Wed 3 Feb 2010
Comp Killer: WSJ Edition (or How You Can’t Go Wrong With Jersey Shore)
Categories: Comp Killer , New Jersey Real EstateFrom the Wall Street Jounal:
## River Rd, Island Heights, NJ (Ocean County)
4 Bedrooms
3.1 Baths
Riverfront with Dock
Purchased: 2006
Purchase Price: $1,825,000
Approximately $200,000 in updates.
Current Asking: $1,650,000
Reason for Sale: Can’t afford 3 homes.
Potential loss: More than $400,000 (Closer to $700,000 when you factor in mortage interest, taxes and commissions paid).
whats it worth grim?
Of course they do. They lender can cut your credit line in a day, it’ll take them a year or more to get you out of your house. Same reason they’ll make a car payment over a mortgage. Lose your wheels and you are in real trouble.
Not to mention the credit card pay down method closely approximates a pay-option ARM. Thus borrowers have the ability to make payments significantly under the “fully amortizing” amount. If you gave that option to all mortgage holders, I’d imagine a large number would move down to the minimum payment level.
From CNBC:
Consumers Pay Credit Card Before Mortgage: Study
More and more U.S. consumers are giving greater priority to paying credit card debt than making a mortgage payment, showing increased financial duress, according to a report released on Wednesday.
…
The percentage of consumers delinquent on mortgages, but current on credit cards rose to 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009 from 6.3 percent in the previous quarter and 4.9 percent in the same quarter a year earlier, a new study developed by TransUnion showed.
The trend first emerged in the first quarter of 2008 when it was at 4.3 percent, Chicago-based TransUnion said.
Less emphasis on mortgage payments could portend higher delinquency rates and perhaps even more foreclosures. That does not bode well for for the hard-hit U.S. housing market, which remains highly vulnerable to setbacks.
“This goes against conventional wisdom and that has always been that, when faced with a financial crisis, consumers will pay their secured obligations first, specifically their mortgages,” Sean Reardon, the author of the study and a consultant in TransUnion’s analytics and decisioning services business unit, said in an interview.
By making a minimum payment on a credit card before a full mortgage payment it gives consumers monetary leeway to go about their daily activities, especially if they have lost a job.
From MarketWatch:
Housing vacancies elevated in fourth quarter
U.S. housing vacancy rates remained near all-time highs in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. For rental housing, the vacancy rate fell to 10.6% in the fourth quarter from a record 11.1% in the third quarter. For homes typically occupied by the owner, the vacancy rate rose to 2.7% from 2.6%. The home ownership rate fell to 67.2% from 67.6%, the lowest ownership rate since early 2000. Before the housing bubble burst, the rental vacancy rate had never been above 9%, and the ownership vacancy rate had never been above 2%. The data show 2.1 million vacant housing units for sale and 4.5 million units for rent, an over supply that has depressed prices and rents.
From Zacks:
Homeownership Rate Falls Again
A smaller percentage of Americans owned their own homes in the 4th quarter of 2009 than at any time since 2000. In the 4th quarter 67.2% of Americans owned their own home, down from 67.6% in the third quarter and two full percentage points below the peak set in the fourth quarter of 2004.
…
Regionally, the highest homeownership rates are in the Midwest (71.3%) and in the South (69.1%) where housing is generally relatively cheap, and lowest in the West (62.3%) and the Northeast (63.9%) where housing tends to be expensive.
…
By income, people with above-median household incomes are far more likely to be homeowners than are people with below median incomes, 81.8% to 50.2% as of the fourth quarter of 2009. However, the decline in the homeownership rate has actually been greater among the relatively affluent than it has been among the less affluent, with the “rich” rate dropping 2.8 points and the “poor” rate falling 2.3 points.
From BusinessWeek:
U.S. Vacancy Rate Increases as Banks Seize More Homes
The share of homes vacant and for sale rose in the fourth quarter after banks seized property from borrowers who defaulted on mortgages.
The homeowner vacancy rate increased to 2.7 percent from 2.6 percent in the third quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. There were 2.09 million empty properties on the market, up from 1.99 million, according to the report.
…
Almost 4.5 percent of mortgaged U.S. homes were in foreclosure during the third quarter, the highest rate in 37 years of tracking, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Nov. 19. About one in every 10 mortgages was at least one payment overdue in the period, the Washington-based group reported. The rate was 2.9 percent in the first and fourth quarters of 2008, the highest shown by Census records dating to 1956.
i’m ahead of my time grim.
Credit cards are next. it’s going to become
very trendy to go cash/debt card, and walk
from the credit cards.
screw the banks.
BOA this morning says bonus payments
average what ? 400k,, Managing directors 3million.
From the Courier Post:
Woodbridge school board eyes massive layoffs, program cuts, privatization
Township school officials has begun sharpening their budget knives in anticipation of a potential $10 million shortfall that may include slashing a slew of jobs and school programs, privatizing services and even shutting one of the district’s 24 schools.
Parents gasped during a school board meeting Monday at Avenel Middle School as the board read through a preliminary list of line items it might consider cutting if Gov. Chris Christie were to roll back state aid.
The list, however, totaled just over $4 million — a million dollars under what officials are considering their “best case scenario” of a $185 million budget with the same amount of aid as last year.
Their worst case scenario — a 10 percent reduction in state aid and limiting a property tax increase to just 2.5 percent instead of 4 percent — would amount to more than $10 million in cuts, officials said.
January WARN Notices
http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lwdhome/warn/2010/0110Warn.html
COMPANY
CITY
EFFECTIVE DATE
WORKFORCE AFFECTED
ESTEE LAUDER COMPANIES
OAKLAND
4/2/2010
77
NORTH COUNTRY BBQ VENTURES BRICK (Famous Daves Restaurant)
BRICK
2/28/2010
47
NORTH COUNTRY BBQ VENTURES HILLSBOROUGH
HILLSBOROUGH
2/28/2010
43
NORTH COUNTRY BBQ VENTURES MAYS LANDING
MAYS LANDING
2/28/2010
48
NORTH COUNTRY BBQ VENTURES MOUNTAINSIDE
MOUNTAINSIDE
2/28/2010
64
NORTH COUNTRY BBQ VENTURES NEW BRUSNWICK
NEW BRUNSWICK
2/28/2010
42
NORTH COUNTRY BBQ VENTURES WOODBRIDGE
METUCHEN
2/28/2010
36
RED & TAN CHARTER, INC.
ELIZABETH
3/31/2010
45
USM, INC
RED BANK
3/8/2010
90
WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (WACHOVIA)
CARLSTADT
3/14/2010
86
From the NYT:
No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away
In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach. By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid. Or maybe 2040.
“People like me are beginning to feel like suckers,” Mr. Koellmann said. “Why not let it go in default and rent a better place for less?”
After three years of plunging real estate values, after the bailouts of the bankers and the revival of their million-dollar bonuses, after the Obama administration’s loan modification plan raised the expectations of many but satisfied only a few, a large group of distressed homeowners is wondering the same thing.
New research suggests that when a home’s value falls below 75 percent of the amount owed on the mortgage, the owner starts to think hard about walking away, even if he or she has the money to keep paying.
…
The number of Americans who owed more than their homes were worth was virtually nil when the real estate collapse began in mid-2006, but by the third quarter of 2009, an estimated 4.5 million homeowners had reached the critical threshold, with their home’s value dropping below 75 percent of the mortgage balance.
They are stretched, aggrieved and restless. With figures released last week showing that the real estate market was stalling again, their numbers are now projected to climb to a peak of 5.1 million by June — about 10 percent of all Americans with mortgages.
“We’re now at the point of maximum vulnerability,” said Sam Khater, a senior economist with First American CoreLogic, the firm that conducted the recent research. “People’s emotional attachment to their property is melting into the air.”
Do people go swimming in that river?
So maybe the new trend should be to link up the mtg to a credit card and the monthly payment gets charged to Visa or MC. Less likely to walk away right?
Imagine after a few months of missed mtg payments that have been charged to the credit card. Talk about interest charges!
And to think, all that had to be done for folks trying to get a mtg is to verify income and assets. So many of these people would not have gotten loans, the housing, banking economy problem would have been far smaller.
Common sense ain’t that common.
Why ‘make’ someone pay? It’s their money. It is their credit rating?
An interesting Planet Monet podcast- “To Stay or Walk Away”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/01/podcast_to_walk_away_or_stay.html
Worth listening to if you have the 20 minutes.
Is that “the situation’s” new spread?
Thought the whole point of secured debt was that the lender agreed to hold a lien on the asset in exchange for more favorable terms. Reposession on default is the basic underpinning of a mortgage? No?
Just like bankruptcy being a solution and not a problem, so is foreclosure the solution.
What would you rather have? Unsecured mortgages at 22% or debtors prisons? How about slavery as recourse?
The Toms River is a great river. It is clean, great for swimming, and an ideal spot for boating. I used to run in Island Heights, and it is a nice enough place, but a town of two faces: the places like this on the river and little two by nothing places in up on the hill on the downslope from the river.
It is has an artsy feel, which is somewhat out of place in Ocean County, and as late as the 1980s some freak who owned an old Inn overlooking the river used to throw a party each year in celebration of Hitler’s birthday.
What lenders will be forced to realize is that overvaluing and overassesing the asset the borrower is buying is just as risky for the lender as it is the borrower.
Man, hitting the number just made so much sense in 2006. What did the lenders care, default rates were at historical lows, they never had to repo a house.
Yr Hero Mish is calling for a dismantlement of the schools Clot. Should make you happy. Some good comments already over there.
