believe their hedges or promises of government bailouts will somehow make them whole when the wheels fall off the bus. Apparently, there is not enough bail in the system to make all of the smart guys whole any longer.
This broad-based insanity among the lemmings this time is the thinking that this time it’s different.
Yeah, this time it is different, but it’s different in the same way. Tulips, stocks, real estate different vehicles, same result.
Different in the same way, or the same in different way. Whatever.
goes back out of existence when the debt incurred by the borrowing is paid back
It depends where the consumer gets the money to pay it back. If he’s paying it back from his paycheck, then he is creating new money — with his labor — and simply filling the hole dug before. Isn’t this normal credit? Money is constant *poofed* and then made solid. Over time and space, the overall money supply is the same size. Isn’t this normal operation, only the flow isn’t so smooth.
If the money is deemed uncollectable, then I guess it’s being destroyed. That’s what’s going to happen with those mortgages.
“If he is paying it back from his paycheck, then he is creating new money …”
He’s not creating new money; he’s just passing around money that’s already been created. New money is created by borrowing.
… printing …
Outstanding debts held by consumers fell for a record 11th month in a row in December, led by falling balances on their credit cards, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
What’s not to like?!
“What’s not To like.”
It depends. One person’s spending is another person’s income.
East Greenwich-based Stanley-Bostitch is laying off 165 workers.
165 pink slips at Stanley-Bostitch Company is ending production of nails
05 Feb 2010
Layoff notices have been sent to 165 workers at the Stanley-Bostitch plant in East Greenwich.
A company representative confirmed to Eyewitness News on Friday that Stanley-Bostitch is eliminating it’s “Nail Production Department.”
The layoffs will not take place at once. A gradual reduction to the workforce will begin in April and end in October.
Nail workers screwed: can’t afford staples.
$500,000.00 per acre in Davie? That’s beyond laughable, unless you are on the receiving end!
Davie spends $12.5 million on Palma Nova land.
Critics asking why town took $9 million from reserves ~ Sun Sentinel
DAVIE - The town has spent more than a third of its rainy day savings on land it may never need, draining its reserves of $9 million in lean times, say two elected officials and other critics of the deal.
Two days after a 3-2 council vote, Davie paid Austin Forman’s company $12.5 million for 25 acres inside the former 110-acre Palma Nova mobile home park. Forman, a businessman and major landowner, shut down the park and had it bulldozed last year.
Davie officials say they may use part of the parcel for a water treatment plant that would serve possible future development along State Road 7. Seven acres would be reserved for a public park.
Forman says town officials approached him about buying the land.
“I was more than happy to accommodate them,” he said. “The property appraised for around $600,000 an acre and we sold it for $500,000.”
I bet this guy’s brother-in-law did that appraisal.
Wow.. That’s incredible, that land is worth perhaps 100K an acre; and really only worth that much to a massive developer who has the connections to change the entire character of the area. People just don’t seem to get that S. FL is awash in land; there’s not even a “real” land shortage of waterfront here (there’s plenty of waterfront with shacks/tear downs on the lot), let alone land in Davie. These non-descript “tracts” of land in the middle of nothing special are worth, at most, 50K an acre (more if they are improved/ready to build). That puts “per house” costs (on 1/4 of an acre) at about 12.5K in land for most of the S. FL area.
Instead, morons were (and perhaps still are) paying 150K “lot premiums” in Boynton Beach to be on the “better side” of the development (and the entire development is west of the Turnpike). Same thing throughout S. FL and the C. FL area; if you’re not on the water, then your probably paying too much for the lot; land in most of the places that have seen new development is effectively worthless. The only value is the cost to make it buildable.
And these morons from Davie.. Oh boy.. I don’t know where to start.
There’s big money in edgeamacation…
“College tuition has increased by more than three times the rate of inflation for the last 20 years, despite U.S. wages flat-lining since 2000.” ~Forbes magazine.
Thank god for government lending. How would we get massive bubbles in essential goods and services without it?
Woe to those parents who frugally save up for their children’s college education. They’ll discover that not only will they have to pay their own kid’s way, they’ll have to pay for someone else’s kid as well.
That seems fair to me. Bwahahaha.
Another way to indenture people when they’re too young to buy houses.
You are spot on. Slavery never went away from the U.S. after the Civil War; it was simply transferred from the plantation owners to the Wall Street banking establishment.
“…Wall Street banking establishment…”
aka Carpetbaggers
“…College tuition has increased by more than three times the rate of inflation.”
No data on Administrative salaries or campus “expansion” cost?
Don’t know why ‘they’ still call them food “stamps” it’s a credit card now. Can’t allow any stigma, would not be PC.
US food stamps set ever-higher record-32.8 million
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A record 38.2 million Americans were enrolled in the food stamp program at latest count, up 246,000 from the previous month and the latest in record-high monthly tallies that began in December 2008.
