Bits Bucket for December 14, 2014
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Interesting article which uses ND state data to show that production is already declining in the shale oil area despite EIA claims to the contrary:
http://peakoil.com/production/bakken-and-north-dakota-production-report
Peak oil dot com — lolz!
Yes when you cannot discredit the facts attack the source, old, tired trick.
I’m 100% certain all of your sources are 100% objective!
Ok, I’m now fully convinced this is an unbiased, credible source of information.
The information is from the state of North Dakota, of course you will ignore that.
There is a globe full of oil ABQdan. It’s all a matter of pumping it.
Waldport, OR Sale Prices Plunge 13% YoY; Sellers Slash Prices As Demand Plummets
http://www.zillow.com/waldport-or-97394/home-values/
HA — do you think crashing home prices and oil prices are strongly correlated? I suspect so, but I would like to know the reasons one might expect this to be the case.
“correlated?”
I think you are joking. They are correlated like the legs of a stool. Energy is key to the cost for everything from mining, melting, milling, machinery, moving, making & etc. to build the houses. The other leg of the chair is credit. There could be no housing mania without a mania in all the inputs.
Our friends here who are living in the housing mania see the connection but cannot admit it because it opens a door they don’t want to go through. So for them, it’s a conspiracy, Obama is controlling it, it’s a war on Iran, it’s not really a collapse, cheap oil isn’t fair, contraction will never be allowed. Mania prevents one from preparing for its conclusion.
“…it’s a conspiracy, Obama is controlling it…”
+ 4 trillion!
Won’t a unilateral decrease in U.S. production serve to simply hand over a higher market share to the Saudis, at a potentially higher price, to boot?
I’m missing the advantage of a U.S. production cutback at this point.
You assume the Saudi’s can produce more than they are right now and I have already posted why that belief is questionable. Please try to keep up.
Saudis. Do not know why my figures keep doing this. However, another sign that Saudi Arabia cannot produce more is because they are not, if you are trying to punish Iran and Russia and they are, you produce the maximum amount of oil so you maintain your cash flow as much as possible while lowering their cash flow as much as possible.
What does it matter? Massive excess supply, falling demand, falling prices.
What’s not to like?
Well, I’m a bit skeptical that prices will return to the $10/bbl level they reached in 1998. So that’s something not to like.
Del Norte County, CA Sale Prices Plummet 18% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/del-norte-county-ca/home-values/
1 yr stats in USA
sales up 2.7%
average home price up 5.5%
source: freddie mac
Data Lola data. Stick with the data.
Minot, ND Asking Prices Plunge 16% YoY As Sellers Slash Prices
http://www.zillow.com/minot-nd-58701/home-values/
(see data)
Post data Lola.
see data, read data.
Nothing. Just what we expect from you Lola.
HA: dont be so lazy, its right in front of you.
Falling prices? Indeed they are Lola!
Dude, you take yourself way too seriously.
It’s still early yet, he’s got all day left to inflict his opinions on the HBB.
Please try to keep up ??
Please drop the attitude Adan…It mimics HA and it sucks….
He’s just trying to entertain us all, and doing a respectable job!
Dave, I think you are ignoring Whac’s personal comments to me.
Housing demand and prices are falling. Crude and refined product demand prices are falling.
Let’s discuss.
Prineville, Or Sale Prices Crater 11% YoY; Prices Plummet As Housing Demand Craters Nationally
http://www.zillow.com/prineville-or-97754/home-values/
“Dave, I think you are ignoring Whac’s personal comments to me.”
Pointing out the bias of your information sources or your narrow-minded fixation on the supply side of the market while ignoring collapsing demand in China and most other parts of the developed world is not personal, it’s objective.
“You assume the Saudi’s can produce more than they are right now…”
You assume you can read my mind, but you are wrong. In fact, I only think about Obama when reading your posts.
But regarding oil production, there is no need for the Saudis to increase in order to capture more market share in case the U.S. is cutting back production; the Saudi share will go up regardless.
The US doesn’t control US production. That’s a decision made by US producers, but OPEC will control it, so into the territory of manipulated markets we go. I don’t care because OPEC already said to wait for $40/barrel, so no one has to even guess as to when they should start purchasing the commodity.
