January 5, 2017

The Demand At Prices Set At 2014 Is Not There

A report from Bloomberg on New York. “Manhattan resale home prices tumbled by the most in more than four years, a sign that sellers are lowering their expectations in a slowing market where buyers have the option to walk away. The median price of previously owned condominiums and co-ops fell 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to $900,000, according to a report Wednesday from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. It was the first annual decline since the beginning of 2015, and the biggest since the third quarter of 2012, when resale prices dropped 8.1 percent.”

“‘Maybe we’re heading out of the period when there was no shame in overpricing your home,’ Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, said in an interview. ‘We’re moving away from that and into something more pragmatic: Do you want to actually sell your property or do you want to pretend? Part of selling is pricing correctly or being more negotiable.’”

From DNA Info. “Apartment bidding wars in Manhattan were at their lowest level in four years, according to a market analysis from Douglas Elliman. Drilling down into the data, bidding wars were less common for pricier markets. New developments, for instance, saw no bidding wars. ‘Increasingly, as the year went by, buyers possessed the upper hand; they balked at overpricing and waited sellers out,’ he wrote in his own market report. ‘On the listing side, 2016 was a year of price drops, often multiple, to position the subject properties for sale in the changed marketplace. While the year began with sellers firmly in charge of the market, December saw almost every sale negotiated, often from prices which had already been reduced several times.’”

“While the median price in Manhattan declined overall, the average sales price still hit a record high, reaching $2.098 million. It was up nearly 8 percent over the past year, according to Elliman data. But real estate expert Jonathan Miller, who authored the Elliman report, didn’t believe this accurately reflected the current state of the market since these sales included contracts that were signed a year or two ago in ultra-luxury new developments, but only closed last quarter when buildings were completed.”

“These ‘legacy’ contracts, as he calls them, propped up the prices. More recently, some luxury developments have been dropping prices, he added. ‘When a market like the super-luxury market is quiet, it’s not that the demand is gone, it’s that the demand at prices set at 2014 is not there,’ Miller said.”

From Forbes. “Swelling inventory and thinning demand are continuing to take a toll on Manhattan’s real estate market, several quarterly reports show. The drop-off is particularly acute at the top end of the market as developers of new luxury projects that now populate the skyline rush to cut deals in an effort to unload languishing units. The upper end of the market endured more softening with the median price on more expensive co-ops falling sharply. The median price of three-bedroom co-ops sold in the final three months of 2016 was $2.24m, down 12% from the same period in 2015, the Elliman report said. Sale prices of co-ops with four or more bedrooms were down 13% to $4.81m in the fourth quarter of 2016 from the same quarter in 2015. ”

“‘The paradigm shift with the Brexit vote combined with the uncertainty of the outcome of our election clearly put a damper on the transactional pace in the 4th quarter,’ says Robert Dankner, president of Prime Manhattan Residential.”

“Few real estate markets in the U.S. have enjoyed a sharper rise the past few years than Manhattan, where the average price of a home stands among the highest in the country. But despite a few record-shattering purchases, New York’s priciest borough is in the throes of a softening at the very high end as a glut of expensive condominiums floods the market and demand for top-tier properties taper off.”

From Curbed New York. “Brown Harris Stevens’ report pointed out some market changes in particular Manhattan neighborhoods. On the East Side, median prices for one and two bedrooms dropped slightly (to $722,500 and $722,500, respectively) while studios and three+ bedrooms rose (to $400,000 and $3.33 million). On the West Side, all sized apartments saw an increase in median price except three+ bedrooms, which experienced a 20 percent decline to a median price of $3.37 million.”

“Between 34th and 14th Streets, studio and one bedroom median prices decreased slightly (to $535,000 and $920,000) while two bedrooms increased 3 percent to $1.497 million. South of 14th Street, median prices were essentially unchanged except for two bedrooms, which had a 14 percent decline to a price of $1.7 million.”

From The Real Deal. “The average luxury sale price was nearly 9 percent less than the asking price at the time of contract, nearly twice as big of a discount seen in the previous year. ‘It’s a clear break from the somewhat irrational behavior of sellers from the previous three or four years,’ said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel.”




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246 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 08:01:16

‘the demand at prices set at 2014 is not there’

What was it about 2014? Oh yeah, safe deposit boxes in the sky. Just buy it and leave it, rich foreigners would pay cash for everything, flipping $100 million air boxes.

‘Few real estate markets in the U.S. have enjoyed a sharper rise the past few years than Manhattan, where the average price of a home stands among the highest in the country. But despite a few record-shattering purchases, New York’s priciest borough is in the throes of a softening at the very high end as a glut of expensive condominiums floods the market and demand for top-tier properties taper off’

The word bubble does not appear in these articles.

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 08:52:11

we need to flush out the speculators

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 19:26:08

Will President Trump protect the home equity wealth gains of foreign speculators in U.S. residential real estate?

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:00:49

The perfect storm is coming to NYC.

The end of crazy free money.

A president not owned by GS.

A mayor absolutely left wing bonkers. Public urination and masterbastion now no longer a crime…?

The housing bubble popping

Insane public unions pension bills coming due

Etc.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:29:27

Don’t forget the legacy of years of perpetuating a culture of pathological victimization. Now the chickens are coming home to roost. This will not be bullish for housing if you live in one of our urban dystopias.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/were-edge-terrible-period-chicago-cops-condemn-sickening-social-media-video-teen-kid

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 10:31:19

A president not owned by GS

lol

Have you seen his cabinet?

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 10:41:07

My thought exactly.

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Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 10:55:09

Did you see how much GS contributed to obama and Hillary?

ZERO to DJT.

Did you see how much GS paid Hillary for a 20 minute speech - over and over?

ZERO to DJT

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Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 11:31:57

Have you seen his cabinet?

Put down the kool aid.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-01-05 13:16:16

The problem with this is that loyal Clinton followers do not see anything wrong with payoffs and bribes. They did not howl at the Clinton corruption. They are not going to howl at corruption in the Trump administration either. They will howl at Trump period, because he is not Clinton. They will do this regardless of who Trump employs on his staff.

In the American Revolution, almost all of the Patriots were former subjects of Britain.

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 14:38:42

Clinton is a neo-con warmonger. She lost, get over it.

 
 
 
 
Comment by taxpayer
2017-01-05 11:13:00

wonder if it’s effecting the mid quartile Brooklyn type units?

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 08:10:49

And just like that, greed turns to fear.

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 08:57:09

Bitcoin too..

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:19:20

Bitcoin got scholonged. Sweet William must be beside himself.

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-06 00:02:13

Pretend money with no fiat backing does seem a mite dear at $1000 a unit.

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Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 08:17:34

dow 20k b@tchez!

Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 10:32:48

no one wants to be that guy who buys at the top

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:16:46

Gold has been calling bluffs for 2000 years. And wins every time.

It just a matter of timing and arrogance

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 08:20:52

Obama Seized Enough Land and Water in 8 Years to Cover Texas Three Times

Brittany M. Hughes | 23 hours ago

In a move ignored by the liberal media last week, Obama unilaterally seized more than 1.3 million acres from Utah to establish the Bears Ears Monument, preserving it at the behest of conservationist groups and Native American tribes who claimed the land was sacred. Utah’s state legislature, however, opposed the unilateral land grab across party lines, with many speculating that Obama’s move is the latest in an attempt to limit efforts from incoming President Donald Trump to expand domestic energy production.

Obama also claimed 300,000 acres in Clark County, Nevada, as the Gold Butte National Monument, effectively closing the area off to future development for uranium mining, oil drilling or natural gas production.

Just this past summer, Obama bragged about executively creating the nation’s largest marine preserve off the coast of Hawaii, conveniently omitting that the move took a $10 million chunk out of the local fishing industry.

Thanks to executive actions by Obama and presidents like him, more than 80 percent of the state of Nevada and about 65 percent of Utah is now owned by the federal government, according to the National Public Radio.

http://www.mrctv.org/blog/obama-seizes-land-3x-size-texas-8-years

Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 10:34:42

Happy people call it “protected land for people to enjoy”

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 10:43:12

‘Eventually, neither the government nor the settlers wanted these lands to be privatized. Each interest group — homesteaders, ranchers, and water owners — wanted the lands to continue to be public since each group assumed it would be able to use its own political power to gain de facto use and control of the lands.’

‘Thus, today, we are living with the results of this system throughout the west. Federally-owned lands continue because interest groups would rather battle for control of the lands through political means than allow the lands to be privatized and pass outside the control of special interests.’

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 10:46:34

‘The federal government has long had control issues when it comes to public lands in the West. It manages and pays for nearly everything that happens on more than 300 million acres, from recreation and wildlife conservation to mining, logging, grazing and oil and gas drilling.’

That’s right: the federal government pays (and loses money in the process) for groups to run cows, mine, develop our land in the most environmentally unsound manner. Go ask the Navajo how well “their” land has been managed. You’ll be lucky if you come back alive.

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Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 11:33:20

I hunt boar on BLM land, thankful for it.

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Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-01-05 13:10:27

Even worse are the onerous “land use” laws and provisions which have eroded personal property rights in the most shocking fashion ever. Nobody “owns” land anymore, if they ever did.

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Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 08:21:51

Hope and Change:

“The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to declare Boulder a sanctuary city.

It was a largely symbolic gesture, as Boulder already acts as other self-proclaimed sanctuary cities do — that is, it refuses to comply with federal authorities by questioning, detaining or turning over people on the basis of immigration status.

But the council felt it was important to get the policy in place ahead of Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

“We are sending a message of reassurance to people,” Mayor Suzanne Jones said.

With its policy approved Tuesday, Boulder vows that “no city employee shall inquire into a person’s immigration status.”

City employees also are formally forbidden from cooperating with federal authorities with regard to any investigation of a person’s immigration status. Practically, this means that city officials — cops, most importantly — will not be allowed to prompt or assist in Immigration and Customs Enforcement searches.

