Bits Bucket for June 14, 2013
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
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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Running our of space?
Time to pave over the golf clubs.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/100-new-townhomes-proposed-near-st-petersburg-country-club-boyd-hill/2126549
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/annexation-the-latest-idea-to-save-tides-golf-club/2113405
In the last bubble they cut down orange groves for housing, saying they’ll just get juice from Brazil.
This time they finally got it right. Let the fogies play putt putt.
If you take on mortgage debt at current massively inflated housing prices, you’ll enslave yourself for the rest of your life.
“Debt is bondage.”~ Suze Orman, May 11, 2013
Don’t Be A Debt Donkey®
banks are your friends
A bank is my girlfriend.
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
“purchase the least amount of home that meets your needs”
“bear in mind, too, that bidding wars have returned… if your budget is $300,000… you should be shopping for homes listed at $270,000″
- Suze Orman , O magazine July 2013 p 43
And how’s that working out considering $300k is 225% higher than long term affordability trend?
Let me help you out with that question………
Answer: Not so well Mr. Housing Analyst. Housing demand is at 17 year lows because prices are grossly inflated.
Suze is right when she says purchase what you really need when/if you find the price you can really afford. Above that point, the decline in marginal utility is staggering. Very few people (almost no one) need more than 2500 sq ft and & 1/4 acre of lawn.
But… the arcade machine collection!
Suze is right when she says
She didn’t say it so why pretend she did?
Don’t Be A Debt Donkey®
“purchase the least amount of home that meets your needs”
Way ahead of you.
Suze Orman is a shill.
Awesome looking shill for a 62 yrs old.
She has nice skin.
Most showbiz folks get nipped and tucked and get stuff injected so they look good on the HD.
But she’s not a lying Realtor.
“If you find yourself in a budding war….”
Move on. Don’t be a sucker.
“Comment by joe sees your PPQ and counters that it’s immaterial to your unpopulated joint venture
2013-06-13 06:59:14
Also important to note that the whites who _are_ having kids aren’t like us, they are more like 2Banana or NorthTeastener. The whites who have more kids tend to be religious and skeptical of education/science.”
Having an understanding that the human driven peer reviewed scientific method is as corruptible as any religion is not the same thing as being skeptical of education and science. Trust but verify is a valid approach for matters of the material world as well as matters of faith. And of course in matters relating to housing you don’t even include the trust part.
Having an understanding that the human driven peer reviewed scientific method is as corruptible as any religion is not the same thing as being skeptical of education and science.
Yes, it is. The peer-reviewed scientific method is nowhere near as corruptible as any religion. To equate the two is indeed to be skeptical of education and science.
Trust but verify is a valid approach for matters of the material world
And the verify part is the scientific method. Verifying does not mean searching until you find a very very few scientists who have findings that you already agree with, when the vast majority of scientists think otherwise.
uppity book learnin is commie
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/may/16/climate-change-scienceofclimatechange
Warm Ocean Causing Most Antarctic Ice Shelf Mass Loss:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20130613.html
+ (whatever is passing for very enthusiastic agreement these days)
“peer-reviewed scientific method…”
A thoughtful person always stumbles on that kind of qualification, wherever it is encountered, and it is encountered frequently. Exclusion of those not belonging to the accredited group and discrediting those who disagree is a control strategy that is universally used in human society to armor agendas that simply cannot stand the light of day. The majority of people will always submit to these voices of authority no matter how far the authorities stray from the truth, no matter how sorely they are abused, in every aspect of life.
It is possible for a lay person to discern simple truth from error without being a peer, ordained, liscensed, appointed, annointed or whatever. Likely more so because lay people are not paid to agree.
It is possible for a lay person to discern simple truth…
Yep.
Poll: Most Americans Believe in Man-Made Climate Change
“……The study conducted by scientists from Yale and George Mason University shows that Americans’ belief in global warming has increased by 13 percentage points over the past two and a half years, from 57 percent in January 2010 to 70 percent in September 2012. At the same time, the number of Americans who say global warming is not happening has declined nearly by half, from 20 percent in January 2010 to 12 percent today.”
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/10/americans-are-finally-warming-climate-change
but “The majority of people will always submit to these voices of authority”.
president barack hussein obama.
hussein. think about it…
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-13/obama-tells-keystone-foes-he-will-unveil-climate-measures.html
The science it seems still hasn’t settled whether eggs are good or bad for you.
but “The majority of people will always submit to these voices of authority”.
Or not.
Fox News Poll:
Most Americans don’t trust the government
Fox News - 13 hours ago
A new Fox News Poll shows just five percent of Americans say they have a “great deal” of trust in the federal government.
Fox News Poll: Most Americans don’t trust the government | Watch …
news.yahoo.com/video/fox-news-poll-most-americans-181545107.html
20 hours ago – Watch the video Fox News Poll: Most Americans don’t trust the government on Yahoo! News . A new Fox News Poll shows just five percent of …
What most Americans believe to be “Public Opinion” is in reality carefully crafted and scripted propaganda designed to elicit a desired behavioral response from the public. Public opinion polls are really taken with the intent of gauging the public’s acceptance of the Illuminati’s planned programs.
–Ken Adachi
“Public Opinion” is in reality carefully crafted and scripted propaganda designed to elicit a desired behavioral response from the public.
Then why did 70% of Americans believe in a public option if the Powers that be didn’t want it?
Or why most Americans believe in decriminalized pot if the Government doesn’t want it?
Or why most Americans believe in campaign finance reform?
Or why most Americans are against “Citizens United”?
Or:
Fox News Poll:
Most Americans don’t trust the government
Fox News - 13 hours ago
Why do you assume that elites don’t want those things?
Why do you assume that elites don’t want those things?
Because the elites control the government, and the government does not want many things that opinion polls show that the people want.
I submit that there is partial truth to the Ken Adachi quote above but not total truth.
Whomever is paying for these polls is seeking the very results that are published or they would not be published.
Whomever is paying for these polls is seeking the very results that are published or they would not be published.
Sometimes but not most of the time - especially when we get to higher percent figures. Show me a poll paid for by the Koch brothers that says 80% of Americans do not believe in man-made global warming.
On the contrary:
Poll: Even Idiots Believe in Global Warming Now
…..For many years, America’s idiots have had doubts about global warming. Why is there still snow in the winter? What if temperatures are randomly controlled by god’s wrath? And how about the fact that I like my SUV, b!%ch?
