Bits Bucket for July 22, 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
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“The odds of rising to another income level are notably low in certain cities, like Atlanta and Charlotte, and much higher in New York and Boston”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/business/in-climbing-income-ladder-location-matters.html?from=homepage
Excellent information, sizzup.
It’s nice to get information that is useful rather than opinionated.
Thanks.
So we are not supposed to notice that Democratic run cities are more democratic?
“So we are not supposed to notice that Democratic run cities are more democratic?”
Charlotte and Atlanta are as Democratic as Boston and New York.
Do try and keep up.
Dang it, I keep forgetting Bloomberg is a Democrat.
For regulating the size of soda cups, I nominate him for democratship.
Notice what you will.
I could notice that New York City is a hotbed of income increases due to political cronyism, big banks and the gutting of the state’s rural areas. But I didn’t.
Sizzup - I didn’t see a complete listing of major cities. Did the Times publish one, or was their report ultimately driven by the need to support the Neocon-Progressive Party?
This was discussed this morning on another board I post at. The consensus there was LOL, just LOL, at the south and midwest. A young person would have to be crazy to live there. (Note: Mountain west, e.g. Denver, Boulder, Las Vegas, not included when I say midwest.)
The South was built by relatively downscale boomers moving from the NE to the south to get lower COL. Problem is, it’s a terrible place to actually work your way up from college grad up to the top of the food chain. If you already made your money in NY or sold a house in NJ for big $$, then you’re not really starting at the bottom in GA or NC or whatever tea bagger locale.
So it’s crazy to make $50K a year and buy a 4 bedroom house for $200K in flyover. But it’s sane to make $100K and buy a condo for $1M in New York
Got t.
That’s why these discussions are idiotic. It puts income in a vacuum without talking about what that income buys. When factoring in purchasing power, New York, DC, Boston, SF are the poorest cities.
Continue to fall into the Neocon-Progressive Party trap, guys. Good job, both of you.
It’s about career trajectory and mobility.
Yes, if the best you can do is middle management, avoid NYC by all means. If you want to make it to the top, starting your career in the midwest or south makes it a hard road. You have much better odds in the NE or west coast.
As I said, maybe the south isn’t so bad when your kids are grown and you’re living on a boomer middle management salary plus your equity from selling a house in NJ, CT, LI, whatever.
“Yes, if the best you can do is middle management”
You know, there are numerous professionals in any given career field that have absolutely no interest whatsoever in a management position, but still manage to move to higher income levels.
“You have much better odds in the NE or west coast.”
Any state with a medium to large city can provide many opportunities for advancement, especially if the state has attractive tax incentives. Hell, some of those flyover hayseeds can even become wealthy…go figure.
Also, if you’re in a flyover city with a >100k income, you’re a pimp, in SF/NY/LA/CHI/DC you’re barely lower-middle class.
Joe you are absolutely correct……everything costs the same as NYC….but the pay is half or less….just think my dj stuff was paid for by high school reunions and weddings, it takes a long time to acquire stuff when weddings are sill $400 or less in South Carolina, , and in NYC its $1000 and up…
You say
“……everything costs the same as NYC….”
then say
“weddings are sill $400 or less in South Carolina, , and in NYC its $1000 and up…”
Are not weddings considered costs in each locale? So everything doesn’t cost the same, just a view from your narrow perspective. Perhaps everything costs the same for the materials you use in your profession but what the residents of the two different places see as COL are two completely different scenarios. You want to get $1000 to do a SC wedding when the people in SC are not willing to pay for your NYC COL.
dj is right. It’s not just COL. Bottom line, in the city you can make enough more to cover the higher COL AND more easily buy everything you need to do the job. Later on if you choose to you can take your paid off equipment out to the sticks and be a big fish in a small pond if that makes you happy. But you generally can’t afford to boostrap it from nothing out there. The margins are too thin and as soon as one thing goes wrong it’s back to a lucky duck job or two for you.
Like you said…..if i buy a new car, or new laptop, or go get a basketful of stuff at Target, it costs the exact same out here in BFE as it does in San Francisco or New York.
My business trip to SFO a few years back was illuminating. All kinds of healthy choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But it was stuff you would never see in Flyover. Why? Not because those Flyover slobs liked bacon grease. It was because a place that charged $15-20 for lunch would be out of business sooner rather than later.
When your budget for lunch is about $5, it has a tendency to limit your choices.
Another thing that people in high income areas don’t get is that they aren’t as “unique” and “talented” as they think they are….but because they live in “protected” job markets. “Protected” in that people (and their families) who already live there have an economic advantage compared to people who don’t who try to move there.
A buddy of mine illustrates it perfectly. Got an offer to transfer to the Bay area, including a “raise” that supposedly offset the cost of living. The reality is that housing prices are higher than the offset. And his wife couldn’t find a job that payed enough to offset the housing and the extra travel time.
So he quits, and ends up taking a pay cut. Now he’s lost money, but he’s lost less than he would have, if he had accepted the transfer to SFO.
In the meantime, the company has to hire a local pilot at SFO area-inflated salary.
Any cities that are “prosperous”, where all of the “talented, creative people” live aren’t any more talented than most people out in BFE, they just happen to live in areas where the “chosen ones” live, aka industries that are winners due to monopolistic practices, crony capitalism, lack of competition, and favored tax policies.
Another thing that people in high income areas don’t get is that they aren’t as “unique” and “talented” as they think they are….but because they live in “protected” job markets. “Protected” in that people (and their families) who already live there have an economic advantage compared to people who don’t who try to move there.
Agreed.
A buddy of mine illustrates it perfectly. Got an offer to transfer to the Bay area, including a “raise” that supposedly offset the cost of living. The reality is that housing prices are higher than the offset. And his wife couldn’t find a job that payed enough to offset the housing and the extra travel time.
Having just visited that area for the first time ever a month or so ago and again last week I have to say that for tech work at least, I think an ambitious person should go ahead and take the plunge and move out there. If you just want to find a job you can cruise in and not think too much about it might not be worth it but if you actually want to make it somewhere near the top the opportunity there is undeniable compared to even smaller tech enclaves like Boulder. I was impressed.
Moving to SFO as a single/non married techie is not quite the same as doing the same with a family.
Which is why smart parents are telling their kids to avoid marriage and (especially) having kids. At least until someone decides that kids growing up in middle class families are important.
In this job environment, even more so that 20 years ago, your career/income improvement options are a lot better if you don’t have a spouse or kids to worry about, and can move cross-country at the drop of a hat.
Conservatives bitch and moan about deterioration in “family/religious values”, but support economic policies that undermine those values.
Jesus is supposed to make up the difference, but he’s been slacking.
“Dont you blaspheme you ol fish eyed fool!” — Lawanda Page
From an old dog of a restauranteur.
“If lunch costs more than the average hourly
wage, you’re out of business.”
The South was built by relatively downscale boomers moving from the NE to the south to get lower COL. Problem is, it’s a terrible place to actually work your way up from college grad up to the top of the food chain.
The article mostly addressed the issue the chances that a person from a poor or working class background has to make into the middle class. Why do you think that it’s harder for a college grad to move to the top 1% in the South?
Because the “top of the food chain” isn’t a Southern 1%er, at least in tech. In smaller markets you have to go through Boss Hogg to get to the top. In San Jose you can go around him…if you even notice him in the way.
Interesting article on Rare Earth minerals..i read a lot is now on federal protected lands and people like the sierra club wont let them mine it.
http://news.yahoo.com/gold-rush-era-discards-could-fuel-cellphones-tvs-133752521.html
BTW, there was no mention of the Sierra Club in that story. Maybe you’re just upset that the government doesn’t just hand over public lands for free.
“They were surprised to find that the critical elements could be in plain sight in piles of rubble otherwise considered eyesores and toxic waste.”
So the last guys we let mine this area left a mess and we are to believe they won’t do it again?
I think blue it was not on fed land when they mined it …..but now it is….have to check the geological maps to find out…
“Get what you can get for your house now because it’s going to be far less later for years to come.”
your too early to the party. prices still rising here. I am noticing more inventory though.
“If you bought a house 1998-current, you’ve already lost money and you’re going to lose alot more.”
Exactly… Why? Because houses depreciate.
There is no sin except stupidity.
-Oscar Wilde
“Why buy a house at these massively inflated prices?”
I am patient with stupidity, but not those who are proud if it.
-Edith Sitwell
Rent for half the monthly cost of buying. Then buy later for 70% less>”
>I am patient with stupidity, but not those who are proud if it.
-Edith Sitwell
My credo right there.
Isn’t the bankruptcy of Detroit an example of why a Monarchy is better than a Democracy?
A Detroit King, queen and royal family would have been better stewards of the cities finances because it is they who would get their heads cut off if the current fiscal clusterfook happened on their watch.
In a Democracy, the buck never stops.
If you have an idiot king then you are screwed. Same if you have a bunch of idiots voters.
If you have an intelligent king then you just might do well. Same with intelligent voters.
The problem with the king part is the crown might be passed down from an intelligent king to someone who is an idiot. But the same problem exists with voters.
IMO the problem with Detroit has to do with borrowed money in that if the PTB are able to borrow so they can spend then they don’t have to raise taxes.
If you have to raise taxes in order to spend then there would arise an immediate howling from the taxpayers. The key word here is “immediate”.
Eventually there will be a howling but the key word here is the word “eventually”, as in “not now”.
“IMO the problem with Detroit has to do with borrowed money…”
+1 In a nutshell.
combo:
you cant have a declining population and an increasing retried workforce. I’ve stated before you should have to prove your retired each year to get full benefits before you are 65.
Also they should all go back and eliminate the abuses and recalculate the amount based on your last years base pay…no OT no added sickdays no spiking……then come back with how much was saved…..before you touch the base benefits.
Also why do we pay the full cost of health insurance for the family .retiree health should be you for you alone want the wifey kids covered its xxx amount per month.
Yeah i know its in the contract….and contract law etc….so maybe this will set a precedent for unions be reasonable or in BK you get royally screwed
dj,
you absolutely can have a declining population and increasing retired workforce. You just can’t rely on future taxpayers to pay for past workers in that scenario which is what you were probably trying to get at. If you change up the equation so that workers have 401k style retirement paid for by themselves, then it doesn’t matter how many future workers you have as the first round workers were self sufficient.