Food stamps are the primary federal anti-hunger program, helping poor people buy groceries. The Agriculture Department updated enrollment data on Friday with a preliminary figure for November.
USDA estimates up to $58 billion will be spent on food stamps this fiscal year, which ends Sept 30, with average enrollment of 40.5 million people. Food stamps were renamed the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in 2008.
“A record 38.2 million Americans were enrolled in the food stamp program at latest count,”
Americans?
Not in Jupiter Fl. Most of the people I see swipinng the red, white and blue Supplemental Nutritional card have 2 or 3 kids one on the way and don`t press 1 for english when calling for federal assistance.
And “Green Cards” aren’t green.
How many of those food stamp recipients still have cable TV, the latest smart phones with R&B ring tones, ultra-expensive running shoes, tons of bling, and all the body art money & recreational drugs can buy? And now Obama wants me to pay their health care cost, too.
You have never heard of the right to life, liberty, cable TV, the latest smart phones with R&B ring tones, ultra-expensive running shoes, tons of bling, all the body art money & recreational drugs can buy, supplemental nutrition, subsidized housing and health care?
Where you been?
Seeing it more and more from ‘friends’ who are in their early 60’s-70s who have adult children who are pregnant out of wedlock, no job, no future, nothing less than the entitlement aura around the “kids” and grandkids are being left with the 60-70 y olds to baby sit.
I AM PIS SED. Dam mit. Why do I have to struggle etc to be responsible but this 20 something generation does not?
And, why do these 60-70 y olds give in to their grown children who are now living off of them rent free? These folks I know aren’t trailer trash, but their kids sure are behaving that way.
UGH.
Don’t get me started on this new subj.
Amen, Sammy- this is one of my pet peeves too- the “poor” here live better than the “middle” class…
Don’t be fooled; there is real poverty in the US. People without enough food to eat, without two sticks of furniture to rub together, who can’t get out of the hole.
Many of the real poor have a sense of shame about using government services, whether they are using them or not.
It’s that time of year in Minnesota again. The temperatures are cold. The snow and road salt are depressing. The Vikings have choked in the playoffs, once again. It is time to start the re-listing of real estate.
I am watching a place that was listed for $139,000. This type of house always draws my attention since it is very similar to the place in which I grew up (debatable). It is a little over 1,300 square feet so it is bigger than what I grew up in. It is still decorated for The Age of Aquarius. The lot is nothing to get excited about. I figured at that price some fool would rush in and snap it up (with an $8,000 tax credit burning a whole (sic) in their pocket). As I expected the place went “Inactive” pretty quickly. That was a little sad. But not so fast! This garage-mahal was re-listed two days ago at $119,000. Perhaps a touch of sanity in an insane world.
A house in which I used to live is on the market (again). My brother bought it in 1996 for $70,000. A lot of work has been put into this house. I would guess $50,000 - $70,000. This house sold in 2006 for $211,600. It listed about 8 months ago for $212,000. It was lowered to $199,000 and went “Inactive”. The house is pretty nice now but the neighborhood is dicey. It seemed a little high. But back on the market it came. The price is now $178,900. Drop that price $20,000 and it is probably right on. Just do the math on that one.
$70,000 + $60,000 (updating) = $130,000
If that house sells for $160,000, or so, the entire bubble is wiped from the slate.
There was another house I was following. It is 2,525 square feet in an okay neighborhood. This place looks great to me. It has all of the beautiful old woodwork. It is stunning. Plus it has been updated for the 21st century. I figured it would sell for about $220,000 and probably $260,000 at the peak. That house is now inactive. The last listed price was $179,000.
Bye bye bubble, Minnesota hardly knew ye. Don’t worry all of you Square Heads, the President is going to make sure he gets your home “values” back up. Until then enjoy the rare touch of sanity in your housing market.
“garage-mahal” - good one!
You must be new.
Although, that’s a joke that doesn’t get old (at least around here.)
Oh, screw it, who am I to resist a burst of nostalgia in the morning?
In Miami, Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, predicted that a limited supply of land coupled with demand from baby boomers and foreigners would prolong the boom indefinitely.
“South Florida,” he said, “is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past.”
“South Florida,” he said, “is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past.”
… at least not since the Great Florida Land Boom of the 1920s.
and the desire to seek safety via nesting after 911.
Old one, along with “faux chateau,” “McMansion,” “Hummer house,” etc. (And no, Mr FPSS, I didn’t mean that kind of hummer.)
Don’t forget the classics:
“South Florida,” he said, “is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past.”
LOL
That never gets old. I’m probably going to be quoting it when I’m a geriatric statistic!!!
“…when I’m a geriatric statistic!!!”
And I will probably be still trying to avoid getting stucco…
Stucco’s probably nice. It’s that fakey stuff you have to watch out for.
