NJ gains jobs in November

From the Star Ledger:

N.J. unemployment rate falls to lowest since 2008

New Jersey added 6,700 jobs in November fueled by employment gains in the private sector, according to preliminary federal labor data released today, and the state’s unemployment rate also dropped to 6.4 percent.

That’s the lowest unemployment rate in the state since October 2008, data shows, though the number of jobs in the state still remains below the pre-recession peak.

The largest job gains in November were in construction, which added 5,200 jobs, and trade, transportation and utilities, which tacked on 3,300 jobs. There were also 2,200 jobs added in the professional and business services sector.

At the same time, the education and health services sector shed 4,100 jobs and 1,500 jobs were lost in the leisure and hospitality field.

Overall, the state gained 6,700 jobs last month, pushing the total number of jobs in the state to nearly 3.96 million. That’s still down from a peak of 4.09 million in January 2008.

A forecast released earlier this week by a Rutgers University economist predicted the state wouldn’t reach that peak until mid-2017, though the nation had already surpassed its peak.

The unemployment rate dropped to 6.4 percent in November, from 6.6 percent the previous month. That’s the lowest rate in six years, according to federal data.

The data released today also revised October’s jobs numbers. The state lost 3,500 jobs that month, according to the updated data, rather than 4,500 jobs.

This entry was posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

122 Responses to NJ gains jobs in November

  1. Comrade Nom Deplume, at Peace With The Trolls says:

    Frist!

  2. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    drat.

  3. Ottoman says:

    So the witness in Ferguson who claimed Brown charged the officer like a football player–a phrase repeated over and over in the news has a history of using the N word all over social media and was exposed by the police in 2007 for making up testimony in another case in which she wasn’t involved.

    She also changed her story as to why she was in Ferguson that day–originally claiming she was going to see her sister, then said she was there to see if she could find black people doing good things–don’t laugh, that is actually her story.

    Yet all of the actual black witnesses, documented as present at the scene, who said Brown had his hands up were dismissed as not credible. And her testimony was given to the grand jury with no caveats. That’s white privilege.

    Wonder if there will be any introspection here on this revelation. Then again, Grim thinks grand juries try actual cases, and the justice system is fair to minorities, so the intellect for such an endeavor is obviously lacking.

  4. Toxic Crayons says:

    Where’s Anon? Will he heap the same praise on Governor Christie that he does on Obama?

  5. Toxic Crayons says:

    3 – Where were you I posted that like 3 days ago…

  6. Toxic Crayons says:

    BTW, this was in the North Jersey article, they say the jump in jobs numbers is because of a recovery in home building.

    http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-adds-6-700-jobs-in-november-biggest-jump-since-june-1.1165446

    The largest November gain came in construction, which added 5,200 jobs, turning a loss of 3,600 jobs for the rest of the year, to a gain of 1,600 jobs for 2014 to date. Earlier in the week, before the November figures were released, economists questioned the veracity of the construction figures, suggesting they may later be revised, given that they showed construction employment falling even as home building in the state was at the fastest rate since 2006.

    The surge in construction jobs reflects the recovery in home building, which is on track for its strongest year since 2006. Builders are expected to start about 27,000 housing units in New Jersey this year. While that’s still below the long-term averages of above 30,000 a year, it’s more than double the annual averages around 13,000 in the depths of the housing crash.

    With fewer households able to qualify for mortgages, demand for rentals has powered the rebound. About 60 percent of the home construction in the state this year has been multi-family, led by new apartment buildings in Bergen and Hudson counties.

  7. All Hype says:

    Ottoman (3):
    Congradulations, you are now geting a peek into the life as an ADA. Everyone lies about everything when it comes to criminal cases; Perps, victims and witnesses. That is why the physical evidence of the patron saint assaulting the police officer in the car was the lynch pin for him not getting indicted. Not to mention the other evidence of the police officer backing up while shooting at the charging angel.

    I know a few ADAs and they all said this case is pretty standard for witness testimony.

  8. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [3] Ottoman – you make a strong point. Maybe you missed my alternative theory of the shooting the other day:

    Wilson: “Hands up and turn around. Good. Now here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to shoot you twice, you will then take three steps toward me and stop while I take a few steps backward and stop. I will then shoot you two more times and we’re just going to repeat that a couple times until you fall forward and then I’m going to shoot you twice in the head as you finally fall forward. Those are going to be the toughest shots for me, because those will be the only shots I’m taking while you’re moving, but I’ve been practicing at the range, so I think I have this. We should be able to wrap this up in about 22 feet which will be easily proven by the blood on the ground that will end up 22 feet behind you dripping right now. We’ll be able to show that I’m moving backwards too because several of my shell casings will also end up behind you. Oh one more thing, when you do fall dead on your face could you please try to kick both feet up in the air so we can fool some of those witnesses over there into thinking you were charging me at speed? Great. Let’s get started.”

  9. Toxic Crayons says:

    At least one witness agreed with Wilson (Witness 40?), the one who said Brown ran toward the officer “full charge.” Those who testified that Brown already had been wounded said the charge was more like a wounded stagger.
    “He was going down definitely,” said the witness watching from the balcony. “And, the officer just let out a few more rounds to him and he hit the ground and that’s when I seen blood.” (volume 7, page 21)
    As he was taking small steps “like he was stumbling,” the officer “lets out some more shots and that’s when he hit the ground,” the witness testified.
    Another witness said Brown made it about 25 to 30 feet when he turned to face the officer, who had exited his vehicle by then, and Brown raised his hands, “but he didn’t raise them all the way up.”
    As Wilson yelled “stop,” Brown took two to three steps forward and “pow, pow,” the witness said in a police statement that was read aloud to the grand jury.
    Wilson staggered forward with the “weirdest look on his face,” the witness told police — not a menacing look, but “like he’s coming to him like to plea with him stop.”
    Wilson continued yelling “stop,” but Brown stumbled forward “real slowly,” hunched forward and rocking back and forth as if he were in pain.
    Wilson fired again, the witness said. “And as he was going, he kept firing. He kept firing. Until he hit the ground.”
    That last set of rounds was what set off everyone who was watching, the witness said. Brown was already down. Did Wilson have to keep shooting?
    “He was, to me and I’m going to say it, he was executed,” the witness said of Brown. “Maybe he got caught up in the heat of the moment or whatever was his intention I cannot read that officer’s mind, but he did not have to fire that last volley.”