Nothing wrong with the math skills of the privately schools bankers though . No siree.
grim (8)
Does that mean Famous Dave’s is closing shop in NJ?
Gawdamn Grim Fing nailed it. Right?!
That house has to be at least 4,000 sq ft. Another fine example of conspicuos consumption. The owner could have rented a place for a lot less, but then s/he couldn’t have bragged to their friends about their 3 houses.
#8
In NJ, is Famous Dave’s now Formerly Dave’s?
Good riddance to MSG Daves. The only thing on the menu that didn’t contain MSG was the salmon. I was told that everything else, including sauces, spices and rubs contained MSG. The manager had to come out and break the news.
Indigo smoke in Montclair was far superior, but I saw that they too shuttered up their bloomfield ave location.
#17 grim,
But then the banks couldn’t get deficiency judgements after a foreclosure/short sale and keep us as propertyless debt serfs.
“Woodbridge school board eyes massive layoffs, program cuts, privatization”
How about Woodbridge asks for aid from the city of Bombay?
What a hose job this is, but partial brilliance(no computer literacy, no tax return):
Libraries, post offices won’t have state income tax forms
In December the state Treasury Department announced that in order to cut $500,000 from its 2010 budget, it would not be distributing forms. Treasury officials said that 60 percent of state taxpayers file electronically.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100203/COMMUNITIES/302030017/Libraries-post-offices-won-t-have-state-income-tax-forms
Ron Paul Warns Of Coming Social And Political Chaos
“When (not if) the dollar crashes”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AooYkIG59uw
#7 Freedy
Deadbeats have been around since the beginning of society, nothing revolutionary about your attitude.
ha, ha , screw the banks,
Freedy, take a lesson from the guy in #9. At least he at admits he’s a sucker. Nothing to be proud of.
hey asshole go back are read from a few days ago the review of the walk a ways,
im very proud of it. what till you get yours
You cut your losses, good for you, but you still lost.
The most successful traders incur more, total #, of losses than gains. You can be wrong 9 out of 10 times and still make a bundle. Know your risk tolerance, place stop losses. Don’t let one trade carry you out. Don’t become married to a position.
bc, you are correct.
money used elsewhere
sx (18)-
Thanks. He’s been hinting at this post for a couple of days.
problem was did not close out sooner.,,
fool me once shame on them,,second time screw them
grim (24)-
Famous Dave’s is an insult to true BBQ. Good riddance.
I got handed a new lease in Manhattan, with a decent 22% increase over my current rent. Since my current rent includes free month freebies, the official hike is about 15%. Based on very quick look, it seems that other rental buildings in the area are trying similar hikes. On the other hand, there a lot of availabilities (especially by owner) in neighboring buildings at my current rent.
Anyway, I will call out their bluff.
“That house has to be at least 4,000 sq ft. … The owner could have rented a place for a lot less, but then s/he couldn’t have bragged to their friends about their 3 houses.”
Never bought a place down the shore. Last time I think prices were reasonable was probably some time in the early-mid 90s.
Wife had been agitating since at least 2004 after three of our best friends pulled the trigger.
Each time I walked her through the economics. They still don’t come close to working. Even with a discount to ensure that it moves the place we rent down the shore would clear the market today at $2m easily (newish 5/5 bayfront with pool on a private drive in Loveladies).
My calculations say the cost of carry is at least $125k p.a. for a buyer today (owner built it new and has a much lower basis). That figure assumes a 20% down payment, interest cost only against the mortgage, and no capital cost against the down payment.
We rent it for three weeks in late-July/August for $20k total.
I can rent our place for SIX years for the cost of owning it for one.
You’d have to be insane to buy down at the shore at today’s prices, unless you’re retired and plan to spend May through Septemebr there as one of your primary residences. Even then the math is probably difficult to justify.
“I have a simple question for teachers and administrators.
Why is it that one can go through 12 years of schooling without taking a single class on what money is, how money is created, credit cards and other traps, interest rates, the role of the Fed, etc., when the one thing everyone absolutely needs to understand the moment they are tossed into the real world is money?
How is it that we have an education system that leaves students so ill prepared for the real world in regards to things they need to know about stocks, bonds, interest rates, credit cards, and the time value of money?
Yes, I know that administrators, not teachers set the curriculum. However, the end result is what matters: high school graduates are economically illiterate.
I am wondering: How many teachers would complain if we threw music, art, and Latin class out the window and required 4 years of economics instead?
How many parents and teachers would complain if we threw sports out the window?
Regardless of who is to blame, the bottom line is what matters, and the bottom line is our education system churns out economic illiterates, ill prepared for the real world. Sadly, I believe it is safe to say that most teachers are economic illiterates as well. Of course the same applies to Congress, and even the Fed, the latter being “over-educated” to the point of placing complete faith in academic gibberish instead of real world practically.
Pray tell, why is this?
Not only do we have bankrupt nation, our education system is bankrupt, leaving students ill prepared for the real world. On the bright side, I suppose we could be thankful for that. If educators were given a chance, they might poison young minds with Keynesian claptrap while singing the praises of unions. In this regard, ignorance may indeed be bliss, at least compared to outright economic brainwashing that might otherwise occur.
For the record, I am sure most teachers are hardworking and very devoted. However, class sizes continue to shrink while benefits for teachers and administrators expand.
We need to balance the results with the cost of education. We also must balance the cost of education with what taxpayers can afford, not pay scales that teachers think they deserve! Obviously similar statements apply to police and firefighters, except even more so.
Pray tell, what are taxpayers getting for their money? The sad answer to that question defines the problem at hand.
1. The education system is geared to benefit the system, not the kids.
2. As bad as things are through grade 12, the cost of college education is much worse.
Union salaries combined with shrinking class sizes and untenable pension plan benefits are an unsustainable brew. That is a simple mathematical statement of fact. Arguably, any teacher who cannot figure that out probably should not be teaching.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/02/are-teachers-to-blame-for-economic.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704022804575041320302301844.html
“Dodd Vents Over Handling of Bank Proposal”
No “economics” at the header today but I couldn’t resist this quote by Volcker:
“I tell you sure as I am sitting here, that if banking institutions are protected by the taxpayer they are given free reign to speculate, I may not live long enough to see the crisis, but my soul is going to come back and haunt you.”
http://baselinescenario.com/2010/02/02/credit-card-cleverness/
“Credit Card Cleverness”
What is Citi up to?
41. It’s all bullshit.
I like citi’s new jingle….”…If you got worries…worries like me….don’t worry now…O won’t hurt you…”
“I am wondering: How many teachers would complain if we threw music, art, and Latin class out the window and required 4 years of economics instead?”
————————————————————————————–
Just teach them meteorology. At least they can tell you it is raining.
http://www.cbs47.tv/content/special_features/story/Clovis-Unified-Takes-Steps-to-Avoid-Layoffs/a5q_szb_hESb06Ieg-EXgQ.cspx?rss=153
I know it is the norm to blast schools here, but my district is the largest in CA (38,000 students) with no layoffs…..yet.
When you are non-union…You can do things differently.
“The trade-off will likely be that all employees must take furloughs. LisaMarie Slater with the Clovis Unified School District Faculty Senate says that’s something teachers can accept. Slater said, “We look at that and trust that will allow us to continue to do what we need to do for the students.”
Cindy (42)-
Dodd is lying, in order to give cover to his bankster pals. His rhetoric is empty, since he’s a lame duck, with nothing on the line.
Watch where Dodd ends up after he’s out of DC. I’ll lay 10-1 it’s at one of his bankster-donors’ institutions.
“I am wondering: How many teachers would complain if we threw music, art, and Latin class out the window and required 4 years of economics instead?”
Can they bring their parents?
Freedy
I went all cash about 2 years ago. it took some effort at first to change my habits, but now i cant even image paying for every day stuff with credit.
Its also a good rule of thumb that if you cant pay for it in cash you probably dont need it or cant handle the expense.
of course there are a few exceptions (a car….maybe, a house) but not much else.
It also means that i work for me not for the CC companies. If you carry any sort of CC balance or other debts calculate how many hours/day you ave to work to cover that debt service….
Cindy (47)-
IMO, that “non-union” thingy separates you and your district from the quasi-criminal, extortionate education mob.
The main objection I had to the High Deductible Medical Plans, implemented in 2003 along with Medicare Part D, is that they only applied to the Private Sector, Public Sector exempt. That alone, if mandatory for the Public Sector, would have helped the current State Bankruptcy situation. But I guess, all Pigs are equal, except some Pigs are more equal then others.
Anywhere a union is involved in education, education is not for the kids. It is for the perpetuation of the system.
BC 49
you would crash the current economic serfdom model if the average joe had any level of economic literacy.
Change will eventually come, but not quietly
41 Clot
Great link. And it’s a good question. Except it’s wrong. In NYS every high school senior must take and pass a course in Economics to graduate. It’s seen as a bs class because there is no regents exam on it. There’s less importance placed on it because a standardized test doesn’t decide your fate in this class. The teacher does.
lost (55)-
Is the economics taught in NY a sort of macro/micro introduction, or is it personal finance?
If it’s not personal finance, IMO, it is useless and inappropriate for a HS student.
Lost 55
its a good start but one class that is probably econ light, is not going to help much.
As was pointed out, children should be taught the in’s and out’s of basic finance and economics from elementary school.
That actually was the case back in the 50’s from some what i have read.
did they teach efficient market theory?
LOL now thats a joke!
Oh and btw, I would love to see four years of economics taught in high schools. But then that would leave less room for everything else.
57. Make em carry little briefcases too. That’d be cute.
55 Clot
“lost (55)-
Is the economics taught in NY a sort of macro/micro introduction, or is it personal finance?