The new Fed tells us exactly what to expect. The new OPEC tells us exactly what to expect. Good, I was getting annoyed with all the secrecy among the in crowd. I like the new manipulation better than the old manipulation.
So is it time for me to sell my one-month-old stocks now that I successfully crashed the stock market? I could use it to buy oil instead. IDK, CNN says the stock market should still end up by like 8% for the year. CNN can’t be wrong, can they?
Did you even bother glancing at the figure, which shows a tripling of ND production in BPD since 2011 with scant evidence of any recent decline?
Go away, adan.
If blogs were around in 1492, there would be one called flatearth dot com and would be as comical as peakoil.
If you can’t find the information you need to support your pet economic theory on PeakOil dot com, you could try this source instead:
Welcome to the Flat Earth Society.
As I alerted the board yesterday, fighting in Libya has disrupted more exports:
http://news.yahoo.com/libyas-largest-oil-export-port-closed-due-clashes-095035700–finance.html
Albuquerque Dan -
Can you opine on the quality of life in New Mexico? I’m looking at an opportunity in Santa Fe and would appreciate your comments.
If you want to respond off the blog then you can reach me by e-mail at “buds79925″ at “mypacks dot net”.
Thanks.
Santa Fe appeals to a lot of people, it is one of the “cool” places that are the circuit, Flagstaff and Burlington Vermont, Missoula etc, are also on the circuit. Like all those cities the politics are liberal and they have a lot of natural beauty. Housing in Santa Fe tends to be expensive, you can find a lot of areas of NM with much lower costs. There is an inexpensive commuter rail between Belen (south of ABQ) and Santa so you can enjoy Santa Fe without living there. Taxes in NM are much lower than the NE and CA but higher than say Arizona or certainly Nevada. I do not know enough about your circumstances to advise you on whether you should move but I like living in NM and I am familiar with a lot of other areas of America such as New England, San Diego area, Bay area,Seattle, Portland etc.
There is an inexpensive commuter rail between Belen (south of ABQ) and Santa so you can enjoy Santa Fe without living there
I am sure you understand this but they have many stops in ABQ and other places.
“I think it says more about the constraints on central bankers; in other words, central bankers can’t tell the truth or what they really think because the market impact would be too great. I think that Greenspan is reverting to saying things today that he was saying 40 years ago but could not say when he was Chairman of the Fed.”
Sure, hope on the train to enjoy a nice walk and a coffee in santa fe.
If you think this is the same as living there you are nuts.
Look at conde naste best paces to visit. Santa Fe is usually #3.
If you cant afford the central coast of ca ( Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz), Santa Fe, Bend or Boulder are the next best.
If you are a homebody, they may not appeal to you.
A lot of those “liberal” small towns have enough gubment to discourage minorities from the affordability.
Not just small towns. Go to any deep blue, upper middle class neighborhood in any city/town/suburb/exurb and you will see virtually no “diversity”. Like everything else, liberals have a set of rules for themselves and a set of rules for themselves.
Liberals’ kids don’t go do “diverse” schools, they go to $20K a year private schools that are 90%+ white.
Yes, success has its rewards. Work hard, make good decisions, life is great!
Why do you discourage success?
My town is >90% white and very little crime. We like it that way, keeps it clean and smart.
I am starting to see.
Promote the theft of taxation. Promote government control. Promote the hike in the minimum wage. Promote the nanny state regulations that increase all the costs in a geographical region so that well over 90% are white or asian. This crowds out the brown-skinned people and forces them far enough away from the progressives.
This is a page right out of Mussolini’s style of Fascism that,…oops…inconveniently end up promoting some races over other races.
This type of stuff was written about by Leonard Peikoff in his expose “The Ominous Parallels.” He explained how American nanny state progressives / neoconservative policies have become more and more like Nazi Germany’s.
Progressivism is actually fascism.
Not in my town, everyone is happy and working. Taxes pay to keep it safe and good schools. No worries, no fear, 75% graduated college.
And the reason you resist defining the town?
You’re lying Lola.
Less than national average if you are outside of Santa Fe.