  10. Toxic Crayons says:

    Did any of the witnesses testify that Brown was doing a “football” style fast charge other than witness 40 or Darren Wilson?

  11. Xolepa says:

    (7,9,10,11,etc. blah, blah, blah) Get over it, guys. You’re boring me. Next subject, please.

    How’s everyone’s 401k for the year?

  12. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Here’s your complimentary Michael Brown evidence and testimony chart, all on one page:

    http://i.imgur.com/enZF3pw.png

  13. The Great Pumpkin says:

    If you care so much, go get a job as a teacher in Paterson. I will bet everything I have that none of the individuals attacking teachers would take the job up because the pay is beneath them. I could picture clot trying to deal with teaching the youth of the ghetto for 70,000…..not.

    Liquor Luge says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:02 am
    Is our children learning?

    http://news.yahoo.com/misspelled-sign-paterson-nj-school-principal-141949588.html

  14. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Yep.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/ferguson-witnesses/

    Did any of the witnesses testify that Brown was doing a “football” style fast charge other than witness 40 or Darren Wilson?

  15. grim says:

    Why exactly should we give a criminal who robbed a store and assaulted the owner the benefit of the doubt here? I’m not saying robbery and assault are crimes punishable by death, but this speaks strongly to Michael Brown’s character. This wasn’t a shoplift, this was an egregious and deliberate open robbery, and when confronted and attempted to be stopped, he clearly appeared to aggress towards the shop keeper in a way that I might imagine similar to how he aggressed towards the police officer.

    Or do you expect me to believe this was an isolated incident? It just so happens that Michael Brown has amazingly bad luck that his only and first crime just so happened to take place that morning? Just so happened? An out-of-character, momentary indiscretion from an otherwise upstanding young man? Right.

  16. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Wait till you see your 401k in 5 years. Winning!

    Xolepa says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:24 am
    (7,9,10,11,etc. blah, blah, blah) Get over it, guys. You’re boring me. Next subject, please.

    How’s everyone’s 401k for the year?

  17. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Don’t forget about wall st sticking their greedy tentacles all over the pension fund. But continue to attack the worker for the pension problems.

    “And finally, management and performance fees are absurd – New Jersey’s $80 billion pension fund spent $400 million in fees for 2013 alone — but those are on par with what other states spend, and the investors will defend to the death that the return is worth it.”

    http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/12/if_mrs_christies_job_is_a_quid_pro_quo_they_disguise_it_well_editorial.html#incart_river

  18. The Great Pumpkin says:

    18- Comment from that article…..follow the money.

    “As someone who has worked on Wall Street the illiquid theory is highly unlikely unless they invested in something so volatile that no one in their right mind would invest in it. Examples are some infrastructure bonds in the third world or as the street calls it “emerging markets” . Even these have eager buyers like Paul Singer’s vulture funds which have made millions of these investments (look at the Argentina fiasco) . Also given Christie’s track record I find it highly unlikely that Christie was in the dark about this conflict of interest. Furthermore given the state’s recent credit downgrades which I believe were orchestrated by the Christie regime. Why? because it will benefit Mary Pat and her Wall Street investment bankers enormously as they will make hundreds of millions in higher interest rates. NJ’s taxpayers will be stuck with the bill and Christie will probably get a cushy no show Board of Directors job for these firms after he leaves office.”

  19. The Great Pumpkin says:

    18- “As tempting as this fruit is, I am more interested in learning how they are benefiting from NJ bonds, both local and state. Especially seeing as she was a VP at Cantor Fitzgerald at the time Chris decided to hogtie municipal budgets and cut funding, which forced them to use more and more bonds.”

  20. Liquor Luge says:

    If they didn’t nail Corslime and Orin Kramer on their way out the door (after Kramer bought MER all the way into the crash), they ain’t gonna look at Fat Boy and his crew.

    All politicians. All crooks. No difference between parties. BAAAH, you stupid sheep.

  21. Toxic Crayons says:

    16 – I’m just interested in knowing whether or not the bullets entered his head because he was shot as he charged or as he fell. And was he running or was he walking. Just for my own curiosity. I don’t think it’s knowable with any certainty, just probable one way or the other.

    I don’t dispute that he had criminal intent, and I believe that he went for Wilson’s gun during the struggle in the police car….the forensic evidence supports this. No one should feel sorry for Brown after going for a police officers gun.

    But like Xolpea said, it’s pretty boring to most folks…and not worth discussing I guess.

  22. jcer says:

    Brown was a criminal and pretty much this ending was inevitable either the police or some other low life would have offed him at some point soon. Not terribly interesting, a puff piece of national sensationalism promoted by our narcissistic, race baiting president.

  23. NJLawman says:

    [16] Grim
    Why exactly should we give a criminal who robbed a store and assaulted the owner the benefit of the doubt here? I’m not saying robbery and assault are crimes punishable by death, but this speaks strongly to Michael Brown’s character.

    This is precisely why extraneous evidence about character is often inadmissible in a jury trial. It is very easy to prejudice a jury with “character” evidence such as the video of Mr. Brown in the store. What Mr. Brown had or had not done previously explains NOTHING about the shooting. It is by definition, not relevant.

    Similarly, you cannot try to establish that a rape victim was a slut before she was raped. Its so highly prejudicial, and low in relevance, that it will not be helpful to a jury. The fact is sluts can get raped, and thugs can be murdered. Establishing that they are a slut or thug, does not justify, explain or have any relevance to the crime committed against them.

    [16] Grim
    An out-of-character, momentary indiscretion from an otherwise upstanding young man?

    How on earth do you know this is NOT true. The fact is, you don’t.