On a side note, did you know that there are no craftsman capable of building a true Tudor house? I mean real Tudor, where the wood beams are load-bearing (not decorative) and the space between is packed with real plaster and stucco to form solid walls (not just an outside finish). I read that if you want to live in a true Tudor in the US, the cheapest way to do it is to buy a real Tudor circa ~1300 from England and move it to the US. Now that’s house with staying power, as opposed to Tool Brothers five-years-and-fall-apart boxes.
“Stucco’s probably nice.”
Getting stucco is probably not nice. Just ask any of your friends who got stucco with an underwater mortgage if you can’t take my word for it.
Minnesota used to be mindlessly liberal. They’re coming around, though. Where are you at/from in Minnesota, NYC Boy? Did you return home from the Big Apple?
Former PeeParty tea toadding “anger management” counselor:
Ross Perot is not dead! Ross Perot is not dead! Ross Perot is not dead!
Born July 15, 1951 (1951-07-15) (age 58)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Birth name James George Janos
Political party Reform Party 1999–2000
Independence Party 2000–present
Sammy, I am still in NYC. I am from the south side of the Twin Cities.
I can’t believe they closed one wimpy little bank in Minnesota last night. That’s it. What the heck? Perhaps they want to make a big splash before the 3-day weekend next weekend. Three days to close down a bank is much better than 2.
They keep hunting squirrels while the elephants trample on everything. Nice!
So many banks, so few auditors.
Hey peeps a fun new way to fill luxzury Condozes:
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2010/02/bushwick-scarano-building-to-become.html
This was awesome!
Don’t miss the comments there:
Stunning. Absolute cr@p. Classic design. Embodies the whole nine-year-old-boy-notebook-doodle school of architecture we have come to call “standard.”
LOL
No, it doesn’t embody the “whole” school — where is the semicircular bump-out on the corner with the flat circular roof metal overhang, huh? You can’t call it standard unless it’s got the beheaded turret. That has to be the absolute worst design feature I have ever run across in my life.
Great link…
how about that logo of the old world’s fair sphere, kind of constipated, on a toilet….priceless…..rival’s PB’s thing and thing
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2010/3704lying_get_right.html
Time To Stop Lying and Get It Right!
by John Hoefle
Jan. 22—Watching Barack Obama rail against the banks brings to mind an indulgent parent who, after giving in to his children’s every demand, spoiling them rotten, suddenly decides to talk tough when the kids’ actions prove embarrassing. The parent knows he’s bluffing, and more importantly, so do the kids. For all the posturing, nothing will change, and the kids will still run the show.
This is Obama’s third foray into anti-bank posturing. In mid-December, he railed against the “fat cats” and called the heads of the major banks into the White House for a scolding. That didn’t work out so well. Several of the bankers didn’t even bother to show up.
A month later, still plunging in the polls, Obama tried it again, doing his effete, Harvard-educated best to sound like one of the common folk.
“My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed…. We want our money back, and we’re going to get it,” Obama promised on Jan. 14.
That blustering assertion was amplified by an e-mail, sent out under Vice President Joe Biden’s name, claiming that Obama’s proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee would “recover every penny loaned to Wall Street during the financial crisis and stop the reckless abuses and excesses that nearly caused the collapse of our financial system.” The powerful bankers are fighting back, Biden continued, but “Barack and I aren’t backing down. But to win, we’ll need the American people to add their voice right away.”
Do these clowns really expect us to believe, after their bending over constantly to the bankers, after their collapsing the physical economy even further costing more jobs, more foreclosures, more misery for the nation, that the Obama Administration is now going to “recover every penny”? Do they think we are so dumb that we don’t realize that the financial system remains on a Federal life support system, which continues to turn private debts into government debts in the mortgage and mortgage-securities markets? That claiming to be taking the money back, while still shoveling it into the markets, is not the height of hypocrisy? Do they even think, or are they so impressed with their ability to spin, that they believe reality is whatever they claim it to be?
‘“My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed…. We want our money back, and we’re going to get it,” Obama promised on Jan. 14.’
Why not just solve the problem with the Fed’s printing press technology?
No kidding. We’ll get back “every dime” but it’ll be in Zimbabwe dollars. Obama conveniently skirts the issue of why he gave Wall Street (and everyone else) bailout money in the first place, and continues to give back-door bailouts through such ruses as preferential tax treatment for the banksters.
Do these clowns really expect us to believe, after their bending over constantly to the bankers, after their collapsing the physical economy even further costing more jobs, more foreclosures, more misery for the nation, that the Obama Administration is now going to “recover every penny”?
Exactly.
“…For all the posturing, nothing will change, and the kids will still run the show.”
How ’bout’s the “mindset” …any change there you think?
“Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I’m rich.” Daffy Duck
(Hwy wonders why hurricanes always get the roofs first…material, design, location, or all of the above?)
The “indulgent parent” wasn’t Obama, and the indulging didn’t begin just in the past year.