I would not expect any of these places to be cheap:
SANTA FE, N.M., July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Santa Fe, New Mexico has been named the Best Small City in America by Conde Nast Traveler’s 26th annual Readers’ Choice Awards, a ranking of the best cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, hotels and resorts in the world. Conde Nast Traveler had 79,268 readers participate in the 2013 survey, resulting in 1.3 million votes.
The publication credits the destination’s cultural scene as one of its best assets, noting, “no other place in the country so beautifully reflects the art, architecture, food, and crafts of centuries of Native American, Spanish, and Mexican influence.” Also included was a recommendation to visit the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) on Museum Hill.
“It is an honor to be at the top of this impressive list,” Santa Fe Mayor Javier M. Gonzales says. “We work tirelessly to highlight and expand upon the creative, innovative and diverse attributes of our city; we hope everyone will seize the opportunity to take in one of our many markets, Railyard events or just grab a bite and enjoy some live music on The Plaza.”
The complete ranking of the Best Small Cities in America includes:
Santa Fe, NM
Carmel-by-the-sea, CA
Napa, CA
Telluride, CO
Newport, RI
Santa Barbara, CA
Jackson Hole, WY
Aspen, CO
Sedona, AZ
Key West, FL
With housing prices falling in all those cities of course they’re considered a destination.
some people like to have fun
Yes Lola. Try it sometime.
Los Angeles, CA Sale Square Foot Prices Crater 9%
http://www.zillow.com/los-angeles-ca-90034/home-values/
Thanks, AbqDan. I appreciate the comments.
I can, I lived in Santa Fe for 8 yrs. Great city!! Great people, Great Food! Great Art! Skiing! Fishing! No traffic! No smog! Mild 4 seasons. Lots of sun! Everyone one is there by choice. Cool architecture. Culture! History! Ruins! Hiking!
The bad:
horrible public schools, no jobs, housing is expensive near the plaza, not many singles over 30 yrs old and under 45.
If you need details let me know. I left in 2009
“…not many singles over 30 yrs old and under 45.”
Lemme guess,,,not puffed-up yet and still like doing it?
Lots of retirees with money. Not enough jobs for single professionals to stick around.
Dont get me wrong, bring your own woman, no kids and a job and it is a top 10 place to live.
“Lots of retirees with money.”
+1 SLO is likely the most desirable equity locust destination.
Both are gems in the crown.
Just curious, what does this mean?
“Lemme guess,,,not puffed-up yet and still like doing it?”
“Just curious, what does this mean?”
You will spend more time cycling, skydiving, soaring, etc.,,,
“You will spend more time cycling, skydiving, soaring, etc.,,,”
That is the very description of working at China Lake, CA. The single males outnumber single females very disproportionately. You have to bring a wife or “spend time cycling, skydiving, soaring, etc.” There is also snow skiing 2 hours drive to Mammoth, Mtn, arguably, the best snow ski resort in California.
If you couldn’t care less about getting laid, and you are young, it’s a great place to live in the high Mojave desert. Pay is low but job is steady. You will work 34 years and retire at 56 as a Federal employee. But you stay in that place. All you got are the recreational opps.
Then if your legs give out you don’t have that. And then you quickly regret that you did not spend your career in urban areas and have girlfriends…
I was in my 30s and saw older men like that. Did not want to be like them, so I quit the feral employment and moved to a big city.
Thanks for your comments, Avocado.
I’ll be in Santa Fe next week, Bubba. I’ll report back. Having spent time there before, I think Avocado’s description is pretty accurate, although I can’t speak for the school system.
Thanks, Oddfellow. One thing, though… bear in mind that next week is the week leading up to Christmas and Santa Fe has a big tourism component.
I’m a 56 year old bachelor with no kids, so the quality of the schools is very low on the list for me. I’m more concerned about crime, cost of living, quality of life, etc.
Crime can be high, Northern NM (see Chamisa) has secret heroin problems, they come to santa fe and steal. I heard of more home robberies there than any other place I have lived. Santa Fe is the “haves” the rest of the state is dirt poor. Quality of life otherwise is unbeatable. COL is less than CA, more then most states.
I left for better schools.