That’s already been the practice of Boulder police, as well as the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and staff of the county jail.

The policy also states that city funds shall not be used to assist with immigration investigations or with the detention of any immigrants.”

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_30702690/defying-trump-boulder-declares-itself-sanctuary-city

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 08:51:21

So can a city do the same with federal gun laws?

Federal taxes?

Federal environment laws?

Etc.

Like little obamas, progressives everywhere think they can ignore laws they don’t like and make up laws they wished they had.

Never understanding the consequences of their actions.

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 09:05:26

The answer is yes - cities can refuse to help enforce federal gun laws or environmental laws.

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:19:24

Read the article again sweetpea.

Not just refusing enforcement.

Refusing cooperation and outright obstruction.

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Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 09:47:30

I read it an didn’t see any reference to obstruction. Sweetpea must be one of those terms used to refer to people in the fact-based community.

 
 
 
 
Comment by taxpayer
2017-01-05 11:15:07

cut off their fed $ on the 22nd

 
Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-01-05 13:11:58

Keep building those mega mansions with fortress-like gates.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 08:22:45

Affordable housing has vanished for the increasingly pauperized middle and working classes. Heckova job, Yellen.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-spending-30-of-your-income-on-rent-is-no-longer-possible-in-most-of-america-2017-01-05

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 08:47:48

Self-made millionaire: Not buying a home is the single biggest millennial mistake

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/30/self-made-millionaire-buy-a-home.html

 
Comment by Panda Triste
2017-01-05 08:53:28

“Heckofa job, Yellen.”

I’ve been wondering for a long time now, why is Yellen blamed for this? Mr. Jones does it too. Yes, she’s the one in the chair, now. But Bernanke was the guy with the helicopter theory, and maybe I’m wrong but his QE dwarfed Yellen’s. And if there is a political flavor to this, why not just say “heckofajob, Obama.” He’s the one that reappointed Bernanke after he started QE (and of course appointed Yellen.)

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 08:55:53

Bernanke and Yellen are both responsible for setting up our next financial crisis, but Yellen could’ve normalized rates and curbed rampant speculation - but instead she aided and abetted it.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 09:01:15

And the people voted for Obama, so blame them. And the hair splitting goes on.

I don’t know what can be done about QE. Japan and Europe are still at it.

Yellen’s big mistake was not increasing interest rates a long time ago. We could be headed into recession and she’s out of bullets. House prices wouldn’t be as high either.

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 09:09:01

Since the treasury gets all the interest on the bonds held by uncle fed why not have them buy more for trumps stimulus plans?

There is no limit to the balance sheet. When the treasuries mature more will be sold to pay them off.

iTS LIKE A BIG DAISY CHAIN

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Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:21:50

What could go wrong?

It’s amazing that no other country in the history of mankind has not thought of this painless way to properity and a higher standard of living….

Oh wait…

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2017-01-05 10:11:54

“DAISY CHAIN”

Of which debt junkies like you are an essential link.

 
 
Comment by Lurker
2017-01-05 13:24:18

“Yellen’s big mistake… out of bullets.”

Maybe this is one of those instances where it has to get worse before it gets better. Perhaps this will be the time things get bad enough for Bernanke’s policies and central bank theories in general to finally get the repudiation they deserve, enabled by Janet’s hubristic mistakes. The last thing we want is for the idea to be perpetuated that CBs lowering interest rates combats recessions.

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Comment by scdave
2017-01-05 09:03:57

why not just say “heckofajob, Obama ??

why not just say “hecofajob” GWB…See September 2008…

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:20:20

Heckova job, retard voters.

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Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 11:22:21

The FED was created over 100 years ago. All the people that voted for it are dead.

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 12:30:19

In 2008, Ron Paul tried to warn the sheeple what a racket was being perpetrated on the 99% by the Fed and its oligarch cohorts. The sheeple just stared at him in dull-eyed incomprehension, then cast votes for two Wall Street water carriers, Obama and McCain (the same candidate, for all intents and purposes). So the Obama Zombies, McCain Mutants, and Romney Retards who enable the Fed’s Keynesian swindles are still very much alive and well.

 
 
Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 09:20:56

Observation Excess reserves

Nov 2016: 2,032,970 (+ more)
Updated: Dec 15, 2016

Are the reserves basically held by the primary dealers who sold the bonds to bernake and yellen?

The rate the FEd keeps talking about raising is the FED Funds rate.

How does this effect the 10 year treasury which is most tied to mortgages?

It seems consumers are paying outrageous rates fro credit cards and the rising rates will have the most impact on home mortgages and car loans.

Doesn’t the market generally set 10 year treasury rates? The only real way to influence that rate would be to buy more bonds to keep prices high and yields down.

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 08:54:00

The racial double standard is stunning.

And progressives still don’t understand why DJT schlonged them…

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:00:02

Any minute now a gaggle of Hollywood celebrities will take to twitter to condemn the anti-Trump hatemongering by the MSM that contributed to an atmosphere where it’s okay to bash or even torture and kill Trump supporters, while the Obama justice department mobilizes all its resources to bring the full force of the law to bear against these anti-white thugs.

Any
Minute
Now….

Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 09:41:04

Stay tuned for the homeless problem to become epidemic in about 2 weeks.

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Comment by rms
2017-01-05 09:21:24

“The racial double standard is stunning.”

Everyone knows there’s a double-standard… good to be reminded.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 10:20:21

The racial double standard is stunning.

This would include your double standard, along with Ray’s. Dylann Roof has been in the news lately and no one has posted anything about that story.

Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 10:46:22

In his own words he said he wanted to start a race war.

There already is a race war, in Chicago and every other large American city, of young black males at war with young black males.

But that doesn’t sell a narrative :(

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Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 10:49:35

That’s an odd definition of race war. Once again, I don’t recall you mentioning anything about it at the time.

 
Comment by tresho
2017-01-06 07:43:15

Once again, I don’t recall you mentioning anything about it at the time.
This message brought to us all by our own Captain Obvious.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 11:06:27

I don’t feel any need to comment on Dylann Roof. The guy committed an atrocity on innocent people and should fry like the Sunday sausage. It is almost certain he will get the justice he deserves when he is sentenced. His crime is called a “hate crime.” But already the CPD is downplaying the video as “stupidity.” Yeah, that’s what this was, stupidity.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3f0_1483580077

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Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 09:51:26

Not a hate crime.

You speak too soon.

Chicago police consider hate crime charges in Facebook video of attack

Chicago police say they are considering hate crime charges against four people shown in a Facebook video attacking a mentally disabled man, cutting his scalp with a knife and punching him while yelling obscenities about Donald Trump and “white people.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-trump-cursed-man-attacked-facebook-video-20170104-story.html

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 10:11:41

“Consider” Mikey. Try reading for comprehension. And the odds of a “jury of their peers” in Chiraq actually convicting them of anything is nil. High fives all around.

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 10:24:32

I understood it. That’s why I wrote that you spoke too soon. You’re disregard for facts must mean that you’ve already determined what the conclusion of that consideration will be.

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Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 10:48:24

This sponsored message provided by Correct The Record.

 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 15:26:54

Cook County State’s Attorney Charges Four With Hate Crimes Related to Attack Posted on Facebook

Widely shared video allegedly seems to show white teenager being beaten while onlookers laugh and insult Donald Trump

By SHIBANI MAHTANI and DEEPA SEETHARAMAN
Updated Jan. 5, 2017 4:55 p.m. ET

CHICAGO—Authorities charged four African-Americans with kidnapping and hate crimes in connection with the attack on a disabled white teenager that was streamed live on Facebook, while people on the video shouted antiwhite obscenities and taunted President-elect Donald Trump.

The office of the State’s Attorney for Cook County on Thursday said it has approved charges—including kidnapping, hate crimes, aggravated unlawful restraint and battery and burglary—against Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper and Brittany Covington, all 18 years old, and Tanishia Covington, 24.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/chicago-police-weigh-hate-crime-charges-in-facebook-live-attack-1483638854

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Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 10:22:25

“You speak too soon.”

No, they spoke too soon.

WATCH: Chicago Police Downplay Torture Video as ‘Stupidity’

Published 1:40 am EST, January 5, 2017 Updated 10:39 am EST, January 5, 2017

http://heavy.com/news/2017/01/chicago-torture-kidnap-video-kevin-duffin-hate-crime-police-stupid-mistake-kids-eddie-johnson/

Comment by rms
2017-01-05 19:06:01

Anyone care to meet them?
http://picpaste.com/chicago-mugshots.jpeg

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Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 23:49:10

The abusers have an abused look.

 
Comment by rms
2017-01-06 07:29:32

“The abusers have an abused look.”

We’ve likely been paying for ‘em since the fetal stage, and we’ll be paying for ‘em all the way to the grave. Abuse.

 
Comment by tresho
2017-01-06 07:45:23

We’ve likely been paying for ‘em since the fetal stage That was when their grandmothers bit them and hurt them so badly these feral yoof are now resorting to kidnapping and torture of the innocent.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-06 09:36:41

grandmothers bit them?

 
 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 20:46:51

Just locker room talk.

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Comment by taxpayer
2017-01-05 11:17:27

they should get 20 years
each

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 10:01:10

CNN PANELIST BLAMES TRUMP FOR RACIST TORTURE OF MENTALLY DISABLED MAN

Chicago police say attack was “stupid,” unlikely to be a hate crime

Paul Joseph Watson | Infowars.com - JANUARY 5, 2017

According to CNN panelist Symone Sanders, the vicious attack on a mentally disabled man in Chicago during which his attackers yelled “f#ck Donald Trump” and “f#ck white people,” can be blamed on one man; Donald Trump.

The chilling footage has sparked a fresh conversation about how the mainstream media’s race baiting and its support for ‘Black Lives Matter’, a group that has inspired violence and whose ideological inspiration is a cop killing terrorist, is legitimizing violent anti-white racism.