If it’s not personal finance, IMO, it is useless and inappropriate for a HS student.”
It’s macro/basic understanding of economics. Years ago, there was something called a “business math” class. This was given out of the math department rather then from the history dept. (as economics is). The business math class was fantastic in that it gave a real insight into personal business, how to keep checks and balances, the importance of a budget, etc. Unfortunately, it also had the stigma of being the class you take when you couldn’t handle “real math” (trig., calc., etc.)
53. Yep. And private school teachers do so out of the goodness of their hearts and the purity of their intellectual vision.
57 & 58 Hyde
Please see my reply to Clot. You are right, it is general.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/186242-how-to-protect-the-volcker-reforms-and-regulations
Clot @ 48 - Check out the donation totals for Schumer and Dodd..
@ 51 - Thanks…We are trying to hold onto our core values. The school board has literally NEVER given out a pink slip - not in 50 years. We will end up with furlough days and pay cuts before folks with permanent contracts lose their jobs.
We will also hold onto music and sports for as long as we can. It is getting harder to do what is right for kids.
There is talk of doing away with NCLB. Cheer that. There may be some room to discuss curriculum choices.
Cindy
If they do away with NCLB, I’ll throw a party.
You know a lot of people here seem to be very outspoken. So if you’re upset with what your children’s schools are teaching, write to the principal, the school board, your congresspeople, even Arne Duncan. Tell them you want more choices, maybe more practical choices. You can complain all you want here but it doesn’t get your message heard by the people who need to hear it.
67,
I speak with my $. Hence my child will not see public schools as long as i can help it.
Public schools dont care if you complain as they get paid anyway. A private school actually loses money when a dissatisfied parent pulls their child out.
I’d like for my son to learn how to do SIVs.
re: Island Heights home Tom’s River. I bet there is WT and guest workers living right across the street.
We owned a place growing up in the 70’s and 80’s nearby Snug Harbor on the water. Great place to spend the summers as a kid, swimming, boating fishing, the town pool was there and a nice park nearby as well etc.
Back then it was a different place down that part of the shore mostly retired people and summer homes, nothing bigger than 3 bedrooms for the most part.
Today you can drive up and down those dead end courts and see a mish mosh of Mc-Shore-Mansions and cottages. The Mc-Shore-Mansions are on the water and are generally summer homes, the cottages are on the other side of the street and are many times run down or full of WT or “guest” workers packed sometimes 10 deep in those little cottages.
Going to be a blood bath in Toms River, Brick and LBI before all is said and done.
lost (61)-
I think we’d all agree that if we could put Bergabe in a time machine and send him back, we’d pick the biz math classes for him and keep him far away from the brainiac stuff.
My second choice for Bergabe in the time machine would be to send him back to the Palaeozoic Era and make him the afternoon snack for a T-Rex.
“The business math class was fantastic in that it gave a real insight into personal business, how to keep checks and balances, the importance of a budget, etc. Unfortunately, it also had the stigma of being the class you take when you couldn’t handle “real math” (trig., calc., etc.).”
Any guesses on the transfer tax??
33k!!!
http://www.vested.com/tax_calculator1.html
lost,
The “everything else” includes algebra and geometry.
I have never - for a lifetime - understood why ALL of us were forced to suffer through those.
What’s the point?
[49] BC
“Can they bring their parents?”
Classic!!!
68 Hyde
You’d be surprised how many people work in public schools that would agree with a lot points made here about curriculum. The teacher has no control over it. You have to complain about it to higher-ups, much higher-ups.
71 Clot
Agreed.
The votes are in.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, New York Univeristy Professor and economist Nouriel Roubini said he didn’t much care for the nickname “Dr. Doom” anymore. . . .
CNBC viewers and CNBC.com readers wrote in with their suggestions. After it was narrowed down to the most popular ones, and about 1,400 votes later, the results are:
Roubini the Realist (25%)
Sir Fretalot (24%)
Dr. Know (17%)
Dr. Real (17%)
Dr. Toldya (17%)
Other suggestions included Dr. Feelgood, Dr. Gnostic, Contrarian the Barbarian and Dr. Armageddon. . . .”
Hyde (68)-
Hear, hear. I went to private school, and it was well-known there that the squeaky-wheel parents definitely got the attention of teachers and admin…even for rather groundless complaints.
I don’t think a consumer/vendor relationship is necessarily the best thing in education, but it sure beats the indifferent/non-responsive attitude you see in the schools where I live.
I have- on occasion- tried to speak with teachers and administrators here. On a couple of occasions, I’ve even escalated both intensity and tone…all to zero effect. The creepy thing is that the range of body language and facial expressions on these people never change. They start at disinterested, and end at sleeping bovine.
At that point, I felt it best to start immunizing my kids against them and “deprogramming” them as necessary. So far, this has worked much better…and it’s instilled very useful subversive tendencies in both of them.
68. Yeah right and they change the whole place to suit Jr.
73 Scribe
“lost,
The “everything else” includes algebra and geometry.
I have never - for a lifetime - understood why ALL of us were forced to suffer through those.
What’s the point?”
You got me. I am told, just like everyone else, that the countries we compete with for engineering/math related industry, teach their children these subjects in these ways. So we try to structure our system the way their systems are structured. For some reason, the people in charge think one size fits all, and it really doesn’t.
78. only the finest minds spring from the cauldron of the private education. One’s mettle is tested with Yates and honed with Kierkegaard –
75 Lost,
That may be the case, but even the higher ups dont care. In the end the only way to make a point is to hurt their pocket book. Unless you are ready to fire up an entire political campaign, good luck changing a public school system.
I’m not attacking any one group in the public school system, but am pointing at the system itself which is horribly broken
82 Hyde
I completely understand what you say. And despite what many think, the system is worse to work for then be educated by. My school system is like having an abusive boyfriend.
sx (81)-
I will always believe that my mind started going horribly wrong when I was exposed to Camus and Sartre at way too young an age.
Other countries school systems stink, In Japan they go to school 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year right from Kindergarten till College yet the Damm Japs can make a brake pedal while Henry Ford could build a whole car that ran fine 90 years ago with basic tools an a pool of workers with an 8th grade education.
161.Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
February 2, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Heard an interesting show on Bloomberg on Sunday morning. They said that it is now down to less than 1% of mutual fund managers that can beat the indexes which they mimic due mainly to management fees and the dilution of talent such as Lynch and Gross. Forget mutual funds. They are done. ETFs are twice as effective and dirt cheap.
Stu: bat guano; source? Let me guess, head of sales of ProShares…..
This article is far more objective and enlightening……
Wall Street Journal
FEBRUARY 1, 2010
Risks Lurk for ETF Investors
Exchange-traded funds are easy to buy and sell. But investors can get caught paying too much or receiving too little if they aren’t careful.
By ELEANOR LAISE
The world of exchange-traded funds looks like an ocean of liquidity: billions of shares trading all day long on easily accessible exchanges.
But beneath the surface is a treacherous landscape of potential trading problems that can raise costs for individual investors.
The ease of buying and selling ETFs, which typically resemble index-tracking mutual funds but trade like stocks, has helped make them the darlings of investors big and small. But as ETFs delve into more esoteric areas of the market such as high-yield bonds and commodity futures, trading them has become more complex.
Also contributing to problems with liquidity—or the ease with which these products can be bought and sold without big trading costs—are things like regulatory scrutiny, strong investor demand for certain ETFs and the fact that many of these funds now launch with the bare minimum level of assets—often just $2.5 million or so.
There are “a lot of dissatisfied customers” discovering snags in ETF trading, says Scott Burns, director of ETF research at Morningstar Inc.
A lack of liquidity can lead to wide “bid-ask spreads,” or the gap between the price buyers are willing to pay for shares of an ETF and the price sellers are asking. The wider the spread, the bigger the bite taken out of investors’ returns every time they buy or sell. A lack of liquidity also may cause the ETF to trade at a large premium or discount to net asset value, or NAV—the value of the fund’s underlying holdings. That means an investor buying the fund may overpay for that portfolio, or an investor selling could get less than that basket of securities is worth.
These issues haven’t stopped investors from flocking to ETFs, however. Assets in U.S.-listed exchange-traded products totaled $791 billion at the end of December, a 47% jump from a year earlier. ETF trading volume, meanwhile, averaged 1.9 billion shares a day in 2009, up 20% from a year earlier, according to the National Stock Exchange.
To size up an ETF’s liquidity, investors need to examine the fund’s underlying holdings as well as the ETF shares themselves. Here’s a look at the major points to consider before buying or selling an ETF, as well as some tips on trading these funds smoothly and cheaply.
How Are the ETF’s Shares Trading?
A glance at an individual ETF’s trading volume or bid-ask spread doesn’t tell the whole liquidity story, but it offers key information for investors.
ETF assets and trading volume are highly concentrated in just a handful of funds. The 10 largest ETFs account for almost 40% of total ETF assets, while the 10 funds with the largest dollar trading volume accounted for roughly 60% of the total volume for all ETFs in December, according to National Stock Exchange.
Investors trying to buy or sell these ultrapopular ETFs probably won’t run into problems. Consider the SPDR, which tracks the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. Almost 3 billion SPDR shares changed hands in December, according to NYSE Arca, with an average bid-ask spread of just a penny.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Claymore U.S. Capital Markets Bond ETF. Fewer than 12,000 shares traded in December, and the average spread was a whopping $2.56.
One problem is that market makers—those who help maintain orderly trading in ETFs—get rebates from exchanges that are calculated on a per-share basis. Thus, they may not have much incentive to maintain relatively narrow gaps between bid and ask prices in funds with very low trading volume.