No, this goes back decades, but guess who’s in charge now? And making things even worse, I might add.
Funny how it was unpatriotic to critize the shrub during war times but it sure seems to be okey dokey to critize and hate on this POTUS. Double standard much?
It’s been noticed DD.
RE double standard
I posted a couple days ago about the world price of sugar hitting a 30-year high.. Could be a good indicator of India/china bubble given the number of “sweet tooth” ’s in those countries.
Anyone noticed the stunning drop in copper prices over the past month? Thiink i read here just recently about the chinese commercial warehouse hoping to export it…good luck with that.
I also remember seeing a picture…maybe posted here…. form last fall. It was an aerial view of a chinese pig farm crammed full with rollls and rolls of copper.
I think the chinese government is more worried about walmart shoppers snapping their purses/wallets shut than their t-bond inventory dropping in value. Our shrinking consumer credit hits them where they live.
Anybody called to get their cable/internet service rates cut?
I did it two months ago with Charter (that’s paul allen’s bastard child, teetring on bankruptcy)
i have extended-basic plus the family package. It was $70 / month with taxes…so icalled them up and said that oi had an offer from the Dishnetwork at $40 / month—same service. Voila!
didn’t need to talk to a supervisor or get any approvals so I figure this is happening a lot. ( I heard that with digital tv MORE channels with better reception are available in many areas through free TV/antennas, especially Southern california) Those antiquated roof antennas may be worth keeping!
I pulled the same stunt with my internet provider — att. told them that i was going to switch to charter, they’re supposed to give me a one time $120 credit (still hasn’t shown up on the bill). If you save a few bucks, think about sending something along to BEN.
all this reaks of deflation ….no?
It’s everywhere.
I bought a camera as a gift for a friend. There’s a $100 “gift card” in side. You can swipe that baby anywhere so I bought my groceries, etc. with it.
Was that camera really $129 or $29?
Does it really matter if I had to fork out $129 upfront?
Think big-D just very well hidden.
“Was that camera really $129 or $29?”
You bought your girlfriend a $29 camera, but you get to enjoy $129 worth of her “graditude”.
There are some things you simply can’t teach.
Combo, it wasn’t said whether a ‘girl’ friend, just a friend.
Don’t get over excited about the “gratitude”.
“Don’t get excited over the gratitude.”
Okay, I won’t (only because I won’t be the receipiant).
San Francisco craigslist has almost 1000 (one thousand!!!) apartments/houses for rent in the over $3000/month category. Newspapers say housing market doing relatively OK, but that is a lot of high end rentals looking for a tenant. Many of people I know are looking for a job or underemployed.
This is 1991-92 all over again. Then reality took a hard bite in late 1993-1994.
Rents are trending down again in NYC. Actual rents. You are quoting “wishing rents” which are still in the stratosphere.
“This is 1991-92 all over again.”
Beg to differ…it’s way worse.
Newspaper rents are priced high to ward off the riff-raff. You arrange to met the landlord in person & impress them as being a quality tenant, and the real price starts at least 10% lower.
In my newer, high end apartment complex in San Jose vacancies are up. This is a one year lease community however property management just rented 70 units to a touring performing group for 1.5 months. I have one of these “monthly” renters below me and it is not pleasant. If you come to a community that requires a long term lease and then they turn things into a flop house, I should have some recourse.
Keep us posted “don’ know nuthin”
the inland empire has shattered. lot’s of wishful thinking and crossing fingers on the coast.
San jose sould be a good barometer for what’s happening in a highly developed area with (theoretically) some real demand for real estate coming from the tech. sector.
I have heard, even here, that tech. hiring is rebounding…let’s see how that pans out
rents are negotiated from asking prices way more than 10%.
15-20% +
I was watching some Black History Month documentaries on PBS last night .
They showed interviews from the 60’s of Malcolm x ,James Farmers, Dr Wyatt Tee Walker ,etc. What a group of men in the same interview .
They were talking about boycotting the Companies that discriminate
against hiring blacks and they were touching upon the need for
Affirmative Action . People fighting for simple freedoms and rights already given by the Constitution was a crying shame looking back in retrospect .
The Documentaries caused me to think about how oppressive the current Wall Street culture of power and control is to the middle class ,which includes all ethnic groups, including white Americans . Of course certain ethnic groups get hurt more than others . But ,isn’t the root of all evil money ? White man in the 60’s trying to hold on to power ,now Wall Street/Bankers being the power brokers taking our Country down the tubes with no shame what so ever . It’s a shameful time in America . This current discrimination toward keeping Wall Streets flush with healthy pocketbooks with no regard to moral hazard and Main Street pain needs to be fought .I look at the courage of those original Civil Rights fighters and now all
workers rights going down the tubes because of Globalism and bought off Politicians and absurd bail outs . Watch those men on PBS just fighting for a fair shake at jobs after the destructive effects of lip service for decades . Malcolm X would talk about looking at the” Deeds “,not the talk .Feeling the pain of
these fighters in retrospect was moving to say the least .I never thought in my whole entire life that I would be quoting Malcolm X.