However, according to CNN contributor Symone Sanders, the main culprit behind the attacks is Donald Trump.

“I just want to remind folks that we cannot sit here and ignore that, at least for the last year, on very public display, the worst parts of America have been brought from the fringe into the mainstream,” Sanders told CNN’s Don Lemon. “So, that affects people on both sides.”

“We’ve talked about white nationalists and white supremacists and the KKK, but there also, when this inflammatory rhetoric is out there, when someone is repeatedly telling you that your community is the worst of the worst, it brings out the worst of the worst in people,” she added.

When Lemon said that the attackers probably “never watch the news,” Sanders responded, “Ya’ll have to give young people more credit than that [sic] is,” she said. “Everybody knows who Donald Trump is.”

Sanders also asserted that the attack wasn’t a hate crime, commenting, “Was this for hate for Donald Trump, because of the things he said? Or, was this for pure hate of white people, because that matters.”

“That is not a hate crime,” she added . “Hate crimes are because of a person’s racial ethnicity, their religion, their gender, a disability, it isn’t your political leanings, because someone doesn’t like you’re political leanings and they do something bad to you, that is not a hate crime.”

“I’m sure if a group of white Trump supporters live streamed themselves tying up and torturing a black man while demanding he say “F– black people” and “F– Obama” she’d be just as understanding,” comments Chris Menahan.

Sanders previously responded to the black mob beating of a white man in Chicago because the mob thought he had voted for Trump with the refrain, “Oh my goodness, poor white people!”
She also previously caused controversy by saying, “we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party.”

Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 11:23:37

Whatever they immediately deny is usually the truth.

That’s how I interpret the news these days.

Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-01-05 16:12:18

That’s a good way to look at it, with a heavy dose of skepticism. The “real news” IS the “fake news” these days.

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Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 08:36:56

People Are Pissed My Pillow Supports Donald Trump

Now people are swearing off My Pillows, “the official pillow of the National Sleep Foundation!”

posted on Nov. 3, 2016, at 5:33 p.m.
Leticia Miranda
BuzzFeed News Reporter

https://www.buzzfeed.com/leticiamiranda/pro-trump-my-pillow-accused-of-false-advertising

MyPillow downgraded by biz bureau for misleading customers

By Chris Perez January 3, 2017 | 9:25pm | Updated

The Better Business Bureau has revoked the accreditation of the MyPillow, a popular “As Seen On TV” product, and downgraded its rating to an “F” after receiving a slew of complaints about false advertising.

The consumer watchdog group reported this week that the Minnesota-based company had been taking advantage of customers with their ongoing “buy one, get one free” discount.

http://nypost.com/2017/01/03/mypillow-downgraded-by-biz-bureau-for-misleading-customers/

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:05:34

For how many decades have department stores and big box stores run “50% off this week” sales?

Oldest gimmick in the book.

And when you come back a week later the product is the same price. All they did was double the price to have a sale…

If you are a dumb customer, nothing is going to save you.

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 09:25:04

I see that cr@p all the time. kohls creates a wish price and then says 70% off and it is still overpriced.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 09:24:34

235 complaints in over 25 million pillows?

“A+” plummeted to an “F”

SJW Kelly Weill “Customers: Pro-Trump Pillows Are a Nightmare”

MyPillow CEO responds to BBB rating plummet

By: Iris Perez
POSTED:JAN 03 2017 10:04PM CST

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (KMSP) - The Better Business Bureau yanked accreditation from Minnesota-based MyPillow and announced on Monday that the company’s “A+” plummeted to an “F” due to its continuous BOGO offers and ads.

“I have 1500 employees, we’ve sold over 25 million pillows, and they have 235 complaints,” said Lindell in contrast.

http://www.fox9.com/news/226949275-story

Customers: Pro-Trump Pillows Are a Nightmare

The Better Business Bureau this week accused TV-famous Mike Lindell of swindling consumers, which comes on top of multiple lawsuits and burned partners.

Kelly Weill
01.03.17 6:00 PM ET

MyPillow, a pillow and mattress-topper company best known for its infomercials and outlandish medical claims, came out swinging for Donald Trump during the presidential election. “I’m here to give all my credibility to Mr. Donald Trump,” the company’s founder and spokesperson Mike Lindell told Fox News during an interview at the final presidential debate, where he had scored seats to support Trump.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/03/customers-pro-trump-pillows-are-a-nightmare.html

 
 
Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 08:58:11

Dismal Holiday Sales at Macy’s, Kohl’s Spell Gloom for Sector:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/05/dismal-holiday-sales-at-macys-kohls-spell-gloom-for-sector.html

Too broke to buy clothes!

I hit the clearance rack @dillards last fall. set for the year.

Comment by scdave
2017-01-05 09:09:29

President-elect Donald Trump had also tweeted about the spending increase, saying, “The world was gloomy before I won - there was no hope. Now the market is up nearly 10% and Christmas spending is over a trillion dollars!”

 
Comment by scdave
2017-01-05 09:10:41

JP Morgan analyst Matthew Boss, who cut his price targets on shares of both Macy’s and Kohl’s, titled his client note “Gloom Continues - Department stores missed the $1 trillion Holiday’16 Tweet”.

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 09:22:48

man this credit cycle is near the end. big debt orgy over past 8 years.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:14:41

I just got to laugh at Macy’s.

Disrespecting Trump. Calling him a racist. Cutting all ties.

Now their stock in free fall. Closing hundreds of stores. Laying of 10,000.

Now think if they were not run by a CEO snowflake who didn’t piss off at LEAST half their customer base.

And had more funny commercials with Trump like they used to have…

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:31:22

Karma….

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 10:16:50

grossly.overpriced.cr@p

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Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 09:42:20

Macy’s is closing 68 stores this year. Here is the list:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/01/05/the-full-list-macy-stores-closing-around/6TY8a3vy7yneKV1nYcwY7K/story.html

Once those anchor stores leave, it triggers contractual clauses for remaining mall stores so they can either exit their lease early, or re-negotiate to lower rent prices.

Hey MookeyMook, perhaps we need more minimum wage increases to stimulate Macy’s.

Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 11:26:22

Yup. Near me, an Everett mall is losing a Macy’s, and a major Seattle-area mall is also losing a Sears store.

The dominos, they are a’ fallin’!

Comment by da bear
2017-01-07 14:40:50

“Mexico is gonna pay for that MALL. That I can tell you!”

da bear

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Comment by Sean
2017-01-05 10:54:33

J. Crew clearance rack for me. IMO they have nice shirts and sweaters, much nicer than Kohls or Macys, and they wash much better too.

Picked up a real nice sweater with an “original” price of $70, marked all the way down to $12. I don’t buy that many clothes so it’s either buy a new thing at Kohls which falls apart after a year or buy something that holds up. No brainer

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 11:08:00

Nordstroms Rack. Good quality, good prices.

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 11:27:33

Yep. J. Crew seems to be filling the Brooks Brothers void.

 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 12:18:33

Well if you like JCrew, get your clothes while you can. They look like they are going to fail. From a couple months ago:

http://nypost.com/2016/10/17/j-crew-hires-help-to-inject-life-into-the-troubled-brand/

“J.Crew has a little over $2 billion in debt: a $1.5 billion loan maturing in 2021 and $500 million in bonds maturing in 2019.

The company has basically no free cash flow, according to a Barclays analyst report. However, as of July 31, it had an untapped $320 million credit line and $49 million in cash.”

 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 09:04:54

Real journalists provide the following narrative:

Obama Called Inequality ‘The Defining Challenge Of Our Time.’ He Didn’t Do Much About It.

“In December 2013, President Barack Obama addressed representatives from anti-poverty nonprofits gathered in Washington, D.C.’s chronically depressed Anacostia neighborhood. He declared war on economic inequality.

“A dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility… has jeopardized middle-class America’s basic bargain ― that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead,” Obama said. “I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: making sure our economy works for every working American.

“It’s why I ran for president,” Obama added. “It drives everything I do in this office.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-income-inequality_us_5866836ce4b0de3a08f808dd

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:29:33

Obama did A LOT about it - he made it much, much worse.

Big government makes it worse
Higher taxes makes it worse
More regulations makes it worse
Free and cheap money to Wall Street makes it worse
ZIRP makes it worse
QE to infinity makes it worse
Insane public unions makes it worse
Housing bubbles makes it worse
Obamacare makes it worse
Getting 0.01% on savings makes it worse
Globalization makes it worse
Non enforcement of immigration laws makes it worse

Comment by rms
2017-01-05 19:17:43

“Obama did A LOT about it - he made it much, much worse.”

I voted for Obama, and he immediately gives performance bonuses to the Wall street bankers who crashed the economy using taxpayer money. Then he settles into a long drone war, signs extensive Israeli commitments into law. Shame on this president who took an oath to protect this nation from foreign influence.

 
 
 
 
Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 09:28:27

“What are you in jail for there Skippy?”

“I was caught illegally smuggling soda into Philadelphia without paying the soda tax.”

http://6abc.com/food/philadelphias-beverage-tax-is-now-in-effect/1681401/

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:35:19

I wonder if the Philly cops will choke a black man to death for selling soda “loosies” on the street in the near future…

Public unions pension will be paid…

Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 09:42:43

Vote the Soda Party in 2018!

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:54:27

Philly has been run by democrats and public unions for the last 60 years.

In that time period, the city has lost half its population, crime is out of control, rampant corruption, an utterly failed school system, the highest wage tax in America, etc.

And the city is beyond bankrupt.

But nothing will change.

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:45:08

As a taxpayer, anything that discourages dependency voters from putting crap into their system that will destroy their health and force me to cover their Obamacare costs is A-OK with me.

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 11:01:54

The gay “lifestyle” is one of the most unhealthy things you can do with your life.