“We’re not happy” with how the Claymore U.S. Capital Markets Bond ETF is trading, says Bill Belden, managing director at Claymore Securities Inc. In discussions with the exchange and market makers, he says, “we continue to push for more efficient pricing” in the fund.
Spreads of more than five to 10 cents “would concern me,” says Matt Hougan, editor of IndexUniverse.com. “If it’s 50 cents, I would run screaming.” More than 300 of the roughly 800 ETFs trading on NYSE Arca in December had average spreads of more than five cents, while six had spreads of more than 50 cents.
Other problems can arise when an ETF has to suspend issuing new shares. Specifically, big gaps can develop between the ETF share price and the value of its underlying holdings.
In some cases, regulatory scrutiny sparks the problem. In late August, for example, BlackRock Inc.’s iShares unit announced that it had suspended creation of new shares of its iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust ETF amid concern that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission might limit the size of firms’ positions in various commodity futures. The fund began trading at a significant distance from its NAV, including a roughly 4% premium on Oct. 1, though the gap has narrowed recently.
Sometimes ETFs offer only a limited number of shares and require regulatory approval to issue more. In such cases, investor demand can outstrip this supply. That’s what happened to PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish fund, which had to suspend creation of new shares in December for the second time in two months because of voracious investor appetite for the product. It resumed issuing shares on Jan. 5.
How Are the Underlying
Holdings Trading?
While it’s important to look at how ETF shares are trading, the fund’s underlying holdings are really the heart of the liquidity issue, experts say.
One reason: Big investors known as “authorized participants” can swap a basket of the fund’s underlying holdings for ETF shares—or vice versa. This process helps arbitrage away significant gaps between the ETF’s share price and its NAV, the value of its underlying holdings. But when the underlying holdings are costly to trade and tough to obtain, authorized participants are less willing to round up that basket of securities. That means big gaps can develop between an ETF’s share price and its NAV.
One place to watch out for these premiums and discounts is in bond ETFs, especially those focused on areas like corporate investment-grade and high-yield, or “junk,” bonds. The closed within 0.5% of NAV on only four days in the fourth quarter, iShares says, and traded at a premium as large as 2.1% in that period.
The premium is “a reflection of the cost to trade the underlying bond portfolio,” says Leland Clemons, director of the iShares capital-markets group. Investors should expect to regularly see 1% to 2% premiums in the high-yield ETF, he says, and possibly 4% in times of greater volatility.
When underlying holdings are traded less frequently, or not at all, an ETF’s returns also may diverge from the benchmark it is designed to track. That became an issue for some bond ETFs recently as the Federal Reserve bought up large quantities of agency bonds and mortgage-backed securities, essentially removing them from the market. Vanguard Group recently changed some of its bond index funds and ETFs to benchmarks that exclude these securities purchased by the Fed.
The biggest test of bond-ETF liquidity may be yet to come. So far investors have poured money into these products, and many bond ETFs are trading at significant premiums to NAV. But if investors reverse course and stampede out, the trading could get ugly, experts say. Given the relative illiquidity of many of the underlying bonds, the ETFs could start trading at significant discounts to NAV.
“When everybody tries to get out, it’s going to be a debacle,” says Scott Freeze, president of Street One Financial.
Tips on Trading ETFs
Experts say one simple rule can go a long way toward alleviating ETF trading problems: Use a “limit” order. This means your trade will be executed only within the price range you specify, not at whatever price the market gives you.
To help determine the price you should be paying, check out the ETF’s “indicative” net asset value, which gives an up-to-the-minute look at the value of the fund’s holdings. The iNAV for each ETF is calculated every 15 seconds and is available on sites like Yahoo! Finance or Google Finance. Andrew McOrmond, a managing director at institutional execution-and-trading firm WallachBeth Capital LLC, suggests setting your “limit” slightly above iNAV when buying an ETF and slightly below iNAV when selling it.
One caveat: The iNAV isn’t a useful gauge for international ETFs whose markets are closed while you’re trading.
If you’re looking to do a large trade in a relatively illiquid ETF, consider asking for help, experts say. If your trade will amount to more than 10% of the ETF’s average daily volume, call the ETF provider or your brokerage firm and ask for assistance, Morningstar’s Mr. Burns says.
Investors might also want to avoid trading ETFs at the very beginning or end of the trading day, experts say, when the market can be more volatile.
Finally, with new ETFs constantly hitting the market, investors might not want to dive in as soon as a fund starts trading. “Watch it trade and give it some time to work out the kinks” if you’re concerned about liquidity problems, IndexUniverse’s Mr. Hougan says. “Don’t buy it on day one.”
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page R1
Good movement last week in Chatham of ‘first permanent’ homes.
Not starters, but the cheapest home you get that doesn’t have a huge downside in condition or location, and has 3/4 real BRs.
Three waiting to get out of review in the $600k-800k range, two of them had multiple bids.
I still think inventory is cr@p though, which may explain why these have moved since they are alright.
Two new construction sold before construction is finished. One is butt-ugly and totally out of character (chateau looking thing all made of brick) and was listed at $2.975, we’ll see where that cleared but since it is sold before being finished it’s may not be hugely off ask. One additional new construction that had been hanging around for a while finally moved after some reductions to get the ask to $2.1m.
A lot of new construction inventory hanging around getting old. Overpriced, stale, and in need of reductions. Two that have been around and about had $175k and $260k reductions last week.
In general not seeing a lot of good new stuff coming on yet.
Funky market.
Oh, and that decent enough new construction that was sitting on the corner of two busy county roads surrounded by houses listed at one-third its price that was the subject of a ‘wtf, good luck’ post by me a week or so ago…sold in 13 days. My bad, I guess.
John,
problem isnt the brake pedals, but the control system that runs the cars. Toyota is trying to cover up software issues in the ECU which is a much bigger liability to them.
The problem is- to mangle the words of John Lennon- children are the niggaz of the world (Lennon said it was women).
Children have no pull in anything in the US, since they don’t make money, don’t donate money to political causes, have no lobby and have no economic clout. Of course, those responsible for them have largely abdicated that charge, since there’s no money in it.
re: #85 John - the defective accelerator pedal was outsourced by Toyota to Elkhart Indiana based CTS Inc who probably outsourced it to Indonesia or China. So the person that actually made the pedal was most likely is an illiterate peasant worker.
hyde (88)-
Will the Toyota drive itself into a bridge abutment for me?
“trendy to go cash”
using cash, less prone to identity theft.
SAS
89 Clot
“Of course, those responsible for them have largely abdicated that charge, since there’s no money in it.”
What do you mean? We all make over 100K our first year! :)
lost (93)-
I don’t know if I’d be a good teacher or not. All I know is, I wouldn’t last 15 minutes on Day 1 in any school out there.
You can’t pay a good teacher enough. I just wish we had the sense- and the mechanisms- to get rid of the bad ones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHLXO_y3KIg&feature=related
Dylan Ratigan says Obama is lying.
blindjust (72)
Anyone supporting more taxes for more services should go to your link and read that abortion of a document….
94 Clot
I think you could teach, but not school aged kids. :)
Sean,
even if the pedal failed there is still a dangerous ECU issue. The ECU should have cut the throttle when the brake was applied. VW and others have had this functionality in their drive by wire systems for years already.
The only people who actually use the brake and throttle at the same time are race drivers, and they can always have their ECU flashed to provide that functionality.
It was also pointed out that there are a number of other potential control design issues, such as requiring the stop/start button be held for 3 seconds before it will kill the engine.
In the bubble years we all were appalled at the idiots who were buying at such inflated prices. Their stupidity and the bank’s greed and the govt’s arrogance created this mess together. And we all sat back and laughed at all of them and watched the train crash slowly.
The thing that bothers me most about freedy is that all of the sudden we are all so proud of people like him now.
Its interesting how someone is stupid for buying at rediculously out of control prices but then all of the sudden they are a righteous hero when they realize they made a big mistake and fail to even try to take responsibility for it.
I think we have that backwards.
I can see respecting people like hyde and chi and babs for being smart and patient enough to rent while people like freedy were enjoying their 3,000 sq ft condos financed by a teazer rate loans. BC bob was brilliant for cashing out at at the top. I would respect stu/gator for buying a rental unit, preparing their family for the possibility that they might be underwater one day. imo those are examples of smarts. And what better way to stick it to Chase then to rent and not participate at all in the mortgage market - basically boycotting them.
But freedy? What did he do that was so impressive? There were a million other subprime loans that defaulted across the country. Should we cheer all them on as well?
(Btw, freedy dont take this as a personal attack. Its just a philosophical argument regarding a million other people who did (or are doing) exactly what you are. I dont really know the details of your particular situation or finances.)
SX
I’m not saying that private school is a panacea. But given my personal philosophy and opinions on education, its far beyond what i would get from a public school.
John,
I agree that the fix Toyota is not going to solve the likely real issue. I understand how a stuck pedal might prevent one from decelerating (or negatively accelerting, for the physicists in the room) but how would it cuse a car to take off like a rabbit? It sure sounds like a computer problem.
Veto,
in general terms i agrew wiht your point. From a moral standpoint it is distatsful. But freedy’s actions are aslo an efficent method of the arket correctiing itself. If people start walking away in any significant #’s it will force the banks to curtail shady lending prctices and will drive down the value of homes. Both of which need to happen.
There isnt a free lunch, as even if we all turn into freedy and walk, it will be hell trying to get a home loan regardless of your credit score, for a very long time.
But once again its a corrective mechanism at work. We all become freedys and walk the market corrects, and now we cant get loans until fiscal trust is restored in both the lenders and the borrowers.