No worse that the impoverished crime ridden state of CA Lola.
Not sure when the links will post but in comparison when wells were drilled in Texas in 1920’s and 1930’s ,it was not unusual to be producing ten of thousands of barrels per day using a lateral well, now using horizontal drilling we are getting a thousand barrels of day, clear example of how the finite resource is being used up.
Falling production costs are a good thing ABQdan.
As I said it is economic warfare:
http://nypost.com/2014/12/14/saudi-arabias-oil-war-against-iran-and-russia-2/
Neocon propaganda to boot.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/11292837/Opec-willing-to-push-oil-price-to-40-says-Gulf-oil-minister.html
No sign Saudi Arabia is relenting in its drive to push oil lower (at the expense of overleveraged American shale plays). The effect this is going to have on both the junk bond bubble that financed the shale expansion, and the hedges (derivatives contracts) that are going to be costing some counterparties a sh!t-ton of money as oil drops, will be interesting to watch as the pins start closing in on Fed-blown asset bubbles. Got popcorn?
“As I said”
You said that Putin was thriving despite the drop in oil prices, but that article says the low prices are ruining him.
His opinion ratings are still high and Russia is not backing down. I said that Russia is offsetting much of the damage of lower oil prices in dollars due to his budget being in rubles and his revenues in dollars. It is you that is using the term thriving, I do not remember ever saying that please post where I said that. I did say he can absorb the fall in prices better than Obama can absorb the oil fall and I stand by that.
You said Putin had pivoted to the Asian market, like a chess master, duping Obama once again. The article you just produced says Putin’s balls are against the wall with these low oil prices. Which is right?
Putin is the chess master and it will become apparent again over the next six months.
Ralph Peters is a neocon propagandist. Never ever trust a word he says. Kiss those good paying fracking jobs buh-bye and time will tell whose balls are on the wall.
“Putin is the chess master”
So your article is a bunch of bollocks. Why cite it? How do we know the rest of it isn’t just as wrong?
Region VIII checking in
Region VIII mountain p0rn, this:
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20141213_123210_242-j7arA7mj.jpg
As seen from the top of this:
http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20141213_090225_599-9Nx0hwaS.jpg
Region VIII
If you are attending a False Flag event in Region VIII remember…
4. Transport yourself to and from the exercise site.
You are responsible to transport yourself to [exercise location]. A map is attached for your convenience. If you carpool with another volunteer, there is no guarantee that you will be returned to the exercise site at the same time.
8. Don’t overact.
It is very important to play your assigned role the best you can, but this does not mean you should overact. Overacting can be dangerous for yourself and the emergency workers in the exercise. When you arrive at the exercise site, you will be assigned an injury or role and will be briefed about your roles and what will happen during the exercise. If you do not know how to play your role or have questions about the briefing, ask the volunteer coordinators. If you are assigned the role of a psychologically distressed person, please act upset, not out of control.
9. If you get hurt or have a real problem, say “This is a real emergency.”
You must use the phrase “This is a real emergency” to tell exercise staff members that you have a real problem and are not just acting.
10. You must check in and sign out.
When you arrive in the morning, you will sign in and be assigned an “injury.” A victim tag will be placed around your neck. This card must be returned at the checkout station. Do not remove or allow anyone to remove this victim tag during the exercise, even at the hospital. When the exercise is over, return your victim tag with the questions completed on the back.
Region VIII mountain p0rn, this:
Wills Wing T2C Hang Gliding at Wolcott, CO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3co1aONkYM
I know that site. I know Tammy. Do you RMS?
No, I don’t know Colorado very well beyond several business trips to the Denver area. I passed up on a job offer in the area because my children have become part of the k12 school community here in the Columbia Basin, and they’re doing well; a move might not play out well. This housing bubble and my move north has hit my mother hardest as she doesn’t really know my children well, and the distance seems to be widening as they glide through their teen years. There are many unseen casualties in this “financialization of the economy.”
“I know that site.”
I like the trees in that clip since I live in the desert these days.
region viii prediction
denver donkeys 45 san diego discharge 10
donkeys 9 discharge 3 at halftime
FINAL: Donkeys 22 Discharge 10
Region VIII
Can someone fill me in on this joke? Region 7? What is that?
ask phony scandals
region viii
and we’re not joking…
Can someone fill me in on this joke? Region 7? What is that?