Much higher rates of disease, domestic violence from other gays, substance abuse, self destruction, etc.

Should we put a tax on that?

 
 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 10:20:23

First one’s for free! :)

From the article:

“The mayor’s office says the new tax money will help pay for Kenney’s universal Pre-K goal.”

Pre-Kindergarten. I didn’t even know that existed. It is for 3-4 year olds. Nice. A place to dump your welfare babies for early brainwashing, while you go out looking for some crack cocaine to smoke.

They say for Philly it costs $13,000 / year for each kid in the Pre-K system, so that’s why they need the money.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20160131_Kenney_s_push_for_pre-K_for_all__How_to_pay_for_it_.html

Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 10:58:57

Funny.

“”Being for pre-K is like being for birthday cake,” said Anne Gemmell, Kenney’s pre-K director. “Very few people are against it.”"

-

Yes, yes. Birthday cake is good. There is no reason why we shouldn’t have Universal Birthday Cake. We should vote it for ourselves.

 
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 11:03:03

Public unions pensions will be paid.

That’s all you really need to know.

Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 11:29:14

Not so fast! Did you see the news from the California courts this week? It’s encouraging news:

http://www.pionline.com/article/20170103/ONLINE/170109974/second-california-appeals-court-rules-pension-benefits-can-be-reduced

This will no doubt go all the way up to the US Supreme court eventually. Which is why Trump’s future nominees are so critical.

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Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 11:58:40

I look at Detroit.

Turned into a wasteland by public unions.

Most of the population moved away because of public unions.

The city declared bankruptcy because of public unions.

And then they got a massive state bailout

And public unions pensions were barely touched.

The irony? The city will be bankrupt again in a few years.

THAT is how much power they have.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 12:56:35

Turned into a wasteland by public unions.

Most of the population moved away because of public unions.

Do you have a link for that?

 
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 13:35:08

Demographics: Some say Detroit’s decline really started in the 50’s. The population was once around 2 million in 1950. But in 2010 it had dropped to around 700,000.

Unfunded Pension Liabilities: Detroit has promised retirees lavish health and benefit packages for decades. Even when revenue and the population were in decline. Everyone knows cities that are successful and grow can handle reasonable types of pension payouts over unsuccessful ones. There was no way Detroit could keep paying out pensions with the city spiraling downward. Today pension payouts have left less for the city to provide essential services to the people.

Property Taxes: For decades Detroit raised property taxes on the people for decades while doing reckless borrowing and expanding the size of government. When property taxes became unrealistic and unbearable many abandoned their house and fled the city. A city council member in 2013 once said “Of course property taxes are too high, but what do you replace them with?” With mentality like that running Detroit for so long no wonder things went bust. The Brookings Institute found that when taxes get so high it backfires, there is no incentive to invest, and city services are cut and weakened. In 2011 Detroit ranked first in tax rates among the 50 largest U.S. cities, and last in property value. In 2011 Democrat Mayor Dave Bing has acknowledged the city’s property taxes are inflated and proposed increasing the city’s income tax rate and boosting surcharges on utilities. The state turned him down. In 2012 roughly 47% of property owners didn’t pay taxes.

Update: On December 3, 2013 Detroit became the largest U.S. city to enter bankruptcy. Detroit has 18 billion in debt and unfunded liabilities. There are 23,000 city retirees receiving pensions that will be affected by the ruling. Also the city owes roughly 100,000 creditors. Judge Steven Rhodes said the path will be painful for Detroit. There is no question that a lot of assets will be sold during this process. In conclusion, many believe Detroit had its chance to continue be a good city and they blew it. They blew it big. Everyone I mentioned here had a hand in the city being destroyed. Everyone. Of course some played a much larger role. Detroit is a great example of what happens when greed and corruption runs rampant. And unchecked. And honest people can’t lie or spin the fact that black liberals ran everything in Detroit since 1974. And the world sees the results. Without question Detroit is a pathetic disgrace and embarrassment to itself. And to America.

http://destructionofdetroit.blogspot.com/

 
Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 14:21:10

Do you not have a brain, Mike?

I lived in Flint for a couple of years while in college and the exact same thing is true for that town; they used to say that Detroit was a certain bodily orifice of Michigan, and that Flint was 75 miles up it!

The private unions, AKA the UAW, didn’t help things either. Getting your full salary to play Ping-Pong at the union hall all day isn’t sustainable in the long run.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 14:36:39

I certainly have a brain. If there’s some information that can be provided, I could read about it.

For example, I read a book called The Reckoning many years ago. It went into some detail about how miserably the big 3 Detroit automakers fared when they had to face Japanese competition in the 70s and 80s. It’s a long story with many failures on the American side. The American consumer wanted small, fuel efficient cars after the oil crisis of 1973. GM and Ford came out with duds like Chevy Nova and Ford Pinto. The quality and MPG of the Japanese cars was clearly superior. The problem was in the management suites in Detroit. Of course, it’s not surprising that, a few decades later, millions of “pro-business” (meaning pro-wealthy, anti-worker) Americans would try to rewrite history and blame the UAW.

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 14:57:06

That’s true.

 
Comment by rms
2017-01-05 19:26:35

“GM and Ford came out with duds like Chevy Nova and Ford Pinto.”

Chevy Vega?

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 20:42:39

Yeah, the Vega is what I was thinking of. The Nova came out earlier.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2017-01-05 21:37:18

IIRC, the Nova was originally known as the Chevy II

 
 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 15:53:23

People who think they have pensions, all across the country, are instead going to get:

A big, fat zero.

There is no such thing as a pension. Those firefighters in Texas were right to do a “run on the bank” recently.

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Comment by rms
2017-01-05 19:19:33

Is the soda tax actually an obesity tax?

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 09:34:13

Thanks Obama

“So you’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. It’s the craziest thing in the world.”

Bill Clinton on Obamacare: ‘The craziest thing in the world’

OCT. 4, 2016
11:00 A.M.
Christi Parsons

At a rally for Democrats in Flint, Mich., on Monday, Clinton said the current system works fine for seniors on Medicare, poor people on Medicaid and low-income earners who qualify for Obamacare subsidies.

But small-business owners and individuals who make just a little too much to qualify for government subsidies are “getting killed in this deal,” the former president said.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-vice-presidential-debate-live-bill-clinton-calls-obamacare-the-1475601274-htmlstory.html

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 09:57:05

The votes of the free sh*t army don’t come cheap.

 
Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 11:00:08

Blue Cross wins. Congress sits on their hands.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 11:21:35

The way that America paid for healthcare before Obamacare was crazy. If Obamacare made it crazier, it was a quite small increase.

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 12:17:41

The backpeddling of progressives is stunning.

STUNNING.

And the lies about it?

The Grubering of America?

How we had to pass it to see what was in it?

Without one republican vote?

On Christmas eve on an unconstitutional reconciliation vote?

With massive bribes to Democrats senators?

With exemptions to key Democrat Democrat groups to new able to opt out.

With a threatening of the Supreme Court to not only to uphold it but change the words of it?

Obamacare is an abomination to the rule of law, democracy and representative government.

It has corrupted all it has touched.

It is exhibit A of showing how obama is the worst president, by far, this country has ever had.

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 13:01:06

Your rants are getting incoherent again.

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Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 14:24:49

But there really WAS some Grubering.

 
 
 
Comment by cat shannon
2017-01-05 12:52:44

If Obamacare made it crazier, it was a quite small increase.

Without comparing any numbers it is quite a stretch to make such a claim. Isn’t’ it?

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 13:09:13

If you want to talk about comparing numbers, the interesting comparisons are to be made with other developed countries. America spend 50% to 70% more than other comparable countries for health care that is no better. Much of the money is wasted on administrative costs.

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Comment by somedewd
2017-01-05 19:15:46

I’m always intrigued when people say US care is no better than other developed countries, despite its higher cost. What metrics do you base this opinion upon? (Hint: Life expectancy is a terrible metric to compare “quality” of healthcare.)

- admin costs are ridiculous.
- Americans subsidize medication and device development for the rest of the world.

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 19:56:00

“- Americans subsidize medication and device development for the rest of the world.”

And that’s not all. WTF, man, I’m not even so sure I want some of these multinational companies to stay in the US. Throw ‘em out, let ‘em go. Lock, stock and barrel. That includes their offices, shareholder, US management & personnel, physical plant, OUT, OUT, OUT. And don’t come back. Go find another population to poison and parasitize. Don’t even think about selling your crappy schitt here.

Spread the wealth. Let some US born, bread and based company ramp up and take the market.

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 20:11:32

“bread” tee-hee, I meant “bred”, but what the hey, bread works.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 20:39:49

The first authors of this article - Woolhandler and Himmelstien - are professors at Harvard Medical School and they’ve been writing about this topic for decades. I read some articles that they wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine back in 1989,

Comprehensive Analysis Finds Slightly Lower Death Rates in Canada
(Despite Far Lower Health Spending)

EMBARGOED UNTIL:
April 18 2007 — 8:30 A.M. EST

Contacts:
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D. 617-497-1268, 617-312-2766
David Himmelstein, M.D. 617-665-1032, 617-312-0970
Nick Skala 312-782-6006
Gordon Guyatt, M.D. 905-521-2100 x22160

Article: http://www.pnhp.org/PDF_files/ReviewUSCanadaOpenMedicine.pdf

A comprehensive study by a team of 17 leading Canadian and U.S. researchers finds that the quality of care in Canada is at least as good as that in the U.S. The research, which appears in the inaugural issue of the on-line journal Open Medicine, is a rigorous statistical compendium of every direct comparison of the outcomes of U.S. and Canadian patients with identical illnesses ever published.