This is grossly simplified, but its the basic mechanism.
lost (97)-
Let me assure you, others have told me that, and I have tried it. At many different age levels.
The common denom is the spectacular level of fail I achieve.
I cannot teach. Just ask my wife.
Shore,
if toyota admits to an ECU issue, or someone can pull the software off of it and prove the issue, they are open to MASSIVE liability.
This could actually be a golden opportunity for american manufacturers.
“What wrong with you, you stupid fcuk” does not open young minds.
Concerning algebra and geometry:
Having a basic understanding of solving algebraic equations is in fact useful in real life. For example, one is shopping in an area with a 71/2% sales tax and one has just $75 in his or her pocket. What is the most expensive item one can purchase and still have enough to pay for the item?
Geometry, on the other hand is not taught as a practical tool, it is, at base, a course in logic.
hyde (102)-
It’s still mind-blowing to me that one can repair credit as soon as 24 months after a short sale…AND have the mortgage recorded as “satisfied”. As sympathetic as I am to my clients, this is way too lenient a penalty, and I’m beginning to see more and more people figuring it out.
One of my first short sale clients is out shopping for a house (not with me). That’s mind-blowing. Like taking a cokehead on a tour of Peru.
Camus was my downfall. That and blondes.
103 Clot
Maybe I’m glad you didn’t have to teach me. :)
Is anyone here short TM?
I think this could prompt some protectionism and combined with bad PR and management decisions from Jim Lentz they could be really hurting in 2010.They just went through the worst January in 10yrs. Jim ought to hire Hank to crisis management consulting.
The freedys are the first to jump into the game when they think it will make them rich quick, but as soon as it turns against them they are the first to call the game unfair and point the finger at the nearest party (the banks and govt and cable company in this case)
Prices of homes will come down whether people walk or not - in fact as more people walk, the govt will just keep upping the bailouts and all the walkers might be indirectly resonsible for pushing prices higher than they would have otherwise went. The walkers just want to see the whole system collapse so they dont look as bad by comparison.
Dosclaimer,
I stand where I sit.
veto you are another asshole.
im not going to sit around here and what people like you who don’t have a clue .
and screw cablevision, they charge for
channels that you don’t watch anyway.
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/school-districts-eliminate-kindergarten/
School districts could decide to eliminate kindegarten in NJ as a way to cut cost.
Is anyone here short TM?
No but long F.
They will get as much market share from this as they did from the collapse of GM. Plus they make nice looking american cars, which is rare.
Kindergarten
@50 -
“I went all cash about 2 years ago. it took some effort at first to change my habits, but now i cant even image paying for every day stuff with credit.”
I carry a single credit card and use it for as many purchases as humanly possible (car downpayments, medical payments, anything) in order to accumulate air mileage. In my life I’ve never paid a penny in cc interest but have enjoyed free trips to Tokyo and Europe and upgrades galore.
Thanks, interest-paying suckaz!
what happens to all the tm vehicles now.
parked ,how can that be
freedy, 113 -
lol, i should have guessed that would be your reaction.
@53:
“Anywhere a union is involved in education, education is not for the kids. It is for the perpetuation of the system.”
The biggest ponzi scheme of all is our collegiate system and that’s (in theory) non-union. If you consider someone with tenure but not specifically paying union dues ‘non-union.’
veto your an asshole and most on the blog
know it.
What is a good cc for getting rewards points?
Economics has nothing whatsoever to do with personal finance.
safehouse, the continental mastercard is pretty solid. Its good since newark is a hub for conti. if you apply currently, you get 35,000 miles. and if you sign up for the chase conti checking acct, you get another 25k miles. so you can easily get 60k miles.
“veto your an asshole”
freedy, im sorry but am not going to exchange curses with you.
veto, ill say it again your an asshole
and if you want my em just contact grim
Freedy
are you trying to replace RE101?
You and veto disagree, move on.
In NY, while we have Kindergarten, it is not mandatory for children to attend. They can start at first grade. However, they are learning more in Kindergarten now so not attending puts them behind once they’re in first grade.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts.
Submit quotes including 11% Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET) and shipping to Washington DC.
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8d3b076bd4de14bbda5aba699e80621d&tab=core&_cview=1&cck=1&au=&ck=
Renter. Lost
re kindergarten:
Argentina here we come!
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg Multimedia) — The U.S. may lose 824,000 jobs when the government releases its annual revision to employment data on Feb. 5, showing the labor market was in worse shape during the recession than known at the time.
CTS did outsource the manufacture of the brake pedal - to Canada.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100128/BUSINESS/1280474
Oops, I mean the gas pedal. Need more coffee.
Re cars
So basically, if you want a reliable car get an old CJ jeep without any of that new fangled computer control and rebuild its mechanical systems yourself?
This is already turning into a golden opportunity for US car manufacturers. Did anyone see Ford’s sales last month, way up!
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Obama administration isn’t beating the crap out of toyota for exactly that reason. toyota did take over GM as the largest car manufacturer and since the US government is in the car business why not take out the competition?
I’ve been lurking here for a while, and really appreciate the information and thoughts about the NJ housing market expressed here. I’m hoping to get some advice.
My wife bought a 4 unit apartment building in Belleville back in 2005 before we got married. She lived in one unit and rented the other 3 which seemed to work ok for her at the time. Now we live together in another town and being a landlord has become a real burden (tenants not paying on time, not paying the full amount, constant repair work, etc.) It’s also a money loser as the monthly rent falls $1000 short of the monthly mortgage and expenses. She can’t refinance (7% interest rate) because she’s underwater and selling would probably result in a big loss. Any chance we can do a short sale? What would that do to her credit rating? Or mine?
I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks
#134 Ket
Tested all over the 3rd world
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Land-Rover_W0QQitemZ280459746861QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item414cb41e2d
Send the death cat over to toyota and see if he starts meowing.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Oscar-Hospice-Cat/ss/events/lf/020210oscarcat#photoViewer=/100203/ids_photos_wl/r1033521216.jpg
RE 127
Aw, freedy is just being ironic in his description of veto.
136 Jeb - the first thing you need to do is stop paying the mortgage so that your lender transfers your loan to special servicing. Nobody at your bank is going to wink until you are in “special”
call the bank and begin to settle with them.
i did it , if you want my em contact grim
Slow week in Hoboken RE, 6 UC, but prices on fire.
http://hudson.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=f03787f7-36ab-4471-b661-c7c0143a5d3d&Report=Yes
anyone? sell price for 318 hoover ave bloomfield unit 63?
Thanks
sl
136 - Jeb - call/email Grim or Shumpeter/Clotpoll to see if they think a short sale is a viable option depending on what she owes and potential selling price. also give them a chance at a RE referral if they can’t help you directly. most likely you’ll have to stop paying to find out what the bank is willing to do and it may depend on how underwater the place is and how much you make (are the payments just inconvenient or pushing you well over acceptable debt/income limits?).
Pgc
would buy it now if I was single. Wife wouldn’t be so happy
I hate Toyota with a passion. Stems from days I owned a camry and a sable. Camry was expensive to fix and broke more often but when I had to sell one I ended up selling Camry as it needed work but since it is rated as extremely reliable in Consumer reports it was worth $1,500 more. The biggest train wreck is Toyota Tundra. Was ment to compete with american trucks. Costs like 10K higher, unreliable, had numerous re-calls and had mat that got caught under brake PLUS sudden acceleration problem. Great a truck that takes off where brakes don’t work. A plain old Explorer is like 20K less than that garbage pile.
“136 - Jeb - call/email Grim or Shumpeter/Clotpoll to see if they think a short sale is a viable option depending on what she owes and potential selling price. ”
How do I get these email addresses? Right now the payments are managable for us, but we don’t want to be landlords anymore and we’d sure like to have the extra 1k per month (we’re currently renters ourselves). When we tried to refinance they said we were only underwater by 20k or so. The place has a finished basement, so for someone else who is willing to live in the basement (too small for us) and can get a low interest rate, it might be a good investment. As for stopping payments, I’m don’t think I’d do that without legal advice. I’m concerned about penalties, fees, the bank coming after us for money owed, and fun stuff like that. NJ is a recourse state, right?
147 - Grim is the owner of this blog, email at the very top under Contact. Clot is “The condition-code red” today–click on that name in the post to get to his blog/contact.
#67 You cannot do that if you have children already in the system,as your children will pay dearly for it.they cannot attack you, but they can attack your children.
#85 It was an American compnay that made the Toyota brake pedal.
149 Toyne
Attack is a pretty strong word. Who would attack your children for expressing your desire for a different curriculum?
#107 One of my first short sale clients is out shopping for a house (not with me).
Really???
#114 Kindergarten is not mandatory in NJ. And in most cases is a form of glorified day care.
#151 Correct. Attack is a strong word. However, if you make waves or complian, your children will pay for that.
The end is nigh…
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/thespread/conde_nast_creates_employee_fraud_HR9PruMLRCqKcyh68D3pAJ
Sartre is an altar boy compared to Beckett and Kafka. Those two f*cked me up good.
136 - Hope this helps …
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomebuyingGuide/UseAShortSaleToEscapeForeclosure.aspx
We are doomed.
Under new The Making Homes Affordable Again to People Who Can’t Afford Them program the government is now not only allowing liar loans, it’s backing them with your tax dollars.
Check out this letter sent out a week ago from 5th 3rd Mortgage offering 125% LTV no doc, no credit, no income verification loans.
http://www.itulip.com/images2/lialoanrsolicitation012610LG.jpg
Anyone see denniger’s latest story?
The claim is that the AIG bailout may have violated money laundering laws.
what say you nom?
#136 Jeb
You are f@cked..