  24. NJGator says:

    Luge (8) – No. In our blue ribbony distict, my son’s 4th grade social studies teacher misspelled Canada on his last test. Should I forgive her because she is a maternity leave fill in and is probably no more than 12?

  25. Grim says:

    And if you haven’t listened to the Serial podcast on NPR I recommend it. Very well done.

  26. phoenix says:

    25 Which one?

  27. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [25] My 12 year old wrote a review of it for her HS paper. I’m only up to about ep 4.

  28. Liquor Luge says:

    Gator (24)-

    The ignorant teaching the ignorant is the goal TPTB have been seeking for decades.

    It has now come to pass. If our kids grow up ignorant and stupid, we have only ourselves to blame for outsourcing their intellectual development.

  29. grim says:

    Kudos to Koenig and NPR for nailing the first “binge listen” audio series.

  30. phoenix says:

    Thanks

  31. Liquor Luge says:

    Surprised no comments on Fed indication that it will adhere to ZIRP until the extinction event occurs.

  32. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I find it humorous that in this iPod tutorial they explain several ways to listen to an podcast. Interestingly, not one of the podcast listening methods mentioned is loading the podcast on an actual iPod using iTunes.

    http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen

  33. NJGator says:

    Mikey – I’ll bite on your pension comments from yesterday. You’re citing averages, but remember, those numbers are driven down by all the part timers that are allowed to collect a pension as well. Historically, as long as you’ve earned as little as $1500 for the year you were able to get credited for a full year of service in the system.

    Don’t cry for the retired teachers. Lil Gator’s Kindergarten teacher is collecting a pension of $69k/year in her retirement. How long is it going to take for her working younger colleagues to even earn that much in regular salary? Maybe we could pay teachers better if our pension system weren’t such an f’ed up scam.

    And for those of you who have forgotten, “retired” former Montclair superintendent Frank Alvarez is pocketing a pension of over $123k while drawing a FT salary in the Rye, NY school system for well north of $250k/year. He “retired” before his Montclair contract ended. People here like to blame it on fat man’s salary cap and the PARCC (everything bad is the fault of the PARCC), but he really left to give himself a $150k/year raise on the backs on the NJ taxpayers.

  34. The Great Pumpkin says:

    34- How many part time employees are there? There can’t be that many part timers to have a dramatic effect on the avg. I don’t even think 1% of their workforce is part-time, but I didn’t look at the stats, just going off the top of my head. How many part time workers do you know working in education? I honestly don’t know any. There might be some part time gigs on the state level used by the double dippers and connected to get benefits, but I don’t think there are too many commoners working part time for the govt.

  35. The Great Pumpkin says:

    34- Also, how long was the kindergarten teacher working there? Had to be over 40 years and how many teachers actually stay that long? Most teachers are young. The job has one of the highest turnover rates out there.

  36. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    IMO there is no more perfect mobile audio listening device than an iPod shuffle. Because it’s screenless, tactile, with voice-over you can navigate it eyes free in the car, inside a shirt pocket, even inside a cycling jersey back pocket and will play for 18 continuous hours on a very short recharge. My favorite complement is the Sony MDR-Q68 double retractable clip on headphones as you never have a tangle and you can make the cord to the iPod any length you want (6 inches to clip on a t-shirt, 10 inches for a shirt pocket, 0 inches to hang the nearly weightless shuffle like an earring, a couple feet for a jersey pocket, etc.)

  37. The Great Pumpkin says:

    34- Also, the superintendents are the politicians. Don’t use them as an example to bash govt workers. Police chiefs and superintendents are not workers. They are politically connected people who take advantage of the connections to take advantage of the tax payer. How many people get to be chief or superintendent? They get these special perks that the govt workers take the heat for when people find out. What does a govt worker have to do with a superintendents salary or chief of police salary? Nothing. That’s like picking on the wall mart worker for the ceo’s extravagant pay. Not fair at all.

  38. JJ says:

    OK I have a Real Estate Question and want everyone’s opinion.

    The question is what is the discount for “Garden Apts”?

    The condo below me sold yesterday and it is a “ranch style” garden apt.

    My condo is a “three story” condo. All units pay exact same maint and around the same property tax. They build the building where all units are around 1,200 square feet.

    So “garden” apts are one level condos all on one level that are four steps down from street level and have a patio that is also four steps down, kinda like a rail around it and a brick patio.

    Upper condos are also 1,200 square duplex condos that are 8 steps up to first level and and then once inside a stair case to bedrooms upstairs. Each level is 600 square feet.

    Some folks claim the lower units are nice as rare to have a 1,200 square foot one level condo and no steps inside to deal with and claim heating and AC are pretty good as being around four feet below ground with a heated condo above you helps lower bill.

    If you had choice of the two identical units which would you pick and would you pay extra for upper.

    Now how does Sandy factor in? Building never flooded in 50 years BUT in Sandy there was around 2 feet of water at base of building which ment almost six feet in these units. The upper units did not have one drop of water, the lowers are all fixed. But would you want a sandy discount?

    So on two identical condos ranch style four feet below grade or duplex four feet above grade what if any discount would you give for lower unit

  39. Libturd in Union says:

    Thanks Gator.

    Being as honest and unbiased as I can possibly be, I do see the pension and benefits of public workers as Christie does. One need only peruse the PERS sight and read the pension and benefits documents to see how outrageous they are. Yes, it would be great if we all could get on a similar plan in the private sector. And yes, I believe the income gap is a problem too. But the the government that so many of you hear support and cheerlead have enabled both situations. To get the union endorsement and the executive campaign financing. The problem is that, those who are not highly compensated (the middle class) are being forced to pay for both, which is resulting in the continued elimination of the middle class. Forget what each party supports. Think for yourselves for one damn bloody minute.