The researchers analyzed every study that met two pre-specified criteria: 1) a comparison of patients with identical diagnoses in Canada and the U.S.; and 2) clearly measured outcomes, such as death rate. Medical librarians collaborating in the study identified 4,923 journal articles that might meet these criteria. The researchers reviewed abstracts and titles of these articles to winnow them to 498 articles that might possibly meet the pre-specified criteria. In order to eliminate any potential bias in study selection, librarians then blacked out the results of each of these 498 studies. Only then did a second team of reviewers decide which studies should be included in the final analysis. Finally, the 38 studies fully meeting both inclusion criteria were analyzed statistically.

Overall, 14 of the 38 studies showed better outcomes in Canada, while only 5 favored the U.S. The remaining 19 studies showed equivalent or mixed results in the two nations. When the studies were combined statistically, the mortality rate was 5% lower in Canada. However, the researchers urged caution in interpreting this small Canadian advantage. Among the highest quality studies examined, 5 favored Canada while only 2 favored the U.S. The one group of patients who clearly fared better in Canada were those with end stage kidney disease.
The findings are particularly striking since few uninsured patients in the U.S. — who probably suffer the worst quality care - were included in the studies examined. Indeed, all kidney failure patients in the U.S. have insurance,

Per capita health spending in the U.S. in 2006 was $7,129 — more than double Canada’s spending of $2,956 (U.S.) per capita. All Canadians are covered under that nation’s non-profit national health insurance program. The study comes on the heels of recent findings from the Joint U.S. Canada Health Survey that Canadians enjoy access to care similar to that for insured Americans, and far better than for the uninsured in the U.S.

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2007/may/quality_of_healthcar.php

 
Comment by somedewd
2017-01-06 07:54:01

Linked PDF doesn’t have tables. Located article with full tables, reviewed sources, and see issues with methodology and results. Peer reviewers must have disliked as well leading to publication in an open source journal (pay-to-publish).

The business of medicine has become horribly complex. Comparing outcomes in a single hospital is fraught with difficulty, let alone comparing a wide range of management outcomes across multiple races, states, and countries. Therefore, while the idea of this article has merit, execution is poor. Additionally, authors multiple self-references indicate bias based on prior work (non-profit vs for-profit health care centers). They’ll also show bias regarding universal access (not the same as universal health insurance coverage).

Some of the studies showing better outcomes in Canada were based on impact of socioeconomic status. Low income Americans did worse than low income Canadians in the 1950s-1990s, while middle and high income individuals were comparable between countries. Unfortunately, income is only 1 small variable in the equation. Race, rural vs urban, access, insurance status, views of healthcare practitioners, etc. are all interconnected and rarely controlled for in determining differences in outcomes between races in the US, let alone between countries. That’s why these systematic reviews are troublesome. They can’t possibly account for these factors and readers are left believing it’s a great study because of the “meta-analysis” label.

Despite a publication date in 2007, articles included for analysis use data from 1955-1990s. There’s been an unbelievable shift in care in the US and Canada since the 1990s which is not accounted for in this study.

I believe care is too expensive in the US. I believe there is a ton of waste in the system from administrative costs to operating room costs to over-treatment and over-diagnosis costs. That’s what the American people have demanded; try telling someone with abdominal pain they don’t need a CT scan and see how quickly a family member mentions “lawyer”. Additionally, Americans are fatter, more comorbid, and less inclined to seek preventive care when compared with more homogenous societies usually put forth as the “gold standard” of universal health care. Americans are also more likely to “want everything done” even when medical evidence doesn’t support it. Hence, 50% of US health expenditures come in the last 6 months of life. The US doesn’t provide inferior care, and may be superior in areas (some cancers, premature delivery, etc). However, care is provided to patients (25 week premature baby, 95yo invalid with hip fracture) that are highly comorbid, have a high rate of morbidity and mortality, and that other countries don’t provide care/record outcomes for. How do you think that affects these studies?

It’s time for US health care professionals and politicians to put on their big boy pants, complete true cost-effectiveness research with markov analysis,etc. and limit taxpayer funding accordingly. Once CMS starts limiting reimbursement, private insurance will follow. The only reason other countries appear more cost-effective per capita is 1) medication and device subsidies from the US healthcare consumer, and 2) limitations/caps on treatments/procedures provided based upon cost-effective analysis. You’d be amazed how much money could be saved by telling some snowflakes, young and old, “NO!”.

 
Comment by tresho
2017-01-06 07:58:38

You’d be amazed how much money could be saved by telling some snowflakes, young and old, “NO!”.
We’d all be amazed how much money could be saved by our premature demise.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-06 09:35:39

Additionally, Americans are fatter, more comorbid, and less inclined to seek preventive care when compared with more homogenous societies usually put forth as the “gold standard” of universal health care. Americans are also more likely to “want everything done” even when medical evidence doesn’t support it. Hence, 50% of US health expenditures come in the last 6 months of life.

Canada is not a more homogenous society than America. Your point about 50% of expenditures coming in the last 6 months of life sounds like an exaggeration. Do you have a link for that? The same goes for the part about preventive care. If Americans “want everything done”, why would we not want every available kind of preventive care?

The only reason other countries appear more cost-effective per capita is 1) medication and device subsidies from the US healthcare consumer, and 2) limitations/caps on treatments/procedures provided based upon cost-effective analysis.

Your first point is correct. Other countries negotiate harder with the pharmaceutical companies. Many of them also refuse to pay for newer, more expensive drugs just because they’re new. They have to be better in some way.

Also, you forgot the part about administrative costs, which are much lower in Canada. The same writers have documented that.

Finally, there’s the more basic fact that when care is delivered, it is much more expensive in the US than other countries. There was a whole series in the New York Times a couple of years ago focusing on few different kinds of care.

Here’s one part that I remember:

The average price of an appendectomy in the United States is $13,910, compared with about $5,000 in Australia and the Netherlands, according to the International Federation of Health Plans. It is about $2,000 in Spain and Argentina

There are similar huge differences in the costs of pregnancy and childbirth, colonoscopies, epipens, and so forth.

If you have the time, you can read the whole series and learn a lot.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/health/paying-till-it-hurts.html?_r=0

You can read t

 
Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-06 16:50:56

Irrelevant.

 
Comment by somedewd
2017-01-07 11:08:00

“Canada is not a more homogenous society than America. “

Canada 2011 Visible and Non-visible minority populations.
76.7% white. ~12.5% Asian. 2.9% black. 1.2% latin American.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada
United States 2010 demographics
63.7% white. 12.2% black. 16.3% Hispanic. 4.7% Asian
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_the_United_States

Outside the Carribbean and parts of Central/South America, the US has the highest percentage population of blacks in the world. When comparing to “gold standard countries”, the US has anywhere from 4x-12x the black population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_diaspora

Why does this matter? African Americans have significantly higher rates of hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, obesity and diabetes than white counterparts. Hypertension leads to higher rates of kidney disease/failure, ESRD, and stroke. Obesity and diabetes have significant downstream effects as well. As I note below, blacks are also LESS LIKELY to seek preventive care, leading to increased system costs for worse disease when they finally present (also occurs in cancer diagnosis/treatment). Despite your opinion, the US is a much more heterogenous country, making delivery of healthcare different than homogenous counterparts. For the purposes of healthcare delivery and cost, Canada and the US are not the same.

“Your point about 50% of expenditures coming in the last 6 months of life sounds like an exaggeration. Do you have a link for that? “

Sorry, should’ve been last year of life, not last 6 months. Older data, but 27-30% of all Medicare expenditures occur in last year of life for patients aged 65 and older. This age group accounts for 68% of all deaths. Younger patients dying are roughly same costs in last year of life (HIV, trauma, cancer, care for premature infants, etc). Medicare only covers 50% of expenditures, so remaining are from supplemental plans, medicaid, or individual costs. Therefore, double the medicare costs to get accurate idea of true cost. Adding in estimates of young patient expenditures in last year brings us to roughly 40-45% of all medical expenditures in the US coming in last year of life.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199402243300806#t=article
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1464043/

“The same goes for the part about preventive care. If Americans “want everything done”, why would we not want every available kind of preventive care?”

That’s a joke, right? Wanting everything done when diagnosed with myocardial infarction at age 55 doesn’t translate into patients getting an annual physical, taking medications, changing diet, increasing exercise after diagnosis of HTN and HLD to prevent that MI. Just ask all the fat americans how diligent they’ve been getting preventive care, eating right, exercising, etc. Once patients get sick they want everything done (magic diet pill, sleeve gastrectomy), but they don’t seek preventive care for myriad reasons (cost, time off work, feeling invincible, don’t understand role of preventive care, etc).

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.77.7.801
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02598266
http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/preventive-care-80-americans-opt-out-because-theyre-busy-confused-health-care-system-340200
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/why-african-americans-greater-risk-heart-disease#2
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/05/all-the-reasons-women-dont-go-to-the-doctor-other-than-money/370952/

I noted previously that admin costs are ridiculous. Fee for service model perverts incentives, which patients happily consent to when “health insurance” covers everything. As patients shoulder more of the burden, things should change.

“There are similar huge differences in the costs of pregnancy and childbirth, colonoscopies, epipens, and so forth.”

What these articles don’t do is detail exactly how provision of procedures is different amongst countries. Colonoscopy in the US utilizes propofol, which means anesthesia gets involved. Their bullshit costs drive up procedure costs. If patients were happy getting fentanyl/versed in the office, those costs are much closer to other countries. However, they hear that so-and-so “didn’t feel or remember a thing with the Michael Jackson drug” and request the same. If patients want to spend more money the system is happy to take it.

My point stands that american’s don’t receive worse care at higher cost, which many proclaim. Care is similar, and in some instances, better (cancer trials/treatment, timeliness of care/procedure, etc). And those countries critical of our costs might think differently if profit motive for development of drugs, treatments, devices disappeared within the US and were more fairly distributed across the globe.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 13:43:34

“If Obamacare made it crazier, it was a quite small increase.”

