Bits Bucket for January 9, 2013
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The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Sadly, we have a broad, highly paid group pushing hard for a housing “recovery” which simply doesn’t exist.
The facts are;
-Housing Prices Are falling
-Housing Demand is at 15 year lows
-Housing inventory is massive in the tens of millions of excess empty houses
-Housing prices are grossly inflated… and falling
Those who do not already get it can’t hear you!
We have a grow-or-die economy that, despite trillions of dollars of debt thrown at it over the past couple of years, is shrinking.
Stimulis is now I think producing negative returns. Let’s see how tax increases kick it.
The audience doesn’t matter. The platform does and the platform will be shared.
‘We have a grow-or-die economy that, despite trillions of dollars of debt thrown at it over the past couple of years, is shrinking’
Here’s a NYT article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/business/a-bold-dissenter-at-the-fed-hoping-his-doubts-are-wrong.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
IMO it’s meant to show how good old professor types are hashing out ‘policy.’ But outside of that a few things can be picked up:
‘for the last several years, Mr. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, has warned repeatedly that the central bank’s extraordinary efforts to stimulate growth are ineffective and inappropriate and, worst of all, that the Fed is undermining its hard-won ability to control inflation.’
”We’re at the limits of our understanding of how monetary policy affects the economy,” Mr. Lacker said in a recent interview in his office atop the bank’s skyscraper here. “Sometimes when you test the limits you find out where the limits are by breaking through and going too far.”
See, the fallacy of this reasoning is that as long as inflation is low, the Fed can print as much as it wants. This ignores the now decades long deflation we are in, and the many negative results of money creation, intervention, etc. But here’s where the Fed starts to sound like a cult:
“That sense of caution is deeply frustrating to proponents of the Fed’s recent efforts. The economists Christina D. Romer and David H. Romer wrote in a paper published last month that such pessimism about the power of monetary policy is “the most dangerous idea in Federal Reserve history.”
“The view that hubris can cause central bankers to do great harm clearly has an important element of truth,” wrote the Romers, both professors at the University of California, Berkeley. “But the hundred years of Federal Reserve history show that humility can also cause large harms.”
The same Christine Romer who was head of Obama’s economic team?? The one that bailed out when the “Do whatever it takes” to “fix the economy”?
Why do the people in the press put these morons in front of us to tell us what they think?
I guess Krugman has been overplayed and the public has grown tired of him.
Oh. Wait. Krugman is being proposed as a replacement for Geithner, so maybe they need a new “guru” to promote government waste as good public policy.
Bernanke has PROVEN that he is incompetent. Every prognostication from his deep intellectual caverns of knowledge has proven to be completely wrong. So, why do we go on listening to him. He should have been canned when he came up for re-appointment.
I guess the only reason is that he tells politicians what they want to hear. And, even if he is wrong, then the Politburo has someone else to blame.
He is, after all, an “expert”.
No matter what bizarro world policy these guys implement, or how bad the effects, they can always assure everyone who will listen that things would have otherwise turned out far worse.
The other propaganda tool which I notice the central planners like to employ is to put a massive subsidy into play (e.g. $40 bn / month in Fed-funded MBS purchases) then pretend that the resulting effects were due to grass-roots economic recovery, rather than top-down life support measures. “Ignore the man behind the curtain.”
“Ignore the man behind the curtain.”
Same goes for the automobile industry, which would be forced to lower prices if the fed didn’t buy the risky loans.
Krugman is being proposed as a replacement for Geithner
That’s a nightmare scenario if I ever heard of one.
When Krugman wrote an article about “why crude oil is not in a bubble” while prices were approaching $150 per barrel, he lost me forever. Guy is an asswipe.
When Krugman wrote an article about “why crude oil is not in a bubble” while prices were approaching $150 per barrel, he lost me forever. Guy is an asswipe.
uh huh. Krugman and his cast of liars are inflationistas and debt-pimps.
And do we all understand what a debt-pimp is?
Get money into the hands of consumers and they will spend it. One way to do this is to create jobs.
Jobs won’t be created on their own, there must be incentives for those with money to go out and create them - for their own interests if for no other reason.
Keeping interest rates low will create this reason, will force those with money and who depend on a good return on their money to stretch out a bit and put this money into active endeavors rather than settle for what the money will return passively.
(In theory, at least, but theory is all I’ve got to work with.)
“…rather than settle for what the money will return passively.”
The passive return is supposed to accrue to investments with real economic value. But once the dead horse has been beaten enough times, it’s hard to tell investments with real economic value from the financial rat holes, such as the present-day real estate sector.
Thanks for showing up, Bernanke, I’ve always wanted the opportunity to say f**k you in person.
“Thanks for showing up, Bernanke, I’ve always wanted the opportunity to say f**k you in person.”
+1 eleventygazillion.
“…both professors at the University of California, Berkeley.”
Sounds like the Romers are proponents of the Peter Pan school of economic thinking (”We can fly, we can fly,…”).
I think it would be interesting to study undergrad econ with the Romers & Reich at Berkeley and then do grad school at George Mason with Cowen/Boudreaux et al. Or some other jarring combination. It might even be a better perspective on things than going to HYP or MIT, which all have pretty balanced departments.
How about undergrad at Berkeley, then on to grad at Chicago? That salt-water to fresh-water habitat adjustment would bend your grey matter considerably!
Chicago seems to have broadened its perspectives more in recent years, not just in econ but across the board (I’m thinking of things like adding Brian Leiter to its law faculty, etc).
GMU seems to be the most libertarian-leaning among well-regarded Econ departments. It probably also helps that they made the leap to respected status within the last generation or so.
There is certainly some value to be had when your education isn’t necessarily “balanced”. My favorite professors tended to be zealous on certian issues and it made learning much more fun, even if their politics were a bit outside the mainstream.
Same here. My favorites were left or socialist even..the middle roaders were boring. And I’m a rightie, so go figure.
both professors at the University of California, Berkeley. ”
hahahaha
the economy is like an ecosystem. You can fertilize the ground to try and get corn to grow but may end up with a overgrowth of weeds instead.
these experts are all ego and no caution
You’d think economists would understand that dumping fertilizer right into the middle of the weed patch would increase weed growth. But evidently they don’t get it, as they target their stimulus dollars squarely at the overbuilt, overpriced real estate sector.
Go figure!
Maybe they like weed.
You called?
Stimulis is now I think producing negative returns
That is true in the aggregate but not true for certain groups. Debtors and those who hold the bad debt are getting positive returns while savers are being hosed. The debtors’ candidate won the presidency so don’t expect any change in Fed policy. The released minutes a few days ago was just show to keep down inflation expectations and hit assets like gold.
Since both candidates running were both well and truly in the pocket of the ‘debtors’, it didn’t matter who won as far as Fed policy is concerned.
You left one more important factor: more and more people cannot afford to buy a house.
Who killed turkey lurkey?
Why the Pilgrims, of course!
“The facts are;
-Housing Prices Are falling
-Housing Demand is at 15 year lows
-Housing inventory is massive in the tens of millions of excess empty houses
-Housing prices are grossly inflated… and falling”
Do you enjoy being horribly wrong ?
Refute it then. You won’t because you can’t. You can’t because;
Housing prices are falling-CHECK
Housing demand is at 1997 levels(15 years)-CHECK
Housing inventory is in fact at 20 million and growing-CHECK
Housing prices are still at 2004 levels… and falling-CHECK
Oxygen’s New Show “All My Babies’ Mamas” Makes Everyone Mad and it Hasn’t Even Aired
By Piper Weiss
Fri, Jan 4, 2013 4:21 PM EST
“All My Babies’ Mamas,” a one-hour reality special slated to air in the spring of 2013, features Carlos “Shawty Lo” Walker, an Atlanta-based hip-hop artist with 11 children by 10 different women. Oh, he’s also got a 19-year-old girlfriend, who’s a year shy of his oldest child.
By the looks of the leaked sneak peak and an early press release, the show’s take on this challenging family dynamic is more “Brady Bunch” than “An American Family.”
“As the household grows, sometimes so does the dysfunction, leaving the man of the house to split his affection multiple ways while trying to create order,” reads the goofy-sitcom-style description, in a press release posted the Oxygen’s website late December. “Will there be a conflict over a family holiday, who needs school supplies and who holds the household finance purse strings, or can these feisty babies’ mamas band together and live peacefully as one family unit?”
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/oxygens-show-babies-mamas-makes-everyone-mad-hasnt-212100389.html - 139k -
He reminds me of the Duggar cult and their 19 knuckle-dragging progeny. Except their TV show got cancelled.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HfSXLXtVnOI/SbvLyVKzqdI/AAAAAAAACOE/MArS5ewtiq4/s400/duggars.png
I would be more interested in the amount of money each of the women is receiving as government support. I doubt that the “baby daddy” is paying any of them anything and so he has created 10 “family units” that need housing, food, clothing, education, healthcare, etc.etc.
There is a government program to meet all those needs.
Please post all the income received by each of those family units from the “taxpayers” of Atlanta.
Obama Causes Welfare Chaos in Detroit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfGLB8LO1aM
I watched the whole thing. Lines and lines of people looking for that government hand-out, like trained Pavlovian puppies.
One question? Where were all the white people?
I know. I know. We are all “privileged” and don’t “need” assistance. We already had everything handed to us by the fairy princess of good fortune.
Yea. Right.
just like the last obewanna’s stimulus package…2500 job training and subsidized work slots in NYC….90% of it went to the parks dept which is 86% minority,the rest for security guards, ramp agents baggage handlers, Home health aides…..
No money for training on Final Cut pro or any AV programs, or even a paralegal program …nope we izz dee wrong color
One question? Where were all the white people?
One answer:
Not in downtown Detroit.
We are all “privileged” and don’t “need” assistance
You need assistance with your math, logic and geography.
…nope we izz dee wrong color
Dude, you’re American and white. You were born on third base.
Dude, you’re American and white. You were born on third base.
This is where the lies of the left are most apparent. We were born to European forebearers who migrated to America. The
“White” civilization was thousands of years in the making. It didn’t happen overnight.
What Europeans brought here in terms of education, tools and knowledge to build a Nation took centuries. The building out took only about 150 years.
That is our “heritage”. You, and people like you think America is a place where you
“move in” to provide “diversity”, but take all the benefit of all the work done before by other people.
That is what COUNTRIES are essential about.
They are the repository of the Culture and Race that built them.
Yes, America is being diluted by the “one world” delusion of “inclusiveness”. And it has not been a benefit, ergo the DEFICIT spending to keep up the appearance of Equality. Those people standing in line are parasites on America. The rest of us get to pay for it.
You celebrate that the “takeover” is well underway, but living like a Ugandan is not really a good thing. Moving All of Uganda, Burundi, Mexico, Guatamala and the rest of the third world into the formerly white majority countries will not make the country any better. Yes, it will make them richer and me poorer. I know this is a goal you relish. But to claim they have some “Right” to move in and take over and that “diversity” is our strength is pure hogwash.
It’s a silent revolution and stupid white people are watching passively as their heritage is snatched away and morons put into high places. Hip-hop artist?
Oh, pleeze.
But, like the Balkans, the Mixing is really a lie. Most people don’t want others imposing their ideologies/race/religion on them.
You keep your identity by State/ regional governments. Those are being forced into the “inclusive” doctrine of the past 30 years.
Bosnia-Serbia-Herzogovia-Georgia- or
Palestine/Israel, Ireland/British, Catholic/Protestant, Black/white. Jew/Muslim.
It all boils down to Separateness. More influx of the “strangers” only leads to more tension. Eventually, the melting-pot boils over.
“What Europeans brought here in terms of education, tools and knowledge to build a Nation took centuries….
America is a place where you “move in” to provide “diversity”, but take all the benefit of all the work done before by other people.
Not just moving in, but shipping out. Americans spent billions and decades developing telephone lines and computers and medical technologies, only to outsource the jobs and IP in less than a dozen years.
This is where the lies of the left are most apparent
It’s all fun and games until everyone figures out that the Chinese not only outnumber everyone, but their civilization has been around longer, and as a group they are smarter.
Ahhh, the last gasps of white privilege.
“…They are the repository of the Culture and Race that built them….”
Damn straight, Dio. America was literally built by Africans, Chinese, Mexicans, and the Scots/Irish criminal class with financing from European Jews.
The “White” civilization…It all boils down to Separateness. More….“strangers” only leads to more tension. Eventually, the melting-pot boils over.
Did you pen that post whilst listening to The Horst Wessel?
And here I thought it was the non-asian minorities who were born on third base, what with all the AA preferments.
Interesting man was Horst, liked to hang round with prostitutes; still I suppose prostitution is a part of all civilisations.
Whiteman’s Burden
Take up the White Man’s burden—
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go send your sons to exile
To serve your captives’ need
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child
Take up the White Man’s burden
In patience to abide
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple
An hundred times made plain
To seek another’s profit
And work another’s gain
Take up the White Man’s burden—
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard—
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah slowly) to the light:
“Why brought ye us from bondage,
“Our loved Egyptian night?”