IMHO this, and the inability of pension managers to loot/mismanage 401k’s in the way they do pensions are the biggest reasons to get rid of public pensions. Yes, workers are required to be responsible for their own 401ks, and some will surely screw it up, but at least everyone in the whole pension won’t be subject to systemic risk from fraud, waste, or simple abuse. (Except of course the risk from being in the various markets).
Thanks i should re read before i post, but the cat jumped on the keyboard….
mathguy, that’s true enough. But 401Ks served as a pretty nice mechanism for Wall Street to take the labor force hostage and subject them to the Wall Street brand of fraud, waste, and abuse. I’m not sure which is worse.
Comment by Combotechie
2013-07-22 06:26:38
If you have an idiot king then you are screwed.
————————————————————————
Thats the purpose of the head getting cut off “incentive.”
the entire family would have greater incentive for correct government if they knew their actions today would determine if grandson, nephew, niece, uncle… will be able to keep his head tomorrow.
In a Democracy it seems like a case of “loot & scoot”
Actually, we decided to give democracy a try here because the King was rather abusive, trying to make us pay for the debts he and his buddies incurred in a massive speculative bubble. Maybe the common thread here is massive debt fueled speculative bubble?
In a public union + free sh*t army + long term democrat rule city…
What do all the public union retirees and politicians do the day after they retire?
Move to a low tax and right to work state…
Really??
Yep, every last one of them. It’s insane….
A Detroit King would have sent his citizens off to war in some distant land before allowing the city to fail, where they would have all been killed.
Is there such a thing as a benevolent dictator/king?
Now and then one comes along. Solomon was supposed to have been one.
Of course the fog of history may have obscured some of King Solomon’s coarser points and emphasized his benevolence.
Solomon was terrible on taxes:
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred three score and six talents of gold
1Kings 10:14
Mark of the Beast. 666
The outlook hasn’t looked this good for Detroit for sixty years!
July 22, 2013, 12:26 p.m. EDT
Six things Detroit has going for it
Commentary: Hidden in plain sight, building blocks for revival
By Barry D. Wood
Jeff Haynes/Getty Images
Detroit has thousands of abandoned houses, but even those homes could be a source of revitalization.
Make no mistake Detroit’s bankruptcy will be angry and contentious. This largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy is uncharted territory for the state, city residents, bond holders and unions. By comparison, resolution of the city’s finances is likely to make the sanitized 2009 General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies look like a walk in the park.
Obscured by the prevailing gloom, Detroit possesses the essential elements of a turnaround. If built upon and wisely managed, Detroit will experience the kind of renaissance that has made a retooled Pittsburgh so attractive and vibrant. Here are some of the building blocks:
…
I think I agree with the people saying it’s the crime. Control that and anything is possible. Fail to control it and very little is possible. Physical security is very near the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
So the real question is…what would it take to control it?
Depends on what constitutes a crime.
“Common Law” is virtually the same in every state. Simple, easy to understand by anyone with a high school education and pretty much covers the basics of “what is crime”.
Don’t steal or rob.
Don’t hurt or threaten other people.
Don’t destroy other people’s property.
Obey the traffic laws.
Pretty much the 10 Commandments without the religion.
One problem for Detroit is it will have an awful time attracting people interested in helping with its revival- especially whites. Nobody wants to risk a Reginald Denny style beat down, or worse, on a daily basis when all they want to do is walk their dog, or haul in the groceries from the car.
As the crime wave seems to be moving to the burbs, this formula may change.
They need to figure out what is defendable and salvageable, and what isn’t, then bulldoze the rest.
Detroit happened because America’s manufacturing base has been decimated by globalism.
Sorry, that doesn’t fit the GOP Marie Antoinette Social Darwinism agenda.
You damn liberal commie.
“The recession has proved to be more of a catalyst than a cataclysm for much of the District, and nowhere is that playing out more dramatically than the one-mile stretch of 14th Street from Thomas Circle to Florida Avenue.
The formerly riot-scarred corridor has gone into gentrification overdrive, a boom fueled by investors looking for a safe place to park hundreds of millions of dollars, the relative ease of obtaining a liquor license, and the arrival of thousands of new residents longing to live downtown.
The community’s new identity as a glittering canyon of glass, steel and $16 cocktails has come to symbolize what some are calling the District’s Gilded Age
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/gentrification-in-overdrive-on-14th-street/2013/07/21/d07d344e-ea5b-11e2-a301-ea5a8116d211_story.html
The community’s new identity as a glittering canyon of glass, steel and $16 cocktails
—————————————–
Don’t forget the cops rolling around on $5000.00 Segways
It just goes to show; when white people REALLY want to do something, they don’t ask black people, they just do it.
Ending slavery
Walking on the moon
splitting the atom
putting a black man in the white house
Good luck preventing white people from doing something they REALLY want to do.
spook tell me your opinion on this:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/07/20/bill_whittle_the_truth_about_trayvon_martin_and_george_zimmerman.html
Before I view it, let me provide the conclusion I have come to about the trial.
George Zimmerman was put on trial for practicing racism/being a racist.
He was found NOT GUILTY.
Thats really what this entire event was about; even though both parties agreed to deny the logic.
Just like NASA regarding Apollo 11, for whatever reason, Zimmerman felt the need to produce a “sexy” version of events instead of the accurate, detailed, honest, truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
If you are NOT a racist, and that is what it takes to prove you are not a racist?
Its more an indictment of all of us than a challenge to the honesty of George Zimmerman.
I had to learn the hard way to be suspicious of young black males; who am I to challenge any other people including white people for doing the same?
Instead of worrying about who is “profiling” me; I profile my self.
Questions I ask MYSELF when I look in a mirror:
1. Who is that guy?
2. What is he up to?
3. What is he trying to do?
4. Where is he going?
5. Is he a constructive person or a destructive person? and how can I tell?
If I can’t answer those questions, I’ll sit on the side of the bed until I can. Its the least I can do before I attempt to interact with another person; ESPECIALLY another black person.
George Zimmerman was put on trial for practicing racism/being a racist.
He was found NOT GUILTY.
Zimmerman was found not guilty of being a racist? I missed that charge, trial and verdict.
So…a question on that topic. If you see somebody ambling along walking or riding a bike slower/differently than the social norms for that neighborhood and it makes you a bit suspicious, does that automatically mean racism to you? I ask because I’ve seen a bit of that behavior in section 8 type neighborhoods in Boulder and it appeared that the families had come from somewhere else. The behavior is seen as “weird” out here regardless of skin color. But it may have been normal where the family came from.
My recollection is that was the first thing Zimmerman mentioned on the radio as making him suspicious. And I remember articles after Katrina about some of the Houston neighborhoods that houses Katrina refugees complaining about it because they found it weird, too.
You consider walking or cycling slowly or differently than the social norms to be suspicious. What speed represents the social norm? If I see someone walking or cycling in my neighborhood, I rarely observe them for more than a couple of seconds. So I wouldn’t be able to tell if they’re moving unusually slowly. If you’re observing the way that people walk or cycle for more than a few seconds, you maybe doing that because of something that you can notice in a very short period of time.
If a large scowling kid is riding a small bicycle with no seat in circles in the middle of the street and has no interest in getting out of the way of your car, you’ll notice. Normal people with places to go don’t act that way. And don’t usually let their kids act that way for long…
….. and when they do, they’re sent to Beatings Administration promptly.
If I was driving down the street and saw kid riding in circles in the middle of the street, my first reaction would be think that that was dangerous, not that it was contrary to social norms. A lot of teenagers from all sorts of families engage in dangerous or annoying behavior. Their parents often don’t know what they’re doing.
If I was driving down the street and saw kid riding in circles in the middle of the street, my first reaction would be think that that was dangerous, not that it was contrary to social norms.
The first time. What about the 20th day in a row?
when white people REALLY want to do something, they don’t ask black people, they just do it.
Ending slavery:
There were many black abolitionists, and slaves had made their position clear on their enslavement.
Walking on the moon:
The moonshot was a national goal and blacks were/are part of our nation.
splitting the atom:
Was a national security project. See above.
putting a black man in the white house:
Obama was nominated for president by the Democratic party which is composed of people of all colors. Being nominated or nominating is a form of being “asked”, therefore blacks were “asked” about Obama being nominated for president.
Good luck preventing
whiteAmerican people from doing something they REALLY want to do.Spook, white people may have done these things, but it wasn’t because they were white. it’s because they were free. they were fortunate enough to have a government that protected their personal rights and property rights. they had a government that protected them from enemies both foreign and domestic. and we are losing all of that.
if black people had a majority in a country with similar rights and laws, they would be doing great things too.
our morality springs from the responsibility that freedom brings.. we need to bring standard morality back to our country. then all of us can prosper.
>we need to bring standard morality back to our country. then all of us can prosper.
With this I agree whole heartily.
We are ALL (left, right and middle) being screwed by gov, big business and MSM.
“Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, its civilian and military workforce has grown by one-third, to about 33,000, according to the NSA. Its budget has roughly doubled, and the number of private companies it depends on has more than tripled, from 150 to close to 500, according to a 2010 Washington Post count.
The story of the NSA’s growth, obscured by the agency’s extreme secrecy, is directly tied to the insatiable demand for its work product by the rest of the U.S. intelligence community, military units and the FBI.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-growth-fueled-by-need-to-target-terrorists/2013/07/21/24c93cf4-f0b1-11e2-bed3-b9b6fe264871_story.html
In the 30’s FDR spent 13 billion on programs like WPA and the TVA and employed over 8 million Americans from 1935 till WWII came along. We got something valuable and lasting with the WPA. When I hear the words “National Security Administration” the first thing that pops into my mind is “Secret Police”. What lasting legacy will NSA leave America with?
The same that the Stazi left with the people of Germany.
Have another spring planting season’s Green Shoots of economic hope already withered and died in the summer sun?