    As for the teacher compensation argument, I agree that they should be paid fairly. It’s not an easy job, but it does have benefits like no other career. Summers off. The shortest work year of any profession. It’s infinitely rewarding and teachers are incredibly respected in their community. Unless of course, you stupidly equate compensation to respect (a common mistake of the progressives). And if that’s the case, then how do you explain the lack of respect for lawyers (sorry Nom). Call it anecdotal, but my town has a very good school system. The teachers are paid pretty well. Regardless, I would estimate that over half of the students in my kids 4th grade class attend Kumon or other tutoring services. This is pathetic if you ask me, but might explain why the kids perform as well as they do on standardized tests and I imagine the same thing occurs in Short Hills/Millburn, etc. And if you saw my son’s current teacher and the loads of barely educational busy work he assigns for homework each night, it would drive you crazy. But you think that if we doubled his salary, it would attract better educators? I don’t feel it would. Those who choose to teach do it because thy want to teach. Many of my college friends have gone on to teach. My mother was a teacher. As a manager of over thirty reports, I am a teacher too. I love doing it. It’s extremely gratifying. But paying me more won’t me better at it. Nor would it drive better people to do it.

    Back to work. Too busy. And the market rallies on.

  40. Anon E. Moose says:

    Luge [21];

    John Corsine not indicted by the Feds for Securities law violations? Color me shocked.

  41. Libturd in Union says:

    Man I gotta proofread. Sorry for that mess of grammar. Just too busy.

  42. All Hype says:

    “Surprised no comments on Fed indication that it will adhere to ZIRP until the extinction event occurs.”

    Clot, at this point there is no need for extensive comments. All we can do now is buy lots of guns and ammo. Some Mormon survival supplies wouldn’t hurt either.

    http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_3074457345616706237_-1_N_image_0

  43. NJGator says:

    Mikey (36) – Forget about how long she worked there….the reality is in many cases we are paying people more to not work than we are paying people who work. That is NOT sustainable.

    And yes, she was there about 35 years. But in reality, once many teachers are tenured they aren’t leaving, unless they move to a higher paying administrative job in another district. And even if they do move to another district, it’s a statewide pension system and their credits are portable, so it’s not uncommon for a teacher or administrator of retirement age to retire with 35-40 years of credit. And let’s not forget those who are taking early retirement at 55 with significant credit. We can be paying large pensions to these folks for 30+ years in many cases.

    And anecdotally the other thing I have seen numerous times in both public school districts my son has attended is interim administrator positions being filled by “retired” administrators. Almost every principal or central office fill-in is someone who is collecting a huge pension plus getting a huge per-diem rate in these sweetheart deals. Why are we paying pensions, plus pay checks to these people. You are either retired from state employ or you’re not.

  44. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I’d say 2nd floor trumps 1st floor, and I would pay more for upper. If the first floor was right at ground level it would have more senior appeal or infant appeal, but 4 steps down makes it a basement and not that convenient for seniors or those carrying babies. When our first-born was born over a decade ago we lived in beautiful 1200 sf apartment overlooking a Marina on the 9th of 10 floors. 2BR, 2 Full Bath with a balcony that ran from the living room to the MBR, slider access in both rooms. That place was hella convenient as there wasn’t a single step up or down to get from the outdoor parking lot to our 9th floor apartment. You could just pop the infant car seat in the stroller, load a couple bags of groceries in the bottom of the stroller and just wheel into the lobby (through a big electric sliding door with key fob access), press the elevator button and you were done. The only door you opened was your own front door. The complex also used to keep a couple shopping carts in a room off the lobby, so you could grab one of those if you did a big grocery shop and get everything upstairs in one trip. Stairs are a minus, Views are a plus. That place had no stairs and great water views, win-win. It sounds like the all-on-one-level units below you have stairs and no views, lose-lose, not to mention Sandy being so recent in people’s memory, so that would be lose-lose-lose in my book for a close to the water beach property.

    If you had choice of the two identical units which would you pick and would you pay extra for upper.

  45. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Fair enough. I’m the type of person that roots for the underdog. It’s just my nature. When this recession hit in 2008, it boiled my blood to see so many people go on the attack of regular workers. Demanding that they pick up the slack for the workers being laid off, while not seeing any type of raise for the increased productivity. So the management tells the worker to be happy you have a job, while the management makes off big time by looking like a hero for cutting costs and increasing productivity. The management then watches their stock portfolio increase from 2009 till who knows when, since this rally is only getting started. The worker is getting crapped on like no tomorrow.

    2010-2012 was so annoying. I call this the era of politicians attacking govt workers for power grabs. The politicians were the ones abusing the system, but somehow managed to divert the spot light onto the regular worker. It worked beautifully. You couldn’t find one person not attacking a teacher or govt worker between 2010-2012. I was not dumb enough to fall for it. It boiled my blood that politicians were sacrificing the worker for a power grab and the public was eating it up. But I guess it’s like this….don’t hate the player, hate the game. I will never support an attack on regular workers. Regular workers are the ones doing all the grunt work to help keep this society functioning.

    Libturd in Union says:
    December 19, 2014 at 10:53 am
    Thanks Gator.

    Being as honest and unbiased as I can possibly be, I do see the pension and benefits of public workers as Christie does. One need only peruse the PERS sight and read the pension and benefits documents to see how outrageous they are. Yes, it would be great if we all could get on a similar plan in the private sector. And yes, I believe the income gap is a problem too. But the the government that so many of you hear support and cheerlead have enabled both situations. To get the union endorsement and the executive campaign financing. The problem is that, those who are not highly compensated (the middle class) are being forced to pay for both, which is resulting in the continued elimination of the middle class. Forget what each party supports. Think for yourselves for one damn bloody minute.