Take up the White Man’s burden-
Have done with childish days-
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!
R Kipling
Good thing polygamy is outlawed in the U.S., and women have more influence in family and sexual matters thanks to 1970s feminism.
Given trends in the U.S. birth rate, we may need to institute polygamy some day soon.
Behold the primary source of future U.S. housing demand:
U.S. birth rate falls to record low as immigrant women choose to have smaller families as they aspire to join the upper middle class
By James Nye
PUBLISHED: 12:16 EST, 1 January 2013 | UPDATED: 12:21 EST, 1 January 2013
A new study has surprisingly shown up that Hispanic women have the steepest declining birthrates of any group in the United States.
Despite enjoying the highest fertility rates in the country, both immigrant and native-born Latinas are choosing to have smaller families - leaving them with bithrates smaller than non-Hispanic Whites, black and Asians.
The new figures have led in part to the total number of American births for 2011 falling to a record low - and around half of what it was during the baby boom years.
…
In Mexico, the birth rate is now down to two per woman. Educational attainment is also on the rise.
Furthermore, Mexico now has the world’s 14th largest economy. Look for this country to transition from Third World to First World status within a generation.
Look for this country to transition from Third World to First World status within a generation.
While I hope you are right, Mexico has been threatening to make that transition since the 1950’s.
Like Slim, I think they will make it this time.
Like Slim, I think they will make it this time ??
I agree….If we are going to out-source for cheeper labor and land may as well do it on the other side of the fence instead of the other side of the Ocean…
I want to believe but the whole narco thing going on down there blows my mind.
Given human beings’ insatiable appetite for altered mental states, the Narcos may very well become the world’s foremost superpower.
the Narcos may very well become the world’s foremost superpower ??
The Narcos aren’t squat compared to the Pharma’s…
The Narcos aren’t squat compared to the Pharma’s…
We’ll see about that once their armies are similar in size and effectiveness.
Pharmas don’t own resorts and hotels on the coast of Mexico.
Been there; enjoyed that. Far too dangerous now.
This IS polygamy, only without the marriage part.
MiddleCoaster has it.
Note that at least some of the “outrage” about the “without marriage” part is from the marriage-industrial complex. They are OWED at least $20K from each woman that they aren’t getting. Not to mention the divorce lawyers. I’m guessing we’ll have a bailout soon enough.
Think of all those starving DJs in NYC because baby mamas aren’t getting married… I’m sure Obama can do something to help them.
11 children by 10 different women ??
Talk to me twenty years from now when those children are in their 30’s…I am not sure who is more deranged this “Hip-Hop” dude or the the women that are willing to bed-down with him…Here is a quote from “Shawty-Low”;
“You can hate all you want to, I didn’t ask for it. It just happened. Now that it happened, I’m supposed to turn my back against it?” Shawty Lo told MTV News about his 11 children and untraditional family structure. “If I wasn’t taking care of my kids then you would really dog me out, but I’m taking care of my kids, providing for my family. I don’t know what else to say. … I take care of all my kids. … Outta all the 10 baby mamas, I just have problems outta one. That’s it. She has two kids by me, and she feel like I’m supposed to do more for her kids, and she don’t wanna work. She just want me to straight take care of them, but it’s all love. I handle it.” (MTV)
Dude, those women aren’t deranged at all; they were smart enough to bed down with a multimillionaire. And this Shawty Lo doesn’t sound deranged either. Actually he sounds like a pretty stand-up guy:
If I wasn’t taking care of my kids then you could really dog me out
She feel like I’m supposed to do more for her kids and she don’t wanna work.
Mothers pitching in and fathers providing for the family…A little language work and the Republicans could groom Shawty for office.
It just happened.
I guess they had some really good sex-ed classes at his school.
He doesn’t know where they come from.
“I take care of all my kids.”
Wow, straight out of a classic Chris Rock bit.
Chris Rock is in his 40s, married for 16 years to the same woman who runs a non-profit. They have 2 daughters. He made his documentary “Good Hair” to try to understand some of the social issues they would face when they got older.
” He made his documentary “Good Hair” to try to understand some of the social issues they would face when they got older.”
I don’t doubt it!
The guy that Alexandra Pelosi talked to only had 4 “Baby Mamas” But my favorite is the stoned white chick that says “it`s just food, it`s like food”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU-VpgpE3uw - 183k -
Black Welfare Mother with 15 Kids says “Somebody Needs to Pay for all my Children!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0QBD6CXgdo
She deserves respect for being able to frame a complete sentence after having 15 children.
Too bad she can’t conjugate verbs, only relationships, however long they may be.
That’s Racist®
Been to Utarr lately? At least this lady’s 15 welfare kids weren’t sired by their great grandpa.
Black Welfare Mother with 15 Kids says
All black people are like that and all white people are like this:
Caution, ignorance and profanity:
Redneck Wants To Impeach Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlNQ5gZVytk
You know DJ, I was thinking about your credit card idea the other day. While I still don’t think we should have done it, compared to what we have done it does seem better. We have gone six trillion dollars more in debt as a nation the last four years and still have close to 8% stated unemployment with no real recovery in sight.
Ignoring illegals, the government could have sent every man, woman and child $20,000 for six trillion. A family of five would have received $100,000. With this money they could pay the mortgage, buy a car etc. Had we done this is 2009, we would have had a V shaped recovery with people reemployed and becoming tax payers instead of on unemployment for years.
I opposed it at the time because I think we should have something to show for governmental expenditures but I look around now and can’t really see anything we have accomplished with the six trillion in debt, we might as well have pis*ed it away giving it to our citizens.
Having second thoughts about trickle-down?
Thanks Dan
I wish i could have found a way to use this “gift” of being ahead of everyone else….instead of being fired.
Think of it as that seeing that one DNA molecule that causes cancer or autism and eliminating it..
Thats why i try my best not to get mad or get personal…..i expect the flak.
While I still don’t think we should have done it, compared to what we have done it does seem better.
Yeah, that’s the sad part. Lots of bad ideas would have been better than what we ended up doing. Including just paying off everyone’s mortgage by a percentage.
Sorry for the dumb question, but doesn’t flooding the country with X amount of dollars cause prices to rise by X? Or something.
I realize that’s what the govt tried to do its way, but I wonder if they are still sitting on a lot of it.
Montana nobody would actually get cash, one day you wake up and you have a lot less debt…ergo more cash to spend
Montana, the short answer to your question is yes. But we have the inflation already due to the spending of the three trillion, for example the price of gas is still almost double what it was when Obama first took over. As I said it is not that I think that it would have been the correct policy, just that it would be better than what we have done which in my opinion is just spend three trillion with the only impact really being the conversion of bad debt from private hands to the public’s hands.
P.S that would under my version where the govt just sent out the money. DJ, apparently, would just have debt paid off, I do not understand his proposal enough to comment on it.
I was thinking if you have a credit card at the $5000 limit, and one day you wake up and its has only a $2000 balance…..
Do you rush out and spend the $3k or keep it as an emergency cushion cutting your monthly payment by 60%?
What about people who don’t have any credit card debt? What about people who have lots of credit cards? What about illegal immigrants with multiple credit cards?
I’ve told you over and over. Your idea cannot be administered. Can’t be. They had a hard enough time passing out $300 through the tax system and even then, they missed a bunch of folks because they don’t file tax returns because their income is below the filing limit.
I presume you missed the other hand outs because you don’t pay taxes because you are making all your money under the table and that is why you are so determined to have this one be done through credit cards. It is the only thing that makes sense. Can’t be done that way therefore it won’t be done. End of story.
“I was thinking if you have a credit card at the $5000 limit, and one day you wake up and its has only a $2000 balance…..
Do you rush out and spend the $3k or keep it as an emergency cushion cutting your monthly payment by 60%?”
OMFG, dude.
I haven’t never seen someone so bent out of shape over $3k of unsecured debt. Holy frick.
but if you multiply it by tens of millions of people…..it adds up to a lot of bottom up stimulus
How do you make sure that everyone gets it and no one get it more than once? What agency administers it? How the heck do you accomplish it?
You never answer my question. Never. So what am I to do but assume you have no answer.
By ss # by voter registration, by state ID…..anything is better then what we got….all debt and still no jobs
From the state the produced USA’s first communist muslim president:
“Illinois lawmakers missed another chance to restructure the worst-funded retirement system in the nation, officially ending their 2012 session yesterday without acting measures to shore up pensions.
In failing to deal with a $97 billion unfunded liability that rises by $17 million each day, Illinois risks more downgrades from bond-rating companies, which have urged the state to stem the ballooning deficits. The inability to broker a solution mirrored a special legislative session that ended almost five months ago with nothing accomplished.”
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-09/illinois-lawmakers-fail-to-act-on-fixing-pension-deficits.html
Nothing will get accomplished.
The only way out of this mess for Illinois is to tell the public unions that their insane pensions have to be cut.
But public unions are the LARGEST cash contributors to the democratic party. A biggest supporters.
So no democrat wants to be the bad guy.
And so they will ride this to oblivion for Illinois taxpayers.
And then blame Bush.
And demand a federal bailout.
You don’t know much about pension plan plumbing, do you? I’d go so far as to suggest that you are utterly ignorant on the subject.
Now will everyone understand we must have total public financing of elections where each candidate gets the exact same amount
Everyone starts with say $1 million for representatives position who ever asks for the Second million triggers it for all of them…..so if you want to spend $100 million then the libertarians get the same amount too.
It will be a race to the bottom and lots more time door to door and local civic activities to get the vote out, since money wont matter much if its equal.
But public unions are the LARGEST cash contributors to the democratic party. A biggest supporters.
“Now will everyone understand we must have total public financing of elections where each candidate gets the exact same amount ”
Everyone and what Supreme Court?
Surely DJ is referencing the appointments his boy Romney would’ve made…
Polly Joe what if the right to lifers got the same $$$$ as romney would you be happy?
You can’t tell people that they are not allowed to use money they receive from sources other than the government in a political campaign. The public financing we have is a voluntary system. I’m honestly surprised this Supreme Court hasn’t declared all limits on donations unconstitutional.
So, where are you going to find a Congress to pass the law you want? Where are you going to find a Supreme Court to say it is constitutional?
Aw heck, 2b, even wealthy Republican towns like Lake Forest have contributed to the pension mess by ’spiking’ teacher pay in their last years before retirement, which raises their annual pension. The excess is funded NOT by the town or the school district but by the state. Feeble efforts to turn the responsibility for funding back on the school district, where it belongs, have been shot down. Everybody’s in on the game.
Poway Ca knows what to do
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/article_c83343e8-ddd5-11e1-bfca-001a4bcf887a.html
borrow money that does not need to be paid back until well after you have retired and moved away or died
Or does Poway know that big debtors get off free just like over borrowing for a house?
maybe it’s the lenders who are the stupid ones here?
The Bernanke’s low-rate policies are working!
WSJ - Americans Get Moving Amid Torpid Recovery:
“Americans began striking out for greener pastures at a pace not seen since before the recession crippled job prospects, hobbled home sales and kept many stuck in place.
About 3.9% of the population, or 11.8 million people, moved to a different county in 2011, new Census figures show. That was the highest level since before the recession, and up from 3.5% in 2010 and 2009 — the lowest level since the government began the tally in 1948.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323706704578230003067762648.html
Appears that high wealth people from California may be leading the charge recently:
http://www.examiner.com/article/california-revenue-declines-since-passage-of-prop-30
Looks like the old white guy they really need to lose is the Guv.
The newest squadette went west from her lifelong home of Colorado a year ago only to realize after several months that California was not the utopia she expected. She is back in Colorado now to stay
The number one reason I will never return to California is the price of housing. Number two is the crowding. I don’t miss sitting in a stationary car on the freeway.
If it wasn’t so crowded and housing so insanely expensive, I would return.
The price of housing is probably is much bigger component of the high cost of living than taxes are in California. The people leaving CA are most likely looking for an affordable house rather than lower taxes.
people leaving CA are most likely looking for an affordable house rather than lower taxes ??
California is HUGE…..There are plenty of places that could be considered affordable…I just saw this morning a house in Merced…2780 square feet…$100,000…
IMO, for many that are leaving its as much about “white-flight” then it is about housing affordability…You may be able to find that affordable house in California but you also may not be confortable with your neighbors or your city for that matter….
And, I say this without even the slightest of ethnic bigotry…I grew up in a Portuguese neighborhood…Many of my childhood friends (including my wife) were not allowed to venture into my area…So, we have a rich history of ethnic groups settling in neighborhoods that reflect their ethnicity…
I see it all the time around here with the new groups of Indian & asian immigrants…They all head for the same neighborhood…A friend of mine is the facilities manager for a 400 unit apartment complex…He told me just the other day that at least 80% of the complex is Indian…There some reason that “whites” do not like this beautiful apartment complex with every amenity imaginable ??