I would have thought anyone who knew anyone who paid for their own Health Insurance would know that premiums and deductibles have gone way up since Obamacare, but since Mighty doesn’t seem to have any friends who pay for their own Health Insurance here you go.

Obamacare premiums soar as much as 78% to help cover ‘essential health benefits’

By Valerie Richardson -

The Washington Times - Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Affordable Care Act was supposed to make health care more affordable, but a study of insurance policies before and after Obamacare shows that average premiums have skyrocketed, for some groups by as much as 78 percent.

Average insurance premiums in the sought-after 23-year-old demographic rose most dramatically, with men in that age group seeing an average 78.2 percent price increase before factoring in government subsidies, and women having their premiums rise 44.9 percent, according to a report by HealthPocket scheduled for release Wednesday.

The study, which was shared Tuesday with The Washington Times, examined average health insurance premiums before the implementation of Obamacare in 2013 and then afterward in 2014. The research focused on people of three ages — 23, 30 and 63 — using data for nonsmoking men and women with no spouses or children.

The premium increases for 30-year-olds were almost as high as for 23-year-olds — 73.4 percent for men and 35.1 percent for women — said the study, titled “Without Subsidies Women & Men, Old & Young Average Higher Monthly Premiums with Obamacare.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/28/obamacare-sends-health-premiums-skyrocketing-by-as/

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Comment by somedewd
2017-01-06 07:56:10

Also, only 1 of those authors is still associated with Harvard as an associate professor, not a full professor. Just being associated with Harvard means nothing. In fact, it might mean the researcher took money to produce outcomes favorable to the study’s underwriter.

https://www.google.com/#q=harvard+sugar+scandal

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:34:24

Oh dear. The red flags just keep proliferating. Car sales are dropping even though mouth-breathing “How Much a Month Harrys” are taking out seven-year car loans with zero down.

http://wolfstreet.com/2017/01/05/annual-us-auto-sales-2016-fell-for-first-time-since-2009-at-gm-ford-fiat-chrysler-toyota-vw-bmw/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 09:40:43

Wow, the Plunge Protection Team (PPT) hasn’t stepped in yet. What gives?

http://www.marketwatch.com

Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 10:18:24

freefalling!

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 11:39:51

Just when DJIA 20K was in sight, they pull the plug!

 
 
Comment by Palm Beach County
2017-01-05 09:50:28

Prof. Steve Hanke ‏@steve_hanke 13s14 seconds ago
Sellers in #Manhattan are taking note of collapsing real estate market and slashing prices. How low will prices drop? The #bubble has burst….

Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 11:51:30

“collapsing real estate market and slashing prices. How low will prices drop? ”

Beautiful.

 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 10:13:15

Muh narrative

It was the racism, stupid: White working-class “economic anxiety” is a zombie idea that needs to die

Donald Trump was supported by white voters across all demographic boundaries. Can we stop coddling some of them?

“But in the immediate present, the dominant narrative for explaining the rise of Donald Trump and his fascist movement has been centered upon the “white working class” and its purported “economic anxiety.” For a variety of reasons, this is a compelling story for the American corporate news media, the pundits and other elite opinion leaders.

The white economic anxiety narrative is simplistic. It is also the result of a type of “path dependence,” where the answers being offered about the 2016 election outcome are largely a function of the questions being asked. and where journalists look for answers. The white economic anxiety thesis is also a way for a pundit class — the majority of whom are white and from a very narrow socioeconomic background — to ignore the enduring power of racism and sexism in American society.

Here, a belief that it must be something other than racism (and sexism) that won Trump the election functions as a conceptual blinder for analysts and commentators who want to deny the ugly truth about the values and beliefs held by their fellow (white) Americans. In all, these factors are part of an effort, albeit a superficial one, to empathize with the supposed pain and anger of white working-class voters who feel “left behind,” and by doing so to normalize their egregious, irresponsible and hateful decision to support Donald Trump.”

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/05/it-was-the-racism-stupid-white-working-class-economic-anxiety-is-a-zombie-idea-that-needs-to-die/

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 11:05:39

When whites voted for obama = not racists

When the same whites vote for Trump = racist

When snowflakes lose elections = rasist

Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 11:31:14

When four blacks go hunt down and capture a white person in the suburbs, bring him into the city and torture him on video = not racist.

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 12:20:18

Just some kids having some fun…

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Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 15:54:29

Boycott Chicago.

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Comment by snake charmer
2017-01-05 19:09:53

Economic anxiety serving as a conceptual blinder for denying the ugly truth? I read the other day that the Democratic Party has lost over 1,000 elected offices at the state and federal levels since 2008. Apparently more offices will need to be lost before somebody realizes that this foolish and stupid approach isn’t a viable political strategy.

I used to “identify as” a Democrat but have stopped.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 10:26:42

Is it too early to say Barack Obama was the worst President ever?

Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 10:37:03

Do you like a great economy, 4.7% unemployment and record corp profits.
OBL is dead.
I like my IRA over the last 7 yrs.
I give him a B.
Do nothing congress did not help.

Not as good as CLinton, better than Reagan and the Bush’s

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 11:09:17

Do nothing Congress?

You mean when obama had a super majority of democrats in the house and a filibuster proof senate and all we got was obamacare?

And now those very same democrats are calling to “fight tooth and nail” and obstruct Trump at every turn…

You really can’t see your failures and hypocrisy - can you?

Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 12:29:12

“You really can’t see your failures and hypocrisy - can you?”

Very few people can, 2ban. Just sayin’. A person’s survival depends upon being right, good luck getting them to admit they’re wrong. That includes thee and me.

This is how you get the phenomenon of doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.

You can’t tell people they’re wrong and expect them to agree with you. I remember one time Ben proved quite thoroughly how wrong I was on a particular point. I knew in my heart he was correct, too, but I was not a happy camper and wanted to rip him a good one. I had to walk away from the blog and contemplate it a good while before I calmed down and owned up.

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Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 14:43:53

Alex, what is 4.7% unemployment and DOW 20k?

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 14:59:30

The Dow hit 20K?

 
Comment by PitchforkPurveyor
2017-01-05 17:03:53

“Alex, what is 4.7% unemployment and DOW 20k?”

Bzzzzt, no, I’m sorry, what is “obfuscation of facts and an unrelenting printing press.”

Good try, though…

 
 
 
Comment by junior_kai
2017-01-05 12:45:49

I doubt if OBL was actually killed as claimed - no proof as usual, and Ozero lied about everything else, so . . .

 
Comment by phony scandals
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 14:33:29

LOL, but on another note, great vid. Water clear like gin.

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Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 15:16:06

How much money do you figure that video generated in income for the channel owner? This is like the Bill Hicks joke about the waitress telling her husband they could sell dirt and get rich.

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Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 10:38:24

Possibly, but he is unquestionably the most racist president ever.

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 10:48:18

I still think “Shrub” Bush takes the crown, followed by Carter and Obama tied for second.

 
Comment by snake charmer
2017-01-05 18:46:55

He wasn’t the worst. But he may have been the most disappointing, given his 2008 campaign rhetoric and how he was sold to the public as a change agent. We were at a turning point in 2008, and we didn’t turn.

Comment by rms
2017-01-05 19:37:28

“We were at a turning point in 2008, and we didn’t turn.”

+1 Indeed.

 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 10:59:50

Washington Post website leads with the following narrative:

How nostalgia for white Christian America drove so many Americans to vote for Trump

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/how-nostalgia-for-white-christian-america-drove-so-many-americans-to-vote-for-trump/2017/01/04/4ef6d686-b033-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25_story.html?utm_term=.17019efdd1fc

Another narrative. Remember also that Lena Dunham periodically ran Hillary Clinton’s Instagram account prior to the election:

Lena Dunham says she never had an abortion but ‘I wish I had’

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/12/20/lena-dunham-says-never-had-abortion-but-wish-had.html

The content of a narrative is irrelevant. What matters most, is that once a narrative has been scripted, it must be controlled.

Lose control of a narrative and you lose everything…

Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 11:30:39

Lena Dunham ??

Do you have a People Magazine subscription?

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 11:31:55

he-he, I didn’t read the article (because WaPo) but did it mention if any non-white, non-Christian Americans were nostalgic for a white Christian America, too?

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 13:17:18

No, it’s the opposite, as one would expect.

Not everyone is nostalgic for the 1950s.

Ron Jessup, 68, who grew up in Mount Airy during that era, found the place generally friendly then, he said — as long as he and other blacks obeyed the racist laws and social mores of the time.

If African Americans went to the theater, they sat upstairs, he said. If they went to the restaurants, they avoided the counter. “We understood what was considered our place,” said Jessup, who is retired from his job as a high school principal in nearby Winston-Salem. Even now, all five Surry County commissioners are white.

Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 14:14:57

I have developed ESP by reading this blog.

As soon as I read…

“Not everyone is nostalgic for the 1950s.”

I knew Mighty was going to play the Race Card.

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Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 14:16:35

You must have failed to notice that I responded to a question about the article.

 
Comment by taxpayer
2017-01-05 14:25:25

in the 50’s I paid my hc and you paid yours
seems fair
you paid for your house and I paid for mine
etc

 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 14:55:59

Some people like to give this whole “it’s racist if whites do it, but not if blacks and browns do it” a good workout. Lots of indignation.

Guess what? No one really gives a rat’s patootie. Waste of breath, waste of red faces, waste of bandwidth.

Why? That’s the way it is at this time, I hate to say it. Eric Holder even came right out and said the hate crime designation DOES NOT APPLY if it is a color on white crime. DOES NOT APPLY.

Unfair? You betcha. Life is unfair. That’s the idea. The whole law was put in place to teach white people a lesson about fairness. Mainly it was put in place by other whites, just so you know.

Now, I don’t agree with hate crime legislation. A crime is a crime, whoever commits it. Sometimes there’s hate involved, sometimes not. I think it should be repealed before even the ACA.