FEMA regions. The idea is that when martial law takes hold in the US, that the states will cease to exist and will be replaced by the FEMA regions.
The New York Times will not admit that Obama’s war on coal is the reason for these increases, it is the shift from coal to NG that is causing this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/us/even-before-long-winter-begins-energy-bills-send-shivers-in-new-england.html?_r=0
Obama is fracking with your mind.
Obama owns your mind.
It’s quite hilarious for the guy with the most HBB posts on Obama by a factor of at least 10 to make such a statement about anyone who dares to point it out.
Whac:
Let’s just respond to adan by always tell him to go away. It would be a people’s ban, since he was apparently allowed to return for some reason.
Whose posts will I have the pleasure of shooting down if AlbqDan goes back into hiding?
I claim Jingle Fraud and Rental Fraud first.
I love it!! Liberals in the Northeast freezing to prevent global warming.
Ah…the irony …..
It’s a religion.
Forgive me father for I have warmed.
Follow the money (and control)
Warmists gonna warm
It’ worse. Warmists will fly to Peru and desecrate historical sites. LOL
yes, follow the money and control.
Got Saudi owned fox news? of course they preach anti-science.
and you believe! can I get an amen!
I love how clowns think one day makes a historical average.
Each year of the 21st century is among the hottest in history.
The Montana Glacier National Park now has about 30% of its total glaciers from 1910.
There will be an increase of 7 to 23 inches in sea levels by the end of the century.
400,000 square miles of Arctic Sea have already melted due to global warming.
By 2030, the number of glaciers in the Glacier National Park will equate to zero.
Consider yourself lucky in Montana. In NY we have zero glaciers left. Zero. They were all gone way before 1910. Used to be a mile thick right where I live.
Like I said, if you live north of Wyoming, you may welcome global warming. But the cost of living is going way up, food shortages, billions in destruction in some areas
I always thought FL was crup anyway.
Don’t be silly Lola. Millions of acres of tillable land formerly under glaciers open up.
Really?
Why don’t they farm in North Dakota/Michigan/Maine now? Is that glacier still there?
Why does all our food come from Mexico?
Your beans come from Mexico. Change your diet Lola.
As long as winter still occurs, then there is no global warming.
oh the ignorance!
Winters are cold.
Where’s Hugo Chavez when you need him?
when you need him ??
Given the state of affairs in Venezuela I am not sure many miss him…
“House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi gave the White House palpitations Thursday when she railed against the $1.1 trillion government spending bill that the president supported, delaying the vote for hours and increasing the risk of a second government shutdown in as many years”
Last year, wasn’t such supposed to be practically the end of the world?
Untwist panties, Nancy. By 2016 your Democrat Permanent Supermajority will be installed and you can ram through whatever legistlation you want, with all costs to be born by the dwindling number of producers in what used to be America.
Commodities
Oil-Price Plunge Continues on Lower Demand Forecast
U.S. Oil Benchmark Remains Below $60 a Barrel
Oil continued to slide after the energy body cut its demand forecast, hitting levels not seen since the depth of the global recession in 2009. Photo: Bloomberg
By Nicole Friedman
Updated Dec. 12, 2014 5:01 p.m. ET
83 COMMENTS
Oil markets slid to new lows Friday after the International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for demand growth in 2015, the latest sign that the market could remain oversupplied well into next year.
Concerns about a global oil glut have sent prices plunging more than 45% since mid-June, and the selloff has accelerated since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided last month to maintain its production quota.
Falling oil prices are expected to boost economic growth, especially in large consuming nations, but they could threaten the economic health of oil producers and lead to lower investment in expensive drilling projects.
The national average price of retail gasoline in the U.S. fell to $2.60 a gallon Friday, the lowest average since December 2009, according to AAA. The auto club expects prices to fall to $2.50 a gallon before Christmas.
On Friday, the Paris-based IEA cut its forecast for 2015 oil demand growth by 230,000 barrels a day to 900,000 barrels a day. The energy watchdog has cut its demand-growth forecast five times in the last six months.