So back to “white-flight”…Does it seem odd than many move to oregon, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, Carolina’s or Florida ?? I don’t think so…Its easy to find affordable neighborhoods in those locals that look just like you…
>>California is HUGE…..There are plenty of places that could be considered affordable…I just saw this morning a house in Merced…2780 square feet…$100,000<<
Except that there aren’t any good jobs in places like Merced, which is why you can get a big house there for 100K.
meh….. Back in 1992 I was offered a pretty sweet deal for a 10 year project in Merced.
Thats why NYC is fine…24 hr subways and buses and cabs
We drive all around Manhattan on Christmas day get to see a lot of the city we can visit later on the subways…..stop to get brunch….makes for a very pleasant day if the weather is nice
Man that sounds like fun. Always wanted to go, never did.
Id recommended it to everyone at least once…just like watching the macys fireworks up close
Almost no traffic, lots of free parking spaces drive down wall st….tribeca soho…up the west side stop at some parks…..we started that at least 12 years ago.. see a few friends..its the least amount of traffic day…..new years day is pretty dead till the afternoon…..and early sunday mornings you can get parking spaces on 5th ave. across from central park.
Off the Grid (so to speak)
I am just left AT&T Phone/DSL and DirecTV and I want to share the results with the HBBers. I am and going with high speed cable internet, Ooma phone, Roku internet TV, Simple TV DVR (digital video recorder) and an airwave antennae!
My old bill: Phone was $45, DSL was $38, and DirecTV was $70 for a total of $153/mon
My new bill: Ooma is $9/mon (for two phone lines and great service), cable internet is $40 (goes to $50 in 1-year), airwave TV is free (and the picture quality is unbelievable…better then satellite!), Roku is free and I subscribe to Netflicks for $8/mon. Total monthly cost: $57/mon! I save $1,152/year.
The total cost to set this up? Ooma $0 (but $9/mon), airwave antennae $40 (plus misc cable), Roku $220 (two units), Simple TV DVR $200. Total cost = $460.
I should have done this years ago!
I read about simple TV, but I’m not sure I get how it works. Can you walk us through how these fit together and what each does?
Simple TV records air broadcast digital TV.
You need an antennae and good reception. Go buy an indoor antennae at Walmart or Target and try it at your house (must have a digital TV). If it works well, you are set. I actually took back the indoor antennae and traded it for an outdoor set up (with a signal booster indoors) just to insure good reception. I then used the existing cable set up to run the signal to all my TVs. The picture is astoundingly good….better than DirecTV!.
When I got the Simple TV hardware, I registered with the company and hooked up to the internet and the antennae signal. It took a bit to work out the bugs (reset, try this, reset, try that, etc.) but now it works great and records all the shows my wife and I like to watch. Simple TV requires external storage, so I bought a Western Digital 1 terabyte hard drive (forgot to include in my set up costs above, so add another $100). Imagine, 1 terabyte in a box the size of a deck of cards…for $100 no less. Mind blowing.
Roku accesses the Simple TV box wirelessly (though I use my wired access on the main TV, just because it is there). It works the same way you obtain Netflicks. Log on to Roku, seach, register and select.
I have ordered a second Roku for my bedroom TV, so we can watch the recorded shows in the bedroom at night.
The only drawback may be the access to sports networks like ESPN. I am not a big sports fanantic, so I don’t know if there are options on the internet to pull up sports not on the main networks. I am guessing there are, but if not, it may be a non-starter for sports addicts.
Otherwise, invest $500 and toss away about $1200 in annual costs! You can find all this hardware with google searches which lead you to Simple TV, Roku, antennaes, antennae broadcast sites for available airwave reception analysis, and external storage hardware. It took me about 20 hours of effort and for $1200 a year savings, I consider that a good use of my time!
Damn. We are in direct sight of both towers here, but our OTA reception is terrible, keeps freezing up for minutes at a time. Unless someone stands right by the TV and holds the rabbit ears or something.
Really disappointing because I hate cable, and I heard satellite internet is awful.
Do you have an outside antenna?
No. Is that what we need? We tried two different rabbit ear thingies and my husband kinda dragged his heels on outdoor. Isn’t there something you can put in the attic?
the rabbit ears work OK in NYC but i could get a cheap amplified one and put it on a window inside…get more channels…here are some:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/TV-Video-Accessories/TV-Antennas/abcat0107004.c?id=abcat0107004
Too much signal can cause a problem too. Check out this article on antennas from the IEEE Spectrum magazine:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/antennas-for-the-new-airwaves/0
Oh and the Ooma phone is just a VOIP system that plugs into the internet. It has all sorts of great features like call forwarding, text alert for each VM, answering service, etc. I use it for my work line too.
One important key to all this: You need a good internet service with a high band width. I had DSL which was 2Mbs and when I got cable internet, it went to 20Mbs. You can google “interet speed” and it will take you to sites that measure your internet speed.
Paging Ben: I just posted a question about Ooma, which Jingle Male just answered. Go ahead and delete my question.
Okay, jingling guy and everyone else here, I just tested my Internet speed via Speedtest.net. Here’s how my cable ‘net did:
Download speed: 20.55 Mbps
Upload speed: 2.33 Mbps
Think this would work with Ooma phone?
My current phone is quite elderly, and I’ve heard quite a few comments about how it sounds to people on the other end. Time to upgrade my sound, if you get my drift.
20 down and just 2 up?
That’s… odd.
20 down and just 2 up?
That’s… odd.
I thought so too. ISTR reading that the upload and download speeds are supposed to be about equal.
No, upload is normally throttled quite a bit to prevent piracy. If you want higher ul speeds, you normally must pay for a higher tier.
Yeah, most people need way more download speed and very little upload speed. The exception is if you’re running a server, and you’ll pay extra for a symmetrical connection. I think it’s more about money than preventing piracy.
Yeah, most people need way more download speed and very little upload speed. The exception is if you’re running a server, and you’ll pay extra for a symmetrical connection. I think it’s more about money than preventing piracy.
Thank you, Carl Morris, for this explanation.
My computer came with native 3G RAM. I added a 4G stick as an F: drive and speed increased. Will I get higher performance if I add a 16G, 32G, or even 64G stick dedicated to RAM?
Thanks in advance!
robin you will and maybe you wont…if you use the latest graphic intensive programs or are a heavy duty gamer, video producer…yes it will matter…
You might be ready for the next Jedi control freak level:
Ford and the EV-Backed, Solar-Powered, Cloud-Controlled Home
http://energy.aol.com/2013/01/09/ford-and-the-ev-backed-solar-powered-cloud-controlled-home/
Yeah, I want MY home AND car hacked.
Nissan is working on a system that can actually power a home via the battery in its Leaf electric sedan.
A friend lost electricity during Sandy and powered the house sump pump with his plain old Toyota truck. However, he’s a bit of a welder/motorhead so he knew how to do it. I guess Nissan is developing the For Dummies version.
This integrated system is supposed to fine tune the car and energy star appliances in concert so that they minimize electricity use. For example, the car charger would turn on and off in response to electricity demand to minimize the price of a charge. Who designed this stuff? Wall Street traders?
And I will NEVER trust a company that calls this system “MyEnergi.” That is like so 2002.
Is Ooma phone in the VoIP business? If so, I’m interested. Vonage is starting to approach RBOC pricing levels. And I signed up with Vonage to get away from my old RBOC, Qwest.
WSJ - A California Drought: Not Enough Children
“In 1970, six years after the end of the baby boom, children made up more than one-third of California’s population. By 2030, they will account for just one-fifth, according to projections by lead author Dowell Myers, a USC demographer. “We have a massive replacement problem statewide,” Mr. Myers said in an interview.
California’s demographic shift mirrors that of many Northeast and Midwest states, including New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan, where the percentage of children fell even more sharply from 2000 to 2010.
In 1970, California averaged 21 seniors for every 100 working-age adults. By 2030, that ratio is expected to rise to 36 seniors per 100 working-age adults, according to the report. That retirement wave will place “massive pressure on institutions and programs for an aging population,” the report said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323706704578227920843309466.html
When you tax kids and having kids and the people who have kids…
People and their kids go somewhere else.
Now you have a state full of geezers with an entitlement mentality and illegals with an entitlement mentality.
Good luck balancing the books.
“When you tax kids and having kids and the people who have kids…”
Isn’t Octo-Mom a sunshine deserving golden-state girl?
But if there are indeed fewer kids in Cali then doesn’t that mean:
Fewer public schools and hence fewer teachers and support staff.
Possibly less food stamp payouts?
Now you have a state full of geezers with an entitlement mentality and illegals with an entitlement mentality.
I think all states have those. Geezers everywhere, while riding their gov’t paid scooters at Tea Party rallies, wave signs that say “Government keep your hands off my Medicare”
As for the illegals, we can thank our local chambers of commerce and its members for hiring the illegals. If no one hired them, they would go home (and in fact, many are going home due to the lack of jobs).
I wish the right could make its mind up on illegals. On one hand they “do the jobs no one else will do” (or so we have been told) by on the other hand they are welfare moochers. They say we should deport them (which I agree with) but then they just keep hiring them. They cost taxpayers about 1 billion a year in the Centennial state, while the employers who hire them reap the rewards of the cheap labor.
The right is not a monolith. There are definitely different different factions - the libertarian/big business group who want cheap labor subsidized by the govt, and culural conservatives and blue collar people who are losing their jobs, or know people who cannot work, or white collar who are losing out to Chindian HB-1 workers. The unions used to be on this side..don’t know what happened to them.
“Not Enough Children”
Who in their right mind would try to raise a family in this anti-business, anti-productivity state? (Speaking from experience — it ain’t easy!)
Raising kids is pretty much expensive anywhere you go: food, clothes, medical bills, childcare, etc. are expensive everywhere. The one thing you might save some money on is housing.
This is NOT a problem. This is the ZERO POPULATION growth model in action. For decades groups have been screaming about sustainable development, overpopulation, and resource depletion.
The other side of the coin is that current retirees rely on Population growth, resource depletion and MORE development to keep up the “growth”.
No growth? No Medicare. No SS. No government support payments.
We must grow or die.
Conversely we can print money and inject it into the economy to make it feel like “GDP” is moving up and therefore “growth” is happening, when in fact, we are just passing money around to consume the same resources, same houses, same jobs.
There’s a problem here, somewhere?
we are just passing money around to consume the same resources, same houses, same jobs.
There’s a problem here, somewhere?
We’re not “passing money around”. Most of that money has gone, is going and will go to the very few very rich.
That’s the problem. If a country is going to print money like crazy, it’s crazy that the money only reaches one out of every three hundred people or so. If that money reached Main Street instead of just Wall Street, we’d have economic results that would more justify printing all that money.
If that money reached Main Street instead of just Wall Street, we’d have economic results that would more justify printing all that money…..
More Krugman like tautologies (dreams).
Yes, we would. WE would be the new Zimbabwe.
More money, same stuff, higher prices.
The opposite of Wal-mart.
Yes, we would. WE would be the new Zimbabwe.
Why? We already printed the money. It’s already done. Why would America be Zimbabwe if the money went to the people instead of Wall Street? Why?
Are you just making this stuff up as you go along?
Exactly. The money is already in existence, but it is NOT being circulated.
Our economy is 75% consumer driven. We CANNOT keep driving down wages and expect things to EVER get better.
Oh well, Marie Antoinette didn’t get it either.
“Our economy is 75% consumer driven…”
How can it be 75% consumer, 20% finance, 40% government, 25% lumber and mining, & etc.?
” Why would America be Zimbabwe if the money went to the people instead of Wall Street? ”
Because real people would actually spend the money they get instead of letting it pile up in a giant hoard in their offshore self-directed IRAs?
“we’d have economic results that would more justify printing all that money.”
complete magical thinking
“we’d have economic results that would more justify printing all that money.”
complete magical thinking
Yea. Supply and demand is pretty hard to figure out. Google it.
This is NOT a problem. This is the ZERO POPULATION growth model in action
Agreed. But there will be a painful adjustment period. It bothers me to no end that lower population is only seen as a “problem”.
+1
My 2012 investment portfolio returns weren’t stellar, but I at least did better than these guys did.
Published: Jan. 8, 2013 Updated: 1:43 p.m.
CalPERS fiscal-2012 investments net tiny return
By MORGAN COOK / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The giant investment fund that feeds the state’s public employee retirement system contributed far less than expected to the pension kitty last year, fueling a long-standing debate over how much the system can — or should — rely on investments to cover retirement costs in the long haul.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS, expects a 7.5 percent annualized rate of return on its more than $200 billion in investments. The expectation was revised downward last year from 7.75 percent, which was CalPERS’ expectation for more than a decade.
But in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, the system got just a 0.14-percent net return on its billions in investments, according to CalPERS’ Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the 2011-12 fiscal year. The fund ended the fiscal year with $237 billion, down from $241 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.