ECONOMY
Updated July 21, 2013, 8:57 p.m. ET
U.S. Growth Outlook Stuck in Neutral
GDP Expectations Dialed Back as Retailer, Restaurant Sales Falter
By BEN CASSELMAN
CONNECT
The long-anticipated acceleration in the U.S. economy has been put on hold once again.
Disappointing economic and corporate-earnings reports in recent weeks have dashed hopes that the U.S. was at last entering a phase of solid, self-sustaining growth. Instead, while economists expect a modest second-half pickup in growth, few are predicting the kind of substantial rebound needed to quickly bring down unemployment, raise wages and insulate the U.S. from economic threats abroad.
There also are signs that consumers—whose spending has helped prop up the economy for much of the past year—are beginning to tighten their belts. Retail sales grew a paltry 0.4% in June, Commerce Department figures showed, and would have been even worse if higher gasoline prices hadn’t forced drivers to spend more at the pump.
“This year is proving to be more challenging than we had originally planned,” Howard Levine, chairman and chief executive of discount retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc., told investors earlier this month. “The consumer is just more challenged than we had anticipated.”
Sales at restaurants—a key source of recent job growth, adding more than 150,000 positions over the past three months—tumbled last month, suggesting consumers could be pulling back on discretionary spending.
The unsteady economy, both in the U.S. and internationally, is affecting companies’ bottom lines—results have been mixed as firms begin reporting second-quarter earnings. Industrial giant General Electric Co. reported lower global revenues but higher profit and said sales in Europe had “stabilized.” Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. posted sharply higher profits, but earnings in the technology-sector have generally fallen short of expectations.
The Federal Reserve is watching the data closely as it decides when to begin winding down its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program. Many Wall Street analysts expect that process to begin at the Fed’s mid-September meeting. But in Senate testimony on Thursday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said it was too early to make a decision and reiterated that the timeline will depend on how the economy performs in coming months, warning that the economy “remains vulnerable to unanticipated shocks.”
Economists now believe the economy grew at an annualized rate of just 1.5% in the second quarter, according to The Wall Street Journal’s latest survey of forecasters. The economists have become markedly more pessimistic since June, when they estimated a 1.9% pace for second-quarter growth, and several forecasters now believe the growth rate fell below 1% for the second time in the past three quarters.
Such false dawns have been a recurring theme in a recovery filled with rosy projections that last only until the next crisis or unforeseen roadblock appears. Some experts said the latest disappointments should come as little surprise: Exporters and manufacturers have been hit hard by weak overseas economies, consumers are still adjusting to tax increases that kicked in early this year, and government spending has fallen due to the “sequester” budget cuts.
“I don’t see these numbers as being surprisingly lousy,” said Tara Sinclair, a George Washington University economist. “I would rather say that the forecasts we saw earlier were overly optimistic.”
…
Restaurant Sales Falter?
That’s unpossible. HBB’s resident economist reported this weekend the Idaho Waterpark Attendance Index as evidence that the USA economy is in a permanent upward trajectory with peace and prosperity for all. Have you even tried getting a table at Applebee’s lately?
It’s a DEPRESSION out there!! Run for the hills everyone!!
Or maybe not…
“Chipotle Mexican Grill’s second quarter financial results are out.
The fast food chain reported earnings of $2.82 per share, slightly above estimates for $2.81 EPS. Revenues also came in above expectations, at $816.8 million versus $802.77 million.”
“Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc. said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit rose 22 percent with improved revenue at its Double Eagle Steak House and Grille brands.”
“Olive Garden, Darden’s largest brand, reported total sales of $952 million and a same-store sales increase of 1.1 percent during the quarter. For the full year, the brand reported total sales of $3.68 billion, and a same-store sales decrease of 1.1 percent. At Red Lobster, U.S. same-store sales rose 3.2 percent during the fourth quarter, with sales totaling $703 million. For the full year, the brand reported a same-store sales decrease of 2.2 percent at U.S. locations. Red Lobster reported total sales of $2.62 billion for the full year. LongHorn Steakhouse reported a same-store sales increase of 3.5 percent during the fourth quarter at U.S. locations, reporting total sales of $339 million for the period. Annually, the steakhouse chain reported total sales of $1.23 billion — a 10.3-percent year-over-year increase — and a same-store sales increase of 1.2 percent.”
(4th above is fiscal 4th quarter 2013 which ended May 31st)
Once again, the HBB living on a different planet from reality.
Applebees wait times have never been longer!
“Applebees wait times have never been longer!”
They’re certainly not any shorter….
“DineEquity Inc., the Glendale-based owner of the Applebee’s and IHOP restaurant chains, had a strong fourth quarter after suffering a severe slump a year earlier. Applebee’s proved a highlight for the company, with sales at locations open more than a year up 1% compared with the previous fourth quarter. Chief Executive Julia A. Stewart attributed the boost to Applebee’s late-night crowds and record alcohol sales. DineEquity bought the casual sit-down brand for $2 billion in 2007.
I guess the crappy food they serve is not the reason?
“weak overseas economies”
In other words, normal overseas economies.
At least the stock
and housingmarkets are still doing fantastic.Breaking News: Existing home sales fall 1.2 percent in June
UPDATE 2-Stock funds worldwide gain $19.7 bln inflow - EPFR
Related News
Dow, S&P 500 end at all-time highs on earnings, Bernanke
Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:00pm EDT
By Sam Forgione
(Reuters) - Investors worldwide poured $19.7 billion into stock funds in the latest week as U.S. stocks hit record highs, fund-tracking firm EPFR Global said on Friday.
The inflows into all stock funds in the week ended July 17 were the largest in six months, said EPFR Global. Most of the new cash went into funds that hold U.S. stocks, which gained $16.96 billion, the most since June 2008.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average hit record highs for three consecutive sessions at the start of the week on strong corporate earnings and hints that the Federal Reserve’s stimulus is unlikely to slow soon. The S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent over the weekly period.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke boosted the appetite for stocks when he said on July 10 that the central bank needed to keep its bond buying in place given low inflation and a 7.6 percent unemployment rate that “if anything overstates the health of the labor market.”
“The most recent remarks Bernanke made has made it very clear to everyone that they’re not in a hurry to taper,” said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer of Philadelphia Trust Co. He said Bernanke’s comments likely helped drive demand for stock funds over the week.
Investors have poured $38 billion into stock funds so far in July, reversing $15.7 billion in outflows from the funds last month, EPFR Global said.
The Fed’s $85 billion in monthly purchases of Treasuries and agency mortgage securities have been a major source of support for both stock and bond markets.
The stimulus has helped lift the S&P 500 over 18 percent this year. Investors fretted when Bernanke told Congress on May 22 that the Fed could reduce its bond buying later this year.
Bernanke’s comments in late May caused a broad credit market selloff, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury has risen 87 basis points to 2.49 percent since May 2. As yields rise, prices fall.
…
Does “somebody” put a floor under declines in headline U.S. stock market index levels on days like today when “worse than expected” news on housing might otherwise sink stock prices?
“Does “somebody” put a floor under declines in headline U.S. stock market index levels on days like today when “worse than expected” news on housing might otherwise sink stock prices?”
Yeah. There’s this guy named Joe. He wakes up every morning and decides what the closing DJIA average will be. That’s one theory. The other theory is tens of millions of investors around the world buy and sell billions stocks every day and through that exchange, a price is set.
Both theories are compelling. I wonder which is true?
“I wonder which is true?”
It is a bit challenging to explain why ‘unexpected’ bad news, like today’s ‘worse than expected’ used home sales number, leads to the headline indexes getting stuck on the flat line. How would tens of millions of investors around the world buying and selling billions of dollars worth of stocks through decentralized transactions on an open exchange explain such an extreme lack of downward price flexibility?
P.S. Your BS strawman ‘buy named Joe’ explanation is too dumb to offer a response.
‘guy named Joe’ not ‘buy named Joe’…
My Freudian slip is showing again.
“P.S. Your BS strawman ‘buy named Joe’ explanation is too dumb to offer a response.”
“Stupid is as stupid does”
-Forrest Gump
Check out the selloff on the bad used home sale numbers. It’s devastating!
Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJI: DJIA
Market open
15,542.22
Change -1.52 -0.0098%
Volume 58.62m
Jul 22, 2013, 1:26 p.m.
Your BS strawman ‘guy named Joe’ explanation is (a boring Smithers logical fallacy tactic.)
I’m surprised he didn’t say ‘evil rich guy named Joe’.
Smithereens:
You should continue attending high school until you graduate. The Federal Open Market Committee does, in fact, coordinate efforts to prevent stock prices from decreasing.
Slithers LOVES The Fed.
The FED ensures that Slitherin’s stock market investments always go up.
Hope and Change
“The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet identified the three black women found wrapped in multiple plastic bags near the intersection of Hayden and Shaw avenues.
Michael Madison, 35, of Cleveland, was arrested Friday night after a two-hour standoff at his mother’s home on Chickasaw Avenue.
In police interviews, Madison led investigators to believe that he might have been influenced by Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell, East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton said Saturday in an interview with the Associated Press.”
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/07/east_cleveland_officials_fear.html
Note that East Cleveland is a separate municipality, not to be confused with the East Side of Cleveland. Case Western Reserve University, the cultural institutions of Unversity Circle, and the Cleveland Clinic are not far from the Cleveland / East Cleveland border.
Anyone remember when obama warned voters if they voted for Romney, Detroit would go bankrupt…
————————
Detroit: The Left’s Model for Success
Townhall.com | July 22, 2013 | Rachel Alexander
Fifty years of Democrats running the city of Detroit led to it filing for bankruptcy last week. Unsustainable demands from its 48 unions gradually drove out private industry, as government became the largest employer. Its shrinking tax base can no longer support the massive pension debt obligations and still provide a minimum level of city services. Nearly half of the city’s debt is to underfunded pension plans and retirees.
Mitt Romney presciently warned in 2008 that if the government bailed out the automakers, it would ultimately destroy Detroit. “Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.” Obama and the Democrats in Congress didn’t listen and chose to bail out GM and Chrysler.
Detroit reached its zenith in the 1950s. It was the fourth-largest U.S. city and had one of the country’s highest per capita incomes. A manufacturing capital, the city provided 75 percent of the production for World War II. GM CEO Dan Akerson laments,”If you go back to the early ’60s, Detroit was the Silicon Valley of America. If you were an engineer, you wanted to be in Detroit.”