Banks won’t talk to you and modify your mortgage without you or wife taking a serious hit on your credit score.
I am not sure about short sale..
But I will tell you one, you are in one pickle and the odds of getting out unharmed in very slim..
“Argentina here we come!”
I’ve been saying that myself for some years too.
“AIG bailout may have violated money laundering laws”
yes. past, present, and future.
means nothing. crime that pays…stays.
SAS
powerp point summary of legal cliams regarding illegal AIG bailout
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/files/understandingthedefendantstakeoverofaig-1.pps
“However, the end result is what matters: high school graduates are economically illiterate…I am wondering: How many teachers would complain if we threw music, art, and Latin class out the window and required 4 years of economics instead?”
Good luck with that one. 99% of economists are economically illiterate. They learn 1 equation. Y = C + I + G. And that equation is wrong. In fact, the past 10 years of Economic Nobel Prize Winners have no clue about real economics.
I can’t believe this: \sarcasm
May Lose 824,000 Jobs as Employment Data Revised: Analysis
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg Multimedia) — The U.S. may lose 824,000 jobs when the government releases its annual revision to employment data on Feb. 5, showing the labor market was in worse shape during the recession than known at the time.
Y = C + I + G
Ben, you forgot to add NX.
Why is this wrong.
Ben,
the first issue at hand is that they think economics in its current form is a science.
perhaps they should look up the definition of the scientific principle
Veto
A Nobel lacture by Van Hayek
The Pretence of Knowledge
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1974/hayek-lecture.html
hyde, i dont know who ‘they’ are but i dont get that impression.
i was always taught that it wasnt a complete science but it did get very scientific and mathematical starting in the 1950s.
But there has been alot of work done with psychology and economics and even keynes talked alot about animal spirits and confidence and the mental/emotional/social aspects of economics. Also can be described as an art or tool of politics.
The problem I see with economists is that they’re all shilling for someone.
If they aren’t on the dole for someone, they’re trying to get on the dole.
Veto
one of the best parts of the lecture… sound familiar?
the very measures which the dominant “macro-economic” theory has recommended as a remedy for unemployment, namely the increase of aggregate demand, have become a cause of a very extensive misallocation of resources which is likely to make later large-scale unemployment inevitable. The continuous injection of additional amounts of money at points of the economic system where it creates a temporary demand which must cease when the increase of the quantity of money stops or slows down, together with the expectation of a continuing rise of prices, draws labour and other resources into employments which can last only so long as the increase of the quantity of money continues at the same rate - or perhaps even only so long as it continues to accelerate at a given rate. What this policy has produced is not so much a level of employment that could not have been brought about in other ways, as a distribution of employment which cannot be indefinitely maintained and which after some time can be maintained only by a rate of inflation which would rapidly lead to a disorganisation of all economic activity. - Von Hayek
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1974/hayek-lecture.html
164.
The charade continues.
Next in line for a bailout: Social Security
NEW YORK (Fortune) — Don’t look now. But even as the bank bailout is winding down, another huge bailout is starting, this time for the Social Security system.
A report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that for the first time in 25 years, Social Security is taking in less in taxes than it is spending on benefits.
Instead of helping to finance the rest of the government, as it has done for decades, our nation’s biggest social program needs help from the Treasury to keep benefit checks from bouncing — in other words, a taxpayer bailout.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/news/economy/social_security_bailout.fortune/index.htm
Lets get healthcare passed shall we?
“The problem I see with economists is that they’re all shilling for someone”
Gary’s Schilling for himself.
Al 171
But what about the Social Security Lock Box????? I thought all that money was in a nice safe place?
/sarcasm off
Veto,
Read the Hayek piece when you have a chance. he addresses the issue more elegantly then I could ever hope to.
My 90 yr old FIL just recited from memory every line of Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale, all eight stanzas.
He said he learned it in elementary school. Amazing.
(But he’s not sure what he had for breakfast)
[151] toyne
“Attack is a pretty strong word. Who would attack your children for expressing your desire for a different curriculum?”
You are intruding on their petty fiefdoms, and the power they exercise is to ostracize.
I have already seen it firsthand in the private sector where our older daughter was blackballed from a an after-school activity because of our temerity to challenge the “school’s” billing practices.
#175 - I can do that with Iron Maiden lyrics from when I was 12… not quite as impressive though.
I left alone,
my mind was blank…
[159] mr. hyde
That is a lot to chew on.
Jeb
This is for you..
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mortgage-lenders-pursue-cnnm-3107909798.html?x=0
New Report From S&P…
Home Prices Advance Again In November, But Slowing Sales Suggest Price Weaknesses Ahead
The extension of the homebuyer tax credit and near-record-low mortgage rates provide fresh evidence of stabilizing home prices and sales, and we still expect the U.S. housing market to reach bottom early this year. However, slowing new- and existing-home sales’ downward pressure on home prices is a concern right now, and an expanding default and foreclosure pipeline may add a flood of excess inventory and pressure on home prices further downward.
Bost,
Where are the bond vigilantes these days?
“Read the Hayek piece.”
will do hyde.
reading it while trying to multitask at work right now would prob short a circuit. ha.
Tosh from Keats to number of the beast! Great transition.
We just underbid on a house and was rebuked by the delusional seller. Oh well on to the next house. I will be divorced shortly though if we don’t find something soon. Wife is at the end of her rope!
I am a bond vigiliante!!!!! Give me 14% or give me death.
?
123.meter says:
February 3, 2010 at 11:01 am
Economics has nothing whatsoever to do with personal finance.
Pain,
want some NJREREPORT bloggers to go throw some stupid lowball offers at your perspective list and make you look good?
Looking at that S&P housing report.
Interesting, if you look at a the cs home price data from 2000 to today for each of the 20 cities you will see that NY is still up the most of any city at 73%.
Also, if you look at the CS NY Metro futures you will see that they are predicting a 6% decline from now through Nov 2013.
“want some NJREREPORT bloggers to go throw some stupid lowball offers at your perspective list and make you look good?”
Hyde, isn’t this collusion or bid rigging or something like that?
Is it legal? ethical?
If so, im in. Who do i send the offer to?
chi, #185
I think he means:
Economics has nothing whatsoever to do with personal finance, where “personal finance” means:
A.) the reality of paying your bills
B.) the reality of budgeting to pay your bills
C.) the common sense notion of not spending money you don’t have
Hyde - thanks for the offer but somedays I wish she would just go already. Her complaining has reached epic proportions. Even the dog walked out of the room on her yesterday.
Although it is nothing a few business trips couldn’t fix. Limits my exposure to random bouts of b1tching.
John,
I’m serious.
I feel a story stirring.
Veto 188
i’m joking. I dont know what the legal status of such an action would be. If its legal i would do it.
“I thought all that money was in a nice safe place?”
I thought it was on the Come line at the Bellagio.
Hyde, i wish one of the residnet real estate experts would speak up about whats legal and what is not. For example i really want to email some of the selling agents on realtor.com to tell them how overpriced their listings are but everytime i go to do that i think about being hauled off in handcuffs.
#179
There is a picture of the foreclosee on the CNN site, I suspect she’ll be okay in the long run.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/03/real_estate/foreclosure_deficiency_judgement/index.htm
NJC,
It is amazing how things with rythm or rhymes stick in our heads, especially those things that we learned when we were young. Had my math teachers put various formulae to the melody of Children of the Grave, I would have been a wiz at math.
Re: Grim[17]
Mortgage lenders pursue homeowners even after foreclosure
This tidbit was particularly juicy:
“Once they have a judgment, they can pursue you anywhere,” said Richard Zaretsky, a board-certified real estate attorney in West Palm Beach, Fla. “They can ask for financial records, have your wages garnished and, if you fail to respond, a judge can put you in jail.”
Anyone wanna bet Mr. Zaretsky represents foreclosing banks and represents or is himself a bottom feeding debt collector who bought worthless seconds for pennies? (“[Zaretsky] expects many will be filed over the next few years, based on the fact that banks have sold many of these accounts to collection agencies and other third parties, at discount. “The parties who bought those notes wouldn’t have paid money for them unless they had the intention of acting,” Zaretsky said.)
Memo to lerned brethren Mr. Zaretsky: there are no debtors prisons in America. No one goes to jail for not paying you money. P.S. - Eat $h!t and die.
“People shouldn’t have a false sense of security that a deficiency judgment may not be later sought,” Zaretsky said.
Nothing like keeping the sheeple scared enough to fleece.
Why the heck didn’t Geezer Butler write a bloody song about the ideal gas law? How big of a jump could it have been from N.I.B to Pv=nrt?
Link for [197]:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mortgage-lenders-pursue-cnnm-3107909798.html?x=0
“Vanessa Corey, for example, short sold her Fredericksburg, Va., home in April 2008. She and her husband built the house in 2004, but setbacks, both personal (divorce) and professional (housing bust), made it impossible for the real estate agent to keep her home. ”
Once again, a RE agent who drank the Kool Aid they were pushing on the rest of the world.
Why can’t I get a national media puff piece that scares stupid people into doing something that makes me money without so much an mentioning my thinly veiled self-interest?
jeb (136)-
Get my e-mail from grim, if you want.
toyne (152)-
Really. I’m proud of the fact that they knew better than to even call me and ask me to help them.
The most comprehensive info I have found on this subject on the net. Will be back soon to follow up.
201.
“Why can’t I get a national media puff piece that scares stupid people into doing something that makes me money without so much an mentioning my thinly veiled self-interest?”
it is incredible timing given the thread last week. I’m sure is a coinkydink but still….possible death nail.
pain (183)-
Why don’t you stop underbidding and make an offer that will succeed?