Ok ,go ahead and flame me for making this post ,but any oppressive power needs to be fought and these men from History are as inspiring as
they come .
+1 HW
‘…Bankers being the power brokers taking our Country down the tubes with no shame what so ever’
It’s a human genetic disease, literally a global pandemic:
“Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I’m rich.” Daffy Duck
On the contrary you hit the head on the nail. Banking and financial jobs are outsourced at a very fast pace just look at the following outsourcing stock charts than compare those charts to Apple.
http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?s=infy
http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?s=wit
Look at the middle “Weekly” chart, now look at apple for comparison:
http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?s=aapl
I wonder how these companies are thriving while US & Europe have worst unemployment since Great Depression.
What US & Europe have to deal with this issue headon without political correctness.
+1000…
Also it is plain and simple discrimination against gays to not be allowed to serve in the military openly, or have equal rights such as “marriage” or civil unions. When you are in a union and aren’t allowed to get what the will states because you aren’t “married” etc.. it aint right.
DD:
This was their biggest mistake. Gay marriage should have been promoted as a health issue. The best way to control aids is through monogamy.
http://www.slate.com/id/2243797/
Hope I don’t incur Ben’s wrath by posting a Slate article in here, but this is spot on. There’s plenty of villains we can point to for our current economic and political plight, but the main culprits are the childish, ignorant American public.
but the main culprits are the childish, ignorant American public.
The main culprits are not us.
Although the article does make some good points, I wish it would have addressed more the propaganda machine’s influence on American’s confusion as well. And I disagree totally with its assertion that American’s don’t want to make hard choices. That is bull.
Most Americans were against the bailouts and we were willing to see bad business fail and we were willing to take our serious lumps. That was a revealing example of our American character that the PTB and the MSM currently want to downplay.
“…but the main culprits are the
childishlying, ignorant Americanpublicmain stream media.”Certainly they aren’t talking about the eighty-or-so percent of the American public who were opposed to the Wall Street bailouts?
Disagree.
Most americans believed the armagedon forecast would ruin their lives and thought the bailout would help. I am of ourse referrring to the Americans who thought about it for five seconds or more.
Retrospect has, perhaps, changed that view.
I’m anxious to see the pleas from the PTB when we are in the throws of the next meltdown.
70/30 chance they get everything they want, imho.
My memory is hazy on this, but I vaguely recall a poll conducted around the bailouts showing something like twenty percent of the American electorate supporting the TARP. But perhaps you have better information?
google search: poll tarp (results end of 2008)
In an October Associated Press poll of probable voters, more than half of those surveyed expressed approval of the $700 billion bailout for banks, .
Nov 11, 2008 - Nearly 80% of Americans favored some kind of bailout in the days before the troubled asset relief program, or TARP, was passed, though only 22% liked the original plan, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll. See summary of poll results. It’s funny today to realize that lukewarm support …
Those polls are kind of worthless given the near complete ignorance of the general public about financial issues and how the wording of the questions steers the answer.
My recollection was that most people agreed “something” had to be done.
Money market funds breaking the buck was the last straw for most people (at least those with money market accounts.)
the near complete ignorance of the general public about financial issues
Hallejuiah.
Although the article does make some good points, I wish it would have addressed more the propaganda machine’s influence on American’s confusion as well.
Why is the media so dumbed down? Because they knew their target audience. Why do they give us the latest lurid details of Brangelina or Britney or Hollywood scandal instead of thoughtful, substantive coverage of events and people of REAL significance? Because the dolts would rather hear about fluff. Yes, the MSM is a propaganda arm for its corporate cartel owners, but the sheeple have opted for willful ignorance over seeking the truth.
i heard Phil Donahue answer this question 25 years ago….
“if i don’t do the salacious stuff, I’ll be parking cars”
thank god for PBS. NPR HBB
Because they knew their target audience.
And on Americans being against the bailouts:
Hey we ain’t stuped already!
And us Americans was AGAINST the bailouts and so were most of the House Republicans UNTIL they voted against it and then the PTB TANKED the stock market like a big dog!
Extortion works and you’re validating some of my points regarding propaganda, media and coercive control. Thank you.