Tax revenues began falling as the population decreased from 1.8 million in the 1950s to 700,000 today. Wealthier people moved out of the city and into the suburbs. Conservative states friendlier to business and less subject to burdensome government regulations and union demands, like Alabama and South Carolina, provided incentives for automakers to build factories there instead, and the Big Three started relocating their plants out of Detroit beginning in the late 1960s. The size of the U.S. auto industry shrunk as Japanese cars started dominating the market. GM is the only auto company with headquarters left in Detroit, and its research and testing centers, which provide thousands of jobs, are located outside of the city. GM opened another new plant in Shanghai last month. Ford was never located in Detroit, but in nearby Dearborn. GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy in 2009, despite the bailouts. Ford, which refused government bailout funds, did not file for bankruptcy.
Unlike other cities which found new industries to replace their failing ones, Detroit never moved on. Instead, the city’s reaction to the shrinking tax base was to build fancy new buildings, which only dug it deeper into debt. It became difficult for Detroit to provide basic services such as law enforcement and trash pickup due to the escalating costs of union contracts and benefits, especially health care, which became worse under Obamacare. The city of Detroit and its school system are now the biggest employers in the city, dwarfing GM and Chrysler. Yet the city is now supporting more retirees than it has workers, with 18,000 retirees to the city’s 10,000 active public employees.
Big cities controlled by the Democrats like Chicago, Oakland and Santa Fe are now headed towards similar disaster, buried under unsustainable pensions, some up to five times their operating revenue. Chicago just took a steep credit rating hit, as Moody’s lowered the city’s credit rating by three levels. Since 2010, 23 cities and municipalities have declared bankruptcy. The mayor of Detroit, Democrat Dave Bing, says there are over 100 major urban cities that are going down the same path as Detroit. Steven Luetger, senior managing director of fixed income for Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc., observed that whether it’s Detroit or Chicago, “there doesn’t seem to be any sense of cost discipline in either city.”
Obama warned voters if they voted for Romney, Detroit would go bankrupt. He tweeted on October 17, 2012, “When Gov. Romney said we should just let Detroit go bankrupt, we said thanks but no thanks.” Looks like he was right, I voted for Romney, and now Detroit is filing bankruptcy.
Obama ran on a platform of hope and change, promising blacks he would make them better off. In reality, they’ve been hit the hardest by disastrous liberal policies. Detroit is going bankrupt, contrary to Obama’s spin last fall. The biggest victims of the left’s disastrous mismanagement of big-city governments have been blacks - eighty percent of Detroit is black. The left uses blacks and makes them worse off than they were before.
“Anyone remember when obama warned voters if they voted for Romney, Detroit would go bankrupt…”
Are you agreeing that he was correct, or that things would have played out differently under a Romney presidency?
It is laughable to suggest that the outcome of the 2012 presidential election would have changed the course of sixty year’s worth of disastrous city management. I realize that is what political hacks are paid to do, but I find the practice deplorable.
[Cue up canana boy for another partisan hatchet job...]
Do you realize how you come across?
Your statement is as laughable as 2banana’s.
I don’t see how Prof Bear’s statement is ludicrous.
No President could change what Detroit’s government did (or failed to do) for more than half a century.
Moreover, no President _should_ do such interventions into city or state affairs. It sets a terrible precedent. At most, all a President could do is make general political statements and urge people to vote for different/better leadership at their local levels.
Apparently even those with pedigree educations from elite schools can be as blind (dense?) as a teabilly redneck.
If you don’t see the irony in the witless use of Obama’s ludicrous statement as a refute of 2banana’s own inane comment, then you need to open your eyes. Or realize you’ve been played. Either/or.
That said, I very much agree with your second paragraph. It’s a shame that we’ve so many morons in this country who think otherwise. Witness Trayvon.
I don’t see how Prof Bear’s statement is ludicrous.
Same here…made sense to me. Independent of which parties happened to be in charge at which locations at which times…no president can fix that.
And I personally do find it funny when it’s used politically and then later is shown to be impossible for the person making such statements to control. Helps anyone with a memory realize how little our big men can control.
“I don’t see how Prof Bear’s statement is ludicrous.”
It is ludicrous by decree if MacBeth sez so. Never argue with Macbeth.
Obama campaigned in part on “Detroit is alive and Osama is dead”. Like all Obama statements, this one too has an expiration date.
He clearly meant GM/Chrysler.
I’m not defending Obama’s statement, but pointing out that anyone who thought he was referring to the city of Detroit is brain dead.
“The White House remarked…” does not mean there is an actual talking house in DC.
Metonym.
He clearly meant GM/Chrysler.
Conceptualization and context require objectivity and/or a little intellectual firepower.
For a group that is independent, centrist, moderate you all sure do go out of your way defending St. Barrack. But I know, I know, you’re not at all partisan.
No one’s “defending” anything except for the cause of adult literacy.
I’m pretty sure the common phrase was even “GM is alive”.
Re-post from last week. This piece advocates that the city of Detroit merge with all of its suburbs so that suburban residents can help pay for the ailing city’s woes.
http://www.salon.com/2013/07/12/white_people_killed_detroit/
For an opposing perspective:
Should Hamtramck Erect A 12-Foot Wall To Keep Out Detroiters?
July 19, 2013 1:23 PM
This graphic outlining Richard Fabiszak’s platform has been circulating on the Internet. It first appeared in Hamtramck’s local newspaper.
DETROIT (WWJ) – Prosperous suburbs surrounding Detroit — and even the struggling enclaves within — are working to distance themselves from a city in financial ruin.
In Hamtramck, one City Council candidate is taking that idea to the extreme.
Richard Fabiszak has proposed that Hamtramck build a 12 or 14-foot wall around the city, keeping out Detroiters, and requiring state-issued identification to get in.
…
The only appropriate response from detroiters is to trebuchet fireballs over the wall.
Nuke it from space
It is the only way to be sure
Tolls gates would be a money maker.
All sorts of theories being put forth as to why Detroit declined. A sampler:
1) The auto industry made crappy cars.
2) The auto industry pulled out.
3) The unions busted the city.
4) The Democrats did it.
I call BS. It’s the crime and only the crime. The high crime rate caused the tax base to flee and prevented businesses from locating in the city, period.
Of course, there are those who say “Well, the auto industry left and people didn’t have jobs so they resorted to crime”.
BS. The steel industry left Pittsburgh, and it was able to attract other sources of jobs and income.
It’s the crime. Period.
There’s another factor about Detroit that’s different than Pittsburgh. A factor we are not allowed to speak of.
Keep it up Smithers, a little more rope and you’ll be able to hang yourself.
Again.
There is more than the small element of asphyxiophilia to Mr. Smithers.
PGH has a demographic dip in its future. Very old county/area. PA doesn’t take SS or veteran’s benefits which is why the population shift hasn’t been that bad. It’s coming, though. And there are a lot of Oil Cities in that area.
my cousin grew up lucky ducky in pittsburgh, in the city not the burbs, on mt washington / south carson street before it was hipster. she married her high school boyfriend and they moved to fort lauderdale to live the 30k milli lifestyle. his brother was the mortgage broker in cape coral during the bubble years, living in a mcmansion with his silicon-enhanced girlfriend. now he lives on their couch, smoking pot and playing video games.
“PA doesn’t take SS or veteran’s benefits”
What does that mean?
Does Silly Valley look like Detroit now in 2060?
“When I was a young man, they told me if I voted for Goldwater, I’d get sent to Vietnam. I voted for Goldwater anyway and sure enough, I got sent to Vietnam!”
My dad often told a variation to his friends…”they told me if I voted for Barry Goldwater for President this country would go to hell. I did and it did!” I was very young but never forgot it.
I did vote for Romney. I guess it’s my fault.
A major street in Detroit is Jefferson, with sidewalks. As it travels out of Detroit and into Grosse Point it becomes a boulevard with no side walks on the lake side, and they call it Lakeshore. Once it gets to St Clair shores it becomes Jefferson again.
Grosse Point is a very wealthy area with estates overlooking Lake St Clair - a lake with an average depth of 11 feet. But Lakeshore’s beach was covered in concrete to avert the “dangerous waves” from crossing the road and damaging their estates. The concrete has all broken up now.
But never a sidewalk. You cannot park anywhere along Lakeshore, nor walk on the grass beside the lake - nor - do anything. The maids can be seen standing waiting for their bus - often having to cross traffic without any lights assisting them. What little traffic there is.
This is what the President spoke about (flip side). Too powerful didn’t trust anyone - keep moving - and didn’t take into account their own employees. The residents in this area were the propellant for Detroit’s auto industry.
Not one park for the public in Grosse Point overlooking the lake. Not one public beach, despite excellent prospects.
Why wouldn’t unions proliferate under such circumstances ?
The Detroit pendulum is swinging again - first for the rich guy, then the union guy, then the public civil servant, - now hopefully to equilibrium.
I am not anti rich, nor pro union. But somehow we have to learn a way to better balance everything.
Because they are spending money on Idaho waterparks?
McDonalds Misses Revenue And Earnings Due To “Economic Uncertainty And Pressured Consumer Spending”
If they served McRib year round this wouldn’t have happened.
If they served McRib year round people would grow accustomed to it and the bounce that McRib provides would disappear.
The oldest trick in the book…miss revenues, blame the economy (or the weather).
McDonald’s serves garbage. The trend in America is towards healthier eating. It’s not too hard to put 2 and 2 together here folks.
On the other hand….
AUSTIN, Texas, May 07, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) — Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM +0.07% today reported results for the 12-week second quarter ended April 14, 2013. Sales increased 13% to $3.0 billion. Comparable store sales increased 6.9%, and identical store sales, excluding four relocations and one expansion, increased 6.6%”
I admit we go to McD sometimes for the 2 for $3 breakfast special….the McGriddle always gets me.
The trend in America is towards healthier eating.
You must not get out much with the bottom 90%.
America’s Bad Eating Habits Get Even Worse
MyHealthNewsDaily Staff | June 10, 2011
http://www.livescience.com/14543-america-bad-eating-habits-worse.html#sthash.tBeTI94P.dpuf
Hey, America: Our eating habits are getting worse.