    As for the teacher compensation argument, I agree that they should be paid fairly. It’s not an easy job, but it does have benefits like no other career. Summers off. The shortest work year of any profession. It’s infinitely rewarding and teachers are incredibly respected in their community. Unless of course, you stupidly equate compensation to respect (a common mistake of the progressives). And if that’s the case, then how do you explain the lack of respect for lawyers (sorry Nom). Call it anecdotal, but my town has a very good school system. The teachers are paid pretty well. Regardless, I would estimate that over half of the students in my kids 4th grade class attend Kumon or other tutoring services. This is pathetic if you ask me, but might explain why the kids perform as well as they do on standardized tests and I imagine the same thing occurs in Short Hills/Millburn, etc. And if you saw my son’s current teacher and the loads of barely educational busy work he assigns for homework each night, it would drive you crazy. But you think that if we doubled his salary, it would attract better educators? I don’t feel it would. Those who choose to teach do it because thy want to teach. Many of my college friends have gone on to teach. My mother was a teacher. As a manager of over thirty reports, I am a teacher too. I love doing it. It’s extremely gratifying. But paying me more won’t me better at it. Nor would it drive better people to do it.

    Back to work. Too busy. And the market rallies on.

  46. Fast Eddie says:

    Listed at $799,000 in August; currently at $649,000. Again, I cannot fathom what degree of f.ucktardery inflicts the majority of muppet sellers:

    http://www.trulia.com/property/3164059407-5-Stem-Brook-Rd-Montvale-NJ-07645

  47. anon (the good one) says:

    yep, I agree. the economy is doing great and will be even better under President Hillary Clinton

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:59 am
    Wait till you see your 401k in 5 years. Winning!

    Xolepa says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:24 am
    (7,9,10,11,etc. blah, blah, blah) Get over it, guys. You’re boring me. Next subject, please.

    How’s everyone’s 401k for the year?

  48. Xolepa says:

    JJ,
    The lower level units have to pay more for heat than the upper ones. If I had an upper unit and was leaving for Florida in wintertime, I would keep the thermostat at 45. If I had the lower unit, I would have to keep it 5 to 10 degrees warmer. 4 feet below ground is still in the freeze zone. Worst possible scenario.
    That brings me to discuss how developers of 55+ communities build homes here in Jersey. 90% of them are on cement slabs. They all use forced air for heating/cooling. Worst of both worlds. Cement transmits cold from the ground in wintertime. The cooling ducts are low near the floors and cool air never makes it up higher in summertime. Built that way because the builder knows it’s the cheapest way to go.

  49. Xolepa says:

    (48) Lucky Eddie, did you followup on that Glen Ridge property mentioned here some days ago ?

  50. phoenix says:

    45 Gator,
    The pensions are an IOU that was never funded. What are we now, 60B in debt? There must have been a day when we were 1 million in debt. None of the old goats wanted their taxes raised, so it went to 2 million, etc. The old goats, now collecting a check, don’t want to pay taxes into the same system they collected from. Social Security and Medicare follow the exact same pattern, old goats want constant increases in bennies and cost of living, can’t afford their taxes, but same old goats vote that system is broke so they want Romney voucher. Romney voucher, over 55, get real bennies, under 55, GFY but keep paying in.
    Therefore, the answer is always the same, I got mine, I put in my time, take it away from the younger guy and give it to me. Time will tell if THAT will be sustainable….

    Forget about how long she worked there….the reality is in many cases we are paying people more to not work than we are paying people who work. That is NOT sustainable.

  51. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Fair enough, you and lib bring up some good points. Thanks guys for taking the time to point them out.

    NJGator says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:13 am
    Mikey (36) – Forget about how long she worked there….the reality is in many cases we are paying people more to not work than we are paying people who work. That is NOT sustainable.

    And yes, she was there about 35 years. But in reality, once many teachers are tenured they aren’t leaving, unless they move to a higher paying administrative job in another district. And even if they do move to another district, it’s a statewide pension system and their credits are portable, so it’s not uncommon for a teacher or administrator of retirement age to retire with 35-40 years of credit. And let’s not forget those who are taking early retirement at 55 with significant credit. We can be paying large pensions to these folks for 30+ years in many cases.

    And anecdotally the other thing I have seen numerous times in both public school districts my son has attended is interim administrator positions being filled by “retired” administrators. Almost every principal or central office fill-in is someone who is collecting a huge pension plus getting a huge per-diem rate in these sweetheart deals. Why are we paying pensions, plus pay checks to these people. You are either retired from state employ or you’re not.

  52. phoenix says:

    50. Xlopea
    Not if done correctly and with pride in workmanship….
    http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/AE_slab-on-grade_foundation_insulation.html

    That brings me to discuss how developers of 55+ communities build homes here in Jersey. 90% of them are on cement slabs. They all use forced air for heating/cooling. Worst of both worlds. Cement transmits cold from the ground in wintertime. The cooling ducts are low near the floors and cool air never makes it up higher in summertime. Built that way because the builder knows it’s the cheapest way to go.

  53. anon (the good one) says:

    yep, old farts have no issue with upward redistribution

    phoenix says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:36 am
    45 Gator,
    The pensions are an IOU that was never funded. What are we now, 60B in debt? There must have been a day when we were 1 million in debt. None of the old goats wanted their taxes raised, so it went to 2 million, etc. The old goats, now collecting a check, don’t want to pay taxes into the same system they collected from. Social Security and Medicare follow the exact same pattern, old goats want constant increases in bennies and cost of living, can’t afford their taxes, but same old goats vote that system is broke so they want Romney voucher. Romney voucher, over 55, get real bennies, under 55, GFY but keep paying in.
    Therefore, the answer is always the same, I got mine, I put in my time, take it away from the younger guy and give it to me. Time will tell if THAT will be sustainable….

  54. Fast Eddie says:

    yep, I agree. the economy is doing great and will be even better under President Hillary Clinton.

    Why is the FED holding at ZIRP?

  55. Fast Eddie says:

    Xolepa [51],

    I didn’t see the Glen Ridge tip and honestly, it’s not on my radar. It’s one of the nicest towns but not in the direction that I’m looking.

  56. Fast Eddie says:

    BTW, we got a raise and a bonus this year. G0d bless the rich!

  57. Libturd at home says:

    “Yep, I agree. the economy is doing great and will be even better under President Hillary Clinton”

    Yep…Nothing screams powerful leader than someone who is only in her position from riding the coattails of a husband that cheated on her repeatedly throughout her marriage to him.

    Not entirely dissimilar to making Michael Brown a hero.