Americans against auto bailout
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/12/poll_americans.html
Poll: Most Americans Against Bush’s Bailout Plan
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,428921,00.html
62 Percent of Americans Against Subprime Mortgage Bailout
http://efinancedirectory.com/articles
The 1st District congressman said it was already a difficult bill to deal with, and constituents are uncomfortable with the bailout. (He just joked in a phone interview that the call-ins to his office were split: 50 percent saying “No” and the other 50 percent saying “Hell, no.”
http://blogs.courant.com/on_background/2008/09/connecticut-house-members-vote.html
Backlash grows against the housing bailout
Many Americans want no part of a government-funded bailout for troubled mortgage borrowers.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/real_estate/bailout_backlash/
Dang
Re: public approval of bailouts
I don’t know Rio…..after the fact the buyer’s remorse grew fast. i saw some polls that showed sizable majorities favoring bailouts when the market was falling 200 points a day
after the fact the buyer’s remorse grew fast. i saw some polls that showed sizable majorities favoring bailouts when the market was falling 200 points a day
Yes, and that helps illustrate my two main points that I’ve tried to make today.
1. Americans are not stupid and we were against the bailouts in the absence of market manipulation and propaganda. Were both involved? Of course they were.
2. However, market manipulation and the MSM caused (buyer’s remorse) (your words) and Americas got scared and some CHANGED their minds temporarily. (but check the polls now)
But #2 does not negate #1 which is a main point.
However I do see that if Americas were stronger-willed or on a more solid economic footing, that #2 would not have influenced the changing of the minds of so many on their initial #1 opinion. But your know what? It wouldn’t have mattered and that bites.
“I don’t know Rio…..after the fact the buyer’s remorse grew fast. i saw some polls that showed sizable majorities favoring bailouts when the market was falling 200 points a day”
Let’s entertain the conjecture that the Fed has the technical means to support or to tank the stock market (not really a stretch, as Sir Alan himself often spoke of “supplying liquidity” to offset a crash). Then couldn’t the Fed presumably have precipitated a crash in order to garner support for the bailout?
ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL AUDITORS TO EXPLORE, IMHO…
Let’s entertain the conjecture that the Fed has the technical means to support or to tank the stock market
As we saw on Friday in the last hour.
Let’s entertain the conjecture that the Fed has the technical means to support or to tank the stock market (not really a stretch, as Sir Alan himself often spoke of “supplying liquidity” to offset a crash). Then couldn’t the Fed presumably have precipitated a crash in order to garner support for the bailout?
ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL AUDITORS TO EXPLORE, IMHO…
Absolutely a must!
“Climate change” ?
Just got my first moving traffic violation yesterday, after a perfectly clean driving record (and I’m almost 50). Little town where I live in Marin County is broke, so police cars are literally hiding in the bushes and writing tickets for any infraction.
BTW, our town did manage to find money for new police sedans….most of the police I see are now rolling around in brand new vehicles.
Being self employed, I also have a 39% premium increase from Anthem Blue Cross to look forward to next month.
Sorry for the rant, fellow HBBers. But it is painfully clear we are just going to be squeezed silly between companies that can get away with it and gov’t that is desperate to plug black hole budgets.
Something tells me this will be my last year living in this part of the Bay Area. The cost of living is high already without the gov’t add ons (assessments, tickets, fees, etc.)
The streetsweepers in my burg used to be followed by a parking violation car whose driver wrote parking ticket on cars parked on the street on streetsweeping days.
But no more is the parking violation car FOLLOWING the streetsweeper. Now it is LEADING the streetsweeper, leading by several hours.
Lots of people got parking tickets last week in the wee small hours of the morning, which means more revenue for the city. But the city can only do this once or twice before residents catch on and change their habits.
The cat-mouse game rolls on …
“The cat-mouse game rolls on …”
I’m close to deciding they can play without me. I’ve rented here since selling in 2004. I don’t have to live here. I don’t have to shop downtown or patronize the local restaurants. I can vote with my wallet and move.
“I can vote with my wallet and move.”
You would think local California governments would eventually catch on to that; they seem to still rule under the mistaken illusion that ‘everyone wants to live here.’
I see them here at 11:25 am….just waiting for the unlucky ones who can’t read and get up on time…11:30-1pm…Thursday and Friday…..just started a few months ago
1993-97 local tv station mentioned that since the economy was so bad, the police would not give tickets to the snowbirds for having out of state license plates when they were obviously here longer than “just a visit”. The phrase was ” we don’t want to upset the snowbirds as they spend $ and we get the tax $s”.
During that time I had a NJ license plate and got away with not getting my registration changed for a few yrs.
NOW, I would suggest anyone driving in CA or any state, to mind ALL the laws on the roads, pronto. Full stops etc.No talking on cell phones w/o handsfree sets etc.
“Little town where I live in Marin County is broke, so police cars are literally hiding in the bushes and writing tickets for any infraction.”
Having received two speeding tickets in the past year after four with none, and with no change in driving habits, I can feel your pain. By contrast, we visited Germany last summer, and there were no tickets given to cars traveling at high rates of speed, suggesting the Germans have discovered other means to raise local taxes besides penalizing their motorists.
Clarification:
“after only one speeding ticket over the previous four years”
A lot of the Autobahn has no speed limit, only Richtgeschwindigkeit (advisory limits) for which you may have increased liability if you cause an accident while exceeding the recommended speed of 130 kph (81 mph).