…
My best portfolio move of 2012: Made a massive shift into REITs when I heard the Fed was going all-in to reflate housing.
That part of my portfolio is up by over 10%…
Thats only a $17.7B miss!
Will any heads roll?
——-
$240B base - 7.5% expected return = $18B
$240B base - 0.14% actual return = $0.3B
And that’s before bonuses are paid!
I’ve met a few fund “manangers”.
You would be shocked at just how stupid many of them are. The ONLY reason they have their jobs is because of their connections or their ability to keep quiet about the kickbacks.
I get caught by this all the time, they report on a fiscal year ending June 30. The results are tabulated and reported near year end, but if you are going to compare your returns, you need to look at 7-1-11 to 6-30-12. I bet you didn’t make 10%
Well maybe we can get “shawty-Low” Walker to move from Atlanta to California to help us out with the imbalance…
Associated Press - U.S. company pays Iraqi $5 million in Abu Ghraib case:
“A defense contractor whose subsidiary was accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to torture detainees at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has paid $5.28 million to 71 former inmates held there and at other U.S.-run detention sites between 2003 and 2007.
The settlement in the case involving Engility Holdings Inc of Chantilly, VA, marks the first successful effort by lawyers for former prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers to collect money from a U.S. defense contractor in lawsuits alleging torture. Another contractor, CACI, is expected to go to trial over similar allegations this summer.”
Does the private sector still do everything better?
The public sector and private sector are pretty blurred these days, in which does Corzine belong and how do you get his protections from legal process both criminal and civil?
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mf-global-judge-nixes-customer-groups-bid-depose-195035621–sector.html
Totally agreed. My view of the Chicago Economics School knee-jerk conclusion that the private sector always trumps the public sector is that the distinction is so blurred anymore as to be nearly meaningless. We are living in the crony capitalism era, so get over it…
… while not having to admit any guilt.
Well, in thier defense, there is no real evidence the people they tortured are the same ones that are suing.
I wasn’t online yesterday until late last night, so missed all the posts. I did note that there was some criticism of my view that “Public” employees are grossly overpaid in both salary and “benefits”, and that the retirement system was a joke.
The countervailing view was given by a few personal anecdotes from people who knew people who had less glorious jobs and benefits. My main objection is that the “public sector” relies on the “private sector” and that the imbalance of the past 20 years has gotten out of hand, and that Public employees have a sense of entitlement like welfare queens, with COLA increases when everyone else is going backward.
We were focused on “education”, and I don’t know about Ohio. In Florida, for all my decades growing up and living here the constant complaint was that FLORIDA DIDN”T PAY AS WELL as other States and couldn’t attract the best “talent”. I Called BS, but people in Universities live in Universities and life there is nicely insulated from reality.
In Florida, the latest data I have is that our University system employees about 52,000 people, including all staff from Janitors, clerks, administrators and Professors. That’s the 11- state run Colleges. When I was at UF, that was greater than the entire student population, which was something over 40,000.
Here is a breakdown of ALL pay for all employees.
It doesn’t include benefit packages, it also doesn’t tell you what HOURLY schedule the people worked.
You can assume most custodial workers are putting in 40 hours. However, when i took classes from FULL Professors, some had 2 classes per week, meeting 3 times a week for an hour, and an additional 4 to 6 hours per week of “office hours”.
They were paid as FULL TIME employees. They don’t put in 40 hour weeks. And like all “teachers”, they claim they put in more because of all the outside work they do.
I went through the salary posting and the bottom 20%, based on number of records have salaries at or below $20,000. You can’t tell the actual pay rate because you don’t know if they were new hires, worked part-time or were FULL time, all year. The very back end has pay in the Hundreds of dollars, probably new hires or temp. workers.
The top 20% start at around $80,000 and include all kinds of staff. I took a random page, and Professors and Asst. Professors are included alongside Coordinators, Instructors, Program Directors, Research Associate, Engineer/Scientist, etc, etc. Lots of good-paying jobs at our Universities.
The BEST JOB goes to a Professor here in Tampa at USF in the Medical College and he gets $1.2 Million a year. The top 40 to 50 people, mostly Professors are in the $300,000 to $500,000 range, so they are the exceptional ones. There are pages of people in the $200,000 range, mostly professors, but some Staff, including University Vice Presidents and titles and positions like that.
Here is the link:
http://databases.sun-sentinel.com/Orlando/ftlaudosuniversities/ftlauduniversities_list.php?goto=1
“…with COLA increases when everyone else is going backward.”
If you post a falsehood often enough, perhaps it will become a truth?
‘Fiscal cliff’ deal leaves federal employees with uncertainty
‘Really, do we have to go through that again?’ union leader asks
January 03, 2013|By Joe Davidson, The Washington Post
Congressional action to avert a “fiscal cliff” of higher taxes and across-the-board federal budget cuts means that government agencies will avoid many dreaded spending reductions — at least for now.
But “now” is no more than two months. The future remains uncertain for federal employees because the legislation, passed less than 24 hours into 2013, delays the budget reductions known as sequestration only until early March.
…
Meanwhile, the new year began with a familiar Republican resolution: Hit federal employee pay. As one of its first acts of 2013, the House passed separate GOP-sponsored legislation that would extend the freeze on basic federal pay rates through the end of this year.
The debate continues while taxpayers and federal workers watch.
“I still have a lot of uncertainty about the sequester,” said Ruthie Jefferson, a Federal Aviation Administration employee in College Park, Ga. “We don’t know where it is going to lead us as far as furloughs. It’s kind of unnerving.”
William R. Dougan, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said, “The proposed fiscal cliff solution is a bad deal for federal employees. The most important federal workforce issue of our generation — sequestration — continues to hang over the head of federal employees throughout government.”
The only thing that is certain, said Carol A. Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association, “is that managing agency budgets and programs is not for the faint of heart.”
Although “the operations of government will not immediately change, federal agencies continue to face reductions in resources for the remainder of fiscal 2013,” said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union.
J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said his members “are very concerned about the use of additional agency funding cuts in order to pay for the delay of the sequester. How agencies will achieve these amounts is not clear in the language of the bill. Before they look any further at unpaid furloughs or other cuts to critical agency programs, [the Office of Management and Budget] “should sharply reduce the amount taxpayers provide to federal contractors for excessive salaries for their top executives.”
Basic federal pay rates have been frozen for two years. Employees are expecting minimal relief with a 0.5 percent pay raise after a temporary budget measure expires in March. But legislation introduced by Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick and approved Tuesday evening would continue the pay freeze for federal employees through the end of 2013.
…
Oh. You didn’t get yours?
Well, not everyone got them, but most did, except Federal workers, where Obama put in a freeze for a year.
The Freeze is over. Raises for everyone.
And, yes, we need “revenue enhancement” to pay for it. That’s Democratic “code talk” for tax increases.
Federal freeze is now three years and counting.
in 2012, muni employees in my little burg received their first pay increase in three years, about 3% on average. And that only happened because local revenues grew by more than 10% (mostly fueled by sales tax revenue growth). With the SS Tax holiday over, I wouldn’t be surprised if sales tax revenue doesn’t grow this year, so no raises again.
Stop trying to derail the meme with pesky facts!
“The Freeze is over. Raises for everyone.”
Less ranting and more sources, please. Otherwise we will have to conclude you make up everything you say here.
http://news.wfsu.org/post/fsu-raises-salaries-cushion-pension-payments
Tallahassee, FL – Florida State University President Dr. Eric Barron is proposing a three-percent salary increase for university employees. Lynn Hatter reports, the increase will partially offset the state-mandated three percent employees pay into their retirement starting on the first. But Barron says the increase make good on a promise he made last year.
Barron is also looking to give bonuses between 500 and two-thousand dollars to some employees. The university’s 31-million dollar deficit would be reduced by cutting administrative costs and not people, leaving the school with a deficit of between 7 and 10 million dollars at the end of the 2012 fiscal year. That will require the university to dip into its savings. But Barron says there’s no doubt in his mind that the pay increases are worth it.
“My believe is that if we can stabilize our budget and not sustain any more cuts from the state, then we can reach a point where we’re starting to invest in innovation and making sure that other university’s don’t come in and take our talent.”
Florida State has lost more than 104-million dollars in the last four years.
End of article.
So, they had to pay more into their retirement, but, then they didn’t.
There’s lot’s of stuff online. I noted that South Dakota also Froze their pay for 3 years, so are proposing a 4% increase this year.
And poor Penn State has only gotten 1% average raises the past few years, so wants an increase, too.
Here is a post from this years Budget:
The proposed budget keeps tuition at the lowest possible level without sacrificing quality.
In aggregate, undergraduate tuition will increase by 2.4 percent, in spite of no increase in state
funding. For the Commonwealth Campuses, the tuition increase for both lower division
Pennsylvania resident and non-resident students will be 1.9 percent. The tuition increase for
lower division non-resident students at University Park will be 2.4 percent, while the increase
for lower division resident students at University Park will be 2.9 percent. The 2.4 percent
aggregate increase will be among the lowest in the nation.
The 2012-13 budget includes funds to provide for modest salary increases following the
past two years when most faculty and staff have seen their salaries increase by no more than
one percent.
The budget also includes funds for increases in health care premiums, rapidly rising costs
related to the University’s mandated contribution for its employees participating in the State
Employees’ Retirement System (SERS),………
http://www.budget.psu.edu/…/July%202012%20BOT%20Report%20-%20...
There’s lots of info. out there for University staff getting along just fine, thank you very much. Seems there’s even money to cover increased costs in healthcare, one of the “benefits”.
Most Private Sector workers will be subjected to ObamaCare soon, but have already got to pay for increases in “healthcare”.
the increase will partially offset the state-mandated three percent employees pay into their retirement starting on the first
Sounds like a wash to me.
And this doesn’t prove “raises for everyone” either.
“The BEST JOB goes to a Professor here in Tampa at USF in the Medical College and he gets $1.2 Million a year.”
What’s stopping you from taking a similar position?
What’s stopping you from taking a similar position as a Wall Street CEO?
Both are robbing the public blind.
But one type of position (public unions) solely supports democrats so it is OK for them.
The logic of progressives…
Are you suggesting the medical school professor who makes north of $1m a year is a member of a public sector union?
What kind of drugs do Republican attack dogs smoke?
To become a prof you need
credentials
publications
to have done research
To be a CEO, you just need cronies.
“To become a prof you need”
To be a member of the committed left and take an oath to indoctrinate our young men and women.
You left that one out.
Nick, thanks again for showing the whole world what an idjot you are.
You read it and responded in true Alinsky style, what does that make you?
A functioning pre-frontal lobe combined w/ his support of the Fugitive Slave Act*.
*thanks again to goon for many laughs yesterday
“Fugitive Slave Act”
Wouldn’t that be an example of ‘taking this country back’?
“Taking this country back” and “restoring our future” et cetera.
Old white males in USA are demographically doomed. You can hate on that fact, but it’s still a fact.
We don’t embrace the multi-culti, diversitard, “our differences only make us stronger” jive pushed by the media/academia industrial complex, but we do accept facts.
And the fact is that Whitey’s time is passing. Sorry, haterz
the “whiteys” in my home town are doing much better than the the “non-whiteys”…and that town is 80% “non-white”.
perhaps the “non-whiteys” are going to pull an “animal farm” and start acting “whitey”?
Goon, this might seem counterintuitive, but I think white people as a group are going to become even more Republican-leaning and anti-immigration/anti-minority over time. Look at which whites have multiple children vs which whites have maybe one child and/or adopt. The higher one’s education and tolerance, the less likely they are to have multiple children, at least among whites (although this is probably true of most groups). Like you, I don’t waste time agreeing or disagreeing with this state of affairs, but rather accept it as a fact.
Really it’s not that bad of a thing. For example, when I have a teenage child one day, there will be a lot less upper class white kids with 2 professional/educated parents. It will be much easier for my child to get into a top college than it was for me. There will be a bigger “margin of error”, he/she won’t need a 1500+ SAT. (Keep in mind, asians and indians in our generation also do not have a lot of kids.)
America is headed towards a society where maybe 5-10% of kids have a lot of resources invested in them and the remaining kids attend a variety of under-resourced public schools or monolithic private schools that teach Intelligent Design/Jesus/other crap content.
The joke is on us as a country for allowing that to happen, but why waste time judging it? Facts are facts.
when I have a teenage child one day, there will be a lot less upper class white kids with 2 professional/educated parents.
I thought that was the point, to lessen the competition from striving lower middle class kids who might get in the way. Certainly the the teeming masses from Mejico won’t present a problem. At least their school performance doesn’t indicate as much.
You both forgot what “affirmative action” is all about. It’s about Numbers.
IF 1/2 of the people are “brown or black”, then 50% of the vacancies need to be filled by those groups.
Sorry.
So, they get to push the white out, by the simple virtue of being here.
The “rules” that were set up assures the white dissipation into oblivion.
And, worse yet, what kind of a world do you think you would be living in where the average IQ of the general population is 85.