“We’ve had a plunge in prices…and the IEA is still lowering the demand forecast,” said Stephen Schork, editor of industry newsletter The Schork Report. For prices, “no one can tell you where the floor is right now.”
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $2.14, or 3.6%, to $57.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement price since May 15, 2009. Prices slid 12.2% this week and are down 41% year-to-date.
…
I apologize if the source of this article can’t match the credibility of PeakOil dot com.
I heart the oil bust. Bust or bust!
I’ve got access through work. The comments are fantastic entertainment - there’s the ad hominem attack, the sarcasm, the outright name-calling you’d expect on Jerry Springer. Started by one guy (who is math-challenged and an unthinking ideologue) who thanks the Saudis for starting this bridge game. Thinks that lower oil prices will lead to a wholesale embrace of solar and wind, which can then drive all of the transportation and energy needs of the country.
Huh?
People are smart.
IMHO, $10 oil will drive a depression the likes of which we have never seen yet. I’m thinking like the 30 year Long Depression of the 1800s, but permanent.
‘$10 oil will drive a depression the likes of which we have never seen yet’
When I was a kid and OPEC was doing the embargo’s, I would watch the 3 networks telling us how bad the economy was, a lot due to gasoline prices. But I wondered, it’s great here in Texas. Then, when oil went down to $8 barrel, the TV told us how great everything else was doing, with the odd report on the wipe out in the oil states.
One difference between then and now; at that time, only the oil states had a real estate bubble.
Comment by Dman
2014-12-13 14:03:13
If only he had followed the cops lawful orders, I’m sure things would have gone differently. Of course, if he’d been black, he’d be dead. “He had a hoodie, and I was scared.” Nothing to see here, grand jury.
Reply to this comment
Comment by phony scandals
2014-12-13 20:04:47
“He had a hoodie, and I was scared.”
Watch What Happened When Two Thugs Started a Gunfight With a …
http://www.infowars.com/74-year-old-woman-wins-gunfight-with-criminal-thugs/ - 81k - Cached - Similar pages
3 days ago … A 74-year-old woman came out on top of a gunfight with two criminal thugs after they tried to rob her pawn shop in Springdale, Arkansas
Reply to this comment
‘The great French classical liberal Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850), wrote a pamphlet, The Law, that was published in June, 1850, the year of his death. Bastiat challenged the fundamental assumption behind the rejection of anarchism in ancient political thought. This is the notion that we need to have a class above the mass of the people, who need to be molded by those of superior wisdom. This is clear in Plato, with his class of guardians; but even in Aristotle, the citizens who deliberate on the good of the city rule over those in the city who aren’t citizens. Bastiat asked, why should we assume this? Where did the supposed superior class get its “wisdom” and what gives this class the right to rule over the rest of us?’
‘Bastiat raised a point that could be taken in an anarchist direction, although he didn’t apply it that way himself: If we start with the premise that each person has the rights to life, liberty, and property, then any power that the state has can come only if people agree to give it this power. The crucial point Bastiat makes is that even if people agree to establish a state, it cannot acquire new rights that individuals don’t have. The state couldn’t acquire additional rights. The anarchist implication of this point is that if individuals don’t have the right to monopolize protective services in a given territory, neither does the state.’
And what right does the state have to monopolize, say, taxi services?
“And what right does the state have to monopolize, say, taxi services?”
To save the children?
If you can attach the “Save the children” phrase to whatever it is that you want to do, want to control, want to monopolize, then the right will be handed over to you.
And what right does the state have to monopolize, say ??
Say like, the Anti-Trust exemption enjoyed by Billionaire owners and millionaire players of MLB…
Another good question is that if we are too stupid to stop smoking or build roads or help the downtrodden, how come we are smart enough to vote for people that confiscate our money to redistribute to others and to order people not to smoke?
No one is being ordered not to smoke. And taxes are just something you are going to have to live with. Not having taxes would be very inefficient, and it would guarantee that the rich would dominate over everyone else. You and I would not be free people without taxes. That’s why people vote to have taxes.
+1
No. Taxation is theft. It is therefore immoral.