Many qualified scientists have struggled in vain to answer these questions to the satisfaction of America’s idiots. But according to a new poll, good ol’ Mother Nature, or Jesus, or whoever the f$%k may have done the job for them, what with all the storms and whatnot. Yes, almost 80% of Americans believe in global warming. The key finding, though, is that support for the clearly true idea is gaining strength among idiots:
http://gawker.com/5968443/poll-even-idiots-believe-in-global-warming-now
If the Koch boys paid for that, they are the idiots.
“The science it seems still hasn’t settled whether eggs are good or bad for you.”
Bad.
Animal protein damages the endothelial lining of your arteries.
http://www.heartattackproof.com/qanda.htm
(the website is cheesy)
Ha ha. I’m cringing w/the thought of the tongue lashing I’d get if I trotted that out in front of my scientifically educated ( or is it merely indoctrinated?) friend. Sometimes I wonder how our friendship endures such dripping condescension although I think she takes that tone w/me as she battles the voices of her oppositional family members in her mind.
It is possible for a lay person to discern simple truth from error without being a peer, ordained, liscensed, appointed, annointed or whatever. Likely more so because lay people are not paid to agree.
scientifically educated ( or is it merely indoctrinated?)
How can one be “indoctrinated” in science if one is using the English language?
Science (from Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge”[1]) is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.[2][3] In an older and closely related meaning, “science” also refers to a body of knowledge itself, of the type that can be rationally explained and reliably applied. wiki
in·doc·tri·nate /inˈdäktrəˌnāt/
Verb
Teach (a person or group) to accept a set of beliefs uncritically:
google definitions
More a case of follow the money.
Science and scientists require funding or they perish. A system that is ripe to be Co-opted by different agendas. Therefore people should be skeptical.
To your point yesterday about some church in your town where the children often go to top colleges, I’d be willing to bet your definition of “top” is different than what I was using. A true “top” college in the U.S. doesn’t let its students taken loans and does not really need tuition money. This list is probably about 25 schools total. And if you go to any of these schools, you will see that they are about as devoid of religion as you can imagine. Just about the only time you’ll see religion on an Ivy campus is when it’s in a comparative religion class or referred to in a history/poli sci lecture. It’s not that people aren’t nominally linked to a religion, just that they don’t really follow the religion or adhere to fixed beliefs except for purposes of tradition/culture. And true religious fundamentalism is vanishingly rare at any top school. I really never saw it, ever.
There truly are not many religious kids getting into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, etc.
Sounds like power/money/connections IS the religion.
Science and scientists require funding or they perish.
Tell that to Galileo.
More a case of follow the money
Big Oil, economic “growth” pushers and the Koch Brothers have plenty of money to peddle their bunk “science”. And still, 97% of peer reviewed scientific studies point to man-made global warming.
97% is not money talking. 97% is science talking.
Just about the only time you’ll see religion on an Ivy campus is when someone is in serious trouble.
“Tell that to Galileo”
Too funny.
“He was tried by the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.”
I am pretty sure the gentleman would agree with me.
“Too funny……(Galileo) was tried by the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.”
“Too funny” that (like global warming) you don’t get the point.
Him: “Science and scientists require funding or they perish.”
Me: “Tell that to Galileo.”
The point:
He was implying funding/governments guide science. My point is that funding/governments/church did not guide Galileo’s science. Why? Because true science cannot come up with true scientific results simply based on the point of view of the funding. And that scientific facts are facts, no matter the pressure against those facts. (As were Galileo’s facts)
Funny now?
Funny yes. Galileo found that peer review sucks bigtime. Sure you were trying to make a different point, but sometimes the hole is so big you can’t avoid falling in.
Galileo found that peer review sucks bigtime.
Right……Galileo’s work was subjugated to scientific peer review. By the church. I see.
sometimes the hole is so big you can’t avoid falling in
You just did. Twice.
Just about the only time you’ll see religion on an Ivy campus is when it’s in a comparative religion class or referred to in a history/poli sci lecture. It’s not that people aren’t nominally linked to a religion, just that they don’t really follow the religion or adhere to fixed beliefs except for purposes of tradition/culture. And true religious fundamentalism is vanishingly rare at any top school. I really never saw it, ever.
There truly are not many religious kids getting into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, etc.
Well, undergraduate life on the campus of an elite university is an island separated from the real world. There are a few different ways that you could understand what you saw there. There are still many educated couples with quite high incomes who raise their kids in a religion. An example that came up a couple of years ago was described in the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which a Chinese-American mother described her parenting techniques. The author is a Yale Law School professor who is married to another YLS professor. Though she is from a Catholic background, the children were raised in her husband’s Jewish faith. Apparently, part of the book describes the way that she harangued her daughters when they were studying for their bat mitzvahs.
I read somewhere that the older daughter is now attending Harvard (surprise, surprise). It’s quite possible that, having encountered the anti-religious atmosphere on campus, she never attends services and rarely discusses her religious beliefs. Maybe you could then describe her a being nominally attached to her religion. On the other hand, if she was exposed to a lot of religion, it could have a major influence on her ethical framework - in other words, her character.
This is not a direct contradiction of what you’re saying Joe, just a somewhat different way of looking at the same information.
Yes, those Church guys had a lock on phlosophy both natural and spiritual. There was no divide. When you get a bunch of humans annointing and appointing each other they can make up and agree on just about anything. The examples in history are as boundless as they are shocking.
It’s quite possible that, having encountered the anti-religious atmosphere on campus, she never attends services and rarely discusses her religious beliefs.
She may have had a lot of religion stuffed down her throat as a kid. And when she was old enough to go her own way, she did.
I hate to point out the obvious, but clearly Galileo represented unfettered scientific inquiry, and the church represented big business trying to squelch it. To use Galileo to defend the tiny minority of industry-sponsored scientists who deny global warming is to stand his example on its head.
I suppose the tiny minority of industry-sponsored scientists who denied cigarette smoking was bad for you were similar heroes of independent thought?
Perhaps it is a dangerous assumption that any individual questioning the “vetted truth” is a tool of evil big business, and to therefore dismiss them, because they are the tool of big business. Circular.
Perhaps it is also a dangerous assumption that any individual questioning “vetted truth” is a Galileo-like hero fighting the PTB.
Remember what happened to those few scientists who questioned the dangers of cigarette smoking after the tobacco settlement made big tobacco quit funding them? They disappeared, along with their industry-sponsored “scientific” claptrap.
Sure you’re not being played for a fool by the latest industry-sponsored “scientists”?
+ infinity and beyond!
or at least plus one, anyway
Occam’s Razor tends to blow away the smoke and mirrors of doubt and confusion.