  58. jcer says:

    Micheal Brown a hero, I’m pretty sure if there was a hero near michael brown he probably robbed him.

  59. Toxic Crayons says:

    Why anyone would want another Clinton or another Bush as president is beyond me.

    anon (the good one) says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:31 am
    yep, I agree. the economy is doing great and will be even better under President Hillary Clinton

  60. Xolepa says:

    (54) P, that article is relevant mostly for radiant heated floors, which those 55 homes do not use. Even at that, the article gives specifications that are under-spec for our area. The under slab foam should be at least 2″ thick (R-14). Exterior walls should be first sprayed with an expandable/contractible rubber sealant, before 2″ rigid closed cell insulation applied. Insulation doesn’t work if water is behind it. Also salt hay, bales and bales, was used at the bottom of my foundation, instead of filter mesh shown in the diagram.

    None of that really matters, as the only ‘pride’ builders are putting in is for their wives and kids. It’s called profit. Only way someone is going to do that stuff is if that house is designed and built for themselves.
    Ask me how I know.

  61. Ragnar says:

    Libturd,
    Education is like any other service industry. Free market forces lead to much better results – they will care more about customers, provide better services, and do so more efficiently.
    Imagine if the government was running a restaurant like they run schools. They tax every household in a way unrelated to their use of the product. The food is “all you can eat”. Rather than voting with your feet in the market, every few years you get to vote for someone who is supposed to represent you to the managers of the government restaurant, and hope that person actually reflects their interests. Such a restaurant would almost inevitably have bad food, bad service, and wouldn’t have to care much if you don’t like it. They would actually be happy if you chose to just fund them (having no choice), while spending your money to dine out elsewhere. Some of these restaurants might not be too awful, when there’s a combination of people working there taking pride in their work without regard to the incentives, and when the forced customers are very active in trying to communicate their needs and desires to the restaurant. But of course with that same situation, outcomes could have been even better in the free marketplace, with that group of chefs and customers.

  62. Libturd in Union says:

    Rags,

    Yup.

  63. Juice Box says:

    Comment on the Fed? Many of us will be dead. Dead before they raise rates enough so you can get a nice standard fixed income return on your savings. It all a casino from here on in. Place yer bets and take yer chances. Anyone going long oil?

    Some of these crude etfs look like they should be headed back north once the wind changes direction.

    http://etfdb.com/type/commodity/energy/crude-oil/

  64. Juice Box says:

    Grim #66 – release plz

  65. chicagofinance says:

    Need an example of upward redistribution? There is a prominent food charity in Red Bank. I got stuck behind a Lexus driver who had double parked (rather obnoxiously in the road) so that they could collect their daily allocation. I won’t provide a description of the driver.

    anon (the good one) says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:42 am
    yep, old farts have no issue with upward redistribution

  66. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Because negative interest rates would be a real buzz-kill?

    Why is the FED holding at ZIRP?

  67. Libturd at home says:

    Anon’s girlfriend.

    http://tinyurl.com/anons-girl-sfw

  68. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Always buy when there is blood in the streets. Betting on oil is an easy play right now.

    Juice Box says:
    December 19, 2014 at 1:03 pm
    Comment on the Fed? Many of us will be dead. Dead before they raise rates enough so you can get a nice standard fixed income return on your savings. It all a casino from here on in. Place yer bets and take yer chances. Anyone going long oil?

    Some of these crude etfs look like they should be headed back north once the wind changes direction.

    http://etfdb.com/type/commodity/energy/crude-oil/

  69. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Public unions negotiate with politicians who care little about giving away OPM.

    At least private sector unions negotiate with actual equity owners and bond holders in the enterprise, and they still get it wrong often enough.

  70. The Great Pumpkin says:

    66- Great time to buy into oil. It’s usually a good thing to buy when there is blood in the street.

  71. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I agree, not because Hillary will be president, but the fundamentals say that it will. Most people are never aware of the present state of the economy. They only know when looking at the past.

    anon (the good one) says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:31 am
    yep, I agree. the economy is doing great and will be even better under President Hillary Clinton

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:59 am
    Wait till you see your 401k in 5 years. Winning!

  72. JJ says:

    My building does not let you turn the heat off in the winter and makes you keep the electric heat at 55. Most folk who leave for winter do it for a very short time like xmas to march and leave it on. The rest of folk like me rent their unit on a winter rental. My winter rental is hard to call a winter rental as they stay from from around Sept 7 to around June 20. Honestly they have a deal cause they only spend like 10-12 week out of unit and most folks would make them rent year round.

    They lower I should have bought, I did math, 209K fully renovated brand new after storm, main 500 and taxes 400 a month and it rents for like 2,100. Good cash flow. Even more so since turn key. Rare unit that actually meets RULE OF TEN. Old rule if annual rent roll is ten times or less than purchase price it is a buy. At 210K it would meet it. Very rare to find condos that sell for 10x purchase price.
    Xolepa says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:33 am
    JJ,
    The lower level units have to pay more for heat than the upper ones. If I had an upper unit and was leaving for Florida in wintertime, I would keep the thermostat at 45. If I had the lower unit, I would have to keep it 5 to 10 degrees warmer. 4 feet below ground is still in the freeze zone. Worst possible scenario.
    That brings me to discuss how developers of 55+ communities build homes here in Jersey. 90% of them are on cement slabs. They all use forced air for heating/cooling. Worst of both worlds. Cement transmits cold from the ground in wintertime. The cooling ducts are low near the floors and cool air never makes it up higher in summertime. Built that way because the builder knows it’s the cheapest way to go.

  73. grim says:

    Reads like his own dog shot him.

    That’d make for a great country song.

  74. Ragnar says:

    Libturd,
    I thought anon’s gf was Conchita Wurst

  75. Libturd in Union says:

    Thanks. I’d vote for Conchita over that weakling Hilary.

  76. Kannekt 4 life says:

    2015 prediction: Hoboken and Jersey City condo prices hit all time highs. So do houses in train towns with good schools. Rest of Jersey rots at 2002 prices.