Unless, of course, you enjoy being a crazymaker and driving your wife nuts.
BTW, you could call your wife’s bluff at any point. If she will ditch you over housing, she will ditch you in the end over something else equally as silly.
Once you make the definite decision to buy a house, you have to pay TODAY’S price…even if you know better.
Can’t get tomorrow’s price today.
nw (195)-
No kidding. She could start working a pole somewhere and make up all that lost money in no time.
hehe just got a Visa Black Card preapproval thingy. “Only 1% of US population qualify…..Annual fee of $495.”
Can I say it?
Bitch, please.
191.scribe, The Princess of Paramus says:
February 3, 2010 at 3:21 pm
John, I’m serious. I feel a story stirring.
scribe: the story should start “……makes a bet on a bond insurer and whether it will pay the next coupon…wins bet and comes to the Downtown Capital Grille to collect a beer…”
Title? How an ex-Jock from the Bronx became a Big 4 CPA, a Bond Vigilante, and raconteur to the Blogging Masses.
Give me 14% or give me death!
@chi 189,
Scribe @ 189 has it right.
Economics is theory while ‘personal finance’ (or whatever you want to call coursework that would teach kids how to manage their money) is real-world practical application.
#180 They have not bottomed in our area yet. Still have a ways to go, but we will get there.
Shump actually they have been fairly in line with some of the recent comps.I’m not trying to get tomorow’s price but getting some of these folks to come down to today’s reality is even difficult. I agree, I have called her bluff a few times, just want to keep my dog.
#183 Wife is at the end of her rope!
No offense, but tell her to get over it. Don’t be forced into doing anything. She will get over it.
“I agree, I have called her bluff a few times, just want to keep my dog.”
I’m sorry but I loled
#187 they are predicting a 6% decline from now through Nov 2013.
That appears to be quite low.
#190 Limits my exposure to random bouts of b1tching.
Don’t put up with that nonsense. Or tell her to get a job, or another job, if she only has one,and wants a house so much.
“Y = C + I + G
Ben, you forgot to add NX.
Why is this wrong.”
because, when you look at the macroeconomy from this perspective, the best possible outcome is when you or the government is spending 99.99999999% of your money.
#207Can’t get tomorrow’s price today.
True. But it sure seems to be taking longer than I would have thought. Than again gov’t manipulation of the market and all. Without that it would have completely crashed over a year ago.
You know that a term is gaining traction when your wife starts using it.
From an email she sent me today with a listing for land in New Hampshire:
“Here is a good nompound:-)
98 acres near [redacted]”
FWIW, she never showed any interest in nompounds until recently, when she disclosed that, were my job situation more stable, she’d be interested in rural land.
“the first issue at hand is that they think economics in its current form is a science.”
“hyde, i dont know who ‘they’ are but i dont get that impression.
i was always taught that it wasnt a complete science but it did get very scientific and mathematical starting in the 1950s.
But there has been alot of work done with psychology and economics and even keynes talked alot about animal spirits and confidence and the mental/emotional/social aspects of economics. Also can be described as an art or tool of politics.”
Hyde/Veto. I am a scientist. Nearly 99.999% of macroeconomic theory in the past 50 years would qualify more towards religion than science. They are mathematicians who construct models based on ridiculous assumptions and every model they have designed has been an utter failure. Macroeconomics is a junk science and the fact that the mainstream economists like Krugman, Delong, Stiglitz, and everyone at the University of Chicago consistently ignore predictions and observations by Economists (Marc Faber, Eric Sprott, Eric Janzen, etc…) that have consistently called the market 100% for the past 10 years using the theories of Hayek and Mises shows how dishonest the profession of economics truly is. It would be the equivalent of today’s physicists ignoring Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Chifi, I will exploit any money making opportunity. Weirdist one is last year I have like 10 GMAC cusips I check screen every day for 1-4k pieces trading cheap. I buy when they pop up to create nice big round lots,
chicagofinance says:
February 3, 2010 at 4:30 pm
191.scribe, The Princess of Paramus says:
February 3, 2010 at 3:21 pm
John, I’m serious. I feel a story stirring.
scribe: the story should start “……makes a bet on a bond insurer and whether it will pay the next coupon…wins bet and comes to the Downtown Capital Grille to collect a beer…”
Title? How an ex-Jock from the Bronx became a Big 4 CPA, a Bond Vigilante, and raconteur to the Blogging Masses.
Give me 14% or give me death!
[222] John,
“How an ex-Jock from the Bronx became a Big 4 CPA, a Bond Vigilante, and raconteur to the Blogging Masses.”
Not to mention the inspiration for the Dos Equis’ ad featuring THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD!
re: #222 - not to mention King of the Onion Dunk.
If I can get John to sit still for an in-person interview, I could publish it here, complete with cell phone pix.
Grim could charge via a micro-payment.
John?
You game?
SAS. Now there’s an interview I’d pay to read.
Speaking of sas,
sas, I still want to market you.
call me, dude
If you are who you say you are, you already know how to find me :)
how’s this ..
live blogging John …
I’ll pose the Q’s and post the A’s …while chifi snaps pix via cellphone …
Scribe,
im not going to say anything bad about John but i would make sure there is someone else in the room when you are interviewing him.
also, do you have mace?
or a taser?
If you ask him about ‘call features’ he might mistake that as a come-on and hump your leg.
Veto,
Not to worry.
I’ll bring sas.
He has everything.
Clot,
Memphis blues.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338504575041713093913680.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEFifthNews
SAS,
Whats your take on Iran and this Feb 11th gig.
Moody’s Investors Service fired off a warning on Wednesday that the triple A sovereign credit rating of the US would come under pressure unless economic growth was more robust than expected or tougher actions were taken to tackle the country’s budget deficit.
229.Veto That says:
February 3, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Scribe,
im not going to say anything bad about John but i would make sure there is someone else in the room when you are interviewing him.
also, do you have mace?
Mace? At Capital Grille? Just toss some Worcestershire Sauce in his eyes….
Justin
good luck with that
pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/files/2009/04/obamadebt.jpg
Yo’ albani: Ben and me are officially in a Blood Feud based on the Kanuni…….Based on his spoken word, he is a laborer of evil.
If he leaves his house in the next 24 hours, I will send farm animals to maul him.
221.Ben says:
February 3, 2010 at 4:52 pm
“the first issue at hand is that they think economics in its current form is a science.”
“hyde, i dont know who ‘they’ are but i dont get that impression.
i was always taught that it wasnt a complete science but it did get very scientific and mathematical starting in the 1950s.
But there has been alot of work done with psychology and economics and even keynes talked alot about animal spirits and confidence and the mental/emotional/social aspects of economics. Also can be described as an art or tool of politics.”
Hyde/Veto. I am a scientist. Nearly 99.999% of macroeconomic theory in the past 50 years would qualify more towards religion than science. They are mathematicians who construct models based on ridiculous assumptions and every model they have designed has been an utter failure. Macroeconomics is a junk science and the fact that the mainstream economists like Krugman, Delong, Stiglitz, and everyone at the University of Chicago consistently ignore predictions and observations by Economists (Marc Faber, Eric Sprott, Eric Janzen, etc…) that have consistently called the market 100% for the past 10 years using the theories of Hayek and Mises shows how dishonest the profession of economics truly is. It would be the equivalent of today’s physicists ignoring Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Ulqin Albani: the wife and I hit Samvera….she had a very well poured Tanqueray martini straight-up no vermouth with olives……
A property round the corner from me just sold for a few K less than their 2005 purchase. While it blows my tax appeal out of the water, it gives me a nice comp for the area. This would put me back up to around 10% off the peak for this place. If I got that price tomorrow, it would be about a 25% return on my DP after commissions.
Puts a smile on my face.
98 acres near [redacted]
Well that took about 15s to find.
Pain-
Want the wife out of your hair? Have Tosh befriend her on facebook.
Corporation Says It Will Run for Congress
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/corporation-says-it-will-run-for-congress/
@241 - ouch!
Sometimes I wonder if the NJ ed system IS better for all the taxes one pays. …and then I read comments like:
“algebra and geometry.
I have never - for a lifetime - understood why ALL of us were forced to suffer through those.
What’s the point?”
and
“Economics has nothing whatsoever to do with personal finance.”
and I think, maybe not.
239 PGC - Did it sell after 10/1/09? If so it blows your next year’s appeal out of the water. This one might still be viable.
relo (232)-
One of a gazillion shit deals put together all over the US by groups of individual investors doing 1031 deals.
I went to elementary school about 100 yards away from that office building.
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New Jersey Business News
Latest local and international economic news, market & financial reports
Real-time news »
N.J. loses $70B in wealth over four years as residents leave state at brisk pace
By Leslie Kwoh/The Star-Ledger
February 03, 2010, 8:10PM
More than $70 billion in wealth left New Jersey between 2004 and 2008 as affluent residents moved elsewhere, according to a report released Wednesday that marks a swift reversal of fortune for a state once considered the nation’s wealthiest.
Conducted by the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, the report found wealthy households in New Jersey were leaving for other states — mainly Florida, Pennsylvania and New York — at a faster rate than they were being replaced.
“The wealth is not being replaced,” said John Havens, who directed the study. “It’s above and beyond the general trend that is affecting the rest of the northeast.”
This was not always the case. The study – the first on interstate wealth migration in the country — noted the state actually saw an influx of $98 billion in the five years preceding 2004. The exodus of wealth, then, local experts and economists concluded, was a reaction to a series of changes in the state’s tax structure — including increases in the income, sales, property and “millionaire” taxes.
nj-wealth-dennis-bone.JPGJOHN O’BOYLE/THE STAR-LEDGERDennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey, inside his Newark office in 2004.