For me, it’s also the word of Nobel prize winners. I’m going with them every time.
Like Obama? Or is that different?
Apple and oranges.
Obama !=science
Most scientifically minded people actively seek to upgrade their understanding and include new peer-reviewed information. This is very different than religion. Religion generally supresses societal change. Science, not religion, is why we know that other races are not lesser human beings, how we know that women are not inferior to men, how we know that gays are not inferior or sick people.
If a scientist rejects peer reviewed information categorically and refuses to adapt to changing understandings, he/she will not have a very good career in science.
Keep in mind, science is not an alternative religion, it is a collaborative process, a way of thinking. You form a hypothesis, you test it, you update it as necessary, you keep tweaking it.
Very few scientists are so bold as to say that we’ve really solved big issues or problems. The best we can do is solve more narrow issues, such as vaccinations, cures to certain diseases, energy efficiency, etc. That doesn’t mean basic research and the “big questions” are useless at all.
Most Christians (and I AM a Christian so I know what I am talking about) still believe that homosexuality is a choice even though the science of psychology has proven otherwise.
ask not for whom the glory hole tolls, the glory hole tolls for thee
Do they have tolls?
Report
That’s disgusting.
I know, right? He’s got some sort of fixation.
What was it that Jesus said about homosexuality?
Oh yeah, nothing.
But he did tell the rich to give away their money.
Just passing along what the cultural relativists tell us is A-OK, and if you don’t like it, you’re a xxx-ist.
Slap a COEXIST sticker on it and it’s all good bro…
Most Christians (and I AM a Christian so I know what I am talking about) still believe that homosexuality is a choice
Maybe not according to the math. Or maybe many still think it’s a choice and still don’t care much. (And I AM a Christian but I still understand math)
58% of Americans are OK with gay marriage and 80% of Americans say they are Christian.
Poll Tracks Dramatic Rise In Support for Gay Marriage - ABC News
abcnews.go.com › ABC News Blogs › Politics › Polls
Mar 18, 2013 – Fifty-eight percent of Americans now say it should be legal for gay and … 24 percent now see homosexuality as a choice, down from 40 percent …
Poll: Nearly 80 percent of Americans say they are Christian …
http://www.chron.com › Lifestyle › Houston Belief
Jan 5, 2012 – Overall, more than 82 percent of Americans have a religious identity, with this percentage breakdown: The findings fit the trend of an increasing …
And 95% of married, Republican men who have “downlow” gay sex are opposed to gay marriage because it’s a threat to traditional marriage.
“Americans say they are Christian”
Those Christains have a rule book. It pretty clearly defines what is healthy and what is not, even if the majority of fans have not read it. Is having unhealthy desires a “choice”? I don’t think that matters. The point is that people are unhealthy. If you do what is unhealthy, that is a choice. Should I want to punish my neighbor for doing unhealthy things? How can I when I am so unhealthy myself?
That’s my view.
follow the money
Science, not religion, is why we know that other races are not lesser human beings, how we know that women are not inferior to men, how we know that gays are not inferior or sick people.
Most Christians (and I AM a Christian so I know what I am talking about) still believe that homosexuality is a choice even though the science of psychology has proven otherwise.
Psychology is not science and psychiatry is only loosely related to science. The fact that those two fields no longer consider homosexuality to be a disease was probably driven more by the gay movement than any research. The same can be said for the decline of racism and misogyny.
Sorry, but both psychology and psychiatry crossed well into science decades ago.
Best recent example: Brain Games on the Science channel.
“Psychology is not science”
So the 6 years I spent in grad school becoming a psychologist was spent studying what exactly - magic? And I guess the children I assess and treat are improving via voodoo? It’s a shame such an ignorant statement obscures a more thoughtful one - about how the gay movement perhaps pushed homosexuality out of the DSM as much as scientific inquiry.
“…understanding that the human driven peer reviewed scientific method is as corruptible as any religion ….”
Except it’s not; it’s the antithesis. And that’s the difference.
Just wondering:
What happens when inflation finally hits and the rents skyrocket? Here in NW Phoenix it costs about $1100- 1200 to rent a 3 bedroom anything right now and I suspect that cost will go higher.
Aren’t all renters going to be hurt by the ever expanding rental costs that will keep pace with inflation?
When are you expecting this massive inflation of wages and salaries?
Minimum wage was a little over $5 an hour in 2007, a little over $7/hour in 2010.
That’s almost a 40% wage increase. Does that count?
Median and average incomes, 1990-2011:
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/central.html
Alpha, when discussing any inflation, I’ve found this a very handy tool:
http://www.halfhill.com/inflation.html
Min wage has not kept up with even the most conservative formula of inflation.
I suggest EVERYONE bookmark this calculator.
I didn’t say that minimum wage, or median wage for that matter, are keeping up with overall inflation. I’m just pointing out that both have ‘inflated’ recently. Just because they inflate doesn’t mean they buy more, but it does make prior debt more affordable, and supports prices even as people make less in real dollars- which seems to be what we are seeing today.
AlWog….. you’re always without an answer.
Why is that?
We expect the massive inflation to start in the 1960s and last about 40 years. We will call it the Greatest Expansion of Credit in Human History. After that, we expect something else.
When are you expecting house prices to fall by 65%?
When the people who count are no longer at risk of losses from it. Or the black swan feces finally hits the fan.
It’s 70% now.
I’ll take the over correction.
Considering current asking prices of resale housing is 250% higher than pre-bubble prices AND 40% higher than construction (m+l+profit), what makes you think the return to pre-bubble prices won’t over overshoot to to levels 80% lower than current asking prices?
ANSWER the question KrustyTheRealtor.
OK, I’ll answer it. Pre-bubble, which according to you was pre-1998 so call it 1997, let’s say a home was $200,000. Now according to you it’s 250% higher, so that’s $200,000 plus $500,000, or $700,000. You also say it’s going to overshoot to 80% lower than current, so that’s a $560,000 decline, or a current price of $140,000.
Your claim is that a house that sold for $200,000 in 1997 should now sell for $140,000. As I’ve said before, I agree that homes are overvalued, but the numbers you use are ridiculous.
let’s say a home was $200,000
“lets say”?? You damn fraud. Pre bubble median was half that amount.
Now it’s 250k. I know math is challenging for lying realtors like yourself but at least try.
Your claim is that a house that sold for $200,000 in 1997 should now sell for $140,000.
Houses depreciate like ALL manmade items.