A Gallup poll released today (June 9) found that 55.9 percent of Americans reported eating five or more serving of fruits or vegetables at least four days in a week in May of this year. That number was 57.8 percent in May 2010.
Produce consumption is down the most among Hispanics, young adults, seniors, and women this year compared with 2010, the poll found.
The poll also found that the percentage of people who said they “ate healthy all day yesterday” fell from 68.2 percent to 66.2 percent — a drop that translates to 4.5 million fewer American adults eating healthy this May than last May.
…it is possible that the decline in the healthy behaviors is partly a result of sharply increasing gas prices, which may drive some Americans to less expensive, less healthy options, Gallup said.
It costs money to eat healthy. That and good
nutritional habits will keep you trim.
How many times have you seen that 240 pound, spandex covered, cellulite shaking lady with two dirty kids pushing the cart full of frozen pizza’s, macaroni and cheese, and a case of diet Coke?
“It costs money to eat healthy. ”
Bull! Absolute, 100% bull.
“An Agriculture Department study released today found that most fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods cost less than foods high in fat, sugar and salt. That counters a common perception among some consumers that it’s cheaper to eat junk food than a nutritionally balanced meal.”
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/05/healthy_eating_can_cost_less_s.html
“It costs money to eat healthy. ”
Bull! Absolute, 100% bull.
“The government says it all depends on how you measure the price. If you compare the price per calorie — as some previous researchers have done — then higher-calorie pastries and processed snacks might seem like a bargain compared with fruits and vegetables.”
“The poll also found that the percentage of people who said they “ate healthy all day yesterday” fell from 68.2 percent to 66.2 percent —”
Based on the odd wording of that question (”all day”), I’m amazed it’s that high. Who the hell eats healthy all day? And I ask that as a pretty healthy eater.
I read this story, and it made me want to eat at McD’s. It’s so gross, but sometimes you kid yourself into thinking it’s kinda good.
Big OOPS!
U.S. is not in a new housing bubble — not yet, anyway
• Amy Hoak: Mortgage rates have become home-buyer stumbling block
• U.S. existing-home sales fall 1.2% in June
• Dr. Bernanke’s next house call | Michael Sincere: Scale back QE now
“Mortgage rates have become home-buyer stumbling block”
It’s a crisis! Somebody do something quick to push long-term fixed mortgage rates back down to affordable levels!!!
I believe this is accomplished by increasing the competition among mortgage banks.
Ouch! Somebody wake up the rich, Chinese Investors…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-22/existing-home-sales-fall-most-2013-biggest-miss-12-months
“Existing home sales dropped 1.2% month-over-month - the biggest drop in 2013 - against expectations for a 1.5% rise. Critically though, this is for a period that reflects closings with mortgage rates from the April/May period - before the spike in rates really accelerated. Inventory rose once again to 5.2 months of supply (vs 5.0 in May) and you know the realtors are starting to get concerned when even the ever-optimistic chief economist of the NAR is forced to admit that ’stunningly’ “higher mortgage rates will bite.” With mortage applications having collapsed since May, we can only imagine the state of home sales (especially as we see all-cash buyers falling) for July.”
Must’ve been all that rain.
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/us/politics/obama-plans-to-unveil-his-agenda-for-economy.html
what is wrong with this concept? It is just a crazy propaganda.
Don’t we already have this? Smart/intelligent/educated people are most likely to earn more in most of the societies. I.e. they earn as per their abilities. As far as needs are concerned, it follows your abilities
and that is what capitalism is “People’s lifestyle depends on how smart/intelligent/educated they are “
“Obama Plans to Unveil Agenda”
He’s unveiled the same agenda every 6 months.
1. TAX MORE
2. SPEND MORE
3. REGULATE MORE
“In January 2009, an anthropologist named Jason DeLeon began spending a lot of time near the United States border south of Tuscon. On the Mexican side, he interviews would-be migrants about to try an illegal crossing. On the American side, he collects what is discarded by those who make it — among other things, clothing soiled by the passage and the backpacks in which they carried clean clothes.”
The second picture in the article is beautiful.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/magazine/backpacks-from-the-border.html
If this guy can find and photograph these well used locations, shouldn’t the Border Patrol alkso be able to find them? Perhaps these locations are not on the administratively approved search location list for the Patrol?
Bernanke Warns of Tanking the Economy
“I don’t think the Fed can get interest rates up very much, because the economy is weak, inflation rates are low, if we were to tighten policy, the economy would tank.” Ben Bernanke testifying at the House Financial Services Committee last week.
…And if he keeps printing consumer confidence is going to TANK!
http://smaulgld.com/bernanke-warns-of-tanking-the-economy/
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon” — President Barack Hussein Obama
“use some robitussin nd soda to make some fire ass lean” — Trayvon Martin
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Dueling-Trayvon-Martin-protests-collide-in-River-4678150.php
I told you all long ago this was a lynching of Zimmerman
I told you last week they wouldn’t riot. There are no leaders and nobody important has been assassinated yet. Dozens of folks get murdered every day but only important people get assassinated.
How important was Rodney King? Although maybe it’s easier to hate the LAPD than some Peruvian dude who was getting beat up.
This whole thing might have turned out different if it was caught on video don’t you think?
Rodney King will be more famous than you or I could ever hope to be and he died stoned in his swimming pool. His autopsy report states “The subject at that time was wearing his underwear down around his knees and then apparently fell backwards into the planter” He is eternal in his place in history.
the last real riot i can remember, cincinnati in april 2000, was the result of the cincinnati police’s 15th shooting of an unarmed young black male in only a few years.
And yet Obama is set to nominate Raymond Kelly as next DHS chief.
He had NYC cops spying on Muslims around the country and infiltrating mosques.
The nerve of the guy to look for terrorists in locations where there actually may be terrorists forming. Yeah I know, there I go profiling again.
Isn’t it uncanny that Zimmerman had trayvon pegged as a thief….and guess what he was on suspension for?
I’ve learned from my liberal betters that a 26 year old Saudi citizen at the airport poses no threat to anyone and should not be profiled or in any way inconvenienced by the TSA. But the 78 year old woman Swedish citizen in a wheelchair, needs to be interrogated and given a full body cavity search.
Where do Chechens fall in your list?
I’ve learned from my liberal betters that a 26 year old Saudi citizen…..
Is your mind really that simple or is it a Smithers act?
And yet, after 6 years he found - 0.
Yes, he found not a single terrorist.
So, are you objecting because of the waste of taxpayer money or because of ideological principle?
Nothing changes the fact that profiling does actually work.
Hi-Z:
I think the point is that we are spending too much money to profile people for something that almost never happens. The damage done by the rare terrorist may be very visible, but it’s nothing compared to the damage done by other (nonterrorist) crime.
Besides, terrorism is most likely to sprout in countries with totalitarian governments. Countries where political incumbents can spy on their opposition, for instance. Terrorists are domestic to their home countries, and they occasionally travel elsewhere.
So I guess making “lean” is a death-penalty offense.
“Where’s it going to end, Briggs? Pretty soon, you start executing people for jaywalking. And executing people for traffic violations. Then you end up executing your neighbor, ’cause his dog pisses on your lawn.”
Harry Callahan
Making lean / sizzurp / purple drank is not a death-penalty offense.
Being in a PCP-like state of psychosis from ingesting it and then sucker punching a “creepy ass cracker” and bashing his head into the pavement are the circumstances that led to Zimmerman’s justifiable self-defense that left Trayvon Martin dead.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57594906/george-zimmerman-helps-save-family-from-overturned-suv/
This happened a week ago, but its funny how there has no press coverage aside from the media demands that they lynch him because of the color of his skin.
i heard holder is going to charge him with leaving the scene of an accident.
“PCP-like state”
Says who? The toxicology report doesn’t say that. All it says is that he had marijuana in his system.
And we know how violent and out of control marijuana users are.
“Then you end up executing your neighbor, ’cause (you are fabricating facts about) his dog pissing on your lawn.”
Fixed.
Yeah, the kid deserved to get whacked, because he said he was a gangsta on his Facebook page.
And we all know nobody ever lies on their Facebook posts. Especially 18 year olds. Who might have a reason to promote a gangsta/Billy-Bad-Azz persona, as a self-defense measure.
And those sluts wearing anything but a burka that get raped had it coming to them, too.
Trayvon Martin may not have tested positive for codeine (mixed with Promethazine in prescription cough syrups) or other opioids. He was high on Dextromethorphan (DXM) which is in over-the-counter cough syrups. A google search for “purple drank” returns this Partnership for a Drug Free America website as a sponsored ad:
http://www.dxmstories.org/
and his liver was damaged too very uncommon for a normal drug free 17 year old
http://econweb.tamu.edu/mhoekstra/castle_doctrine.pdf
A recent study suggests that laws may lead to more deaths. According to a June study by researchers at Texas A&M University, the rates of murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased by 8 percent in states with Stand Your Ground laws. That’s an additional 600 homicides per year in the states that have enacted such laws.
Forward
‘even though some 45 million americans sport tattoos, they can be a barrier for job hunters.
with that in mind, the san pablo economic development corp. is sponsoring monthly low-cost clinics for tattoo removal.
plenty of folks at friday’s clinic said they regretted rash decisions from their youth and were eager to wipe the slate clean.
others said they were tired of being stigmatized in social settings.
‘people look at me like i did five in the pen,’ said tia v. of san francisco, who declined to give her last name.
http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2013/07/21/tattoo-removal-clinic-less-ink-improves-employment-prospects/
I saw some great shows at the DC Fringe Festival this weekend. However, tattoos are somewhat distracting when the actors are performing Shakespeare. Especially whe the tattoos are of little spaceships.
There are a lot (ALOT) of 20-30 somethings in my neighborhood with partial or full sleeve tats, including females. At least they can cover up with long sleeves if necessary, but that doesn’t sound fun when it’s over 90 degrees outside every day.
I once saw a 20 something working in a leather goods/clothing store near NYU with substantial facial tattoos. Caught the eye of another adult after we had both passed her. Other adult shook her head and said she couldn’t believe anyone would do that. I added that she had to know that someday she would want a job other than selling clothes in a tiny shop in the Village.