I can guarantee you, you will not be save without armed guards at your house.
then joesmiths’ kid can be at the top, supervising. The elite, watching over their flock.
The average IQ of the population will always be 100.
“I can guarantee you, you will not be save without armed guards at your house.”
That is absolutely true and I wonder what kind of sick progressive mind it takes to want that type of future. I guess the posters here that have their compounds out in areas like eastern Kern county feel that future is just for the little people.
THe $1.2 MM salary for that medical property is probably royalties on patents and/or incentive pay based on grants received or a private institute he manages. There are many such public-private partnerships, where a private company helps build a facility and directs a share of profits to the university in return for allowing professors and students to have some private-sector experience.
There is a guy at one of the SUNYs who makes several million a year. This is also not uncommon for Ivy professors and it’s not that different from a professor who writes books, curates museum exhibits, etc.
I don’t see why you “bootstrappers” can’t understand the “invisible hand of the free market”. Not everything has to be 100% public or 100% private. Why should professors be banned from doing some private work on the side? Many of my econ professors (Blinder, Kahnemann, Krugman, Bernanke) made as much or more outside of the university rather than inside yet were still fantastic professors whose classes filled up and developed long waiting lists.
You sat in the same room with the Bernanke?
Did that give you a cool tingly feeling all over, like when you bite into a York Peppermint Patty? Any chance you could have scooped a stray Bernanke beard hair off the lectern? We need a “relic” for our shrine.
Ben Bernanke’s big thing back then (early 2000s) was deflation. We should give him a lot of credit for considering the possibility, because most of his fellow economists would never consider the possibility. Not everyone who is a great academic should be a Fed chairmen (and vice versa). Bernanke taught Macro but also History of Econ. The latter was not that highly sought-after of a class (I don’t think it was required). Everyone thought we were in a “new normal” and “the rules had changed”. To Ben’s credit, he did not think that.
Another great professor was Burt Malkiel. Another guy who probably wouldn’t be a great Fed governor but taught with a healthy amount of cynicism, realism, not afraid to call Wall St out for B.S., etc.
“Another great professor was Burt Malkiel.”
I enjoyed his book.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing
At NYU, the highest paid employee was a fertility specialist in the Medical School the last time I heard the president talk. The top fertility docs were making north of $5 million. It isn’t because of other income based on royalties or anything like that. It is because that is what those docs can make in NYC and if they want them working at the medical school, they have to pay them that much. Presumably, medical schools that are part of state systems also have to pay market rate salaries to keep their staff.
That being said, they almost certainly pay for themselves (or close to it) by doing procedures as part of a medical school practice. Medical school staff spend most of their time seeing patients with medical students observing and assisting. They don’t spend most of their time in the classroom.
“It is because that is what those docs can make in NYC and if they want them working at the medical school, they have to pay them that much.”
Yep. Opportunity costs matter a lot in the labor market!
The top fertility docs were making north of $5 million.
————–
$5mill a year for something, as someone who has been through it, is not that different from animal husbandry with a side of “good luck- the body is a mystery” thrown in.
I’d look at that and have to at least ponder if there really are going to be less wealthy white people 20-25 years from now trying to get into Ivy League Universities.
I also just wanted to say “animal husbandry”
He probably also holds an endowed chair, is a professor in multiple departments, brings in big-time grant money and has a national if not international reputation as a leader in his field. Such a person is so far from being a typical public employee that there is no comparison. We are talking a whole different galaxy here. Sheesh.
Polly, it could be via the practice of medicine, but it doesn’t have to be. I’m blanking on the name of the Lebanese professor at SUNY who makes several million a year, but this guy could easily be making more in the private market. He’s head of a program related to design and production of semiconductors. People were outraged on the face of it that he was making millions per year, but as you say, he easily “paid for himself”.
I can’t speak to all your points, but my primary advisors (I just completed a psych PhD) worked far more than 40 hours/week. With one, I’d say she put in closer to 70. This isn’t true across the board, I imagine, but the idea that all profs are lazy goofs does not jibe with what I experienced.
“…worked far more than 40 hours/week.”
Stop trying to derail Diogenes‘ rants with those pesky facts!
In any data related set, there are usually outliers. That doesn’t make them significant or even worth considering.
Whenever people use Bell Curves they typically take the outliers as their preferred data points.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t in the tails, but somewhere in the big fat middle.
And no one said ALL professors are lazy or goof-offs. I simply pointed out that their workloads are not comparable to what most people experience in a “job”. Some will put in more time, some less, but here in Tampa, we had Teachers/Administrators going shopping when they were supposed to be working.
They finally made the 6 o’clock news. But it went on for a long time. That’s not a recent story, but I am certain it still goes on.
There isn’t a professor out there who doesn’t prep for classes. Your basic assumption that the “work load” can be assessed by adding the number of classroom hours to the number of required office hours is absurd on its face.
You don’t really have any credibility left here, but when you pull that sort of crud out of your hat, you lose what little might be there.
“…but the idea that all profs are lazy goofs does not jibe with what I experienced.”
If you hang out here much, you will have to either ignore or get used to the nonsense some clueless posters constantly serve up.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/08/03/Obama-administration-paves-the-way-for-sharia-law
criticism of my view that “Public” employees are grossly overpaid in both salary and “benefits”,
Public sector pay and benefits have better kept up with inflation the past 30 years, while private sector pay and benefits have not.
The private sector has failed the American worker in this regard. So now we’re jealous and resentful toward the public sector worker.
This is a big change from 30 years ago.
Shut yer commie talk mouth.
“Real American” rugged individualists don’t work 40 hour weeks with benefits and time off.
“Real American” rugged individualists work 60+ hour weeks with no benefits and no vacation and die prematurely at age 55 from work-related stress!
Work-life balance is for sissies!
“Real American” rugged individualists work 60+ hour weeks with no benefits and no vacation and die prematurely at age 55 from work-related stress!”
No they get disabilty at 55 which is a form of social security
The only people I’ve met who get disability sure as hell deserve it.
I’ve also met plenty who do deserve it, but can’t get it.
The private sector has failed the American worker in this regard. So now we’re jealous and resentful toward the public sector worker.”
people compete laterally for goods and services like housing
and then when taxes go up to pay for it… CA prop 30
I know a few things about how Universities are run and how faculty are paid (based on lots of conversations over the years with faculty friends), so I’ll throw this out….
Yes, some Univeristy Professors are well paid, possibly overpaid, but most that I know are not.
Universities are not like corporations. They are considered a group of ‘peers’ so everything is run by committees (committees make recomendations to the Pres, etc.)
University faculty have 3 primarly functions: 1) Teach students 2) serve on committees to run the place 3) expand the human knowlegde base by researching and publishing. Each University (and each department) emphasizes each category differently, but facutly must do all 3.
Most faculty I know put in 60+ hours a week minimum, far more during the beginning and end of each semester. Christmas breaks are for conferences, research trips, and setting up research. Summers are for conducting research. College professors probably average near 60 hours week on the job. Yes, some older ones are coasting late in their careers, but most under the age of 55 work their tails off.
As to money, there is a base salary and then a percent of any money the professor can bring in thru grants. This is where Medical professors can boost their salaries to the ranges you mentioned. I don’t really consider Medical Professors in the same category as other professors on a university campus since they are kind of ‘lent out” to the government to do government’s work. Anyway, the professors do get a percent of the money, and a big percent of the money also goes to the University itself to cover overhead, including retirement benefits for the faculty on the grant. For most univerisities, this overhead percent is 40 - 60%. So the public is not contributing anything to the retirement benefits generated due to the grants. The public does cover the retirements based on the professor’s base salary (professor kicks in 50%, soon to be a big more, of the retirement).
The salaries you see listed are always base + grant pay. Unfortunately, except in some medical cases, grants rarely last more than 3 years. So that grant piece of compensation is both highly variable, and short-term only. Unless a professor can repeatedly bring in big grants, they soon find themselves back to base pay. Excluding medical fields and some hard sciences, repeatedly bringing in big grants is very difficult (and extremely time consumming to get them in the first place.)
Hard science professors can also bring in significant grants, but rarely do they top $300k/year.
As I said in my post, I don’t know any public employee retirees who are living the high life.
That prompted my followup discussion about whether Ohio was different from other states. It seems some state governments are owned by the public employees (NY, CA, IL), and these people make a lot better retirements than public employees in states where the unions do not own the state government.
“As I said in my post, I don’t know any public employee retirees who are living the high life.
Not do I.
It’s just propaganda put out by the 1%, parroted by their brown nose sock puppets, who ARE jealous.
Sure, there are exceptions, but that’s ALL that are: exceptions.
“Nor do I”.
Dammit I wish this board had an editor.
so what does the HBB confirmation community think of jack lew…any info?
Sounds like he is quite capable of poking Republican rivals in the eye.
Thankless job awaits Jack Lew if he heads to Treasury
By Nancy Cook
National Journal
January 4, 2013
As early as next week when President Obama has returned to Washington from his Hawaii vacation, he’s expected to name his next Treasury Secretary — with all signs pointing toward the nomination of Jacob ‘Jack’ Lew.
Lew possesses the impeccable resume of a long-time Washington insider. He now works as the White House chief-of-staff and has earned the trust of the president in a very short period of time for no-drama approach and deep knowledge of fiscal matters. His previous tours of duty include stints in two administrations as budget director and as a former top policy advisor to the Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill.
Any major landmark budget legislation of the past 20 years has involved Lew. He helped to cut the 1997 balanced budget deal under President Clinton and the 1983 Social Security legislation, which has kept the entitlement program solvent for the past two decades.
…
…House Republicans strongly dislike Lew. GOP members and staffers negotiated with him on the debt ceiling deal in the summer of 2011: an experience that left them with deep-seated, raw feelings of disdain for a man they view as condescending, too liberal, and unable to get to “yes” in a negotiation.
“Always trying to protect the sacred cows of the left” was the way Speaker Boehner’s former chief-of-staff, Barry Jackson, described Lew in Bob Woodward’s book, The Price of Politics. Republican sources in the book also characterized Lew as someone “who tried to explain why Democrats’ view of the world was right and the Republicans’ wrong.” That bad blood still exists.
…
“Sounds like he is quite capable of poking Republican rivals in the eye.”
well he’s qualified!
I think he was pretty involved in the prior debt ceiling debate, and from Woodward’s book, is generally considered experienced in dealing with such matters.
I think there probably is a better pick out there (for a middle-of-the-road citizen), but at the same time, there are probably far more worse picks. (Remember Bush’s early nominee for the SCOTUS?)
experienced in dealing with such matters.
Expert can kicker?
olly olly oxen free!
Indeed. +1…
Here’s a preview of summer 2013 in USA. Now keep telling yourself there is no climate change and that 7+ billion humanoids can continue the capitalist model of infinite growth in a finite ecosystem.
New York Times - Record Heat Fuels Widespread Fires in Australia:
“Four months of record-breaking temperatures stretching back to September of last year have combined over the past week with widespread drought conditions and high winds to create what the government had labeled “catastrophic” fire conditions along the heavily populated eastern and southeastern coasts of the country, where much of the population is centered.
Data analyzed on Wednesday by the government-run Bureau of Meteorology indicated that national heat records had again been set — Tuesday was the third hottest day on record at 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and the mean national temperature average was the highest in history, breaking a record set just the day before, on Monday.
“If you look at yesterday, at Australia as a whole, it was the hottest day in our records going back to 1911,” said David Jones, manager of climate monitoring prediction at the Bureau of Meteorology. “From this national perspective, one might say this is the largest heat event in the country’s recorded history.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/world/asia/record-heat-fuels-widespread-fires-in-australia.xml
“Record Heat Fuels Widespread Fires in Australia”
I just knew those Australia fires were due to global warming, as there was never, ever a brush fire in Australia before this recent unprecedented period of fossil-fuel caused climate change.
and that 7+ billion humanoids
This made me wonder, if there are 7 billion “humanoids”, how many “real” humans live on Earth? The “oid” suffix means “false”, hence “humanoids” are false humans (such as the human like aliens so prevalent in cheap sci fi like Star Trek), just as an ovoid is a false oval.
Probably a million or so. The rest are just a waste of resources, if not downright harmful to Planet Earth. But then I am reeeally down on humankind today, what with all the elephant and shark slaughtering and such.
If you weren’t depressed enough already about the elephants and sharks (and not getting into Onwentsia), here’s a piece linked from Drudge about the epidemic of people in South Florida abandoning their pets in the Everglades
http://m.nbcmiami.com/nbcmiami/pm_108215/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=iPTo8BGE
There should be a requirement for a license to be either a parent or a pet owner. Around Chicago, even with all the publicity about hospitals and police stations taking in infants with no questions asked, we still hear about babies being found in dumpsters. You can’t fix stupid. Or lazy.
Thanks for the
about Onwentsia.
I propose that all males be sterilized at age 14. If they want children, they can reverse the vasectomy.