You lying realtors need to learn to tell the truth if you ever want any credibility with the public.
In your case, have you ever considered doing something more credible and worthy for an occupation?
“Aren’t all renters going to be hurt by the ever expanding rental costs that will keep pace with inflation?”
Are you predicting higher inflation ahead? When? And how will an army of Baby Boomer retirees trying to survive on fixed-income pensions cope?
I’d think the Fed would face some serious political risk ahead if they try to use inflation as a pressure-relief valve. Further, they have already announced plans to withdraw from QE3 on signs of labor-market improvement, presumably to avoid overheating the economy once the labor utilization is in line with its potential.
Do you believe the Fed’s QE3 exit will be inflationary? Or do you doubt their resolve to follow through with announced plans?
Don’t feel obligated to address any of these questions if you have no opinion.
The FED cant even measure inflation accurately. The inflation has already bankrupt half of the population who live paycheck to paycheck.
The role of money is not just to make a transaction easier for both sides. If you look at the role of money it is a way to manage your population. If all the money is in a few hands does that create stability for the rest of us? what is the impact on all the people who don’t have any money? When they dont have any money crime and violence escalates and costs everyone. Are more people on food stamps good for society?
These problems run deeper than they appear.
June 14, 2013, 10:54 a.m. EDT
Consumer sentiment declines in June
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Led by gloomier views on current conditions, a gauge of consumer sentiment declined this month, missing analysts’ expectations, according to data released Friday.
After hitting the highest level in almost six years in May, the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters’s consumer-sentiment index fell to a preliminary June reading of 82.7 from a final May reading of 84.5.
…
Do you believe the Fed’s QE3 exit will be inflationary? Or do you doubt their resolve to follow through with announced plans?”
No
yes
“Do you believe the Fed’s QE3 exit will be inflationary?”
Do you believe the Fed’s QE3 exit will be stagflationary? Yes, commodities and energy are/will go up while wages remain flat. Assets prices, certainly the bubbly stuff, will experience a long deflationary slide especially when the counterfeit lending dries-up. It’s going to be ugly, IMHO.
Why should rents go up? If thousands of houses are being bought up by vast pools of OPM and are being rented out, what should one expect to happen to rents?
Perhaps they’ll need to be paid not to rent them ala farm subsidies. You know, for the stability of the country.
Sounds like one of Amy Hoak’s joke MarketWatch articles.
Been in the same place 3+ years and rent has gone up 1.7%.
Not very “skyrocketing” or “ever expanding” now is it?
The plural of anecdote isn’t data.
The plural of Realtor® is liars.
BAH!
Bizarre supposition. By what mechanism will this inflation in rents occur? Will the market just sit idly by and not build more rental units if there is an opportunity for huge profits? Will the addition of these rental units not lower rent costs until equilibrium is again reached?
Ponder something much more probable, nay- guaranteed because we’ve seen it before: As bloated municipalities and HOA’s become increasingly strapped for cash, they will aggressively and repeatedly raise taxes and mandatory fees. How will homeowners who purchased at bubble prices be able to cope with ever-increasing costs on a deteriorating asset that is worth less than half of what they paid?
Now seriously……
Do you really believe wages will triple to correct the massive imbalance caused by grossly inflated housing prices?
Of course not…..
Housing prices will fall to replacement costs in order to meet wages.
Housing prices have not had to follow wages for some time due to the miracle of faith based borrowing. The end of credit expansion will make house prices fall to what people can actually pay for.
See my comment below on the medium term mechanism for supply constraints on new multi-family below.
Long story short, higher interest rates dramatically reduce the profit potential for apartment developers unless rents rise. So, higher interest rates ultimately leads to less supply of new apartments, which MAY lead to higher rents.
There are enough vacant single-family houses to satisfy rental demand for a long time.
The problem is that those vacant homes aren’t easily moved to the places where they are actually needed.
Once the speculation ends we’ll see how much is actually needed where.
With 25 million excess empty houses, 4.5 million of them in CA, I don’t think there is a need to “move” them.
Whatta ya say Liar?
As bloated municipalities and HOA’s become increasingly strapped for cash, they will aggressively and repeatedly raise taxes and mandatory fees. How will homeowners who purchased at bubble prices be able to cope with ever-increasing costs on a deteriorating asset that is worth less than half of what they paid?
”
How will landlords ? But you are right this is what is going to happen.
We know it’s coming. It’s always been a matter of when.
It will be interesting…few people link the development of new apartments to low interest rates (ie. adding supply to help keep rental rates low). I’m shocked at how many apartment projects are being developed to a 6% or 7% yield on today’s (relatively high) rents. The only way this is possible is because the developers can sell for even lower yields than that.
Selling at 5% cap rates on apartments, when you look historically, is crazy low.
So, what happens when yields (interest rates and cap rates) rise?
First, that 5% cap sale price becomes 6% (still low), and then developers need to be developing to a 7% or 8% yield (instead of 6% or 7%). First this hits land values (in a negative way), but if the cost of construction is too high for a given market, it will also stop new development (if it’s not economical with free land, no development will occur).
So, over a medium timeframe, higher interest rates lead to less apartment development (less new supply). In this way, higher rates could lead to higher rents.
The same dynamic could play itself out with other low yielding/lower rent property types today–at the top of that list for me is industrial.
Here in Norfolk we’re starting to get a bunch of movement on apartments. One building is bringing 130 units to the market, 400 sqft studios for $800-900+ I bet ($20/sqft+)
Another corp just finally took over a number of older buildings downtown and is planning to move forward with conversion to “workforce housing” ($800+ for studio I bet.)
The job market ain’t that great for the bulk of people, and most of this is out of reach for the creative types that the cities claim they want.
Well… the one thing that protects against inflation is seniors. They are typically quite sensitive to inflation, they’re a large group and they vote.
Also - it is unclear whether high inflation helps banks.
The goals of the policy makers are to 1) stay in office and 2) enrich themselves, contributors and future clients/employers.
Regarding 1): If they wish to stay in office, they’d probably be better off not sparking a large inflation which will erode purchasing power of seniors.
Regarding 2): Kind of a dichotomy. Inflation would help Wall Streets casino operations by telling people the only way to protect their wealth is to invest in financial products. However… lenders may not be helped by inflation as it reduces the value they receive. But it would spark people to take out loans too. Kind of a wash I think.
So, the powers that be do like continuous low grade inflation - boiling the frog slowly. However, in a ZIRP environment, inflation does a good job of eroding purchasing power. And in an economy which is 70 percent consumer driven, it’s probably not going to make voters happy. Japan tolerated ZIRP in a deflationary environment for many years, not an inflationary one.