“Richtgeschwindigkeit”
Sehr ausgezeichnet koncept!
konzept? (I’m rusty on my German spelling…)
But if you get caught DUI in Germany - the police will be most harsh with you.
That’s good. Anyone drinking and driving on the Autobahn would definitely be a tremendous hazard, given the speeds at which people drive there.
My uncle, a former cop, talked about an unwritten offense called “B & A” - being an a$$hole. Stupid people who do things like rear-end other drivers at a red light because they weren’t paying attention, or do similar things that force an emergency response, should be forced to bear the full cost of dispatching emergency vehicles to the scene and cleaning things up afterwards.
Germans have an average income of $46,000. They pay high taxes. They have 6 weeks paid vacations. Full health coverage, great roads, autobahns, public transportation bar none. Their businesses buy from each other long before they buy from out of country- which is a mild form of protectionism, but they believe in their country, unlike the US. They also don’t have open businesses on Sundays.
Best beer around. Nice quality of life. Their unemployment went down too.
All rants welcome Lisa.
Real testimonials are great. Especially from marin!!!
Sorry about the health insurance. I am self employed in bay area and I feel your pain. You can deduct 100% of premiums as self-employed, so that should help. Also, shop around. Blue Cross is typically not the best buy.
Watershed moment noted: The Wall Street Journal writers are almost openly acknowledging Uncle Sam’s stock market price support measures. Back in the early days of this blog, anyone who openly suggested such a thing would have been summarily labeled a tinfoil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorist. The funny part about this article is that the author pretends that government intervention in financial markets is something which has been openly acknowledged by the MSM all along, rather than a sharp break with past reporting practice. As usual, bloggers broke this story years ago and were pilloried for it, while the come-lately WSJ writer pretends they have been reporting on it all along.
Asset price manipulation measures seem to fall outside the scope of “independent monetary policy,” which suggests that questions regarding such practices as supporting U.S. stock market or housing prices should be fair game for the upcoming Congressional audit of the Fed.
* TODAY’S MARKETS
* FEBRUARY 6, 2010
Stock Rebound Is a Crisis Flashback
Late Surge Recalls Market’s Volatility at Peak of Credit Difficulties; Unusual Correlations
By MARK GONGLOFF
Stocks pulled out of 167-point hole with a late rally Friday, capping a wild week reminiscent of the most volatile days of the credit crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged a round-trip through 10000, falling to 9835.09 before rallying in the last hour to close up 10.05 points at 10012.23. For the week, the Dow fell 55.10 points. That number hardly does justice to a week that saw three triple-digit Dow moves, including Thursday’s nearly 3% drop, as investors swung between anxiety and relief about the implications of Greece’s debt woes.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index, or VIX, has surged nearly 22% since Tuesday. The VIX is often called the “fear index” because it tracks expected stock volatility.
…
This market behavior, which has reasserted itself repeatedly since the financial crisis began, suggests that investment decisions are still being driven more by government support and liquidity concerns than market fundamentals.
…
On the optimistic assumption that bright ideas might some times trickle up from the blogosphere to policy circles, I have a simple blueprint those conducting the Congressional audit of the Fed could follow to settle questions about asset price manipulation:
1) Is there a legal mandate for the for the Fed to support asset prices? Please elaborate?
2) Does asset price support within the scope of “independent monetary policy”?
a) If yes, what could the Fed divulge about its activities in this area without compromising monetary policy independence?
b) If no, the auditors should request full disclosure of asset price support measures currently in effect, in order to provide fair warning to investors who have been misled to assume the free market sets prices rather than government interventionists.
Hey PB,
Re: audit the FED (something I am WHOLEHEARTEDLY for)
the idea gets derisive commentary on BSNBC because it seems to be equated with (heaven forbid) politicizing the Fed
“BSNBC”
Suppose the Fed and BSNBC are both under the thumb of big Wall Street money. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that BSNBC would spew the Fed’s propaganda without questioning it?
Re: BSNBC
absolutely PB. i just mention it to point out the justification (feeble as it is) for NOT auditing the FED.
That somehow, congressmen will be dictating FED action forevermore (doubtful) and that it would jeopardize the “wonderfully efficient” system we have now.
Anyone who cant see the obvious 3 oclock effect on the DOW deserves to be blindsided when the next crash overpowers the PPT’s best efforts. I’m surprised someone hasnt put together a chart of some sort showing the effects of this action on the “true value” of the stocks.
I too wish there was a way to expose what is obvioulsy really going on. “Expose the PPT” should go hand in hand with “Audit the Fed”. Manipulation sucks.
Faux News & WSJ = MUrDoch’s “True Chupacabra™”
The Wall Street Journal is swiftly deteriorating into “TrueProvoker’s™” former-Austrialian’s senior-moment mouth piece. (Tsk,tsk,tsk…just as I knew it would be so.)