“This study makes it crystal clear that New Jersey’s tax policies are resulting in a significant decline in the state’s wealth,” said Dennis Bone, chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and president of Verizon New Jersey.
The Boston College report is the first on interstate wealth migration in the country. Wealth includes assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds, 401ks, mutual funds and vehicles.
The report was commissioned by the state Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of New Jersey to study the effects of wealth migration on charitable giving after executives noticed more affluent philanthropists were moving away.
But economists say there are many other implications for the state’s financial health.
Wealthy residents are a key driver for everything from job creation and consumer spending to the real estate market and the state budget, said Jim Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. In New Jersey, the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay more than 40 percent of the state’s income tax, he said.
“That’s probably why we have these massive income shortfalls in the state budget, especially this year,” he said.
Until the tax structure is improved, he said, “we’ll probably see a continuation of the trend, until there are no more high-wealth individuals left.”
He added the report reinforces findings from a similar study he conducted in 2007 with fellow Rutgers professor Joseph Seneca, which found a sharp acceleration in residents leaving the state. That report, which focused on income rather than wealth, found the state lost nearly $8 billion in gross income in 2005.
Findings from the report show that about 302,780 households left New Jersey between 2004 and 2008, only slightly lower than the 323,350 households that moved into the state. However, the average net worth of the departing households was about 70 percent higher, at $618,330.
Those who left were also more likely to be older and more educated, with jobs as entrepreneurs or in the finance and professional industries, the study found. Those replacing them tended to hold management or support jobs in the manufacturing industry. The study analyzed data from three main sources: The Federal Reserve’s Survey on Consumer Finances, the Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service.
Experts pointed to a wealth of anecdotal evidence to support the numbers. Ken Hydock, a certified public accountant with Sobel and Company in Livingston, said in this 30-year-career he’s never seen so many of his wealthy clients leave for states like Florida, where property taxes are lower and there is no personal income or estate tax. In New Jersey, residents pay an estate tax if their assets amount to more than $675,000. That’s compared to a $3.5 million federal exemption for 2009.
Several years ago, he recalled, one of his clients stood to make $60 million from stock options in a company that was being acquired by another. Before he cashed out, however, the client put his home up for sale, moved to Las Vegas, and “never stepped foot back in New Jersey again,” Hydock said.
“He avoided paying about $6 million in taxes,” he said. “He passed away two years later and also saved a huge estate tax, so he probably saved $7 million.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration said the report is just another reminder of the difficult tasks ahead.
“It’s the consequence that we’ve been talking about for so long, of the spending and taxing habits that we’ve all experienced,” said Mike Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie. “It’s the sort of thing that we feel the need to stop so we can get New Jersey back on a prosperous path.”
Staff reporter Lisa Fleisher contributed to this report
Related coverage:
Rutgers University economists say it could take seven years to recover from recession
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learn3drive
Posted by learn3drive
February 03, 2010, 8:09PM
Well, just tax the remaining rich folk. And if there isn’t enough revenue, then lower the definition of “rich”. Eventually our goal will be met, and we will all be lower class except for the politically connected.
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steveb1969
Posted by steveb1969
February 03, 2010, 9:40PM
Last one out of NJ, turn off the lights!
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corzinejerky
Posted by corzinejerky
February 03, 2010, 8:29PM
This is all that jerk Bearded Buffoon’s fault. He was the gov the last four years and he let this happen on his watch.
He helped no one in NJ except his girlfriend and people in union. He should be brought up on charges for being an incompetent buffoon. Where’s the law when we need it??
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drlg25
Posted by ed
February 03, 2010, 8:33PM
I have been saying this for years. The house of cards is about to fall. Maybe Jon Shure can continue his rant to tax the wealthy. Maybe we can continue the crazy pension system in the country. Maybe we can continue to keep useless County government. We need to have real jobs for real people. Save us Christie
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drlg25
Posted by ed
February 03, 2010, 8:35PM
PS South Carolina her I come. I am tired of paying pensions for hundreds of Police chiefs,fireman,school supers and county execs. I can’t wait to go.
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nephewplease
Posted by nephewplease
February 03, 2010, 8:36PM
Could you please provide us with a plan for ridding the state of the poor and keeping the middle class and rich.. I’m so tired of working to pay for generation after generation of people on the public dole. Let some other enjoy them for a little while. Its not fair that we hog them.
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Ephemeraz
Posted by Napier1
February 03, 2010, 8:38PM
Damn! I cannot wait until retirement allows me to do the same!!! Just a couple of more years. My needs are few, a small house with enough fenced back yard to share with 3 dogs. No “adult community living” for me, and goodbye to the ever-growing tax and insurance bills. Love you, NJ, but you don’t love me.
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WantedforFraud
Posted by Wanted for Fraud: Fannie Mae’s Pimp
February 03, 2010, 8:39PM
Tings in NJ theem pwetty good to me: In fact, Demokwattic wending pwactices have made weal estate pwices tho depwessed wight now, and dwopping maw and maw each day, that thoon each and ev-wee house in New Jersey will be EXTWEEMLY affawdable, even to the av-widge buyer, if I do thay tho mythelf!
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TrollsAreFun
Posted by TrollsAreFun
February 03, 2010, 9:41PM
Outrageous! Start a blog! Haven’t laughed this hard in a while.
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30-378mag
Posted by 30-378mag
February 03, 2010, 8:40PM
And this is supposed to be a surprise? Keep raping the ones who work for their money and giving it to the ones who don’t work for their money and this is what happens. Like our state keeps getting worse so does the country! Obama will put us all in the poor house!!!
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whanright
Posted by ogpbill
February 03, 2010, 8:42PM
Now if they made these people who leave place an orange sticker on thier license plate, then we could stop them before they escape.
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illhavemine
Posted by illhavemine
February 03, 2010, 8:47PM
Start consolidating…There are 21 counties in this state why is there over 600 school districts? Each district having it’s own board of education that acts autonomosly. Each district has a superintendent and assistant superintendents and business officers and their assistants, with most making over 100K a year. This is nuts. Now go to public union employees including teachers and administrators have them all start contributing for their healthcare. Get the retirees to contribute for their healthcare, the free healthcare for them and their dependants for life is ludicrous. Do away with patronage jobs, stop the judicial and legislature employees from working two or more jobs. Sick days and vacation days should not be allowed to accumulate. Use them or lose them. Nothing in this State should be grandfathered. How’s that just for a start….
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mattinnj
Posted by mattinnj
February 03, 2010, 9:45PM
We are obviously wasting our money on education if that is the best paragraph you can write illhavemine. I agree with your post!
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talkiseasy
Posted by talkiseasy
February 03, 2010, 8:51PM
This statement was great - Until the tax structure is improved, he said, “we”ll probably see a continuation of the trend, until there are no more high-wealth individuals left.”
Uh, do you really think all the rest of the middle and lower income folks will be able to stay? I always said just the opposite, that only the rich will remain as nobody else will be able to afford to pay the taxes.
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Manville56
Posted by Manville56
February 03, 2010, 8:51PM
I have a small home in Montclair, but the taxes, including 1000 a year to the sewer authority, are driving me out. The teachers and police may want more, but who will be left to give it to them?
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overboard1
Posted by overboard1
February 03, 2010, 8:56PM
Anyone that has a clue, knows that the “Rich-Guys” are the ones who keep an economy and job market healthy while they amass their wealth and expand their industries. Corzine and his shills used class warfare and the powers of the rubber-stamp state legislature to seize wealth and redistribute it. This Progressive Marxist agenda has been proven time and again, to destroy any chance at economic growth that might benefit all classes with jobs, business opportunities and tax revenues.
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kavork
Posted by kavork
February 03, 2010, 8:56PM
Florida here I come 8 months to go see ya suckers
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vinmega
Posted by vinmega
February 03, 2010, 8:59PM
This proves my point that pretty soon the only people who live in NJ are the state workers and recipients of public assistance.
The tax policies have driven so many people from NJ, that other states ADVERTISE ON THE TURNPIKE!!!
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libertyanew
Posted by libertyanew
February 03, 2010, 9:12PM
I am looking forward to watching TV this summer when the NJ self serving Senators make fools of themselves during the budget debate. Last year the Senatoirs talked about all the high income companies and individuals moving into NJ. Self servers alway make up the truth and the laws as they go along.
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dagesq
Posted by dagesq
February 03, 2010, 9:26PM
Spot on, dude.
Remember when Corslime claimed in the debates that he just brought in thousands of hi-tech jobs to NJ? What a bald-faced liar.
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I need some advice. We have made an offer (accepted) on a condo and are in attorney review - we have just been advised of our parking spot and it is a compact spot - 16×7.6 feet long - right by the opening and a minivan (16′ 10″) would protrude 1 foot into the opening - all the other spots are full-size 18×8.6- the spots were assigned first come first serve basis however we were not advised when we made the offer that one of the spots is smaller than the rest - while we do not yet have a car we do have 2 kids and plan to get a minivan or suv - should we pull out of the sale - we may be able to get by with a smaller vehicle but i suspect it will impact the resale value - the condo is a 3 bedroom - so we would expect just families (with large cars) to buy - should we walk away or negotiate a reduction in price and if so how much - the condo is over 750k
“the condo is over 750k”
Ask for small parking spot discount immediately.
aka $100K reduction.
Make sure you are buying for 2002-2003 prices or you will be sorry you ever bought that overpriced pile of styrofoam.
wait until you receive the maintenance
increases.
750k townhouse, insane i pass this is a big mistake.
244 is one of those types who can talk for hours on EMT and supply curves but can’t balance his own checkbook.