Also - median wages are growing well below the rate of inflation. Average wages are growing near the rate of inflation but slightly less. So they’re eroding everyone’s purchasing power.
Check out MIT’s billion prices project for a real-world view of inflation: http://bpp.mit.edu/usa/ - tracks CPI relatively closely.
But, true enough - in the case of a highly inflationary environment, real estate would be one hedge. It would force people into assets as they flee from the currency. To get a picture of how an extreme case, hyperinflation, works in an advanced economy, Germany provides an example. People would in fact be forced into assets as they flee the currency.
Low to moderate inflation in absence of wage growth makes people hunker down and restrict their spending as their purchasing power decreases.
There is no protection against inflation. Nothing except a big pile of money.
Doesn’t matter who you vote for, it’s the FIRE sector that determines prices and the public does not elect CXOs.
Bookmark this: http://www.halfhill.com/inflation.html
“Protects” perhaps is not a good word. “Provides an incentive against” is more accurate. Politicians do what they do to keep their jobs. Angry seniors with savings and fixed incomes aren’t going to take kindly to the erosion of wealth caused by inflation.
In theory, yet the reality is that real inflation has been out of control for the last 30 years.
Well… the one thing that protects against inflation is seniors. They are typically quite sensitive to inflation, they’re a large group and they vote.
Seniors also usually care about earning a reasonable yield on their savings accounts.
How’s that working out for them lately?
You really think making seniors happy is going to be sufficient to head off inflation?
Lip:
Since we have been in a deflationary environment for years, and rents have been decreasing, and now the Federal Reserve is probably going to ease back on the QE, why do you believe that we will suddenly reverse and go into inflation? The prices you mentioned in Phoenix are to rent a newer, larger, 3/2 HOUSE, btw (likely with a pool). Apartments are much less. That is very cheap.
Are Producer Prices Punishing the Dow?
By Dan Caplinger
June 14, 2013
After trading quietly during the first hour of the day, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) have fallen into the red, down 83 points, or 0.55%, as of 12:15 p.m. EDT. With investors anxiously awaiting news from the Federal Reserve next week, economic releases like this morning’s Producer Price Index report take on added significance. Let’s take a closer look at the PPI report and what it potentially means.
PPI rises
The Producer Price Index measures changes in prices that manufacturers initially receive for goods and services, typically from other businesses. That distinguishes it from the Consumer Price Index, which reflects retail cost inflation. Because retailers try to pass costs on to consumers as soon as possible, the PPI can provide hints on future trends for the CPI.
The headline number for PPI looked alarming, as a 0.5% increase in the index in May was well above the 0.1% to 0.2% rise economists were looking for.
…
$750,000 starter homes in metro Washington DC:
http://m.washingtonpost.com/realestate/how-much-home-can-you-buy-for-750000/2013/06/13/4761c1ce-d387-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_gallery.html
Ah, yes, get your villa in Rome before it’s sacked.
“Ah, yes, get your villa in Rome before it’s sacked.”
+1 LOL!
POTD!
A lot of young people are lemmings, they think they need to live where the 40-something and 50-something bigwigs live. Even at a low interest rate, if you borrow 600k for the mortgage, I think it means you pay something like 400k in interest over the course of a 30 yr mortgage. Not to mention all the property taxes, PMI, property ins., energy costs for heating/cooling a behemoth house, and routine maintenance.
QUALITY, not QUANTITY, is king.
I’m looking at houses up in the Northern Virginia area. If I can score a job for $130K+, then the $500K house isn’t quite that big of a deal. I’d imagine that a house in the DC area will decline in value less than one in Norfolk?
I’m a computer guy. There is basically 0 commercial datacenters where I live (a metro area of 1.8 million.) Shows how weak the market is.
First she tries to take away all the guns, and now she wants to take away all the government contractors. This is the most un-American, anti-capitalist, commie thing ever in the history of the USA.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/feinstein-eyes-limit-on-contractor-access-after-nsa-leaks.html
Government contractors landed at Plymouth Rock. Government contractors fired the shot heard round the world. Government contractors are Manifest Destiny. Government contractors hammered the spike that completed the transcontinental railroad. Government contractors raised the flag at Iwo Jima.
I think she just wants to throw them all in jail
another commie assault on the invisible hand of the free market. walmart to improve safety standards in asian factories, walmart buckling to commie labor unions demands. the obvious conclusion of this trend is a state-controlled, marxist-stalinist, command economy.
http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-14/walmarts-promises-its-complicated
and speaking of walmart, this is what happens when obama voters shop there:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/walmart-indecent-exposue-in-obama-shirt-785431
Yeah, the producers should eliminate the Obama voters, so as to prevent us from having a controlled economy. If the producers could control everything, then it wouldn’t be controlled by Obama voters, meaning it would be more free and less commie.
Goon: Workers drool; Producers rule!
No bubble in Old Blighty:
“House prices in England and Wales increased to a record in May as government measures to ease credit strains improved the availability of mortgages.
The average cost of a home rose 0.4 percent from April to 233,061 pounds ($365,000)”
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-k-house-prices-rise-to-record-as-mortgages-loosen-economy.html
And as always, notice that they made it easier to go INTO debt, they didn’t make it more possible to PAY the debt. They don’t decrease the level of debt so that it is organically sustainable. That would actually solve the housing debacle and they don’t really want that.
‘make it more possible to pay the debt’
with what, jobs and higher wages? that is commie, that is theft from the producers. and those smelly brits have been riding on america’s coattails for too long anyway. commies
Yeah, that’s right. Doesn’t everyone understand that this world belongs to like four or five producers, and that’s it? I hate it when lowly workers complain about not having a house. They’re lucky to even be alive! The producers should probably kill them as an example.
I see that Washington is going to arm the Syrian “rebels”. Hmm. How’d that work out in Libya?
Get the idea of some enraged, crazed shooter, armed to the teeth and blasting away in all directions, indiscriminately. You’ve described Washington aka the feral govmint.
I now differentiate Washington from the US. Washington is a different country, a city state if you will, occupying the US. Like Rome, we here in the states are much like those in the provinces of Rome. Tribute must be paid.
get on the gravy train or quit yer b1tching. i want to be bill in los angeles when i grow up. bill in los angeles = WIN
Choice:
1. Program the missile
2. be the target
hate the game not the player yo
bad boys bad boys what you going to do when the drones come for you
I think that’s why all these “immigrants”. Where would you like to be, where the missiles are falling or where the missiles are being launched?