But you need to understand the purpose of the legislation. It is a form of social engineering. All the pointing and spluttering in the world doesn’t make a dang bit of difference.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 16:37:41

“You must have failed to notice that I responded to a question about the article.”

What was your response?

 
 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 12:04:47

It’s ironic how all these brown, black and non Christian immigrants risked life, limb and their entire savings to leave their brown/black non Christian home country get to a mostly white and Christian county…

What do they know that white progressives snowflakes born in America don’t know?

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 13:11:05

Go find some of those people and ask them what they know. You may not get the answer that you expect.

 
 
Comment by snake charmer
2017-01-05 20:41:50

People are nostalgic for some semblance of economic security and control over their lives. Or if they never had those things, they wish for them. And what’s wrong with that? I don’t believe Trump can restore them, but Clinton represented more of the same in every way.

 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 11:15:19

This is a narrative provided by real journalists of the New York Times:

“There’s a condescension that comes across from some in the women’s movement. There’s this idea that if you’re not liberal, you’re a traitor to your gender. Is our message alienating entire groups of people, including women?”

She raised the provocative possibility that many women believed that Mr. Trump would keep the country safe in part because of his paternalistic, alpha male persona — and that was an implicit rejection of feminism’s attempts to redefine gender roles.

Others worry that the women’s movement has spent too much time policing language and behavior, blaming and shaming at the expense of dialogue. That, Professor Williams argues, can make misogyny attractive to the white working class, a way to rebel against condescending elites.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/opinion/sunday/feminism-lost-now-what.html

This has been a narrative.

Which doesn’t change the fact that those tattoos look really unfeminine and unattractive, especially past age 35.

Has the Sex And The City narrative worked out as it was promised?

Or as Johnny Rotten asked from the stage of the Sex Pistols’ last show, “do you get the feeling that you’ve been cheated?”

LOLZ

 
Comment by Palm Beach County
2017-01-05 11:17:46

MarketWatch ‏@MarketWatch 14m14 minutes ago
Rates for home loans skidded in the first week of the year, the first week to notch a decrease since the election http://on.mktw.net/2iI4qe0

 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 11:44:01

“When the narrative at the heart of a system of rule falls apart, when the flow of history runs counter to the story told by those in power, then we know the entire edifice is crumbling under the weight of its own contradictions. The political crisis arrives when the people sense that the prevailing order is built on a foundation of oppressions and lies. The rulers panic, scrambling to reweave the matrix of fables and myths that justify their waning supremacy. At such points in history, the truth is up for grabs – and a change of regime is in the offing.”

WTF kind of narrative is that?

At least the article title gets it half right (yes, Obama is a fascist).

Trump’s Neo-Fascism will be built on Neo-Fascism of Obama and Democratic Party:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/01/05/trumps-neo-fascism-will-be-built-on-neo-fascism-of-obama-and-democrat-party/

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 12:23:29

To progressives…

Enforcing existing laws = fascism

Controlling your own borders = fascism

Using the IRS and EPA to go after your political enemies over and over again = not a smidgen of corrpution

 
Comment by snake charmer
2017-01-05 21:12:11

The author (although that quote wasn’t from him) was the Green Party’s VP nominee. More:

“In the face of the Neo-McCarthyism represented by this legislation and the many other repressive moves of the Obama administration to curtail speech and control information – from the increased surveillance of the public to the use of the espionage act to prosecute journalists and whistleblowers – one would reasonably assume that forces on the left would vigorously oppose the normalization of authoritarianism, especially in this period of heightened concerns about neo-fascism.

Unfortunately, the petit-bourgeois “latte left” along with their liberal allies have been in full collaboration with the state for the past eight years, with the predictable result that no such alarm was issued, nor has any critique or even debate been forthcoming.”

 
 
Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 11:58:37

Aw, jeez, I’m not worthy.

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax.
1:14 PM - 5 Jan 2017
6,776 6,776 Retweets 20,828 20,828 likes

Aaahhh-ha-ha-ha-hah! I like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRuaq_KilzQ

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 18:21:44

We will soon find out if heavy-handed intervention by top officials in private corporate decisions is an effective approach to govern a free market economy.

Comment by Blue Skye
2017-01-05 19:35:26

We don’t have a free market economy. Not as long as we have welfare benefits for the out of work.

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 19:50:12

We used to have independently governed private corporations, though.

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Comment by redmondjp
2017-01-05 20:05:51

And ones that were much more regulated (in terms of preventing monopolies, anyways) than today.

If we could turn back the clock and tell politicians a century ago that the federal government was going to mandate that everybody buy a certain product, I think that their heads would explode.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 20:25:01

Your point is taken, but moot, as the ACA is on the chopping block.

 
Comment by tresho
2017-01-06 07:55:56

Your point is taken, but moot, as the ACA is on the chopping block.
That point is not moot unless and until ACA is actually “chopped”. I’m not holding my breath for that.

 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 20:45:07

We don’t have a free market economy. Not as long as we have welfare benefits for the out of work.

That’s true of private charities that feed poor children as well. They interfere with Ricardo’s Iron Law of Wages. And the government encourages such charity with the tax deduction for charitable giving. Social Engineering!

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Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 20:31:17

“We will soon find out if heavy-handed intervention by top officials in private corporate decisions is an effective approach to govern a free market economy.”

Well, I guess you didn’t see what he did there. Maybe this will help (be sure to check out the looting video):

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/looting-riots-mexico-spiral-out-control-over-20-gas-hike-hundreds-arrested

So here’s what happened: Toyota took note. Back channel communication to Trump: “Trump-san, could you help us out?”

Trump: “Sure, no problem, lemme tweet something”.

Toyota: “Domo Arigato, Trump-san.”

Toyota to Mexico: “So solly, Nieto-san. We have to produce in the US, because markets.”

I dunno how the guy gets the stars to align.

Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 21:45:05

lol

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Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 12:00:04

crushing_housing_losses

 
Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 12:06:46

George Soros’ endgame for Western Europe and the United States:

The Canada experiment: is this the world’s first ‘postnational’ country?

“As 2017 begins, Canada may be the last immigrant nation left standing. Our government believes in the value of immigration, as does the majority of the population. We took in an estimated 300,000 newcomers in 2016, including 48,000 refugees, and we want them to become citizens; around 85% of permanent residents eventually do. Recently there have been concerns about bringing in single Arab men, but otherwise Canada welcomes people from all faiths and corners. The greater Toronto area is now the most diverse city on the planet, with half its residents born outside the country; Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal aren’t far behind. Annual immigration accounts for roughly 1% of the country’s current population of 36 million.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/04/the-canada-experiment-is-this-the-worlds-first-postnational-country

Comment by 2banana
2017-01-05 12:27:10

Canada is a racist county.

They require a government ID to vote.

 
Comment by snake charmer
2017-01-05 20:49:41

When Canada breaks apart, then we’ll see that it is not, in fact, post-national.

 
 
Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 12:35:53

you need their credit.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 14:12:31

NYPD Says Crime Levels Hit Record Low In 2016
BY RAPHAEL POPE-SUSSMAN IN NEWS ON JAN 4, 2017 2:37 PM

New York City’s crime rate hit a record low in 2016, continuing a decades-long drop that has made it the safest big city in the United States.

According to data released by the NYPD Wednesday, there were 101,606 crimes recorded in the city last year, a 4 percent drop from 2015. Murders were down from 352 in 2015 to 335, a hair above the record low of 333 reported in 2014. Shooting incidents dropped more than 12 percent to 998, falling below 1,000 for the first time on record. (Shooting incidents can involve multiple shootings; the number of total shooting victims was over 1,100).

There were also significant drops in the number of robberies and burglaries, and small drops in the number of rapes and grand larcenies. The number of felony assaults increased slightly to 20,807, a 2 percent increase from 2015.

“We have been working hard at reducing crime to historic lows, when many said it could not be done,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said in a press release announcing the statistics.

Crime has been dropping in New York City for more than two decades, across multiple mayoral administrations. The 101,606 crimes recorded in 2016 is around half the number recorded in 2000. Back in 1990, the NYPD recorded 527,257 major crimes—five times as many as the 2016 numbers. (The city’s population has also increased by 1.2 million since then.)

http://gothamist.com/2017/01/04/new_york_citys_crime_rate.php

Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 15:53:34

Mighty

Did you and your progressive buds from Madison try to start a band?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvReNg2e0aY

 
 
Comment by Senior Housing Analyst
2017-01-05 14:54:45

Waldport, OR Housing Prices Crater 5% YoY

http://www.zillow.com/waldport-or/home-values/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 15:47:33

CNN’s Don Lemon informs us there is nothing evil about what four Chicago “teens” did to a mentally handicapped white boy. Judge for yourself.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4092360/Three-teens-24-year-old-charged-wi.html

Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 17:53:16

Don Lemon is such a great role model. Everything he sees is racist, and it was particularly admirable when he got drunk on TV and got his ear mangled.

 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 16:45:37

Trump team denies WSJ report on planned spy agency revamp

By MATTHEW NUSSBAUM 01/05/17 11:45 AM EST

Donald Trump’s spokesman on Thursday denied a Wall Street Journal report that Trump is aiming to restructure the top U.S. intelligence agency.

“These reports are false,” said Sean Spicer, the incoming White House press secretary. “All transition activities are for information-gathering purposes and all discussions are tentative. The president-elect’s top priority is to ensure the safety of the American people and the security of the nation, and he is committed to finding the best and most effective ways to do it.”

“There is no truth to this idea of restructuring the intelligence community infrastructure,” Spicer added. “It is 100 percent false.”

The Journal reported that sources familiar with the planning said Trump was motivated by the belief that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had become politicized. The report cited another source, saying Trump aimed to restructure the CIA, cutting back staff at the Virginia headquarters and moving more CIA staff into the field.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/trump-national-intelligence-revamp-wsj-233226

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 18:47:05

If anyone on this board knows the score in the Twitter war between DJT and the Russian hackers who supported his election campaign versus the Republican-led Congress and the American intelligence community, please share.