They’re doing wonderful things at mental institutions now days.
Here’s a CRE tale of woe from Sunnyvale CA.
Years ago, they knocked down a business district to build a mall.
Recently, they knocked down the mall to build “Super Mall!”
Super Mall went belly-up before it could even open.
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14342442
It kept one block of Murphy Avenue intact, and that street—crowded with cafes and boutiques—thrived, becoming one of the valley’s coolest hangouts while people bypassed the sun-starved mall.
Oblivious to the lessons of Murphy Avenue, City Hall in the late 1990s decided to raze the mall and start anew, only with a much bigger scheme this time: a gigantic 34-acre square in the heart of Sunnyvale, with about 300 condominiums, a hotel and movie theater, three office buildings and about a million square feet of shops and restaurants. Estimated cost: $750 million.
These CRE developers need a “Santana sized” fire caused by an illegal day laborer. Schedule the welding for a hot windy day.
Does anyone have evidence on where major political figures currently stand on Wall Street bailouts? Many thanks to Mitt Romney for supporting those of us who find reason to be alarmed and to speak our minds!
Romney Slams Bailouts That He Used to Support
By David Weigel 9/19/09 12:07 PM
Mitt Romney at the Values Voter Summit this morning:
When government is trying to take over health care, buying car companies, bailing out banks, and giving half the White House staff the title of czar – we have every good reason to be alarmed and to speak our mind!
…
If the Republicans manage to come off as the populists over the next couple months, we’re screwed
(or screwed more than we others would have been)
(or screwed more than we others would have been)
(or screwed more than we otherwise would have been)
Resolved: no more typos!
If the Republicans manage to come off as the populists over the next couple months,
we’re screwedthen maybe Sammy is right that we are dumb! LOLIf the Republicans manage to come off as the populists over the next couple months,
we’re screwedthen maybe Sammy is right that we are dumb! LOLNo way! we can’t be that dumb. Repubs. will be playing with fire if they stir the populist cauldron.
The One is talking tonight at the Tea Party convention!! What! What would The One be doing there???
Oops. Turns out the Right also has The One…
Tea party’ activists eagerly await Palin’s words
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — These are Sarah Palin’s people. Just ask them.
At the mere mention of her name, “tea party” activists light up and whip out “Saracudda” buttons — a play off her “Sara Barracuda” nickname from her high school basketball team in Alaska.
With a dash of familiarity, many say they didn’t vote for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2008 — they voted for “Sarah.” Quite a few see her as the right person to carry their limited-government, low-tax, freedom-fighting mantle — if only she wanted it.
“She is the one,” says Loren Nelson of Seattle. “And she’s gonna do it.”
I watched that ‘performance’ by Palin on C-SPAN.
I also watched an interview on After Words with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
From Palin speech I was told we need to go back to ‘core principals’ which are vaguely defined as the period from the late 1700’s, skipping forward to 1980 through 2006. From the look of the demographics of the audience they all want to go back to the way things were about 30 years ago. Short of the discovery of time travel, that ain’t going to happen. What the Tea Party seems to be is the Republican Party 2.0. New and Improved package but most of the same stuff inside the box.
On the other hand the interview with economist Joseph Stiglitz was actually quite good. He covered the real ‘core principals’ of why our economy nearly collapsed and correctly pinned the faults on the insidious and incestuous relationship of free market politicians and our corporate citizens (I don’t call them companies anymore since the Supreme Court ruling). His opinion is that huge changes need to be made in regulating the financial markets and he thinks the banks still control the levers of power so nothing will happen. He also pointed out that very few Americans have any power to change the course of our nation. The name of his book is Freefall, and that’s exactly what is happening the the standard of living for 90% of the nation.
Bummer dude… But it could be worse. You could be living in the Ukraine and your next president could be this guy:
“Viktor Yanukovych, the soon-to-be new president,
has yet to apologise for cheating in the 2004 election – implying instead that he was its victim. In fact, a secret Yanukovych team hidden in a Kiev cinema hacked into Ukraine’s central election commission computer — boosting his result by 1.1 million votes. Then there is his criminal record. Born in the gritty eastern town of Donetsk, Yanukovych served two terms in prison as a young man. He was convicted of robbery and sexual assault, and also served a term for manslaughter. His record was mysteriously expunged when he joined the Communist party in the late 1970s. Writing in Friday’s Moscow Times, Nina Khrushcheva argued: “It is mind-boggling that an unrepentant twice-convicted felon, a man who had sought to steal a presidential election — and who advocated a violent crackdown on the men and women peacefully protesting against his election fraud — should be a candidate for any office, let along the presidency of a country of nearly 50 million people.”
Yep, this Viktor guy leaves lots of dead people in his wake, and no one can or does anything about it.