- 1
“Not having taxes would be very inefficient, and it would guarantee that the rich would dominate over everyone else.”
This way, the super rich can buy the politicians and have them make laws that pass the taxes on to everyone else.
“Not only is taxation morally illegitimate as robbery; so too is it morally illegitimate to establish a coercive monopoly of such “defense” or “protection” functions, and then to revere it as “our government.” - Murray Rothbard
This is such an interesting topic to me. On the one hand I do not like the corrupt oligarch monoplies in taxi cabs or anywhere else. The cab union is blamed for LA never building the trains to the airport or the beach that any sane city would have 50 years ago.
But I also dont like these guys like Uber just making their own rules and profitting off of what appears to be simple law breaking.
Kind of like how I felt about Napster. The record companies were total crooks but i dont think that justifies stealing music.
The tech does have promise to force change off the old corrupt structure though.
“The cab union is blamed for LA never building the trains to the airport or the beach that any sane city would have 50 years ago.”
There used to something in L.A. called the “Red Car”, which was a streetcar rail system that connected many parts of L.A. (Wiki it up).
Also, while you are at it, Wiki-up “General Motors streetcar conspiracy”, an article that explains what happened to the Red Car.
Here’s a hint of what you’ll read:
“The General Motors streetcar conspiracy (also known as the Great American streetcar scandal) refers to convictions of General Motors (GM) and other companies for monopolizing the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines and its subsidiaries, and to allegations that this was part of a deliberate plot to purchase and dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an auto marketing ploy.”
Were the oil and automotive industries perchance involved in the design of the LA freeway system to encourage perpetual overuse of automobiles, traffic gridlock and high gas consumption rates as motorists sit frozen in traffic jams?
National City Lines did buy up electric light rail systems in the L.A. area (and many others) back in the day in order to sell buses, fuel, and tires so that definitely did contribute to smog, gridlock, etc…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_City_Lines
Here’s a map of the areas the Red Car system used to cover:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric#mediaviewer/File:Los_Angeles_Pacific_Electric_Railways_(Red_Cars).svg
Well, that didn’t work.
To see the map Wiki-up “red car”; There’s a map imbedded in the article.
Thanks this is interesting and something I never knew. It looks like it predates the modern era though post 1960. Clearly it can be done because it was already done before.
But I also dont like these guys like Uber just making their own rules and profitting off of what appears to be simple law breaking.
A voluntary exchange of services between one person offering a ride to another person for a fee—that is about as victimless a crime as I can possibly imagine. Why should that be illegal again?
Because there is a safety aspect when it is done commercially. Why should there be any regulation of doctors or medicine? Let people go to whomever they want and any pill they want. Or contractors. Let them hire whatever fly by night person claims they cam fix their roof. Or childcare, who cares what the background is for those people. Or working conditions or fire codes, office safety, whatever.
I dont think it should be illegal or even very highly regulated. But do you really think all regulation should be abandoned?
People who are anti regulations need to visit Somalia. See their Utopia.
I think it should be legal for unlicensed cab drivers to offer a ride, but only if they prominently display a notice on their car and advertisements that they are not licensed or regulated by the state. That would give people the option of hopping into a stranger’s car if they want. Personally, I wouldn’t want to do that.
“what right does the state have to monopolize, say, taxi services?”
Most likely state regulation was demanded by the existing taxi owners to strengthen their monopoly.
Do you really think taxis should have no insurance, and no one should check? No background checks or licensing at all?
I wasn’t thinking anything like that. I was thinking that proliferation of regulation almost always favors the existing business entities. In this case, the ones with medallions want them to be required and limited in number.
On the insurance though, government mandated insurance is another sore issue.
“even if people agree to establish a state, it cannot acquire new rights that individuals don’t have”
Wouldn’t it be next to impossible to build a road, for example, if the state could never overrule the individual? Or to enforce any contract?
Federal Reserve: Stealing since 1913
“Federal Reserve: Stealing since 1913.”
Maybe so, but how else were the children going to saved?
And since we are here discussing the issue, just why is it that you hate children so much?
Also, don’t forget the “it takes a village…” nanny state phrase
“Federal Reserve: Stealing since 1913″
You can say again.