Can you imagine the kind of society we had if all children were wanted and planned?
Wait, I thought we entered into that utopia with the Pill? You mean they’re not all wanted and planned now?
Damn.
I propose that all males be sterilized at age 14. If they want children, they can reverse the vasectomy.
Why not every females on government provided BC pills starting at age 9?
Why not every females on government provided BC pills starting at age 9?
Female anatomy is more complicated and a vasectomy is reversible.
Birth control fails too often. Too much chance for human error.
Women are all like “accidently on purpose” when it comes to babies.
SF i read years ago and its still true today…its the ivory soap ads 99 44/100% of pregnancies were caused by willing partners..
Something will have to give.
If we keep growing, we’ll end up like on that Star Trek episode were the inhabitants of planet X were immortal and the planet had wall to wall people.
Or we stabilize population (or even decrease it) and our socio-economic system, which needs never ending growth to work, crashes catastrophically.
Decisions, decisions …
Go ahead and make jokes Mr. HaHa Funny. Our state is doomed. How long has Colorado been in drought now? Denver Post sez “as of Jan 1 statewide snowpack was 70 percent of average, the fourth lowest snowpack in the last 32 years”.
2012 was just the preview, 2013 gonna be BURN, BABY, BURN!
Oh, I know this may very well be the summer of the dead, brown lawn and the serial brush fires in the Centennial state, and the entire west for that matter.
It’s very weird how the west has been getting drier and drier while over here we keep having rainfall and snowfall records. Not to mention Irene & Sandy striking the US in back to back yrs.
A warming of the Atlantic and a cooling of the Pacific which both our occurring explains a lot of that. Both of which are natural cycles I might add.
Our=are. Time for coffee
Cue AlbqeDan in 3…2…1
AQDan, aka Nostradumba**, aka “Everything I’m analyzing says that Romney will win easily”.
Love that guy. No joke. I’ve never laughed as much during the day as when I read his posts.
Apparently 2012 turned out to be a full degree warmer than 1998. His criteria for admitting that humans make a significant contribution to global warming was .1 degree warmer. I’m waiting for him to “move the goalposts” again, find “problems with the data”, or otherwise deny any significance whatsoever. And, for the record, I am not the kind of person who thinks that carbon emissions/humans are the only reason for global warming. But to deny that we’re a significant contributor, that is just a laugh riot.
Joe, you do not even acknowledge that I said global warming not continental U.S. I have always referred to 1998 in the global context. I cannot believe that you can read the posts and not understand that I have consistently said that what happens in one area is being offset in an other. The only thing I can say in your defense is I think that the media is trying to confuse people. All the skeptics when they talk about 1998 are talking about the combined earth and ocean global temperatures. There is no need to move any goal posts since I have made it clear what I was talking about, you just don’t have the analytical skills to understand. Perhaps that is why you still have not made partner after nine years. I have friends from my class that were under me in class standing that made partner after five.
It is called weather not climate when it only involves 2% of the globe. You also have taken a quote out of context about the election post the entire post with the date. I said the day before the election that I could not call the election.
Keep on breeding. The 7 billion current occupants have done such a great job as stewards of the planet, just imagine how well they’ll do when there’s 10+ billion of them
Unlike the AGW debate I never made a prediction. Also unlike many, I have never needed to change my screen name to hide my former predictions.
Here is my exact comment on the fifth of Nov. Despite your best efforts to distort the record, I never made any prediction but did engage in a running commentary on what various polls were saying:
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2012-11-05 07:53:47
I am torn between the Rasmussen and Gallup polls so I cannot predict this outcome:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 48%. Two percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, and one percent (1%) remains undecided.
With the Rasmussen polls this is a tight race that cannot be called. Obama gained ground in the national polling but he has lost ground in the swing state polling. However, if you believe the Gallup polling that there has been a major swing from people identifying themselves as democrats to republicans, then this race is not even close, Romney will win easily since the other polls are overcounting democrats.
I will stick with Rasmussen and based on his polls, I think that Romney has a slight edge due to how undecided voters typically break. However, the early voting numbers do suggest that Gallup maybe on to something. The increase in Republican voters in Ohio and the substantial decrease in democrats is amazing. It is at a point that if people vote tomorrow in Ohio the way they voted in 2008, Romney will win. I find it hard to believe that Obama can run better this year than he did in 2008 on election day but who knows.
Nostra-Dan, we’re not going to be around when the SHTF with global warming, so I’m fairly indifferent. I’m pretty sure my kid will be well-off enough to avoid the worst consequences. If you and your ilk want to encourage more energy consumption and invest little or nothing in renewables, that is OK with me. The only concern I’d have is that the people who will suffer the most with a warmer climate are the people who can least afford it.
I also admit that it is perversely funny to me that we as a species insist on harming ourselves so much. If I had more of a belief in God, I would be outraged at what we’ve done to His Creation/Design. But no, alas, it’s all funny to me.
However, if you believe the Gallup polling that there has been a major swing from people identifying themselves as democrats to republicans, then this race is not even close, Romney will win easily since the other polls are overcounting democrats.
Joe Smith, you really lack ethics. To edit this quote to make it seem like I said Romney will win easily is sleezy storefront attorney work and not something someone who worked for any firm with a good reputation would do.
sleezy storefront attorney
http://www.bettercallsaul.com/
Still waiting for your Nobel credentials, Dan.
I’m pretty sure my kid will be well-off enough to avoid the worst consequences.
The only concern I’d have is that the people who will suffer the most with a warmer climate are the people who can least afford it.
Rising ocean levels will wipe out the coasts. Assuming Dan is poor, his children will most likely live in the flyover lands. It’s the coastal rich who are fooked IMO.
Then again, Obama’s one useless campaign trip burns more fuel than poor Dan can do in his lifetime. One NFL game most likely burns as much fuel as Dan in his lifetime. In a nutshell, the global warming is a scam….It’s designed to scare off the masses so that the elites can continue their larger than life lifestyles. Romney and his children all believe in Global warming, too. Coincidence, I think NOT.
Still waiting for the renewed global warming. BTW, the December 2011 to November 2012 numbers are out and it was .53 C above the average for the period compared to a.59 C average for December 1997 to November 1998. Global warming cult followers claimed in 1998 and still claim that we are going to warm .5 to .7 C per decade. Thus, we should have warmed around another .75 C by now. .75 + .59= 1.34 C but the number was .53C. 1.34-.53= .81. Seems like the computer models are off by .81 C. Did I make it simply enough for you?
It’s the coastal rich who are fooked IMO.
They’ll just retreat to the Aspen mansions.
” It’s the coastal rich who are fooked IMO.”
The coastal rich will be inconvenienced. The coastal poor in Asia/the Pacific rim/etc. will be “fooked.” As will the poor in areas that get hit by droughts. And the areas that don’t get hit by droughts but depend on areas that get hit by droughts for their staple foods.
We checked this map before we bought: http://burritojustice.com/2012/12/18/the-streets-of-submerged-san-francisco/
Live on a high hill.
When I said “those who can least afford it” I really meant places that are economically dependent on agribusiness plus the third world.
The nicer areas on the coasts will be able to retrofit their infrastructure because it will make sense. They will still have dense populations, jobs (tax base), and insurance companies will require that measures be taken. It will make sense economically because the cost of making the changes will be less than the potential costs.
Big parts of Texas and the West will be f**ked and be burned up in ever larger fires. The central valley of CA will continue to be a festering s***hole. Some poorer areas (think the Gulf Coast of the Southeast US) will be screwed, Katrina-style.
But really the worst damage will go the 3rd world. Americans in favor of fossil fuels generally don’t care about the “third world”, so it will be no skin off their backs.
ABQ’s typical weaseling and parsing here prompted me to take a page from his own tactic book. Here to refresh our memories is an entire page worth of comments he made during the August to October 2012 election run up, all touting Rasmussen and Romney:
http://www.southrustern.com/hbbcmt/index.cgi
Including these (which may not be exact quotes because I had to transcribe them.)
8/3 There is no question Romney would win of course
8/21 Rasmussun is the best poller
8/21 which means Romney wins
9/6 A real poll with a proven track record, not a bunch of kids living in their parent’s basement…Romney 47% nationwide…Obama 44%
9/13 52-48 win for Romney…Republican landslide
9/18 This is very close and will go down to the wire. The odds are just nonsense
10/17 I will stick with the proven professional. The Rasmussen Reports
10/18 It’s logical to assume more people are ready to vote for Romney
And my favorite:
10/30
I have relied on the same 2 polls throughout the entire campaign the most reliable in the industry. I am not cherry-picking…Even NPR has Romney up.
Moral?
An uncritical over-reliance on inaccurate sources tends to skewer one’s conclusions.
The satellite data has come out for 2012 temperatures, (there is also ground measure data has not) and we are the ninth warmest year globally and significantly below 1998. The early data set is land based measures:
Globally, 2012 was the ninth warmest year among the past 34, with an annual global average temperature that was 0.161 C (about 0.29 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 30-year baseline average, according to Dr. John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. 2012 was about three one-hundredths of a degree C warmer than 2011, but was 0.23 C cooler than 2010.
Eleven of the 12 warmest years in the satellite temperature record have been been since 2001. From 2001 to the present only 2008 was cooler than the long-term norm for the globe. Despite that string of warmer-than-normal years, there has been no measurable warming trend since about 1998. The long-term warming trend reported in the satellite data is calculated using data beginning on Nov. 16, 1978.
1979 through 2012
Warmest to coolest
1. 1998 0.419
2. 2010 0.394
3. 2005 0.260
4. 2002 0.218
5. 2009 0.218
6. 2007 0.202
7. 2003 0.187
8. 2006 0.186
9. 2012 0.161
10. 2011 0.130
11. 2004 0.108
12. 2001 0.107
13. 1991 0.020
14. 1987 0.013
15. 1995 0.013
16. 1988 0.012
17. 1980 -0.008
18. 2008 -0.009
19. 1990 -0.022
20. 1981 -0.045
21. 1997 -0.049
22. 1999 -0.056
23. 1983 -0.061
24. 2000 -0.061
25. 1996 -0.076
26. 1994 -0.108
27. 1979 -0.170
28. 1989 -0.207
29. 1986 -0.244
30. 1993 -0.245
31. 1982 -0.250
32. 1992 -0.289
33. 1985 -0.309
34. 1984 -0.353
(Degrees C above or below the long-term norm.)
Smith, all you have done is take a series of comments out of their context. Are you really just an ambulance chasing back of the phone book attorney posing as a major firm attorney because you sure practice like them?
Just one example is that date that I said NPR had Romney up, he was up, it was after the first debate. If you use the context of what I said, I always said it was close and never called the election. I rejected then and still reject that the election ever was a done deal. Move around a few hundred thousands votes in key states and Romney wins with a minority of the popular vote, it was a close election despite the final electoral college result.
Sorry Smith, It was Hansen who did it. Maybe she could work for your firm. None of your quotes has me saying that Romney was going to win on election day. However, they do support that I rejected the “group think” maybe I should call it MSNBC think of this board. Obama did not do as well as he did in his first election. The election was never a sure thing despite the view expressed by many on this board that it was. I rejected that view but never called the election for him.
We checked this map before we bought:
So did we! Of course, it’s obvious the bay area will have SERIOUS issues and even our high and dry house may be worthless if all the jobs relocate. But at least I won’t have to worry about being washed out to sea. (490′ above sea level, here)
“Romney 47% nationwide”
He prophetically ended up with the backing of the 47%.
Presidential vote count released, Romney got 47 percent
By JohnThomas Didymus
Jan 5, 2013 in Politics
AP released the final presidential vote count Friday. Romney got 47 percent of the popular vote (47.2 percent). Recalling his “47 percent” remark during the election campaign, many say it a case of Karma, or simply that life has an ironic sense of humor.
Digital Journal reported the story of the hidden camera video clip posted by the website Mother Jones, which showed Romney, then GOP presidential hopeful, telling donors at a closed door meeting that 47 per cent of American voters will vote for his opponent Obama, “no matter what” because they are people “who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it… And they will vote for this president no matter what… These are people who pay no income tax.”
Romney added: “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
…
I have posted a response to Joe but why don’t you talk about what is going on in China? Weather is not climate, as long as one area is cooler than normal and one area is warmer than normal it does not make the globe warmer.
Washington Times link please?
Drudge Report works for me.
BEIJING - Governments in South China are struggling to aid the homeless and repair infrastructure due to persistent cold weather that has brought the lowest temperatures recorded in 28 years.
Shelters equipped with quilts, coats and food have opened their doors to the homeless in Hefei, capital of East China’s Anhui province.
“You can find shelters and aid stations for the elderly and homeless in all communities and villages in our district,” said Zou Zhongxian, a civil affairs official in the city’s Luyang district.
The civil affairs bureau in South China’s city of Guangzhou has also arranged 1,347 shelters for the elderly.