3. Program the missiles with your gov’t issued security clearance and gov’d paid contract money but pretend to be against government spending and the military industrial complex, pretend to be an Objectivist who is against manipulation and violence, just ignore the ramifications.
Works for me.
BTW will be up in Estes Park this weekend. Since I couldn’t find any lots in Aspen for less than $6,000, will pick up some $5,000 lots up there instead, directly adjacent to the Rocky Mountain National Park created by commie Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt, good Pres., could never get nominated today. Too lib.
Roosevelt, good Pres., could never get nominated today. Too lib.
I think you are right. McCain was the reincarnation of Roosevelt…So he claimed anyway.
“Roosevelt, good Pres., could never get nominated today. Too lib.”
My TEA FIL always counters me with, “Roosevelt was a Republican!”
… a lot like saying Obama is “for the people!”
Hi, NSA!
Why must it be “pretend?” hint: I am a capitalist. I sell my services to the highest bidder. If I don’t do it someone else will while I get laughed at when my face is shoved in the sand.
…Plus…I am making a pile of moolah now and will continue. While you sling mud and wallow in it.
Bill- I’m not laughing. I don’t have an engineering degree or your level of clearance. But since 2010 I have learned that government contracting beats being a direct employee of the Fortune 500. Give us a break, we’re still getting our sea legs here…
NP goon, I was making an outburst toward Joe.
Poof! You are grown up! Now get on Dice.com. Select Con-w2 or contract-independent (1099) and find a gig!
Old Man McCain was bi**hing that simply arming them is not enough, he wants us flying support missions and enforcing no-fly zone so Syrian gov’t can’t use its airpower.
Some of these people never, ever learn.
Old Man McCain is a nuisance. What the young man Barry is doing a tad important don’t you think?
No argument there. Gary Johnson was the right choice last election, I probably should’ve voted for him. Mittens being so disgusting of a person and then picking Paul Ryan pushed me to vote for O, though. Obama has been pretty disappointing. It is only a small consolation that he has been better than the GOP alternatives. Very small consolation.
McCain is on his way out but his buttboy Lindsey “Paddles” Graham will step up to fill the void.
“Why buy a house now at these grossly inflated asking prices? Rent for half the monthly cost of owning and then buy later after prices crater for 65% less.”
Agreed.
Why rent when you can buy a house and not pay the mortgage for 6 years live free
Good point Krusty.
Paul Krugman has sympathy for the Luddites.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/opinion/krugman-sympathy-for-the-luddites.html?_r=0
sympathy for the Luddites.
Technology destroys jobs and frees up workers do to the other jobs that technology is also destroying.
MIT: How Technology Is Destroying Jobs
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/515926/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/
Given his calm and reasoned academic demeanor, it is easy to miss just how provocative Erik Brynjolfsson’s contention really is. Brynjolfsson, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his collaborator and coauthor Andrew McAfee have been arguing for the last year and a half that impressive advances in computer technology—from improved industrial robotics to automated translation services—are largely behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years. Even more ominous for workers, the MIT academics foresee dismal prospects for many types of jobs as these powerful new technologies are increasingly adopted not only in manufacturing, clerical, and retail work but in professions such as law, financial services, education, and medicine.
That robots, automation, and software can replace people might seem obvious to anyone who’s worked in automotive manufacturing or as a travel agent. But Brynjolfsson and McAfee’s claim is more troubling and controversial. They believe that rapid technological change has been destroying jobs faster than it is creating them, contributing to the stagnation of median income and the growth of inequality in the United States. And, they suspect, something similar is happening in other technologically advanced countries.
I’ve brought this up before. If someone could invent a machine that could completely feed, clothe, shelter, and entertain all of us at little or no cost, what would happen? Is it more likely that we would then all be free of earning our bread by the sweat of our brow? Or is it more likely that the machine would be used to enslave us for whatever sadistic purpose we could serve the owner(s) of the machine because anything we produce for the free market would have little or no value because the machine could do it cheaper and better?
That’s what the Cylons should have done!
Humans will find themselves in price competition with the machines, or doing work in niche markets where the cost of the machine does not justify building one to fill the market.
Like gourmet cupcake stores.
You would think at some point that government would quit handing out tax breaks/depreciation write offs for machines that put people out of work. But that would be communist talk.
I work with SCADA implementation, the marriage of digital communication, computers and anything mechanical; think scheduled remote control. Most of the industries I’ve been around used to be supported by three shifts, 24/7, but SCADA has reduced that to one skeleton shift of techies that respond when needed, 24/7. Unions enabled many Luddites to finish their careers — never to be replaced; sorry nepotism son.
“Technology destroying jobs” is yet another successful canard and distraction.
The biggest destroyer is still deliberate private sector under-staffing and offshoring, along with underfunding of public works.
Technology allows a society to produce more and, hence, consume more as well. The trouble today is that offshoring (slavery) is impeding technology. As long as you have slaves available to do the work, then a machine is unnecessary.
The US economy is being destroyed by a lack of tariffs. Tariffs are a necessary component of internation trade, and have been for thousands of years.
+1 on the tariffs.
The best part of that column:
Education, then, is no longer the answer to rising inequality, if it ever was (which I doubt).
Thank you, Paul Krugman. This needs to be repeated until everyone understands it.
I bought a house on a golf course one year ago. Payment is $750 a month. Try to rent for that.
I bought a house on a golf course one year ago. Payment is $750 a month.
Why buy a home on a golf course when you can rent it for half at $375 a month??
What’s the commute time to the nearest job base, Ms Realtor?
The house is 1,800 sq.ft. just off the 17th tee box of Lakes East Golf Course. It is located at 99th ave and Bell Road just 1 1/2 miles off of the 101 in North West Phoenix. At the peak of the market it would have sold for 250K - I bought it for 120K. Today it would cost 150K. I got a 15 year loan for 3.35 percent interest with 20% down. Takes me 35 min to drive to North Scottsdale for my job. It is 15 min to the Cardinals Stadium. I plan on living in the house until they take me away with a toe tag.
Hmm, 1800-sqft for $120k sounds like a doable deal especially since you had 20% down. How about the golf course HOA?
Well then you got a good deal. 35 minutes is not the greatest of commutes, but doable.
“What’s the commute time to the nearest job base, Ms Realtor?”
Still stuck in the 1955 mentality where everyone commutes to a job in a factory downtown, eh?