Then again, maybe she was a trust fund baby, owned the store, worked there for fun and never needed to actually hold down a job.
But those tats were going to look very weird on a 50 something.
But those tats were going to look very weird on a 50 something.”
they are going to look like crap .. thousands of people with old crappy ink all over them.
much worse than long hair and bell bottoms
From a distance, tattoos always look like a bad skin disease or spousal battering victim to me. Why otherwise attractive women seem to think they’re cute is beyond me….
there are a lot (alot) of 30-plus females with full-sleeve, back, or torso tattoos on online dating sites. wonder why they are all still single?
Does your mother have a tattoo?
Does your grandmother have a tattoo?
Your daughter has a tattoo of my name in a place you’ve never seen.
Does your boyfriend have a tattoo?
I heard your boyfriend left you for a Realtor®
Actually, I do know a grandmother who has a tattoo, but it wasn’t put there voluntarily….
The squad-boi’s have tattoos?
From a distance, tattoos always look like a bad skin disease
Looks the same examined closely.
Proposed bill in California that bans job discrimination based on tattoos in 5….4….3….
Straw man argument blown to Smithereens in -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, RIGHT NOW.
LOL.
Slithers is truly the king of strawmen. I’m in awe of his ability to weave one up on a moments notice.
Sense of humor quotient on the HBB: 0
Seriously kidz, you need to get out of the basement more often.
Seriously, sonny, you either need to reevaluate your concept of Funny, or resign yourself to your betters considered assessment.
Slithers LOVES the Federal Reserve.
‘people look at me like i did five in the pen,’ said tia v. of san francisco, who declined to give her last name.
Well EFFING DUH!
“US existing home sales dip unexpectedly in June”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23410090
Unexpectedly? Seriously? Given the fact that housing prices are massively inflated by 250%?
Crumbling demand is what happens when prices are grossly inflated.
Annual rate down 1.2% from May 2013.
Annual rate up 15.2% from June 2012.
What number has more statistical significance?
Still pimping lies Rental Watch?
Hey HBB readers,
Our blog housing pimp Rental Watch aka “RW” is right there defending NAR…… everywhere and always.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2013/07/housing-affordability-index-is-still-worthless/
Imagine that.
How long are you going to resurrect someone else’s post (”RW” is not me) to deflect from your own shoddy “analysis”?
How long are you going to lie about yourself, your relationship to the HCS and everything in general?
“Given the fact that housing prices are massively inflated by 250%?”
Has it occurred to you that until 2002 or so, housing was simply grossly undervalued?
It’s occurred to the rest of the blog that you’re BSing. You seem to be the only one who doesn’t know it.
By 2002, housing was already overvalued.
taken from another board
===
This is worth analyzing since FED is watching closely.
Existing home sales fall (Briefings)
Existing home sales fell 1.2% in June from a downwardly revised 5.14 mln in May to 5.08 mln. The Briefing.com consensus expected existing home sales to increase to 5.28 mln. The drop in home sales does not bode well for the future. It was expected that rising mortgage rates would accelerate demand in the near term as potential buyers aimed to lock in mortgages before rates went even higher. That was supposed to pull sales forward into May, June and July, before a payback period developed in the future.If this scenario played out in June, then the pool of potential buyers was smaller than most economists expected. There simply wasn’t enough demand out there to keep sales moving at an increasing pace. That means the pullback, which we expected to begin in August, will be much sharper than previously thought. It would not be surprising if sales drop below 4.80 mln. Yet, it is also possible that potential buyers did not believe rates would increase much, if at all, from their current level. That would mean that there would be no surge in demand and sales levels would remain near their current level and growth would be flat. Sales trends over the next two months should explain which scenario has taken hold. Unfortunately, the underlying data within the sales report does not give any hint on which scenario is most likely occurring. Inventories rose slightly to 2.19 mln in June, which is a 5.2 month supply at the current sales pace. That is up from a 5.0 month supply in May, but is still well below normal inventories which generally average around a 6-month supply. The lack of supply has helped sellers see large price gains. The median existing home price rose 13.5% y/y to $214,200. Distressed sales accounted for 15% of June sales. That was down from 18% in May and the lowest share since the National Association of Realtors started tracking this data in October 2008. First-time homebuyers made up 29% of June sales, which was up from 28% in May. During normal periods of buying and selling activities, first-time buyers account for 40% of the market.
Looking at these points,
It was expected that rising mortgage rates would accelerate demand in the near term as potential buyers aimed to lock in mortgages before rates went even higher.
Inflation psychology
That was supposed to pull sales forward into May, June and July, before a payback period developed in the future.If this scenario played out in June, then the pool of potential buyers was smaller than most economists expected.
On CNBC, Dianna Olick estimated that 1/3 of the transactions were for cash. Potential buyers who buy and hold for non speculative reasons don’t do so with cash.
There simply wasn’t enough demand out there to keep sales moving at an increasing pace.
FED can taper MBS? No.
That means the pullback, which we expected to begin in August, will be much sharper than previously thought.
The author can’t reach this conclusion based upon the extant evidence.
It would not be surprising if sales drop below 4.80 mln. Yet, it is also possible that potential buyers did not believe rates would increase much, if at all, from their current level. That would mean that there would be no surge in demand and sales levels would remain near their current level and growth would be flat.
A healthy RE market simply can’t be thrown around by whimsical psychologies. The entire article points to an unhealthy market and that will force FED to increase MBS.
…The lack of supply has helped sellers see large price gains.
The lack of MARGINAL supply is caused by potential sellers holding back in anticipation of higher prices. This is occurring during a regime where total supply is greater than total demand. If rising price expectations aren’t fulfilled, marginal demand will suddenly and rapidly decline, and specs and those holding back will rush to dump.
… First-time homebuyers made up 29% of June sales, which was up from 28% in May. During normal periods of buying and selling activities, first-time buyers account for 40% of the market.
This subset reveals that buy and hold for non investment purposes is small.
Can you make this post shorter? I can’t read that long.
Yun and bernacke can get married now
progress-ski !
is june number actually May sales?
if so that’s pretty weak
Rhodesia by the great lakes…
I like it.
Just imagine if Detroit could print its own money.
I thought that’s what municipal bonds were?
Right?
Wow. We always suspected it. Turns out it’s true. The big financial players directly - and I mean DIRECTLY - influence the price of commodities.
A Shuffle of Aluminum, but to Banks, Pure Gold
By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
New York Times
Published: July 20, 2013
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — Hundreds of millions of times a day, thirsty Americans open a can of soda, beer or juice. And every time they do it, they pay a fraction of a penny more because of a shrewd maneuver by Goldman Sachs and other financial players that ultimately costs consumers billions of dollars.
After an intensive lobbying campaign by the banks, Mary L. Schapiro, the S.E.C.’s chairwoman, approved the new copper funds last December, during her final days in office. S.E.C. officials said they believed the funds would track the price of copper, not propel it, and concurred with the firms’ contention — disputed by some economists — that reducing the amount of copper on the market would not drive up prices. [ed. note: Gee, I wonder if she someone profited career-wise from this brilliant insight. Quite a puzzle.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/business/a-shuffle-of-aluminum-but-to-banks-pure-gold.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
All this goes back to the feet of the politicians. They enable and encourage the behavior. And if Wall Street can get away with a little bit of skim, they’re going to keep pushing until they maximize their take.
So a fraction of a cent per Coke is evil. But when Michelle or Nanny Bloomberg propose a 20% tax on that same can of Coke, it’s totally awesome ‘n stuff.
This should make you nanny state liberals happy. GS is doing you a favor. More expensive soda = less consumption of soda. Isn’t that what you people are always whining about, too much sugar consumption? Just imagine this is a tax and it’s for the children. There, much better.
First of all, calling me a “nanny state liberal” is laughable. I’m a pro death penalty, pro retributive punishment, pro border fence/anti illegal immigration, anti-”too much” government regulation, pro personal responsibility. I’m for a strong central government, but just as strong as it needs to be to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”, and no stronger. And I realize any behavior that the government subsidizes will result in more of that behavior.
So… Wall Street being able to manipulate commodity prices and take a skim off of many if not most transactions. I’m opposed to this because it’s a stealth tax. Like inflation is like a stealth tax.
So, if we’re going to have stealth taxes, we should be able to vote on them. Like I don’t think the Fed should be able to stoke inflation to improve the fortunes of its cronies, I don’t think Congress should be able to do the same with Wall Street skim in this case.
I am anti-deceit when it comes to a government dealing with its own citizens.
The tax is on the soda, not the can, dumbass.
But I guess the skim is okay, as long as the “right” people are doing the skimming.
I remember when there was a big controversy in the school district I attended back in 1972-73, when the soft drink companies wanted to put pop machines in schools.
Many thought it was not a good idea; kids being who they are, were going to choose pop over milk or water every time.
But, as always, the money talked. And the school board found that Frito-Lay money spent just as well as Coke and Pepsi money.
In the meantime, the school meals started getting crappier, because of budget cuts, and the move to centralized school kitchens, and more processed foods to save money.
Strange……. obesity rates started going up around the same time this was happening……
Damn those parents, for not having kids with enough discipline to stay away from the soda and junk.
“The tax is on the soda, not the can, dumbass.”
LOL.
Your side wants to tax soda. Whether it’s a tax on the sugar or the can, the end result is the same for the consumer. It’s amazing how little basic, fundamental understanding of economics you people have. Astounding.
So unaccountable market manipulation by unelected Wall St = good
Accountable market manipulation by tax from elected officials = bad
Got it.
The only “fundamental” at work in this article is fraud (no real market demand) and predatory market (because they effing can).
The Titan Arum (corpse flower) is blooming at the US Botanic Garden!
http://www.usbg.gov/return-titan
Line up to get a wiff of the rotten meat aroma. Just a short walk from the House office buildings.
LOL. Can you smell it from the street? (Am told it’s an EXTREMELY intense aroma.)
That’s cool
You can grow small types that are stinky like “Hoodia gordonii” a Stapelia.