I can’t tell who’s winning.

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 19:54:37

“Donald Trump’s spokesman on Thursday denied a Wall Street Journal report that Trump is aiming to restructure the top U.S. intelligence agency.”

Is the KGB on board with this plan?

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 20:31:59

Seems like this story is growing some long legs.

U.S. intercepts capture senior Russian officials celebrating Trump win
By Adam Entous and Greg Miller National Security
January 5 at 6:05 PM

Senior officials in the Russian government celebrated Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton as a geopolitical win for Moscow, according to U.S. officials who said that American intelligence agencies intercepted communications in the aftermath of the election in which Russian officials congratulated themselves on the outcome.

The ebullient reaction among high-ranking Russian officials — including some who U.S. officials believe had knowledge of the country’s cyber campaign to interfere in the U.S. election — contributed to the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Moscow’s efforts were aimed at least in part at helping Trump win the White House.

Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 20:51:16

“Seems like this story is growing some long legs.”

More like a long nose.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/expd/31747501240/

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 23:56:57

Do you ever feel like a frog who got dropped into a lot of water, who just noticed that the water was getting warmer, but felt way too relaxed to bother jumping out of the pot, even as the water got really hot?

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Comment by cool hand luke
2017-01-05 21:29:03

Prof bear, I would like to ask you a question. What was/is the motive for Russia to want Trump over Hillary?

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 23:47:32

I guess they assume that Trump won’t try to stand in Putin’s way the way Hillary would, or perhaps that Trump will follow through with announced plans to weaken Western alliances, again making it easier to do what he wants without U.S. interference.

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Comment by tresho
2017-01-06 08:02:23

What was/is the motive for Russia to want Trump over Hillary?
Maybe the Rooski’s don’t like nuclear fallout, whatever the source, and whosoever might be blamed for it.

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Comment by snake charmer
2017-01-05 20:56:47

I hope he does restructure and cut back the entire security state, the CIA included. And I thought it was obvious that portions of it had become politicized. It’s been obvious since the George W. Bush administration and the run-up to Iraq.

The left celebrating the CIA is even dumber than the left celebrating the Fed, the EU, Wall Street banks, and other neoliberal institutions, but that’s where we are at this interesting point in time.

Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 21:16:59

Amen, brothah! Did my heart good to see Woolsey get his nose out of joint because Trump and Flynn decided to have a private confab and he wasn’t invited.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2017-01-05 17:11:17

Deadbeat Boomers getting their SS checks garnished to pay off student loans won’t be buying any houses.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baby-boomers-and-student-debt-the-problem-no-one-is-talking-about-2017-01-05?link=MW_latest_news

Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 18:56:44

You can stiff the private-sector lenders, but it appears you can’t stiff the government.

Strange, there are so many older people in their 60’s with student loan debt. I guess they decided to go back to school later in life, to get a degree? That is admirable, truly. If they were hoping their degree would improve their financial situation, it didn’t, because they can’t repay their debt and now the government is taking it anyway. Maybe they got degrees in gender studies.

It’s just weird, why would you take out a big student loan in your elder years — it’s not like you have a long lifetime of work ahead of you.

The government should just forgive the loans and let someone else pay for it.

 
 
Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 17:13:52

Here are a couple more articles today about the universal birthday cakes. First, from India. Looks like they will go ahead with a national roll-out, after 3 previous pilots had “positive results”. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t say exactly what those positive results were.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/india/job-or-no-job-india-mulls-paying-basic-income-to-all-citizens

Another one from Europe:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/04/universal-basic-income-welfare-employment-scotland-canada-netherlands

“Inequality, precariousness, insecurity – lack of control over one’s life – are challenges that recent reforms have done too little to address.”

Yes. We have not yet succeeded in “equalizing” every person to the lowest common denominator.

Proponents say they don’t want to give people enough money to completely live on, just some. However, we know how it works. First, it starts at amount X. Over time, people will demand more, so you just vote yourselves more of it. To get the money, you either steal it from productive people via taxes, or if you can’t do that, you can just print it using the money-printing machine. In a fairly short time, everyone will be 100% dependent upon the government for every aspect of their lives.

Then we shall have the victory of equality.

Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 17:38:12

In a couple of the basic-income articles recently, they briefly mention the question of laziness of the people getting the money. The proponents either pass it off as a “tired argument”, or they say it is a “negative view of humanity”.

I think they will ultimately try to frame it as a “racist” issue. Such as, if you are against it, and especially if you think it encourages laziness, then you will be branded a racist. That said, at this point, that term has been so over-played and over-used, it’s losing its meaning and bite.

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 18:03:32

That said, at this point, that term has been so over-played and over-used, it’s losing its meaning and bite.

It’s only right wingers who claim that. You’re just tired of your people getting criticized.

Comment by Big Fat Ugly Bubble
2017-01-05 18:07:52

It’s a “tired argument”.

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Comment by Apartment 401
2017-01-05 17:23:54

Wu-Tang Clan — Can It All Be So Simple?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOlvVO8mna0

This song is from 1993. Who lives in the Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island that they grew up in now? Probably not alot of black people or mexican people or poors :(

Comment by MightyMike
2017-01-05 18:32:11

Queens has people from all over the world at this point, including lots of low income Asians and Latin Americans. There are still a lot of poor people in Brooklyn. All of the poor in NYC haven’t yet been pushed into the Bronx. On the other hand, Staten Island has been mostly white and suburban for a long time.

Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 18:49:03

Meltdown….. From that tripe, it’s clear you’ve never been to NYC.

 
 
 
Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 17:28:52

Sacramento, CA Housing Demand Craters 8% YoY; Now At 1998 Levels

http://files.zillowstatic.com/research/public/Metro/Metro_Turnover_AllHomes.csv

 
Comment by azdude
2017-01-05 18:02:32

I had to eat some serious crow and drop my asking price today.

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 18:27:37

On wine??????!!!!!!?!?!

 
 
Comment by new attitude
2017-01-05 18:33:28

I am not racist, just super judgemental.

Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 19:01:02

lol@lola

Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 19:39:20

I think you mean Manny.

 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 19:40:20

“Beauty boy” @mannymua733 stars in the latest mascara campaign.

http://www.elle.com/beauty/news/a41853/maybelline-manny-gutierrez-first-male-ambassador/

Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 20:21:44

In which locker room would s/he get to dress if s/he were a California high school student?

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 20:15:42

Hehe

STUNNED Hillary Clinton Supporters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1hg6VrXcjg

Most of them are smashed.

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 20:26:53

Election Night Lib Meltdown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ86Zqk0MrE

Listen to the guy at 11:19.

“Now you sittin’ up there wondering why ain’t nobody votin’ fo me, because you did too much dumb stupid sh*t.”

Comment by palmetto
2017-01-05 20:58:30

Trump. The world’s greatest troll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzkBfTfiXS0

 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 21:00:27

“Listen to the guy at 11:19.”

:)

 
Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-05 21:30:06

Best Democrat rant, ever?

 
 
Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 20:31:14

All this senseless rage.

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 20:48:04

Watch Rachel Maddow get that STUPID SMIRK wiped off her face

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut0TaegQ-kw

Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 21:12:14

I guess Rachel’s “Legit methodology” wasn’t legit.

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Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2017-01-05 22:36:53
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Comment by Professor Bear
2017-01-06 00:31:01

I have a hard time imagining the kind of person who wouldn’t find her annoying.

Now for a truly ignorant question: Why didn’t Hillary Clinton deliver a concession speech on Election Night? Isn’t that a normal courtesy for a losing candidate to acknowledge her supporters?

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Comment by Prime_Is_Contained
2017-01-09 17:12:34

Her Parkinson’s was acting up too much…

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 20:56:36

The original Going up the country:

‘Henry Thomas - Bulldoze Blues’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1yhaBsD8Vw

Comment by Ben Jones
2017-01-05 21:29:02

A comment:

‘Alan Wilson tremendously improved this song simply by adding a middle eight, thereby eliminating the repetitiveness of the Thomas original. The new lyrics also made the song saleable.’

Canned Heat Going Up The Country

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QkEBykUlGU

 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 22:52:42

Fabric of our Nation, Civil War ended in what 1865, this dude is born in 1874, Canned Heat plays his song at Woodstock in 1969 and we enjoy both on the HBB in 2017.

Pretty cool and thanks for the post.

Henry Thomas (blues musician)
From Wikipedia

Life and career[edit]

Thomas was born into a family of freed slaves in Big Sandy, Texas in 1874.[4] He began traveling the Texas railroad lines as a hobo after leaving home in his teens. He eventually earned his way as an itinerant songster, entertaining local populaces as well as railway employees.[1]

He recorded 24 sides for Vocalion Records between 1927 and 1929, 23 of which were released.[3][4] They include reels, gospel songs, minstrel songs, ragtime numbers, and blues.[5] Besides guitar, Thomas accompanied himself on quills, a folk instrument fabricated from cane reeds whose sound is similar to the zampona played by musicians in Peru and Bolivia. His style of playing guitar was probably derived from banjo-picking styles.[6]

His life and career after his last recordings in 1929 have not been chronicled. Although researcher Mack McCormick stated that he saw a man in Houston in 1949 who met Thomas’ description,[7] most biographers indicate he died in 1930, when he would have been 55 or 56 years old.[1][8]

 
Comment by phony scandals
2017-01-05 23:18:28

Pretty cool

 
 
Comment by The Enrager
2017-01-05 22:06:56

“Trump Aims To Cut The Neocon Deep State Off At The Knees”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/trump-aims-cut-neocon-deep-state-knees

May God Bless President Donald J. Trump. May God bless America.

Comment by rms
2017-01-06 07:35:17

I’d prefer aluminum baseball bats a la the casino cornfield. :)

 
 
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