  77. JJ says:

    Always pay for Hos in Jersey. Hoboken and Ho Ho Kus last five years good value.

  78. Fabius Maximus says:

    CCs handling of the pension will come back to bite in in the primaries. For a legacy it will be always held against him. We have had an unprecedented run up in the stock market and he still manages to double the deficit. The 1,5bn payment missed in 2008, what would that be worth today. The biggest mis-step was turning 30K contributors to 30K consumers in 2008 when he triggered a stampede to the exits by saying he was going to start cutting future benefits.

  79. Kannekt 4 life says:

    2015 prediction #2: New York City crime, measured by murders, falls to lowest point in recorded history, while populations swells to record high. The wealth flows into the Jersey real estate I mentioned above like the Amazon pours into the Atlantic.

  80. Essex says:

    Oh look it’s time to revisit education! The opinions expressed here are not necessarily that of people who know anything about education, but they have sat in a classroom once.

  81. Kannekt 4 life says:

    Meanwhile, Jersey ghettos continue to expand. Goodbye Bayonne (Jersey City), adios Clifton (Paterson), sayonara Bloomfield (Newark).

  82. Kannekt 4 life says:

    2015 prediction #3: Status quo for Fast Ed, lots of frustration spills into the blog, no home purchased

  83. Kannekt 4 life says:

    Prediction #4: Successful app launched that makes chicagofinace’s posts invisible to readers who download the app

  84. Anon E. Moose says:

    Fabu [74];

    But have they considered the “Mensch on a Bench”?

  85. Fast Eddie says:

    Kannekt [86],

    Can’t say I disagree. The verbiage will be sharp, no doubt. But, it’s better to be solvent as a warm blanket lulls me to sleep rather than drowing in debt and perpetually underwater. There were a sh1tload of transactions loaded with deceit from 2003 through 2008.

  86. Fabius Maximus says:

    #63 Rags

    Here is how the restaurant analogy goes.
    The school district is like a cafeteria, all get served a basic meal and for the most part all meals are the same. Now if you want you kids to go eat at the Shake Shack around the corner, you can quite happily pay for them to go eat there.
    But the people start saying “the foods too bland, they want the choice to eat elsewhere. They want a voucher to eat where they want.
    The the food trucks start showing up. The peanut truck show up and while Little Elsie has a nut allergy and would happy to go with her Epi pen and just eat Jelly, the truck owner says “No way I’m taking you, my insurance would go up”. The kid with the dairy allergy gets told no truck will take them so they are left behind as well. Now the food trucks can’t cater for all kids, so they have to get selective. Now little Katie doesn’t have allergy’s but she went through all the food truck testing and lotteries but doesn’t get a slot anywhere. She has a voucher but can’t use it.
    So there are still a lot of kids in the cafeteria. But now things have changed. The cafeteria has to cut back, because it now has to pay all these food trucks to feed these kids. So the standards start slipping. Instead of chicken and Broccoli, the cafeteria has to go to Chicken Nuggets and French fries.
    Now the owner of the Peanut truck thinks, the school gig is not bad, but I can make more scratch selling Gourmet PB&J in the office park, so he shuts up shop. The Falafel truck gets a visit from the health inspector and gets shut down.
    So now were do those kids go? Back into the cafeteria. But now they are worse off than if everyone stayed were they are. Because the school is still paying the other trucks they can’t bring the standards back up.
    The trucks that are left are happy as they have the kids that they want to serve and a district paying them to do it. If a kid gets too fussy, they just kick them out as they know they can just pick another off the waiting list.

  87. Ragnar says:

    Fabius,
    So this explains why government cafeterias are super successful and popular and private sector restaurants have all failed in real life?
    Go back to eating your government cheese.

  88. Fabius Maximus says:

    #87 Kannekt

    His whole industry is being replaced by an app.

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303410404577464760387429208

  89. Liquor Luge says:

    Even a Fed guvnor comment or two to the WSJ about raising rates sends equities into a tailspin. Then, Yellen mumbling “ZIRP foreva” the day before a Fed meeting ramps them to the moon.

    Folks, there is NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER THAT INTEREST RATES WILL RISE. They will stay stuck to the 0 bound until such time as the end of days commences.

    That is all. And don’t sit on Santa’s lap. It might be G@ry Collins, working his moonlight shift.

  90. chicagofinance says:

    #1 “middle class” people do not buy Mercedes; #2 German cars are unreliable; #3 this woman is delusional and needs a dose of reality…….and remember my vocation as I make such a comment……

    Fabius Maximus says:
    December 19, 2014 at 4:22 pm
    #68 Chi

    But it wasn’t a toy — it was paid off. My husband bought that car in full long before we met. Were we supposed to trade it in for a crappier car we’d have to make payments on? Only to have that less reliable car break down on us?

    And even if we had wanted to do that, here’s what people don’t understand: The reality of poverty can spring quickly while the psychological effects take longer to surface. When you lose a job, your first thought isn’t, “Oh my God, I’m poor. I’d better sell all my nice stuff!” It’s “I need another job. Now.” When you’re scrambling, you hang on to the things that work, that bring you some comfort. That Mercedes was the one reliable, trustworthy thing in our lives.

  91. Liquor Luge says:

    And shove Kwanzaa and Hannukah up yer arse, too.

  92. Liquor Luge says:

    Friday after 5. Commence drinking whiskey until Sunday night.

  93. jcer says:

    91, Fab… I live in Jersey City…here is my take on the analogy. Here the cafeteria is serving rat meat sandwiches imported from China, that sometimes contain rusty metal or broken glass. Each sandwich costs the taxpayers $1000 but hey someone has to pay for the building, and food importing costs. The restaurant across the street will serve you a filet mignon for $30, but it isn’t prepared to the stringent standards of the governments rat meat sandwich.