I once had some small stinky plant and it attrached flies, I left it at my Townhome when I sold it.
smelled like dirty socks, it looked much different than this monster though
Line up to get a wiff of the rotten meat aroma. Just a short walk from the House office buildings.
Visit East Cleveland & enjoy the same aroma.
You’ll never get past the milling horde of lobbyists, instinctively drawn to the Garden…
Listing #13006319
$435,000 (LP)
$429,950 (SP)
Price/SqFt: 300.45
SP % LP: 98.84 14692 Stanford St, Moorpark, CA 93021 Sold
Beds: 4* Baths: 2 (2 0 0 0) (FTHQ) Sq Ft: 1431* Lot Sz: 6534sqft*
Area: NMP Yr: 1973
Check out the video too:
Investors are moving out of housing, here’s why
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100903814?__source=yahoo|finance|headline|headline|story&par=yahoo&doc=100903814|Investors%20are%20moving%20out
They swarmed the distressed housing market, buying thousands of foreclosed properties and pushing prices higher faster than anyone expected. Now investors are pulling back, dissuaded by the higher prices they themselves brought about.
“Perhaps the numbers aren’t working out,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, which reported that just 15 percent of June sales were by investors. That is the lowest share since the Realtors began tracking this cohort in October of 2008.
Current homeowners are now driving the housing market, as even investor traffic fell in June for the fourth straight month, according to Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance. That could mean slower sales going forward, as still tight inventory keeps move-up buyers in place. That, and negative home equity.
./…David and Heather Littlejohn are one of about 10 million underwater borrowers in the United States. Millions more don’t have enough equity to afford a move up. The Littlejohns would love to sell the Oregon home they built as newlyweds in 2005 and move to a larger one, but that would mean paying into their mortgage.
The same thing is happening with the stock market. I am reading articles saying that institutional investors have been selling out of the stock market since earlier this year, but they are being replaced by moms and pops (i.e., “retail investors”) funneling money into their mutual funds. These are probably people who didn’t have any money for the stock market until just recently, since they have been trying to recover from long periods of unemployment. They see the stock market has gone up a lot, so they figure they need to get in. I’m pretty sure that usually portends the peak is near for a bubble of any type.
There goes Lying Larry Yun again…. pissing in cups with Koolade labels.
Drink up donkeys!
“…investor traffic fell in June for the fourth straight month, according to Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance. That could mean slower sales going forward, as still tight inventory keeps move-up buyers in place. That, and negative home equity.”
If true, then prices are going to take a dive at the point when the constraining effect of higher mortgage rates hits end-user purchase budgets.
“The Littlejohns would love to sell the Oregon home they built as newlyweds in 2005 and move to a larger one, but that would mean paying into their mortgage.”
That is just wrong. The house is supposed to pay them, and the mortgage is just a “tool”. You don’t need to pay into a tool.
Shorter Version: White people who live in nice communities about to get f***ed.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/huds-new-fair-housing-rule-establishes-diversity-data-every-neighborhood-us
“To ensure that “every American is able to choose to live in a community they feel proud of,” HUD has published a new fair-housing regulation intended to give people access to better neighborhoods than the ones they currently live in. The goal is to help communities understand “fair housing barriers” and “establish clear goals” for “improving integrated living patterns and overcoming historic patterns of segregation.”
OMG! Neil deGrasse Tyson is moving in next door! Quick Cletus, call a realtor!
Pretty soon, we’ll be having football players lifting weights and holding press conferences in their driveways.
And, God forbid, they will start doing ghetto-like stuff, like barbequing brisket and ribs.
(Wait a minute…..I LIKE brisket and ribs)
Never mind.
That man really is a very nice person. Met him at the AMNH once.
“American Murder Mystery”
Why is crime rising in so many American cities? The answer implicates one of the most celebrated antipoverty programs of recent decades.
Hanna Rosin Jul 1 2008, 12:00 PM ET
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/american-murder-mystery/306872/
I’m not reading 4 pages of drivel to get to the point. And unless that point is “no jobs and the remainder pay crap,” it’s a waste of time.
But what do YOU think the article implies?
But what do YOU think the article implies?
Using a GIS Mapping database they discovered a tight correlation between rising crime violent rates and the introduction of Section 8 tenants.
If section 8 are criminal losers why dont we just buy some of those abandoned McManion housing projects stick them in there and build a jail close by so its easy to visit their relatives?
HUD is the most corrupt gov org that ever was and has been since the 1980s.
http://www.dunwalke.com/7_HUD_is_a_Sewer.htm
HIGHLY recommended read.
“Shortly after arriving at HUD in April 1989, I began to learn about the FHA Coinsurance program. Since 1984, HUD/FHA had allowed private mortgage bankers to issue federal credit to guarantee multi-family apartment projects. After issuing $9 billion in mortgage guarantees, HUD/FHA was to lose something approaching 50% of the value of the portfolio — a level of losses hard to explain with mortal logic. When my staff approached me with a proposal to bail out a mortgage company so they could continue to lose money for us, I asked why we should spend money to lose more money in a way that would harm communities. After a long silence during which 30 staff members intently studied their feet, one brave soul explained to me that the mortgage bank was owned and run by a major Republican donor. Shocked, I said. “I am a major Republican donor,” and pointing to my presidential cufflinks that were adorning my French cuffs, “I got a pair of cuff links. You get cuff links. You don’t get $400 million of federal credit to throw down the drain.” My staff looked at me like I was so naive and clueless that there was no point in trying to communicate with me — better to let me learn the hard way.”
‘one brave soul explained to me that the mortgage bank was owned and run by a major Republican donor’
HUD is making a lot more loans now, and who is running the show? I’ve worked on HUD houses, GSE houses. What they do doesn’t make sense. Why let houses rot for years before you foreclose? Nobody is living there, no one is contesting the default in most cases.
You probably haven’t been here long enough to remember, but I’ve had many posts about these government loan backers that made clear these corporations are giant cookie jars for whoever is in power. Go back and look at who sits on the boards. It’s ex-politicians, donors, you name it, anything but people that know how to run a business or something about real estate. Jeebus, the GSE’s are handing out millions of loans at 125-200% LTV, without an appraisal or proof of income. This makes subprime look like widow and orphan investments. And anyone that thinks these bankrupt organizations, hanging by a thread, wouldn’t sit on a vast inventory of houses so someone could win an election is fooling themselves.
This whole series at that link by Catherine Austin Fitts was something I discovered sometime after the dot com crash, but it’s always an eye opener ans serious reminder that this last time wasn’t our first rodeo.
I like her. A lot. I’ve heard some of her radio interviews and while I don’t always agree with her, she is FAR more often right than wrong.
And she’s a Republican.
(please don’t tell my liberal commie friends)
“Why let houses rot for years before you foreclose? Nobody is living there, no one is contesting the default in most cases.”
I assume the reason to keep houses off the market, even if they are rotting and crumbling into desuetude, is to prop up the prices of the few that are for sale. The value of recent comp sales is used to estimate the value of the housing stock; those sitting off the market approaching a state of physical collapse don’t enter the calculation.
This also is somewhat akin to fruit growers who some times let perfectly good fruit go to rot rather than contributing to a glut and selling it at a loss.
Double-dipping NJ lawmakers block pension reform
Double-dipping by New Jersey public officials continues to thrive for one big reason:
Too many legislators either directly profit or quietly condone a costly practice that drains untold millions from state pension funds. New Jersey Watchdog found 17 state lawmakers who receive retirement checks totaling $726,000 a year in addition to their legislative salaries. The roster includes leaders of each party in both the Senate and Assembly.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/216427711.html?google_editors_picks=true
Rising interest rates are like a wet blanket. A coworker is losing sleep because his interest rate just went up by a full percentage point. He was expecting it to go down.
What kind of variable rate loan does he have?
He was waiting to close on the house until it was finished. It’s still a fetus right now.
If he gets lucky, some overt or stealth bailout program to hammer down mortgage rates will take effect between now and the delivery date.
The current trend is your friend’s friend.
Treasury Yields at Almost 3-Week Low as Existing-Home Sales Drop
Daniel Kruger and Susanne Walker,
©2013 Bloomberg News
Published 3:38 pm, Monday, July 22, 2013
July 22 (Bloomberg) — Treasury 10-year note yields traded at an almost three-week low as an unexpected drop in existing- home sales in June boosted bets the Federal Reserve will maintain monetary stimulus to support the economy.
…
“A coworker is losing sleep because his interest rate just went up by a full percentage point.”
Conforming 30-yr mortgage? Forgive me father for I have sinned…
CONSERVATISM
I am a conservative (atleast I believe so) and I think that many of the folks who say that they are conservative are sheeps who spew what their masters say what conservatism means.
My definition of conservatism is similar to what I found on web.It “promotes retaining traditional social institutions”. I would add a responsible government to the definition and to me all this is good.
BUT things change and belief’s evolve like we have seen with science and earth is no longer flat and we should accept that. I do not support gay marriage but I do not have a problem with gays/lesbians/transgenders getting married.I believe in reproductive system of GOD but i do not see a problem when a women does want to terminate it. I do not want these crazy and so called teabaggers/conservatives/republicans try to block women what she wants to do with her reprouctive system.
Teabaggers/conservatives/republicans say they want smaller government and that is good but what they do after this saying is to start spewing their masters / lobbyst tell them to say/think “cut government services and increase spending for military industrial complex” I am for strong national defence and strong military but there is no logical reason for us to spend more than rest of the world combined. There is no reason fo us to police the whole world. There is no reason to have 100s of military bases around the world. All the money spent on these can be put to much better use at home here.
I am not a leader and do not care what happens because I am educated with advanced degree (also may be smart and intelligent ) and have a good paying job and most likely will have it. The way this country is going there would be no middle class left and folks without good education would live like folks in third world country.
Nice post.
Commie talk!
“They want smaller government”
Define “smaller”. And are you confusing “small” with “weak”? If you want weak government, just say so.
And is “smaller” what you really want? It seems to me that a lot of the problems we have are due to the fact that our government is too small/weak already, when it comes to making the laws apply to the banksters/monied classes.
(I’d love to see Gallup ask this question: If you are rich enough, you can get away with murder…..agree or disagree?)