Massive amounts of snow blanketed Anhui’s Huangshan Mountain on Tuesday, putting pressure on authorities to prevent traffic disruptions and ensure the safety of tourists.
More than 1,000 traffic officers and volunteers have worked together to clear snow and spread salt on icy roads. Drivers have been asked to put chains on their vehicle tires to prevent skids, and workers have been dispatched to check old trees that may be in danger of falling.
Maintaining power is also a concern, as regions that rely on hydroelectric power may be prone to electricity shortages during periods of icy weather, experts have warned.
An official from a State Grid branch in Hunan province said 113 power lines have frozen in the province thus far.
The National Meteorological Center said in a Tuesday statement that southern China will continue to experience snow, rain and freezing temperatures for the next few days.
The center said the severe weather will intensify starting Jan 8, with blizzards in western regions along the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, as well as the northern part of South China.
The weather is not unlike that experienced in the winter of 2008, when freezing temperatures resulted in 129 deaths and more than 150 billion yuan ($24.2 billion) in direct economic losses.
However, experts do not expect a similar outcome for this year’s winter season.
“Although the cold fronts are strong, moisture has been inadequate this year, reducing the possibility of a widespread and continuous freeze like that of 2008,” said Chen Lijuan, a senior engineer at the National Climate Center under the China Meteorological Administration.
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F*ck yes it does! Without Drudge we never would have scooped the Breitbart story “Obama Administration paves way for Sharia law”. The fly-by media, the lamestream media, won’t touch that story. But the brave, brave investigative journalists (anybody hear Pulitzer bells ringing?) at Breitbart sure did!
Did you ignore the statement from China’s National Climate Center?
Global warming brings record cold
The wintry weather doesn’t disprove global warming, however. In fact, an expert at China’s National Climate Center blamed rising temperatures for the deep freeze. Global warming is shrinking ice in the Arctic and pushing polar fronts south, Zhou Botao told China Daily.
http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/3965-china-s-extreme-cold-snaps-records.html
As I said the other day, the ChiComs are more than happy to destroy their country to make a buck. Why would they care at all about climate change? Compared to what they’ve already done to their country, it’s nothing.
Bluestar, the Chinese make a lot of money selling carbon credits and thus have a powerful reason to lie about the cause.
How about a chinese news source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-01/08/content_16096458.htm
I was hoping that HBB could have a day without a discussion of climate change. Goonie, I’m awarding you 10 demerits for bringing it up.
Sorry for the distraction. Let’s focus on the real issues. Drudge currently has this linked as the top headline under pictures of Hitler and Stalin:
http://m.weeklystandard.com/blogs/biden-obama-might-use-executive-order-deal-guns_694984.html
And this from beacon of journalistic excellence, the Washington Times:
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/9/biden-executive-orders-action-can-be-taken-guns/
“and that 7+ billion humanoids can continue the capitalist model of infinite growth in a finite ecosystem.”
Don’t worry my communist friend, once your movement finally succeeds in overthrowing western governments, I am pretty sure they (the communist/global progressives) will set a new world record for mass killings.
Grasshopper and ant ? or victims of the 1% ?
Yahoo finance America’s Retirement System Is Failing Us: Economist
..By Morgan Korn
.PostsWebsite .By Morgan Korn | Daily Ticker – Mon, Aug 6, 2012 11:34 AM kinda old I guess
“Americans can no longer lean on social security checks or late retirements as safety nets Ghilarducci notes. Social Security and other entitlement programs have been under attack in Congress. A growing number of lawmakers from both sides of the isle support reducing or curtailing government spending on these 77-year old institutions as means to lower the national deficit. Workers over the age of 55 have a harder time finding employment than younger workers and when they do find work it’s usually a big wage cut or reduced hours. According to the Labor Department, 6.2 percent of Americans over the age of 55 were unemployed in July and 50 percent of that group had been out of work for six months or more.
Saving for retirement has become especially hard for many Americans who are struggling to pay everyday expenses. That’s why Ghilarducci wants to reform Americans’ approach to retirement. She advocates instituting mandatory retirement accounts for all Americans. These would be professionally managed with a guaranteed rate return and annuity payment. This mandated account would be a supplement — not a replacement — to Social Security and other private retirement accounts.
“People need to save a lot more,” she says. “Social security is a base but it’s not enough. I’m just advocating that people save more.”
These would be professionally managed with a guaranteed rate return and annuity payment.
And who pays if they fail to meet the guaranteed rate of return?
Of course, all these Wall St. “geniuses” will get lotto jackpot sized paychecks and bonuses year after year, no matter how poorly they perform, because we need to retain their talent!
who are professional problem finders
answer politicians
“People need to save a lot more,” she says. “Social security is a base but it’s not enough. I’m just advocating that people save more.”
Save… WHAT? You have to HAVE money to save money.
Just another out of touch dumbass.
Marie Antoinette didn’t get it either.
What if the federal Thrift Savings Plan were open to all Americans?
Then the Federal Thrift Savings Plan would be so huge it wouldn’t be able to do anything without completely messing with the markets just on its own. Plus, the FTSP only lets you trade funds one day a month.
The purpose of retirement savings is primarily to enrich the medical-industrial complex when they take all the money toward end of life, or worst case the funeral industry can collect the remaining wealth. As discussed, along the way some of the leeches want to profit, as you’d guess.
I’m not bothering. You’re seriously claiming that in the next 30 years we’re not going to have 401K confiscations to keep SS afloat and/or another 70’s bout of inflation making all investments prior to the inflation and/or confiscations worthless? Seriously? And if I “win” all the money will go to the hospital and/or the funeral director instead of my kids anyway? So I’m supposed to take a fraction of my permanently declining income out of my budget so some day, a funeral director can become rich. Forget about it I’m not bothering. (It helps that I’m in a job I can do until I die, pretty much, rather than being something like an oil field roughneck)
(It helps that I’m in a job I can do until I die, pretty much, rather than being something like an oil field roughneck)
Same here. One of my relatives was a working artist well into her nineties.
Likewise, one of my Phoenix area friends. She turned 78 in November and still works as a copyeditor and online strategist. She’s almost deaf and finds e-mail and social media to be godsends for communication.
Not everyone can work all their life.
In fact, most people can’t.
You do realize that 401k’s are funded mostly with earned income, right? I’m as paranoid as the next person, but the prospect of the gubmint confiscating earned income (beyond taxing it, which they do when the money is withdrawn) is too much.
the prospect of the gubmint confiscating earned income was exemplified by Executive Order 6102, and ratified by the US Supreme Court. Long time ago.
If someone holds physical gold in their 401k, which I’d like to see anyone try, that order applies. Otherwise not so much.
that order applies
I believe that order has been cancelled. I use it merely as an example of what the government will do to private property in an emergency.
MF Glibal clients who held physical gold lost it.
Your 401k is no more vulnerable to confiscation than any other account you have - except in bankruptcy when it is more protected.
Why are you so focused on 401k accounts rather than passbook savings accounts? They are all identified to you through your SS number.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-09/blackstone-steps-up-home-buying-as-prices-jump-mortgages.html
I posted this in yesterday’s posting…wrong place.
In any event, the following is consistent with how I understand these acquisitions are made:
“Blackstone currently buys all of its homes with cash and then finances pools of houses with up to 60 percent debt. Conventional single-family home mortgages are financed with a 20-percent down payment.”
“Blackstone currently buys all of its homes with cash and then finances pools of houses with up to 60 percent debt. Conventional single-family home mortgages are financed with a 20-percent down payment.”
Anyone who steps up in competition with these sharks to buy a home as a place for their family to live is asking for a large future financial loss.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100366417
If more and more of these entities go public (I guess a couple went public in December 2012), when do they run out of money to buy more homes?
‘when do they run out of money to buy more homes’
These guys didn’t run out of money.
‘One of the first big hedge funds to try to profit from a rebound in the U.S. housing market by investing in foreclosed homes is looking to cash out, even as other institutional investors are still getting in. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, the $31 billion hedge fund led by Daniel Och, recently told its investment partner, 643 Capital Management, that it wants to exit from the foreclosed homes business, said several people familiar with the matter.’
‘Och-Ziff’s move could indicate that institutional investors may have to dial back their expectations, especially with regards to rental income. “It’s not surprising that some investors may have overestimated rental returns,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president with Carrington Mortgage Holdings, a division of Carrington Capital, which has been buying and renting foreclosed homes since 2007.’
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/us-foreclosed-hedgefunds-idUSBRE89G1TE20121017
ISTR reading that some of these big investors were expecting an annual ROI of 8%.
Sounds a bit high to me. I’ve long believed that anything over 5% is gravy. And not sustainable.
I’ve met the entrepreneur behind 643 Capital. There could be lots of reasons behind Och-Ziff’s move out of the business.
We are still hearing of more capital moving into the business than out.
Hey Rental Clown. Dollar volume in residential housing is falling and has been for years.
Knock it off.
Slim,
Underwritten correctly, and purchased at the right price, rental yields can be sustainable above 5%. If part of your operating cost structure includes maintaining the asset, there is no reason that the rents you can collect won’t continue for a long time (thus making the yield of sustainable).
It really all comes down to cost basis.
Trying to predict CAPITAL APPRECIATION of 5% annually on the other hand…good luck with that…
What I am hearing is the sough-after yield changes with the market. In places like Southern CA, where vacancy rates are lower, they are targeting yields as low as 6%. In places like Atlanta/Phoenix (higher vacancy markets), they are targeting 8% and above.
“Biden talked also about taking responsible action. “As the president said, if you’re actions result in only saving one life, they’re worth taking.”
idiot.
Why don’t we ignore the fourth amendment too? Search and seizure restrictions result in criminals going free and often times killing people later. Also, if ignore the amendment we can help prevent terrorist actions since anyone and anywhere can be subject to a search. We will certainly save more than one life. (just so my comment cannot be used against me out-of-context I am being sarcastic).
The Constitution is not the Bible.
I am not sure the point you are trying to make. Could you expand on that?
We shouldn’t ignore the constitution. The bible should definitely be ignored.
“The Constitution is not the Bible.”
ooops.
They must have save countless villages by now with their drones….
And by responsible action he means using executive orders to further overreach the boundaries of the power of the executive branch.
In the list of groups that Biden and his work group are meeting with I didn’t see any list of SSRI manufacturers from the Big Pharma industry. I’m shocked.
“idiot.”
No, good politician unfortunately.
CRATERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
Filed under: American Exceptionalism
WSJ - Americans Rank Low in Health Study
“Americans die sooner and have more illnesses and accidents on average than people in other high-income countries — even wealthier, insured, college-educated Americans, according to a government-funded report released Wednesday.
A study by the federally sponsored National Research Council and Institute of Medicine ranked the U.S. near the bottom of 17 affluent countries for its rates of obesity and diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung disease and arthritis as well as infant mortality, injuries, homicides, teen pregnancy, drug deaths and sexually transmitted diseases.
The report noted that life expectancy for American men, at 75, was the lowest among the 17 countries and almost four years shorter than for Switzerland, the best-performing nation. American women’s life expectancy, 80, was second lowest among the countries and five years shorter than for Japan, which had the highest.
Wednesday’s report criticized the U.S. health system, describing it as fragmented and inaccessible, with shortages of primary-care physicians, as well as a large number of people who lacked insurance.
“This health disadvantaged is particularly striking given the wealth and assets of the United States and the country’s enormous level of per capita spending on health care, which far exceeds that of any other country,” the authors said.
Please provide a breakdown by Race and IQ level so I can compare the data with the Swiss and Germans.
“This health disadvantaged is particularly striking given the wealth and assets of the United States and the country’s enormous level of per capita spending on health care, which far exceeds that of any other country,” the authors said.
Exceptional.
I guess it’s time for the progressives to ban more lifestyles and consumables.
Wait a minute….what about the liberal call “hands off my body”? That only applies to pot smoking, sex and abortion.
How about some high yield utility debt?
Energy Future Holdings Corp. Announces Early Results of Exchange Offers:
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/01/09/2425859/energy-future-holdings-corp-announces.html
11.250%/12.000% Senior Toggle Notes due 2017
Remember these are the guys who floated a 47 billion take over of Texas mega electric utility company TXU mostly backed by forward natural gas contracts @ $7+ mcf. Nat Gas today is trading at $3.12 Ha!
What is a toggle note anyway?
“A payment-in-kind bond, where the issuer has the option to defer an interest payment by agreeing to pay an increased coupon in the future.”
Cyprus’s hopes of agreeing a eurozone bailout were thrown into fresh confusion on Wednesday as German politicians from across the spectrum warned that the aid package could be vetoed by the Bundestag.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is taking a hard line on Cyprus, saying the country must agree to wideranging economic reforms and privatisations before she would support a bailout.
Negotiations between the Cyprus government and international lenders have stalled, with the Communist president, Dimitris Christofias, refusing to accept asset sales. Speaking in Berlin, Merkel also refused to concede ground over the issue.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/09/german-politicians-threaten-cyprus-bailout
Luxury student housing puff piece from Tucson. It starts on page 6.