    Your argument is not a good one, because the alternative is a failing school. In the blue ribbony suburban schools at least they are getting some results and lets be honest the residents are wealthy enough to find an alternative if the school is truly failing. In NJ urban ghettos they get zero results for over 20k per student, both charter schools and parochial schools are way outperforming the public schools at approximately 60% of the spend. If they had 100k per student they’d still fail, the money is irrelevant it mostly goes to corrupt politicians who use board of ed money as their political piggybank. The sleaze of humanity is employed as administrators in urban school districts.

  94. Liquor Luge says:

    jcer (98)-

    Can’t reason with a self-loathing liberal maniac.

  95. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Nailed it!!!

    Fabius Maximus says:
    December 19, 2014 at 4:47 pm
    #63 Rags

    Here is how the restaurant analogy goes.
    The school district is like a cafeteria, all get served a basic meal and for the most part all meals are the same. Now if you want you kids to go eat at the Shake Shack around the corner, you can quite happily pay for them to go eat there.
    But the people start saying “the foods too bland, they want the choice to eat elsewhere. They want a voucher to eat where they want.
    The the food trucks start showing up. The peanut truck show up and while Little Elsie has a nut allergy and would happy to go with her Epi pen and just eat Jelly, the truck owner says “No way I’m taking you, my insurance would go up”. The kid with the dairy allergy gets told no truck will take them so they are left behind as well. Now the food trucks can’t cater for all kids, so they have to get selective. Now little Katie doesn’t have allergy’s but she went through all the food truck testing and lotteries but doesn’t get a slot anywhere. She has a voucher but can’t use it.
    So there are still a lot of kids in the cafeteria. But now things have changed. The cafeteria has to cut back, because it now has to pay all these food trucks to feed these kids. So the standards start slipping. Instead of chicken and Broccoli, the cafeteria has to go to Chicken Nuggets and French fries.
    Now the owner of the Peanut truck thinks, the school gig is not bad, but I can make more scratch selling Gourmet PB&J in the office park, so he shuts up shop. The Falafel truck gets a visit from the health inspector and gets shut down.
    So now were do those kids go? Back into the cafeteria. But now they are worse off than if everyone stayed were they are. Because the school is still paying the other trucks they can’t bring the standards back up.
    The trucks that are left are happy as they have the kids that they want to serve and a district paying them to do it. If a kid gets too fussy, they just kick them out as they know they can just pick another off the waiting list.

  96. The Great Pumpkin says:

    You are so right. He has cost the tax payers billions of dollars and he complains that the state can’t afford a pension? This fat egomaniac has cost us billions in lost returns. We should put him in jail. I’m getting nautious thinking about it. The plan was better off if you never did anything except pay the contribution. What an idiot. Thank you Christie for not raising my taxes. Thank you. 4 billion invested in 2009 would have been so much money by now. So wrong. So damn wrong. I hate politicians. It’s not the pension plan that is the problem, it’s the politician with his hand in the cookie jar. Fat boy put that damn cookie down, it’s time for a diet.

    Fabius Maximus says:
    December 19, 2014 at 3:56 pm
    CCs handling of the pension will come back to bite in in the primaries. For a legacy it will be always held against him. We have had an unprecedented run up in the stock market and he still manages to double the deficit. The 1,5bn payment missed in 2008, what would that be worth today. The biggest mis-step was turning 30K contributors to 30K consumers in 2008 when he triggered a stampede to the exits by saying he was going to start cutting future benefits.

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  98. Fabius Maximus says:

    #92 Rags
    Yea, because Charter schools never go belly up, they are the answer.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/25/chris-christie-camden-schools_n_2949483.html
    “The state is already the main funder of the Camden school system. Christie said an August report assessing the needs of Camden’s schools convinced him that more needed to be done in the city, which has 16,000 schoolchildren, including 4,000 in charter schools.”

  99. Fabius Maximus says:

    #95 Chi
    1 ) I think we have had the conversation in here before on the status of a Merc C class and the Status Symbol impact.

    2) I think Kettle will affirm that with Audi/VW, but Mercs are solid.

    3) An issue with your self that you need to address. Don’t be so quick to rush to judgment.

  100. Liquor Luge says:

    Gluteus, hitting new heights in douchery.

  101. Fast Eddie says:

    Originally listed at $1,550,000 in July of 2009; currently at $709,000:

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1427941&dayssince=&countysearch=false

  102. Fast Eddie says:

    Listed at $499,000, five years ago, went down to $419,000, didn’t sell, so five years later it’s at $499,000:

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1443637

  103. Fast Eddie says:

    Listed at $789,000 in 04/2008; sold for $475,000 in 11/2011; currently asking $589,000.

    Nice curb appeal (barf…):

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1440821

  104. Fast Eddie says:

    Sold for $575,000 almost nine years ago; currently asking $499,000:

    http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1440045

  105. Fast Eddie says:

    It seems as though the family secret can’t be buried any longer. One house after another in dire straights. No cherry picking required, just go down the list and witness a sea of distressed house sitters. It’s a b1polar mess. And these are just the houses that are listed. Ring every doorbell in every “need to buy” town and listen to their sob story.

  106. NJT says:

    Once in a while I strike gold (re: Tenants).

    Had a vacant unit. Was about to start the usual advertising (sign out front and Craigslist) when a car pulls up (literally a MINUTE after I put out the ‘For Rent’ sign).

    Middle aged couple that had their house burn down (faulty appliance) when away on vacation and looking for a place in town while it’s was being rebuilt (insurance paying for everything including a place for them to stay).

    Got one years rent up front, in cash! Yeah baby! – Of course they got a discount…

  107. Fast Eddie says:

    NJT,

    Nice job! :)

  108. Fast Eddie says:

    Ok, I think I’ll brave the crowds and become a mall muppet today!

  109. grim says:

    New post, move it over!

  110. Clot is exactly right. It’s like an interest only mortgage on debt you will never, ever be able to pay back. If you could set your own interest rate why wouldn’t you set it zero and leave it there? That way you can add more and more debt and always be able to service it. Raise rates and you’ll never be able to service it.

    Folks, there is NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER THAT INTEREST RATES WILL RISE. They will stay stuck to the 0 bound until such time as the end of days commences.

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