2013 is a wee bit difference. People work from home or work virtually 2-3 days a week or work in a suburban office park. It is rare for people to work downtown and live in the burbs. There’s just no need to.
Realtor
Hey Kathy:
I’m glad you bought a house last year for a good price. Was it in Phoenix? They were a good deal back then. I would not advise anyone to buy the same house today, as their mortgage payment would be much higher than equivalent rents, and they would also have to cover the maintenance, HOA, and property taxes. Prices have gone up by an insane amount over the past year. They will certainly crash, but I don’t know when. Maybe next summer.
Uncle Fed
I first started to look at golf course houses around October of 2004. At one time my hubby and I had a offer on a house for 409K. We backed out of that one and the price of houses started to go up 10K a month. We stayed in our house that is at 80th Ave and Cactus in NW Phoenix and watched as the pricies went down. This blog is one of the reasons I did not buy in 2005 - 2007. Finally prices got so low that we started to look again. The house we bought has an unbelievable view of the golf course on a double fairway with breathtaking sunsets every night. We originally planed on renting it until we were ready to retire - but we moved into it and rented out other house for $1,200 a month.
I agreed about prices right now in Phoenix - they went up too fast and I think there will be a mini crash. I stay on top of the market on a daily basis and I am seeing some houses go on the market at top peak prices - good luck with that!
Dump it while you still might find a buyer.
Surprise ? who writes this crap ?
“A surprise spike in mortgage rates threatens to halt a refinancing boom that has delivered strong profits for U.S. banks over the past two years.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 4.15% last week, a 14-month high and up sharply from 3.59% in early May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. A separate survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac said the rate this week was at 3.98%, up from 3.35% last month.
Refinancing applications last week were down 36% from the first week of May, before rates began climbing, according to the bankers association.
Lenders have been predicting that refinancing would taper off, “what wasn’t anticipated was that this move in rates would happen so quickly,” said Bose George, a mortgage-finance company analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
OMG, the house business is collapsing, because the interest rate on home loans is 4%
(snark)
They are not building castles on sand. It’s built on fresh dog crap.
The PTB have gone all out trying to revive/reinflate the real estate market/bubble, and all it takes to blow it up is a rise in loan rates to 4 or 5%?
Bankster Bailout 2.0, coming up soon……and once again, we shall have a demonstration of who really owns the country.
“The PTB have gone all out trying to revive/reinflate the real estate market/bubble, and all it takes to blow it up is a rise in loan rates to 4 or 5%?”
I read somewhere that a 2% increase in interest rates in Japan would mean that 80% of taxes collected would go to debt service.
And can someone please explain to me why the USDA is financing suburban house sales?
You answered yourself in the post right above.
Does the policy help to:
1) Stay in office?
2) Help contributors and/or future clients or employers?
Yes to one or both of these means the policy is a go.
Mike Whitney nails it again:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/14/time-to-buy-a-house-not-on-your-life/
goon here is a good question…..this idea of a move up market seemed foreign to us growing up. probably 2/3 of the ranch houses on the street single car garage under the house…just extended the house extra bedroom bigger kitchen opened the roof a lot had screened in back porches off the kitchen…..most of the houses had a small front yard but at least 50 feet in the back…
It was mostly the IBM commuter corporate types that would move closer to NYC, or move to Darien for the prestige…..
How did turn into the norm…..i guess its like ranch dressing…..marketing
If you own a house in Detroit, I’d equity it out to the hilt and walk away. Let Obama and government deal with it. Best thing to do is leave to a city that has some sanity left in it.
————–
Detroit To Default Today, “Shared-Sacrifice” To Follow
Zerohedge | June 14, 2013 | Tyler Durden
And so the next casualty of the inevitable municipal collapse appears, which is, as expected, that one-time symbol of all that was right with a (once upon a time) manufacturing America, having since been replaced with the anti-symbol of all that is broken: Detroit.
And, true to from in the New Normal America, where the “fairness doctrine” rules supreme under Big Brother’s watchful eye, the premise of the upcoming glorious recovery is a well-known one: “the shared-sacrifice.”
The City currently faces approximately $17 billion in total liabilities. Detroit is insolvent and cannot meet its financial obligations without a significant restructuring. Mr. Orr’s plan provides for shared sacrifice among all creditor groups – from Wall Street and Main Street consistent with their legal rights – in order to return Detroit to a sustainable financial foundation and to permit much-needed reinvestment in the City.
Are you talking about bankruptcy? You act as if it’s some sort of new-fangled Democrat ploy, designed to lead the free world into communism.
60 years of unbroken democrat/progressive rule in Detroit.
With all that goes with it.
Insane taxes
Insane public unions
Insane regulations
The free sh*t army loved it.
Now they have run out of other people’s money.
They took the third most populous and booming city in America and turned it into a 3rd world hell hole.
Call it what you want.
Yeah, like unrestricted access by foreign car manufacturers, and exporting jobs to slave-labor wage countries like China had nothing to do with it.
Your ZeroHedge/Mish-inspired rants against unions and government are getting boring, repetitive and tiresome.
Detroit…St. Louis, Gary, IN, Buffalo, Cleveland….the list is long of once prosperous cities that were anihilated by decades of Democrat rule.
Republican George Voinovich was mayor of Cleveland from 1979 to 1989 so make sure when you include Cleveland in your talking points to add an asterix with a footnote excluding that decade from its alleged “decades of Democrat rule”.
Slithers:
Or maybe they were anihilated by the lack of tariffs known as GLOBALISM, aka The British School of Economics. It’s a failing system, bound to destroy any economic base.
Were Republicans against globalism? Were Republicans arguing a return to the American School of Economics (which requires tariffs)? Oh, they weren’t? I guess the Republicans are overjoyed to see the demise of America’s manufacturing base. And for extra points, they can even blame it on “The Unions”. The unions weren’t the ones with the idea to send the labor to China, my friend. If it weren’t for the globalism, then we would still have unions, and our manufacturing base would still be healthy.
The vast majority of all big city mayors have been Democrats for many decades. However, when I look at your list - Detroit…St. Louis, Gary, IN, Buffalo, Cleveland - I do see pattern there. Those are all cities where manufacturing was once the most important source of employment. Decades of automation, competition with cheap Third World labor and poor management devastated industry and those cities.
Now take a look at some other big cities which are doing better - New York, Seattle, DC, San Jose, Austin. These cities have also mostly had Democratic mayors for decades. So what’s the difference ? Well, this group of cities all rely on government jobs and jobs in industries developed or supported by the government - aviation, software, finance.