Get a load of the rents they’re charging. And one of the two apartment buildings is right next to a very busy set of Union Pacific tracks.
Looks like 700-1100/month per student, depending on studio, 1br, 2 br, etc.
Dorms are expensive these days, but at least they don’t require a 12 month lease. I’m assuming these apartments require a full yr lease?
my friends live in Tuscon, $800 for a sfr, 1100 sq ft. less than a mile to univ. old and small with steel screen security door.
The minor uptick in prices and multiple offers last fall is of no surprise because it wasn’t really based on any market realities. The concept of supply and demand is founded on a basis of getting to a Market Equilibrium, a situation in a market when the price is such that the quantity that consumers wish to demand is correctly balanced by the quantity that firms wish to supply.
Market Equilibrium does not exist. The supply side has been manipulated in several ways. First, the zombie inventory, those HomeDebtors who are locked into their massive mortgage payment because they owe more than it is worth and continue to pay [majority] or those homeowners who have some sort of loan modification are completely out of the market. Therefore, that inventory does not feed into the supply side in a normal market. Second, foreclosures are way down not because of loans performing but because servicers are just not foreclosing, This is based on several of my clients who want to walk and are over 4 years delinquent on their loans and the lenders will not foreclose. Finally, the demand side was heavily fueled by speculators posing as investors who were paying cash for almost anything in the 50k-125k range thereby driving prices up in those ranges competing against itself.
The real boogey man in the room is vacancy factor for apartment owners. Those are rising rapidly as investors buying houses attract apartment dwellers to houses. This is the battle that is playing out right now and it’s going to get bloody. Apartment owners are countering this by lowering rents putting a squeeze on investors… paying too much and watch their rents go down. You can call it a dead cat bounce or whatever you want… in the end, this is all a fools journey because public is not paying attention to the fundamentals of a market.
…. look out below. It’s still a very long way down to the bottom for resale housing.
Unless you buy a rental ultra-cheap* and it’s easy to maintain, it’s a fool’s errand.
SFH’s do particularly badly as rentals, so it will be interesting to see how these hedge funds do. Lawn and landscaping maintenance doesn’t make sense on a house by house basis. Property assessments tend to be higher on SFH’s compared to townhouse/rowhouses that can generate equivalent rents. And SFH are very expensive for utility bills… if the renters have trouble paying the utils, it falls back on the landlord in one way or another.
* when I say ultra-cheap, I mean something like 40-50x the monthly rent, assuming the house is in an area with a strong job market. Probably an even lower multiple in flyover.
SFH’s do particularly badly as rentals, so it will be interesting to see how these hedge funds do. Lawn and landscaping maintenance doesn’t make sense on a house by house basis. Property assessments tend to be higher on SFH’s compared to townhouse/rowhouses that can generate equivalent rents. And SFH are very expensive for utility bills… if the renters have trouble paying the utils, it falls back on the landlord in one way or another.
They’re also not built to withstand a lot of resident turnover. and the increased wear and tear doesn’t do anything for their resale value.
Another note from this symphony…
Housing Up, Home Ownership Down: The Mysterious New Housing Bubble
the rental market is tight in SLO same with SB and other “cherry” areas.
When a data table appears it is from this source: http://wattsupwiththat.com/
You’re presuming hedge funds are buying to earn a profit. They’re not. They’re merely a conduit to shift the growing inventory off the market. It’s a game of hot potato.
If there’s no profit in it, why would they want to participate?
They’re paid interest to buy and hold onto the excess inventory.
Sounds like a profit to me.
It’s certainly not in landlording. That’s a ruse.
From the BBC, two decades no warming, interesting.
The UK Met Office has revised one of its forecasts for how much the world may warm in the next few years.
It says the average temperature is likely to be 0.43 C above the long-term average by 2017, as opposed to an earlier forecast suggesting a difference of 0.54C.
The explanation is that a new kind of computer model using different parameters has been used.
The Met Office stresses that the work is experimental.
It says it still stands by its longer-term projections that forecast significant warming over the course of this century.
The forecasts are all based on a comparison with the average global temperature over the period 1971-2000.
The earlier model had projected that the period 2012-16 would be 0.54C above that long-term average - within a range of uncertainty from 0.36-0.72C.
By contrast the new model, known as HadGEM3, gives a rise about one-fifth lower than that of 0.43C - within a range of 0.28-0.59.
This would be only slightly higher that the record year of 1998 - in which the Pacific Ocean’s El Nino effect was thought to have added more warming.
If the forecast is accurate, the result would be that the global average temperature would have remained relatively static for about two decades.
Yo! Hey you.
WTF does this have to do with housing? Huh?
Hey it is a bits column. The belief in global warming is determing our energy policy which impacts our economy which then impacts housing, if you want the connection to housing. I did not start the climate discussion on either day but if people want to discuss it, I am more than happy to defend my position.
That should be belief in AGW not just GW.
(Determining) . BTW, since people are talking about a carbon tax based on AGW, it may impact the economy and the housing market in that manner. Thus, AGW is much more relevant than many topics discussed under bits.
Then bitch go about at a climate blog.
I know you are not the sharpest knife in the drawer but if you do not want to read about things not strictly housing why do you come to the bits part of Ben’s blog?
You’re not the most honest person here but if you want to discuss off-topic nonsense, do it elsewhere.
I am not sure whether they are basing that on satellite data or ground observation, the data varies slightly. BTW, the satellite data is out, we ended up the ninth warmest significantly under 1998. WATU has a great chart, I will post since I know you are dying to see it.
This thread reads like a Warner Brother cartoon. LOL.
There has never been a better time to buy (stocks)…
ft dot com
January 9, 2013 6:55 pm
US fear index plummets to a 5½-year low
By Robin Wigglesworth, Arash Massoudi and Ralph Atkins
Wall Street’s “fear index” has tumbled to a fresh 5½-year low as investors turn increasingly positive on the outlook for global stock markets.
The Vix index tracks investor expectations of market volatility revealed in the pricing of options that protect against violent moves on the S&P 500. As money managers typically seek protection against sharp share declines, the Vix is considered a gauge of how fearful investors are.
Despite the limp economic recovery and political gridlock in the US, and the simmering European debt crisis, the Vix has continually been ground lower over the past year, and touched 13.2 points on Wednesday, the lowest since June 2007.
Fund managers and strategists said the low Vix reflects the fact that central banks are seen as backstopping financial markets, lessening demand for downside protection. Signs of a tentative rotation by investors out of bonds and back into equities has further bolstered optimism.
“It is a reflection of this global recovery broadening out, starting to stabilise,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management. “Market players are starting to become de-sensitized to Armageddon, end-of-the-world stories.”
…
GLW is looking good as is Alcoa.
There has never been a better time to cry foul.
Life is short, the foreclosure process is long.
When Life Gives You a Lemon, apply for HAMP HARP or the Hardest Hit Fund
Got guns?
Violence plays role in shorter US life expectancy
January 9, 2013 RSS Feed Print
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States suffers far more violent deaths than any other wealthy nation, due in part to the widespread possession of firearms and the practice of storing them at home in a place that is often unlocked, according to a report released Wednesday by two of the nation’s leading health research institutions.
Gun violence is just one of many factors contributing to lower U.S. life expectancy, but the finding took on urgency because the report comes less than a month after the shooting deaths of 26 people at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
The United States has about six violent deaths per 100,000 residents. None of the 16 other countries included in the review came anywhere close to that ratio. Finland was closest to the U.S. ranking with slightly more than two violent deaths per 100,000 residents.
For many years, Americans have been dying at younger ages that people in almost all other wealthy countries. In addition to the impact of gun violence, Americans consume the most calories among peer countries and get involved in more accidents that involve alcohol. The U.S. also suffers higher rates of drug-related deaths, infant mortality and AIDS.
The result is that the life expectancy for men in the United States ranked the lowest among the 17 countries reviewed, at 75.6 years, while the life expectancy for U.S. women ranked second lowest at 80.7 years. The countries reviewed included Canada, Japan, Australia and much of Western Europe.
The U.S. has long lagged in life expectancy compared with other economically developed nations. In this study, researchers culled existing studies to examine why. Most statistics in the report are from the late 1990s through 2008. The report found that U.S. health disadvantages aren’t limited to the poor and uninsured. Even white, college-educated, and wealthier Americans tend to be in worse health than their peers in other developed countries.
…
Maybe we have a lot more drug addicts and gang bangers killing each other, then any other country….and that itself lowers the average age????
Americans have been dying at younger ages
“For many years, Americans have been dying at younger ages that people in almost all other wealthy countries.”
Houston we have a problem. Who is going to pay for SS, healthcare and buy all the houses as the boomers downsize to their retirement condos? Can’t have folks dying at a younger age who need to pay their fair share.
I agree with pimp watch. It’s so upsetting that people don answer the simple question……” what would housing be today without the props?”. I say 50 percent lower.
For those who say ride the wave…props prevail…… I say…for how long? Even if you say “forever” it would still scare the he’ll out of me to buy now not knowing.
If people only paid 20 percent of income for housing wouldn’t that help the economy? If not….why not?
Are we really vested in helping the morons who bought in the last 10 years or the future generation?
Are we admitting that the USA f’d up and we have to save those people to save face? Is that the bottom line? Then that sucks!
“If people only paid 20 percent of income for housing wouldn’t that help the economy? If not….why not?”
How would that pay off for the banks and hedge funds who used zero interest rate financing to buy real estate at fire sale prices and are now waiting for the chance to cash in on Fed-funded price gains?
HEARD ON THE STREET
January 8, 2013, 10:45 a.m. ET
Not-So-Independent Central Banks
By SIMON NIXON
It was only ever going to be a matter of time before the merits of central bank independence were called into question. Now double Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz has fanned the debate by arguing in a speech last week that countries with less independent central banks such as India, China and Brazil performed far better than economies with more independent central banks such as the U.S. and euro zone. This, he said, shows that the “desirability of central bank independence is questionable at best.”
Mr. Stiglitz is of course right that many central banks performed badly during the boom. But was this really because the U.S. Federal Reserve lacked any workers’ representatives on its board, or because central banks saw themselves as accountable only to Wall Street? Or was it because central banks, in common with almost the entire mainstream economics establishment, became blinded by a flawed conventional wisdom that almost entirely ignored the role of finance in the economy? The reality was that central banks simply failed to spot the risks arising from the biggest debt bubble in history.
…
January 8, 2013, 9:47 AM
What’s So Great About Independent Central Banks?
By David Cottle
The new government in Tokyo wants to see more aggression from the Bank of Japan.
The monetary prong of its legislative program calls for a higher inflation target and also an open-ended commitment on the part of the BOJ to expand its balance sheet.
It will get its way too, as perhaps a democratically-elected government should. Indeed, it has threatened to strongarm the BOJ with legislation but may not have to go so far. The current BOJ governor, Masaaki Shirakawa, will come to the end of his term in April. It will probably be far easier to appoint an independent successor who will decide, independently, to deliver what the politicians want.
So, is central bank independence more broadly just another pillar of pre-crisis finance destined to topple in our post-crisis world?
The argument in its favor is well known and essentially runs like this: if you give the politicians (even if you voted for them) the monetary reins, they just won’t be able to help themselves. As surely as rivers run to the sea, the scoundrels will pursue the election-winning goal of short-term employment with excessively expansive policy. They’ll buy today’s boom with tomorrow’s bust and hope tomorrow will be some other politician’s problem.
No, no, much better that a sober, independent central bank rises above narrow political concerns and pursues a longer-term policy, with the predictability bond markets like as an added bonus.
That’s the theory. The practice was rather different. Independent central bank policy may not have stoked the sort of short-term imbalances to which politicians are supposedly addicted. Instead, it stoked the long-term ones that pushed the entire financial system off the cliff.
Now, you may still think that one near-fatal central bankers’ global crisis every couple of decades is better than a succession of smaller, politicians’ ones every couple of years. But even then you’d have to concede this is hardly a black and white argument for independence.
And just look at the central banks’ mandates. Of the explicit inflation targeters, the Banks of Japan and England have missed their inflation guidance for years now. The Fed is supposed to be helping the U.S. generate full employment and the European Central Bank is meant to be implementing monetary policy in the best interests of the entire euro zone. Ask the Spanish or the Greeks how it’s doing.
They’ve all missed to some degree. It’s tempting to suggest that a non-independent central bank can miss a mandate just as convincingly as an independent one.
So, in the end we are left with one basic question. For all the arguments in its favor, has independent central banking been such a success in the recent past as to demand it remains ring fenced from such issues as national defense, healthcare policy, education and all the other grave issues with which we entrust our elected representatives?
And the answer has got to be no.
…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/01/09/consumer-financial-protection-mortgage/1821329/
Are they serious?
No down payment requirement?
43% maximum debt payment to income ratio?
This is a joke.
“This is a joke.”
+1 Someone has to get swindled in the American business deal today.