‘let them eat i-pads’
“Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order [referring to the 1991 LA Riot]. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond [i.e., an "extraterrestrial" invasion], whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the World Government.”
Dr. Henry Kissinger, Bilderberger Conference, Evians, France, 1991
U.N. “Peacekeepers” Use Live Ammo on Protesters Alex Jones …
http://www.infowars.com/u-n-peacekeepers-use-live-ammo-on-protesters/ - 93k - Cached - Similar pages
19 hours ago …
I lived and worked through those riots. By the third day when the National Guard rolled in in force people were greeting them like the libersting allied forces in WWII. Little old ladies giving soldiers huhs and homemade food. I saw it with my own eyes.
It is amazig to see what society turns into when the thin blue line breaks.
It is amazing to see what society turns into when the thin blue line breaks ??
Yep…We were on the cusp of that in September 2008 to the scale of 10 X….We all may agree that our governments actions rewarded many for fraudulent behavior but we also will never know what may have happened with a let the cookie crumble policy and out of the ashes we will be better off…
Sure they may have postponed the minor disturbances, but they virtually guaranteed a civil war next time this $hit collapses in near future.
I dont think this is correct. Cops were never in any danger of losing order in 2008. Some banksters would go to jail. Some debts written off and resligned. This end of the world scenario was oligarch propaganda.
This end of the world scenario was oligarch propaganda ??
Thats NOT the consensus of most in academia and finance….
O
I have no idea how the above comment occurred.
Of course the National Guard is not the United Nations. That would be very different.
McKenzie County, ND Asking Prices Plunge 19% YoY; Sellers Slash Prices As Demand Drops Like A Rock
http://www.zillow.com/mckenzie-county-nd/home-values/
That’s a fracking crash if I ever did see one!
to to scoop up some deals. Of course you will talk about it for 10 more years.
Why buy today when you can buy tomorrow for less.
Falling prices is a positively bullish and good for the economy Poet.
A realturd just sent me this:
US home sales 1 yr, up 2.7%, 5.3 mill sold
avg home price $208,300 , up 5.5% for the year
30 yr fixed 3.99%, historical average 8.9%
Thanks Lola
Your are welcome!
I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola
See-oh-el-aye cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
El-oh-el-aye Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Impressive Lola.
I filled up the gas tank @ 2.61 and felt guilty about it.
Buckle up dude. That is just the first volley. Collapsing replacement cost of our houses is on its way and along with it credit contraction.
Those debts will make you feel more than guilty.
lmao 10 more years of doom and gloom? will an economic collapse finally make you happy?
Don’t you think the collapse of oil prices is positive?
I filled up the gas tank @ 2.61 and felt guilty about it.
I once met a man out in the middle of the Great American desert. His Datsun pickup had a broken fan belt and a steaming radiator. I sold him the 100% compatible fan belt I had been carrying for MY Datsun pickup for $5, and felt guilty about that too.
The Quiet Coup - how financial insiders have usurped our institutons (thanks to brain-dead voters who sanctioned it).
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/05/the-quiet-coup/307364/
+1 And some great comments there too!
Irvine, CA Rental Rates Crater 16% YoY As Vacancy Rates Balloon Statewide
http://www.zillow.com/irvine-ca-92620/home-values/
You really don’t get what “real journalism” is, do you?
I’m disappointed,,,those fugg’n 49ers let me down,,,again!
The officiating was atrocious.
Are you ready for a $1.6 trillion crater in the global oil sector?
Market Snapshot
Crashing crude may blow a $1.6 trillion hole in the global oil sector, annually
Published: Dec 14, 2014 9:36 a.m. ET
Santa got run over by an oil tanker
Watch out for the oil slick!
By Mark DeCambre
NEW YORK (MarketWatch)—Talk about an oil spill. The spectacular unhinging of crude oil prices over the past six months is weighing mightily on the U.S. stock market.
And while it may be too early to abandon all hope that the market will stage a year-end Santa rally, it appears that if Father Christmas comes, there’s a good chance his sleigh will be driven by polar bears, instead of gift-laden reindeer.
Wall Street’s gift: a major stock correction.
…
phony scandals