Finance was developed by govt? LOL!! And software was too? Who knew? Here I was thinking it was developed by guys in their garage with the purpose of making EEEEEEEVIL profit.
Finance is heavily supported by the government. The bailouts back in 2007/8 were not the first time that the feds had to ride to the rescue of Wall Street. There have been bailouts every few years since the Saving and Loan debacle 22 years ago.
Regarding software, it’s fairly well known that the federal government funded the development of the internet and also GPS. What’s less well known by Americans is that, in its earliest days, the federal government provided something like half of the R & D funding for what was then known as the computer industry. This started shortly after WW2 when there were only a few computers in the world and those that were built were made out of vacuum tubes and relays. This funding helped to develop many different technologies - semiconductors, integrated circuits, operating systems, artificial intelligence, the relational database, etc. The government was also a major customer for the industry’s products. Customers are a nice thing for an industry to have.
Another important developer of computer technology was AT&T’s Bell Labs. Up until 1984 AT&T had a monopoly on long distance and the government allowed AT&T to charge very high rates for long distance calls. At&T was then able to lavishly fund Bell Labs, which developed the transistor, the Unix operating system, and the C programming language, among many other important tech developments.
Finance: Bailed out and subsidized by government.
Software: The government pays through the nose to hire contractors to write code for them. For more information, reference “NSA”. Can you tell me which private company invented the internet?
Speaking of government funding of computer technology, here’s an interesting story. The Australian government developed and patented WiFi. So they sued various hardware vendors that use that technology for a couple hundred million dollars.
Sometimes we hear people here in the USA say that the government should be run like a business. The Australian government is putting that ides into practice.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/04/wifi-patent-case-results-in-229m-payment-to-australian-government/
30 years of offshoring jobs and failure by the Big 3 carmakers to re-invest in factories caused the problems.
Big 3 were annihilated by the unions which also happen to donated millions every year to the Democrat Party. Democrat touches it, it dies. Cities, counties, states, auto, airline, steel….you name it
“The Big 3 were anihilated by the unions.”
Do you have any evidence of that? I see the destruction coming from the stupidity of globalism. After all, the Big 3 did fine for a long time with unions. It wasn’t until after we got rid of our TARIFFS that the Big 3 started to fail.
Is it more reasonable to blame unions for being around for a long time with no ill effects, or to blame the ridiculous once-in-a-millenium mistake of NO TARIFFS for immediately preceding the demise of the US manufacturing base? Can you think of any other rich nations that have traded without tariffs, and ended up better off for it? Name one.
So where are those WMDs?
Oh and: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68R40I20100928
Thanks Slithers. I always enjoy the opportunity to prove you wrong.
Smithers is a Realtor
No, no bankruptcy yet (technically).
Just the public acknowledgement that unsecured debtors, and retirees, will take a haircut. Like anybody didn’t already know that.
June 11, 2013 in Business
Home Sales See Bump
“With 588 homes sold in May, Spokane County’s real estate market had its best month since 2007, the Spokane Association of Realtors said. The number compares with May 2012, when 440 homes sold in the county…..Helping the local market recover is a robust demand for new homes, he added, with 82 new homes sold. In April the county reported 58 new-home sales. Average home sale prices for Spokane climbed 5.7 percent, to $184,127. The median price in May rose 5 percent, to $167,995……Kim Cooper of the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors can also show a solid set of numbers. Sales of single-family homes in Coeur d’Alene have risen from 259 to 355 this year – a 37 percent increase, he said. Average sales prices for the first five months of the year in Coeur d’Alene are up 4 percent from last year, to $193,511, Cooper said. For the entire North Idaho market, the average home sales price has risen 6 percent in 2013, from $166,665 to $177,054.”
Realtors® are liars.
He’s talking about sexual harrassment in the Australian Army; too bad our half-azzed leadership (business, military and government) won’t take it to heart when dealing with everybody.
“Those who think that it is okay to behave in a way that demeans or exploits their colleagues has no place in this Army.”
“The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept……”
(According to his Wiki page, he’s one of those worthless Bachelor of Arts majors……)
The whole statement is on YouTube.
Recently observed bumper sticker:
“JESUS IS COMING……..LOOK BUSY”
My Sky Wizard is better than your Sky Wizard.
Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?
I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.
A barbaric relic?
http://www.goldismoney2.com/showthread.php?48026-Images-From-China-Ten-Thousand-People-Waiting-In-Line-To-Buy-Gold
CBS computers hacked.
Must be some low level IRS agents.
Nah, IRS would hack the NSA. If they hacked CBS, they must be White House.
“CBS computers hacked.”
Comment by ecofeco
2013-06-14 15:53:27
“Obama !=science”
CBS’s Sharyl Attkisson: Evidence Confirms My Computer Was Hacked
By Matthew Balan |
June 14, 2013 | 11:48
CBS’s Sharyl Attkisson revealed on Twitter on Friday morning that her computer was, indeed, hacked, as she had alleged back on May 21, 2013. Attkisson quoted from her network’s own statement about the finding:
“A cyber security firm hired by CBS News has determined through forensic analysis that Sharyl Attkisson’s computer was accessed by an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions in late 2012. Evidence suggests this party performed all access remotely using Attkisson’s accounts.”
The correspondent, whose reporting on the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal earned CBS Evening News an Edward R. Murrow Award, and has stood out for continuously covering the ongoing controversy surrounding the September 2012 Islamist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, explained the firm’s findings over seven tweets:
“While no malicious code was found, forensic analysis revealed an intruder had executed commands that appeared to involve search and exfiltration of data. This party also used sophisticated methods to remove all possible indications of unauthorized activity, and alter system times to cause further confusion. CBS News is taking steps to identify the responsible party and their method of access.”
During a May 2013 interview on Philadelphia radio station WPHT, Attkisson speculated that “there could be some relationship between these things and what’s happened to James [Rosen],” the Fox News correspondent at the center of the Justice Department’s controversial surveillance of journalists. The DOJ later denied involvement: “To our knowledge, the Justice Department has never ‘compromised’ Ms. Atkisson’s computers, or otherwise sought any information from or concerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own or use.”
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2013/06/14/cbss-sharyl-attkisson-evidence-confirms-my-computer-was-hacked - -
The poodle barks
Uk will not allow snowmen fly over its air space
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is falling up again. Today it fell up by 106 points to 15,070 — a level well above where it was in late 2012.
And FAR above where it was in 2009.
“The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental , nor do they result from from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink”
George Orwell