We have too many soldiers overseas, and not enough cops to keep the Neo-Robber Barons on Wall Street in check.
Asking crooks is we have too many laws, and too many cops, is like asking foxes if too many of the chicken coop doors are locked.
“And is “smaller” what you really want? It seems to me that a lot of the problems we have are due to the fact that our government is too small/weak ”
This is the insanity being peddled by the far left about Detroit. Detroit died not because of 60 years of lib/Dem rule. No, it died because of those eeeeeevil Republicans who wanted to cut government. Mind you no Republican has been elected in Detroit in over 60 years. But its their fault.
So we have a $17T debt today. Govt size is double what it was in 2000. And our problem is….too little govt.
You people are truly insane.
How’d that deregulation work on Wall St?
What is needed is less government in our private lives and more government at the big money level.
Because it wasn’t J6P who created fraudulent securities, accounting and trading that required a $17 TRILLION bailout.
LOL
You’re a conservative who hates all things and people conservative. If you’re going to Moby, try a little more subtlety dude.
You’re a conservative who hates all things and people conservative.
You don’t even know what conservatism means or has meant in the context of preserving the American way of life and its institutions. You don’t even know the history of your country. (And the following requires thinking.)
“The United States, with seventy-seven million citizens, was still uncrowded and healthily competitive. But its social balance would be threatened if poverty spread in proportion to immigration. (Hundreds of Japanese coolies and thousands of dirt-poor Chinese peasants were arriving every month, boxed in barrels, buried under potatoes, sandwiched between bales of hay.
The worst thing (Theodore Roosevelt) could do now was “leave well enough alone.” Some-how he must grant a little leisure, and a little extra money, to the multitudes currently working only to survive. This would enable them to develop those noneconomic virtues - intelligence, unselfishness, courage, decency - which he loosely defined as “character”. Character determined the worth of the individual, and “what is true of the individual is also true of the nation.
At the same time, (Roosevelt) must persuade Union League Republicans that perpetual, mild reform was true conservatism, in that it protected existing institutions from atrophy, and relieved the buildup of radical pressure. All (Theodore Roosevelt’s) life, he had preached this doctrine….” Theodore Rex, 2001, Edmund Morris, page 34
Don’t get caught up in the definitions of “conservative” and “liberal”. They have become misnomeric euphemisms for the words “Republican” and “Democrat”.
In my opinion, a conservative wants to apply government conservatively, while a liberal wants to apply government liberaly. By that definition, Republicans and Democrats are both liberal.
‘…“conservative” and “liberal”…’
It’s like “black” and “white,” and “black-and-white thinkers” are like “st00pid.”
“folks who say that they are conservative are sheeps who spew…”
What country you get good education? Curious! All not agree you sheeps. You not care if baby dies, but you hate one who has tears.
It does not matter but almost 90% sure that I may be better educated and qualified than you and can think and not act like parrot.
qualified to do what?
Great post imaadesi.
Another day, another record S&P500 close.
Life is good (well for those of us that don’t live in the alternate HBB universe).
And P/E ratios become more unsustainable here in the “alternative” universe. Have you looked at the long-term chart ever? It’s on yahoo.
P/E ratios are destined to continue moving towards increasingly unsustainable heights right up until the last skeptic is finally drawn in to the stock market, at which point the next dump phase of Wall Street’s pump-and-dump cycle will commence.
“Life is good”
Praise Obama!
Praise the Fed!!!
Just low level rogue IRS employees….
“The Obama appointee implicated in congressional testimony in the IRS targeting scandal met with President Obama in the White House two days before offering his colleagues a new set of advice on how to scrutinize tea party and conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, who was named in House Oversight testimony by retiring IRS agent Carter Hull as one of his supervisors in the improper targeting of conservative groups, met with Obama in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 23, 2012. Wilkins’ boss, then-IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman, visited the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 24, 2012, according to White House visitor logs.
On April 25, 2012, Wilkins’ office sent the exempt organizations determinations unit “additional comments on the draft guidance” for approving or denying tea party tax-exempt applications, according to the IRS inspector general’s report.”
Joe, help me out here: My FIL is gnawin’ my ass about law school again. I keep telling him it’s not worth it.
His response is always something like, “What do they call the guy that graduated last in his med class? DOCTOR!”
Time for a new FIL.
“Time for a new FIL.”
+1 With a daughter who is “experienced.”
just spend a few thou become a paralegal…and rack up ot,
“…last in his med class? DOCTOR!”
And the twenty guys behind him? ENGINEER!
Resistor, I’m not an attorney, but I’m married to one (tech investment/M&A), brother-in-law to one (retired M&A) and son-in-law to another (retired judge), so I can say the following with some conviction:
1. Do not go to law school until you have worked as a paralegal in a lawfirm. You will quickly see what it really means to be an attorney;
2. If, as a paralegal, your masters only have you filing, and doing no quasi-legal work, find a new gig. Good attorneys will push you to learn a lot and do a lot more than filing–the buck will still stop with them, but you will learn a lot;
3. If you still think a job in the law is interesting after #2, CONSIDER law school, but in addition to the time and expense of law school, remember that for the first few years at a firm, you will have no life and not get to do “good” work (you may get to work on big deals and big cases, but not run anything for a LONG time), and as measured on an hourly basis, not make as much as you think;
4. And, even as a partner at a lawfirm (if you survive and succeed), how much you get paid is tied directly to how much you work…ownership of a lawfirm doesn’t mean the same thing as ownership of other businesses (where the money-making capital of the business doesn’t walk out the door each night); and
5. If you think that putting in your time at a firm and then going in-house is a panacea, it’s not. Good in-house positions mean that lots of work will be thrown at you, and you may work just as many hours in-house as you do at a firm (this is my wife’s situation).
Get used to late nights and demanding clients, and if you survive long enough, you can get paid pretty well, but less well once you consider the hours you need to put in and the other sacrifices you will make.
Sounds awful.
It has it’s perks, but they are few and far between.
An attorney I knew well retired pretty young (early 50’s) and decided to go teach. He is living a nice lifestyle on a teacher’s salary because of the work he put in earlier in his life.
My SIL retired at about 40, when her kid is still quite young.
My wife has a flexible schedule during the day, and is frequently able to attend all sorts of events for our kids (but pays the price by working later at night).
As long as you don’t grow into the lifestyle, you can sock a lot of money away and get out of the game relatively young if you can find a way to get that money to work for you…but you pay a hefty price to get there.
Some people I know love being an attorney (my wife is one of them), but not necessarily the long hours.
Other people hate every minute of it and are trapped because they grew into the lifestyle quickly.
Others quit quite quickly.
“What do they call the guy that graduated last in his law class? LIAR!”
I’m telling you. The current structure of capitalism eliminates millions of jobs and will eat itself alive. Now this is fact for anyone who cares to look.
AP/ July 22, 2013, 5:39 PM
Pope Francis greeted by frenzied crowds in Brazil
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57594958/pope-francis-greeted-by-frenzied-crowds-in-brazil/
Earlier on the flight from Rome, Francis expressed concern for a generation of youth growing up jobless as the world economy sputters. He warned about youth unemployment in some countries in the double digits, telling journalists there is a “risk of having a generation that hasn’t worked.”
“Young people at this moment are in crisis,” he said.
He didn’t specify any country or region, but much of Europe is seeing those gloomy youth joblessness numbers, especially in Greece, Spain and Italy. Brazil is in far better shape than European nations, with unemployment at an all-time low after a decade of economic expansion.
Brazil was late to the party, but still thinks the debt expansion mania is a good thing for them. This despite the fallen on the road ahead of them.
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/07/23/brazil-corrects-imf-outdated-facts-credit-expansion-slower-and-inflation-under-control
HBB knows Brazil has at least one flaming Marxist there who (oddly) likes gold. That’s like a diabetic in a candy store. Like a gay at a rally for Jerry Fallwell’s “Liberty” university…like a…well we got it I guess
HBB knows Brazil has at least one flaming Marxist there who (oddly) likes gold.
Man….”Bill”. Are you as simple as you sound? You seem like a kinda smart mind but contained in a small cardboard box…poor, dull and boring. It’s not about me “Bill”. It’s about reality.
Francis expressed concern for a generation of youth growing up jobless as the world economy sputters. He warned about youth unemployment in some countries in the double digits, telling journalists there is a “risk of having a generation that hasn’t worked.”
Brazil was late to the party,
Maybe. But the “party” generally lasts for about 50 years. (Longer than your innertube)
Ahem…GDXJ?
Crickets
Are you referring to how the Fed’s recent clarification that they really didn’t mean to suggest QE3 would end any time soon has sent gold prices skyward?
Or something else?
I think the QE tapering talk was a feint. Credit expansion continues. The backwardization in the Comex and excessive demand are going to bring these precious metals up big time
How does it feel to be a part of Generation Screwed or one of their parents?
Families forced to cope with the rising cost of college
Although rising college costs strain their budgets, families see little choice but to pay
By Collin Binkley The Columbus Dispatch
Abby Smith THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Sunday July 21, 2013 5:31 AM
WASHINGTON — As a student at Ohio University in 1975, Margaret Lyons paid her $150 quarterly tuition ––$650 in today’s dollars when adjusted for inflation –– by working as a waitress during the summer.
A generation later, when her two children graduated from the same school in Athens, their summer jobs couldn’t even begin to pay for the $2,400 per-quarter tuition.
“They couldn’t make that kind of money if they tried,’’ said Lyons, 62, who lives in Bexley.
That type of sticker shock is crushing hundreds of thousands of families across the country as they cope with the harsh reality of skyrocketing college costs.
Since 1978, costs for tuition and room and board at private universities — adjusted for inflation — have increased by 403 percent, while public universities have seen a 428 percent increase for tuition and room and board, according to an analysis by the College Board Advocacy Policy Center.
At Ohio State University, which has frozen tuition costs four times since 2006, tuition has leaped from $915 annually 35 years ago (or $3,276 in 2013 dollars) to $10,037, an increase of 326 percent after inflation.
The rising cost of college — coupled with a tight job market — has left many graduates with low job prospects and high debt. Although escalating costs have caused many students to question the value of their college education, Lyons said students have little choice but to pay the price.
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